What does it mean to be a part of God’s army?
When I received the suggested topic for the blog for May I really got excited about the thoughts God was bringing into my mind about what it means to be a part of God’s army. Here are a few of them; though you may think of many more:
• We’ve been invited to be a part of His army—Luke 9:23, 24
If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
• We must qualify—Heb. 12:1. 2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
• We must be trained—Matt. 11:28-30
Matt 11:28-30
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
• We must listen to and follow our leader’s instructions as well as where He leads us—2 Tim. 2: 3, 4
Be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don't get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.
• We must keep our focus on the goal—Matt. 28:19, 20
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
• We must trust the person in charge of the mission—Prov. 3:5, 6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
• We are a ‘part’ of the army, so we must work together with others to fulfill the mission—Rom. 12:1-6
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
God has a personal plan for each of us in His army. Not only that, but he also has a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. He uses the events that we encounter toward His great goal of conforming us into His image as we trust His leadership in our lives. We learn to see His hand in all the circumstances of our lives and know that he is absolutely trustworthy as the Commander in Chief of His army!
*note: all Scripture verses are from the NLT
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
He is My HOPE!
Often, I pray: ‘God, give me grace to see everything that happens in my life through Your eyes!’ That gives me Hope—because He is involved in EVERYTHING that happens in my life—He has a purpose and plan for EVERYTHING. Eph 1:11 says that ‘He works EVERYTHING according to the counsel of His own will.’ I continue to go back to this truth when I need hope and encouragement in looking at the circumstances of my life—and it enables me to gaze at His glorious face and behold HIM who is IN those very circumstances. ‘The Valley of Vision’ is a book of Puritan prayers and devotions that I refer to often in my times with the Lord. The truths help keep my heart focused on that blessed HOPE we have in Him. The book was introduced to me with high recommendation by a young college student who said it was ‘the best book she had ever read’. It is fast becoming that to me also. Here are a few quotes that encourage my life and HOPE in Him: • Creator and redeemer God, author of all existence, source of all blessedness, I adore You for making me capable of knowing You, for giving me reason and conscience, for leading me to desire You. • I want no other rock to build on that that I have, desire no other hope than that of gospel truth, need no other look than that which gazes on the cross. • If driven to the verge of hope and to the pit of despair, grant me grace to fall into His arms. “How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. You feed them from the abundance of Your own house, letting them drink from the rivers of delight. For You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.” Psa. 36:7-9 NLT Yes! He is and always will be our HOPE!!! To know how you can have HOPE in Jesus Christ, go to http://lovelybranchesministries.org/HOPE.html
Friday, February 25, 2011
A Garden Must Begin With Seed
“Garden” is our topic this month—and when I considered a garden—whether it is a flower garden or vegetable garden it has to begin with a ‘seed’. The first verse that came to my mind was John 12:24 where Jesus said:
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Several thoughts came to mind as I considered Jesus’ following words:
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Consider your life the seed. If you guard your life and fail to give it over to the control of Jesus to serve Him, your ultimate end will be the loss of your life as far as productivity and fruitfulness. A seed must be planted in the soil, watered and cultivated. It must die to its original state. As it is nourished it sprouts and grows to become fruitful.
This is Jesus commitment to us, that as we are planted in the soil of His life and die to ourselves in giving our lives to Him, He uses the circumstances of our lives to ‘break that seed’ that has been given to Him. He waters, cultivates and nourishes our lives hidden in Him to produce much fruit. That fruit bearing is not only in our own lives but it reaches to others.
To illustrate what this might look like I’ll share an example of God’s work in my own life. Someone did something that deeply grieved and hurt me and I had a choice to make. I could rise up in anger and defend myself, holding on to my rights, my feelings, my pain etc.; or I could appropriate Christ’s life in me by giving control of that pain and grief to Him (die to self), and give Him the freedom to produce a godly response through me that would honor Him. By faith, I released the matter to Him and I never felt more alive! There was evidence, too, that God’s grace in enabling me to have a gracious response, brought life to that other person. O, how I would love to have that response in painful situations always; but that one experience has encouraged me many times since that I can trust Jesus with painful circumstances, whatever they are. To bring life to others is the fruit of letting that ‘seed’ be buried so that we can experience the power of Jesus’ life in and through us. The fruit belongs to Him, because we are ‘dead’—and something dead cannot produce fruit! Right?!
