Put away double minded thinking

I had someone this week ask me if I thought it was wrong for them to think about themselves. In this particular situation, they were talking about making a decision that would make them feel good while at the same time, hurting someone else.

It is difficult for me to tell anyone else what they should do in their own circumstances. What I would do and what they would do may be two different things. But I can always steer them to what God's Word says and His Word says that the double minded will be unstable in all of their ways. (James 1:8)

How can a person say that they love God and want to mold their thoughts, their actions, their life after Him but at the same time think only of themselves and not others?

I admit, sometimes it is hard to not think of ourselves. The world tells us to watch our back, go after all we can get because no one takes care of you like you. But if I am a follower of Christ, I know that that is not true. God has our back and when everything (and everyone) has failed us, He does not. He said that He would NEVER leave us nor forsake us. And He doesn't.

So if He loves us so unconditionally, why is it difficult for us to place others first? After all, Jesus, hanging on the cross, was not thinking of Himself.  If He was, He would have done what most of us would have done, spit on His accusers face and not cared one bit about the thieves also hanging there. But no, instead, He had one thing on His mind...US!

When we place more value on ourselves than others, we are indeed double minded. For no man can serve two masters...

Matthew 6:24 " No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Whom are you serving today?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...conditioned to be grateful

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone. The family has all returned home. The leftovers have all been eaten. The fall decorations have been put up and the Christmas holly has been drug out. It is almost time to close out this month of giving thanks.

A message has been ringing over and over as I have visited some of your Thanksgiving posts, that giving thanks is a matter of the heart. Not only is it a matter of the heart, giving thanks is a command given to us by God.

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” - Colossians 2:6-7

In addition to being a command, being thankful is a spiritual gift. It grows within us like faith and charity. Being grateful for the goodness of God is portable, it can go with us thru everything, if our heart is conditioned for it.

When I think of having a conditioned heart for thanks, I think of Jesus. I think of His wonderful expressions of thanks He so eagerly offered up to his Heavenly Father. I can only imagine the great anticipation that Jesus must have had as He prepared to raise a dear friend from the dead. As the disciples took away the stone where Lazarus had laid dead for four days, He did not move forward until He expressed His gratefulness. The scripture says that He "lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard Me." (John 11:41) He then declared those powerful words, "Lazarus, come forth," and Lazarus arose from the dead.

As we condition our heart and accept the spiritual gift of gratitude, we will see and feel His goodness all around us. It won't be a day once a year designated for it, it won't even be a month of giving thanks, instead it will become a condition...one that will be rooted deep in our spirit and overflowing with every word we speak.

I am thankful for each of you who have joined in with us this month for THANKFUL THURSDAY. Iris is hosting TT next week for the month of December. I pray we will continue with our grateful hearts as we become conditioned to give thanks in EVERYTHING! Blessings to you and yours.

Check your blind spot

Driving home from our Thanksgiving holiday, we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us. While driving on the highway, a lady in the lane next to me decided to make a lane change. The only problem is she was so busy doing other things in her car that she did not check her blind spot and she ended up running me off of the road. (thankfully God protected us and we were unharmed).

When driving, it is always a good idea to check our blind spots to avoid a collision. On the journey of faith, we also have spiritual blind spots to check.

Many times we get heavily involved in church work and spending time in fellowship with fellow believers that we think our spiritual level is safe. But our busy lives often times distract us from hearing the small still voice of God. Sometimes we get so blinded by the issues of life that we do not take time to listen to God. Just like drivers who get distracted by multi-tasking at the wheel, we can also get side tracked by our long agenda that we neglect the basic checkpoints of our faith.

A quick glance before changing lanes is not safe. We need to be aware of what may be a hindrance to our spiritual growth. We must look to God for His direction and His protection as we drive along on this road of faith that we are on.

1 Corinthians 10:12 "Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."

Have you checked your spiritual blind spot today?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...A unified Thanksgiving

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, Sing praises to Him; speak of all His wonders." -1 Chronicles 16:8,9

It is commonly believed that the first Thanksgiving celebration took place in 1621. This feast was attended by both Pilgrims and Indians who joined together to thank God for their bountiful harvest of the previous year.

