A Thankful Heart

Philippians 4:6-8
The Message Bible
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.


Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I want us to look at what God’s Word says about the subject.

I am sitting in our condo in Branson, without internet and having to do this Bible study the old fashioned way….. (I am having to crucify my flesh many times over on this one! Ha!) My kids and grandkids are all around me having a blast and my heart is full of thanks. I have been contemplating this word and it’s meaning – Thanksgiving. Looking back at the experiences of my own life, I can see where having a thankful heart is a very powerful thing. So began my search for what the Bible says.

Our scripture above is from Philippians 4:6-8. Why don’t you take a few minutes and read this scripture in several translations? In the NIV you will see the word thanksgiving used in verse 6.

Using your online tools with studylight.org find the original Greek meaning for the word used in verse 6 – thanksgiving.

Next, go to Webster’s Dictionary online (I think it is websters-merriam) and find the English definition of thankful, thanksgiving, and thanks.

Is there a difference in our English definition and the original Greek word?

Now let’s use an Old Testament verse and see what we find.
Go to Psalm 107:22 and find the Hebrew word used for thanksgiving.
Why would the psalmist call it the sacrifices of thanksgiving?

Here is a challenge treasure hunt for you.
You can use study light or your e-sword resource. Pull up every verse in the Bible that has thanksgiving, thankful, or thanks in it. Try to find all the different Hebrew words used for those words and the original meaning.

How many words did you find? And what did they mean?
Sometime next week, I will post my thoughts on Thanksgiving and the Hebrew words. But in the mean time, I hope you ponder Philippians 4 in your heart and memorize this word.

I love the way the Message Bible phrases this powerful verse. According to this verse in the Message Bible, what happens when you have a thankful heart?

I pray you all have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving! May we all look around us and see all that we have to be appreciative of. God is so good and His mercy endures forever!

I am thankful for each of you!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love you all!

Dorinda