Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of Israel, and the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, of all things seen and unseen. He is the Maker of Time and Space, and is Himself eternal, and infinite. The One who made the stars in the heavens, down to the smallest grains of sand on the beach – He alone is truly great, He alone is absolutely glorious.
In His infinite love He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us; Forsaking His glory in the infinite and eternal heavenlies, He was born in finite and time-bound flesh, conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. He grew as one of us – laughing with us, eating with us, crying with us, living existence with us, as we knew it… and all the while revealing the Truth of the Father and of the Kingdom. At the appointed time He lay down His life; He was crucified, suffering the greatest pain imaginable in all spectrums of our being, serving as the sacrificial Lamb that took away all our sins – He became sin and died the death humanity deserved, that we who would believe should not perish, but, becoming His righteousness, we would have eternal life.
To signify our complete reconciliation and resultant re-creation and re-location, He was glorified by the Father, rising from the grave, appearing to the disciples and then to hundreds of other people before ascending to the clouds and into the heavens. In His words, it was necessary for Him to go away in order for the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to be poured upon them and to dwell in them (and us) – Because He has been seated at the right hand of the Father, so we are seated in the heavenly places; We’re in His presence and the Holy Spirit is His presence in us, until our physical bodies expire, until the Lord returns, or ultimately until our reconciliation with God is fully realized.
So, as you can see, Jesus isn’t just a religious figure, but our Savior. He didn’t give give us commandments and guidelines in a work relationship, He reconciled us to a Father, into a family.
By His love, we are able to love ourselves and others, contrary to the overwhelming waves of condemnation and accusation so common, especially in today’s reality.
By His peace, patience, and joy, we are able to be less reactive and more decisive in our responses, especially in a world so relentlessly provocative.
By His faithfulness, kindness, and gentleness, we are humbled, and move in powerful humility towards unity in the body of Christ – amidst all the cutthroat transactional strategies played out, where it is a norm for every man to truly be for himself.
By His self-control, we are able to practice integrity as strong gentlemen and gracious yet firm women in the presence of weakness and insecurity.
To God be all the glory, for all the things He has done, for the things He is doing, and for all we have yet to see Him do. We give Him thanks, for His great faithfulness, and His mercies that are new and fresh every morning.
We give Him thanks for our lives, and for His lovingkindness which is not only present, but alive in us – not merely causing us to stand tall, not merely causing us to walk, but to run in this world, shining His light and love to all we interact with.
We give Him thanks, again, for Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son and our Lord and Savior – for only by Him are we able to call this great and glorious God our Father, and only through Christ do we have the boldness to run to His throne of grace at our time of need.
We give Him thanks, again, for the Holy Spirit, constantly convicting the world in every second, ultimately to come to trust and believe in Christ.
We give thanks to the Father for the Holy Spirit also, because He also convicts all of us in the body of Christ, constantly and faithfully, of our absolute righteousness and right-standing before God, of our having the mind of Christ, of our restorative and proactive salvation.
What a great and glorious God we have, indeed! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – all deserving of our thanks and praise, now and always!
It’s so nice to wake up to good news… and if you don’t see any good news, well, that’s when you remind yourself of goodness.
It’s what we need. Every day, we ought to remind ourselves of the goodness of God. It’s good to start the day in remembrance, just so that you’re braced and just in the right mindset for the rest of the day, no matter what happens.
It’s good to remember the glory of our Father, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit – infinite and eternal, all of this goes far beyond anything we could imagine, so every time we remember, it’s just as familiar as it is fresh.
And, naturally, in our remembrance, we would give thanks.
Or, well, it works the other way around. In days we find ourselves having a difficult time remembering and/or realizing all of these things, we’d do well to start giving thanks. We’d do well to bring our beings to thanking God… and then the realizations would just flow from there.
So thank God, and receive the revelations, or recall His goodness, and thank Him. This is why it makes sense to read where Paul writes that it is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus to give thanks in everything.
And, take note, we’re to give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything – we don’t give thanks to God for death, loss, rejection, frustration, and fear; No, we give thanks to God for His hope present in death, His present hope in our loss, His accepting and loving us in rejection, His forever plans in our frustration, and His perfect love that casts out all fear. When we’re led to look at all things that way, all things are a legitimate reason for us to give thanks!
I’m aware that it’s April. April, that is, of 2025 – and we declared that this year is the Year of Revelations. What’s it matter, now, as we just entered my birthmonth? Well, there’s the low-key pressure to sort of report to the world, what’s been up in my life… and the revelations as of late have been, well, revealing.
There’s the pressure between longing for the financial freedom I used to have and trying to establish something, anything to generate wealth… and calmly operating on what I have right now, being sure to differentiate passion projects from income generation. While I’m negotiating through this pressure, I couldn’t help but notice the arrival of different opportunities – collaborations as of late, on top of ventures finally realized after literal years of waiting and working.
