What are you thankful for regarding the topic of salvation? We hope you have been filling out the 21 days of thanksgiving chart. If you have an entry regarding the topic of salvation, please share it with us by adding a comment to this post.
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Nov 11, 2009
Salvation: What are you thankful for?
What are you thankful for regarding the topic of salvation? We hope you have been... -
Nov 10, 2009
People: What are you Thankful for?
What are you thankful for regarding the topic of people? We hope you have been... -
Nov 09, 2009
Church: What are you Thankful for?
What are you thankful for regarding the topic of church? We hope you have been... -
Nov 07, 2009
Nature: What are you Thankful for?
What are you thankful for regarding the topic of nature? We hope you have been... -
Nov 06, 2009
Material/Physical Blessings: What are you Thankful for?
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Other: What are you thankful for?
What are you thankful for regarding the topics other than the ones listed?? We hope...
Thankful that I am no longer condemned. Thankful that one day I will be able to see how many lives were transformed by the same Gospel that saved me.
I am thankful that God said “it is finished” on the cross which means that my sins no longer have the final word in my life. It means that my struggle against sin has been ultimately won, and I don’t need to approach God with insecurity and fear. It means that there is always hope because the victory over life and death has been won. It also means that I can always return to God despite my failures. Finally, it means that everything was done by Christ, that I don’t need to do anything more, that salvation has been completely accomplished through the cross and I don’t need to strive to earn it. This is amazing because it frees me to life for God out of gratitude instead of through a merit-based system.
I thank God for my salvation because He called me out of darkness (loneliness), fire (torment), and gnashing of teeth (regrets) into His wonderful light of community (love), joy, and peace. I will never be able to earn my salvation; yet it was given to me freely at the cost of Jesus’ sacrifice. And the longer I live this Christian life, the more clearly I see the unfathomable worth of Your salvation work in me. Thank you, Father, for this wonderful gift that I do not deserve at all.
I thank God for sending His beloved Son to die on the cross, so that I can be saved from my sins. I thank God for making all things new….
I’m thankful that my future is secured in heaven, so that I can put away the tiring efforts to “make a name for myself”, but rather live a wastefully loving life to lift high the name of Jesus. All this because my eternal destiy is taken care of in the end. I will be spoken for on that day.
I’m thankful that because of salvation, I don’t have to live in anxiety, I don’t have to live trying to grasp or cling onto my life, I don’t have to live in fear of what’s going to happen to my life tomorrow, in fear of death or separation from the people that I love. I can live a life of freedom, of loving others, of giving my life because my life is set for eternity.
Psalm 16:6 always comes to mind as if I had to summarize my life: “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Before coming to Christ, I was eager to remove any boundary lines to pursue my worldly desires, thinking that’s where true happiness lies, but it only left me insecure, a people-pleaser, hollow, superficial, proud, blind to myself, and just flat-out MISERABLE. But my salvation has led to God gradually laying down each boundary line in my life: my leaders, my peers, my parents, this close-knit community where you’ll always bump into someone you know, ministry and its responsibilities, the students I’ve been entrusted with, accountability structures, DT times and sharing, coworkers in ministry, prayer requests for people and ministries… And each boundary line has indeed fallen in pleasant places, keeping me in the joy of my salvation and keeping out the enemy trying to take that from me. And as I choose to thrive within those boundaries, I get glimpses of the delightful inheritance I really do have in my salvation, as evidenced by how He has changed my desires, brought me joy through the relationships and the work that He’s doing around me. And it makes me not want to kick off those boundary lines anymore, knowing that they’re placed there out of His love for me.
I thank God and all the ways in which He has delivered me from the grip of my sinful life. Truly I have seen myself change over these last 2 years. B4 becoming christian, I used to be a very self-centered, bitter, lost boy. Trying to be like everyone else at the schools I went to. Like every other teenager, I pursued popularity, attention and approval among my peers. The desire to fit in was a burden unto me, because my family was not the richest of families, nor were able to afford the “In” clothes so that never really worked out for me. That fact made me bitter and discontent about the things I didn’t have. I was always a shy person growing up kept to myself most of the time. This became comfortable to me and something I preferred. I considered myself a obedient boy to my mom. I never tried to displease my mom so I never participated in staying out late and hanging out with friends like my brother did. I tried to fill the gap of hanging out with friends, with playing video games. I tried to escape reality but this actually pretty lonely at times.
