A New "Old Friend"

Recently, our "second car" came to the end of its long life.  We had had the 2003 Honda Pilot for almost 14 years and had driven it over 270,000 miles.  It was more than an old friend; it was like a member of the family. Our family vehicle that preceded the Pilot was a Toyota van, which we drove for over 240,000 miles and kept for over 10 years.  The Honda Accord prior to that I drove for over 10 years.  I'm currently in year 6 with the family's "best car"...  Hubster also has a dilapidated 1987 Chevy truck which he drives only around town. You get the picture.  We drive the fool out of them.

Well, when the Honda gave up the ghost last week we were in a quandary.  Son #2 had been driving the Pilot, for the most part, sharing it with his dad.  There were many times when we were using all 3 of the previously described vehicles.  So, what to do?  We truly were not ready to let the Pilot go, but had no choice.  It could not be resurrected without spending way more than it was worth.  Son 2 and Hubster were grieving; they loved that Pilot!  Between the three of us, we had been out looking at used and new vehicles within a 60-mile radius, with no satisfaction.

This afternoon was such an occasion.  Hubster and I went up the road a ways, to two dealerships.  On the way home I was feeling very discouraged.  What on earth were we going to do?  Both of us had prayed hard over the car/truck purchase and had asked our Christian friends to pray as well.  Yet, it seemed God was silent.

We had put on our blinker to turn onto our little road when Hubster looked in the rear view mirror to see .... the Pilot's TWIN!  Yes!  It was a 2003 Pilot, same color as our old one.  And, lo and behold? There was a "For Sale" sign in the back window!  "FOLLOW THAT CAR!", I yelled, as cars were zooming by us on the right.  Hubster managed to collect himself and off we went, in hot pursuit. Finally, although there was a car between us, I managed to read the phone number in the rear window.  The owner answered, soon pulled over into a nearby parking lot and allowed us to inspect her car.

It is not as spit-shiny as our former friend.  (After all, Hubster babied that SUV.) Needs a paint job. But, with some TLC, it should serve us well until we are well-and-truly "empty-nesters".

I keep thinking of "gratitude", my theme for this year.  What are the chances an almost-identical vehicle to the one we lost would simply...happen by?  Almost zilch!  We look at it as a miracle of provision from Jehovah-Jireh, our God who Provides.  Not only that, but He cares about His children's every need.  We are SO grateful!

Jehovah-Jireh is one of the many Old Testament names for God.  Literally translated "God Will Provide", it appears first in Genesis 22:14, when Jehovah-Jireh God provided the ram caught in the brambles, an animal which Abraham then sacrificed in place of his son, Isaac.  In that story, God provided a substitute.  Today, God provided not only a replacement, but exactly what we had been seeking.

Jehovah-Jireh is a name of God that contains promise.  It encompasses the love of a Father God who enjoys giving good gifts to His children.  The story of Abraham, Isaac and the ram foreshadows the sacrifice of God's Son, the Lamb of God, for us on a hill called Calvary.  Again, and forever, God provided ... Jehovah-Jireh.  Hallelujah!

In Him, our Savior, God the Father gave us all manner of blessings, starting with our miraculous, eternal salvation.  He always provides exactly what we need, even if we think we don't need it, or think we need something else.  Then, there are other glorious times when He gives us exactly what we ask for, sometimes in ways that defy human explanation. He's a good, good Father!  Hubster and I give our Jehovah-Jireh all the glory for His sweet provision today!

Charlie, Abraham and the Everyday Believer

Our family dog's name is Charlie, and he is dreadfully spoiled.  But, regardless, he came to mind as I meditated on Hebrews 6:14-15, considering the example of Abraham.

14saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.

The writer of Hebrews cites Abraham as an exemplar of the virtue of patience in that he, Abraham, waited patiently for the promise of God (The Abrahamic Covenant) to be fulfilled in his life.

Here's how it goes with Charlie.  If he wants something from us, he sits and stares at us steadily.  A legion of strutting Prussians could march through the room and Charlie would be undeterred.  His gaze is fixed on what he desires from us.  Even though we have not formally covenanted with him to feed him and tend to his bathroom needs, we have created a high expectation that we will do so, based on our past care of him.  He fully believes and trusts that he will get what he needs (and often what he wants as well.  Did I mention he is well-cared for?  That is putting it mildly.)

