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 seventeen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the nations of the world.

Day Seventeen:
Thankful For the Nations

“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.  How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!”
Psalm 47:1-2 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for a glimpse of the nations praising God.  As I finish up some time at the International Conference on Missions, it has been a fun few days worshiping God together and talking with people from all around the world.  I am thankful for those who have responded to God’s calling to take the good news of Jesus to the far off lands and to the nearby neighborhoods.  I am thankful to be given a small part in encouraging and equipping others through the prayer ministry.

As has become a typical experience for me at these conventions, I once again had a number of the convention center workers ask if it was okay for them to take some of the prayer-based devotional books that I was giving away.  I am thankful God has given me eyes that often notice the forgotten people.  I often pray that God would make me even more observant so that I would see each person I encounter as a person.  I am thankful that God has given me something to share that can help encourage people who want to seek after God’s heart.

While there are those ministries that seem to be highlighted every year at the conference, I am thankful for the many who faithfully do the work God has called them to while receiving little to no recognition.  They do it because of God’s faithfulness to them and in obedience to His calling.  I am thankful for young people I talked with who want to live with an awareness of God’s presence in whatever career path they may follow.  I am thankful for the great diversity in God’s gifting to people so that His light and love can be spread into the diverse areas of darkness in this world.

How diverse is the group of people you spend the most time with?  Are there people in your daily life which seem to be invisible to most of the world?  Why?  Are there people that you see, but don’t really see?  What does it take for you to feel included in a group?  Do you do those things to help people different from you feel included in the groups you are part of?  Why?

As you pray, ask God to help you be thankful for the peoples of the world.  Pray that you would be deliberate in accepting and interacting with people who are different from you.  Pray that those who look, sound, and act differently would know of your thankfulness for them.

I pray that you and I would daily realize we are not alone when we praise and worship God.  I pray that we would live with open eyes and obedient minds as we walk faithfully with our Lord.

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 sixteen with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for a God who builds by His plan and power.

Day Sixteen:
Thankful For a God Who Builds

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”
Psalm 127:1 (NIV)

Today I am thankful for a God that takes notice and works for my good.  It can be very easy to think I have to build my life and a fruitful ministry on my own.  In fact, many voices in today’s Christian culture shout quite loudly about the secrets to church and ministry growth that can be found in self-promotion and catering to a specific group that can best further your growth goals.  It is in that world in which I often feel invisible that I am thankful for a God who watches over my work and provides direction that will honor Him and bear much fruit.

I am thankful today for conversations I will have that will be an encouragement to me and to those with whom I speak.  I am thankful that while I struggle to understand what the next step for the prayer ministry is, God continues to remind me that it is in His hands and His timing.  I am thankful for what God has been building and for the fruit that already exists.  I am thankful for the tears of those who are so overwhelmed with the goodness of God as He uses me to provide a spoken word and a printed resource that meets them exactly where they are.  I am thankful for those who look for me at conventions so that they can be encouraged, and that they can encourage me.  I am thankful for those God has touched through my writings in such a way that they can’t help but share.

As the sun rose over the city this morning, my room is facing in such a way that I didn’t have a view of the sunrise.  However, it wasn’t long before the glow of color spread around the buildings and filled the sky in all directions so that I could at least get a glimpse of what God was doing.  We may not always have a front row seat when it comes to observing the work of God, but His work is so incredible that it can’t be hidden from those who are looking for it.

As you pray, ask God to help you trust Him to build your life and the fruit He would have it bear.  Pray that you would be patient in allowing God to accomplish His work in you and in others.  Pray for a spirit that honors the working of God as it rejects the ways of men.

I pray that you and I would always look to God as the One to build our house, establish our work, and watch over our city.  I pray that we would reject the wisdom of man that gives preferential treatment to any group, and instead we would build our life and work on the wisdom of God who cares equally for each person.  I pray that our work would not be done in vain as we look to God as the source and director for all we do.

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 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