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Giving Thanks To Our Heavenly Immanuel

I’m sure that if you’ve read the title of this, some questions are bound to arise. To clear things up, this post is meant to point out three conduits by which giving thanks to God is possible. And in the title, I mentioned God as our Heavenly Immanuel. The reason being so that we can remember the title given to Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:23, which is “Immanuel.” Immanuel means “God with us,’ and since we’re going to thank Him, we should remember who He is. He is with us.

Giving Thanks Through the Heart

Firstly, thank God in your heart. All deeds start with the heart and appreciation does not violate that expectation. Whether you bless or hurt someone, the intention starts within your thoughts.

Colossians 3:2 World English Bible (WEB)
2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

And so, I urge you to thank God in your heart. Just think to yourself, “Wow, God you’re so good, thank you for loving me.”

Now, I can imagine if some grow skeptical of what I’m saying. But, here’s the thing, you just need to remind yourself of who God is.

God is the one who came down to Earth as a human. He came as Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, since you and I have erred, we’ve done things that forever separate us from God, who is utterly perfect.

So, He let Himself be tortured and crucified by angry people who could not stand his life-giving miracles, jaw-dropping wonders, and breathtaking healings. Lord Jesus Christ bore the cross to give you an opportunity at another chance.

A chance to trust Him with all your failures and destruction as He suffers your punishment on the cross. Therefore, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

You’ve just got to remember and believe what He did for you, and no matter what state you’re in, you’ll feel a sense of gratitude.

His love for you means that if you’re currently in a state of bliss, His love is to thank for. Or if you’re in a season of disappointment, let the love of God console and comfort you.

The main point of this section is to make you understand that it doesn’t matter where you’re standing, God loves you deeply. Therefore, feel your heart’s drive to thank God for His meaningful love.

Romans 8:27 World English Bible (WEB)
27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.

Thanking God Through Words

Next, use your words to express your appreciation to God. God is real. And it wouldn’t hurt to tell Him that you’re grateful for all He’s done. Like any other person, God should hear you speak to Him.

When you express gratitude to a friend, family member, anyone else for that matter, you tell tell them, “thank you.’

In the same way, say “thank you,” to God.

Philippians 4:6-7 World English Bible (WEB)
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

The scripture above says to thank God as you pray and inform Him about your situations.

And although your immediate situation may not look the best, things will change. That’s a promise from God.

Matthew 6:34 World English Bible (WEB)
34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.

Plus, being anxious about nothing as you thank Him for taking care of it solves the issue of anxiety. Once you’ve done everything you could such as setting up your business, or teaching your children what’s right and wrong, thank God as you place your desire in God’s hands.

Thank Him for being with you. Giving thanks to Him verbally is not going to go unheard. Your words will not fall to the ground, instead, they’ll ascend to the ears of God like a sweet aroma.

Proverbs 16:1-3 World English Bible (WEB)
16 The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
    but Yahweh weighs the motives.
3 Commit your deeds to Yahweh,
    and your plans shall succeed.

He’ll take care of the rest. After all, His hands are bigger than yours.

Giving Thanks Through Actions

Finally, giving thanks to God through your actions is something that you must never forget. Your actions show God where your heart is.

For example, a person who lies constantly shows everyone that his/her heart is in a place of confusion and deception.

On the other hand, a person who lives in honesty regardless of its consequences upon one’s self shows everyone his/her heart is in a place of integrity.

Colossians 3:17 World English Bible (WEB)
17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.

Therefore, God sees whether you appreciate Him or not through what you do. And the choice to do what you want belongs to no one else other than the person reading this post. That’s you.

But, how do you show gratitude to God through your actions? You show appreciation by allowing His Spirit to enter and transform your life.

Romans 12:2 World English Bible (WEB)
2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

And His Spirit will convict your heart to do what pleases God. You can please God by avoiding evil no matter how tempting the proposition.

Also, you can please God through charity in Lord Jesus’ name and being a reliable neighbour to those God placed in your life.

Mark 12:30-31 World English Bible (WEB)
30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’Deuteronomy 6:4-5 This is the first commandment. 31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’Leviticus 19:18 There is no other commandment greater than these.”

To tell you the truth, only you know where God is leading you. And so, thank God by obeying Him through your actions.

Galatians 5:25 World English Bible (WEB)
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.

In conclusion, thank Immanuel, Lord Jesus Christ for His love for you. Hold onto His love and thank God through whatever means possible.

By Andre Wijesekera.

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Treating All With The Same Heart

If there’s anything by which we measure others by, it’s the measure of character. Those with great character naturally attract people around them. And people are especially mesmerized by those who treat others with fairness, kindness, and compassion. Treating all with the same heart isn’t necessarily easy. That is why I’ll be talking about fairness, kindness, and compassion, as well as how they pertain to one’s character and one’s heart.

