Category Archives: Thanksgiving

Gratitude Isn’t Seasonal!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #512

30 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in 'Tis The Season?, Gratitude, Gratitude Is Timeless, Thanksgiving

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #512  Gratitude Isn’t Seasonal!!!

 

As we leave this month of November and the “Thanksgiving” season, let us remember that our “Attitude of Gratitude” isn’t a seasonal practice. We are called to be grateful and thankful in all our ways as the children of God. We have so much to be thankful for! While I know the times are busy, I would encourage each of us to take some time as we leave this month behind to ‘make’ time (for you’ll never “find” it!) to make a list that will, as the song says, “Count Your Blessings”! It’s so easy to get caught up in the ‘busy’ness of life and forget The One who has blessed us in every way:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who hath blessed us

with all spiritual blessings

in heavenly places

in Christ:

4 According as he hath chosen us

in him

before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy

and without blame

before him

in love:” Ephesians 1:3-4

As God ever blesses us from His heavenly throne—may we reflect His blessings and His glory in all we do, with our “attitude of gratitude”! The choice is always ours—as a modern proverb says so aptly: “Are you humbly grateful, or grumbly hateful”! We are generally one or the other. So in closing, a “Word” of encouragement from Paul on living out what God has put “IN” us—the Spirit of Christ Jesus!

“See that none render evil for evil

unto any man;

but ever follow

that which is good,

both among yourselves,

and to all men.

16 Rejoice evermore.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus concerning you.

19 Quench not the Spirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 Prove all things;

hold fast that which is good.

22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

23 And the very God of peace

sanctify you wholly;

and I pray God

your whole spirit

and soul

and body

be preserved blameless

unto the coming

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Faithful is he that calleth you,

who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15-24

And praise God, HE “will do it”, if we will but yield our heart and mind to Him in all our ways! We can make a difference –we can spread that gratitude around! Just because November has come to an end, let’s be sure that we don’t let our grateful spirit do the same! Gratitude is contagious—let’s not succumb to the spirit of greed all around us. ‘Thank YOU Lord’ is always appropriate!

“In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus concerning you”

Amen and Amen!

How’s Your Gratitude Quotient??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #510

20 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Gratitude, Thanksgiving

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #510 How’s Your Gratitude Quotient???

 

I would like to simply share a post that I wrote on social media some four years ago. It was true then, and it’s still true today! I pray that we all may increase in our “Attitude of Gratitude” to our Father. Remember, there is a difference between saying, “I’m Thankful!” and being “Thankful” to The God “from whom all blessings flow”!

November 19, 2014

“Gratitude is such a blessed state to be in. While I live physically in the state of Oklahoma, I have lived in many places and been totally discontented—but the best place I’ve ever lived is in the State of ‘Gratitude’!!! I thank God for His grace, His Word and His love that have been and are teaching me to live a life of gratitude. To not only know God through salvation in Jesus, which I do, but to see Him teaching, growing and bringing me to a place where I am learning that I CAN:

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18

May God grant you the power to keep that ‘attitude of gratitude’? It is a blessed ‘state’ to live in…“

Amen and Amen!!!

I pray that God will bless you and yours with a blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving time with your loved ones!

Thanksgiving Joy??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #413

22 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Attitude of Gratitude, Confidence, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Gratitude, Longsuffering, Patience, Perseverance, Thanksgiving, The Word

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #413 Thanksgiving Joy????

 

Tomorrow is the day that we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US, but we ought to be a thankful people every day! What are you thankful for today? Are you thankful? Have the trials and troubles of life drained your ‘attitude of gratitude’? I hope we can boost our thankfulness quotient today as we prepare for a day of celebration, family, reflection, and hopefully time looking up to the One who gave HIS life for us!

One of my favorite ‘thanksgiving’ passages is a little different than you might expect, yet it is a passage that often weighs heavy on my heart, for I need continual reminding of the heart that I desire to live out before the world. A heart of gratitude toward God—but even more!

