With yesterday being Thanksgiving and people being much more aware of what they have to be thankful for, I wanted to share with you a devotional I wrote titled Attitude or Gratitude? With the scripture focus being Let us be thankful and so worship God in Heb. 12:28 not only in the month of November but the whole year.

Attitude or Gratitude?

“Let us be thankful and so worship God” (Heb 12:28 NIV)

What is your life characterized by “ an Attitude or gratitude? If you think about it, it is impossible to truly worship God when we have an attitude. Too often we can find ourselves complaining when things go wrong or don’t turn out as we wanted or expected things to. We all have a tendency to complain from time to time and when we do we definitely are not able to worship God because only when our life is filled with gratitude can we truly be thankful and so worship God as it says in Heb. 12:28. I don’t know about you but I want to be characterized as a person who lives a life of worship and is filled with gratitude in my heart rather then that of an attitude.

In order to live a life of worship we must begin by transforming our attitudes to that of gratitude. We do this by putting our focus on God where it belongs instead of ourselves or our problems where the enemy does his best to keep our focus. As we read and meditate on the Word of God we begin to focus on God and see the Word at work and give thanks to the Lord for all He has done and will do in our lives. Once we know and have tasted His goodness, we even find ourselves giving thanks and praise to him in midst of our difficulties.

When our focus is where it should be, we are able to truly Worship God and say:

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ as it says in 1 Cor. 15:57 Yes, we can have victory over our sinful nature, people and things that are not pleasing to God because it is His power through the Word of God at work in our lives.

We are also truly able to say:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him as it says in 2 Cor. 2:14. Yes, we can be an effective witness regardless of our past or weaknesses because we see how He uses those very things to reveal the glory of God in our lives to others.

And last but not least we truly can say:

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! As it says in 2 Cor. 9:15. He not only gives us the gift of salvation but also the wonderful gift of His grace. When you change your focus to God instead of your circumstances, you begin to see His grace that He so lavishly gives us on a daily basis giving us much to be grateful for.

Therefore, let us be thankful and have a heart filled with gratitude so we may truly worship God!

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your indescribable gift of salvation and grace that you so lavishly give us on a daily basis. And in the midst of our difficulties, help us to always say, But thanks be to God! Who gives us the victory and leads us in triumphal procession in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

And in closing, I’d like you to ponder whether your life is characterized by an attitude or gratitude? If it is characterized more by an attitude begin today to transform your attitude to a heart of gratitude instead by putting your focus on God and choosing to say: But thanks be to God while in the midst of your difficulties.

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If you haven’t already seen the new movie “One Night with the King” about the story of Esther that came out in October, it is a wonderful movie and a must see! With entertainment as it is today, it is so refreshing to have movies such as these come out that appeal to Christians and non-christians alike yet still with a very powerful message. It is a movie you will want to see over and over again.

For more information and to find out what theatres may still be playing it, go to:

http://www.8x.com/onenight

Blessings,
Lori Arriaga, Founder
Christian Women’s Resources
Where we strengthen the home and family.

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