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  Religion
Expressing Thankfulness By Pastor Phillip Howle web posted November 25, 2009 RELIGION – Thankfulness to God is a recognition that God, in His goodness and faithfulness, has provided for us and cared for us, both physically and spiritually. It is a recognition that we are totally dependent upon Him; that all that we are and have comes from God. Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness NavPress, 1996, p. 100 Preoccupied with ourselves, we have lost the grace of being thankful. It is sad to live in a world where there is no one to thank because we have ourselves become the cause and source of all good things. John Hanna, To God be the Glory, Crossway, 2000, p. 11. Happy Thanksgiving Edgefield Daily Readers! I am Phillip Howle pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. I was thinking of things that I was thankful for today, when I realized that I forgot so many things I should have expressed gratitude for. I can be very ungrateful at times, which is a particularly disgusting sin. I had the displeasure of remembering one incident in my life as a child. As a little boy I grew up in a solidly middle class family in Greenwood, SC. My mom stayed at home to take care of me and my sister which was a financial sacrifice for the family. Christmas time was drawing near and I wanted a new bike and needed a new bike. I had managed to put a sword through the front spokes of my old one which ruined the sword, ruined the front rim of the bike, and ruined my face and hands. Bad day. So, Christmas came and I really wanted a Diamond Back bicycle. They were a few hundred bucks. I asked and asked and I knew the response was a “I don’t think so honey they are pretty expensive.” I remember being little and seeing the hurt that my asking and my parents inability to provide one caused for them. Then on Christmas morning, I got a really neat bright yellow Huffy (good Wal-Mart bike), which had heavy plastic wheels. My dad assured me it could take a sword. But, it was not the Diamond Back that I selfishly wanted Then to make matters worse my friend down the street whose parents were divorced got two diamond back bicycles. I remember saying “man I wish yall were divorced.” Wow! Here I was a child with two wonderful, loving, Christian parents trying to provide for me the best they could afford and I had no thanks and no gratitude. All my parents wanted me to do was to ride the bike and enjoy it. But I failed to enjoy the bike and that was a sin. I can relate to my parents. I always plan time in my week to spend time with my son, Cason. Just to go eat a Happy Meal or go to the park or play in the woods. But, there are times when he is whiney the whole time and fussy. He fails to see that all I wanted him to do was enjoy the day. My son is not a bad kid, he is just like you and me. Let me paint you another picture. Imagine you invite over your friends and you clean the house, spend money on great food, make some of you best dishes, and are so excited to have over your friends; you can’t wait, the cooking and cleaning as been a joy. But, when they get there, they are 45 minutes late, they point out that you failed to dust your mantle, they critique your cooking, and when you offer desert they say they better run on home. They never even said thanks. You are devastated; all you wanted them to do was enjoy what you had prepared for them. You spent your time, energy and effort cooking and they can’t enjoy it or even show and ounce of gratitude. I mean all they had to do was show up and enjoy. When we fail to show thankfulness to God for all that he has done, we become the snotty ingrates who Paul speaks of in Romans 1:21-22 & 25 “For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. (22) Claiming to be wise, they became fools…They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is blessed forever.” So everyday not just on Thanksgiving, let us live out Paul’s exhortation to the church at Thessalonica in 1 Thes. 5:16-18 “Rejoice always! Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” So let us live out this Thanksgiving Day the Westminster Confessions’ exhortation to “Glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” Praying You Have A Grateful Thanksgiving, Pastor Phillip Feel free to contact with me any questions or comments at philliphowle@hotmail.com You can also check out my devotional blog at http://www.philliphowle.com. Or you can stop by and see me on Sunday Morning at 11:00 am at Antioch Baptist Church. © Copyright 2009
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