Gratitude

 

…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Ephesians 5:20 

 

Gratitude is good for you! There are so many things to be thankful for, from seasonal treats to colorful fall leaves. An attitude of gratitude is a powerful mental tool to practice, not just at Thanksgiving but all through the year. Whether those things are great or small, and whether they involve our loved ones or just a simple pleasure, showing gratitude in everything is a much-needed positive boost we can all use. Counting our blessings is a great way to reflect on the challenges we’ve faced lately and how God brought us through — and how the two are connected.

 

So allow yourself to take a “gratitude moment”. Thank the Lord for your family and the opportunity to spend some extra time with them during the holidays —even when it’s difficult, try to focus on all the things you love about your beautiful, funny, and a little crazy clan. Thank the Lord for friends who are like family. Tell them how grateful you are for their friendship and how much fuller your life is with them in it. Thank the Lord for peace. If you are reading this, then you are likely in a place that is relatively safe and in these chaotic times, peace and safety are something to be grateful for. Thank the Lord for your health. And if you’re lacking it today, claim healing in Jesus’ name! Thank the Lord for smiles from strangers. This small and sometimes unlikely thing has the power to change your entire day. Maybe it’s you that can offer a smile and make someone’s day! Thank the Lord for gratitude. The fact that we have things to be thankful for makes us rich beyond compare! So, what are you thankful for today?

Attitude of Gratitude

 

“As he [Jesus] was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?'”¹

Leprosy in Bible times was considered a very terrible disease. I am not sure what the equivalent would be to it today, but it was a skin disease that, once someone caught it, it was considered incurable and people with it were banned from society. When these men asked Jesus to have pity on them, they were probably not expecting to be healed, but may have suspected something when Jesus told them to go and present themselves before the priest. The priest was the only person who could grant a clean bill of health and allow the healed persons to enter society again. What is interesting to note is that the healing for these men took place as they “went”. Their healing took place, all of a sudden, as these men began to obey Jesus. I can only imagine the delightful surprise that these men must have felt as they began to see their comrades faces clear up from the disease!Even with such a tangible miracle that took place in today’s passage, still only one man returned to humbly thank Jesus.  

How many times in our lives do we ask God for something, but then when it comes, we forget to show gratitude and appreciation for His answer? All of a sudden we become ungrateful and take for granted the blessings simply because we got what we wanted or feel “deserving” of it. Or if we don’t get what we want at the moment, we fail to thank God for all that he has ALREADY given us! God’s grace in our lives is abundant and we would be foolish to take it for granted. And let us not forget that God’s blessing in our lives will come as we “go” forward in obedience to His will.  

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a grateful heart and a thankful spirit, so that I will always give and express credit where credit is due, thanks where thanks is due, and appreciation where appreciation is due. And above all, give me a thankful heart for the countless blessings You have given so freely to me and especially for Your gift of salvation and a home in Heaven to be with You forever. Help me to so live that my life will be a living expression of gratitude for all that You have done for me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Luke 17:12-17 (NIV).

Today’s Daily Encounter was written by: Crystal B.

Comment at: http://www.actsweb.org/daily.php?id=316

Do You Have a Heart of Gratitude?

https://alightbreaksthrough.org/do-you-have-a-heart-of-gratitude/

The Opportunity of Gratitude

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/victoriousliving/2019/11/the-opportunity-of-gratitude/

Magnify The Joy: Hope and Gratitude In the Midst of Illness

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/irreverin/2019/11/magnify-the-joy-hope-and-gratitude-in-the-midst-of-illness/

Gratitude For Blessings Weakens the Curses Of Depressing News

Training people to view their own life positively is increasingly important, especially because many people form all kinds of negative attitudes about life based on the news media’s constant emphasis on all the world’s evils and tragedies.

It is obvious that we all will suffer the loss of people we love to the inevitability of death. This is painful and sorrowful. Everyone also fears having a serious illness and their own eventual death. Today, fears, depression, anxiety, and frustration, create misery for an increasing number of people.

One way of influencing people to think positively about their lives is to teach them the importance of saying blessings for the many things they experience in their ordinary daily and weekly life, and at occasional extraordinary times.

Frequently saying daily blessings helps make people grateful for all the good things we take for granted. Gratitude expressed to God and to other people, for their daily activities helps us create positive awarenesses and outcomes for ourselves.

Read more: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/jewishvoices/2019/11/gratitude-for-blessings-weakens-the-curses-of-depressing-news/

The Ungrateful Heart of the Nine Lepers

https://alightbreaksthrough.org/the-ungrateful-lepers/

God’s thoughts of you

Gratitude: The Fight Against Idolatry

http://kuyperian.com/gratitude-fight-idolatry/

Word of the Week: Gratitude

For many years Dr. Carl Mitchell served as a professor at Harding University, preached for a local church and also served as one of the pastors.

He once related an occasion when he and his fellow elders had asked that the theme of one worship service be focused on gratitude. By that he meant that songs chosen, the communion, the giving, the sermon, and prayers be centered on gratitude.

Regarding the prayers, he said that we had specifically asked that no requests be made, only thankfulness for what God has done, is doing and will continue to do. Then he commented: “That Sunday, the prayers were unusually short!”

Our word of the week is gratitude.

More at: https://thepreachersword.com/2017/11/20/word-of-the-week-gratitude/