A Welcome Note
Are our hearts grateful? This is what we are going to share with you dear precious friends. We welcome you back to our 10th edition. We are grateful to the Lord for how far He has brought us. It is not a normal thing to do this but it has surely taken the Lord’s hand to share all this with you, how thankful we are to our God!
“Dear Debbie and Justus, Just a little note of encouragement to let you know how much I enjoyed this month's Good News Magazine. If I had to sum it up in one word it would be "Beautiful. " I'm one of the ones who loves this Season for the Beauty the Lord blesses us with. How can such beauty surround people, and them not see it, or give thanks for it ? Because only God can create such an array of magnificent colors and place us right in the middle of it, and yet to some it is nothing more than a yard full of leaves that need to be raked. This edition of the magazine also got me thinking... We as Christians really have no harvest time, in that we don't wait for a certain season to try to win souls for the Lord. We get the message out summer, fall, winter and spring, and the Lord will do the harvesting for Himself in His time. We can do no more than plant and water and try to keep weeds from taking over, but the actual harvesting is done by and for The Lord. Yes, we will reap what we sow in our own lives, but we must never wait for any reason to share the Gospel with anyone. Lynne's testimony was sweet, and so were the poems etc. All in all, this month's edition is truly beautiful. keep up the good work *:) happy
Well, we praise the Lord. We couldn't do anything were it not for the Lord
and your prayerful support. It really is appreciated so very much. When I look back into the past and compare it with the present, I see there is always a need to be grateful to the Lord. We were dead. We were pitiful. We were helpless to do anything for ourselves. When God looked down upon us He was moved with pity and compassion because of our helpless state. We couldn’t save ourselves, our works were futile. Only through God’s grace are we saved today. For if we have received anything from God as a result of works, and then we can boast before God and others about how awesome we are. Does that sound familiar? Jesus addressed this kind of attitude in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).
The Lord has done great things in our lives and most of the times we seem to forget thanking Him. To have the strength and write what am writing now is the Lord's doing, so I need to thank Him. Thank Jesus for His protection over your life, thank Him for giving you the breath of life, many have passed away, they didn't know if they could pass away so soon, but thank Him, even more and more. There is power when we thank the Lord even for the smallest things done. Don't overlook things, it's not normal or usual, the Lord has been so good to us, and we ought to thank Him for all things, ALWAYS.
Well, when are we supposed to thank the Lord? Is it when He does good things for us? Is it when everything is going on well? Is it when He does great things in our lives? When we are happy? When things are working out for us?
Certainly not! The Lord requires us to be thankful ALWAYS. We are to rejoice always! Praise His Holy name in His tents! Praise Him with thanks giving in His courts!
Something happens when we thank our Father even when things are not working out for us. When we do so, He sees someone who has faith in Him and is expectant to receive from the Lord.
The Lord will always find a way out for us when we praise and thank Him. In great trials and tribulations, thank the Lord, when your hour of darkness comes, thank Him, when you are under fierce accusations, praise HIM and thank Him.
The children of Israel complained while in the desert. They started grumbling to Moses and said Egypt was way far better off.
Look what happened; finally it was only the generation of Joshua and Caleb who made it to the Promised Land.
I pray that today you stop murmuring and grumbling and start thanking God.
This far has He brought you. It's too late to start complaining. You have come a long way. Just focus on the future and praise His Holy name with thanks giving. You will be amazed by what the Lord is going to do in your life when you thank Him in ALL THINGS. Come on; give thanks to the Lord of Hosts!
A Welcome Note
Are our hearts grateful? This is what we are going to share with you dear precious friends. We welcome you back to our 10th edition. We are grateful to the Lord for how far He has brought us. It is not a normal thing to do this but it has surely taken the Lord’s hand to share all this with you, how thankful we are to our God!
