¹ Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. ² Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. ³ Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD. ⁴ Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him. ⁵ Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, ⁶ you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Psalm 105:1-6 (NLT)

We can never be reminded enough to give thanks to the Lord, proclaim His greatness, tell of His wonderful deeds, and seek Him. The world bombards me with information to process and issues to deal with. It holds innumerable bright shiny objects that catch my attention. It is so easy to go for hours without giving thanks, proclaiming God’s greatness, telling of His wonderful deeds or seeking Him. I don’t think it’s meant to be that way!

Lord, let all that comes into my life be a catalyst for turning to You!

I want to turn to Him when I’m frustrated. I want to turn to Him when I’m rejoicing. I want to turn to Him when I experience sadness. I want to turn to Him when I experience love.

How do you do it? What prompts you to turn to the Lord? I’ve found two mainstays that keep me returning to Him: habit and triggers.

Habits are not bad things – when the habits are good ones. Aristotle said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I want to be in the habit of turning to God in all circumstances. To develop and strengthen the habit, I must repeat it regularly. That’s where triggers come in.

My computer hasn’t been acting quite like as peppy as it should lately. Today I growled at it as I took the monitor in both hands and mimicked shaking it! Just about that time, one of my very favorite worship songs played in my Pandora playlist. (Thank You, Lord.) I immediately went from frustration to worship. As I type the previous sentence, I first typed “I immediately transitioned from frustration to worship.” Nope. There was no transition. I simply let go of my monitor and raised my arms in praise (while in the back of my mind wondering what my employee must be thinking of such inconsistent behavior). Needless to say, worship music is a trigger that causes me to praise God.

What makes you turn to praise? It might be a picture, a person, a piece of jewelry, a sound, a knickknack, a sensation – anything that breaks you free from focusing on the world’s agenda to focusing on God’s.

Let’s brainstorm some unlikely triggers. It might take a little work for you to develop these circumstances into triggers that cause you to praise God, but I know it can be done.

• Your child – especially when he or she is coming to you with the hundredth challenge of the day. Can you learn to thank God for your child – and the wonderful things God’s done in your life through that child – each time he or she comes to you throughout the day? What kind of difference would that make in your life? Even more important, what kind of difference would that make in your child’s life?
• Pain – I shattered my elbow about twenty years ago. God did a miraculous work putting it back together. Yet after working on a computer an average of ten hours a day since the accident, I’ve begun to have pain more regularly than I’d like. Can I learn to remember God’s tremendous goodness to me each time my elbow twinges? I believe I can. I just need a little reminding from time to time.
• Frustration – I am guessing that your weeks are filled with regular frustration – situations that repeat themselves daily or weekly that cause you frustration. Can you find the good in the situation and praise God for it? As I age, there are a number of things that frustrate me that never hit my radar when I was younger. Either they didn’t exist or they were so minor they didn’t bother me (or dare I say that my tolerance of some things seems to diminish as I grown older). I try to turn those things around. My husband and I frequently look at each other and say “we’re achieving our lifelong goal!” What we’re referring to is that when we were young we regularly told one another that we wanted to grow old together. Lord – You have done great things in my life. Thank you for allowing me to grow old with my husband. (OK, let me set the record straight…I’m not old yet…but I sure seem to be getting there faster than I used to!)
• Bills – Thank You Lord, that you have provided in my life so faithfully. Business has had its ups and downs, but You have been faithful. The various bills we have are a direct result of God providing abundantly. My mortgage payment comes from owning a home (OK, buying a home – I don’t own it yet). Having electric bills means I have electricity. My telephone bills are the result of living in a time when I can immediately contact loved ones and friends.
• Taxes – While we don’t enjoy paying taxes, Phil and I have always said that paying more in taxes means we made more money last year. Thank You, Lord. And thank You for the protection and services that are provided to me by my government.
• Interruptions – Are you convinced the Lord is in control of your day? He has allowed the interruption – what do you think His purpose for it is? I can’t answer that question, but I do know it isn’t to cause us to grumble and complain!

