Happiness vs Thankfulness

Not all that related as we might think

Thursday, October 3, 2024

If you lived here, would that make you happy?

What would make you give thanks?

What would bring you to give thanks?

Isaiah 44:24-26

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;
who frustrates the omens of liars,
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise,
and makes their knowledge foolish;
who confirms the word of his servant,
and fulfils the prediction of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited’,
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins’;

2 Peter 1:19

So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

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Words of Grace For Today

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When God created, God promised many things. Here God promises that Jerusalem and the cities of Judah shall be rebuilt.

Does God ever promise us happiness?

Yes, I suppose many times over.

But is there a link between happiness and giving thanks?

Do we need to be happy to give thanks?

If we are happy will we give thanks?

If we give thanks will that make us happy?

If we have all that we can dream of, will that make us happy?

If we have all that we can dream of, will we finally be thankful?

At first glance one may think these relationships exist, but

they really do not

and there is endless evidence of wealthy people ‘with everything they could ever want’ being the most unhappy and thankless people on the earth,

and

there are millions of people who have almost nothing, not even the basics of life or security, who are both happy and thankful.

Perhaps the link is that God gives us everything good, happiness included, and when we realize that

we cannot help but being thankful for all the good things God gives us.

For life is corporal, and does require the basics for us to live on.

But life is only partially corporal, and the rest of life is what makes or breaks us being happy, and thankful.

These non-corporal things are all gifts from God.

We cannot attain them or possess them, not by our own efforts or otherwise, except that God gives them to us.

We can wake up each day, each minute, and realize again

how much God gives us

that makes us happy, that brings us to unavoidably be thankful.

Solitude or Not

Blessed

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Is This The Promise or

The Curse,

The Bleak or

the Peaceful

Solitude?

Psalm 18:49-50

For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his descendants for ever.

Revelation 15:4

Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgments have been revealed.

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Words of Grace For Today

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“These words and mysteriously similar paraphrases of them have been found in the writings of 50 hermits, spanning time from years before Christ, likely around the times of Jeremiah and Isaiah, all the way through to these recent years. And even more mysteriously from the writings of a hermit found just last year, that seem (according to the experts who date paper, ink, and other things) to be from 500 years in the future:

I never chose to become a hermit. It’s just after the betrayal and suffering caused by ones who professed to love me, this is where I ended up. Alone. It’s not that I don’t like the solitude. It is holy, sacred. It feeds me well as God provides in many and various ways. Most remarkably I’ve come to know that I am never alone, really. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit never part from me, walking through each challenge of surviving as I age, each provocation and threat by people who do not understand solitude as a gift or who believe the lies spread far and wide by my betrayers.

I have learned to be thankful for the little things: Clean air. Fresh water. Simple food. Clothing. Protection from the elements. Labour that is purposeful even though I seldom see any results. Most of all that there are a few people (very few really) who I still can safely love, who love me, with whom I communicate.”

When we know that God shows steadfast love toward us, then alone or in the multitudes, we can find peace, and

know that God walks with us

each day.

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Where is God today for you?

Do you see, taste, smell, hear, and sense God walking right there …?

The Problem

Is not strange to us.

It is us.

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Like the trees all bent, and the flowers in bloom,

we are all equally part of God’s Creation.

Leviticus 19:34

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Colossians 3:11

In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

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Words of Grace For Today

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That guy or thing from outer space, that alien, we’re supposed to welcome him-it, right?

Even when we cannot understand him-it?

Even when he-it wants to destroy us?

I’m not so sure about that, but thank God, we are not likely going to have to deal with aliens in our land any time soon, eh?

Immigrants that are so different from us, refugees who have been reduced to something other than normal by the trauma they have survived, strangers from other countries with strange looks and even stranger customs – well those we have to deal with.

There’s a huge problem with treating them just like ourselves, though. The economy just cannot provide for them as it provides for us.

And therefore so many of the comfortable, privileged, and wealthy (those not struggling to have clean air, water, nourishing food, sufficient shelter) say categorically that those strangers, those refugees, those immigrants are a big problem.

‘We have an immigrant problem, a refugee problem, and an temporary immigrant worker problem!’

Or so they say.

The real problem is us, though.

We have a comfort, privilege, wealth problem.

We have too much while so many other people on earth have far too little,

and we don’t want to give it all up

just to help a few others. (Well, billions others, really)

We are strangers to God’s Word:

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself …

and

there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free ….

We have forgotten that we or our ancestors all were at some time aliens, immigrants, refugees, and strangers. (Some of us are still a bit odd, a bit strange, come to think of it.)

…

The solution to our refugee, immigrant, temporary immigrant worker, and stranger problems is to put a refugee, an immigrant, a temporary immigrant worker, a stranger in charge of the the problem and give them the authority and means to solve the problem.

