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More than Milk

Claim This Podcast

by Hannah Rebekah

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More than Milk exists to help you know more about God, the Bible, and theological principles, then to teach you how to apply that knowledge to your life. Learn more about God, know God better, love God more.

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Recent Episodes

March 1, 2022

Facets of Fruit: Humility

Humility is not something that's very highly valued in our world today, but it is a command of us as believers. Let's look together at how Christ is our example of humility and how we can be more like Him! Show Notes: Welcome back to More than Milk; I’m Hannah Rebekah. This week, we’re talking about the Facet of the Fruit of the Spirit called humility. This is not included in the list in Galatians 5, but I could argue that humility is actually the root of the whole Fruit of the Spirit. None of the qualities we’ve looked at so far can be accomplished without humility. I would also argue that pride, the opposite of humility, is the original sin and the root of all sin, but that’s a little outside the scope of what I want to talk about today. So what is humility? In the Old Testament, most of the words used for humility either meant or carried the connotation of being low or lowly. In the New Testament, there are only three words used, and they all carry this same meaning, as well. This gives us a good starting point for what humility means. We can picture someone kneeling before a king or master. Physical positioning has always connoted rank in human society. If you are higher up physically, you’re higher up in rank, too. This is why thrones are elevated from the floor around them, why drill sergeants push into trainee’s faces and physically look down on them, and why we imagine God as physically above us, even though Heaven is not even in this dimension. To be high up is to be superior; to be low is to be inferior. We all want to be superior. It’s ingrained in our sin nature to seek a better position, more respect, more honor, more glory. This is our pride showing up. Even those who modern psychology would say need more self-confidence are prideful. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, humility is not going around telling everyone how lowly and poor and bad-off you are. That is just seeking attention and recognition in a different way. I am painfully aware of my own pride, which feels like both a curse and a blessing at times. I’m constantly wondering what other people are thinking of me, whether strangers or friends, and trying to do things that will increase their opinion of me. I hate it. It’s gotten a little better over the years, especially as I learned about identity in Christ, but it’s always there, lurking in the background. I bet you can relate. What exactly we want people to think of us is different from person to person because of personality and experiences, but we all want others to think and notice certain things about us and, ultimately, to think well of us, whatever that means to each person. Instead of this, the New Testament writers command humility of us. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” The word for pride here literally means “over-shine,” as if the person is calling attention to themselves more than they have the right to. The word for humility, what Peter says we are to clothe ourselves with, means “a deep sense of moral littleness.” I love that. This means true humility comes when we recognize the perfect moral purity of God and then also recognize our own deep moral failings. When done well, this leads us into a sense of wonder at God and the grace He shows us in choosing and redeeming and using us in His righteous plans. Philippians 2:3-11 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Here we have a command (don’t be selfish but be humble), the power to do the command (have this mind, which is yours in Christ Jesus), the perfect example of living out the command (Jesus’ death on the cross), and the reward for following through (exaltation by God). Let’s break it down and take it piece by piece. “Do nothing from selfish ambition…” The word translated as “selfish ambition” carries the idea of a mercenary, someone who does whatever they can for personal gain, regardless of the consequences to others. In war time, mercenaries will fight for whoever is the highest bidder. They have no loyalty to one party or another and have the potential to double-cross their employer if offered higher pay. When we live without humility, we are like mercenaries who work only for our sin natures. Whatever looks like it will give us the best high, the most money, or the most attention, we do it, and who we hurt in the process doesn’t matter, so long as the right people still think of us what we want them to think. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit…” The word for conceit means “baseless pride,” so this means “don’t do anything just because you think you’re all that and a bag of chips.” We all know people who walk around with a swagger and a chip on their shoulder. They expect the world to be handed to them just because. That’s this baseless pride or conceit. “...but in humility”—that’s the same word that means thinking of yourself as morally little—“count others more significant than yourselves.” The idea behind “more significant” is literally “higher.” So it is coming from the same word picture we looked at earlier of thrones and bowing. We should essentially think of those around us as a higher rank than we are. So the same way we would treat a superior military officer, a judge, a government official, a pastor, or a professor is the way we should treat each other—with deference, respect, and an awareness of their needs. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This is expounding on the previous idea. Not only are we to think about ourselves and our own needs and cares but also those of the people around us. