Grace For The Journey

  After distinguishing godly knowledge from wisdom in Parts one and two, and realizing our need for both, in today’s blog we will look more closely at a detail in Proverbs 2:4, “If you seek her [wisdom] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures . . .”  The detail we will concentrate on is the “hidden treasures.”  This two-word phrase is a literal translation of the Hebrew noun mǎţmônîm, which means “a cache, reserve, stockpile, secret storehouse, buried valuables, hidden riches or treasures, things of hidden value.”

Solomon urges us to seek wisdom as we would seek for something valuable like a hidden stockpile of silver; as we would search for buried treasure.  There is something about hunting for treasure that has excited people from the beginning of time.  For some, it might be greed or necessity, and for others, it is the thrill of the hunt.  Everyone would love to find a hidden cache of valuables because, they believe, it would change their lives so much for the better.

In recent years, the Fenn Treasure has frequently garnered national media attention.  In 1988, Forrest Fenn, a wealthy art and antiques dealer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  In order to give others hope, he claims to have hidden a small, ornate, antique bronze chest filled with gold coins and rare artifacts somewhere in the western part of the United States.  He asserts that he stuffed 265 American Gold Eagles and Double Eagles into this chest, as well as precious jewels, Middle Eastern gold coins, gold nuggets (two of them as big as a hen’s egg), and a jar of gold dust.  Due to the fluctuating price of gold, this treasure has been estimated to be worth anywhere from one to five million dollars.

Mr. Fenn is now 87 and in good health.  He estimates that 350,000 people have gone searching for this treasure based on clues in a poem he wrote.  The 24-line poem features nine clues, to which he has added a handful of hints.  For instance, it could be hidden anywhere from New Mexico to Montana, on mountainous land between 5,000 and 10,200 feet in elevation.

Some people have spent large amounts of time and money on attempts to find the Fenn Treasure.  A man from Washington state, Dal Nietzel, has made upwards of seventy search trips since 2011.  His blog, “Thrill of the Chase,” documents his quests and those of others.  It receives over a million new visitors every year from all over the world.  Another treasure hunter, Cynthia Meacham, found out about the treasure chest in 2013 and has now made more than a hundred trips to search for it.

The area where the treasure is supposedly buried is wild country.  Most of it is rough terrain; have bears, snakes, scorching heat, and few roads.  At least three people have died trying to find it.  In 2016, authorities found the remains of Randy Bilyeu along the Rio Grande River north of Cochiti Lake.  Last June, New Mexico authorities recovered the body of a Colorado pastor, Paris Wallace.  Also last summer, Eric Ashby was swept away in a rafting accident on the Arkansas River and is presumed dead.  According to their families and friends, each of these was on the trail of the Fenn Treasure.

The New Mexico State Police chief has asked Fenn to call off the hunt for his treasure. Yellowstone Park rangers have responded to a dozen or more treasure-related calls in the last five years, and they have said they would prefer treasure hunters to stay away from the park.  An episode of the “Longmire” television series (Season 6, Episode 2), set in Absaroka County, Wyoming, featured treasure hunters competing for the Fenn Treasure, though it was called by a different name.  In the episode, Sheriff Longmire investigates the murder of a man who owns land that is a favorite site of treasure hunters.

In an interview he gave to ABC News, Mr. Fenn admitted, “I didn’t anticipate that people would die searching for my treasure.  But in the back of my mind, it had to be logical that that could happen because there’s so many things that can happen to a person when he’s out in the wilderness.  I mean, the grizzly bears alone are something to think about.”

Other than repeating his previously published clues, Mr. Fenn persists in his silence on the location of the treasure.  People often tell him where they have searched, hoping to get even a hint of an additional clue from him, maybe a “You’re getting warmer . . .,” but he has so far held his tongue.  One person, he claims, nearly found it, standing just 200 feet from the hiding place.

This story is just one example

Of humanity’s dogged search for buried treasure.

For thousands of years, people have walked away from their day-to-day lives, from family and friends, to scour the earth for hidden riches.  They have endured hardship, starvation, brutal weather, living in tents (or less), and some have even died, all in the hopes of finding their “pot of gold.”  And once they find it, they guard it with their lives! They will not let it out of their sight!

Solomon writes in Proverbs 8:1 for us to “listen,” wisdom is calling out.  It is in our best in our best interest to hear what is being said here; it only makes sense.  Later, in verses 10-11, he advises the reader “to receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”

Solomon is declaring that wisdom is worth

Much more than precious jewels

Or anything else you desire.”

