Good day Sinapi Seeder, This morning, with great sadness, I came to the realization again that there is so much happening in our lives, every day, that we take for granted while there are so many people who have so much less than us. Did we, as the true church of God, forget how - and why – we need to be grateful? And how to show our gratitude; to show it to God and to our fellow man. I believe that most of us have a grateful heart, even if we do not always say or show it. But do we know in our hearts why we should be grateful? We find the answer to this: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV) “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” It is God's will that we should be grateful! And not just with certain things, we have to be grateful for everything... As human beings, and because we are human, we are so quick to get used to everything around us and especially things that we are given; to take what we have for granted. It includes basic things like eating when we're hungry, a roof over our heads, a job or income, health and many more. And to make it worse, we often go that step further and claim all of this as a right. But when all this changes in a blink of an eye by, for example, our current enforced isolation, we realize again that we are 100% dependent on God and His grace. Then most of us start again to be sincerely grateful to our Heavenly Father for what we are given. There is so much to be grateful for; every minute of every day. Just the realization that God has given us a new day each day that we wake up should make us burst out of our seams with gratitude. Then we do not even mention His love or His grace for us. Yes, everything is just by His grace. Why should we be grateful then? Gratitude honours God, gratitude is a testimony to unbelievers and gratitude strengthens our faith. Gratitude is precious and it is priceless. The Word says in Proverbs 25:11 (KJV): "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Gratitude leads to deeper relationships with God and with our fellow men; we also serve others by being grateful. When we feel valued, it makes us happy. When we show that we value others, it makes them happy. Show your gratitude! In Luke 17: 12-19 we read that Jesus completely healed the ten lepers. All ten were very grateful for Jesus' kindness, but only one showed his gratitude as well, and Jesus noticed it pertinently. Luke 17:15; 16 (KJV) “15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” Today's life is very much opposed to God's true church. Gratitude then, is one of the ways in which we can glorify God regularly, but also how we demonstration His image and His Word. We do this by showing our gratitude not only in our homes but also in public and towards our fellow beings. Small words like please and thank you carry a lot of power when we use it when needed. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear”. (Hebrews 12:28 KJV). First of all, and the most important, is to show our gratitude to God and to say it as well, and then our gratitude to every person who makes a positive contribution to our lives, whether through motivation or support; financially, physically or emotionally. Let us be sincerely grateful again, and let us show it regularly and without any motives, so that we may glorify God by it. My challenge to you today is: show at least 5 times every day, for at least the next 30 days, that you are grateful to God and your fellow men. Also, make a point of it to contemplate daily about the following: Do I thank God enough? Do I thank God regularly? How can I thank God more? How can I show my gratitude more? To conclude, let's pray the following prayer together: Thank you, our Heavenly Father, for Your grace, and thank You for Your love. Thank you that Jesus died for us on the cross and that he rose again. Thank you for every day You give to us. Thank you for our gifts and talents. Thank you for every person You send to cross our paths, some for short periods and others for longer periods, and for the life lessons we learn through these relationships. Thank you for our families and friends. Thank you for knowing that You are there, to fill these places, for everyone who needs them. Thank you for this time of isolation, time we can spend with You again, time we get to study Your Word again. Thank you for our health. Thank you for everything you provide: finances, food, a roof over our heads and anything else that we can add to this list. Lastly, Father, I ask that You forgive our sins. Help us to become more like Christ, only by Your grace. Please be with every person where there may be shortages or needs, and we pray that You will provide, as and how it pleases You. Amen |
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