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” “Mind” here is really the way you think and interpret the world and the actions you do because of that. We might say “worldview” instead. So we’re to see things through the same lens that Jesus saw them and act accordingly. (Side note: The Greek doesn’t actually say “which is yours in Christ Jesus.” The ESV doesn’t do a great job translating that. It’s more like “Have the same mind that Jesus had,” but the implication of the context and the rest of Paul’s writings is that if Jesus had it and it’s a command for believers, you can have it by the power of the Holy Spirit.) “...who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” This is so huge. Jesus had every right NOT to be humble. He is God Himself, after all. But instead of viewing His equality with God the Father as something He needed to keep and hold onto, He gave it up for the sake of our good and His glory later on. Just the idea that the Creator of the world would become like one of His helpless creatures and then allow Himself to be killed by them for their own good is so difficult to grasp. And then to remember that when people don’t think of us the way we want them to, we get mad. How petty we can be. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Here we see the reward Jesus received on the other side of the cross. We have a similar reward waiting for us. Just look at a few passages: James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Some of this can happen in this life. We can see examples around us of those who have been humble before God and sought the good of others and now have a platform and a following because of it. But we don’t always see the exaltation here and now, and the better part of this will come in Heaven, when God rewards those who have followed Him. So if believers can have the same perspective as Jesus, seeing others as higher ranked than themselves and deserving of love and sacrifice, what form of humility can the world have? In general, humility is not a value of the world. Our culture preaches self-confidence and encourages people to push their limits and get as far up the ladder as they can. When people speak words of caution or try to place boundaries, they say things like, “You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.” All those who don’t support you being your “best self” can just get out of the way. However, there are those who are not believers who appear very self-sacrificing or self-depreciating. I think there are two types here. One we talked about at the beginning, those who say they are nothing and not worthy of love or attention but desperately want it and wish they were. These are the people Lewis says are not humble because they’re always talking about how worthless and unworthy they are. The second group is those who do great and impressive things for good causes. They appear self-sacrificing and humble, but on the inside, they are doing all of it because they want the attention and admiration that comes from it. If you were to give them the option to do it all under the table so that no one knew about it, they wouldn’t take it, because that would defeat the point. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 6 not to “let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” to call out those who were only doing good so that others would notice. There is often an objection that comes with teaching about humility. “If I am always humble and looking out for others and not trying to fill my own needs, who will care for me?” First off, we should recognize that Paul does not say, “Let each of you look out only for the interests of others.” We are not to be slaves to other people and never care for ourselves. We are to view others as superior to ourselves and thus prioritize their needs whenever possible. The second answer to this is the beauty of God’s perfect plan for Christian community. Because we all have different skills, resources, and spiritual gifts, the only way for everyone’s needs to be met is if everyone is looking at those around them for the ways their specific gifts can fill those needs. When everyone is filling others needs, everyone’s needs are met. This works so much better than when each person is only trying to get their own needs met, because in order to meet our own needs, we need other people’s gifts and abilities. We are not enough for ourselves. When we’re all self-seeking, we have to haggle and manipulate others to take care of us instead of themselves. When we’re all doing what we can for those around us, everyone’s gifts, abilities, and resources are utilized to their fullest potential, and everyone’s needs get met to the fullest extent possible. It’s really beautiful when it works the way it’s designed. So how do we get more humility? We touched on one of the best ways at the beginning. The more clearly we see God for who He is, the more obvious our own moral failings become, and the more humble we are. Another way is to be intentional about looking outside ourselves and seeing the world from other people’s perspectives. It is so easy to go through life only thinking about yourself, your needs, your desires and dreams, your struggles, etc. But all we need to do is ask a few questions of those around us to see that our lives are not the only ones with depth. Other people are hurting and celebrating and worrying, too. When we become aware of that, it is humbling, and a world of opportunities for service and kindness opens before us. In conclusion, we are to think of ourselves as morally little, always in need of the grace of the Holy Spirit. We’re to think of those around us as ranked higher than us, treating them with respect. And we’re to see the world through the lens Jesus used, always ready to sacrifice our comfort and reputation for the sake of the Kingdom, remembering that God will reward us and vindicate us on the other side. Thanks for joining me on the podcast today. Visit my website at storiesbyhr.com for more great content and to see if I can help you tell your story better. I hope you’ll join me next time when we finish our series by looking at the spirit of forgiveness.