Wisdom, common sense, skill in living, is more valuable than any physical treasure chest full of gold Eagles!

Rather than risk our lives searching for “gold that perishes,”

We need to listen to God and seek His wisdom,

Which has as its reward eternal life in God’s Kingdom.

That is the declaration of God in Proverbs 9:10-11, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added unto you.”

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

 

Grace For The Journey

  In yesterday’s blog, we noted the difference between knowledge (having information, knowing facts, possessing skills acquired through experience or education) and wisdom (knowledge of what is true or right that leads to proper judgment and ability as to live by that truth).  We found that Solomon uses the Hebrew word for “wisdom,” ḥokmāh, in the sense of “skill in living and in relationships with others.”  However, we noted that people who should be displaying wisdom – the aged, the expert, the influential – too often show little evidence of having any.

Solomon writes in Proverbs 7:1, “My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you.”  This word “treasure,” is a Hebrew verb meaning “to hide, to conceal, to secrete, to store up, to treasure.”

God’s Word is to be a special treasure

That we keep close to us,

A most special possession!

The English verb “treasure” is similar – it means, “to keep a valuable or valued item carefully; cherish, hold dear, prize or value greatly.”   Some things mean a great deal to us … certainly our spouses, children, and other family members … but consider something we more often think of as “treasure.”  Usually, a treasure is something physical, maybe one’s wedding ring, 1960s muscle car, or classic Fender Stratocaster.

Whatever it is,

It is something we keep close

And do not want to lose.

How we deal with such treasured items

Is how we are to deal with God’s commands.

I have seen my wife take her wedding ring off when she is cleaning or doing something rough with her hands.  She sets it to the side so she will know where it is and can keep an eye on it.  She would be heartbroken to lose it.  God, through Solomon, says “Treasure my commands within you.”  Notice Proverbs 2:1-5: “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure [şāṗăn] my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom [ḥokmāh], and apply your heart to understanding; yes if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

Within these verses are four sets of parallel couplets with four sets of significant words: receive/treasure; incline/apply; cry out/lift up; and seek/search.

1. My son, if you receive [follow, accept, learn, seize] My words,
   And treasure [hide, lay up, never forget] My commands within you,
2. So that you incline [listen, be attentive, tune in, focus] your ear to wisdom,
   And apply [work to understand, think on, meditate, pray, study] your heart to understanding;
3. Yes, if you cry out [beg; plead] for discernment, And lift up [hold before you; give over] your voice for understanding
4. If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures [we must look for wisdom every bit as hard as we would search for buried treasure!];

In verse 5, God shows us what will happen: “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning  [a building block toward] of wisdon” (Proverbs 1:7).

Solomon writes something similar in Proverbs 8:17-21, another passage in which wisdom is personified as a woman: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me [we seek wisdom, a metaphor here for God, through prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting, obedience, etc.]. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue [income] than choice silver. I traverse [walk] the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.”

That great wealth … those riches … God’s fruit … is His knowledge (verse 10), which leads to wisdom – and nothing compares to wisdom: “For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her” (verse 11).

The so-called wise of this world may be found in academia; maybe they are in government (this is doubtful) or entertainment (also doubtful).  The wise of this world do not realize how foolish they are.

Some people seek fame and fortune with every waking hour.  They are also foolish because their priorities are wrong.  What they are looking for has no value beyond the grave.

God has given us far more than them all,

But we must guard it.

We must be vigilant, not resting on yesterday’s efforts, but each day building on our knowledge gained from living this way of life.  And from that, if we are diligent, comes wisdom.

In tomorrow’s blog, we will consider those who seek for “hidden treasures.”

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  One author writes,

“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom.

One helps you make a living;

The other helps you make a life.”

Put another way, knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad!

Knowledge is having information, knowing facts, possessing skills acquired through experience or education.  Wisdom, however, is knowledge of what is true or right that leads us to be able to do what God desires.  We can also think of it as the ability to think, act, or discern what is best or applying common sense and experience at the right time, at the right place, in the right way.

We assume that wisdom comes with age, which is partly true but not a given.  We all know someone of a certain advanced age who still does dumb things – and on the flipside, we have all seen a young person make excellent decisions.  Knowledge and understanding form the basis of wisdom, and over time, a person gains experience.  On a physical level, this experience combines with knowledge to give us insight, leading to wisdom.

