Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artivannis and this is Dialin. In this episode, we're going to be talking about thankfulness and gratitude.

Let's dial in.

First Thessalonians 5 verses 16 through 18 read, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

This is God's will, the passage says, meaning that God's will, listen here, for your life

does not need to be found, it needs to be obeyed, and God's will for your life is that you

would rejoice always, that you would pray without

ceasing, and that you would give thanks in all circumstances.

This is Christianity 101.

R.C. Sproles says that the essence of theology is grace, and the essence of Christian ethics

is gratitude.

And in this passage, thankfulness is described as an imperative command given to believers

because it is so foreign and non-instinctive to the natural mind.

This is why we have to teach toddlers to say thank you because all that the natural mind knows is mine give me

and i want the human instinct is thanklessness not thankfulness we ask so much and we pray so little

and we are so ready to grumble but so slow to express gratitude. This idea of ingratitude,

the Bible recognizes as one of the distinguishing marks of an unbeliever. In Romans 1, it says,

for since the creation of the world in verse 20, his invisible attributes, this is God, his

eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through

what has been made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not

honor him as God or give thanks. These unbelievers, they don't give thanks to God. They only mention

his name in vain and when they complain. They don't

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