Still Much for Which to Be Thankful

By David R. Ferguson       David wrote in Psalm 8:1, “O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the Earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens.”     We are fast approaching our national holiday called Thanksgiving, and even though we are finding ourselves living in a time in which rampant evil seems to run amok, a time similar to that of the Prophet Isaiah who quotes the Lord as saying in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter,” we still have much for which we can give thanks.     We still have our Lord! We still have a loving Father Who was willing to send His one and only begotten Son to die in our place for our sins.     We still have Jesus Christ, the very Living Word of God, Who submitted Himself to do His Father’s will in all things and He suffered Himself to die in our place. And it wasn’t just any death, it was a terribly painful and humiliating death in which He was found nailed to a Cross as if He was a common criminal, suspended between Heaven and Earth, with a robber at each side.     We should never let circumstances dictate whether or not we will be joyful and give thanks to the Lord. Our Lord is faithful. And He will keep the promises He has given to us, promises that only belong to those who are one of His own. Only those who are in Christ, putting on His robes at baptism (Galatians 3:27), are given the promise of the complete forgiveness of our sins. Only those who have surrendered their own wills to those of the Father above will be granted eternal life. Only those who come to the Lord in obedient, saving faith will get to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). Only those who are of His fold are given the privilege of using the term of endearment, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15), and only they are allowed to approach the throne of grace boldly (Hebrews 4:16). For all these blessings, as well as for countless more, those of us covered in the blood of Jesus Christ can shout out a resoundingly loud praise of love and thanksgiving to the One Who has made it all possible for us to live with Him forevermore! Glory and majesty are His, and He alone is worthy of our worship.

- David R. Ferguson preaches for the Mentor Church of Christ in Mentor, OH.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://mentorchurchofchrist.com/ or davidferguson61@yahoo.com