Why with thanksgiving?

What is there to be thankful for in stress-producing,
difficult situations?

We can be thankful:

• For
  another opportunity to grow
• For
  another opportunity to learn to trust Him
• For another
  opportunity to understand His ways better
• For
  another opportunity to see His hand in our lives in a personal way
• That
  He has heard and will answer us with a perfect solution for our situation
• That
  He will work it all for our good
• That
  He has it all under control
• For
  the peace promised

A thankful, grateful heart is a positive heart.

A thankful heart sees possibilities & the power of God
instead of focusing on problems.

Is it really possible to be filled with gratitude and trust
and anxious at the same time?

I guess that is why God asks us present our requests with
thanksgiving!

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at
hand. Philippians 4:5

Moderation:  the state or quality of being moderate;
avoidance of extremes; a change which improves quality; something which avoids
excesses; an instance of moderating; to bring away from extremes; self-control;
supervision;

As I pondered this
verse, in real life for me it seems to mean living what we believe to be true,
without exception because exception is really a denial of the truth and leads
to unbelief and confusion both for ourselves and for those that observe
us.  We need to be a consistent witness.
Those around us need to know that we value the truth enough to live it, and see
first hand that the truth truly makes a difference in our daily lives.  How we live says far more than what we say.

God is the Fountain of life, the only Source of existence and power and
goodness. Throughout the universe there is nothing good but what God works. God
has created the sun, the moon, the stars, the flowers, the trees, and the
grass. Are they not all absolutely surrendered to God? Do they not allow God to
work in them just what He pleases? When God clothes the lily with its beauty,
is it not yielded up, surrendered, given over to God as He works in it its
beauty? 

And God's redeemed children, oh, can you think that God can do His work if
there is only half or a part of them surrendered? God cannot do it. God is
life, love, blessing, power, and infinite beauty, and God delights in
communicating Himself to every child who is prepared to receive Him. But ah!
this one lack of absolute surrender is just the thing that hinders God.

You know in daily life what absolute surrender is. You know that everything
has to be given up to its special, definite object and service. I have a pen in
my pocket, and that pen is absolutely surrendered to the one work of writing.
That pen must be absolutely surrendered to my hand if I am to write properly
with it. If another holds it partly, I cannot write properly. 

This coat is absolutely given up to me to cover my body. This building is
entirely given up to religious services. And now, do you expect that in your mortal
being, in the divine nature that you have received by regeneration, God can
work His work, every day and every hour, unless you are entirely given up to
Him? God cannot.

The temple of Solomon was absolutely surrendered to God when it was
dedicated to Him. And every one of us is a temple of God, in which God will
dwell and work mightily on one condition-absolute surrender to Him. God claims
it, God is worthy of it, and without it God cannot work His blessed work in us.

God not only claims it, but God will work it Himself.

(Quotes all from Andrew Murray)

Praising
the Lord is incredibly healing for our bruised souls. Psalm 22:3 tells us that
God dwells with those who praise Him. Praise lifts us up to God, and fills us
with joy. It draws us near to God’s heart. It’s impossible to remain depressed
when we are praising the Lord. It’s an automatic cure, a powerful cure for
depression. (We’re
referring to the depressed state we get ourselves into by negative thinking,
not clinical depression.)

Negative
thinking is what catapults us into a depressed mood. The Word of God is
available to set our thinking back on the right track, to put uplifting,
inspiring, hopeful thoughts in our minds. Singing praises to God chases away
the depressed feelings, and puts a song in our hearts.

You
may say that you don’t feel like praising. 
Well feelings can change by the minute and they certainly should not be
in charge of the choices you make – choices should be based on truth – God’s
truth.  You have the freedom of choice
to choose to praise even if you don’t feel like it, and God will give you the
grace to do it as you step out in faith, trusting Him to change
everything. 

Share your thoughts.  Share with me if you have ever had this experience and what it has done for you?

Some inspirational quotes from one of my favourite books.....take time to read slowly, to ponder, to be inspired and to be blessed! 

God is the source of life and light and joy
to the universe. Like rays of light from the sun, like the streams of water
bursting from a living spring, blessings flow out from Him to all His
creatures. And wherever the life of God is in the hearts of men, it will flow
out to others in love and blessing.

Our Saviour's joy was in the uplifting and
redemption of fallen men. For this He counted not His life dear unto Himself,
but endured the cross, despising the shame. So angels are ever engaged in
working for the happiness of others. This is their joy. That which selfish
hearts would regard as humiliating service, ministering to those who are
wretched and in every way inferior in character and rank, is the work of
sinless angels. The spirit of Christ's self-sacrificing love is the spirit that
pervades heaven and is the very essence of its bliss. This is the spirit that
Christ's followers will possess, the work that they will do.

When the love of Christ is enshrined in the
heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden. Its holy influence will be
felt by all with whom we come in contact. The spirit of Christ in the heart is
like a spring in the desert, flowing to refresh all and making those who are
ready to perish, eager to drink of the water of life.

Love to Jesus will be manifested in a desire
to work as He worked for the blessing and uplifting of humanity. It will lead
to love, tenderness, and sympathy toward all the creatures of our heavenly
Father's care.

