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 seven with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for God’s calling.

Day Seven:
Thankful for God’s Calling

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.”
1 Timothy 1:12 (NIV)

As I continue this series of posts, I am thankful for a God who has called, empowered, and equipped me to live in service to Him.  In a world, and even a Christian culture, that thinks they hold the keys to who is considered qualified, I thank God that He qualifies all who respond to His calling regardless of what others may say.  That doesn’t mean I’m qualified for everything, but I am qualified for the service He wants to do through me.

I am thankful that God considers me faithful even when I stumble because He knows my heart’s desire to be faithful.  When I consider the work that I’m aware of that God has done through me, the best of it has been things that I didn’t think much of but I did them because I knew He had set them before me.  Throughout my entire life, but particularly in the past five years with the writing ministry, I can clearly see how God has continually blessed a faithfulness in the seemingly small things with an expansion into more — more responsibility, more writing, more books, more effectiveness, and more obedience.

I am thankful that God sees me as a collection of possibilities because He sees what He has created.  Even when the world sees nothing because they are focused on the holes left by what is missing, God views me as His beloved child as He looks at all that is present by His design.  I suppose one of the lessons out of this is to be careful how we judge and view others.  Our words based on what we think is missing in another person can easily harm and damage that person who may very well be exactly as God has created and intended them to be.  I am thankful that even when those harmful words are hurled at us, God does not believe them and instead calls us to reject the lies and listen more intently to Him.

How do you serve God and His people?  Is it always easy?  Why?  How has God gifted you?  How do you discover that?  Are you currently using those gifts to bring glory to God?  In what way?  Do you feel the people around you encourage, or discourage, you to use the gifts God has given you?  Why?  Have you ever quit using your gifts, or at least felt like quitting?  Why?  What would help you to restart, or keep you going, during those times?  How can being thankful for God’s strengthening in your life help you to be faithful in His calling?  How can you encourage others to be faithful in the using of God’s gifting in their life?

As I thank God for considering me faithful and calling me into His service, I pray that you and I would also thank God for one another and for the works of service He has called each of us to.

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 six with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for family.

Day Six:
Thankful for Family

“He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.”
Acts 10:2 (NIV)

A series on giving thanks would not be complete or right without acknowledging and expressing thanks for my family.  While God has indeed blessed me with a great family, I think more importantly He has blessed each of us with the tools to continually grow in relationship with Him and with one another.  I suppose if I could define what I wanted my reputation and that of my family to be, I think the above verse describing Cornelius  and his family would be it.  I am thankful that my wife and I each have parents that brought us up that way and lived out the example seen in Cornelius.

We can only live under a borrowed reputation for a limited amount of time, so I am thankful we found value in the heritage we grew up in and have worked to make it our own.  While the foundation of that heritage was by itself a blessing, I believe the greater blessing was in the lessons learned through instruction and observation that have prepared us to respond in godly ways when faced with difficult times.  We did not request those difficult times, nor are we requesting additional difficulty, but each one has put a choice in front of us as to how we would respond to the difficulty and to each other.  I am thankful that by a combination of God’s grace and our individual commitments to Him, we eventually come out stronger as individuals and as a family.

While I don’t care for trials or errors, I am thankful that through many things, including the old “trial and error” method, we have learned how to not only get along most of the time, but to actually enjoy life together.  I am thankful for a daughter who can be both a challenge and an inspiration — but mostly the inspiration part even through the challenges.  She teaches me much and blesses so many with her ability to just be herself.

How thankful are you for your family?  Why?  How thankful do you feel your family is for you?  Why?  How are the answers to those questions related?  How easy is it for you to answer those questions?  Why?  What would it take for you to be more thankful for them, or them to be more thankful for you?  How much of it is dependent on an action that you or they would take and how much is dependent on a choice you would make?  Does choosing to be thankful help you find more to be thankful for?  What does that say about the times you become dissatisfied or ungrateful?  What will you do about it?

