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This past weekend, it was great to have my friend, Jeff Hidden, pastor of Victory North Church (one of our sister churches), come and give the message in our services. Fittingly, he spoke about Gratitude, the final brick in our current series, BRICKS: Laying a Solid Foundation in Christ. I, for one, am tremendously grateful for him and his wife, Pippa, for all they have done and are doing in God’s kingdom, and for his willingness to speak in our services this weekend, bringing an excellent and timely word. I’ll give you a brief taste of what he said here, but I really encourage you to listen to or watch the entire message. We all need to hear this word, and be reminded of it on a regular basis!

• Gratitude means being thankful or content.
• There’s nothing wrong with asking God for more, unless, when the “more” doesn’t come, it robs you of your present joy of living. If we’re not careful, the things that God puts in our hearts (dreams, desires, etc.), the unmet future desires will steal and rob our present joy. Without joy, we have no strength.
• If we continue to ask for more without being grateful for the things God’s already done, we won’t enjoy the process of getting the “more,” even when it comes.
• How many of us are thankful for the “green pastures” that God leads us to; or that God restores our souls; that He’s with us regardless of our circumstances; that His rod comforts us; that He anoints us; that goodness and mercy go with us always?
• If we keep going after more and more and more, without stopping to be grateful for what already is along the way, it will suck the life right out of us.
• We don’t enter God’s presence by asking for more. No! We enter His presence with thanksgiving.
• Thankfulness releases the presence of God in our lives. The presence of God brings fullness of joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Gratitude is how we become strong Christians.
• If we’re going through a hard time, we need to start giving thanks.
• No matter what your circumstances are, let me challenge you to meditate on the things that are good and noble and right in your life, rather than the things that are wrong, and thank God for them. Then, you’ll experience true joy and have the strength to overcome.
• Let us give thanks in all things!