Is your praise truthful?

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. (Psalm 103:1-2)

Another thing to consider as we march through our new year - gratitude. Is the state of our heart one of gratitude the majority of the time, or is it consumed more by envy that leads to a greater state of discontent? Some of the hardest times we can go through involve times of 'comparison' - when we compare what we have, where we are at, what we are doing, or who we have 'become' in light of someone else's accomplishments. Perhaps this is why God warns us against comparing ourselves with others (Galatians 6:4-6). Instead, we are to turn our eyes instead toward him and the things he has for each of us. In this alone will we find the greatest contentment. Our whole heart has to buy into this idea of gratefulness, though. We cannot be 'kinda' grateful 'most of the time' and find true contentment. Stop for a moment to consider we may not always be willing to sit and praise God for the 'stuff' of daily life. The very last time you truthfully sat alone with God and thanked him for your present circumstances, the things he is doing in your life right now, and what he has already accomplished for you this year may actually have been done a little 'begrudgingly' since the things happening haven't really 'measured up' to all that you hoped for. The good news is that God isn't going to let 'discontent' hang around a long time in our lives. He will prompt us toward gratefulness because he knows how damaging discontent can actually be.

Praise is actually only 'truthful' when it is done from a grateful heart. We can praise the cook, but if we do it just because they prepared a meal we really didn't 'fully enjoy', it isn't really truthful praise. Come away with a sated belly, having enjoyed every morsel served, and the praise we give might just be a little more 'genuine'. God doesn't look for us to be less than truthful with him. There have been times when I have been truthfully ungrateful for an element of what was happening in my life, but I have been honest in my praise. He knows I was struggling with the circumstances, but the faith and trust I placed in him helping me do my best, getting the most from the moment, and then seeing where it led me down the road didn't mean I wasn't grateful in my praise. It meant I trusted him enough to be honest, knowing what I didn't see right then was totally in his hands. Praise is sometimes best expressed in trust - being grateful might just look a little bit like admitting things aren't perfect, but you know he has good in mind for your life, so you will trust him for the outcome. Just sayin!

Just gotta say it...

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life... (Philippians 2:14-16)

Oh boy, I am gonna meddle this morning! How many times do you find it hard not to complain about something that is happening around you? You and I both have issues that arise, causing us to want to little more than complain about them. The stock falls, the interest rate rises, the grocery bill is higher each time we go, the shelves don't contain the can of soup we wanted, and the list goes on. It is indeed a difficult thing to face 'issues' without some form of complaint (even the silent ones we don't utter), isn't it? Living our lives without complaint or argument is difficult, but is it possible?

God wouldn't tell us to live that way if it were not possible. We have often explored the importance of having the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and actions, and even affect our attitude toward things. Is it possible there is a link between the Holy Spirit guiding our lives and this ability to live without complaint or argument? It could be the ONLY link that will actually help us live this way! The Holy Spirit is our 'direct link' to the strength we need to rise above arguments and to exercise a life of gratitude in the midst of disappointment. 

The more we take time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us 'divide' the Word of Life (God's Word) - taking it in, allowing him to help us 'digest' a bit of it each time, and then walk in that truth - the less we will find ourselves complaining about life. If we haven't figured it out by now, we don't like disappointment. Whenever our 'wishes' are not met, our expectations are dashed, and we feel disappointment. Maybe the key to living as a bright light in this world is to allow the Holy Spirit access to our day before we get too involved in that day. 

The wisdom we need may not be what we are seeking. Remember this - God may give us what we need long before he gives us what we want. Why? We would only complain about what we received because we weren't really ready to receive it! We need to have our hearts prepared to receive what we need. This is the work of the Holy Spirit within - to prepare our hearts to receive not only what we want, but what it is we need most. Remember - the Lord's Prayer asks for God to give us this day our daily bread and forgive our sins - what we need most, even when we don't actually know we want it. Just sayin!

