Backward and Forward

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

During the week of Thanksgiving, our nation pauses. Most businesses and schools close. Kids come home from school with Pilgrim artwork, black buckled hats, and stories of Squanto. There will be much turkey, pumpkin pie, and football. There may even be some giving of thanks.

I don’t mean just being “thankful,” i.e., a generic, warm and fuzzy, slightly guilty awareness that we live pretty well. This day provides a great opportunity to ponder a direct object for the transitive verb to thank. Thanking Somebody who makes good things happen is learned behavior, like telling the truth, like honoring a promise, like staying faithful to a flawed spouse even when it’s hard, like sticking to a job and finishing it.

The Bible helps us with deep insights into cause and effect in our lives. Are our treasures the result of our hard labor? . . . of blind, random luck? . . . of destiny or kismet or accumulated karma? No, actually not. Everything good in our lives comes as a result of direct intervention by a loving Creator and by a Redeemer who loves to do good things for his children. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (i.e., the stars)” (James 1:17).

Do you have time this week to take inventory of the treasures in your life? As you look backward and thank your Benefactor, has it occurred to you that you can look forward with the same gratitude and joyful anticipation? The One who made your past better is already planting gifts in your future.

Thanksgiving Means Thanking One Another Too

Romans 16:3-4  Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

We are born, all of us, with GDD--Gratitude Deficit Disorder. The notion that everything good in our lives was given by a gracious God has to be revealed to us. Without that critically important information from the Bible, we would live in the delusion that we made everything ourselves, or worse, that we were at the mercy of the gods of luck.

Learning to say thank you to other people is also learned behavior. We see ingratitude in our children and work hard to teach them how to show appreciation. We make them write thank-you notes to their grandparents for birthday gifts. But let’s not assume that we grown-ups are totally healed. We can be terrible takers too.

St. Paul’s letters are masterpieces and models of GDD therapy. The opening words of each are full of praises and thanks to God. But the final verses usually carry his heartfelt words of appreciation to the people whose sacrifices, hard work, and passion made possible a community of faith (Romans 16:3-4).

How many people have you thanked this week? Does your church have a thanking culture? Does your spouse feel appreciated? Do the people you work with ever hear praise from you?

Give God Your Best

God shaped you for a purpose and he expects you to make the most of what you've been given. He doesn't want you to worry about or covet abilities that you don't have. Instead he wants you to focus on talents he has given you to use.

When you attempt to serve God in ways that you're not shaped to serve, it feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole. It's frustrating and produces limited results. It also wastes your time, talent, and energy.

The best use of your life is to serve God out of your shape (the gifts and abilities God has given you). To do this you must discover your shape, learn to accept and enjoy it, and then develop it to its fullest potential.

The Bible says, "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:17 NLT) Don't let another day go by. Start finding out and clarifying what God intends for you to be and do.

Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities. Take a long, honest look at what you are good at and what you're not good at.

Make a list. Ask other people for their candid opinion. Tell them you're searching for the truth, not fishing for a compliment.

Ask questions like these: Where have I seen fruit in my life that other people confirmed? Where have I already been successful?

An Attitude of Gratitude

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

“I’ll be happy when I get _____” is a triple trap. For one, it keeps you miserable as you wait impatiently to be fulfilled. Second, wanting more never satisfies, even if you get your first wish, because you then want still more. Third, it cheats you out of the happiness with the wealth that you already possess.

Cultivating a thankful heart and thankful spirit are learned behaviors. You have to choose to be like that, because the attitude you’re born with is one of selfishness, greed, and discontent. By nature we feel cheated, envious of others, and sullen at our lot in life.

Jesus calls us to a better way. He opens our eyes to the gospel of our free and full forgiveness, given to us at the cost of his death. He opens our eyes to our new and wonderful relationship with our heavenly Father, source of all good gifts. He opens our eyes to the great wealth we already have--treasures of possessions, friends, and family. Best of all, he promises that we are not only forgiven but immortal.

The gospel makes us optimists. It also invites us to overhaul our attitudes daily to be in line with our new status in heaven.

Pushing You In The Direction Of Your Fullest Potential

In the days in which you find yourself today I am taking your gifts and talents and developing them within you.

I'm giving you space and opportunity to be able to practice and gain experience.

I'm putting you in the middle of circumstances in which you will be able to exercise your talents, and develop your potential.

Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

There is a reason why our culture has so enthusiastically embraced annual birthday and wedding remembrances. Time slides by, and we tend to take one another for granted. Birthdays and anniversaries are helpful reminders about the importance of the dear people whom God has sent into our lives.

An annual call to national thanksgiving is just as urgent and helpful. President Lincoln knew that America badly needed God’s help, and even in a time of terrible war, he wanted Americans to pause and express their gratitude for all the divine interventions and blessings that made their lives better.

Sinners like us need periodic wake-up calls to notice God’s working in our lives. Our instincts are either to take his gifts without noticing or thinking or to suppose that everything good in our lives comes from our own achievement.

St. Paul knew how engaged our Lord is in the lives of each believer, and he urged a Greek congregation and he. urges us to pause, notice, understand cause and effect, and make a joyful noise of thanksgiving. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

What three treasures in your life can you trace back to God’s kindly giving?

Don't Give Temptation Power

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Have you ever watched a food advertisement on television and suddenly felt you were hungry? Have you ever heard someone cough and immediately felt the need to clear your throat? Ever watched someone release a big yawn and felt the urge to yawn yourself?

This is the power of suggestion working within your mind. We naturally move toward whatever our attention is focused on. The more you think about something, the stronger it takes hold of you.

This is why repeating, "I must stop eating too much or stop smoking or stop lusting" is a self-defeating strategy. It keeps you focused on what you don't want. It's like announcing, "I'm never going to do what my mom did." You are setting yourself up to repeat it.

Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention arouses your emotions. Then your emotions activate your behavior, and you act on what you feel. The more you focus on "I don't want to do this," the stronger temptation draws you into its web.

Ignoring a temptation is far more effective than fighting it. Once your mind is on something else, the temptation loses its power. So when temptation calls you on the phone, don't argue with it, just hang up!

Sometimes this means physically leaving a tempting situation. This is one time it is okay to run away. Get up and turn off the television set. Walk away from a group that is gossiping. Leave the theater in the middle of the movie.

To avoid being stung, stay away from the bees!