Always Be Thankful

Meditate.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15

Always be thankful. Not just sometime…always. We don’t always feel thankful…but that is what God is directing us to do through this message from Paul to the church as Colossae. So where is Colossae? It was along the third missionary journey of Paul about 100 miles from Ephesus in the middle of what is now Turkey. So for what did these people have to be thankful? Likewise, for what do we have to be thankful? 

Forgiveness. Without forgiveness, our life in Christ is worthless. He has taken our sins to the cross—as the ultimate sacrifice. When we ask for forgiveness for those sins, we are forgiven.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. Matthew 6:14

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9

Hope. Hope of Heaven (Colossians 1:5). They were admonished to have that hope…as are we.

Holiness. Chosen to be His holy people. Once forgiven…we are part of God’s family…His holy family.

But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23

Always be thankful.

What else does God direct us to do in this passage?

Be tenderhearted.
The Fruit of the Spirit begins with the blossom.
Allow God's love to grow in your life.
Always Be Thankful.

Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…. This reminds me of the Fruit of the Spirit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23

Other scripture encourages us to be tenderhearted.

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. 1 Peter 3:8-9

How do we become tenderhearted? Yielding our hearts and lives to Christ…to God. Putting God and others first in our lives…while there is still time. Christ is returning soon. Those who reject Christ—reject that hope of Heaven. Those who have decided to put Christ first in their lives will be going to someday to live with Him in Heaven. That is our hope. For that we can always be thankful. 

Where is your hope? For what or for whom are you always thankful?

Prayer ~ As for us, we can't help but thank you, God, for dear brothers and sisters loved by You, Lord. We are always thankful that You chose us to be among those to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes us holy and through belief in Your truth. From 2 Thessalonians 2:13

Verse of Salvation ~ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) Romans 8:23-25 

© 2020 Text, photos and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - https://www.blb.org 

Follow And Like "Banquet With The King" on Facebook. 👍 

Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character

Available as an e-book or paperback at Amazon.com