Did you know that the word “thankful” appears in only three places in th Bible? “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Many people are thankful for their health, strength, life and blessings—but, what are you thankful for?  Can we think of anything else for which to be thankful?  And, how much should we be thankful for?

“It is Satan’s plan to talk about that which concerns himself. He is delighted to have human beings talk of his power, of his working thru the children of men, but by indulgence in such conversation the mind becomes gloomy and sour and disagreeable. We may become channels of communication for Satan thru which words bring no sunshine to the heart. But let us decide that this shall not be. Let us decide not to be channels thru which Satan shall send gloomy disagreeable thoughts. Let our words be not a savor of death unto death, but of life unto life, in the words we speak to the people and in the prayers we offer. God desires us to give unmistakable evidences that we have a spiritual life. We do not enjoy the fulness of the blessing which the Lord has prepared for us because we do not ask in faith. If we would exercise faith in the word of the living God, we should have the richest blessings. We dishonor God by our lack of faith; therefore we can not impart life to others unless we ourselves bear a living, uplifting testimony. We cannot give that which we do not possess. If we will walk humbly with God, if we will walk in the spirit of Christ, none of us will carry heavy burdens. We shall lay them on the great burden-bearer. Then we may expect triumphs in the presence of God, in the communion of His love. Every campmeeting may be a love feast from the beginning to the end because God’s presence is with His people. All heaven is interested in our salvation. The angels of God, thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand are commissioned ministers to those who shall be heirs of salvation. They guard us against evil and press back the powers of darkness that are seeking our destruction. Have we not reason to be thankful every moment; thankful even when there are apparent difficulties in our pathway? The Lord Himself is our Helper.”  –Loma Linda Messages, p. 537

What is this passage telling us?  How much of the good things that we have, do we really deserve?  Nothing, really.  We deserve what happened to Christ on the cross and  Satan desires to destroy all of us.  All that the Lord would have to do is withdraw from anyone of us, and we would perish in spiritual darkness, and perhaps perish physically, also.

“But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him also will I deny before My Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Matthew 10:33–36

“He who would confess Christ must have Christ abiding in him. He cannot communicate that which he has not received. The disciples might speak fluently on doctrines, they might repeat the words of Christ Himself; but unless they possessed Christlike meekness and love, they were not confessing Him. A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny Him, whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evilspeaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny Him by shunning life’s burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny Him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwelling in darkness. In all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them. And ‘whosoever shall deny Me before men,’ He says, ‘him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.’” –The Desire of Ages, p. 357

 

The above statement lists a lot of ways that we can deny Christ. According to this definition, are not most professing Christians denying Christ, today?  Yes, sad to say they are.

I saw an interesting documentary the other night about Adolf Hitler,  and I was struck by just how much Hitler’s mind parallels the way that all of society is going—very deceived, therefore very deceptive, unbalanced, perverse and unhappy.

Is not that exactly the way that all of society is going? “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37. “The Saviour bade His disciples not to hope that the world’s enmity to the gospel would be overcome, and that after a time its opposition would cease. And what does this mean that He said?, ‘I came not to send peace, but a sword.’ This creating of strife is not the effect of the gospel, but the result of opposition to it.” –Ibid., p. 35

It  was not Jesus that caused all of this strife, but rather it was opposition to Him and the truths that He taught, that causes all of the strife.

“Of all persecution the hardest to bear is variance in the home, the estrangement of dearest earthly friends. But Jesus declares, ‘He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.’”  –Ibid., p. 357

Just the other day on Facebook I saw a post on how an individual was  a proud follower of Jesus,  and so I commented on how that was kind of an oxymoron—for Jesus will lay our pride in the dust.  I posed the question as to whether that individual really knew the grace of God, since they were so proud?  I wonder why my comments did not stay posted very long on that Facebook page—maybe they did not want anyone to be seen asking that type of question.  How about a humble follower of Jesus?

“And whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me.” Matthew 18:5

“The mission of Christ’s servants is a high honor, and a sacred trust. ‘He that receiveth you,’ He says, ‘receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.’ No act of kindness shown to them in His name will fail to be recognized and rewarded. And in the same tender recognition He includes the feeblest and lowliest of the family of God: ‘Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones’—those who are as children in their faith and their knowledge of Christ—‘a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in nowise lose his reward.’ Thus the Saviour ended His instruction. In the name of Christ the chosen twelve went out, as He had gone.” Ibid., p. 357

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18–19

“The reason that we carelessly indulge in sin is that we do not see Jesus. We would not lightly regard sin, did we appreciate the fact that sin wounds our Lord. . . . A right estimate of the character of God would enable us rightly to represent Him to the world. Harshness, roughness in words or manner, evil-speaking, passionate words, cannot exist in the soul that is looking unto Jesus. He who abides in Christ is in an atmosphere that forbids evil, and gives not the slightest excuse for anything of this kind. Spiritual life is not nourished from within, but draws its nutrition from Christ, as the branch does from the vine. We are dependent upon Christ every moment; He is our source of supply. All our outside forms, prayers, fastings, and alms-giving cannot take the place of the inward work of the Spirit of God on the human heart.”  –Sons and Daughters of God, p. 290

Why do we so carelessly sin?  It is because we do not keep Jesus before us, and we do not cultivate thankfulness for all that He has done for us.

