Thankful Hearts

Thankful Hearts

“With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6b

Sometimes in reading Scripture, it’s the little words that capture my attention.

“Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (CEV):

Did you spot with and then? Paul speaks a powerful truth to me here in Philippians 4. He tells us that a thankful heart, anchored in Jesus, is the gateway to a peaceful spirit. What a beautiful promise. Gratitude on my part is honored by the Lord; it is he who supplies incomprehensible peace to my thankful heart.

John Ortberg says, “Gratitude is the gift God gives us that enables us to be blessed by all his other gifts, the way our taste buds enable us to enjoy the gift of food.“

There is an old movie that I love. It’s a Civil War drama called Shenandoah. In it, Jimmy Stewart plays a widowed father of a large farm family. He is a man with a keen sense of self-sufficiency. At the beginning of the film, he prays before each meal (because his wife made him promise to do so before she died), but it is a pretty testy prayer. “Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it, we planted it, we harvested the crops, and we fixed the food. We worked till we were dog-boned-tired. None of this would be here if it weren’t for us, but thank you anyway. Amen.”

Then the war comes. He loses everything. His family is ripped apart. Brothers fight against brothers. He suffers the loss of two sons. His youngest son, who reminds him so much of his wife, is carried off as a prisoner of war and lost to him for many years.

Deep into the war, the remnant of the family gathers around the table for a meal. Jimmy starts to pray the old prayer, “Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it . . . “ but he chokes up and can’t go on. Suffering and loss—he is heartbroken, no longer feeling self-sufficient.

Ironically, it is loss and pain that open the door to gratitude. Toward the end of the story, against all hope, Stewart is sitting in church when his youngest son comes home to him, limping down the aisle. And they stand and sing together, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . . “

Stewart’s character comes to realize something powerful…in spite of circumstances, it’s really all a gift. His life was a gift. His children were gifts. The seeds…and earth…and rain…and sun…and growth were gifts. His work was a gift. Life itself was a gift. And God graced him with one more incredible gift—the capacity for gratitude.

The Lord likewise graced the apostle Paul.

“… for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
Philippians 4:11

Gratitude comes from the same word as freedom (gratis = free). Gratitude is the freeing expression of a free heart toward the One who freely gave, says Ravi Zacharias. A free heart and a peaceful heart—because we belong to Jesus and are thankful.

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.”
Psalm 107:8-9

by Connie Grosse

His Beloved

His Beloved

…stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” Philippians 4:1

As I begin to read the Apostle Paul’s final words to the church at Philippi, my heart swells. I take a deep breath, attempting to slow the pounding of my heart. But I cannot restrain the stirring within me. It is the Holy Spirit. He presses me—“Stop here. Stay in this place for a while.”

“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” Philippians 4:1

My eyes open wide to such great grace bestowed upon Paul. This man, who once persecuted those who loved Jesus unto their death, begins chapter 4 with undeniable affection for such believers.

In context, it is overwhelmingly evident he had taken on the very nature of the persecuted Christ-follower himself, imprisoned for the very thing he—in times past—self-righteously abhorred and rejected.

I read and reread the words of Paul, once called Saul, who believed the slaying of Stephen—and others like him—to be righteous. Those truth-telling lovers of Jesus the Nazarene—blasphemers of the highest rank—were his enemies. And everyone knew it.

But here in verse one, Paul calls people like Stephen his.

He writes, “my beloved brethren”…“my”…“mine”…”you are mine”.

I feel a lump surface in my throat and I close my eyes. I imagine this man chained to a Roman guard, with tears in his eyes. Not for himself, for them—his brothers and sisters in Christ. The people he once condemned he now shared such glorious affections.

I imagine him thinking on what is true and honorable, right and pure, lovely and admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. The promises of knowing Jesus Christ were such as these things—and Christ Jesus himself—full of truth and reverence, righteous and perfect, acceptable and pleasing, gracious, virtuous, good, and worthy of all praise.