April 1, 2021

Facets of Fruit: Unity

Unity in the church is a hot-button issue--and it should be! But how do we achieve it? Many think we should either avoid teaching or compromise on doctrines that are hard to understand, but there is a better way. Show Notes: Welcome back to More than Milk; I’m Hannah Rebekah. This week, we’re talking about the facet of the Fruit of the Spirit called unity. Again, this is not one of the aspects listed in the Galatians 5 passage, but we can be sure that it is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit because it is commanded by God (through Paul and others) of believers and promised through the power of the Spirit. The idea of Christian unity comes from all over the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 1:10 says, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” 1 Peter 3:8, “Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble.” Philippians 2:2-3 "fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves." There are many more. The theme we can see through these verses is that of having “no divisions” and the “same mind.” Before we get into what this means, let’s look at what it does not mean. I have observed that most Christians (maybe all), at some point relatively early in their spiritual growth, reach a point when they look around and realize that there are so many different beliefs and disagreements between those claiming the title of “Christian,” and they feel a grief about this. I think this is a good, Spirit-led grief. We should be saddened that there are so many divisions within the Church. However, I have also seen that the common, knee-jerk reaction is to want to compromise on what we believe so that everyone can be together. “Maybe if we just focus on the gospel and not all the other theological issues, we can all worship together as one and not have these divisions.” This is a deadly dangerous response. We cannot compromise on truth for the sake of perceived unity. First of all, Paul himself says in 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 that there must be divisions, otherwise we won’t know who the true believers are. “For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. There must, indeed, be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” Second, if we look at the history of the church, we can see that the denominations which hide the harder and more controversial truths of the faith and focus solely on the gospel and other “easy” truths are the ones that quickly slip from truth all together. The gospel is upheld by foundational truths, such as God’s total sovereignty, the trinity, the virgin birth, the total depravity of man, and so many more. Without a thorough understanding of these things, the gospel loses its power and wonder. God is never served by watering down or avoiding truths because they are hard or divisive. So if that’s not the path to Christian unity, what is? How do we have the “same mind” that Paul and Peter command? I want to look at two passages more in depth. Ephesians 4:1-8, 11-16 says, “Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. “Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. For it says: ‘When He ascended on high, He took prisoners into captivity; He gave gifts to people.’ ... “And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ. From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.” Romans 12:3-19 says, “For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: “‘If prophecy, use it according to the standard of one’s faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.’ “Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord.” Did you hear any similarities in those two passages? Both of these passages are talking about how to live in unified community with one another. The Romans passage doesn’t specifically mention unity, but Paul does say “we who are many are one body in Christ.” And if you look at the list of principles for Christian living, the result of living those out would be unity. Before we get too far into this, I want to point out that there are two different types of unity. One is living in community together and getting along and not quarreling. The other is to think the same and be on the same page. I think they are tied together but separate concepts. In the passages we saw at the beginning of the episode, the biblical authors are talking about the second type of unity, and that’s what we’re focusing on today. I believe it is easier to get to being on the same page with one person or a group of people if you live together in community than it is if you are apart. I think this is a major reason for why God organized the Church to have local bodies of believers who are intended to live life together and not just come together one day a week. I think it’s also a major purpose of God’s in marriage, but that’s for another day. Both of these passages—Ephesians 4 and Romans 12—are written to local bodies of believers and geared more toward (but not exclusively, especially the Ephesians one) the first type of unity—that of getting along. However, there are principles here to help us with the second type as well. The first similarity we see is Paul calling for humility. This is of the utmost importance. I was sitting with a friend the other day, and he said something like, “It would be arrogant of us to believe we were born into the correct denomination.” I think there’s a lot of truth to that. If we are going to be “of one mind,” we first have to be willing to be