VIDEO True Thanksgiving

The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins. —Psalm 34:18 (TLB)

It is the custom of many Christians to bow their heads in public places and give thanks for the food that has been placed before them. I have had scores of waiters and waitresses tell me that when we bowed our heads, it was the first time they had ever seen that happen in their restaurant.

Millions never pause to give a word of thanks to God for the food provided. Few homes have a moment of thanksgiving at the beginning of the meal or at any other time of the day. Even at Thanksgiving time only a minority will pause and give thanks to God.

Thanksgiving is recognition of a debt that cannot be paid. We express thanks, whether or not we are able otherwise to reimburse the giver. When thanksgiving is filled with true meaning and is not just the formality of a polite “thank you,” it is the recognition of dependence.

Prayer for the day

Lord Jesus, I know that apart from You I can do nothing of lasting value. Help me to come to the end of self and allow You to control the reins of my life.

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Psalm 34 – Praise from the Cave

Psalm 34 takes place after David went to the Philistine city of Gath but found no refuge there and narrowly escaped. He, then, went to Adullam Cave where many desperate men joined him. This joyful and wise Psalm seems to have been written from that cave, and sung in the presence of those men.

Psalm 34

Trusting Our Future to God

No one knows what is coming. Ecclesiastes 10:14

In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first purchase with bitcoin (a digital currency then worth a fraction of a penny each), paying 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas ($25). In 2021, at its highest value during the year, those bitcoins would have been worth well more than $500 million. Back before the value skyrocketed, he kept paying for pizzas with coins, spending 100,000 bitcoins total. If he’d kept those bitcoins, their value would’ve made him a billionaire sixty-eight times over and placed him on the Forbes’ “richest people in the world” list. If only he’d known what was coming.

Of course, Hanyecz couldn’t possibly have known. None of us could have. Despite our attempts to comprehend and control the future, Ecclesiastes rings true: “No one knows what is coming” (10:14). Some of us delude ourselves into thinking we know more than we do, or worse, that we possess some special insight about another person’s life or future. But as Ecclesiastes pointedly asks: “who can tell someone else what will happen after them?” (v. 14). No one.

Scripture contrasts a wise and a foolish person, and one of the many distinctions between the two is humility about the future (Proverbs 27:1). A wise person recognizes that only God truly knows what’s over the horizon as they make decisions. But foolish people presume knowledge that isn’t theirs. May we have wisdom, trusting our future to the only One who actually knows it.

By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

Where do you see temptation to control the future? How can you better trust God with your coming days?

Dear God, help me to simply trust You today.  

A Heart of Gratitude

Consider the spiritual riches that Jesus died to give you—and thank Him today for those blessings

Psalm 100:1-5

The Bible instructs us, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). It’s interesting that this instruction was written by Paul, whose loyalty to Christ earned him severe persecution. How was he able to be grateful to God? 

While the apostle’s circumstances were difficult, he knew that his riches in Jesus far outweighed any earthly discomfort. And those same blessings are available to all believers. First, we gain a personal relationship with the one true God—the sovereign, omniscient, and omnipresent Lord of all creation. Second, our Creator loves us with an everlasting and unconditional love. Third, He sent His Son to pay our sin-debt so that we could spend eternity with Him. What’s more, when we trust in Jesus, we are freed from the fear of death. 

And the list of blessings keeps going: God adopts believers as His children (Ephesians 1:5). He has a plan for every life—and bestows special gifts to make it happen. He also promises to meet every need through His limitless resources (Philippians 4:19) and provides His Word and indwelling Spirit to guide us. 

No wonder Paul was grateful! Count his blessings as your own, and let God know how appreciative you are. 

Called Before Birth

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him.” (Galatians 1:15-16)

There is great mystery here. Paul was the human writer of much of the New Testament, yet he also claimed divine inspiration. “I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).

