October 21, 2018

Gratitude

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. – Psalm 95:2-3

What are you grateful for? Do you ever stop and think about it? Oh, I know. We’re supposed to count our blessings every day, but do you? Really?

It’s easy to focus on the big things. Family. Friends. Home. Job. Health. Those are all important. Sometimes they are even things we take for granted until we don’t have them anymore.

But what about the smaller things? In our country, we assume clean, running water and indoor plumbing. Until we don’t have it. Then we’re scrambling and whining. But here’s the thing: some people do without those luxuries every single day. Do you ever thank God for the water you use every day?

Do you thank Him for the food you eat? I’m not talking about a standard prayer before your meal. I’m talking about giving real thanks, the kind of thanks that comes when we realize how blessed we are to have food.

For most of us, when we are hungry we simply go into the kitchen and get something to eat. That’s not true for everyone. You might not always recognize those who don’t have enough to eat. Sometimes they’re the people who live down the street. Their children play with your children. You know they work. You assume they have enough food. Yet, many don’t.

What about medical care? Are you grateful that you can go to the doctor when you need to? Are you grateful that you and your insurance can afford whatever medications you need? We are blessed to have access to such wonderful medical care. Not everyone does.

We assume that everyone has insurance. Do they? Can they afford to use it? High co-pays and deductibles make medical care unreachable for some people. Medicine is an unaffordable luxury. It’s not about need or desire. It’s about reality. If you can afford medical care and medicine, you are blessed.

There was a photo of a beautiful little girl on the front page of the local newspaper today. She’s sitting in a wheelchair. A big bow highlights where her hair should be. You know what’s coming, don’t you? This little girl is fighting for her life. She wanted to be on the sidelines of the high school football game with her cheerleading class friends and her parents and others made that happen.

Don’t ever take your health for granted. Don’t take the health of those you love for granted. It can be gone in a flash. You could easily be the one living the unthinkable.

Gratitude does more than just change our attitude. It fuels our compassion for others. It helps us realize how blessed we are and how much we have to give back to God by loving others.

The next time you’re tempted to whine about what you don’t have or how busy you are or how much you dislike your job or a co-worker, stop. Consider your blessings. Thank God for your health, your job and the lessons He’s teaching you by sending a challenging person into your life.

Be grateful. Praise God. Feel peace.

October 12, 2018

Gratitude

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

There’s a lot of thankful people around these days. Some are thankful they were spared. Some are thankful they are alive.

My neighbor said he prayed fervently during the storm for God to spare his house. He has tall trees in both the front and back yards and he was concerned that the wind would cause one or more to crash onto his house. His home weathered the storm without so much as a missing shingle. He’s been happily cleaning up limbs and leaves. It’s a small thing when he realizes what could have happened.

Another woman rejoices because her family is safe. So many people chose to ride out the storm in their homes. It sounded like a good idea, didn’t it? Until winds reached 150 mph and their homes were torn apart around them.

Another man got his power back today, well before he expected it. He’s looking forward to a hot cup of coffee. He said he knew it would sure taste good now that the storm and power outage reminded him of what it’s like to do without that coffee every morning.

There’s nothing like having your foundation ripped apart to realize what’s important. Family and friends come immediately to mind. Neighbors. Co-workers. And then the basics. When you’re thirsty and without power or water, someone delivering a nice cool bottle of water fills you with gratitude.

So do the power trucks lining the roads. They’re heading south to help and we’re just so grateful. We’re grateful for the search and rescue teams that are traveling south. We’re praying they find survivors. We’re glad that they will do what they can to make sure everyone is located, however that might turn out.

We’re thankful for those who, no longer needing their generator, loan it to someone who does. We’re thankful for gasoline to run cars and chainsaws and, yes, generators. We’re glad that a grocery store without power decided to cook all their meat and give it away to a community without power.

We’re grateful for the people who operate the numerous shelters around the area. They’re providing way more than a place to sleep and meals. They’re giving out hugs, entertaining children, helping parents grieve what they’ve lost. People who are numb need someone trustworthy to help them navigate these early days of loss. We’re grateful for those who step up to provide that.

The days are long right now. The task seems overwhelming. Nothing will ever be the same. So much is gone. Yet so much remains.

I am grateful for God’s Presence is the midst of it all. I pray that others come to see Him in the middle of this disaster. I hope they turn to Him for peace and strength. And I hope all of us keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus. It’s just so easy to become overwhelmed but Jesus said that when we are weary we’re to cast our burdens on Him because He cares for us.

