Why are we here? This question has puzzled humanity for almost as long as humanity has existed, but probably never more so than it does in this 21st century. What children are taught in the public schools of our generation and the message we all are eventually subjected to by the world is simple: life is meaningless. We are said to be a mere byproduct of random chance, essentially consisting of little more than rearranged pond scum that will one day die and be forgotten. We’re supposedly no more valuable than a passing breeze or a stick of wood, for they, too, will soon pass away with little notice.

And yet despite Satan’s best efforts to convince us of these things, within each of our hearts is the yearning to do something important, something lasting, with our lives. Few of us never aspired to be an astronaut, the president or a movie star. Perhaps these aspirations were not as eternally significant as we once believed, but they nonetheless reflected a desire to live a purposeful life. Even as adults we pursue romance not only to love, but to be loved; we have children to leave a living part of us behind once we ourselves are gone; we write blog posts because we want to be part of a conversation deeper than next week’s weather forecast. Ultimately, I think one of the greatest fears deep within the heart of every human is that we will one day be forgotten.

As Christians, however, our faith is that we not only can find purpose in life, but that we were actually created with a Divine purpose – specifically, to enjoy an intimate relationship with our Creator and to do so in a way that brings constant glory to His name (Ps. 112:1; Rev. 3:20). And not only were we created with a purpose to fulfill in this life, but we have been given an invitation from God Himself  to spend eternity free from every doubt, fear, and insecurity in heaven with Him. If all of this isn’t enough to keep you motivated, recall that in the meantime we have been commissioned to execute the biggest rescue mission of all time by preaching the Gospel of salvation in all corners of the earth (Mark 16:15).

I’m not trying to give anybody an overinflated sense of importance. There are enough authors, speakers and musicians who make it their priority to build your self-esteem. That’s not my goal here. It’s simply to remind you of a simple yet profound Biblical truth: when He was on the cross, it was out of love for you and me. And through His death and resurrection, we are given hope and meaning much greater than we ever thought possible. So as you live your life, be careful never to allow this realization to slip away. The greatest misery one can experience is in feeling you haven’t a future (1 Cor. 15:19), but if you’re a Christian then the best is yet to come.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”

          -Psalm 100:4

I’m not against Black Friday. I wasn’t a big proponent of many local stores beginning their sales on Thanksgiving Day, but I did nonetheless serve as chauffeur and cart pusher in-chief to those in my family who had their eyes on some special bargain. Every year I diligently fulfill my assignment, waiting near some tall, brown pallet of merchandise to (hopefully) help a loved one snatch a deal without losing life or limb in the process. Even if you’re able to escape without injury, however, dealing with disgruntled employees and angry shoppers during the holiday season is inevitable.

But even though I’m not against Black Friday per se, I’m certainly not a fan. Just as the Christmas season seems to be more about lights and gifts than the birth of our Savior, it seems Thanksgiving, a day which once upon a time was about gratitude and contentment, is now the greediest day of the year. People were diving over other shoppers, pushing, shoving and yelling – all so they could save $20 on luxury. I understand the need to save money, but is 50% off really worth giving someone a black eye on Thanksgiving? Even though the scene was no less violent and chaotic than I’ve seen in years past, something about the fact that these people weren’t even waiting until the turkey had settled in their stomachs really put a knot in mine.

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

          -Colossians 3:15

Even if you’re someone who stays a mile away from the nearest department store when Thanksgiving rolls around, what’s the first thing you think of when the holiday is mentioned? Traveling to see family you really don’t like? Eating lots of food? Having a few days off work? It seems that very few people have been able to preserve much of what Thanksgiving was originally intended to be: a day to express our gratitude to the Giver of all good things (James 1:17).

So, no, I’m not preaching against Black Friday. As I’ve pointed out, I’ve generally participated in it to some extent myself (although I vowed after Thursday’s events to avoid it completely next year). My conviction is not that we should wait one more week to do our Christmas shopping; it’s that we cannot fail to give God thanks and expect His blessings to continue. So will you join me in seizing today’s opportunity to express our thankfulness to God? In the words of the Psalmist, “it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord” (Psalm 92:1).

As a Christian, at the very core of your spiritual walk should be the faith that God has ransomed you from sin by grace through faith in His blood (Ephesians 2:8). You understand that, even though your sin had alienated you from the fellowship of the Lord, the mighty love of God was strong enough to break the yoke of sin from your back and set you free from its bondage (Colossians 1:21). It’s likely you are aware of many answered prayers and see countless evidences every day that God is still on the throne. You are blessed more than anyone could deserve – and you know it.

I won’t say that failure to recognize one’s blessings is never a problem, but generally it is not. On Thanksgiving none of us scratch our head and say, “Hmm…what good thing has God done for me this year?” We’re usually good at spotting the fingerprints of God in our lives; the problem is that we’ve become so accustomed to luxury that we treat God’s goodness like electric lights or running water: most of us have never lived without it, so actually taking time to magnify Him for it often seems unnecessary.

