Title The Most Valuable Thanks (2)
Contents
Text: Matthew 22:34-40
Jesus teaches that the first is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor as the greatest of the commandments that people must keep in their lives. First, to love God, ① you must love with all your heart, ② with all your life, and ③ with all your mind. Giving thanks to God should be the same, so on the occasion of Thanksgiving, I would like to share the grace with the title of the most precious thanks.
1. I want to be a grateful person with all my heart.
2. Giving Your Life Gratitude
In Genesis 12, it is recorded that “Abraham built an altar to the Lord wherever he went, and built an altar to God” repeatedly. Abraham, who was a nomadic man, led his flock to distant places and lived, so wherever he went he built an altar to offer sacrifices to God. God said to Abraham that he was the only person in the world, “my friend.” “Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen, the descendants of Abraham my friend” (2 Chronicles 20:7), “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, my righteous I will uphold you with my hand (Isaiah 41:10).” “Abraham believed in God, and he was called God’s friend” (James 2:23).
In the New Testament era, Jesus also became faithful to God with all his life and said to the faithful believers, “From now on, I will call you friends” (John 15:15). The original word φιλο translated as friend is translated as the verb φιλ ? (love). In other words, “beloved”, the Lord loves the Lord, and because we have become the Lord’s beloved friend, we give our lives as if we were giving our lives for our beloved friend. This is the gratitude that comes from God.
3. A full-hearted gratitude
Jesus confesses, “Heavenly Father, I want to drink as I will, and let your will be done” (Luke 22:41). Gratitude with full meaning is gratitude that follows the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not my interests or thoughts. There is no such standard for many people who are rich and few for those who are poor, but it is thanksgiving that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is the standard. When we pray or listen to the Word, we do not do as graceful as we are, we calculate, we roll our heads, then we reduce, we think about our circumstances, we decrease, we hesitate again, and in the end we are governed by stinginess.
Deacon Kim Ki-dong, who is famous for the sweet potato evangelism method, is said to have received the favor and decided to donate 1 million won to thank him. To show off that too, he prepares 100 10,000 won bills, puts them in an envelope, and goes to church. I went to church, but I thought it was a waste, and they said they would steal another 200,000 won during prayer time. However, a few days later, as my wife drove her car in and out, she ran into a facility at the entrance of the apartment. After paying for the repair of the vehicle and facility, it was exactly the same amount of money she took out of the envelope.
I pray that you will overcome my thoughts and stingy heart and become thankful as you follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
God accepts gratitude with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.
I pray that God's grace and blessings will overflow. Hallelujah