Because Everyday is Thanksgiving

My dad preached a sermon similar to this on Sunday, and I wanted to share this with everyone in hopes that someone will receive a blessing from it. 

We hear all the time about how we should be thankful for the things that we have, and for what God has provided us with. But do we really consider the sacrifices that God and Jesus made for us so that we can have the things that are taken for granted everyday? Here are just a few of those great blessings that we could never be thankful enough for. 

God sent His Son: John 3:16- "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I couldn't imagine how hard it was for God to give His own son to die. Thinking about it, it hurts to know that God had to watch Jesus die. It's hard to imagine the selflessness that God had when He did this, and that He still has. God loves Jesus more than we can imagine, though, He was willing to give the one He loves so dear for us to be able to have salvation. We could never fully understand this great sacrifice. 

Jesus freely gave His life: 1 John 3:16 - "Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren."

Although God gave Jesus to die on the cross, Jesus had to be willing, which He was. I don't know many people that would be willing to give up their own life for others. I know that it would be very hard for me to do so. Our flesh is so protective of our life that we hate the thought of dying, while Jesus did the ultimate selfless action, which was giving up His life so that others could live. The love that Jesus felt for us led Him to have no hesitation to die for us, and it could never be compared to anything else in the universe. 

Jesus provides salvation: Mark 16:16 - "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Because Jesus died on the cross, we have the choice of salvation. Jesus allows us to choose whether to accept Him or not. Because of His sacrifice, the world has a new hope. If we only ask, Jesus will come into our hearts, make us new, and give us eternity in Heaven. 
While on Earth, God is with us: Joshua 1:9 - "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee whithersoever thou goest."

It is impossible to get away from God. Even if we wanted to get away from Him, we can't. He follows us everywhere we go, and keeps us safe. He sees us everywhere we go, and provides us with safety and a friendship above all others. Whether we are in a room with a hundred people or we are in a room with no one else, we are never alone. No matter how many people we are surrounded by, God will be the most important. 

God guides us: Psalms 32:8 - "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."

We would all be so lost today without God's guidance. God knows all about our futures, therefore, He knows exactly what paths that we need to take. Alone, we would make awful mistakes concerning our presents and futures, but because God is all knowing, we have the opportunity to choose the right path. 

God provides: Philippians 4:19 - "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

While on this Earth, God said that He would provide for us. This means that He will provide us with our needs; food, water, shelter, and so on. God cares for us, and if we live by Him, we will never truly be poor. 

God gives hope: Psalms 39:7 - "And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope [is] in thee."

In the world, there is a lot of troubles and tragedies that occur. It's easy to get down about the things that are going on, but we have a hope for the future that is greater than anything that this world could give us. Because this world is full of sin, it will never be home for a truly saved person. Those that are saved has a home where God is number one, where there is no sickness, sin, death, or sadness. 

Jesus is coming back: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."

What joy we should have as we anticipate the coming back of our Savior. Sin continues on Earth, but it's soon going to end. No longer will God's children have to endure the hardships of the world. Soon, we will see Jesus appearing in the sky, and He will take us to where there are no hardships. 

God gives us eternal life: John 17:3 - "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Not only does God allow us to be saved from Hell, but He gives us a life in Heaven forever and ever. It's very hard for me think about something never ending. Everything that we have ever known has an end; football season, church service, seasons, vacations to Disney World, etc. Heaven is one thing that will never change, and it is the greatest place that could ever exist. 

Today, with Thanksgiving Day in the past, remember the entire reason that we have the opportunity to be thankful. Without God, our lives would be doomed, and we wouldn't have the hope of a better day. There would be no happiness with our families, or a meal on our table. Remember the real reason that we are on this Earth and who has given us the blessings that we have been graciously given. Remember that everyday is a day to give thanks, for God is good every day of every year.