wrong. I guarantee you that there are things you grew up being taught about God and the Bible that are false. I guarantee it. We have to be willing to question every teaching and belief and compare them with Scripture to find the truth. The second similarity is the reminder of our oneness in Christ. This is where our power to be of one mind comes from and why we are to be of one mind in the first place. Romans 15:5-6 says, “Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement allow you to live in harmony with one another, according to the command of Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice.” Here we see the tie between the two types of unity, the source of power for accomplishing both, and the reason for them—“so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We must seek to be one in Christ, by the power of Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Unity, like everything else, is from God, through God, and for God. The third similarity we see in these two passages is the mention of spiritual gifts. This is important because it reminds us that we are to be one in purpose, power, and doctrine, but we are not called to be one in method. There are many different personalities, abilities, and spiritual gifts within the local and global church, and they are all necessary. After these similarities come to an end, Paul continues in Ephesians 4 by saying that if we use our spiritual gifts “for the training the saints in the work of ministry, [and] to build up the body of Christ,” then the whole body will “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son” and grow into mature saints. This is the other reason spiritual gifts and the local body of believers is so important. When we are all actively participating in the local church and using our spiritual gifts, it helps us all to become equipped, built up, and full of faith in God and knowledge of Him. From that knowledge of God comes the maturity to recognize false doctrine, as we see in verse 14. Thus, we are not to avoid speaking about sound doctrine, but those of us who are mature are to speak the truth in love so that we can all grow more like Christ and have the same mind that He has on everything. So what do we do when we disagree? First of all, to the best of your ability, make sure that you are, in fact, right. Do the research; ask knowledgeable spiritual leaders in your life; look up opposing opinions online. When it comes to any doctrine, don’t just know what you believe, know why you believe it, and always be willing to be proved wrong. My best example of this is that I grew up in a denomination that preached the rapture. When I went to college, I came across some beliefs that called that into question, so I started doing the work. Now I don’t believe the rapture is biblical (but that’s also a topic for another time). Second, speak the truth in love. If you are in a doctrinal disagreement with someone and you’re sure you’re correct, have a conversation with them that’s based in truth (not opinion or personal experience) and do it calmly and with care. Maybe you convince them, and maybe you don’t, but they should not walk away from the conversation doubting whether or not you’re still their friend or thinking you might be angry with them. The third thing is that you have to be prepared for them to not be convinced right away. Paul gives us a good example of this in Philippians 3:15-16. Paul finishes his discourse on the futility of works and the righteousness that comes through Christ, and then he says, “Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” Once we have presented our case, we must leave it in God’s hands and trust that the Holy Spirit will convince those who are believers of the truth. So if unity is a facet of the Fruit of the Spirit, what is it that not believers can have? This is a fascinating question—well, I always think that—but I think it’s especially interesting in this case. We all know unbelievers who rally themselves around a cause or idea or organization. They are unified in their support. What’s the difference between that and the church? I think there is one major difference. Most often, nonbelievers begin unified in their thinking and then find each other. As far as I know, only the Holy Spirit has the power to bring people together from all walks of life, all corners of the world, all personalities, all belief systems, cultures, and religious heritages, and change them to be unified in their thinking and living—and all without cohersion. Christianity is not a group of people who all believed roughly the same thing and then came together to form a group. Even from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He pulled people from different backgrounds and experiences and changed their very way of thinking and being to reflect Himself. That is the power of Holy Spirit given unity. In conclusion, let us remember this: all truth is God’s truth. If we consistently seek God and try to learn more about Him and His Word with a spirit of humility, we will find ourselves growing more and more unified with the believers around us who are doing the same. When we find ourselves in disagreement, let us speak the truth in love and pray for humility, wisdom, and understanding for ourselves and those we are talking to. Thanks for listening to More than Milk. Visit my website at storiesbyhr.com for more great content and to see if I can help you tell your story better. I hope you’ll join me next time when we talk about humility.

