How "Touched" Are You? (Lu. 17:11-19)

Read Luke 17:11-19.

How "touched" are you?  In other words, how deep does your blessing go?

• Touched enough to be relieved. (The man was cleansed.)
• Touched enough to be responsible. (The man came back to worship.)
• Touched enough to be reviled. (Nine of the ten did not return.  It always costs to go against the crowd.)

When Jesus touches you your being, outlook, behavior, and perspective will change.

My Prayer (11/25/15)

photo: http://tinyurl.com/pfx9yfo

I'm thinking about -- of all things, right? -- Thanksgiving.  I can't count my blessings.  What if I forget one?  What if I forget a hundred or more?  That's  quite likely.  While I can't count my blessings, I can begin to count.  My conclusion?  I'm more blessed than I can ever realize.  There are blessings of which I have no awareness or little recollection.

Thank You, Father of Lights, for every good and perfect gift You send (Jam. 1:17) -- those past, present and future.  You don't bless me because You have to.  You bless me because you want to. Keep me looking at You, not looking for the next blessing.  Today, I bless You (Psa. 103:1; 134:2). May Your Name be praised in each breath I take.

What Can We Do? (Psa. 116)

You wish you could repay God for all His goodness (Psa. 116:12; 103:1-5, 10-12), but you know you cannot.  Is there anything you can do?  Yes!  God doesn't take cash, but He will consider MasterCard or Visa.

1.  MasterCard:  You can continue to acknowledge and praise Him.

2.  Visa:  You can continue to call on Him and remain dependent.

Observations:

• You are more blessed than you realize.
• You are blessed more often than you realize.
• The more you realize how much you are blessed, the more you need to give thanks and remain dependent. With blessing comes responsibility.  

An Open Letter Concerning My Provision (Psa. 37:25)

Attention all humans:

I know your situation.  I know your need and understand your pressure.

I am the source of your bread.  I don't want you to beg.  Just ask Me.  Man is not your provider.  I am.

I have no emergency response system.  Nothing catches Me off guard.  I am never unprepared.  I already know what I will provide, how I will provide it and when.

Just in case you were wondering. 

Breathe easy,

God

Grateful for the Heat

Here in the northeast, we're getting absolutely blistered! In Western New York, we're a bit more fortunate. It only feels like high 90's. It's hot, for sure, but still tolerable. I'm grateful that we don't get too many of these days in one year.

I've been asking people, "How are you beating the heat?" Each response made me realize how blessed we really are.

• "I'm staying inside." Praise God you have a house to enter. So many people in the world don't.
• "I'm staying in front of the air conditioner." Even if your house doesn't have central air, perhaps you have one or two rooms you cool with air conditioners. If so, praise God you have an air conditioner. There are people in the world who wouldn't recognize an air conditioner. Even if they knew what it did, they couldn't afford one.
• "I'm parked in front of my fan." Praise God you have a fan or two. Praise God you have access to electricity to power your fans.
• "I'm pretty much living in my pool." Praise God you have a pool. Praise God you can afford the electricity to run the pump and filter. Praise God you can afford the chemicals. Praise God you can afford the water bill.
• "I'm hanging out in the mall where it's cool." Praise God you live in a country with so many malls. Praise God the owners let you just sit there.

We have a choice: complain about the heat or rejoice in our blessings. (For those complaining about the heat, remember...mid-January is coming.)