 7.
Thanksgiving -- Do the Right Thing
For the Christian, every day should be
Thanksgiving Day. We should even be thankful in the midst
of problems. The Apostle Paul said, "I am exceedingly
joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4).
He knew that God was working all things together for his
good, even though he was going through trials (Romans
8:28).
Problems will come your way. God will
see to it personally that you grow as a Christian. He
will allow the storms, to send your roots deep into
the soil of His Word. We pray more in the midst of problems,
but it's been well said that you will see more from
your knees, than you will on your tip toes.
A man once watched a butterfly struggling
to get out of its cocoon. In an effort to help it, he
took a razor blade, and carefully slit the edge of the
cocoon. The butterfly escaped from its problem . . .
and immediately died.
It is God's way to have the butterfly
struggle. It is the struggle that causes its tiny heart
to beat fast, and send the life's blood into its wings.
Trials have their purpose. They make
us struggle -- they bring us to our knees. They are
the cocoon in which we often find ourselves. It is there
that the life's blood of faith in God helps us spread
our wings.
Faith and thanksgiving are close friends.
If you have faith in God, you will be thankful because
you know His loving hand is upon you, even though you
are in a lion's den. That will give you a deep sense
of joy, and joy is the barometer of the depth of faith
you have in God. Let me give you an example. Imagine
if I said I would give you one million dollars if you
sent me an email. Of course, you don't believe that
I would do that. But imagine if you did. Imagine if
you had knowledge of more than 1,000 people who had
sent me an email, and every one received their million
dollars -- no strings attached. More than that. You
had actually called me, and I had assured you personally
that I would keep my word. If you believed me, wouldn't
you have joy? If you didn't believe me -- no joy. The
amount of joy you have would be a barometer as to how
much you believed my promise.
We have so much to be thankful for.
God has given us "exceeding great and precious
promises" that are "more to be desired than
gold." Do yourself a big favor -- believe those
promises, thank God continually for them, and "let
your joy be full."
An old farmer once had an ungodly relative
visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked
God for the food they were about to eat, the relative
rudely said, "What did you do that for? There's
no God. We live in an age of enlightenment." The
old farmer smiled and said, "There is one on the
farm who doesn't thank God before he eats." The
relative sat up and said, "Who is this enlightened
one?" To which the farmer quietly replied, "My
pig."
 The
next section is:
Baptism: Sprinkle
or Immerse?
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