A LIFE OF GRATITUDE

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.“ (1 Thes. 5:18).

A potent enemy against a Christian is an ungrateful heart. Ungratefulness chokes our heart and blinds us to the many blessings of God eventually making us murmur and complain. Because of the importance of thanksgiving and gratitude, it's categorically stated as the will of God. So the next time you set out to seek the will of God for your life, put thanksgiving and gratitude first on the list: 

“In everything give thanks: for this is the WILL OF GOD in Christ Jesus CONCERNING YOU“. Edwin Excell said it in another way: “count your blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.“ Take note: an ungrateful person will not receive anything from the Lord. Ungratefulness steals our blessings. Like unbelief,  ungratefulness robs us of entering into God's rest. What will you rather do? Trust God and believe His will for your life? Or you will take the path of ungratefulness; complaining and murmuring about everything.

Concerning thanksgiving, remember the ten Lepers. Out of the ten, only one came back to say “THANK YOU“. And guess what, it got at Jesus: “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine“ (Luke 17:7). Today, make it a point to “count your blessings, and name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done“. Be grateful! Let gratitude fill your heart regardless of your situation.

GOD IS FAITHFUL

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me (Isaiah 49:15-16).

Isn’t the word of God so true? “Can a woman forget her sucking child?” We obviously know the answer. As much as we all revere the love of a mother, we are fully aware in their humanity, they can disappoint us.  In the media, stories of mothers, nursing mothers, who abandon their babies, abound in our days. In vs 15, God through the prophet Isaiah, gives us a strong assurance of His unfailing faithfulness: "I will not forget you" Isn't that so liberating and assuring?

The vs 16 further expounds on God’s faithfulness: Such great promise—“I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me”. Now, that’s worth pondering over. Though this promise was specifically to Jerusalem, it’s a promise we can apply to our lives. With a writer’s imagination, I see our lives as images or pictures in God’s palms. He sees us every day.  

Things might not always go as you expect. Sometimes your mind might go wandering and wondering: “Where is God?” Don’t panic! No detail of your life misses the eye of God. He has every detail of your life before Him. Only believe—let go of the worry and struggle. Let Him into your situation. There's a scripture I use often and love: 

...all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose…. (Romans 8:28).  

In my personal life, I have moved this scripture from my head into my heart and I believe it whole heartedly. All things truly work together for good. Be encouraged in whatever situation you find yourself. God is faithful

THE BEREAN ATTITUDE: THE PATH OF CHRISTIAN GROWTH AND MATURITY

[The Bereans] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11).

I admire these folks called the Bereans. In my mind I always ask: How dare these people? They got guts to go find out “..whether those things were so“. They scrutinized Paul and Silas‘ messages. They checked if Paul and Silas were speaking the truth. I mean how, how dare them? This is Apostle "extraordinary". He never walked with Jesus in person, but did much more than the first eleven: “...by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Today you were in church I hope. What did the servant of God speak about today? Was what he said right? Was what she said the truth? Was what he said biblical? Was what she said her own opinion or personal interpretation? We don't have to take anything at face value regardless of who said it. The standard is the word. The final authority in our lives is the Word of God.

What A or B said is not necessarily the truth until crossed checked with the word. Accepting it just as it is will be gullibility: you don't scrutinize the message, you don't scrutinize the interpretation. You don't scrutinize the analogy---you take it as the truth, just as it is. Now, no one grows in the faith that way. To grow, we search the word: “Search the scriptures...they are they which testify of me. “ (John 5:39). We weigh what we hear, we check the scriptural references... Precerpt upon precerpt...word upon word...text upon text...chapter by chapter...verse by verse; The Berean Attitude: that is how we mature and grow in the faith.

BALANCED LIVING: A FAIR DOSE OF BLESSINGS AND CHALLENGES.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philipians 4:13).

At the beginning of every new month, The common message that makes the rounds is “Happy New Month“.  At the beginning of the month of November, I thought to myself: “what do we mean by Happy New Month?“. 

Is it an expectation of a smooth month without troubles and challenges? I am always startled no one speaks about the challenges and troubles that will accompany the blessings and favour we expect in a new month. Or I don't have faith to think along such lines?