I pray that you and I would continually grow in our thankfulness for our family.  My experience has shown that the more we choose to be thankful for the people in our life, the more we find to be thankful for.

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 five with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for leaders.

Day Five:
Thankful for Leaders

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)

Most Christians know the above verses.  How well we practice them may be a different story, but we know them — or at least we think we do.  We are often reminded, and rightfully so, that we need to pray for our leaders.  Here in the United States and in other places where people have a voice in choosing their leaders, we need to be in prayer for the selection process even before our political leaders are elected.  But what about giving thanks for everyone . . . including those in authority that we may or may not have voted for?

While I wrote this on an off-year election day that I have no one to vote for (municipal elections only in Indiana and I’m a country boy), I am thankful for a process that, while flawed, allows me to live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and holiness.  Yes, I hear the rumblings and I don’t care for the political maneuvering that has been going on for decades (though it is really not a new thing at all).  But I think that if Paul can write to people living under the rule of the Roman empire and urge them to pray and be thankful for those in authority, surely God would want you and I to live the same way in this day and age.

Does your thankfulness for leaders ebb and flow?  Why?  How difficult is it for you to be thankful for someone you disagree with?  Are there things within your disagreement that you can find to be thankful for?  What?  What does the challenging of your beliefs do to your level of conviction regarding what you hold to be true?

I am thankful that no matter who is in charge politically in my city, county, state, and nation, God’s authority will always have the final say.  I am thankful that God has the power and authority to use both good and wicked leaders to accomplish the strengthening of His people.  I am thankful for those who persevere in their faith under severe persecution as they remind me that my faithfulness should not be dependent on the powers of this world.

If you live in a location where you are able to vote for your leaders, spend time in prayer and God’s Word seeking His help and guidance in your decision and then be thankful for both the process and the leaders selected.  If you’re not somewhere that voting is taking place, or it’s beyond election day, spend time in prayer and God’s Word seeking His help to be more thankful “for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

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 four with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the kingdom of light we belong to.

Day Four:
Thankful for a Kingdom of Light

“Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
Colossians 1:12-13 (NIV)

After photographing them every chance I get over a period of many years now, I never get tired of seeing a brand new sunrise or sunset.  In fact, I get rather disappointed when I have the availability of time at the beginning or end of a day and the clouds keep me from seeing the sun coming or going in its usual splendor.  I find the darkness of dimly lit days or even rooms with subdued lighting to be depressing.  I suppose that is part of the reason I am so thankful that I serve a God who has called me into His glorious light.

In Jesus Christ, we are rescued from the power and authority of the darkness of this world so that we may share in the kingdom of light with those who, through faith, have already obtained that inheritance.  One of the problems of light, though, is that it exposes the things that can be hidden by darkness.  Things which often show us to be less than what others want or expect.  Yet I am thankful it is not those things either hidden by darkness or exposed by light that determines my eternal destination.  No, it is God who qualifies me through the blood of His Son, Jesus, to walk in His light both now and forevermore.

Do you prefer living in darkness or light?  Why?  How thankful are you when God’s light shines into your life?  Why?  How does your recognition of the darkness you have been called out of influence the level of  gratitude you have for God’s kingdom of light?  Have you ever been somewhere and wasn’t sure within yourself that you belonged?  What does knowing that the one in charge qualified you to be present do for your confidence?  Is that confidence then placed in yourself or in the one who qualified you?  How is the confidence you have in a God who has qualified you for His kingdom of light expressed by you to Him?  Does your gratitude help the people around you know that they too can be qualified by God to belong in His kingdom?  How?

It is my prayer that I would never forget who has brought me into this kingdom of light and His desire for all to dwell within it.  I pray that my thankfulness to God for His work in qualifying me for this kingdom would extend to being thankful to Him for qualifying you also.  May each one of us not only know that we have been qualified by God for His kingdom, but may we also answer that call by stepping out of whatever darkness that we have become comfortable in.  And may we give thanks to God for those who have lived, and currently live, as examples of faithfulness within the kingdom of light.

