Ep. 402 - Developing an Attitude of Gratefulness

What if your greatest struggle isn't your circumstances but your gratitude? Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar begin by sharing the blessings they are most grateful for, from faithful family members to countless ordinary moments that reveal God's kindness. Their conversation quickly turns to the source of true gratitude, explaining that lasting thankfulness is rooted not in favorable circumstances but in God's unchanging promises and faithfulness. Rather than focusing on what is lacking, believers are called to recognize God's goodness in both the extraordinary and the seemingly insignificant moments of everyday life.

The guys then explore what Scripture teaches about gratitude, emphasizing that thankfulness is not merely a suggestion but a command for every believer. They discuss how God's sovereignty reshapes how Christians view suffering, reminding listeners that there is no panic in heaven, only the Lord accomplishing His perfect purposes. Whether facing hardship or abundance, believers can trust that God is using every circumstance to shape their character into the likeness of Christ. The conversation also challenges listeners to resist the constant pull of a culture built on discontentment and instead cultivate hearts satisfied in Christ alone.

From there, the discussion examines the dangers of ingratitude and the subtle idolatry that often fuels it. The guys explain that grumbling is more than a bad habit; it reveals a heart that has lost sight of God's goodness. They contrast the hopelessness of unbelief with the confidence Christians have through the gospel, encouraging believers to demonstrate their faith by responding to trials with thankfulness rather than complaint. True gratitude does not deny suffering but declares that God remains worthy of praise even in the midst of it. A thankful heart becomes a powerful testimony to the watching world that Christ is enough.

Finally, the guys offer practical encouragement for cultivating a life marked by gratitude. They remind listeners to anchor themselves in God's promises, fill their prayers with thanksgiving, and continually remember the salvation they have received through Christ. Rather than letting anxiety or dissatisfaction shape their perspective, believers are called to fix their eyes on eternity and on God's faithfulness. Ultimately, the conversation encourages Christians to become people whose gratitude shines brightly in a world marked by complaint, pointing others to the unchanging hope found in the Lord.

Thanks for listening! If you’ve been helped by this podcast, we’d be grateful if you’d consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating!
 
Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!
You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.
Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.

You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!
Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro

Transcript

Hopefulness As A Quiet Witness

SPEAKER_02 0:00

A non-Christian started listening to worship music and they're like, there's just something different about that music. It's not that it's always happy, it's not that it's go lucky, but there's this something there that I'm not accustomed to. And and they later discovered that it was a hopefulness, that they were listening for hopefulness. And I think that our hopefulness in God, in the midst of how we suffer, is a testament to what we believe. You see, and notice that I'm going back to the idea of suffering because it's easy to be grateful when you have all the good things. But when you are joyful and grateful to the Lord, even in the midst of trials, even when you lack, that is a testimony to the thing in which you believe in, to the thing that anchors your soul. And so one of the best ways of living out your faith is through gratitude for the Lord. Yeah. Amen.

Would You Do It For A Million

SPEAKER_03 0:57

It's time to play, Would You Do This for a Million Dollars? If not, name your price, where we answer a question about whether we would do something for a million dollars. And if not, we name our price. No, we got it in the name. All right.

SPEAKER_04 1:11

Own five cats for five years.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I'll do them.

SPEAKER_04 1:15

Easy. And they have to live in your house and know you can't eat them. For a million dollars?

SPEAKER_00 1:19

In a room, like a separate room.

SPEAKER_04 1:20

No, they're living in your house all throughout your house. Five years of five cats. For a million dollars? Absolutely. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Who would ask that question? Absolutely. There's no way somebody with a bag of a million dollars was like easy. Five cats, five years.

SPEAKER_05 1:36

Five cats living in my house?

SPEAKER_02 1:39

For a million dollars? No, no, no. Kicks. I would not do it.

SPEAKER_07 1:43

Would you do it? Mark, don't.

SPEAKER_04 1:46

I already said you can't eat a whole thing. Would you do it, Mark? Five years? A million dollars. Living in your house, five cats. I would hate it, but I would do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:55

I'd do it for five million. I'd donate it. Five million would be my price. There's no way. A million. My life for five years? Whatever. All right.

SPEAKER_07 2:03

Legally. Hang on. Hang on. You get a dopamin as well. Good.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Yeah, what if they die of natural causes?

SPEAKER_07 2:15

The cats fell out the window. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

Natural causes. Who put poison in that food? All right. Legally change your name to and always introduce yourself as Sir Fluffington McPickle. No problem. That would be fun.

SPEAKER_07 2:28

Absolutely no problem. No way.

SPEAKER_04 2:33

Sir Fluffington McPickle.

SPEAKER_07 2:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:37

That's funny. Mr. Pickles for short. Seriously, you would go by that for a minute.

SPEAKER_07 2:41

So you'd become famous for your name. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

I do that with five cats in my pocket. No, that was five years. Thanks, Matt. Okay. Last one, no cutting your hair for five years.

SPEAKER_07 2:51

Oh, no problem. I didn't know. I did that when I was a teenager. Ray doesn't do it with his ear hair. Why would he do it with it? That is his ear hair. I trim it when I hear it scrape a door when I walk through it.

SPEAKER_04 3:01

It's an ear hair wraparound. That's what Ray has. Can you imagine the go going five years without cutting your hair? No problem. What if you couldn't? What if you could wash it but not brush it so you get all dreaded out? That'd be awesome.

SPEAKER_07 3:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 3:17

You wouldn't do any of that. None of them. You wouldn't do any of them. I'd name my price. Like I'd do it for five million.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

All these I would do for five million dollars. No way. If someone said don't cut your hair for five years for a million dollars, you wouldn't do it. Are you kidding me? No way. No, I wouldn't do it.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

Five? Because your guys' hair grows down. Mine grows up. Yeah, you look like a 90s rack. Get a play.

SPEAKER_07 3:39

What you could do is make it square, easy. Get a drum square. Um, what I like this. We should do a whole podcast with this. Would you go on a university and preach the gospel for a million dollars? That's a good one. Yeah, do it for free.

SPEAKER_05 3:56

All right, friends, time for a cool classic

A Letter From The UK

SPEAKER_05 3:59

comment.

SPEAKER_04 3:59

Oh, Mark Spence went to the UK and brought us another letter back. I like this. Mark, you're like a postal delivery guy. Yeah, well. Pony Express.

