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on gratitude

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe..." (Hebrews 12:28 ESV) 


Gratitude is the third of three things the Heidelberg Catechism says is necessary to know in order to live and die happily in the Lord: The misery of our fallen-ness (guilt), how we are redeemed (grace), and finally, gratitude the basis of our subsequent living...


Question 2. How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort [of a saving relationship with Christ], mayest live and die happily? 
Answer: Three; the first, how great my sins and miseries are; the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.  (Heidelberg Catechism, 1563)


Here are some quotes regarding gratitude, it's necessity and nature:  


"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." (Colossians 1:11-12) 
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  (Colossians 3:16-17)
"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.  (Psalm 100)
"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."  (G.K. Chesterton)
"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." (John Milton)
"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude."  (Karl Barth)
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” (Thornton Wilder)
"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. It is very easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe others." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics, 1949)

"Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy 
praise." (George Herbert)
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realrabbit said…
Thank you for posting this! I needed this reminder to praise and give thanks today!
September 6, 2011 at 3:54 PM
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