The Continuum - Overflowing with thankfulness | Part 4

PART 4

The Continuum Part 4

I am concluding my reflections in this very rich passage of scripture. You can read Part 1 by clicking here  Part 2 by clicking here and Part 3 by clicking here

Colossians 2:7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Over the past couple of weeks, my reflection has been in this passage that is so rich in content, each word or phrase having so much weight behind it.

I come to the last phrase in this passage: ”overflowing with thankfulness”

This last phrase intrigued me. He starts with being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith. A natural flow from this could have been prayer. But he throws thankfulness into the mix and not just any kind. Thankfulness that is overflowing and in abundance.

It made me think of how often my thankfulness is just a trickle. What does overflowing with thankfulness look like?

The last year was a very challenging season. I was challenged to practice gratitude, declaring faith and blessing over every situation on a daily basis. I ritualistically went through my list of things that I wanted to give thanks for in order to cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving. This list comprised of the simple mundane things of life. As I did this, my thanksgiving list and its scope began to grow. 

Now every morning when I wake up and draw the curtains of my bedroom back I look out

and thank God for the vast expanse of the lush forest before me. I think God for the view with which I am blessed. I go on to thank god for my husband, my kids and focusing on all the good in them.

Have I become a person overflowing with thanksgiving? Not yet, but I am getting there.

WHY SHOULD I GIVE THANKS?

Why is Thanksgiving so important? Is God an egomaniac who needs us to praise Him? 

God does not need anything from us of anyone or anything. He is complete in himself. The thanksgiving is all for our benefit. It requires humility to acknowledge that the source of goodness that you enjoy is outside of yourself. You did not create it. It is acknowledging greatness in someone else. Thanking God is acknowledging Him as the source of all blessing and goodness.

Scripture is full of commands and encouragement to be thankful. The Psalms is full of it.

Paul commands us to give thanks always to praise God with thankfulness.

ManyPsalms start with this common refrain; “give thanks to God for His love endures forever” This is enough reason. His love toward us is lasting and not fleeting or frivolous.

WHAT SHOULD I GIVE THANKS FOR?

What should we thank him for? Thank God for who He is – our Father, our savior, The Lord of all. Thank God for His general blessing on all the earth. This is called common grace for it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Thank God for His specific grace on your life. Start with the amazing grace He has shown you at the time you were saved: for is redemption and restoration work in our lives. Then thank him for the many other blessings: physical, financial, relational, health, material etc. Stretch yourself to be thankful for everything.

See how this habit will renew your mind – it will change a negative outlook to one full of faith and Hope will rise in your heart for dead situations. I have learned a lot about this in the last year and I believe I am only scratching the surface.

HOW DO I START?

Do a 40-day challenge of thankfulness. Have a list posted where you can see it and go through it on a daily basis.

 Every day I thank God for blessing my children and all that God is going to do in and through them. I pray  blessing and prophesy over their future calling our destiny in them. I thank God for my marriage and what God has done in us this far and ask Him to keep us strong in His love all our days. I thank God for our business and his amazing provision. I thank God for the church; and how God has blessed us and entrusted us with his people.

So get your list ready and start thanking God and see what miracles will take place in your life.

The turnaround will happen in your heart first and then in your circumstances. Thankfulness is the slender sinew that moves the hand of God to act.

We will find ourselves moving from a trickle of thanksgiving to a torrent. Will He not open the floodgates of blessings into our lives?

This brings me to the end of my reflections on these two verses. As I encourage myself I encourage you too to CONTINUE to grow strong, continue to build up your faith, continue to stay rooted in the things you have been taught and continue to grow in thankfulness.

If you found this blog helpful why not share it with your friends and drop me a line in the comments below and share how you have grown in your journey of being a thankful person.

Navaz DCruz
Oct 2018

( This is the concluding blog in this 4 part series)

At the table, we remember

As Christians , the "breaking of bread" or commonly known as "the Communion"  can be a practice that we get over familiar with. Over time we can forget what it stands for and what we are asked to call to mind when we partake of this beautiful sacrament. 





This provoked me to write a song . Here is the link to listen to it . The lyrics are below. May it make you reflect the next time you partake at the table.


Here at your table

Here at your table        

We remember      

The blood once shed  on the cross  

And as we partake we remember 

Your body broken bruised for us

 Here at your table

We consider

The finished work of the cross

Its brings me wholeness

And reconciles me

By making peace through His blood.

What a love what a  life

So pure and holy sacrificed     

My death you died , you paid my price         

What a love, what  sacrifice!