SPEAKER_07 4:09

We're sending you to Russia next week.

SPEAKER_04 4:12

Bring us back one from Hilda. Okay. Encouragements from UK for the Living Waters podcast. I was saved around 2013. My peer group weren't Christian, so I often felt like an outsider. I remember Ray speaking at the UK Creation Mega Conference in 2014. I was with you there. Yes. And it was encouraging to hear about the work Living Waters was doing. I then started watching the comfort zone live.

SPEAKER_07 4:35

Oh boy, that goes back. Comfort zone. That's like a podcast we had 200 years ago.

SPEAKER_04 4:40

We used to do it every day. Yeah. And all your content made me feel confident and encouraged that I wasn't not alone. The others believed in Jesus, and that being a Christian was not silly. That others believe in Jesus. And that being Christian was not silly or unintelligent. I've always found your ministry at Living Waters edifying and a real blessing. I'm a regular listener to your podcast, and my wife listens as well. Her facial expressions, when Easy does his squeaky voices, are quite humorous. Hopefully she did a few then. P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed the Ambassadors Academy EU conference and appreciate all your efforts in the Lord. It was great to hear from and meet Mark in person, and a blessing to hear and meet John and Manuel.

SPEAKER_07 5:22

So if someone's listening and they want to be involved in that next academy, what would they do? How would they find it? Living Waters Europe?

SPEAKER_04 5:28

Yeah, go to LivingWaters Europe. LivingWaters.eu.

SPEAKER_07 5:33

No idea what we're doing.

SPEAKER_04 5:34

Um yeah, and check it out. Uh and remember, uh, oh yeah, and blessings uh in the Lord to you all, Belle and Jasmine from Ambassadors Academy EU. Thank you, Bell and Jasmine. Uh, what a blessing. Praise God. Amen. Yeah. Huge blessing. Yeah. Gorgangsman. All

Going Blind And Describing Color

SPEAKER_04 5:50

right. You've just entered the quality questions section. As I promised in the last podcast, Hannah Blossom's second. I got one. Hey.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Easy's intros on repeat for five years. Oh no.

SPEAKER_04 6:03

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

No. I do it for free. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:10

So yeah, Hannah Blossoms, uh, the one who sent a nice uh email last time, but criticized me. See how I love here. Subject line: cursive and going blind. Hi, Easy. I had to write in and let you know that I'm listening to episode 257, Lessons from the Life of Judas, and I agree that cursive is beautiful. Take that, Ray. I should use it more often. Why do I take it? You criticized it last time. What do you ever did? I don't hate cursive. Come on. It was probably Mark. I should use it more often. I also listened to your most recent episode 388, The Theology of Divine Delays. I must agree that going blind would be something that would be a horrible experience. Not being able to see God's beautiful creation, the people I love, being able to read. Audiobooks are not the same. Not being able to write in cursive or to be able to see it and paint. Since I'm a visual learner, life would be quite frustrating. Probably the worst and most frustrating thing would be forgetting what things and people look like. I think I would rather be born blind than go blind later in life because if I was born blind, I would be used to it. It would be a sort of normal and I couldn't forget what things look like because I would have never seen them. Do you agree that you would rather be born blind rather than to go blind later in life after seeing and remembering beautiful things? Ray has no feelings about this.

SPEAKER_07 7:25

I feel very strongly. You know, I've I've met people born blind. I says, tell me what blue looks like to you. And it's been very interesting. One girl who was born blind says, blue is a very sad color. I said, Why do you think like that? She says, Because you get the blues. Oh wow. And uh I I said, Oh, blue is just how do you describe blue to a but if I if I went blind, I'd have the memory of blue. Absolutely. I'd have the memory of all these things that I've seen and light and color and all these things. So that means your imagination can be true to what reality is if you've got memories.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

Yeah, I agree. I mean, because then you're not just in a world of darkness. I mean, you have memories to draw on, especially if you were able to see the faces of your loved ones and different things.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

So as an aside, Mark and I have an ongoing conversation because I love abstract art and Mark is like uh You mean that dumb stuff? Mark is like useless paint bull in a China shop. I've been in an art museum with with Mark uh and it's pretty funny. But uh what's interesting is that one of my kids asked, how would you describe color to a blind person? And that's the direction I went. I said, okay, blue, it's it's uh it can be down, um, but it can also be cold, um, it could be welcoming. And so we started going through, you know, slate and black, and we started going through the emotions and feeling of color, which got into a teleological discussion about color, that it's more than just vibrating rods running through our eyes, which got into the value of abstract art. And now one of my kids enjoys abstract art.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

Yeah, abstract art. Abstract art is stupid. Yeah, too. It's like caveat.

SPEAKER_07 9:08

It's meaningless.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

We were in I think France, Paris. Yeah, and so we're in this amazing museum. Louvre? No, I don't, it was it was all modern art. No, no, no, the Louvre, not the Louvre, no. And so I tell one of my kids, I said, the only thing that is missing is a display of something that says nothing. Like nothing. It's like there's nothing there, and that's what they're calling it, nothing. And we round the corner and there's a box, a see-through box. Do you remember the see-through box? Yeah, yeah. And it said nothing. No way. And there's nothing in the box. Wait, you're serious? You had said that just before saying it.

SPEAKER_07 9:46

I can probably find it. We should have put a couple of dollars in there and destroyed the gun.

SPEAKER_04 9:49

Uh and it's probably worth millions of dollars. Yeah. Oh, that stuff drives me mad. Whatever.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

That's that, okay. So there's just to clarify. Yeah, please. There is abstract art that points to uh transcendent beauty. Of course. Which, like, or or feelings, which is, I would categorize Rothko as that. But then there's postmodernity art. You mean like Salvador Dali? Which destroys beauty. It mocks beauty, and that is not okay, so like the famous thing is somebody duct taping a banana onto a wall. What's wrong with that? And there was great debate as to whether or not that was a banana man. Yeah. There was great debate as to whether or not that was art. And the argument against that is that it was so deconstructive, it was post-modern, that it destroyed anything of value and beauty. Uh so there is a difference between a box that says nothing and a Rothko painting.

SPEAKER_04 10:45

You know what? Let me let me just say my favorite thing out of this whole thing was how so Ray so beautifully and artistically rolled his eyes as you were talking about that. Ray, you are the best eye roller. It's true. You have a very good eye roll.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Do a good eye roll, Ray. Good. I need a meme about it. That's good, you're right.

