Dear Precious Friends,
On this beautiful new day, I pray we are waking up grateful for all Jesus did on the cross & the incredible reminder of what Resurrection Sunday means to us! When I think of God's goodness to us and what it means in our lives we can't help but be overwhelmed with incredible joy. The love Jesus had for us to become man in Jesus Christ, live the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died in our place and took on every sin so we could be forgiven, brings us to a gratitude that is unexplainable in human words. The incredible gift of Resurrection Sunday is reason for us to go out with such great hope no matter our circumstance.
What should our response be to the revelation of God's goodness? It should be, as we read in Hebrews, "the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
The Psalmist exults, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…" It is healthy for us to recount the benefits and blessings with which the Lord has graced our lives. "Counting our many blessings, naming them one by one…" is one of the most powerful things we can do.
The more desperate the need, the greater should be the thankfulness when the need is met. We have many needs, but the most desperate of all is the need for righteousness. God is holy, and no unrighteous men or women will ever enter His dwelling place. In our sins and selfishness, we have offended our holy Creator. Without forgiveness and reconciliation we would all be doomed to eternal punishment. And so God, always the great Provider for His creation, has provided us a Savior, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Our Lord came to earth, lived a spotless, life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day. Through our faith in Jesus ... our greatest need is eternally provided and we are given the gift of all gifts, the gift of righteousness. And for this we shall be forever grateful. "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men" (Psalm 107:15).
How much we too forget to be thankful to God for the blessings He gives us. We often take them for granted. “Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wonderful works to humankind” on four occasions (Psalm 107: 8, 15, 21, and 31).
I pray our hearts are filled with gratitude for all God has done for us. I pray we can live our lives in such a way others can see the love we have received and want what we have, the greatest gift ever given.
Let's go out on this new day and live in such a way, others can't help but ask us to share the reason for hope.
AMEN!
