A lesson and truth I received from the scripture we studies this month on cultivating a habit of thankfulness in our lives was this:  Thankfulness has a powerful affect on me and all those around me.

How have you seen this to be true this season of thanksgiving?  Is your mindset towards thanks contagious?  “How we thank God for you! Because of you we have great joy as we enter God’s presence.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9  Paul felt that the thanks he had for his fellow believers, for their faith and love for God, caused him to rejoice.  He saw God working in their lives and this brought joy and thankfulness to his own worship.  I would call that contagious thanks.  Have you ever been thankful for someone or something and it caused you to give thanks to God?  As we live our lives, we need to look for those things that God gives us that create ‘contagious thanks’ within our hearts.  As we give thanks to Him in these situations, God will faithfully create in us a thanks that will be contagious and will result in our being in a constant state of thankfulness and joy.  Paul left the Thessalonians with these words in 5:16-18  “ Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”  

Develop that attitude of gratitude and watch it grow in your own life and then watch it rub off into the lives of those around you.

Linda

Blessings on this Thanksgiving Day to you and yours!  We have much to be thankful for personally, as a family and as a nation.  Thanks be to God for His provision and love as we gather around our tables.  May we offer Him praise and honor from our lips.

Linda

 

Psalm 7:17  “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;
    I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.”

Psalm 100:4-5 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;  give thanks to him and praise his name.   For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

David was thankful for the very character of God.  He praised Him for his righteousness, sovereignty, goodness, love, eternity, and faithfulness.

I am thankful that God is good and that He intends good for me.  In all situations I can depend upon His goodness and know that He alone can work all things for His good and mine.  Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good,  a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him,” and Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

What about you?  What attribute of God’s character do you hold most dear?  Are you thankful that He never changes and is not whimsical or fickle about who He loves and when?  Are you thankful that He is accessible 24/7 in prayer and He can and does always hear you?  Spend a few minutes today thinking about God’s character and how your life would be different if God was not who He is.

Thanks be to our immutable, accessible, holy, redeeming, protecting, all-knowing, loving, faithful and righteous God.  Praise and thank Him today!

Linda

 

Yesterday in Sunday School I was asked to have each child write a letter expressing what they are thankful for.  I am thankful for……    Sometimes on Thanksgiving we will go around the table and say what we are most thankful for that year.  Here are a few of mine for this year:  I have loved this year’s blogs as I have been able to express my love and devotion to God leading up to Lent, my growth in understanding of what He has given me through my identity in Christ and my inheritance and now expressions of thanksgiving all month long.  I will end the year with Advent blogs focusing on His Grace and Mercy in sending Jesus to save us from our sins.  I am blessed with family, friends, ministry, purpose and Hope in Jesus.

What about you?  How would you fill in the blank- I am thankful for_______.   David was described as a man after God’s own heart.  He had a great sense of love and appreciation for all that God had done for him.  He was a simple shepherd boy, Mighty in faith, that God used to lead the nation of Israel.  Here is his proclamation:   1 Chronicles 16:8-9

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
    Let the whole world know what he has done.
⁹ Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
    Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

David knew what God had done for him and praised Him for His gracious provision.

Will you follow his lead and proclaim the wonders that God has done for you this year all this week?

Praising Him who blesses me beyond measure,

Linda

David was the anointed king of Israel and God’s choice but not the crowned king.  Saul was still on the throne and pursuing David desiring to kill him.  David fled into the desert area of En Gedi and hid in a cave.  He penned this Psalm in remembrance of this time and the strength he received from the Lord.  Let David’s prayer and praise bring you strength and create in you a spirit of adoration and trust in God.

Psalm 57

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time he fled from Saul and went into the cave. 

What comes from thankfulness?  Colossians 3:15  “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” (NLT)  We know from this verse and many others that Christ is our source of peace and He desires to rule in our hearts.   John 14:27 really touches the heart of the matter and describes the peace Jesus gives. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”   Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)   Having Christ’s peace in our hearts- guarding our hearts and minds- leads us to unity in Christ and thankfulness.  Having Christ in our lives leads to peaceful relationships with others, unity with other believers and thankfulness.

