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Week 3
November 15: Understanding Gratitude
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him–and he was a Samaritan.” Luke 17:15-16
Take Action: For some people expressing gratitude isn’t a priority, especially if it’s not practiced daily. A quote by Meister Eckhart says, “If the only prayer you say in your life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”
Making the effort to express gratitude is huge. But we must have an understanding of why it’s important. Grateful Christians grow in God’s grace and while He does not demand that we thank Him, He is pleased when we do so.
The story of the ten Lepers in Luke 17 speaks volumes about those who realize they should be grateful and thankful. Only one of the ten Lepers returned to thank Jesus for his healing, while the others may have taken the healing for granted. Jesus even asked the one who returned where the other nine were. He said, “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? Then He said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Luke 17; Romans 8:39. How many of us make time to thank Him for the blessings that He provides?
November 16: Use All Things For Good
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. “Psalm 91:1-2
Take Action: Life’s challenges are often more than we want to deal with. Many of us have experienced ups and downs, major and minor setbacks, and disappointments.
Throughout those times we pray for God’s will, His protection, and His grace. We pray for His peace and strength to sustain us and to help us realize as we hold on to our faith that He has a perfect plan for us; one that is far superior to anything that we can conjure up as humans.
Write this quote in your journal as an encouragement to pursuing a grateful heart. “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for everything that comes to you–good or bad, there is a lesson.” We must trust God completely in every decision and choice that we make.
Read Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28; Proverbs 3:5.
November 17: Finding Your Joy is the Ticket
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3
Take Action: God’s word commands us to ‘Rejoice in the Lord.’ We are to be joyful always and realize that our joy is for His glory. The word ‘joy’ appears in the Bible approximately 160 times. Joy comes through persevering through the trials and challenges and leaning on Christ as our faith grows and strengthens. In other words, the joy we feel and experience is the deep, abiding kind that is long-lasting.
So be the joy for those around you. Be a light for Him as you choose to be obedient and follow Him. Real joy comes through transforming your heart and attitude into one of gratitude.
Read Psalm 68:3; Psalm 16:11; Philippians 3:1. How will you choose joy for the glory of God?
November 18: Gratitude Sets Us Free
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “But godliness with contentment is great gain,” 1 Timothy 6:6
Take Action: We are to be thankful in all things. You see God doesn’t owe us–we are the ones with the debt. And often times our choices create situations that do not benefit us and lead us down the road of discontent where we want more, buy more, and feel like we deserve more.
As we travel this journey of faithfulness and obedience we should be looking for freedom from all of the worldly goods. We should be grateful for our family, our friends, our marriage and spouse, our kids, our home and our job. I didn’t say any of this was perfect, but we should see that the blessings far outweigh the negatives . The more we pray for God to cultivate in us a grateful heart, the better off we will be spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. We can be thankful to God for all the things that have gone right and grateful that we are no longer bogged down in the miry muck and clay. It is time to let gratitude be our path to freedom.
Read Colossians 1:3
November 19: Grateful Is As Grateful Does
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
Take Action: Be a model of gratitude. We must make time to tell our family how much we appreciate them. We won’t always agree on every subject; we won’t always understand opposing viewpoints, but we all possess unique abilities, talents and skills. In other words, we ALL have something worthy to contribute.
We are to build character in our homes and with our children. With that comes teaching manners, kindness, and integrity. We must model the behaviors we want our kids to carry throughout their lives. Let them see you tell your spouse how much he or she means to you and how thankful you are to have them in your life. Let them see you care for others in need. Volunteer as a family in a community event or seasonal project. Lead by example.
- Make the practice of gratitude a habit.
- Emphasize how important ‘thank you’ is.
- Encourage acts of kindness.
- Tend to those in need.
Simply put tell your family how grateful you are for them. Tell them you appreciate their presence. Model gratitude and thankfulness at home. Family is your legacy.
Read 1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Timothy 1:3-5, 3:14-15. When did you tell your family last how thankful you are for them? Make it a priority right now.
November 20: Thankful for Friends
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13
Take Action: Our FRIENDS makeup such a huge part of our lives that in many instances they are more like family. It’s wise to have an assortment of friends who span the generations because they bring diversity, appreciation, wisdom, perspective and love.
God’s word tells us in Proverbs 13:20 to choose our friends wisely. True friends make up our inner circle. We appreciate them, love them and count on them. When I think of the qualities we look for in a friend I think of loyal, sincere, loving, supportive, giving, honest, dependable, and trustworthy. It is those same qualities that we must have as a friend.
There’s great comfort knowing that a good friend loveth at all times (Proverbs 17:17).
My hope is that we are united with a group of friends who are grounded in faith and followers of Jesus Christ. Our friendships represent who He is and what He’s done through each of us. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Read Proverbs 12:26; Colossians 3:12-14; Proverbs 19:20. Make a list of those special friends in your life. Write each of them a note expressing your thankfulness and what they mean to you. I promise you will be blessed.
November 21: Tell Your Story
For 30 days, ask God to show you the many ways He has blessed you. Take a few moments each day to write down specific thoughts and praises. Thank Him daily for His blessings.
Scripture: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
Take Action: This chapter of the psalms is one of forty-three that praises God’s works, recounts the blessings of righteous living, thanks God for deliverance, and praises God for His wonderful Word. These psalms remind us that the best sacrifice we can offer to God is a faithful and obedient life.
We are reminded of God’s great love for His people as four different ‘testimonies’ are shared in this psalm. Regardless of the situation or crisis, His word shows those who have been redeemed by the Lord and who have reason to thank Him.
In these four situations there is a common thread connecting them. Each of them shows distress, desperation, and deliverance–each time ending with the thanksgiving chorus, ‘Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.’
As we look at our own lives do we see that same common thread? How many times have we found ourselves in distress, cried out to Him and ask Him to deliver us?
Read Psalm 107:1-32. Write your personal testimony of how you came to know Christ. Describe how He redeemed you and what differences you see in your life today. And the best part, share YOUR STORY of what He has done for you and in you. Tell them how grateful you are to Him for saving you. After all, He is author of your story.
Prayer of thanksgiving:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for redeeming me and for all that you have done in my life. I am so grateful that you know my distresses, hear my cries and lovingly provide me with deliverance. Regardless of my situation you are always doing more than I can ever see or think possible. Because of you Lord I am surrounded by an abundance of blessings big and small, and I pray that I continue to trust you in all things. Amen.
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