Plenty of learned individuals with extensive life-experience understand little to nothing about the Bible and the wisdom it contains.  Most people can memorize and recite the Ten Commandments, but do they understand them?  Can they expand them to apply their principles to various situations?  Without God’s Holy Spirit working in them, they are merely repeating words.  Their wisdom is merely “on a human level.”

The primary Hebrew word for “wisdom” is ḥokmāh, a feminine noun used 145 times in the Old Testament.  It means “skillful, wisdom, acting wisely.”  Solomon uses this word 41 times in Proverbs and 28 times in Ecclesiastes, meaning that just under half of its biblical appearances come from one writer.  Ḥokmāh indicates “wisdom” but can also refer to “technical skills or special abilities,” such as the artisans in Exodus possessed whom God used to make things for the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-6).

Solomon uses the word in the sense of “the right use of knowledge; using common sense; or skill in living for God and in our relationship with God and others.”  This kind of wisdom accrues over time. We naturally become wise, or skilled in living, as we age, right?  Solomon himself possessed great wisdom, but he did some stupid things in his dealings with women and foreign gods.  He began with great wisdom, but toward the end of his life, at a time when his wisdom should have been at its peak, he seems to have lost it.

In today’s blog, we will look into the seeking and keeping of wisdom, beginning in Proverbs 1:1-7 where the Bible says, “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion—a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Notice in verse 2 that wisdom and instruction go together.  The wise man listens and learns more.  Verse 3 again pairs wisdom and instruction.  Verse 4 tells us that these proverbs will give a young man knowledge, something not always easy to accomplish. When a young person reaches the late teenage years, he knows so much.  God’s desire is not just that he has gained an education but that he knows how to live for Him.  What Solomon is led by the Holy Spirit to tell us is that from the truths of God’s Word, an ordinary person can learn not just to be smart, but can learn how to live with God, himself, and others.

Even though Solomon lived 3,000 years ago,

This wisdom is timeless.

Verses 5 and 6 tells us that the wise will continue to learn!  They will not stop learning, seeking understanding, and growing.  With the young mentioned in the previous verse, the reader may assume that Solomon implies a contrast here, that the “wise” are older. This may well be the case, but it does not mean that wisdom is confined to senior adults.  Typically, it does but not always.  Anyone, of any age, with the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, through Bible study, prayer, and living by God’s Word can gain wisdom . . . that “skill in living” that we all need and want.

Verse 7 teaches us that  the very beginning of knowledge, which we must possess to gain wisdom, is the “fear of the LORD.”  This shows us that before we can have knowledge, we must first have a proper reverence for, and relationship with, the LORD.

An article appears in the news just about every week of yet another professor somewhere spouting off learnedly on some subject but sounding like a complete moron! The professor sounds this way to us because we process his words through the knowledge and wisdom filter that God has given us.

This filter, which has developed

In us over time spent in His Word,

Governs our thoughts and actions.

The professor may be quite knowledgeable in his field of study and even in the wisdom of the world, but God and His Word play no role in his life.  So, by the biblical standard, he is a “fool” and not “wise” in God’s eyes.

In tomorrow’s blog we will pursue the idea of how valuable Godly wisdom should be to us.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

Grace For The Journey

  The Bible talks about Enoch’s life.  Enoch lived such a holy and righteous life that God Himself testified to it – not once, but twice in  sacred Scripture.  The Bible says in Genesis 5:22, 24, “After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years. . . . Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”  And in Hebrews 11:5 it says, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: He could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

God is so pleased when we walk by faith before Him that He is committed to testifying to it as a fact before men.  In essence, this is the testimony of God to a life well-lived before His face and in the presence of others.  Enoch walked faithfully with God every step of the way into heaven.

Can the same be said about us?  Is our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ a walk that is rooted in faith . . . or a walk that is rooted in sight?  What would be the testimony of God about our lives?

Look at it this way; never do we more closely bear the image of our God than when we are walking faithfully with Him.  And never is God more pleased with us than when we are bearing more of His image.  To be sure, when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, the image of God in them was stained by sin and that stain marred its perfection. Today, you and I bear God’s image imperfectly in everything we do, but we do still bear God’s image.  And never do we bear it more than when we are walking faithfully with our God.