SPEAKER_07 11:07

So anyway, color, uh, we were talking about it before. Blue gives us a sense of well-being, nothing like a beautiful blue sky with brown around the edges for California. Then you've got green gives us a sense of peace, beautiful green grass. Red makes us really angry. If I was wearing a red suit, we had red walls. This is a red table, you'd soon see red and get upset. So it's very interesting. It's weird. It's almost universal. I I I abhor orange. I love orange. No, orange. Orange. You said that before. Yeah, and the reason the reason for it, you can't rhyme it. You put no, you put you put prisoners in orange as punishment. Wait a minute. You make them wear they make no. You're the one who talked about orange cornoy pants. Yeah, and that's before I was a Christian. God save me from that. Orange corner pants. Only time you should see orange is on an orange. Ah. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_04 11:54

Whatever. All right, friends. Get ready for a shout out from the Sheik of Shawarma, number seven Todd top Christian podcast in Dominica. That's an island nation in the Caribbean, and number 12 out of all religion and spirituality podcasts. And listen, the 111th top podcast out of all categories in Dominica. So shout out, guys. Thanks for listening out there. Come visit Ray.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Is that a country? Dominica?

SPEAKER_04 12:17

It's an island nation, yeah. And the Caribbean.

SPEAKER_07 12:20

Is it Caribbean or Caribbean?

SPEAKER_04 12:21

Caribbean.

SPEAKER_07 12:22

Pirates of the Caribbean. Caribbean.

SPEAKER_04 12:25

And now a radically revolutionary resource. This Patrick has a panty. Oh boy. Count your blessings, Mark, and stop stressing. Count your blessings that you can hear my voice. This is a good book by Ray Comfort. And that's all I have to say about it. All right, friends. When you're over it. Count your blessings, stop stressing. It's self-explanatory. Make sure to check it out. And don't forget the Living Waters mug, The Vin a Study Bible, Living Waters TV, all that.

SPEAKER_05 12:54

Livingwaters.com.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

I was gonna say you couldn't go there, could you? I don't blame you. And check out the podcast YouTube channel, tens of thousands of subscribers, friends. All right, today we're talking about I'd rather hear you say two or three subscribers.

SPEAKER_07 13:10

That's what Todd Friel used to say. Two or three millions of subscribers.

What We Thank God For

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Uh today we're talking about developing an attitude of gratefulness. Gratefulness. Here's how I want to kick things off today, guys. I want you guys to name one thing or a few things uh that you often find yourself feeling most grateful for in life, like the things you go back to. Like if you were to, if if someone were to hear your prayers or read the thoughts of your heart, what what are those things or that thing you're most grateful for?

SPEAKER_02 13:40

The end of these episodes.

SPEAKER_04 13:42

A lot are saying amen.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

I find myself continually daily thanking God for my car. I mean, we have the kill. Right? We have our salvation. I get it, right? So we we have those things. But I'm really grateful that I don't have to wear glasses like Ray.

SPEAKER_06 14:00

Don't you wear glasses?

SPEAKER_07 14:02

You do wear glasses, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 14:03

I've seen you wearing glasses.

SPEAKER_07 14:04

Oh yeah, I guess I do. Dang it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

I need glasses for distance infernal. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_07 14:10

I had my eyes done years ago that uh where they slip a bit off your, they just cut a bit off your pupils. What's it called?

SPEAKER_04 14:17

You know what cataracts?

SPEAKER_07 14:18

No, I had to be. No, no, yeah, but it was this special name for it where they make you focus. That was really good.

SPEAKER_04 14:26

You know, speaking of eyes, I was just reading uh I'm reading our our brother uh Butch Wilmore, Barry, that we had here, the astronaut space station for 10 months. And I was reading a story and he was talking about how he went and got his vision tested, and you know, you have to have good vision to get into the Air Force to fly planes and stuff. And his vision was 2010. Do you guys understand what that means? Yes, it's not 2020, it's 2010. Okay, but do you know what that means?

SPEAKER_07 14:49

Yeah, 2010 2020 is perfect.

SPEAKER_04 14:51

Okay, do you know what that means, Mark? It it means that it's better than 2020. Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 14:55

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_04 14:56

2010 is even better than 2020. It's like it one to three percent of people in the world have it. What is what does he see?

SPEAKER_02 15:03

It does I had 2010 the last time I got my ice. Are you serious? Yeah, it was probably two years ago.

SPEAKER_04 15:07

It's where someone, it's where someone can see uh something clear at 10 feet, 2010 can see it at 20 feet. It's really sharp. Five five. Anyway, the interesting thing about Barry is that he was denied entry into the Air Force because it was 2010. Wow. And he he, you know, it's obvious because some pencil pusher, um paper pusher, whatever they call him, uh didn't understand that that's even better than 2020.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Oh, because things are done according to 2020 vision. That's what I was always taught.

SPEAKER_04 15:39

Okay, I thought he had the point was that no, it's I just didn't understand. Like, no, he's got the perfect.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

It's pretty easy to understand 2010. No?

SPEAKER_04 15:46

Uh could have been someone that's so does he see.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Does he see atoms or something? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Does he see things we don't see?

SPEAKER_07 15:52

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:53

He sees the the the fleas on the back of the black cat and Napoleon's great grandmother. I used that yesterday.

SPEAKER_07 15:57

Well, I used that yesterday. Yeah. Got an interview with an atheist, and he said he knew everything.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

I will say, I've I've been thinking a lot. That's good. I think uh I think I've mentioned before in the podcast that when we go out to dinner with couples, we tend to like to ask the question, like, how's God revealing his grace? How is he reminding you of the gospel? Yeah. And for me in this season of life, uh the the aspect of gratitude that he's been reminding me of is how how valuable and how beautiful these tiny little moments in life are that I would otherwise not recognize. Being able to wake up next to my wife. Being able to wake up next to my wife, being able to give her a hug or a kiss goodbye, being able to come home to a noisy home full of kids, you know, to be able to be able to walk into an office and see people that you enjoy being around and some that you don't. Uh, but seriously, like the the blessing of of kissing my wife goodbye in the morning. These things were these tiny little moments that are full of grace.

