The Attitude of Gratitude

Cover of Attitude of Gratitude

Alan Riley
There were ten of them in all. They were friends who were bound together by a shared tragedy: they all had leprosy--a horrible, disfiguring disease. There's really no way to explain the horror of watching your body slowly rot away. But that was only half of the heartache. Because it was thought that leprosy was contagious, those who suffered from it had to not only endure the ravages of disease, but also to face scorn, disgrace and loss of all dignity. They were made to live apart from the rest of society, apart from their family and friends with only fellow lepers to lean on for support and encouragement.

Lepers in Jesus' day were not only forced to live in colonies, they also had to yell out "Unclean!" whenever they approached anyone. Sometimes they were made to wear bells on their clothing to warn others of their approach.

At the leper colony, they heard stories of this man named Jesus who not only spoke of God's love for everyone, but He healed all those who came to Him. I can imagine the stories of miraculous healings came in one after the other... Jesus opened the eyes of a man blind since birth; He told a lame man to rise up and walk; He even stopped a funeral procession and gave a woman her child back. I can imagine them hearing the story of the centurion's servant who was healed. They must have thought if Jesus healed a Roman centurion's servant, certainly He would heal us, after all, we are children of Abraham!

At some point the ten came up with a plan. They would travel in a group to find Jesus. Together they would ask Him to heal them.

Finally, the moment came when they stood before Jesus. They asked Him to make them whole. "Go and show yourselves to the priests," Jesus told them. As they turned to go, they realized for the first time that their dream had just come true. They stared at their hands in disbelief. Where a moment ago there was decay and stubs, there now were fingers and hands free from leprosy. They walked their first couple of steps, then they began leaping in the air, shouting praises to God! They ran off quickly to establish their healing with the priests so they could return to their homes and families.

But one of the ten stopped in his tracks and realized he'd forgotten something very important. While his nine friends ran down the road, he turned and ran back to Jesus, falling on his face in front of the Lord. Sobbing and laughing at the same time, he kept saying it again and again... Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" Jesus asked. The man didn't know what to say. He couldn't answer for them. He just knew the immense sense of gratitude that was swelling up inside him. This man has just given him his life back.

Then Jesus told him, "Go your way, your faith has made you whole."

Far too often, you and I are like the nine who ran down the road leaping and praising. We receive God's grace and mercy, we experience His healing touch on our lives. He restores what the devil has caused to decay. And off we run, leaping, shouting and praising, but forgetting to simply say "Thank you."

I want to be like the one who turned and ran back to Jesus, falling on his face and saying thanks. Lord, give me the attitude of gratitude!

Access to Victory

Bishop Keith Butler

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1,2 (KJV)

Faith in the blood of Jesus will cause you to win over anything intended to harm you. The protection of the blood covers all of you. God has given us an open door to all the weaponry we need to overcome those obstacles. Because we have access, we have hope for deliverance. The word "access" means entrance. It is through God's grace, which was freely given to us that we received the power of the blood of Jesus. His grace extended to us was evident in the shedding of that blood to give us victory. It is through that grace that we can rejoice because we have an entrance to victory.

Now the Lord will prepare you ahead of time for what He kn ows is coming in the future. The Lord started preparing my church a year ago to overcome fear of recession. I didn't know then what was coming down, but a year ago the Lord had me lead my congregation in saying that there is no recession here. We have been speaking that for a year, and there is no recession at Word of Faith. It is because of our entrance by faith into the grace of God. And it is by His grace that we are still expanding.

It can be the same for you, if you can believe. Say that there will be no recession here (in your house, in your business). But you may say, "I'm experiencing hard times already." Well, you are not without help. Notice what Romans 5:3 says, "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience."

This is a time of tribulations, tests, and trials. But we don't cry in them. We glory in them. We rejoice in them because we have hope of seeing God bring us out on top. So while others ar e worrying in it, we can glory in it because if we glory instead of worry, we will receive the blessing. You may not feel like rejoicing, but do it anyway. It is your key to victory.

You can rejoice knowing that tribulation works patience. Patience is steadfast, not to be moved, constant praise to God—not praising God for the problem, but praising Him for bringing you out. You must do step one before you get to step two. Patience then brings about experience. And that is the experience of victory.

Having experienced one victory, gives you hope for the future. Should hard times ever hit you again, you can confidently say, "God brought me through years ago, and He is doing it right now. So, I'm not even worried about the future. I know He is taking care of me now, and He will take care of me for the next hundred years."

Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 12:9; Mark 5:36

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement

by Dr. David C. Cooper

One of the most moving of all biblical occurrences is Jesus' interaction with the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). The story appears only in the Gospel of John. A number of persons asked me why the study notes in their Bibles made reference to the fact that this story does not appear in some of the ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. So, let me explain.

The oldest New Testament manuscripts we have date back between the fourth to sixth centuries (AD). The scholars hand-copied from the originals. We call them the Uncial manuscripts, because they are written in all capital letters. The story of the woman who had been caught in adultery only appears in one of the earliest while six omit it completely and two leave a blank where it should appear. However, it emerges strongly in the later manuscripts of the medieval times.

Jerome included the story in his Latin translation of the Bible (AD 400) and Augustine and Ambrose comment on it in their writings. It appears in all the later manuscripts. It is quoted in a third century book called The Apostolic Constitutions, where it was given as a warning to bishops who were too strict. Eusebius, the church historian, traced its origin back as far as AD 100. Why was it omitted in early manuscripts? Augustine says some removed it because of its scandalous nature. Some thought the story showed Jesus being too soft on sin and thought that people might use it as a justification for sin. After all, the early church was a small island in the ocean of paganism, and needed to learn how to live a holy life. But over time, the story arrived by word of mouth, confirmed by one early manuscript and found its way back into the Gospel of John where it rightly belongs.

The story teaches us how to handle matters of judgment. The story underscores Jesus' statement that follows: "You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me" (John 8:15-16).

There will always be those among us who try to make Christianity too strict and rigid, so that we always feel like we fall short of the mark. But the good news of Jesus is the message of grace. This magnificent story of grace reminds us that, "Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:14).

What To Do in Times of Trouble

Image by laurenmarek via Flickr

Bishop Keith Butler

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:15 (KJV)

Do you know what time it is? It is time to give God thanks because He is your Deliverer! In the time of trouble, you have to abound in thanksgiving to God. Thank Him for protection. Thank Him for provision. Thank Him for your food. Thank Him for your job. Thank the Father whether or not it looks like things are working. When you do, you release His ability and power.

In 2 Corinthians 4:16 it says, "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not s een: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (KJV)

We have no need to faint and no need to fear. When we are in Christ, we don't gauge our future by what the stock market does. We don't gauge our future by what the news reporters say. We gauge our standing in this life by the word of God which lives and abides forever.

So I'm telling you today, don't look at all the things you are reading in the newspaper. Instead look to God. You may not see God, but you know He's there. You know He makes a way for you. So begin to thank Him for doing it right now.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:6 it says "it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you." In other words, God is going to trouble your trouble. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2 it says, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand ."

So, know what time it is and don't be troubled. Don't be frightened. Don't be full of fear. God is pleased by our thanksgiving, and He will move in our situation. It is time now to thank God for delivering us by His mighty power!

Scripture References: 2 Thessalonians 1:6; Acts 16:25-26

Grace is Always the First Word

Cover of John Newton (Men of Faith)

Pastor Marvin Williams

The film Amazing Grace chronicles William Wilberforce as he endeavors to end the British transatlantic slave trade in the nineteenth century.

Wilberforce had made an earlier visit to his old pastor and friend John Newton. Newton was a former captain of a slave ship prior to his conversion to Christ, and Wilberforce was hopeful that Newton would give an account of his slave-ship days. Newton, however, refused to do so, because the experience and the "20,000 ghosts" haunted him too greatly.

Now, near success in ending the slave trade, Wilberforce visited Newton and discovered that he had recorded his account. His eyesight now gone, Newton said to Wilberforce, "You must use it. Names, records, ship records, ports, people — everything I remember is in here. Although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly: I'm a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior." It was apparent that John Newton had recognized the depth of his sin and opened the door to experience God’s amazing grace in his life.

When we look at John Newton’s life and confession (the composer of the song Amazing Grace), we can easily start patting ourselves on the back. I mean, we have never committed the kinds of atrocities as Newton - kidnapped or raped, sold and separated entire families, committed murder (at least with a gun or a knife), or grand larceny of the human kind. Yet when I think about what we were, we were just as far from God as Newton was before he became a follower of Jesus.

