By Pastor Matthew Ritchey
Thanksgiving Day is approaching. A day to proclaim our thankfulness for all that we have. A time to show gratitude. Yet, the world often doesn’t put us in a thankful mood. Oftentimes, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to be thankful for. We need to be able to have a change of mind and heart if we are to have a heart of gratefulness in a world full of sorrow and woe. Throughout its twelve chapters, the book of Ecclesiastes expounds upon the emptiness of the world. It begins by saying
“vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) before concluding that the meaning of a joyous life is to
“fear God, and keep His commandments” (12:13). We have something better than the Old Testament saints: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through our faith solely in His sacrifice and resurrection for redemption.
The moment we place our trust fully in Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection to save us, we are blessed more than we realize. We have been made a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), bringing about a renewed mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), a changed heart (2 Corinthians 3:3), a new life (Galatians 2:20) and the ability to look at life through the lens of eternity (1 Corinthians 9:25; Phil. 3:14).
There is one chapter in the Bible that I want ...
