November 10, 2013

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:22-24

What does a thankful heart look like?

The test of true GRATITUDE is GENEROSITY!

If you are truly thankful for your food, you will share it.

If you are truly thankful for your home, you will open it to others.

If you are truly thankful for your children, you will discipline them with love.

If you are truly thankful for others, you will serve them.

If you are truly thankful for your blessings, you will spread them around.

If you are truly thankful for your intellectual gifts and talents, you will use them for good.

If you are truly thankful for God, you will take time to worship Him.

In the 1980's, singer and songwriter, Andre Crouch, wrote a song that became an instant favorite of Christians world-wide. He named it "My Tribute" and it powerfully expresses the essence of a heart touched by the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ:

How can I say thanks 

for the things you have done for me
Things so undeserved 

Yet you give to prove your love for me
The voices of a million angels 

Cannot express my gratitude
All that I am or ever hope to be

I owe it all to Thee

(Chorus):  

To God be the glory 

To God be the glory 

To God be the glory 

For the things He has done
With His blood, He has saved me

 By His power, He has raised me.
To God be the glory

 For the things he has done

(Bridge): 

Just let me live my life
And let it be pleasing, Lord to Thee
And should I gain any praise,
Let it go to Calvary.

With His blood, He has saved me 

By His power, He has raised me.
To God be the glory 

For the things he has done.

The Prodigal Son found the joy he had been looking for once he received the mercy and grace offered by his father!

Have you opened your heart to receive that great gift of God's mercy and grace offered through Jesus Christ?

November 9, 2013

"Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."  Luke 15:11-24

I believe one of the big obstacles to having a thankful heart is an inability to embrace God's mercy and grace.

What do I mean by that?

Let me illustrate with the familiar story of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son is not grateful at the beginning of the story but becomes thankful and is rejoicing by the end of the story. How does that happen?

Well, to my point, when we first see this young man we see someone who doesn't know how to handle grace or mercy.

First, he abused the graciousness of his father by demanding his inheritance. His father was not obligated to grant this unusual request but he chose to do it because he loved his son.  By doing this he broke tradition and social custom, bringing disgrace to himself and dishonor to his father.

Also, he abused mercy.

How did he abuse mercy?

The inheritance system was set up to protect young people from getting too much wealth and responsibility too soon in their lives. It was a form of mercy.

When you consider how he abused grace and refused mercy to get his own way, you know it is not likely to end well. He was ungrateful in his demand, and he was ungrateful in what he received so how do think he is going to turn out?

Once his demand was met and he got what he wanted from his dad, he took the money and ran! He ran to spend it on wild parties and wild women. unfortunately, when his money ran out so did his friends. Soon he found himself broke and lonely and hungry. He was in a world of hurt scuffling with swine for their scraps.

What if this young man had been grateful in the beginning?

What if he had honored the grace and mercy of his father from the start?

Imagine how much different the story would have been!

A truly thankful heart has learned to receive the mercy and grace of his Father.

November 8, 2013

 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."  Ephesian 2:1-7

There are two planks that form the foundation for true thankfulness! Having a thankful heart results from being amazed by God’s mercy and grace in your life. Mercy mercy is God sparing you from judgment you deserve and grace is God sharing with us blessings we don’t deserve. When you are able to grasp the significance of God's mercy and grace in your life, you will have a thankful heart.

The daughter of a well-known local judge was stopped for speeding and given a ticket. She knew she would have to appear before her father in his courtroom. 

When her father found out his daughter would be appearing before him he assured her that he would judge her according to the law as he would with any other citizen who would come before him.

Indeed, when she came before the bench he declared her guilty of this traffic violation and slammed his gavel as he sentenced her to a $100 fine.

But after he had pronounced the sentence he laid down his gavel, stood, took off his robe and went down to stand next to his daughter as a father, not a judge. After he hugged her he pulled out his wallet and paid her fine in full. 

This girl received grace from her father but not mercy.

A wonderful example of how to practice the lifestyle of grace comes from an incident in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006, when a man entered an Amish schoolhouse and murdered 5 girls while wounding 5 others before killing himself. As horrific as this was, the greater story was the response of the Amish people in expressing their love and forgiveness to the shooter’s family. Ann Curry of NBC news, wrote: "I realize I did not know what forgiveness was until now."

Perhaps the most telling comments came from the pen of Marie Roberts, the shooter’s widow, in a note to the Amish. "Our family wants each of you to know that we are overwhelmed by the forgiveness, grace and mercy you’ve extended to us. Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community and is changing our world." Isn’t that the goal of the gospel of grace?

Receiving mercy and grace from these grieving families brought this sincere expression of from the killer's widow.

The two planks of thanks are mercy and grace.

                                   

November 7, 2013

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3:6-7

After spending several days studying Adam and Eve I want to distill it down to one simple truth:

Gratitude = God focused

Greed = self-focused

Thankful people are God focused people as opposed to dissatisfied unhappy people whose lives are self-focused.

I think that is obvious from the reading of this tragic story of the Fall.

Gratitude and greed are the flip sides of the same coin.

When Adam and Eve walked with their lives centered on Him, they enjoyed contentment and satisfaction. When their will was surrendered to His will they lived in the wonder of His presence. When they found their pleasure in pleasing Him, they reaped all the joys of Paradise. As long as God was their chief desire, He filled their life with delight. When they kept focused on all their blessings from God they lived in humble gratitude.