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 three with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to be thankful for the times of refreshing that God brings into our life.

Day Three:
Thankful for Times of Refreshing

“Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.”
Proverbs 25:25 (NIV)

As I continue contemplating yesterday’s thought of being thankful for the indescribable gift of God that we have been given through His Son, Jesus, I am also thankful for the refreshing that comes from the good news found in God’s Word.  There has been no greater distance traveled in the sharing of good news to mankind than the journey Jesus made from heaven to earth.  As ambassadors of God’s kingdom, we have the privilege and responsibility to share that good news with others so they too would be refreshed.

As I thought about the above verse from Proverbs, I began to recall times when cold water has been most refreshing to me.  There were the summer days as a youth stacking hay in the uppermost parts of the barn, the garden work under the blazing sun, the early adult years working on a commercial roofing crew where the only thing hotter than the air temperature was the hot tar being used to lay the fiberglass roofing felt, and summer days when the outside work just had to be done regardless of the difficulty.  In all of those times, and so many more, there is a forgotten part that takes place just before the refreshing — the shock!

Sometimes the truth of God’s Word is such a shock to the way we’ve been living life that we’re not so sure we want the refreshing it offers — or if it even has the ability to refresh at all.  I am thankful that life has taught me the momentary shock of a tall glass of ice cold water is worth the eventual refreshing that it brings.  I am more thankful that God’s Word brings a lasting refreshment to my life that is so powerful the shock of conviction and needed change melts away quickly as the love of God transforms my heart, mind, and soul.  In this process, thankfulness becomes the fuel that helps keep the refreshing alive through the hills and valleys of a life filled with things which bring weariness.

Have you been refreshed by the good news from a distant land?  How has that news changed you?  When do you most need reminded of the refreshing that comes from God’s Word?  Does the way you live and share the truth of God’s Word bring refreshing to others even if it has a moment of shock to it?  Why?  How does choosing to be thankful for the refreshing that comes from God help you to refresh others?  What role does gratitude have in how refreshed you feel each day?  How will your thankfulness for God’s refreshing help you to share it?

I pray that you and I would be thankful each day for the good news of the transforming power of Jesus that comes from a land so far away yet so very close.

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

Day Two:
Thankful for God

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! “
2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)

I think I would be rather amiss if I wrote a series on giving thanks without an umbrella focus of being thankful for God.  The gifting I receive from God is so multi-faceted that it would be impossible to list all of it without missing something.  Yet most of the list would be things I could describe once I recognized I had received it.  The one gift that I’ll never be able to fully describe (at least not until I see Him face to face, and then there would be no point in describing it) is the gift God has given of Himself.  There is so much wrapped up in this indescribable gift that I’m sure elements of it will be present in most of this series of devotions on giving thanks.  And while there is an element of God giving and me receiving because God has given Himself, I will still use this as a reminder to simply be thankful for God’s presence even more than His presents.

For me, God is at the very center of my ability to be thankful.  Yes, I know people who don’t believe in God yet live with varying degrees of thankfulness.  But even without their recognition of it, He is generally the source of that for which they are thankful.  Being thankful for God, and the gift of Himself through Jesus, helps me to acknowledge His goodness as the provider of every “good and perfect gift”.  Beginning each day with a genuine thankfulness to God for Jesus helps me to have a thankful attitude when the day doesn’t go as I would wish or plan.  When I am truly thankful for God’s grace extended to me each day, I find it is much easier to remain thankful when I need to extend that same grace to others.

