Expressing Gratitude Is a Holy Habit
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“The custom of praying to thank God for each meal is a wonderful one. But why should we restrict this custom to meals? Why not thank God throughout the day for a hundred other things?” - Randy Alcorn
As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“The custom of praying to thank God for each meal is a wonderful one. But why should we restrict this custom to meals? Why not thank God throughout the day for a hundred other things?” - Randy Alcorn
By C.H. Spurgeon
Sermon No. 1094, delivered on Lord’s-Day morning, February 2, 1873, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20.
(Repost from 2022)
A confession: Veterans Day is not a holiday that usually ranks high in my awareness. There’s no tradition of family gathering, no feasting, and almost no special decorations or merchandising. Most people don’t even get the day off.
So, these reflections are partly a kind of penance. I want to compensate a bit for my customary Veterans Day obliviousness—and maybe help a few others do the same.
When I give it some thought, reasons to be thankful for veterans come quickly to mind. These are just a few.
I was driving home late at night during these early days of November, and all across the radio dial I heard … Christmas songs!
Now, on the one hand, it is actually quite amazing that secular radio stations take two months out of the year to devote their schedule exclusively to the music of Christmas. And if you enjoy listening to that, and it helps you to think about Christmas this early—while everything around us is still a beautiful shade of burnt orange—go for it!
“Once a year on Thanksgiving, we set aside a specific day to voice our gratitude. But what about the other 364 days of the year? Even as believers, we can be tempted to envy, grumbling, and discontentment in our lives.” - Ligonier
“1. Give your pastor and his family a weekend getaway…. 3. Catalog his books…. 7. Make a personal commitment to speak well of him—and choose not to listen to those who speak otherwise.” - The Baptist Paper
“Desecration can take many forms, but it is always characterized by certain things: a delight in dehumanizing those made in God’s image; and an absence of gratitude to God” - Carl Trueman
“our hearts overflow with thanks that we who deserve nothing but judgment, death, and Hell are given deliverance, grace, and eternal life. Day after day, God favors us not only with leniency but also with beauties, delights, and privileges we have no right to expect.” - Randy Alcorn
“My flesh is wasting away, and who would blame me if I complained? Certainly not the world — it’s natural for them to expect an old lady in a wheelchair to grumble over her losses. But followers of Jesus Christ should expect more from me. Much more.” - Joni Eareckson Tada
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
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