SPEAKER_07 17:36

I was gonna say tiny little lips.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

And that are full of grace that will otherwise go unnoticed. And if they were taken from me, I'd long for them back. So why shouldn't I celebrate in gratitude that I have them right now? Oh, that's good. Good. Right, you mark.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Attitude of gratitude. Can you rephrase the question?

SPEAKER_04 17:56

Yeah, what's the the one thing that would stick out most to you that you're uh grateful for that you express gratitude most to the Lord?

SPEAKER_00 18:03

I think salvation for my kids. And I wow I had a uh couple come up to me when I was in the UK and I said, you know, Romans 8.28, it's an interesting verse. It doesn't say some things, it says all things. It doesn't say most things, it says everything, right? So that includes your wayward child's rebellion, your spouse's infidelity, your financial difficulties, that cancerous news. But when I said uh your wayward child's rebellious actions, he came up to me and he said, I don't even know where my son is at. I don't know where he lives. He once called the police on us because we shared the gospel with his son. So his son's son, so his grandchild, he shared the gospel and then he called the police on that. He says, I don't even I don't even know where he lives. And I think and it makes me think back to my kids. I have five kids. They're all walking with God. They all have their own walk, they're they all have their own love uh for the Lord. They they all send things that they're reading through our Ohana text, and it's just so encouraging because nothing else, you know, really matters. Hey, I got an A on this test, but then you're on your way to hell, right? Dad, I got a job promotion, but then you're on your way to hell, right? So it's like nothing even comes close to that. I'm just so grateful, and I understand and I get it, my heart breaks for people that are listening to this whose kids are not walking, you know, with the Lord. But I just to answer the question directly, I'm just I'm so grateful. Yeah, I'm so grateful. And I would say don't lose heart for those who lose kids. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 19:39

Yeah, you know, for me, I I think it would be um the faithfulness of the Lord. You know, like scripture tells us when He is when we're faithless, he remains faithful, he cannot deny himself. I mean, everything for me is based on the faithfulness of God, you know, because if if that's removed, I'm undone. Because then he's unpredictable. I don't know, but maybe he's gonna change his mind at the time. Like when I look at the promises and the truths of the gospel, it's like they hold and they will forever hold because God is faithful. I'm fickle, I'm frail, I'm feeble, but he's faithful and I can trust him always.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Yeah. I think a big challenge for so many people too is that they have an impoverished view of the future promises

Future Promises Versus Instant Gratification

SPEAKER_02 20:24

of God. So there was this teacher in San Francisco, she did this test in which she took um children of poverty and children of middle class and upper class wealth, and she told them, you can have this like this pop, this like, you know, jolly rancher, let's say, right now, or you don't take this right now, and instead, tomorrow you're gonna get an all-you-can-eat ice cream Sunday. And what they found was that the impoverished children settled for the immediate gratification where the children that had a lot of things were willing to wait for a future better reward, right? And so, what I'm saying is that so many of us have an impoverished view of the promises of God that we settle for the tiny things in this world right now, and when those run out and we don't have them, or we we we get down because we don't have something that we feel like would gratify us, our gratification is in the right now rather than in the future promises of God. And speaking of the future promises of God, think about the reality of the greatest treasure of gods. The thing that brings God Almighty the greatest amount of joy, he says is his son. And then he gives his son to you on the cross. God gives his greatest source of joy and treasure to us. Then in Romans it says, if I would not spare my own child, how will I not also give you all things? Like the greatest the greatest source of joy and satisfaction for the Christian is the future promises of God. We have an impoverished view of his promises.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Well, did you see the video of the guy who went into an impoverished area and he offered, he had a box of Snicker bars and he said, You Can have this snicker bar right now, or you could have this one ounce bar of silver, which we and everybody was taking the snicker bars similar, and not taking the silver bar. Yeah, it's on YouTube.

SPEAKER_04 22:46

It's an impoverty mindset. It's really hard to eat silver. And Oscar, you you quoted that, but I love how it says, and how will he not with them also freely, freely give us all things? Like that indication of like exuberant abundance, like and joyfulness in doing it, you know. Um, Ray, what what does because we all do it.

SPEAKER_07 23:07

Can I say something? Yeah. What I'm grateful for is I never get overlooked. You ask Oscar what do you want? What is grateful for? You ask Mom, you forgot me.

SPEAKER_05 23:17

Wait, I forget you?

SPEAKER_07 23:19

Yes. I figured that was a reference to you. Wait, it's okay. I did ask you, you didn't. I had it all worked out. I was gonna say, I am grateful for Mark.

SPEAKER_06 23:27

Um, that's funny.

SPEAKER_07 23:32

Um, I'm so grateful for a wonderful, faithful wife. Um, I know, salvation, etc. Yeah, blah, blah. But yeah, I I get great joy in making meals every night for Sue during the week. I get great joy in making her laugh. And she still laughs after what? We've been married 110 years. She still laughs at my jokes. I mean, from her heart. And that gives me great pleasure. How about your car? Yeah, that gives me great pleasure too.

SPEAKER_05 23:59

But it's just a car. Did I really not ask you, Ray? A monster.

SPEAKER_07 24:03

No, you didn't.

unknown 24:04

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 24:05

Because I was gonna talk about soup. So no, he's you do a brilliant job, except you're stupid sometimes.

SPEAKER_04 24:12

You're just forgettable, Ray. Um, okay, Ray. Please, guys, get rid of the oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Oh, thank you, Lord. Oh, yeah. Our listeners have no idea.

SPEAKER_04 24:22

Random pieces of paper. This piece of paper from your teabag. Okay. Um we went earlier than normal today because of you, Oscar. Okay, so uh what we all do it. We all we all grumble, we all murmur. We all complain. Yeah.

Why We Grumble And The Fleas

SPEAKER_04 24:45

Why? Okay, what Ray, what do we get out of it? Murmuring? Like we do. I've guessed that satisfaction for the flesh. Is it? Is that what it is? I think it's it an itch that we just it makes us feel like we scratched it when we do that.

SPEAKER_07 24:59

You mean whining about different things, whining about the weather, and it's it's a it's a lack of gratitude, really, is what it comes down to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

I mean, Philippians 2, 14 to 16, do all things without complaining and disputing that you may be blameless and harmless children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. Well, I can't stand people that complain.

SPEAKER_07 25:21

They're really annoying me.

