Gratitude...

I'm reposting a lovely post from Amy Carroll from Proverbs 31 Ministries: A Cornucopia of contentment.

 "“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12 (NIV)

My grandparents were farmers on the plains of Kansas where the houses were separated by acres of wheat, so time with friends and neighbors was precious. One evening, a neighboring family came over for a meal at my grandma’s house.

My dad and aunt, still elementary-aged, played with the other kids until it was time to scoot up to the table ladened with food from the farm and garden — steaming vegetables, savory meat and sweet fruit pies. Home-cooked goodness passed around until every plate had mounds of food. A happy silence fell while everyone chewed. Suddenly, little Mary Jane, one of the neighbor’s daughters, piped up saying, “This steak is tough.” Her ever-vigilant mother cheerfully replied with just a hint of threat, “And that’s the way we like it. Isn’t it, Mary Jane?” We never have a gathering of our extended family when that quote isn’t evoked. Inevitably, someone will begin to complain and somebody else will say, “And that’s the way we like it. Isn’t it, Mary Jane?” No matter when it’s said or who says it, the whole group explodes in laughter. Maybe you have to be there to think it’s as funny as we do, but I’ll bet your family has a way to remind everyone to be thankful, too.

Just like our family, you find a way to rejoice through the awkward, difficult moments. As the holiday season starts, we try to focus on the blessings of life, yet the circumstances of life remain imperfect. The turkey is raw, or somebody’s mad. There’s not enough money to pay all the bills, or a loved one is missing from the table. You’re still longing for a baby, or your resume hasn’t landed on the right desk yet. No matter what the circumstance, big or small, there’s always something that makes life seem a little tougher than it should be.

Life was hard for Paul as he wrote our key verse from prison. Even so, he calls us to be content in need, when we feel the ache of lack, and in plenty, when self-sufficiency and the quest for more seem to invade. What was Paul’s secret weapon that led to contentment through tough times?

Gratitude. Eight times through the book of Philippians Paul uses the word “rejoice.” Gratitude is seeking out and finding joy no matter our circumstances. Can we do it alone? No. Even super-Apostle Paul follows today’s key verse with, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV-1984). It’s difficult to be thankful in imperfect circumstances, but Jesus enables us through His power. Jesus gives us spiritual abundance even when there’s lack in our reality.

As cornucopias, a symbol of abundance, fill the Pinterest boards and fall displays in the stores, memories of my grandma’s garden come rushing back. The harvest from her garden that later filled her table didn’t look like the perfect produce department in my local grocery store. Pumpkins from her garden were flat on one side, and the cabbage was often laced with insect holes. Fruit had bruises and vegetables showed signs of too much or too little rain.

Life is like that too, yet an imperfect life can be a cornucopia of contentment when it’s viewed through the lens of thankfulness. A harvest of contentment springs from the soil of gratitude. Even the flawed fruits of harvest in our lives can be nourishing if we’ll choose gratitude, joy and contentment.

As we face the great joys and sure disappointments of the holiday season, I encourage all of us with these words from Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NIV). Lord, even though our lives are imperfect, we pray You would give us strength to be thankful for Your faithful provision and abundance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY: I Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (NIV) Colossians 2: 6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

REFLECT AND RESPOND: Make a list of things in your life for which you are grateful. On a second piece of paper, make another list of circumstances that are currently difficult. Putting one hand on each list, pray for God’s strength in the hard places and for focus on the blessings He gives. Rejoice in a moment of contentment!

See more at: http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/a-cornucopia-of-contentment/#sthash.QmTfmlNu.dpuf

Everywhere I look...thanking God in everything

Everywhere I turn, I am reminded to be thankful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgf1YzscBlE
Every more I make, I make in you, Jesus...everywhere I look I see your face.

And I am thankful.

Today, I am reminded of Betsie Ten Boom, Corrie Ten Boom's sister, who knew the secret of being thankful. I read The Hiding Place many years ago, but this incident has remained in my heart and inspired me over the long years.

