Thankfulness
Good morning brothers and sisters. I was sitting at the computer thinking about all the things that I have to be thankful for. And then I wondered, "have Christians become unthankful?" Oh we say thank you and all the sorts but do we have a thankful heart? Having a thankful heart is one of the keys of having joy. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18- "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I notice it says in everything. Do we thank God for the bad? I know the bad doesn't feel good but sometimes the bad brings revelation. So what is the opposite of not having a thankful heart. Ungratefulness! When we forget to give thanks for the most simplest of things, we will forget to give thanks for the big things, then a hard heart and pride sets in. And we know that God doesn't like pride or a hard heart. It is complete opposite of what God calls His children too. When we don't have thankfulness or gratitude it is a sin with severe repercussions. In Romans, Paul gives us a great description of what it looks like to be ungrateful. but verse 21 shows how God feels about it. Romans 1:21- because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Hearts were darkened. And God does not like it. God is light not dark. There is also in Luke 17 about the 10 lepers that were healed. Now only one out of ten came back and gave thanks. verse 15-16- And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, RETURNED, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. What if only one out of ten Christians returned to give thanks? The sad reality is, I think we are there. And when we refuse to be thankful and show gratitude our hearts become hard and full of pride and we become our own gods. I see it is running rampant in our days. But when we are thankful and show gratitude, God uses that to keep us humble and we guard our hearts from pride and idolatry. What are you truly thankful for? Do you wake up everyday with a grateful heart? Or do we want what we want when we want it? And last question, do you really think that you got where you are because of you? Have a blessed day! Rise up child of God, rise up!