In the Twinkling of an Eye

1 Corinthians 15:52-"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

Last night, I texted my best friend at maybe a quarter after nine. She responded around nine thirty, and said that she would be able to talk in about thirty minutes. So, I waited, and waited, and waited. I never got a response back, and I figured that she was busy, so around eleven, I went to bed.

This morning, I woke up with a text from eleven thirty last night, saying that she had been in a bad wreck the night before. My mind absolutely panicked. She said that the car flipped several times, and it could have easily been the end of her life. Though, she walked out of the wreck only having minor scratches and cuts. 

I told this story to show how quickly life can be taken away from us. I texted my friend, and in just a short time period between when she texted me next, her life was almost ended. We have no guarantee of the next second to come. Before we take our next breath, we can be in eternity. Let's really think about that. Let's ask ourselves where we would be if we died in the next few seconds.

My dad preached a funeral for a very Godly man that went to our church today. He was very blessed to live a total of ninety six years, which is obviously super uncommon. The majority of the man's family does not attend church, and doesn't profess to have Jesus in their hearts. As I looked around at all the faces of family members, it scared me. It scared me because any of them could die at any moment, and open their eyes to Hell. They aren't necessarily bad people, but being good won't do anything for them when they enter eternity. All that matters is if they have received Jesus as their savior, and I hate to see lives spent on this Earth for sixty, seventy years, to never realize this, and end up in Hell.

Ecclesiastes 12:7- “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”

We are all going to die one day; God says this. We will all return to the earth one day, our grave. It may be ten years, and it may be ten minutes away, but we will die. The most important question that we can ask ourselves right now is simply, "Am I saved?" Three simple words, but so much meaning. No matter what we have done on this Earth, the only thing that matters when it comes to death is if we're saved. If we are saved, we have everything, but if we're not, our life has been in vain.

I didn't write this blog to scare anyone, but to give them the warning that they need to hear. I don't want to see anyone die and go to Hell, but that is where the people that reject God is going to go, and once there, they have no chance of ever escaping. I plea with you to just simply take time out of your day to make sure that you are happy with the place that you would spend eternity if you were to die this very second. Don't go another second, without knowing that you would be satisfied with your end. Remember that God loves you, send His only son to die for you, and He wants to see you in Heaven one day. The things that you will have to give up on this Earth for God is nothing compared to what you will gain in Heaven, if you will accept Jesus into your heart. 

"No More Death, Neither Sorrow, Nor Crying"

Revelation 21:2- "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

I tear up at the thought of Heaven. We cannot even fathom how great it is going to be. The thought of having no pain of any sort is a foreign concept for any of us living in a world that is filled with pain. Being able to be with God and Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for us seems completely bizarre to me. The things that we are going to set our eyes on are going to be absolutely incredible.

I had thought about sketching a picture of what I thought Heaven was going to look like, but honestly, there was no way that I was going to do justice to Heaven. When God created Heaven, He went all out, and he gives us a glimpse of this in the Bible.

In chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation, God speaks about the beauty of Heaven. Upon entering Heaven, there are twelve gates, each with a pearl. The street of the city is pure gold, and God is the one that lights the city, for there shall be no night. There is a crystal clear river of pure water leading to the throne of God. On each side of the river is the tree of life, with twelve kinds of fruit, and leaves that can heal nations.

I don't know about you, but this sounds pretty wonderful to me. A perfect place that God made for us, even though we don't necessarily deserve it. We have sinned, though, God forgave us for those sins, and His great mercy allowed this place to be for us for eternity! Eternity!! Can you believe it?? I cannot even begin to understand the concept of an absolute forever. The idea used to scare me when I was lost, thinking about being in a place of torment forever, but now that I'm saved, the thought of spending forever with my Lord is awesome.

Not only do we get to live in this perfect place, singing and worshipping alongside God, but we also get a mansion! A mansion!! In John 14:2, God tells us that He has prepared a mansion for each of us that are saved. Honestly, it sounds like the ultimate fairytale, but once we that are saved get to Heaven, all that is going to matter is praising our God for what He has done for us. Looking upon God and Jesus is going to bring the ultimate joy.

