A Morning for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming. It's almost here. Two quotations for which I am thankful, that have lodged themselves in my brain so recently:

...seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

I Peter 1:3-4

I felt like God gave this verse to me in the midst of a miserable Bible study I was doing. It was miserable for me, but out of it came this verse, so it was totally worth it. And I believe I have shared this one before, but it is such a blessing:

"Say not you cannot gladden, elevate, and set free; that you have nothing of the grace of influence; that all you have to give is at the most only common bread and water. Give yourself to your Lord for the service of men with what you have. Cannot He change water into wine? Cannot He make stammering words to be instinct [imbued, filled, charged] with saving power? Cannot He change trembling efforts to help into deeds of strength? Cannot He still, as of old, enable you in all your personal poverty 'to make many rich?' God has need of thee for the service of thy fellow men. He has a work for thee to do. To find out what it is, and then to do it, is at once thy supremist duty and thy highest wisdom. 'Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it'" (Canon George Body, b. 1840, and quoted as written in Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot)

I was reading I Corinthians this morning, and it was almost a random choice that set me to reading it. Looking back over this that I typed up last night, I see the connection between the two. Paul says, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, that the cross of Christ should not be made void (1:17)," and he was writing this to people who were greatly impressed by clever speech, people who loved to attend orations. If anything, I am encouraged by this because of the difficulty I have in explaining these things to people who don't already understand. God can use even stammerings, and faulty conversation, to show His glory through the gospel.

From my notebook this morning, on I Corinthians, chapter 1:

It seems that Paul was writing here to people who were very impressed by intellectual abilities (what Paul calls wisdom), and physical prowess. Corinth was one of the major cities of ancient Greece, remember. But Paul tells them that God doesn't operate according to these things. Instead He uses foolish things to confound the wise (27). Paul preaches the cross of Christ, which is "foolishness to those who are perishing (18)." So God gives intellectual ability to whomsoever He chooses, but it's almost a consolation prize, because it isn't what He uses to spread the gospel, and not only that, it is a block to receiving the gospel. I think of two wise men: Daniel, who was faithful; Solomon, who was not. One thing I've noticed lately is that intellectual ability is not guaranteed, but the cross of Christ is. There are diseases and injuries that can destroy brain function, but since salvation is not up to us, it cannot be stolen away. Too, our intellects are not what makes us an effective witness for Christ.

And I am thankful for this.

Material things are great, and I am thankful for them. Having a useful brain that does (at least some of) the things I want it to do is great, and I am thankful for that too. Spiritual things, that come from God alone, these far outweigh them all.