It happens in 3 weeks! Start now!

 

I have a challenge for you!  It’s November and in three weeks we will celebrate … yes, that’s it  … THANKSGIVING!  For some the day will be a slight pause from routine to eat turkey, watch some football, and gear up to start shopping for Christmas. I want to propose that we take this opportunity to change our hearts.  How about making the next 21 days a time of real, deep gratitude?  Put a reminder in your phone, post a big note on your fridge – however you can help yourself to remember – and look for ways to express your thankfulness.  Start with the Lord!  When  you open your eyes, offer a specific prayer of thanks; for someone, something, your salvation, the Cross, your hope in Him. Just make it more than ‘thank you, God.’   Then, at least once during the day, tell someone ‘thank you,’ and make it more than a polite response.  Make it personal!

If there is one ugly part of being American, it is that sense of entitlement that makes us think that everyone owes us something.  When I let it control me, I turn into a miserable, critical man.  I do not want to be ‘that guy’ and so my prayer this November is to learn ‘thanks-living’ - for God’s sake, really.  Gratitude is a spiritual issue. When the Holy Spirit is given access to our heart and we begin to practice genuine gratitude, we open up great possibilities for God to do amazing things in us and with us.

Luke tells a story about 10 men who approached Jesus  because they were in a desperate situation. They were ‘lepers.’  They had a skin disease and because of it, they had to live isolated from friend and family, begging and generally despised because most people thought they had leprosy because ‘they deserved it.’  To be a leper at that time was a kind of living death!  These men heard about Jesus’ healing work and when they saw him, they yelled “Have mercy on us!”  He directed them to an act of faith. “Go show yourself to the priest.”  If a person’s skin issue cleared up, the priest could certify that and allow them to return to society.

"And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:14-17, NIV)  God met their faith with restoration!  The tragic truth is that just one even thought to go back to Jesus and express his gratitude. Luke includes the detail that the grateful one was another kind of social outcast, a Samaritan; not a ‘true child of God’ in the opinion of the majority. The Bible obscures his true reaction with a rather dry phrase ‘praising God in a loud voice.’  Today we might say he was freaking out. He was yelling, pointing at his new skin, jumping up and down, and crying. He didn’t kneel reverently when he found Jesus. He threw himself at His feet in an expression of complete humility, realizing he deserved nothing and received everything.

Does the Lord Who gives life and grace to you, Who has made you part of His eternal family, Who has fully paid for your deliverance from death, find Himself looking at a person who, like the nine of Luke’s story, has forgotten the Source of those blessings? Do you remember to give thanks?

Real gratitude that flows out of a life where Self is surrendered fully to the Spirit will be rich and enriching to others. There are days when I devote most of my prayer time to simply giving thanks. Out loud and one by one I start to thank the Lord for people, situations, and past mercies. In those times, frequently I am deeply moved emotionally as I realize the depth of His amazing grace. Is life all that I would like it to be?  Not always, but He is!  

Gratitude also grows faith in my heart that helps me to offer up my prayers with true expectation. Sadly, there are days when I am wrapped up in a little bundle of ME, when I complain and criticize too much. The misery only increases as I fail to appropriate – with thankfulness – the provisions that my Father has made available to me because I want to live life on my own terms.

Ready to take the GRATITUDE challenge? Make those reminders and start to give thanks. Take a cue from Paul about how to become grateful. It is not by handcuffing your negativity! It is by becoming totally Jesus focused. He says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:12-13, NIV)

Here’s a word from the Word, an ancient song sung by those who recalled the Lord’s mercies in restoring His people to their land and faith after a long time in captivity. Make it your song today.

"When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem,
it was like a dream!
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
“What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
What joy!

Restore our fortunes, Lord,
as streams renew the desert.

Those who plant in tears

will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed,
but they sing as they return with the harvest."

(Psalm 126, NLT)

Don’t be one of the 9 who forgot their Source! Be the 1 who worshipped!

___________

10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning.

It's time to sing Your song again.

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,

Let me be singing when the evening comes.

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger,

Your name is great and Your heart is kind.

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing.

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come,

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending,

Ten thousand years and then forevermore.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

O my soul;

Worship His holy name!

Sing like never before,

O my soul,

I'll worship Your holy name!

Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman

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