During His ministry on the earth, Jesus continually demonstrated an attitude of THANKSGIVING and it was often connected to a supernatural result. For example, in John 6:11 Jesus GAVE THANKS over a few loaves of bread and it produced a multiplication that was sufficient to feed perhaps 20,000 people. In John 11:41 He THANKED the Father for hearing His prayer BEFORE the miracle of raising Lazarus from the grave. Jesus lived His life in continuous THANKSGIVING which produced miracles. Whats a miracle? Its a supernatural EMPOWERMENT from God to carry out His plans and purposes on the earth. In the case of Jesus it was DESERVED empowerment because Jesus never sinned and because He exercised perfected FAITH. When Believers are involved in producing a miracle, its an UNDESERVED empowerment which is GRACE. But the point is this: EMPOWERMENT flows out of THANKSGIVING and real miracles ALWAYS come from God.

Another thing about Jesus earthly ministry is that He never did anything He didnt SEE the Father doing and that He always did the same things He had SEEN the Father do (John 5:19). How did Jesus SEE those things? Yes, Jesus is the divine Son of God; but He was also the human Son of Man subject to the limitations of the natural realm. So, the only way He could have SEEN what the Father was doing while He was on the earth in physical form was by FAITH. He SAW the Father by FAITH and He SAW what the Father was doing by FAITH. The FAITH led to THANKSGIVING before a particular event occurred and the THANKSGIVING led to the EMPOWERMENT which produced the supernatural event (the miracle) that Jesus performed.

Are we not supposed to be imitators of Christ, to walk in a measure of the same EMPOWERMENT He possessed (see 1 John 4:17)? To be sure our human nature (our Flesh) is still corrupted and its in a process of being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). But are we Believers not destined to perform GREATER works than even Jesus did (John 14:12) by the enabling of the Holy Spirit? Friend, the way to begin to tap into that EMPOWERMENT is by CULTIVATING A LIFESTYLE OF THANKSGIVING; its perched at the very threshold of the doorway that leads to the miraculous, victorious life Jesus died on the Cross for us to have and use to go forward with the job of re-establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The big question remaining is: HOW should Believers actually go about cultivating such a lifestyle? Its hard to be thankful when were dealing with so many trials and problems from the World. But its worth the effort and thats why God told us to do it; THANKSGIVING is not for Him, its for us. So we start by increasing the priority in our lives of GIVING THANKS, by paying more attention to what were focusing on. The Bible says that God is LIGHT and in Him theres no darkness (1 John 1:5). So when Jesus said He HAD SEEN what the Father was doing (John 5:19), He was saying that by FAITH He had SEEN the LIGHT and He had SEEN what IT was doing. Why is this relevant?

Lets get some clarification about that from some important scriptures where Jesus was speaking about LIGHT (Luke 11:34-36):

(34) The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

(35) Therefore take heed that the LIGHT which is in you is not darkness.

(36) If then your whole body is full of LIGHT, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of LIGHT, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you LIGHT.

The point is this: if youre paying attention to the LIGHT, if youre focused on whats good in your life instead of whats bad, there will be LIGHT in you. But if youre focused on the DARKNESS, youll have that in you instead of LIGHT. Gods favor and empowerment come with the LIGHT. If you have LIGHT in you then by FAITH youll be able to see what the FATHER is doing as you mature in the spiritual things of life.

Heres how THANKSGIVING can help us focus on the LIGHT: instead of paying attention to and worrying about and being agitated about all the things we DONT have in our lives, lets focus on the all the great things God has ALREADY done. And we focus on them by our THANKSGIVING. We think of the many good things Hes done and we thank Him for them over and over again instead of focusing on what our unfulfilled needs are. We cant blame God for the things we think He hasnt done if were busy thanking Him all the time for the many things Hes already done.

After a short time of doing this you can then graduate to thanking Him for all the solutions and answered prayers He WILL be doing in the future. You cant see your miracle if youre always looking at your problems or your needs. Stop looking at the problems and start focusing on what God HAS done and is ALREADY doing in your life. Fill yourself with the LIGHT of Gods wisdom that flows out of His Word instead of worrying about your problems. And, if youve got your eyes on any form of unrighteousness, the DARKNESS from that is going right inside and causing defeat in your life. So turn off the unrighteousness and put your eyes back on the LIGHT because the LIGHT always produces victory.

In short, the quality and frequency of our THANKSGIVING to God reveals what weve been looking at spiritually. If were looking at the bad things and worrying about our circumstances, weve been looking at darkness and our THANKSGIVING will be scarce. But if we focus on the good things of God, our THANKSGIVING will be great and well be walking in the LIGHT where shalom victory resides. Cultivate a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING so you can find your way into the LIGHT and leave darkness and defeat behind.

Friend, the LIGHT is where you want to be. Start thanking God everyday for every GOOD thing you can think of that Hes done for you. In case you forgot, God is the source of ALL good things; the devil and our bad choices bring the bad things. Then start thanking God for all the promises you can find in His Word. Youll have to study and look for them but you can start thanking God for them in advance. Just keep on thanking God and stay in the LIGHT so you can enjoy the victory God wants you to have.

Thanks for reading PLN today and well be looking for you again in three weeks on Friday, March 5. In the meantime, may God overwhelm you with the fullness of His love and spiritual blessing as you seek to cultivate a lifestyle of THANKSGIVING!

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can do so today just by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I receive eternal life.

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

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