Then there’s the realization that all this writing isn’t necessarily helping as much as it used to, in getting all of my thoughts together… particularly because I’m hesitant in writing any of this down to be posted. I could, of course, just keep these notes to myself, but then it wouldn’t help with my posting of 1000 words a day for a total of 365000 words this year.
Put all of this on top of daily obligations to my household, and caring for other people… Well, we’re in a really nice self-pity party here, now aren’t we?
Before I go ahead and fall off the deep end with doing the opposite of counting my blessings here, I should probably take a deep breath and remember… that even through all of this, I can give thanks… And, boy, can I give thanks.
For just as I believe it was Jesus Himself who was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace made to burn seven times hotter…. So my Savior is with me now, in this pressure cooker of a (self-imposed) predicament, or set of predicaments, anyway.
Just as Elijah was sustained in the wilderness, so Christ ministers to me as my Bread of Life in the nothing I’m not used to seeing, much less living in.
Just as Joseph, David, and Job had their own circumstances, so the Holy Spirit is with me when the world comes against me, so He is with me in the battles and the scandals, so He is with me in the affliction, the loss and the rejection.
As I turn another year, I’m reminded, now as usual, and more now than ever – to continue to give thanks to God, and to continue to place my trust in Him.
I’m reminded that those who trust in Him shall never be put to shame. I’m reminded, again, to give thanks in all circumstances.
…And because part of me is telling me that I could go more relevant to myself than just that, I’m also to tell myself, here, that I am thankful.
I’m thankful, because in spite of the loss of resources, and in the presence of clear, present, painful rejection, and simultaneous destabilizing tension – yet another realization, yet another reminder is brought to the forefront: That the stakes have never been higher, and, damn it, this is no time for me to stop, this is no time for me to wallow – this is time for me, and for all of us, to bound forward.
I’m thankful, indeed, because sure, love, peace, patience, joy, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control are produced in and through me, but not only in a reactive and restorative capacity, but also on the offensive: That is, that Christ produces these fruits, and we bear them not ONLY as a defense, but also, as part of our offensive.
Love is in our actions as much as they are in our reactions. Peace is in our offense as much as they are in our defense. Joy is present outside as they are in the house. Faithfulness actually stands out in the chaos, much as we appreciate it in the order.
I’m thankful, now, because I’m reminded – By the power of the Holy Spirit, our continued existence in this reality is not just one of preservation, but also of proclamation, proliferation, and proactive, intentional movement.
Oh, dear Lord, help me out as I take all this in, and as I’m spitting it all out here. You’ve brought me to peace for all that’s happening to me – surely, You’d bring me to power to make things happen. For myself, for Your body.
Continue to state Your purpose. Continue to state Your will. Continue to convict me, Holy Spirit, of my eternal security, and the enabling, the motivation that is borne off of that power.
Remind me, today, and every day, of my being a new Creation – dead to sin and the flesh; recreated, blessed with all things for good works, that none would perish, but many would come to repentance.
Direct me, Father. Establish my thoughts, for I have committed all my plans, all my intentions, all my desires to You.
Clarity, Father! Focus! Determination! ‘Tis who You are, my Lord Jesus, as I have Your mind, and I flow with You!
In You I live, and move, and have my being.
The Kingdom, the power, and the glory are all Yours, now and forever.
Be glorified, in all things, through all things.
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love!
“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
It’s the next day and I was supposed to top this off with a report of actual work I did… and, self-sabotage notwithstanding, I’ve established there are two things that are at work against progression: First is the urge and propensity to play and to slack and to just be comfortable, and second is the number of opportunities to take. I’ve had the first issue for as long as I could remember and it has actively contributed to my missing out on opportunities, to the degeneration of resources and relationships, and to my being in the wrong beat, the wrong tempo, the wrong timing. The second issue, I’ve only recognized right now and I think it’s a more time-bound, seasonal one working against me – it has me swirling and circling around, getting one step done in this opportunity and that one, one step done here, one step done there, but never really progressing forward in any of them.
And it all leads to resultant condemnation. I think to myself, at these times, saying I’m better than this. I’ve been re-made, and re-made as superior to these actions. I’ve been re-made, re-created, re-born (through the finished work of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit) – first, for discipline, and second, for focus. 40 plus years on this earth and you’d think I’d have realized this. I could imagine my Dad, and even my brothers had their struggles at this age, but I could tell, considering all they’ve done, that they’ve had their ducks more in a row than I have. I need help. I need prayer. I need discipline. I need focus.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Psalms 34:17-22
Let redemption be the anthem that rouses me to real action.
Let deliverance be the song that causes me to see things through.
In the name of Jesus, under the grace and glory of the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen. Amen.
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