Be the soil

A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. (Henry Ward Beecher)

Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin. (Proverbs 16:18)

I have had those moments when I thought I didn't get as much as I deserved - credit where credit was due; thanks for a job well-done; or some form of remuneration. As a young leader, I thought this stuff was important. As I matured a bit, I learned it wasn't all that important - there was a certain sense of joy in just doing a job well, no matter who got the credit, thanks, or 'payment' for it. I have come to realize it is quite a dangerous thing to drift into this pathway of believing we are 'owed' something. If we are to be truthful here, our attitude about why we are doing something is very important. 

Proverbs 29:23 reminds us, "Pride will ruin people, but those who are humble will be honored." It is important to have the right attitude behind our actions. Look at what Beecher said - a proud man is seldom a GRATEFUL man. It isn't that we want the gratitude directed towards ourselves - it is that we are grateful to be called upon to do whatever it is we are doing. Grateful for the skills we have been given. Grateful for the time to complete the task. Grateful for the hope or pleasure it will give another. There is no greater honor than to have completed the task and see the work become a means of blessing to another.

Do you know the rest of the quote by Beecher? The full quote is: "Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." Pride slays thanksgiving - herein is the crux of our study today - gratitude. Do things from a grateful heart and the outcome will be much different. Think less about what you will get from the action and more about how it will be a blessing to another. Become the soil out of which thanks grows. Gratitude is grace in action. Just sayin!

Another sunrise

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. (William Arthur Ward)

Ordinary opportunities are often overlooked - we just don't see them. We might not know what we have missed until someone else actually points it out. Stop for a moment to consider your body. There are times when I just look at those tiny hairs on my arms, standing almost upright, goosebumps forming because of a cool breeze passing over the surface of it. I am amazed that God created us with all those tiny muscle fibers that actually make that hair stand on end - a tiny muscle for each one. Then I look at intricacies of the eye - outwardly appearing one way, but inwardly a maze of blood vessels, tiny receptors, and nerve endings. Ordinary opportunities to miss the very thing that bespeaks the tender care God took in creating each and every fiber of our being - missed until we stop to notice. There are likely things in this day you and I have missed, but when we stop to notice, it might just bring us to a place of thanksgiving.

You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well. (Psalm 119:13-14)

All God does in our lives is amazing and wonderful. We just might not notice all the wonder in what he is doing. We don't know how many times he kept us from stumbling - but his Spirit helped us avoid the fall. We may not realize how much his Word within us bolstered us throughout the day - but through whatever came our way, we stood strong. It is in 'noticing' that we begin to appreciate the amazing ways God watches over every aspect of our lives - from our very creation to our very next step. There are times we want to exclude God from some area of our lives, but he made us with all of our 'areas', so how is it we think we can exclude him from any of them? God can take what we see as 'common' or 'ordinary' and use it for the extraordinary - but do we notice when he does?

Ward also reminded us, "Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them." God doesn't look for our enthusiasm as much as he looks for our appreciation of what he has done in and through us each day. He looks for a grateful heart - because he knows a grateful heart has really begun to realize the blessing of grace. Don't miss today's opportunities to take notice of his grace. You may never get the same opportunity back again. Just sayin!

Two keys

Many of us attempt to talk to God without ever entering into his house - into his presence. I guess we could talk to someone outside of our house by opening the door and shouting through the screen door, or through the screen of the window. There are seasons when the door or window are just not practical to be opened, though. If we really want to share communion with the each other, isn't it more practical to be invited in and to actually enter? Being face to face is a much better way to hear each other and it is much better to be free to be right there next to each other. There are times we try to relate to God without ever entering into his presence - like we are shouting through the screen door, but not really getting close enough to actually be touched by him. We have been invited, but we don't actually turn the 'knob' that opens the door to allow us to enter in fully.

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him.  Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever. (Psalm 104)

Thanksgiving and praise - that is the key that opens the door to God's presence. Seems simple, doesn't it? Let me tell you the truth here - we rarely use that key FIRST. We attempt to shout through the screen door so many times, don't we? How? Ever just start out a prayer time with God by complaining about life's hardships? Ever just jump in telling God what you need him to do for you or another person? Yup, we have all likely done it. We never take out the keys of thanksgiving and praise to open the door to enter into the fullness of his presence. I have two locks on my front door - a deadbolt and another keyed lock. That means I need two keys to open the door. If I only have one of those keys with me, can I get in? No, because it takes both keys to open the doors - the security door and the front door. Thanksgiving and praise - they open the door into his presence in much the same way as those two keys open my house doors.

