Developing an Attitude of Gratitude

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of a reverence for Christ.” -Ephesians 5:20-11.”Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (ESV).

     This is our Thanksgiving season, a special time set aside in November to give thanks. Do we consider the seriousness of giving thanks, and how the Word of God urges us to “give thanks for everything,” and to “give thanks in all circumstances?”

     Most of us have difficulty overcoming the inability to “give thanks for all things” and “in all circumstances.”

     What about illness of self or one dear to us? Can we give thanks in this circumstance?

     Or what about hard times, some situation or event that clearly challenges every effort we can engage just to subsist or live through it? But to give thanks in it? That is difficult indeed.

     I recently heard a man’s son give a beautiful eulogy of his deacon father at the man’s memorial service. In the remarks about his loving and stalwart Christian father, the son recounted how his father always taught his children that they are strengthened by adversity and can, indeed thank the Lord for trying circumstances. Accepting the difficult situations as times to gain strength and to grow closer to the Lord and depend upon Him for guidance helps one to grow in character. If we can remember to be thankful in circumstances and to depend upon God’s guidance to bring us through whatever we are facing, victory surely will be ours. We will come through the period of trial a stronger and more understanding person.

     To develop an attitude of gratitude means to sincerely seek to have a spirit of thanksgiving every day. It is good upon arising to quote sincerely Psalm 118:24: “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” In this way, the believer starts on a plane of gratitude and it will be more likely that throughout the day his spirit will rejoice and seek that which is uplifting and inspirational, even in hard situations.

     As we count our blessings this Thanksgiving, and give God glory for bringing us safely through another year, may we also give consideration to cultivating an attitude of gratitude that will help us every day to count our blessings and be grateful for the difficult circumstances as well as those that are happy, manageable and don’t require extreme effort.

     This exercise should help us to see that God is good, all the time, and every circumstance holds something good for those who love the Lord and seek to do His will. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.20.2016

The Importance of Family in God’s Plan

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” –Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV).

Pope Francis in his tour of America this week participated in a mammoth “Festival of Families” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 26, 2015. In his address before the masses of people, and following the six testimonials by family members who shared their family and spiritual journeys, Pope Frances said in his homily, “The family is the furnace of hope.”

He encouraged families to remember how God the Creator provided for the family in the Creation and told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. The family was the very first institution on earth. Imagine the beauty and exhilaration of that first dwelling place, Eden, a place made especially for the family God had created. All was well until temptation came and Adam and Eve succumbed to the deceit of Satan. Their wrong decision cost them their residence in Eden. And ever after, man has subsisted by toil troubled by the conditions initiated by wrong choices and the presence of evil in his nature.

But hope came—for individuals and for the family unit—when Jesus Christ came to earth to provide the propitiation for man’s sin. Pope Francis painted a good picture of the family unit when he said, “The family is the furnace of hope.” Paul wrote: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2). 

Paul further in Ephesians wrote of Christ, the head of the church, as the bridegroom, and the church (believers) as the bride. This analogy shows the sacredness of the marriage relationship and the importance of keeping vows intact and family as a foremost institution of God’s intention for man and woman, His highest creation. Therefore, “Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” –Ephesians 5:25-33 (ESV). 

Families are in grave danger today. Divorce rates are astronomical. Let us reconsider the sacredness of the marriage vows and the mission God intended for the family. We need furnaces of hope where the light of God’s love ignites holy teaching, holy living and holy commitment to the values and solidarity of the family. Pray that in your family this may be your personal mission. -Ethelene Dyer Jones -09.27.2015

Redeeming the Time

“See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  -Ephesians 5:15-17 (NKJV).

Newer translations of the Bible render “redeeming the time” as “making the best use of time.”  I  somehow still like “redeeming the time,” as I memorized it from the King James Version. Eugene Peterson in The Message version gives  the verses Ephesians 5:11-17 as a very plain and self-explanatory paragraph in this way:  “Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness.  Expose these things for the sham they are.  It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see.  Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.  Wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light!  So watch your step.  Use your head.  Make the most of every chance you get.  These are desperate times.  Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly.  Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” (Eugene H. Peterson.  The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.  Colorado Springs: Nave Press, 2002, p. 1616-17).

Recently a friend of mine sent me a parable he wrote that can well be applied to redeeming the time.  I will abbreviate his wonderful story to give just the highlights.  He pictured a place, celestial and beautiful, where the Master Architect and the Master Clockmaker created clocks of all shapes, sizes order.  They were perfect when finished.  These were “as the sands of the sea in number.”  They were placed everywhere each on its special mantel to chime and keep account of time.  Their works, operated on an amazing mainspring in each clock,  received power from the Son.  Some were recalled to the celestial city of origin at their time to go.  But some were revamped, re-oiled, given a new lease on life, sometimes even placed on different mantels in different locations to keep watch of the time in a new and different place.  Here they kept working, kept tolling their beautiful chimes, showed the time on radiant smiling faces.  When the Clockmaker called to them again they were ready to stop…ready to rest…ready to return to the Celestial City.  And from the many clocks was a message, similar and urgent:  “Listen up, you, there!  The hour may be getting late.  Toll clearly and enjoy all the time you have left.  Check in with the Clockmaker. Good news is here!”

Let us redeem, make the best use of time.  Clasp time as a precious commodity, affirming its opportunities for beauty, love and usefulness.

                                                                                    -Ethelene Dyer Jones  03.17.2013.