Each morning Rex & I do our morning devotions. This morning we were in Romans 16:3-16 and some important things came to my heart that I would like to share with you. The Apostle Paul was greeting and thanking those fellow believers that had made an impact in his life and helped him in furthering the gospel. There were many hard to read names he included and I wondered why it was so important that he leave no one out. Many of us have wondered why the long lists of names, called the “begats” are included in the Old Testament. Every name on the list of the begats is of utmost importance as it represents a generation of individuals who lived, loved, dreamed, had children and passed on the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. And every name Paul lists in greeting and thankfulness are of utmost significance as well.
As I ponder this question and ask the Holy Spirit about it He quickened to me that the importance of greeting, recognizing and thanking others is not of any small significance to Him. In fact it is a part of His very nature and He tells us to “always give thanks” not only that we are His bought with a price but also for all the believers and the family of God that we are heirs with in Christ.
“Eucharist {thanksgiving} is the state of the perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise. Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to God’s creation, redemption, and it is a gift of heaven.”
Alexander Scheming
The Lord has been working on me for some months in this area of gratitude and the power of it in an individual’s life. I have come to a conclusion that we can not live the abundant life He tells us we have without thankfulness and gratitude. In fact the more it becomes the very fiber of our thought processes and our exercises in faith the more all of the fruits of the Spirit can flow through us.
“One act of Thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.” Saint John of Avila
I am discovering that we need to exercise or discipline ourselves through the Holy Spirit working in us throughout the day in giving thanks because we really are bombarded these days with “bad news”. The more we hear and the worse the condition of our world becomes we can find ourselves easily beginning to live in the negativity and hopelessness the news is projecting.
I am not saying we should keep our head in the sand and not be informed –but I am saying that it is of more importance that when we hear the “bad news” that we saturate ourselves in praise, and worship, in deliberate acts of thankfulness and gratitude, in disciplining our minds to think on the pure and lovely
things, to enjoy that which He has created, to saturate ourselves in His word and submit our very lives to Him.
WHEN YOU GIVE THANKS FOR THE LIFE YOU HAVE
YOU OFTEN WILL FIND THE LIFE YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED.
In the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp we find a young woman that discovers that in giving thanks for the life she already had, she finds the life she always wanted. She began to discipline herself and reprogram her thoughts by listing the things and people she was thankful for. Her goal was to list one thousand things she was thankful for throughout her day. In doing this she found a depth of joy she had never experienced, giving her the ability to see and be thankful for the things that had previously seemed insignificant. Thankfulness forced her to slow down and live life through different eyes, changing her very countenance and delivered her from the generational bondage brought on by trauma and tragedy that she had lived under most of her life.
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” Sarah Ban Breathnach
As we were watching a documentary on the life and disciplines of the Shakers the other night an exercise they implemented got my attention and I found very interesting. Three times a day they made it a practice to get on their knees and give thanks so God. I am not advocating all of the beliefs and practices of the Shakers but I am sensing there is something in this discipline of thankfulness that we have neglected.
“Sometimes in our efforts to not be legalistic we have forsaken the disciplines of our faith that can actually facilitate our walking in the intimacy and joy in the Lord that our hearts are longing for. I am discovering afresh that this discipline of thankfulness and praise through the Holy Spirit working in us is part of heaven’s secret to living the ‘abundant life’.” Lois Burgher
So as we would conclude this newsletter to you in this wonderful time of harvest and Thanksgiving we would be amiss to not say how much gratitude we have for each and every one of you.
We give thanks for you always and pray for His abiding presence in His love, joy, and peace for each of you,
Much Love and Gratitude,
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