Video Bible Lesson - 4 Ways to Cultivate A Thankful Attitude by Lynette Kittle

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

2/28/2020

4 Ways to Cultivate A Thankful Attitude
by Lynette Kittle

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Are there times in your life when because of your circumstances, you don’t feel like there is any reason to give thanks?
If so, you’re not alone, especially in a culture of comparisons and one-upmanship. Many people measure their success by their wealth, jobs, popularity, and possessions.
Yet Scripture explains how it is God’s will for you to be thankful in all circumstances, which means learning to be grateful despite your situation (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
So if you’re having trouble finding reasons to give thanks but want to follow God’s will for you life, how do you go about changing your outlook?
Below are four ways to cultivate a thankful attitude.
1. Present your concerns to God. Instead of focusing on where your present situation, Philippians 4:6 explains, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Instead of feeling stuck in your circumstances, turn to God and let go of the things weighing you down. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
2. Auto-correct your speech. Take time to listen to what you are saying. If you don’t like what you hear, revise your words. Ephesians 5:4 states, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
Choose to speak words of life rather than trying to mesh in with society’s standard of speech. When negative, sarcastic, or critical words come to mind to say or write, replace them with words of gratefulness.
3. Let God be your means of contentment, not your surroundings. Although the Apostle Paul spent much time in prison, because of his relationship with God, he learned to be content in whatever his circumstance (Philippians 4:11).
Like Paul, look to find your contentment in the faithfulness of God rather than your standing in society. As stated in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
4. Live your life for God. Rather than focusing on you, decide to serve God in what you say and do. As Colossians 3:17 encourages, “And whatever you do, whether in words or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
As you seek to serve God, set your mind to seek Him as you go about your day. When you do, your outlook will be transformed. Although it will take time, effort, and consistency to redirect your attitude to be grateful in all situations, it will be worth it.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

The Missionary Call.......Dr. Charles Stanley..🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

The Missionary Call

Dr. Charles Stanley

Matthew 4:18-22

I've heard every reason you can imagine for avoiding missionary service: "I haven't been to seminary." "I can't preach." "I'm too old." "My family won't go for it." On and on the list goes. Let me tell you that there are thousands of active missionaries who once thought that God couldn't use them either. I often have the privilege of hearing their stories of how the Lord turned resistance into enthusiasm.

People can offer God plenty of reasons why He shouldn't call them to spread the gospel. But His call is not issued for our consideration; He expects a response of obedience and surrender.

A believer is accountable only to say yes to God's call. It is the Lord's responsibility to equip the chosen for the work He's assigned. A personal plan has been mapped for each believer's life, and God provides the personality and temperament that suits. Then He adds skills that can be developed and the spiritual gifts necessary to fulfill His mission.

God makes His call with wisdom and discernment. He knows why He created you and what you're capable of accomplishing in His strength (Eph. 2:10). Rejecting the invitation to serve Him is foolish. It would be like telling almighty God that He made a mistake. But surrender opens the door to a lifetime of service, blessing, and joy!

Mission work can occur near or far. You could serve: at home by writing to prisoners; down the street by dishing out meals at a shelter; across the nation by providing flood relief; or in a foreign land by translating the gospel. In short, a missionary calling is whatever God tells you to do.

Sibling Rivalry

Sibling Rivalry
BINU SAMUEL

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 (NIV)

I remember when my boys were little. There were days I felt more like a referee than a mom.

My little one was usually the instigator, egging his big brother on, but it takes two to tango, right? So, when it looked like there was no end in sight, I would step in.

“Okay boys. Enough is enough.” I’d make them repeat after me: “… how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity” (Psalm 133:1, ESV).

Yes, I was that mom. I made my kids quote Scripture at the most inopportune times. But I was determined — my kids will get along, whether they like it or not.

And you know what? It worked. My boys stopped fighting! The Word of God is not only powerful, but it’s also a great distraction. Of course, they would then be temporarily annoyed at me instead of each other.

The book of Exodus is filled with sibling rivalry drama and examples of how not to treat your brother. Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers.

But in the book of Exodus, we come across Miriam, Aaron and Moses, a set of siblings who, for the most part, got along.