And I imagine him thinking such will be Christ’s Bride, his beloved, divinely loved by God’s Beloved Son.

How can I bring myself to read past this powerful display of heavenly love and ownership? Paul says, “you, my beloved,” and I am undone.

Why?

Because a sinful hater of God’s true children—a hater of even God himself—now displays the miraculous with all the love of Jesus Christ—loving Jesus to the point of dying to self.

That, my friends, is the epitome of the handiwork of grace.

And that is my story—once a hater, now a lover. Only Jesus. Only the Cross. Rejoice!

“In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people” Isaiah 28:5

by Dana Lange

Dear Insecure Girl…

Dear Insecure Girl…

There she was. She was beautiful, kind, confident, had flawless skin, loved Jesus, everyone loved her and—most of all—I wanted to be her. It was so hard not to compare myself to her.

You might think this was ten years ago when I was in high school, but this was actually three years ago, when I was first saved. I was twenty-three years old and I wasn't secure in who the Lord made me to be. I was still thinking confidence came from my looks and style—like the world says. I knew the Lord loved me, but I wasn’t letting Him work out those insecurities in my heart, the root of the problem.

I bet you’ve struggled with the same thing, right? Maybe you think it's normal for women to be insecure and compare ourselves to every beautiful girl that comes our way. Or, maybe your crush likes a certain girl and now you want to be just like her so maybe he'll like you? This is what I would say as a woman who struggled a lot with insecurity:

Let's take a look at Genesis 3, where we meet Eve, the most popular woman on the planet, She had everything but wasn't content. She wasn't satisfied in God, with her hubby, Adam, or with being basically the only woman on the planet. I mean, under those circumstances you might think how could Eve be insecure, right? But she was.

In Genesis 3:5 Satan tried to tempt Eve. He told her

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The Serpent was basically saying to Eve, "you're not enough," and she fell for that lie.

God doesn't leave us guessing where we stand with him, or how much he loves us. He has so many promises in his word on how he feels about you and me.

Remember, he is the God of the individual. He leaves the ninety-nine for the one. I've been praying everyday that the Lord would create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

The best place to be, as a believer, is to put every doubt and insecurity in the Lord’s hands, knowing you can't fix anything yourself. God has to do that work in your heart. If you don't, the insecurity gets bigger and it affects not only you, but everyone around you.

What comes out of insecurity? Jealousy, bitterness, anger and other horrible things. Are you putting your insecurity in God’s hands or in the world’s hands?

Don't take my word for it. Look at these verses which reveal the Lord’s love for you and how He feels about you. Can you believe the God of the universe is in love with us? Agh, my heart!

“God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal.” Psalm 136:1

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galations 2:20

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15

People are always drawn to a girl who knows who she is in Jesus and isn’t afraid to show it. She's confident in who God has made her. She's confident in the gifts that God has given her. Yes, she knows there are girls who are prettier, have better fashion, and are funnier than she is. But, if she struggles with insecurity she immediately gives it to the Lord. In his hands everything is made pure. Everything is made beautiful. Everything is made perfect. Insecurity doesn’t have to be part of your story. You can be confident in who God says you are.

by Jasmin Hernandez

Eagerly Awaiting His Return

Eagerly Awaiting His Return

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Philippians 3:20-21

We live in an exciting time. Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t take more than a glance at the news or social media to know this nation—this world—is in a sorry state. But, it’s in a state Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:

“And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” Matthew 24: 6-8

Almost every day there is some new event reported that lines up with the prophecies from the Old Testament prophets such as Ezekiel and Daniel, and Jesus himself as recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. We can rejoice in Jesus for we see his warnings coming in view—the beginning of birth pains. We can rejoice in Jesus because our permanent citizenship is in heaven with him. Our citizenship here on earth is temporary. Everything about today is preparing us for tomorrow.

Paul exhorts us to be eagerly awaiting the return of our Savior. Jesus admonishes us to occupy until he comes. What does that mean?