These may be unlikely triggers, but when we learn to use them as reminders to praise God – to tell ourselves and others about His wonderful deeds, to sing His praises and exult His Name – our lives will be transformed and our God will be honored. A Psalm comes to mind:

 Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise.
Psalm 90:12 (NCV)

Our lives are too short to let the frustrations of life pull us from the goodness of God and the life He’s given us. What negative triggers are you going to turn into praise this week?

Resting at the River’s Edge provides an opportunity to participate in reading through the Bible in a systematic way. Here’s more details about the plan and our schedules.

Track your reading along with us using the table below, the downloadable half-page PDF or the May/June bookmark.

Share what God is teaching you with otherse. E-mail me, leave a message on the Apprehending Grace Facebook page, or post a comment at the end of any blog.

Enjoy God as you watch spring unfold!
Sandy

Download All 2012 Bookmarks Here

Download a Half-Page PDF of the May Reading Plan Here

Here’s May’s reading plan:

“I began to wonder whether I ought to go just then during business hours,” he latter reported. “And I thought maybe my mission might embarrass the boy, that when I went away the other clerks might ask who I was, and when they learned, might taunt [him] and ask if I was trying to make a good boy out of him. Then, I decided to make a dash for it and have it over at once.”

Can you sense Mr. Kimball’s insecurity from his own words? He later described himself as having made a rather anemic presentation of the gospel with the young man. But the boy was ready. God had been working on him.

That young man’s name was Dwight L. Moody.

I see several things in this story…

• We never know what is in another person’s heart or when they are ready
• Trust the Spirit’s prompting
• Believe that God is going to use you!

Dwight Moody was holding a meeting in the late 1870′s at Lake Forest College in a suburb of Chicago. After the service, he counseled a student who was struggling with the assurance of his salvation. That young man later became a friend and co-laborer with Dwight Moody.

That man was J. Wilbur Chapman.

Mr. Chapman was an evangelist like Dwight Moody and later hired a young man to assist him in his ministry.  That man was an former baseball player who had come to know Christ at a city mission in Chicago.

The man was Billy Sunday.

Billy Sunday was saved in 1887. Many years later he told the story like this:

“Twenty-seven years ago I walked down a street in Chicago in company with some ball players who were famous in this world … and we went into a saloon. It was Sunday afternoon and we got tanked up and then went and sat down on a corner. … Across the street a company of men and women were playing on instruments – horns, flutes and slide trombones – and the others were singing the gospel hymns that I used to hear my mother sing back in the log cabin in Iowa and back in the old church where I used to go to Sunday school.

“And God painted on the canvas of my recollection and memory a vivid picture of the scenes of other days and other faces.

“Many have long since turned to dust. I sobbed and sobbed and a young man stepped out and said, ‘We are going down to the Pacific Garden Mission. Won’t you come down to the mission? I am sure you will enjoy it. You can hear drunkards tell how they have been saved and girls tell how they have been saved from the red-light district.’

“I arose and said to the boys, ‘I’m through. I am going to Jesus Christ.”

His story tells me some things:

• God uses seeds planted in our childhood.
• God used the Christians playing various instruments and singing on a street corner to touch long-overlooked memories.
• God used the gentle boldness, enthusiasm and compassion of some unknown person to bring Billy Sunday to the mission and another nameless person in history to bring Billy Sunday to Christ.

Billy Sunday became a well-known evangelist. He held a series of evangelistic meetings in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1924.

Out of those meeting an organization of businessmen with a heart for evangelism was formed.

This group held an all day prayer meeting in the cow pasture of William and Morrow Graham. During that prayer meeting, someone prayed “Lord, raise up a man out of Charlotte, North Carolina, who will preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”

That summer the businessmen invited an evangelist named Mordecai Ham to hold evangelistic meetings in their town. During those meetings, a young man came forward and accepted Christ.

That man was Billy Graham, the oldest son of William and Morrow Graham.

Lots of Names, One Theme
Well, I’ve just thrown a lot of names and details at you, but the theme is that history full of people – people just like you and me – whom God has used in extraordinary ways.

