[Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] Choose Thankfulness

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: Donna Kiser <kiserdonna5 at gmail.com>
To: URCTCPrayerGroup2 at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] Choose Thankfulness
Date: 
Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:28:50 -0500

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Choose Thankfulness
by Dr. Larry Ollison

A few weeks ago I met an elderly gentleman who had lost his left arm when
he
was a young man. Because of this he had lived his entire life not being
able
to do everything that others could do. His life had literally been
handicapped. When I asked him how he lost his arm, he stood straight and
tall and said, "I gave my arm for my country while I was in Korea."

Even though we were standing in a shopping center as he told me this
story,
I could hardly keep my eyes from watering. The reality is this man
sacrificed his life for me and my family. The thankfulness for him and
what
he had done, and the respect and honor I felt for him was overwhelming.

Honor and respect are two qualities that have been devalued in our
culture.
Honor for authority and respect for property seems to be at an all time
low.
Much of the reason is due to a lack of thankfulness.

As a Christian nation, we should be thankful for the countless men and
women
who have given their lives for our freedom and for those who are placing
their lives on the line each day for our freedom. As Christians we should
also be thankful for those who have sacrificed through the centuries to
keep
the Gospel message alive.

Without thankfulness, there can be no honor and respect. Without honor
and
respect, there is chaos and confusion and confusion breeds lawlessness.
In
order for our nation to be at peace, our families must be secure. But our
families will never be complete until the spirit of thankfulness is in our
hearts. Even in times of great need, we should be thankful.

In (Philippians 4:6) the Bible tells us that when we pray, we should not
be
anxious or fearful, but as we make our requests known to God, we should
do
so with an attitude of thanksgiving. A lack of thankfulness will affect
your
prayers. Thankfulness is not an emotion, but it is a decision of the
heart.

Over the years I have noticed that people who have an attitude of
thankfulness are usually pleasant people with positive attitudes. Their
friendships are solid and based on love and caring. They are generally
happy
people.

On the other hand, people who are not thankful, usually gripe and
complain
about everything. People who are unthankful do not respect authority and
have problems submitting to authority. An unthankful person never sees
themselves at fault but sees everything that is wrong in others.

Now don't take me wrong, I'm not implying that a person should be
thankful
for all things. Of course, you are not thankful for sickness, or poverty,
or
the attacks that come in life. But as a Christian, we can be thankful in
spite of these things. Our lives should not be ruled by what we see around
us, but instead should be ruled by the promises of God.

Even though it may look like the enemy is strong, we stand thankful for
the
promise of victory from God. When David looked at Goliath, everyone
said, "Goliath
is too big to hit." David said, "He's too big to miss." See your problems
through the eyes of victory and not through the eyes of defeat. As
Christians we have the victory.

The Bible says in (1 John 5:4) - "This is the victory that has overcome
the
world - our faith." What is faith? Faith is believing that God will do
what
He said He would do and believing it so strongly that your words and
actions
are based on His promises instead of being based on what you see. If it
looks like defeat is coming in an area where God has promised victory, you
must believe His Word regardless of what you see.

If you are a Christian, you can be thankful in this. The God who spoke
the
universe into existence said that "No weapon formed against you will
prosper." When the enemy says you can't make it, God's Word says, "You can
do all things through Christ who strengthens you." When the enemy says, "I
will overpower you," God's Word says, "Greater is He that is in you than
he
that is in the world." When the enemy says there is no way out, you say,
"God's Word says I get what I say, and I say, "Victory is mine!'"

The world is full of negative words, doubt, fear, defeat, and
unthankfulness. Do not allow yourself to be caught up in this. As a
Christian, even though you are in the world, you are not a part of it. You
live in a higher Kingdom, above the negative kingdom of fear.

We have just completed one of the most intense presidential elections in
the
history of our country. You must respect the office and honor the
position
with an attitude of thankfulness regardless of whether your candidate won
or
lost. Although you are not responsible for who won the election, you will
be
held accountable for how you voted.

The Bible tells us that God has placed before us life and death. With
life
comes blessing and thankfulness. Remember, thankfulness is not an
emotion,
but it is a decision of the heart. Choose wisely.

[image: Donna 3.gif]

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This article may be reproduced for teaching purposes but not for
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resale
When writing about this devotional, refer to devotional #0489

Larry Ollison Ministries <http://www.larryollison.com/> PO Box 880, Osage
Beach, MO 65065 USA
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