GRATEFUL
BREAD
15 Let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were
called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians
3:15 (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)
8 Give
thanks to the Lord, call on his
name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to
him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who
seek the Lord rejoice. 11 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face
always. 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 (NIV)
1 Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is
good; his love endures forever. Psalms
107:1 (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)
14 But
thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and
through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
15 Thanks
be to God for his indescribable gift! 2
Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)
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 100:4-5 (NIV)
17 And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
BUTTER
“To be grateful for the good things that happen in our
lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives-the good as well as the
bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well
as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-that requires hard
spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank
you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep
dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and
those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a
gift of God to be grateful for. Let's
not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and
trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.” Henri
Nouwen
“Patience in the moment only
comes from gratefulness for the moment. …. ” Ann Voskamp“But, grateful eyes truly do see grace and goodness, even in the most difficult and unattractive packages. The Gratitude Syndrome makes you desire what you already have rather than always needing to have what you think you desire. Gratitude makes life’s horizon bright and big rather than dark and distant. It turns what you have into more than enough.” Jennifer Rothschild
“The root of joy is gratefulness … It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” David Steindl-Rast
“Thanksgiving
is good, but thanks-living is better.” Matthew Henry
“Prayer, praise and thanksgiving all go
together. A close relationship exists among them. The Scriptures join these
three things together. Psalms is filled with many songs of praise and hymns of
thanksgiving, all pointing back to the results of prayer. Thanksgiving includes
gratitude. In fact, thanksgiving is the expression of an inward, conscious
gratitude to God for mercies received. Gratitude is an inward emotion of the
soul, involuntarily arising therein, while thanksgiving is the voluntary
expression of gratitude.” E.M. Bounds
“If anyone would
tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness – he must tell you to make
it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to
you. For it is certain that whatever
seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn
it into a blessing. Could you therefore
work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit,
for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into
happiness. It be the noblest sacrifice
that the greatest saint can offer unto God.” William
Law
HEART SAVOR
- · Christians, of all people, are to be most thankful.
- · We are to be thankful for circumstances even not of our choosing – not particularly for the circumstance itself but for what God is doing in our lives and many others through it. God has a purpose for everything allowed in the lives of His children therefore it demonstrates our trust in Him - to ourselves and others - when we are thankful for all. 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
- · God is so worthy of our gratefulness.