Beginning with Mr. Kimball – he was a Sunday School teacher of teenage boys,  and by his own admission his presentation of the gospel was pretty weak – but God used him to bring one of the greatest evangelists of all time to the Lord, Dwight Moody. But Mr. Kimball’s influence didn’t end there. There is a direct line of influence from Dwight Moody all the way down to Billy Graham. And of course the influence continues. Billy Graham’s son Franklin leads an organization called Samaritan’s Purse that provides food, clothing, shelter and medicine to people in need all over the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that thousands, perhaps millions of people have been impacted by this ministry.

And we can trace it back to Edward Kimball, a Sunday School teacher in a church in Boston. And we can trace it back to a young man who struggled to believe Scripture that says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9)

And we can trace it back to men and women who played instruments and sang gospel songs on a street corner where drunk ball players took a break from their drinking.

And we can trace it back to some businessmen who attended an all-day prayer meeting.

We can even trace it back to that one individual who boldly prayed “Lord raise up a man out of Charlotte, North Carolina, who will preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.”

The thing that stands out so clearly to me from all of this is that within this chain of historic events there are a number of Christians who had large ministries that were used by God to sweep multitudes into His kingdom, and there were a number of ordinary Christians who faithfully lived out their calling and obediently ministered to the few whom God put in their path. The chain of events would have broken down without the obedient and faithful action of the ordinary Christians. While Edward Kimball and the slide trombone player on the Chicago street corner were never called by God to have a worldwide ministry like that of Dwight Moody or Billy Graham, both of those great evangelists can trace their spiritual ancestry back to those faithful Christian workers.

God has a plan for each one of us. Scripture makes that clear in both the Old and New Testaments.

Jeremiah 1:5 (God is speaking to Jeremiah) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

There was nothing extraordinarily special about Jeremiah. What God did for Jeremiah, He has done for each of us – not necessarily calling us to be prophets to the nation, but creating us for a purpose.

The Psalmist wrote this awesome passage that has the same message:

¹³    For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

¹⁵    My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place.
    When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶    Your eyes saw my unformed body.
    All the days ordained for me
    were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139: 13-16

The message is repeated in the New Testament:

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

God has worked in your history, setting things in motion, preparing you and preparing the world in which you live, for the good works that He’s called you to.

That’s an important sentence. God has worked in your history, setting things in motion, preparing you and preparing the world in which you live, for the good works that He’s called you to.

So, everyone in that chain of history that began with Edward Kimball and ended with Billy and Franklin Graham stepped up to the plate to swing at the pitch God threw them. They had given their time and their talents to God. Instead of staying home and watching the latest episode of their must-see-TV, they spent all day in prayer. Instead of going out drinking with his buddies, Billy Sunday said “Today, I’m going to Jesus.”

I want to encourage each of us to get in the game. Let’s not be satisfied with life as we know it, but allow God to use us in ways that leave a lasting impact on this world.

I want to see God move. I’m not going to see it without getting in the game. I’m not going to see my community won to Christ by just going to church every Sunday. I’m not going to see men and women grow in their faith by just enjoying fellowship with other believers. I’m not dissing those things. Both are very important. But we can’t change the world without being in it and being purposeful in it.

What has to change for you and me to accomplish the purposes that God has prepared in advance for us to do? Here are some ideas:

• Believe that God wants to use us
• Change our patterns and schedules
• Know what He has called us to
• Step out in faith, even when we don’t have all the answers

A Final Encouragement

Phil 1:4, 6 “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God will bring the work He’s started to completion, but we have a role to play. Your role may be large, but more likely it will be small. You may not be used by God to lead thousands to Christ, but you may be used by God to lead the world’s next great evangelist to Christ. You are a part of God’s chain of events in human history.

Others can’t keep us from accomplishing the things God has ordained for us to do, but we can. We can step out of the chain of events and not have that impact that God wants us to have. God will still accomplish His purposes on earth…He’ll just use someone else. Don’t let someone else receive the blessing of serving God that He has set aside for you. Get in the game. Step up to the plate. Start today!

