GRATITUDE
– A DIVINE MANDATE – A DIVINE BLESSING
BREAD
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible
qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being
understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be
wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and
reptiles.
Romans 1:20-23 (NIV)
1 Shout for joy to the Lord,
all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord
is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of
his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and
his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord
is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all
generations.
Psalms 100:1-5 (NIV)
8 Give
thanks to the Lord, call on his
name; make known among the nations what he has done.
1 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV)
28 You
are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures
forever.
Psalms 118:28-29 (NIV)
6 So
then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with
thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
18 give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns
what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to
order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a
home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace
for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody
Beattie
“Hot
gratitude melts our hard pride. It is the means of remaining in Christ. This
thanksgiving for who He is mingles with daily thanks for all good gifts, from
breath in our lungs to asparagus in the springtime. Relishing who God is and
all He's given is the secret of remaining connected to Him- and also of sucking
the marrow from every ordinary day... I would be remiss if I did not tell the
stories I've been given, woven with Scripture, of how God can refresh real
people through the gracious gift of radical gratitude.” Ellen Vaughn
“Gratitude
is not only the memory but the homage of the heart – rendered to God for His
goodness.” Nathaniel
Parker Willis
“Gratitude makes even a temporal blessing a taste of
heaven.”
William Romaine
“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given,
never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy. Gratitude for the seemingly
insignificant- a seed- this plants the giant miracle. The miracle of eucharisto. Do not disdain the small. The whole of
the life - even the hard - is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the
infinitesimals, I miss the whole...There is a way to live the big of giving
thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The
moments will add up.” Ann Voskamp
“Unyielding
gratitude to God — is how God makes us unstoppable.” Ann Voskamp
HEART SAVOR
·
God
delights in a “thank you” from His children.
·
I
have nothing I did not receive – all is a gift.
Gratitude is my heart’s only proper response. I am to give no place to whining and
complaining.
·
Gratitude
melts pride the insidious sin which destroys.
