5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. ~ Isaiah 53:5
He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. What does this mean? Jesus purchased our salvation on the Cross, not only what is built up in the past, but He paid the price for every sin we would ever commit in the future. He took care of every generation, past, present, and future, so that all could have the chance to have freedom through His perfect blood.
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22
The sacrifice had to be a pure, spotless, unblemished sacrifice. In other words, it had to be a sinless blood sacrifice so that all who were washed in the sinless blood would be cleansed. We could never clean ourselves, so God took our sins upon Himself. Because He took our sins, we can now be forgiven; we need only repent and accept His perfect sacrifice.
LORD Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross. Thank You for paying my debt that I could never pay. Help me to never turn away from Your unfailing love. Please guide me in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Though giving thanks in all circumstances seems impossible, God desires for us to do so for our own benefit. On one of the TED Talks I listened to, a doctor told a story about a patient saying thank you to her back pain, and after a period of time saying thank you to her back pain, it eased. Just the act of having a thankful heart, the woman got pain relief.
Let me list the 7 scientifically proven benefits of gratitude for you:
Gratitude opens the door to more relationships
Gratitude improves physical health
Gratitude improves psychological health
Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression
Grateful people sleep better
Gratitude improves self-esteem
Gratitude increases mental strength
Giving thanks can bring healing in so many ways. The enemy often tries to show us the negatives of our lives so that we can focus on the pain. So that the weight of the world hangs on our shoulders, but God desires to remove that weight. When we are thankful, especially in the hard times, the burden is lifted off of our shoulders.
26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for His own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. ~ Hebrews 7:26-28
We needed Jesus’ blood because His blood was and is untainted by sin. Just as the writer of Hebrews tells us that it was impossible for someone tainted by sin to redeem us from our sins, it always will be impossible for anyone other than Jesus to redeem us from our sins. Why? Because Jesus was our perfect, untainted, innocent final sacrifice. This act was not and is not God’s accepting nor condoning human sacrifice. This was Jesus saying Father, they’ve sinned, they can’t pay their debt; they can’t take their punishment, let me take their place. Jesus took our place on the cross. He took our punishment by sacrificing Himself so that we might be saved.
So, what does this blood do for us? According to Hebrews 9:13-14, the blood of Jesus did what the blood of animals could not do; it cleansed us from our sins and all unrighteousness. Unlike the animals’ blood, Jesus’ blood purified us from our sin and purified our minds from the guilt of our sins. He not only cleansed us physically but spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. He freed us in every aspect we can think of, with His Holy and precious blood.
Now because the Blood of Jesus cleansed us of our sins, it also brought us closer to God. The writer of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 10:19-20 that we are now able to enter the Holy places, that we couldn’t enter before the cleansing Blood of Jesus. We have been given, through the new way of Jesus, a path into the Holy places. We can now go before the Throne of God with confidence.
“16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:16
Before we couldn’t do that, we couldn’t enter into the presence of God, or we would die because of our sin and filth, but now we have that privilege because of the cleansing power of the Blood of Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for taking our place and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Thank Him For His Sacrifice.
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Many people believe that God is saying that we have to be thankful for all of our circumstances, or even that we have to be happy about all of our circumstances, but is that what Paul is saying? Does God really want us to be thankful for all of our circumstances? No, of course not.
God doesn’t expect us to be thankful for all of our circumstances. He expects us to be thankful IN all of our circumstances. There are things in this world that we can’t control, loved ones dying, losing our job, finding out a loved one, or we have cancer. When His plan for us is for our good and not for evil, God doesn’t want us to be thankful for cancer. He wants us to be thankful THROUGH cancer. In spite of cancer. So that we can fight through cancer.
God doesn’t give us hardships, but He allows us to go through them. He allows us to suffer for a short time, but He always gives us the strength to make it through to the other side. The Joy of the LORD is our strength. That doesn’t mean that we’re happy about our situation, but instead that we’re gonna put our trust in the LORD because He loves us. When we trust in Him, we can make it through anything.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Give Thanks In All Circumstances.
“23 In all toil there is
profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” ~ Proverbs 14:23
We have become a people of complaints. We complain about everything. As a church, we have forgotten what it means to be thankful. We tend to look at the glass half empty instead of half full. We’re so busy complaining about what we don’t have instead of what we do have. We don’t see how blessed we are. We have become a selfish, self-serving people.
When we look back at the Bible and see what those who have gone before us went through so that we can have all that we do, we really need to be thankful. When I look back at what my grandparents and great-grandparents did and what they went through so that their children and their children’s children could have better lives, it’s very humbling. They were innovative. They found ways to stretch very little.
My grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ generations were generations that took the bad, the ugly, and made good out of it. They didn’t make excuses that things were too hard; they didn’t make excuses that they didn’t have the education to be successful. They took what little they had, and they made so much out of it. Little to no education, no help, but they fought, they strove, and succeeded. They believed they could, so they did. They were a generation that had the fear of God in them and believed they could do anything.
Where is that in today’s world? Would they be disappointed if they saw what we did with their hard work? What we did with their sweat and tears? We complain so much that we envy and hate those who have more than we do instead of fighting for a better life. We give up and accept the plate that has been set before us. Why don’t we fight for a better future?