I don’t know your circumstances but I do know this: There’s just so much to be grateful for this day. Take a moment and thank God for that.

July 4, 2018

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

What weighs you down today? What burdens are you carrying? What sin can’t you get past – either your own or someone else’s? What fear holds you back from God’s calling?

Christ came to set us free. But we have a choice. Do we give it all to Him and walk away from the yoke of slavery? Do we choose to live as free people?

We think of slavery as something horrible that happened back in the 1800s. It was. We think of being bound by drugs or drink or a job. But slavery? Really? In 2018? In the United States?

We consider ourselves to be free people. And, we are. Many have sacrificed their lives to allow us the freedom to bicker and point fingers. Many families have spent way too much time apart so that we could have the freedom to vote – even though most of us don’t. Do we ever consider the cost of our freedom?

Jesus Christ died a horrific death on a cross. He died for you and He died for me. Do you ever consider the cost of your freedom? Do you take it for granted? Can you even grasp the agony? Can you see the nails, the blood? Do you hear the mockers? Can you sense the fear in His followers?

Freedom comes with a cost, whether it is our freedom to live in this wonderful country or the freedom to choose Jesus, to choose forgiveness, to stand before God as blameless.

Jesus didn’t die so that we would remain slaves. He died so we could receive mercy, grace, forgiveness. So why do we wallow in it? Why do we cling to a past we can’t change? Why do we refuse to forgive ourselves and others? Why do we continue to live in bondage?

The world will tell us how we should live. It tells us what our purpose should be. It tells us what to value, what’s important, how to spend our day. The world doesn’t know Christ.

We are foreigners traveling to our forever home. We miss that point sometimes. We’re so busy living our “free” lives that we don’t realize we’re really slaves to a world that isn’t our home. We’ve become so protective of what we think is ours, that we forget we’re only caretakers of God’s possessions for a short time.

We are blessed this Fourth of July. We can watch fireworks and barbeque with friends. We can sleep late and go to the beach or mountains. We can live in relative certainty that we won’t wake up as captives in a foreign land. We are privileged. But are we grateful?

Never forget that we live in a free country because of the soldiers who protect us, fight for us, defend us and, sometimes, die for us. And never forget that Jesus Christ died and rose three days later to free our souls from death and eternal separation from God. On this day of celebration, take a moment to consider all that others have done for us and be grateful.

May 23, 2018

Let Thanksgiving Fill You Up

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. – 1 Timothy 4:4-5

The Facebook post was almost comical. Rain was ruining her family vacation and she wanted everyone to pray that it would stop. Yes, indeed, I thought. Let our parched land refrain from receiving rain so that she won’t have to deal with rain on her parade. (cliché intended)

I get it. I do. We welcome necessary rain until it interferes with our plans. Then we just want it to go away. Our plans are more important than the needs of anyone else. No. We don’t see it that way as we gaze out from our self-centered view but it’s what our hearts are crying out.

I’ll also admit my own selfishness in this. The pastures were dying because of the heat and lack of rain. The cows need grass. I am grateful for the rain because it makes the grass grow.

I also look around at the fields. Rain is necessary to make the crops grow. We live in a farming region. People depend on the right amount of rain to earn their living. It’s not about fun. It’s about income.

How we view situations has so much to do with attitude. The first winter I put out hay I kept telling myself I would be so glad when spring came. No more large hay rings to move. No more 50-pound grain sacks to unload.

Then came spring. I can now joke that I won’t get caught up on the bush hogging until winter comes. There’s always something to do on a farm. The work never ends. And that’s okay. Because I am blessed to be able to work, to tend cows, to drive a tractor.

It’s all about perspective. We spend so much of our lives complaining about today that we often miss the blessings God has given to us. We sound like the Israelites in the desert, don’t we? No matter how much God does for us, we complain about what God hasn’t done. I can’t even imagine how exasperated He gets.

Gratitude changes your attitude. Thankfulness focuses on blessings. Have you ever made a gratitude list? You really should. It clears everything up rather quickly. It focuses our minds back to the blessings and away from a tomorrow we can neither predict nor control.

My sweet friend, who truly is a Godly woman, soon changed her complaint to thanksgiving. The rain remained but she decided to adjust her attitude and have fun anyway. What a blessing! She is surrounded by family in a wonderful place. That’s what is important.

Yesterday a large limb came down, blocking the driveway. I am thankful for saws, and the ability to use those saws, so that I could handle the situation on my own. And I thankful that had I needed help, I could have placed a phone call and gotten help right away. Friendships abound and I am so very grateful for the people God has placed in my life.