According Romans 5:12-21, we were natural born sinners. We were born in Adam, born in sin, and born condemned. We came out of the womb saying no to God and his purposes for our lives. We were dead in our sins and trespasses. We lived according to the passions of our sinful nature. We were, by nature, children of wrath.

We were liars
We were thieves
We were cheaters
We were swindlers
We were adulterers
We were idolaters
We were greedy
We were disrespectful
We thought we were God.
We lived like practical atheists
We were angry.
We were jealous and envious
We were drunkards
We were ungrateful
We were enemies of God
We were rotten to the core

There was nothing grimmer than our Pre-Christ hopelessness. But God.

In Ephesians 2:4, however, Paul uttered the greatest phrase of hope and grace in human speech: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, But God, . . .made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved"

God showered his grace on us, and this grace flowed from his loving heart, not based on anything we did to deserve it. When we believed in and embraced Jesus as our Savior and Lord (which was an act of grace) – God gave us new spiritual life within. Praise God!

Therefore, our response to this amazing grace is another word that is built on the word grace, “thank you.” God gives us something that we don’t deserve, so he can get the desired responses, which are praise and thanksgiving. Grace is always the first word and “thank you” should always be the second.

Today, spend some time thinking about God’s amazing and saving grace and thanking him for it.

Amazing, Truly Amazing Grace!

Bishop E. Earl Jenkins

"By Grace you have been saved" Ephesians 2:5 NAS

Have you any idea of the mess you were in, or moving toward, when God reached down and saved you? Perhaps an illustration may help you get the picture. If you took your children to a petting zoo and a little lamb came running towards you, you probably wouldn't be afraid at all because lambs are harmless. You might even reach out your hand and let the lamb lick it.

But let's say you're at the zoo and the alarm goes out that a lion has escaped from its cage. If you're standing there and that lion comes running towards you, you'll be terrified and start to run because you know what lions can do. But just suppose that the runaway lion corners you in one part of the zoo and comes up to you - but instead of attacking you it gently licks your hand the way the lamb did. If that happened whose gentleness would you appreciate more, the lamb's or the lion's? You'd appreciate the lion's gentleness more because you know that he could just as easily have destroyed you without violating his nature as a lion.

Well, grace is God's kindness and gentleness to us when He could have backed us into a corner as guilty sinners and destroyed us without violating His holy character. But God wanted to make us His children, so instead of expressing His wrath against us, He poured it out upon His own sinless Son on the cross. Jesus took our punishment so God could embrace us. Hence, we have a brand-new relationship with God through grace. Isn't that amazing!

Maintaining Divine Health

Image by elycefeliz via Flickr

Dr. Betty R. Price

I have spoken many times about how we need to be doers of the Word of God so that when we face our greatest challenges, all the discipline and training that went into our becoming doers of the Word will work on our behalf. But if we do not develop our most holy faith on the little issues of life when the bigger challenges arise we won't be able to stand.

What is just as important as building up our faith is maintaining it after we have faced a major attack from the devil. Too many Christians think that once God has helped them withstand such an attack, they can relax because they have won the battle. But the devil is still walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). If we don't remain vigilant and continue walking by faith, Satan will find some way to take advantage of our laxity.

When I was diagnosed with inoperable lymphoma back in 1990, I had to undergo major surgery just so the doctors could diagnose the condition. The results of that biopsy were the worst news one could receive. Many people receiving the same news would have given up and gone home to die!

But because of the Word, I had built up in me, and because I gave that Word precedence over all the circumstances concerning my health, God was able to work through the doctors to manifest my healing. Still, if I hadn't continued giving the Word first place in my life by confessing and acting on it, and if I hadn't changed some things in the natural to take care of my body, I might not be enjoying my divine health today.

To maintain my health in the spirit realm, I continue to confess every day that God restores health to me and heals me of all my wounds (Jeremiah 30:17). I continue to say that whatever things I ask when I pray, I believe that I receive them, and I shall have them (Mark 11:24).

I declare daily that every cell in my body is normal and that every organ is functioning properly. I praise and thank the Lord for it all. Another Scripture I confess is Psalm 103, the first five verses of which read:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

These are wonderful verses to confess, not just when you are sick but all the time so you can keep your spiritual immune system built up.

There are also some physical things we should do along with confessing and living by God's Word. One of the things we need to do to keep our "temples" in good shape is exercise. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:8, For bodily exercise profits a little... and we need to take advantage of the little profit that it gives us.