So are we (well-cared for by God), although we often forget it and descend into fretfulness.
Or, at least, I do.  I've come to realize that my patience is short-lived.  :) . It's pretty good in the short term, but not very durable over the long haul.  Charlie, my dog, has more faith and patience than I do, at times.

I had a Christian friend years ago who said that, in prayer, she often reminded God of His promises, as they are laid out in Scripture.  Did God need reminding?  Is He forgetful?  Does he REQUIRE reminding?  Of course not!  In saying that, this woman was exercising her own faith in God.  She was reminding HERSELF of the promises of God.

As a Christian, I long for the fulfillment of this Hebrews 6:14 promise in my life.  I want to receive all of the spiritual blessings God will bestow. Why?  Because, I long for Him to multiply my influence in the lives of others, for the spread of the gospel, for the advancement of His kingdom. There are seasons when that seems to be happening and seasons when it seems to be languishing....or even dead.

But, I know that God is a good, good Father.  No matter .... marching Prussians or what ... I need to keep my focus on Him.  Because....... He wants to do this, to answer this prayer, to fulfill His promise, in the life of every Everyday Believer, if we will yield our wills to His.  No, He may not make our physical offspring as numerous as the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17).  That promise was specific to Father Abraham (who had many sons...many sons had Father Abraham...)1 But, He does long to make our spiritual offspring more numerous than we can even imagine!
So, I am waiting on that....to obtain that precious promise.  It burns in my heart like an eternal flame.

How about you?  Are you waiting for something from God, not something trivial or frivolous (James 4:3), but rather something that will unleash in you the full joy He offers?  If it is a scriptural promise or holy desire, keep your eyes glued to Him (Hebrews 12:2).  Don't waver in your prayerful expectation. The word "patience" is translated "endurance" in some versions.  As time goes on, patience feels more like endurance, doesn't it?

Remember these verses when you begin to fret:

29So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. 30For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:29-32

15The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.

16You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

18The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

20The Lord watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.

Psalm 145:15-21

Source:

1    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o_J30x6E6s

Are You Standing Still?

Recently I found myself disappointed by someone in whom I had trusted.  Ever been there?  And, conversely, I know that there are many times in my own life walk when I have let another person down.  It is a characteristic of humans that we are in a constant state of change and development. This is true of us all, Christian or non-Christian.  As Christians, we are all either growing closer to God, through Jesus Christ, or we are back-sliding.  There is no standing still.   By contrast, unbelievers are moving farther and farther away from God's salvation, or God's Spirit is drawing them to Himself in order for them to become saved.  Again, there is no standing still.

Why am I talking about this?  Because God is not that way!  God, The Unflickering Flame (James 1:17), never changes.  His holiness, His love, His mercy, His justice...all of His perfect attributes are unwavering.  The writer of Hebrews affirms this in today's scripture passage.

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15And thus Abraham,^b having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Verse 13 refers to the Abrahamic Covenant, as it is often called - - - that promise God made to Abraham to the effect that he would become the father of many nations, that his descendants would be as the grains of sand in the desert.  And, God has kept that promise over these many thousands of years since Abraham's day.  Abraham, through Ishmael, became the progenitor of all Arab peoples; through Isaac, he became the father of the Hebrew people.

Interestingly, the One who had absolutely no need to swear for emphasis, did so.  Finding no one greater than Himself, He swore BY Himself that He would keep His promise.  He did this for mankind's sake, a creation with limited ability to comprehend changelessness.  We spiritual chameleons find His immutability, His changelessness, as difficult to embrace and understand as we do His other awesome characteristics.

By His character and by His oath, by these two things, God is emphasizing that it is impossible for Him to lie, whether about His promise to Abraham OR about the work He accomplished on our behalf through Jesus Christ, the Son.

When we find ourselves disappointed what do we do?  We find refuge in something or in someone, do we not?  Some seek refuge in drugs, others in promiscuous behavior.  Others in foods which trigger the soothing centers of the brain.  

