TruthApplied.com

Once a year we celebrate thanksgiving. However, God wants us to be thankful every day. When we do this we will experience the life changing power of thankfulness of everyday

The Command (1 Thes 5:18): In everything Give Thanks or give thanks in all circumstances.

Giving Thanks = Expressing gratitude from the heart to God or others
The Author: Paul was a missionary who was beaten, shipwrecked, hungry, etc (2 Corinthians 11:23).

Who to be thankful to?

To God

God does not need us, we need God (Acts 17:24-29).
God provides the blessings in life (James 1:17).
God provides the ability to earn money (Deut 8:17-18).
God has blessed us spiritually with forgiveness, hope, etc (Eph 1).
God has a restraining force on evil [things could be a whole lot worse] (2 Thes 2:7).
God uses trials to build character in us (James 1:1-8).
 

To Others

We would not be where we are at today if it were not for others.

What will happen when we show thankfulness to God and others?

We will fulfill the greatest and second greatest commandment (Love God and Love others).
We will be worshiping God and encouraging others.
We will experience Joy as we get our focus off ourselves and problems. It will also help vaccinate against discouragement and depression.
(C) 2006 Arlen Busenitz. www.truthapplied.com
Given at Church on 11-25-06

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2006 at 2:49 pm and is filed under Christian Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.