“When one is fully emptied of self, when every false god is cast out of the soul, the vacuum is filled by the inflowing of the Spirit of Christ. Such a one has the faith that purifies the soul from defilement. . . . He is a branch of the True Vine, and bears rich clusters of fruit to the glory of God. What is the character of the fruit borne?—The fruit of the Spirit is ‘love,’ not hatred; ‘joy,’ not discontent and mourning; ‘peace,’ not irritation, anxiety, and manufactured trials. It is ‘long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.’

“One branch is not to borrow its sustenance from another. Our life must come from the parent vine. It is only by personal union with Christ, by communion with Him daily, hourly, that we can bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. . . . Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness, all depend on our union with Christ and the degree of faith we exercise in Him.” –Ibid., p. 290

I heard a very interesting statement made by a psychologist on the radio the other day. He said  that our source of happiness must come from outside: This makes sense—but only if that source comes from God.  Otherwise, we can easily be manipulated by another human being and

lose sight of true happiness.

“And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:73–75

How was it with Peter, after He had denied Christ?

He knew what He had done, because Jesus had told him ahead of time what he was going to do.  The real problem with Peter was that He did not know himself. Unless you and I understand ourselves, and our absolute need of God’s power to sustain and help us, we will end up denying Jesus, just like Peter did.

“He [Judas] . . . did not become transformed, and converted into a living branch through connection with the True Vine. This dry sapling adhered not to the Vine until it grew into a fruitful, living branch. He revealed that he was the graft that did not bear fruit,—the graft that did not, fiber by fiber and vein by vein, become knit with the Vine, and partake of its life.

“The dry, disconnected sapling can become one with the parent vine stock only by being made a partaker of the life and nourishment of the living vine, by being grafted into the vine, by being brought into the closest relationship possible. . . . The twig holds fast to the life-giving vine, until the life of the vine becomes the life of the branch, and it produces fruit like that of the vine.

“‘I am the vine,’ said Christ; ‘ye are the branches.’ The closest possible connection is here represented. Engraft the leafless twig upon the flourishing vine stock, and it becomes a living branch, drawing sap and nourishment from the vine. Fiber by fiber, vein by vein, the sapling clings, until it buds and blossoms and bears fruit. The sapless twig represents the sinner. When united to Christ, soul is joined to soul, the feeble and finite to the holy and infinite, and man becomes one with Christ.

“The apparently dry branch, by being connected with the living vine, becomes a part of it. . . . The soul, dead in trespasses and sins, must experience a similar process. . . . As the graft receives life when united to the vine, so the sinner partakes of the divine nature when connected with Christ. Finite man is united with the infinite God. When thus united, the words of Christ abide in us, and we are not actuated by a spasmodic feeling, but a living, abiding principle.” –Ibid., p. 291

How many times was Peter reproved by Christ?  Many. And how many times was Judas reproved?  Almost none—at least until the very last, and even that Jesus kept hidden from the rest of the disciples.

We have a choice—either abide in Christ, or, for sure, we will deny Him.  Waves of worldliness, pride, lust, anger—all of it are washing over us, and if anything of the world sticks upon us, we will be washed away from the rock, Christ Jesus.

“And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 7:30–32. We have to be in the world, and it is only as we are not of the world, that we can be safe and saved.

“In too many households, prayer is neglected. Parents feel they have no time for morning and evening worship. They cannot spare a few moments in which to give thanks to God for his abundant mercies,—for the blessed sunshine and the showers of rain, which cause vegetation to flourish, and for the guardianship of holy angels. They have no time to offer prayer for divine help and guidance, and for the abiding presence of Jesus in the household. They go forth to labor as the ox or the horse goes, without one thought of God or heaven. They have souls so precious that rather than permit them to be hopelessly lost, the Son of God gave His life to ransom them; but they have little more appreciation of His great goodness than have the beasts that perish.

“Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should erect an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble supplication for themselves and their children. Let the father, as priest of the household, lay upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and praise. In such a household, Jesus will love to tarry.” –Christian Education, p. 221

We will either deny Christ by failing to behold His great sacrifice in our behalf, or be thankful for what He has done, and truly live in the light of His presence, and know His salvation.

May the gracious God whom loves us so much, be the focus and interest of our look and attention, is my prayer. Amen.

Jerry Eaton