My mom and brothers would be out late nights leaving my younger brother and I at home alone. This was constant throughout my life and it affected me growing up. I became very bottled up. Not having anyone to talk to, except my little brother. Now after becoming christian, I have found true joy in the relationships I have found here at this church. God has given me a new life, my salvation, genuine relationships, Jesus Christ and his unconditional love. Despite all that has happened in the past, he loves me dearly and wants a relationship with me. I thank God for his unconditional love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy upon someone as broken as me. Christ now lives in me and it is by his undeserving death am able to proclaim that he is Lord to all the non-believers so that they may experience true joy, forgiveness, everlasting life, and unconditional love from the FATHER I did. Now instead of being so self-centered, and insecure, I find myself being mindful of others and their needs. I still struggle with many sins such as lust insecurities pride, and the list can go on on and on, but knowing that I am loved my God, I’m forgiven, and that one day there will be no more darkness sufferings and pain, I am able to overcome and be that light that shines unto others in their darkest times.
I’m thankful as God rescued me from a life of sin and destruction, to a life full of purpose, hope, and meaning – eternally. I often think about John 10:10 and how Jesus has come to give me a full understanding of life that I never could have imagined before. That is what took place through Jesus’ sacrifice for my life, and I want to live a life pleasing to Him, loving God and loving others.
I’m thankful that my salvation isn’t dependent on my own efforts, but is the sheer grace of God. I was reminded of this again during the Lord’s Supper last night when we sang “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood.” That has been my favorite hymn for a long time because it reminds me that it’s not by works, nor by my upbringing, or even any prayer I prayed. I have this salvation entirely because there IS a fountain filled with blood, and this is fundamentally where all new things begin.
I’m thankful for my salvation because it means that my source of significance comes from the fact that I am loved and accepted by God. I don’t have to outshine others to make myself more valuable, nor do I have to worry about failing and being left behind.
Likewise, I’m thankful that God has surrounded me with loving people who are neither impressed nor disappointed in me, but accept me because they share in God’s heart.
I want to thank God for choosing to die on the cross, for choosing the nails, for choosing to be completely vulnerable, so that we may learn and know of who God truly is, what love truly is, in that we may also learn to love through Him.
I was really blessed by the dt today as I reflected on how the gospel, my salvation, frees me from worldly things. I am really thankful that because of the gospel I able to overcome the quarreling and jealousy in my life. I am thankful that I am able to engage in the greater mission of saving souls and loving people instead of participating in the competitions of the world. Because of the gospel I am able to see my friends as co-laborers in Christ and am able to be thankful for their strengths instead of feeling diminished by them. I am thankful that the gospel tells me to lose myself because I see that the more I lose myself and die to my sins, the more freedom and joy I experience in life!
I’m thankful to God, that by His grace and amazing mercy, I know that my earthly life is not all that there is, that I don’t have to live within the worldly confines of greed, pleasure, or sin, that there is a Master awaiting for me on that glorious day. I’m thankful that through my relationship with God today, I can get a taste of what heaven will be like in the future.
i am thankful for my salvation, for Christ’s death and resurrection that defeated sin and death. the fact that my sins were accounted for on the cross..every single one.. is amazing. where would i be were it not for the cross? what could i do, who could i turn to with my utterly broken life? i could never make up for it with a “better” life and i could never pay away the guilt. there are times when the burden of my sins weigh so heavy on me that i cry out but ultimately, i cry out to my Savior. What happens to those who have lived a broken life and have no knowledge of God and no knowledge of the cross? What happens to those who cry at night because of their deep guilt and shame and don’t know God’s redeeming grace? There is no hope, no promise, no love, no success that could free me from the burden of my sin like the cross.
I was so thankful and blessed by today’s DT and commentary through 1 Cor 4. I’m thankful that because of God’s salvation and grace in my life, that God’s call to minister and the trust that He’s given me is not based on me and my merit, competence, accomplishments, even spiritual success. Rather, He calls me to be faithful THROUGH those failures, disappointments, setbacks, frustrations, challenges in my life. through those times, I’m realizing more of my human weakness, and I shouldn’t trust my strength, but this is exactly what A. Paul says I should boast of! I’m so thankful then that God is a God bigger than my failures, and the gospel’s source of power is not within me, but it is from God alone. Because of this, though I am still broken, I can continue living a life of service to God with hope and perseverance.
I’m thankful that the word of Romans 8:1-2 ring true “1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
I think about my past and the horrendous mistakes I have made and the people I have hurt, but because of the cross I am forgiven and even though I would reject someone like myself, I’m grateful God is not like me and He forgives and loves me. Because of that, truly the law of sin and death no longer has a grasp in my life, but now there can be peace and freedom.
