Let Us Be Thankful

This past year has certainly shaken things up quite a bit – the corona virus, with its unemployment and financial struggles, record number of fires and hurricanes, to name a few of the ways. With all that has happened it can be difficult to feel thankful.

Too often when we give thanks to God our minds are preoccupied with material things. Things like food, health, finances, maybe other people, etc. These are all good and God delights to give us good things, but they are also just temporary, able to go as easily as they came. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we have something much better to be thankful for.

Hebrews 12:28–29 NIV84

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

What are we to be thankful for?

The writer of Hebrews points us to something eternal, lasting forever, a kingdom which cannot be shaken. This is what we want to be thankful for above all else. We are receiving a kingdom.

Daniel 7:18 But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

Matthew 25:34 NIV84

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

Those who belong to God will receive a place in God’s kingdom, under the rule of God and Christ.

Unlike this world, the coming kingdom will be unshakeable. Earthly kingdoms come and go, even the most powerful nations sooner or later pass away. Even the heavens and earth will be removed to make way for the new heaven and new earth where God alone is ruler.

What is the kingdom

This is not some earthly kingdom, bounded by borders and based on political power. Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). It is the rule of God over all people, begun by Jesus Christ at His first coming and completed at His return as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

The kingdom is God’s people, who live in His presence, who seek to know and do His will, whose one goal is to glorify Him in all things. God people practice righteousness, live in peace with others and experience the joy of Jesus Christ. We become one of His people when we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior and submit to Him as our Lord.

It is not something that we establish. It is made possible by the sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross, reconciling us to God, and making it possible for us to become its citizens.

We are receiving it, but it isn’t fully here yet. It’s like being given a trust fund. It’s our but we don’t get to fully enjoy it yet.

How do we show our thanks?

Not just by words. It’s to easy to say thank you with out really being grateful.

Worshiping God – serving Him, showing Him that we truly appreciate all He does for us.

Acceptably – not what pleases us but what pleases Him. Jesus told the woman at the well that God desires to be worshiped in spirit and in truth. This means that believers regard every aspect of their lives as an expression of their devotion to Him.

With reverence and awe – having a due sense of the majesty and holiness of the God we worship. We must know and understand that God remains a “consuming fire” and that acceptable worship takes place when there is authentic “reverence and awe.” Remembering that when the kingdom comes it will bring judgment, the fire of God’s holiness consuming and removing all that is not of righteousness.

All that is built on the sand and not the rock will fall down and be washed away,

All that is built of wood, hay, or stubble and not gold, silver and precious gems will be burned up.

Psalm 116:12–19 NIV84

How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving may we not focus on the things we don’t have, on what we aren’t able to do, or the situations we don’t like. Let us also not just give thanks for the material things we have – a roof over our heads, food on the table, people to share it with. This is a time to show gratitude to God, as every day should be, for the greatness of his love and mercy, for His grace shown to us, for his calling of us to be His people, for the knowledge that there is a place prepared for us in His eternal kingdom.

2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV84

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!