Resting at the River’s Edge provides an opportunity to participate in reading through the Bible in a systematic way. We’re following a two year plan (2012 and 2013) that has us reading the New Testament each year and the Old Testament stretched over the two years. Each month our reading plans also provide a column titled “Additional.” This column provides readings that will allow you to read through the entire Bible (that is, the complete Old and New Testaments) during the year 2012.

Join the conversation as we read together each month. E-mail me, leave a message on the Apprehending Grace Facebook page, or post a comment at the end of any blog. God has treasures for each of us as we read. Let’s share them!

Also, NEW in 2012 are our RARE bookmarks. Click on the link below to download them. Each bookmark provides two months of Resting at the River’s Edge reading schedules and is great for tracking your readings. (We found an “oops” in the bookmarks we uploaded last month – we forgot to include Feb 29 in the schedule. The bookmarks have been updated to reflect the additional day we get this year.)

Use the tracking method that works best for you – the schedule provided in this blog, the downloadable half-page PDF or bookmark. All provide the same schedule.

I pray that you enjoy your time with God as you read each day.
Sandy

Here’s March’s reading plan:

“Lord, it’s a day of big requests in my world, but I know that you are still in Your heaven and because of that, it is well with my soul.”

The verse comes from Psalm 115 and I’ve sometimes been disquieted by it:

²    Why do the nations say,
     “Where is their God?”

³    Our God is in heaven;
     he does whatever pleases him.
Psalm 115:2-3 (NIV)

When life seems to be falling apart, we are tempted to lay the disasters at the feet of God. Does what has just happened please God? What kind of God is pleased with such things? Can such a God really be good?

I am thankful that I came to the Lord in my early twenties – it gave me the opportunity to become well-grounded in the confidence of God’s goodness before the challenges of my life became overwhelming. You may or may not be in that situation – like my friend having heart surgery, perhaps you have recently come to the Lord and are facing serious situations. Let me reassure you of two things:

God is still in heaven and He does whatever pleases Him.

What pleases God is always for our ultimate good.

Let’s look at a couple of verses that tell us what pleases God.

¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Christ], ²⁰and through [Christ] God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Col 1:19 (NIV), 1:20 (NRSV)

It pleased God to have all His fullness dwell in Christ – even though Christ would come to earth and live as a human, never sin and yet submit to die a tortured death. How can that please God? Verse 20 answers that question. Scripture doesn’t say that God was pleased that Christ was crucified. It says He was pleased to reconcile all things to Himself through the blood of Christ. There is a big difference.

Crucifying Christ was a sinful act. God takes no pleasure in sin. What pleases God is our reconciliation with Him. Without the fullness of God dwelling in Christ, He could not have lived that perfect, sinless life. His death would not have been the acceptable sacrifice which reconciled us to God. So God was pleased to have His fullness dwell in Christ.

God does whatever pleases Him. What pleases Him is to make a way for us to spend eternity with Him.

A few verses later we learn something else that pleases God.

²⁷For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.
Col 1:27 (NLT)

It pleases God to share the riches and glory of Christ not only with the Jews, but also with the Gentiles. It pleases God to share the secrets of salvation with the world.

God is in heaven, and He does what pleases Him. It pleases Him to make the gift of salvation available to all people. “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16a) it pleased Him to make salvation available to all.

Let’s read the Apostle Paul’s testimony to learn more about what pleases God:

¹³You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted the Christians. I did my best to get rid of them. ¹⁴I was one of the most religious Jews of my own age, and I tried as hard as possible to follow all the old traditions of my religion.

¹⁵But then something happened! For it pleased God in his kindness to choose me and call me, even before I was born! What undeserved mercy! ¹⁶Then he revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.
Gal 1:13-16a (NLT)

It pleases God to show mercy to those who don’t deserve mercy. It pleases God to choose each of us and call each of us to know Him and serve Him. It pleases God to reveal His Son to each of us so that we can partner with Him in sharing the Good News.

God is still in His heaven, and He still does what pleases Him. It pleases Him to show mercy. It pleases Him to reveal His Son to us.

