What was your first thought as you woke up this morning? Was it one of thanksgiving or complaint? What was the first task that came to mind? Was it giving or taking in nature? There are little clues that reveal to us the true nature of our heart. It is good when we have the discipline to take the negative in our life and place it in submission to the Spirit but it is even better when our heart is so changed that thanksgiving and selflessness is our knee jerk reaction.
The transformation of our heart and mind is only possible by the power of God's Spirit in us but he does need our cooperation in the process. When we accept Jesus we are given a new heart and mind, or at least the capacity of righteousness is changed in them. They are now freed from the bondage of our sin nature and given the capability to be filled with the righteousness of God. This means that we are now capable of living according to the Father's heart and the character of Jesus Christ. We will stumble as a toddler stumbles, learning how to walk and negotiate the obstacles in his life, but the grace of Jesus picks us up, dusts us off and sets us on our way again.
One of the things that helps in this transformation process is the development of thankfulness. The greater our heart is possessed with thanksgiving the easier it is for us to submit to the Spirit of God. Let's go back to my opening question: Was your first thought this morning one of thanksgiving?
"Jesus, thank you for this new day of opportunity."
"Thank you for such a wonderful night sleep."
"Thank you for your presence this morning."
"Lord Jesus, thank you for your love."
There are so many of Jesus' promises we can wake up thanking him for, such as our salvation. That one thing alone is worth an eternity of praise:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5)
Jesus "gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age" is enough to wake us up every morning with a new song on our heart. If not, we are losing sight of God's goodness in all the busyness of our day. There is no need for it. If things begin to fade in our life it is because we have stopped paying attention to them. If your great passion for Jesus is fading, it is because you have stopped giving him the number one place in your life.
I've been at this for far too long to listen to people's excuses of why they think God has become distant to them. It hardly ever starts with sin. It usually begins when we start spending less time learning about Jesus, less time in prayer, less time talking about Jesus and less time in worship. These things are what allows the Spirit to pour freshness into us. If we dam up these sources then the river is going to run dry. A dry river always leads to sin taking over again. It is never that Jesus has withdrawn from us but us who have stopped paying attention to him.
However, remembering what we need to be thankful for is a means to keep the sources clear of any debris. It is hard to forget Jesus when we keep praising him and thanking him for everything in our life, starting with our first thought in the morning. A person possessed by Jesus Christ is a joyful and obedient person. Their character is attractive due to this attitude of thanksgiving and joy. They leave no room for a negative thought to take root and the Spirit of God continues to refresh them throughout the day. Thanksgiving is our way of oiling our heart and mind so the Holy Spirit has an easy time of continuing with the transformation. So, let us lift up holy hands and thank our Lord Jesus for the great things he has done, is doing and will do. Fill your thoughts with Jesus and your heart will fill with love and praise. Praise the Lord!
Showing posts with label Complaint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Complaint. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
A Mistake We Make In This Modern Age Of Parenting - We Forget What It Is To Be A Teen
This may seem a little off beat from my usual blog but a verse really grabbed me the other day as I was doing my daily reading. It struck me because in this modern age of communication we have greater access to people's thoughts and communications than at any other time in history. We get to hear things that in the past we would have no access too:
Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22)
When I read this I actually read it like:
"Do not pay attention to every word your children say,
or you may hear your children cursing you -
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed your parents."
Think about that for a minute. When we were young our parents didn't have access to our FaceBook and they weren't able to check up on our histories to see our conversations. Imagine what may have resulted if they had heard some of the private conversation we had with our friends. We all have frustrating days, especially children who have to deal with the inconsistencies of their parents. As parents we try our best to be consistent but there are days when we are overwhelmed, distracted, stressed and we are less than our ideal desire as a parent. Our children don't have the maturity to understand this and or what we are dealing with. All they see is that last week we said that and now we are saying this.
