Monday 18 April 2016

I Won't Forget to Say Thank You

Two years ago, a friend of mine got married and I bought a gift from their wedding gift website. Surprisingly, I received a "Thank You" card in the post. Inside the card it said: "Thank you so much for the gift." It made me feel good that my friend and his wife took their time to not only write a thank you card but they posted it.
You may be wondering why I was surprised. Well, I was not used to the practice.

Ask yourself...
Have I ever done something for someone and I expected the individual to say thank you but they never did? Are you someone that says thank you or do you feel too pompous to say thank you to those who have helped you? Do you know that Jesus expects us to give thanks at all times? 

A man once said after he went food shopping for his household and came back home, his wife said "thank you darling for taking your time to provide food for our family by going food shopping." The husband did not expect his wife to have said thank you as he felt it was his duty and role to not only provide the basic care but to assist in purchasing the food items. Nevertheless, the husband felt appreciated by the act of gratitude that his wife had shown to him. When last did you thank your spouse for their role at home? Create time today and thank your spouse, be specific about what you are thanking them for. 

You may be thinking that you do not mind if people do not show you gratitude after you have helped them. It does not negate the fact that you should say thank you to others when they have helped you. 

Who should you express thanks to? 
Express your thanksgiving to everyone whether the person is younger than you, older than you or whether they are your junior or senior at work or school. Saying thank you should also not be based on age, social status and title.
Like many of us that appreciate thanksgiving whether we expect it or not, Jesus Christ expects us to give thanks to God through Him (1 Thess 5:18). 

When last did you thank God?
When last did you thank God for your job? For the breath of life? For the fact that you can eat, drink, see, spend money and buy things? When last did you thank God for the beautiful flowers, trees and animals that you see? For your house? Parents? Children? For peace, for joy? For safety? All these things are not our entitlements, it is because God has chosen to shower us with these blessings.

Whether you are a believer in Jesus Christ or a person who does not even believe in Jesus Christ, the fact that you are alive is only possible because of Jesus Christ. It is only God through Jesus Christ that can bless you with wonderful blessings; we must therefore not be oblivious to His blessings. 
An experience in the bible (Luke 17:11-19)
There's a story of the ten lepers in the bible that Jesus Christ healed. Leprosy was not only a horrible skin disease, the social stigma of having it led to misery during the ancient Israel. In fact, historians made us understand that in the olden days, lepers were treated like dead people and castigated.

One day, Jesus was walking through a town in Jerusalem, He saw a group of ten lepers, they stood far away from Him and called to Him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."  They must have known who Jesus was and the power that He had to heal. 
When Jesus heard them, He called back to the lepers and said, "Go, show yourself to the priest."
As the lepers went on their way to see the priest, they looked at their skin and the leprosy was gone. Jesus, the greatest healer had healed their disease! They were so happy that they ran up and down the streets singing and dancing. 
Only one of them went back to thank Jesus for healing him. Jesus was quite surprised that only one leper came back to say thank you. Jesus said to him: "Weren't there ten who were healed? Where are the other nine?

Are you going to be part of the nine lepers that forgot to say "Thank You?" Or would you be like the only leper that came back to thank God? 

Action
Now, give thanks to God. Thank Him for what He is doing for you, what He will do and what He has done.

Prayer
Holy Spirit, please help me to remember to give thanks to you every day for all that you do for me. Lord, let me also remember to express my gratitude to people that help me in Jesus' name. Amen.


Have a lovely week! 

Tuesday 12 April 2016

No Negativity!

Dear Readers & Followers,

How's the new month going? I was challenged to undertake a 40-day challenge on thinking positively, speaking positive about every situation and speaking positive about others. The aim is to implement the scripture in the book of Philippians 4:8 which says that, Christians are to think on positive, pure, honest, praise worthy, lovely and good things. 

Also the bible says in James 3:2 that whoever is perfect in his word is a perfect person. Has it been easy? No! Nevertheless, I have noticed that as the challenge progresses, I am developing strategies on how to control my thought and how to control what comes out of my mouth.

I have recognised the importance of consciously CHANGING one's thought to think positive of situations or someone. Doing this has continued to help me to instantly delete negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones. Also, when I had thought negatively and vocalised negative thoughts, I immediately recognised it and I instantly made amendments.
I can't imagine my God having negative thoughts toward or speaking negative of me. Can you?  If I am to be Christ-like, it is therefore crucial for me to be conscious of how I think and what I say about anyone irrespective of who they are, their age, how they relate to me, what they say about me, among others.


This month, I have found the below messages helpful

  • Rejoice with others. Make it a duty to celebrate with others, especially when you know it's their day of celebration, be creative about how you do it. Make it a duty to mourn with those who mourn - Romans 12:15. 
  • Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his or her own interests, but also to the interests of others. 
  • Be silent when you do not have all the facts. It is foolishness to take a stand from one lens - Proverbs 18:13
  • Be silent if you would be ashamed of your words later - Proverbs 8:8 
  • Be silent if the issue is none of your business
  • Be silent when you are feeling critical of something or someone. That is the worst time to speak or write a message - James 3:9 
  • Be silent if your words will damage someone else's reputation - Proverbs 16:27
  • Always choose forgiveness and learn to disregard offences.


How are you doing with the above?

I also challenge you to consider your thought and words this year. Are they positive?

Enjoy the rest of your week

Photo Credit: p31chick.com & uk.pinterest.com