Verse 18 depicts believers who run to and find their refuge in God's changeless promises, in that God who cannot lie, will never disappoint, is "the same, yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).  It is in this section that the author begins to weave into his sermon the theme of Jesus Christ, our High Priest.

When we run to God in our time of need, we do so because of His sure promises that cannot fail. Still, here is an important point.  Even though this turning to, running to God is a type of perseverance, it is clear that the Holy Spirit living within us enables us to persevere in such a manner.  

Why is this an important distinction?  I overheard an elder Christian tell a younger believer the other day that he was going to just have to "suck it up" and "tough it out".  The implication is that the younger person was just going to have to work himself up to get things back on track.  But, clearly, that is not the Christian way.  "Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow"1 are not found within our own sinful natures.  Consequently, trying to achieve that in our own strength is hopeless.

Cockerill2 puts it like this, having just referred to Abraham as a godly example:  

"Provision for that perseverance is made certain, as it was for Abraham, through the faithfulness of God, which has now been fulfilled in the high priesthood of Christ.  Thus awakened, the hearers are ready to grasp that priesthood and its benefits as the ONLY means of perseverance." {emphasis mine}

In Hebrews 11, the author circles back to this theme of faith-based perseverance, as he lists "the roll call of faith".

What is it about Jesus Christ's current ministry as our high priest that makes this promise of refuge and perseverance so very exciting?  We will take a deeper look at that in upcoming posts.

Sources:

1      https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/19

2      Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition, p. 280. 

Expired Items

For the third day straight, I will probably not leave my house.  This is due to continued icing on the roads in the local area.  Stir-craziness has arrived!  Over the past few days, while stranded, I have straightened my pantry, labored to match up orphan socks, and re-organized the laundry room. Apparently, friends of mine have done similar things.  One of them, dear friends, posted on Facebook that they had found in their pantry a box of Jello with a "Use by..." date of 2004.  That box of gelatin has lived in four states and survived at least 3 household moves.

While I laughed my head off, I realized that, if I went through my own kitchen pantry with such scrutiny I'd also find some "expired items".

Our study of Hebrews continues with these verses from Hebrews 6.

10For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints. 11But we passionately want each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of your hope until the end, 12so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.

Also pertinent to this topic are these verses from Philippians 3:

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things.

Expired Items --- if we are honest with ourselves we all have them.  Because of things that happened in our past, we tend to lug with us into the future things that have "expired", outlived their usefulness, and are weighing us down.

Last week I had a disappointment, which I won't share here.  It was not a crippling loss, but a loss nonetheless. Now, that situation is an "expired item".  I need to learn from it what God has for me, be grateful for the lesson, and then toss that Jello.  No need to drag it around with me any further.

Clarification: when I speak of "expired items", I'm not talking about huge, devastating life events. Those are things we need to work through by the grace of God and by hanging on Him for dear life. Those take time, often lots of time, to process and move on from, most certainly.  Some things are so major, they are with us all our lives.  Others, perhaps, later on, could become expired items, just not until God is finished with them in our lives.  As we move through them, we lean into Him and let Him bear those heavy burdens.

In today's crazy illustration, it was not grandma's heirloom pie safe the family moved across 4 states; it was a box of Jello, for goodness' sake!

But, see, these "little things" can add up over time, if we hang onto them beyond their expiration dates.  They then become distractions and unnecessary hindrances in our forward spiritual progress, to which we are exhorted in the two scripture passages for today.

Periodically, we all ought to "search our pantries" and when confronted by those expired items - - - chuck 'em - - - with eagerness, so that we may fulfill our hope until the end! (Heb. 6:11)

A Beautiful Life

At present, it is snowing here in the Deep South.  We don't get a lot of snow, but we usually do get some the first week or so of January.  I am snug and warm, and for that, as well as for many other gifts I'll share in this post, I am grateful.

Earlier this week word came that a family friend, a man I've known all my life, from my "home church", had suddenly died.  Mother, who told me, also relayed that she, my sister and I had been asked to sing at his service.  My sister lives near me, relatively speaking (sorry...couldn't resist).  We both arranged to attend and pay our respects, leaving from my house yesterday afternoon.  In the meantime my mother had texted, to ask if I could sing the bass part on a requested song.  "No, mother, I can do a lot of things, but not that..."  She said she'd ask cousin Robert to help.  "Ok."  It was about this time she informed me I would be playing piano for the funeral too....  "Ok."

