Are You Thankful?

Wednesday night I taught a lesson on "Being Thankful" in the ladies' class. I asked some questions I thought I would share with you - kind of a self-check to see how thankful you are.  

Are you a thankful person?

Are you thankful for your family?  Do you ever treat them unkindly?

Are you thankful for your material blessings?  Are you a good steward with those blessings? Do you use them to further the Kingdom of God or just for yourself and your family?

Are you thankful for your town, state, and nation?  Do you participate as an active citizen and help make your town, state, and nation better? Do you care for the world?  Do you waste resources?

When you are sick, do you pray to God to heal you? When He does, do you tell him thank you?

When you receive an award or someone brags on you in some way, do you say thank you and think to yourself, “I deserved/earned this!” or think that it is all because of your own hard work?  Do you forget to thank God for allowing you the opportunities you have, for giving you the talents you have, and use those accolades to bring glory to Him - or do you take them for yourself?

Are we thankful for our friends?  Are we better friends to them because we are thankful?

Are we thankful for the gospel?  Do we prove it by sharing it with everyone around us?

Sometimes we're not thankful. Sometimes we may find it hard to be thankful, due to circumstances around us, but God asks us to be thankful no matter what is going on in our lives. He commands us to be thankful in all things.  Not for all things, but in all things. 

Our thankfulness should always be directed towards Him, for He is the One who supplies everything for us and grants us all of our many blessings.  But we should be thankful to Him, not for what He will do for us, but because of who He is....Our Heavenly Father, Our Creator.  

There is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, something to be thankful for!

 "... in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 3:15

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2