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Count Your Blessings  (A Thanksgiving Devotional)

11/26/2015

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“Count Your Blessings”
By: Pastor ODC
                     In the church I grew up in we would sing a hymn by Johnson Oatman, Jr. called “Count Your Blessings.” My favorite verses of lyrics from this hymn is as follows:
                     “When you look at others with their lands and gold,
                     Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold,
                      Count your many blessings- money cannot buy
                      Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
                     Count your blessing, name them one by one;
                     Count your blessings see what God hath done.”
This is the time of year we are encouraged to do just that – count our blessings.  Today, we seem to be transforming into a culture of complainers and whiners who focus more on the problems of this world than the promises in the Word.  Subsequently, we discuss our burdens more than our blessings.  We fail to realize how blessed we are because we fail to count our blessings.  Furthermore, we often overlook the most precious blessings we have received because we only consider tangible goods on our blessing list.  So this thanksgiving I encourage you to expand your blessings inventory beyond material commodities, worldly comforts, and secular conveniences.  This thanksgiving season I challenge you to count the blessings that really count; the blessings that are eternal, not temporal; that have had profound, life changing, and path altering impact on our lives.  Therefore, when you count your blessings this season be sure to count Calvary.  Ponder the magnanimous magnitude, the great gravity, and spiritual significance of the bloody cross that held the nail pierced hands and broken body of our Savior.  Remember Calvary, where your debt, that you could not afford, was paid. 
Count your spiritual blessings before you shout about the car, the house, or the business.  Before you react to the shouting cues we give in church today, your secular success, wonderful health, and lucrative wealth, check your priorities and shout about your salvation that was purchased at the cross of Calvary, freeing you from the burdens and guilt of your sins.  Surely we should thank God for the material blessings we have received but how much more should we express our gratitude for the great sacrifice of Calvary.  As Paul stated in II Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!”  So count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings you’ll be amazed by what God hath done.”  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! …..And remember gluttony is a sin!!

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The Process

11/26/2015

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The Process

By: Pastor ODC
I have something on my mind, may I speak?
Something on my mind, I don’t understand why I’m so weak.
I mean, I try to be strong,
Try to do right, detour from wrong,
But when I make up my mind to do what’s right,
It seems that something’s pulling me, influencing me,
Tripping me up, this battle within
Enticing me, inviting me to sin.
I said I wasn’t going to do it anymore.
Ashamed of my actions,
My soul seems divided like fractions,
Yet my heart is committed;
My mind is made up,
But I don’t understand why I relapse on my past.
I’m about to throw up
It’s frustrating me, I want to be free.
Free from these chains,
Free from captivity,
Free from the strongholds of the enemy.
Anybody feeling me?
I’ve prayed about it, prayed night and day,
Prayed for God to forgive me and erase sin’s stain.
Prayed for strength for my weakness, the courage to walk away,
Yet it seems the more I pray, the busier the enemy gets
Taking temptation to a new level.
I’m trying to resist the devil.
Leave me alone, stop torturing me!
I don’t want you, I renounce you!
Stop harassing me with your accusations, condemnation, and twisted lies.
My heart is with Christ, my eyes fixed on the prize.
I’ve finally concluded, I’m in a battle I can’t win;
I need somebody to save me from my sin.
Save me from me, I finally see
The battle is warring in my mind; my mind is a slave to sin.
As painful as it may be, the enemy is me.
Then I read the Word, Romans chapter 7, verses 14 through 25.
Paul spoke the truth; it opened my eyes to the cause of my frustration,
It is called sanctification.
It’s a process of unrest
One you will detest,
Yet it’s for the best.
I’m learning to trust myself less,
Depend on God to handle the rest,
And by His grace I will pass this test.
By His grace, I’m strong when I’m weak.
By His grace, I’m more than a conqueror, never succumbing to defeat.
By His grace, I’m dying to myself.
By His grace, I’m living victoriously,
Even though I’m wounded…I’m a courageous warrior.
What didn’t kill me made me more mature, wiser, stronger.
So, I’m going through the process, humble with my head up high
Because when the process is over, I’ll greet my SAVIOR in the sky.
 

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    Pastor ODC is the Senior Pastor of Tabernacle Church in Selma, AL and a graduate of Beeson Divinity School.  He is a biblical scholar/student with social consciousness that challenges society to examine itself in light of the scripture.  He also encourages believers to fulfill their divine purpose to the glory of God.  His writing is compelling, convicting, and challenging.

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