Have you adopted a child or were you adopted? I have many friends who adopted children because they couldn’t biologically have their own children. It’s one of the most powerful expressions of human love.
A mother and father accept a child who feels rejected by his birth parents and give him all the love and rights of natural children. It’s a profound decision that is costly (usually 10s of thousands of dollars), sacrificial, and life-changing.
And it doesn’t always go well. Adopted children sometimes grow to resent their adopted parents. Some come with trauma and illness requiring extensive treatment and extra measures of love.
The Christian parents I know who adopted children say it’s one of the single greatest things they ever did. They live with a constant reminder of God’s love.
You see, God adopted us. He now calls us sons and daughters. We can now call him Daddy.
Our adoption shows us many reasons to be thankful. Let’s explore a few:
Are you grateful to be alive? Have you had a near-death experience or lost a friend or family member prematurely?
How we process these experiences influences whether we become grateful or ungrateful people.
Have you ever had something taken away that you thought you would have forever? How does that feel? Were you able to remain thankful after losing something you took for granted?
Our tendency to take things, relationships, or life for granted can lead to unthankfulness or resentment. However, it can also cause us to cherish life all the more.
The choice is ours, sort of. Let’s explore why it’s easier to take things for granted than it is to be thankful at all times.
Do you struggle to be grateful? Join the club. Most of us need to cultivate the habit of gratefulness.
The Greater Good Science Center commissioned the Expanding Gratitude Project to fund 27 different projects to understand the power of gratitude. One researcher penned some of his results as Six Habits of Highly Grateful People. I liked his title but decided to see what habits I would notice in scripture.
Let’s study two highly grateful believers to see what habits they share.
Do you ever find yourself in a pit and don’t know how to get out? How do you respond when you’re in a fight with someone you love? That seems like the last place and time to gratefully acknowledge God’s presence, but that’s exactly what scripture calls us to do.
Psalm 136 reminds us of three important things that give us hope and confidence in the middle of whatever we face in life.
Other than your parents, what mentor has had the biggest impact on your life? Have you ever taken the time to express how thankful you are for them?
A good mentor believes in you, prays for you, challenges you, and will be there when you fall down. A great mentor sees your potential and knows how to draw it out.
Have you ever thought about the miracle of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness for forty years? I’ve always marveled that they weren’t more thankful for the daily manna. Let’s put ourselves in their metaphorical sandals for a few moments.
Do you know an addict who’s been freed from their addiction? Perhaps you know someone who’s been rescued from sex trafficking? These kinds of redemption stories provide great reasons to give thanks.
When you look at creation how do you respond? Does it lead to gratefulness?
I’m with David on this one. When I look at the heavens in their splendor, I wonder who am I that the God who created all things even thinks about me? (see Psalm 8:3-4)
In reflecting on God’s creation, I’d like to consider four ways creation can inspire gratitude.
Why do you think it’s easier to be ungrateful than it is to be grateful? We all can come up with many excuses. I think there’s one central reason, but it may not be what you expect.
On Day 2 of the Gratitude Challenge, we looked at the grumpy old man and the cranky old woman none of us want to turn into. Today I want to take a closer look at why gratitude comes unnaturally or said in converse, why many of us are ungrateful.
Why do you think it’s easier to be ungrateful than it is to be grateful? We all can come up with many excuses. I think there’s one central reason, but it may not be what you expect.
On Day 2 of the Gratitude Challenge, we looked at the grumpy old man and the cranky old woman none of us want to turn into. Today I want to take a closer look at why gratitude comes unnaturally or said in converse, why many of us are ungrateful.
Are you a forgetful person? Or are you more like the Memory Man who can’t forget anything?
Memory plays a powerful role in our lives. How we allow our memories to feed our minds and hearts can influence whether we become thankful or resentful people.
“Preach the gospel to yourself every day," said Jerry Bridges.
Why would we need to do that if we're already Christians?
Here’s my take: Because we have short memories and we need frequent reminders of our need for God’s saving mercy.
In this article, I’m going to explore seven reasons why we can be thankful for the gospel.
When is a good time to be thankful? I think intuitively we know it’s not just on Thanksgiving Day. If we’re honest, that can become the most contentious day of the year for many families. People who are bonded by blood, but not ideology, passions, or careers, get together to share a meal and pass out in front of football games.
That’s not your home? It’s okay. My point remains, gratitude seems to be a daily issue, not an annual one. Let’s explore seven times scripture calls us to be thankful.
Do you ever find yourself at a loss for words when giving thanks to someone? Does it feel empty, shallow, or inauthentic?