It was only a short time before, however, that Paul had been bitterly opposing that gospel. “Beyond measure,” he said, “I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it” (Galatians 1:13). Eventually, he was converted and began to preach “the faith which once he destroyed” (Galatians 1:23). Yet, during all his years of fighting God’s truth, he had already been separated unto God and called by His grace even before he was born, as our text reveals. His teachers in the synagogue, his studies under Gamaliel, and even his anti-Christian crusades were all being orchestrated by God to develop Paul into the unique person he would be, the great Christian whom God could use to write much of His own written Word. Paul’s epistles were thus truly his epistles, derived from his own experience, research, study, reasoning, and concerns. At the same time, they came out as God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, free from error and perfectly conveyed from God to man, because God had Himself ordained and planned all Paul’s experiences and abilities and had implanted all these concerns in his heart.

And so it was with all the human writers of the Bible. God’s Word (like Christ Himself) is both human and divine, yet meeting all our needs. This is mysterious indeed, but well within the capabilities of our omnipotent and gracious Creator. HMM

Born of the Spirit

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. —2 Corinthians 13:5

Christian is what he is not by ecclesiastical manipulation but by the new birth. He is a Christian because of a Spirit which dwells in him.

Only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The flesh can never be converted into spirit, no matter how many church dignitaries work on it.

Confirmation, baptism, holy communion, confession of faith—none of these nor all of them together can turn flesh into spirit nor make a son of Adam a son of God.

“Because ye are sons,” wrote Paul to the Galatians, “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6)….And to the Romans: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Romans 8:9). POM116-117

A sinner cannot grow into repentance. God’s power puts him there, and being there, then he grows in grace. SAN014

Down, but Not Out

Since my youth they have often attacked me, but they have not prevailed against me.—Psalm 129:2

The opening verses of this psalm spell out the simple but powerful message that though the world has always harassed the people of God, the world will never win. “Since my youth they have often attacked me,” says the psalmist, “but they have not prevailed against me.” The man or woman who clings closely to God outlasts all oppressors. He or she is provided with an inner fortitude that is enduring. Perseverance, patience, stickablity—this then is the message of Psalm 129.

There is no better way of seeing the persistency of faith than by setting it in the context of history. God’s people have been ostracized, ridiculed, humiliated, scorned, persecuted, and beaten, but in the midst of the most horrific trials they have continued to serve God. If the persistence that flows from faith was merely a fad, then we would not be talking about it now.

Faith—persistent faith, that is—is not a fad; it is a fact. It runs like a thread throughout all history and is shared by the men and women of every generation. Those who think of the Christian faith as a plant that flourishes only in good weather ought to take a look at history.

Faith is a hardy perennial that survives all weather conditions—drought, storm, even floods. J. B. Phillips, in his brilliant paraphrase of the New Testament, sums it up admirably: “We may be knocked down but we are never knocked out!” (2Co 4:9). A preacher friend of mine puts it equally well when he says: “We may be floored but we are not flattened.”

Prayer

Gracious Father, help me see that my perseverance is not so much a matter of my persevering but Your persevering in me. I supply the willingness; You supply the power. Together we will make it, You and I. All glory be to Your wonderful name. Amen.

Further Study

Jms 1:1-27; 5:1-11; Gl 6:9; Heb 12:1

What is Paul’s exhortation?

What will enable us to persevere?

Crouching at the Door

If you do right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”—Genesis 4:7

When temptation enters our hearts and minds, we either deal with it and gain mastery over it, or it eventually leads us to sinful actions. The time between the initial temptation and the chosen response is critical. Much hangs in the balance.

Cain knew that God was displeased with him but pleased with Abel. Feelings of jealous anger crept into Cain’s heart, and thoughts of murder pervaded his mind. As Cain considered what to do, God’s word came to him. God warned him that sin was waiting at the door of his life, looking for an opportunity to enter. Now was not the time to treat temptation lightly, not the time to assume sin would never cause any harm. Now was the time to master the sin and renounce it before it overcame him. Tragically, Cain did not master his sin; instead, sin overtook him and destroyed his life.

Temptations come at unexpected moments. Sinful thoughts may cross your mind. Selfish feelings may begin to invade your heart. The promptings of the Holy Spirit will warn you that God is not pleased with the direction your thoughts and feelings are taking you. At that moment of conviction, you must master the sin that crouches at the door of your life. Sin destroys. Sin brings death. Sin is not something to toy with or take lightly. God’s word to you is the same warning He gave to Cain: Master the sin at the door of your life before it brings its inevitable and disastrous consequences. Heed His caution, and you will avoid unnecessary hardship for yourself and others.