I am grateful for the nosy cows who came to check out the hysterical dogs and the racoon that was having a really bad day. I love watching the geese and wild ducks and all the birds that come our way. They remind me of my parents, and that brings both a smile and a tear.

Life goes on until, one day, it doesn’t. How are you going to live it? Are you going to fill your days with thanksgiving, welcoming the challenges and blessings as equal gifts from God? Or are you going to grumble all the way home? The choice belongs to you.

April 7, 2018

Add A Little Gratitude

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

What are you grateful for? Really. Have you ever stopped to consider all that you have, the people who bless your life, the things that make your days easier? Or are you like the Israelites in the wilderness, complaining about everything and never being satisfied with anything?

Some people refer to this as the glass half-empty or the glass half-full. It’s how you see life. But many people who might see themselves as optimists aren’t really. How do I know? Because they complain all the time. Because they always look to the next thing to make them happy. Because they talk about their life as though the good old days have already passed on by.

What’s missing in your life? Maybe a spouse or children? How about a good job or even a job you love? Are you satisfied with your home? Your bank account? Are you longing for a vacation? Maybe the latest technology gadget? What are you so focused on that you’re missing the joy of today?

Ah, joy. Yes. That simple little word. Joy comes from the Lord. We’d just like a little extra in the form of blessings. But the thing is nothing will ever satisfy us until we are content in God. We’ll always crave what we don’t have until we realize that our worth doesn’t come from our financial assets, our social status, or our address, but rather from our status as a child of God.

There’s another way we show how ungrateful we are though we might not always see it that way. It’s when we try to control the people and events around us. Are you someone who is always trying to tell others what to do? Do you think you know better how to do just about anything than anyone else? Do others frustrate and anger you when they won’t go along with what you think is right?

It’s not about us. We know that. Most of the time anyway. But we really do want it to be about us. We are like spoiled little children, wanting to get our way all the time. We forget that the best things come when God’s children work together for His glory. If you’re not content to step back and work with others and really listen to what they say, well, maybe it’s because you need to get a little gratitude in your life. Other people are rarely as stupid as you think. Be grateful that you really don’t have to do it all alone and welcome the help of others.

Gratitude has a way of softening our hearts and changing our attitudes. It’s difficult to be upset when you truly notice all that’s good in your life. Gratitude puts things in perspective. It makes you realize what’s important.

Do you want to be happy? The next time you start to complain or lament what you don’t have, think about something you are grateful for. It could be something as simple as the roses blooming next door. Or it might be the soup you had for lunch or the child you just tucked into bed. Maybe it’s kisses from your dog or the sunshine coming down on your face. There’s always something to thank God for. Always.

January 24, 2018

Be Thankful and Content

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:17

They were squabbling. Again. Whichever toy one had, the other one wanted it. They were both guilty. They were never satisfied.  I was beyond frustrated.

It was a wonderful illustration for all of us. Are you ever satisfied with what you have? Oh, don’t be so quick to answer. The “new” wears off quickly and then we’re off to wanting something else.

I ask God’s forgiveness for grumbling like the Israelites in the wilderness. I say out loud all those things I am grateful for. God has been so good to me. He has been so faithful. There is no need to ever complain in the midst of so many blessings.

But we do complain, don’t we? Our neighbor gets a new car and, suddenly, we want a new car too. Our friend gets a promotion and, suddenly, we think we deserve a promotion too. Our co-worker goes on an awesome vacation to Tahiti and, suddenly, we think we deserve a tropical vacation too.

What did you want today? Maybe it was something as simple as that burger and fries your friend had at lunch while you stuck to your low-fat diet. It’s hard not to be a little bit envious of someone who doesn’t need to watch his weight while we’re having to scale back on the foods we love.

Coveting doesn’t always mean something big. Sometimes it’s the little things that cloud our days, making us a little less grateful for what we already have. We’re always focused on the next new thing or what we think we’re missing. We forget to enjoy today and all the blessings it brings.

A sweet friend talks about the need to downsize. She laments the cost of health insurance and how some months she and her husband can barely make ends meet. She drives a newer car. She goes out to eat numerous times each week. And she always seems to be going on a vacation.

She has no idea how wealthy she truly is. Instead, she blasts those struggling to afford housing and food. She has no compassion on anyone who has ever received welfare or gone without. This is a woman who has never worked a regular job or had to choose between food or medicine for a sick child.

She isn’t grateful for what she has. She would deny that. She would rush to say that she is grateful. Except all those complaints really negate any moments of gratitude.

