AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE: LIVING A GRATEFUL LIFE

This week Sandy and Elisabeth discuss the Biblical principles of the 30 Days of Thankfulness trend, how it effects us physically and how we can accomplish not just 30 days but a lifestyle of gratitude.

WHY SHOULD WE BE GRATEFUL

NUMBERS 14:1-2 That night all the people in the camp began crying loudly. All the Israelites complained [grumbled] against Moses and Aaron.

Being ungrateful brought punishment for the Israelites. Severe punishment. In the form of wandering in the wilderness until all those that had complained had died.

1 Thessalonians [5:16]-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is GOD’S WILL for you in Christ Jesus.

Grateful people are the ones that God chooses to accomplish His will.

1 PETER 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you.

God wants us to live a life without anxiety.

HOW DO WE DO IT

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

THANKFULNESS JOURNAL

How do you do it?

• Every day write down 3 good things that happened that day.
• They don’t have to be earth shattering but they do need to be specific.
• The longer you continue the more benefits you see

Benefits:

• Increased happiness
• Improves self-esteem
• Better sleep
• Decreased stress levels

MINDFULNESS

How do you do it?

• Do one thing at a time
• Do it slowly and deliberately
• Do less
• Put Space in Between Things
• Spend 5 Minutes Doing Nothing
• Stop Worrying About the Future
• When You’re Talking to Someone Be Present
• Eat Slowly and Savor Your Food
• Live Slowly and Savor Your Life
• Make Cleaning and Cooking Become Meditation
• Keep Practicing

SO WHAT’S THE POINT

COLOSSIANS [3:16]-17 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

If we want to live like Jesus we must be grateful. Jesus thanked God in prayer several times in Scripture, including at the Last Supper when He knew the hardest times were coming.

2 CORINTHIANS [2:14] But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Being thankful is a big part of how we point people to Christ.

CONCLUSION

In order to speak life and truth and hope into the next generation we need to look undeniably different. We need to look and think and act like the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth and they way to get there is through gratefulness. 

RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT:

Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict and Increase Intimacy by Andrew Newberg MD and Mark Robert Waldman

How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From a Leading Neuroscientist by Andrew Newberg MD and Mark Robert Waldman

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THE GOD WHO SEES

GOD SEES HAGAR

GENESIS [16:13] She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.

Hagar was so harshly treated by the woman of God attempting to bring about God’s will according to her own vision, that Hagar ran away rather than endure more abuse at the hands of Sarah. 

GENESIS [16:13] She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.

In the wilderness, God saw Hagar, and asked where she had come from, where she was going, and told her of Ishmael. He then told her to go back.

GENESIS [21:17] God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.

GOD SEES NINEVEH

JONAH [3:10] God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways.

These people were the worst of the worst. They worshipped false gods, they performed child sacrifices there were none that were righteous. God had already decided to destroy the city. They had 10 days left on Earth from the time Jonah entered the city. And yet God saw them. 

CONCLUSION

Thousands of years after Hagar called God “The One Who Sees Me”, God’s Son (an equal part of the Godhead) would come to Earth to die for the sins of the world. Christ would not only see the people that society did not – the crippled (John 5, Matthew 12), the woman who was unclean or in sin (Mark 5, Matthew 26, John 8), and the poor – he would heal them and show those around them that they had value by treating these outcasts with respect.

If we are to be a people of God, we must see those around us that are difficult to look at. We must minister to and love those who have been abused by God’s people, even when they’ve run away from the camp rather than endure more mistreatment.

Being the Church as Christ called us to be requires humility and an attempt at reconciliation when we have done harm, and that begins by seeing and acknowledging those who are hurting. Looking directly at those that are harmed, particularly if we’re partly responsible for that hurt, is not easy or natural, but the impact of this on ourselves and on those who feel unseen cannot be overstated.

Because we serve The God Who Sees

CONNECT WITH US AFTER THE SHOW:

Questions, Show ideas, Want to be a Guest or Sponsor an episode? Connect with us:

Facebook: @coffeeandjesuspodcast

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Website: coffeeandjesuspodcast.com