Cultivating A Heart Of Gratitude

Luke's account of the cleansing of the ten lepers underscores the human tendency to expect grace as our due and to forget to thank God for His benefits. Luke 17:17-18, ten men were healed of leperousy but only one returned to give thanks. Our propensity to forget is a mark of our fallenness. Because of this, we should view remembering and gratitude as a discipline, a daily and intentional act, a conscious choice we make. Gratitude is a choice, not merely a feeling, and it requires effort especially in difficult times.  The more we choose to do this, the more natural it becomes, and the more our eyes are opened to the little things throughout the course of the day that we previously overlooked. Make it a daily exericise, either at the beginning or the end of the day, to review God's benefits in your past, present, future, and give Him thanks. This discipline will be pleasing to God, because it will cultivate a heart of gratitude and ongoing thanksgiving.

The Reality Of Being A Sheep

In John 10:27 Jesus describes His relationship to His sheep. Jesus states, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them...." As this passage indicates, we are His by sovereign grace. The Lord might have passed us by in our waywardness, but in love and mercy He spoke. If He did not speak, the sheep would never hear His voice and never follow Him. There is nothing like His voice. To hear it is to turn and live.

Jesus also states, "They follow Me." This is a deliberate choice. Yes, we are saved by sovereign grace, but this does not negate the moral responsibility of man to repent and believe. To follow Christ is to renounce self and forsake all that would hinder the soul from abiding in His presence and obeying His Word.

We Are Sheep!

I find it quite humbling that Jesus referred to us as “sheep” in the Scriptures. If you know anything about sheep you know this is not a compliment. I was blessed to grow up on a farm where we were surrounded by a wide variety of animals. We had dogs, cats, cows, horses, chickens, pigs, goats, and sheep.  I would have to say, the most frustrating to take care of were the sheep. The sheep we had lacked a lot of common sense. I’ll just say it, they were dumb. For example, we would place our sheep in pens behind a high fence in order to protect them from predators, such as stray dogs and coyotes etc.. The fence was there for their own protection.  One day a sheep decided to jump the fence. As a result, it was attacked by our neighbor’s dog and died.  If it just would have stayed behind the fence it would have been safe.

Sheep are also defenseless. Think about it, sheep do not have sharp claws or long fangs in order to protect themselves. Without someone there to protect them they are defenseless and easy prey. Sheep also are prone to wondering. Jesus warned us about the wondering sheep in Luke 15. Just like the sheep I told you about above, if someone is not there to watch over them and guide them they will wonder into danger and will eventually succumb to death. A lot more could be said, but I believe you get my point.  Sheep do not know what’s best for them.

Jesus refers to us as sheep because we can be dumb. We really do not know what’s best for us. We also are defenseless spiritually. Sure we may be able to defend ourselves physically, but what about spiritually? According to the Bible we are all spiritually dead without Christ (Eph.2:1) and unable to do anything to save ourselves (Eph.2:8-9). We are also prone to wondering from the good path, the path of righteousness. As a result, we backslide and loose intimacy with God. We need a “Good Shepherd” and I am thankful that I have one in Christ. He is faithful to guide us in the path of righteousness if we will just submit and follow.

Invaluable Lesson Learned

I just recently completed reading the book "Dying to Preach: Embracing the CROSS in the PULPIT" by Steven Smith. I was blessed to have Dr. Smith as my preaching professor while attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Needless to say I was eager to read his book when I found it at the book store.

Here is one statement that I found invaluable while reading, "The cross in the pulpit is God's means of igniting the human heart." God ignites the human heart when the atoning work of Jesus is proclaimed from the pulpit. I truly believe the purpose of preaching is to exalt Christ. He is exalted in the pulpit when the preacher addresses all subjects in light of His cross.

A word to my fellow preachers, let us run to the cross as soon as possible in our preaching and stay there as long as possible. This kind of preaching builds churches.