Saying “Thank You” by Faith

It’s easy to gloss over the words of Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everthing, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Our eyes naturally hit on the words:  ”anxious”, “everything”, “prayer and petition”, “present”, “peace of God”, “guard your heart”.  And from this we gather that in times of anxiety, we must pray, offer up our requests to God, and God will grant us peace.

But what about that word “thanksgiving”? We see it, but we figure it must be an odd appendage of “prayer and petition” and we think little of it since it doesn’t quite fit. How do you give thanks amidst of anxiety? Perhaps it’s some cursory thing–s a “thank you” tossed in at the beginning of our prayers.

Last week, I shared how actually the words “thank you” are critical. Gratitude is the posture with which we must pray all our prayers, especially the anxious ones. The peace of God is not a parting gift that comes after a haphazard litany of our concerns. The peace of God is what we receive when we come to our knees and choose to give thanks when our hearts only want to complain.

We thank God for his presence, his nearness. He is Immanuel. We thank God for his character. He is the good God that refuses to withold even his own son from us. We thank God for his redeeming sovereignty that works all things for the good of those who love him. We thank God not because our circumstances lend themselves easily to gratitude. We give thanks because we have faith. We believe in a God who is near, good and always in control.

This is the peace which transcends understanding. It’s the ability to say “thank you” and really mean it even when everything is falling apart because our eyes are set on what is eternal.

 

Dihan

A New Gratitude

Gratitude is such a pivotal concept in our lives, one that has been repeated so often that we have fundamentally forgotten its meaning.  And we have allowed our conceptions of gratitude to become interwoven with the world’s values.

The way I started this sermon was to write a list of what I was (honestly) thankful for, and I was dismayed.  Overwhelmingly, the list was full of imaginary disasters that could have befallen me, material wealth, and successful circumstances.  It became quite clear as to why I had become such a quick complainer, why my gratitude had no legs – because it was built on such shabby foundations.  I realized that in my life as a Believer so far, I had never really thought there was a difference between Christian gratitude and worldly gratitude…but there definitely is.

The insight that God provided me was that of identity, that a more consistent and permanent sense of thankfulness can overflow when we are aware of who we were before Christ and who we are after Christ.  This conception manages to bypass a lot of the weaker ideas of gratitude that we tend to rely on, and is carried with us everywhere we go, making gratitude in every circumstance a very real possibility.

This is not the only sense of gratitude that we can have, and I am really excited by the fact that we are continuing on in a series about gratitude for a few weeks.  I am hoping that through this, our congregation can learn how to be more thankful, but also, that our thankfulness will be a witness to the rest of the world as well!

And we have even more to be thankful for – praise God for the few brothers and sisters who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

P.Peter

Take the Great Gamble

Listen to this challenge that Dr.Bilezikian, a New Testament scholar, gave to his students in light of Mark 8:34-35 which reads “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” This is what he shared with his class:

            “For 6 months, take the great gamble. Follow the model of Jesus with reckless abandon. Take advantage of every opportunity to serve—even if it seems like something insignificant. Be the one who opens the door for others. Choose the back seat of a car so your friend can sit in the front. Take out the garbage even though it’s not usually your job. Volunteer to stack the chairs after the meeting. Take the arm of the elderly woman negotiating the stairs in the department store. Open your eyes. Keep your servant’s towl handy. Monitor the condition of your heart week to week. Then ask yourself: AM I GAINING OR LOSING?

            ”And if you want to, try it the other way. Every chance you have, put yourself in the center, be demanding, ask the world to revolve around you. Push your way to the front of the line. Disappear when it’s time for the dirty work, the menial tasks. Bow low every morning in front of the full length mirror. Then step back and honestly assess. Are you becoming closer to God and people or more isolated? Is your life fuller or emptier? ARE YOU GAINING OR LOSING ”

What do you think? 
Willing to take the gamble? Even for a week? Perhaps for just a few days?
If you decide to try–post your conclusions on this blog.

Dihan

Our Kneeling Savior! John 13:1-17

Hey ODPC! 

Last Sunday’s message was from John 13 when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet.  What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ unconditional love for us!  Every time I focus on Jesus’ kneeling love for me I can’t help but be humbled and empowered to serve and love the people around me.  

I pray that all my ODPC brothers and sisters will spend time reflecting on our Savior’s kneeling love for them this week so that we too will be able to kneel before others and serve each other.

May we never forget our Kneeling Savior!   

I look forward to reading your comments.

Daniel