But what does it really mean to magnify God anyway? Does saying a brief, silent prayer of thanks count? I suppose to some extent it does, but truly magnifying the Lord consists of much more than a mere “thank you” is able to accomplish. Consider this excerpt from a sermon by John Piper:

“The word "magnify" can be used in two different senses. It can mean: make something appear greater than it is, as with a microscope or a magnifying glass.
Or it can mean: make something that may seem small or insignificant appear to be as great as it really is. This is what our great telescopes help us begin to do with the magnificent universe which once upon a time spilled over from the brim of God's glory. So there are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.

When David says, "I will magnify God with thanksgiving," he does not mean: "I will make a small God look bigger than he is. He means: "I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is." We are not called to be microscopes, but telescopes.”¹

So, then, your calling to magnify God is not fulfilled unless you are actively doing your part to share His glory with others. If your “magnified” version of God is still small enough to fit in your pocket, then all you’ve succeeded at is hiding Him from those who most need His love. To glorify God is to do everything within your power to make His name renowned, known by all nations and trusted by all people. As David wrote in Psalm 22:22, “I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee.” This is the only way to truly magnify God, especially as we see the day of our Lord’s return approaching, and is the best use of time you will find. So go tell someone about the power and goodness of God. When we each do our part, not only are we being obedient to what Scripture commands us to do, but our hearts will overflow with joy as we begin to comprehend just how great our God truly is.

1 http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/i-will-magnify-god-with-thanksgiving

As I write this on a Friday night, I’m very aware that the last thing most of you want to hear or think about as you begin your weekend is work. You’re probably either looking forward to spending the next two days with your family doing things you wouldn’t otherwise have time for, or, as in my case, are counting on a restful Saturday and Sunday to end one week and begin another. But as I’ve learned by way of experience over these last several months, living for a two day weekend is a tragic waste of the gift of life. If you wake up every Monday morning with a sigh of reluctance and drag off to work, already wishing it was Friday, then you’ll spend more than 70% of your life unhappy. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that God’s mercies are new every morning – not just on our days off.

One way I’ve been able to realize God’s grace on a daily basis is to make the most of my commute. There are numerous ways to get to work from my house, but I make it a priority to take the scenic route whenever possible. Something about seeing the beauty of an autumn sunrise with worship music playing on my car stereo is able to dissolve that longing to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head. Of course if you live in the city the picture above may be the closest you’ll ever come to a scenic commute, but that’s not what matters; simply find a way to start your day off on the right foot by giving God the opportunity to reveal His love to you afresh.

“Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee.”

-Psalm 143:8

Finding 30 minutes to spend in a prayer closet every morning may be next to impossible for some people, especially if getting up at 4 AM barely gets you out the door on time. But the point is not for me to set in stone how you should spend your day with God; it’s for you to identify the often subtle, daily opportunities you may now be overlooking to spend time in prayer and fellowship with your heavenly Father. For me, this means not taking the interstate; for you, it may mean opening up the Bible during your lunch break and feasting on what Job valued even “more than [his] necessary food” (Job 23:12). If your love for God and desire to serve Him is sincere, He will provide and reveal more opportunities to serve Him than you ever realized you had. You just have to keep your eyes open.

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

               -James 4:14

Over the last several years, one thing God has made me increasingly aware of is the uncertainty of life. At any given moment your time on this earth, or that of a close loved one, could be eternally ended. Perhaps today you awoke from a comfortable sleep to the sound of a favorite song playing on the radio. Perhaps tomorrow everything you’ve ever worked for will crumble like castles in the sand. Even if the things you value most are in fact worthwhile, tomorrow is not a promise and neither are any of the temporal blessings we usually assume will come along with it.

As the Scriptures state in Ecclesiastes 5:15, “As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” In other words, we were born with nothing and when we die we’ll leave with nothing. All of the treasures we could ever hope to accumulate along the way are, according to Solomon, “vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 1:14). What are you pursuing?

When I picked up this book for the first time, I was mostly expecting a 100+ page lecture on forgiving other people. But the very first chapter made it clear John MacArthur’s main focus was not going to be someone else’s sin and our responsibility as Christians to love them anyway; he instead chose to target humanity’s sin and our desperate need for Divine grace. As he aptly points out, however, modern psychology has done a great disservice to our culture by ascribing to almost every sin a “scientific” explanation. Murderers, rapists, drug addicts, thieves and liars are no longer pointed to the cross; instead, their actions and addiction are often explained as some kind of social disorder, which then erases any guilt or sense of responsibility that may otherwise lead them to repentance.

Once a solid foundation is laid in support of our need to be forgiven, MacArthur explains God’s willingness to forgive and exactly how He is able to do this justly (“The Necessity of Atonement”). He did get a little distracted for a few paragraphs by predestination, but for the most part he kept everything short, sweet, and to the point. He also shares some beautiful insight into the story of the prodigal son, painting a good historical and cultural backdrop that sheds greater light on Christ’s most popular parable.

My biggest problem when reading theology is that most authors think repeating themselves again and again gives their work greater meaning, while I tend to find it redundant and boring. MacArthur, on the other hand, did a great job of condensing the doctrine of forgiveness into a very readable devotional (only 114 pages) that left me hungry for a deeper understanding of God’s forgiveness, not burnt out and ready to study something else. If you’re intrigued by the title, then you’ll probably be just as intrigued by the book itself and should seriously consider picking up a copy of this worthwhile read at your local Christian bookstore.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all expressed opinions are my own.