Devotions

Giving thanks in the middle of the storm … while the ship is sinking!  That’s what Paul did. Acts 27 recounts the story of Paul, the prisoner, headed to Rome by ship to present his case before Caesar. The ship encountered all kinds of weather-related problems. They ended up in a huge storm, taking desperate measures to keep from sinking. In fact, Acts 27 gives one of the most detailed pictures of what sailors went through in ancient times when in such danger.

After not eating anything for weeks, Paul finally encouraged them to eat. The ship is being beaten apart, and Paul tells them that the ship will be lost, but all their lives will be saved if they just do what he says. God had promised him in a dream all the lives on the ship.

“Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food-you haven’t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all.” [Acts 27:33-35 NIV]

Can you picture this scene in your mind? Waves crashing. Sea roaring. Ship groaning. Wind whipping all around them. Rocks pounding the hull. And Paul standing in their midst passing out bread and in a loud voice (I know it must have been a loud voice) giving thanks to His God.

Today our nation celebrates Thanksgiving Day.  Beloved, whether we are in the midst of a storm today, or peacefully resting in calm waters, we need to give thanks.  There is power in thanksgiving.

Thank you, Father. Thank you for my salvation. Thank you for conforming me to the image of Your Precious Son. Thank you for the promise of glory. Amen and amen.

It was late in the day. They had followed Jesus into a remote location and He had taken compassion upon them. He saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd, so He, the Great Shepherd began to teach them about the things of God. Now it was getting dark and everyone was hungry and probably a bit tired, so He told His disciples to feed them.

They balked at the task. They didn’t have enough money. They were too far away to go buy something even if they did have the money. The only thing they could scrounge up was a few loaves and a couple fish when they commandeered a young boy’s lunch.

The story is told in all four Gospels. And all four Gospel writers tell us the same thing. Jesus took those few loaves and fish and “gave thanks to God.” Then He broke them apart and fed the 5000 men plus women and children.

Later Jesus would send the disciples in their boats to the other side of the lake. He joined them by walking on the water out to them. You can read about it in John 6.  John also makes an interesting comment about the next day.  He reports, “Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.”  [John 6:22-23 NIV]

John connects the miracle of feeding 5000+ people from a few loaves of bread and a couple fish with “after the Lord had given thanks.”  John must have seen a great significance in the offering of thanksgiving. This was more than someone just saying “grace.” This was miracle-producing thanksgiving!  No wonder Paul urges us to “give thanks in all circumstances.” [1 Thess 5:16-18]

People were jealous. The king liked him better than they did them. They searched for a way to topple this favored one, but could not find anything amiss in him. They decided instead to deceive the king into making a ruling against praying to anyone except the king.  The ruling was only in effect for 30 days, but the punishment for breaking it was severe—death. These jealous men were hoping that the favored one would ignore the ruling and continue to pray to his God so that they could accuse him before the king and do away with him for good.

The favored one of the king, of course, was Daniel. And Daniel did exactly what his foes thought he would do.  “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” [Dan 6:10 NIV]

Isn’t that amazing?  All Daniel had to do to avoid the lion’s den was wait 30 days for the ruling to expire. Or he could have simply given his thanks to God silently out of sight. But Daniel did not change—not even when giving thanksgiving to God became against the law and punishable by death.

There are places in our world today where men and women face death by publicly acknowledging faith in Christ Jesus, where the giving of thanks to Jehovah God brings the wrath of others upon them. We need to lift them up in prayer every day so that they might have the courage of Daniel.

Father, I confess today that there have been times in my life where I have failed to offer my thanksgiving to you for at least 30 days. I confess today that I often forget those who are risking their lives for their faith. I pray today to be more like Daniel. And I pray today for those who are suffering and dying for their faith. May their testimony resound around the world. Amen.

David wasn’t the only one to designate people to sing and give praise and thanksgiving before the Lord. Years later, when the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah did the same thing.

When the Babylonians seized Jerusalem and carried off the Jews into captivity, the city was left in ruins. Solomon’s temple was destroyed. The wall which guarded the city was broken down. God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to return from exile and rebuild the wall. Others had already worked re-building a smaller version of the temple.

At the dedication of the wall, Nehemiah brought the Levites from where they were living to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. Singers were also brought in. Two choirs were formed as they went up on top of the wall … Nehemiah directed one to the left and the other to the right. The two choirs gave thanks and took their places in the house of God. Even the women and children rejoiced.  You can read about it in Nehemiah 12:27-43.

Nehemiah reported that “on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.” [V 43 NIV]

“The sound of rejoicing … could be heard far away.” What a testimony! Oh church, is that what the world hears coming from us?  Is that what flows out of our hearts and lives? God gave them great joy. God has given us greater joy in His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Let the world hear today the sound of our rejoicing!

Today begins Thanksgiving week.  If we haven’t been thinking about thanksgiving this month, we should probably start before too long.  Soon, we will be into the crazy Christmas season where it seems everyone is so rushed.

When David brought the Ark of the Covenant and set it inside the tent that he had pitched for it, they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. David blessed the people in the name of the Lord and gave each a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and one of raisins.