I suspect we’ve all been there. Sometimes it’s challenging to find the right way to express thanks. Other times we know we’re going through the motions. Some of us are better actors than others.
How does that work with God?
Listen in to hear some ways to grow in thankfulness toward God.
Have you ever been at the Thanksgiving dinner table and asked your family and friends to share something they are thankful for? Ever fall into a thankful rut? Certain topics feel safe, appropriate, and even “spiritual”, but we don’t allow the Spirit to inspire our imaginations to notice the myriad of things we can be thankful for.
This episode will highlight seven general themes that can serve us immediately as we gather around the Thanksgiving table or anytime we pray.
Do you want to be closer to God, make more friends, create a greater impact in this world, and live a longer more stress-free life?
The solution is simple but profoundly difficult. Modern science now confirms the answer the Bible has taught for millennia: be grateful.
Let’s take a brief look at the benefits of gratitude as revealed in the bible and modern science. There are at least 7 benefits we can explore.
If you’ve spent any time around small children, you’re well aware that toddlers can be cute and quite demanding. A comedian once said that he could rule the world with an army of three-year-olds.
Children have to be taught to be thankful whereas selfishness, jealousy, and entitlement come quite naturally.
As Christians, we understand we inherited our sinful nature from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Let’s explore why gratitude comes so unnaturally, even when we know it’s good for us.
Have you ever been around grumpy old men? Does it make your heart sing to be with cranky old women who criticize everything and everyone?
Do you enjoy hanging out with ungrateful children? Ungrateful children often become grumpy old men and cranky old women.
As a parent, I tried to teach my children to say please and thank you. But I know those are only words. True gratefulness comes from a change of heart.
Are your prayers a ritual, transactional, arguments or conversations? Do you prayers feel like you're casting spells or incantations or is all of life prayer?
Tom Schwab, founder and chief evangelist officer for Interview Valet, grew up learning rote prayers, grew to a place where was him giving advice to God and as an adult he is learning to have conversations with God.
“Sit down and shut up; you’re not God.”--Tom Schwab
How long would your marriage last if you only spoke once a week?
Learning to pray is similar to the way children learn to talk. We start by mimicking those around us. As we grow older we learn how to speak more clearly through models and rules. When we reach adolescence we learn to discuss, debate, present and critique. Once we become adults we learn to have deep meaningful conversations that are intellectual, emotional and spiritual.
In prayer, we move from infant babbling to childlike rhymes and songs to the creative expressions of youth. If we're fortunate enough to approach adultlike maturity, our prayers become a two-way street where we listen more than we talk and yet we're able to be fully honest with God.
Ritual prayers aren't bad if we learn to slow down and think about what we're praying. But if we speed through them so we can get to what we want, they become like Christian magic, except they have no potency.
When Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Lord's prayer, he was aware of their tendency to make this another meaningless ritual which is why he frequently accuses the Pharisees of empty prayers that are intended for others to hear. God hears the prayers of the humble man, not the boaster.
Let us know how this conversation is helpful in your prayer walk with God.
"If we’re never communicating with God, how can our relationship grow?"
63% of Christians admit to being easily distracted while they pray.
5 Reasons why we should pray:
3 Things We Can Do Each Day
Finding Dave:
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Have you seen the musical Hamiton? It's been a greatly popular musical in recent years. Rosie O’Donnell even went so far as to call it “medicine that I need for my soul. It is vital to me; it feels like going to church.”
Ever feel like you don’t have enough time to pray? When you do have time do you know how to pray more effectively?
Ever wonder if God is listening?
In this episode, Phil Mershon explores some of these issues and makes a big announcement about Man in the Pew.
Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? The feeling that you’re going to be discovered to be a fraud. Someone might find you don’t have the skills, knowledge or experience needed for your work or calling.
These are all lies, but they sneak in very subtly to our thinking.
As believers, we can embrace the truth that God is our power and He equips us for everything he asks us to do.
In this interview with Ian Anderson Gray, we explore how this issue cripples many believers and ways we can be set free to pursue God's plans for our lives.
What is the path to recovery after you’ve hit rock bottom?
What do you do after you self-destruct? Will God still accept you? Is there a reason to be hopeful?
Angus Nelson ruined his first marriage and wallowed in the pit of despair for three years. He had to resign from his ministry positions. People asked behind his back what he was going to destroy next.
It seemed pointless to keep trying.
Then he discovered God’s undeserved grace. He realized that the gospel changes you forever and it happens every day.
It can change you too.