Philipians 4:13 readily comes to mind whenever I ponder these things. As a stand-alone scripture, it sounds great; “I can do all things through Christ“. It gives a sense of victory, exploits, mighty works, great deeds and unlimited success. However a second look at the context of Philipians 4:13 gives a different impression. See vs 12:

 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.(ESV).

“...I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need", It is on this conclusion that Paul decleared “I can do all things through Christ“. What Paul is saying is that I can handle both lack and plenty through Christ“. Now that is balanced living: The ability to handle both good and evil. The ability to enjoy the good times and not losing your cool in the bad times. The ability to recognize that God is still in control despite our situation. If you desire anything for yourself in the month of November and subsequent months and years, and life in general, let it be a Balanced Living: a fair dose of blessings and challenges believing and trusting God to take care of you “through the changing scenes of life“ of the month.

PILGRIMS ON EARTH

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. ( 1 John 3:2-3)

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11)

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:9-10).

One thing is very likely to hit every believer: losing sight of eternity; the fact that we are here on “borrowed time”— just passing through earth. We are pilgrims here. If we lose sight of eternity --- heaven and hell then our gospel will become porous, weak and without any hope. (Read again 1 John 3:3.)

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

The hope of heaven, the hope of eternity is a sure antidote to overcoming the difficulties and temptations of this world. If you are only focused on life here, running around with no time for God, BEWARE!

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19).

We are not here to stay—everything here is temporal. With this in mind, we should have only one prayer on our hearts every day. “…teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

THE WILDERNESS:GOD'S TRAINING SCHOOL

“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil“ (Matthew 4:1).

Jesus---the Son of God. Our redeemer and saviour at the beginning of His ministry was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil“. Why wasn't He just led straight into town to begin a life of mighty works and mighty deeds? There could be only one reason: Preparation. He was led into the wilderness to be prepared by trials, challenges and temptations.

The wilderness has significance. It is a period of dryness, loneliness, obscurity, lack, hardship and hopelessness in a person‘s life. As negative as these words may sound, they produce in us a total dependence on God and full trust in His Sovereignty. Take a pause and ponder over history. Every great life had one form of a wilderness experience. Lets just comb through scriptures: Moses spent time in the wilderness. David was in the wilderness. Joseph had his share in prison. John the Baptist and the list continues.

Your blessings and your manifestation will never be a sudden event. You have to be prepared. Ordinary lives don't just become extraordinary in the hands of God. 

The account in Matthew 4 was necessary so that Jesus in His humanity will experience what all humans experience---wilderness experiences: period of dryness and hardship. This was necessary to prepare Him for the assignment that lied ahead; make Him have compassion on humanity.“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour[aid,help]them that are tempted.“ (Hebrews 2:18).

Take heart: your pain is God at work to prepare you for His place of assignment for you. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.“ (Romans 8:28).

THE ESSENCE OF LIFE: Part One

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

The conclusion of the whole matter---the essence of human existence, the very reason for human life is to fear God and keep his commandments. Solomon I believe after pening down all his words of wise instructions, he still felt the urge to let us know what is important and central to human existence. Note also that Ecclesiastes 12 was written to young persons: See vs 1: “Remember your creator in the days of your youth...“ Clear instruction! He seem to be saying, “look, you young people, remember God now before its too late“.

Here on earth, we are a part of God's grand design---His bigger plan. We all fit in somewhere in the puzzle: what the theologians call Sovereignty: God is sovereign, He is in charge. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He is not bewildered thinking what to do next. To be more direct, God owns us: “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people...“ (Psalms 100:3). We were created to give God glory, honour and pleasure: 

 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelations. 4:11).

“...for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created“. Did you read that? All things including you and I are and were created for God's pleasure. Now that simplifies life if we come to terms with that. Whatever we set out to achieve. Whatever dreams and visions we have for our lives. Whatever we hope to become and whatever we have actually become, it will be good to keep Solomon‘s words in mind: “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

If taken literally, the phrase might present God as dreadful and frigthening who is out there to unleash punishment on humanity. To present God as such will be highly preporsterous because God is love (John 14:16) and “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love“ (John 14:18). Now, If there's no fear in love, why then should we fear God? This leads me to the meaning of the phrase “fear God“. “Fear God“ is a biblical expression that carries the meaning of Reverence --- we reverence Him, we have faith and trust in Him. We revere and love Him: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.“ (Matthew 22:37).

---To be continued