Have to or Get to? Who knew that two simple words could change one's mindset, perspective and approach to work and life? Just two words have the potential to enhance joy, productivity, performance and change a complaining voice to thankful heart.
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
So often we say things like, "I have to take the kids to practice." "I have to go to this meeting." "I have to finish this project." "I have to go to work today." "I have to take care of this customer." "I have to share this new information with my team." Etc.
We act as if we don't have a choice. As if we are imprisoned by a paycheck and the expectations of a world that forces us to do things we don’t want to do. But in reality we do have a choice. We can choose our attitude and our actions. We can choose how we view our life and work. We can realize that every day is a gift.
It’s not about what we have to do. It's about what we get to do.
We get to drive in traffic while so many don’t even have a car. We get to go to a job while so many are unemployed. We get to raise our children, even if they drive us nuts at times. :) We get to interact with our employees and customers and make a difference in their life. We get to use the gifts and talents that God gave us for a cause that is greater than ourselves (His glory). We get to work on projects, answer phone calls, serve customers, participate in meetings, design, create, share, sell, lead and suit up every day for the game of life.
Yes there will be challenges and life isn't easy but each day we wake up we get another opportunity to make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. We get to uplift, inspire, encourage, and impact others. We get to live this life. We get to Give Thanks in all that we do.
As we close today, think on this verse from Colossians 3:17. Realize how a simple shift in words can help us apply God’s word to our lives. Let's make the most of it by remembering that life is a gift from God, not an obligation.
Scripture of the Day: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Colossians 3:17
Showing posts with label giving thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giving thanks. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, November 26, 2011
A Time Of Thankfulness
We are at this time of year again when we celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a time where most come together with family and friends, a time of cooking family recipes and eating the wonderful food around the table, reflecting over family stories and memories, and just enjoying a time of good old down home tradition!
However, during this time we shouldn’t forget the source of our thankfulness – what it is, why we’re doing it, and to whom we’re giving it to.
To thank means to express gratitude. Thankfulness means an expression of thanks and to be glad. Thanksgiving means the act of giving thanks, a prayer expressing gratitude; also the fourth Thursday of November is declared and observed as a legal holiday for giving thanks for divine goodness.
Now that we know what it is and why we are doing it, we should know to whom we are giving it to and that is Jesus our Lord.
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. (Colossians 2:6-7, NLT).
As believers, we don’t have to wait until the fourth Thursday in November to give thanks or celebrate a time of thankfulness. It should be done always! And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20, NLT). There should be a time of special thanks and prayer each day in our lives. We can pray and give thanks for family and friends, our own requests being met, and we can also give God thanks for all of the material and spiritual blessings that we have received from him. Remember also, to give thanks with a grateful heart!
Scripture Of The Day: “And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Ephesians 5:20 (NLT).
Thursday, November 24, 2011
A Spirit Of Thankfulness
One of the times that a believer has to remain on his or her most diligent guard is at the end of a hard trial, rather than right in the middle of it. I say this from experience, because if we’re not careful, we can become calloused to the blessings of God when at last we stand under the spout.
Our modern culture is one of a feeling of entitlement. You hear it in our conversations, in our commercials, and sadly now, in our kids: “I DESERVE to be, to have, to do…. It’s my RIGHT to be, to have, to do….” The real test we must pass is not whether we can get through the hard times, but whether we will remain thankful and dependent upon God once He allows us to arrive in the place of plenty.
In a recent self-examination in my prayer time, the mirror of God revealed to me that the unidentifiable odor in my own life was the beginnings of a spirit of unthankfulness, threatening to mildew everything I’m blessed to call my own. It happens sometimes. We go from a really difficult season of adversity, where we’ve had to stay on our knees, to a time of quiet goodness, an oasis if you will…only to find discontentment in “the new normal.”
Manna was the new normal for the Israelites as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. God rained bread from the heavens, yet they mourned for the leeks and garlic they left behind in the place of bondage. And then, when the consistency of a daily provision began to bore their lust for variety, God gave them what they asked for—quail—till it literally came out their noses. And they dared complain again because the taste of the quail soon got old too!
Does our insolence perhaps kindle God’s anger against us too, as we complain “while the meat is yet in our mouths?” Are we ever satisfied?!!!
I’m ashamed to admit, my own attitude at times emulates the Israelites’. God cautioned them, when they would finally reach the place of prosperity, not to forget from where He brought them. He warned them not to make idols for themselves right in the place of His blessing!
If what comes out of your mouth begins to smack of ingratitude, then a caution light is flashing that your spirit of thankfulness is running low.
