Dear Friend,
As a minister, not only do I listen to people who have genuine problems, but I also listen to a lot of people who complain on a daily basis. When I hear them whine about how bad things are in their lives, I think, what happened to the “attitude of gratitude.” Perhaps, you may think why should I be
grateful when my life sucks or when things do not go my way? Listen to me very carefully; we are grateful when we realize who our Lord is and what
He did, when we realize our depravity and our past hopelessness and now, the great wonder we have. Our gratitude will come when we fully understand that we have been rescued from sin and darkness and from hopelessness and despair. This has to hit home deeply in our hearts and minds. To venture beyond our saving faith, we have to take heed and be encouraged that God is our rescuer! Therefore, we are to respond in gratitude for His provision and gifts. We should
be literally overwhelmed-consumed with extreme joy and gratitude-because of what God has done for us. This should also allow us to feel that thanksgiving that sets the life theme and tone for our personality, actions, and reactions. Then,
we can turn and spill gratitude onto others around us. If this is not true in your life, then read Romans 1:21 that say, “For though they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.” Another aspect we need to realize is that we are rescued from the powers of darkness; now our place is secured in eternity. Think about it; if we have a Savior in Whom we can have faith and trust…….and we do! Then our gratitude will help us lead a life of resilience and distinction no matter what
is thrown at us. These are things we cannot accomplish by our own means, and that’s why we need Jesus. He needs to be placed first! For gratitude to function as Paul demonstrated in Colossians, we are to put Christ first, and then move on to spiritual maturity. From this perspective, we know His Truth so we can still
be triumphant in Him during the time we have here on earth. Take a look at who you are in Christ. Christ redeemed you; you are welcomed into His presence and Kingdom! God is even pleased
with you. This gives us hope and a reason to live and prosper. Jesus Christ now becomes our chief purpose and makes our mission in life to glorify God. Thus, we are now a friend of God and when we do this, we please Him and our gratitude is the indication this is at work. Also in so doing, we give Him our honor, love, and service, which we do to glorify Him. Our gratitude, from the realization of our place in life and eternity, can help us truly worship and praise Him through loving, behaving, and putting Him first just as Jesus demonstrated by His obedience. In converse, our ingratitude will only show our self-focused mindsets; our ungratefulness will just nullify our impact and do
the opposite of pleasing God. The key is to receive what Christ has given, to trust and obey Him, and to make Him our primary and foremost outlook in our lives as He is in the universe; this will please Him. Then, our hearts will be filled with gratitude and we will have a life that overflows with His fruit as we become the quintessence of a pleasing sacrifice. Gratitude shows us that God is the One we should honor. This helps us to have an "attitude of gratitude" which is so essential for our faith and practice no matter what we have been through or have lost. Being thankful also helps us to have hope, and to forgive and live and have joy by which we display God's goodness. Without gratitude, we are ungrateful people---ingrates; this is an insult to God and as a result, we will live a self-inflicted, miserable, hopeless life no matter what we have or could have had. As a result, God's goodness that is to be shown
through us is veiled by our disrespect. Being grateful gives us joy! For us, to receive the great joy of our salvation required a great cost of suffering of which Jesus was fully aware and willing to suffer for us. The prize and promised
reward enabled us to partake in and receive too. He could have avoided the cross, but He did not, so we are saved and our biggest problem is
solved.
In closing, the way to improve our lives and relationships is to have an attitude of gratitude. We start with how we honor and respond to our Lord and Savior! We are to respond to His precepts with our personal holiness! Because we received His grace that sanctified our heart and covered our sin, a chord should strike within us to respond. Out of our gratitude for what He has done for us, we should be willing to strive to seek righteousness in all that we do. This is the sweetness that spills unto others; this is the honor and trustworthiness we earn in the hearts and minds of the people God brings into our lives. What builds a good life and church, even a good personality? It’s our growing relationship with Christ! He is the One who changes us and forms our character. All we do is adoringly respond by faith and commit to His precepts. When we are grateful: We will realize that His grace is sufficient! We will have a thirst for God's Word and our spiritual growth! We will have a thirst for righteousness! We will have an eagerness to dispense the Fruit of the Spirit!
We will be speaking words that edify others, and
bringing Christ glory because those words are attuned to Christian commitment! We will be using the resources that our Lord has given us to live a triumphant and content life! We will be taking the love and compassion He has given us to help others in need! The secret of life is to realize that God is in charge; He is Sovereign. We can be content and live a life characterized by our
Lord in the application of our gratitude. Somehow in the ternary of busy-ness of life, our stress, and our various happenings, we forget to be thankful.
Yet, it is so essential that we be so, because thankfulness comes from our enjoyment in Christ. When we realize who and what He is and our indebtedness to Him, we then respond. This is the opposite of people who are centered upon
themselves and who whine, nitpick, and moan when things do not go as they would like, which only leads to the buildup of anger and anxiety; neither of which can change their situation. I have discovered, being grateful leads to having joy,
and becoming a better Christian for our Lord's
glory.
Let’s pray: “Heavenly Father, I give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Your will for us in Christ Jesus. As we commit ourselves to You Lord, please give us wholeness and the ability to have character. Lord, help us exercise thankfulness so we can get rid of our bad personality flaws and
misplaced traditions that conflict with Your Word.
I understand that the practice of anything that is worthy has its obstacles and hardships that take
our time and effort……including faith. I know we can't be growing Christians without having reverence for You and being appreciative for what You gives and has done! Lord, I know, when we have joy in You, we will have joy in our lives no matter what! In Jesus Name
…..Amen
A Simple Nugget: “When life is sweet say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter say thank you and be grateful!”
FYI: I have too many flaws to be perfect. But I have too many blessings to be ungrateful!”
