Father, Thank You!
(Jn11:41-42; He12:5-11)
God is the gracious Father (Ps111:4).
Grace comes from Him, and
He gives greater grace to those who know His grace.
Faith is knowing His grace, and
The life of this faith is considering all things as grace and giving thanks.
If a king were to give a chance for the voice of the people to be heard
That itself would be a great mercy and a reason for thanksgiving.
How much greater the grace and thanksgiving, then, when God hears the voices of men!
In spite of this, however, men do not want to receive what God has graciously given.
Instead, they seek others to hear them.
After Adam sinned and he was banished from the Garden,
The communication between God and man became cut off (Ge3:5-6, 24).
Nevertheless, God called Moses (Ex3:2) for
God heard the groaning and cry of Israel and
Remembered the covenant He made with Abraham (Ex2:23-25).
After He brought them out of Egypt,
God commanded them to build the sanctuary (Ex25:8) so that
When the incense filled the atonement cover (Ex25:22, 30:1, 6-10; He9:4)
He would hear their prayer from the mercy seat inside the Most Holy Place (Rev8:3).
Yet not just anyone could enter there (Nu16:1-31), for
It was limited from the Levites to the priests to the high priest,
Only once every year (He10:1), and
Anyone who disobeyed was put to death.
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would make a way for the voices of all men to be heard, for
He is the incarnate Word who was with the Father in the beginning (Jn1:1, 14, 18), and
Thus, always in communication with the Father (Jn17:5),
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1) Tore His flesh like a veil and committed His spirit into the Father's hands, giving thanks to the Father for being heard (Lk23:46; He5:7, 9:23-24, 10:19);
2) Condemned the ungrateful devil who caused men to forget grace (Ge3:5-6, 14; 1Jn3:8); and
3) Shed His blood and showed the mercy of redemption to all men (He10:10).
The Father raised Him and
Jesus ascended to the throne of His grace in heaven (He4:16).
The Holy Spirit comes in the name Yeshua to
Those who receive His name and:
1) Receive forgiveness of sins (Lk42:47; Eph1:7)
2) Are born again as children of God (1Pe1:23); and
3) Receive the right to call God, Father (Jn1:12; Rm8:14-16).
The Christian knows that he is a child of God.
Therefore, to God who gave His One and Only Son,
He can only say, "Father, Thank You! for:
1) He is forgiven of all his sins;
2) He does not complain or resent in any situation but rather gives thanks for being treated as a son (He12:5-13); and
3) The Father always hears him (Jn11:42).
O Lord,
What can I say to give thanks for all Your grace?
The only thing I can say is¦.
Father, thank You!!!
Amen.