Why does having Christ in our hearts and minds lead us to thankfulness?  Being of like minds with Christ, sharing His spirit within us bring us such peace and contentment within our souls there is nothing we can do or say other than Praise Him with all our hearts.  We overflow with love and gratitude for all He has done for us through His magnificent grace and mercy.  Thankfulness is our pure and authentic response.   May you feel this gratitude as you commune with Christ in prayer and worship this weekend.  May it overflow to your family gatherings for the next several days.

Thankful,

Linda

Have you ever wondered why God has given you what He has given you?  The Apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians about this very thing.  He was collecting an offering for the believers in Jerusalem that were under extreme persecution.  The Corinthians were giving generously to this help fund.  2 Corinthians 9:11  ^“Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”  Their obedience in giving would produce thanks to God, be a witness to others of their generosity and faith in the gospel of Christ.  In return, the believers in Jerusalem would thank God and pray for them in love.  They would also praise God for His grace (unmerited favor) that God had showed them through the believers in Corinth.   9:14 “And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you.”   So, that which God gave you – you gave away and the giving gave glory to God and returned to you in grace and thanksgiving.  Wow! What a wonderful circle!  Paul exclaims in 9:15 “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!”  The gift Paul is speaking of is Christ.  Because in Him and through Him all things can and do work for God’s glory.  Serving the gospel of Christ to others by giving monetarily or working in ministry gives glory to God and uplifts the name of Jesus.  He is worthy of our praise and thanks.  His gift of love and grace to us is indeed too wonderful for words!!

Where is your circle of generosity going?  God desires that we give generously just as He has given generously to us.  Create thanks today by giving something God has given you to someone else- it need not be money- a kind word, a smile, a helping hand are all things we can give to others that bring honor and thanks to God.

Looking outward today with thanks,

Linda

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I found this poster the other day and thought I’d make this “Thankful Thursday” as a prelude to next Thursday- Thanksgiving Day.  Here are some verses to ponder today to evaluate your thankfulness.

Breath- There is a story in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel 37 that describes God giving breath to dry bones!  5 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”   Do you feel like those dry bones today?  Let God breathe his breath of life into you anew as you praise Him for giving you life and the ability to live for Him.

Life-  I love this next passage from Matthew 6.  We are alive and valued by God. What worries us?  Live life being joyous and thankful for all things, God cares for us.  ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Blessing-  2 Samuel 7:18  “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”  David was amazed at what God had done for him and what his promises revealed.   What about you?  Are you amazed at what God has done in your life? 

God is good.  Learning that God is good and intends good for me all the time is a huge self-esteem builder and gives a believer confidence and assurance.  Nahum 1:7 gives me great comfort and peace.  “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him,”

Have a wonderfully Thankful Thursday as you consider how good it is to be alive and blessed by our Good God.

Linda

“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”  Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT)

Having an attitude of gratitude is what Paul is talking about in Colossians.  He commends us to be filled with Christ and be used to bless each others lives with thankful hearts.  The ministry we have with each other is to be done with thankfulness because we are being representatives of Jesus to each other.  That is a staggering thought that God considers me to be Jesus’ representative when I talk with my neighbors, greet strangers, do my job at work and talk with my family day to day.  Our Jesus ‘face’ is not just for Sunday or when we desire to be like Him but all day every day.  Paul is teaching us that everything we say and do reflects on Jesus.  His final words on this fact are that we should thank God for all these opportunities.

Why does God say we should be thankful for these opportunities? The answer is found in Christ alone, what He has done for us-creates thankful hearts within us.  “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  Romans 5:8   “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23  As believers our hearts are filled with thankfulness as we look to Jesus- for what He did taking the penalty for our sin and giving us eternal life.

So today– face the world with the Love of Jesus in your heart knowing that you represent Him before all that you meet.  Thank God for every person and opportunity that comes your way with an attitude of gratitude.  Now that is kingdom living at it’s best!

Have a blessed day filled with encounters for Jesus,

Linda