March 15, 2021

Facets of Fruit: Thankfulness

Thankfulness has a power to transform our attitude and outlook on life. It's no wonder scripture commands it of us! Let's look at how it is possible to be thankful even when life is hard. Show Notes: Welcome back to More than Milk; I’m Hannah Rebekah. Today we are talking about thankfulness, which is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit not mentioned in the Galatians 5 passage. How do we know it’s a part of the Fruit of the Spirit, then? Let’s look at Ephesians 5:18-21, “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.” Paul says here to be filled by the Spirit and then lists a bunch of things that are a result of being filled with the Spirit. This list includes singing to each other and to God, giving thanks always and for everything, and submitting to one another. Additionally, there are many commands in the New Testament to be thankful, and we know that nothing God commands us to do can be done apart from the Spirit, which also means this must be part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Romans 1:21 even goes so far as to say that a failure to express gratitude to God is a mark of an unbeliever. Clearly, we had better pay attention! So what is thankfulness? In the New Testament, the Greek words that we translate as “thank,” “thanksgiving,” and “thankfulness” all come from the root word charis. Charis is most often translated as “grace,” and it means “favor” and has the idea of giving something away for free. The thankfulness words use this word, charis, and another Greek word that means “good” or “well.” So translated loosely, these compound words mean “good gift” or “good grace.” The idea is that God gives us gifts (life, salvation, trials, friendship, food, etc.), and we recognize those gifts as good and express that we think they’re good to God in some way. So when I drink my coffee in the morning and it just hits the spot, I can recognize coffee in general and that perfect moment specifically as good gifts from God and tell Him I appreciate them. The bigger and more undeserved the gift, the more thankfulness abounds. Just think about your own life. When have you been given help, money, encouragement or something else that you felt like you were completely undeserving of? Didn’t your heart want to explode with thankfulness toward the giver? I remember back in September, I was packing up to move back up north after losing my job. A friend and her kids came over to help me. She packed my entire kitchen that day. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. I had only known her for a year and had by no means earned all the things she and her family had done for me, including that day. There was no way I could ever repay her; all I could do was let her know just how grateful I was. I wished I could connect my heart to hers and show her just how much this seemingly simple act meant to me. So if the bigger the gift and the less we deserve it, the more thankful we are, then it makes sense that God should receive more gratitude than anyone else! The Bible talks a lot about being thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” It’s one thing to say, “Be thankful for everything all the time,” but if you’re anything like me, you need specifics before that can really sink in. Here are just a few of the ways and times the Bible commands us to be thankful: <ul> <li> With praise/as an act of praise (Psalm 100:4, 106:1, 107:1, 69:30, 95:2, 1 Chron 16:34)</li> </ul> o In singing (Psalm 28:7) The Psalms are full of this correlation between thanksgiving, praise, and song. Psalm 95:1-2 says, “Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.” Being thankful starts as an internal thing. We feel gratitude, but praise and singing is external. It is something others can see and hear from us. The Bible commands both—feel thankful and express that in praise and song to God and in the presence of others so that they can hear and be built up by it. <ul> <li> As an essential component to prayer as a whole (Col 4:2, Phil 4:6)</li> </ul> Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.” So thanksgiving is an integral part of prayer, and it enhances every aspect of prayer, as well. <ul> <li> As an essential part of living the way God commands (Col 3:17, 2:7)</li> </ul> Colossians 2:7 says, “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.” Here we see again that when Paul wants to summarize the important keys to living as a believer, thankfulness is included. <ul> <li> What are some specifics we’re supposed to be thankful for?