Today's Daily Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 4 through 8:
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Over and over again as we read the Epistles in the New Testament we see thanksgiving. It is a hallmark of Paul's letters; and it is meant to be a hallmark of the community itself.
As Christian people we give thanks. Of course, others do also; and we give thanks for that! We join in giving thanks for all of the abundance with which we all have been blessed. For we know, all good gifts come from above.
Todays is Thanksgiving; and of course this has been a difficult year. But that makes practicing gratitude even more important. Let us remember that Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came amidst mounting casualties from the scourge of war and draft riots that threatened the integrity of the Union itself. And let us remember that when these epistles were first written they were read by people living under constant turmoil, uncertainty, and even persecution. Yet; they gave thanks.
And we are called to give thanks too. We are called to be a thankful people.
So come, ye thankful people come into this day of thanksgiving with gratitude for all God's gifts great and small.
NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapters 5-8.
No comments:
Post a Comment