It’s not enough to say we’re grateful, then turn around and criticize what God has so graciously given to us. It’s not okay to say we’re thankful, then turn around and feel sorry for ourselves because someone else got something we want or think we deserve.

When God told us not to covet what our neighbor has, He wasn’t aiming it at someone else. He was aiming it at me and you. Pay attention to your words today. Let your speech be filled with gratitude and thankfulness. Replace wants and desires with reminders of all your blessings. Choose to be content where you are, with what you have. Let your heart be filled with joy. Praise God. Worship Him. Always and forever. Worship Him.

April 4, 2016

Choose Gratitude

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Ware you thankful for today? I asked someone that yesterday. The woman was complaining and complaining. I was trying to refocus her mind.

Her answer? “I guess that I’m alive today.” She couldn’t come up with anything else. How sad!

I’ll ask you the same question: What are you thankful for today? Get specific. Did you have food to eat? Great! What was the best thing? Was it Pecan Pie or Loaded Baked Potato Soup or fresh green beans and potatoes? Maybe it was ice cream or potato chips. Whatever it was, give God thanks for it.

There are so many things in our daily lives that we simply take for granted. Our health, for example. Or the ability to see a doctor when we need to. Some people don’t have either and ours could go away in moment. Why do we have to wait until it’s gone until we appreciate what we had?

Do you have a safe place to live? Count your blessings. Many hard working people struggle to have a roof over their heads, food on the table, health care, clothing and toys for their kids. The basics. And, yes, for all you that like to point fingers, most of them work one or two jobs seven days a week.

I’m thankful for a vehicle to drive. I’m thankful for satellite television. I’ve thankful for multiple Bibles. I’m thankful for books to read. I’m thankful for the sun that was so beautiful and bright today. And, yes, I’m thankful for my family and friends. I’m grateful for these two dogs that slumber nearby. I am amazed forever that God loves me and claims me as His own.

There are so many things to be thankful for each and every day. So why do we -- and we all do this sometimes -- focus on the negative? Why do we choose to see what we don’t have instead of what we do have?

We think we can someone fill ourselves up with something that will make us happy. Or maybe we’ve been unhappy for so long that we don’t know how to be anything else. Attitude is contagious. That’s how the saying goes. What does your attitude say about you? Are you negative and ungrateful? Or do you thank God for every good thing He does for you?

Choose to be grateful. You’ll be amazed at good it makes you feel.

December 16, 2014

It’s All About Love

Who can tell me the story of Christmas? Don’t read it. Tell it from memory.

What is that story really about? The birth of Jesus. What else? What does Christmas mean to you? What’s important to you this time of year?

Why did Jesus come? To save us from our sins. But why? Because God so loved the world. Love. What did Jesus say about the importance of love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” -- Mark 12:30-31

 How do you think we should react in the face of such love? With gratitude.

Gratitude. We’ve talked about this before. What exactly does it mean? A feeling of being thankful to somebody for doing something. (Dictionary lookup) What are you grateful for? Family. Friends. Health. Home. Food. Safety. Anybody want to add anything else?

　
Sometimes we show our gratitude by being generous to others, especially this time of year. We buy gifts for family and friends. We share cookies and meals. We give to others too. There’s the Angel Tree ministry here at our church. Some of us drop money in the Salvation Army kettles. We may give to other charities or adopt a family or remember the elderly widow down the street.

Did you all here about the story last week of the cop who bought a carton of eggs for a woman caught stealing? She was trying to steal five eggs to feed her family. That cop showed mercy. The store showed mercy. And the cop met her need. He bought her a carton of eggs. Something so small, so simple, and yet it made the news. Why? Because we aren’t a nation of mercy anymore. But let’s not go off on that just yet.

We give out of our abundance. What if giving meant a sacrifice on our part? Maybe -- if it’s someone we know and like. Someone we think is deserving of our generosity. Someone who will thank us the way we think they should.

Think about your life. What do you need? Before you answer, what is a need? Food. A place to live. Medication.

Now what do you want? A warm bed to sleep in. A television to watch Alabama football games. What are some other things?

Now let’s look at the excess. Yeah. We’ve all got excess. Lots and lots of excess. Things we’ll never use again. Things we’ll never wear again. Books we’ll never read again. What are some excesses in your life?

　
　
What would happen if we used some of that excess to bless someone who is lacking in the basics? What if we did it anonymously? What if we looked someone in the eye and told them you wanted them to have something of yours? Something nice, not something ready for the trash bin.

