Tuesday, November 25, 2008

THANKING JESUS BRINGS ULTIMATE BLESSINGS

Jesus said, "Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?" Then he said to him, "Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you."
Luke 17:19(TM)

Saved – “SALVATION” in the Bible comes from the Greek word “sodzo”, meaning to “protect, preserve, heal, deliver, become whole, or to keep safe”.

GET GOD’S BEST THIS THANKSGIVING

1. THANKING JESUS IS INSTRUCTED IN THE BIBLE

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (TM)

On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”

1 Corinthians 11:24 (NLT)

2. THANKING JESUS ACTIVATES OUR FAITH

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. 5For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalm 100:3-5 (NLT)

3. THANKING JESUS FOR TODAY RELEASES UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS FOR THE FUTURE

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

Acts 16:25-28 (NIV)

The jailer asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
35When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men." 36The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."

Acts 16:29-36 (NIV)

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A GREAT THANKSGIVING

What would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experience before him…?
1 Thessalonians 3:9 (TM)

LIVE YOUR LIFE KNOWING THAT….

1. YOU ARE PRICELESS BECAUSE JESUS LOVES YOU

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

John 3:16 (CEV)

To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, to them I will give authority over all the nations. 28They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star! 29“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Revelation 2:26, 28-29 (NLT)

2. YOU ARE GOD’S SPECIAL AGENT FOR GREAT BLESSINGS AND MIRACLES

You'll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, 'You're far happier giving than getting.'
Acts 20:35 (TM)

I, Paul, am under God's plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to you faithful believers in Ephesus. I greet you with the grace and peace poured into our lives by God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:1 (TM)

3. EVERY DAY IS YOUR SPECIAL DAY

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him.

LUKE 19:5 (TM)

4. YOU’RE OPPORTUNITY IS NOW!

Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light."

John 9:4 (TM)

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (TM)

Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

2 Peter 3:11-13 (tm)