Think about that for a minute . . . What Does It Mean To Walk With God?  The Bible teaches that it means at least three things:

(1) Walking in Agreement With God

Amos the Prophet asked a very good question when he wrote, “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet” (Amos 3:3)?  The obvious answer is no, they cannot walk together if they’re not in agreement with one another. It might be a disagreement over religion, a relationship, or a philosophy of life, but unless they can walk together, meaning unless they can agree on things, they cannot walk together.  Shortly after the fall in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8), but instead of joining God, they hid from God because they had sinned.

Originally, God walked with them in fellowship and in relationship, but once they choose to disobey God, they could no longer walk in agreement with God because of their sin. Not long after this, mankind had been fruitful and multiplied over the face of the earth, but mankind in general had turned away from God.  The Bible says in Genesis 6:5, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” … and in Genesis 6:11-12, “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.  But there was one exception; the Bible says in Genesis 6:9, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”  However, the Bible tells us in Genesis 6:17, God told Noah “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.”  Noah and his family walked with God and so they survived the flood, but the rest of mankind was not in agreement, except for the fact “that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Enoch walked with God. This means, Enoch didn’t walk ahead of Him and he didn’t walk behind Him . . . but He walked with God.  What does it mean to walk with God?  I believe it means that

We don’t get ahead of what God has in store for us or His will for our lives

And we don’t take steps according to our own will

But get in step with God’s will.

It also means we obey the Lord.

We can’t hear what God may be telling us if we’re way out ahead of His will or we’re out of fellowship with Him.  We can’t walk with God if we are not doing what He commands and fall behind His prescribed will for our lives.  When this happens, we are going to stumble.  We know the Bible tells us that God opens doors that no one can open and closes doors that are not good for us to walk through, so if we are walking with God, we’ll go through the door with Him, and at the same time.  We will walk where He walks and go where He goes . . . but it also means, we don’t’ go where we know God doesn’t want us to go, so we can’t walk ahead of Him because He might not have the door open when we get there, or if we lag behind, the door may already be shut by the time we get there.

(2) Following After Jesus

Jesus invited those He called to “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).  Many said they were His disciples, but when Jesus’ teachings were difficult to accept, “many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him” (John 6:66).  Following Jesus is more than just walking in agreement with Him. For example, He says, “whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38), and “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Following Jesus is a lifetime commitment and He requires 100% of us.  In one case someone said they’d follow Jesus, but, said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (Luke 9:59), and Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home” (Luke 9:61).  They said they believed in Jesus, but so do the demons, but they’re by no means saved (James 2:19).  You must follow Jesus and when you do, you can know that you’re walking with God.  What does following Jesus look like?

(3) Walking in Obedience

Following Jesus means to be walking along side of God by doing the things He commands (e.g. Matthew 25:34-40; 28:18-20).  When we walk with God we can more easily talk with God, and walking beside God helps to ensure we will be walking in the right direction, and at the right pace . . . not too fast or not too slow.

It’s better to be in step with God than out of step.

Besides, you can’t talk with someone behind you or talk with someone ahead of you, but if you’re walking with someone, you can communicate with that someone.  I can’t imagine taking a walk with my wife and being behind her or ahead of her.  When we walk together, it shows that we are in agreement with each other.  Perhaps that explains why “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24).

Walking with God means that we “do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4), and that frequently we must walk by “faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7b), so that’s why we’re warned, “be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).  Paul urges us all to “join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us” (Philippians 3:17), as it was “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). May the same thing be true for you too.

This is what it means to walk faithfully with your God.  We are in close proximity to Him; we are focused on Him; we are sharing a time of intimate fellowship with Him.  When we do that, we are affirming that God is the greatest good in our life, and we live at the level described by A. W. Tozer: We “live in a state of unbroken worship.”

Walking by faith is

Trusting God’s heart

Even when we cannot

Trace Him His hand

We walk in unwavering obedience to His Word and His will, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  This was the confession of the life lived by Enoch.  And Enoch was not alone in the biblical account.  It is said of Noah that he was “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9).

This is God’s goal for every one of His children

. . . And He is committed to testifying to it.

So be encouraged today by the example of Enoch!  Make it your heart’s deepest desire to live a life marked by walking with your God wherever He leads, knowing that it will ultimately be for His glory and your good!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  Last Friday was “Black Friday,” the day widely regarded as the first official day of the Christmas shopping season, although now many stores are beginning on Thanksgiving evening.   On a day when many are resting and recovering from massive overindulgence in food and football, retailers open early and stay late, hoping to entice crowds of shoppers to their establishments. It has been suggested that the term “Black Friday” originated from retailers’ hopes that their books will be solidly “in the black” after their registers ring all day.

