West Point and the God of Abundant Grace

May 24, 2010

Maria Grace, Romans, Uncategorized , 6 Comments

“….God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine according to His power at work in us.”  Ephesians 3:20b

West Point Graduation – the culmination of a 47-month journey for 1002 young men & women in the graduating class of 2010.  A journey of prayer for many moms & dads.

Events I had no control over:

  • The weather!  It poured as we drove up from Virginia to New York on Tuesday, 18 May.  The events scheduled outdoors were the Superintendent’s Garden Reception,  a Thursday Parade,  Graduation Parade on Friday, followed by a family picnic down by the Hudson River, Graduation itself on Saturday in Michie Stadium, a picnic lunch celebration with Officer Christian Fellowship, and an evening barbecue picnic with 70 friends and family.  Then there were the many walks around the post, sight-seeing and trekking from parking lots 30-40 minutes from event locations to include walking in heels and ball gowns to the Grad Banquet.
  • Parking far away and being able to get to events on time.
  • When our group of 12 praying Moms-In-Touch would be able to meet and not cause a burden on the rest of the family members.
  • Family and friends showing up on time and getting through security.   Because President Obama was the speaker, inspections of persons, belongings and cars was intensified , therefore unpredictable.  Traffic backups were forecast.
  • A 11-month old baby!  Dear Chloe functions best with a morning nap and an afternoon nap.
  • Safety for family members flying in and driving in.
  • Harmony among the group.

How God met every need with abundant grace

  • Perfect weather – only the Supe’s garden reception got moved indoors.  We were able to walk around and push Chloe and enjoy the outdoor beauty of West Point.  During the 5 hours in the stadium for graduation, the sun was not too hot the first 3 or so hours.
  • We were able to park and get to events on time.
  • 9 of us moms were able to meet, hug, cry and pray in person.
  • Uncle Steve made it to the graduation banquet with plenty of time to spare. Joan & Jeff arrived on time to the hotel.  Fiancée Anne showed up at about the same time as her parents.  We drove onto post in plenty of time for graduation.
  • Wes’ sponsors, the Sturdivants, opened up their home to us for all 4 days so we could hang out, flop on their sofa and watch movies while Chloe napped upstairs in their guest room.  It was great to have a place just to relax and chill.  Grad week is INTENSE!
  • Chloe had at least one good nap a day and was able to adjust to her different schedule.  She was an amazingly happy baby.  Jeff, Joan and Anne took turns playing with her and walking her around.
  • Lots of laughter AND the good kind of tears.  Wonderful, memory-making times among the 10 of us.

Extra Grace that blessed us:

  • Wes’ grandmother in Seattle actually watched the graduation on C-SPAN and heard Wes’ name being called and watched him receive his diploma.
  • A foreign language awards ceremony where the personal care of loving professors was evident.  A slide show of baby & grown-up pictures of each of the 150 FL majors set to music was a special treat at the end.
  • The blessedness of a Spiritual Commissioning where Jesus Christ could be mentioned.
  • The personal and humorous anecdotal remarks that Col Rod Sturdivant made as he swore Wes in at his Army commissioning ceremony.
  • The warmth and care of two front-desk people at our hotel in Nanuet.
  • Seeing and hearing about the spiritual growth of Wes and his special small group of Christian brothers at the final event.
  • The layout of the hotel suites with kitchens so Chloe could be comfortable and we could have our creature comforts.
  • The joy of being with wonderfully-supportive Uncle Steve, Wes’ future in-laws- Jeff & Joan, Anne – Wes’ fiancée, and our beloved Graham and Shay with little Miss Chloe Isla Cochrane.
  • Restaurants that were accommodating to a  baby and provided high chairs that were perfect.
  • Anne being willing to drive Graham and family to the La Guardia airport which was MUCH easier than a taxi.
  • No traffic driving home.

What this experience taught me about how God answers prayer:

  • I am convinced that God delights to bless us with good things.  I take all these answers to prayer as evidence that the God of the universe does exist and does want us to cast ALL our cares on Him.  These ‘perfect’ 6 days have encouraged me to keep praying for those long-term prayer requests, the ones that seem to linger with no answers.  I believe that God showered us with all these blessings as a way to stress his teaching in Luke 18:1 –  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Words & Doctrine Matter!