Here at your table we consider

All our weakness nailed to the cross

And as we partake we remember

The victory you have won for us

    

Bridge:

Jesus blood saves me

Jesus blood heals me

Jesus blood delivers me

Jesus blood – covers me

©Navaz D Cruz June 2013

Bridge section : co written with Karen Wood

Think and Thank

The New Year has a tradition of reflection, resolutions, new resolve and renewal of flagging resolutions of the past. We’ve all been there, done that!

At our church and personally, we have not been exceptions to this – we like to take stock of the year gone by and cast vision for the one that is just upon us.

This year we attended the midnight service at our home church, Living Word Chruch, Bandra , Mumbai. We spent the last few hours of the old year worshipping and thanking God for all that transpired in the year gone by.

Then the young dynamic preacher, Sydney Nevis stood up to give his last exhortation for the year. His motif  phrase was :"Think and Thank!” ( I owe this title to him). I thought to myself – “brilliant”! We have done this exercise over the years of writing a list of 10 things to thank God for in the year gone by – but his catch phrase, did catch my attention. I thought to myself how true it is that often thanklessness comes out of thoughtlessness. Because we don’t stop to think – think about how much we are blessed- we fail to thank.

The Bible is full of commands about giving thanks. The Bible is also full of warnings of not giving thanks. We are commanded to “  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Gods will for you in Christ.” (1Thes 5:16-18). 

 What does this do for us? We stop focusing on ourselves. We stop worrying. We see a sovereign God who is always in charge and in control. We see a way out through prayer and supplication.

 

Amongst the things we were asked to reflect, think and thank, was thanking our family members who are often last on the list simply because we selfishly take them for granted. So we got up from our seats and went to family members present to thank them for various things and what they mean to us. A wonderful atmosphere of family and gratitude filled the air and we brought the new year in.

 

So what can I think and thank God for? A lot of it has already been mentioned in our family newsletter  ( CLICK HERE)which you  can read for yourself.

 

However I want to thank God for family and faithful friends.

•  I am thankful for Colin, my husband ,for being my best friend, for being this unique person who has brought much joy in my life. Our journey together has been a great adventure!
• I am thankful for Andrew, my first born, who is a loving, cheerful gifted soul.
• I am thankful for Jessica, who fills our heart with delight. She is caring, generous and thoughtful besides being a little too clever for her age!!

 

•  I am ever grateful to my parents : My dad who was a  principled man full of wisdom and kindness . I want to thank my mum for her example extraordinaire – in being resolute, disciplined, planned, sacrificing, Godly and hospitable. ( and so much more...)
• I want to thank God for my brother, Hormus – who though 1000s of miles away keeps an eagle eye on his younger sis swooping down to lift us up when in need. What would we do without you? If it were not for his timely help – we may not have had Jessica with us today. ( but that is another story). Along with him I want to thank my wonderful sister in law – Bunny, who has been a great friend and completely supportive.

 

• I want to thank my father in law –Vincent, whom I called 'dad' much to his delight, for accepting me and being kind to me. I want to thank my mother in law, 'mum'- Helen: who has been more a friend than the  stereotyped wicked mother in law. She has given me a belly full of laughter on many an occasion with a unique wit and comedy. Her warmth and hospitality never made me feel an outsider.

 

• I want to thank all my sisters in law and brothers in law, Yvonne and Savio, Fiona and Aubrey, Marianne and Rohan for just being a warm loving accepting family – for many cherished memories. (this may all sound rosy – let me assure you we have had a share of arguments and misunderstanding like every normal  family would)
• I am thankful for the nephew and nieces: Joshua,Rachel and Sara for being good cousins to our children.
•  I want to thank my friends – through childhood, the teens and adulthood. Thank you to those of you who have stood by us and encouraged us and believed in us. Thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, your love, your phone calls, and e mails.

 

• Last but not the least, I am thankful to Jesus our Saviour from whom all the above blessings flow. He is the author of my life and with His hand upon me , my life would be wasted. I am thankful for His countless blessings.

 

So as I think and allow thankfulness to well up within me I want to end by quoting Matt Redman’s wonderful song titled "10,000 Reasons".

 

 Chorus:

Bless the lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship his holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

 Worship you holy name

  

 Verse1
The sun comes up

It’s a new day dawning

It’s time to sing your song again

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

 Verse 2
You're rich in love and you're slow to anger

Your name is great and your heart is kind

For all your goodness i will keep on singing

10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Verse 3
And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Soon my soul sings your praise un-ending

10,000 years and there forever more

Navaz

Jan2012