We also want to appreciate you for your responses to our Good News magazine. This really motivates us and am going to share what one of our friends said. It was a response to our previous edition, “Bountiful Harvest”. ALL glory to God! Here it is:
“Dear Debbie and Justus, Just a little note of encouragement to let you know how much I enjoyed this month's Good News Magazine. If I had to sum it up in one word it would be "Beautiful. " I'm one of the ones who loves this Season for the Beauty the Lord blesses us with. How can such beauty surround people, and them not see it, or give thanks for it ? Because only God can create such an array of magnificent colors and place us right in the middle of it, and yet to some it is nothing more than a yard full of leaves that need to be raked. This edition of the magazine also got me thinking... We as Christians really have no harvest time, in that we don't wait for a certain season to try to win souls for the Lord. We get the message out summer, fall, winter and spring, and the Lord will do the harvesting for Himself in His time. We can do no more than plant and water and try to keep weeds from taking over, but the actual harvesting is done by and for The Lord. Yes, we will reap what we sow in our own lives, but we must never wait for any reason to share the Gospel with anyone. Lynne's testimony was sweet, and so were the poems etc. All in all, this month's edition is truly beautiful. keep up the good work *:) happy
With love and pride in you both for His sake”
Marion
Well, we praise the Lord. We couldn't do anything were it not for the Lord
and your prayerful support. It really is appreciated so very much. When I look back into the past and compare it with the present, I see there is always a need to be grateful to the Lord. We were dead. We were pitiful. We were helpless to do anything for ourselves. When God looked down upon us He was moved with pity and compassion because of our helpless state. We couldn’t save ourselves, our works were futile. Only through God’s grace are we saved today. For if we have received anything from God as a result of works, and then we can boast before God and others about how awesome we are. Does that sound familiar? Jesus addressed this kind of attitude in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).
and your prayerful support. It really is appreciated so very much. When I look back into the past and compare it with the present, I see there is always a need to be grateful to the Lord. We were dead. We were pitiful. We were helpless to do anything for ourselves. When God looked down upon us He was moved with pity and compassion because of our helpless state. We couldn’t save ourselves, our works were futile. Only through God’s grace are we saved today. For if we have received anything from God as a result of works, and then we can boast before God and others about how awesome we are. Does that sound familiar? Jesus addressed this kind of attitude in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).
To many of us, sometimes we tend to be so busy that we have not time to stop and tell God, ‘Thank you for this day.’
The Lord has done great things in our lives and most of the times we seem to forget thanking Him. To have the strength and write what am writing now is the Lord's doing, so I need to thank Him. Thank Jesus for His protection over your life, thank Him for giving you the breath of life, many have passed away, they didn't know if they could pass away so soon, but thank Him, even more and more. There is power when we thank the Lord even for the smallest things done. Don't overlook things, it's not normal or usual, the Lord has been so good to us, and we ought to thank Him for all things, ALWAYS.
Well, when are we supposed to thank the Lord? Is it when He does good things for us? Is it when everything is going on well? Is it when He does great things in our lives? When we are happy? When things are working out for us?
Certainly not! The Lord requires us to be thankful ALWAYS. We are to rejoice always! Praise His Holy name in His tents! Praise Him with thanks giving in His courts!
Something happens when we thank our Father even when things are not working out for us. When we do so, He sees someone who has faith in Him and is expectant to receive from the Lord.
The Lord will always find a way out for us when we praise and thank Him. In great trials and tribulations, thank the Lord, when your hour of darkness comes, thank Him, when you are under fierce accusations, praise HIM and thank Him.
The Lord has done great things in our lives and most of the times we seem to forget thanking Him. To have the strength and write what am writing now is the Lord's doing, so I need to thank Him. Thank Jesus for His protection over your life, thank Him for giving you the breath of life, many have passed away, they didn't know if they could pass away so soon, but thank Him, even more and more. There is power when we thank the Lord even for the smallest things done. Don't overlook things, it's not normal or usual, the Lord has been so good to us, and we ought to thank Him for all things, ALWAYS.
Well, when are we supposed to thank the Lord? Is it when He does good things for us? Is it when everything is going on well? Is it when He does great things in our lives? When we are happy? When things are working out for us?
Certainly not! The Lord requires us to be thankful ALWAYS. We are to rejoice always! Praise His Holy name in His tents! Praise Him with thanks giving in His courts!
Something happens when we thank our Father even when things are not working out for us. When we do so, He sees someone who has faith in Him and is expectant to receive from the Lord.
