A Time for Thoughts About the Lord

By Nathan L. Morrison 09/21/13 The holiday season is upon us. A time of praise and thanksgiving, a time for celebrating family and friendships, a time of giving and receiving, and often a time for reflection on the blessings from God. As Christians, we dont celebrate Christmas time as the world does: as a religious holiday celebrating Christs birth. In fact, some Christians dont celebrate it at all in any form, to make a definitive distinction between them and the world. Other saints use this time of year to celebrate their own family traditions without mention of Christmas, with some calling it a winter holiday. Then there are those saints who celebrate it as my family did when I was growing up, and am now passing it down to my children: we celebrate this time of year in the commercial sense! To us growing up, Christmas meant Santa, the elves and reindeer, and had nothing to do with religion. My parents told us very early on (as far back as I can remember) that Christmas was a time to play the Santa Game. So we played the game by leaving milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, and checking our Stockings early Christmas morning. There is nothing wrong in how you choose to celebrate this time of year as long as you dont bind your opinion on others. Paul told the saints at Colosse, No one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day (NAS: Colossians 2:16), and also told the saints at Rome, One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike (NAS: Romans 14:5). As Christians, regardless of how you choose to celebrate this time of year (or not celebrate), we ought to take time and direct our thoughts about the Lord and what He has done for us. No matter what time of year it is, tis always the season for thanksgiving and praise! The Windows of Heaven In my family growing up, the holiday season began with Thanksgiving, and we were taught in the following days leading up to Christmas that it was a time to reflect on Gods blessings, and that it is better to give than to receive (NAS: Acts 20:35). In considering the holidays as a time for thoughts about the Lord, a passage in Malachi leaps out in my mind, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows (NAS: Malachi 3:10). In telling the Israelites who returned from exile to be obedient, God promises to bless them for their faithfulness. Consider just how blessed we are that God opened the windows of Heaven and sent us His Son to die in our place, shedding His precious blood to wash away the sins of the world! For those obedient to the gospel and remain faithful, the blessings from God overflow! We have a spiritual family the world over, forgiveness of our sins, a Mediator between us and God (Jesus Himself), and the peace of mind and soul knowing if we die having been faithful until death (NAS: Revelation 2:10) we have a home with God Almighty in His eternal abode! The windows of Heaven opened and the Holy Spirit was sent to guide the apostles into all the truth (NAS: John 16:13). What a blessing it is to have the word of God preserved for us so that we may know the mind of God, to know there are two eternal destinations and that we get to choose in this life where we will spend eternity! From that word, we also know one day the windows of Heaven will open once more to send Christ the Savior back to gather up His saints and deal out retribution to those have opposed Him, to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel (NAS: 2 Thessalonians 1:8). What a blessed day for the faithful, and a terrifying day for the wicked. A familiar hymn we sing, Revive Us Again (1863) by William Paton Mackay (1839-1885) reminds us to be thankful for these three things from God: For sending His Son to redeem us from our sins, sending the Holy Spirit to reveal His word and will for our lives, and for sending His Son again to judge the world and grant eternal life to the faithful. May we ever give God the glory, praise, and thanksgiving due Him for all He has done for us! Give Thanks to God Always Saints are told to be always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God (NAS: Ephesians 5:19-20). This means it doesnt matter what time of year it is, it is always the

right time to give thanks and praise to God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us! The life of a Christian is to be categorized as grateful, or thankful (Colossians 2:7). Ingratitude can be seen in the attitudes and actions of many people today. Many children fail to be thankful for the blessings provided them by their parents. Parents sometimes fail to show gratitude to their children for what they accomplish. Many husbands and wives fail to show proper appreciation for each other. Sometimes even as Christians we may not be thankful enough for each other. We may not be appreciative enough for the blessings we enjoy in Christ. Saints must be careful to have an attitude of gratitude, lest we fall into the sin of ingratitude! We may not think of it much, but ingratitude is a sin because the Scriptures teach that ingratitude is a trait of the wicked (Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:2). To be ungrateful is to be like the butler that forgot Joseph after he foretold that the butler would be restored and asked him to remember him when it happened (Genesis 40:14, 21, 23); or to be like the nine lepers Jesus healed and didnt come back to thank Him (Luke 17:11-19). The account of the Ten Lepers is a reminder to us of the kind of hearts we are to have. Jesus asked the one leper who came back, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? (NKJ: Lk. 17:17) As the holidays approach, and our attention may turn to hosting get-togethers, family staying over, planning a menu for family and loved ones, shopping for the perfect gift(s) for one another, let us take time to reflect on the Lord and have the attitude of giving thanks always for all things! Count Your Blessings Paul told the saints at Ephesus, Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever (NAS: Ephesians 3:20-21) The word he used to describe far more abundantly is the Greek word huper (G5228) and basically means super abundant, which Paul describes as being beyond all that we ask or think. No wonder our lives are to be characterized as grateful! The life of a Christian is not to be a life of dismal sadness, but one of happiness and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:4, 6) because of the hope that is in us (Eternal life)! How can we express our thanksgiving to God, Who supplies blessings beyond all that we ask or think? After seeing that thankfulness is a trait of the faithful (Ephesians 5:3-4, 19-20), we can also see ways to express it in Colossians 3:12-17. Our lives are to be thankful (3:15), we are to sing with thankfulness in our hearts to God (3:16), and we are to give thanks through Christ to God the Father (3:17). So we see it is an attitude of life and gratitude expressed through song and prayer. David gave thanks to God as the Ark was brought into Jerusalem, and all the people there sang their thanksgiving and praise to God (1 Chronicles 15:26-28; 16:4-7, 8-36). In times of joy, celebration, in times of distress and need, we ought to express our thanks to God for all He has done for us! Another familiar hymn we sing, Count Your Blessings (1897) by Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856-1922) reminds us to Count your many blessings, name them one by one! There is no better way to reflect on the blessings of God than to count your blessings! Can it even be done? A tradition in my family at the holidays was to take turns saying what we were thankful for. It caused us to focus our minds on being grateful rather than covetous. As we take time to think about the Lord this holiday season, remember that giving thanks to God is an honor and blessing for those who are His children. As children of God we have so much to be thankful for. Whatever season we find ourselves celebrating, let us take time to reflect on the blessings of God, and may we ever give thanks always for all things to God!

Nathan L Morrison is an evangelist at the Funny River Rd. church of Christ in Soldotna, Alaska, husband to Becky Morrison, and father of two children, a daughter (age 8) and son (age 6).

A Time For Thoughts About the Lord by Nathan L Morrison @ darkwolf11@hotmail.com