When you strip away the natural tendency to focus on the many presents that come from God and spend time simply considering His presence, it shouldn’t take long to realize a spirit of thankfulness welling up inside you.  While the efforts to describe this most precious of gifts will always fall short, the gratitude Jesus puts within you should be constantly growing as you put into practice a spirit of thanksgiving.  It is like the healthy relationships we ought to have with our closest friends — while we definitely value the things the do for us, the depth and closeness of the relationship is measured by the value we place on just being together.  Even if the actions and tangible gifts brought us together, the greatest friendships are those which continue to grow just because we desire the presence of one another.  When we learn to be thankful at that level, we have made great progress in being thankful for God.

As you spend this month thinking, and praying, about being more thankful, I pray that you and I would always begin by being thankful for God’s indescribable gift!

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 one with an important reminder that living with a heart of thanksgiving should cause us to rejoice always.

Day One:
Rejoice Always

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus to you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ASV)

It is that time of year again, at least here where I live, that people begin to think about being thankful.  Actually, I don’t know if there is a real increase in the level of gratitude or just in the expression of it; but either way, thankfulness becomes more visible and that’s a good thing.

So, what better way to start a series on giving thanks than with the above verses from First Thessalonians where we find it is God’s will that we give thanks in all circumstances.  You’ve likely heard time and time again that one of the keys to this command is the simple word, “in”.  With that one little word, we find instruction to be thankful even in the midst of things that no one would be particularly thankful for.  One of the benefits of a national Thanksgiving Holiday is that it tends to lead many to consider the things for which they are thankful regardless of their current circumstances.

Also key to being able to give thanks in everything is the command to rejoice always.  Our level of gratitude is usually tightly connected to our attitude.  Choosing to live with a joyful heart will lead each of us to a greater recognition of the many things for which we ought to be thankful . . . even in the midst of difficult circumstances.  As a Christian there are many things that should lead to greater rejoicing, but at the top of that list should be the knowledge that our name is written in the Book of Life.  When we choose to “rejoice in the Lord”, it will be in that act of rejoicing that we find much to be thankful for.

But even more important than rejoicing, I believe the command to pray without ceasing may be the greatest key in learning to give thanks in all circumstances.  You see, all of these (rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks) are God’s will for us and prayer is the communication tool that connects us with the heart and will of God regardless of the circumstances of life surrounding us.  When we pray about the good things of life, we will find we are more thankful to the One who provides them all.  When we pray about the difficult things of life, we discover One in whom we can be thankful as He has the understanding, power, ability, and desire to hold us and carry us through all things.

It is my prayer that each of us would take to heart the message of God’s Word and continually grow in our practice of giving thanks in all circumstances — not just in a season of Thanksgiving, but every day God gives us life here on earth.

In prayer,

Tom  

Every day you and I give people an impression of who Jesus is by the words we use.  Are they hearing, or reading, words from you which would draw them to Christ or push them away?  Are you using words which draw you into greater relationship with God or words which create distance?  Today concludes the 32 days of sharing from the devotional journal, “Watch Your Mouth”, with the prayer that it helped you discover some of what God has to say about choosing words which honor Him.

Here is day thirty-two with an important reminder that watching your mouth should lead you to use words which come from God.

Choose God’s Words

“He answered, ‘Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?’”
Numbers 23:12 (NIV)

How often do you pause before you speak?  Do you give much thought to choosing words that God would want you to speak?  Do you ever find yourself saying words because you believe they are the words your listener wants to hear?  How much does peer pressure influence the words you choose?  What would be some hindrances to always choosing God’s words?  Are there times or situations when you really don’t want to choose God’s words?  Why?

I tend to pause a lot before I speak and even while I’m speaking.  In doing so, I find that people who don’t know me often assume I have nothing to say or that I’m finished, so they rush in with a multitude of words which spill from their mouth.  The initial reason for my speech pattern is simply about the way my mind is wired but I’ve discovered that it is a good pattern to cultivate if I really want to choose God’s words.  As you pray, ask God to help you grow in your desire to speak only words that honor Him and have Him as their source.  Pray that you would be familiar enough with scripture that you would recognize God’s words in everyday life.

In prayer,

Tom