The Lord will always find a way out for us when we praise and thank Him. In great trials and tribulations, thank the Lord, when your hour of darkness comes, thank Him, when you are under fierce accusations, praise HIM and thank Him.
The children of Israel complained while in the desert. They started grumbling to Moses and said Egypt was way far better off.
Look what happened; finally it was only the generation of Joshua and Caleb who made it to the Promised Land.
I pray that today you stop murmuring and grumbling and start thanking God.
This far has He brought you. It's too late to start complaining. You have come a long way. Just focus on the future and praise His Holy name with thanks giving. You will be amazed by what the Lord is going to do in your life when you thank Him in ALL THINGS. Come on; give thanks to the Lord of Hosts!
Justus & Debbie,
The Good News Magazine editors. blessedjustus@gmail.com, debbie.senese@gmail.com
IS YOUR HEART A JOY-FILLED, THANKFUL HEART?
Is it possible to be a living, breathing, walking, talking, Bible-believing, Follower of Jesus Christ without having a joy-filled thankful heart? Not if you have a personal relationship with the only One who is able to make that possible here on a sin sick earth. It also depends on whether you're looking at it from a “Biblical” definition or a worldly perception. Let's look at some examples.
Is it possible to be “thankful” without really being “thankful”? Yes, there is that ability to say “thank you” without being thankful. People don't realize it, but lets put it to the test and see for sure.
Scenario #1. You sneeze. Someone hands you a tissue. You say, “thank you”. Are you really thankful? Or is that just a knee-jerk reaction...something you say out of courtesy or expect someone to say to you?
Scenario #2. You're in the car on the way to church. One of the children starts acting up. Correction is needed but you're late and so you yell out your commands and continue on to church. The fussing only increases. You pull into the parking lot, get out of the car, make sure everyone is looking tidy and nice with your “church smiles on” to go into church and you're greeted at the door, “Good morning! Nice to have you with us. How are you, today?” Your reply? “Fine, thank you. It's nice to be here.” Are you fine? And are you really thankful they asked? Or once again, is it just that knee-jerk reaction of the proper response or the right thing to say?
Scenario #3. The house is a total wreck, toys are everywhere, the kids are fussing, you're trying to get dinner on the table, the man of the house comes home, he mentions something, you give a response back, and the two of you start verbally combating each other while the kids are going at it as well. Dinner is ready and on the table. What's the very next thing we do? Bow our heads, close our eyes, and “give thanks” for the food provided and then open our eyes and get right back to it!
Just how thankful are we? How sincere are we about it? And let's face it; do we have a joy-filled thankfulness?
John 15:11 tells us, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
This all being said, it’s impossible to have a joy-filled thankful heart unless we abide in Him, and He in us. Otherwise, we can do nothing on our own. For whatever we attempt to do on our own, and that includes obtaining true joy, it will be cast forth as a branch, and is withered and is eventually burned with the rest of the dead “things” we try to obtain or achieve on our own. But He further encourages us, that if we abide in Him...and this is important in the last part of verse 7... “and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” According to verse 11, what is it that we will ask for and it shall be given to us? HIS joy...joy from Him that remains, and not only remains, but remains in abundance.
We have a tendency to pluck out individual verses or portions of verses and give them personal meanings that give us encouragement or feed a need we may have in our lives. I am not saying that there are not verses to which this can apply... or that we can't have certain verses that have special meaning in our hearts. What I am saying, is that John 15:7 is one of those verses that if you don't look at the context of the passage, you could easily get from it that if we abide in Him, then we can ask for whatever we want and we'll get it. However, when the passage is read in its entirety, and we continue down to verse 11, we see what it is He will give us, that will remain, and remain in abundance...His joy.
That doesn't mean we're happy all the time. It doesn't mean we don't experience sorrow, pain, turmoil or other unpleasant things. But it does mean, that even in the midst of these things, we still can have a joy-filled heart. The joy that He alone can give.
A few of the biblical definitions of joy in the KJV dictionary may give some further understanding;
·Joy is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good. (Our eternity with Christ which is not now, but will come one day!)
