Author: Billy Conrad

“Beware of refusing to go to the funeral of your independence.” – Oswald Chambers

“There comes a moment when we all must realize that life is short, and in the end the only thing that really counts is not how others see us, but how God sees us.” — Billy Graham

“When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head.” — Charles Spurgeon

“Let no man turn aside, even so slightly, from the broad path of honor, on the plausible pretense that he is justified by the goodness of his end. All good ends can be worked out by good means. Those that cannot, are bad; and may be counted so at once, and left alone.” — Charles Dickens

“There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill his purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purpose, and yours may be that life.” – Oswald Chambers

“Come, and see the victories of the cross. Christ’s wounds are your healings, his agonies your repose, his conflicts your conquests, his groans your songs, his pains your ease, his shame your glory, his death your life, his sufferings your salvation.” – Matthew Henry

“If the presence of God is in the church, the church will draw the world in. If the presence of God is not in the church, the world will draw the church out.” – Charles Finney

“It’s not happy people who are thankful. It’s thankful people who are happy.” – Francis Bacon

“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” —C. S. Lewis

Dr. Jim Denison

I’ve noticed that the more essential my blessings, the more I tend to take them for granted. As the novelist Cynthia Ozick noted, “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

For instance, without gravity, life on this planet would be impossible. Without a sun in the sky, we would soon freeze. Without air to breathe, we would quickly die. Each is a gift we cannot create but only receive. But when last were you grateful for any of them?

It can be the same with the blessings of God we’ve named today. Physical life, eternal life, and the joy of sharing eternal life with the world—each is our Father’s unmerited favor to us. Don’t let their familiarity dull their significance. Or the grace by which they are yours.

Tim Keller was right:
“It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.”

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” —John F. Kennedy

1 Thessalonians 5:18  “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” – TLB

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” — Cicero