Psalm 50:14
Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High.
Thankfulness can be translated as confession, praise, thanksgiving. This verse struck me as I realized just how hard thankfulness is for me. It is a sacrifice that God expects and yet I often blow it off as unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for many things and definitely for my salvation; however I find that truly in the depths of my heart I am not all that thankful. I am constantly wanting something more than what I have - emotionally, spiritually and physically. I find that contentment is a battle that I often lose.
Recognizing that in Psalm 50:7 God reminds me that "I am God, your God!" and that in verse 14, He requires thankfulness is rather eye opening for me. I find that I have a surface level thanksgiving rather than a thankfulness from the heart and I find hope from the fact that God allows confession and praise along with thanksgiving to count!
Psalm 50:22a says, "Repent, all of you who forget me," and verse 23a says, "But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me."
I realize I have taken bits and pieces of the Psalm to look at. If you read the whole Psalm you will discover that God is quite put out by the Israelites and He speaks rather harshly or firmly. He reminds them that He is their God, the I AM. He reminds them that He does not need their sacrifices, that He is God and He "owns the cattle on a thousand hills." That "every bird on the mountain and all the animals of the field are His". That if "He were hungry, He would not tell them, for all the world is HIs and everything in it"! He is the Judge of everyone! But look at the HOPE revealed. We can repent. And giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly HONORS Him!! This is the path He has for us to walk.
Thanksgiving is more than words, it is an attitude. This is the path He has for me to walk, one that is filled with a thankful heart. I am to mean what I say and the proof is in how I live, not just in my words. Words are sometimes easy, whereas follow through is not.
Father God, thank You for pricking my heart over my lack of thankfulness. Forgive me for often saying I am thankful when truly I am dealing with a bad attitude. Thank You that thankfulness is way more than flowery words but that it includes confession and a recognition of Who You Are. I am thankful that You allow me the opportunity to bring You glory and I can do so with thanksgiving. Forgive me for thinking that You need anything from me. Thank You that though I often find myself in trouble, You always rescue me. Thank You that You have rescued me for eternity for providing Jesus to pay my sin debt and saving my soul, but I also thank You that You rescue me daily and You want me to live an abundant life in the now and I can do this by developing a thankful heart. You even provide the strength to do that! I am never alone. You provide all I need. All the time. Thank You, Holy Spirit for giving up heaven to live inside of me! Father God the depth of Your sacrifice astounds me. Forgive me for taking You for granted so often. Change me, Lord, help me to truly be more thankful from the inside out. Forgive me for complaining and being ungrateful. I want to honor You.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The LORD: My Hope and Confidence
Jeremiah 17:5-9
5) This is what the LORD says: 'Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.
6) They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7) But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8) They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
It is that time of year where I and many of us are very aware of the trees around us, FALL!!! Truly, I love fall. The crispness in the air. The subtle change of color in the leaves that then burst with radiant color. Their beauty only surpassed by the sky above with it's rich blues or the multi-colors of a sunrise or sunset - for me preferably a sunset - lol. Bonfires. In our family celebrating the lives of our children. Hiking. And so much more...
For many, I know, fall represents an ending. The fact that winter is fast approaching takes away from the ability to enjoy the moments of fall. I can understand that too. I find it so amazing that God has given each of us our own view point. Every single one of us come at this life from a unique set of circumstances, experiences and way of viewing life dependent on so many factors. How absolutely mind-blowing is it that Christ understands us so intimately and loves us unfailingly!? HOWEVER, His TRUTH, His WORD is what never changes and it is to be our plumb line for life, not our viewpoint, not our circumstances, not our DNA. I do not know about You but this is so freeing and fills me HOPE. (Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!!! Hebrews 13:8
In this context in Jeremiah 17 "cursed" means to be "miserable". When I depend on others for my hope and confidence or even in myself, "I am miserable". I have lived this I know it to be true. This is a battle I fight with unfortunate regularity. Due to my own "bents" or my own personality, my circumstances, my viewpoint I tend toward trusting in myself and in others for my security. I am truly grateful that though I battle this I am no longer bound by it because "in Christ, I am a new creation; old things have passed away, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Sometimes, actually more often than I would like to admit, I forget that my old nature is dead and I allow myself to live by my old nature, in my flesh and I fall for the enemies tricks. Before I know it I have allowed myself to trust in my own strength and in what others provide and just that quickly I have turned away from the LORD and emotionally and spiritually I am "like a stunted shrub in the desert" living as if I have no hope and feeling as though I am in "a barren wilderness." In those moments, I find that I am like a tree that is dried up and has lost it's color, it's brilliance for the LORD.
I am so thankful that like the trees my life is filled with seasons. When I repent of my self-sufficiency and pride, etc. I find that God fills my life with His brilliant color once again regardless of whether I find myself in the fall, winter, spring or summer season. No matter how long each season lasts, I always have hope and I am blessed because of Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection on the cross. My hope and confidence is truly only found in Him.