Each of the definitions above are not what we would call our excessive earthly happiness as in receiving good news, or material things or happy times to celebrate. And yet, each of the above are reasons why each one of us as Born-again, bible-believing Followers of Jesus Christ should have a joy-filled heart even though our earthly circumstances may not be the greatest. Just knowing that we can have assurance of salvation and the surety that we will not spend eternity in Hell gives my heart joy unspeakable and full of glory for the Lord and His goodness.
So, in order to have His joy, we are;
To surrender— Look in John 15:4: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” A branch makes a full surrender to the vine. It exists for only one purpose: the vine. We must totally, completely abide in the Vine in order to have joy.
To depend— The joy of Jesus is given when we depend upon the Lord. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “…He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” What can a branch do without a vine? Nothing! When you think you are something, then God is not everything. And God cannot be everything until you become nothing.
To rest— In verse 9 Jesus says, “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.” That means to rest in His love. The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:22 that joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot create joy; we must simply rest in the Vine.
To obey— Jesus says in verse 10: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love…” Jesus kept the commandments of His Father. We also must obey Him. There’s no way to have joy unless we obey.
To rejoice— We’ve come full circle. We’re back to verse eleven where we started. Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Once we have that joy-filled heart, the thankfulness just follows right in line. How can you have the joy of the Lord remaining inside us, made full and abundant by Him, and NOT have a heart full of thankfulness for all He has done for us? You can't have one without the other.
I realize this being November, the month that we celebrate Thanksgiving, a traditional Thanksgiving article was probably expected. I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving growing up. But if I were to be honest, in my heart, it was always the time of going to the special Thanksgiving service at church, watching a parade, and then stuffing myself until I felt sick with family and friends, but we always said what we were thankful for before the blessing was said. I remember one Thanksgiving in particular, as a child, I had special music in church. I believe my brother and I both did. We sang a child's thanksgiving song where the lyrics went something like this;
But most of all my thanks shall be
In the congregation and ready to speak after our very modest special music, were missionaries to Holland that were back visiting. When the husband and wife stepped up to the pulpit, they were to have their special music before he gave a devotional. And they said that in Holland, the children there sang that very same song.
In a round about way, this too IS a Thanksgiving article. But it’s most important to those professing salvation through Jesus Christ alone, that we celebrate thanksgiving in our hearts each and every day...no matter the surroundings...or the circumstances...or anything else that is going on in our lives that can pull us down so very easily and distract us from the joy the Lord has given us.
We at The Good News Magazine want to be sure that you know you can have a joy-filled thankful heart every day of the year, not ONLY on Thanksgiving when we take that special time to list the things we are thankful for, but to have a list of things we're thankful for every day of the year; With Jesus Christ's gift of eternal salvation to an unworthy, filthy, sinner such as myself at the top of the list.
Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul
Is it possible to be a living, breathing, walking, talking, Bible-believing, Follower of Jesus Christ without having a joy-filled thankful heart? Not if you have a personal relationship with the only One who is able to make that possible here on a sin sick earth. It also depends on whether you're looking at it from a “Biblical” definition or a worldly perception. Let's look at some examples.
Is it possible to be “thankful” without really being “thankful”? Yes, there is that ability to say “thank you” without being thankful. People don't realize it, but lets put it to the test and see for sure.
Scenario #1. You sneeze. Someone hands you a tissue. You say, “thank you”. Are you really thankful? Or is that just a knee-jerk reaction...something you say out of courtesy or expect someone to say to you?
Scenario #2. You're in the car on the way to church. One of the children starts acting up. Correction is needed but you're late and so you yell out your commands and continue on to church. The fussing only increases. You pull into the parking lot, get out of the car, make sure everyone is looking tidy and nice with your “church smiles on” to go into church and you're greeted at the door, “Good morning! Nice to have you with us. How are you, today?” Your reply? “Fine, thank you. It's nice to be here.” Are you fine? And are you really thankful they asked? Or once again, is it just that knee-jerk reaction of the proper response or the right thing to say?
Scenario #3. The house is a total wreck, toys are everywhere, the kids are fussing, you're trying to get dinner on the table, the man of the house comes home, he mentions something, you give a response back, and the two of you start verbally combating each other while the kids are going at it as well. Dinner is ready and on the table. What's the very next thing we do? Bow our heads, close our eyes, and “give thanks” for the food provided and then open our eyes and get right back to it!