The other thought I considered is that He wants us to be his ‘servant’. He says that ‘whoever serves Me must follow Me’. Being His servant is further evidence that that ‘seed’ is buried—dead to the self-life and committed to doing things His way. Jesus said in Mark 10:45,
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. He is our example to follow. He died in order to give us life. We die to pass on that life to others—to become fruit bearing servants of Jesus!
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Several thoughts came to mind as I considered Jesus’ following words:
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Consider your life the seed. If you guard your life and fail to give it over to the control of Jesus to serve Him, your ultimate end will be the loss of your life as far as productivity and fruitfulness. A seed must be planted in the soil, watered and cultivated. It must die to its original state. As it is nourished it sprouts and grows to become fruitful.
This is Jesus commitment to us, that as we are planted in the soil of His life and die to ourselves in giving our lives to Him, He uses the circumstances of our lives to ‘break that seed’ that has been given to Him. He waters, cultivates and nourishes our lives hidden in Him to produce much fruit. That fruit bearing is not only in our own lives but it reaches to others.
To illustrate what this might look like I’ll share an example of God’s work in my own life. Someone did something that deeply grieved and hurt me and I had a choice to make. I could rise up in anger and defend myself, holding on to my rights, my feelings, my pain etc.; or I could appropriate Christ’s life in me by giving control of that pain and grief to Him (die to self), and give Him the freedom to produce a godly response through me that would honor Him. By faith, I released the matter to Him and I never felt more alive! There was evidence, too, that God’s grace in enabling me to have a gracious response, brought life to that other person. O, how I would love to have that response in painful situations always; but that one experience has encouraged me many times since that I can trust Jesus with painful circumstances, whatever they are. To bring life to others is the fruit of letting that ‘seed’ be buried so that we can experience the power of Jesus’ life in and through us. The fruit belongs to Him, because we are ‘dead’—and something dead cannot produce fruit! Right?!
The other thought I considered is that He wants us to be his ‘servant’. He says that ‘whoever serves Me must follow Me’. Being His servant is further evidence that that ‘seed’ is buried—dead to the self-life and committed to doing things His way. Jesus said in Mark 10:45,
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. He is our example to follow. He died in order to give us life. We die to pass on that life to others—to become fruit bearing servants of Jesus!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
His Words - Sweeter Than Honey
There is an expression I am hearing from my granddaughters lately when they are ‘in agreement’ with what is said, or when they are ‘affirming’ what they think is good or that they ‘like what happened’. The word is “SWEET! Not so many years ago we would have heard the word “cool”!
I thought about how many times in God’s Word the authors express themselves with that word.
Solomon says in Proverbs 3:24, that ‘when you lie down, you will not be afraid; …your sleep will be sweet’. He also says in chapter 13, verse 19 that ‘a longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul’
I think this is what my granddaughters are saying—‘it’s good, they like it, it’s SWEET!
Ezekiel, the prophet, referred to God’s Word when he said, ‘Eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ The man who ate it said, ‘it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.’ (Ezek. 3:3)
The Psalmist spoke of God’s Word when he said, 'it is sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.' (Psa. 19:10) His reason for saying that is in verse 11—‘by them is your servant warned and in keeping them there is great reward.’ I had to ask myself, “do I look at the warnings in His Word and the rewards He gives when I keep them as a sweet experience?”
‘How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!’ –the Psalmist says in chapter 119:103. When I read this I was reminded that I have to take time to taste God’s word in order for it to be sweet to me. In January of this year I purposed to take time to meditate on what I read in His Word—to taste it, to think about it, ask questions if I don’t understand something, look up other references that shed light on what I read. It’s been so helpful and, indeed, I can say it is ‘sweeter than honey to my mouth when I take time to really ‘taste’ it, rather than just casually reading the words! Try it, if you haven’t already. It’s SWEET!
I thought about how many times in God’s Word the authors express themselves with that word.
