Fundamental Gratitude

Me:

I want my life to matter

Quote: There is a very true saying: Comparison is the thief of joy!

Now this is very true.

In our age of social media - We post our best picture.

Many will use a “filter” to change how they look

I confess that I used to have an IG account when I could workout and would flex. In my defense it was like minded home-gym-ers that was doing the same thing. I have since deleted the account.

I will post a profile picture on of Tina and I about once a month. (I check how many likes I get)

I want to matter - to feel important - to matter to people.

It’s a built in DNA

I want a life that matters

Deep down you do also

We:

A Life of Worth

As humans we often desire a life of worth and significance.

It’s part of our DNA.

Although significance is in the eye of the beholder,

If we believe our life carries a weight of goodness that benefits the world and those we love, we will desire to leave this world knowing it served a purpose.

It’s why we serve in the ministries we do.

We are called to a higher purpose than ourselves

A life of worth

A purpose

A life that matters

So, what makes our life significant?

Someone has said this way:

We know that work, play, community, our home, investments, and even our service can add value to our lives, but they do not define it.

If I want my life to be significant

What underlying values or practices should I be participating in?

Glad you asked

God:

The Practice of Gratitude

The bible tells us that gratitude is an underlying value that will make our lives matter here on this earth and in the life to come.

Think about this

Through gratitude, we appreciate life’s goodness,

That in turn compels us to pay it forward

Gratitude creates within us a deep sense of happiness and satisfaction

This happiness then enriches our relationships,

Nurtures the formation of new friendships

Let’s define it

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is the practice of actively remembering and expressing the grace (benefits we do not deserve) and goodness bestowed in our lives.

A biblical example

Genesis 8:15–20 NLT

15 Then God said to Noah, 16 “Leave the boat, all of you—you and your wife, and your sons and their wives. 17 Release all the animals—the birds, the livestock, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—so they can be fruitful and multiply throughout the earth.” 18 So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat. 19 And all of the large and small animals and birds came out of the boat, pair by pair. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.

How does God respond to this act of worship?

Genesis 8:21–9:1 NLT

21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” 1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth.

Noah’s blessing was not in response to obedience although does bless us in that fashion

Noah’s blessing was in response to being grateful

How can we be a Noah?

You:

The Practice of Remembering God's Grace

There is a great passage to illustrate our need for being grateful

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The words “give thanks” is one word in the Greek language

It means to:

to express gratitude for benefits or blessings

At the root of this word is grace

And do we define grace?

The receiving of benefits we do not deserve

No a one of us deserve the grace we have been given

It’s why the bible tells to give thanks in all circumstances

God did have to rescue Noah - He could have started over with the garden of Eden again.

Maybe with a better outcome.

Are you giving thanks in all circumstances

We:

When we are most grateful

Is when life will have its greatest reward.

Because God was so grateful to us when didn’t earn it or deserve it we pay that forward

You will not need social media to find your relevance

You don’t need a filter

It will be found in your gratitude / serving others.