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“Making Gratitude a Part of Your Style”

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David, known as the “sweet psalmist of Israel,” wrote many songs throughout his lifetime. Whether he was offering words of lament, gratitude, worship or wisdom, David freely expressed the depth of his heart. One of my favorite songs lies tucked in the book of I Chronicles, chapter 16. Here, David writes a song of thanks after the ark has been brought into Jerusalem and placed in the tent. His heart is fixed on the Lord as He powerfully worships him for who He is and what He has done throughout the ages. This week we will spend time examining five verses of his song so that we can get a deeper sense of what it looks like to wholeheartedly honor the Lord.

 

“Making Gratitude a Part of Your Style”

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

I Chronicles 16:8

Gratitude AttitudeGratitude is definitely in fashion these days. Walk in any big box store or local gift shop and you are sure to find wall decor, pillows, notepads, clothing, accessories, and even polished rocks emblazoned with beautiful mantras about being thankful. Turn on the TV or surf the Internet and you will find articles and even craft ideas inviting you to adjust your attitude by regularly expressing gratitude.

Even though I think every one of us could improve in this area, I’m a bit puzzled by the sudden tidal wave of stamped art reminding us all to be grateful. Perhaps we are all tired of seeing entitled kids growing into selfish adults. Maybe many of us are finally realizing that the “I deserve” culture in which they were raised didn’t yield the happiest of adults.

Or, maybe the plethora of studies linking gratitude to health and happiness have made people realize that a shift in our mindset can lead to a better quality of life? I have heard many famous people talk about the emotional, physical and mental health benefits they reap when they incorporate thankfulness to their daily schedule.

Despite the possible reasons for this trend, I have to say I am both pleased and concerned. On the one hand, we should all be grateful for the many blessing we possess. The quality of life we possess as Americans far surpasses that of most around the globe. I am concerned, however, because unlike David—who gives us a glimpse of his heart in this passage—many neglect thanking the Giver of our gifts. “I am thankful for my children” is simply not the same as “I thank God for my children.” The posture and tone are vastly different. The first expresses an emotional state associated with a possession. The second, however, conveys an attitude of humility as God is recognized as the Giver of the gift.

If you haven’t joined the gratitude movement, I strongly encourage you to start today. According to God’s Word, it should always be in style. He commands us to do this not because it looks good or makes you feel better, but because He is worthy. As you read David’s song, notice the way that his gratitude leads to a massive melody written to ascribe glory and honor and praise to His God. May our words of thankfulness be just the beginning of a tune we are singing to our Maker.

Jackie

Glorious Gumption: Gentile Woman

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You don’t hear the word gumption used very often. I like the sound of it. It makes me think of courage. It involves wisdom, discernment, spirit, ability, and judgment, among other things. It also requires good old-fashioned get-up-and go! When gumption is utilized in a godly way, I call it glorious. Join me this week as we look as some women who displayed glorious gumption in their lives and understand how we can do something similar!

 

Gentile Woman

Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet…. and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Jesus told her, “First I should feed…my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.” 

Mark 7: 25-28, NLT

Friday_Day_Five_Pic-Humility_SignWhen I was young, we’d go visit one of my uncles, who lived out in the country. I’d see dogs roaming around his place. These strays didn’t belong to anyone in the family and subsequently had to fend for themselves. But the family dogs got to hang out inside and eat some of the same good food that had been prepared, eaten, and left over by the family. Why? After all, they were all dogs, just the same. The reason was that they were part of the family.

Read today’s Dose verse. It tells the conversation between Jesus and a woman who’d asked Him to help her daughter. She’d humbly thrown herself at Jesus’ feet. The woman was a Gentile and Jesus told her that He should first take care of helping the Jewish people, His own family, before helping her, a Gentile. But, the woman acknowledged that even though she was a Gentile, she was indeed part of Jesus’s family because she knew He’d come to offer His hope of salvation for everyone who’d believe in Him, and she did. As such, she’d have to be considered part of the family, entitled to even the scraps under the table, so to speak.

Many Jewish people and most of the Jewish leaders had rejected Jesus and His offer of hope for their lives. But because Jesus offered His salvation to everyone, there were other members of the family, the Gentiles. Jesus helped her.  

“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone

(Mark 7: 29-30, NLT).

We are the Gentiles today, offered His amazing gift of hope and salvation.

Through helping this Gentile woman, Jesus made it obvious that His hope wasn’t just for Jews but for everyone who would humbly trust and believe in Him. Those believers were part of the family. It took great faith, persistence and humility for the Gentile woman to understand what Jesus was saying and know how to respond to Him in pursuit of her plea. This was her glorious gumption! In turn, Jesus responded to her honest self-portrayal, humility, and perseverance.

True humility displays Jesus at work in our lives but a lack of faith and persistence displays the opposite.

Are you part of the family of God today? You can be, His hope is for everyone.

Glorious gumption through humility,

Rita

[Read Mark 7: 24-30 for the whole of this story]

Glorious Gumption: Rahab

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You don’t hear the word gumption used very often. I like the sound of it. It makes me think of courage. It involves wisdom, discernment, spirit, ability, and judgment, among other things. It also requires good old-fashioned get-up-and go! When gumption is utilized in a godly way, I call it glorious. Join me this week as we look as some women who displayed glorious gumption in their lives and understand how we can do something similar!

 

Rahab

Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier… If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 

Joshua 2:4-6, NLT

Thursday_Day_Four_Pic-Make_a_Change_SignThink back to when you first trusted the Lord. How did other Christians treat you? Did they say you were a bit messy or carried a lot of baggage? How did your unsaved friends treat you? Did they ask you what you thought you were doing? Did you suddenly stop committing every sin you’d been engaged in prior to following Christ? I know I didn’t. Spiritual growth is a process, and we need others to help teach us how to trust in and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to make the necessary changes in our lives.

I remember feeling quite uncomfortable making the change from my old life to the new one. Familiar people, places, habits, and practices would all shift for me as I stepped out in faith to follow God. I had a lot of fear but I wanted to make the change. I took the risk.

Read today’s Dose verse. The two men spoken of were spies from the Israelite camp sent to check out land near Jericho, across the Jordan River. (Joshua 2:1)

Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho who hid the spies and misled the king’s men concerning their whereabouts. The spies taught Rahab about trust. She took a great risk by helping them. She knew little of God but chose to trust Him. As a prostitute, she could easily have been considered one who was a bit messy and came with a lot of baggage. However, she made a wise choice when she aligned herself with the God of Israel through helping and hiding the spies in the best way she knew how.

After the fall of Jericho, she went with the Israelites. It must have been scary for Rahab to change from her familiar lifestyle to one that was completely different and that she likely didn’t fully understand. But she did it. Rahab showed courage by changing from the familiar protection and popularity of the life she once knew and took the risk of pursuing the true God, of whom she knew little. She allowed herself to move faithfully into the unknown. This was Rahab’s glorious gumption!

Choosing a godly lifestyle over our familiar lifestyle of sin brings fear. At all times it requires courage to bring about changes in our lives, particularly when those changes lead us into the unknown, as they did with Rahab.  Are you risking the unknown for a life with the true God or staying comfortable in the life of your familiar sin?

Glorious gumption through risk,

Rita

[Read Joshua Chapter 2 for more of this story]