Solomon says in Proverbs 3:24, that ‘when you lie down, you will not be afraid; …your sleep will be sweet’. He also says in chapter 13, verse 19 that ‘a longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul’
I think this is what my granddaughters are saying—‘it’s good, they like it, it’s SWEET!
Ezekiel, the prophet, referred to God’s Word when he said, ‘Eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.’ The man who ate it said, ‘it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.’ (Ezek. 3:3)
The Psalmist spoke of God’s Word when he said, 'it is sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.' (Psa. 19:10) His reason for saying that is in verse 11—‘by them is your servant warned and in keeping them there is great reward.’ I had to ask myself, “do I look at the warnings in His Word and the rewards He gives when I keep them as a sweet experience?”
‘How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!’ –the Psalmist says in chapter 119:103. When I read this I was reminded that I have to take time to taste God’s word in order for it to be sweet to me. In January of this year I purposed to take time to meditate on what I read in His Word—to taste it, to think about it, ask questions if I don’t understand something, look up other references that shed light on what I read. It’s been so helpful and, indeed, I can say it is ‘sweeter than honey to my mouth when I take time to really ‘taste’ it, rather than just casually reading the words! Try it, if you haven’t already. It’s SWEET!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Are You Ready To Share The Reason For Your Faith?
I Peter 3:15 says, But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. NIV
The Message puts it this way: Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
Notice that the first and most important requirement for sharing our faith is that we ‘set apart Christ as Lord’. This means that we have surrendered control of our lives to Him, knowing that because He created us with a purpose, He will orchestrate the events of our lives to always be in line with accomplishing that purpose. We place our complete trust and confidence in Him and acknowledge living our lives in accordance with the instructions in His Word.
The preparation for sharing our faith comes as we sit with Him every day to learn from Him. This is not just reading His Word or a devotional reading, but thinking it over, studying it--meditating on the truths He has revealed. When we then determine how He wants us to apply that truth to our life or situation, we need to take action to do it. Praying is a major part in determining just what God wants us to do. It is a moment by moment communion with Him; being sensitive to His voice when He speaks and responding with a "yes, Lord, I will do what You ask."
Our lives will, no doubt, be different because we are reflecting Christ to the world around us—they will not see us, but they will see Him. As a result they may ask the reason for the hope you have. This may not always come in the form of a direct question, but they may just want to be around you, they might share a burden or need, and because the Lord has prepared your heart, the answer from your lips should come from the overflow of His truth imparted to you by the Holy Spirit.
Notice the importance of answering with ‘gentleness and respect’ or ‘always with the upmost courtesy’. This portrays to your friend that she/he is valued and loved—that you are not rushing in to ‘dump a load of truth’ in a preaching way on them-- telling them what to do--but simply sharing your life and experiences and what you are learning from the Lord. As God meets us at our point of need, we are meeting that person at their point of need with gentleness and truth. Then the Holy Spirit takes that truth and reveals it to them so they can respond to it. It most always takes time and building an ongoing relationship.
All the while God is building in our lives in preparation for continuing to share truth in answer to their questions. I have been amazed at how often God will share a truth with me in the morning and in the afternoon I will have an opportunity to share it with someone. His timing is perfect—because He has prepared our heart in advance knowing we will need the answer! He is so faithful!
Many of the preparations of our hearts to give an answer come from our own life experiences. Some come through dark times—times of sorrow, grief or tears as well as those special times of joy. I recently came across Isaiah 45:3 that made my heart rejoice! "I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD…the one who calls you by name." NLT
The Message says it this way: "I'll lead you to buried treasures, secret caches of valuables — Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, GOD… who calls you by your name."
So we can conclude that God is the one who is always preparing our hearts to give an answer concerning the hope He has given us! He’s working in us so He can live His life through us! The glory belongs to Him!
The Message puts it this way: Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
Notice that the first and most important requirement for sharing our faith is that we ‘set apart Christ as Lord’. This means that we have surrendered control of our lives to Him, knowing that because He created us with a purpose, He will orchestrate the events of our lives to always be in line with accomplishing that purpose. We place our complete trust and confidence in Him and acknowledge living our lives in accordance with the instructions in His Word.