</li> </ul> o Other people and their faith (Paul’s letters except for 2 Cor, Gal, 1 Tim, Titus [9 of 13]) At some point in 9 out of 13 of Paul’s letters, he tells the readers that he is thankful to God for them. He usually says something like “always, in every prayer of mine” and then lists the specific thing he’s thankful for right now about them. This is so powerful. Can you just imagine with me for a moment that every time you got a phone call from someone who is a mentor in your life, they started it off by telling you they’ve been thanking God for you on a regular basis and why? How encouraging that would be! o Our spiritual victory in Christ (1 Cor 15:57) o The gift of salvation (2 Cor 9:15) o God’s goodness (1 Chron 16:34) o The help God provides us in times of trouble (Psalm 28:7) o God’s righteousness (Psalm 7:17) We’ve talked a little on here before about how it is possible to view things we might see at first as bad as blessings instead, but I think it’s worth touching on that again. As we’ve seen (and there are far more verses about thankfulness in the Bible that say this, too), God clearly tells us to be thankful and praise Him in everything. That means when you lose your job, when you can’t get pregnant, when your fiancée calls off the wedding, when you don’t have enough money for food, when your child dies, when the retirement fund vanishes, when there’s a national crisis, when someone you love turns their back on Jesus. In everything means in everything. It’s important to also note that the Bible doesn’t just talk about being thankful in the midst of hard things, it says to be thankful for hard things. How does that work?? When we can’t understand how it is possible to be thankful for hard things, we have to back up and evaluate our view of God. God created us “to the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6). So the first thing we need to remember is that we are not our own. We were not created simply to exist and be happy; we have a much greater, deeper purpose. Ephesians 1:4-6 says, “For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved.” Here’s what most people don’t realize that this means: before time, before creation, before the world existed, perfect or broken, God decided to show the riches of his grace in saving us. That was the whole point of the world. That means that sin and death and brokenness were always part of the plan. God didn’t create the world perfect and then have to come up with a plan b) when Adam and Eve broke it with their sin. It was always the plan. Now that may not sound encouraging to you at first, but let’s think a little deeper about it. That means that your sin or someone else’s sin that has affected your life so deeply was not an accident either. It didn’t catch God by surprise. He doesn’t have to rearrange any plans to fix it. He planned it, just like He planned Adam and Eve’s sin, to the praise of His glorious grace. That doesn’t let anyone off the hook for their sin. There is still moral responsibility to be taken for every wrong thing you and anyone else has done. But in the midst of that, God’s plan is not shaken. That’s the first truth that helps us to be thankful when hard things happen. The second truth that helps with this is that of Romans 8:28, which says, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.” Now we know from experience that this “good” that God is using everything toward does not mean we will have just easy and happy things in our lives all the time. Life is hard, and Jesus Himself promised the disciples that they would have trouble in this life. That can leave us in a false dichotomy. We might think that if this is true, either God either isn’t capable to pull off what He claims or that His definition of our “good” is not actually good for us but only good for Him. I’ve been pulled into believing that last one at times. But like I said, this is a false dichotomy. God is both completely capable of pulling this off, and He really does mean our personal, best possible good. How does that work? So first of all, we have to recognize that in order for God to show His grace, sin, pain, sadness, and all the rest of the things that come with a fallen world are necessary. We can’t avoid that. However, God is incredible, and He has made a way in this mess for us to experience pain and suffering and for it to be good for us. That is because the best possible thing that can be true for us is to be in close relationship with God, delighting in Him, valuing Him above all else, and trusting Him completely. That is the best thing for us, and it is the place where we will be the happiest and most fulfilled, regardless of circumstances. That is God’s goal in our pain. This is why it is often easier for those who experience hardship more often to truly trust God and delight in Him. There’s a reason God said it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. When we have enough money to avoid suffering on the whole, there are fewer things to drive away from our sofas and to our knees. Obviously God has plenty of ways for even those with a lot of money to learn these same lessons. Anyone listening to this is almost certainly rich by global standards, and we’re learning. At the same time, I don’t know about you, but I can tell I’m learning very slowly sometimes, and it’s easy