Be thankful.

It has been well noted that ingratitude and thanklessness are far too common in the world in which we live. Children forget to thank their parents for all that they do for them. Common courtesy is often scorned - I've been criticised, myself, for holding a door open for a female to pass through! People often take for granted the ways in which others help them. Above all, so many fail to thank Almighty God for His many blessings. Such an ungrateful heart is cold towards God, and indifferent to His mercy and love. It is a heart that has forgotten how dependent we are on the Creator for everything. 

As might be expected, the Bible has a few things to say about thankfulness, and gratitude - certainly for those who claim to follow its teaching! Writing to the disciples of Jesus in Colossae, the apostle Paul, in what we know as chapter 3 of the letter, deals with the new life in the Saviour. Part of what he exhorts is: "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ... And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (vs 12-15; emphases added).

Writing to the Thessalonian believers, he exhorts us to: "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thess 5:18).

Of course, the former Pharisee would have been well aware of the opening words of  Psalm 107: "O give thanks to YHWH, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures for ever!" (v.1). He would also have been familiar with the Levitical laws, including this from Lev.7: "And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which one may offer to YHWH. If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thank offering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well mixed with oil." (11-12). 

However, perhaps the greatest thanksgiving is found in II Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!" I say "perhaps" because there is a valid argument that Paul is referring to the grace that he mentions in the preceding verse. Having said that, the Lord Jesus, the gift of God's love to mankind, is an unspeakable blessing; no man can conceive, much less declare, how great this gift is; for these are things that even the angels may only desire to look into. Therefore He may be well called the unspeakable gift, as He is the highest God ever gave, or can give, to man. 

In Luke's account of the Gospel, the good doctor records an incident that is not recorded elsewhere. "On the way to Jerusalem He [Jesus} was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when He saw that He was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." (17:11-19). Only one gave thanks - but he received a blessing that the others failed to receive!

May each of us be thankful for all that we have; for every opportunity that arises and enables us to act positively towards others; for the love, grace, and mercy of Almighty God that is offered to one and all.

Thank You, Lord!

It happened in a previous fellowship in which I was a part of the Leadership Team.  During a time of open ministry a young lady, who was a visitor, came to me for prayer.  As she looked up at me with a smile that seemed almost to split her face, I inquired as to any specific reason for prayer, and received the response, "The Lord has blessed me so really wonderfully, and I want to be able to really thank Him."  As I waited to discover the nature of such an obviously enormous blessing, she continued, "He has supplied me with a new pair of sandals.  Now, I just want more of Him!"

Although I knew that most, if not all, of those in the building at the time had wardrobes full of clothing and footwear, I didn't need to look any further than myself to realise how often we take so much for granted.  "A new pair of sandals" - and in Motherwell, in the middle of winter (it was January, as I recall)!  I felt strangely humbled, and honoured, to be permitted to pray with one whose heart was so full of thanksgiving.

There is much for which you and I, if we are genuine disciples of Jesus, can and should offer thanks to God - regardless of our financial, or material, circumstances.  There is the wonder of our salvation; the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit; the assurance of eternity in the Father's presence.  There is the family of the Church; the fellowship of the saints; the freedom to meet, together, with Him.  There is the written Word; the open door of prayer; the fruit, and gifting, of both the Lord Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

It is the constant exhortation that we be thankful, and praise the Lord.  The Psalmists were full of such praise and thanksgiving.  So David sings out, "I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise You." (Ps.35:18), while the un-named writer of Psalm 105 encourages his listeners to "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done." (v.1).  Paul, too, says that we should be "... always giving thanks to God, the Father of everything, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph.5:20).

Let us, then, be filled with thanksgiving that will lead to praise which, as He is "... enthroned on the praises of His people." (Ps.22:3), will bring us ever more closely into His Presence, there to offer to Him the worship of our hearts and lives.

And a suggestion:  Let us cultivate an attitude of gratitude at all times!

Thank you - to the Church (the Bride of Christ).

One of the sites to which I subscribe sends me regular video clips.  As with all such matters, some are worth watching, others are less so!  This one, however, I felt was not only worth watching, but also worth sharing.  I trust that many of those who visit this blog will be, likewise, touched in their own spirits.  A transcript should be posted tomorrow!

An attitude of gratitude!

"Give thanks, with a grateful heart", we sometimes sing - and it's a beautiful song of praise and worship.  However, it can be quite a challenge to grow up with a truly thankful heart. From an early age we are exposed to a culture of gripers and grumblers, complainers and critics. We complain about the weather, the traffic, food, work, neighbours, bills, the government, church, and life in general. Worst of all, we are often ungrateful toward God. It would be hard to count the number of complaints and criticisms that are daily spoken before Him and against Him. How can we, who have received so much, be thankful for so little?