Just how thankful are we? How sincere are we about it? And let's face it; do we have a joy-filled thankfulness?
Let's see what the scripture has to say about it.
John 15:11 tells us, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
The Lord tells us in this verse, that all the things He had just told us about in the first 10 verses, He's told us for a reason. That reason is that HIS joy might remain in us...and also, that our joy may be full!
So what was the secret that allows us to retain His joy in us... no matter what, and that this very same joy may be full? I believe the secret is found in verses 4-7, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
This all being said, it’s impossible to have a joy-filled thankful heart unless we abide in Him, and He in us. Otherwise, we can do nothing on our own. For whatever we attempt to do on our own, and that includes obtaining true joy, it will be cast forth as a branch, and is withered and is eventually burned with the rest of the dead “things” we try to obtain or achieve on our own. But He further encourages us, that if we abide in Him...and this is important in the last part of verse 7... “and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” According to verse 11, what is it that we will ask for and it shall be given to us? HIS joy...joy from Him that remains, and not only remains, but remains in abundance.
We have a tendency to pluck out individual verses or portions of verses and give them personal meanings that give us encouragement or feed a need we may have in our lives. I am not saying that there are not verses to which this can apply... or that we can't have certain verses that have special meaning in our hearts. What I am saying, is that John 15:7 is one of those verses that if you don't look at the context of the passage, you could easily get from it that if we abide in Him, then we can ask for whatever we want and we'll get it. However, when the passage is read in its entirety, and we continue down to verse 11, we see what it is He will give us, that will remain, and remain in abundance...His joy.
That doesn't mean we're happy all the time. It doesn't mean we don't experience sorrow, pain, turmoil or other unpleasant things. But it does mean, that even in the midst of these things, we still can have a joy-filled heart. The joy that He alone can give.
A few of the biblical definitions of joy in the KJV dictionary may give some further understanding;
·Joy is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good. (Our eternity with Christ which is not now, but will come one day!)
·A glorious and triumphant state.--Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. Heb.12.
·The cause of joy or happiness. - For ye are our glory and joy. 1 Thess 2.
·JOY, v.i. To rejoice; to be glad; to exult. - I will joy in the God of my salvation. Hab.3.
Each of the definitions above are not what we would call our excessive earthly happiness as in receiving good news, or material things or happy times to celebrate. And yet, each of the above are reasons why each one of us as Born-again, bible-believing Followers of Jesus Christ should have a joy-filled heart even though our earthly circumstances may not be the greatest. Just knowing that we can have assurance of salvation and the surety that we will not spend eternity in Hell gives my heart joy unspeakable and full of glory for the Lord and His goodness.
So, in order to have His joy, we are;
To surrender— Look in John 15:4: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” A branch makes a full surrender to the vine. It exists for only one purpose: the vine. We must totally, completely abide in the Vine in order to have joy.
To depend— The joy of Jesus is given when we depend upon the Lord. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “…He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” What can a branch do without a vine? Nothing! When you think you are something, then God is not everything. And God cannot be everything until you become nothing.
To rest— In verse 9 Jesus says, “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.” That means to rest in His love. The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:22 that joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot create joy; we must simply rest in the Vine.
To obey— Jesus says in verse 10: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love…” Jesus kept the commandments of His Father. We also must obey Him. There’s no way to have joy unless we obey.
To rejoice— We’ve come full circle. We’re back to verse eleven where we started. Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
Once we have that joy-filled heart, the thankfulness just follows right in line. How can you have the joy of the Lord remaining inside us, made full and abundant by Him, and NOT have a heart full of thankfulness for all He has done for us? You can't have one without the other.
I realize this being November, the month that we celebrate Thanksgiving, a traditional Thanksgiving article was probably expected. I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving growing up. But if I were to be honest, in my heart, it was always the time of going to the special Thanksgiving service at church, watching a parade, and then stuffing myself until I felt sick with family and friends, but we always said what we were thankful for before the blessing was said. I remember one Thanksgiving in particular, as a child, I had special music in church. I believe my brother and I both did. We sang a child's thanksgiving song where the lyrics went something like this;
For mother's love and father's care
for food to eat and clothes to wear
for home and friends and answered prayer
We thank Thee, Lord.
