Grateful for All That is Ours in Christ!
Part 2 of a 5 part series-
I began this simple exercise in gratitude by recalling some familiar verses in the Pauline epistles, but then quickly found myself leafing through each letter, scanning for spiritual blessings. I began at 6:30 in the morning leafing through Romans, and finally finished with Philemon around 10:30, four hours later.
Sonlife’s resource, 33 Things That Happen at the Moment of Salvation, is only the beginning of mining the depths of all that is ours in Christ Jesus. The list I compiled Thanksgiving morning is not exhaustive, I’m sure, but it filled my heart with awe in worship for the one in whom I’ve found blessings beyond comprehension. Enjoy this second installment of Spiritual Blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus!
30. Thank you Father that in Christ nothing can separate me from your love.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
31. Thank you Father that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
“for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Romans 10:13 NIV
32. Thank you Father for the privilege of sharing the good news of the salvation I have in Christ.
“And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!””
Romans 10:15 NIV
33. Thank you Father that in Christ you transform me by the renewing of my mind.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2 NIV
34. Thank you Father that in Christ I am now a member of His body, the church.
“so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Romans 12:5 NIV
35. Thank you Father that in Christ I have been given spiritual gifts for the benefit of others.
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Romans 12:6a NIV
36. Thank you Father that in Christ I have been enriched in every way.
“For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—”
1 Corinthians 1:5 NIV
37. Thank you Father that I’ve been called into fellowship with your Son.
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:9 NIV
38. Thank you Father that through the message of the cross I have experienced the power of God.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV
39. Thank you Father that in Christ I now have the wisdom of God.
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV
40. Thank you Father that my faith doesn’t rest on human wisdom but rests on your power.
“so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”
1 Corinthians 2:5 NIV
41. Thank you Father that in Christ no mind can conceive what you have prepared for me.
“However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’ — the things God has prepared for those who love him—”
1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV
42. Thank you Father that I have been given the mind of Christ.
“for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV
43. Thank you Father that I am compelled to preach Christ.
“For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
1 Corinthians 9:16 NIV
44. Thank you Father for the historical fact of the gospel message.
“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
1 Corinthians 15:2-4 NIV
45. Thank you Father that in Christ I will be given an imperishable, resurrected body.
“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;”
1 Corinthians 15:42 NIV
46. Thank you Father that in Christ I have been given victory over death.
“’Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV
47. Thank you Father that in Christ you comfort me in my troubles so I can comfort others.
“who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV
48. Thank you Father that in Christ you want to use me to spread the aroma of Christ everywhere.
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NIV
49. Thank you Father for my freedom in Christ.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
50. Thank you Father for transforming me into your image with ever increasing glory.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
51. Thank you Father that in Christ you have made your light shine in my heart.
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV
52. Thank you Father that you have given me this treasure in “jars of clay,” my frail humanity.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
53. Thank you Father that in Christ, though I might be hard-pressed, I am not crushed.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;”
2 Corinthians 4:8 NIV
54. Thank you Father that in Christ the life of Jesus is revealed in my body.
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
2 Corinthians 4:10 NIV
55. Thank you Father that in Christ I am being renewed inwardly day by day.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
56. Thank you Father that in Christ my light and momentary troubles are achieving for me an eternal glory.
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV
57. Thank you Father that I have received your Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
“Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
2 Corinthians 5:5 NIV
58. Thank you Father that Christ’s love compels me.
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 NIV
59. Thank you Father that in Christ I am a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
60. Thank you Father that in Christ you have given me the ministry of reconciliation.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:”
2 Corinthians 5:18 NIV
Look for the third installment of Spiritual Blessings next week.