HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING 365 DAYS A YEAR!
1 Kings 18:41 (New Life Version)
Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink. For there is the sound of much rain."
Your deepest hopes will become your nearest reality. Psalm 37:4-5 (New Life Version) Be happy in the Lord. And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Give your way over to the Lord. Trust in Him also. And He will do it.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 NKJ
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
No matter how dark and hopeless the situation may look -- give thanks. This is God's will for you. Thank Him for the opportunity to see His deliverance. Thank Him for His mercy and grace. Thank Him for His faithfulness. Thank Him for defeating the devil and setting you free in Christ Jesus. Thank Him that Jesus is Lord. Thank Him that your name is written in Heaven. Thank Him for loving you and taking good care of you. Thank Him! Thank Him!
PHILIPPIANS 4:6 NKJ
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Instead of worrying, scripture tells us to be thankful and pray.
COLOSSIANS 4:2 NKJ
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
COLOSSIANS 1:3 NKJ
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
We are to be thankful for people, too.
EPHESIANS 1:16 NKJ
16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
1 THESSALONIANS 1:2 NKJ
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,
1 TIMOTHY 2:1 NKJ
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
It is easy to thank God for those people who love and help us. Those who do not are harder to be thankful for. Yet, 1 Timothy 2:1 says to give thanks for ALL men.
Why?
As we give thanks it keeps bitterness and hatred from taking root in us. It keeps our attitude straight. It helps us to remember that no matter how bad someone may be, God still loves them and desires to redeem them. God has a plan for them and they are valuable. Everyone was created to contribute something. So we begin to see them from God's perspective -- what their potential and worth is -- not just the wrong they may have done.
Those who are in Heaven give abundant thanks to God for all He has done.
REVELATION 4:9-11 NKJ
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
11 "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
REVELATION 11:16-17 NKJ
16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned."
Gratitude is a mark of maturity. Ingratitude is a mark of immaturity.
Do babies thank their parents for all they do? Only after they grow up! A person who is not thankful has never grown up.
The cure for unhappiness is being thankful.
Depression is caused by ingratitude about:
1. Who you are, or are not.
2. What you have, or do not have.
3. What you do, or do not get to do.
You cannot be happy without being thankful.
You cannot be thankful without being happy.
SO BE THANKFUL!
"Don't hesitate to reach for a goal that's higher than most, when it's in your spiritual DNA to grasp the stars." {quote from my book}
Hope your Thanksgiving went well...
WHY I AM THANKFUL:
God loved you and I so much that He paid a visit to earth over 2000 years ago... traveling incognito, he was born via immaculate conception & at the age of 33 gladly suffered the death of the cross. He bore ALL of our error & "the dark side"- and vicariously traded places with us. We were facing the punishment He endured so that we would not have to. He went to hell and set our captive souls free from the addiction of sin and reckless pleasures... from the influence of evil. He did rise up from the grave on the 3rd day in a new glorious body, fit for heaven and the abundant life.
Isaiah 53, John 3:16-26, John 10:10 explains more- Romans 10:9-20, Romans 8:28 & Romans chapter 5.
In studying the books of John and Acts you can find the One who already found you & loved you just the way you are, but did something to take you from where you are to where you are going in life. He loves you and me enough to NEVER leave us the same as He found us, but perfects us more and more each day.
Psalm 138:8 (King James Version)
The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Job 23:14 (KJV)
14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me...
Philippians 1:6
6 ...he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it...
Philippians 2:13
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Luke 1:37 (New Life Version)
"God can do all things."
Philippians 4:13
"I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength."
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever."
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.