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.

Day thirty-one in the devotional is the outline of a Thanksgiving sermon I shared in 2019 titled, “How To Give THANKS”.  I’ll finish out this series of posts with a week focused on the points from that sermon.  Here is point one with a reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should lead us to give “turkey”.

How To Give THANKS:
Give Turkey

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV)

This version of “How To Give THANKS” is based around a “made-for-the-movies” stereotypical family thanksgiving day.  Here is one of the six things I think we can learn about giving thanks from a traditional Thanksgiving Day gathering:

We give thanks to God, and to others, when we give:

• Turkey:  Hebrews 5:11-14 —   I know, you probably have the same reaction that the congregation did this morning — “What?  Did he say what I thought I heard?  He didn’t just say turkey, did he?”.  Yep, I said turkey!  When you think of Thanksgiving, for most people, the first thing that comes to mind is turkey.  It is the traditional main course, the very center and substance to the meal which surrounds it.  When I say, “give turkey”, that is what I mean — give thanks with substance and meat at its very heart.  Don’t settle for simply mouthing the words thank you when you can give thanks with turkey — with real depth and meaning behind it.  This is a thanks that settles in and satisfies the deepest reaches of a person’s being.

As we prepare to wrap up a month pursuing a “Heart of Thanksgiving”, I pray that each of us would continually be reminded of all that we are thankful for.  As you pray, ask God to help you live a life of thanksgiving every day.  Pray that your representation of Jesus would show a thankful heart to the people around you.  And thank you for your love, prayers, and encouragement.

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 thirty with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the promises of God.

Day Thirty:
Thankful For God’s Promises

“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 
1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for the promises of God — specifically the promised return of Jesus to gather those who are His to Himself.  I am thankful that God has given us His promises for the purpose of encouraging one another.  I am thankful that after a month of writing a daily “Giving Thanks” post, I still have so much more to be thankful for than just the things I’ve written about.  I am thankful that we are not only “caught up” to be with Jesus forever, but we “will be caught up together with them” — the “them” being those who are in Christ but have already passed from this life. 

Clouds have a way of obscuring things as they keep us from clearly seeing what is beyond them.  At times, clouds can completely hide known objects from view yet we live with confidence that what disappeared behind the clouds is still just as present as it was when we could see it.  While there have been lengthy periods of time when the clouds take over and it feels like the sun will never be seen again, but the truth is that it is always there even when unseen and it always breaks through the clouds no matter how many days may pass before it does so.   It is in the cloudy days of life that I am most thankful for the unchanging nature of God as it reassures me that His promises will all be kept. 

As I spent the day with my family chasing a steam locomotive to photograph, we kept looking for the clouds of steam and smoke that rose in the air as a tell-tale sign of where it was.  There were even times when the clouds of steam would completely hide the train from view, yet the cloud itself was proof that the train was there.  “Being caught up in the clouds” is an encouragement only if we believe there is something beyond them.  Even when the clouds of this human flesh obscure our vision and understanding of what heaven is really like, we can trust the promises of God that it is not only real but it is a place of complete peace in the presence of God.

As you pray, ask God to help you remember and value His promises.  Pray that your faith would allow you to see, and live with assurance of, that which exists beyond this physical realm.

I pray that you and I would continue to be thankful every day that God gives us life.  I pray that we would hold fast to the promises of God in such a way that we are encouraged by His faithfulness.  I pray that we would encourage one another as we trust God with everything that is beyond our vision.

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 twenty-nine with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the family of God.

Day Twenty-Nine:
Thankful For God’s Family

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” 
Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for a family which derives its name and purpose from our heavenly Father.  I am thankful for the family of God that I have been adopted into, but am especially thankful for the godly immediate family that I am part of.  I am thankful that we continue to learn how to work together so that each part of the family benefits.  I am thankful for shared interests that give each of us joy as we search out the beauty of creation to photograph.  I am thankful for the power of God to help us endure the times of difficult health with the knowledge that God is with us in the midst of it.

I am thankful that I grew up in a family that did life together as it taught me much that I use even today.  Yes, we worked hard growing up on a farm but we worked hard together.  I also have very fond memories of the times we played together both on the farm and on family trips and vacations.  No, we didn’t always get along or even recognize what we had, but we were given no option but to endure and overcome whatever difficulties we faced — and especially the ones we created.

I am thankful that I carry these lessons forward and have slowly learned over the years just how much my parents patiently endured as we did life together.  I am thankful that God gives us families where we can work on learning to value each part of His family.  I am thankful that my family is a reminder that we are never alone and that God will never leave or forsake us.

As you pray, ask God to help you live as a member of His family.  Pray that you would find both comfort and joy in living as a member of God’s family.  Pray for a greater understanding of how God would have His family to act in the way they treat one another.  Pray that God would open your eyes to see, and care for, those family members who tend to be overlooked or neglected.  Pray that you would learn patient endurance while you grow in God’s family, even as you recognize God’s ongoing patience with you.

I pray that you and I would continue to become the family member God created us to be — both within our physical family and within the family of God.  I pray that we would know and experience the power of God as He fills us with the full measure of His Spirit.

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 twenty-eight with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for a God who gives in abundance.

Day Twenty-Eight:
Thankful For God’s Abundance

“How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.  They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.  For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” 
Psalm 36:7-9 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for a God who provides abundantly more than I can think or ask.  Do I always have what I want?  No.  Do I always have what I think I need?  No.  Sometimes I simply don’t ask.  Sometimes I ask and the answer requires some effort on my part that I’m not willing to give.  Sometimes I ask selfishly and my request would not be a true benefit to myself or anyone else if granted.  Sometimes I’m impatient and assume the good that I’m asking for isn’t coming when it just isn’t time yet.  When I think of God providing abundantly, I think of the promised land that was “flowing with milk and honey”.  When confirmed by Joshua and Caleb that this was in fact true, the people resisted and rebelled because of the other reports that detailed how much work and difficulty appeared to be involved in claiming God’s promise.  God’s promise of abundance doesn’t always look like we expect it to and the promise is really about God providing Himself so that the abundant life He gives is an eternal life.

Spending a month writing a post each day about giving thanks is a helpful exercise in seeing the abundance given by God.  When doing that, I realize my abundance isn’t accurately measured by my bank account or my house or my truck or by any other possession I have but rather my abundance is measured by the goodness of God He has placed in my life.  I am thankful for the things God has given me.  Even as I have a turkey on the smoker this morning, I am thankful for the feast God provides daily through His Word.  With coffee cup in hand, I am thankful for the living water that God provides as I surrender my life to Jesus.  After a day of brutal winds, I am thankful for the gentle breeze of the Holy Spirit providing comfort and direction to my soul.

I am thankful that God is accessible to me, and to you, no matter how the world sees us.  I am thankful that God is a refuge to all who would come to Him.  I am thankful that God’s love never fails.  I am thankful for the people God uses to comfort and encourage me.  I am even thankful for the people God uses to challenge and convict me when I allow my life to drift off track.

I pray that you and I would know an abundance that isn’t measured by material possessions.  I pray that we would count our blessings each day as a reminder of what God is doing in and through us.  I pray that we would see even our material abundance as a gift from God and use it to bring glory to His name.

In prayer,

Tom