File: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940220.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                        Sunday, February 20, 1994
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Read:  Colossians 1:9-14

                           A LOST ART

           Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, ...
                        and be thankful.
                        --Colossians 3:15

The apostle Paul had never been to the church in Colosse, but  he
had  heard all about it from Epaphras.  He knew it was  a  church
under  attack by false teachers, so he prayed fervently for  this
congregation (1:9-14; 2:4-7).

Among his requests, Paul asked that they would give joyful thanks
to  the Father because He had rescued them, moving them from  the
kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son (1:12-13).  We
too need to be thankful for what Christ has done for us.

Thankfulness  seems  to  be a  lost  art  today.  Warren  Wiersbe
illustrated  this  problem in his commentary  on  Colossians.  He
told  about a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, who  was
part of a life-saving squad.  In 1860, a ship went aground on the
shore  of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Edward  Spencer  waded
again  and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17  passengers.
In  the process, his health was permanently damaged.  Some  years
later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people  he
rescued ever thanked him.

Let's  take  time  often to recall how God has  rescued  us  from
eternal  death  and has given us eternal life  through  His  Son.
Let's  make  certain that we never allow thanking the  Father  to
become a lost art.

Author:  David C. Egner

             Give me a spirit of thankfulness, Lord,
                 For numberless blessings given;
                 Blessings that daily come to me
             Like the dewdrops falling from heaven.
                             --Dawe

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
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With practice, anyone can master the art of thankfulness.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:   Numbers 11-14

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