Let Us Be Grateful

Ever notice how ingratitude leads to a lack of love and kindness, and intolerance towards others.

If we do not recognize and appreciate the mercy and help shown to us we will be ungrateful and unkind towards others. Ingratitude is forgetfulness or a poor return for kindness received. Ingratitude easily leads to lack of charity and intolerance towards others, as well as to other vices, such as complaining, grumbling, discontentment, pride, and presumption. How often have we been ungrateful to our parents, pastors, teachers, and neighbors? Do you express gratitude to God for his abundant help and mercy towards you and are you gracious, kind, and merciful towards your neighbor in their time of need and support?

So let us be mindful and pray.

"Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize your loving kindness and mercy. Fill my heart with compassion and thanksgiving, and free me from ingratitude and discontentment. Help me to count my blessings with a grateful heart and to give thanks in all circumstances."

God's Wonderful Works!

Go ahead and give God thanks

for all the glorious things he has done!

Go ahead and worship him!

Tell everyone about his wonders!

Let’s sing his praises! Sing, and put all of his miracles to music!

Shine and make your joyful boast in him, you lovers of God.

Let’s be happy and keep rejoicing no matter what.

Seek more of his strength! Seek more of him!

Let’s always be seeking the light of his face.

Don’t you ever forget his miracles and marvels.

Hold to your heart every judgment he has decreed.

For you are his servants, the true seed of Abraham,

and you are the chosen ones, Jacob’s sons.

For he is the Lord our God,

Psalm 105: 1-7 (TPT)

GOD’S REMNANT

Reading: Romans 11:1-6

“REMNANT SALE,” I read aloud in the flyer from the fabric store.

“What’s that?” my friend asked. I hadn’t heard the term in years, but I recalled buying remnants back in the day when I was into making purses from heavy fabric.

I explained, “It’s a small amount of material left on the end of a bolt of fabric, usually less than a yard. It would seem useless to sell because there isn’t enough to make something from a pattern for a dress or a suit or a robe. But these can be great for small one-of-a-kind items like purses, placemats, potholders, etc – or they would be perfect for making a patch-work quilt.”

When I read the verses for today, the word “remnant” caught my eye. Several translations used this term for the small group of Jews whom God “reserved for Himself” during Elijah’s time – Jews who had remained faithful to Him after all the others had walked away in disobedience and followed different gods (see Romans 11: 4; also read the story in I Kings 19: 10-18).

Paul further expanded the term to include Jews of his day who had been chosen by God’s grace (and indeed, extends today to those who are a faithful remnant of Jesus). We believers who are not Jewish by birth are included in the remnant by adoption. “The grounds for the existence of the remnant was not [our] good works but [only by] God’s grace.” (From note on vs 5 in the NIV Study Bible).

We, God’s Remnant, are set apart by His grace and favor for a special purpose, which I am imagining to be that patch-work quilt of believers from “every tribe and tongue” that enjoys, appreciates and shares the unique pattern He has created us to be together!

How grateful I am, Lord, that through your grace and mercy, I am among the quilt remnants that make up the whole Body of Christ. May we individually and together be a display of your beauty to the world around us.  Amen

Thankful Praise -- Psalm 100

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  This day is set aside just for us to give thanks to God for all He has done for us; to give thanks for all He has given us.  During difficult or lean times, we seem to recognize just what we do have.  It is sometimes a challenge to see our blessings in the midst of trouble, but once we do see that God truly is with us; He really is the One in control, life can be sweeter.

I plan to take time today to read Psalm 100 -- it is short and to the point. Read it out loud and see if you don't feel His love and His presence in your heart.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

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