Perhaps the answer is found in a parable Jesus taught in Luke.

“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” Luke 19:12-13

The New Living Translation says, “Invest this for me while I am gone.” The parable is one most of us know well. The servants were each given some silver to invest during the master’s absence. When he returned he asked for an accounting of their investment. Some did well, and one did nothing with the talent given.

We’ve each been given talents by our Creator. They are unique to us—not to be compared with those given to someone else. Every day we’ve been given time—time to develop those talents and time to seek our treasure.

“Don’t store up treasures on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21

Is our treasure Jesus? Do we invest time in study and fellowship with him? Do we see our role in nurturing our marriages…in teaching our children…in doing the best we can in whatever circumstances God allows into our lives as investment in obtaining that treasure?

Investing our time and talents every day in the quest for our treasure fulfills our purpose in life. It honors God, and that is, after all, why he created us. As believers, our citizenship is no longer in this strife-torn world…we’re just passing through.

Oh, let us eagerly await his return, for he will change our limited mortal bodies into glorious eternal bodies like his own. He has that kind of power.

by Marilyn Allison

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

“Sin forsaken is the best evidence of sin forgiven.”’
J. C. Ryle

I am a flawed human being. I want to do what is right, but I don’t, I’m pulled by my own natural desires, I want to do my will and that doesn’t always align with God's will for my life.

“I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” Romans 7:19

My sins are many, and more often than not I’m convicted/feel guilty because I know I’m not giving God my best and, therefore, my family is also getting the short end of the stick.

“I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, ‘I am determined to be wise.’ But it didn’t work.” Ecclesiastes 7:23

Living with sin is exhausting. It’s like trying to juggle a power saw, a bomb and an alligator—it’s only a matter of time before one of them is going to get you. Asking for forgiveness is hard. First we have to admit to ourselves that what the world labels okay is—for a Christian—sin. Pride rears its ugly head to keep us from asking for forgiveness. But, it is impossible to be a Child of God and live in sin. The unrepented sin will fester like an open sore oozing shame and guilt. But confessing our sin to God is a safe place. Forgiving our sins—and restoring us—is the reason Jesus Christ came!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 3: 16-17

God is in the business of forgiving. There is a caveat though; in order to receive forgiveness, we have to be repentant. Not just regret the fact that we’ve sinned, but we need to abhor what we’ve done to the point that we turn away from that sin and not do it again.

This quote from “Judges - The Flawed and the Flawless'“ by Timothy Keller spoke volumes to me on the difference between regret and repentance:

“Regret and repentance are not the same thing. Regret is sorrow over the consequences of a sin, not the sin itself. Regret focuses on me, on what I have lost, how my heart is breaking. Repentance is about turning back to God; accepting how He has been grieved, how He has not received the honor He deserves. Regret stays sad; but repentance doesn’t because when we repent we are forgiven and restored. Regret never moves on or restores relationship with God; repentance removes all regret.”

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

As we are forgiven so we too need to have the same heart towards others who sin against us. Yep, I know what you are thinking—“Yeah, but you don’t know what he did!” or “She said those lies about me”. Jesus not only came to earth to give forgiveness but to teach us how to forgive as well.

“Then Peter came to him and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times,’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!” Matthew 18:21-22

Hebrews 11—we call that chapter “The Hall of Faith”—is full of people who the Lord used in many great ways. They were flawed, they sinned and then sinned again—the same sin! Sound familiar? (Genesis 12:13 and Genesis 20:2) God’s forgiveness is continual. Those men and women—when they weren’t falling on their faces in shame for sins committed—were falling on their faces in worship or walking tall and strong in the Lord. They knew what He said was true. Though they hit bumps in the road God's faithfulness to keep His promises kept them on course.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

I am a flawed human being, but I pray I would hold on tight to God, who has lavished me with His love, grace and forgiveness. Jesus, the one who has held me in His nail-scarred hands and will present me one day spotless to His Father, took the consequence for my sin and made it His.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

by Eve Montano