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire

that ye might be filled with the knowledge

of his will

in all wisdom

and spiritual understanding;

10 That ye might walk worthy

of the Lord

unto all pleasing,

being fruitful in every good work,

and increasing

in the knowledge of God;

11 Strengthened with all might,

according to his glorious power,

unto all patience

and longsuffering

with joyfulness;

12 Giving thanks unto the Father,

which hath made us meet

to be partakers

of the inheritance

of the saints

in light:”     Colossians 1:9-12

We are called to give “thanks” unto God our Father, but I don’t want us to miss the way we are to be “giving thanks”! We are called to be thankful with “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness”! Ouch!!! Now you know why I said earlier that this passage weighs heavy on my heart! Not just because sometimes I forget to keep my attitude of gratitude, but also because God calls us to an even higher plain—God calls His own to be thankful with ‘patience’, ‘longsuffering’, and ‘joyfulness’! Oh my, the “P” word! Yes, patience. As my husband is often heard to say, “I have patience, there are just times I can’t use it!” We all have trials that are sent to help us develop patience—and the two words used here—patience and longsuffering—deal with two different aspects of patience; one deals with our circumstances and the other deals with people. We are called to keep a grateful attitude and spirit with patience in our difficult circumstances, and also to “suffer long” with those people in our lives who are so good at ‘pushing our buttons’! Ouch again! But that’s not all—we are to do all this with “joyfulness”! How?

Well, I’m not claiming to have the answer to that question, but I would like to offer some insight, if I can. We can only be ‘joyful’ in difficulties as we remember that it is God who holds us, God who saves us, God who gave His only Son to die for us, God who sustains our every breath, and HE is trustworthy! When we trust in the God who IS able to sustain us, we can have hope in the midst of turmoil, comfort in the midst of pain, and power to overcome our circumstances and the difficult people we encounter.

“Trust in the LORD

with all thine heart;

and lean not

unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways

acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.”   Proverbs 3:5-6

Trusting God in our difficulties will build our confidence, and as our confidence grows, we will gain more gratitude and be a testament to it in our every way. James reminds us of the import of looking to God in the good times as well as the difficult—because our God is in charge of both.

“My brethren, count it all joy

when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this,

that the trying of your faith

worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work,

that ye may be perfect

and entire, wanting nothing.”   James 1:2-4

When we trust ourselves to God with patience, longsuffering and joy—we will stand out in a world of discontent and continual manipulation! We have a higher call! Will we answer that call today, and take time to focus on being thankful to God? Remember, it is all from HIM!

“Every good gift

and every perfect gift

is from above,

and cometh down

from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness,

neither shadow of turning.”     James 1:17

Take some time to count your blessings—they are many!!!

Gratitude With An Attitude??? Bible Ballistics: BBS #412

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Attitude of Gratitude, Gratitude, Longsuffering, Patience, Thanksgiving

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #412 Gratitude With An Attitude???

 

But not the attitude that you may be thinking about! Paul calls God’s children—believers in Jesus—to be a grateful people but with “a kick”, if you would! We’re not to simply “give thanks” but we are called to express it, in an unexpected way for many. Paul calls us to it in as he offers his prayer for the Colossians.

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,

and to desire

that ye might be filled with the knowledge

of his will

in all wisdom

and spiritual understanding;

10 That ye might walk worthy

of the Lord

unto all pleasing,

being fruitful

in every good work,

and increasing in the knowledge

of God;

11 Strengthened with all might,

according to his glorious power,

unto all patience

and longsuffering

with joyfulness;

12 Giving thanks unto the Father,

which hath made us meet (fit)

to be partakers

of the inheritance

of the saints

in light:

13 Who hath delivered us

from the power of darkness,

and hath translated us

into the kingdom

of his dear Son:

14 In whom

we have redemption

through his blood, even the forgiveness

of sins:”    Colossians 1:9-14

Our gratitude is to be to God Almighty who has saved and delivered us from the “power of darkness”! But we’re to be grateful with “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness”! Oh, no, not the “P” word! Patience? Yes, patience and longsuffering which are two Greek words for the same principle, but one deals with “abiding under” circumstances, and the other with “putting up with” people—patiently! Why? Because we belong to God who extended HIS mercy and grace to us, how much more ought we extend grace and mercy in “patience” with our circumstances and “longsuffering” with other people?

