FROM THE HEART
Relevant blogs about living as a Christian in the world today.
Are you a thankful person? How much do you grumble and complain? For me, this is a serious situation, as my carnal nature is a real grumbler and complainer! My born-again nature is extremely thankful. And whichever one is ruling me, wins the prize.
Having an “attitude of gratitude” is quite popular, even in the secular world, as being a better way to live. For a Christian, it is fundamental to our faith. It is part of the godly way we live. A positive attitude is wisdom, and spoken of in the books of Psalms and Proverbs many times. It is seen there in black and white, as well as, in underlying ways. The opposite attitude, ungratefulness, is a true fruit of a godless nature.
All a person has to do to be carnal, is follow the fallen nature we are all born with. People can try to harness or overcome it, for being immoral or not smart, but the only real way to overcome it, is by being born-again. Once our spirit is re-birthed into the light, we receive the nature of Christ and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us, as living temples of the Lord, this is when real change happens. As Christians, we always have the option to grumble and complain, just as we have the option to commit any sin, but the new nature in Christ is thankful. And we are thankful to be born-again and saved from the wrath we deserve! We are thankful God is merciful, loving and kind. The Creator of everything, has given us a beautiful earth to live on. We are thankful that Jesus came and paid the price for our sins, and overcame the devil, so that we can have a true relationship with God. We are thankful that a holy God, can come and live in the hearts of ones such as us. There is so much to be thankful for.
It is utterly amazing, that the Lord makes all things work together for good, for His true people, as told in the verse above. Even hard circumstances and actions are turned for good, as we see in the next verses.
It is interesting that “being thankful” and “being merciful” are intrinsic to each other. A heart that is truly thankful for God’s mercy, knowing that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” shows mercy to others. And their respective opposites are intrinsic to each other too. Most people who are unthankful are unmerciful too. By unmerciful, I mean harsh, resulting in being critical of others. Once, when I was going through a bad season, I heard someone say that “fault finding is the devil’s job.” He is the accuser of the brethren. And when we are critical of others, we are actually helping the devil do what he does. This stung me like a bee. When I catch myself being critical, I often ask myself, who am I helping? While this is the time of the year for Thanksgiving, as Christians, we need to be thankful every day. We also need to be gracious to others. We must maintain a thankful, gracious attitude internally and also share it. If we catch ourselves becoming unthankful or ungracious, we need to stop, repent and get back on the right path. Even while God was blessing the children of Israel with daily manna, they still fell into the pitfall of grumbling and complaining in the wilderness, and it is still an easy sin for us today. Through His Word, the Lord teaches us His ways. Consider these next verses, as part of the direction, for a great life in Christ.
Let’s look again at our first Scripture in this blog, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is the will of the Lord for us. No one desires the best for us, more than Jesus Christ, and His will for us, is to give thanks in all circumstances. And the Lord set a great example for us to follow. Even while on the cross, He considered all the good that would come from His sacrifice and it was worth it to Him.
We can always find the silver lining, when we are the children of the Lord. His Word is true and amen. Let us follow the Lord and the example He set for us. In so doing, we have the best life possible!
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