5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: The Gift of a Grateful Heart | 5 Minutes with Jesus | November 25, 2025
- There is great power and gratitude
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- In giving thanks for god's faithfulness and love.
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- When life is hard, though, it's challenging to be thankful.
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- That's why i think of thanksgiving as a choice,
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- A discipline every day.
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- I thank god for five things.
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- Some days those things are significant answers to prayer.
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- Other days serve
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- Something as simple as our little dog, maggie,
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- Sleeping through the night instead of needing to go out
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- At 5:00 in the morning.
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- But the simple act of thanksgiving reminds us
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- That god is with us and he is in us.
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- Let me share some 100 with you.
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- Shout with joy to the lord all the earth.
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- Worship the lord with gladness.
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- Come before him singing with joy.
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- Acknowledge that the lord is god.
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- He made us and we are his.
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- We're his people, the sheep of his pasture.
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- Enter his gates with thanksgiving.
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- Go into his courts with praise.
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- Give thanks to him and praise his name.
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- For the lord is good.
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- His unfailing love continues forever,
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- And his faithfulness continues to each generation
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- In our home.
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- We always have one christmas tree
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- That has every ornament
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- Our son christian, has ever made since he was a little boy.
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- There's an ornament
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- With his clay figures of mary, joseph, and baby jesus.
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- For some reason, joseph only has one leg,
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- Which i don't actually remember
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- From the story told in luke's gospel.
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- There's a very sparkly ornament of what christian called
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- The christmas mouse.
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- When i asked him what that was, he looked at me
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- As if i had forgotten everything in life that matters and said,
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- Mom, the mouse, the christmas mouse.
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- I just let it go at that.
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- But one of my favorites
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- Is a letter
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- That he wrote to jesus when he was in elementary school,
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- And it goes into our tree.
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- I took it in there every year. this is what he said.
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- Dear messiah, for christmas
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- I will give you my heart by showing generosity to others.
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- I will be truthful
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- And i will be kind to my friends and my family.
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- Thank you for being my savior.
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- You are my only god.
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- I'll write a nice note to my mom and dad.
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- Merry christmas jesus. christian.
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- The psalm
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- That i read is affectionately known as the old hundreds.
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- There's a definite pattern in it.
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- This one psalm gives us seven ways to worship.
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- First, shout joyfully.
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- Second, serve the lord with gladness.
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- Third, come before him with singing.
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- Fourth, enter his gates with thanksgiving.
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- Fifth, and to his courts with praise.
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- Six be thankful to him.
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- And finally seventh, bless his name.
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- You worship god when you come to praise him.
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- And he wants you to be happy.
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- I read in one of my commentaries on the psalms
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- At the time of this writing,
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- Most of the bars have what is called a happy hour.
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- I wish we had a happy hour in church without the liquid.
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- So how do you build a thankful life?
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- What are the things that help us come into his gates
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- With thanksgiving?
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- There are four things that help me.
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- I never let a single day go by without reading god's truth.
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- I read it out loud.
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- I choose a verse and i meditate on it during the day.
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- I read
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- What god says is true
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- About my life, no matter how i might feel at that moment.
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- If you're deeply held, beliefs
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- Tell you that you're not worth loving.
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- That you'll never change.
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- That you'll never recover from the mess you've made.
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- Find some go to verses that confront those lies.
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- Here's one of my favorites.
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- For the mountains may move and the hills disappear.
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- Even then my faithful love for you will remain.
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- So i read god's word.
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- I pray when i first get up in the morning.
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- First thing is more of a good morning lord than anything else.
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- It's my way of greeting a new day in god's presence.
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- And i have times when i'm specifically praying
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- And interceding for a particular person or situation.
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- But i also talk to my father all day long, and i'm in the car
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- Waiting in the grocery line, and i'm happy and i'm sad.
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- I talk to the lord.
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- I love this from psalm 116 because he bends down to listen.
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- I will pray as long as i have breath.
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- I also have a worship playlist on my phone.
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- I've chosen songs that have deep spiritual truth,
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- Songs that remind me of the unfailing love of god.
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- I worship along with them when i'm having a good day
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- Or a bad day, when i feel myself sinking and life feels messy.
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- I listen now, allow the words to wash over me.
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- Oh lord, i will honor and praise your name, for you are my god.
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- You do such wonderful things.
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- You plant them long ago and now you have accomplished them.
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- There is great power and gratitude
- 00:04:48.911 --> 00:04:51.514
- In giving thanks for god's faithfulness and love.
- 00:04:51.514 --> 00:04:54.417
- When life is hard, though, it's challenging to be thankful.
- 00:04:54.417 --> 00:04:57.587
- That's why i think of thanksgiving as a choice,
- 00:04:57.587 --> 00:05:01.157
- A discipline every day.
- 00:05:01.157 --> 00:05:03.626
- I thank god for five things.
- 00:05:03.626 --> 00:05:06.162
- Some days those things are significant answers to prayer.
- 00:05:06.162 --> 00:05:09.232
- Other days serve
- 00:05:09.232 --> 00:05:10.566
- Something as simple as our little dog, maggie,
- 00:05:10.566 --> 00:05:12.769
- Sleeping through the night instead of needing to go out
- 00:05:12.769 --> 00:05:15.238
- At 5:00 in the morning.
- 00:05:15.238 --> 00:05:17.206
- But the simple act of thanksgiving reminds us
- 00:05:17.206 --> 00:05:20.309
- That god is with us and he is in us.
- 00:05:20.309 --> 00:05:24.180
- Control.
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- Well, one of the lessons that my dear friend graham taught me
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- Is found in paul's letter to the church in philippi.
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- Don't worry about anything.
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- Instead, pray about everything.
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- Tell god what you need and thank him for all he's done.
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- Then you'll experience god's peace, which exceeds
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- Anything we can understand.
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- His peace will guard your hearts and minds
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- As you live in christ jesus.
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- Philippians four paul makes a clear connection
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- Between giving thanks and experiencing peace.
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- Let's enter his gates with thanksgiving right now.
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- Because you know he's worth it.
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- Let me pray.
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- Father, we do just that.
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- We come to you with thanksgiving on our lips
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- Because of who you are.
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- You are a good god.
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- You are a faithful god.
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- You're a god who sees us and loves us and know knows us.
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- And so, in jesus name, we offer up our thanks to you.
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- Amen.
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