Tehillim [Psalm] 116:17 “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord”, Psalm 50:14 “Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and fulfill your vows to the most High”, Psalm 50:23 “Whosoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me; and to him will I show the way of the salvation of our God”. Giving thanks to ELOHIM should not be just a one day a year event but should be a daily offering. Are you grateful to HIM for all HE has done for you or do you believe that everything in your life comes from your own hands not HIS? Read Iyov [Job] for a reminder about how we all can have our lives changed in an instant.
According to ELOHIM’S Word, everything we have comes from HIM including our very lives. It reminds me that I should be thanking HIM frequently for all that I have and when I thank HIM I try to get into detail: the roof over my head, hot and cold air, hot and cold water, electricity, phones/computers [in the past, many people never heard from family again when they moved overseas or wives didn’t see husbands until sometimes years later – after a war was over], money to pay bills and to do HIS SON’S work with, gasoline and a car, toilet paper [have you thought about what it would be like to use what people used before toilet paper was invented or what people have to use who have nothing!], clothes, the money to buy healthy food and pure water, my health [however healthy or ill I feel there is always someone out there who is worse off], my arms/legs/hands/feet/eyes/hearing/other senses of smell-taste-touch, a job, good and true friends, family, loved ones, whatever/whomever I have in my life that I would like to keep in my life because blessed am I by it or them.
I believe we don’t stop and think about what is in our lives that we do have and enjoy so we end up taking things for granted. They become common to us so we end up not being grateful and even wasteful as a result. When I was in Israel, a washer/dryer, stove, and a/c were luxuries! I did clothes by hand and hung them up to dry when machines were not available and I cooked on hotplates and used fans. I did not own a vehicle and I walked or took the bus. In many parts of the world having clean water and even enough of it for all your uses, hot water, plumbing in a house to carry water instead of walking to a river or well, utilities of any kind, having something other than a dirt floor and some tin-cardboard-plywood-straw-mud between you and the outdoors is a luxury. Take a look at your favorite groceries or other items you buy for personal and home use and see where they were imported from. How many choices do you have? Anything not made locally and shipped to where you live and having many choices are luxuries, too.
Waste is a huge problem in this country as well. Water is scarce in parts of the world and I had to reduce consumption of it in Israel. How often do you leave water on and are not using it or have the pressure up way too high when you could reduce the volume? Do your clothes really need to be put in the clothes hamper because of just wearing or using them once or twice? How many loads of laundry could you cut back if you wore your clothes until they really needed to be washed? Do you waste electricity by leaving lights or machines on that are not being used or watched – like the TV set? Do you really need your a/c or heat/air pump on all of the time? How about opening your windows and getting some fresh air in and getting your body used to the natural temperature outside and seeing how much money you will save as a result. A little sweating is actually good for your body and ceiling or other fans are more economical to use than a/c fans or heat/air pumps. Experiment with your electric usage and see how much you can save.
How much money do you spend on toiletries and the latest “hot” thing to have? Do you have hundreds of dollars worth of half used bottles and tubes of various products just taking up space? I got down to a box of baking soda to brush teeth with and mix with water to use for deodorant. Baking soda works better than most brands of deodorant I have used and it is far more economical. Because it is abrasive it can be used to exfoliate your skin so be careful and gentle when brushing your teeth. Salt can even be used instead of baking soda or mixed with it. I spent around $1.00 for a box of baking soda and it lasted me for months! I also use olive oil soap and a prefer shampoo with just a few ingredients on each label that I understand, and organic virgin olive oil for my skin. Usually, these are my toiletries and I use no make-up. By doing this, I got rid of a lot of chemicals that actually hurt our bodies and health and end up in the environment through our sewage systems and waste water. Animals, fish, and birds get exposed to these chemicals and toxins and end up being hurt, too. I had been caught up in the cycle many find themselves in of wanting the newest and more costly of the beauty items to see if the “miracle” claims really worked. I have found that keeping things simple and not clogging my skin pores with these chemicals has been more effective for my health and looks as well as doing my work of being righteous. Do you realize that the Bible says Moses was 120 years old and wrinkle free!
How much food do you buy that ends up being thrown out – at home or in restaurants? Read the study I did on Leket the Food Bank program in Israel. They glean 140,000 meals WEEKLY from food that was not harvested by farmers and food that was not used and leftover after weddings, conferences and other events! Do you or your friends/neighbors/family have citrus or other fruit on trees that you just let fall and rot? Go pick it and bring it to organizations that help the poor and homeless or get someone else to come pick what you have so it does not get wasted. It is good and healthy especially if you do not use pesticides. You might be stunned if you added up the value of what was being wasted.
How much do you own that is not being used by you daily/weekly/monthly or for years at a time? How much do you need to own? What could you do to reduce your expenditures and use the extra money to get out of debt or help out the needy? What do you own that you really could do without and give to others who have little or nothing? All our money is a blessing from ELOHIM and Scripture says HE gets the first portion and we are to think of others as well as ourselves. Read about the early church in Acts who sold possessions to help out their fellow brothers and sisters who were poor. That early church rarely exists today from what I have found as many people are stuck on their possessions and do not want to part with them. I was actually accused of following a spirit of witchcraft by a church going person when I told her that I was following the MESSIAH’S [CHRIST’S] example of selling possessions to help others! An elder from her church told me she got doctrines mixed-up!
The MESSIAH said to do unto others as you would have done unto you. There are people today who were middle class and had homes and are now living in tents or in cars because of the economy or disasters. If you were in their shoes what would you like to receive from others, how would you like to be treated? I was hugged by someone living in a car because of their gratitude over the thought of getting toilet paper. I just had paper towels but they were still happy!
Is there someone who has no family or home you could provide with a nice meal or even invite them into your home giving them the experience of having a family around them? The MESSIAH said to invite people you do not know for a feast. Luke 14:12-14, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”