So . . . as many will spend this day engaging in uncontrolled eating and spending, we might do well to take a moment to consider the words of God through the prophet in Isaiah 55:1, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”   This verse teaches us one of those biblical contradictions between the ways of the world and the ways of God . . .

The world is calling us to come, spend as much money as you possibly can!

Christ calls to those who have nothing to offer. . .

How easy it is to make the stuff of this world more important than our Savior!

You see, the desire for more is not bad; God set this desire in our divine design.  The key, however, is to know where we should be seeking to find “more.”  Adam and Eve were designed by God to seek more of Him.

• He was to be the object of their deepest desire.
• He was to be their greatest love.
• He was to be their first priority.
• And, they were to seek more and more of this each day.

It was not until Satan slithered into the picture and offered them more outside of their relationship with God that they considered looking for “more” beyond their divine design.

We have been doing the same ever since, and there is no better example than Black Friday.  Now, I am not saying that looking for a bargain is a bad thing.  Taking the time to prayerfully consider and purchasing things on sale is a good thing.  It reflects good stewardship of the resources God has provided.  But, as I have said in the past, good things become bad things when we make them ultimate things.  When was the last time you heard about a congregation lining up Saturday night to get a good seat in the worship center for Sunday morning?

Because of our sinful nature, we must be careful how we approach the shopping season.

Instead of bigger barns,

We need bigger hearts

That are

Sold out for Jesus.

He will tolerate no rival, nor should we.  We are blood-bought and grace-filled, and our lives should show and shout these facts to the world!

Consider this exhortation from 1 Thessalonians 4:1, “We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).  Now there is a desire for more that brings joy to the heart of our heavenly Father!

The Bible reminds each us in 1 Peter1:18-19, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”  It is my prayer that this “Black Friday” we would all remember the very first black Friday, when darkness covered the earth between the sixth and the ninth hour . . . the day when our Lord purchased us with His precious blood.

Let us commit to spend all that we have in the pursuit of knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day.  How did you spend it?  Some spent the day with family and friends, enjoying food, fellowship, and perhaps some football.  Others will spend it alone.  But regardless of your what you did this year, let me encourage you to spend not just Thanksgiving Day but every day thinking about what it means to live a life of thanksgiving to the One who has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

The Bible says in Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

The apostle Paul tells us that overflowing thankfulness is the mark of Gospel-soaked saints, regardless of the cost or circumstance.   And Paul knew hardship and suffering for the sake of the Gospel!   He was no “ivory tower” teacher, comfortably distant from the message he proclaimed.  You probably know that Paul wrote most of the New Testament; but, did you know that he penned most of his inspired epistles from behind prison walls?

Regardless of the circumstances he faced, Paul’s life was marked by overflowing thankfulness because He intimately knew the One to whom he was so thankful.

The Bible records this life-changing encounter in Acts 9:1-6, “Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”  (Acts 9:1-6)

Here is the man who was transformed from  . . .

Saul, persecutor of the Church,

To Paul, a pastor in the Church.

He who hated Christians

Became a helper of Christians

The murderer became a minister . . .

And Paul engaged in that ministry until his very last breath.  He did it in the face of incredible hardship and opposition, yet his heart always overflowed with thankfulness.

One of the keys to Paul’s consistent life of thanksgiving and praise was located in the fact that he never lost sight of who he was before Jesus came into his life.

He never forgot the change that the Lord Jesus Christ

Made in his heart that day on the road to Damascus

The black condition of his heart prior to his

Encounter with the risen Savior.

Jesus breathed new life into him, and Paul who exulted, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15.)

So, throughout this Thanksgiving season, let us pause and count our many blessings. Don’t bother to try to “name them one-by-one,” as the Bible song says, because there are far too many to number.

We simply need to be living a life of heartfelt gratitude,

Sharing the love of Christ with everyone we encounter.

Share the love of Christ by telling someone about the His amazing grace and incomprehensible love.  Share that love, with both your lips and your life.

