Outliving Thanksgiving

Hebrews 13:15(NIV)

 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Hebrews 4(NIV)

 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 10(NIV)

 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

How will you make the space in your life this week

to allow thanksgiving to take root and become

that which is "lived out" in your life?

ThanksgivingIt is a rare person, who when their cup runs over, can refrain from complaining about the limited size of their cup.  Something to think about . . . at least of we still really stop and think about such things . . . when was the last time you stopped, much less stopped to give thanks?

The passages to the right remind us of what too often gets lost in the rush, forgotten in the busyness of our lives, pushed to the background because of the seeming urgency of other concerns.  How quickly Thanksgiving gives way to Black Friday!  Why is that?   What is that all about?

Have we "outlived" Thanksgiving, or do we need to learn how to "out - live" Thanksgiving - let Thanksgiving be "lived out" in our lives, not just given a passing nod to it on the way to the Christmas season?  How do we do this?  Paul gives us some clues in Hebrews 11:

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

Living in the confidence of what we do not see, an awareness of a reality that is bigger and more real than what we see with our eyes, or feel compelled towards by our culture.  Faith is about staying focused on what it really real, and allowing that to be "lived out" in our lives.

Paul goes on to give us examples of what this looks like in the rest of the chapter.  Stories that are worth reflecting upon.  Not exactly what the culture we live in would designate as the "successful."  Instead, lives that demonstrate what it means to be the "faithful" and the "thankful."  And then in chapter 12, Paul goes on to invite us to live it (read those verses in chapter 12).

That's what Pastor Jon shares with us this morning as he invites to consider the words shared with us by the author of Hebrews, and the life we are invited to live as we stay focused on what it means to live in the awareness of what we often don't see, but experience in the context of thankfulness.  If you would like to listen to this again, or perhaps for the first time, you can access our sermon library by clicking here.