May 12, 2010

Maria Gospel, John, Uncategorized , , , Leave a comment

As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:30-32

Words matter.  Many words are equivocal, they mean different things.  So two people can converse and think they are communicating when they really are not.  And if words matter, then content matters.

I had a conversation with someone close to me recently who has grown up in the church and uses all the right language but is not saved because of two problems.  Of course the main reason she is still not born again is that the Holy Spirit has yet to ‘quicken’ her.   The other problem is that she has words, but not the correct content. She would maintain that she believes in Jesus, that He is the Son of God and that He died for our sins.  But she doesn’t believe she is a sinner who has God’s wrath bearing down on her.  She believes that the idea of a wrathful God (‘the one portrayed in the Old Testament’) comes from a primitive people’s understanding of God.  The god she likes is the god of the New Testament, namely Jesus, and He is a god of love.

Let’s return to our verse in John.  Jesus says that if we are to know the Truth, then we have to abide in His word. Therefore, it is important to know the content of the word we are abiding in. If the word is a doctrine, then we need to know the exact meaning of words that explain that doctrine.  If the word is a person, i.e. the Logos/2nd person of the Trinity, then we need to agree on the character of that Logos.  We can’t just make up what we think the words mean, whether they refer to doctrine or a person.

So this dear woman is still locked up in her sins, not yet set free by the Truth.

Pray with me that I can clearly and persuasively argue three points:

a)   God’s plan for redemption is one story throughout both testaments. Furthermore, this overarching mega-story begins early in the Old Testament, when Adam & Eve fall and God provide animal skins to cover their nakedness.  Not much later, God’s rescue plan is reinforced with a hint of Christ’s sacrifice to come when a substitute animal is caught in a nearby bush.  Finally, Moses is instructed to set up and teach the people to observe an elaborate sacrificial system pointing to Jesus, with the offering of animals and the transferring of sins on the scapegoat

b)   Our God is one God with many attributes.  God’s loving-kindness (chesed) in the Old Testament is as well known as His hatred for sin.  Jesus’ love in the New Testament is as prominent as his discussion about Hell.  God does not change

c)    Finally, what one must do to be saved?  Being baptized and attending services does not make one a Christian.   I want to carefully lay out the plan of salvation and not assume this woman understands what terms mean.

I’m thankful that the results lie in God’s hands.  I’m to do my part and trust Him for the rest.  May I faithfully represent the truth without pride or condemnation, but with humility and love.

Sola Fide – how to be prepared to share

May 3, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Gospel, Hope, Uncategorized , Leave a comment

I read something that Ken Boa wrote recently – it was a very succinct summary of the essence Gospel.  I realize that if I am to be obedient to the Great Commission to share the hope that I have, then I have to be ready and prepped with, at a minimum,  a 30-second blurb.  But I want this good news to roll off my tongue, in order to feel confident.  It’s stressful, if I am not prepped, when someone asks, “What does your license mean – ‘sola fid’?” I purposefully chose those 7 letters just SO someone would ask.

I have taken what Ken Boa says and massaged it a bit to strip it of ‘Christianese’, to make it more accessible to those with no knowledge of the Bible.

“Sola Fide” means – by faith alone. That refers to being right with God, having a right relation with him.  We are right with God only through God’s GIFT of this right standing with him, and that through faith.  Furthermore, this right relationship or ‘righteousness’ is found in the good news or gospel.  The Gospel teaches that Christ died for sin as a sacrifice.  We have to let go of our own efforts of justifying ourselves:  this giving up that is an action called repenting.  Only then, with empty hands and no agenda can we receive as a gift his sacrifice, thereby making us right with God.  Amazingly, this right standing with God brings a boat-load of benefits that defy imagination.

Our record, with the listing of all our innumerable misdeeds since we were infants, is taken away and Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account.  Together, these 2 actions guarantee our admittance into the presence of Holy God for eternity.  But that is not all!  We also get the assurance that we are LOVED, we get a PURPOSE for life that will satisfy us (to live for the praise of the glory of this grace) and we get a NEW FAMILY – we are brought into relationship with other believers both for our comfort and our growth. Last, but not least, we get POWER for daily living – the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  He is a guarantee of our future place in Heaven, kind of like an engagement ring.   After all, the Church IS the bride of Christ. (arrabon meaning a deposit/security in biblical Greek and in modern Greek, it means engagement ring). The Holy Spirit is also the ultimate power source – Paul reminds us that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is living in us.  So we don’t have to despair of being incapable of obeying God and relying on him.  The HS gives us the power. We just have to trust and step out to do what He calls & empowers us to do, no matter our fleshly feelings of weakness!