The preparation for sharing our faith comes as we sit with Him every day to learn from Him. This is not just reading His Word or a devotional reading, but thinking it over, studying it--meditating on the truths He has revealed. When we then determine how He wants us to apply that truth to our life or situation, we need to take action to do it. Praying is a major part in determining just what God wants us to do. It is a moment by moment communion with Him; being sensitive to His voice when He speaks and responding with a "yes, Lord, I will do what You ask."
Our lives will, no doubt, be different because we are reflecting Christ to the world around us—they will not see us, but they will see Him. As a result they may ask the reason for the hope you have. This may not always come in the form of a direct question, but they may just want to be around you, they might share a burden or need, and because the Lord has prepared your heart, the answer from your lips should come from the overflow of His truth imparted to you by the Holy Spirit.
Notice the importance of answering with ‘gentleness and respect’ or ‘always with the upmost courtesy’. This portrays to your friend that she/he is valued and loved—that you are not rushing in to ‘dump a load of truth’ in a preaching way on them-- telling them what to do--but simply sharing your life and experiences and what you are learning from the Lord. As God meets us at our point of need, we are meeting that person at their point of need with gentleness and truth. Then the Holy Spirit takes that truth and reveals it to them so they can respond to it. It most always takes time and building an ongoing relationship.
All the while God is building in our lives in preparation for continuing to share truth in answer to their questions. I have been amazed at how often God will share a truth with me in the morning and in the afternoon I will have an opportunity to share it with someone. His timing is perfect—because He has prepared our heart in advance knowing we will need the answer! He is so faithful!
Many of the preparations of our hearts to give an answer come from our own life experiences. Some come through dark times—times of sorrow, grief or tears as well as those special times of joy. I recently came across Isaiah 45:3 that made my heart rejoice! "I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness--secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD…the one who calls you by name." NLT
The Message says it this way: "I'll lead you to buried treasures, secret caches of valuables — Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, GOD… who calls you by your name."
So we can conclude that God is the one who is always preparing our hearts to give an answer concerning the hope He has given us! He’s working in us so He can live His life through us! The glory belongs to Him!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Why Did Jesus Come
At Christmas time, we focus more on the fact that Jesus came; but I really get excited about what He said about WHY He came! In John 10: 10 Jesus says, “I have come for people to have life and have it till it overflows.” WT
Does your life look like that? He also said that “in the world we will have trouble”; so how can we have both? The following story suggests the answer.
I recently heard a speaker tell the story of a Mogul King in India who had an advisor who never gave advice, but when asked ‘what do you think?’ would reply, “I think it’s God and I think it’s good”. No matter what happened to the King, this was his advisors response—“I think it’s God and I think it’s good.” In one of the skirmishes the king’s thumb was shot off, and when asked what he thought about that, the advisor responded the same—“I think it’s God and I think it’s good”. The king became so angry that he threw the advisor in a well and went on into the next kingdom where he was captured and taken to be killed. Upon seeing his defective thumb his captors released him and said they would never pursue him again. The king returned to the well to find his advisor still alive and asked, ‘what do you think about me throwing you into the well?’ His response was the same, “I think it’s God and I think it’s good.” The king said, ‘how can you say that?’ to which he replied, “If I had been with you they would have seen that my thumb is not defective thumb and they would have killed me.”
I repeat this story because it relates to the fact that God has a purpose and plan for EVERYTHING that happens in our lives. When we choose to see these things from God’s perspective we can be certain that “it is God and it is good”. From our perspective it may not look like it, but Jesus’ promise remains, “I have come for people to have life and have it till it overflows.”
I looked up the meaning of the word ‘overflow’ and came up with words such as abundance, plenty, bountiful, generous, voluminous, prosperity and sufficiency of life’s necessities. THAT”S why Jesus came—to give us that kind of life! Though our outward circumstances may not look like this—our hearts can rejoice when we see things from His perspective. He is our God and He is good!
Does your life look like that? He also said that “in the world we will have trouble”; so how can we have both? The following story suggests the answer.