Apostle Paul tells us to examine ourselves in 2 Corinthians 13:5. We ask God to change us, when in fact, He expects some of this changing to come from our own application of His Word. Jesus, faced with death itself, may have asked at first for an alternate route, but quickly put his own desires to the side and concluded his prayer with, “nevertheless, not my will, but Yours.” This shows us that even when our flesh begs us to compromise, we do have the power to surrender to God’s will!
I don’t want to anger God with my whining, my complaining, or even my silent discontentment in the little things—ESPECIALLY in a season of Divine provision. So today, digging through the refrigerator of my heart, I pulled out that mysterious stinky thing wrapped in aluminum foil that caused me to wrinkle my nose in disgust when I opened up the door. I toss my attitude into the dumpster of repentance, fall on my face, and give thanks for the many blessings of the Lord Who always looks out for my best interest, sees around every corner, and never slumbers or sleeps as He watches over His Word to perform it.
Scripture Of The Day: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Our modern culture is one of a feeling of entitlement. You hear it in our conversations, in our commercials, and sadly now, in our kids: “I DESERVE to be, to have, to do…. It’s my RIGHT to be, to have, to do….” The real test we must pass is not whether we can get through the hard times, but whether we will remain thankful and dependent upon God once He allows us to arrive in the place of plenty.
In a recent self-examination in my prayer time, the mirror of God revealed to me that the unidentifiable odor in my own life was the beginnings of a spirit of unthankfulness, threatening to mildew everything I’m blessed to call my own. It happens sometimes. We go from a really difficult season of adversity, where we’ve had to stay on our knees, to a time of quiet goodness, an oasis if you will…only to find discontentment in “the new normal.”
Manna was the new normal for the Israelites as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. God rained bread from the heavens, yet they mourned for the leeks and garlic they left behind in the place of bondage. And then, when the consistency of a daily provision began to bore their lust for variety, God gave them what they asked for—quail—till it literally came out their noses. And they dared complain again because the taste of the quail soon got old too!
Does our insolence perhaps kindle God’s anger against us too, as we complain “while the meat is yet in our mouths?” Are we ever satisfied?!!!
I’m ashamed to admit, my own attitude at times emulates the Israelites’. God cautioned them, when they would finally reach the place of prosperity, not to forget from where He brought them. He warned them not to make idols for themselves right in the place of His blessing!
If what comes out of your mouth begins to smack of ingratitude, then a caution light is flashing that your spirit of thankfulness is running low.
Apostle Paul tells us to examine ourselves in 2 Corinthians 13:5. We ask God to change us, when in fact, He expects some of this changing to come from our own application of His Word. Jesus, faced with death itself, may have asked at first for an alternate route, but quickly put his own desires to the side and concluded his prayer with, “nevertheless, not my will, but Yours.” This shows us that even when our flesh begs us to compromise, we do have the power to surrender to God’s will!
I don’t want to anger God with my whining, my complaining, or even my silent discontentment in the little things—ESPECIALLY in a season of Divine provision. So today, digging through the refrigerator of my heart, I pulled out that mysterious stinky thing wrapped in aluminum foil that caused me to wrinkle my nose in disgust when I opened up the door. I toss my attitude into the dumpster of repentance, fall on my face, and give thanks for the many blessings of the Lord Who always looks out for my best interest, sees around every corner, and never slumbers or sleeps as He watches over His Word to perform it.
Scripture Of The Day: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
In Everything, Give Thanks
In the midst of a storm at sea and with those who were taking him prisoner to be brought before Caesar, before Paul broke bread, he gave thanks (Acts 27); as David rejoiced at the fact that the people followed his example and gave plenty of gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones for the building of a temple for the Lord, he gave thanks (I Chronicles 29); and when Jonah spoke that “my soul fainted within me” during his traumatic ordeal in the belly of a whale, he still remembered the Lord and sacrificed to Him with the “voice of thanksgiving.” Only then did the Lord speak to the fish, which subsequently delivered him from what would have been a sure death. (Jonah 2)
In Paul’s example, he thanked God for the food they were about to partake; but I firmly believe there was much more behind his thanksgiving on that particular day. He and the rest of the people aboard the ship had just survived “no small tempest”—in today’s language this would probably be a high category hurricane. In other words, their lives were just spared.