So ponder on this passage today and I pray that God will help each of us measure our attitude by His standard not the world’s! May we rejoice with the Psalmist today!

“O come,

let us sing unto the LORD:

let us make a joyful noise

to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence

with thanksgiving,

and make a joyful noise

unto him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King

above all gods.” Psalm 95:1-3

Amen and Amen!

 

 

Is Jesus Enough??? Bible Ballistics: #411

15 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Gratitude, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Made like Jesus!, Thanksgiving, The Only Way, The Word, Trials, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #411      Is Jesus Enough???

 

Approaching this Thanksgiving season, I wonder if we have considered how thankful we ought to be for Jesus!!! We use His name, we talk about Him, we even mention Him to others, but are we gratefully depending on HIM for our every need? When we come to Jesus in repentance and faith, we become God’s children—restored and adopted into the family of God. We become joint-heirs with Jesus and receive the gift of His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to lead, guide, teach and convict us of sin, all to conform us into His image rather than our own! (See Eph. 2:1-10)

But we are often distracted from our Lode Star and loose our way. Let’s consider some scripture to remind ourselves of all that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ; reminding ourselves of the gift of His salvation, His presence and His unfailing love for us—displayed in His shed blood for our sin!

“But as many as received him,

to them gave he power

to become the sons of God,

even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man,

but of God.”   John 1:12-13

We are born again as “sons of God”—children of The Holy God of the universe, Almighty God of all creation, by the blood of Jesus! And when we remember to keep our hearts filled with an attitude of gratitude, we can rejoice in all it means in our earthly living and our future with God The Father, Jesus Christ The Son, and the precious Holy Spirit for eternity. But ‘Until Then’ we must keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who will sustain our every breath!

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;

but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,

whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness

with our spirit,

that we are the children of God:

17 And if children,

then heirs;

heirs of God,

and joint-heirs with Christ;

if so be that we suffer with him,

that we may be also glorified together.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings

of this present time

are not worthy to be compared

with the glory

which shall be revealed in us.”    Romans 8:15-18

No matter what you and I are facing today—God is working it for our good, to conform us into the image of His Son! And all who love Him will suffer—in varying degrees—for following Jesus and doing His will His way, in obedience to His Word (which, by the way, hasn’t changed)!

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12

What are you suffering for Jesus? Or are you afraid to let people know that you belong to Jesus. Are you hiding your “light” under a bushel? Jesus is ever encouraging, helping, teaching and empowering us to be His witnesses to a lost and dying world, but we can only do that in His power, by His presence, through the power of His Holy Spirit in us.

“Abide in me,

and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit

of itself,

except it abide in the vine;

no more can ye,

except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.”    John 15:4-5

So are we doing “nothing” or are we bringing “forth much fruit” as we follow Jesus. And don’t loose sight of the truth that when we are following Jesus in all we do, we may not even realize the fruit that is being produced through His work in and through us! The key is to know that Jesus IS all we need. I have experienced the principle, and seen God make it evident in the lives of others, “When you find that Jesus is ALL you have, you will also find that Jesus IS ALL you need!” Jesus indwells HIS own! Is He enough for you? Is He dwelling within you? He can be your all in all!

“But now ye also put off all these;

anger,            wrath,

malice,           blasphemy,

filthy communication out of your mouth.

9 Lie not one to another,

seeing that ye have put off the old man

with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man,

which is renewed in knowledge

after the image of him that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free:

but Christ is all, and in all.”   Colossians 3:8-11