The sweetest of all thankfulness isn’t superficial; it goes deep. It goes past feeling happy that certain things are in our lives. It goes past naming those things so it is known that we appreciate them. It goes past even tracing their origin back to God and thanking the Giver for all of our blessings. There is a delightful, wonderful, beautiful experience when our gratitude is not merely directed toward God for His gifts, but toward God for Himself. This happens when we see beyond loved ones, comforts, simple pleasures, touching moments, adventures, favorite things and other wonderful blessings to see something about the character, generosity, supply, and love of God in Christ towards us. Deeply felt thankfulness is rooted in knowing God. Knowing… The peace that comes from trusting Him. The joy that comes from delighting in Him. The guidance that comes from following Him. The hope that comes from believing Him. The courage that comes from walking with Him. The renewal that comes from resting in Him. The love that comes from belonging to Him. The real blessings aren’t peace, joy, guidance, hope, courage, renewal, and love; the real blessing is Him. If everything we label as a blessing was taken from our lives and only Jesus remained with us, we would be infinitely, mind-blowingly, perfectly, eternally blessed. The more we realize the staggering nature of the Gift that can never be taken from us, the more we will rightly enjoy all of the gifts that have been temporarily given to us. The way to be best thankful for all that God has given us is to be most thankful for Him.
You Have Many Reasons To Be Thankful
Every God-given small, medium or large part of your life that would leave a sorrowful void if it were taken from you is a blessing if it is present today. Blessings are, literally, everywhere you turn. You have many reasons to be thankful! Many. Reasons. Yet there is something more that God means for us to express than merely a gladness that we have received certain things that make us happy. It is not enough to experience thankfulness for blessings; even more we should express thankfulness to the Blesser. Gratitude that terminates on the blessing or the deliverer of the blessing and doesn’t rise to God Who is the originator of the blessing is not thankfulness that is pleasing to Him. It is not God’s will for us to have appreciation for the gift without affection for the Giver. God does all these things for our good, but always that He might receive glory for His goodness. We don’t just receive gifts … they were sent to us by God. We don’t earn or merit blessings … they were paid for on the cross by Jesus. We don’t have an anonymous, impersonal Giver … we can know Him personally. We aren’t merely to enjoy what He gives to us … we are to give our hearts to Him. Let us be thankful today for the good things in our lives. Let us celebrate the bad things that are worked out for good. Let us anticipate the best things yet to come. Let us count our many blessings and be glad. Most of all, let us express our adoration and appreciation and allegiance to the One from Whom all blessings flow.
What Matters Most If What You Forward Ahead
One of the greatest dangers and deceptions that you will face in your life is that of disobedience by delay. That is, you will be tempted to wait to do what God has called you to do as an ambassador for Christ. Wait until a more convenient time, thinking you have plenty of time, but more often than not, you will run out of time. Missed opportunities are the result of thinking we’ll get another chance though one is not guaranteed, and thinking that another day would be better though God’s timetable cannot be improved upon. The biggest shift in thinking that you and I need to make is this: our time is to be invested more than it is to be spent. Spending time is using it in such a way that it does not benefit God’s kingdom. Investing time is using it in such a way that it brings eternal dividends in the lives of other people and eternal rewards for ourselves to the eternal praise of Jesus. We all need to remember that every bit of time we are given can be an investment that has a beautiful and bountiful return which appreciates in value throughout all eternity if we will be intentional about how we use it. For most of us, God doesn’t mean for us to wait until some future day to serve Him by going out in a million-dollar blaze of glory, but rather He wants us to give ourselves to Him in daily nickels and dimes of service to those around us. Lay up treasures in heaven with how you use your time today, because it’s not what you leave behind that matters most. It’s what you forward ahead.
