Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day fifteen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the good gifts we receive from God.

Day Fifteen:
Thankful For Good Gifts

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
James 1:16-17 (NIV)

As I write this morning, I am thankful for the good gifts of God.  As I walked to lunch yesterday, I passed several little flower gardens that had been planted in the concrete and asphalt jungle of the downtown city.  To see a flowering kale doing its thing as it was tucked into a small patch of soil surrounded by sidewalk was a beautiful thing.  While it took someone’s effort to put it there, for me it was a “good and perfect gift” from God.  When quoting the above passage, it seems the leading verse that tells us not to be deceived often gets left off.  I am thankful that I can see the gifts of God regardless of the apparent source or who He used to deliver the gift.

As I am spending a few days specifically talking with people about the prayer ministry and the devotional books I have written, I am very deliberate in giving God the credit for the gifts He has given me to share.  I am thankful that God’s gifts are not trickery nor some sleight of hand, but He is constant in His intention and ability to do what is good and right.  I am thankful that the good gifts God has given others have been used to instruct and equip me for a more faithful walk with Christ.  I am thankful for the truth of God’s Word that guides me in right paths so I need not live as one who is deceived.  I am thankful for pleasant surprises that only God could orchestrate.

I pray that you and I would live in such a way that we are not deceived.  I pray that we would not only notice the good and perfect gifts which come from God, but that we would freely give Him the credit and glory for them.  I pray that we would also be thankful for the people God may choose to use to deliver His good and perfect gifts.  I pray that our paying attention to even the seemingly little things that come from God would lead us to be even more thankful each day.

What are some good gifts that you have?  How often do you express thanks to God for those gifts?  Why?  Are there gifts you have received that are difficult to recognize as coming from God?  Why?  How does a spirit of thankfulness help you to more readily see God’s hand in all that is good?

As you pray, ask God to help you be more aware of His good gifts in everyday life.  Pray that you would see God’s goodness in greater ways as you learn to be more thankful.

May God be praised abundantly, both now and forevermore, for His very good and perfect gifts with the greatest of them being the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

In prayer,

Tom  

Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day fourteen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for God illuminating our path.

Day Fourteen:
Thankful For Paths of Light

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7 (NIV)

As I sit down to write this next post in my Giving Thanks series, I am thankful for being called out of darkness and into the light of Jesus — and thankful that I accepted that call.  As I put the final finishing touches on the prayer ministry display this morning, I am thankful for the fellowship I will have over the next few days with thousands and thousands of believers who will join together as those who also walk in the light.  I am thankful that my choosing to walk in the light of Jesus is made possible by His blood cleansing me from all unrighteousness.

Last night as I was walking the “well-lit” underground walkways connecting the convention center to the hotel I am in, I realized that well-lit must mean different things to different people.  While I did not feel unsafe, my senses were always on high alert because of all the areas of darkness and shadows.  I suspect that is how my walk with Christ should be each day I live on this earth.  While His light does dispel the darkness and His Word is the lamp by which I ought to walk, there are still those around me who have chosen to live in the darkness and shadows of this world.  While the perfect love of Christ dispels all fear, the wise still walk with their senses on high alert as our enemy seeks to catch us off guard and draw us into his shadowy presence.

I am thankful that I have good people to walk this journey of life with.  As much as walking in the light created a sense of safety, walking with others who had chosen the light gave me an even greater confidence.  Whether walking the dark streets of a strange city with hundreds of others who are walking in fellowship with the Light, or walking through the valley of the shadow of death with one faithful friend, the fellowship we have with Christ builds and enhances our fellowship with one another.

As you pray, ask God to help you choose His path of light.  Pray that you would live in fellowship with others who are walking in the light as you help each other turn away from darkness.  Pray that you would be one who looks for ways to shine God’s light into the darkness others are walking in.  Pray for a submissive spirit that desires the light of God’s word over the world’s wisdom and the darkness which follows it.

I pray that you and I would daily choose to walk in the light of Christ in a way that enhances our fellowship with one another.  I pray that we would reject the arrogance of this world that continually insists that our way is a better light in the darkness than the Word of God.

In prayer,

Tom  

Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day thirteen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the visible glory of God.

Day Thirteen:
Thankful For God’s Glory

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”
Psalm 108:5 (NIV)

As I adjust to some winter-like weather, the day begins with an abundance of sunshine.  Whenever I have opportunity to travel, whether it is representing the prayer ministry or with my family, I am thankful for the glory God has spread out over the earth.  I am learning to slow down and pay attention to the glory of God.  I am thankful for the gift of photography which has caused me to not just notice a beautiful sunset, but to spend time enjoying it as I take it all in and try to capture some of its essence to share with others.