I recently heard a speaker tell the story of a Mogul King in India who had an advisor who never gave advice, but when asked ‘what do you think?’ would reply, “I think it’s God and I think it’s good”. No matter what happened to the King, this was his advisors response—“I think it’s God and I think it’s good.” In one of the skirmishes the king’s thumb was shot off, and when asked what he thought about that, the advisor responded the same—“I think it’s God and I think it’s good”. The king became so angry that he threw the advisor in a well and went on into the next kingdom where he was captured and taken to be killed. Upon seeing his defective thumb his captors released him and said they would never pursue him again. The king returned to the well to find his advisor still alive and asked, ‘what do you think about me throwing you into the well?’ His response was the same, “I think it’s God and I think it’s good.” The king said, ‘how can you say that?’ to which he replied, “If I had been with you they would have seen that my thumb is not defective thumb and they would have killed me.”
I repeat this story because it relates to the fact that God has a purpose and plan for EVERYTHING that happens in our lives. When we choose to see these things from God’s perspective we can be certain that “it is God and it is good”. From our perspective it may not look like it, but Jesus’ promise remains, “I have come for people to have life and have it till it overflows.”
I looked up the meaning of the word ‘overflow’ and came up with words such as abundance, plenty, bountiful, generous, voluminous, prosperity and sufficiency of life’s necessities. THAT”S why Jesus came—to give us that kind of life! Though our outward circumstances may not look like this—our hearts can rejoice when we see things from His perspective. He is our God and He is good!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
From Gratitude to Joy!
Being able to ‘see God in every circumstance’ has a lot to do with developing a grateful heart. Often when I am in a situation that is difficult to understand, or one of my children or grandchildren is experiencing something that is hard; I begin my prayer with thanksgiving rather than a request. I begin by rehearsing what I know about God and His character—"thank You that You have brought this trial into my life to teach me more of who You are…thank you that You have designed this experience my loved one is going through to draw her close to You…thank You that You have a purpose and plan for everything that you allow to touch our lives—the difficulties as well as the joys…thank You that You are well able to handle any problem because You have a purpose and plan for each one…etc. This helps to set my mind and thoughts on Him who promised that ‘He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him’ 2 Pet. 1:3. O, Lord, I pray that You will train my heart to respond to all that happens in my life with a grateful spirit! Amen!!!"
I am currently reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ book, Choosing Gratitude—Your Journey to Joy. I want to share a few of the thoughts I’m gleaning, hoping to whet your appetite to read the book!
Gratitude is a choice! If our lives begin to feel hard, hopeless or overwhelming it may be that we need to see if we are harboring an ungrateful attitude. If we see signs of worry, complaining, resentment, anger or bitterness, negativity, doubt, discouragement or anxiety; we must run to the life preserver of gratitude! Nancy says, ‘Over time, choosing gratitude means choosing joy. But that choice doesn’t come without effort and intentionality. It’s a choice that requires constantly renewing my mind with the truth of God’s Word, setting my heart to savor God and His gifts, and disciplining my tongue to speak words that reflect His goodness and grace—until a grateful spirit becomes my reflexive response to all of life.’
Our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being as well as the health and stability of our relationships are greatly determined by having a grateful heart. In an interview, a theologian Dr. Wayne Gruden responded to the question of vulnerability to discouragement by saying, “I don’t often become discouraged. I continue to see evidence of God’s work in my life and in the lives of those around me, and I am simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.” We can look for evidences of God’s hand at work even in the midst of turmoil and be ‘simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.’
Gratitude is vital and it is transformational to our lives! It is one of the chief ways that God infuses joy and resilience into the daily struggles of life.
Come to think of it, nothing makes a person more unattractive than the absence of a grateful spirit. And the consequences of an ungrateful heart can be as contagious as a deadly disease. Often we blame or build resentment against others for the grief we are experiencing. We blame God and ask, ‘why me?’ We become self-focused. Nancy says, “But true, Christ-centered, grace motivated gratitude fits everywhere, even in life’s most desperate moments and difficult situations. Even when there are no ‘answers’, it gives hope. It transforms overwhelmed strugglers into triumphant conquerors.”
