It' s here. The official beginning of the Christmas season---we'll just pretend that we haven't heard the early Christmas music or seen the stores already decorated. But let's not sweep the lessons of Thanksgiving to get brushed into the trash along with the scraps left after a good meal. No ....let's let Thanksgiving nestle itself into a chamber of our hearts and let it warm us and remind us constantly of the power and the necessity of gratitude. There are few things more unattractive than ingratitude.
And gratitude also of necessity requires a thankfulness to the One...the Source of all the benefits and gifts we have. It would be kind of silly to have a TV delivered and to effusively thank the delivery man. Or to pay homage to the cardboard box the TV arrived in. NO! You must thank the one who sent the gift...and if it is something you bought "yourself" with "your" money, then the thanks must go to God for the job and the funds that have allowed you to make the purchase. But so many people think, "I worked for the money ....the gift came from me, myself, and I." And who gave you the health, the education, the clothing, and the opportunity which helped you to get the job that paid for the TV?
I challenge you tonight, when the company has gone and the leftovers tucked into the refrigerator, stop for a few minutes. Get alone. Lock yourself in the bathroom if that is the only privacy there is...Reflect on the blessings in your life and acknowledge the Source. The Giver. The Lord of all Creation who loves you completely and wants you to see that all that is good around you, comes from His hands. Thank Him with sincerity and humility. Ask for His forgiveness for leaving Him out of the equation of your Thanksgiving Day. He would love to make the holidays shine for you...around all the hurtful, painful, memories and losses that may have gotten their slimy hands all over this holiday season in your heart and mind. The Enemy loves nothing better than to trick you into blaming God for his own dirty work.
My prayer for each of you who read this is that you would allow God to reveal Himself to you...in whatever manner that would be most meaningful for you and that you would truly find the joy in the season and know from WHOSE hand it comes.
And gratitude also of necessity requires a thankfulness to the One...the Source of all the benefits and gifts we have. It would be kind of silly to have a TV delivered and to effusively thank the delivery man. Or to pay homage to the cardboard box the TV arrived in. NO! You must thank the one who sent the gift...and if it is something you bought "yourself" with "your" money, then the thanks must go to God for the job and the funds that have allowed you to make the purchase. But so many people think, "I worked for the money ....the gift came from me, myself, and I." And who gave you the health, the education, the clothing, and the opportunity which helped you to get the job that paid for the TV?
I challenge you tonight, when the company has gone and the leftovers tucked into the refrigerator, stop for a few minutes. Get alone. Lock yourself in the bathroom if that is the only privacy there is...Reflect on the blessings in your life and acknowledge the Source. The Giver. The Lord of all Creation who loves you completely and wants you to see that all that is good around you, comes from His hands. Thank Him with sincerity and humility. Ask for His forgiveness for leaving Him out of the equation of your Thanksgiving Day. He would love to make the holidays shine for you...around all the hurtful, painful, memories and losses that may have gotten their slimy hands all over this holiday season in your heart and mind. The Enemy loves nothing better than to trick you into blaming God for his own dirty work.
My prayer for each of you who read this is that you would allow God to reveal Himself to you...in whatever manner that would be most meaningful for you and that you would truly find the joy in the season and know from WHOSE hand it comes.
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