When baby Moses was sent into the Nile, it was his sister Miriam who waited by the bulrushes to ensure his safety. Decades later, Moses and his brother Aaron worked side by side, leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery … together!

But life wasn’t always sunshine and roses for these three. Like most siblings, they also had their moments. Remember the golden calf? Moses was furious when he came down the mountain and saw what his brother had done. What was Aaron thinking?

Then, in Numbers chapter 12, Aaron and Miriam spoke against Moses. They had an issue with his authority (Who died and made him boss?) and with his wife’s ethnicity (she was a Cushite, not an Israeli).

As a result, God struck Miriam with a skin disease. Aaron cried out to Moses in Numbers 12:11b, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed” (NIV).

Friends, this would have been the perfect “I told you so” moment. But Moses held his tongue and prayed for his sister instead.

Moses chose to turn a bad situation into one of restoration and healing.

Centuries later, David mentions Moses’ brother Aaron in a beautiful psalm about brotherly fellowship and the blessing of unity. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Psalm 133:1-3, NIV).

Perhaps you are in the thick of parenting (or caring for some “less mature” people in your world), and there are days where you feel more like a referee than a mom … you are not alone! Or maybe your kids aren’t the only ones at odds with one another. Sadly, family or other relationship drama can last decades.

I won’t pretend to understand every disheartening situation out there, but I do know what God says about our situations, through David in Psalm 133. May we always do our part and strive for unity. It’s good, it’s pleasant, and God’s blessing is there.

Don’t give up, my friend. Even the best of relationships have their moments. And there is hope for even the worst of relationships. Be that mom, that sister, that girl. It’s never too late to speak and pray the blessing of Psalm 133 over our relationships.

“For there the LORD bestows His blessing ...” (Psalm 133:3b).

Father, You know each and every relationship struggle we face today. We ask that You bring restoration and divine unity where there has been discord. Let our thoughts and words be led by You. I pray we always do our part and strive for unity. We speak and pray the blessing of Psalm 133 over hurting relationships. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Ephesians 4:3, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (NIV)

Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (NIV)

A Prayer for Holy Steps.........By: Dr. Charles Stanley

A Prayer for Holy StepsBy: Dr. Charles Stanley

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” - Psalm 119:105

People are saved when they trust Jesus Christ as Savior and choose to follow Him. Right then, most Christians realize that they will dwell with Him forever in heaven. But many don’t understand what they can expect for the remainder of their lives on earth.

One benefit that’s available immediately is a growing relationship with the Lord. The Father’s oneness with Jesus (John 10:30) illustrates the intimacy God wants to have with His children. He had this type of closeness in mind at creation—a relationship with man is an avenue for Him to express His love and for us to worship and understand our Maker.

Another advantage is that Christ-followers are promised clear guidance through God’s Holy Spirit. Decision making is a part of everyday life. It is impossible for a mere human to know every variable and nuance before choosing which path to take. But the Lord knows all things—past, present, and future. With godly wisdom available, it’s hard to understand why anyone would prefer to trust his own hunches.

Provision is yet another blessing guaranteed for believers. There will be hard times, but God gives Christians everything necessary for following Him (Phil. 4:19). And His grace will always prove more than sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).

How abundantly God gives to His children! One word of caution, though: these gifts are effective only when believers walk obediently with Him. Sin can stifle them.

The heavenly Father desires that all of His sons and daughters have these blessings; if you’re living in obedience before Him, they are available to you. Is anything getting in the way of your total submission to Him?

Dear Lord, we thank you for your unending grace. Help us to be sensitive to the prodding of the Holy Spirit, and may we always listen for your voice. Teach us to walk in your ways. Guide us down the path of righteousness, and may our steps never falter.

Is Your Thought Life a Problem?

Is Your Thought Life a Problem?
By Susan Thomas

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -Romans 12:2

Have you ever heard the statements, “you are what you think.” Or, “if you think you can’t, then you can’t!” These statements and many like them, reflect the observation that our thoughts are powerful. The things we think about can impact our lives in a significant and sometimes life-altering way.