SPEAKER_04 25:23

Yeah, you too. You're always complaining about people who complain. Yeah. Um, but I that's that's one of my daily No, Mark. Okay, see, like right now. Thank you. Thank you, Mark.

SPEAKER_07 25:38

Yeah, that's good. That's what I want to be able to do that. You just found another tea bag. Another teabag in church.

SPEAKER_04 25:45

So it gets flicked across the bag. Um so so, but but again, like I pray daily for forgiveness about my murmuring, grumbling, complaining. I asked the Lord to help me. You never complain. Oh I wrote a poem years ago. I'm as way and I won't complain, even though I'm feeling pain. It's it's dripping rain. I have a sebaricose vein. That's totally insane. Um but uh oh thank you, thank you. Um but but like, you know, why why do we do it? Why do we do it? And and so here's here's my goal. My goal is you guys can hold me accountable to this, that anytime I'm about to complain, I want to shift it to giving thanks for something. Imagine we really did that. And think about this too. Everything that we complain about always has a blessing attached to it.

SPEAKER_07 26:37

Is there another word we can use for complain where complaining on our part is legitimate?

SPEAKER_04 26:44

Is there a a legitimate time to complain?

SPEAKER_07 26:46

Yeah, if someone dropped a truck full of fleas into our bedroom or something, that would be difficult to give thanks. Thank you, Lord, for the flea we're gonna do. So we could never complain about anything. What say we just share our heart about something at a prayer request?

SPEAKER_04 27:04

Um what is it?

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Do you remember the story? What's this what's the lady's name that the the forgiveness story world uh World War II, Nazi Germany? Corey Tinboom. Yeah, Cory Tin Boom, when she talks when she says thank you for the fleas.

SPEAKER_07 27:15

Boom. Yeah. That's that's that's one of the things.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

You don't know that story famous in the concentration camp. Oh, because because they were able go ahead, share it. She was in a concentration camp and she wanted to have this Bible study. Yeah, yeah. And the only room that they can go into hiding that no one ever checked and no one ever used was full of fleas. And so they would have this Bible study in this room full of fleas, and she would sit there and be like, why, Lord, like why in your sovereignty and your goodness would you make fleas? What purpose could they possibly have in your created order? How could you, how could you make such a disgusting thing called fleas and then have them in this room for us? And so later on, she gets out of the concentration camp and uh she meets one of the one of the um soldiers and she asks the soldier, why did you guys never like look inside that room, confiscate the belongings in that room, break it up? And he goes, Because of the fleas.

SPEAKER_07 28:17

Who would have said you have an accent?

SPEAKER_02 28:18

We yeah, because of the fleas. No, it's not it.

SPEAKER_07 28:21

Because of the German accent because it got to the fleas.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Uh because of the fleas. They didn't want to bother with what was going on with that room because of the fleas. And then she says, Lord, thank you for fleas. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 28:35

Yeah, C Ray? Yeah. See, you weren't gonna give thanks for the fleas. Yes, thank you for that piece of paper sitting on the edge of the table. Right there. Um, but okay, think about it, guys, right? A blessing attached to everything.

SPEAKER_00 28:50

Your glasses.

SPEAKER_04 28:51

Are you guys with me here?

SPEAKER_02 28:53

A blessing attached to everything. Fog those glasses up. No more morning podcasts. We apologize, guys. Listen, uh, my my son's graduating middle school today, so I asked to do an 8:30 podcast recording, and we usually do it at 10. That's why we're insane. Oh boy. Okay, listen.

SPEAKER_04 29:09

Um boy. So everything everything we can complain about has a blessing attached to it. Okay, as an example. Oh, my friends didn't invite me to this party. Friends? Oh, I'm stuck in traffic in my car. Car? Roadway system? Destination? Stuck. Stuck. I can do this too. Mine. You guys are do fi, man. But you know what I'm saying? Like, in everything, we can find things to be thankful for. I mean, like, Oscar, I think you talked about it earlier. Uh, hearing, hearing uh my kids, whatever. I don't know if laughter was yeah, laughter, but but also, right? We can look at it as oh my, look, the kids are screaming, making noise. Kids.

SPEAKER_07 29:58

Noise, hearing, but also hearing.

SPEAKER_04 30:01

Yeah, you got hearing, you got complaining.

SPEAKER_07 30:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:07

So yeah, now. Oh boy. Are we gonna recover from this? I'm I'm locked in. You still stuck on fogging up raised glasses, Mark? Okay, so Mark, uh, gratitude is is really a command in scripture. It's not an emotion, right? I mean,

Romans 8:28 And Stepping Stones

SPEAKER_04 30:27

we talk about Philippians um Ephesians 5.21, giving thanks always for all things, and in all things according to Ephesians.

SPEAKER_07 30:35

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

Yeah, I I I love it. I mean, I listen, I sound like such a broken record with Romans 8.28, but uh you know, I tell my kids and I and I preach to myself that uh there are no issues in life, just stepping stones. That issue, that thing inside your life, it's just a stepping stone. You don't you don't need to fight it. That cancer is a soapbox for you to proclaim the the goodness of God inside your life, and though he slays you, you're gonna trust in him. Uh more and more and more, just as I as I get older, it's I'm enjoying watching my kids go through different things, difficulties, trials, flat tires, and my the battery in my car is dead. And I just go, I've just been there and done that. I've just seen God provide. God is so good and kind and gracious that there's just no issues. God is not uh befuddled on can I use that word, uh, on what's happening inside your life. He's just orchestrating, as Corey Tanboom said, uh, there's no panic in heaven, just plans. Boom. Right?

SPEAKER_03 31:48

Boom.

SPEAKER_00 31:49

He's not pacing back and forth, there's no worry, there's no sweat on his brow. He he, as our pastor says, has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? Right? He he's he's not ruminating through the things that you are ruminating through. He's he's okay.

