Giving Thanks for Who We Are in Christ

I AM...

A child of God (Romans 8:14)

Redeemed from the hand of the enemy (Psalms 107:2)

Forgiven (Acts 13:38, Ephesians 1:7)

Saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)

Justified (Romans 3:24)

Sanctified (1 Corinthians 6:11)

A new creature (II Corinthians 5:17)

Partaker of His divine nature (II Peter 1:4)

Redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)

Delivered from the powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14)

Kept in safety where ever I go (Psalms 91:11)

Casting all my cares on Jesus (I Peter 5:7)

Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10)

Doing all things through Christ Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)

An heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)

Heir to the blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:14)

Obedient to the Lord's commands (2 John 1:6)

Blessed coming in and blessed going out (Deuteronomy 28:6)

An heir of eternal life (I John 5:11)

Blessed with all Spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3)

Healed (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24)

Exercising my authority over the enemy (Luke 10:19)

Above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)

More than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

Establishing God's Word here on earth (Matthew 16:19)

An overcomer by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11)

Daily overcoming the devil (I John 4:4)

Not moved by what I see (II Corinthians 4:18)

Walking by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7)

Bringing every thought into captivity (II Corinthians 10:5)

Being transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2)

The Righteousness of God in Christ (II Corinthians 5:21)

An imitator of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1)

The light of the world (Matthew 5:14)

Blessing the Lord at all times and continually praising the Lord with my mouth (Psalm 34:1)

The Transformative Power of Thanksgiving Part 2

This week I will be sharing my thoughts as well as insights and quotes from a book I have been reading - “Life Can Be Good Again” by Lisa Appelo. It is mainly about getting through the sorrowful journey of grief, and has an excellent section about what I have called the transformative power of thanksgiving.

Lisa Appelo was grieving and feeling overwhelmed. She knew of God’s promises and faithfulness but wasn’t seeing it in her life. She wanted to realize more of God’s presence in her life, so she intentionally began to journal and write down all the things for which she could be grateful. What she discovered was the more she looked for God’s mercy and grace, the more she could see His hand on her life and realize His presence. “Cultivating gratitude helped me connect the dots between my prayers and God’s answers. And as I began to see evidence of God’s goodness all around me in little and big ways, I began to see how my feelings might catch up with the truth: Life could be good again.” (p.104)

Recording your gratitude helps you to refocus your thinking from your circumstances to God’s grace. God’s grace is the transforming power which gets you through the hard times. In Philippians 4:8 we read an encouragement concerning how we should focus our thoughts. “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Whatever you focus on grows in your life, so if you want God’s grace to grow in your life, look for, seek, and record all the things for which you can be grateful.

“Choosing gratitude aligns our heart to the truth that God never has and never will withhold good from us…God is good even when circumstances aren’t what we wanted…God is good even when life feels bad…God is working His good right now even if we can’t yet see.” (p.112)

God has been speaking to me for several years about the importance of being intentional. So, in conclusion, I would like to encourage you to be intentional in looking for the good that God is doing in your life, the good He provides for you and to record those moments so that you can look back on them and remember how good God is and how much He cares about you personally. As your eyes are opened through your intentionality, you will see that the following scripture is true for each one of us. John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. Even if everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

God bless.

The Transformative Power of Thanksgiving. Part 1

I have been thinking and studying about thanksgiving and why it is so important. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing what I am learning about the transformative power of thanksgiving. Scripture says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

That Scripture is pretty exciting when everything is going well for you, but what about when it is not; when you are suffering, and your world seems like it’s all falling apart, and you feel like you are being crushed by your circumstances? How can you give thanks in those times?

Well, Scripture does not say, “give thanks for all circumstances, it says give thanks in all circumstances. So, when we go through hard times, and we will, we don’t give thanks for the circumstances, but we do give thanks to God for giving us the strength, wisdom, and discernment that we need to get through those circumstances and to move forward in peace.

When you read the guest testimony on this website from my friend, Barbara, you will see an example of this. Barbara was in a horrific car accident. Her husband was killed, and most of the bones in her body were broken. When she woke up from her coma, she was in a double halo brace, could not move, and could not speak. She communicated by blinking her eyes. Her family put posters all around her room with encouraging scriptures on them and had all their friends praying for her. Many people, looking at her circumstances would have thought she was in an impossible situation. But what did Barbara do? In that condition, Barbara made a decision. Instead of thinking about her circumstances, she would think about 50 things she could be thankful for each day. You read that right-50 things. She was thankful for seeing the sunshine outside her window, for the nurses, doctors and aides who took good care of her, for her family, etc. By choosing to be thankful, her mindset was changed from despair to joy. Having that positive mindset helped to set the stage for her healing. Today, she functions well and lives her life to help others. God gave her all that she needed to move through her tragic circumstances and be victorious.

In the natural (vs. the supernatural) realm, how do we feel when someone is grateful to us for something we have done or given them? When someone expresses gratitude to me, I feel good inside and I want to do even more for that person in the future. Without the attitude of gratitude, those positive emotions are not elicited. So, even in the natural, thanksgiving has transformative power.

I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks. What are your thoughts about thanksgiving? You can let me know by scrolling to the bottom of the page and sending me a message.

God bless you this week.