- araratchurch
- Nov 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 4
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
Romans 1:21-25 ESV
Ironically, ingratitude is more often observed among those who are actually better off than the multitudes of people all over the world suffering great want. It seems that the more people have, the more they desire, becoming petty and ungrateful.
Paul warned that the ingratitude we are seeing in our society, indeed, seen in many parts of the world, is one of the signs of living in the Last Days before the coming of Jesus.
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!“
II Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV
Notice that Paul ranks being unthankful, with sins we might deem as being much worse.
In our opening scripture we see Paul commenting concerning the attitudes and behaviors that lead a person to become foolish and spiritually blind:
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Child of God, ingratitude toward God, isn’t just ill-advised, it’s a sin. And as we have seen, ingratitude leads to spiritual blindness. The fact is, if we really understood what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, the sin of ingratitude would be much less of a temptation.
Lord willing, we will discuss this further, next time.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Nov 21
- 1 min read
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.“
Psalms 100:4-5 NKJV
We live in a time where many people have developed a sense of entitlement. As such, any good things are received as being “deserved.” And, any shortfall of
expectations is met with anger and resentment.
Tragically, even some Christians have come to view the Lord with the same arrogance and ingratitude. In such cases, the emphasis has shifted from the rule of Christ, to man’s rule.
As we discussed last time, that trend always ended badly for the children of Israel. Just so, it will end badly for anyone who forgets God.
”"Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver! The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"“
Psalm 50:22-23 ESV
In our opening scripture, we see the psalmist describing the attitude with which we must approach the Lord. Indeed, access to His presence is only afforded those who recognize the great things He has done for us, reflected in a grateful heart.
“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let pus shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
Psalms 95:2 NKJV
Lord willing: Next time, we’ll continue our contemplation of giving thanks for the goodness of God
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Nov 20
- 2 min read
“What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?“
Psalms 116:12 NKJV
Thanksgiving is a wonderful tradition in our country. Indeed, a grateful people are more likely to be a happy and peaceful people.
With that, the most important gratitude we should express is to the Giver of all things.
In Moses’ rehearsal to the people concerning their 40 year wilderness journey, he gave them a very important warning.
“When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.“
Deuteronomy 8:10-11, 17, 19 NKJV
Moses reminded the people of what the Lord had said concerning the fact that prosperity would tempt them to forget what He had done for them. And notice, the Lord said that forgetting about Him, would be the result of their personally taking credit for their victories!
Sadly, we know that the children of Israel did go through periods of forgetting God, resulting in their idolatry and the ignoring of God’s commands. And, each period of their ingratitude and rebellion led to the destruction about which the Lord had warned.
Our country has been truly blessed by the Lord; but the ingratitude and indifference for His blessings, exhibited by so many, is dangerous.
In our opening scripture, we see that the psalmist, having been delivered from destruction by the Lord, seeks to imagine what he could possibly give back in return for all God’s bestowed benefits. The ultimate answer? Our praise and gratitude!
Lord willing: Next time, we’ll continue our contemplation of giving thanks for the goodness of God.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!