Who can you reach out to this Thanksgiving week and tell them how much they mean to you?  Make that long overdue phone call.  Share that past-due hug.  Write that note of appreciation you have been meaning to write for as long as you can remember.  God will be glorified, your soul (and the other person’s) will be enriched, and you will be living a life of Thanksgiving!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  This week we have been looking at a life that is characterized by overflowing thankfulness.  After the two great commandments of loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37-40), we find another wonderful and worshipful commandment: to give thanksgiving to God for everything He has done for us.

The Bible says in Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise his Name.”

Today we will briefly unpack two very practical ways we can offer God thanksgiving and praise for His countless blessings that flow freely to us.

1. Acknowledge God

We all know just how easy it is to forget God.  I don’t mean we actually forget that He exists, but we often forget to bring Him into everything we are doing.  I cannot think of a better way to give thanksgiving to God than to acknowledge Him in every area of our lives in thought, word, and deed.

• Acknowledge God in our families
• Acknowledge God in our work
• Acknowledge God in our friendships
• Acknowledge God in our finances
• Acknowledge God in our spending
• Acknowledge God in our recreational pursuits
• Acknowledge God in our goal setting

This is a list that could easily be extended to include ten blogs!  The legendary Confederate general, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, said, “I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God’s blessing.”  When we acknowledge God in praise and thanksgiving, we are telling Him just how important He really is to us.  And what Father does not want his children to tell him how much he matters to them?

2. Accept His Providence

We give God thanks and praise when we accept His providence, regardless of what it is.  Unlike the Israelites who whined, grumbled, and complained after having been released from over 400 years in bondage in

Egypt – because there wasn’t enough variety in the menu – we are to accept whatever God delivers to us, knowing that not a bird falls to the ground apart from His will (Matthew 10:29).

Nothing happens to us that does not first pass through

The nail-scarred hands of our sovereign Savior.

It’s easy for you and me to accept those pleasurable providences that beam down on us when the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy.  But how willing are we to accept painful providences?

One thing is sure:

It would be a whole lot harder to endure the storms

Without having the Bible to read and reflect on.

After reading so many stories of saints who endured unimaginably painful providences and still blessed God in the midst of them, we can draw strength to face anything that comes our way.

We need only to gaze upon Golgotha’s Hill and see our Lord – broken, bleeding, and nailed to that dirty tree – to be reminded of the ultimate painful providence that you and I will never have to endure.  And through it all, Jesus gave praise and thanksgiving to His Father in heaven: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

He took God’s cup of wrath that was meant For you and me

. . . so that we would never have to.

Wherever you are today in celebrating Thanksgiving Day, whether with family or friends or by yourself, remember to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.

You’ll be blessed and God will be glorified.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I want to unpack a concept of “Living A Thankful Life.”  We will see what the Bible teaches about this kind of life that God want every believer to life.  It entails three primary areas of living out our Christian faith: what we think, what we do, and what we say.  I am only going to focus on one verse of Scripture for each topic; I encourage you to find others that will strengthen your commitment to life for God’s glory and for the good of others.

Today we’ll look at what the Bible teaches about our thought life.  The Bible says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such thing.”

You won’t find any of what some call “stinking-thinking” in this command from God! Notice that I said command.  This is as much a command from God as any of the ten that were inscribed by the finger of God on the tablets of stone and given to Moses on Mount Sinai.  Here the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, described the thought life of those who are committed to living a thankful life . . . regardless of the cost or circumstance.

I say “regardless of the cost or circumstance” because Paul did not qualify this divine imperative with words like, “Think such thoughts when all is going well in your life – when the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy and the sun is shining brightly.”  He simply said that we are to think about such things as a way of living a thankful life before the face of God.

Paul explained that the only way that this will be a mark in the life of the Christian is to keep our thoughts focused on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. And what will stimulate such thoughts?  Where will we be exposed to these qualities? Not in the newspaper . . . not in magazines . . . not in movies or music . . . certainly not on television or the Internet!  This kind of thinking will only be found and forged by being immersed in the Word of God.

The only way we will think God’s thoughts

After Him is to know God’s thoughts;

And the only way to know God’s thoughts

Is to read, study, and marinate in His true,

Noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable Word.

So . . . how are you doing in the area of thinking?  How much time are you spending in God’s Word each day?  Each week?  Each month?  Remember . . .

The book you don’t read won’t help you

. . . And that truism most definitely includes the Bible.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating our very soul and spirit, but . . .

It will not have that effect in the lives of those who do not read it!