I am thankful that God is exalted by His very nature and that He has exalted the name of His Son, Jesus, to the highest place so that all people can call upon Him and be saved.  I am thankful that God also has called all of mankind, including me, to exalt and lift up His glory as we represent Jesus wherever we go.  The more I look for and notice the glory of God throughout creation, the less satisfied I am with just observing it.  No, I see it and I want to take in its fullness, to seek out the hidden and unseen parts of it, to dwell within its very presence.  While the sunrises, sunsets, crisp snowfalls, and other glimpses of God’s glory come and go, they serve as reminders of that sacred calling to join in proclaiming His majesty.

There is something about seeing the work of God that prompts me to point it out to others.  Whether the majesty of a sunset or the simple beauty of a cow and calf grazing along a mountain stream, I am thankful that God allows me to see His glory within it and to point others to Him through it.  As I prepare to represent Impact Prayer Ministry over the next few days, I am reminded of an article I wrote some years ago that I titled, “Tell Your Story and Give God the Credit”.  There are parts of my story that I don’t like and parts that are still painful to remember, let alone tell; but it is when I tell the story with the truth of God working in the midst of all the details, I find the story is much less about me and so much more about Him.  When He is exalted not just throughout creation, but throughout my life’s story, His glory is spread over all the earth.

As you pray, ask God to help you notice His glory over all the earth.  Pray that you would seek to make Him known as you share with others about the glory of God you have seen.  Pray for God’s glory to not just be revealed to you, but to be revealed through you.

I pray that you and I would be mindful of the glory of God He continues to reveal to us.  I pray that we would be humbled by the calling of God to share in that glory as we lift Him up to the highest place in our life.

In prayer,

Tom  

Thanksgiving.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read or hear that word?  Is it a day, a family meal, or perhaps a specific menu of foods?  Is it an attitude that comes and goes based on how you feel?  Or is it a way of life which flows from you regardless of your circumstances?  These devotions I will be sharing this month were originally written throughout November 2019 and then edited/updated during the summer of 2020 for a 31 day devotional journal, “The Heart of Thanksgiving:  Living a Life of Thankfulness”.  I will be re-sharing them here this month to encourage each of us to pursue a greater spirit of thankfulness in all we do.

Here is day twelve with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the seasons of change God brings into our life.

Day Twelve:
Thankful For Changing Seasons

“The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.”
Psalm 104:19 (NIV)

The weather did a little adjusting of my schedule to start the day, but it was a thankful day nonetheless.  As one who enjoys the unique beauty of each season, at least once I get used to it, I am thankful for the overnight snow.  While it added an element of extra work and difficulty to my day, the crisp beauty that came with it was worth it.  I am thankful for the variety that God has designed in nature.

As I was driving tonight, at least two things caught my eye.  One, an incredible sunset that led me off the main road in search of a suitable vantage point to photograph it.  While the area I was driving in had too many trees to get the photo I was looking for, I eventually found a spot to enjoy the afterglow and photograph the sky after the sun had dropped below the horizon.  Two, after rejoining the main road I began to notice a light rising over the horizon in my rear view mirror.  Just as the sun had earlier, this light led me to a detour so I could photograph the moon in its early evening splendor.

While there are times the sun and moon are hidden from view by clouds, I am thankful that my inability to see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.  The moon waxes and wanes on a schedule set by God.  Its journey across the sky accomplishes the very purpose for which it was created.  I am thankful that “the moon marks off the seasons and the sun knows when to go down” because it teaches me of a God who has called each piece of creation into being with a purpose.  I am thankful that a purposeful God chose to create you and chose to create me.  Even when an individual’s purpose is hidden from view by the clouds of this world, our inability to see that purpose in no way diminishes it.  I am thankful for a God who continually reveals not only Himself, but also His purpose for me.

What is your favorite season?  What is  your least favorite season?  Why?  What do you dislike most about your favorite season?  What do you like most about your least favorite season?  Why?  How does an attitude of thankfulness to God for His authority over creation help you to appreciate the seasons of nature?  How about the seasons of life?  As you pray, ask God to help you be thankful in all seasons as you recognize His authority over that which marks the beginning and end of each.  Pray that you would be more observant as you learn to give God praise for His work throughout creation.

I pray that you and I would thank God for the way He has designed creation.  I pray that we would be thankful for one another as we view ourselves and each other as individuals created by God on purpose and with purpose.

In prayer,

Tom