Grace & Truth Chapel
131 Fardale Avenue ~ Mahwah, New Jersey
Phone 201-327-6226 ~ E-mail gtchapel@juno.com

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"A Thankful Heart" (posted November 1, 2005)

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me."
   - John 11:41

A thankful spirit pervaded the entire life of Jesus, and we often find it where we would least expect it. For example, He gave thanks when instituting the memorial of His death! (Matthew 26:26-27; Luke 22:17-20.)

In seasons of deep sorrow and trial, everything wears a gloomy aspect. Jesus experienced continuous privation and woe---He was a "Man of Sorrows"---and yet He could lift up His head in grateful thanks to His Father in Heaven. Considering how blessed we are, how much more should we be able to offer one perpetual hymn of thankfulness.

Cultivate a thankful spirit; it will be a perpetual blessing to you. A really thankful heart will be grateful for everything. Even small blessings are great since they are undeserved. We should imitate the apostle Paul who, in chains in a prison in Rome, could say, "Indeed I have all and abound. I am full...." (Philippians 4:18).

Guard, on the other hand, against a spirit of continual fretting and moping about fancied ills; guard against the temptation to exaggerate the real or supposed disadvantages of our condition; and guard against the tendency to magnify the trifling inconveniences of everyday life into enormous evils. Think rather how much we have to be thankful for. We are instructed to "pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Let our love to our adorable Redeemer show for whom and for what we reserve our highest and most fervent note of thanksgiving, and say, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

J. R. MacDuff



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