We arrived just after six, when the six to eight o'clock viewing had begun.  Our friends are a very small family - - the father, an invalid mother, one middle-aged daughter and the mother's one sister. Lately, due to the mother's extended illness all of them have "had their hands full".  They all live in their respective homes on "family land" and do their part.  No one expected the father, who had faithfully fed his wife the meals she ate for the past two years, to "pass" before she did.

After the viewing we went to the local pizza place to get a late dinner.  With my mom, sister and me went my brother and his wife.  We had a great time, just talking.  Their son recently announced his engagement and will be getting married, hopefully, sometime this year.  We reminisced about other weddings of mother's grandchildren.  My brother had been at our house yesterday to repair one of our ailing heating systems; the news is not good there.  We enjoyed our pizzas and then headed to mama's.

We were supposed to meet my cousin, Robert, after dinner; he arrived in short-order.  We practiced a few minutes, after which we spent the next couple of hours just sitting in "the music room" - - talking and "catching up" on how various relatives are doing these days.  We had not had a chance to just sit and talk with him, in ages.

This morning we got up with our minds on the weather and on doing an honorable job at the service for our long-time friend.  We were to sing two songs, the one we practiced last night with our cousin and one more, which we had to select.  My sister said she could not sing anything in an altered key unless she sang lead.  We bargained and negotiated and finally defaulted to "Amazing Grace", always appropriate.

The funeral was at to be at 2:00, with the bad weather to start at our houses (almost 2 hours away) by mid afternoon.  So, we were leery ... but resolute.  About mid-morning we headed to town to do some shopping.  The man who had bought a local mom-and-pop (in this case just Pop) department store before I was born had died recently, way up into his nineties.  At his store today we encountered the  two elderly women who worked for him ... for nearly 60 years.  Surviving him (obviously) they are overseeing the selling off of the store's remaining goods.  He had no children, no apparent heirs.  The end of an era in my hometown...
After we picked up a few things and told the ladies "good-bye", we walked next door to the local diner for lunch, keeping a watchful eye on the TV, which featured wall-to-wall weather reports.

Upon arriving at the funeral home we got our stuff together; and, as soon as the first guest arrived in the chapel, I began to play.  Now this was a curious thing:  as I listened to the first minister, I thought about how few folks my age still have the privilege of hearing two of the three preachers whose ministries they sat under during the years they were a child and youth?!  What a joy!

The first pastor I ever remember was the first one to speak today.  He still preaches occasionally and also hosts the morning show on the local radio station, the one my elderly aunt (and family) still own and manage. (By the way, my aunt still plays the organ at First Baptist - - - after 60+ years in that position.  But, that's another blog post.)

The second minister was the one who came to our church when I was about 14.  In fact, I was appointed to the pastor search committee that brought him to our little, country church.  I can't imagine why they chose me for that ... honor.   In my self-centeredness and immaturity this teenage "church organist" just had one question for our only candidate:  "If a musician has prepared an offertory, should she get to finish it if the ushers have quickly finished collecting the offering?"  He replied, "Absolutely!"  And, that sealed the deal for me.

Well, after a few years as our bi-vocational pastor - - the only kind our little church has ever had - - he moved on from that pastorate.  But, he didn't move on from the community.  He and his wife had put down roots there, and stay there they did, living for 35 years in my grandaddy's homeplace. Over the decades he became "closer than a brother" to the man whose funeral he preached today.  In fact, his voice broke as he eulogized him.

This might be a good time to mention the title of the other song we sang today: "A Beautiful Life", which was also the theme of that second minister-friend's remarks.  The man we remembered today was not a celebrity.  He was not famous or wealthy.  He was a good, kind, honorable, Christian farmer who loved his Jesus, his friends and family as well as the family of God with whom he fellowshipped and worshipped.  He was a deacon, Sunday School teacher and humble friend, who "walked the walk".  By the grace of God, he lived "a beautiful life".  Now, (praise God!), he is in his heavenly home...safely home with his Savior, forever.

https://youtu.be/92Ze_65XIko

And, by the grace of God, the weather held off until we made it safely, late this afternoon, to our earthly homes.
This life with Jesus, who stretches out His arms and invites us to come to Him, walk with Him, become like Him ...yes, it IS a beautiful life.  A life that, filled with joys and sorrows, will lead to a sinless eternity with the One we love, the One who loves us the most.