But something happened one day in the Garden! There was trouble brewing in Paradise!

Did they begin to take their perfect fellowship with God for granted?

Did they let their thoughts drift toward curiosity about the Tree of Life?

Did they allow a wrong desire to creep into their spirit? 

Whatever the cause, the first couple wandered carelessly close to the forbidden tree. Once they were close to the Tree they were within range for the Tempter. And because they had allowed their focus to drift away from God and onto their fleshly desires they were susceptible to the tempting offer.When it was given they willfully disobeyed.

Could it be that gratitude is the most basic of all the Christian attitudes?

Is it possible that ingratitude, or greed, is the root cause of sin?

Think about it.

When Adam and Eve remained grateful they remained holy, but then they got a little greedy.....

November 6, 2013

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:1-6

What do you think our world would look like today if Adam and Eve would have been more grateful and less greedy?

Do you think they would have given into greedy thoughts if their minds had been occupied with grateful thoughts?

How many of your troubles can be traced to being led down the wrong path by your greedy desires?

Would you have those greedy desires if it were not for Adam and Eve?

Would you make better decisions if you were controlled by gratitude rather than greed?

Interesting questions don't you think?

But this blog is more interested in practical solutions than in theoretical questions and the fact is Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God and their lack of gratitude was a contributing factor to that sin.

Here are some insights and observations from their "original sin":

1) Gratitude is evidence of humility

When Adam and Eve walked humbly with God they enjoyed Paradise in every aspect of their lives.

2) Gratitude is evidence of honesty

When Adam and Eve walked humbly with God His wisdom gave them clear understanding of truth. Walking with God gave them an honest view of God and of themselves.

3) Gratitude is evidence of harmony

Walking with God every day and talking with Him was what they were created to do! He created them to share His love and His life. Before they strayed too close to the Tree, they enjoyed a glorious oneness with their Creator.

4) Gratitude is evidence of holiness

Adam and Eve were holy when then walked with God because holiness is loving God completely and obeying Him perfectly. Until they became greedy for power and knowledge.

So let's review:

Greed led to disobedience and rebellion.

Gratitude led to humility, honesty, harmony and holiness.

There is tremendous power in a thankful spirit!

Which attitude dominates your thinking?

November 5, 2013

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." Genesis 3:1-6

Who do you think should have been the most thankful people in the history of mankind?

My answer would be Adam and Eve!

After all, they lived in Paradise!

But as you are painfully aware, they lost their attitude of gratitude. Understanding how it happened is crucial to understanding why you struggle with ingratitude. Even though history has changed, human nature has not!

Let me first make this basic statement - gratitude is the foundational attitude. Thankfulness is the result of believing truth and ingratitude results from being deceived by a lie. 

The lie Adam and Eve allowed to deceive them was the notion that contentment is "out there somewhere"!

Imagine being able to walk with God IN PERSON every day in a perfect place like Eden! What could be better than that? No one has ever been more blessed than these two!

Do you think the God Who created Adam and then gave him Eve when He realized Adam had a need for human companionship would have denied Adam anything else he desired?

Of course He would have!

So how did they buy into this lie?

Apparently, they lost sight of the truth that God was their source and their substance. They forgot they were blessed and believed for less.

Haven't you found that when you forget you are blessed you settle for less? That has been my experience and it seems to be the case for the First Couple.

Also, they allowed themselves to doubt the character of God when the serpent impugned His character. When they allowed themselves to doubt God they were prone to believe the lie.

Learn from Adam and Eve!

Doubting God leads to dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction breeds ingratitude and ingratitude opens you up to being deceived.

If you are a child of God you are blessed! Desire more of Him. Don't settle for less!

November 4, 2013

"the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, "Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the LORD." Jeremiah 33:11

Thankful people are happy people. There is no debating that.

But, the question is, "Are they happy because they are thankful or are they thankful because they are happy?"

Jeremiah gives us some insights into what it takes to become a thankful person.

First, be thankful for the goodness of God!

You have a choice. You can focus on the badness and unfairness of life, OR you can focus your life on the goodness of God. It is up to you. If you want to be sad and miserable all the time you can decry how unfair life is - because it is! Choose that disposition and your happy days will be few and far between.

However, if you are committed to the goodness of God you can ALWAYS be thankful because God is ALWAYS good! Thankful people understand that God is always better than the badness of life. God is bigger than the badness of life. In fact, God has promised to even make the badness of life into goodness!

Thankful people are focused on the goodness of God! They are always thankful because they understand that God is always good.

Secondly, thankful people are focused on the love of God.

Like the goodness of God, His love is a constant. Therefore, when you choose to be thankful for His love you can always be thankful! His love that sustained you through the unfairness and difficulties of yesterday will also sustain you through today - and tomorrow! Thank God! When Jeremiah wrote these truisms thousands of years ago, God's love was a constant. Now, centuries later, it is still true! And, centuries from now IT WILL STILL BE TRUE. How can you not be thankful for THAT!

Will you do this for God and for yourself today? Will you thank Him for His goodness and His love. Thank Him that these blessed characteristics are rooted in His eternal character! Will you make today the first day of a commitment to live in thankfulness for His goodness and His love?

You will be thankful you made that decision!