THE GRACE OF GRATITUDE

“Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col. 1:12-13 NKJV).

Believers please God when we joyfully give thanks to the Father for the blessings of salvation. Here the apostle Paul spells out the blessings of salvation for which we are to give thanks - God qualified us, rescued us, and brought us into a new kingdom.

“God has qualified us” - We did not qualify ourselves by our moral achievements or personal worthiness. In grace, God qualifies us when we trust Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sin. That this salvation is ours by grace is seen in our participation in the inheritance. We did not earn an inheritance. We receive it.

“God has rescued us” - As light is of God, darkness is of the evil one. He who is under the rule of the evil one is under the power of darkness. God has delivered Christians from the power of darkness, from the service and dominion of the evil one.

“God has brought us into a new kingdom” - God has transferred us; He has moved us from one place to another. He has taken us from Satan’s dark domain and placed us into the bright light of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. No change in a person’s life is more important as this. And no words can suitably express the gratitude which we should feel for being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to that of light. Therefore, we simply are to joyfully give thanks.

(Adapted from Holman NT Commentary)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“He who forgets the language of gratitude is not likely to be on speaking terms with God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Driven

In Jam. 3:4 we read, “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires” (NKJV).

Driven is the Greek word elaunō (ἐλαύνω =el-ow'-no). It means to urge, drive or propel along. In classical Greek, elaunō conveys the idea of driving, urging, or impelling. Sometimes elaunō was used to describe the act of striking with a weapon and forging metal. In the New Testament elaunō carries the simple idea of driving, whether by physical or spiritual means. It is applied to ships driven by oars (Mark 6:48, John 6:19) or wind (James 3:4), to men driven by demons (Luke 8:29), and clouds driven by wind (2 Peter 2:17). The implication in each case is the ability of the subject to control the destiny and direction of the object being driven.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would defeat death (Hosea 13:14)

New Testament Fulfillment – 1 Cor. 15:55-57

Did You Know…

In the Bible it states that the Lord Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37).

Bible Quiz

According to 1 Timothy, how should all food be received and why?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Philippians, how should we make our requests known to God? “By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“Yahweh Rapha”

"And said, if you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you” (Ex. 15:26).

1. Meaning – Yahweh Rapha means “The Lord our healer.” God is declaring that He is the Healer or the Great Physician who heals both body and spirit.

2. Insights – In context, Israel has traveled three days into the wilderness of Shur without water until they came to Marah. However, they could not drink the water because it was bitter (the word Marah means bitter). God responded mercifully to Moses’ prayer and made the water drinkable. God leads us to bitter wells to show us that He is the healer. He only expects one thing from us – obedience. This is the blueprint for blessings. His promise is “I will none of these diseases upon you.” When we put our faith and trust in the Lord, He will take the bitter experiences of our lives and make them sweet.

Did You Know – Christian History

Samson Occom was born in 1723 on a Mohegan settlement in southeastern Connecticut. He was a Native American minister, missionary, and writer.

Occom’s mother was a direct descendant of the Mohegan leader, Uncas. As a teenager, Occom taught himself to read and write in order to understand better the Biblical. As a consequence, he put his faith in Jesus Christ.

In 1743 Occom went to study with Rev. Eleazar Wheelock who ran a school. Since his conversion, Occom had shared the gospel with other Indians. Despite poor eyesight, he became one of the first American Indians to publish works in the English language. These included sermons, hymns and a short autobiography.

Word of Occom’s work among the Native Americans impressed American religious leaders. Meanwhile, Presbyterian leaders in Long Island took notice of Occom’s work. He had not been able to go to college and get his theological training because of his poor eyesight; nonetheless, they ordained him on August 30, 1759, to go as a missionary among his own people. To its shame, the church never paid Occom what it paid its white preachers. But despite his deep poverty and continual bad health, he worked tirelessly to convert Native Americans and to pass on to them the things he had learned in school.

Rev. Wheelock found that few Native Americans attended his school. He realized this was because it was far from centers frequented by the Native Americans. Looking about for a new location, he settled on the Connecticut Valley of New Hampshire. He solicited funds to build a Native American school there, but the settlers were not too receptive to the idea. Rev. Wheelock realized he would have to raise the money overseas. This is the reason Occom made a trip to England in 1765.

Preaching from church to church with his traveling companion Rev. Daniel Whitaker, Occom was a sensation, drawing large crowds. He raised the enormous sum of twelve thousand pounds. Unfortunately, Rev. Wheelock did not abide by his original intent. Instead of using the money primarily for Native American education, he diverted it to the education of “English” youth. Nonetheless, it is because of Occom that the institution we know as Dartmouth University was created.

Occom realized he had been used and felt betrayed. In spite of his pain, he clung even more tightly to Christ. To the end of his life, he preached among the Native American tribes and also pleaded for their rights and privileges. Occom died July 14, 1792. He had just completed writing an article and collapsed while walking back to the house. Hundreds of Native Americans attended his funeral.

A Little Humor

Sunday school teacher: Tell me, Johnny, “Do you say prayers before eating?”

Johnny: “No, ma’am, I don’t have to. My Mum’s a good cook.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Law condemns the best man; grace saves the worst man!”