Did you ever stop to think why gratitude is so important? Gratitude is really an inward culture we allow to be created that 'does away with' other things in our lives that don't really belong there. Did you stop to consider it is impossible for a grudge to exist where there is gratitude cultivated? It is impossible for fear to stop us when we learn to be thankful in all things - realizing there is always something better in store for us on the other side of the thing we fear the most. Gratitude sets our heart in a positive direction - opening ourselves to the possibilities of things we never ever knew existed. Thanksgiving is grown - it is cultivated. That means we have to put some effort into it - because we won't always feel like giving thanks. We have a tendency to see things through a negative lens when it is not going very well for us, don't we? So, we have a tendency to hold onto things that seem to stand in the way of us being thankful for life and God's presence.

Thanksgiving is a daily choice - it is us letting go of the negative things and then embracing the freedom that gratitude brings into our lives. I think this might be why God tells us we enter with praise and thanksgiving - because we cannot hold onto the negative things in this life if we are to actually cultivate and be embraced by thanksgiving. Thanksgiving helps us actually let go of the garbage we would otherwise carry around way to long - things that stand in the way of allowing us to fully experience his presence. So, the next time you want to talk with God, try beginning with thanksgiving and praise. You might be surprised by the things that begin to be shed in his presence - things that you didn't know you were even holding onto that strongly. Things that really have no place in your life any longer. Just sayin!

Here's my wrapped present

Gratitude is indeed something we don't realize we haven't expressed until we realize we have begun to take some things (or people) in our lives for granted. There are times where we really are grateful, but we don't express it. We just assume another knows we are indeed grateful for the relationship, appreciative of what another has done for us, or just that we are well-pleased with the way things have gone. When we are walking in step with one another, it is kind of common to occasionally just 'take for granted' that we have each other. William Arthur Ward penned the words, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." We can 'feel' very grateful - but fail to express it - not 'giving the present' so to speak. He also reminds us: "Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." We might just do well to realize routine can bring joy, common can spark newness, and ordinary might just be the biggest blessing we can receive!

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Colossians 3:17 MSG

Give the message of Christ's love and grace plenty of room in your life and you will find there is lots and lots of room for expressing gratitude, my friends! Why? His grace overwhelms in ways we may not recognize at first, but when we stop to consider what he has accomplished through the extension of that grace time after time again, we cannot but burst into thanksgiving for his overwhelming outpouring of love. The details of our lives spark others to be grateful when we begin to express those details! Ward also reminds us to not just flatter one another and that includes how we approach God in our prayer and worship. As Ward says, "Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you." God loves us - not to force us to love him, but to cause us to realize our need for his grace in our lives. That realization of grace's need is what causes us to reach out to him. 

The peace of Christ helps us live in harmony with one another. Why? Where his peace dwells, there is less opportunity for the ugliness of self to get in the way of loving each other. His peace actually takes over the space where the ugliness of envy seeks to rise up. It also less space for our own guilt to hold us bound to our past. When we are not bound to the past, we are free to begin to enjoy the present. You, my friends, are part of the present - not the past! We are given each other to spur one another on toward love and grace - revealing the peace of Christ to one another. Give God plenty of room - by allowing him 'space' we are allowing him the privilege of transforming that 'space' into the most lovely space of all! From that transformation stems gratitude - grace-filled, peace-filled, and love-engorged lives cannot help but express their gratitude. Never take for granted what God has begun and continues to reveal within one another. Spur one another on to see the fullness of God's presence and peace within them. Just spurring you on today!

Grateful

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. (William Arthur Ward)

How is it you express gratitude in your life? In what ways is it evident? Gratitude is shown more than it is spoken. When we receive a gift, we often utter the words 'thank you' to the giver of that gift, but how we use that gift often reveals our truest response to the giver!