Those of us who grew up with it all, are we at a disadvantage? We shouldn’t be, but it seems like we’ve done the complete opposite than past generations. We’ve taken the good and beautiful, and we’ve turned it to the bad and the ugly. With all of the education we have at our fingertips, the opportunities, and the technological advances, we should be the generation making a difference. Making things better. Correcting past mistakes. But instead, we’ve become complacent and entitled. We no longer believe in working hard; instead, we want hand-outs.
What does that get us? Just enough to survive. Do you want to survive or thrive? I implore you to take advantage of what you have because I guarantee it is more than the generations before us could have ever dreamed of having. Be better than what you have come from. Never forget where you come from. Be thankful for what you have, but always strive for better.
“18 And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” ~ Matthew 28:18-20
As the majority of us are Non-Jews, this verse can be very encouraging. Before His death and resurrection, Jesus said He only came to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. To His disciples, He said only go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. But something shifted in the Spiritual when He died and rose again; Gentiles were grafted in because now, Jesus gave us The Great Commission, to go out and make disciples of all nations. Sometimes we don’t even see the bigger picture because we get caught up in how amazing it is that we, Gentiles, were grafted in. But Paul takes that a step further, from just Gentiles, but the entire Earth being grafted into the Overwhelming, Never-Ending, Reckless Love of God. Paul said in Ephesians 1:4-6 that before the world’s foundation, God chose us (humanity) to be adopted to Himself through Christ Jesus.
So, before we were separated as Jew and Gentile. Before we ever sinned. Before Adam ever ate the fruit. And before there was even a foundation, God saw that we would sin, and therefore created a way to adopt us from darkness. For every sin we’ve committed, are currently committing, and are going to commit, Jesus died for. Jesus took the weight of all of our sin on Himself, taking our place on the cross. And then 3 days later, rising from the grave and finishing it all, for death has lost its sting and the grave has lost its power over us. For now, when we die, we are called to our new home, Heaven.
Thank you, LORD, for bearing our punishment. For taking our lashing. For paying our debt. You alone could bear our suffering on your back. You alone could overcome the grave, for we sin, not fully understanding what our sin cost. Some of us refuse to even acknowledge what You went through, and yet, You still did it knowing all of this. Knowing that we would betray You, spit in Your face, and call You a liar, You still got off of Your throne and came down to Earth to save us. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for paying our debt. In Your Holy and Precious Name, Amen.
This Thanksgiving, 2020, was the beginning of hopefully a very, very long tradition for The HoldToHope Family. 2020 has been filled with heartache, fear, disappointment, panic, and every other negative emotion you can think of. Many lost their jobs; many became homeless because of the pandemic. This Thanksgiving, we were blessed enough to be able to serve 12 plates of Thanksgiving Day dinners to 12 homeless men and women.
During the holidays it’s easy to become caught up with our own families and our own problems, that we forget that there are others who need help. To be honest, we, the Yates Family, have been guilty of that ourselves, but this Thanksgiving, we were determined to help others. Thanksgiving is about family and being thankful; we believe God placed it on our hearts to share all the blessings God has poured out on us this year.
To be honest, the day started out a little disappointing. We had made plans with several homeless people to meet us at a specific spot to receive a Thanksgiving Meal. We got there, none showed. To say the least, we were a little disappointed, but we didn’t let that get us too down. We decided that if they wouldn’t come to us, we would go to them. So, we went on a search to find them. Within a few minutes, we found one of the homeless men who were supposed to meet us but didn’t. He had forgotten and honestly, didn’t even really remember us, but nevertheless, when we gave him the plate of food, he was grateful. But we still had 11 more meals to hand out. So, we got back in our car and went searching for more people.
Not more than 5 minutes later, we saw another homeless man we were supposed to meet, who said he had 20 to 30 people he was bringing. When we spoke to him, he blamed others and said that he can’t babysit them. In the moment, I have to admit, I was vexed. I mean, we just spent all day cooking for them, and they couldn’t even bother to show up. Then they’re gonna have an attitude and blame other people. I couldn’t sympathize or empathize until I started writing this. Even though this man was homeless, didn’t know when his next meal was, he still didn’t have the desire to meet us to get his free plate of Thanksgiving Dinner, nor was he grateful that we took the time to do so. I didn’t realize that I was him. This is how we are with God, except we’re a lot more ungrateful. God got off of His throne to take our place, and all we have to do is say we’re sorry and accept His free gift of Salvation.
See, we’re the homeless man in the story. We’re hungry, dirty, we have no place to live, no idea when our next meal will be, and God is promising more than just a hot Thanksgiving Day dinner. God is promising to take us home with Him, wash us clean, give us a new life, and make sure we are never hungry or thirsty again, yet we can’t even pray 5 minutes a day. We can’t even go to Church. We can’t even meet Him to accept the free gift of Salvation paid in full, even though He’s out there chasing us down, and we’re blaming others and refusing to take responsibility for our own actions. Even though we refuse to accept Him, He still leaves the 99 to find the 1. We’re the 1.