The good news of the Gospel is amazing – but I need to be amazed and astonished daily or I slip into fear, worry and complaining.  So prepping to share the kernel or essence of the Gospel actually helps me as I rehearse continuously.  It keeps my mind focusing on this good news and it prepares me to give a reason for the hope that I have.

Be prepared!

April 27, 2010

Maria Colossians, Gospel , 1 Comment

Col 4 : 5-6  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

My prayer every day is that God will give me the opportunity to share a portion of the Gospel.  That implies that I need to be prepped, ready.  That means that I need to be meditating all the time on why the Gospel is such GOOD NEWS.  That means I have to be preaching to myself, encouraging myself.

What is all that good news? And how do I boil it all down to a 5 second sound-bite that would be salty enough to cause someone to want to talk to me?

My challenge is that I live in a family of believers (a blessing) and I teach in a Christian school.  So my contact with the outside world, the ‘gentiles’ of my day, is limited to encounters at the gym, on neighborhood walks, at the grocery store and in emails to relatives or other friends from my past.

What line will be the best incentive to encourage someone to engage in a conversation?  That’s all I want.  At the grocery check-out line, I usually ask the cashier, ‘How are you’ and she/he responds ‘fine’ and you?  That’s my cue for the 5 second line.   Here’s what I have thought about the past few days:

  • Great!  I’m meditating on the secret of life (go into how there IS purpose in life, both here on earth and in heaven)
  • Great !  God’s goodness is so apparent this time of year (beauties of Spring)
  • Great!  I’ve been thinking about heaven and how cool it’s going to be (new body – appealing to an elderly person)
  • Great!  I’ve been thinking about man’s greatest problem and what the solution is  (God’s wrath against us – and how Jesus takes care of that)

A good line will suffice to prompt a discussion if the other person wants one, or it can be easily ignored/ dropped by the other person.  My job is to fish.

But I find that I have to be prepared always.  I have to remind myself of the story –and its component parts:

a)   The truth about God – He is loving, perfect and holy

b)   The truth about humans – i.e. the good news AND the bad news which leads to THE PROBLEM

c)    God’s solution to the problem – Jesus

d)   What awaits us – when Jesus comes back – our AMAZING inheritance

What works for you?  I get discouraged that I don’t have MORE of these conversations.

**

If you need to get a glimpse of what awaits us, then I would recommend John Piper’s sermon from 18 April 2010 – it’s all about how much God loves us.  Here is the link to the audio, video and print.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2010/4581_How_Much_Does_God_Love_This_Church/

Know….!

April 20, 2010

Maria Uncategorized , Leave a comment

Psalm 46: 10 Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his;…

Okay, so we know a lot of God’s commands to us:  Wait/ Fear not/Fret not/ Love/ Do justice/Trust and obey/ Honor/ Give/ Baptize/Teach/ Pray/Be strong/Take refuge/Lean on/Count it pure joy/Set your mind on things above….

We could go on and on.  But have you ever considered that we are commanded to KNOW certain things?  I had never seen this before yesterday.  If God is actually commanding us to know certain truths, then it really IS true that we are to love God with our minds as well as our heart and our soul and our strength.  Mark 12:30 says and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength’

Why would it be important to know certain things?  Knowing doctrine or truths about God and knowing his character are fundamental to being able to love, trust and eventually obey God.  We can’t love someone without knowing content about him.  And why would we trust anything or anybody with our eternal future or even our life without knowing if it/he is trustworthy.  Knowledge IS vital. This world is a corrupted and dangerous place; we face dangers within and without. There are choices to be made.    Life and death await us as consequences for what we do and do not know.

Finally, knowing is not just an instantaneous action commanded by God.  Inherent in knowing is learning and study.  That is why we have to invest time so that we CAN know the truths of God, the story of God, the promises of God, the character of God.  And once we know about God, we need to keep telling ourselves over and over again all this good news.  To obey God’s command to KNOW will be an activity that lasts a lifetime.