Let’s go a step further. How generous are you with compliments? When was the last time you wrote a note thanking someone for being who they are? In this world, we’re so quick to criticize. What would happen if we were just as quick to thank someone for laughter, kindness, courtesy?

I shared something on our Facebook page that came from a Catholic group.

It says:

Want to keep Christ in Christmas?

Feed the hungry,

Cloth the naked,

Forgive the guilty,

Welcome the stranger and the unwanted child,

Care for the ill,

Love you enemies.

You’ve got homework this week. Pick out something you own and give it away. That’s right. Give it away. Don’t simply take it to the mission or other charity. Look someone in the eye and give it away. Give from your abundance.

Then do something for someone anonymously. (gift card left in McFarland’s mailbox) You don’t have to spend money. It could be a note of appreciation sent through the mail.
　

This is a special season of hope and love and a special kind of beauty that came in the form of a baby in a manger. Remember that. Life isn’t about stuff. It’s about people. And sometimes we have to let go of our stuff to free ourselves to love the people God puts in our paths. Go and do likewise.

January 12, 2014

This is the lesson based on David Jeremiah's book Growing in the Grace of Gratitude.

 

Gratitude

From the book Growing in the Grace of Gratitude

by David Jeremiah

Gratitude is the manifestation of the presence of God himself in a person, an appreciation for every season and situation as having a purpose in God’s plan. -- David Jeremiah

We all want more for less and often forget to be grateful for what we have. We live in an entitlement culture, thinking that we are entitled to everything we need and most of what we want. And it’s possible for Christians to be affected with this disease of ungratefulness. (page 10)

Any thoughts on that?

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

  

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening, -- Psalm 92:1-2 (NLT)

At midnight I rise to give you thanks
for your righteous laws -- Psalm 119:62

  

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

　

Our circumstances in life have nothing to do with the gratitude we express. If we are going to give thanks in all things, then we are to give thanks in difficult circumstances as well as in pleasant ones. (page 11) Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

* We should be grateful for the people in our lives.

* We should be grateful for our Salvation and for the Salvation of those around us.

* We should be grateful for Christian conviction that tells us the truth even when it isn’t what we want to hear.

* We should be grateful for Christian compassion and the love we have for one another.

* We should be grateful for problems.

* We should be grateful for problems that aren’t worse than they are.

* We should be grateful that problems are God’s way of teaching us.

* We should be grateful that problems make God’s love real to us.

As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? -- Luke 17:12-17

There is a difference between being grateful in general and being grateful to God specifically. Any thoughts on that? (page 20) Think about it this way: If a friend gives you a gift, you’re going to thank him. But do you thank God?

Often gratitude is all about perspective. I’m going to read something to you. (page 23-24) Jeremiah included it in this study book but the writer is anonymous.

"Lord, thank You for this sink of dirty dishes. We do have good food to eat. Thank You for this pile of dirty laundry. We do have nice clothes to wear. I'd like to thank You for these unmade beds. They sure were comfortable last night. My thanks for this bathroom, complete with spattered mirrors, soggy towels, and grimy lavatory. It's still very convenient. Thank You for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly. It has served us faithfully for a long ti...me. And inside are cool drinks and enough leftovers for another meal. Thank You for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today. It has baked us many good things over the years. O God, our whole family is thankful for the tall grass that needs mowing. We all enjoy our private yard. Thank You for the slamming screen door. The children are healthy and able to run and play. Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says that You have richly blessed this family. I do them all cheerfully and gratefully." -- author unknown

If we look closely we will usually find that behind ever difficulty is a blessing from God, Jeremiah writes. Do you agree? Disagree?

Jeremiah tells a story about Thomas Edison. In December 1914, Edison’s great laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, were almost completely destroyed in a fire. In one night Edison lost two million dollars worth of equipment and the record of much of his life’s work. . . . The next morning, walking around among the charred embers of so many of his hopes and dreams, the sixty-seven year old Thomas Edison said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up, and we get to start over again.” (page 30)

In the Bible, we only have to look to the Apostle Paul for an example of living with gratitude. The letters of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are called “the prison epistles” because Paul write them while incarcerated by the Romans.

　

　

　

　

　

In those letters Paul wrote such things as Ephesians 5:18:21 which says:
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Are you thankful when you pray? Or are your prayers filled with worship and gratitude to God?

Jeremiah says that many prayers are disguised statements of discontent, of ingratitude. (page 41)

That may be so. Maybe we really don’t take time to consider all that God does for us. So I put up a Gratitude Tree. Let’s fill it with things that we are grateful to God for.