HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 334
page A332
Thankfulness continued
What can I be thankful for?
• MA R K 6 :4 1 | Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and
blessed them.
You can thank God for providing life’s basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, oxygen,
and life itself.
• PSA L M 1 3 :5 -6 | But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued
me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.
You can thank God for helping you through your troubles.
• PSA L M 4 4 :7 | You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies.
You can thank God when you have experienced success.
• 1 S A MU E L 1 8 :3 -4 | And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him
as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact by taking off his robe and giving it to David,
together with his tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
You can thank God for friendships.
• J A ME S 1 :1 7 | Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our
Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.
You can thank God for everything good in your world and in your life.
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• J O H N 3 :1 6 | “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
• 2 C O R I NT H I A NS 5 :1 7 | This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new
person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
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You can thank God for his gift of salvation, which brings a new start to life and peace
with God.
• J A ME S 1 :2 -4 | Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your
endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed,
you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
You can even thank God for adversity, because it is often through the difficult times that
you grow the most.
How do I develop an attitude of thanksgiving in myself and my family?
• 1 C H R O NI C L E S 2 9 :1 3 | “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!”
• PSA L M 1 0 8 :3 | I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among
the nations.
• PH I L I P P I A NS 1 :3 | Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
Cultivate thankfulness by giving thanks regularly—to God and also to others. Set aside
time every day to think about things you are thankful for. Make a mental list of God’s blessings in your life—especially the most recent ones—and thank him for them. Don’t wait to
feel thankful before giving thanks. Giving thanks will lead you to feel thankful.
What are the consequences of an unthankful heart?
• E X O DU S 1 :8 | Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about
Joseph or what he had done. (See note on page 53.)
Thankfulness fades with time. Apparently the new king had never been told about Joseph
and the way Joseph had saved Egypt from starvation. For us, fading memory—neatly
forgetting what we owe to God and others—can become a convenient way to avoid
repaying our debt. Don’t let time rob God of the thanksgiving he deserves from you.
• 2 C H R O NI C L E S 3 2 :2 5 | Hezekiah did not respond appropriately to the kindness shown
him, and he became proud. So the Lord’s anger came against him.
When our pride becomes a barrier, keeping us from thanksgiving and praise, it acts also as
a wall to keep us from God.