“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts…nevertheless, [they] set aside a day of thanksgiving.” H.U. Westermayer
“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.” Psalm 92:2
Grateful people practice the discipline of Thanksgiving at all times.
Grateful people live happier and fulfilled lives. Also, studies are suggesting that those who express thankfulness actually live longer! One thing for sure, I’d rather spend a day with a thankful person than with one full of complaints. Wouldn’t you? For some people, it comes easy, but for others, it seems quite difficult to utter the words; “Thank you.” This becomes an issue of disciplining the soul to live a life of thankfulness.
The man who survived the Holocaust.
Viktor Frankl who survived many years of Nazi imprisonment saw the internal will of men. Every one of his family members, except his sister, died while imprisoned.
Viktor’s book; ‘Man’s Search For Meaning,’ he writes, in the most awful of conditions with no hope of escape. A person’s reactions mentally and spiritually decided their fate. The enemy can strip one of his home, his family and friends. But it is what lives in the soul that determines one’s response to adversity.
A reasonable person digs much more in-depth, to his very soul. There are the innermost parts, where no one can see, he builds the disciplines of thanksgiving.
What lives in the soul sustained the Pilgrims for each time they buried one of their own. They lifted eyes to heaven and gave God thanks for what remained.
Viktor Frankl wrote of men who had disciplined themselves to live out what was in their soul. Giving their last piece of bread to prisoners close to death.
“Keep your heart with all diligence,” writes Solomon, “For out of it springs the issues of life.”
Discipline the soul to be thankful. When others grumble, we offer thanks. When hearing complaints, we respond with gracious, positive words.
In the face of adversity, we give thanks that Jesus has promised to never leave nor forsake us.
Lead by our example.
We lead more by example lived than by the words we speak. Strengthen the discipline of thankfulness to a higher measure in our soul.
In the USA we celebrate a day of Thanksgiving this month. November is an excellent time to increase a thankful attitude within our very souls.
The good news about sin; seven statements. God, Himself makes at least seven statements about confessed sin. The evidence is certain as you will see in this post.
But first, let’s talk about sin.
How long has it been since you heard anybody call sin, sin?
Sin is not a forgotten word; it’s an avoided word. The word, sin, is short and very direct. In the effort to be an all-inclusive society we avoid using this word. In so doing we trade the acceptance of others without the regard of eternal consequences.
We must never project the issue of sin onto others. First, it is necessary to take a very long hard look inward at ourselves. Our look inward is where everything we do in life begins. Jesus made these remarks about this subject. “You wash the cup and the dish on the outside but the inside of your cup is filthy!” (My paraphrase of Matthew 23:25). So, cleaning the inside of our cup is paramount.
How does God deal with our ‘confessed’ Sin?
The problem for some Christians is guilt.
Worry about God holding past confessed sin against them.
Worry no more. God deals with confessed sin.
Read on for God’s solution.
Here is the good news, sin is not a disease needing treatment. No, it requires repentance which brings God’s forgiveness.
Wow, Good news indeed!
King David in the Psalms 32:5 faced the issue of sin by confessing his sin.
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
Reality is to acknowledge and define what is displeasing to God. I call this, “Self-Confrontation.” This is the process of finally admitting to God what He already knows! Iniquity, transgression; we don’t use these words too often in regular conversations. But it is time we use them in a discussion with ourselves.
Continue reading to understand the GOOD NEWS about SIN.
Seven statements God makes about confessed sin.
These verses and comments will bring rest and assurance about God’s love for believers in Christ.
Release the ties of guilt and shame. Refresh, renew and restore your peace in God’s amazing forgiveness statements.
1. I John 1:9 -We confess it -He forgives it -And cleanses us
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. I John 1:9
2. Micah 7:18–20 -He pardons us -Forgives -Casts our sins into the depths of the sea.
Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! Micah 7: 18–20
3. Isaiah 43:25 -Blots out our transgressions -Remembers our sin no more.
“I — yes, I alone [God], — will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again. Isaiah 43:25
Continue reading for more GOOD NEWS about confessed sin.
4. Jeremiah 31:34 -Forgives our wickedness -Never again remembers our sin.
“…And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” Jeremiah 31:34b
5. Psalms 103:10–12 -God does not treat us as our sin deserves. He does not repay us according to our iniquities. His love for us is higher than the heavens. God removes our sin as far as the East is from the West
He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalms 103: 10–12
6. Romans 4:7,8 -The transgressions made He forgives them. Our sins, He blanked out with His covers. The Lord will never count confessed sin against us.