Remember what Christ taught, and let his words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. (Colossians 3:16 TLB)

We have been given much in this lifetime - from the very gift of life itself to the many enjoyments along the way in even the tiniest of life's experiences. One thing is certain - we can be grateful for those gifts (even the hardest ones to accept), or we can simply receive them and "file them away". The ones we express gratitude for in both word and then revealing how we "use" that gift are the ones which keep on giving!

We probably have all received something we just didn't know what we'd ever do with it, but we politely said our "thank you" to the giver and moved on. It gathers dust in some cupboard or high up on some shelf. We don't even want to "re-gift" it because we just don't know who could use whatever it is we were given. Excuse me if you are a fruitcake eater, but it like the proverbial Christmas fruitcake that no one wants!

God's gifts are all good - even the ones we don't know what to do with when we receive them! The ones we receive with true gratitude are the ones we are likely to find ways to "use" in our lives. We may not fully understand how the things he brings into our lives are actually going to do us any "good", but remember all of God's gifts are good - even the hardest ones for us to receive. They may actually be the ones we need "most" to receive - we just don't know it yet!

Over the many years I have been following social media feeds, I have observed the trend beginning early in November of friends sharing something each day they are thankful for right up until Thanksgiving day. This year, I saw much less of this, though. Only a couple friends posted this year. I wonder - did our attitude of gratitude change? Did our posture of praise differ? Or did we just find different ways to express it this year? 

Let us never forget to have that attitude of gratitude! Just bein' thankful!

Getting other than what we deserved!

There is something unique about a thankful heart.  If you have ever been around someone who really practices a lifestyle of gratitude, you know what I mean.  Another word for gratitude is gratefulness.  I sometimes think this character trait is linked to a similar trait - being graceful.  Grateful people have a way of exuding grace in some of the most unlikely ways, don't they? Our "G" list of character traits - grace and gratitude.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.  (Colossians 3:15-17 MSG)

As Paul writes to the Colossian church, he focuses on something which keeps people together - focusing on "staying in tune with each other".  In other words, we don't always choose our own path and just plunge down it without regard to the feelings of another.  We call this being "graceful" - there is a "beauty" inherent in the movements of people of grace.  Why?  They look beyond themselves and see those God has placed in their path.  They "give the Word of God room in their lives".  What happens when God's Word actually gets into the nooks and crevices of our lives - it challenges us, convinces us, and eventually changes us.  We become people of grace!

A natural outflow of truly experiencing grace in your own life is to develop the complimentary trait of being grateful.  This is because we are deeply affected by the grace of God - it touches us deeply and we have to give expression to things which touch us this deeply.  If we are in the habit of burying our emotions, this expression of gratitude might be just a little muted, but it is there, nonetheless.  The thing about gratitude is it is really an attitude - it is not something conjured up - it stems from within.  

Grace moves upon us - gratitude comes from within us.  It is the outflow of grace.  I think of this as grace priming the pump for a tremendous outflow of amazement, awe, and adoration.  Gratitude is the basis of worship - for we truly don't worship what we are not thankful for in our lives.  Don't believe me?  Let someone take away that ONE thing in your physical environment which you take such delight in.  It might be the best mattress you have ever slept on, the nicest car you have driven, or perhaps the biggest TV you have ever watched.  Now, it is gone.  How'd ya sleep?  Did you enjoy getting to work quite as much on the bike as you did in the car?  Did the game seem as exciting when you had to listen to it on a radio?  Gratitude is the basis of worship - not that I am saying we should worship ANYTHING in our physical environment, but it helps to make my point.  We appreciate what we have, so when it is gone, we mourn its loss (we don't have an attitude of gratitude).