The best is yet to be!

April 15, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Grace, Romans Leave a comment

Eph 2 :5-7 (God) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (vs 7) in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Did you know that God has big plans for the universe AFTER this present age?  What exactly is this present age?  It’s the time between when Jesus was resurrected and when He comes back.  Upon His return to Earth, Jesus will inaugurate the period called the ‘coming ages’.  Looking at just verse 7 – the truths one can pull out of those words are astounding.  Here are some:

  • God loves to express/communicate/show off/display His grace to the universe
  • The best way He has conceived of to show this grace is to have His son, Jesus, die on the cross as a substitute for us – the Messiah undergoes the punishment we deserve and we receive His righteousness as a credit on our balance sheet
  • Someone/something in the future will be WOWed by this out-of-proportion displace of grace  (that pitiful creature was worth dying for?!!!)

Therefore, God has chosen certain totally undeserving humans to be the recipients of this grace.  I wonder how incomparable these riches are.  The implication is that we haven’t seen anything this kind of grace during our present age – (The old ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet!’)

Paul expresses the difference between our experiences now and in the future in his letter to the Romans when he writes in Chapter 8, “… but I consider our present suffering not worth comparing to the glory that is about to be revealed to us, in us and on us…”.  Even though he mentions the concept of glory, in my mind, glory and grace all blend together in something unimaginably wonderful.

The next time you are feeling the blahs of ordinary life, allow your thoughts to play and be encouraged by imagining your future.  In a paraphrase of Jonathan Edwards:  a) our suffering is being fashioned to benefit us    b) what is truly good in this life will remain   c) the best is yet to be.

Hope that comes from being grafted into Christ

April 9, 2010

Maria Hope Leave a comment

“…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  Old things have passed away, all things have become new.” 2 Cor 5:17    “ ….it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” Gal 2:20  “…if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit..” John 14:5b    “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ, in God.” Col 3:2  “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”Romans 8:11

So what is it?

  • Am I in Christ?
  • Is Christ in me?
  • Am I in God?
  • Is the Spirit in me, or along side of me?

I’ve always been confused about the Trinity and my relation to the three-in-one.  Now I realize that once transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, I am thoroughly mixed in, combined with, part and parcel with all three persons of the God-head.  This is why Paul can say with certainty that if someone is a Christian, he is a new creation with a changed essence.

What are the implications for this change?  As a born-again believer, I now have all the resurrection power necessary to do what God commands me to do.  I can even resist temptation.

This battle with temptation took on new significance the other day.  I had succumbed to overeating while up in NYC and was frustrated with my same old patterns.  A verse from Isaiah kept going through my head, only God had substituted some of the words to make the verse personal to me – Is 58:4b – You cannot fast (overeat) as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high (and expect to be thin).

Then when I was wallowing in discouragement and despairing of ever changing my behavior, I was struck by the reality and fact of the new me.  I CAN battle sin and gain victory through the power of God’s spirit IN me. I am no longer the former Maria, I am in Christ, in God, with the Spirit’s power, too.  Then an idea grew –a way to deal with my besetting battle with food, a plan to change just ONE behavior and to practice that change for 21 days.  My overeating had been primarily in indulging in dessert after the 3 dinners.  So the behavior change to practice was to stop with coffee after dinner and say ‘no’ to any more food in the evening.  I thought, “If I do this for 21 days, it will become a habit”.

Day one was just a matter of setting my mind. Day two I had to deal with what looked like sabotage from a caring hostess who was anxious to feed me mid-evening when I arrived.  I was beginning to think I had to succumb when all of a sudden; she acquiesced and accepted that I ‘wasn’t hungry’.  I was overwhelmed with the realization that God had indeed provided a way out of temptation.  Day three I felt stronger to say ‘no’ graciously to this hostess and stick with my resolve.

Victory, hour by hour, comes from a combination of right thinking and right walking: that is knowing  who God is and who I am in Christ and then walking in a posture of what I have  dubbed ‘TRC’ (my acronym for Trust in, Rely on and be Confident in the Lord and His promises).

