Tag: love

Pulling it all together to live a life of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving

Pulling it all together to live a life of Thanksgiving

purposeunderheavenLeave a comment

Be a person who cries out to Jesus, who calls on the name of Jesus.

Start by accepting Christ as your savior and as the Lord of your life.

Place your worries and and fears on the alter before Christ and do not pick them up again.

When God acts in your life, answering prayers, or providing blessings,  recognize what He has done and thank Him,

Record the answered prayers and remember them when you face troubles.  Pray to God reminding yourself of all He has done in the past to strengthen you faith for the present.

Remember the deeds of God in the Bible and hold to them as evidence of what God can do in your life.

Tell people in your life what God has done.  Your personal testimony of answered prayers.

Sing praises to God for His mighty deeds.  Sing of your Lord’s loving kindness.

Celebrate His love and the gifts He has given you.  Like David dance for joy.

Fall to your face and worship God for He is worthy to be worshipped.

Bring offerings of Thanksgiving to Him.  Give Him the best of you time, your talents and your resources.  Give Him what He wants most.  Love others as Christ loves you.

This is not a one time event but should be a way of life.

Exercise

Plan a time to share with other Christians.  Create a time when you can share with one another what Christ has done in your life.  Make it a party, a party with singing and praising God.  Make it a party Celebrating the blessings of God on your life.

Then take this love that is in your heart, take the talents, time and resources and love those who cross your path.  Love them as Jesus loves you.

Thanksgiving is a Celebration of all God has done for you.  Thanksgiving requires faith.  But a person who focuses their lives on recognizing  the gifts given by God and on giving God praise for those gifts will grow into a mighty person of faith.

If I am to bring an offering what does Jesus want?
Thanksgiving

If I am to bring an offering what does Jesus want?

purposeunderheavenLeave a comment

So in the ancient times the people offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to God.  We no longer have a specified offering.  But Jesus did tell us what He wanted from us if we loved Him.

John 14

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Now we know what Jesus wants is for us  to keep His commandments.  But what does that mean?  How do we keep the commandments of Jesus?  What are these commandments?  A few verses later, Jesus tells us.

John 15

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

 

A simple command and yet maybe the hardest command that exists.  What Jesus wants from us is for us to love one another as He loved us. He loved us enough to come from heaven to earth.  He loved us enough to give his life on the cross as a sacrifice for us.  He loved us enough to send the Holy Spirit as a comforter and teacher.  He loves us enough to hear and answer our prayers.

And if we want to show our thanks for all Jesus has done, He asks us to love one another.

Exercise

What do you think it means to love someone like Jesus?  Does it mean forgiving them when they mess up?  Does it mean caring for others even when we might not want to do so?  We are told by Jesus when we feed the hungry, cloth the naked and care for the prisoners we are doing these things for Jesus.

Yesterday we looked at our time, and money and talents as something we could give God.

Today look at who you could show love, the kind of self sacrificial love Jesus gave to you.  Make a plan for how you can be more loving to another person.

Playlist song

Family of Love, Family of God        Take 6           Songs for a purpose driven life