I’m thankful for my salvation because I now have a choice. I no longer have to live for my sinful nature and feel hopeless that I am the way that I am. But because of Jesus, I have a choice, a choice to live for a greater purpose other than myself, a choice to NOT choose sin but to choose grace, a choice to do things that actually matter eternally and not wastefully on temporary things.
I am thankful for my 7th homeroom teacher (Ms. Chu) who invited me to a Christian camp where I heard the message of the Gospel for the first time in Korea. I found out later my teacher turned out to be a family friend of Lauren and Andy Tung and who is also the owner of China Village, a restaurant that we enjoy going. Who knew that after years later we were able to meet again and I am able to thank her for the Gospel seed she planted in my life.
I’m thankful for the power of my salvation in allowing us as a church to see past any differences we have with others and form relationships based on our common faith. In any other setting, such as a high school, many people in our church that are now close friends may never have met, much less get along. When I see different people, especially the mentors, it amazes me that they are able to be so close when I would never see people like them together at my high school. However because of our faith, we as a church are able to form relationships not based on shallow things like talents or relationships but based on the fact that we all have been saved. These relationships are unique and like no other because everyone is equal, there is no competition to be “coolest” or anything, just equal standing as sinners and because of this we can have a fellowship that most people never have the privilege of experiencing.
I am thankful for God’s peace that transcends all understanding… I am a new creation, and God has called me His own child, to be set apart for God’s kingdom and glory. I am thankful that this is possible by the gift of grace and God’s own love demonstrated on the cross, and simply throughout all of my life.
To know that God loves me is an unbelievable fact that should never lose it’s luster… I am thankful I can always return to this simple truth.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
I’m thankful for the hope of salvation, for myself and others. There is no situation, no tragic news, no brokenness, with which I cannot turn to Christ. If it weren’t for the Cross, I would have no where to turn with the crushing burden of my sins and the world’s sins, no hope, only despair.
I’m thankful that because of my salvation, I can connect immediately with other believers, even outside our church, and share that common, deep bond with them.
So thankful that God’s grace and salvation can give real, palpable hope in the face of death. I was encouraged when our precious sister Joyce here shared yesterday that she felt God was really preparing her for the death of her father through various incidents, words, messages this past year. She experienced answered prayer of assurance for her father’s salvation, the many lives that he had touched, and the fact that her mother is recovering well from this tragedy. I was reminded through her sharing that God is so personal, He knows and understands the hurt of one person so intimately, and in such detailed ways, He is paying close attention and is carrying that person and hears individual prayers. Thank You Lord, that You are such a personal, caring Father, and I cannot deny how personally and intimately You work in each person’s life.
I am thankful for the obedience of my leaders who answered to call to go to Davis and start a church plant there 12 years ago. Because of their faith and love, I was a recipient of the gospel where I was once the lost prodigal son, caught up in myself and in the things of this world. I am so thankful for my salvation, that Jesus died for my sins and has given me new life and purpose in Him!
I am thankful for my salvation because God in His great mercy has given me a second chance at life. I am living on borrowed time and I shudder to think where I’d be today had not God pursued and rescued me from my sins.
I’m thankful that I can pray to God and lift up worries to God. I don’t have to internalize all my worries or be consumed by them.
I am thankful for salvation because it means my greatest fear has been conquered. I can still clearly remember the incredible fear and dread I felt over the prospect of an eternity of obliviousness. If that was true, then what did it matter what happened in this life, good or bad, if that was going to be the end to it all. But God has resoundingly responded to my simplistic but desperate prayers in those days to make himself known to me if he was out there and because of it my life, my purpose, my everything is changed forever!
I am so thankful for Christ’s resurrection and my own salvation. How true Paul’s words are when he said “and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor 15:14,19). When I look at my life and think about what I would be like without the Gospel, I can see that my life would be so very aimless and purposeless. Heck, I’m not even good enough in any skill to make a name for myself, and so I’m thankful that because God is real and is working in me, he has made my life purposeful and what skills I do have useful.
I’m thankful for my salvation and for the fact that I no longer have to bear the guilt and shame of my sin. I’m thankful that I have hope and look forward to being to being victorious over my sins. I’m just so thankful that I don’t have to live in cynicism or doubt but can trust in the hope of victory with God!
