“A Matter of Thankfulness” the Wayfarer 11/16/14

“A Matter of Thankfulness”
11/16/14

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped.

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

(Job 1:20-22)

Today I would examine another failure of character, far too common among all people, including God’s own people, that is most often not even recognized as being a failure of character. (SIN!!)

 Normally, when Job is mentioned in any conversation, which is no longer as common as it used to be, thoughts turn to patience. “He has the patience of Job”, was a common phrase heard throughout most of my early life.

I don’t recall ever hearing, “He has the thankfulness of Job.”

Nevertheless, without that thankfulness, there could have been no patience.

Thankfulness and the lack thereof, is the main theme of today’s dissertation.

In our society, in our world, God’s many blessings flow freely. Too often they are not even recognized by those receiving them. No thought is given to God, from whom they come, no thanks are offered to Him for them.

I am most privileged to live in a society that has been very richly blessed by our God. We have heat to warm us in the winter, air conditioning to cool us in the heat of the summer. Entertainment venues abound with a variety intended to please all. Food still is plentiful, and in variety, again enough to please the vast majority.

Our justice system, though imperfect, is the most viable and visibly fair in the attempt to serve all equally that I could hope for. The ability to choose our leadership and to change it if it fails us is something to be envied by a majority of the world.

For all these things I am thankful, and give credit where it is due, to God Himself, without whom none of those things would have ever been possible.

Still, I find myself contentious with the entire society around me and the path we take as time progresses, because this society has begun in earnest to not only fail to thank God for all these blessings, but also to try to remove all memory and belief in Him and His precepts, from which we were able to attain all these blessings.

This failure of thankfulness leads to a failure to meet the requirements to continue to receive all these blessings, and must eventually result in the withdrawal of those blessings.

Job was tested by Satan. He met that test and passed it despite the constant change of rules that Satan insisted on. His faith was firm, and in the end his rewards were great. Had he failed that test, there would have been no further reward given, no peace, no prosperity, and no life.

“And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, to whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all he hath.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink and to be drunken;

The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

 And that servant which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

But he that knew not, and did not commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes, For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

(Luke 12:42-48)

Unlike Job, who endured the tests given him, this steward spoken of by Jesus, forgot from whom his authority and blessings came.

He had no thankfulness, no memory of having been chosen from among many to perform a specific purpose for his lord that allowed him the luxuries and benefits he enjoyed.

When a nation, a people, or even individuals….particularly individuals, begins to become so self-centered that it not only forgets that the blessings came from God, but also begins to deny His existence, the failure of that nation, people or individual is assured!

For a long period of our history, the memory of where those blessings came from was strong, immovable, and solidly taught, both in homes and in schools.

Morality, justice and mercy were not just buzz words, but were actually practiced by individuals, peoples and nations.

Then came the tests!

The constant harangue by those in a minority, that refused to be thankful, that refused to believe, that refused to admit the power of God, and even refused to allow for His existence began to translate into a persecution of all who still would cling to their faith and thanks.

Those tests continue today, and will throughout the lifetime of this old preacher, and I fear far beyond, becoming harsher for each generation, and growing the number of those who forget, and are no longer thankful to a point that the wrath of our God, so long withheld must be unleashed on the entire world.

I receive a monthly news magazine/letter in a small circular from a convention to which I no longer consider myself affiliated.

At times some of the articles are not only pertinent, but provide good guidance toward the efforts attempting to carry out the work given us by Jesus.

Other times, it is little more than a disruptive, disturbing rag, with articles encouraging us to lay aside many of the teachings given us to become more socially acceptable to grow the church.

The church that it would grow through these teachings and deletions is no longer THE CHURCH, but a falsehood and means of providing money to those who intentionally destroy as much of Christ’s body and Bride as possible from within.

The most recent one received had an article about pedophilia, which was written in earnest, and with which I find myself in total agreement.

It warned, as have I in the past of the current movement to legitimize this abomination by those using the same arguments that were used to legitimize other abominations now protected by law, and continuing to destroy all pretenses of morality and adherence to God’s laws in this nation where I currently reside.

The stewards of this and many other nations have decided that they are in charge and have no allegiance to God, and therefore owe no thanks for the past blessings. They also have no fear of His return.

They insist that they know a better way, and can build a better world without Him.

I hold tightly to the promise Jesus made that he will indeed return, rewarding those who endure, which requires both memory and thankfulness as well as watchfulness, and I remember and echo the words of warning given us throughout His ministry to:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Just as Job’s wife urged him to curse God and die in the trials that he faced, we are being urged to curse God by those who deny Him.

We find the necessity to make choices daily whether to go along to get along, or to be exiled from the mainstream of a society  no longer thankful, but merely greedy and insisting that they can take all they want without repercussion as did the steward referenced by Christ.

Where do you find yourself standing in this time that is now on us, as was promised and foretold in our scriptures?

Are you prepared for the Master’s return, doing what was asked of us, and encouraging others to do the same because you have already accepted the imperfection of all mankind, and the ability of Christ to make that imperfection perfect, or do you ignore the warnings given and proceed along your way continuing a greedy search only for wealth and pleasures promised by an unthankful society?

It is indeed a matter of thankfulness.

I personally am thankful to both believe the promise given by Jesus, and to recognize the blessings given may only come from God.

I am thankful for the benevolence that allowed me to grow up in a nation that adhered to the precepts and laws of that God, and fearful for that nation as I watch it progress farther from Him each day.

I pray for that nation, its people, and many specific individuals to return to those precepts and laws so that our children may continue in the blessings already bestowed upon us.

I pray, not only to remember to be thankful myself, but for others to recognize those blessings and be thankful for them.

I close as always, the same simple sinner saved by God’s grace through faith in the sacrifice made by His own Son, thankful for that sacrifice despite the fact that I could never be worthy of it. I also, therefore, remain an unworthy, but willing soldier in His service until my Master’s return, whether it be only for me as I breathe the last polluted air of this world so damaged by my kind, or whether it be for all, as vengeance is wreaked on those who refuse to be thankful, and refuse to see the Glory, and rewards available, if only they accepted them and give the required thanks to the One who holds them.

It is a matter of thankfulness!

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.”

(Revelation 22:20)

Amen and Amen.
CMc