The solution to our comfort, privilege, wealth problem is …

Well, it’s scary, because it will eliminate all comfort, privilege, wealth

and everyone will enjoy or suffer equitably the resources we have and can produce for each other.

No one is an alien, not here.

We are all a bit strange,

Strange to the Word of God that would have us live completely equitably, fairly, justly, and compassionately towards one another.

…

The problem is not strange to us, it is us, as we continually try to live as strangers to God and God’s Word.

So what are we going to do about that!

Today! Of course.

Before ‘Yet’

And ‘Job answered’

Friday, September 20, 2024

What Came Before All This?

Summer?

Nighttime?

Injustice?

Hope?

Job 9:1-9

Then Job answered:
‘Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it, when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south …?

1 Corinthians 8:6

… yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

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Words of Grace For Today

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There’s something before ‘yet’.

Is it important?

There was something before Job answered.

Is it important?

Context sometimes is everything.

Our context is simple to adduce:

God created everything and can do anything and everything.

We are creatures who live a short time, often suffering greatly,

even at our best when we love, it always ends in suffering the loss of love

or our life.

How can we pretend to take on God?

Yet

(there it is again)

Yet, we do so often,

So often to make good through and through fools of us,

like the ant that tries to escape from the anteater’s tongue.

Or like the mouse that tries to free itself from the trap.

Or the young bird that tries to fly through a window.

Or a person who tries to speak as if God.

What will we do today?

Live humble lives before our Creator?

Live futile lives trying to be our own godlets?

Twinkle Twinkle

Little Star,

Who is Going to Come to Save Us All, From So Far?

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

As the Sun Rises Across the Land,

Do You See It Rising

For You, Too?

Numbers 24:17

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.

Revelation 22:16

‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’

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Words of Grace For Today

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To know God

Yet not know that God is near

Is a hopeful

but frustrating experience

shared by so many through all the generations.

Thus hope that carries many generations is that salvation may yet come

sometime,

or ‘next year in Jerusalem’ perhaps,

or in the wildernesses that our lives have become,

all tangled with comforts, luxuries, and excesses

that we’ve forgotten how wonderful the fresh morning chill is when

it is countered by the warmth of a wood fire,

together promising another wonderful day,

not too cold, and not too hot,

not too wet, and not too dry,

not too windy, and not to close,

not too anything, and not too everything;

The perfect day awaits.

Did you even notice?

As the sun ascends

and hearts give thanks

and blessings are celebrated

and computers have updated

and a wonderful, promising day has begun.

Did you even notice

the star

out thar’

promising

a Saviour

so close

already?

Thanks

For the flow?

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Welcome to Paradise,

is it the Wilderness?

Deuteronomy 6:10-12

When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

John 6:32

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

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Words of Grace For Today

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Poverty is a wonderful lesson in humility,

or so they say,

Those who are not poor.

Thankfully the food bank is a steady and good supply of most basic foods and some others,

actually some very odd food that I’d never try or eat if I didn’t get them there.

Take Cookies and Cream Oatmeal.

A treat in a breakfast food.

Well I suppose they’ve made and sold lots of sugar cereals for decades, so why not this, too?

With

all

this

food

I easily forget

how hard it was

before

the food bank.

Not that I forget (life is too hard) how much God provides.

Every morning I thank God for everything that keeps me alive, and it’s more than just enough.

Lately there’s been so much meaningful labour

it’s hard to keep up

as winter is coming

and autumn is not that long

And there’s still wood to start collecting.

But,

little by little

a thing here and a thing there gets done

and

I start to think

I may even be ready, for winter,

‘God willing and the creek nor rising’.

So today

first the thanks,

then the celebration,

then the meal

then

flat out work

if the rain is not too much or

the smoke too thick.

And how is your day shaped? With thanks, remembering who supplies all that keeps you alive, celebration, meal, and work?

Or is it something else.

Whatever, may it be blessed,

and may you remember who blesses it,

even if you live in the land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’

The Broom

Of God Does Not Sweep Us Away

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

What’s Your Broom Tree Look Like,

Today?

First Kings 19:5-8

Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Matthew 6:31

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”

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Words of Grace For Today

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No Food.

No Food in the Wilderness.

No Drink in the Wilderness.

No Hope in the Wilderness

Well, after Elijah took on the prophets of Baal, and they (great in number) turned on him, leaving him no choice but to run for his life, it would come to this, wouldn’t it. Elijah gives up and lies down to die.

God planned for that, too. Not just for Elijah but for each and every one of us.

The angel brings him food and drink, two times, since Elijah needs at least that much to continue.

But there are so many times that we worry and fret about what we will eat and what we will drink. The worry is just as bad if not worse than the hunger and the thirst.