to forget again when life gets better. This is why every hard thing in our life can be viewed—not just as a thing to be thankful around, but—as a thing to be thankful for, knowing that it is drawing us into a deeper, more joyful, and fulfilled relationship with Christ. Now that we’ve looked at how and when we’re supposed to be thankful, let’s examine the differences between this facet of the Fruit of the Spirit and what the world can have. Thankfulness or gratitude is first a feeling of appreciation and gratefulness and then, when truly full and completed, an outward expression of that feeling in some kind of praise or thank you. The world is capable of feeling this and expressing it. We only have to attend a concert to hear the appreciation or do something nice for someone and watch them glow. So what’s the difference? I think there are two. First, non-believers cannot experience the fullness of thankfulness and praise because they do not recognize the ultimate source of the good thing they experience. Let’s think for a moment that you found out a friend of a friend did something incredibly nice for you. You don’t have the opportunity to tell them thank you yourself, so you ask your friend, who was involved but not responsible, to tell them on your behalf. It’s not the same, right? It’s similar with non-believers, even if they’re not always aware of it. Non-believers witnessing a spectacular sunrise or something similar might “thank the universe,” but something in them cries out that this is not enough. The other difference I think exists is that for non-believers (and for us when we are not grounded in truth), thankfulness can be tainted. I think of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, who hates gift-giving because it’s a social contract. He says it’s not enough to simply be thankful for a gift, you have to repay it in equal measure. This takes to an extreme what a lot of people feel. Acts of kindness, gifts, etc. feel like work because now you owe the other person. The truth for us in Christ is that everything comes from God. God enables every person who gives us anything or does anything nice for us to be able to do it. He decides how much money each person makes and speaks by the Spirit to every believer. Because of this, we who are on the receiving end can be confident that we owe no one anything, and we owe God everything. This doesn’t change our life, because we are already living for God. The second thing this does is to help us recognize when we give that we are owed nothing, because what we gave came from God in the first place. So how do we cultivate this facet of the Fruit of the Spirit? Practice, practice, practice. The more we are thankful, the more we will recognize things to be thankful for. The more we see things to be thankful for, the more we will give thanks. It’s a vicious circle that’s not really vicious but wonderful. Two years ago, I started this daily journaling thing. The first section is a place for thanksgiving. I write, “Father, thank You today for:” and then list three (sometimes more, but three is the minimum) things that I am thankful for. I try not to repeat things very often. Coffee is probably the most repeated thing, because I do it in the morning, and I almost always have my coffee handy, but I try not to use that more than once every month or two. Sometimes it’s hard to find three things to be thankful for. Some days I have four or five easily. But either way, it forces me to evaluate the previous day for the good things God is doing in my life and the good gifts He is giving me. I have definitely noticed a shift in my attitude since starting this, and I’m more apt to recognize things to be thankful for in the moment, too. I encourage you to start something similar. I don’t think it matters when you do it or in what format, but take deliberate time each day to be conscious of the blessings God is bestowing—the ones that feel like blessings in the moment and the ones that don’t. Another thing that can help cultivate thanksgiving is to keep a prayer journal. I have tried this a few times over the years and just started again today. The more we write down the things we are praying for, the more we can see when God answers them and thank Him for that. What are you thankful for today? What ways have you grown habits of thankfulness in your own life? I’d love to hear about it on facebook or Instagram! Thanks for listening to More than Milk. Visit my website at storiesbyhr.com for more great content and to see if I can help you tell your story better.

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What is More than Milk?: More than Milk exists to help you know more about God, the Bible, and theological principles, then to teach you how to apply that knowledge to your life. Learn more about God, know God better, love God more.
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
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