Getting Unstuck - Col 3:17
November 26, 2023
many people live life stuck in old patterns (bitter, unforgiving, sick, broke, depressed, drama)… you don’t have to live life stuck… you always have a choice… insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results…
John 14:1… “don’t let your heart be troubled… believe in God… believe in Me…”
Eph 4:31-32… “get rid of bitterness, anger, harsh words… be kind… forgive each other…”
Phil 3:12-18… “one thing I do… forgetting the past… looking forward to what lies ahead… if you disagree, God will make it plain… hold onto the progress you have already made…”
Col 3:13… “forgive one another… forgive as the Lord has forgiven you…”
battle is not circumstances… battle is what you think and say…
Deut 30:15-19… “life, prosperity, blessing… death and adversity… you choose…”
Prov 4:23… “out of the heart come the issues of life…”
Prov 18:21… “words kill, words give life… either poison or fruit… you choose…”
Prov 23:7… “as a man thinks in his heart… so is he…”
Isa 26:3… “will keep in perfect peace… all whose thoughts are fixed on You…”
Matt 12:34… “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…”
2Cor 10:3-5… “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…”
thanksgiving gets life back on track… engine that keeps you moving forward… choose to give thanks… no person, situation, devil can stop you… pray…
Psa 92:1-2… “it is good to give thanks to the Lord… in the morning and at night…”
Psa 100… “enter His gates with thanksgiving… thanks and praise to His name…”
Psa 107… “give thanks for He is good… praise Him… offer sacrifice of thanks…”
give thanks always… what good will it do… great question…
Psa 34:1-5… “praise at all times… praise always on my lips… be radiant with joy…”
Eph 5:17-20… “understand what the will of the Lord is… giving thanks always…”
1Thess 5:18… “give thanks in all circumstances… this is God’s will for you…”
Devil
you have a real enemy… faith is a fight… overflows with thanksgiving… praise and thanksgiving are your best weapons… how does praise and thanks affect the devil…
2Chron 20… “when they began to praise… their enemies were defeated…”
Neh 8:10… “the joy of the Lord is your strength…”
Psa 9:1-3… “I will thank the Lord… enemies will retreat, stumble and perish…”
Psa 144:1… “praise the Lord… who trains my hands for war, fingers for battle…”
Psa 149… “let saints be joyful… praise in mouth, sword in hand… be honored…”
Matt 21:16 (Psa 8:2)… “prepared praise… established strength to silence enemy…”
Luke 10:17-20… “returned with joy… given authority over all ability of enemy…”
The devil hates praise. He hates praise in a life, in a home, in a church. That is why he wants people to be grumbling, murmuring and complaining, because then he can rule in their lives, their homes, and their church. He cannot stand the sincere shouts of praise to God. And he can’t stay in heaven, a house, or a church where people are constantly praising God. —Pastor Ian Robson
God
how does thanksgiving affect God… not sure it does… think He enjoys it for the blessings it brings us… give thanks for who He is… not necessarily what we have…
1Chron 16:7-33… “give thanks for He is good… He is worthy of our praise…”
2Chron 5… “joined to praise and thank the Lord… temple was filled with a cloud… priests not able to continue ministering… for glory of the Lord filled the temple…”
Psa 7:17… “praise the Lord according to His righteousness…”
Psa 22:3… “You inhabit the praises of Your people…”
Psa 50:23… “giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors Me…”
Psa 116:12-14… “how can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done… I will take the cup of salvation (Yeshua)… praise His name in presence of His people…”
Matt 5:43-48… “causes sun to rise on evil and good… rain on just and unjust…”
Luke 6:35-36… “love your enemies… He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil…”
Rom 8:17-32… “if children, heirs… He will freely give us all things…”
2Cor 4:15… “as grace extends… it increases thanksgiving… to the glory of God…”
You
how does praise and thanksgiving affect us… honestly, too many to list…
1Kings 8:5-6… “praise the Lord… not one promise has failed…”
2Kings 3:14-16… “what should we do… praise… this is what the Lord says…”
Psa 18:46… “praise the Lord… the God of my salvation…”
Psa 28:7… “the Lord is my strength and shield… with song I praise Him…”
Psa 95:2-3… “come before Him with thanksgiving… the Lord is the great God…”
Psa 103… “praise the Lord… He heals all my diseases… forgives all my sins…”
Psa 119:162… “I rise at midnight to thank You for Your righteous judgments…”
Psa 136:3-9… “give thanks… made heavens, earth, waters, lights… faithful love (26)…”
Prov 17:22… “a joyful heart is good medicine (gea - cure)…”
Isa 12… “I will give thanks to You… Your anger has turned away from me…”
Isa 57:18-19… “words of praise to their lips… I will bring peace and heal him…”
Dan 2:23… “I thank you God… you have given me power and wisdom…”
1Cor 15:57… “thanks be to God… He gives us victory thru Christ Jesus…”
2Cor 2:14… “thanks be to God… who uses us to spread the knowledge of Him…”
Phil 4:4-9… “pray with thanksgiving… peace will guard your heart and mind…”
Heb 12:28… “since we’re receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken… let us be thankful…”
Heb 13:15-16… “thru Jesus… let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God…”
Being thankful improves sleep, mood, boosts your immunity… decreases depression, anxiety, chronic pain, risk of disease. If a pill could do this, everyone would be taking it. —Mayo Clinic
Practicing being thankful… 15 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for at least 6 weeks… reduces depression, lessens anxiety, supports heart health, relieves stress, and improves sleep. —UCLA
Being thankful improves relationships, sleep, physical and psychological health, satisfaction with life, enhances empathy, reduces resentment, aggression, negative emotions. —Psychology Today
don’t have to stay where you are… thanks gets you unstuck and moving… okay to tell God struggles… spend 30 seconds on problem… 30 minutes on thanks… pray…
1Cor 1:4… “I always thank God because of the grace given in Christ Jesus…”
2Cor 13:11… “be joyful… grow to maturity… encourage each other… live in peace…”
Col 2:7… “rooted in Him… established in faith… overflowing in it with thanks…”
Col 3:15-17… “be thankful… whatever you do… word or deed… give thanks…”
Col 4:2… “devote yourselves to prayer… stay alert in it with thanksgiving…”
2Thess 1:3… “we thank God always… since your faith is flourishing…”
1Tim 4:4… “everything created by God is good… receive it with thanksgiving…”
Gratitude is an affirmation of goodness which comes from a source outside of ourselves. It improves physical health with better sleep, lowers high blood pressure, prevents overeating, increases exercise, strengthens the immune system, improves pain tolerance, helps keep glucose levels under control, extends life span, boosts self-confidence, improves patience, reduces envy and jealousy, makes us less materialistic and more forgiving, battles depression, helps recovery from addiction, improves mood, helps us manage grief, helps us see unpleasant memories in a positive light, strengthens and improves family relationships, increases job retention, enhances productivity, improves decision-making skills. —Dr Robert Emmons - www.research.com
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about negative past events that had affected them. After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
Another leading researcher in this field, Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tested the impact of various positive psychology interventions on 411 people, each compared with a control assignment of writing about negative early memories. When their week’s assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month. —Research on Gratitude