What To Do Today

May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. 

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. 

Psalm 67:1-4 

What should we do today?  How about accept God's blessings?  We are blessed with every breath, every blink of the eye, every sight, sound and scent.  We are blessed because God loves us so much that He provided a way of forgiveness through grace.

We have been blessed and we should remember them.  Count them (especially when we are struggling or enduring challenges).  Remember, God never leaves us and never stops loving us. 

Rock Choir?

But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 

“Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  

He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

Luke 19:39-40

I don't know about you, but I like genuine enthusiasm.  You see it in toddlers when they take off....well, toddling.....down the hallway.  They are so excited at this new adventure and they squeal and giggle all the way, at least my daughter did.  When we get older, why do we seem to lose that enthusiasm?

I hate to say it, but I have been in church services where everyone sat there like rocks only to tell the pastor "Wonderful Service Today" as they were leaving.  I wondered what sort of life these people led outside the church.  Now, I'm not a fan of services where there's so much going on that it seems as if chaos is the rule.  But I admire those who can attend services and are enthusiastic about learning, enthusiastic about worship, and are genuinely glad to be there.  Far too many attend church merely out of habit instead of sincere desire.

When did we lose our enthusiasm?  When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, the people cheered Him and gave Him a rousing welcome.  This apparently annoyed the Pharisees because they told Jesus to get His disciples to stop and be quiet.   And Jesus, as was His habit, annoyed them further by telling them that “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!” Can you imagine the stones crying out God's praises because we stopped?  That is a rock choir that would break my heart!!

We should never be afraid to tell God that we love Him, are glad He loves us, and thank Him for all He does and gives us.  Unless you are waiting for the stones to do it for you.

Change Your Thinking!

Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

Psalm 95:2 

What is our first reaction when things go wrong or when things just don't go our way?  We get irritated, frustrated, aggravated, grouchy, and grumpy.  We begin evaluating where and why things went wrong.  Our blood pressure increases.  Our focus becomes fixed on the issue, and God ceases to be part of the equation as far as we are concerned.  Yes, I am guilty of this too.

 

One of my Chaplaincy mentors who passed away recently, Gene Harper, told me once to focus on the good God gives and let God handle the rest.  This is a reminder I need to keep in the forefront of my thoughts, yet tend to forget with alarming regularity.  When I focus on praising God for the good He has provided, the rest dims and eventually fades into irrelevance. 

 

Take time to remember the good that God has provided and thank Him for it.

 

#dailythankfulchallenge