I’m so very thankful I serve such a God. And I’m so very thankful He is STILL in His heaven and that He does whatever pleases Him.

⁴⁴By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. ⁴⁵The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart. ⁴⁶Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.
Luke 23:44-46 (NLT)

As I wrote in yesterday’s blog, as we studied the crucifixion in Bible study yesterday I learned two very special things. (Thanks, Phil, for the study you did on this passage. I was blessed by it.) Yesterday’s blessing was learning the story behind the word translated “paradise.” Today’s blessing is based on Jesus final earthly prayer. (I qualify it as His final “earthly” prayer because we know He sits at the right hand of God now constantly interceding for us.)

Chances are good when you were a child, you learned to repeat this common night-time prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Amen

The words are much like Jesus’ final prayer on the cross. Each night before going to sleep, those who recited the prayer were entrusting their spirit to the Lord. I never knew that this childhood prayer mirrored the Jesus’ last words on earth. Somehow that touched something deep inside me.

But what I learned next touched me even more. During the time that Jesus lived on this earth, Jewish mothers taught their children to say a pray before they went to sleep each night. The prayer was based on Psalm 31:5:

Into your hands I commit my spirit.
Psalm 31:5 (NIV)

Sound familiar? What that tells us is that as Jesus was dying, He prayed the prayer His human mother had taught Him – a prayer the young child Jesus He had undoubtedly prayed each night before He went to sleep. There was one difference this time, however. As Jesus died with that prayer on His lips, He added the word “Father.” He was “going home” to His Father. As He prayed the prayer He had learned from His mother He was entrusting His spirit into His Father’s hands. The man Jesus, who was also the Creator of the world, the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords, intermingled His humanness and deity as He prayed “Father, I entrust my spirit into Your hands.”

What a fitting final prayer! Showing His deep love for both His mother and His Father, it is a prayer that brings to the center both the humanity and deity of Christ. And it blows me away. The tenderness brings me to tears. The perfect “completion” that this prayer brings amazes me. I am sure that I am not adequately putting into words the fullness that comes from that simple prayer.

So as I did yesterday, I simply invite you to meditate on it for yourself. Think about the humanness of Jesus and the deity of Jesus…the little boy who was taught to pray by his mother, reciting a simple Psalm each night…the humble Son returning to His Father…the Reigning King who will one day return.

This child, Son and King invites us to walk in paradise with Him. Wow!

For the Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation.
Psalm 149:4 (NIV)

May we all humbly recognize our need for God as we close out 2011. When we come to Him in humility – recognizing His Lordship and asking Him to be Lord of our lives, He becomes not only Lord, but Savior.  He crowns us with salvation. Hallelujah!

If you have never humbled yourself before God, admitting that you have chosen paths that were contrary to His will for you – that you have sinned against Him – I encourage you to do so today. He is the One who created you, who loves you more than you can possibly imagine, who has put in your heart a longing that only He can fill, and who longs to fill that desire. He will give you the Kingdom of God in this life and eternity in the next.

The Good News of the Gospel message is this: While we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standards (Romans 3:23), God has rescued us from the penalty of our sins. That penalty is death, but God’s gift to us is ETERNAL LIFE  (Romans 6:23). The gift comes through the person Jesus Christ:

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8 (NLT)

That’s my favorite verse in the Bible. While I was still in rebellion to God, He sent Christ to pay the price for my rebellion – to take my place in death. While I was still railing against Him and others who believed in Him. That’s love beyond the love I know.

Scripture makes it clear that it’s God’s love for me and His grace – His free gift to me – that saves me. It’s not anything I’ve done to earn His love or my salvation. It’s His free gift to me that I accept through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

When we humble ourselves to admit that we cannot save ourselves and when we come into agreement with Scripture that we have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard, we can go to God in prayer and simply ask for Him to forgive us and to become Lord of our lives. At that point of humility, faith and trust, God crowns us with salvation – He saves us. Of course at that point, usually understand so little about faith and life with God. That’s OK. He understands us and takes that “childlike faith” and matures it and teaches us what it means to make Him Lord of our life. And what it means is a life that is so much richer than you can imagine. Jesus describes it this way:

My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.
John 10:10b (NLT)

Friends, if you have never trusted the Lord, if you have never received salvation from the only One who can give it, let me encourage you to do so today. There is no better way to begin 2012 than with new life!