Betsie and Corrie had been transferred to Ravensbruck concentration camp, having been arrested for helping to hid Jews fleeing the Nazis in Holland.

"In the feeble light I turned the pages. “Here it is: Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all…” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbrük.

“Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”

“Oh yes: …Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.”

“That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. Give thanks in all circumstances! That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!” I stared at her; then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.

“Such as?” I said.

“Such as being assigned here together.”

I bit my lip. “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”

“Such as what you’re holding in your hands.” I looked down at the Bible.

“Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all these women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”

“Yes,” said Betsie, “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!”

She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she prodded.

“Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed suffocating crowds.”

“Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for–”

The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”

“Give thanks in all circumstances,” she quoted. It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”

And so we stood between tiers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.

Days later, the sisters learned how they had been blessed by the fleas.

There on the Lagerstrasse we were under rigid surveillance, guards in their warm wool capes marching constantly up and down. It was the same in the center room of the barracks: half a dozen guards or camp police always present. Yet in the large dormitory room there was almost no supervision at all. We did not understand it.

One evening I got back to the barracks late from a wood-gathering foray outside the walls. A light snow lay on the ground and it was hard to find the sticks and twigs with which a small stove was kept going in each room. Betsie was waiting for me, as always, so that we could wait through the food line together. Her eyes were twinkling.

“You’re looking extraordinarily pleased with yourself,” I told her.

“You know, we’ve never understood why we had so much freedom in the big room,” she said. “Well–I’ve found out.”

That afternoon, she said, there’d been confusion in her knitting group about sock sizes and they’d asked the supervisor to come and settle it.

“But she wouldn’t,” said Betsie. “She wouldn’t step through the door and neither would the guards. And you know why?”

Betsie could not keep the triumph from her voice: “Because of the fleas! That’s what she said, ‘That place is crawling with fleas!’”

My mind rushed back to our first hour in this place. I remembered Betsie’s bowed head, remembered her thanks to God for creatures I could see no use for." from The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

The truth of Ephesians 5:20 "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Still thankful...

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Yes, but how?

Speak out my thanks. Act out of gratitude. Smile, laugh, express joy.

Because of peace: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

Bible verses of the day today and yesterday....

Seasoned with salt

Colossians 4:6

Let your conversation be always full of grace,seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (NIV) or, as The Message puts it:

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

Link here

Seeking God

I have had several threads speaking to me over the past few weeks. One has been on the theme of being strong and courageous; the other, on seeking God above all else.

At Love God Greatly, I read:

We live in challenging days. Like Esther thousands of years ago in ancient Persia, our world at times can feel like it is spinning out of control…and that evil is winning. But take heart my sweet friends, and cling to the assurance we find in Deuteronomy 31:6…

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

God is always with us.

He will never leave us nor forsake us.

We are called to be strong and courageous, which tells me that there will be times in our lives when we have to choose either a life of faith or of fear.

But take heart, God will accomplish what He has started. Philippians 1:6 reminds us of this truth:

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

And though this life can be hard, disappointing and at times heartbreaking, we cling to the truth that we find in 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.

Gratitude - a study at breakfast

So, how does gratitude work out? According to biblegateway.com, the word thank appears 133 times in the Bible; thanks appears 100 times; 'thanks to' 76; 'thankful' 6 times - mostly in the Epistles; 'thanksgiving' 30; and 'thankfulness' 3.

Interesting that the verb 'thank' is much more common than the nouns 'thanksgiving'  and 'thankfulness'.   Why?

Could it be that, although it is good to be thankful or to have thankfulness, it is better to do thanks? Perhaps it is in the action of thanking that we become thankful and gain an attitude of thankfulness.