But most of all my thanks shall be
that on the cross of Calvary
My Savior shed His blood for me
We thank Thee,Lord.
In the congregation and ready to speak after our very modest special music, were missionaries to Holland that were back visiting. When the husband and wife stepped up to the pulpit, they were to have their special music before he gave a devotional. And they said that in Holland, the children there sang that very same song.
And together, they sang the song in Dutch. I thought that was the most wonderful thing...and just one of the many wonderful memories I have about Thanksgiving...but as you can see, it was the “holiday” that I have such fond memories of, not the attitude of the heart I should have every day. Having those fond memories aren't wrong by any means. But it demonstrates the difference between the holiday & the frame of heart.
In a round about way, this too IS a Thanksgiving article. But it’s most important to those professing salvation through Jesus Christ alone, that we celebrate thanksgiving in our hearts each and every day...no matter the surroundings...or the circumstances...or anything else that is going on in our lives that can pull us down so very easily and distract us from the joy the Lord has given us.
We at The Good News Magazine want to be sure that you know you can have a joy-filled thankful heart every day of the year, not ONLY on Thanksgiving when we take that special time to list the things we are thankful for, but to have a list of things we're thankful for every day of the year; With Jesus Christ's gift of eternal salvation to an unworthy, filthy, sinner such as myself at the top of the list.
Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
Amen!
REJOICE DESPITE THE CIRCUMSTANCES
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalms 100:4
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalms 100:4
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Psalms 138:1-2
When I think of ALL that I have gone through, I am only left with one thing: God has been with me ALL awhile. He saw me through, He was right there when I needed Him, and for this I have every reason to do one thing: Praise and thank Him ALWAYS.
Did you know that a thankful heart can change the whole way you see life? It is a flood-gate opener to blessings, joy peace and all sorts of goodness. With thankful hearts, we can even touch the very heart of God, and King David, a man after God’s heart even told us that when we approach God, enter into His gates with thankful hearts!
Suppose you had a child and you went to the store and bought a gift for him. You get home and tell him, ‘Boy, I have a surprise for you.’ The boy opens up a gift box and to his amazement sees what he has been longing to have for a very long time! The boy jumps up with joy and excitement and then hugs you and thanks you for the precious gift you bought him. As he plays outside, he keeps thanking you for such a wonderful gift. Wouldn't that make you feel good inside for blessing him in such a way? You would probably want to run out and do it all over again, just because he loved it so much and was so thankful for everything you did.
Now, suppose you brought the gift to the boy, called him and gave it to him and then he takes the gift, looks at it and says he didn’t need it. He didn’t show any appreciation or thankfulness for all you've done. Wouldn't that make you feel bad? Wouldn't that make it hard for you to continue buying him gifts in the future?
How do you think God feels, when He's done so much for us - He made us, gave us such wonderful bodies and minds, then when we messed up, He sent His son to die for us; and then we go throughout the day not even stopping to think about all He's done for us? We're too busy too busy in our daily activities and countless other things... that we don't even stop to think about all God has done for us. How do you think that makes God feel? Do you think He gets overwhelmed with joy, and can't wait to send us more blessings? If you were in His position, would you feel that way? Wouldn't you want your people to be thankful for the goodness and blessings you have showered upon them?
When we are thankful for the goodness of God in our lives, it touches the very heart of God and encourages Him to shower even more blessings upon us. A thankful heart is truly a floodgate to the blessings and goodness of God in our lives! Psalms 37:4 tell us, "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
When in difficult moments can we stand back and thank the Lord for His faithfulness? Look what Paul and Silas did when they were in prison in Acts16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." In circumstances like this, some of us will grumble and complain about. Paul and Silas, instead of complaining, they lifted their hands to the Lord with thankful hearts and began to sing praises! Why? Because they took what Jesus said literally when He told them, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you”. Mat.5:11-12
They were taking God's Word seriously, and praising God despite the physical (here and now) circumstances...and the question we ought to ask ourselves is: “Shouldn't we be doing the same thing today when things turn black around us?” Their praises during that time touched the very heart of God, and as a result, the very ground the prison was on shook with an earthquake and they were loosed! Their singing out in praises in the face of despair touched the very heart of God! They never grumbled.
