30 Day Journey of Gratitude - Day 9

Psalm 107:1-3 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. (KJV)

Are you familiar with this church call and response: GOOD IS GOOD!!! All the time. ALL THE TIME!! God is Good.  The design of this call and response is so that for a few moments in the midst of whatever is going on the worshippers stop and acknowledge that God is Good. 

The 107^th Psalm exhorts the nation of Israel and us to give thanks to the Lord because He is good, and His mercy endures forever.  The psalmist encourages the children of Israel to remember all that God had done for them. 

We, like the children of Israel, must remember what God has done for us.  Do you remember when God set you free? Can you remember a time when you were hungry, and he fed you? What about the time when you didn’t know how you were going to survive, you not only survived but you thrived.  Remember the time that you needed God to move in your circumstances and he did? What about the time that you didn’t know how you were going to make ends meet?

If you stop and think about your life and all the ways that God delivered, provided, and circumvented disasters; gratitude begins to well up on the inside.  When you take the time to remember what God did doesn’t the heaviness began to lift?  J Moss says

There’s a praise on the inside

That I can’t keep to my self

A holler stirring up

From the depths of my soul

So excuse me if I seem a little giddy

Or maybe even strange

But praise is the way I say thanks

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Father, thank you that you are so good and that your love never runs out, it endures forever. Lord help me move to a place that gratitude is expressed and not just felt.  Lord, I am redeemed and I want my inside praise to translate to a holler from the depths of my soul. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN

30 Day Journey of Gratitude - Day 8

Jonah 1: 17, 2:9-10 17The Eternal didn’t let Jonah die. He chose a large fish to swallow Jonah; for three days and three nights the prophet Jonah sat safely inside the belly of this fish. … But I will sing to You and sacrifice to You with a voice filled with thanksgiving; Whatever I promised, I will certainly pay it because deliverance is from the Eternal alone. 10Then the Eternal One directed the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the shore. (The Voice Bible)

Even in our disobedience to God, He continually works to get us to the point of aligning ourselves with Him.  Jonah was chosen by God to be a prophetic messenger to the people of Nineveh. Jonah, knowing of God’s nature to be merciful and forgiving was reluctant to give the word because he knew if the people repented God would relent. Because of God’s nature, Jonah chose to not go to Nineveh.

Because of Jonah’s disobedience, he put not only his life but the lives of an entire ship in jeopardy as a storm came that they could not maneuver through or around. When the crew determined that it was because of Jonah and that they were powerless to resist God and get to safety, they threw Jonah overboard. One Jonah was overboard the storm ceased the ship was safe.

God in his mercy did not allow Jonah to die, he had a large fish to swallow Jonah. For three days and night Jonah was in the belly of the Fish. In Chapter two Jonah recounts the details of his adventure once thrown overboard. He recounted the near drowning, the sense of being imprisoned, and the sense of hopelessness and then he remembered the Lord and prayed.

Thankfulness comes from remembering God’s loving-kindness. Once we remember, we should as Jonah, sing and sacrifice to God filled with thanksgiving.  This heart of gratitude should also give us an urgency about fulfilling our vows and commitments to God.

For Jonah, he got to the point that he was worshipping God with a grateful heart from the belly of the fish. From a place of gratitude, he acknowledged that salvation comes from God and vowed to fulfill all that he had promised God he would do.  At that point, God released him from his confinement.

1.      Are there areas of your life where you are resistance to God’s way, will, or word?

2.      What storms are you facing that is negatively impacting you and others because of your choices?

3.      What provisions have God used to protect you so that you can come to your senses/

4.      How can remembering God goodness to you and your becoming grateful change your situation?

Father God, you who are merciful, loving and kind, forgive me for my acts of rebellion against you. Thank you for the places though, uncomfortable, that you have prepared to sustain my life as I get to the place that I can remember your goodness and cry out to you with a heart filled with gratitude. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!!

30 Day Journey of Gratitude - Day 7

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

For many of us the political and socioeconomic conditions are at the least disconcerting and for others, it is devasting and demoralizing.  When we look at the political landscape some are hopeless and have given up on the political process. Still others are so are so enmeshed with their political party that they operate as groupthink, carried along with the group thought without thinking, evaluating, or contending with positions that are inconsistent with the word of God.

So, the question is how do we negotiate these disconcerting, devastating and demoralizing times? According to the scripture, we negotiate these times by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.  This prescriptive is like a recipe.  Each ingredient is necessary to get the desired results.  If you leave out an ingredient you don’t get the desired results.