Begin your new life with Him by reading His Word every day. Watch for our Resting at the River’s Edge reading schedule. We’ll post January’s schedule later today.

Praying God’s richest blessings for you and your family in 2012.

¹⁰His [God’s] pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;
¹¹the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Psalm 147

As I read this passage tonight, I was a bit taken aback. It says that God’s pleasure or delight is not in the characteristics of the things He has has created – the horse or man, for example. Rather, His pleasure and delight is in those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love.

I am utterly convinced that God takes great delight in me. He created me, just the way I am. He understands my weaknesses and doesn’t expect me to be someone I’m not. Simultaneously, He is always helping me become more than I am. And always, always, always, He is conforming me to the image of Christ.

There is no way in which I interpret this passage to mean that He takes no delight in me, who I am and what I do, even though that might seem what it says upon first reading it. You will find many places in Scripture where an exaggerated claim is made to make a point. In the book of Luke, Jesus said this:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26

Did Jesus really mean that we’re to hate our father and mother, wife (or husband) and children, brothers and sisters? Isn’t this the same Jesus that said we’re to love our enemies and the same God who said we’re to honor our father and mother? Yes it is. In this passage Jesus is using a strong word to help us understand that being a disciple means putting God first in all things, even before our own life.

Our key passage uses a similar technique. It is not saying that God does not take delight in who we are and how we were made. He does. But what He really delights is those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love.

What does this mean to my every day life? It means that no matter how successful I’ve been on a given day, no matter how well put together I am or how well my words came together to communicate my thoughts and purposes and plans, no matter…God delights in my love for Him. And when things fall apart, I have the awesome opportunity to put my hope not in my disintegrating plans or my ability to put humpty together again, but in the Lord and His unfailing love. It is an awesome opportunity because it is at those times when we are challenged not to despair but to rejoice in God’s goodness. Trusting in the unfailing love of God when things go wrong (and when things go right) delights the Creator of the Universe.

We don’t do it for our gain, but what do you think are the consequences of delighting the Father? They are only good things. Trusting in God’s unfailing love is the bedrock foundation of peace and joy.

As we close out 2011 and look toward 2012, let’s covenant to trust God more. Let’s agree together to delight the Father.

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, [says the Lord,]
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23

In yesterday’s blog, we learned that giving thanks opens the way for God to show us His salvation (Psalm 50:23)

 But how can such a simple discipline have such a huge impact?

Supernaturally, of course! But there is logic to it!

 When we give thanks, it is an acknowledgement to God and the world, that all that we have comes from the Hand of God. It reminds us that we’re not the source of all the good that happens in our lives. That brings us to a place of humility. And that’s like an insurance policy against pride.

Both James and Peter quote Proverbs 3:34 when they wrote “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

When we give thanks, then, we are nurturing our humility and God gives grace to the humble. Developing a thankful heart puts us in a position to receive God’s grace. God’s salvation is found in the grace that He pours out on the heart that is humble.

When we strengthen our muscle of thanksgiving, it shelters us from the sin of ingratitude. It shows that we don’t take God’s gifts for granted. The act of giving thanks keeps us from becoming ungrateful.

When we give thanks, we are reminding ourselves of God’s constant faithfulness in our lives and that builds our faith.

The Israelites were instructed again and again to REMEMBER what God had done and to give thanks for it. They were instructed to teach their children what God had done. Why? Because it built their faith. If God had parted the Red Sea to save them from the Egyptian army and sure defeat, he could be trusted to beat any current enemy they were facing. If He had provided manna in the desert and made bitter water pure, He could be trusted to provide food those things in their lives again.

