“Rejoice in the Lord always (delight, take pleasure in Him); again I say, rejoice! Let your reasonableness be known to all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything, but in every circumstance, by prayer and thanksgiving, let your specific requests be known to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard over your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things – center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart.” Philippians 4:4-8 AMP
Thanksgiving is a uniquely Christian holiday in a (formerly) uniquely Christian nation. The base condition of sin is thanklessness…the refusal to give thanks. The basis of living in grace is gratitude. The reality of salvation should produce in our hearts the overwhelming joy of one who’s lawless deeds are forgiven. Many churches labor intensely over evangelical programs. Do you know what the greatest outreach tool in the world is?
Christians. That is, persons that live honestly in light of the fact that Jesus Christ is their Lord and by whom they have access, through faith, to the Father. True joy in the Lord, and deep knowledge of His word, so that it bubbles up in your conversations, is the greatest evangelical tool in the world. The reason that this is rare is because there’s far too much world in the Christian and too little Christian in the world. To rejoice in the Lord is to revel in His word.
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