Of course, this is just one teeny example of how trustworthy God is even in life’s practical issues.  But if I am a child of God through faith in the power of God, then nothing is outside of his purview or beyond his care.  And when I start to wobble, reminding myself that I am a new creation, totally entwined with the God-head is a good place to go back to!

What is our hope?

March 30, 2010

Maria Colossians, Hope, Romans Leave a comment

Hope is one of those equivocal words; it has more than one meaning.  One hopes that it doesn’t rain or that Mom doesn’t fix hamburger helper again or that one’s lottery ticket will bring in the jackpot.  None of these events are guaranteed or within one’s control.

But Christian hope is different and we need to be mindful of using that word around non-Christians.  Most people are likely to think of the weak, wishful thinking version of the word.  The Greek word for hope is ‘elpis’ and it carries with it the sense of assurance, something solidly guaranteed. You can take Christian hope to the bank.

So what is our assurance, our elpis?  Paul mentions in his letter to the Colossians that because of their hope, they were well-known for their unordinary and supernatural faith & love that was being talked about by many.  Colossians 1: 15 commends their deeds and praises them for “ – the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you”.  It is this hope that has motivated them to unselfishly reach out to others and share their material & spiritual resources.

My husband and I were thinking about how we would talk or act if we had a rich uncle who had promised us an inheritance.  In our scenario, this uncle had even put the large sum of money irrevocably in our names and we had the account # and our signatures were properly recorded at the bank.  We just couldn’t use the funds until he died.  But the inheritance was a fact, an asset waiting for us, an accounts receivable line entry.  We wouldn’t refer to this sure money as the inheritance that we ‘hope’ we get, but the inheritance that we ‘know’ we will get. For it would just be a matter of time.

Our treasure in heaven is even MORE valuable and MORE assured than our hypothetical uncle’s inheritance.  Nothing will change our status; no circumstance such as theft, or earthquake or bank error or computer failure will rob us of what is laid up for us.  What awaits us is a life of favor in the presence of Jesus where we will do what we like best: make much of God.  I know that it is hard to imagine what that will be like, but I am assured by God’s word that it is what we are made to do best.

So how should we act?  All I know is that if I REALLY believe what Jesus has said and what Paul expands upon, then I will be a lot more joyful and peaceful, no matter present circumstances.  As Paul asserts in Romans 8: 38-29, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Now I call that hope worth having!

What are you going to fantasize about?

March 22, 2010

Maria Colossians, Reflections 2 Comments

Set your hearts on things above…….set your minds on things above – Colossians 3: 1b, 2a

God has given us the gift of imagination.  We can feed it and grow it into something that draws us closer to God, or we can feed it and grow it into something that becomes an idol.

I was listening to a recent ‘Focus on the Family’ discussion about the impact Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series has had on women of all ages. World-wide, 85 million copies have been sold since 2005. Apparently young girls are not the only ones feeding on this rich fantasy. There are married women, too, who are being drawn into an exciting fictional life.  Similar to the Harry Potter craze that made many children want to attend Hogwarts, Bella and Edward’s romance is being lived out vicariously by numerous women.  The guests on the show were saying that the attraction is akin to the lure men fall spell to when they indulge in porn.  They fantasize about something ‘better’ than real life.  The danger, however, is the disengagement from real life and the ensuing disappointment when one compares the two.

Thinking about the ease with which these readers can craft an imaginary world made me think about our God who is not imaginary.  Yes, He is invisible.  But He is real.  We, too, have a book, but what sets it apart is that is empowered by an actual living Holy Spirit.  What if we read our Bibles with the same intensity and devotion that girls are gobbling up the Twilight series?  Numerous girls, disappointed when they come to the end of the 4th novel, have read the series several times, even though they know the outcome.  Their reaction reminds me of the milestone set in Italy when James Cameron’s Titanic came out.  NPR interviewed one Italian teen who had been to the theaters 55 times to see the film.

If young women are so drawn to a secular series that isn’t even real OR healthy, shouldn’t we look at God’s word with at least AS MUCH interest?  After all, it is Truth. It’s about an exciting life that is here and not just in the future.