Some of us are like that homeless man who didn’t have the desire to have more, but others are like the next man we saw—a man who recently lost his job due to COVID-19 and was now living on the streets. We told him we would meet him at a certain area, at a certain time with a dinner, and you know what, he was there. When my Dad saw him, he called out to him by name with excitement. The man was stunned and just looked at him, saying nothing. At first, my Dad thought he had offended him, then the man spoke, ‘you remember my name?’
‘Ya, of course, buddy. We got some food for you here.’ My Dad responded.
He didn’t speak because he was so shocked that someone had remembered, not just to bring him food, but his name. When we gave him the food, he stopped talking and got very serious. He quickly said goodbye and walked away. He didn’t turn back around until we started to drive off. When I watched him, I realized why he reacted like that. This man had lost his mom 2 years ago and had stopped celebrating the holidays because of the pain. He had become homeless in April, and people started treating him like he was nothing. My Dad, a man who only met him once, had not only remembered to bring him by a homemade Thanksgiving Day meal, but he had remembered his name. He turned away, not because he wasn’t thankful, but because he was so overwhelmed with thankfulness that he started to cry. He was a grown man and didn’t want anyone to see him cry.
When I turned around, as we were driving away, I could see the emotion overwhelm him as he sat and started to unwrap his plate of food. Very few of us are like this man. When God comes to us, He doesn’t just come to feed us, unknowing who we are. God comes knowing our names, problems, fears, burdens, sins, and even the number of hairs on our head. We’re not insignificant to God. To God, we’re not just another homeless person on the street; we are the very workmanship of His hands. He formed us in our mother’s womb, knows the number of every hair on our heads, and when we run away, He chases us down to give us eternal life with Him.
Some of us react like this homeless man. We’re so overwhelmed by how much God loves us that we melt as He gives us food. We make sure we’re on time, ready for Him when He stops by. He wasn’t the only homeless person that was thankful. One woman told us, ‘thank you so much! I love you guys! You’re like family!’ When we left, she was sitting down, with tears in her eyes, opening her plate of food.
Another man had fallen asleep in the grass next to a parking lot. When we went to check on him, our heart stopped; we weren’t sure if he was alive or not. He wasn’t responding at first. When he finally responded, we were relieved. When we gave him a plate of food, all he could say was, ‘Thank you for thinking of me.’ This man had fallen asleep right around the corner from Journey Home, who were also giving out free Thanksgiving Dinners, but for some reason, he didn’t walk over to get a dinner. We’re like that sometimes. God’s right there waiting for us with our free gift of Salvation, and we don’t show up. When we don’t show, He comes searching for us. He goes out looking for His lost sheep; no matter how far we’ve strayed and no matter what mess we’ve gotten ourselves into, God still comes to find us so that we won’t go hungry.
Thanksgiving has come and gone in the blink of an eye, but that isn’t the only time we can think of others. 2020 isn’t over yet, but you don’t have to cook 12 meals and go searching for homeless people to pay it forward. All you have to do is something kind for another person. Remember all the ways you have been blessed this year, and focus on that. It was found in several studies that those who practice gratitude and thankfulness actually saw physical health benefits:
They are happier
They exercise more
They sleep better
They have stronger immune systems
When God blesses you, bless others, and God will bless you even more.
Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.
Ecclesiastes 11:1
In other words, you will receive what you put into life. When God blesses you, and you bless others, He will bless you even more. You don’t have to give away everything, but don’t forget others who are in need. God Bless you and your family. And Happy Thanksgiving!
“For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favor is
life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” ~ Psalm
30:5
If God loves you, He will discipline you; but it’s only for a short time because He loves you. Therefore, His favor lasts a lifetime. His favor will open doors that were once closed; it brings that promotion that was out of reach. It protects that wayward child and restores that broken relationship.
His love is the reason why weeping will only last the night, but when the sun comes up, it brings joy, new hope, renewed mercies, and new blessings. Be blessed today, be joyful today, be hopeful today and be optimistic today; God loves you and cares for you.
Father, we, Your children, come and present to You the offering of thanksgiving and praise. Receive it today, and leave behind a blessing. Thank You, in Jesus’ name, amen.
“Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make
known his deeds among the people.” ~ 1 Chronicles 16:8
A triple command, first, we’re instructed to give thanks for
all the wondrous works God has done. Then we’re to continually seek His face by
calling upon His Holy name. Then, we must tell others of His wondrous deeds so
that they too may rejoice and be glad, and their faith also will be strengthened.
Father help us to have grateful hearts, seeking spirits, and praising tongues, that Your name may be glorified, amen.
“When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a
way that it will be accepted on your behalf.” ~ Leviticus 22:29
It is said that the LORD loves a cheerful giver. We have much to be thankful
for, remember how much you have been given and been blessed with. Also,
remember those who have nothing and give to them as unto God, with thankful
hearts. When we bless others, God blesses us. Bring forth your sacrifice of
thanksgiving before the LORD today.
Thank you, LORD, for all You’ve given me. Thank you for Your many blessings.
Help me to always be grateful in all situations. In Jesus’ name, amen.
