If the apostle Paul visited us during Thanksgiving, he might encourage us to praise God for two gifts we sometimes overlook. He prayed and wrote so believers would grasp what it means to have an INHERITANCE and to have SALVATION. Paul must have believed that the more these blessings were understood, the more we would live courageous, generous, and grateful lives.
Be thankful for an INHERITANCE.
Give “joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:13) .
“When you 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)
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9)
Be thankful for SALVATION.
“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9)
Happy Thanksgiving!
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:15-19