Keep Doing Good

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 60: Today, I am grateful for reminders to keep doing good. 

This is the scripture for Lent day 12:

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." -Galatians 6:9

Everyone gets weary at times. I am grateful for the many reminders to do what is good, right, and with a moral compass that speaks louder than words. We mess up at times, but His grace is deep and wide when we seek His face. He is never surprised by our confessions. 

What good can we accomplish on this day? Can we make even a little difference? Can we pour a little hope and light into someone else's hard season? I love reminders. 

Today, I am grateful for reminders to keep doing good. 

My Portion Forever

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 59: Today, I am grateful for my portion forever.

My Lent scripture reading for today is:

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." -Psalm 73:26

Oh, what a beautiful passage. This is one that can speak to our hearts in so many ways. There is encouragement in the knowledge that if and when our bodies fail us, He is our strength. If you have lived it, you know it is true. Yet, my favorite part of this verse in this reading is "my portion forever." He is my enough.

The year I focused on "enough" as my one little word went by too swiftly. In a land of abundance, we can lose sight of the blessing and goodness in "enough." Enough to eat. Enough to wear. Enough to share. Enough to keep warm or cool down. Enough clean water. So many of those things are unknown to much of the world. 

In our deepest disappointments and hardest struggles, we find ourselves pausing, praying, and seeking His face. He was, is, and will forever be our enough... our portion forever. 

Today, I am grateful for my portion forever.

A Warm Day

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 58: Today, I am grateful for a warm day ahead.

It is Friday! That is the first thing to be grateful for this week. It went by fast. 

I have been anticipating today all week long. We will reach 65-68 degrees today if the predictions come to pass. I cannot wait. The sun is already shining.

The image is of the brave little crocus that is the first to break through the cold winter ground. I love them for their courage. I have not seen one yet, but they will come. 

It is day 10 of Lent: 

"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." - Philippians 2:3-4

As we feel the sun on our faces, turn the joy outward. I recommend raising your face to the sun with your eyes closed and taking a full slow spin. Feel the joy!  

What can we do to be an encouragement today? Joy was never meant to be contained. 

Today, I am grateful for a warm day ahead.

The Chain Breaker

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 57: Today, I am grateful for the chain breaker.

"No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people." -Isaiah 58:6

It is day 9 of Lent. The passage is a part of a rebuke from the Lord, who wants them to understand that he can recognize the difference between true and false worship. He wants a relationship. Many want the benefits without the work and sincerity of a real commitment. 

He is trying to make them understand their sins create the oppression they feel. They seek freedom and independence, but push away the One who can truly make them free. Many prefer what is comfortable and pleasurable in the moment over true freedom.

What binds our hearts today? What breaks the chains? Who or what can we set free?

Today, I am grateful for the chain breaker.

Freedom in Forgiveness

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 55: Today, I am grateful for the freedom in forgiveness.

Today's scripture for Lent: 

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." -Matthew 6:14-15

Matthew West's song "Forgiveness" is so powerful. The burden of grudges and unforgiveness is too heavy to bear. It creates more brokenness. It is destructive like few things.

It destroys us like few things. It can harden our hearts until they are nearly impenetrable. The high price of unforgiveness has a Heavenly impact, but it is the truth of the gospel... the very thing we think will make us miserable, truly sets us free.

Forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces on earth. It was the burden we must leave at the foot of the cross. Forgiveness is not an undo button. It releases the hurt, the pain, and the grief. It sets us free.

Today, I am grateful for the freedom in forgiveness.

 

Save for later-

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (CS Lewis) Mere Christianity, 55-56)

Freedom in Forgiveness

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 55: Today, I am grateful for the freedom in forgiveness.

Remember breaking or losing something as a child? We just watched a television show where they repair and restore antiques. A woman had brought a mirror, an old family heirloom, that broke in her hands when she was about 10 years old.

She was a senior woman and had carried the shame for decades. The mirror was wrapped in a handkerchief for safe keeping. She hid it, protected it, and never confessed her "sin."

In the process of repair, they determined that the thin metal was destined to break due to age and design. She happened to be the one holding it at its demise. For more than 60 years she carried unnecessary shame and grief.

We all mess up. Our pastor often says, "More grace. More mercy." We all need it; we all need to be reminded to offer it, too. For the poor child with the broken mirror, her grandmother would have very likely observed the same thing the experts did. It was old and fragile, and unintentionally broken.

We have all heard the phrase "you can run, but you can't hide." It came to mind as I considered this verse for day seven of Lent.

"Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone." Psalm 32:5

Shame is such a heavy burden to bear. He already knows our sins and shortcomings. Why do we hide from the one who can see in the dark? There are no surprises when we lay our sins at his feet in confession, except perhaps the instant lightness in our souls. 

Some things in this faith walk take time. The freedom found in forgiveness is not one of them. When His light pours into our darkness, our souls can dance and sing again. 

Today, I am grateful for the freedom in forgiveness.

A Little Clearing

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 54: Today, I am grateful for a little clearing. 

"Sometimes, the path that will bring you the most joy requires some clearing."

Said another way, the most joyful outcome might require a little work. When presented with easy or a little work, which do we choose? When the answer is "a little work" it often means we have a vision of the outcome that requires some input. We are willing to clear the path. 

What path do we have to clear today? Preparation for the job makes a difference. Do we have the right tools for the job? Many are excited to clear their garden beds to make room for the spring plantings. They need a little clearing. 

Today is day 6 of lent. Lent is a way of preparing our hearts for the biggest celebration of our faith. How do we prepare? This scripture provides a great instruction. 

 "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." -James 4:7

We can clear our hearts of pride. We can stand firm and safe behind the armor of God. We put some work into clearing the path of anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Him and with others. 

Today, I am grateful for a little clearing.