Attitude of Gratitude

The lame man at the Temple gate had been there for years, begging for a few coins that gave him a meager existence. Why hadn’t the man reached out to Jesus when he came by? Perhaps because others in the crowd gave him coins. Peter came by and gave him something much more valuable.

If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, you can be sure your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. — Luke 11:13

Ten Thoughts to Ponder

1. Being thankful becomes idolatry when we appreciate God’s gifts more than the giver.
2. We have an attitude of ingratitude when we fail to recognize the value of God’s gifts.
3. Every day, I have an opportunity to see more of what God has for me to see.
4. If we don’t know where we are, we certainly cannot know how to get where we need to be.
5. To focus upon the details that matter, I must avoid focus upon the details that don’t matter.
6. Saying we have no choice relieves us of the responsibility of making a better choice.
7. Heartfelt stories may be copied and revised, but artificial intelligence will never excel above God-given creativity.
8. The increase of knowledge is directly proportional to the recognition of our ignorance.
9. For me to know that something is a certainty merely requires believing that my perception is a certainty.
10. Independent from God, we think we know, but actually, we only know what we think.

Questions for Further Thought

• What can we expect the gift of God’s presence to do for us?
• How can we show our gratitude for what we’ve been given?