Always Be Thankful – Gratitude Part 8

ByJim Stephens

Scripture: Colossians 3:15-17; John 14:27

15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:15-17 NLT)

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27 NLT)

We don’t achieve peace of mind by ignoring reality. We don’t achieve peace of mind and heart by practicing meditation techniques (Although I find meditation techniques very helpful). We don’t become thankful people by simply developing a positive mental attitude (although I’m very much in favor of a positive mental attitude). We receive peace of mind and heart as a gift from Jesus. And then we do this:

  • We allow the peace that comes from Christ to rule in our hearts. That means that peace is the boss of our hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. So we simply do and say what makes for peace.
  • We always are thankful. I’m not going to replay the past week of devotionals here. But when we learn principles of the life of faith, we put them into practice.
  • We let the message about Christ fill our lives. We don’t just move on and forget what we learned. We remind ourselves, we intentionally adjust our practice to live what we’ve learned.
  • We teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. We talk with each other about all the things we’ve learned. It’s not just Sunday service stuff, it becomes our everyday conversations with each other.
  • We sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. We express thanks to God and others, we praise God and encourage others, we sing and we worship.
  • We intentionally and thankfully represent Jesus, every day, in every thing.

Click this link for Ten Thankful Things + One. Let’s Always be Thankful!

Prayer:

Father, I give you thanks in everything as I grow toward giving you thanks for everything. May my thoughts, my words, and my actions be seeds of gratitude sown into every relationship, every conversation, and everything I do. For Jesus’ sake!