God Running is a place for anyone who wants to (or even anyone who wants to want to) love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Giving thanks, in all circumstances, is what God wants us to do. And as is always the case, God wants us to do what He wants us to do because it results in what’s best for us, and for the people around us.
Of course there are other Bible verses admonishing or encouraging us to give thanks.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 107:1)
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (Colossians 4:2)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! (Psalm 110:4)
The list goes on.
As is so often the case, what God prescribed thousands of years ago is being confirmed by science. There have been numerous studies done on gratitude (three sources are listed below in the notes section) and the consensus is: Practicing gratitude is good for you–really good for you.
Practicing gratitude daily improves relationships, lowers levels of depression, improves sleep, and can even lower blood pressure. There are “objective biologically verifiable outcomes that go beyond self-report measures.” (Dr. Emmons)
A few years ago I attempted to start a daily gratitude journal. It didn’t last long but on November 19, I began another attempt. So far I’ve logged six days in a row.
I’m beginning to understand the main problem with this gratitude journal is the entries are going to be so long!
I’m a blessed man.
A big part of those blessings is you.
I’ve made some great friends through this blog.
Thank you for reading. And for those of you who have, thank you for connecting with me. (For those of you who haven’t, I’d love to hear from you! Email me at kurt@kurtbennettbooks.com)
Can I leave you with two thoughts?
One, you might consider starting a daily gratitude journal.
And two, I thank God for you. I appreciate you.
Happy Thanksgiving and God richly bless you!
Kurt
Notes:
Giving thanks can make you happier, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, August 14, 2021
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain, Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley.edu, June 6, 2017
Christina Caron, Gratitude Really Is Good for You. Here’s What the Science Shows. New York Times, Published June 8, 2023, Updated November 20, 2023
Gratitude image via flickr — Creative Commons
Now available on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others.
Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
- Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
- How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
- The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
- How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
- How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
- How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
- How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
- How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
- How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus.