I’ve heard people complain that it is difficult to love God because He’s not flesh and blood, not tangible, like one’s husband or child.  Now I realize that is just an excuse.  Looking at the Twilight phenomenon is proof that we can use our imaginations.  It is a matter of feeding our mind, of re-reading our Book, of meditating.  Actually, we should be encouraged to know, that we, too, can have a ‘magnificent obsession’.  And when we encounter a fan of this vampire series, let us take advantage of the opening and share what a REAL lover is like, one who will never disappoint us or harm us, unlike Edward.

Gushing about God

March 16, 2010

Maria Colossians, Praise Leave a comment

Ever since the day we heard about you, we have been praying that …..you would ….joyfully give thanks to the Father…….So then, just as you received Christ Jesus, continue to live in Him……overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 1: 9, 12

Joyful and overflowing thankfulness?  What does that look like? I picture an unceasing, bubbling fountain, abundantly gushing.  Now apply that image to a state of human thankfulness.  My everyday attitude doesn’t even come close.  The problem is that if we are not in the practice of overflowing with thankfulness, then we can’t just rev up overnight our thankfulness quotient from 0 to 60.  If it’s not yet a habit, it’s going to take time to build up speed.  When we do have days free from pain and sorrow, we ought to thank God intentionally.  A good place to begin is when we rise in the morning.  If we don’t start on a ‘good day’, the days of sorrow will overtake us with no preparation for praise.   So beginning on the problem-free days will give us opportunity to build up this habit.  Practicing thankfulness in the mornings will hopefully spill over throughout the day.

I started a small notebook where I now jot down my thanksgivings.  I write down 3 or 4 obvious ones:  Wes and his buddies made it safely to Florida.  My friend’s marriage is growing stronger.  My husband found his blackberry. But I also try to include one that has lasting value and connected to the Gospel, for instance a) the hope stored up for me in heaven is sure and secure or b)  I have access to all the grace I need.

I was challenged the other day, reading some Spurgeon.  He offers some practical help in making thankfulness a habit.  He suggests we use our memory to recall and then rehearse God’s mercies.  When we share with others God’s blessings to us, our memory grows stronger.  We need to ‘abundantly utter’ God’s favor to us.  He goes on to say, “Do not imitate some people, who, if they are prospering, make a point of not owning to it.  They will say, ‘Oh, I am doing pretty well, or…it is a fair crop.’  What robbery of God.   We talk as if we were to be pitied for living; as if we were little better off than toads under a plow or snails in a tub of salt.  We whine as if our lives were martyrdoms and every breath a woe.”

Wow!  Does that convict me!  “How are you doing, Maria” – I am likely to answer, “okay or fine”.  According to Spurgeon, we should be rehearsing and talking about God’s lovingkindness, ( ‘chesed’ in the Hebrew).  Only if we practice recounting the specifics of how His lovingkindness blesses us, will it flow out of our mouth.  This is how we are to bubble over with thankfulness.  We need to repeat and remind ourselves OUT LOUD, just like we would be working on lines of a play or preparing for a test.

Spurgeon encourages us to be perpetually cheerful, not because of our circumstances, but because of God’s innumerable mercies.   That takes care of times when circumstances ARE negative and one is feeling depressed.  Spurgeon counsels Christians NOT to show when they are down.  He quotes Matt 6:18 ‘Don’t let men know when you are fasting’.  When we pretend that showing sadness or seriousness indicates sanctity, he calls that hypocrisy!  “To conceal one’s own grief for the sake of cheering others implies a self-denying sympathy that is the highest kind of Christianity.”

However, in defense of being real, I once read about a woman dying of cancer.  When friends and family would visit and ask about her condition, she would share for one minute because they truly were interested.  Then she would shift the conversation to them, her visitors.  I think we can combine both.  If life is currently harsh, admit that, but be sure to add how God is showing His mercies, strength or wisdom.   This truly is the ‘sacrifice of praise’ as opposed to the ‘indulgence of pity’.   And I do believe we have to prepare to gush a bit regarding God’s loving kindness.  Gush?  Isn’t that too stong a verb?  Not really.  It’s only because we’re not used to gushing over God.   I don’t think it comes naturally, but we should practice it!  And think how much our neighbors will benefit if we talk abundantly of God’s goodness.  It’s not bragging on us, but on God.  And they will be correct to think, ‘If God has been merciful to my neighbor Maria, then maybe He’ll help me!’

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