Thankfulness

The Complaining Trap

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Ephesians 1:3 NKJV

Someone heard me loudly complaining about how not enough people were there to help me when I needed it. I hadn’t realized how badly I had fallen into the complaining trap until they strongly pointed out my words. I was quite embarrassed and ashamed and apologized. So this week I am asking God to help me stop complaining and to be more thankful for things. I love that this hymn writer shows us that to avoid the complaining trap we need to begin asking God to tune our hearts to praise and end with confession and thankfulness. May you have a blessed Sunday and watch out for that complaining trap!

Rejoice-Pray-Give Thanks

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Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18

When I worked as a tree climber years ago I learned that my life depended on my rope. Our ropes in those days were generally three separate cords woven together. Each cord could have held our weight but in the case of a sudden fall the breaking point of that strand was only one tenth of its load capacity. By having a rope of three woven strands we were assured that in any situation we would be held safely. In the same way God has woven together a three stranded lifeline to hold us. In the past I always carved up these verses into three separate commands, but as I read this morning I realized they are in fact three strands of just one cord in Jesus Christ.

We must rejoice because by His amazing grace He has chosen to come to us no matter how humble our place. The Bible tells us that He is not ashamed to call us brothers. He is willing to include us in His family.

We should always pray, because our Lord like a brother will always listen. There is nothing that affects our life that does not concern Him. Since He has taken the time to count the hairs on our head how can we doubt that He will help us in even our smallest struggles? Remember that He said. “Without me you can do nothing!” John 15:5

Give thanks. Ingratitude will not undo the miracle of God’s healing, but it will keep us from a close relationship with Jesus. In Luke’s gospel we see that one day Jesus healed ten lepers. They had all prayed and all rejoiced but only one remembered to say thanks.

He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:16

The bible does not say that the other nine lost their healing or that they had sinned. But the man who was thankful was the only one who worshipped at the feet of Jesus. The three stranded rope of this man’s faith brought him all the way to an intimate relationship with Christ. Today we are just the same as any of these lepers. We all have a need for a miracle and we all can rejoice in His amazing grace, but only when we are truly grateful will we know how to worship God. He is so kind and good to us all. Will we be found at His feet today?

Good Morning

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Have you ever noticed the three different greetings we use at different times of the day. Good night more or less means “goodbye” and sometimes carries with it a thankful looking back at our shared time. Good afternoon usually is “Hi how are you?” We use this greeting rarely maybe because we are too busy doing things to stop and share our day with others.

But best of all the three is “Good morning!” We use this more often and with more meanings. It can mean, “I’m so glad to see you as we begin this day together!” We also say this as a blessing, as if to say “I wish you well as you begin your new day!” Of the three greetings this is the one most likely to begin a conversation. We are saying “I am glad to see you and how you are doing?” Whatever your reason for “Good morning!” why not try using your first greeting of the day for Jesus Christ? He is glad when we come to Him first. He is reserving special blessings for today. God delights to hear our voice and wants to share our say with Him. So why not begin today first with Him? May His voice be the first we hear the one we listen to through the day so you can look back on your shared time together and be thankful at the day’s end!