I’m so thankful that God has adopted me into His kingdom and to make all of us a family of brothers and sisters. I’m grateful that He views me as His child and that my significance lies in that simple fact. We were assigned to give a Bible study this past week in the SK2 Praxis course and I decided to give it on performance and approval because of my struggles with this area. Preparing for that Bible study made me realize once again that my significance shouldn’t be based on human approval, which is temporary, but on being God’s child, which I will always be. I realized just how much God loves me and doesn’t require anything of me, but just to have faith in Him. No amount of work can earn salvation because Christ has paid it all, for which I have been blessed.
I am thankful for having direction in my life. I am thankful to every person, situation, prayer and scripture passage that God used to lead me to a restored relationship with Him. I am so glad to serve a Father who knows me inside and out, yet loves me unconditionally, and even wishes to use every sin, shame, and hurt for his noble purposes. Without him, I would be going in a circular direction of trying to please others and spiraling downward into an endless, tiring pursuit. I would have become a shapeshifter who would not even know her original identity. Now, I have no reason to fear rejection nor condemnation because he sees me as I am, and still chose to display his love and forgiveness on the cross. I am thankful to find contentment and purpose in serving an audience of one.
The most amazing thing is how God has peeled away at me and finally brought me to my salvation. Through the two Course 101 classes that taught me about what Christianity is all about, through the many conversations, meals, and activities with people that allowed me to share relationships with this body of Christ and experience God’s compassion and genuine love, through the bible reading, the Sunday worship services, and the Encounters with Jesus class in Praxis that allowed me to personalize God’s word continually, through the reaching out events at CSUEB with Praxis that allowed me to envision God’s good plan for each and every one of His children, and even through the heartbreaking times I had in my effort to pursue romantic relationships, God has amazingly orchestrated every single event in my life to show his true self to me and to show me my true identity as both a sinner and yet a loved daughter in Christ. God stayed faithful – he was patient when I continually resisted and denied him; he was gentle as he came to me with softness; he was there everytime when I was down and he lifted me up out of my misery. I just want to say how thankful I am for God’s unstoppable and faithful love.
I’m so thankful for my salvation because it gives me the ability to look past the immediate circumstances of my life, as well as my past sins and regrets. I know that the sins that plague me now will not plague me forever, and there is still hope for me because of what Jesus did on the cross. Instead of dwelling in the past, I can focus on the future and the hope of heaven – something I can’t wait to enjoy with all my brothers and sisters!
I thank God that He did not leave me alone as a sinner, but took the initiative to save me from my sin. He paid the cost for me on the Cross and welcomed me into His family. It is the greatest evidence of His love and provision.
I am thankful that the gospel is the ultimate good news. I need not search elsewhere. Whenever I despair and feel down because of my own brokenness, I can turn to God who loved me even while I was His enemy. His amazing, reckless love is more than enough to keep me going. I am thankful that I have Someone worthy to sing about.
I thank God for redeeming my life from darkness, because of His love for me. There is nothing I can do to ever deserve it. Through so many people and circumstances, He spoke
to me and touched me again and again despite the many times I turned away and hurt Him. This new life I have been given means I no longer have to carry the weight and guilt for my sins. Instead I can live with the hope that I have something greater, some higher purpose beyond this earth to live for. And I know I can push on in the midst of tough circumstances because I know God will be faithful all the way to the end, and one day there will be no more pain and sadness, and instead only praising God and rejoicing in heaven. Each day that I live, I live with that end in mind, as I try to love the people around me and live out my Christian faith.
I’m so thankful that God touched my hardened heart, and brought so many people to care for, and share the Gospel with me along the years, even during the time when i felt like giving up on myself, God used circumstances to cause me, and encourage me to seek Him again. I thought I was seeking God, but it was really God who sought me out. Thank God for his patient, volnerable, and persevering love for someone unworthy as me. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I’m so thankful that salvation is a gift received personally but enjoyed by many. I was so moved this past Tuesday when we held a short prayer meeting and Pastor Manny opened the time up for people to come up to the mic and share what they’re thankful for along the lines of salvation and church. Person after person, people were sharing how thankful they were for the salvation they received, some of them from this past year, and many were moved to tears as they shared with everyone else. I found myself, along with others that I could hear around me, uttering “Amen”s and “Thank you Lord”s after each person’s sharing, as the joy of each person’s salvation was multiplied in that room. Thank you Lord that I can partake in joy not from just my own salvation, but from those of others as I know You’ve rejoiced over each person who received Christ and were cleansed from their sin.