All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King
As a minister, not only do I listen to people who have genuine problems, but I also listen to a lot of people who complain on a daily basis. When I hear them whine about how bad things are in their lives, I think, what happened to the “attitude of gratitude.” Perhaps, you may think why should I be
grateful when my life sucks or when things do not go my way? Listen to me very carefully; we are grateful when we realize who our Lord is and what
He did, when we realize our depravity and our past hopelessness and now, the great wonder we have. Our gratitude will come when we fully understand that we have been rescued from sin and darkness and from hopelessness and despair. This has to hit home deeply in our hearts and minds. To venture beyond our saving faith, we have to take heed and be encouraged that God is our rescuer! Therefore, we are to respond in gratitude for His provision and gifts. We should
be literally overwhelmed-consumed with extreme joy and gratitude-because of what God has done for us. This should also allow us to feel that thanksgiving that sets the life theme and tone for our personality, actions, and reactions. Then,
we can turn and spill gratitude onto others around us. If this is not true in your life, then read Romans 1:21 that say, “For though they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.” Another aspect we need to realize is that we are rescued from the powers of darkness; now our place is secured in eternity. Think about it; if we have a Savior in Whom we can have faith and trust…….and we do! Then our gratitude will help us lead a life of resilience and distinction no matter what
is thrown at us. These are things we cannot accomplish by our own means, and that’s why we need Jesus. He needs to be placed first! For gratitude to function as Paul demonstrated in Colossians, we are to put Christ first, and then move on to spiritual maturity. From this perspective, we know His Truth so we can still
be triumphant in Him during the time we have here on earth. Take a look at who you are in Christ. Christ redeemed you; you are welcomed into His presence and Kingdom! God is even pleased
with you. This gives us hope and a reason to live and prosper. Jesus Christ now becomes our chief purpose and makes our mission in life to glorify God. Thus, we are now a friend of God and when we do this, we please Him and our gratitude is the indication this is at work. Also in so doing, we give Him our honor, love, and service, which we do to glorify Him. Our gratitude, from the realization of our place in life and eternity, can help us truly worship and praise Him through loving, behaving, and putting Him first just as Jesus demonstrated by His obedience. In converse, our ingratitude will only show our self-focused mindsets; our ungratefulness will just nullify our impact and do
the opposite of pleasing God. The key is to receive what Christ has given, to trust and obey Him, and to make Him our primary and foremost outlook in our lives as He is in the universe; this will please Him. Then, our hearts will be filled with gratitude and we will have a life that overflows with His fruit as we become the quintessence of a pleasing sacrifice. Gratitude shows us that God is the One we should honor. This helps us to have an "attitude of gratitude" which is so essential for our faith and practice no matter what we have been through or have lost. Being thankful also helps us to have hope, and to forgive and live and have joy by which we display God's goodness. Without gratitude, we are ungrateful people---ingrates; this is an insult to God and as a result, we will live a self-inflicted, miserable, hopeless life no matter what we have or could have had. As a result, God's goodness that is to be shown
through us is veiled by our disrespect. Being grateful gives us joy! For us, to receive the great joy of our salvation required a great cost of suffering of which Jesus was fully aware and willing to suffer for us. The prize and promised
reward enabled us to partake in and receive too. He could have avoided the cross, but He did not, so we are saved and our biggest problem is
solved.
In closing, the way to improve our lives and relationships is to have an attitude of gratitude. We start with how we honor and respond to our Lord and Savior! We are to respond to His precepts with our personal holiness! Because we received His grace that sanctified our heart and covered our sin, a chord should strike within us to respond. Out of our gratitude for what He has done for us, we should be willing to strive to seek righteousness in all that we do. This is the sweetness that spills unto others; this is the honor and trustworthiness we earn in the hearts and minds of the people God brings into our lives. What builds a good life and church, even a good personality? It’s our growing relationship with Christ! He is the One who changes us and forms our character. All we do is adoringly respond by faith and commit to His precepts. When we are grateful: We will realize that His grace is sufficient! We will have a thirst for God's Word and our spiritual growth! We will have a thirst for righteousness! We will have an eagerness to dispense the Fruit of the Spirit!
We will be speaking words that edify others, and
bringing Christ glory because those words are attuned to Christian commitment! We will be using the resources that our Lord has given us to live a triumphant and content life! We will be taking the love and compassion He has given us to help others in need! The secret of life is to realize that God is in charge; He is Sovereign. We can be content and live a life characterized by our
Lord in the application of our gratitude. Somehow in the ternary of busy-ness of life, our stress, and our various happenings, we forget to be thankful.
Yet, it is so essential that we be so, because thankfulness comes from our enjoyment in Christ. When we realize who and what He is and our indebtedness to Him, we then respond. This is the opposite of people who are centered upon
themselves and who whine, nitpick, and moan when things do not go as they would like, which only leads to the buildup of anger and anxiety; neither of which can change their situation. I have discovered, being grateful leads to having joy,
and becoming a better Christian for our Lord's
glory.
Let’s pray: “Heavenly Father, I give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Your will for us in Christ Jesus. As we commit ourselves to You Lord, please give us wholeness and the ability to have character. Lord, help us exercise thankfulness so we can get rid of our bad personality flaws and
misplaced traditions that conflict with Your Word.
I understand that the practice of anything that is worthy has its obstacles and hardships that take
our time and effort……including faith. I know we can't be growing Christians without having reverence for You and being appreciative for what You gives and has done! Lord, I know, when we have joy in You, we will have joy in our lives no matter what! In Jesus Name
…..Amen
A Simple Nugget: “When life is sweet say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter say thank you and be grateful!”
FYI: I have too many flaws to be perfect. But I have too many blessings to be ungrateful!”
All my love and prayers,
Minister Dorothy King
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