Gratitude is the basis of worship in our spiritual lives - based on the actions of grace in our lives.  They go hand-in-hand.  God moves upon us, we experience his movement - the "outflow" should be gratitude.  Yet some of us have a tough time with this trait - our attitude kind of stinks.  We get into this issue of "comparing" ourselves with others and when we see they "get" something better than we do, or seem to be "getting along" better, we get a little down in the dumps.  This is the sad thing about comparing - it changes our attitude toward what it is we DO have!  Maybe this is why Paul tells us we have to "cultivate" this attitude of gratitude - it takes effort to maintain our focus on what God is doing in US and not looking to what he is doing in OTHERS!  Just as important as it is for us to not just go our own way and do our own thing, it is equally important for us to not be looking with envy upon what another person has, is experiencing, or has come through.

It is a narrow line between envy and encouragement.  I can be encouraged by your blessing, but the very moment I begin to cross-over into the space where I start to wonder "why not me", I move into envy.  Envy destroys gratitude, and it limits the actions of grace in our lives.  It is to be guarded against - this is why Paul tells the Galatian church to "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."  (Galations 6:4-5 MSG)  This is the crux of the matter - gratitude focuses on the grace we have been given, sinking deeply into the place of appreciating even the smallest hint of its work, and then enjoying it with all the gusto we have.  Yep, we can be excited about what God is doing in the lives of others - in fact, we are told to celebrate with them.  We just need to guard carefully our tendency to then drift into comparing what God is doing there with what he is doing in us!

Grace is undeserved - gratitude is an expression of awe at receiving something other than what we deserved!  Just sayin!

Unlimited spending!!!!

My daughter recently posted a silly little question on Facebook.  She asked why she could not have unlimited spending at two of her favorite shopping hangouts.  One of her friends posted back:  "Well, the Bible says, 'Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together and running over.'  Start buying me lots of stuff and you will be crazy blessed!"  Now, I know this was a humorous response to silly question, but I liked the idea it prompted in my mind about today's blog!  

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out.  Is there anyone around who can explain God?  Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?  Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him;  Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise!   Yes. Yes. Yes. (Romans 11:33-36 The Message)

Paul challenges us with this question:  Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God?  If we really begin to consider this, we probably all would find we have so much in the way of "riches" right in our own possession and we either don't see them, or we have been taking them for granted all this time.  The immediate blessing which comes to mind is the incredibly unfathomable acceptance of each of us into the family of God.  I am not from royalty, but I have been adopted into a family of incredible royalty!  Now, there's a blessing to consider!

What about the blessings of our ability to do simple tasks which we take for granted so very often?  Things like brushing our teeth, combing our hair, and buttoning our own clothing.  As a nurse, I have seen thousands over the years lose this very ability - through the effects of crippling arthritis, spinal cord injuries, or neurological assaults on the brain.  We just don't know what a blessing it is to be able to complete these simple tasks until we find ourselves unable to do them!

So, now that you have thought of a few blessings you maybe take for granted, let's look at what else Paul says here.  He tells us we'll never figure out God.  Well, I am no rocket scientist, but I'd agree with him whole-heartedly on this point!  Try as I might, God's wisdom, grace, and unconditional love are unfathomable to me!  Everything comes from him.  Everything happens through him.  Everything ends in him.  Everything!  

All we "possess".  All which seemingly just "happens" in our day.  All is a result of him being the Lord of our lives.  Nothing is by our own creation - we are impossible of creation without him.  Nothing is by our own efforts - he gives us the breath and strength to undertake the task at hand.  

When we stop to consider God, we think of one word:  Everything.

When we stop to consider what we are without God, we think of one word:  Nothing.

So, if I want "everything" - I am really saying I want more of God!  

Now, it may not be unlimited spending at my favorite shopping hangout, but it is much more fulfilling than a new pair of jeans!  So, before we start wishing for more of what we "think" we need, maybe we should start asking for more of what we "really" need!  God is never more honored than when we bring our need to him.  It is in the acknowledging of our dependence upon him that he is brought honor.  

Apart from God, we really possess nothing.  In God, we are blessed with and through everything!  It is not just what we possess, but what possesses us!  God's greatest glory is not found in us figuring him out - - it is in us honoring him with our obedience and love!  Our "unlimited spending" is really most rewarding when it is in the courts of God.