You Have Been Set Free
Too many of us live as if we are still imprisoned by our sin, sorrow and struggles with no way out of the cell that controls and limits us. Too often we let our regrets from the past, imperfections in the present and fears of the future enslave us as if we are helpless and hopeless to do anything about them. Too soon we give up, give in and give out when spiritual victory has already been secured and is almost ready to be seen. Nothing in our story can nullify the Greatest Story Ever Told about the finished work of Jesus Who has won the ultimate triumph over all enemies for us! We are more than conquerors through Him! This does not deny the existence of or seriousness of what we are facing and fighting against both inside and outside of us. Yes, our past may include terrible things we have done or others have done to us. Yes, our present may be filled with suffering and setbacks. Yes, our future may find our lives not going the way we hope they will. But Jesus has made amends for our past, makes provision for our present and will make a way for our future until we have been fully delivered from all foes. We have been released… from shame, from regret, from joylessness, from emptiness, from vanity, from futility, from fear, from sin, from death. No more shackles. No more cages. No more prisons. Walk out of that cell and in faith follow Jesus. Don’t live as if you are still in chains. You have been set free.
Jesus Is The Solid Rock On Which We Stand
It is hard to know who or what to believe. It is hard to know what is real and what is fake. It is hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. It is hard to know who is telling us the whole truth, who is withholding the truth, who is distorting the truth, who is misinterpreting the truth, and who is creating their own version of the truth. Who can we count on to be honest with us with what we need to hear? What is the standard by which we can evaluate all other guiding life principles and philosophies? What truth can we live by so we do not live in vain or error? Who can we believe? Jesus. The Son of God is Who we can believe. He always says the right things at the right time in the right way to get the right result in and through our lives, primarily speaking His words to us through THE Word, the Bible. On what He says, we must: Base our faith. Pin our hopes. Entrust our futures. Find our answers. Solve our problems. Build our lives. It is the solid rock on which we stand; all other ground is sinking sand (Matthew 7:24-27).
There Is Much I Don’t Know
There is so much I don’t know. Every day I am aware of my limitations for figuring things out on my own. I often don’t know… What to say. What to think. What to do. What to pray. What to desire. What to prioritize. What to decline. What to give. What to believe. Know what I mean? There are countless perplexities in our lives where the best way to proceed is often unknown to us. But there is good news for people like you and me. There is so much we do not know, but all we need to know is Jesus. Why? Because He knows everything! Every mystery is already solved by Him. Every as yet unwritten page is an open book to Him. Every murky situation is crystal clear to Him. Every question is easily answered by Him. He knows exactly what we should say, think, do, and feel to wisely navigate through life. Better still, He makes known those very things to us so we can know what He knows. The wisest thing we can do today is seek the wisdom of the Lord. There will never be a situation for which He does not have the answer. Don’t be concerned about what you do not know; be confident in the One Who knows it all.
The Weight Of Worry Is Lifted By Jesus
You can downplay it, but you cannot ignore it. You can numb it, but you cannot heal it. You can run from it, but you cannot escape it. For those who carry it around inside, the weight of worry is a debilitating burden that grows larger, gains traction and grates on your thoughts and feelings. Oftentimes a low-level anxiety. Sometimes an explosive outburst. At all times a threat to your peace and joy. The cure is not to make-believe it isn’t there, white-knuckle your way through it or self-medicate for some temporary relief. These may pick you up for a moment, but they offer no real hope for real freedom from the worries that are weighing you down. The balm for a heart and mind that is reeling from the cares of the world is to cast your cares on Jesus. He is willing to take that weight from you and carry your anxieties for you if you are willing to let Him and let go of them. This means trusting that He is strong enough, wise enough and loving enough to sustain you through it all no matter what happens. As your confidence in Him grows, your anxiety shrinks; as your worries transfer to Him, your peace and joy return. Remember this today: you do not have to live with constant low-level anxiety and stress because you have the constant presence of Jesus living in you.
Comparison Is A Game We Do Not Have To Play
An ongoing struggle that all of us experience is comparing ourselves and our lives to other people. It shows up as we measure our appearance, finances, intellect, popularity, achievements, opportunities and so forth to someone else’s. Regardless of whether we compare favorably or unfavorably, it usually leads to sin. Comparison is a game we cannot win for at least two reasons: it either makes us discontent with the kind of person we are or the kind of life we live compared to other people, OR it makes us prideful because we feel superior to others or look down on others in some comparison category. The solution for both of these problems is to be happy with the person God is making us and content with what He has given us with no care to compare at all. Our ultimate source of satisfaction is found in Jesus, Whom God is making us like and is His greatest gift to us. Comparison is a game we cannot win, but because of Jesus we do not have to play it.