It’s amazing how most people automatically “thank God” when they have escaped some tragedy, or death itself. But how about the every day things that happen to you? What about being thankful that you drove to work with no accidents? Or that you were able to put one foot in front of the other today? Not all people can. If it weren’t for God, you wouldn’t feel the warm rays of the sun; you wouldn’t have that comfortable bed to sleep in each night, or your wonderful spouse who takes care of the things you can’t—constantly; without God you wouldn’t even be able to breathe. Let that sink in …
Everything was made by Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16). So who are we not to be thankful for everything we have? Anything you have is His anyway. He’s just allowing you to be a steward over it for a little while. Let’s think about that in detail for a moment: He owns your bank accounts and all your investments, even the hidden ones “over seas.” (He owns the sea, too). God owns your house and your car. He also owns your clothes, your jewelry, yes, and the make-up too. He is the real creator of that great business idea you just thought of this morning. He gave you the brains you have, remember? He fashioned your body together “fearfully and wonderfully”—‘fearfully’ meaning in awe in this context because when God looks at you, His creation—He’s in awe at His own handiwork. (Psalm 139:14) Now that’s something to be thankful for. When was the last time you simply told God, “Thank You, Lord, for just being You”? And that speaks libraries.
Not only do we have multiple examples throughout scripture to be thankful in all kinds of situations—whether traumatic, joyful or sad—we also have been given directives from God Himself through His word to give thanks. Here’s just one:
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
To be thankful is to be humble and beautiful. It gives rise to praise, which rolls into worship—your lifestyle, not just your songs—which when persevered, brings you to a state of dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, the very presence of God. So be thankful. Not only in this season of America’s Thanksgiving Holiday, but always, in everything, be thankful.
Scripture Of The Day: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJ)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Importance Of Two Words
Life resembles rush hour traffic sometimes, different people all rushing toward something or someplace. Encased in the vehicle of our lives and focused on the destination we’re trying to reach, we’re aware there are others on the road with us, but only to the degree that keeps us from running into them. The cars all look different, but their functions are primarily the same, carrying us from point A and delivering us to point B.
Not once do our cars expect us to verbally praise or thank them. As long as we put gas in the tank and perform the scheduled maintenance, it will carry us where we want to go. Sometimes people mistake God for a vehicle instead of recognizing Him as a loving Father.
This all came to me one afternoon on the way home. My daughter was with me. I didn’t have an umbrella and it was raining. Dinner was not done and stopping by the store was inevitable. The whole way to the parking lot I hoped there would be a safe spot close to the door. When I pulled in, I saw a car leaving a spot. I waited behind it, put on my blinker and said a quick sincere “thank you” to God for answering my thought before I could even make it a prayer. The rest of the shopping trip was drama free. Not only did my daughter not ask for anything she didn’t need in the store, she didn’t whine one time. The lines were not long and I was in and out of the store during peak hours in less than twenty minutes.
I pushed the shopping cart to my car singing the hook from “thank you” by Mary Mary and my little one sang along. I loaded the groceries, put the cart away then buckled my most precious bundle into her car seat, as she continued to sing. When I checked to make sure everything was secure, she took both of her hands and placed them on the side of my face and said. “Thank you, Mommie.”
Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I’d had a pretty hectic day. My bank account was still the same. It was still raining. But that’s when it hit me—the importance of those two words. I smiled and kissed my baby girl on the cheek and said “my pleasure.”
“You’re welcome” didn’t seem appropriate because it didn’t cover how I felt. She recognized what I did and showed appreciation for it. Taking care of her, providing for her and being the mother God wants me to be to her is a pleasure. Even when she is fussy, gets a bit unruly and is upset because I won’t let her do something, caring for her is my pleasure. In that moment I hoped I made God smile when I said thank you for my parking space and remembered, God feels the same about me.
How many times in a day do we really think about all God does for us? Before we’re dressed and in our vehicles, He is owed 10,000 thanks! The Master and Creator of the universe takes time to count the hairs on our heads, protect us and provide for our needs. He came as Christ to earth and died for our sins so anyone interested could have a relationship with Him. God does all this and more with one simple request that can be expressed in many ways; that we look beyond the dashboard of our lives as we ride along to our chosen destinations and remember to tell Him, thank you.
Scripture Of The Day: "At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." - Ephesians 5:20 (AMP)
Not once do our cars expect us to verbally praise or thank them. As long as we put gas in the tank and perform the scheduled maintenance, it will carry us where we want to go. Sometimes people mistake God for a vehicle instead of recognizing Him as a loving Father.
