Overflowing of Gratitude
Happy Thanksgiving my friends and I hope that you are taking in the day for what it really is. Yes, this is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends, eat great food, volunteer, and even enjoy a football game. However, lets remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving and come to the Lord with a heart that is overflowing of gratitude & thankfulness!
Colossians 2:6-7 Spiritual Fullness in Christ: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
I wanted to take a moment and touch on a few things that we should be thankful for that we may not think of. When asked what people are thankful for everyone always says: my health, my family, my friends… etc. Surface and fluffy stuff. Yes, we are for sure to be thankful for these people and things, however the Lord wants us to always go deeper. As the scripture says above be rooted and built up in him.
Ok, so let’s dig deeper into TEN amazing gifts that we should be overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness for. These are the things that are real and that ONLY God could gift us with. We can not do anything to obtain these gifts accept receive them…
- I’ve been chosen: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16
- I’ve been given grace and the gift of faith: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
- I’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirt: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
- I belong to Jesus: So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29
- I am indwelled with the Holy Spirit: You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9
- I have received the power of the Holy Spirit: For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. John 3:34o
- Intimate relationship with God: But God brought you into [fellowship with] Christ Jesus, who was made to be God’s wisdom for us. Through Christ you have received a right relationship with God, [as well as] holiness and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30
- Peace during ANYTHING: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
- Unconditional love of God: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
- Promise of resurrection in heaven: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21
In another post we will talk about the way we know we are overflowing with gratitude.