I’m A Believer
I’m a believer. I believe that Jesus is Who the Bible says He is and did what the Bible says He did. I believe He can be trusted without hesitation or reservation. I believe He reigns over my life for good. I believe His kingdom will last forever. I believe fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore await me. I believe in His agenda of love. I believe He chose me to be in His family and called me to invite others into His family. I believe I have given up nothing of value to follow Him and have gained immeasurable riches in knowing Him. I believe grace is available to those who receive His love, and wrath is coming for those who reject it. I believe He has forgiven the penalty of my sin, freed me from the power of sin, and will forever remove the presence of sin from me. I believe He will finish what He started in me, loving me just as I am, but always working to transform me into who I have not yet become. I believe that to believe is to turn from sin and turn to Jesus. I believe He is coming soon, perhaps today, to fulfill all that He has promised. I believe until I meet Him face to face in glory, I should bring Him glory on earth. I believe that because of Jesus the best is always yet to come for those who believe. Do you believe?
This Life Is Not All There Is
One of the enemy’s biggest deceptions is convincing us to live as if this life is all there is. It’s the cause for the fear of missing out, the fear of sacrificial service and the fear of death. It’s the reason so many strive to build their own kingdoms instead of building the kingdom of God. It’s the basis for the never-ending search for happiness by looking to the world instead of looking to Jesus to find happiness that is never-ending. The lie that we should live as if this life is all there is to live for is the fountainhead of ten thousand troubles. And you can find out exactly what you’re living for by honestly answering one simple question: why do you think, feel, speak, and act as you do? Is it because of some earthly aim or ambition, or because you’ve got your sights set on eternity? Everything looks different when you look past the temporary to forever. This place isn’t our home; we’re heading home. This life won’t last forever; the next life will. This treasure trove will fade away; the ones laid up in heaven have an everlasting shine. The joys and pleasures of today that never satisfy enough and never last enough will give way to fullness of joy and pleasure forevermore when we enter the presence of God.
Trusting That God Knows What He’s Doing
Why are some things hard? Why are some things easy? Why are some things ongoing? Why are some things abrupt? Why are some things present? Why are some things absent? Because God knows best what to allow into our lives, how intensely they should be experienced, and how long they should remain. It’s not always easy to see the “why” behind the “what” that God allows into our lives. But the longer we walk with Jesus, the more we recognize that our Heavenly Father uses all the things He allows into our lives to build us up in our faith and bless us in ways we never would experience if we followed our own plan. Looking back, we see that in those moments we didn’t think God was working, His fingerprints were on every irregularly shaped piece of the puzzle, fitting them together to form us into the image of His Son. God doesn’t expect us to know what He’s doing; He just expects us to trust that He does.
Jesus Forgives Our Sin And Frees Us From It
Jesus died not just to forgive our sin, but also to free us from it. The amazing grace He lavishes upon is both pardon from sin and power not to sin. We can let go of the old life and latch hold of the new. New identity, new purpose, new beliefs, new hopes, new dreams, new motives, new joy, new freedom, new eternity, new life and new power to live it is ours because of Jesus. When we settle in our hearts and minds that everything is better with Him, because of Him, for Him, and in Him, we will no longer settle for the things that are not from Him. How do you resist the pull of the old life? Remember all that is yours in the new life.
What I Pray About When I Pray
What do you typically pray about? Be honest: Is your prayer life more about getting God to do your will or you to do His? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s much easier for me to pray “let this cup of suffering pass from me” than it is to say to my Heavenly Father, “nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” Yet, there is nothing so freeing and fulfilling than to be right where God means for me to be doing right what God means for me to do. He’s the God of both the hills and valleys, and I have His promise that Jesus will be with me to guide, strengthen and encourage in the ups and downs of life. So, I talk to Him. Not in order to secure what I need to build my own kingdom, but to request what I need to live for His. Prayer involves seeking what we need to do what God wants. Pray for God’s grace to do God’s will. There will be a thousand times more joy for you in doing things His way instead of demanding your own.