SPEAKER_07 32:05

You've given reference to Romans 8.28, but you haven't quoted it for those who maybe not familiar with God, so loved the world.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

No, that's the wrong number. Uh for we we know that all things work together for good. Uh to those who know God, to those who love God, uh called according to his purpose, like that God has somehow, in a very master class way, before he created us, um, has chosen to make everything work together for our good, right? So you consider that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them. And and those good works that we're to walk in, it includes difficulties and valleys and plateaus and and storms and Disneyland euphoria. It's just everything, it's all included. But the world is only looking after that Disneyland euphoria rush, right? That we are continually on this quest for the white picket fence for perfect wife, trophy wife, perfect kids who who are so perfect they don't even need a savior. And in reality, that's just not life. Nobody experiences that, nobody's going through that. That we are all going through the ringer. Uh, remember, I used to say that the hardest trial you'll ever go through is the one you're going through right now until tomorrow hits. And then a uh friend of ours who was going through cancer said, No, I think the hardest trial you'll ever go through is the trial you go through without the Lord. Ooh. Because when your eyes are on the Lord, it just doesn't matter how big that trial is, how crazy that thing is. It's just not crazy. Right? I mean, the Apostle Paul said he he learned to be content whether he had a lot or whether he had a little. Now, I I legitimately think that he wasn't saying to himself secretly that, oh, but uh PS or a little asterisks here, it is a lot better to have a lot of food. No, he learned content, whether he had a little or a lot. I think that that kind of comes our way. When when you've walked with God for any amount of time, you're going to see that that trial just isn't that big of a deal. That flat tire, it's an opportunity to share the gospel with the AAA member who's going to come help you with the tire. Right? Your your roof is coming undone. You know, well, listen, this this is ample opportunity to just trust in the Lord, to bring before the kids in your devo and to say, hey, I don't know what's going to happen, but uh I know that something's gonna happen great. I can trust in him.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

Mark, I just want to say real quick, you know, as you were you were talking about that there's only stepping stones, right, in in your life. I I was envisioning your kids down the line sharing that with their own kids. My dad used to always say, How often we hear people say that? Like, we can't underestimate the power of speaking truth like that to our kids. I mean, there are things that my mom used to say, my grandma used to say, my dad used to say they just pop into my head, you know, at random. Like go play on the freeway.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Go play on the freeway.

SPEAKER_04 35:08

Oscar stellas, that's what he would hear as a kid. Okay, so oh, thank you. Thank you. Um, Mark, uh Mark put the cup down sideways to drive me crazy, but I'm thankful. I'm grateful. Uh, Mark, uh, but let me just say this. I want to say this specifically to the men listening. Of course, it applies to the women too. But men are designed by God to have dramatic impact because of their leadership calling and gift on their family. Do you understand how you can set the tone? Something just happens in the house. You have a choice. Panic, stress out, get frustrated, agitated, angry, or go, all right, hey, this is tough, but let's watch what the Lord's gonna do through this, guys. Do you understand how that imprints on your children's minds? Do you understand how that puts your wife at ease? Ah, because my leader is fine. I mean, you watch someone get up at a pulpit and start preaching. That preacher is nervous, anxious, watch the congregation. They start fidgeting. They, but if he goes up confident, calm, knows where he's going, ha, all right. We can trust you to lead us. Men, please understand this. I'm speaking to you as a man who struggles with getting sometimes agitated or or anxious or stressed. But just make that decision to discipline yourself. Whenever something like that happens, I'm gonna give thanks right now. Yeah. We have a house, guys. I know the roof's coming apart, or or this flood just happened. We have a house. We have insurance, it's gonna work out. And even if we don't, we have an eternal home. Yeah, you can't. You can afford it.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

Insurance.

SPEAKER_07 36:40

I think Romans 8.28, the first three words is so relevant. Paul says, and we know. Yeah. We can gloss over that and not realize that Paul was saying, I know what I'm talking about. You should know what I'm talking about. You should know experimentally, experimentally. Experientially. Experientially. That's what I was trying to say. Yeah, I just give thanks for my silly mouth.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

I think culture is set up and designed for us to not experience gratefulness,

Consumer Culture Versus Christlikeness

SPEAKER_02 37:10

gratitude, and contentment. Just the opposite. Everything around us. Yeah, we are designed, we are being told constantly to consume, to have excess, to seek comfort. Uh, and comfort is a gift, but but it's not a gift when it's an idle. You know? That's good. And so you think like anytime you go on your phone, anytime you're watching YouTube, anytime you're reading a news article, basically all of the marketing is designed to make you want something, to make you feel like your one purchase, one experience, one vacation, one vibe shift away from the good life. And when you get there, it's just another stepping stone for you to try to get to a place where you think maybe one day I'll be grateful. But think about the shift in mindset as a Christian away from an excess consume to my focus is to become more like Christ. When your focus is to become more like Christ, then you're able to be grateful even in the times when you have less, or even in the times where you're experiencing hardship. Because if your goal is comfort, then yeah, the hardship is destroying you. But if your goal is Christ-likeness, then that comfort is shaping you to be more like Christ. And then you can have gratefulness because you know that through that discomfort and through the power of the Holy Spirit, you are becoming more like your beautiful Lord and Savior. And that's something that you can be grateful for.

SPEAKER_07 38:40

So and I learned a lesson recently or a couple of years ago. Um, we think new is better, modern is better, and we had a um a washing machine that was starting to get a bit of rust on it. So I said, We'd better get a new one. So we got a new one, and the stupid thing doesn't have the quality of the old one. This is what we hear every day. As it's dry drying the the washing, it's and it's just a lesson. Well, maybe stop putting chickens in it. It's just a lesson that new and modern doesn't mean better. It might mean that just they've they've cut corners that ought to be cheaper, and it just doesn't look doesn't have the quality of the old.

SPEAKER_04 39:12

Yeah, yeah, it's it that's true. And I think uh, you know, sometimes when we don't connect the dots of like Lord, yeah, you're using this for a purpose. Nothing is wasted in God's economy. Nothing, nothing is wasted. And so when when we realize that that again, our trials are our servants, that they're creating in us endurance, they're creating in us character. Like if we could see it happening, you know, if we could see our inner man and the the growth that just happened in there in the spiritual realm, we'd we'd be like, oh, cool, all right, great. That's making me fit for eternity and ruling and reigning with Christ in some way and bringing God more glory, you know.

SPEAKER_07 39:57

You know, I just what you're saying. If you interviewed Moses before the Red Sea and after the Red Sea, what was that? What was that? And and and Daniel before the lion stand and after the lion's stand.

SPEAKER_04 40:08

Joseph.

SPEAKER_07 40:08

Yeah, Joseph before and after.

SPEAKER_00 40:10

I like that, I like that sentence that he said, right? Our trials are our servants.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Yeah, I've heard this. I remember someone saying that once. It might have been Matt Shacleford. I heard him say that, and it was like, wow, our our trials are our servants. God uses them to do in us something good.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

I like the phrase that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

SPEAKER_04 40:31

Comfort. Yeah, how about that?

