21 Days To Cultivate A Grateful HeartExemplo

Day 21: Thank God for Your Local Church 

Paul tells the Colossians to act toward one another in love and unity. Because Jesus has established peace, and because we are all part of Christ’s body, we should be at peace with one another. 

Paul encourages his readers to sing to God from a heart of gratitude, and to do everything while giving thanks to God. 

In Colossians, Paul is directly speaking to the church. We are the church. The people we worship with on Sunday mornings and the believers we fellowship with on a regular basis are our church. We must be active, diligent, grateful members of the local body of Christ. We get to express our gratitude through our actions, words and attitudes. The church was created to be a place to minister to the believers as well as serve the unbelievers to win them with the love of their Savior. As a member of the body of Christ, attending the local church, we have an obligation to love and serve the church as well. We serve with all five of our Kingdom currencies: time, talents, treasures, touch, and words. 

REFLECT: How often do you thank God for your church, the place you worship and the leadership who serve faithfully? Does your gratitude show in how you serve the church and speak about the church and leadership? Is there anything that you need to lay down or the Lord needs to shift in your heart so that you can love and serve the church with a grateful heart? 

RESPOND: Write down a couple of people that help lead at your church and why you’re grateful for them. Also write down why you’re grateful for your church, why you love being a part of it, or how they’ve ministered to you or your family. Take a minute and lift those things up to the Father in prayer. 

You Did It! 

We’ve come to the end of our 21-day challenge, but hopefully this is the beginning of a new journey for you and your family. We’ve practiced celebrating who God is and what He is doing in our lives and in the lives of those around us. 

We’ve tried to make a shift in our thoughts, words, actions and attitudes that line up with Truth from the Word and acknowledging God’s faithfulness in our lives. We’ve also learned to share with the people around us what and who we are grateful for. 

This is just the beginning. As we learn to live from a position of gratitude, we become more optimistic, less materialistic, more others-minded and less self-centered. The world around us gets better as we live out the principles of gratitude and thanksgiving as our worship.