Joseph, a young man was sold as a slave in Egypt. He went through a lot and if anybody had a place to grumble, I think it ought to be him! But he had his mind so much on the goodness and promises of God. What happened? God promoted him to an extremely high position in the government, and was put in charge of the food during a famine!
An unthankful heart is found in somebody who doesn't appreciate the things that God has given them. Each one of us has been given more than we'll ever know, so there are no excuses for God's children to be unthankful! Unthankfulness is looking at the negative, despite the positive. It is my prayer that we all be thankful lest we be counted amongst the unthankful. Rom.1:21 says, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Need I say more? Well, may the Lord fill you with His Holy Spirit, that your heart be full of joy, that you may rejoice Always even when circumstance don’t allow you. Don’t grumble, keep on trusting the Lord for He knows your need and the trouble you are in. You are in His thoughts and mind.
TESTIMONY – By Zedekiah Nandwa
Having been born in God fearing family, my parents were church goers and great great believers of Christ. I believed that being our parents we were automatically born again as their children. Each and every Sunday my mum would wake us up prepare us and take us to Sunday school. I was so active in church during those days that everyone knew how much we feared God. Our parents were proud of us and they could pray for us every day. Deep inside my heart I had no knowledge of who God was. I took it as normal. I did not know that there something extra needed to be complete.
Having been born in God fearing family, my parents were church goers and great great believers of Christ. I believed that being our parents we were automatically born again as their children. Each and every Sunday my mum would wake us up prepare us and take us to Sunday school. I was so active in church during those days that everyone knew how much we feared God. Our parents were proud of us and they could pray for us every day. Deep inside my heart I had no knowledge of who God was. I took it as normal. I did not know that there something extra needed to be complete.
To me Christian life was normal. I could do anything at any time and claim that I was still a child. My dad and mum are there, if anything happens they’ll be there to cover me. That’s how I used to think. I had no knowledge that they also had their own lives and I had my own life to lead. As much as I engaged in church activities I did not take life so seriously, everything depended on my parents. I was so lost in “child thing”
At one time when I was still in grade seven, there was a youth conference and we were given a choice to attend, that was when I was totally born again. It was in the year two thousand and four when I received Christ as my personal savior.
First we were taught of the love of God and what He expects of us as His children. We were taught that everyone has his one life to lead and everyone is accountable to his/her own actions. Even our parents have their own lives to live and at the end everyone will appear before the Lord and those who are righteous will be with Him forever.
That is when I took a step of faith and decided to get born again. It was then that everything became different in my life. There was a total transformation that I received; there was a great favor that I started receiving. Everything becomes completely different. I felt some form of release and separation. I started to see life different from the way I used to see it.
I came to realize that parents should coach their children and bring them up in a proper way. They should not ignore that they are children. It is their responsibility to up bring them in a God fearing way, show them the right way, teach them the right way, that way you’ll be exposing them to the right way in life. Everyone their own lives even the young ones have their own lives.
CREATIVE WRITINGS
GRATEFULNESS TO THEE
By George Herbert
Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
See how thy beggar works on thee
By art.
He makes thy gifts occasion more,
And says, If he in this be crossed,
All thou hast given him heretofore
Is lost.
But thou didst reckon, when at first
Thy word our hearts and hands did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
To save.
Perpetual knockings at thy door,
Tears sullying thy transparent rooms,
Gift upon gift, much would have more,
And comes.
This not withstanding, thou wenst on,
And didst allow us all our noise:
Nay thou hast made a sigh and groan
Thy joys.
Not that thou hast not still above
Much better tunes, than groans can make;
But that these country-airs thy love
Did take.
Wherefore I cry, and cry again;
And in no quiet canst thou be,
Till I a thankful heart obtain
Of thee:
Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.