How can we do this? It is easy to be thankful for a present we really like, but what about those we really wish we'd never been given? Those that we deem inappropriate or useless, wanting to deliver them straight to a charity shop or jumble sale, but feel ungrateful if we do so? Can we thank God in the bad as well as the good? Do we feel ungrateful for our rejection of his present of circumstances to shape our character, as Paul says in Romans 5:
"We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient.  
This patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady." (Romans 5:3 - 5)

We can, often, thank God for good coming out of bad - perhaps after the event? But thank God while we are IN the bad?

What does the Bible say? 

Over and over again, the Bible says that God is good and His love endures for ever. 

A friend of Jonny's has just written, dealing with his mother's recent brain injury from a horrific traffic accident: "I hear people say things like "God is good" when they get a pay rise or when someone they know is healed or even when they find a parking space in a busy car park. It's true then but it's also true when everything around looks terrible. God is always good. He isn't good because he meets our wants and desires or even our needs. He is ALWAYS good. I don't always understand, or even like what is happening but in all this, He has been my strength and my comfort. He has been the assurance of a better day. Maybe in this life, who knows. But if it's not in this life I know, not hope, not guess or wonder, I KNOW that one day mum will be healed and whole. There is a day coming where there is no more sadness, no more tears, no pain, no suffering. I'm believing for that day. I know I will follow Jesus into that life and my mother will too one day, because I know we both follow Jesus, I can be sure of this."

Our response: should be like David's, when he had brought the Ark of the Covenant into the tent David had set up for it: "They brought the Chest of God and placed it right in the center of the tent that David had pitched for it; then they worshiped by presenting burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. When David had completed the offerings of worship, he blessed the people in the name of God. Then he passed around to every one there, men and women alike, a loaf of bread, a slice of barbecue, and a raisin cake.

Then David assigned some of the Levites to the Chest of God to lead worship—to intercede, give thanks, and praise the God of Israel. Asaph was in charge..and from then on, as well as David, Asaph wrote many of the Psalms.

What do we notice about thanks in these psalms?
Psalm 9:1
[ Psalm 9 ] [ For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David. ] I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

Thanking God is sincere and open: we openly share what God has done because we are so grateful.

Psalm 35:18
I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.

Thanking God is public: we don't do it in secret, but with many others. Thankfulness encourages thankfulness in others.

Psalm 69:30
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:2
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

We can sing our thanks. Thanking God brings him glory.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

And we encourage each other to do this together. We thank God for each other, for this encouragement. Ephesians 1:15 - 19 says:"That’s why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn’t stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I’d think of you and give thanks."

Thanksgiving leads to encouragement and intercession: "But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!"Than

Thankfulness turns us to consider others' needs. It turns us to want to help. It turns us to prayer - not for ourselves, but for others.

So how do we 'remember' to thank God?

Remember WHY we thank Him, then do it!

• Study what God has done for us. Find verses in the Bible which talk about thanking God.
• Write/print these verses to go into a 'gratitude jar or box'.
• Start a gratitude journal: take time at the end of every day to find things to be thankful for: perhaps start with three things.
• Keep a notebook to jot down what you are thankful for at odd times throughout the day.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I come across mention after mention about thankfulness. One in particular, about gratitude, has inspired me. The key note: always be grateful.

I like the word grateful. It is more than thankful. Thankful is being grateful and appreciative, conscious of benefits received; grateful is 'warmly appreciative and thankful of kindness and benefits received'.

Gretchen Saffles, in her post The Mystery of Gratitude, says: "Thanksgiving is at the core of the Bible. It is an overflow of our response to the gospel. In Philippians 4:11-12, Paul explains to the church of Philippi that he had learned the secret of contentment. He had faced hunger as well as abundance, danger as well as safety, and need as well as satisfaction. Through every circumstance that he had faced, one thing remained the same – Christ’s love for Him. Paul was truly grateful. His eyes had seen the glory of Jesus through His death and resurrection on the cross and he was never the same. Paul’s secret to contentment in every situation was a heart of thanksgiving that trumped even the most dismal of circumstances.

