Title: Let's live with gratitude.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication give thanks
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
What is the purpose of life according to the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)?
There was a time when I was troubled for a long time by the question.
He tried to solve this problem by contacting many of his friends and famous people, but no one could satisfy Tolstoy's heart.
One day, while Tolstoy was talking with a farmer friend, he came to speak of his anguish. Then the farmer immediately replied:
"The purpose of life is to serve God" (It is to serve God!)...
There are many reasons that solved Tolstoy's anguish of "Why live life?"
These were the words of the simple farmer friend, not the other ignorant, high-status people.
Why do most people have to live? A car of and without a purpose to live
They often live in circles. Ask us the same question today.
"Why do we have to live?" What is your purpose in life?
If we ask this question, what can we say now?
Perhaps when you ask a question like this, some people don't even think you're full.
There will be people who want to.
There will be people who will give you the unpleasant answer, "It's boring and painful to live every day, but who wants to live? You can't die, so what kind of luxurious question are you asking?"
But anyway, we can't just skip this question by avoiding it.
There are people around us who live without knowing why, and on the other hand,
Because there are many people who live in search of meaning in the reality of God.
In other words, while living in the same reality, some people never feel joy or gratitude.
It means that there are people who live without knowing it, and on the other hand, there are people who live happily and thankfully in everything. Where do you think such differences come from?
A person who lives with gratitude is a person who understands why he or she has to live, but a person who lives with complaints still lives without realizing why they have to live.
The American psychoanalyst Karl Menninger (1893-1966) famously said: "The attitude of the mind is more important than reality," he said.
What this means is that it is not how important the reality we have, but how we accept, realize, and apply that reality is more important.
For example, if you look at someone, you have a lot of wealth.
Own a nice home and business, gorgeous realistic conditions and good health.
But he was a person who lived with anxiety and complaints rather than happiness.
On the other hand, on the other hand, some people have better health, wealth, or other conditions than those above.
You can see people living happily, meaningfully, and happily even though they are far worse off.
Where do you see the difference between the two above?
For the above two people, the reality is that in the first case, the person is in a much better position
is. However, the later person is very disadvantaged and incomparable compared to the person above, but because his attitude of mind and attitude of thinking and accepting are different from those of the rich person above, he can live happily with a smile.
That's why "the attitude of the mind is more important than reality."
Everyone! I don't know what kind of reality you are living in right now, but the heart to accept that reality is more important than reality.
The Christian life of faith in Jesus is to learn the attitude of the heart to live in reality and live wisely and with gratitude.
Discover the correct and high interpretation of human life, the value of life, and the meaning of true happiness
And living with a new attitude is the life of faith.
The eyes that see life, the attitude to interpret reality, the realization of realizing the truth
It's much more important than how much you have.
This attitude of heart could be called faith.
Therefore, belief is more important than the reality of who has what and how much.
that means it is necessary. How big of a house do people in the world live in, what kind of car they drive, and how much money do they have? I live with an interest in what I do, but for those of us who believe, my heart, attitude, and what I pursue in life are more important than that.
So, for those who live by faith, the attitude toward life is different.
A person who lives without faith sees only reality and complains, gets frustrated, gives up, and despairs. Therefore, no matter how much they possess, they live without gratitude. Living a life of gratitude consists in changing the attitude of life.
The reason why our members should be thankful lies in the following facts.
1. First of all, we must give thanks for understanding and making God known.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of people in the world.
There are people who live without religion, and those who live with religion.
There is this. All religions in the world tell us to have faith.
It means to have faith. Because we cannot live without faith.
In fact, if you look at it, even people who do not have a religion can live because they have faith.
is.
For example, we live because we have the belief that the sky will not fall and the earth will not go out.
And because he believes his thoughts are right, he can do anything.
People who do science, even more so. All scientific knowledge is what they claim
are made on hypotheses (假設).
In this way, there is minimal belief that this will happen, so through repeated experiments
The results obtained are scientific knowledge.
