GIVE THANKS WITH JOY

We must "give thanks with much joy."  For it is possible to give thanks from fear and to give thanks from sorrow as Job gave thanks in anguish, saying: "The Lord gave, the Lord taketh away."  What happened to Job pained him and filled his soul with dejection; yet he was thankful . . . but with sorrow.

But we must give thanks with joy, "for the Father has made you worthy to share the lot of the saints. Christ has given us and has made us also worthy to share the lot of the saints; He gave us dignity and made us fit to be saints."

In nature, this is difficult; you may give someone the dignity of governorship but you cannot make him fit.  To have the dignity without the fitness makes one ridiculous; to have both is an honor. 

God gave us the honor to be sons of God AND gave us the skill to be so; He placed us with the saints AND also made us holy.  God did both; for it is possible to be in the same city and yet not partaker of the joys of that city.

'Heaven is an inheritance; it is not the result of achievement.' Thus, "when ye have done all, say, we are unprofitable servants, for we have done that which was our duty to do."

Christ has rescued us from the power of darkness. The power of darkness is ERROR; error is the dominion of the devil.  We were rescued not merely from the darkness BUT from the POWER OF DARKNESS; because error has a power that holds us fast. He who is in error is held by the power of darkness. 

"Be mindful, first, of the great benefit we have obtained and, secondly, from what we have been delivered . . . " so that we may always be thankful to Him and heighten our love for Him.  We are called to eternal life and how many of us are excited?

Unbelief comes from an effeminate soul, a soft soul.  "They ate and drank and therefore they believed not." "Let's eat and be merry for tomorrow we die!" No, not tomorrow. Even now you are dead!

(02-25-04)