Tell me something.  How do you come to the throne of Grace?  Are you on bended knee?  Is it during your meditation time?  Could it be only when you experience glad tidings?  Or are you one of those persons who only call on God when in a sarcastic mannerism (and forgive me for this expression) …when all hell breaks loose?

I’m serious!!!

Check yourself!!!

Be honest!!!

God’s Word says in 1^st Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

So, what in the world did the Apostle Paul mean when he admonished the Thessalonians to be thankful in everything.  OOPS! Did you get that?  Go back and read it again.  The scripture says to give thanks IN everything…NOT…give thanks FOR everything.  So, yes, you are allowed to give thanks when all hell breaks loose.  That’s because sometimes mankind is so stubborn that God must make a donkey (I would rather use the euphemism for ‘donkey’, but this is a family-rated blog) speak to our willfulness.  (See Numbers 22:28-39.)

The Apostle Paul was saying that things could be worse.  That life is full of ups and downs.  But God is with us through it all.  I’m a witness to that very truth.  Once when I had to make a choice to either pay my monthly tithes to my church or to use the money to finance my next mission trip abroad, reluctantly I paid my tithes and unpacked my suitcase.  To my surprise, several members in the congregation who had funded some of my mission trips in the past, heard that I was not going on my next trip due to lack of finances, and they miraculously provided all the money I needed to make the journey to St Petersburg, Russia.

But that’s not the end of the story.  While in Russia, all hell broke loose.   I lost my wallet; fell down some unevenly constructed stairs, twice; made an awkward comment and displayed photos of my newly built church building in the USA to a Russian pastor who held his church under a bridge and who commented…what a waste… (he was referencing the expenses used on a building rather than in helping the poor and needy).  Bad scenes all around!  I should have stayed in bed!

But then, hope arrived!

Later, I realized how my actions and mishaps were drawing attention away from why my team had come to Russia in the first place.  We had come to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to extend compassion, love and supplies to the administrators and children at the orphan homes there that our USA organization supported.  I prayed for forgiveness for drawing attention to myself and asked God to temper my fate and order my steps in his service.  I ended my prayer by offering thanksgivings in knowing that all things work together for good to then that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

Hope floats!

My wallet was recovered.  It had fallen under my bed in my hotel and the housekeeper placed it on the nightstand in tack.  I learned not to display pictures of prosperity to those less fortunate while on mission trips.  I grew in grace, humility and strength while serving in this capacity.  I learned that we can be thankful in prosperity as well as adversity.  I realized that I had no reason to blame God or anyone else for my actions.  Knowing that Jesus Christ has reconciled us to God in everything.  And for that, I can rejoice.

The misunderstanding comes in those two words:  Give thanks IN everything vs. FOR everything.  So, my prayer for all my readers is that the Holy Spirit will make it possible for everyone to be thankful in all things.  Knowing that we will only be able to do this if our gratitude is anchored in You.  Amen and Amen!

Scripture Lesson: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20).

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!

America just finished celebrating a traditional holiday called Thanksgiving.  And no doubt, millions of households opened their doors to family, friends, relatives, and strangers to gather around a delicious meal and To engage in wholesome entertainment to give thanks and praises to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I should also mention that this annual national holiday is celebrated in Canada, too.  And the Canadians’ jubilance is the same as ours…eat, drink and be happy.  For both countries are setting aside time to revisit the abundant harvest and other blessings of the year gone by.

But did you know that consuming the traditional meal of turkey meat has acquired a false but bad reputation.  Oh, Yeah!  I believe it has something to do with ‘tryptophan’, an amino acid in the body that causes a person to become sleepy.  Take a listen to this two-minute video that explains everything.  You just might learn something.  I did.

Now that you’re back, let’s examine what you have just learned on Youtube and compare it to something God offers called ‘amino-Spirit‘, that after you consume it, it wakes people up, not put people to sleep!

In the Book of Acts 2:1-13, there is an event retold by Luke, the companion of Paul, that did just that. This Event woke people up. Luke enlightens us with a story that there was a group of God-fearing Jews from every nation assembled in the temple area on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. They, too, were gathered to dine and to give thanks to God, when suddenly a violent Breath of wind came rushing in and shook the rafters of that place. We read where those people’s lives were so radically changed that they were awakened to a new lease on life and they were never the same thereafter. They could not blame their diet of eating turkey and drinking wine that made them drowsy, because it was an infusion of the newly dispensed Holy Spirit!

On the contrary. Peter was so energized by this experience that though he was timid and afraid at first to acknowledge that he was a follower of Christ, he began to preach his head off and delivered a powerful sermon to the crowd that inspired more than 3,000 new souls to be added to the Way’s number. No, my beloveds, those in attendance were not gluttons and winebibbers, they were our ancestors laying the foundation for the celebration of our modern day Thanksgiving Day, which was further instituted by the Pilgrims in November 1621 and our Native American allies, including the Wampanoag Indian chief Massasoit.

So, as you can see, the Holy Spirit not only changed Peter’s life, He has also dramatically changed the lives of many of us Born Again Saints. We have no excuse for not going into the highways and byways to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The One who has done so much for us and our loved ones. If we could just allow the Holy Spirit to change our lives, we would be a tremendous asset to the Kingdom of God.

My prayer for you is if the Holy Spirit has not brought a dramatic change in your life so far, just Ask and you, too, shall receive…Seek and you shall find…Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. I truly thank God for opening that door for me to come in and he certainly changed my life for the better. And I am confident he will do the same for you. So, now you understand why God desires to optimize your potential.

Scripture Lesson: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open mu mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-19).“

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!