SPEAKER_07 40:35

I've changed my name to that name that you said, which I've forgotten.

SPEAKER_04 40:39

Trials? Something fluffy McPickles or something. Um so uh Mark, Romans uh 1 22,

Unthankfulness As A Spiritual Warning

SPEAKER_04 40:49

because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful.

SPEAKER_07 40:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:55

Like we're talking reprobation here, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:57

And Paul's tying it with a lack of thankfulness. Yeah, isn't it true? How many atheists do we talk to that that are just thankful people? You know, that that's such an important verse. And I and I pull that verse out often when I'm talking to an atheist or when I'm pointing out the grumbling and the complaining, or when I think of when I see perhaps a Christian who is just grumbling and complaining, you know, we of all people should be thankful. An atheist should be thankful, he just doesn't know who to thank, doesn't know why he's thankful. So it's such an important verse that uh the ungodly are not thankful people. So of course they're not going to give thanks. But now Well they do, but they give it in the wrong direction. Right. To the creature rather than the creator. That's right. You know, we we talk about the difference between an atheist and a practical atheist. You know, an atheist claims that there is no God, a practical atheist says there is a God, but then lives as if there is no God. And when we don't give thanks to God, we're living as if God is not real, that God's not in control and that God's not orchestrated. That's why atheism. That's right.

SPEAKER_04 41:58

Yeah. Uh I think in in light of what we're talking about, Spurgeon put it well, he said, When I have a house full of pain and anguish and tribulation, and perhaps a little cup of earthly comfort standing on the table, how sweet it is to find that I can put my finger down into that cup and taste its sweetness and then say, This comes from God. Then if I look into the great sea of my afflictions and say, they come from God, I am taught to be thankful for them all. I hate Spurgeon. Seriously. It frustrates me. Like, how?

SPEAKER_07 42:32

How picturesque, but brilliant. Put his finger into the cup. You know, his wife would have said, What are you doing?

SPEAKER_04 42:39

Don't do that, Spurgy. Um Spurgy? Yeah, Spurgy. I think she used to call him. Did she call him Spurgy or something?

SPEAKER_02 42:45

There is a nickname recorded. I don't think it was Spurgy, though. I like Spurgy.

SPEAKER_07 42:49

There's what recorded?

SPEAKER_02 42:50

There's a there's a recorded nickname of Spurgeon from his wife. Really? But it was like something very endearing. Schnookums.

SPEAKER_04 42:58

So so okay, in that vein then, let's talk about this because Mark, you made a good point. Um, you know, how often are unbelievers grateful? But but Oscar, how how much does it stand out when unbelievers who know that ungratefulness is common, to see the believer being grateful in the midst of challenges, even?

SPEAKER_02 43:20

That that reminds me, because again, we're not I we've used the phrase sort of in jest attitude of gratitude. This isn't self-helpism where you pretend like all of the bad doesn't exist. That is not the Christian virtue that we're talking about. We're talking gratitude again for future glory at the very least. And and your question reminds me of this um, it's actually a part of a testimony I once heard, which is this person started listening to worship music because they were like, there's just something different about that music.

SPEAKER_07 43:53

I mean a non-Christian?

SPEAKER_02 43:54

A non-Christian started listening to worship music, and they're like, There's just something different about that music. It's not that it's always happy, it's not that it's go lucky, but there's this something there that I'm not accustomed to. And they later discovered that it was a hopefulness, that they were listening for hopefulness. And I think that our hopefulness in God in the midst of how we suffer is a testament to what we believe. You see, and notice that I'm going back to the idea of suffering because it's easy to be grateful when you have all the good things. But when you are joyful and grateful to the Lord, even in the midst of trials, even when you lack, that is a testimony to the thing in which. You believe in to the thing that anchors your soul. And so one of the best ways of living out your faith is through gratitude for the Lord. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:46

Amen. Yeah, and and the world sees that and they're impacted by that. And um it changes the trajectory of things. Uh this is by uh Nancy Damas. She said uh Wolgamoth. Thanksgiving is the enemy. Her she got remarried, her last her new last name is Wolgamoth. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction. An ungrateful heart is a breeding ground for all kinds of sinful attitudes and actions. A thankful heart is one of the primary identifying characteristics of a believer. It stands in stark contrast to the pride, selfishness, and self-centeredness that permeate our culture. We kind of touched on that, but but the the part about unthankfulness being a breeding ground for all kinds of sinfulness and attitudes and actions. I mean, Ray, those that we often hear are becoming uh discontent in their Christian faith or or angry with God. I mean, a lot of times it's usually birthed out of unthankfulness and idolatry.

SPEAKER_07 45:51

I mean, how could anyone get angry at God? Better go and play with Fort Lightning than get angry at God. It shows there's no fear of God before your eyes. I mean, you can get you can get depressed because you don't know what's going on, but never raise your fist at God because he's the lover of your soul and he's proved his love towards you. And if you look at the promises of God, which Mark brought out, we know that all things are working together for good to those that love God and according to according to his purposes. So don't raise your fist at God when you're in the lion's den. Get on your knees.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

Yeah. Susie called Spurgeon Tershatha.

SPEAKER_07 46:25

No.

SPEAKER_02 46:26

She did derived from the Hebrew title Found the Old Testament, which means His Excellency or the Governor, she uses as a playful, endearing term.

SPEAKER_07 46:36

No, no, no. Tershatha. She just she just realized what an incredible theologian Spurgeon is, so she couldn't say sweetheart or anything like that.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

She said, She's got to find something deep.

SPEAKER_04 46:47

You know, I'm thinking of some of the people that I've known over the course of my life that just stood out because

Grateful People Change The Room

SPEAKER_04 46:54

of being grateful. And there's something in me that made me want to be around those people. And and it convicted me. You know, it was, but it wasn't, it wasn't condemnation. It wasn't like, oh it was like, oh man. Like I want to be the kind of person that people want to be around. Not because I want to exalt myself or collect phrases. We knew that. Because I want to have impact. Like I want to have effectiveness. I think sometimes we don't think of like the end goal. If we do, then it helps us like the silver and the Snickers bar. It helps us like think ahead. I could buy probably 50. I don't know how much that silver was worth. But but it makes us think ahead. Like, okay, right now I have an itch, I want to scratch it, I want to murmur, complain, grumble. Oh, that was ridiculous. You know, you know, I'll tell you what, the people, this is this is a connection that actually I just made in my mind. The people that I that I can think of that are the most grateful people are people who always, whenever you mention something negative about a situation or circumstance, or or maybe even a person, they're always the ones to give you another angle.