“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” Romans 4: 7–8
7. II Corinthians 5:19 “…not counting men’s sin against them.”
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. II Corinthians 5:19
The case against your confessed sin is irrefutable, (beyond questioning). God forgives and obliterates the sin you confess to Him. You are given a clean slate.
The conclusion about my confessed sin is to heed to the Apostle Paul’s admonition. Confess my sin, cast it at the foot of the cross, walk away free from the devils taunts about my past.
Ephesians 5:1 -We’re to imitate God. Treat CONFESSED sin as God does. Ask for forgiveness and forget!
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Ephesians 5:1
We desire the world to change for the better but not everyone is willing to change themselves. Quotes help us make the change with bite-sized phrases.
Quotes distill the wisdom of writers and speakers and yes, thinkers. Quotes open our minds to think deeply about what is being said or written. Quotes though brief kick the brain into overdrive. They ruffle the feathers of our belief system. I’m a collector of quotes. I have 4 listed below; each has given me pause to consider what the person had on his/her mind when spoken.
The 4
The Drift
1. “No one drifts towards holiness.” Pastor David Jeremiah
I heard Pastor Jeremiah say this phase in a sermon. I do not remember the sermon but this one phase made an indelible mark on my conscience. To be righteous we must pursue with conviction what is right with intentionality. Okay, you are not religious so you think this quote does not apply to you. Suppose I substitute instead of ‘holiness’ these words, financial security, a great marriage. Or how about, building solid friendships? You get the picture, drifting never draws us closer to what we desire to have. When you desire to become a better person. Desire greater financial assets. Build a loving marriage relationship and great friendships a change must take place. This will mean for you to STOP THE DRIFT. Infusing your lifestyle with a vigorous pursuit of intentionality toward your goal.
Living In A Wonderful World
2. “The more you express gratitude for what you have the more you will have to express gratitude for.“ — Zig Ziglar
Those of us living in the United States of America and Western Europe, have greater freedom than many people living today. We have more physical assets. Most of us have bigger incomes, more food, and entertainment options of those living in less prospering nations.
Begin the day by expressing gratitude for what you do have, this will breathe wellness into your soul.
Thankfulness does invigorate our minds. It wakes hope in us and instills a sense of goodness into our day.
You will find yourself smiling more as you go through the day and your smile will draw people to you. Louis Armstrong sang it best in this song, What A Wonderful World.
Put some of these song lyrics to the test and see how much better your day will become. Nurture your attitude of gratitude today.
Its Our Choice
3. “There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make makes you.”- John Wooden
I cannot emphasize this mantra for my blog post enough; ‘Choices Made, Make Us”. The quote by John Wooden opened my understanding of how my choices affects my life going forward. We are the sum total of our choices which we make over time. The small choices set the course for our later life. I heard a speaker say; “show me how you spend your evenings. Open your checkbook register and I’ll tell you how successful you will be”. The choices we make in our secret place show up in our public life.
Abundant Life
4. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus Christ (John 10:10)
My choice is life, not destruction. Christianity is about life, not death. Sure we have eternity in our hearts assuring us there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Yet the life we are living now, Christ wants us to live it to the full. This quote defines that evil intents are to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus’ intent is to fill our lives with a richness, a fullness for our enjoyment now. It is hard to understand why any person would choose a destructive lifestyle over one full of life, hope, and joy?
More quotes
I have wet your interest in quotes. Ryan Holiday has an excellent article looking at 21 quotes. His article is a ‘keeper’. He writes, “it will change boys into men”.
To everything, there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1
My blog name, (Domain name), was wheelsaroundtown.com, which was a misnomer. The wheels name was inaccurate since I no longer drive for Uber nor Lyft.
I Want To Make A Change For The Better
A more accurate Domain name is richard-armstrong.com. So I have deleted the ‘wheels’ name and made the change to richard-armstrong.com. So my posts will take a different path.
vladislav-babienko-703701-unsplash
The reason for this change.
1.My post articles concern the choices we make in life. Why we choose to make the decisions we make. What affects our choices have on our present situation and the future we will live. Most of my post will have a scripture relevance guiding the decisions we make. As you can see my post has nothing to do with wheels.
Now Word Press will sync my writings on Medium to this website. The articles I write on WP will sync with Medium. This has opened a whole new avenue for my words.
My choice is for the change to be smooth and without error. But we will see.
From this point on you will be directed to richard-armstrong.com for my writings. It continues to be a ‘work in progress’ therefore more changes will be made to my site.