I can tell you that one of the best things Kay and I have done is to read through the Bible in one year.  Our church family gathers each week to study through the Bible during our small group Bible Study Classes and during worship.  God uses these opportunities to help us become, and stay, grounded in the Word of God.

Perhaps this blog today is that gentle and providential “push” for you too.  Make no mistake;

Living a thankful life will only happen

When we are very intentional

About what we put in to our minds.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  As we enter into the week of thanksgiving it would serve us well to take a moment to reflect on the countless blessings our Lord has given to us throughout this year.  At the Davis home we share what we are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day as we sit at the table before the meal.

We have a tendency to clearly remember “the bad stuff” that happens throughout the year; it is all too easy to forget about the all the good that God has done for us.

Recalling our blessings helps to

Bring God’s goodness into focus

And provides a great record

To look back on in years to come.

The purpose of all of our Thanksgiving celebrations should be to cause us to return to what the psalmist said in Psalm 119:57 – “The Lord is my portion.”

This anchors the key to thanksgiving.

If we are not careful, we can consider God’s blessings to be rooted in possessions rather than a Person . . .

• Family
• Home
• Health
• Job
• Friends

Yet . . .

No matter how full our wallets or how large our homestead,

When the Lord is our portion, we have everything!

You can have all the gold in the world, but without God you are the poorest person who ever lived.

Sadly, many Christians seek to find their happiness and fulfillment in people and the things of this world.

• They crave the applause of men.
• They work for the approval of others.
• They long for the affection of another.

And when they get it, they have received their reward in full.  At the end of the day, unless the Lord is your ultimate happiness and fulfillment, your life will leave you empty and aching.

May these words from the great Charles Spurgeon inspire you this Thanksgiving season:

“But when thou hast God for thy portion, thou hast more than all else put together.  In Him every want is met, whether in life or in death.  With God for thy portion thou are rich indeed, for He will supply thy need, comfort they heart, assuage thy grief, guide thy steps, be with thee in the dark valley, and then take thee home, to enjoy Him as thy portion forever.”

I encourage you to take a few moments to prayerfully consider all that God has blessed you with this year.  Write it down and share it with your family.

Make sure that at the very top of your list you have the Master as your portion,

Because when you have Him, you do indeed have everything.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  The Bible says this about Paul in Acts 23:11, “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

I have a word of tremendous comfort for you today, which is rooted in the passage from which our verse was taken.  We read in the book of Acts that the apostle Paul was in harm’s way after having confronted the hypocrisy and unbelief of the Jewish religious leaders.  The uproar was so furious that the Roman guard took Paul away and put him into their barracks for his own protection.  While some of the religious leaders were plotting to kill Paul, the Lord Himself appeared to Paul and told Paul that he was, in a word, untouchable because God was not finished with him yet.

And the same is true for you and me!

The Bible makes it clear that we are all

“Immortal” until our work is done.

God’s purposes will be accomplished,

And

Nothing and no one can stand in His way.

It mattered not that the corrupt religious leaders had conspired to kill the apostle Paul.  In fact, Scripture tells us that “there were more than forty who formed this conspiracy” (Acts 23:13), but forty men were no match for God because God was not finished with Paul yet. The whole world could have taken its stand against Paul, but it would have been impotent to do anything to him while the Omnipotent Lord of the universe had more work for Paul to do.

Make no mistake, when your work for the Lord is done,

He will usher you into His eternal presence

Along with all the saints of God.

But that will not happen

One moment before you have

Completed your assignment here on earth.

So, as the angel of the Lord said to Paul, “Be of good cheer! . . . we can take comfort and hope in God because He is not finished with you yet.

As an ambassador of the Almighty,

Your safe passage is guaranteed

While you are fulfilling

Your service for your Savior.

As a disciple of Jesus, you have been called to testify to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Every child of God has been given the assignment of participating in the expansion of the kingdom of God.  Is there anything currently in your life that looks like it will keep you from fulfilling your calling?  Remember. . .

The Lord is standing right by your side

Every step of the way into glory.

He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you.

So be at peace as you participate in the greatest work

On this side of the grave: witnessing to Jesus Christ.

Let this truth sink in and ultimately set you free:

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion,

Regardless of the cost or circumstances you face (Philippians 1:6).

You can count on that truth as absolute certainty, because greater is He who is in you than the one who is in this world. No weapon formed against you will keep you from finishing the work God has set before you; because under the care of the Almighty, you are UNTOUCHABLE!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”