This Superlative Sanctuary Count Your Blessings Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.
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The Storm is upon us.
Please remember to Pray for our President.
AND WHAT TIME IS IT?
TIME TO DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!
Our movement is about replacing a failed and CORRUPT political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. ~ Candidate Donald J. Trump
Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:
- No food fights.
- No running with scissors.
- If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
On this day and every day –
God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up
Hopefully, every Sunday, you can find something here that will build you up a little . . . give you a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.
“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” . . . “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Count Your Blessings Sunday
Well, it’s just a few days before New Years Day and I suppose many people are occupied with making their New Year’s resolution lists, figuring out which of the New Year’s festivities they’ll attend or planning their own celebration, big or small.
It’s the end of a year, just after the joyous Christmas season. I think it’s a really good time to settle back, review the past year and take a good count of the many blessings we have as believers in Christ and in His finished work at Calvary.
Count Your Blessings
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
~ Johnson Oatman, Jr., pub.1897
Believe and be blessed –
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2.9)
God gives many blessings to “whosoever believeth” in Jesus because he loves us.
For those who put their trust in Christ, God has provided many remarkable (perfect, actually) blessings. We are rich beyond our wildest dreams. Some of these blessings are:
When we believe, God counts our faith in Christ as righteousness.
“For our sake He [God] made Him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Christ]we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” (Rom 3:22)
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (Rom 5:1)
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2.13-14)
When we believe, the penalty for our sins is paid by Christ’s death on the cross.
. . . who gave Himself for us, that He might purchase our freedom from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:14)
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
. . . knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
When we believe, Christ’s sacrifice makes believers spiritually alive.
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, (Ephesians 2:1)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (Ephesians 2:4-5).
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (Colossians 2.13).
When we believe, we are adopted as God’s children.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (John 1:11-12).
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Fo;26r all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galations 3:26)
When we believe, as a child of God, we are His heirs.
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:6-7)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
When we believe, our sin nature is reconciled with God’s holiness.
Now all this is from God, who has restored our relationship to Himself through Jesus Christ . . (2 Corinthians 5:18)
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [Christ], and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say,whether things on earth or things in heaven (Colossians 1:19-20)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
When we believe, God forgives our sins.
All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” (Acts 10:43)
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, (Ephesians 1:7)
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14).
When we believe, we have eternal life with God and Jesus forever . . . unending.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:14-16)
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)
When we believe, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live within us.
Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ (Galatians 4:6)
As the Holy Spirit lives in the believer, He brings about some life-changing results:
The Holy Spirit acts on a soul dead in sin and creates new life (Titus 3:5). This is the new birth Jesus spoke of. (John 3:1-8)
The Holy Spirit confirms to the believer that he belongs to the Lord and is an heir of God and fellow-heir with Christ (Romans 8:15-17).
The Holy Spirit makes the new believer a member of Christ’s universal church. This is the baptism of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to the believer to strengthen the church and serve the Lord for His glory (1 Corinthians 12:11).
The Holy Spirit helps the believer understand and apply the Scripture to his daily life (1 Corinthians 2:12).
The Holy Spirit enriches the believer’s prayer life and intercedes for him in prayer (Romans 8:26-27).
The Holy Spirit enables the believer to live for Christ and to do His will (Galatians 5:16). The Spirit leads the believer in paths of righteousness (Romans 8:14).
The Holy Spirit gives evidence of new life by producing the fruit of the Spirit in the believer’s life (Galatians 5:22-23).
The Holy Spirit is grieved when the believer sins (Ephesians 4:30), and He convicts the believer to confess his sin to the Lord so that fellowship is restored (1 John 1:9).
The Holy Spirit seals the believer unto the day of redemption so that the believer’s arrival in the Lord’s presence is guaranteed after this life (Ephesians 1:13-14).
When we believe, after we die, we will be resurrected in incorruptible, immortal spiritual bodies.
And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. (1 Corinthians 6:14) So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)
Truly, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. All that we have needed and will need, from birth to eternity, has been provided for by God through the work of the Son. Thanks be to God!
Thank God for Blessings
We look at our country these days and see
All the bad things that happen to be:
Lies, corruption, thievery and fraud,
But we’ve seen the Light and so we thank God.
Thank God that we have enough to eat,
That we don’t have to live on the street,
That we have water, are secure and warm,
In wind and rain, we’re safe from the storm.
Thank God we choose work, there’s no slavery,
And for all of our friends and family
That after work we can rest and play,
And feel some contentment after our day.
We tend to lose sight that we’re truly blessed,
Living in comfort, not poor and oppressed,
While life’s twists happen and we feel deprived,
Others on earth fight daily to survive.
No food, dirty water, oppressive heat,
Sickness, disease, and filthy, dusty streets,
Babies and kids, bloated stomachs and flies,
Grotesque skeletons, no hope in their eyes.
Living inside wearing old gloves and coats,
Bone-chilling cold, all alone and remote.
Old and sickly, no medicine anywhere,
Dying alone with nobody to care.
There are ways to help the poor, to be sure,
Though it’s unlikely that there’ll be a cure.
We should all help in many different ways,
‘Cause the poor will be with us all our days.
From these situations, we all can learn
To look at our problems with less concern,
And truly thank God for all our wealth,
Our work, our families, and our good health.
For God’s our Provider, blessings from Him.
He’s met all our needs and freed us from sin.
He’s given us all, including His Son.
Praise God forever! May His will be done!
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20,21)