The Saviour's life on earth was not a life
of ease and devotion to Himself, but He toiled with persistent, earnest,
untiring effort for the salvation of lost mankind. From the manger to Calvary
He followed the path of self-denial and sought not to be released from arduous
tasks, painful travels and exhausting care and labor. He said, "The Son of
man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a
ransom for many." Matthew 20:28. This was the one great object of His
life. Everything else was secondary and subservient. It was His meat and drink
to do the will of God and to finish His work. Self and self-interest had no
part in His labor.

So those who are the partakers of the grace
of Christ will be ready to make any sacrifice, that others for whom He died may
share the heavenly gift. They will do all they can to make the world better for
their stay in it. This spirit is the sure outgrowth of a soul truly converted.
No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to
make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving
and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart.

It is Friday night again, the Sabbath has just begun...and as I was looking at the pictures that I took tonight a much loved hymn came to my mind...one that I have sung since a little child...a sunset hymn of worship and praise.  In my mind I can hear my family singing it with me through the years, and I can imagine the angels singing it in heaven too. Special memories of special moments of worship.

Day is dying in the west;
Heav'n is touching earth with rest;
Wait and worship while the night
Sets the evening lamps alight
Through all the sky.

Refrain

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heav’n and earth are full of Thee!
Heav’n and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord most high!

Lord of life, beneath the dome
Of the universe, Thy home,
Gather us who seek Thy face
To the fold of Thy embrace,
For Thou art nigh.

Refrain

While the deepening shadows fall,
Heart of love enfolding all,
Through the glory and the grace
Of the stars that veil Thy face,
Our hearts ascend.

Refrain

When forever from our sight
Pass the stars, the day, the night,
Lord of angels, on our eyes
Let eternal morning rise
And shadows end.

This morning
the words and the tune of this little song started to drift through my mind and
I began to sing it to myself - it has been a very long time since I have
thought of it or sung it....and as I sang it to myself, the true message of
them really impacted me...but read the words first:

Now
thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices;
Who wondrous things hath done, In whom this world rejoices.
Who, from our mother's arms, Hath led us on our way,
With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today

It was as if God was reminding me that He has been right here with me since the
day I was born, and He has lead me all the way and He will be with me
today....I am so deeply grateful for this, and for the way in which the Holy
Spirit brings to mind things that we have long forgotten and uses them to bless
us. 

(Painting by Nathan Greene) 

Oh, I Want To Know You More

By Steve Fry

Just the time I feel that I've been caught  in the mire of self,

just the time I feel my mind's been bought by worldly wealth,

That's when  the breeze begins to blow,  I know the Spirit's call,

and all my worldly wanderings  just melt into His love.

Oh, I want to know you more, deep within my soul

I want to know you, oh I want to know you.

To feel your heart and know your mind.

Looking in your eyes stirs up within me cries

that say I want to know you.

Oh I want to know you more.

When my daily deeds ordinarily lose life and song,

My heart begins to bleed, sensitivity to Him is gone.

I've run the race, but set my own pace and face a shattered soul,

now the gentle arms of Jesus warm my hunger to be whole.

Oh, I want to know you more, deep within my soul

I want to know you, oh I want to know you.

To feel your heart and know your mind.

Looking in your eyes stirs up within me cries

that say I want to know you.

Oh I want to know you more.

And Oh I want to know you .

And I would give my final breath

to know you in your death and resurrection.

Oh I want to know you more.

Oh I want to know you, to know you more.

Oh I want to know you more.

Is this the cry of your heart too?

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4

God has graciously given us incredibly precious promises of victory. Do you have them hidden in your heart? Do you carry them with you wherever you go? Those promises are you ticket to victory. How badly do you want victory over sin? It’s within your grasp. Your part is to grasp hold of the promises.

Let’s talk a little bit about how God gives us this miraculous victory. The reason we sin is because we believe Satan’s lies. We get angry because we believe we have a right to be angry. We lust because we believe that indulgence will make us happy. We are greedy because we believe that selfishness is to be preferred over unselfishness. All of these are lies of the devil, which we buy into.

If we thought the way Jesus thought when He was here on earth, we wouldn’t sin. How do we get our minds changed into the way Jesus thought? It is the Word that changes our thinking. The Bible is the most pure source of God’s thoughts that we have. How diligent, then, should we been in getting the Word into our minds. How eager we should be to learn God’s thoughts, so we can be rid of Satan’s lies!

If you have a problem with your temper, do you excuse it, and tolerate your frequent flare-ups? Or are you determined to avail yourself of God’s remedy to get rid of it?

If you will take the time to prayerfully meditate on the following texts, your anger will be cut out by the powerful sword of the Spirit, and instead, God will miraculously place love, patience, and kindness in its place. This is how we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Listen to what God thinks:

“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” Eccl 7:9

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Eph. 4:31, 32

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” Colossians 3:8

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” James 1:20

There is enough power in these and many other scriptures to keep you from losing your temper. Victory is available! But you must want it, and you must grab hold of the promises. In faith, we must daily grasp the promises without a doubt.

Praise God for victory over sin. And, praise Him for His forgiveness as we are learning these lessons. If we fail, we are not to get discouraged, but to grab onto the promise in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What God asks of us He empowers us to do. His Word is effective, and it will accomplish what it was designed for. (See Isa 55:11) When we experience the benefits of the Word, we will love it more and more.

The Scriptures are like a wall of protection against temptation, a divine fortress, our powerful shield. Jesus showed us how to resist Satan’s temptations with the words of Scripture. It works! Try it!

http://www.wordkeeping.com