Gratitude should be all-pervasive in the Christian life, because there’s nothing we have that we didn’t receive from God. The only way we can sustain gratitude and cultivate contentment is by a daily, conscious choice.
If I were asked to explain how Christianity is unique compared to every other religion in the world, I would say it boils down to this one verse: “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
“Trust and obey” (the fifth essential in this series) are words so simple, so basic, that their importance can easily escape us. As the primary expressions of faith, though, they’re vital to grasp.
Practicing God’s presence (the fourth essential in this series of eight) is a deeply biblical idea, though the exact phrase is never used in Scripture. Most popularly associated with Brother Lawrence, the phrase, at heart, means “discerning, and developing habits for discerning, an awareness of God’s presence.”
Cultivating right thoughts about our lives and circumstances, considering them in light of eternity, is the third spiritual essential Ken Boa discusses in this eight-part series.
Ken Boa teaches on the second of eight spiritual essentials: loving Jesus. He talks about God’s demand that we love Jesus more than anyone else, and His desire that we love Him primarily for who He is rather than just for His gifts/benefits.
Ken Boa boils down the spiritual life into eight essentials, the first being “ambition to please God.”
Ken Boa concludes his “Eight Spiritual Essentials” focusing on the eighth essential to the spiritual life: living each day well (as if it were your last).
Ken Boa discusses a seventh essential of the spiritual life: gratitude and contentment.
It’s vital to understand the uniquely Christian principle that we are not only saved by grace but also sanctified by grace. We’re spiritually bankrupt before God, and it’s only by His life in us that we grow up in Him.
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