Gratitude

 
TITLE: Gratitude
DATE: August 31, 2019
TEXT: Phil 4: 6-7 – ESV -  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
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For years one of the great friends and supporters of the Daily Devos has been Michael Burger.

He has consistently submitted various materials for direct use or consideration. His ideas have been consistently good... even though I must admit, I have struggled with his most recent sharing. Not because it lacked in quality,. No, it was excellent.

The problem was my tongue does not readily pronounce names from India. Still, I have practiced, and so I am going to give it a try. We begin by saying...

The day was very much the same as any day in the city of Yamunangar, located  in the northern state of Haryana.. That was until someone noticed what appeared to be a brand new, 3 Series BMW floating down the river.

By the time the police were called, the car had come to rest, and was sinking in the western Yamina Canal. Just to make sure nobody was trapped inside the police used an earthmover and rescued the BM-er from its would-be watery grave.

But how had the car come to be floating down the river in the first place? An investigation proved most interesting.

It appears the luxury BMW was a Birthday present from his parents to their 22-year-old son, a fellow by the name of Akash.  Now to many people a BMW is a fine present, but not to Akash. You see Akash had been hoping his parents would give him an even more expensive Jaguar.  

Scratch the words hoping for and substitute the word, demanding.

Now, I wouldn’t like to say the boy was disappointed with the BMW, but he had been disappointed. So much so that when he realized he had been shortchanged for his birthday, he deliberately and in anger, pushed the BMW into the river.... and he filmed it... so he could send a copy of the film to his parents.

He wanted Mom and Dad to understand: that when he asks to get a Jaguar for his birthday, he expects to get a Jaguar for his birthday.

Now if you are like me, you are outraged at the ingratitude of the young man. You probably think that if he felt Akash had to say anything about the gift, it should have been a simple, “Thank you.” Well, most Christians would agree. Sadly, we don’t always practice what we preach. Having spent 25 years of my life leading my church in prayer I found there were a lot of  requests submitted to God, but mighty few prayers of thanks.  

That; a shame. We who have been forgiven of our sin by the Savior’s sacrifice; we who have a loving Lord listening to our prayers; we who are given all we need for the living of each day - ought to make it a practice to say, “thank You.”

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord for all the blessings and gifts You give; for the things I recognize and the many I do not; accept my thanks. Most of all, receive my gratitude for Jesus Whose life has given me life; and Whose resurrection assures me I will never die. In Jesus’ Name. I pray. Amen.
 
to go to this address: https://www.newsweek.com/man-pushes-bmw-river-1453835 and the article written by K Thor Jensen
The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html