ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Be grateful for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible for mother to get out of the kitchen before the kids come back for between-meal snacks.

"Be grateful for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals who’ll do it right.

"Be grateful for children who put away their things & clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy to have around that you hate to see them go home to their own parents.

"Be grateful for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language. (text messaging)

"And at Thanksgiving, be grateful for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey’s done."

Gratitude is an expression of the heart

            1) We should be grateful to the Lord for the blessings of life.

                        Psalm 107

            2) We should be grateful to the Lord for the burdens of life.

                        I Thess. 5:18; 2 Corinthians 12:10

            3) We should be grateful to the Lord for the benefits of life.

                        Psalm 103

A few years ago, the cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl.

    Snoopy took one look at the dog food & said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings, & all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog," he said, "all I get is dog food." He stood there & stared at his dog food for a moment, & said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey."

Gratitude is an attitude of the heart

            1) An attitude of gratitude is a reflection of a giving Christian

                        Thanks - GIVING

            2) An attitude of gratitude is a reflection of a growing Christian.

             - Children have to be reminded to thank someone for a gift.

            3) An attitude of gratitude is a reflection of a glowing Christian.

                        - No sour attitude

                        - The right attitude will make a world of difference.

“ThanksLiving”

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

A Sunday School teacher was asking her class the question, “What are you thankful for?”  One 8 year old boy raised his hand and said, “I thank God that I wear glasses!”  The teacher was a bit puzzled why he would be thankful for that. And then he continued, “I am thankful that I wear glasses for two reasons. # 1 – they keep the bigger boys from fighting with me, and # 2 they keep the girls from kissing me.”

I am thankful for  .  .  .

- the taxes I pay because it means that I am have a job.

- the clothes that fit a little snug on me because it means that I have more than enough to eat.

- a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means that I have a home.

- having to put gas in the car in the pouring rain because it means that God has provided a vehicle for me.

- the parking spot I found at the far end of the parking lot because it means that I can walk.

- the person who sits behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

- having to shop for Christmas gifts because it means that I have friends and family.

- the piles of laundry and ironing because it means that God has provided.

- my alarm clock that goes off in the morning because it means that God is giving me another day of life.

A number of years ago – a few days before Thanksgiving, a lady called the Butterball Turkey Company Hot Line and was asking the question, “I have had this turkey in my freezer for six months. Is it still good?”  The Butterball expert responded by saying, “Well, it is still, but it probably has lost much of its flavor.”  Then she responded by saying, “Ok, thanks for the info. I guess I can still donate it to the church.”

Three points of action for ThanksLivers

1) Examine Within

Jonah 2:9

Bitterness:

One of the greatest challenges that you will face in life is to try to keep bitterness at bay. Everyone has to guard against bitterness creeping into their hearts. A lot of things in life have the potential to make us bitter. Family problems, marriage stresses, rejection, past abuses, loneliness, misunderstanding, conflicts, church problems and the list could go on forever. All of these if not dealt have the potential to become bitterness in your soul. Everything you think about will then be processed through this filter of pain, it will effect your thinking, your emotions, your relationship with others and your relationship with God. When that happens you lose you effectiveness in accomplishing anything for God with you life.

One day, two men were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they came across an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own. The first man kindly offered, "We will carry you across if you would like." "Thank you," she said gratefully, accepting their help. So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.
After they had walked another mile or so, the second man began to complain. "Look at my clothes," he said. "They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff." The first man just smiled and nodded his head.
A few more miles up the road, the second man griped again, "My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain." The first man looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning. "Have you wondered why I am not complaining?" he asked. "Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago."
That is what many of us are like in dealing with our families. We are that second man who cannot let go. We hold the pain of the past over our loved ones’ heads like a club, or we remind them every once in a while, when we want to get the upper hand, of the burden we still carry because of something they did years ago.
Dr. Anthony T. Evans, Guiding Your Family in a Misguided World.

At the heart of every matter is the matter of the heart.

Contentment:  Don’t wait to be happy. Don’t postpone your happiness until your situation changes, or you have acquired a certain thing.

Singles – I encourage you to be a God-fearing, happy single person. Don’t believe the lie that in order to be happy you have to be married.

Married people – I encourage you to be God-fearing married people. Don’t believe the lie that in order to be happy you have to be single.

Be content with what you have, but not with your level of spiritual maturity.

Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.

“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.

“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the rich man asked.

“What would I do with them?”

“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”

The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”

“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.

“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.

2) The second point of action for ThanksLivers is  .  .  . Look above!

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!” Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.  - George Washington, 1779

Luke 17:11-19

The story of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus.

Only one returned to thank the Lord.

Where were the other nine?

Did they suffer from amnesia?

Perhaps leper # 1 came up with a good excuse not to give thanks – maybe he wanted to wait and see if he was really healed.

Perhaps leper # 2 was waiting to see if the healing would last.

Perhaps leper # 3 convinced himself that he would tell Jesus thank you later.

Perhaps leper # 4 was waiting for someone else to step up and give thanks – he didn’t want to be the first.

Perhaps leper # 5 questioned if he really even had leprosy.

Perhaps leper # 6 said that he was getting better anyway.

Perhaps leper # 7 decided to give the glory to the priests.

Perhaps leper # 8 was too busy and didn’t have the time to give thanks to Jesus.

Perhaps leper # 9 just plain forgot.

Perhaps leper # 10 was so grateful that he didn’t want any excuse to hold him back, he just wanted to get back to Jesus to give honor to Whom honor is due! His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Do believers today suffer from amnesia?

3) The third point of action for ThanksLivers is  .  .  .  Thank Ahead!

Job 1:20-22; 42: 10, 12, 8:5-7

When you thank God for what He has done, that is gratefulness!
When you thank God for what He is going to do, that is faith!

When you are making decisions in life, people advise you to ‘think ahead.” May I suggest that when it comes to making decisions about your future in life, you should “thank ahead.”

If you are asking God for a new job, then thank Him now! THANK AHEAD!

If you are believing for a loved one to get saved, THANK AHEAD!

If you are believing for a raise at work, THANK AHEAD! In fact, one guy had so much faith that he not only began thanking ahead, he started to tithe ahead. He was believing God for a promotion that would bring him 20% more income, so he began tithing 12% - believing that the extra two percent was the future fruit of his blessing to come.

If you are believing for a miracle in your home, then begin to THANK AHEAD!