Just the other day, one of my sweet daughters expressed her struggle with math. “Mommy, I CAN’T do it! I’ll never be able to do it! I don’t know my multiplication!” In a God-given moment of patience, I looked at her and in true, cheerleader-like fashion (motions and happy facial expressions included), I said “you may not know it now, but you WILL!” I began to chant this cheer until her look of distress gave way to giggles of delight. And she began to study her facts with renewed vigor.

It’s amazing how our thoughts can change things. Perspective matters. What we think about is HUGE. God talks about the importance of our thought life all throughout the scriptures. Our thoughts are undeniably important and God has a design for our thought life. (See Romans 12:2.)

But I believe sometimes we blame our thoughts when our problem goes deeper.

For example, as Christ-followers, we may look at 2 Corinthians 10:5 and assume that our final, great battleground resides in our thought-life.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV, emphasis mine)

Or, we look at the wonderful instruction found in Philippians 2:8 and assume that if we can simply control our thought life, all will be well.

…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 2:8, NLT, emphasis mine)

So we tackle our struggle with lust and try to stop ourselves from thinking about the ungodly fantasies that fight for our minds’ eye. We try and try and wonder why we continue to fail! We find ourselves paralyzed with fear so we begin to chant the memorized scriptures our friend shared with us in hopes that distracting our thoughts will free us from fear. And then we become despondent when the pit inside of our stomachs continues to almost incapacitate us.

The battle for our thoughts is no doubt a reality and crucial to the victorious life of every individual. Taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to God is a vital practice in the life of every Christ-follower. But if we stop there, I believe we have missed THE ROOT of our struggle. You see, behind every errant thought, there is a heart problem.

Behind every errant thought, there is a heart problem.

Now I’m not talking necessarily about the errant thoughts that pop in your head and you instantly dismiss. I’m really not even talking about thoughts of temptation. I’m talking about the thoughts that linger. The thoughts that we entertain. The thoughts that can turn into beliefs. We must understand that something drives our thoughts! We have a nature, a heart condition that actively influences our thought life. The desires inside our hearts lure and entice us. Out of our hearts, thoughts flow! And because we have a heart condition that is either very, very sick or being healed by our Savior, we must take seriously the state of our hearts. Check it out!

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)

For from the heart come evil thoughts… (Matthew 15:19)

Out of our hearts, come the thoughts that we think! Our hearts are full of all kinds of desires, and our desires are often expressed via our thoughts. While intricately connected, we must understand that the condition of our heart directly impacts the nature of our thought life. If we are dominated by our sinful nature and heart, then our thoughts will set out to destroy us and all God loves. If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit of God, our thoughts will bring life and joy to our existence and even to the lives of those around us!

So what does this mean?

It means that no amount of effort or thought control will ever be enough when it comes to the problems I face in my life. Controlling our thought life is important. But we must get first things first. We must love God. When I love God, I will obey him. When I run to Jesus, my thought life will follow.

In John 15, Jesus says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” He goes on to warn us that apart from him “we can do nothing.” It is only in intimate connection and relationship with Jesus that our hearts and lives can be transformed. Without daily intimacy with Jesus and running to him fresh every moment, our thought lives remain in a precarious and vulnerable position.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine)

At the end of the day, it will be GOD that transforms us and changes the way we think. If knowledge and self-control could do the trick, we would have never needed a Savior. We must resist the urge to use God (even subconsciously) to get freedom from the thing that plagues us. Instead, we must surrender to the One who loves us most and run to him with our love, devotion and adoration. As we fight to keep him first in our hearts, we then trust him to heal us from the inside out. We don’t just need new thoughts.

We need a new heart. We need a new spirit.

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. (Ezekiel 36:26)

Will you join me in running fresh to our Savior today?