You Do Not Need To Pretend With God
We all keep secrets. There is not a human being on the face of the earth who fully discloses every thought, feeling, motive, desire, and attitude to others. The relationships we are involved in are to some degree built on us holding back some things about us. Not so in our relationship with God. We cannot hide ourselves from Him; nor do we have to. The One who matters the most, knows us most and loves us most. He also has committed Himself to the long-term transformation of making us more like Jesus. What comfort, what relief, what joy is ours that with God we do not have to pretend to be something we are not, because God is making us into what we are not yet. And there is absolutely no risk that He will walk away from those of us who have been gloriously saved into His family because of our faith in Jesus. For when He looks upon you and me, though He sees everything about us, what He sees most is a beloved son or daughter.
Will It Matter 100 Years From Now?
Here’s a simple, but significant, lens through which life looks radically different than we often see it… will this matter 100 years from now? How we think, feel, speak, act, and react would be wonderfully different if we saw things in light of eternity. Our motives and attitudes would change for the better if we remembered that this short life is not all that there is. And our very lives would create an everlasting ripple if we could look a century into our future to see the impact of our today. In dependence upon the presence and power of Jesus, let us give less priority to the things that really don’t matter and more priority to the things that do.
Make The Right Choice To Spend Time With Jesus
Admit it, some days are a blur. We wake up, and over the coming hours, it’s a nonstop rush to not fall behind. The remedy for busy, frantic lives is not to speed up, but to slow down. The thing that will most help us with what we face each day is to simply spend time with Jesus getting recharged so we can be prepared for what lies ahead and refocused so we can prioritize the things that matter most. That’s the most important part of our day, and it should have the most intentional part of our schedule because it’s the most influential part of our lives. You know what the cure is for being overwhelmed, worried and frustrated about the many things on your schedule? Making the right choice to spend time with Jesus today.
Jesus Will Always Speak The Truth In Love To Us
What power and courage and hope and peace is ours because of the voice of truth sounding forth from Jesus! But we will not hear these life-giving, chain-breaking, hope-inspiring, course-correcting, God-honoring, truth-telling, joy-producing words if we neglect the Word of God. While He does speak through His Spirit, circumstances and other people, He speaks loudest and clearest in the Bible. We must repent of basing our lives on man’s truth, making up our own unbiblical truths, and neglecting the truth of the Scriptures. Instead, let us strive to read the Bible more frequently, understand it more fittingly, believe it more fully, and live it out more faithfully. Those who listen to it will hear the sweet voice of Jesus bring words fit for the occasion, giving grace to those who hear. We can always count on what He says to be true for us and good for us.
Accept No Cheap Substitutes For Jesus
Every day we are offered cheap substitutes for God and His way of living. They promise us a great deal on getting a better life apart from Him … you can get comfort in food, peace by running from your problems, security in your bank account, self-worth by achievement, guidance via a self-help manual, rest through a weekend getaway, and happiness in whatever makes you feel good for the moment. Yet none of those things lead to full and lasting satisfaction. While they certainly satisfy for a moment, they are never enough. They always leave us wanting something more or something different. But here’s the good news: God has already richly supplied us with every possible blessing in Jesus to satisfy our souls. In moments when we feel our hearts craving better lives than the ones we are experiencing, remember that the source of such a life is found in Jesus. Look to Him for comfort, peace, security, self-worth, guidance, rest and happiness and you will always be satisfied. He is in you. He is with you. He is for you.
Encouraging One Another To Follow Jesus
Every Christian faces the ever-present danger of distraction, frustration and temptation to become preoccupied with things that don’t matter, things that don’t satisfy and things that don’t last. Everywhere we look are messages that point us in the wrong direction away from God. That’s one of the reasons why God wired us for Christian community: to help each other keep the faith and keep our focus.
We must continually encourage one another to follow Jesus because the world is continually encouraging us not to follow Him.
To Have Everything; To Have Nothing At All
To gain all that the world has to offer yet not have Jesus is to have nothing at all. To gain all that Jesus has to offer yet not have the world is to have everything.
