"Overflowing with Gratitude"
Taken from Charles Stanley's Daily Bible study 11/28/13
"The meaning of Thanksgiving has changed over the years. The name was given to our national holiday dedicated to thanking GOD for His protection and provision. More recently, though, it has become synonymous with feasting, football, and family. In most homes, GOD probably isn't even mentioned. But for believers, Thanksgiving is not simply a day; it's a lifestyle. In fact, a godly person should be characterized by gratitude.
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"The apostle Paul teaches how we can become people who overflow with gratefulness in any circumstance. The first step is to appreciate our relationship with Christ. He chose each believer before the foundation of the world (before creation) Ephesians 1:4 and wants us to 'walk in Him' (Col. 2:6). This means acknowledging Jesus as LORD of our life and relying on Him to empower us to obey.
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"Next, we are to be firmly rooted in Him. This can happen only when we tap into His WORD and draw nourishment from It. Then we'll be like a tree whose roots reach down so deep, that even storms cannot topple it. With this foundation, we can be built up in Christ and increasingly display His character in our attitudes, conduct, and conversations.
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" Finally, our faith needs to be firmly established. Then we won't fall prey to worldly philosophies and deceptions.
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" Do you have a grateful spirit, or do you say 'thanks' only when things are going your way? Thankfulness in all situations is possible only when you focus on the truths and promises of GOD's WORD. As you learn to see life from His perspective and acknowledge His loving Lordship, you'll overflow with appreciation."
I always love any thing Charles
ReplyDeleteStanley does, cause it is always
solid as a rock, and so helpful.
Yea, I think if we are christians
and don't have a attitude of gratitude we sure need to check ourselves out.......as Pastor Brad would say! and I think the more thankful we are the more the Lord blesses, and the less we see the bad things in life, not that we don't know that they are there, we just choose not to focus on them.
Oh, and
Thanks so much for cleaning up the kitchen for me last night, cause I was pretty tired......so it was a
blessing and am sure thankful for it.
Love ya, Nellie