Thank You, Lord!

April 2012 — Grace & Truth Magazine

AN EASTER THOUGHTThank You, Lord!

All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” — Romans 8:34-35 NKJV

There will be worship in heaven, and the verses above tell us that thanksgiving will be a part of that worship. Someday, if we have truly trusted in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we will be there and we will be worshiping the One who “gave Himself” for us (Gal. 2:20). He is the only One who is truly worthy of our worship.

“Thanksgiving” is something that does not come easy for people. We want to be self-sufficient. To thank someone implies that we received a blessing we didn’t earn or deserve. But if we are saved, that is exactly what happened. Paul says that it is “by grace” that we are saved “through faith” in Christ. He says it is not of “our works” because then we could boast (Eph. 2:8-10).

We need to be thankful that we have a Bible in our own language and that we live in a country with an educational system that teaches us to read. While there are a few people who will never learn to read and will need help to know and understand God’s Word, the rest of us are without excuse when it comes to our relationship with God. Bibles are available free in most churches, motels and hotels. And they are available cheaply in many stores. In fact, in my country, most people have at least one at home. Nearly all of us can read and understand John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” – and we really don’t need to hear much more than that to keep from perishing eternally.

We need to be thankful that God sent His Son to this world to become the sacrifice that satisfied His righteousness by dying for our sins. The day the Lord was born (remembered as Christmas) was an important day filled with joy and promise. The day He died (remembered as Good Friday) was the most sorrowful day in the history of mankind. The day the Lord was raised from the dead (remembered as Easter) was a day when sorrow was turned into joy (Jn. 16:20). The Resurrection gives us assurance that Jesus satisfied God. Because of this very important day, we who trust Him are forgiven and will one day be raised from the dead because of His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:50-58).

The most important day in our lives is the day of our salvation. It is the day when we, like Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1-21; 7:40-52; 19:38-39), met the Lord and found out that we didn’t understand how God saves us. We came to realize that we were lost but that the Lord Jesus came to be our Savior. When we rest in the truth that Christ died for us, that’s when we are saved. We must trust the Lord to be saved. The gift of eternal life must be received by faith. I received this gift in 1963, and can sing the song below because I trust that it is true. I hope you know Jesus as your Savior and can sing it too.

By Stephen Campbell

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul, Thank you, Lord, for making me whole; Thank you, Lord, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.By Seth & Bessie Sykes