In the last two blogs we have been looking at how our thanksgiving to God for the work of the cross and for our heavenly Fathers unfailing love can help us to protect ourselves from the wiles of the enemy. Thanksgiving focuses our hearts and minds on all that God is and blocks out the whispered lies of the enemy which undermine our faith. Today we will look at how thanksgiving not only shuts us down the activity of the enemy, but as importantly it opens us up to receive from God all that He has for us.
In John Chapter 1 vs 12 we have the very well known verse ‘To as many as received Him He gave the power to become the children of God’. We often pray with people to ‘invite Jesus into their lives’ to become Christians. We encourage people to receive their salvation as they thank Jesus for what He has done, to thank Him for dying on the cross for them and for His forgiveness.
If we now read on in John Chapter 1 we come to another amazing part of the story. In verses 16 and 17 it says ‘For out of His fullness, we have all received one grace after another, spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, even favour upon favour and gift upon gift, for while the law was given through Moses, grace (undeserved favour and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ. AMP.
The purpose of the amazing salvation that Jesus bought for us, is not only to have our sins forgiven but to become ‘like Him’ by being filled with His life. To be able to say with Paul ‘I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God’ Galations Chapter 2 vs 20.
Gods’ intention is salvation leading to fullness, He wants us to be ‘filled to the full measure of all the fullness of God’ Ephesians Chapter 3 vs 19. Salvation is not a one off moment it is a daily ongoing experience of the life of Christ pouring into us and through us by His Holy Spirit. John Chapter 7 vs 37-39.
Daily receiving of His power, presence and grace is how we live our Christian lives and the way we receive is the same way we receive any gift. It is by thanking Him and enjoying what he gives us. Watching a child can help us learn how to receive and enjoy His gifts.
When our grandchildren wanted specific Lego sets for Christmas, they would ask and keep on asking. (‘Sounds like Luke Chapter 11 vs 9) but when the gift was given, they received their gifts with great joy and thankfulness and rushed off to build the latest acquisition. They did not hesitate, but ripped off the paper. Never stopping to ask ‘Is this OK? can I really have this? I’m not sure I have been good enough!’
Receiving from the Lord moment by moment all we need to live the kind of life He is calling us to, is about ‘knowing’ what He is offering us as His sons and daughters, and then thanking Him for His gifts, grace, favour , patience, peace, strength, courage etc. etc, whatever we need, ‘blessing upon blessing’ for everyday of our lives.
Let’s be childlike. Let us tell Him what we need His wonderful indwelling Spirit to be for us. As we then thank Him for those gifts by faith, we begin to experience them in our lives. Our thanksgiving opens up our hearts in faith and expectancy to receive and then enjoy all that the Lord wants to pour into our lives moment by moment, reaching for the amazing goal ‘to walk in this world as He walked’ 1 John 2 vs 6.
