Give Thanks

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

(Colossians 3:17)

Meditation

What does it mean to speak or act in Jesus name? When we’re speaking to someone, inside church or out, they should hear a follower of Jesus. We cannot speak “Christianese” when at church and swear like a sailor when we’re not. Whether we’re at work, talking to a cashier at the store, or anywhere else, we should sound like followers of Jesus Christ. Every good thought or action we have in church, is made nil if we act like a pagan when we leave. In other words, we don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, we don’t participate in crude jokes, and we don’t laugh when others do. We should always speak words of encouragement because it’s what Jesus would have done. That’s how I give thanks to the Father. When God looks at us, he should see Jesus.

Our actions are also ways we can proclaim the name of Jesus. When we show our love for others, we’re actually showing them Jesus’ love. We prove that love when we do something good for them. A simple good deed goes a long way toward helping an unbeliever to come to acceptance. It’s not going to happen by shouting scripture verses at them or condemning their lifestyles. It happens with consistent acts of love followed by our witness of what Christ has done for us. That’s God’s will for our lives. He wants us to behave in a manner that gives him glory. When our works glorify him, we are expressing our gratitude to him for saving us through Jesus Christ.

Our actions are much more telling than our words. We can talk up a storm about how much we love Jesus, but if our actions don’t match our words, they’ll instinctively know Jesus is not in us. If our motive for raising Jesus, is to make ourselves look good, our hearts are in the wrong place. It’s not our words or actions that save, it’s the blood of Jesus. The more we look like Christ, the more people will be attracted to him. The seeds we plant in unbelievers will be watered by the Holy Spirit to germinate and blossom into them becoming Christ followers. Soon, they will begin to do good deeds for others, casting new seeds as they do. We serve a great God so no matter how good we are, no matter how many people we lead to Christ, it’s the Father in heaven who deserves the glory and our gratitude every day. To God be the glory!

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father, it was your six days of work that brought about the whole universe. You created us in your image to take care of a small part of what you made. Remind us, Lord, that we represent Jesus Christ when we say or do anything so, make us into his image. Don’t let us ever push anyone away from you by our words or actions. Thank you for giving us an inner need to serve you and our fellow man. Remind us to always give you the glory, in the name of Jesus, when we do our good deeds. Give us a thankful heart for our God and Savior, who has given us hope and a new purpose. Thank you for your promise that we will be with you always. Our hope for a place in eternity is now secure. Thank you, Father, for the new purpose you have given us to spread the gospel of love to everyone we meet. We may not always be good at sharing the good news but please, water the seeds we sow and raise them up for your harvest. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!