One of the great indicators of true spirituality is not how many times we go to the worship service, how big our Bibles are, or for how long we pray. It is measured by the level of gratitude that is in our hearts. When we are ungrateful, the heart of God is saddened, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and the joy of the Lord is quenched within us.

Being thankful sweetens you; grumbling sours you.  Being thankful brings sunshine to your countenance; being ungrateful casts a shadow.  Being thankful brings a melody to your words; criticism makes you sound like a clanging cymbal.  Being thankful keeps your feet on the pathway of celebration; complaining takes you down the road of despair. 

Paul writes: "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thess 5:16-18; emphasis added); while the Psalmist encourages us to "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!  Give thanks to Him, bless His Name!" (Ps 100:4; emphasis added).  Indeed, if you have access to a Biblical Concordance, it would be a worthwhile exercise to look up a number of the references to "Thanks" and "Thanksgiving".  If you haven't, then you could do worse than to go to http://www.biblegateway.com/

When our hearts are filled with gratitude we may feel that our thanksgiving is inadequate - but we may be certain that it is always appropriate. It will gladden the heart of God to hear your heartfelt thanks being freely offered to Him today.

It's all relative!

At the Worship Service, this morning, we were reminded that Christmas isn't too far away, and that it was time to start thinking about filling decorated shoe-boxes for the Samaritan's Purse annual "Operation Christmas Child" appeal.  As an introduction, we watched a video-clip that showed some of the previous work of this particular ministry (you may watch it at http://www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/).

The interesting thing, to me, was that none of the boxes contained iPads, mobile 'phones, radio-controlled space-ships, or Buzz Lightyears!  Rather, the gifts that brought such obvious joy to the recipients were items such as a pair of sun-glasses (and some "crazy" sunglasses!); a scarf; a "Pull 'n Go" car; a pair of mitts; and similar "low-cost" gifts.

Of course, it's all relative!  In spite of the effects of the ongoing recession in the UK, and the "austerity" measures put in place by the Coalition Government, many children will have an inordinate amount spent on them for the mid-winter festival (which, to most of them is all that it will be!  The one thing missing from Christmas will be the Christ!).  The children who receive those shoe-boxes have so little to start with that those simple gifts are received with true gratitude, and an infectious excitement.

In Dr Luke's account of the Gospel he records an occasion on which the Lord Jesus had been invited to the home of a Pharisee.  While He was there, "a woman of the city" brought an alabaster jar of ointment with which she anointed the feet of the Lord, having wet them with her tears of repentance, and wiped them with her hair (which if, as is implied, she was a prostitute, would have been long and hanging loose).  Simon, the Pharisee, was quite shocked - thinking to himself that if Jesus really was a prophet, He would have known what sort of woman was touching Him!

Of course, Jesus knew exactly what the Pharisee was thinking, and told him a story - a parable about two men who owed differing sums of money to the same creditor.  One owed a fairly trifling sum; the other owed a large amount.  When neither could pay, the creditor let both of them off!  Jesus' question to Simon was simple: "Now which of them will love him more?" (Luke 7:42; RSV).  Simon wasn't a stupid man.  He knew the answer: "The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more." (v.43).  Jesus drew the parallel with the woman and the Pharisee, and told Simon that "... her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much ; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." (v.47).

It's all to do with appreciation.  I hope that many who read this post will get involved in "Operation Christmas Child".  Those who receive your gifts will receive much pleasure from them - because they have so little.  I hope that all who read this post will recognise the debt of gratitude each one of us has to the Saviour Who came to pay the penalty for our sin.  I trust that we will all bow, not only at the crib of the Christ-child, but also before the Christ of the cross.  Nothing that we can ever give to Him can match what He has given to, and done for, us.

An attitude of gratitude.

My younger daughter has just become the proud owner of a personalised registration number for her car! However, in order to effect the necessary changes in the Registration Document; the Road Tax disc; and the M.O.T. Test Certificate; these items had to be taken, or posted, to the DVLA Centre in Glasgow. Posting, she was informed, would entail a delay of a couple of weeks so - "Dad, would you take them in, please?"

Naturally, I agreed to do so and, I have to admit, she has been most effusive in her expressions of thanks. Of course, I did go to some trouble; I put in some effort; in order to help her in her time of need!

The Psalmist wrote: "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." (46:1). Paul wrote: "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Rom.5:8). Jesus told His disciples: "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27). James reminds us : "Come near to God, and He will come near to you." (4:8).

Indeed, the Bible is full of examples of the ways in which Almighty God works on behalf of, and provides for, those who are His children by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus (God the Son). The little that I did for my daughter fades into total insignificance by comparison.

So perhaps I need to learn from her, and develop an attitude of gratitude - expressing my thanks to my Heavenly Father for all of His goodness, and faithfulness, and grace, and mercy, and love.

Perhaps you would like to join with me!!