Meanings: Thank You

My husband recently listened to a science podcast. He told me that scientists discovered that the phrase that was used most by couples with a successful relationship is, ‘Thank you’.*

One would think that, “I love you”, would be the winning phrase, but those words are all too often bandied around and abused. They lack power because on their own they are just mere words. On the other hand, saying, “Thank you,” is showing that love because it is an expression of our gratitude towards the person we thank – for who they are, for what they have done, or what they have promised.

To thank someone is humbling, it pushes pride aside, and it’s not asking for anything in return. And the added psychological bonus is a boost in happiness and healthiness.

This led me to think about our relationship with our Lord. When we thank God for His presence in our lives, we are saying that we accept Him, we value His promises, we appreciate His love, we are grateful for His sacrifice. When we thank Him, we show our love for Him.

Have you sat in humble thanksgiving with the Lord today?


*Unfortunately I can’t find the podcast to link it here, but the theory behind it can be confirmed here.

Extreme Sport

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:3 (NIV)

As humans we are extremists. We often find it difficult to sit in the grey. We fidget in the in between. Because we are taught early in our lives the difference between right and wrong, we think we must always live in the absolutes of yes or no.

And much of the time this is true. There is no other path to God except through Christ. This is an absolute. This is a Yes! And this is the best extreme there can be.

But there is also the not so extreme. In the Romans verse above, Paul urges us moderation. We are to think of ourselves with sober judgement. We aren’t meant to think too much of ourselves, but neither are we to think too little.

In Proverbs 30:8-9 (NIV) the prayer is one of financial moderation. Give me only my daily bread.

Many verses speak of self-control. While we are meant to die to the self this does not mean we are meant to deny all happiness, joy or a life.

God blesses us with wonderful extremes and He also blesses us with the not so extreme. It is all a blessing when we live our lives with the measure of faith God gave us.

What extremes do you tend to lean toward?

Changed

When we turn our mind toward our Lord, acknowledging Him as our Saviour, Master and Friend, we are changed.

With every breath that we take, it’s taken for the Lord. With every sight we see, we can see beyond the physical and behold the power and glory of the Lord at work. With every sound we hear, it becomes the song of the Spirit prompting us to respond in love.

Even our very thoughts are changed. We understand more fully the strength of the Lord. We are able to acknowledge his power and majesty. We are humbled by his grace and love.

When the Lord becomes our Centre, we become more prayerful, more thankful, more trusting, more open and more willing to do all that we can for the Lord. As a result, a deep-seated sense of peace overcomes us and we are able to know a satisfaction and a sense of belonging that we didn’t know before.

Bargaining with God

One of my favourite movies of all time is Ladyhawke which was made in 1985. In the opening scene Phillipe Gaston (played by Matthew Broderick) is attempting to escape the dungeons of Aquila. He makes a bargain with God. If God rescues him, then he swears to never pick another pocket as long as he lives. God does get him out and the first thing that Phillipe does with his freedom is to pick another pocket. He says to God, “I know I promised, Lord, never again. But I also know, that you know, what a weak-willed person I am.”

The audience generally laughs at this point. We’ve all been there. We make a bargain with God and try to coax him into giving us the things we want. Then we don’t fulfil our end of the deal.

A small village in Bavaria, Germany, struck a bargain with God in 1633. The village of Oberammergau vowed to put on a play about Jesus every 10 years if God rid them of the plague. They have kept their promise for almost 400 years now. Their faith and dedication can be commended. But does this make it ok then to make a bargain with God?

I say no. God can’t be bargained with. We can’t flatter Him into anything. We can’t influence Him. We can’t make compromises with Him. We can’t buy God’s favour with good deeds or right behaviour. And we can’t earn a place in God’s household.

Honour God. Thank Him. Rejoice in His name. Trust His guidance. Do the best that you can every moment of your life. But don’t try to bargain with Him. God is so much greater than that.

What might be the things that lead you to attempt to make bargains with God?

I Don't Want To Be Brave

I don’t want to be brave

For fear I might face the storms alone.

I don’t want to be strong

For fear I might think I can be independent.

I don’t want to be clever

For fear I might listen to my own wisdom.

I don’t want to be comfortable

For fear I might never move on.

Lord, I want to rely on you in everything I do.

I want to borrow your strength

And never think it’s mine.

I want to hold onto your truths

And never make up my own.

I want to remember I am safe

with you and nowhere else.

These are the things I ask

This is my prayer.

Writing for God

Yesterday God - yet again - demonstrated His power. He showed me again how much I need Him, how much I must rely on Him.

I realised that when I write for God I can’t allow myself to get caught up in any attempts of personal brilliance. I can’t allow the lure of pride to catch me off-guard. I am here to write for God, to share His word, to be His voice.

I can’t be His voice if I am busy saying my own thing my own way.

I can’t share His truths if I don’t stop to listen to them first.

When I write for God, work for God, do anything in this life, I must remember to hand myself over to Him so that He can use me. I can’t ever forget the importance of prayer. I must practice reliance. I must humbly kneel at His feet.

God is the one with the power.

God is the one with the words.

God is the one who should be glorified.

In Service to the King

God calls us to serve others but many of us aren’t comfortable with the imagery of being a servant. We think it’s somehow demeaning. We think it’s a thankless task.

So, what does it really mean to serve?

It means doing the very best that we can regardless of what anyone else is doing.

It means giving all that we can, even when we know we will gain nothing in return.

It means loving not only our family and friends, but our neighbour, the stranger and the people we don’t understand.

Jesus is our Servant King. He did his best and saved our souls even though we didn’t know we needed saving. He taught us the right way to live even though we didn’t want to listen. He gave us his life even though we spat on him. He loves us even though we continually fail him. He remains faithful to us regardless of our lack of faith in him.

We honour our Lord by striving to do all we can to be more like him in everything we do.

Do you struggle with this concept or do you embrace it wholeheartedly? How do you serve your God?

Note: Ron, The Old Geezer, left a comment in yesterday’s post which inspired me to write this and another article. Thanks Ron!

photo: barbed wire fence, Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia

Fallen

I was in a car accident a couple of years ago. Three cars were involved because someone was in a hurry and thought that cutting across traffic in peak hour would be a good idea. As accidents go I guess it wasn’t a major one. No one was killed or seriously injured, although I did suffer a neck injury and had to go to physiotherapy for 6 months. One car was scrapped, my car was in the repair shop for over two months and we were all shaken up for a long time.

I had to question God. Why did this have to happen? He could have prevented it. He could have ensured I wasn’t there in that lane at that time. He is all powerful after all. He is supposed to protect me. He is supposed to love me. So, why? Did I do something wrong?

Well of course I did something wrong. I continually do the wrong things, and even think the wrong things. I am not perfect and will never be perfect. Only Jesus was and is perfect. And it’s a mighty good thing for all of us that perfection is not a condition of God’s love or even of his saving Grace.

God doesn’t punish us when we fail to be good people. Bad things happen to the righteous and the wicked alike. Bad things happen to the innocent and the guilty. Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world. We all have the freedom to make choices both good and bad. Bad things happen as a consequence of our poor decisions, our pride, our self-reliance. When anyone moves away from God bad things will happen and everyone around them will feel the effect. This is why we must always humbly rely on God in everything so that our influence on others is only good and uplifting and strengthening.