What I love about the first Thanksgiving feast is how both the Pilgrims and Indians put aside their differences and sat together, unified, recognizing where their plenty came from.

Of course, that was just the beginning. It wasn't until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln declared the first Thanksgiving holiday to be official. The last Thursday in November, a day that was set aside for Americans to give thanks to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon America.

And since then, Presidents and leaders have continued in the quest to adopt what the Pilgrims and Indians tried to set before us. Be unified and thankful on at least this one day of the year.

“Now, therefore, I, George Bush, president of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the American people to observe Thursday, November 22, 1990, as a National Day of Thanksgiving and to gather together in homes and places of worship on that day of thanks to affirm by their prayers and their gratitude the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.” - George Bush Thanksgiving Day proclamation of 1990

There is no doubt in my mind that historically, Thanksgiving is a day set aside to give thanks to God for His blessings. I don't know if the younger generation is being reminded of the history behind this great holiday, but as I gather around the table with my family this Thanksgiving, I want to remember not only the blessings of God this past year, but His blessings that have come down generation after generation.

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and today of all days, I am truly thankful to God for His blessings. I hope you enjoy this day with your family and that His blessings will not go unrecognized ...not only today, but from generation to generation, until He comes again.

LACED WITH GRACE...prep work for Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving Eve which means only one thing...Prep day! Today you can find me over at LACED WITH GRACE, where I have shared a devo with the readers entitled, "Prep work for Thanksgiving."

Turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie isn't the only thing we need to get prepped...CLICK THE LINK to read this post!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...I can do ALL things!

From time to time I am overcome with the feeling that I have nothing to give. Nothing to give to my family. Nothing to give to my friends. Nothing to give to my church. Nothing to give to my Lord. Even in times of feeling unworthy, God always seems to remind me of the gifts and talents that He has placed within me and with His help, I am able to do anything.

Moses didn't think he had anything to give. He felt unworthy as well sometimes. Moses said he was a man slow of speech. He felt that God could not use him. We must move past this thought pattern and realize that God can use anyone. We all have gifts and talents and God wants to use them for His glory. God is going to bring a mighty breakthrough to his people who are hungry for Him.

We CAN do the things we need to do for God no matter what they are. God is with us! God is for us!
Jacob tells us in Genesis 35:3 of God's faithfulness to us no matter what we have done wrong or where we go. We can trust God to be with us in times of troubles, blessings, or even during our day to day things.

"We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has stayed with me wherever I have gone" (Gen. 35:3 NLT)

Let me encourage you today to stop saying "I can't" and begin saying "I CAN!" God will lead us and guide us to the places specifically designed for us to minister. The first step is trusting Him and believing!

"For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need ." (Philippians 4:13 NLT).

THANKFUL THURSDAY...in ALL things?

Here we go again...another Thanksgiving season is upon us. The time of year that we gather with our loved ones around a table full of food and take a moment to reflect on God's goodness by giving thanks.

It is pretty easy to sit around the feast table and conjure up warm feelings of thanks, after all, isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? Certainly it is not about turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie! But is giving thanks a once a year concept or is it a lifestyle?

Some people put on praise and thanks like they wear their snowman sweater...only once a year. But I like what 1 Thessalonians says about giving thanks...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

We are to give thanks in EVERYTHING! Not some things. Not just the good things. But in everything! What about when your car breaks down? Yes, everything! What about when your child gets sick? Yes, everything! What about when you lose your job? Yes, everything.

God did not say that EVERYTHING would be good, but He did say to give thanks and when we have an attitude of praise, He will surely bring something good out of our situation.

What is resounding in your heart today...Is it good or is it bad or is it just something you are thankful for? May your rejoicing become a daily habit and not a yearly gathering.

Join us today for THANKFUL THURSDAY, link up below as we join our grateful hearts together and give God praise for EVERYTHING!