Treating All With Fairness

First of all, it is vital to treat everyone you know with fairness. Treating all with fairness means that you see people, not through the lens of their varying differences; rather, you see them through the fact that they’re made in God’s image.

Why does God want us to treat others with fairness? It’s because we don’t have the right to treat others in any other way. And that’s because, without Christ, we’re all failures. We’ve all made mistakes, we’ve all lied, and we’ve all done things contrary to the pure nature of God.

I don’t even need to prove the above point because even you know you’re not perfect. To think anything different would be foolish or dishonest.

Ephesians 2:12 World English Bible (WEB)
12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

And our imperfectness does not allow us to enter the Heaven of a perfect God, so what God did was that He came to Earth as a human, Lord Jesus Christ. He did miracles, healed the sick, and preached about the kingdom of God.

But, religious hypocritical people hated Him for His integrity and authority, so they led the ancient Roman Government to crucify Him two millennia ago.

However, Lord Jesus Christ allowed the pain to come upon Him for a reason. That reason was to atone as a sacrifice in our place. This means that whosoever accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will be saved.

That is why whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, smart or silly, Lord Jesus wants us to treat each other the same. He died for all, and He rose again after 3 days to live for all.

James 2:8-9 World English Bible (WEB)
8 However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”Leviticus 19:18 you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

Treat All With Kindness

Next up is kindness. Kindness is beautiful. There’s no better way to describe it. We, as people, are naturally attracted to those who show kindness. The reason for that is because God is kind, and, although we may not be kind, ourselves, we still like its nature as God created us in His image.

To be kind, according to the Bible, means to go out of your way to honour another individual.

A prime example of a kind man is Boaz.

Ruth 2:8-10 World English Bible (WEB)
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”
10 Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”

Boaz heard of Ruth, a widow distantly related to him, and he let her work in his fields. But, he was a kind man loved by all his workers. When Ruth started working for Boaz, Boaz ensured that she had access to water, his other workers would not bother her, and that she worked in an area which was best suited for her.

Boaz went out of his way to ensure that Ruth was well-taken care of. Later on, the Biblical story progresses to the point of Ruth and Boaz marrying and eventually becoming the great grandparents of the renowned King David.

Ephesians 4:32 King James Version (KJV)
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Likewise, be kind to others. Go out of your way to make sure that everyone is treated properly. Treat your parents with kindness, treat your siblings with kindness, and treat your spouse with kindness. Kindness must be shown to those you know before it is appealing to those you don’t know.

This kindness within Boaz was apparent not only to Ruth but also to his long-time employees hence why they loved him.

Ruth 2:4 World English Bible (WEB)
4 Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.” They answered him, “May Yahweh bless you.”

Treating All With Compassion

Finally, make sure that you’re treating all with compassion.

Ephesians 4:32 King James Version (KJV)
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

The word translated as “tenderhearted” above also translates as “compassionate” in other translations. But, the actual word for it is “eusplagchnos” which is a combination of the Greek words, “eu” and “splagchnos.”

“Eu” is a Greek word God uses in the Bible to describe a servant pleasing his master. The word in the below passage underlined and bolded is the English word for “eu.”

Matthew 25:20-21 King James Version (KJV)
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

The next part of the word, “splagchnos,” literally translates as “inward parts” or “guts or bowels.” Now, this word may be referring to emotions that comes from the deepest level of one’s emotions.

To give you an idea of what this word means in context, here is an example of a verse where I underlined and bolded the word for “splagchnos.”

Philemon 12 World English Bible (WEB)
12 I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart,

So, when you put together the words “eu” and “splagchnos,” you get”eusplagchnos,” which translates as compassionate or tenderhearted.

Why am I saying this? It’s because compassion comes from a deep part within you and it desires something good for the subject of the emotion.

God’s compassion for us is genuine and gut-deep so that He desires good for us and will do something to make His desired good happen within our lives.

Therefore, show this same compassion to others and reflect the love of God. And treating all with fairness, kindness, and compassion is an expectation from Lord Jesus Christ. If you lack any of these, remember God’s love for you.

Remember His fairness to you where He is a fair judge.

Also, remind yourself of His kindness and His compassion towards you by dying in your place and blessing you.

Let these memories of God’s love motivate you to reflect His attributes. And let His Word, the Holy Bible, inspire you to practice His everlasting goodness within your life. Show fairness to everyone around you. Don’t treat any group of people less than another group of people.

Be kind and do everything you can to help others around you. And show compassion by asking God for a restoring love coming from within yourself, which yearns to bless those around you. In conclusion, make sure that you’re treating all with fairness, kindness, and compassion.