Among the many faiths of such humans, it is more joyful and
There is nothing to be thankful for. Just because God doesn't exist doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
It's like someone who claims that I don't have a father and lives that way.
is. Just because he doesn't know who his father is, he doesn't mean that he doesn't have a father just because he thinks he doesn't exist.
This universe has a master. There is a master who created this universe.
But looking at it today, there are so many people who live without knowing who the owner of the universe is.
is. Do you live without gratitude because you do not know your master in a world with a master?
All. Therefore, we must first live by giving thanks for letting us realize and come to know God.
However, there are people who know that God exists, but live without giving thanks.
All. Why would you? Because they are not completely dependent on God.
2. The secret to being thankful is trusting in God.
In the Bible, in many places it is said that God will protect those who seek Him.
I did. That's why he said to call God Father.
In the Lord's Prayer, we are told to pray, "Our Father in heaven."
For those who can call God their Father, there is no fear in any circumstance.
disappears. Because you have faith that depends on God.
Anyone in the world who can call the President their father has nothing to worry about?
All. Because his father is the president. However, if there is a son who does not know about such a father, it is probably a mental disorder, a disabled child, an idiot, or a delinquent outside the eyes of his father.
For those who live with faith that depends on God, he does not starve to death.
Because no one died of starvation because they believed in Jesus.
God took on the flesh to save us, who had to die in our sins.
You have become a human being in the world. Now to those who believe in Jesus as their Savior,
They become sons and daughters of God, so that all things work together for good.
God wants His children to experience everything that happens in the world, and what happens in the world.
I lead us to benefit in all things. And make it happen. This is what the mysterious God does.
3. God blesses those who worship him.
Blessing is a gift from God. Happiness is not a product of man.
It is also the grace of God that enables us to earn money.
But is it in the hands of God to be unhappy even with that money?
All. God has mercy on those who seek Him and come to worship Him, and He has mercy on those who are contrite.
Therefore, I hope that you will read this text carefully today.
All we have to do now is not to worry about anything, but to be thankful for everything.
Just ask. If you say thanks while giving thanks, He entrusts you to give more thanks.
God, the owner of all things in the universe, is still looking for people to take charge of His
There is. However, as long as it catches his eye, he entrusts us with things that we could not have even imagined. This is joy (Shalom) in the true sense.
means great satisfaction with no shortage in any corner.
Nothing in the world can fill our empty hearts, but God
Those who truly worship God rightly will enjoy the joy of gratitude that others cannot enjoy. It is not the circumstances that satisfy us, our hearts are filled with satisfaction. This is a mysterious thing. For those who worship God properly and keep the Lord's Day holy, God works all things together for good.
So, even things that are considered unhappiness are turned into gratitude.
In the old days, Spain was a country that accepted the gospel early.
A major wildfire in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain
There was. It was a great commodity for the peasants who grew vineyards there. As they watched the burning fire, the farmers sighed in disappointment.
Why is there a vineyard that we have cultivated through our sweat and effort?
Can I ruin it like that? It was very dissatisfying.
But now what? The rock in the mountain was broken by the severe fire, and the gap
A strange glow was seen. Upon checking, it was found that it was silver contained in the rock. Farmers never dreamed that there would be so much precious silver around them. It is said that the farmers who were discouraged as they watched the vineyard burn, gave greater thanks to God on the contrary.
This is the wonderful work of God that works together for good.
Dear saints!
And everyone who came to church for the first time today and attended worship!
Now we must become people who live with gratitude.
To those who live by worshiping God sincerely, this is the purpose of our life.
It makes us realize, what is the most precious life, and changes our life. I hope that you will not become poor people who live and die with dissatisfaction and complaints for the rest of your life, but rather people who live with gratitude in any life.
As Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord is riches and spirit.
It is light and life.” This means that riches, honor, and health will follow in a life of worshiping God with a humble heart. This means that we will always live with gratitude. I hope so. ♣