Re: Digest for christian-answers@googlegroups.com - 2 updates in 1 topic

[Joyce Rimmele]

this arrived at 5 p.m. today...so it is coming to by yahoo account.

cool.

On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 5:00 PM, "christia...@googlegroups.com" <christia...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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• Thanksgiving - 2 Updates

Thanksgiving

George Kardously <gkard...@sbrits.com>: Nov 26 01:17PM -0800 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. And pay your vows to the Most High; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” *-Psalm 50:14,15 NASB*   It has been a long time since I have posted anything, in fact more than 2 years. The fact is that it has been a very difficult season for over four years at this point. Yet in all things God is faithful, and I am very thankful.     This is a very important Psalm; it highlights God as the judge of the righteous and the wicked. It speaks of people who were offering to God sacrifices with the wrong motive. Many of us who are called by His name (including myself), are so busy doing things that are regarded as services unto the Lord. We are busy with charities, church work, and acting religious. We have convinced ourselves and almost everyone around us that we are righteous, at least based on the sacrifices we offer, to be rewarded by men. However, deep within our hearts we fail to be completely surrendered to the Lord, in a way that puts Him above everything including our reputations, our materials, and our families, even ahead of ourselves; especially ahead of ourselves.     The problem with all of this is highlighted when we fail to seek Him first in everything, and we have the false expectation that He should bless our work, because after all we are doing things for Him. Shouldn’t God be grateful? What a horrible blasphemous thought. This becomes nothing more than our pet programs and our worship according to our will rather than His will. This is very much similar to the ungodly sacrifice that Cane offered to God, and then expected God to accept the sacrifice and just be happy.     God demands our complete surrender to Him; He is God majestic and sovereign. All honor and glory belong to Him. We are the subjects and He is the Lord, the proper orientation of the relationship is critically important.     What do we give God, to whom all things belong anyways? Does He delight in bulls, rams, and goats? What does He want?     God wants a sacrifice of thanksgiving, being grateful for ALL the things God have given us, including the discipline of the Lord. God disciplines whom He loves.     During this season, let us come before Him with humility, and complete surrender. Let us understand that all of the craziness that comes with the holidays is meaningless if He is not preeminent. Let us remember that a sacrifice offered with unclean hand and an impure heart will not bless the Lord, in fact it is an abomination to Him. Let us exalt Him who is worthy of all honor and glory, let us be thankful for His goodness and mercy He has shown each and every one of us. Above all, let us surrender ourselves to Him, with thankful hearts.

Joyce <award...@sbrtechnology.com>: Nov 26 02:46PM -0800 Amen. How incredibly important it is to know that when we put our relationship with God first, everything else will fall into place. He wants what is best for us and yet, even knowing this, we lean onto our own understanding.Thanking God for each part of our lives, even the parts we don't understand and maybe don't even particularily like is so incredibly important. Thanks for sharing.   On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 1:17:12 PM UTC-8, George Kardously wrote:

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