Skip to main content

Thanksgiving Thinking

“If Jesus Christ is to regenerate me [make me new or different], what is the problem He is up against? I am not holy, nor likely to be; and if all Jesus Christ can do is to tell me I must be holy, His teaching plants despair. But if Jesus Christ is a Regenerator, One Who can put into me His … holiness, then I begin to see what He is driving at when He says that I have to be holy. Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the… disposition that was in Himself…. The moral transaction on my part is agreement with God's verdict on sin in the Cross of Jesus Christ” (Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost for his Highest”).

That quote is deeper than many of the things that you will normally find in this article, but it is worth some thought.

What is our faith about and what is it based on?

Is it about trying harder? Is it based on me being perfect and holy? If it is, then I am in big trouble! As Chambers says, “I am not holy, nor likely to be”. Faith cannot be about me remaking myself (as it is often taught). If it is, then none of us has any hope at all.

What if the new life that God wants me to live is not something that I have to struggle to create, but is rather something that he gives?

Granted, that is an unusual thought. Most of us are conditioned to think that we have to work for any good thing that we receive and that we have to earn blessings and forgiveness.

However, the gospel says, “You are not perfect, but God has provided a way to fix that and make things better”.

To quote it exactly: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all are justified [made right, brought into line] freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

This Thanksgiving weekend, when you are thinking about all the good things in your life, may you also be thankful for the greatest gift of all: The chance to live a new life based on God’s goodness and not your own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dark and Light

            When you look out at the world, what do you see?             Some see nothing but trouble and pain.   They point to things like poverty, crime, problems with drugs and alcohol and marriage break-ups and say that the world is full of sadness and sorrow.   Watch the news for even a half hour and you will get the idea that the world is a dark place.             Others see nothing but good.   They appreciate generous people in their community.   They think about their friends and neighbours and smile.   They marvel at the beauty of sunrises and stars at night.   To them, the world is a bright and wonderful place.             You may be surprised that the Bible supports both of these world views.   On one hand it says things like, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
1 comment
Read more

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

                 In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.   These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.   Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.   Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.                The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.   After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.   The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.                Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in
Post a Comment
Read more

Forgetting What Is Behind

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett
Post a Comment
Read more