 1 Chronicles 29:12-13 “Wealth and honor come from you. You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power. You can give honor and strength to everyone. Our God, we give you thanks. We praise your glorious name.” ~NIRV
There are a couple of ways we give thanks. There are times we know a ‘thank you’ is required and we just say it ‘to say it’. In fact, we forget about it as soon as it is given. “Hey, that's a nice jacket!” (Thank you). “Hey, you did a great job!” (Thank you). There is nothing genuine about it. But then things happen in our lives that make us speak a bold ‘Thank You’! For example: you are walking down the street by yourself and a shadowy figure is walking behind you. It’s dark and you do not know the intentions of your stalker. At the height of your fear, out of nowhere a police officer’s patrol car comes from around the corner. You wave him down and he pulls over. His presence is enough to cause the shadowy figure behind you to flee. Because you are now safe, the ‘thank you’ the officer receives from you is genuine, sincere and from the heart. This is a 'thank you' you are grateful to give. We should have this same genuine feeling of thanksgiving for the Lord everyday. Whether things are going great in our lives or the sad times and suffering are going on, we should be grateful to God always. The text tells us that in His hands are strength and power. Everything we need to get through our circumstances. It also tells us of His wealth that He has available for those of us who love Him and have faith in Him to care and provide for us. It also speaks of the honor He places on us to show all around that He exists in our lives. It is because of all these blessings; it is because of His love, His sacrifice of His One and Only Son; that we must be extremely grateful to Him. Not just today but everyday we must be genuine in our thanksgiving to the Lord as He is the Savior that is always with us. Making the dark opposition that tries to follow us in our dark times, turn and run away at the sight of God's magnificent presence. That presences in our lives that we do not deserve, but have, as a result of God’s love for us. Thank you God, for loving us first and loving us always. Happy Thanksgiving!
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 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 “God supplies seed for the person who plants. He supplies bread for food. God will also supply and increase the amount of your seed. He will increase the results of your good works. You will be made rich in every way. Then you can always give freely. We will take your many gifts to the people who need them. And they will give thanks to God.” ~NIRV
It is amazing to know that God says in His word that when we seek His kingdom first, He will provide all we need to live, prosper and work in His will in this world, (Matthew 6:31-34). Think about a farmer and his faith in God. The farmer plants the seed and waters it. God is the one that performs the miracle of growth for the farmer’s harvest. When the time comes, the farmer can reap his harvest and have enough supply for himself, his family and others. God does this for us daily. That is, when we allow Him to. We must realize that God is not only the supplier of our needs and provision. He is also the provider for the seeds we need to plant and prepare for our future and those provisions. A future that includes His purpose for our lives. We cannot live our lives without God being a part of it. We need Him because there will be obstacles we can’t climb or get through without Him. There will be obstacles of suffering that we cannot cross without His peace. Obstacles of pain we cannot get through without His healing power. And obstacles of memories, habits formed and addictions out of control, that we will not be able to get through without His miracle of transformation. Right now, there are those of us who are praying for a miracle in our lives. 2nd Corinthians shows us that we should pray for the preparation of God’s miracle. He will provide the seeds for us to plant. So that through our righteous walk and actions we will be able to water those seeds. And one day, just as God provided the miracle for the farmer’s growth of his field, God will also provide the growth of the miracle we pray for. Once that miracle comes and blesses us with grace, mercy, and abundance, “...we will be made rich in every way…” As we continue our righteous walk in faith and endurance, God will, “...increase the amount of your seed…” Then He will, “...increase the results of your good works…” so that through those blessings of talent, gifts and testimony, we will be able to give to others freely. And they will go out and tell the Gospel because of what they witnessed being saved by God. That miracle from God that came from our actions through our faith and righteous walk in God’s purpose for our lives. May God continue to bless and keep you always as you journey in Jesus' name. Amen  James 1:12 “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” ~CSB
We have all heard and are aware that we go through tests in our lives. As we go to church, read the Word of God, and receive the sermons preached, we feel good when we praise God. But when we go back into the world, we grow weary of the tests that constantly occur in our lives. We question the purpose of our Christian walk by saying, ‘I thought things are supposed to get better!’ ‘Why are these things still happening to me?’ We forget the meaning of the word ‘test’. Test is defined as ‘The means by which the presence, quality or genuineness of anything is determined’. It is like going to college for the years of study. Learning from an instructor and then taking a test to see if what we have learned has taken root in our minds. When we pass that test in school and graduate, we are now qualified for a duty or duties required by a job based on our knowledge of being tested and passing. It is the same for God’s purpose in our lives. God has places He needs us to be. There are things He will need us to do. But to receive the wisdom, strength and courage we will need to perform our Christian duties as we should, we must be tested before we are qualified. It is the test that will confirm our readiness to work for the kingdom. It is our commitment to the endurance of our trials that please God and allow Him to use His full power of healing, peace and transformation in us and through us. That power will do all those miracles for us and for others around us. The understanding of trials will come as our relationship with God becomes stronger. Once we begin to understand the tests that constantly come to us, we will understand that for each blessing God has for us, there is a test to take before we get that ‘diploma’. In other words, what we go through are tests until we ‘get it’. Once we ‘get it’, the tests become our job. That job is our duty as Christians to follow God’s commands and follow the servant-hood of making disciples. When we endure and stand the tests, we will receive the crown of life that God has promised to us. May God bless and keep you as you walk in Jesus’ name. Amen  Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know Him and He will make your paths straight.” ~CSB
When it comes to the action of ‘understanding’ we must be aware that in situations that dictate, we need to be on one side of understanding and not the other. This sometimes varies on which side we should be on. For example, there are some people who have been conditioned by the world to reject pain and suffering. They disregard what Paul says when he tells us to ‘embrace’ those emotions. These individuals do not understand the purpose of our trials. So instead of enduring, they reject it all together. This causes them to reject the understanding of ‘God’s purpose in trial’ along with their failure to understand Him. In this case we need to be on the side of ‘understanding’ in learning more about trials. Trusting in what we do not see. The Word tells us that we may not know the path of the wind, but we know the wind is there. We may not know how the body is formed in a mother’s womb but we all witness life in people. We may not understand these things but we do know that the results we do witness are the work of God, (Ecclesiastes 11:5). He is the maker of all things. We must pray for the wisdom needed to understand in what we cannot see and trust in God, who sees all. On the other hand, there are things that go on in this world that we should try not to understand. For instance, In my line of work I have had to venture into some dark places. I have to interact with some dark individuals in these situations. In my law enforcement career I have learned that some situations need to be prayed for instead of understood. One of the reasons for this is that sometimes venturing to seek understanding about ungodly, dark situations, may cause our flesh to get confused and begin to take on some of those dark qualities. We do not want this. This is why we must lean on God, instead of our own ‘understanding’. We must put more effort into understanding and building a relationship with Jesus Christ rather than following curiously about areas in this world that we don’t even need to be a part of. God has insight for us. He has a purpose He wants to work through us. Let us leave room in our hearts for divine understanding and allow God to strengthen us spiritually so that He can help us discern what is good and useful for us on our journey. The Word says we must trust God, “...in all our ways know Him, and He will make our paths straight.” Amen |
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