For me, it is a constant process of realizing my trust is in the LORD and the fact that He is my hope and confidence and choosing to walk in the truth of all that this means. I want to be that tree that is "planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep in to the water." And not be "bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought" and "whose leaves stay green" and "never stop producing fruit". However, I know that this is what heaven looks like so for now I am determined to be better at embracing each season of life and recognizing God's hand at work in me regardless of whether my "leaves" are newly budding, vibrant green, brilliant colors, dried up and crusty or just plan gone. My goal is to stop "worrying" so much over what my own leaves look like and focus on my Lord and trusting in Him!!
Father God, You know the deep desires of my heart. Forgive me for so often losing sight of You and for giving in to the sin of pride and self-sufficiency. I know that I can do nothing apart from You. God, I chose to trust You for the seasons in my life. Forgive me for spending so much of my time trying to figure out what You are up to and what I need to do rather than practicing placing my trust and hope in You. Help me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as myself. Forgive me for placing my wants and desires above You. I want to bring You glory, Lord, regardless of the season I find myself in. Help me to look to You and You alone, Lord. Thank You, Jesus for never giving up on me and for always meeting me where I am, but for refusing to leave me there!
5) This is what the LORD says: 'Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.
6) They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7) But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8) They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
It is that time of year where I and many of us are very aware of the trees around us, FALL!!! Truly, I love fall. The crispness in the air. The subtle change of color in the leaves that then burst with radiant color. Their beauty only surpassed by the sky above with it's rich blues or the multi-colors of a sunrise or sunset - for me preferably a sunset - lol. Bonfires. In our family celebrating the lives of our children. Hiking. And so much more...
For many, I know, fall represents an ending. The fact that winter is fast approaching takes away from the ability to enjoy the moments of fall. I can understand that too. I find it so amazing that God has given each of us our own view point. Every single one of us come at this life from a unique set of circumstances, experiences and way of viewing life dependent on so many factors. How absolutely mind-blowing is it that Christ understands us so intimately and loves us unfailingly!? HOWEVER, His TRUTH, His WORD is what never changes and it is to be our plumb line for life, not our viewpoint, not our circumstances, not our DNA. I do not know about You but this is so freeing and fills me HOPE. (Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!!! Hebrews 13:8
In this context in Jeremiah 17 "cursed" means to be "miserable". When I depend on others for my hope and confidence or even in myself, "I am miserable". I have lived this I know it to be true. This is a battle I fight with unfortunate regularity. Due to my own "bents" or my own personality, my circumstances, my viewpoint I tend toward trusting in myself and in others for my security. I am truly grateful that though I battle this I am no longer bound by it because "in Christ, I am a new creation; old things have passed away, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Sometimes, actually more often than I would like to admit, I forget that my old nature is dead and I allow myself to live by my old nature, in my flesh and I fall for the enemies tricks. Before I know it I have allowed myself to trust in my own strength and in what others provide and just that quickly I have turned away from the LORD and emotionally and spiritually I am "like a stunted shrub in the desert" living as if I have no hope and feeling as though I am in "a barren wilderness." In those moments, I find that I am like a tree that is dried up and has lost it's color, it's brilliance for the LORD.
I am so thankful that like the trees my life is filled with seasons. When I repent of my self-sufficiency and pride, etc. I find that God fills my life with His brilliant color once again regardless of whether I find myself in the fall, winter, spring or summer season. No matter how long each season lasts, I always have hope and I am blessed because of Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection on the cross. My hope and confidence is truly only found in Him.
For me, it is a constant process of realizing my trust is in the LORD and the fact that He is my hope and confidence and choosing to walk in the truth of all that this means. I want to be that tree that is "planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep in to the water." And not be "bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought" and "whose leaves stay green" and "never stop producing fruit". However, I know that this is what heaven looks like so for now I am determined to be better at embracing each season of life and recognizing God's hand at work in me regardless of whether my "leaves" are newly budding, vibrant green, brilliant colors, dried up and crusty or just plan gone. My goal is to stop "worrying" so much over what my own leaves look like and focus on my Lord and trusting in Him!!
Father God, You know the deep desires of my heart. Forgive me for so often losing sight of You and for giving in to the sin of pride and self-sufficiency. I know that I can do nothing apart from You. God, I chose to trust You for the seasons in my life. Forgive me for spending so much of my time trying to figure out what You are up to and what I need to do rather than practicing placing my trust and hope in You. Help me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as myself. Forgive me for placing my wants and desires above You. I want to bring You glory, Lord, regardless of the season I find myself in. Help me to look to You and You alone, Lord. Thank You, Jesus for never giving up on me and for always meeting me where I am, but for refusing to leave me there!
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