Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries |
Thanksgiving Special: A message from the departed: If I only knew then what I know now.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
PHI 4:6-9 Stop worrying about anything, but in every circumstance through prayer and through supplication for personal needs after thanksgivings let your requests or petitions be revealed to the God. In fact, that spiritual peace and prosperity from the source of the God, which surpasses or rises above and beyond all comprehension, shall garrison your hearts [right lobes] also your motivational thinking in Christ Jesus. Finally or from now on, brethren [members of the Royal family of God], whatever is true [doctrinal], whatever is honorable [noble or worthy of respect], whatever is right or just [fair or right],
whatever is pure [of proper motivation] whatever is lovely or [where personal loves exist], whatever is of good repute or commendable, if there is any excellence or virtue [and there is for believer who sticks with PVTD says the first class condition] and if anything worthy of praise [and there is for those with PVTD says the first class condition], let your mind dwell or be concentrating on these things. The things [doctrinal principles] you have learned [manthano - learned from a teacher under strict academic discipline] and received [or accepted through metabolization of doctrine] and heard [under discipline] and have seen or understood by means of me [Paul’s teaching ministry]. Be putting these into action and the God of prosperity shall be with you, all of you [supergrace believers].
1CH 16:34, we are to give thanks for His lovingkindness which is everlasting.
In PSA 118:21, we are to give thanks because He answers us;
PSA 138:2, give thanks to for His graces and truth;
ISA 25:1, I will give thanks to Thy name; For Thou hast worked wonders,
1CH 16:41, give thanks to the Lord, because His love is everlasting.
DAN 2:23 Give thanks for Thou hast given me wisdom and power;
1CO 15:57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2CO 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ,
2CO 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
COL 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
1TH 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
When it comes to “giving thanks for all things” that grace is all that the Lord wants you to be occupied with as the solution.
True Humility is the ability to learn from your past not to be hurt by it.
Because our Lord loves us, He has taught us and wants us to learn without having sorrow and regrets.
1CO 13:12 For now [on this earth] we see in a mirror dimly, but then [in heaven] face to face; now I know in part, but then [in heaven] I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.
We know in part (imperfectly), but then we shall know the truth as it really is and understand fully and clearly in the same manner as we have been fully and clearly known and understood by God.
For right now, until that completeness or we go to heaven, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation or divine conclusion.
1. Trust consistently in God.
2. Hope and confidence without swerving.
3. Love extravagantly.
“If I only knew then what I know now”
that I would never hear your voice again, I would have cherished every word, every tone of your voice with all my heart.
Would you tell him or her how thankful you are to have known them?
However, if they have gone to be with the Lord remember passages like
2SA 12:23 “I shall go to them, but they he will not return to me.”
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that this was our last hug, I would hold you tight and hope to never let you go.
Many of us have grown so much in the spiritual life that if we could we would say to our loved ones, if only I knew that this was the last time I would see you, I would take the time to treasure everything about you.
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that I had the chance to
Pray with you one more time, I would take your hands
and welcome God’s presence to surround us.
If I had been thankful and only knew that disagreements do not mean a lack love, I would have been hurt less often.
If I had been thankful and only knew that even when everything in my life seems to go wrong and comes crumbling down around me, even when my heart is broken, God had promised to always be with me.
DEU 31:6, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Another departed member of the royal family wants some of you to know, if I had been thankful and only knew how often and how badly I had misjudged people, I would have opened my heart more often to love and be loved.
PRO 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
“I had been thankful and only knew that no one ever sees the same thing in exactly the same light, I would have found more pleasure in others’ opinions, even when they did not share mine.”
1TH 1:2, We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention {of you} in our prayers;
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that I was powerless to change other people, I would have stopped trying
and been free to love them for who they were, flaws and all.
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
says another from heaven to us, that momentary pleasures could ruin a reputation for a lifetime, I would have found the strength to say no to temptation.
ECC 7:17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Be thankful that you have been taught from your pastor the principle of
HEB 11:25 choose rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin;
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that tomorrow was not coming, I would ask you to please forgive me for any wrong I may have done to you.
JAM 4:13-15, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”
MAT 5:23-24, “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
If I had been thankful and only knew this was our final kiss, I would use it to tell you that you are the love of my life.
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that I could never share another day with you, I would have made the most of every second we had left.
ROM 15:5, Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus;
1TH 5:11, Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
If I had been thankful and only knew this was the last gift I could give you, I would surprise you with something that says nothing compares with you.
I was caught in the trap of living for tomorrow and a future that existed only in my imagination, I would have slowed my pace,
drawn boundaries around my work, and taken time for the people I love.
ECC 3:1, There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--
ECC 3:3-8, There’s a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing. A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak A time to love, and a time for peace.
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
My choices however small and seemingly insignificant were taking me away from you, I would turn around and run to you.
LUK 9:25, “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?”
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
a voice shouts out from the heavenly congregation, that your hand would
never hold mine again, I would wish this moment would never end.
If I knew then that My voice was about to go silent,
my words to you would be punctuated with thank you’s and I love you’s,
If I knew that a break in our relationship might go unresolved, I would do everything within my power to mend it,
ROM 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
“If I only knew then what I know now,”
that no word of love is ever lost, I would have allowed my tongue more freedom to truly speak from my heart which is now above.