Although I don't like to exercise, I like the results that come from exercising, such as feeling better, improved muscle tone, staying healthier and sleeping more soundly at night. For this reason, I purpose to do the exercise because I want to live a long and healthy life.

I exercise three times a week. After stretching I do 175 sit-up crunches, 50 side kicks and 50 back kicks for each leg, and a total of 90 arm raises with five-pound weights. Please keep in mind that whatever exercise program you choose to do, go consult with a doctor before starting the program so he can help you decide what is best for you.

Along with exercising, you have to watch what you eat. This is where I have made the most changes. Before the cancer attack, I seldom ate live fruits and vegetables. Now I make sure to do so every day-fruit in the morning, a salad at lunch and vegetables with my meal at night. I also used to drink nine cups of coffee a day and I would not drink water because I did not like the taste of water.

But we all need to drink water so we can flush the toxins out of our system. If we don't, those toxins can build up and cause all sorts of problems later on in life. Now I have only two cups of coffee a day and drink plenty of water every day.

Not long ago, I went to the doctor for a minor aliment. Upon a thorough examination the doctor said that I was in the best of health and that everything looked normal. Praise God that He says that with long life He will satisfy me (Psalm 91:16), and that He always honors His Word for those who will stand on it. I also thank God for bringing people into my path who encouraged me to take better care of my body. God definitely has a part to play in our health, but our part in keeping our temple healthy is just as important.

The Believing Business

Bishop Keith Butler

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23 (KJV)

Get into the believing business. You have to get over into the believing business. When you get over into the believing business, then you will start having the manifestation of God's healing power.

In Luke, chapter 4, the people went by what they thought they knew. And by what they thought they saw to determine whether the power was present. Jesus was requiring them to believe that the power was present without the aid of a miracle.

The healing power of God does not show up because of certain people (personalities). Jesus was requiring them to believe what He said before anything else. They said, show us a miracle and we will believe you. He wouldn't do it. He is still that way today. He has not changed. Somebody says, well, you know, if I ever saw a blind eye opened then I would have great faith.

Faith does not come by seeing. Faith comes by hearing. When I was overseas, I saw whole lines of blind eyes opened. Some of the people were blind from birth. But there were still blind people in the same line doubting. Faith does not come by seeing. Faith comes by hearing. The children of Israel saw the miracles and still doubted God in the desert. So you need to hear the Word.

I want you to take some time to lift your hands to the Lord. Lift your voice up to the Lord and say, thank you Lord the healing power of God is available wherever I go. It is available for me. And in Jesus' name I tap into it, anytime I want to. By faith I know Jesus is my Healer. I know healing is provided for me. And I know it's mine, right now, from the crown of my head to the very soles of my feet, in Jesus' name. Now, thank Him for it in faith.

Scripture References: Luke 4, Mark 9:17-27; Romans 10:17

Time For A Spiritual Check-up

Bishop E. Earl Jenkins

"I am praying...your body is as healthy as...your soul." 3 John 2 TLB

We all know how important physical health is; here's a plan for keeping your soul in shape:

(a) Don't question your faith, question your doubts. We spend too much time dwelling on our misgivings, experiencing faith as an occasional flash-in-the-pan. God's promises are for 'believers.'

(b) Don't be a 'lone ranger.' It's no accident that the Old Testament contains the story of God's people, and that the Epistles were written to congregations. We grow as we relate - not isolate!

(c) Guard your thought life. If your "thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if [it's] controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace" (Ro 8:6 NCV). Practice mind management!

(d) Fall asleep and wake up immersed in gratitude. It'll transform your day. "In every thing give thanks!" (1Th 5:18).

(e) Ditch anything that distracts you from God. Toss the junk reading material, and if you've got the guts, throw in the TV!

(f) Always err on the side of mercy. Philip Yancey writes: "I marvel at the humility of a God who descends to live inside...his 'flawed' creatures...Do I show that same attitude towards people of whom I disapprove?"

(g) Be specific and don't revert to generalities when discussing your faith. Paul wasn't "ashamed of the Gospel" (Ro 1:16); neither should you be.

(h) Be gracious to the people who irk you. God chose them too! Sometimes it's easier to be gracious to non-believers than to uptight, moralistic Christians. But that just makes you a different kind of judgmental.

(i) Forgive those who've hurt you. Harboring hatred hinders healing, so bring your hurts to God.