Thankfulness

Thankfulness opens windows of heaven through which blessings fall.

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
      That there may be food in My house,
      And try Me now in this,”
      Says the LORD of hosts,

      “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
      And pour out for you such blessing
      That there will not be room enough to receive it."

Malachi 3:10 

 

Tithing is just one of the ways I can show 

my thanks to my Heavenly Father.

I can tithe my money, possessions, time, and talents.

 

Counting my blessings is another way to give thanks to God.

I have found that I can always find something for which to be grateful.

 

A smile, the laughter of children, a friend's hug,

a good cup of coffee, a warm house on a cold day,

my family, a job I enjoy, a butterfly, 

a clear night when I can see the stars,

and most of all, my Best Friend.

 

Life IS in the little things.

And little IS much when God is in it.

 

  "...giving thanks always for all things to God the Father 

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

 

Amen! 

 

 I just began reading UPRISING by Erwin Raphael McManus.

One phrase in particular from chapter 2 jumped out at me.

"You cannot follow Jesus and remain the same." 

(pp. 34-35)

Then one of my friends on Facebook 

posted a link to a story about Francis Chan.

The Crazy Mission of Francis Chan

www.relevantmagazine.com

 This article relates how Chan left his megachurch 

without knowing exactly where God is leading him.

He and his wife are stepping out in faith even though it scares them.

He talks about how the church needs to step out and live a life that is modeled on Christ's life.

I need to take a good look at my life.

Am I allowing God to change me to be like Jesus?

Or am I afraid to be different, to be thought of as weird?

I want to be like Jesus!

I want to risk all for His kingdom.

I want the world to see Jesus in me.

Not for my sake; for His.

I so often allow fear or what others may think of me 

to keep me from stepping out in faith.

I don't want to do this anymore.

I have no idea what God is going to ask me to do.

I do believe He is preparing me for something.

I want to grow in and like Christ.

"Father, I want to be willing to step out in faith no matter the cost.

Make me a fit vessel to serve Your Kingdom.

Empty me of self and fill me with You.

In Jesus' Precious Name,

Amen

The father of a good friend past away this morning.  

He's been battling cancer for a while.  

I started to say the cancer won, 

but for him death has no sting,  no victory. 

So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, 

and this mortal has put on immortality, 

then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written:  

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
       “ O Death, where is your sting?
      O Hades, where is your victory?”

1 Corinthians 15: 54-55 

This was a true man of God.  

He was a pastor who loved the Lord with all of his heart.  

He was leading the flock of a church 

after "retiring" several years ago.

He ministered to people with love and compassion.

And he loved his family well.

Even to the end, he prayed with his family 

and those who visited him.

He sang hymns of thanksgiving and praise 

as he lay in his bed at home.

He encouraged others to be thankful.

He truly loved the Lord 

and I know he is rejoicing and worshiping 

in His presence right now!

I look at his example and at others who are in my life 

and I see people who do not allow illness, pain, old age, 

or just being tired keep them from serving God daily.

At the same time they talk about being ready to go.

They embrace life while not fearing death.

They know that to die is gain.

“Let not your heart be troubled; 

you believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father’s house are many mansions; 

if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come again and receive you to Myself; 

that where I am, there you may be also."

John 14:1-3

This is the promise for those who are in Christ.

This life is but a journey preparing us 

for an eternity in God's presence.

Jim McGee has entered that presence.

We on earth mourn his loss.

Heaven celebrates his gain.

Praise God.

Every morning in my quiet time, I ask God to speak to me.  

It still amazes me how often a scripture or a thought 

pops into my head that speaks directly to my need.

This morning was no different.  

 I have been sad the last few days.

Not sure why, just constantly on the verge of tears.

Yet, it has comforted me to also be aware at the same time

of the joy of the Lord deep in my very being.

I poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father this morning.

In response, He gave to me these words:

"Mourn lost dreams.

Celebrate what I have planned for you."

I realized that even though 

I believed I was through with the grieving process, 

I am not.

I have grieved many things since the end of my marriage 

seven and one half years ago.  

I haven't grieved the dreams lost.

There are so many things I didn't do because 

I gave up myself in order to please another person.

 The things that mattered to me were ridiculed or seen as unimportant 

so I pushed them deep within and went on with my life.

I will soon be sixty years old.

Many of the things I dreamed of doing as a young person

will probably never come to pass this side of Heaven.

However, God knew the choices I would make in my life and the consequences, good and bad, that would come from those choices.

