THE MAIN REASON TO GIVE THANKS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. 16:2

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? 20:9

The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright give thought to their ways. 21:29

Proverbs 16:2, 20:9, 21:29       

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The question found in Proverbs 20:9 is one that pierces us to the soul (or at least it should):

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?

It’s a question we should always ponder but I am afraid that we seldom do.

You see, we want to focus on the good parts of who we are. We want to accentuate the great things we have done and we want to gain the acceptance, favor, and praise of others. We want people to see what’s right about us, even if it means putting on a façade and pretending we’re someone more than we really are.

The truth of the matter is that we aren’t all that we make ourselves up to be. The question posed by the proverb leads down a path we don’t want to travel – the path of reality and humility. In fact, some people don’t want to travel this path so much that they look intentionally for a pastor and church who will always make them feel good. In the comfort zone of non-condemnation, they find themselves immune from having to feel guilty about what is wrong within them. There is no focus on their sinfulness, only focus on God’s goodness and His intent to give one every good thing that they desire. You may have heard about these prosperity pastors and they are popping up all over the place because there is a large body of believers ready to join their flock.

You see, many believers believe taking the path of least resistance when it comes to dealing with their sin problem is the right course of action. Given the choice to face their wicked nature head on or detour around the matter, they gladly skirt the issue at hand since the opportunity to do so easily presents itself. They put up a bold front when it comes to the tainted way that they live but they refuse to give thought to their ways like the upright (Proverbs 21:29).

There’s just one big problem with all this. You might be able to ignore that you are impure and a sinner but it never removes the fact that it’s just what you are. You have a problem and you need to deal with it head on. It’s not going anywhere.

And more than that, the Lord sees you for who you are. You cannot hide the fact that you are a sinner from Him and for He even sees your motives and weighs them (Proverbs 16:2), measuring them on a scale where righteousness is the standard. Unless you acknowledge your sinfulness and impurity, you’re not going to measure out well on the scale as you will tilt hard to the side of wickedness, the side that only brings the Lord’s judgment and consequence.

So why do I write a devotion like this on a day when we are to focus on giving thanks?

Because if we receive and concede to this word of the Lord today, we will be taken to the main reason we need to give thanks on Thanksgiving and every other day for that matter.

For it’s in our brokenness, in the time when we realize that we aren’t pure and without sin, that we are drawn to the gift of Jesus, our only hope, our only remedy for the incurable sin that afflicts us. It’s through Jesus that we can go on and still function every day in carrying out His will and way despite the sinners we are because only through Him do we find redemption, only through Him do we find forgiveness of our sins, and only through Him are we left justified before our judge, God the Father (and justified means we stand before God at judgment just as if we had never sinned).

There is no place on earth which includes any church on earth where we can stand and not be condemned. Think about that the next time you want to join a prosperity church just to feel better about yourself.

No, the only way to be free from the condemnation and wrath of the Father (God) due to us because of our impurity and sinfulness is through the Son (Jesus). For the scriptures are clear on this:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

When we come clean before God, confess our sins, and accept Jesus as Savior, understanding that He died on Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty that we should have paid, we should be taken to places in our life attitude:

1. We should be taken to a place where we choose to push our sin and impurity aside, seeking each and every day to be a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), one who seeks to ever be more like Him, trusting in His words that proclaim He is the Way and the Truth and the Life, the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). With this new life attitude, we find ourselves hungering and thirsting for righteousness, ready to be filled and blessed as Jesus fulfills His promise given in His teaching (Matthew 5:6).

2. We should be taken to a place of thanksgiving, for the only reason we have to celebrate in this worldly existence is when we know we have the salvation that brings with it an eternal hope. And that salvation and eternal hope only comes through Jesus Christ.

Friends, I pray today that you have the best Thanksgiving ever but I pray even more that you are giving thanks for the main reason you should be giving thanks for and that is Jesus Christ, the greatest gift that God ever gave us, the Gift who came down from heaven to rescue and save us from sin.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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