Thank you for signing up to receive my blog posts. If you have any comments or suggestions please reply to me on this webpage.
The listening tragedy describes the catastrophe at the beginning of time. It was a total disaster, a misstep of epic proportions in the history of humanity. It happened because people listened to the wrong voice.
The second of God’s first recorded questions in Genesis.
Here it is in Genesis chapter three, verse eleven: “And He, [God] said, ‘who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’ (NKJV) (My emphasis)
The listening tragedy happened when people lent their ears to listen to the wrong voice.
This question, “Who told you” is relevant in our modern society as it was at the beginning of time.
The original question God asked records how sin entered humanity. God’s first question; “where are you?” deals with our emotions. His second question; “who told you?” deals with our reasoning ability. We still deal with these two soul issues today.
Mohammad-metri – Unsplash
How do we avoid the staggering outcome of the listening tragedy happening in our lives today?
Confusion rules our lives when we listen to the wrong people giving unsound advice.
Facebook and Youtube confirm our listening addiction.
Listening, yes a listening avalanche is engulfing us! Over one hundred hours of video are watched on FaceBook every day. On YouTube people watch five times what is on Facebook! No wonder we are not listening to each other. Check out this infographic here
There is a lot to hear, most is just ‘noise,’ so choosing what we listen to is of utmost importance.
So, how do we control this addiction? Adverting the listening tragedy from happening in my life, I’ve practiced these three steps. First my disclaimer; I have not always been successful adhering to these three.
Getting rid of the noise must be an intentional pursuit.
Keep conversations within the limits of my spiritual perspective.
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
3. Practice solitude. My reasoning mind covets silence to cleanse the soul.
A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel… Proverbs 1:5 NKJV
“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney
So, who has your listening ear?
Are you concerned enough to avoid the listening tragedy?
Who are you listening to when considering decisions you need to make?
God’s question; “who told you”is a simple question with profound implications when considering the choices we make.
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I need to answer this question honestly. My answers to this inquiry have helped to guide my life. When I take time to ponder this question seriously, the answers I come up with keep me on track to living a fulfilled life.
So, what is the question?
I’ll take you back to the beginning of time in the Bible to find this question.
Here it is in Genesis chapter three and verse nine. “Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”(NLT)
“Where are you?” is the first recorded question God asked humankind.
It indeed was not a geographical inquiry by God.
The issue was soul-searching.
People do stupid things when they do not know where they are at in the present moment. When God appeared in the garden, Adam and Eve hid behind a tree. Hence the ‘tree hugger’ movement had begun! They were avoiding the question God had asked. When we answer this question honestly, we spy our actual reality of where we are at this moment in time.
Three choices.
It is surprising to me that many people continue to go on their merry way disregarding their reality.
People choose one of three ways when this question is asked of them; “where are you? Many do not answer this question honestly. In fact, some don’t even give an answer. Instead, people do this:
1. Ignore the issue by getting busy doing trivial things. Such as hiding behind trees.
2. Object to the person for asking such a personal question. They choose to shoot the messenger rather than considering the message.
3. The wise ones ponder the reality as it is at this time in their life. Honestly forming a soul-searching response to the ‘where are you’ which leads to fulfillment.
God spoke the question at the beginning of time, it still resonates down through the centuries to this very day; “where are you?”
luke-Ellis-craven – Unsplash
To answer this question honestly, I need to take a reality checkup.
1. Spiritually is my experience on right standing with God?
2. Are my relationships with other people thriving and positive?
3. Am I using my resources wisely?
Summing this up; where am I at spiritually, physically, financially, socially and morally?
“The word ‘question’ originates from the Latin root, quaestio, which means ‘to seek.’ Inside the word, ‘question’ is the word ‘quest,’ suggesting that within every question is an adventure, a pursuit which can lead us to hidden treasure.” – Tom Wujec
So, God stands before you today; He poses the question; “Where are you? Will you ignore, object, or ponder this inquiry He raises? Or, are you still ‘hiding behind trees?
“Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
The second aspect of this first question God asked is incredible! Think about it for a moment. God comes to humanity; His reach is toward us. God approaching us sets the whole narrative of the Bible apart from other religions.
Answer this question honestly, and you live a more abundant life.
I’d like to see your comments. Give your insight on this post. Did it cause you to think, where you are today? Did I miss something? Let me know. Use the comment box to write your notes. If you deem this post worthy of reading, please post it on your social pages.
Thank you,
Richard Armstrong