He also knows the dreams He has planted in me.  

I'm glad He does because right now I'm not sure I do.

I think that because it hurt so much, 

I've forgotten what it's like to dream.

It was easier to just go along, dreams lost.

That's why God's words to me this morning mean so much.

Mourn lost dreams and move on to the plans He has for me.

So I'm going to allow myself to remember and regret dreams lost.

But I'm not going to wallow in it.

I have just existed for too many years

I want to live life to its fullest.

I'm asking God to restore my passion for living.

I'm asking Him to replace my old dreams with His new ones.

I'm believing His promise to give me a future with hope.

I'm believing His word that says:

"Do not remember the past events,
    pay no attention to things of old. 

    Look, I am about to do something new;
    even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
    Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43: 18-19

 

 

I keep a lighted scented candle on my desk at work.

Many people who enter my office comment on the wonderful aroma.

I rarely notice the scent myself unless 

I'm out of my office for an extended period of time.

This led me to thinking about the aroma my life emits 

to the world in which I live.

 

What kind of scent do I emanate?  

Is it a pleasing scent?

Is it a scent that draws people in?

Or is it an odor that repels people when they smell it?

 

¹⁴But thanks be to God, 

who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession 

and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  

¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among 

those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  

¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; 

to the other, an aroma that brings life. 

And who is equal to such a task? 

¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. 

On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, 

as those sent from God. 

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 

If I truly belong to Christ my aroma should be one that pleases Him.

My aroma should reveal Christ to those around me.

My aroma should be disturbing to those who reject Christ.

My aroma should be invigorating to those who know Christ.

What determines my aroma?

My relationship with the One who endows me with His scent.

The deeper more intimate my relationship is with Him,

the sweeter more powerful my aroma will be.

May my life's aroma reflect Jesus Christ in every way at every moment!

Encouragement

Today's devotional at work was about encouraging words.

  

"Therefore encourage one another 

and build each other up as you are already doing."

1Thessalonians 5:11

I love to encourage people through 

words, cards, hugs, prayer, however I can.

I think part of the reason for this is 

that I know what it's like to live in an atmosphere of discouragement.  

I believe God allowed me to experience this 

so that I could know how much kind words and deeds 

can mean to a person who is discouraged. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 

He comforts us in all our affliction, 

so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

If I had never suffered abuse or loss or pain, 

how would I know how to minister to another person?  

Why would I want to ease someone else's pain?

But I have suffered verbal abuse, emotional loss, and physical pain.

God has used various means to comfort me.

People.  Scripture.  Music.  Words.  Hugs.  

Most of all, His Holy Spirit has wrapped me in arms of comfort 

when I have cried out to Him.

Words can be used to tear down.
Words can be used to build up.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me."

Not true.
Words can inflict the most terrible pain possible.
Words can bestow the deepest joy possible.


If you speak, be encouraging.
If you act, be loving.
Comfort as you have been comforted.
Encourage as you have been encouraged.


 "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Matthew 7:12

Hope Anchored in Jesus!

 

 

 

"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, 

both sure and steadfast, 

and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 

where the forerunner has entered for us, 

even Jesus, 

having become High Priest forever 

according to the order of Melchizedek".

Hebrews 6:19-20 

 

Anchor definition

 

 From Acts 27:29, 30, 40,  

it would appear that the Roman vessels carried several anchors,  

which were attached to the stern as well as to the prow.  

The Roman anchor, like the modern one, had two teeth or flukes.  

In Heb. 6:19 the word is used metaphorically for that which supports  

or keeps one steadfast in the time of trial or of doubt.  

It is an emblem of hope.  

"If you fear, Put all your trust in God: that anchor holds."  anchor. (n.d.). Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. 

Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anchor

My soul is anchored in Jesus.

What a reassuring thought.  

No matter what happens to me, my soul cannot be killed.

No matter what circumstances surround me , my soul cannot be disturbed.

No matter what storms assail me, my soul cannot be lost.

This hope that anchors my soul in Jesus is real.

This hope that anchors my soul in Jesus is precious.

This hope that anchors my soul in Jesus is steadfast.

This hope that anchors my soul in Jesus is comfort.

Faith and hope go hand in hand.

Without faith, hope is lost.

Without hope, faith is in vain.

Glory be to God!

His children are never without faith and hope.

Faith in Jesus gives us access to heavenly Father.

Hope in Jesus anchors us to our heavenly Father. 

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

through whom also we have access by faith 

into this grace in which we stand, 

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Romans 5:1-2

Amen!