A Spirit of Thanksgiving

You know, you never can anticipate what to expect when you show up at PeeWee's Place to join Torch Community Church for service on a Sunday morning. And this past Sunday morning certainly provided the evidence of that. We were throwing surprises at you from every angle. The entire worship experience seemed very backwards from a typical Sunday. Which in many ways provides for us a metaphor of the reversal that we need to have in turning our attitude of ingratitude into a spirit of thanksgiving.

We are truly a blessed people. And the extent in which we fail to realize that or even take advantage of it will in many ways determine the extent of God's continued blessings. For the Sunday before Thanksgiving, as well as communion Sunday, we examined another feast of sorts, the feeding of the 5,000. And in our study we understand that there are countless ways in which God is at work using our inadequate abilities and resources to work miracles in our church and lives. It then becomes in many ways our responsibility to develop and intentionality to recognizing and praising Him for his many blessings. 

But don't enter into this exercise lightly. For to recognize a reason to be thankful often comes purposed with a challenge for us in our daily living. I thank God that He's a big God, but this demands that I trust Him to provide in everything. I thank God that He has a plan, but this demands that I live without buffers, totally dependent on Him. I thank God that He doesn't need but wants to use me, however, this demands that I give everything I am to Him, that I give Him my all. These are just some examples from the story of the feeding of the 5000 in John 6! So be careful becoming a grateful Christian, because it in many ways challenges you to become a great Christian. Indeed, a grateful Christian is a great Christian.

So I challenge you to start keeping a list of praises. Starting today, write one thing every day for which you are thankful. Develop a system. Use a calendar. Work through the alphabet. Think of things that make you happy. But just do something to keep you thinking about thanking.

Pray for me, pray for Torch,
BJ Sanders 

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.