The Grateful Heart Job 1:20-21 Hebrews 13:15 Psalms 34:1 Psalms 34:8 Ephesians 5:19-20 Colossians 2:6-7 Psalms 100:1-5 Colossians 3:17 1 Corinthians 15:57 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 09.20.19

THE GRATEFUL HEART

BREAD

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Job 1:20-21 (NIV)

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.  Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)

¹I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1 (NIV)

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:19-20 (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)

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. Psalm 100:1-5 (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)

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

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)

BUTTER

“Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better.”   Matthew Henry

“Be the one who thanks Jesus. Let others go where they may. You be the one who is grateful…Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day.  A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character.  It gives glory to Him.  It is the key defense against Satan’s temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell.  A grateful heart is a gift of grace.”  Ellen Vaughn

“It is so easy to give thanks for what one naturally chooses, but that does not cover the ‘everything’ of the text...One morning lately, in speaking of some small trouble, I quoted ‘In everything give thanks,’ and at once someone answered ‘But I cannot give thanks for everything.’ Now if our God tells us to do a thing and we say cannot, there is something wrong somewhere, for we all know the words ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me’ - that is, all things commanded. It is treason to say 'I cannot.’ But first we should make sure that we are commanded to do this.  The text says give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything.  All God’s biddings are enablings. We can do that. We will do that.”   Amy Carmichael

“Whenever you react with praise and thanksgiving for an opportunity to grow more like Jesus in your way of reacting to things, instead of grumbling or feeling self-pity, you will find that that whole situation will be changed into a great blessing.”    Hannah Hurnard

“Praise elevates our eyes off our circumstances and places them on to Him Who is able to keep us from falling.  Praise often precedes the movement of God’s hand for His children because it demonstrates our love and dependence upon Him having full knowledge it is He  Who is actually in control of all things – not  us.”   BHY

“One act of thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.”   Saint John of Avila

“But the Bible does not say give thanks to the Lord because you feel good. Rather, it says, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!’”   Greg Laurie

“Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart — transforming the disposition and the whole character.  Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality.  An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always.  This lesson is learned only when it becomes a habit which nothing can weaken.  We must persist in being thankful.  When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness, and sing in the darkness.  Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.”   J. R. Miller
“He who can give thanks for a little will always find he has enough.”   Anonymous
“Thanksgiving in all things accepts the deep mystery of God through everything.”  Ann Voskamp

“It’s simple math, really. Everything minus Jesus equals nothing, and Jesus plus nothing equals everything. With Jesus, every other person, place, or thing we are given to enjoy is bonus—not something to plug our emotional umbilical cords into, but rather something to offer thanks for to God. As the Puritan, whose possessions were reduced to a single piece of bread and a single glass of water, said: ‘What? All this and Jesus Christ too?’”  Scott Sauls

HEART SAVOR

·         God desires for His children to be the most grateful of all people – appreciative of what His hand allows.

·         God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

·         God is deserving of all praise and thanksgiving as He always has our best interest at heart weather we can readily discern it or not.