I backed a carrot cake once and forgot to add the eggs.  There were several issues with the cake because of it.  One, the cake did not rise. Secondly, it did not hold together, it fell apart when handled. And finally, the flavors did not blend. You could taste the baking powder, the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The cake wasn’t palatable.   Eggs provide structure, leavening, richness, color, and flavor to baked products. The height and texture of baked goods is determined by the balance between eggs and flour which provide strength, and sugar and fat which add tenderness.

Just as eggs have a function in baking a cake, thankfulness has a function in our quelling our anxieties and ushering us into the peace of God.  It is from that place of thanksgiving that we can tell God about our situations and circumstances in faith.  The ability to remember and thank God for what he has done, assures us that God can and will answer prayer.  David had the courage to fight Goliath because he remembered that God gave him the lion and the bear. Therefore, David had confidence that God would give him the uncircumcised Philistine.

Father help me remember the ingredient of thanksgiving. As I let thanksgiving shape my worries into prayers thank you for the sense of wholeness and peace overshadowing me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN

30 Day Journey of Gratitude - Day 6

Psalm 69:30-33 The name of the True God will be my song, an uplifting tune of praise and thanksgiving! My praise will please the Eternal more than if I were to sacrifice an ox or the finest bull. (Horns, hooves, and all!) Those who humbly serve will see and rejoice! All you seekers-after-God will revive your souls! The Eternal listens to the prayers of the poor and has regard for His people held in bondage. (The Voice Bible)

There are times in our lives when it feels like we have been forgotten by God, abandoned by family, kicked to the curb by friends, and overcome and overtaken by your enemies.  It is easy to fall into this place of woe is me. But David shows us once again how to glorify God in our suffering.

In this Psalm of Lament, David complains to God about his enemies. He points out to God all the false witnesses. David recounts all the insults. He shares his sense of abandonment by his friends and family.  David even endured poisoning. After reciting all of his pain and asking God to take out those who brought on the pain and persecution, David turned not to complain, but to lift up a tune of thanksgiving to God.

In this song of thanksgiving, David acknowledged that his praise would please God more than his sacrifice of the choicest bull. David shifted his focus from his pain and misery to praising God.  His focus shifted to what would please God.

David teaches us that we can acknowledge our situations. We don’t have to mask them from God. We don’t have to pretend with God that we are “Blessed and highly favored.” We can be real and raw with God.  David teaches us we can’t stay in that place of despair, that we have to move from focusing on our pain/pleasure to desiring to honor and please God.

Father, so often I come to you and list all my grievances and concerns and telling you my desires in situations but I never acknowledge that you are the source of all my comfort. There are times that I come to you and fake the praise, but I hurt so bad that I feel like I am just going through the motions. Help me be real, authentic, and transparent with you. Then Lord, help me to be like David to get to the place that I please you as I move to the sacrifice of thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name AMEN

30 Day Journey of Gratitude - Day 5

Psa 50:13-15, 23  Do you really think I eat bull meat? Or drink goat’s blood? Set out a sacrifice I can accept: your thankfulness. Be true to your word to the Most High. When you are in trouble, call for Me. I will come and rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Set out a sacrifice I can accept: your thankfulness. Do this, and you will honor Me. Those who straighten up their lives will know the saving grace of God." (The Voice Bible)

So often we act as though our service to God is all that we should do.  We act as if our obligatory sacrifices is all that we need to do to honor God.   When we offer anything to God, be it our tithes and offering, our service, or even our church attendance from the posture of duty, bargaining, or self-righteousness God is not honored or pleased.

We often seek favor with God by the outward things we do. We only deceive ourselves when we think our perfunctory “Practices and Performance” are pleasing to God.  When we operate in this level of deception we measure our spirituality by how much we give, how often we attend church, etc. While we should not minimize and belittle these things, they are not the measuring rod. 

The thing that God wants is not our material sacrifices, but rather, a heart that is filled with thanksgiving. In today’s text, God asks do you really think that I consume your sacrifices? The sacrifice he desires is a sacrifice of thanksgiving, an offering given from a joyful heart because you recognize and acknowledge that all that you have is a gift from Him. When we get to that point being true to our promise or commitment to God will become second nature. 

When we give the sacrifice of thanksgiving this text promise three things: we will truly honor God, when we call on God in our troubles he will come and rescue us, and we will know the saving grace of God.

Gracious Lord, today I come to you with a heart of thanksgiving.  I am grateful for all that you have done for me. When I look back over my life and all you have done for me my soul cries out Hallelujah – Thanks you Lord. AMEN.

30 Day Journey of Gratitude Day 3

Psa 26:6-8 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth. 