From Romans 1, we see that from ingratitude a host of other sins grow. Verse 21 says, ‘they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him…’ Ingratitude is our first step away from God into hideous sin.
I’ll conclude with eight biblical reasons for choosing to have a grateful heart:
• It is a matter of obedience to God—Psa. 50:14, ‘Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High.’
• It draws us close to Him—Psa. 22:3 kjv, ‘God inhabits the praises of His people’.
• It is a sure path to peace—Phil. 4:6, 7, ‘Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus.’
• It tells you where your heart is—Psa. 140:13, ‘Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name.’
• It is the will of God—1 Thess. 5:18 ‘Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’
• It is an evidence of being filled with the spirit—Eph. 5:18-20, Be filled with the Spirit. ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.’
• It reflects the heart of Jesus—Luke 10:21, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…’ John 11:41 ‘I thank You that You have heard Me…’ (among many examples).
• It gets us ready for heaven—Rev. 4:8, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’
John 15:10,11 reveals Jesus heart: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed My father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And we are told in 1 Tim 6:17 that God ‘richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.’
He wants us to be joy filled and He will give it abundantly as we develop grateful hearts to Him!
I am currently reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ book, Choosing Gratitude—Your Journey to Joy. I want to share a few of the thoughts I’m gleaning, hoping to whet your appetite to read the book!
Gratitude is a choice! If our lives begin to feel hard, hopeless or overwhelming it may be that we need to see if we are harboring an ungrateful attitude. If we see signs of worry, complaining, resentment, anger or bitterness, negativity, doubt, discouragement or anxiety; we must run to the life preserver of gratitude! Nancy says, ‘Over time, choosing gratitude means choosing joy. But that choice doesn’t come without effort and intentionality. It’s a choice that requires constantly renewing my mind with the truth of God’s Word, setting my heart to savor God and His gifts, and disciplining my tongue to speak words that reflect His goodness and grace—until a grateful spirit becomes my reflexive response to all of life.’
Our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being as well as the health and stability of our relationships are greatly determined by having a grateful heart. In an interview, a theologian Dr. Wayne Gruden responded to the question of vulnerability to discouragement by saying, “I don’t often become discouraged. I continue to see evidence of God’s work in my life and in the lives of those around me, and I am simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.” We can look for evidences of God’s hand at work even in the midst of turmoil and be ‘simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.’
Gratitude is vital and it is transformational to our lives! It is one of the chief ways that God infuses joy and resilience into the daily struggles of life.
Come to think of it, nothing makes a person more unattractive than the absence of a grateful spirit. And the consequences of an ungrateful heart can be as contagious as a deadly disease. Often we blame or build resentment against others for the grief we are experiencing. We blame God and ask, ‘why me?’ We become self-focused. Nancy says, “But true, Christ-centered, grace motivated gratitude fits everywhere, even in life’s most desperate moments and difficult situations. Even when there are no ‘answers’, it gives hope. It transforms overwhelmed strugglers into triumphant conquerors.”
From Romans 1, we see that from ingratitude a host of other sins grow. Verse 21 says, ‘they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him…’ Ingratitude is our first step away from God into hideous sin.
I’ll conclude with eight biblical reasons for choosing to have a grateful heart:
• It is a matter of obedience to God—Psa. 50:14, ‘Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High.’
• It draws us close to Him—Psa. 22:3 kjv, ‘God inhabits the praises of His people’.
• It is a sure path to peace—Phil. 4:6, 7, ‘Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus.’
• It tells you where your heart is—Psa. 140:13, ‘Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name.’
• It is the will of God—1 Thess. 5:18 ‘Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.’
• It is an evidence of being filled with the spirit—Eph. 5:18-20, Be filled with the Spirit. ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.’
• It reflects the heart of Jesus—Luke 10:21, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…’ John 11:41 ‘I thank You that You have heard Me…’ (among many examples).
• It gets us ready for heaven—Rev. 4:8, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’
John 15:10,11 reveals Jesus heart: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed My father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And we are told in 1 Tim 6:17 that God ‘richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.’
He wants us to be joy filled and He will give it abundantly as we develop grateful hearts to Him!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)