You know our tendency to complain as adults but do you also remember that we were complainers as kids? Who did we complain to? Our friends of course. On the way to school, at school, on the way home, at the neighbourhood hang out, we voiced our complaints, opinions and desires about our parents. It was not always kind but it helped to vent our frustrations. But we didn't stay there in that place of immaturity; we grew up, matured and came to appreciate our parents for everything they did and put up with and we never stopped loving them, even in the midst of the complaints.
Fast forward to today, the age of social networking and parent policing. In our desire to protect our children from the evil that is in this world, from people who would want to harm them, we have access to the conversations they have with their friends. It is like our parents riding the school bus with us or listening in at the neighbourhood hang out. We have an unprecedented access to their complaints, opinions and thoughts which are sometimes about us. It is not abnormal the things that they say but we take it personally. All I can say is, imagine if our parents had heard us, yet we turned out to love and respect our parents.
Children, teens, youth need to have some space to vent, even if they are off the wall wrong about what they are saying. I have made the mistake too many times to count, not understanding that fine line of protecting them from evil and allowing them some freedom to express their frustration. The only thing it accomplished was causing my children to take a step further away from me. Instead of looking at the natural need to vent frustration, I wanted to correct their perception. Not the wisest thing to do in the midst of venting. Now I hear Solomon's words:
Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
We still need access to their FaceBook and we still need to check their conversations but we need to apply a filter so we are only looking for the really dangerous stuff. We need to get a thick skin, filter out the complaints and venting with their friends and allow them that time of awkwardness while moving from child to adult. Some of the things they say may be unjustified and may even sting but remember what you said about your parents and let it go. If you have been training them in the way of the Lord it will all even out when they are adults.
Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22)
When I read this I actually read it like:
"Do not pay attention to every word your children say,
or you may hear your children cursing you -
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed your parents."
Think about that for a minute. When we were young our parents didn't have access to our FaceBook and they weren't able to check up on our histories to see our conversations. Imagine what may have resulted if they had heard some of the private conversation we had with our friends. We all have frustrating days, especially children who have to deal with the inconsistencies of their parents. As parents we try our best to be consistent but there are days when we are overwhelmed, distracted, stressed and we are less than our ideal desire as a parent. Our children don't have the maturity to understand this and or what we are dealing with. All they see is that last week we said that and now we are saying this.
You know our tendency to complain as adults but do you also remember that we were complainers as kids? Who did we complain to? Our friends of course. On the way to school, at school, on the way home, at the neighbourhood hang out, we voiced our complaints, opinions and desires about our parents. It was not always kind but it helped to vent our frustrations. But we didn't stay there in that place of immaturity; we grew up, matured and came to appreciate our parents for everything they did and put up with and we never stopped loving them, even in the midst of the complaints.
Fast forward to today, the age of social networking and parent policing. In our desire to protect our children from the evil that is in this world, from people who would want to harm them, we have access to the conversations they have with their friends. It is like our parents riding the school bus with us or listening in at the neighbourhood hang out. We have an unprecedented access to their complaints, opinions and thoughts which are sometimes about us. It is not abnormal the things that they say but we take it personally. All I can say is, imagine if our parents had heard us, yet we turned out to love and respect our parents.
Children, teens, youth need to have some space to vent, even if they are off the wall wrong about what they are saying. I have made the mistake too many times to count, not understanding that fine line of protecting them from evil and allowing them some freedom to express their frustration. The only thing it accomplished was causing my children to take a step further away from me. Instead of looking at the natural need to vent frustration, I wanted to correct their perception. Not the wisest thing to do in the midst of venting. Now I hear Solomon's words:
Do not pay attention to every word people say,
or you may hear your servant cursing you—
for you know in your heart
that many times you yourself have cursed others.
We still need access to their FaceBook and we still need to check their conversations but we need to apply a filter so we are only looking for the really dangerous stuff. We need to get a thick skin, filter out the complaints and venting with their friends and allow them that time of awkwardness while moving from child to adult. Some of the things they say may be unjustified and may even sting but remember what you said about your parents and let it go. If you have been training them in the way of the Lord it will all even out when they are adults.
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