caligraphy by cathy
BE THANKFUL!
This is a VERY important key to living the victorious life as a disciple of Jesus and today I was reminded of this while reading through the New Testament. Once we were slaves of sin, but now we are obeying with all our heart the teaching God has given us - yes, the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord, so let's thank God who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! Yes, thanks be to God who made us his captives and leads us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume. Thank God for his Son--a gift too wonderful for words. We are to always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and not worry about anything. Rather, we are to pray about everything, telling God what we need, and thank him for all he has done. May we always thank the Father, who has enabled us to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people who live in the light. Let our roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so we will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth. May our lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. And may the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts for as members of one body we are all called to live in peace. We should always be thankful while letting the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in our hearts and make us wise. We are to use his words to teach and counsel each other. We are to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever we do or say, it should be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. We are to devote ourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. No matter what happens, we are to be always thankful, for this is God's will for us who belong to Christ Jesus. We are to pray for all people and as we make our requests, we are to plead for God's mercy upon them, and give thanks. And since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. HALLELUJAH, THANK YOU, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!