A New Look at Thankfulness

As I was attending my church's Thanksgiving service last night, we sang a song that really made me reflect on some of the ways that God works in our lives.  A few lines of the chorus  were a great reminder to me of the choice we have in our reactions to various circumstances in our lives.

He gives and takes away
He gives and takes away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be your name

1 Chronicles 29:11 says, "Yours, Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours."  So often we feel entitled to the things we have on earth.  As this verse says, everything is God's, He has given us the use of all of the things we have here on the earth.  We should be thankful for the many ways that God has blessed us!  Sometimes, God chooses to take away some of those earthly possessions that He has "loaned" to us and we react with anger at God because we felt entitled to those possessions.  If we know that God has temporarily blessed us with those possessions, why do we feel entitled to them?  Why aren't we thankful for the blessing that those things were while the were "on loan" to us?

Did you know you have a choice about how you react to things?  There is not a prescribed griping formula to follow when things don't go as planned.  You don't have to be angry!  You can still choose to praise the Lord even when not everything seems to be going well.

Romans 8:28 says, "We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  So often we think that God only gives us good things and and that anytime something bad happens to us, He is probably punishing us.  What if we changed our thinking and were thankful for the bad things that happen to us?  A lot of times, God is trying to teach us a lesson when something bad happens.  Sometimes having something bad happen is the only way that we will pay attention and turn to Him.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you."  God will never do anything to harm you--only to teach you and to show you His love for you!

God gives and takes away.  I challenge you this Thanksgiving to take time to not only be thankful for the many ways that God has blessed you, but also for the hard times and the things that you have learned (or will learn) through them.    

23 Years...

Tomorrow is my parent's twenty-third wedding anniversary!  It isn't a super special number anniversary like 25 or 50, but it represents so much.  Well, the obvious one is that 23 years ago my parents were married.  They made a lifelong covenant before God and witnesses to love and to serve one another for the rest of their lives.  Their anniversary also marks a half-way point in both of their lives.  My parents have been married to each other for half of their lives (give or take a few months).  Not only that, but they have raised three kids and been teachers and examples to countless other people through the years they have been married and the years before they were married.

Why does their marriage mean so much to me?

First of all, if they hadn't gotten married, I wouldn't be here.  I also wouldn't have had my two siblings who have taught me so much.  (They have taught me things ranging from how to hold my violin to how to get a hair clip out of the toilet without getting your hands wet!)  I am so thankful that God chose to put me into this family!  He has blessed me in so many ways because of my parents!

Secondly, they have taught me so much about life, music, and what it means to be a follower of Christ.  By their words and their example, they have taught me practical skills such as how to load a dishwasher or how to pound a nail into a board.  But, most importantly, they have taught me what it means to be a Christian--not just in name, but in life!

In today's culture, divorce is a common part of life.  Probably all of us know someone who has been through a divorce or we may have even been involved in one ourselves.  I have been blessed to be a part of a marriage where my parent's commitment and love for each other is so evident.  If any of you have met my parents, you have probably seen this for yourself!  My parents are such an incredible of what a healthy and Godly marriage looks like and I am so blessed to have their example in my life!

I thank God for my parents and all they have done for me!  I love you Mom and Dad!

He Knows My Name

We can all use some reminders of the love that God has for us, so as I was thinking about the next blog post I should write this song came to mind.  This song is a great reminder of God's never ending love for each of us.  Nothing that we have done or ever will do will make Him love us any less.  That doesn't mean that He approves of our sin just because He loves us.  But, because He loves us, He is willing to forgive our sins.  As you read through the lyrics of this song, don't do it mindlessly!  Let it be a reminder of God's presence in your own life and reflect on the many ways that He has changed you.  

I have a Maker
He Formed My Heart
before even time began
my life was in his hands

He knows my name
he knows my every thought
he sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

I have a father
he calls me his own
he'll never leave me
no matter where I go

He knows my name
he knows my every thought
he sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

He knows my name
he knows my every thought
he sees each tear that falls
and hears me when I call

Don't ever forget how much God cares for you!  Even before you were created or knew Him, He loved you and had a plan for your life.  While you may not always be able to understand His plans for you, you can trust that He knows what is best and would never do anything to harm you.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you."  It is easy to lose your focus on God--especially when all of the earthly worries that we all carry seem to get so great that God gets blocked out.  When God feels far away, take some time to call on His name.  Psalm 55:16-17 says, "As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.  Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice."  He hears you when you call!  Do you need to spend some time calling on the name of your maker?

Maranatha Singers - He Knows My Name
http://www.metrolyrics.com/he-knows-my-name-lyrics-israel.html 

Spiritual Gifts

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking/reading/talking about spiritual gifts.  I had never spent much time thinking about them until I had a question in my AWANA book that made me begin to ask some more questions about spiritual gifts and try to dig deeper into their use.  After some interesting discussions with some friends of mine and my parents along with some of my own research, I decided it was time to write a blog post about some of the conclusions that I came to.

What is a spiritual gift?
A spiritual gift is a special talent that God gives to believers.  It is something that they are good at doing.  The Bible lists several different spiritual gifts which can be classified into three different categories.  1.  Prophetic Gifts  (Anything that involves teaching, encouraging, exhorting, or rebuking others.)  2.  Priestly Gifts  (Include anything that involves showing mercy and caring for those in need or interceding before God.)  3.  Kingly Gifts  (Involve anything having to do with administration or government or order in the church.) A spiritual gift is any ability that is empowered by the Holy Spirit and used in any ministry of the church.

Who gets spiritual gifts?
When a person believes in the Lord Jesus as their savior, they are given a spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit.  Each person is given at least one gift that they are supposed to use in the ministry of the church.  Someone asked me about non-believers who exhibit some of the same spiritual gift-like abilities such as prophecy.  I believe that someone who is prophesying without the power of the Holy Spirit is doing so through the power of Satan.  I would consider these people to be false prophets.  Matthew 7:15 says, "Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

What are we supposed to do with spiritual gifts?
Spiritual gifts are given to equip the church to carry out its ministry until Christ returns.  The gifts that God has given are designed to be used for the edification of the church members.  1 Corinthians 12:18-20 says, "But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body."  This chapter of 1 Corinthians uses the human body as an analogy for spiritual gifts and the church.  If everyone had the same gift, we would be lacking some essential parts of a healthy church.  If everyone had the gift of teaching, everyone would teach and there would be no one to listen.  If everyone had the gift of leadership, no one would follow and there would be a lot of resulting dissension in the church.  Each of us is called to use and to develop the gift that God has given us within the church for the glory of God.

This is by no means a complete discussion of spiritual gifts and their uses, but hopefully you will have a better idea of what a spiritual gift is and how we are supposed to use them.  If you have questions about spiritual gifts (or anything else) please don't hesitate to contact me at sistersinchrist.girlz@gmail.com  If you are interested in finding out what spiritual gifts you might have, click on this link!  http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/tests

Some excerpts taken from Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
Thanks to my friends Cody and Olivia for discussing this topic with me.