And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that
calleth you, who also will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 KJV
It
is a peculiar thing about the human race. All of us in one way or another have
a tendency to put ourselves first. We are selfish from the womb (See Proverbs
22:15). Without the Lord in our lives we are bent on sin. Some of us dwell on
our failures. In this way we are preoccupied with ourselves and do not care for
the needs of others as we should. Others seek to gratify themselves and have a
tendency to be prideful. The cure for both types of selfishness is Jesus.
When
we come to Christ confessing our sins and bowing before his throne, we receive
God’s gift of eternal life. For this, we should overflow with thanksgiving. But
it is not only salvation that is a gift from God. Our sanctification, or growing
up in Him, is also a gift from God. We cannot claim any right for any ounce of
spiritual maturity that we may possess in the Lord. It is all a gift. Sure we
must work with him to grow in our faith, but even our ability to follow Him is given
by God. Our talents and our treasures are also a gift from God. So there is no
room for boasting.
If
your walk with God seems more like a limp, if you are prone to falling, know
that God is close to the brokenhearted. He loves you and His promise is that He
is faithful to help us overcome. All of us fall. All of us sin at times, but
the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him.
Because of his mercy we can be thankful.
So
let’s thank God for his many blessings in our lives. Let’s not be proud like
the world believing that all we have is because of our own striving or
intellect. Let’s choose to be humble and thank God for his many blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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