SPEAKER_07 48:09

Like, you know what, maybe, maybe they're just having a tough day. Good. Pastor Gary Ann sells like that. I think I mentioned to the other day, he's such an optimist. Um, and I remember saying to him, he's the pastor that got us over here 30 years ago, 35 years ago. Uh, if I ever got run over by a train and cut in half and I'm lying there dying, I'd like him to be next to me because he would say, This is actually good. It's only he's like it's only half your body. That's right. Yeah. So he's all he always had a um a very positive word no matter what. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 48:39

Yeah. It's and again, like you can imagine in your mind, like, who would I want to take with me if I'm gonna go on a really tough, long, arduous journey that's gonna be full of challenges and trials? Like you immediately, your mind by default automatically eliminates the murmurers, grumblers, complainers. And then you think of those that just have a good attitude, a can-do attitude, a thankful attitude. Hey, it's cool, we're gonna get through it. God's gonna get us through it, guys. Remember, think of all that God has done before and He'll He'll do it again, you know? And uh and they help you press on, they help you keep going.

SPEAKER_07 49:13

Love the scripture that says we have a hope set before us that's both sure and steadfast, an anchor for the soul. You think uh a ship's own is only as uh safe as its anchor in a storm. Yeah. And um we used to we'd we'd go in when I used to be uh fishing with my aunt and uncle, and you the first thing you do is drop your anchor and make sure it's caught on some sort of rock at the bottom of the ocean. Because if the storm comes up, you're just gonna be blown out to sea. So we have a uh an anchor of the soul that's both sure and steadfast.

SPEAKER_02 49:45

Do you remember the Debbie Downer uh skits? Debbie Downer. Debbie Downer. No, it was Debbie, it was an SNL skit. I I haven't seen them in years, so I don't think they're appropriate. Maybe they are. I don't know. But but the humor of it is they're like at Disneyland, everyone's having a good time, eating, having fun, and Debbie Downer is like, so news came back about Roy's cancer, and then it goes, Whop, womp. Or there's one, and she goes, uh, I just found out AIDS is the number one killer of feline cats. Whomp, like she's just constantly giving these downer one-liners in the middle of joy, which is the opposite. I thought about that because you're talking about like being around somebody that's so grateful is so uplifting. Being around somebody that's such a buzzkill is also it it pulls you down, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_07 50:34

That's exactly what you're talking about, is the whole news feed that we get all the time. A hundred percent. That bleeds, it leads. And I I often watch the news, and then very rarely where they come on is something here's some great news. Yeah. That's always negative. And if you bury your head in that, you become a negative person.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

Yeah. I had a neighbor who got so stuck on the news that he was like, This place is the worst, we gotta get out of here. This place is the, you know, just all of the bad things. And he moved away. And two years later, he moved home and he goes, I can't believe I ever left this place. Because he got so stuck on the news that he all he had to do was just go outside and count his blessings, you know?

SPEAKER_07 51:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:17

Yeah. If we walked around all day singing in our heads, I'm saved from hell, I'm saved from hell, I'm saved from hell.

SPEAKER_07 51:24

What do you write a song?

SPEAKER_05 51:25

Oh, that would be a good thing. I'm safe from hell. I'm living well, I've lived a tell. So everything in life is swell. Oh, Mark, my backup singing.

SPEAKER_04 51:40

That was a good song.

SPEAKER_02 51:42

I'm grateful that song's over.

SPEAKER_04 51:47

Yeah, but no, really, guys. I mean, realizing I should be consumed in the eternal flames of hell, and I am not. I am not. Thank you,

Prayer That Starts With Thanksgiving

SPEAKER_04 51:54

thank you, thank you, Lord. You know? And uh, and you know, think of you think of Philippians 4, 6, be anxious for nothing, but for all things by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. I I think that's the angle there, right? That like even in the midst of that, we can find things to be thankful for. So we don't think about that when we're anxious, oh God help me with this, how with that, but no, but thank you, Lord, that A, B, and C, your truth is is steadfast. You never change. You've gotten me through it before, you'll get me through it again. Eternity's coming, and on and on and on. And could Asuka sneak out?

SPEAKER_07 52:28

Are you late, Asuka? We know. No, I'm timing it.

SPEAKER_02 52:31

Okay, so fine. Yeah, thank you there for your little bit. I'm timing it. Um, what about prayer? How often is our prayer rooted in what we want rather than gratitude? Like, how often is our prayer life, God, help this, help that, fix this, fix that, deliver this, blah, blah, blah. Rather than starting with Lord, thank you. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for this day. Thank you for these blessings in my life. Thank you for opportunity. I can't help but wonder how much of our prayer life is indicative of our heart condition of gratitude. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 53:02

And on that note, Oscar, as I wrap us up, Psalm 100, verse 4, enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name. May we have that attitude constantly, friends, and and may we just recognize that we can be a grateful people. We can be a people that shine differently. Remember, our testimonies tied to that, among whom you shine as lights in the world, and therefore do all things without complaining and disputing.

SPEAKER_07 53:30

Yeah, so always be careful about complaining. But if you if you're upset where you're standing, uh stop in early, it's it's Oscar's fault. Yeah, Oscar. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 53:37

It's shorter than most podcasts, Oscar. Six minutes early. There you have it. Don't forget. Count your blessings and stop stressing, Ray. Do what you say. And don't forget, friends, uh, to like, subscribe, share. Podcast at LivingMaters.com, where Ray's phone that's ringing now. No, it's mock. He said me it takes to be annoying.

SPEAKER_00 54:01

No, I didn't do annoying, it's the 100-ounce bar of silver or a free candy bar.

SPEAKER_04 54:06

That's not what it is. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share. Podcast at LivingModers.com with your thoughts and questions.

SPEAKER_05 54:10

We've been answering questions in the question section. Thank you for joining in us, friends.

SPEAKER_04 54:16

We'll see you here next time on the Living Manners podcast. Where we have no idea what we're doing.