God does not have easy, comfort, boredom planned for any of us. God has adventures of the body, heart, and mind … and spirit in mind for all of us, traversing the wildernesses, becoming demonstrations and examples of God’s love providing life for us, becoming those who share that with others in need.

The broom tree is a place to rest. It is not a place where God abandons us, not ever.

Not even today.

Rescue

From Shame

Sunday, August 25, 2024

So Wondrous The Forests, Until We Chop Them All Down

Psalm 118:21

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

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Words of Grace For Today

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The alarm clock rang, louder than ever, setting off the pounding in his head.

He sat up and nearly vomited all over … a sleeping bag in a tent. Where was he anyway?

He lay back down as his partner turned off his alarm, pulled himself out of the shared sleeping bag, dressed, and disappeared out the tent flap, making noises of getting some breakfast, and then driving away to work, but

he stopped,

by the tree they had felled the night before, and left the top leafy branches across the roadway out

and an old man voice started to reprimand him for the tree felled on private land, the mess of the campfire that looked like a singed garbage can, and the mess all around their campsite.

His partner finally told the old man he had to get going, that he should talk to the ‘other guy’.

So it was his turn, same things, same shame, same weak excuse that the ‘Private’ sign was not at the actual boundary of public-private land. But then it was illegal to down a living tree on this public land. Elsewhere one could get a permit. Not here.

Shame filled over shame and his head throbbed with the loud pain of …

Well the hangover from their loud party into the early hours.

…

And God desires all people to come to know the truth, to repent, and to follow Jesus, the Way of Grace and Truth …

Really even these pathetic excuses for young humans? Where has the promise of youth disappeared? Was it always so hard to find?

And God desires all people to come to know the truth, to repent, and to follow Jesus, the Way of Grace and Truth …

even these and many like them who put reason to shame.

Even those who would judge them, for the judgment is just as valid applied to the one judging.

God have mercy on us all!

The Stinking Filth

Of Our Pasts

Saturday, August 24, 2024

The Winds of Adversity Will Lay Us Flat, Broken

Zechariah 3:4

The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you in festal apparel.’

Luke 15:22-24

But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

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Words of Grace For Today

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‘Pulling the least dirty shirt from the closet’

so goes the Johnny Cash song, not of a great day, but of a drunk’s morning after a binger of a night.

We’d all like to think we are not that bad off.

But, each in our own way, are at least much worse off, when it comes to being able to dress for our morning audiences before God, our judge.

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The Good News is that Jesus comes each morning (each moment) and invites us to take off all that filth and dirt of the previous dark times, and to put on a festive robe, befitting a king. Then Jesus invites us to the banquet with him, as one of God’s own children.

Our God, judge of all, is steadfast in love for all God’s creatures.

How will we start our day: in a filthy shirt from the dirt of our pasts, or in festive clothing offered to us by our Saviour, Jesus?

Stumbling

Into life eternal

Friday, August 23, 2024

God’s Work is Most Obvious When We Lose Our Way

Psalm 94:18

When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’, your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

2 Corinthians 12:9

but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

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Words of Grace For Today

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The contest is on: Who has the most weaknesses?

Right!?

Not.

We all want to boast how strong and competent we are. Even boast in strengths we actually do not have, so that others will see us in a better light, or so that we can win as others lose out.

But God wishes none of that game from us.

God wishes us to recognize the weaknesses that we have. Clearly. Firmly. Honestly. Even though it scares us. God wishes us to trust that when we are weak, God will rescue us, demonstrating again for us and others how God works for us all.

Hiking across the ice and snow after a long 5 day trek to the mountaintops, to view the wonders of the universe ‘on top’ she came to that most beautiful of views, up to the peak, down the valley to the river, and across the valley to the huge, tall waterfall, plunging and splashing it’s way to the pool churning from the added water each moment.

Taking it all in she held her camera as she continued walking and taking photos, for darkness would come all too soon and make any further descent unacceptably dangerous… as her foot slipped on ice she had not paid attention to. Down she went, camera flying. sliding out of control, off the path towards the cliff just feet away. Bruised, screaming, terrified, her feet over the edge…

then

her hood caught on a small tree root sticking up out of the ice.

She pulled herself, oh so carefully, back up from the precipice, clinging to that single protruding tree root,

until she could walk, gingerly, carefully

back up to the path where her camera lay.

She sat, prayed her profound thanks, poured a cup of hot tea from her thermos, took a photo of that tree root, and a few of the view.

…

The tree root photo, enlarged, hangs in her office in front of her desk so that she sees it every morning as she starts her writing for the day …

a reminder of her weaknesses and God’s strengths …

and gratitude overwhelms her for a moment …

before she moves on in her day.

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How will you acknowledge your weaknesses today, and all God does for you?