Friday, September 9, 2016

Friday's Inspiration

1 Timothy 2:1, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men," (NKJV) (Emphasis Added)

Today's post will be a combination of inspiration as well as some "editorial" comments. I could sense the Spirit dealing with my heart last night as well as this morning concerning the need to "give thanks." Most of us would consider ourselves to be people that are thankful and I think that is a true statement for the overwhelming majority of people who will choose to read this blog post. BUT I do believe that there is room for improvement in each of our lives and I certainly include myself in the previous statement. 

How do we go about increasing our level of thankfulness in world that seems to be more negative each and every day? In many cases it is easier to complain than it is to offer praise, thanksgiving and appreciation. I have found myself giving into that same battle/struggle at various moments in my life. There are times that it is easier to identify what we don't have rather than realize what we do have. That could be true with possessions but also it could be true when it comes to thanking God for our family and friends. Today during prayer the Holy Spirit reminded me of many people who have been a blessing to Ann and myself through our journey. This moment of reminding including family, friends, fellow Christians as well as complete strangers. I can remember that God used people that I did not even know coming to my "rescue" at various times in our lives. Is there a witness that will come into agreement with me today? 

Each of us have been BLESSED more than we can even realize and I believe that we need to resurrect the attribute of appreciation. We need to express this appreciation to God first and foremost but we also need to offer appreciation to those individuals that God has used to be a blessing to us. Don't we like to hear these kind words being shared with us?  "Thank You, I appreciate your kindness. You are a blessing to me. Thanks for your assistance/help! I love and appreciate you. I am thankful that God has placed you in my life! You did a wonderful job." Is it possible that we might hear those words more often if we used those words more consistently in our daily lives? 

I want to issue a word of THANKS to a group of men who have worked very hard over the past two days on the installation of our new church sign. I think that you ought to know that each of these were VOLUNTEERS. They chose to give up their time and some of them even took time away from their work schedule to make themselves available for this project. We often hear about lazy people who only care for themselves. We often hear about people who are very selfish and have no time or little time for others. We often hear about all of the "bad parents" but very little about the good parents who work very hard to take care of their family. But there are GOOD PEOPLE who sincerely desire to make a positive impact in our world. We need to take time to identify these individuals and let them know that we recognize their effort to make a positive contribution to this world. 

I HAVE COME TO REQUEST THAT YOU TELL AT LEAST FIVE (5) PEOPLE TODAY THAT THEY ARE APPRECIATED!!!!


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