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Ps Dino Cicatello
This week Pastor Dino spoke on thanksgiving and building an altar of thanksgiving to God as we celebrated our 6th birthday. He reminded us that our lives should overflow with thanks for Jesus – that no matter what, there’s always a seat for us at Jesus’ table, never forgetting about the goodness of God, lift a praise!
The children of Israel had great fuel for their praise because they recorded God’s goodness in great detail. Too often, God answers our prayers, and we carry on as though He did not do anything for us.
4 ways to give thanks:
- Prayer
a word that means we are talking to Jesus. The Gospel only becomes powerful when it becomes personal. Try the 10X10 Challenge and find 10 things that you are grateful for in the morning at night. Talk to the Lord, don’t pray as you can’t but pray as you can. If what you have to offer is sadness, pray sadness – Philippians 4:4-7 “Pray about everything”.
- Obedience
God does not speak to be heard but to be obeyed, as we pray to God for new things but neglect the old instructions. Such as forgiveness, restoring relationships, giving cheerfully, turn away from sinful ways etc, we ask God for a new way, He however says just follow orders. 1 Samuel 15:22 – better to follow God’s word than to give God something He did not ask you to do!
- Gathering
Your faith is stirred when you come into God’s house with His people, as by yourself all you see is your problem, while in a community, your faith tank is filled up with belief. Psalm 22:3 “He inhabits the praises of His people” Psalm 95 “When we gather it’s like our praise goes to a new level”
- Love
1 John 4:19 “Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us” We can’t say Lord I praise your name on a Sunday but I curse your image in someone else on a Monday. We’ll be recognised as His disciples in the way love one another, as Christians we cannot compartmentalise our lives and say this is our lives on a Monday and this our lives on a Sunday. We need to love everyone around us. The most offensive thing about the gospel is about who He let’s in.
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