This Psalm is believed to be a song written by David as he was preparing to make a sacrifice to The Lord in the midst of a personal attack. In this Psalm, David simultaneously asks God to declare his innocence, affirms his personal integrity, and worships God with a grateful heart.  In verse 6 David washes his hand, which is either a ritual of purification or an act of declaring his innocence. Either way, it was preparations for David to enter the Sanctuary and encompass the altar.  This process of preparation and sanctification allowed David to worship from an unfettered soul.  Without restraint or inhibition, David positions himself to proclaim with a voice of thanksgiving, all the wonderful works of the Lord. 

Sometimes the hardest thing to do in life is to be grateful to God when we are being attacked.  We become consumed both with the attack and the attacker.  It is difficult to think about anything else. Gratitude is the farthest thing from our minds.  David, however, shows us how to move from self-absorption to an attitude of gratitude to a heart filled with love for the Lord and his house.

Let's evaluate our actions and involvement in current issues that rob us of gratitude.  Can we wash our hands in innocency so that we can come boldly to the Lord? If we cannot, what things do we need to ask for forgiveness? Is it possible to move from a place of clean hands and a pure heart to the proclamation of God’s goodness from the depths of one's soul?

Gracious and Eternal God help become so attuned to you that I like David can have clean hands and a pure heart that will allow me to proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving all of your wondrous works. In Jesus’ name AMEN

                                                                                                                                             

30 Day Journey of Gratitude Day 2

Ezra 3:10-12  And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.  But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 

Personal coaches, counselors, and therapists are instructing their clients to become and remain fully present.  To be fully engaged at the moment means you can neither be overly enamored with the past nor too preoccupied with the future. If either of these things takes place you diminish the impact of the present moment.

 In this pericope of scripture, the children of Israel return to Jerusalem to a destroyed temple after more than 50 years in captivity. Overcoming their fear of the inhabitants of the land, they worked to reinstate the ritual of worship.  The Israelites hired builders who laid the foundation of the temple. With vested priests and Levites leading the people in praise and thanksgiving because of the accomplishment. BUT the older priests remembered the former temple and in their eyes, the new was nothing in comparison to the former temple. So, the old priest wept.

 The older priest remembered the “Good Ole Days”. The “Good Ole Days’ mentality hinders present day thanksgiving.  The older priest viewed the past through a romanticized memory that magnified the splendors as they looked back. The romanticized, magnified, and embellished memory of the former thing cause the older priest to miss the joy and gratitude of the present.

 The secret of an attitude of gratitude and a heart of thanksgiving is an interest in the present, with the forward glance of faith and hope. Looking back with wishful thinking, crying over spilled milk, and reminiscing about the past steals from the present and kills forward momentum.

• What memories do you need to let go so that you are grateful for God's goodness? 
• What comparisons do you need to end to enjoy God's provisions?
• How have your memories impacted your present situation negatively? And what are you doing about it?

 Gracious Father, you are good, and your mercy endureth forever!! Forgive me for the times I missed the opportunity to praise you for what you did because I was looking back through rose-colored glasses. Help me fully engage in the present with a forward glance of faith and hope for the future. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!!

30 Day Journey of Gratitude

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. Leviticus 7:11-15

When was the last time you brought God a special offering from a grateful heart? In this text, God gives a prescriptive for bringing an offering of Thanksgiving.  First, the offering was a freewill offering, it was not the tithe or a mandatory offering. It was an offering coming from a grateful heart for what God had already done. 2^nd this offering was one that persons making the sacrifice could partake of and even invite friends to partake of the meat of the sacrifice. 3^rd, the sacrifice was not an afterthought or haphazardly done. This offering took planning, preparation, and presentation. Not only was the animal that was to be sacrificed brought, but along with it was four different types of bread. In those days they didn’t run to the corner store to get some bread.  The grain was gathered and made into flour. Three of the bread were unleavened one of which was made with fine flour and fried. The fourth was made with yeast so it had to rise before it was baked. The Thanksgiving offering was a time of celebration and fellowship not only with God, but with one's family, friends, and even the poor that overflowed from a heart of Thanksgiving.

How would your life be different if you were intentional about bringing God a well-planned, excellently prepared, and exquisitely presented offering of thanksgiving? This offering would be a public profession of your gratitude of how good God had been to you. Not only is public, but you have invited family and friends to celebrate with you. Could our intentional celebration of God’s goodness lift the weight of heaviness that sometimes overtakes us? Could it change our disposition?

Challenge: Look back over the last three months. What has God done for you that you are indeed grateful for, but you haven’t really thanked God for His Goodness? Now, plan, prepare and present to God an offering of Thanksgiving.

Lord, thank you for how good you have been to me. Forgive me for not planning, preparing, and presenting to you and appropriate sacrifice of thanksgiving that expresses not only my gratitude but my intentionality of not only saying showing you how grateful I am. Holy Spirit help me live fully present so that I do not miss or overlook one single blessing that the Lord has bestowed upon me. In Jesus’ Name AMEN