When we give thanks, we are reminding ourselves of God’s faithfulness – and that brings hope and an expectation that what He has done in the past, He will do again in our present and in the future. I sure need that. I love the Lord and have faith that He is always with me, that all He does is for my good, that He will provide for my needs, that He will…you get the idea. Yet I sure need to remind myself of what he’s done in the past sometimes. When I’m tired or stressed or frustrated or discouraged or…again, you get the idea. At those times, my faith needs to be reminded that we’ve been here before and God has shown up in a mighty way. He always has. He always will.

There is at least one additional benefit of giving thanks – When we give thanks, we are being obedient to God.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thess 5:18 (NIV)

It doesn’t get much clearer than that – it is God’s will that we give thanks in all circumstances. Not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances. There are always things to give thanks for, even in the worst of circumstances. And when we find those things (especially in the worst of circumstances), we are humbling ourselves, we are honoring God, we are and we are putting ourselves in a position for God to show us His great salavation.

Just as the ten lepers were being obedient as they went to show themselves to the priest (Luke 17:11-19), when we give thanks, we are being obedient to what God has told us to do. And the faithful God that we serve will bless that thankfulness, just as he blessed the obedience of the lepers.

God doesn’t just tell us to do things on a whim – He tells us to do things that are for our good – to teach us to live a life that blesses Him and that He in turn can bless. He commands us to do things because they’re good for us! So when we give thanks, we experience blessings beyond simply the assurance of having been obedient.

Tomorrow’s blog – The High Cost of Not Giving Thanks!

Let’s start with a story from Jesus’ life.

       ¹¹Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
     ¹⁴When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
     ¹⁷Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you whole.”
Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)

As they were going – they were cleansed.

But one man, after being cleansed returned to Jesus and gave thanks. Jesus said to this man “your faith has made you whole.”

Notice the difference in the words used in this passage – ten men were cleansed; only one man was made whole.

There’s a difference between being cleansed and being made whole. The word translated “made whole,” – sodzo – means so much more than cleansed. It means “made whole in mind, body and spirit.” It is translated throughout the New Testament as “save” or “saved.”

An Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and used the word in this passage:

^20b “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save (sodzo) his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20b-21 (NIV)

It doesn’t just mean cleansed from the disease of leprosy, it means made fully whole – spiritually healed as well as physically and emotionally.

What was it that made him whole – that saved him? Jesus said it was the man’s faith. When the word is translated more fully, the phrase would read “your reliance on Christ” has made you whole.”

But what about the other nine? Did they not rely on Christ? It would seem not. It would seem that somewhere between Jesus saying “go, show yourselves to the priests” and the one man returning to give thanks the nine didn’t make the faith connection.

• Maybe they simply rushed past the event in their excitement of being healed and didn’t recognize that it was Christ who did the healing.
• Maybe they thought it was a crazy coincidence.
• Maybe they attributed the healing to their obedience instead of God’s hand. Now I don’t doubt that their obedience impacted their healing, but if their attitude was “I was healed because I was obedient,” that’s not faith – it’s not relying on Christ to be made whole.

This passage only identifies one man as having made whole and that’s the man who returned to give thanks to Jesus. I don’t want to stretch Scripture too far, but what I see is a direct connection between an attitude of gratefulness and being made whole. Don’t misunderstand me – it is our faith in Christ – our reliance on Him – that saves us. Rather, the direct connection I’m making is that somehow, gratefulness, being thankful, changes our heart and puts us in a better position to receive God’s great gift of salvation.

Check out this verse:

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, [says the Lord,]
and he prepares the way
so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23

Wow! Scripture says that giving thanks, prepares the way for God to show us His salvation. I love this verse. It has such significance.

• Do you need physical healing? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need emotional healing? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need rescuing from your enemies? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Do you need to experience the presence of God? Has He seemed distance? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Are you looking for a way to stay Christ-focused this Christmas? Offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

In all cases it honors God and prepares the way so that He may show you His salvation – healing of mind, body and spirit.

Practice it today – give thanks. Then practice it tomorrow. And the next day and the next day and the next day. Develop a lifestyle of honoring God by giving thanks and He will show you His salvation in greater and greater ways.

Be blessed as you bless God, friends.

Tomorrow’s blog – More about how giving thanks opens the way for God to show us His salvation!