Everything for Life

I find it interesting how culture dictates what's important. Have you ever noticed how very little promotion is done for Thanksgiving? Mega retail stores will promote Halloween around the first of September and slowly add Christmas items to their shelves. Once Halloween has passed the focus is almost completely on Christmas. They bombard you with catalogs, flyers, TV ads, and whatever means possible to create a desire for the things that you don't have. Whether the non-promotion of Thanksgiving is intentional or not, they want us to focus on our lack instead of being thankful for what we do have. An attitude of lack can rob us of a life of joy and peace. If we are not careful we can become victims of this subtle attitude that pollutes the atmosphere of our hearts.

Now I'm not going to say that I'm above all this. I do have a "wish list" of the things I would like to have and if I'm not careful my list can influence the attitude of my heart. Proverbs 4:23 says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (NIV). I realize that sometimes that this can be a challenge, but God doesn't leave us to do this on our own.

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

Prayer is powerful, but have you ever been in a situation where no matter how much you prayed nothing seemed to change and peace seemed nonexistent? In fact, your prayers only seem to make you more anxious and conscientious of your problem. So what gives? This can be a very precarious place for our hearts if we allow ourselves to think that God is holding out on us. We need to be careful not to let our lack define what is true.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him..." 2Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Everything? Really?

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32 (NKJV)

When God gave us his Son he held nothing back. He "freely" gave us all things through Him. It's important that we grow in our "knowledge of him" to realize how much we have been given. Only when we lack in our understanding do we truly suffer.

{MAGNIFY}

"I will praise the name of  God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Ps. 69:30 ESV

I enjoy looking up the definition of a word. Even if I have an idea of what a word means, I still take the time to look it up because it may help me to see something from a diffent perspective.

Take "magnify" for example. It is most often understood as praise. In fact, if you look up the definition for magnify at merriam-webster.com the first thing you'll read is "extol" or "laud". I know that when I have an attitude of thanksgiving it's easy to praise God. Even though this validates what I already know, it was the other part of magnify that got my attention. Magnify also means to "increase" or "enlarge".

This made me pause and think. Is it possible that I can increase God with thanksgiving?

To help "enlarge" my understanding I looked up the original Hebrew word for magnify. The word is "gadal" which means "to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things."

Now I'm not saying that we can literally make God bigger, but we can increase our understanding, perspective, and revelation of who He is in our life.

Thanksgiving can be the key that opens the door that gives God the opportunity to move in our lives. When we offer thanksgiving we actually humble ourselves and make  God bigger than our problem or situation. When Jesus fed the multitudes he took what was given him, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks (Matthew 14:19). He knew that God was bigger than the problem.

As a thought, maybe thanksgiving is not for God as much it is for us so that we can experience an increase of His presence, power, provision, and phavor in our lives.

Honor Giving

Okay. It seems that I've been a holiday blogger. This was not my original intent, but I'm believing that this will change next year. I really do enjoy writing, but family, work, and the joys of life win my time and attention on a daily basis. 2012 will be different. You will be reading a lot more posts from me. If you choose to be a follower, please feel free to comment and critique any post. I welcome any feedback (good or bad) that you may provide. I would appreciate it!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us again. The holiday season is my favorite time of year. There is a noticeable shift in the atmosphere as people get ready to celebrate life with friends and family. I do realize that this "atmosphere" is not necessarily a positive "shift" for some, but  I think for most of us it's "the most wonderful time of the year" (sorry, couldn't resist the cliche).

Apart from eating great food (and lots of it) Thanksgiving can be a time of reflection. In fact, how often are we encourage to do some form of reflecting from ministers, well meaning friends, celebrity tweets, and even the media? Why is it so important? I believe that it's important because it honors the giver. To truly be thankful, honor must be present.

When we give thanks for our family we honor them for the love, compassion, joy, and even the trials that draw us closer to one another. When we give thanks for our friends we honor them for the laughter shared, perhaps a time of mourning together, and any sacrifice they may have made to be a part of our journey.  We honor our service members by thanking them for their service to our country and for protecting the freedom that we enjoy. When we are thankful it honors the giver. For those who are truly thankful, honoring others comes very natural for them.

We are taught from an early age to be thankful, but have we learned to honor others? 

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another..." ~ Romans 12:10 NKJV