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This week, we continue our mission to transform our hearts and minds by focusing on gratitude and thanksgiving. Gratitude is something we are often intentional about in November (along with the Thanksgiving holiday) but then completely forget about the rest of the year. But we have so much to be thankful for every day of our lives. That’s the positive that I want to focus on this year.
As Christians, we should have a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving.
Old Testament
1 Samuel 12:24: But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
Psalm 34:1: I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
Psalm 136:1-3, 26: 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Psalm 100:4-5: 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 9:1-2: 1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
Psalm 118:24: The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Psalm 103:2-5: 2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 95:1-2: 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
Psalm 92:1-2: 1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night.
Psalm 89:1-2: 1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
The Psalms are filled with words of gratitude and thanksgiving to God, often focusing on God’s characteristics. This focus causes the writer, and us, to worship God for who he is and for what he has done for us.
New Testament
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:11-13: 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:4-6: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
James 1:2-4: 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Colossians 2:6-7: 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Ephesians 5:20: …always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 2:14: But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 9:11: You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Hebrews 13:15: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Hebrews 12:28-29: 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
1 Corinthians 10:30-31: 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Verses about gratitude and thanksgiving in the New Testament often focus on the hope that we have because of what God has provided and what Jesus has done on the cross. Sometimes we feel that our circumstances aren’t worthy of gratitude or thanksgiving, but these verses tell us that our heart of thanksgiving shouldn’t depend on our circumstances. Because of the hope that we have in Christ, we can rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances, we can stand firm in our faith, we can share generously with others, and we can worship God with all our hearts.
Join me on my transformed mind journey!
Don’t forget that I’m posting transformed mind verses each day over on Substack Notes. You can access my notes through the Substack app, or you can see them on Grounded in the Bible’s Notes tab.
I hope you’ll join me as we transform our minds to be more like Christ!
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