Complaining and Being Thankful

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and over-flowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

Continue to live in Christ Jesus like you did when you first received..

Remember when you first received Christ, you were so excited and you were growing. Everything was so grand and great. Then, the new wears off and you slip back into life as usual, if you are not careful.

The Bible says we need to be "rooted and built up IN HIM," because then we will be "strenghened in the faith." We will be overflowing with thankfulness.

We live in a world of, "you can't get enough." "More is better." Just look around everything offers biggie size now...and not just food. That is such a lie of the enemy. He wants us to believe that, but when we are "OVERFLOWING with thankfulness," we tend to forget the things we do not have. We do not have room to complain. We realize we are entirely too blessed to complain.

At church on Wednesday night, we finished up a series on the ten commandments. We were talking about "Do not covet." So, to reverse coveting, the children made lists of things they were thankful for. It is amazing at the list of things once we start to thinking of all the things God has truely blessed us with. The kids were so excited and joyful. It was amazing to see them light up when they began to list what all God had blessed them with.

If you are feeling down today, I encourage you to make a list of things that you are thankful for. I promise you, you will realize how blessed you are and forget what it is you lack. God is more than enough.

The Alarm Clock

The other morning my husband got in the shower and hit the snooze button instead of turning the alarm clock off. I am not really sure how long it went off because I NEVER heard it go off the first time or him getting in the shower. As it woke me up, I began thinking about life and how we are sort of like the snooze button. Many times we have an issue that we are dealing with and we "hit the snooze button" so to speak. We do not DEAL with the real problem so it continues to creep up in our lives.

What do we need to deal with at the root? What is it that continues to creep up in my life that I need Jesus to help me overcome? Without total reliance on Him, we can do nothing.

What causes me to do some of the things I do? What is the real reason for my behavior? Why does my attitude stink? Why am I so short tempered with my family?

What is really bothering me? I must deal with the root of the problem for things to really change.

Colossians 2:7 says, "rooted and built up in him."

Our life should be rooted and built in Christ. Our life should not be rooted in anything else. Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil thought their roots, so we draw life-giving strength from Christ. The more we draw our strength from Him, the less we will be fooled by those who falsely claim they have the answers. We will also be able to overcome those "issues" that seem to creep up and keep reoccurring.

Are we all nicely put together on the outside, but fall apart with a shove or two? What is it today that I need to deal with? Am I ill with my family? Do I have a bad attitude towards people? Am a frustrated?

Before I can be loving, kind, and patient I have to receive Christ's love for me, His unconditional love. I cannot give what I do not possess. The secret to being all that He has called me to be, is to be deeply rooted in Him: "May your roots grow deep into the soil of God's marvelous love." Ephesians 3:17

When we are deeply rooted in Him, then we can begin to love others with Christ's love, "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other." 1 John 4:11

Anger and Proverbs 25:28

"Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control." Proverbs 25:28

The purpose of a wall is:
1. protection
2. when the wall falls or has cracks, it can leave one in fear, uncertain, doubting their safety, exposed to the forces of nature
3. the wall could fall and crumble

As parents we are to provide protection for our children. We need to seek God on how to handle all situations. We need to do what is best for our child, not what is best for us at the moment. When we seek God and do what is best for our child, sometimes we have to reaarange our plans. Discipline and training our children takes time...lots of time!

But, when we "lack self-control," we can hurt our children and begin to "break down their walls." They may begin to doubt who they are in Christ, our love for them, etc. They may begin to have fear and not feel safe. Their foundation is oftentimes questioned. At this point in their life, the younger they are, the more they rely on us for that solid foundation. They cannot do it on their own. They are in training. When we "say" things in anger, we tear down our children. We allow the enemy entrance to come in and mess with their minds. Our children value highly what we think and when we say things in frustration or anger we really hurt them. AND the enemy can magnify this because he wants to tear apart and divide. BUT our God is greater, He is stonger, He is higher than any other! When we rely on Him to work through us, we can do nothing but WIN!

Reflection:

• Are my words leading my children to hurt and pain OR to the Father and full of God-confidence?
• Am I tearing down or building up my children with my words, my actions, my attitudes?
• Are my children doing things I dislike, such as showing anger, attitudes, etc? Have I looked at myself to see if I am doing that before I point the finger?
• Am I relying on the Father for self-control or trying within myself to have self-control?

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