How beautiful is that?!

Tasting, Seeing, Taking

Have you ever heard that expression, "not one iota!"  It is an English expression commonly used to indicate "not even the tiniest bit".  The word, "iota", is a Greek term, which refers to a single Greek letter.  Here is how the expression came to be:1

There was a religious teacher, claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ, named Arius, who was from Alexandria, Egypt, and lived in the fourth century.  Arius began to teach doctrine which denied the Trinity of God.  In other words, he taught that God manifested himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but that each of these were not distinct Persons.  He also taught that the Father created the Son.  His basis for this hinged on one Greek letter - - - that's right, the iota, in the word homoiousious.  Arius claimed that the "i" was not there and that the more correct word should be homoousious.  The first Greek word, the one with the iota, means "of the same essence"; the second means "of similar essence".  Big difference.  The former is God's truth; the second is apostasy.

Hebrews 6:4-12 is today's text. (ESV)

4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.7For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

9Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Arius was an apostate.  Apostasy can be defined as this: revolt, abandonment or defection from faith. It generally takes two forms.

1.  The first is an open rejection of Jesus Christ.  This is the person described in today's scriptures, someone who has heard the gospel and perhaps even mimicked the Christian walk for a time.  But, the seed of the gospel, God's truth, never truly took root in their hearts. (We see this described in Mark 4:4-7.)  Instead, the seed died and the person ultimately rejected Christ.  If you talk to people like this they can say all the right things.  They can tell you how to receive Christ, how to live the Christian life, etc.  They KNOW the truth, but they have not received it into their hearts.  And, the dire warning of Hebrews 6 is that, chances are, barring a supernatural intervention from the Holy Spirit, they never will.
This describes SO many Americans and helps to explain why we have not had a major revival in this nation in generations.  Americans have had tremendous exposure to the gospel.... and said, "no, thanks, we prefer other gods".
I think of how many millions around this globe who have NEVER heard the gospel! How they long to hear it!  And, then there are those who have been blessed to hear, but whose response has been a slap in the face of God Almighty.

2.  The second is the person who hears and who then insidiously masquerades as a Christian while convincingly teaching false doctrine, leading people away from the truth, away from true salvation, teaching them to embrace a fake Jesus.  These are difficult to identify, without spiritual discernment.   Arius was one such apostate.

Some use this passage as proof that those who have been transformed by the holy, incomparable power of the Holy Spirit to eternal salvation can somehow walk away from that.  Note that verse 4 says "tasted".  That word (Greek: geusamenous) draws an important distinction.  It only occurs in Scripture in Hebrews 6:4-5.

I think about the first (and only) time I tried a cigarette.  (Don't tell my mama now, lol!)  My daddy was a big smoker, from age 9, and I loved him so!  When I was 13 or so I determined to try to discover what all the fuss was about smoking.  So, I secreted myself in the pink bathroom, after pilfering one of daddy's smokes, lit up, and inhaled.  "GROSS!"  Coughing, gagging, sputtering....I doused that foul thing with water, flushed the evidence and never went near those things again.

I had tasted a cigarette.  I did not become, nor do I have ANY desire to become "a smoker".  I had "tasted" and given that disgusting item a resounding "NO".

By contrast, when I met Jesus, I tasted and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that "the Lord is good"!  I then, "drank Jesus in" (vs. 7).  Now that I think back, the Lord gave me that verse when I awoke this morning, me not consciously aware that I'd be studying this Hebrews passage today....isn't He wonderful!  The verse is from Psalm 34:8.  Here it is in its entirety (ESV).

