Thankable

I say thank you a lot. Every time I’m in a checkout line I purposely look at the person’s name so that when they hand me my receipt I can say “thank you, Gertrude.”

About two weeks ago Angela and I went to Chili’s and I must have said thank you to the waitress no less than 15 times in the 35min we were there. I even say thank you when I get pulled over by the police and given a ticket.

While being polite is great, Jesus tells us that real thankfulness should be in response to something extraordinary.

Luke 17:9 (The Message) Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him?

Luke 17:9 (New Living Translation)  And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not.

To receive a “Thank you”, you must do something Thankable!

When was the last time you did something thankable? Jesus tells us that we need to do more than what is required of us.

Matthew 5:40-41 (New Living Translation)  If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.  If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

When we live a life of doing more than is required, when we act out of kindness and not obligation, people will respond with thankfulness and gratitude.

Are you a thankful person? Do you recognize those times in your life when someone gave more or did more than was required? Did you thank them?

Wisdom

Often our daily choices don’t matter very much; what to wear, where to eat lunch. Other times, our choices are extremely important and affect our lives in a big way. It requires wisdom to know the difference.

While we are going through a trial, when we are facing trouble in our lives, our choices are very important. In those moments, what we choose can have far reaching effects in our lives and in the lives of other people. In these times, it requires wisdom to make the right choices.

James 1:2-5 (New International Version)
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James tells us that when we face a trail, we should ask for wisdom. Often times the trails we face do not require a miraculous move of God to save us, they simply require us to make wise choices and act wisely.

To gain victory over the trial, you are going to have to have wisdom to know what you should do. You must live, behave, and make choices wisely. Asking for wisdom implies there is more to overcoming your trail than God delivering you from it.

Many times we do not need to ask God to deliver us from our circumstances, we need to ask for wisdom how we should live – which will overcome and avoid these circumstances.

Wisdom Is More About Action Than Knowledge!

James 3:13 (New International Version)
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Wisdom isn’t about what you know, but about how you live. Our learning should never lead to mere knowledge, but it should always lead to action.

Knowledge isn’t wisdom. It’s possible to be a very intelligent fool.

True Worship

Many people think of worship as music. For those of you who can sing, you don’t mind this. For the rest of us, it’s not fair.

People would describe me as a prison singer. I’m always behind a few bars and I can’t find the key.

Fortunately for me, worship is more than music, is a lifestyle. It’s more about who you are than what you do.

Romans 12:1 – And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

What you SACRIFICE for is what you are worshiping.

We are all limited human beings. We have limited time, energy, and resources. As a result, we pick and choose how we spend our time, energy, and resources. Do you sacrifice your family for your career? Maybe in your worship of golf or sports you sacrifice your marriage.

Exodus 20:3-5 – You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

Do you spend your time focused on entertainment or developing your relationship with God? Do you sacrifice worshiping Sunday morning for the chance to sleep in?

If there is anything you have put before God? What is it that you worship?

Tomorrow Is A New Day

A few weeks ago my two older brothers and I went camping with each of our wives and kids. There were 16 of us and 5 were kids under 3 years old. Yeah, pretty crazy! It was back when the temps were hitting 105-108 day after day here in DFW.

When we planned our trip the weather was supposed to be nice (according to averages) where we were going. Was it? No, not so much. It was hot, muggy, humid, cloudy, and drizzly – It was so humid that when Angela washed Addison’s blanket it didn’t even dry after 3 days. Each day we would say, “Maybe tomorrow will be better.”

Finally, on the last day, the freakishly abnormal heatwave broke and when we left around noon, it was in the low 70′s. It is amazing. What a difference a day can make!

It doesn’t matter how bad things have been, how impossible the situation may look, or how long things have been bad. God can turn it all around.

1 Peter 1:6 – The Apostle Peter tells us that any troubles or hardships that we may have, they are only for a “LITTLE WHILE!”

There is always HOPE! Refuse to accept that something will never change. Joshua 3:5 tells us tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.

No matter what you have been through, or are going through, how hopeless it may look, tomorrow is a new day. Lamentations 3 tells us that God’s mercies and compassions are new every morning.

In Joshua 11 we read about what seemed like a hopeless situation. In verses 1-3 we see that at minimum 14 Kings join forces to destroy Joshua. If ever there was a time to give up hope, this would be it. But instead of giving up, he trusted God. Look at what God said to Joshua.

Joshua 11:6 (New Living Translation) “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over…” Then verse 8 says – And the Lord gave them victory over their enemies.

No matter how hopeless it seems or how long it has been that way, God can turn it around in a day. Whatever you’ve been facing, whatever heartache you feel, tomorrow is a new day. You can have hope. It’s not over. This is not the end of your story. There is still more to be written. God is not done with you, and you should not be done with God!

Outwit Worry And Fear

3 Ways To Outwit Worry And Fear

1. Don’t forget what God has already done

In 1 Kings 19 Elijah was afraid of Jezebel because he forgot how God had delivered him before.

Look at how the psalmist remembered what God had done.

Psalm 107:6-9 (New Living Translation)

6 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. 7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. 8 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. 9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

The entire chapter lists all these times when God came through! Then the last verse says:

Psalm 107:43 (New Living Translation)

43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

2. Think the right thoughts

You have a fight with someone, the more you talk about it the angrier you get. Whatever thoughts you give attention to the stronger they will grow.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (New International Version)

…We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Telling yourself to NOT think about that will NOT work. If you tell yourself to not think about a big blue elephant, you’re going to be thinking about a big blue elephant. You have to replace the wrong thoughts with the right thoughts.

Jesus warned us about thoughts of worry for our life. He tells us that we should not worry about all the details of our life and goes on to tell us what we should be thinking about.

Matthew 6:32-34 (New Living Translation)

32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Paul tells us the types of thoughts that we should meditate on:

Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

3. Give it to God

When I worry, I maximize my problems and minimize God.

When I trust God and give it to God, I maximize God and He minimizes my problems.

When I worry, I place the problem in my box and say I’m more capable of handling it then God.

Proverbs 3:5 (New Living Translation)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Whatever is outside of our ability to fix, belongs in the God box.

Philippians 4:6-7 (New Living Translation)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

It’s Up To Us!

This isn’t going to come as a shock to most of you, but we are limited. There is only so much that we can do. When we come to the end of our ability, if you are like me, you ask for help.

God, on the other hand, is all powerful. We are told in the Scripture that nothing in impossible for our God. There is no limit to God’s strength.

But because we understand that God is all powerful, often times we lose sight of the fact that He wants our help. He wants to include us in accomplishing His plan.

God can use anything to accomplish His will. In Numbers 22  God spoke through a donkey, and in Matthew 17  God used a fish to provide money for the taxes that were due.

While God can use anything to accomplish His will, He prefers to use us.

John 4 tells us that Jesus was baptizing more people then John the Baptist. Verse 2 says, “though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them, his disciples did.”

This is the last prayer recorded in John before Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested to be crucified.

John 17:18 - As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

The ministry that Jesus started, we are to continue. The Apostle Paul understood that God wants to use us to accomplish His will.

2 Corinthians 5:18 - And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.  And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

If you are a follower of Christ, are you just holding on for the ride waiting to get to Heaven? Or are you going to be an active part of what God wants to accomplish in the world? Yes, God is all powerful and mighty, but he desires to use you to fulfill His plan.