Forever Thankful
Being forever thankful,
Is what God wants from us,
Never forgetting from where we came,
Or His boundless, saving love
All of heavens blessings
Poured down from heavens gates,
Everything we have in life,
He's given with extra grace
We need to always thank Him
For this, and so much more
Not only for tangible things,
But because He is our Lord
Thanksgiving is the key
For His blessings to increase,
If we've not got thankful hearts,
His blessings soon will cease
Don't ever start complaining
At what you may not have,
Look around at what you see,
Then be thankful and glad
© By M.S.Lowndes
FATHER, I am Thanking You Right NOW
author unknown
Dear GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; .
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they
stop talking about me;
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am not going to wait until you give me a house to live in instead of
an apartment.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and all is quiet;
I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the
job, or a better one;;
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life
that has caused me pain or grief;
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier, the troubles
ease up or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking You right now.
I am thanking You because YOU gave me life. I am thanking You because
I made it through the day's difficulties. making it around the
obstacles because of YOUR grace alone. But most of all, I'm thanking
You because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me...and never will as
long as I am Yours and You are mine.
Forever Thankful
Being forever thankful,
Is what God wants from us,
Never forgetting from where we came,
Or His boundless, saving love
All of heavens blessings
Poured down from heavens gates,
Everything we have in life,
He's given with extra grace
We need to always thank Him
For this, and so much more
Not only for tangible things,
But because He is our Lord
Thanksgiving is the key
For His blessings to increase,
If we've not got thankful hearts,
His blessings soon will cease
Don't ever start complaining
At what you may not have,
Look around at what you see,
Then be thankful and glad
© By M.S.Lowndes
Being forever thankful,
Is what God wants from us,
Never forgetting from where we came,
Or His boundless, saving love
All of heavens blessings
Poured down from heavens gates,
Everything we have in life,
He's given with extra grace
We need to always thank Him
For this, and so much more
Not only for tangible things,
But because He is our Lord
Thanksgiving is the key
For His blessings to increase,
If we've not got thankful hearts,
His blessings soon will cease
Don't ever start complaining
At what you may not have,
Look around at what you see,
Then be thankful and glad
© By M.S.Lowndes
FATHER, I am Thanking You Right NOW
author unknown
Dear GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; .
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they
stop talking about me;
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am not going to wait until you give me a house to live in instead of
an apartment.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and all is quiet;
I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the
job, or a better one;;
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life
that has caused me pain or grief;
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier, the troubles
ease up or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking You right now.
I am thanking You because YOU gave me life. I am thanking You because
I made it through the day's difficulties. making it around the
obstacles because of YOUR grace alone. But most of all, I'm thanking
You because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me...and never will as
long as I am Yours and You are mine.
author unknown
Dear GOD:
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; .
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they
stop talking about me;
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears ;
I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am not going to wait until you give me a house to live in instead of
an apartment.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and all is quiet;
I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the
job, or a better one;;
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life
that has caused me pain or grief;
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier, the troubles
ease up or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking You right now.
I am thanking You because YOU gave me life. I am thanking You because
I made it through the day's difficulties. making it around the
obstacles because of YOUR grace alone. But most of all, I'm thanking
You because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me...and never will as
long as I am Yours and You are mine.
FINAL WORD
**If you would love us to pray with you, please do not hesitate to contact us through:
God bless you all and know that you are always in our prayers. Thank you.
Justus, Debbie & the Team, Kenya, USA**
‘Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
**If you would love us to pray with you, please do not hesitate to contact us through:
Justus at: blessedjustus@gmail.com, and
Jerry or Debbie at debbie.senese@gmail.com
If you have taken this step and made that all important decision to accept Jesus Christ as the Blessed Controller of your life, please contact us via email with name and physical address. And if you need to talk to us by phone, please let’s know so we may PM you our phone numbers. Would you like us to send you some material concerning the next steps in your walk with the Lord? If so, please let us know.
Finally, you can read the Good News Magazine on our blog, http://thegoodnewsmagazine.blogspot.com
God bless you all and know that you are always in our prayers. Thank you.
Our 11th Edition will be out on 1st December 2014.
Justus, Debbie & the Team, Kenya, USA**
Justus, Debbie & the Team, Kenya, USA**
‘Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.’ - Phil. 2:16
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