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

You see?  The believer not only tastes.  He or she then sees.  And, finally, he or she takes.
That's the difference between a believer and an apostate.  The author of Hebrews gives this warning in verses 4-8 because it is impossible in this life to definitively separate the "wheat" from the "tares" (weeds) in any community of believers.  (See Matthew 14:24-30.)  But, God sees and God knows who are His.

Sources:

1     https://www.gotquestions.org/apostasy.html

The Healthiest Emotion

Happy New Year!

I love this post-Christmas season, truly.  It is a quiet time, when the earth continues to sleep, resting and rejuvenating in preparation for spring.  Things look dead, but they aren't.  In a few short weeks, the Earth will once again "spring" to life, giving evidence by the beautiful, bright green shoots of vegetation.  For now, though, quiet and rest.

Do you know what I was doing on New Year's Eve?  Well, first I got my nails done.  Sitting on one side of me was a lovely lady my age, with whom I had a conversation about cooking turnip greens. My MIL taught me how to cook them so that they are not bitter.  I'm grateful for that lesson because turnip greens are, hands down, the Hubster's favorite vegetable.  I hope this stranger tried my recipe; she would not regret it.

On the other side was a beautiful younger woman.  We had a conversation about the New Year's Eve parties she was scheduled to attend.  She told me that the first party she was headed to was at her church and then rhapsodized about how much she loves it.  She spoke of the mission trips she has taken and how much the Lord means to her.  How refreshing to interact with a young sister in the Lord, one who so obviously loves Him!  I'm grateful for her and the encouragement God gave me through our "chance meeting".

Zig Ziglar calls gratitude "the healthiest emotion".1  Bob Jones, Sr., said it like this:  "The loveliest flower that blooms in the garden of the heart is the flower of gratitude; and, when gratitude dies on the altar of a man's heart, he is well-nigh gone"2  ("close to hopeless" would be a more modern rendering).  

As I move into 2017 I am grateful for so many things....but not nearly grateful enough.

So, this year, I want to be more grateful, cultivate more gratitude in my garden, because I believe that gratitude grows a believer's faith in God.  

When you can't control the perilous situation.....

When you are (like my precious sister in Christ) getting your bone marrow transplant today....

When you are in tremendous physical pain.....

When your marriage is over and you surely did not want that....

When your children are far, far from God with no apparent hope of return...

When you have lost your job and are consumed by fear for your financial future....

When you are excruciatingly lonely and know one sees.....

        choose to be grateful for God's grace and that He is with you 100% in the middle of it.

Did you know that the Greek word for grace (charis) and the word for gratitude (eucharistian) have the same root?  That is why the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:15 that, as God through us extends His grace to more and more people, our gratitude should be increased accordingly.  As we allow God to use us in ministry, to further His kingdom, His grace should flood our lives!  His grace is the engine that powers our gratitude.

Gratitude is a genuine heart-attitude toward one who has given us a good, often-undeserved gift. It doesn't come naturally to us humans!  (Every parent has learned that by watching the sin nature unfold in his or her own child!)  Gratitude is an emotion that goes hand-in-hand with grace. The Bible says "every good and perfect gift" comes down to us from the Father of Lights, that is, God (James 1:17).  But, what about those "gifts" we don't perceive as "good"?

"It's all good", when you are God's own child (Ephesians 5:20).  He is the perfect Father, who allows nothing to touch us that is not a part of His plan.  Even when life seems to "stink", even when we suffer for His sake, His love never wavers.  The latter part of James 1:17 emphasizes that God, as the Father of Lights, does not waver as a candle flickers.  His light is constant, as is His love for His own.  His grace never fails, is unending.

We can have not only confidence in this...we can choose and receive gratitude in this, a Holy Spirit-driven gratitude that soothes the troubled heart and nourishes our soul.

Sources:

1    https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/z/zigziglar617744.html

2   https://books.google.com/books?id=tzpypGT0ZHEC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=when+gratitude+died+on+the+altar+of+a+man%27s+heart&source=bl&ots=kkrrgFVRLA&sig=DuwtsBoOpxyChiMaezCzWfCIAxU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhjZi_6abRAhVG7IMKHR5EBPwQ6AEITTAL#v=onepage&q=when%20gratitude%20died%20on%20the%20altar%20of%20a%20man's%20heart&f=false