Gratitude is a way we worship the Lord everyday. Psalm 69:30 tells us “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” We make much of Christ when we give Him praise, even through suffering, trial, and need. Gratitude changes us and it also changes our vision. Instead of seeing life through the temporary sight of a human, we can see through the holy lens of the gospel. And that, my friends, is the secret. ...Gratitude shields us from bitterness, emptiness, and worthlessness. It gives us life when an illness hits us, it gives us hope when the world betrays us, and it gives us peace when our surroundings fall around us.

The mystery of gratitude is this: Christ gave up His life so that we might truly live. And that is enough to keep us singing, praising, and dancing until we get to be with Him one day! The more we sink our hearts deeply into that truth, the more the praises will keep rising and the songs keep flowing, no matter the circumstance. "

Nancy Leigh de Moss: “Thanksgiving really should be thanksliving—a way of life—day in, day out, morning, noon, and night—continually, forever giving thanks to the Lord.”

The Christian life, according to Paul's faith sandwich

Reading in Romans 5: summarising the first eight verses.  A faith sandwich.
We believe in God and have peace with him because Jesus died.
When we experience the trials of life, we can see the good coming out of the bad because they develop character in us, which helps us trust God more. When we do this, we feel God's love for us: because we believe in God and have peace with him because Jesus died.

"When God accepts us because we have faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
 
We can become all that God has had in mind for us to be.

We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient.
 
This patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 
 
Then we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. "
 
We can rely on our past experience of God's faithfulness to sustain us in the present and carry us into the future.

"Christ came at just the right time, when we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, and died for us sinners who had no use for him. Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
 
We had faith in God and his promises, but it was Christ's death which gave us peace and reconciliation with God."  Summarised from The Living Bible.

Suffering

Wonderful post on suffering here.

On truth.

On "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead (2 Cor 1:8,9,)

On expectation. And waiting.

http://natepyle.com

And Bob reposts this from Christianity Today:

"But the real question is why not me? God had never promised that I would sidestep suffering, that my wife would forever remain healthy, or that I would succeed as a pastor. In fact, Jesus repeatedly calls upon the disciples to count the cost of following him, to recognize that they will be hated by others, to bear crosses, and even die to self. Moreover, many others have lived far better lives than I and have still experienced tremendous difficulty. Just ask Jesus, or the apostle Paul, or Corrie ten Boom, or Martin Luther King Jr. If such faithful servants of Christ could suffer so profoundly, why not me? "

Worth reading the whole article.

Keeping our eyes on The Main Thing

Privileged to be part of some wonderful answers to prayer recently, privileged to be praying with some awe-inspiring people, seeing God working in lives here on earth.

And still: our friend Bob says:
"This reminded me of something God taught us 14 years ago during leukemia: We don’t listen to any other percentages that 100%:
• 100% God can heal no matter what the prognosis.
• 100% we go to heaven when God says no matter how healthy we are
• 100% surrendered to God
• Now I have another, 100% in the charity of God!

When they buried the blind preacher, George Matheson, his grave was lined with red roses. I think perhaps it comes from the lyrics in this hymn:

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee,
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2. O Light that followest all my way
I yield my flickering torch to Thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee,
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red,
Life that shall endless be."

Sick of me...

This was interesting: Lisa Whittle's blog post today.

Sick of me.

She says:  "I am sick of being afraid. I am sick of being hot and cold for God, depending on my circumstance. I am sick of wrestling with the same things I’ve wrestled with for most of my life. 

I want to be well. I want to be productive and joyful. I want to be useful for the Kingdom, valuable to my family, and have something to show of my time on earth. When I meet God one day, I want to say with open hands, Here’s what I did with the life You gave me. "

Me too.  I want to SENSE God with me every day, inspiring me, guiding me, moulding me... I want to be sick of me and well with God..."