November 23, 2005
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
One really can't underestimate the importance of
maintaining an attitude of
gratitude. I'm talking about every day, in every way. Most
days I begin my day by thanking the Lord for ... oh, just about
everything I can think of in my life that's good. All that's
good is from God (James
1:17).
The Bible is certainly not silent on
the subject. Here are just a FEW instances:
1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known
among the nations what he has done.
1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love
endures forever.
Psalm 7:17
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his
righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most
High.
Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him,
and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give
thanks to him in song.
Psalm 30:12
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I
will give you thanks forever.
Psalm 35:18
I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among
throngs of people I will praise you.
Psalm 75:1
We give thanks to you, O God, we give
thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 105:1
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make
known among the nations what he has done.
Psalm 106:1
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is
good; his love endures forever.
In the Old Testament, giving thanks
was actually a weapon or tactic of war used by the Israelites:
2 Chronicles 20:21
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the
LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out
at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever."
Nehemiah 12:31
I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned
two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on top
of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate.
Giving thanks was one of the duties
assigned to the priests. And you know, WE (born-again
children of God) have been made kings and priests in this New Covenant
of the blood of Jesus Christ.
2 Chronicles 31:2
Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to divisions—each of them
according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings
and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and
to sing praises at the gates of the LORD's dwelling.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus.
Hmm.
It's GOD'S WILL for us to give thanks, no matter the
circumstances in which we find ourselves. It's easy to be
thankful in good times, but what about in trying times?
Thankfulness toward God directs our thoughts toward the Answer
and gives hope (there's that word again--see below) and erases
despair.
November 13, 2005
MORE HOPE
I was reading a
short devotional by
Kenneth Copeland the other day, and it really emphasized the
importance of hope. You really can't underestimate it. I've got
to share this devotional with you.
"Paint Your Destiny!
"When someone is meditating on negative thoughts, he or she is
developing inner pictures not of hope, but of despair. Despair
is an inner image of failure, sickness, poverty or whatever else
the devil wants to inject into a person. It is actually hope in
the negative, and fear, like faith, brings it to pass.
"These inner images, whether of hope or despair, become the
blueprint for your faith or fear, and ultimately control your
destiny. So dig into the Word and begin building your hope.
Start developing God's pictures within you. Change that inner
image of defeat with the Word of God, and no demon in hell will
be able to hold you down. It's the pictures inside you that
determine your destiny. Paint some new pictures. God's Word is
full of them!"
November 11, 2005
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
I don't know about you, but it seems when God is giving me a
"word," He continues to reinforce it for some time (until I get
it?). Take yesterday, for instance. I read again Proverbs 23 and
24 in which the Lord first pointed out "the word" to me: HOPE.
Proverbs 23:18
"There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be
cut off."
Proverbs 24:14
[Like honey is sweet to the taste, "Know also that wisdom is
sweet to your soul; if you find it there is a future hope
for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
Then I flipped over to Psalms for my reading there. In
Psalms 42, verses 5 and 11, I find this:
"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so
disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise
him, my Savior and my God."
I'm
not finished. Went then to the New Testament--I Peter. I'm just
reading my daily Bible readings, not looking for occurrences of
the word "hope."
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your
hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is
revealed.
1 Peter 1:21
Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and
glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give
an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect....
November 3, 2005 HOPE
OK, my computer is down! I'm having to use someone else's. But
it hasn't prevented me from reading my Bible and getting a "word
from the Lord." In fact, God gives me a word every time I read
the Bible. Of course, the Bible IS His Word. In fact, HE is the
Word. He gives me Himself, wrapped in letters which form words
which communicate life and love and faith and hope.
In fact, that's the word I got the other
day: HOPE. I was reading in Proverbs. (I usually start there, then, if
time, go on to Psalms and the New Testament.)
Proverbs 23:18. A naked verse stuck right there between two
other verses I had previously highlighted. It says:
"There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off."
Hope is such a...hopeful word. It
gives...hope. It lifts a downcast spirit. With hope comes expectation.
Expectation of something different, something good.