God, thank you that Jesus did not come to this world to judge us but to save us! You know that my heart is sick and runs far from you. Thank you for your desire to give me a new heart and daily heal me from the inside out. Help me to follow you each moment of my life. And when my heart begins to wander, Lord I pray you would gently draw me back to you and that I would RUN into your loving arms. By your spirit’s power, help me take my thoughts captive and make them obedient to you. Your ways are life. YOU are my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Potholes

Potholes
by Anna Kuta

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5b

I was driving home late the other night, rolling down the winding, two-lane country road I’ve been down so many thousands of times I could probably drive it in my sleep. I had the radio turned up and one hand on the wheel, and then — CLUNK! Before I knew what was happening, my front right tire thudded through a gigantic pothole that came out of nowhere. The whole car jolted and I just knew a noise like that had to have done some damage.

“Oh, please don’t let me have a flat tire,” I said out loud. Cringing, I pulled over at the next road and worked up the courage to get out and look … and to my surprise, my tire was still intact. I stared at it for a few minutes, waiting until I was sufficiently assured that it wasn’t going to deflate in front of my eyes, and then I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my drive, albeit a good bit slower and more cautious this time.

Isn’t life just like that? You’re going along smoothly, and all of a sudden something turns your world upside down. A loved one gets a cancer diagnosis. You lose your job. Your best friend moves halfway across the country. Someone dies too young. You’re making your way down the road just fine and then you crash into a pothole that almost derails you. We all know the feeling all too well.

I was having one of those weeks where every single thing seemed to be going wrong, and then I heard a sermon illustration that stuck with me. It was the story of a gravel lane leading to a farm and a huge pothole that appeared after a rainstorm. Before anyone had a chance to fill it in, though, a bird laid her eggs in the pothole. She hatched her chicks there and stayed with them until they left the nest. All the locals warned their families and friends to avoid the pothole, and everyone drove slowly by to see for themselves the little birds thriving in a place that no one would expect.

How often do we look at the potholes in our lives and curse them? Yet, from a rocky, ugly place, little birds sang and took flight.

God did not promise that our Christian walk would be easy, but he did promise he would never leave us. His presence, His love and His peace are the only things that can fill in the holes in our lives. He smoothes out the roughest of roads with His strength and comfort. And above all, He grants us grace sufficient to make it through whatever may come. The Lord will never leave our side.

If not for the pothole on that gravel farm lane, the travelers would never have been able to witness a small miracle taking place there. If not for the pothole on my drive home the other night, I probably wouldn’t have slowed down and I might have had an even worse encounter around the next bend – with a herd of deer in the middle of the road.

In the midst of a week where I thought my world might crash down, I cried out to God to help me through, and it was only when I had nothing left to rely on but Him that I felt His presence more clearly than I had in a long time – and it was exactly what my heart had been yearning for. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,” as James 4:8 says. Only God can fill our potholes, and he fills them with Himself. May we never miss the little blessings hidden along a bumpy road.

Intersecting Faith and Life

When you hit a pothole, pray for God to give you strength and remind you of His presence. Seek a closer relationship with Him and remember that He is your refuge and strength.

Further Reading

Deuteronomy 31:5-6

Psalm 46:1

Psalm 55:22

Psalm 73:23-24

Isaiah 43:2

Easter: Bigger Than Christmas?

Easter: Bigger Than Christmas?
Ray Pritchard

In our society there are two great religious holidays-Christmas and Easter. For most of us Christmas is the bigger and greater season of the year. It's the time of year when we gather with family and friends to sing carols, decorate the tree, and exchange gifts. Christmas is the climax of the whole year. Easter? Well, for most people it's just another long weekend, another chance to get away for a few days.

Even Christians view Easter as a second-rate holiday!

Somehow we've gotten our thinking badly mixed up. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If the tomb is not empty, the cradle makes no difference. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he really is just a misguided Jewish rabbi with delusions of grandeur. If Easter is not true, then Christmas is only the story of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way village in a forgotten land 2000 years ago. It is Easter that gives Christmas its meaning.

You want proof? In all the New Testament no major doctrinal point is ever built upon the the virgin birth of Christ. Not one. It's true. It happened. But it's never discussed or mentioned. In fact, two gospels don't even say anything about it.

But the resurrection? That's a different story. In every part of the New Testament, it comes up again and again. Read the Acts 4:28. When the first Christians preached, they didn't mention Bethlehem; they talked about the empty tomb. They never got over the fact that on Easter Sunday when they went to the tomb, Jesus was gone.