I am absolutely ecstatic to meet my Lord someday, and see the place that He has prepared for us. I hope to see many people I know there, and I look forward to meeting my brothers and sisters in Christ that I didn't get the pleasure of meeting on Earth. For those that are not saved, I hope that you choose the path that leads to Heaven because no one is going to want to miss out on the things of God. Until we get there, I'll be dreaming about the day that I get to enter those gates, and walk past the pure river on the street of gold unto our Lord.

Hebrews 13:14 - For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

The Empty Life

Earlier in the summer, I was learning about Buddhism in my Religion class. I learned how the Buddha was born to a man and woman of great power. The symbol on the Buddha's foot symbolized that he was meant to be a great leader someday. His father wanted this to lead to a life of political power, but the Buddha had other things in mind. When he came of age to leave his father's palace, he saw things that he had never seen before. He had been sheltered from all of the bad his whole life. He had his eyes opened up to four key things; old age, sickness, death, and poverty. He hadn't ever realized that these things were an actual thing. The suffering broke him down emotionally, and he wanted a way to fix it.

Briefly, the Buddha went on a journey, left his family behind, to find a sense of Enlightenment. Enlightenment on how to help those in the world that is suffering. After many attempts of finding Enlightenment, such as fasting and almost dying, he sit by a tree and vowed to not leave until he found the Enlightenment that he was looking for. Devaputra Mara, the greatest of all demons, is said to have fought against the Buddha in his search. She surrounded the Buddha with other demons, three fiery arrows at him, and tempted him with his three daughters. This is thought to be the internal fight within the Buddha to overcome his internal conflicts. Once the Buddha overcame all of these things, he reached Enlightenment.

The Buddha found that the problems in the world was caused by desire. Suffering included losing those you love, losing the things that you possess, etc. These are all apart of the desire process. We desire to be with someone romantically, we desire to have close friends and family, we desire to reach our dreams in the world, and so on. The Buddha set up a plan of overcoming desire through his Four Noble Truths; 1) Realizing that there is suffering 2) Realizing that suffering is caused by desire 3) Finding the way to end suffering 4) Implementing that knowledge with a plan.

The Buddha was trying to end all desire in the world, so that no one would have to suffer in the world. Though, what he was doing was taking happiness and love out of the world. Love might bring suffering, but it is the best thing that we have in the world. Nothing or no one is going to last forever. We are going to lose those that we love, we are going to fail at dreams, we are going to lose loved material objects, but if we didn't have these things in our lives, how could we be happy? Without love, we cannot feel the pain that comes with loving someone so much. It hurts, but being able to love someone or something so much that it physically hurts means that you at least found a love you can hold dear forever.

Plus, the Buddha created a system that we find Enlightenment within ourselves. There is no superior being, or God, that we can lay our every burden and worry on. We have to depend on ourselves to get us to a point of moral goodness and the loveless happiness that the Buddha seems to infer. But what is happiness without love? I couldn't imagine a world without God. He is the one that can bring you out of the suffering that love can entail. He's the one that protects us and keeps us safe. He is the one that provides us with a will, and a way to fulfill that will. A world without God is a world with no point.

In general, I can't imagine a world without suffering. Happiness sometimes brings suffering, but without it, we wouldn't have friendships and loving marriages. It's okay to suffer sometimes. It's normal. It is what drives us to move further in our lives. It is what motivates us to fix the relationships in our lives, and support each other. Suffering isn't the end, with God, happiness is the end. In no way am I trying to bash the Buddhist belief. They have a lot of good points for finding happiness within yourself, but I choose to let God take care of my problems. God wants us to lay our burdens to Him, and let Him work it out. Fill your life with love. I promise that it will lead to suffering and sadness sometimes, but it won't lead to an empty life.