This all came to me one afternoon on the way home. My daughter was with me. I didn’t have an umbrella and it was raining. Dinner was not done and stopping by the store was inevitable. The whole way to the parking lot I hoped there would be a safe spot close to the door. When I pulled in, I saw a car leaving a spot. I waited behind it, put on my blinker and said a quick sincere “thank you” to God for answering my thought before I could even make it a prayer. The rest of the shopping trip was drama free. Not only did my daughter not ask for anything she didn’t need in the store, she didn’t whine one time. The lines were not long and I was in and out of the store during peak hours in less than twenty minutes.
I pushed the shopping cart to my car singing the hook from “thank you” by Mary Mary and my little one sang along. I loaded the groceries, put the cart away then buckled my most precious bundle into her car seat, as she continued to sing. When I checked to make sure everything was secure, she took both of her hands and placed them on the side of my face and said. “Thank you, Mommie.”
Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I’d had a pretty hectic day. My bank account was still the same. It was still raining. But that’s when it hit me—the importance of those two words. I smiled and kissed my baby girl on the cheek and said “my pleasure.”
“You’re welcome” didn’t seem appropriate because it didn’t cover how I felt. She recognized what I did and showed appreciation for it. Taking care of her, providing for her and being the mother God wants me to be to her is a pleasure. Even when she is fussy, gets a bit unruly and is upset because I won’t let her do something, caring for her is my pleasure. In that moment I hoped I made God smile when I said thank you for my parking space and remembered, God feels the same about me.
How many times in a day do we really think about all God does for us? Before we’re dressed and in our vehicles, He is owed 10,000 thanks! The Master and Creator of the universe takes time to count the hairs on our heads, protect us and provide for our needs. He came as Christ to earth and died for our sins so anyone interested could have a relationship with Him. God does all this and more with one simple request that can be expressed in many ways; that we look beyond the dashboard of our lives as we ride along to our chosen destinations and remember to tell Him, thank you.
Scripture Of The Day: "At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." - Ephesians 5:20 (AMP)
Monday, November 21, 2011
A Habit of Thanks
As my wife and I were coming closer to our wedding date, as a part of our engagement process, the preacher who performed our wedding ceremony would regularly share wisdom and insights for our future together. One of the powerful gems he shared was, “As you live and grow together, make it a habit to express your appreciation to one another.”
Over a decade later, I can now see the truth and benefit of his wisdom. And while I have not always lived up to it, there is a tremendous blessing in making it a habit of being thankful and appreciative; not just in marriage, but in life.
Every aspect of our lives can use more thanks and gratefulness. Habits are addictive practices that are formed over a period of time through repeated acts. How differently would you approach life if you expressed more gratitude than frustration? A sink full of dishes really means that not only do you have a house to live in but you have had food to eat. An empty tank in your car means that you’re not walking from destination A to destination B. Having limited closet space shouldn’t be a point of aggravation, but an intersection of gratitude and servitude (give some of the clothes away!). Loud children running around simply means that you were able to birth them and there were no miscarriages or stillborn deaths.
Quite candidly, we have shortchanged ourselves by only focusing on gratitude, thanksgiving, and appreciation when November rolls around. In many cases, we have disrespected God by saying that we’re thankful when in reality we have only focused on ourselves and our bellies.
A scripture that we quote often has a principle in it for thanksgiving. It speaks to having a habit of thanks that is undeniably strong and engaging. David writes in Psalm 34:1 (The Message), “I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.
How can we approach life with a greater appreciation for it? How can we approach each day with a greater sense of thanks to God, people, and the circumstances that we are in? Although we can’t answer the totality of that question in one setting, we can get started by…
Being strategic
We are strategic with our relationships, education, calendars and even entertainment. Let’s schedule and be strategic with our time to be grateful and express our appreciation to God. Daily, weekly, monthly and annually, we ought to set aside time to only express gratitude.
Being structured
How can you be structured in expressing your thanks for life and living? Make a list! It has been said in many arenas of life and on multiple levels, journal your appreciation. For those that don’t journal, without feeling overwhelmed with the process, simply keep a sticky note or an electronic document of all of the blessings that you daily receive. You will be amazed at all that you can be thankful for.
Being sacrificial
Don’t just be thankful for what you like about your life. Be thankful for everything. This would include the good, the bad and the ugly. Notice what 1 Thessalonians 5: 18 shares – “In EVERYTHING gives thanks…” (KJV). When you express gratitude in tough times, you force yourself to adopt a mind that is more like Jesus Christ than satan. Further, it forces you to begin to see situations from God’s view versus your own view.
Habits aren’t created without starting something small first. Today, you can begin to create a new habit by doing something small, yet significant right now. Take some time to tell God how much you appreciate Him. If you start now, it’ll be a habit in no time.
Scripture Of The Day: “I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.” – Psalm 34:1 (Message)
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