The Power of Thanks

Or: Thanksgiving Reorients

1/ Therefore: Thanks (2 Samuel 22:50, the Last Words of King David)

Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD,
among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to Your name.

2/ Twelve Thanksgiving Verses

I made a little PDF with twelve texts regarding Thanks and Thanksgiving for the members at St Paul and Jesus Deaf. You can download it here:

Twelve Thanksgiving Verses

105KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

You can cut these out and use them as Bible Memory Cards, or place them around the house as a reminder.

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3/ Give Thanks 2023 Calendar

Here’s our 2023 calendar: A Year of Thanksgiving.

Check it out here. One for you, one for everyone in the family. (But I might wait a few days to purchase them. Lulu normally has pretty good Black Friday deals. I’ll update on those discounts.)

4/ Thanksgiving Reorients

I’ve been thinking a lot about the spiritual efficacy of Thanksgiving, especially in the context of Romans 1.

See how the lack of thanksgiving is a mark of the pagan, unbelieving mind, and how (1) not honoring God, and (2) not giving thanks are the two indications of a mind becoming futile and a heart becoming dark. And more, this is the first step towards idolatry and social/moral upheaval.

Romans 1:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely,
his eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,
in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 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.
22 Claiming to be wise,
they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images
resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

…and we know what comes next.

If the honor of God and thanks are missing, thinking is futile and hearts are dark. On the other hand, when we honor God and give thanks, minds may be strong and hearts may be clean.

Why?

Why is thanksgiving such an important part of the Christian life?

This is a deep mystery, but thanks is connected to faith. Thanks recognizes what God has done. Thanksgiving reorients us, instead of having our focus and attention on the things I need to do today, thanks rejoices over the things God has already accomplished.

This is the re-orientation of Thanksgiving (which we’ve talked about before):

5/ Thanks embedded in the Ten Commandments

This was part of our last church council meeting devotion, prepared by one of our members who preferred to remain unnamed. It’s a really helpful devotion on the gifts protected by the Ten Commandments.

Like the leper, faith causes us to turn back to give praise and thanksgiving from where the goodness came - God. Having been redeemed, we understand that through the Ten Commandments, God is protecting His gifts to us. One use of the Law is to order Christian living, serving as a guide for all Christians. The Ten Commandments offer us an outline of thanksgiving.

In the First Commandment, God gives us the gift of Himself. We give thanks for God Himself in whom we can take refuge and trust with complete confidence, rejoicing in His great love for us that He would provide a means for our redemption and eternal life and give us the basis of our faith.

In the Second Commandment, God gives us His holy name. And so we give thanks for the power and might in God’s name. We give thanks for His gift of prayer so that we have a means to call upon His name to profit our neighbor and ourselves, asking confidently like children asking their father.

In the Third Commandment, God gives us the gift of His Word and worship. We give thanks for the infallibility, sufficiency, and clarity God provides in His Word to create and sustain faith in us and to guide us in our lives. We give thanks for the gifts received each week in worship where God promises to be present in His Word and Sacraments bountifully giving the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

In the Fourth Commandment, God give us the gift of family and authority. We give thanks for parents and other authorities, however imperfect, to nourish, protect, and teach us.

In the Fifth Commandment, God gives us the gift of life. We give thanks for God’s creation and all that supports and sustains life. We give thanks for our own lives and the lives of our neighbors. We give thanks for our health.

In the Sixth Commandment, God gives us the gift of marriage. We give thank for God’s gift of marriage for the creation of the family.

In the Seventh Commandment, God gives us the gift of property. We give thanks for the material possessions granted to us for our good and for the good of our neighbor.

In the Eighth Commandment, God gives us the gift of name and reputation. We give thanks for our skills and abilities to further Christ’s church and to help our neighbor and society.

In the Ninth and Tenth Commandments, God gives us the gift of contentment. We give thanks that God has provided all that we need for this life and the life to come.

6/ Creation Conference Audio

Dr Heck and I spoke at our first Austin-Area Creation Conference a few weeks ago.

You can find the audio and slides here.

The four lectures are:

1. “The Importance of Beginnings” Dr Joel Heck

2. “The Importance of Creation Dictinctives” (Creature/Creator, Animal/Man, Man/Woman) Pr Bryan Wolfmueller

3. “The New Testament on Creation” Dr Joel Heck

4. “The Devil’s Shame Battle” Pr Bryan Wolfmueller

I think you will enjoy it.

7/ Suffering FROM God

Dr Schulz reminds us of the Biblical truth that suffering comes from the hand of God. This is only barable when we remember that good also comes from God’s hand, and more, that the Lord sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die for us.

Here’s Luther putting this forth from his Psalm 6 introduction:

In all trials and affliction man should first of all run to God; he should realize and accept the fact that everything is sent by God, whether it comes from the devil or from man. This is what the prophet does here. In this psalm he mentions his trials, but first he hurries to God and accepts these trials from Him; for this is the way to learn patience and the fear of God. But he who looks to man and does not accept these things from God becomes impatient and a despiser of God.

8/ Lutheran Philosopher

And speaking of Dr Schulz, make sure to bookmark his website https://lutheranphilosopher.com/. There is a large and growing number of resources there.

9/ Luther on the Mystical Union

And and, speaking of Luther, there was some great stuff on the mystical union from this morning’s Worldwide Bible Class.

Therefore we are carried along by faith and become one flesh with Him, as Christ says in John 17:21: “That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us.” In this way we ascend into Him and are carried along through the Word and the Holy Spirit. And through faith we cling to Him, since we become one body with Him and He with us. He is the Head; we are the members. On the other hand, He descends to us through the Word and the sacraments by teaching and by exercising us in the knowledge of Him.

The first union, then, is that of the Father and the Son in the divinity.
The second is that of the divinity and the humanity in Christ.
The third is that of the church and Christ.

Here’s the study.

10/ Lutheran Response to Postmillennialism

And and and speaking of YouTube, here’s this week’s Q&A video.

11/ A Scrap from Doxology

…as seen on Twitter.

12/ A Break in the Transgender Damn

I’m thankful that the transgender moral agenda seems to have some cracks appearing. Al Mohler discusses this in Monday’s Briefing.

13/ Scholia Audio Youtube Channel

A lot of great stuff here:

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Remember to go to your pastor's Bible Class this week and, read old theology books. (If you don't have a pastor or congregation, click here. If you don't have old theology books, click here.) 

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Thank you, again, for your time and attention, and for your prayers. Please keep in touch. 

Lord's Blessings, Pastor Wolfmueller

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

www.wolfmueller.co

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