He did something else also. He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD. The Levites were given three tasks, to make petition, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. He even gave them a song to sing … it began, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.”   

Some, like Heman and Jeduthun were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD. They used trumpets and cymbals and instruments. You can read about it in 2 Chronicles 16.

What a wonderful job to have—to go every day to the presence of the Lord and sing and give thanks. Wait! We have that job also and we don’t have to go to a temple or tent for the presence. God’s presence now dwells within us.

Oh Father, what glory to know that we too can be in Your presence and sing praises and offer our thanksgiving for all your wonderful works. Help us to be aware always of all You have done for us. Amen.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 4:6-7 NIV]

Anxiety surrounds us in this life. Yesterday, we looked at some of the words that cause anxiety in our times.  Never forget that the enemy of our soul wants to keep us anxious.  He wants anxiety to take root and burrow deep down in our minds and hearts so that we can never feel safe, never feel peaceful.  He’ll use whatever it takes to generate fear.  That fear will keep us from enjoying life.

That fear will do something even more profound.  It will cause us to doubt God.  How many times after a disaster or diagnosis or death have we been confronted with, “Why did God allow this to happen?”

Unfortunately, “why?” questions are unanswerable. None of us knows the mind of God. And there must always be that acknowledgement of “free will.”

Paul promises that if we take everything and present it to God through prayer cloaked in thanksgiving, God will guard our hearts and mind with a peace that cannot be understood in the natural. We may not know “why.” We may not see things change for the better. We will, however, have this kryptonite-like peace covering our hearts and minds so that anxiety cannot take root there.

We will be able to face life with all its dangers. We will be able to face God without any doubt that He is for us.

Father, thank you for Your peace. I may not understand how I can be peaceful amid such trying times. I just know that I can be if I bring it all to You in prayer and thanksgiving. Amen

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  [Phil 4:6-7 NIV]

How often I have heard this verse used as a text for thanksgiving. I’ve even used it myself. Perhaps I have even used it without giving much thought to its depth?

It begins with a decisive statement. “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Read the paper or online news lately?  Watched any broadcasts? How can we be living in these times and not be anxious?  Everything around us seems to be working to promote anxiety, not lessen it.  Let me list just a few words of anxiety that have been in the news recently.

Floods. Fires. Terrorism. Death tolls. North Korea. Taxes. Those are national words.  What about personal words?  Cancer. Heart Attacks. Strokes. Accidents. Job Loss. Taxes (we’ll throw that one in twice.)

Yet, Paul clearly commands us in the middle of such things to not be anxious.  About anything!  Instead we are to take all those words and present them to God in prayer, wrapped in thanksgiving.  That isn’t easy, yet it is so needful.  Because if we will follow this command, God has made a promise to us.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 4:7 NIV]

More on God’s promise tomorrow.

This year the Thanksgiving Holiday is going to be different for Bob and me. We have almost always had our children and grandchildren together on this one day. That won’t happen this year. Both sons will be spending the holiday in other places, one in Nevada, the other in California.

We will, however, have our daughter and her family with us.  Rather than cooking, we are talking about going out for dinner. I can honestly say I can’t remember ever spending thanksgiving in a restaurant!  I may have, I just can’t recollect it.

Change is a fact of life. We want things to remain the same, to always hold to the same family traditions, but that isn’t always possible. Many times, we must make new family traditions.

David makes a promise in Psalm 9 that the LORD reigns forever, that He has established His throne, that the LORD is our refuge and stronghold, and that He has never (nor never will) forsake those who seek Him. [vs 7-10]

The Thanksgiving Holiday may be different for me this year, but the things for which I am thankful have not changed. Father, thank you that …

“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”  [vs 10]

Today is my friend’s birthday.  We were not sure in August that she would celebrate this one; she was so sick. God, however, has allowed her to remain with us. She still is in the recovery process, but she is here!  I can reach her with a phone call; I can visit when given the opportunity. God must have known how much we needed to be able to reach out to her, to hear her voice, her laugh, to know her love and her prayers for so many.  I am so thankful!

I am so thankful for friends.  Merriam-Webster defines friend as “one who is attached to another by affection or esteem.”  In the Greek it is the word, philos, (fee’-los), and it means the same thing.  The word “fond” is part of that definition.

God called Abraham friend [Isa 41:8], and Moses also [Ex 33:11].  Jesus said that we were His friends when we do what He commands [John 15:14].

I know God loves me … I know God loves me!  He loves me even though I am not worth that love. I don’t always do what pleases Him, still I know He continues to love me and through His Spirit continues His work in my life.

But, to think that God is also fond of me contains a certain sweetness.  It’s not that I can do anything in my own strength to deserve that affection or fondness. To me, it is the simple assurance that I am, at least for this moment, obedient and doing what He commands. It means I can feel His pleasure.

Thank you, Father, for Your love for me that never wavers, never falters or fails. Thank you, Father, that there are those times that I can feel Your pleasure, when I experience deep in my soul your affection for Your child. Amen.

I remember my former pastor Jim Gardiner always saying that it is easier to get people to love God than to get people to allow God to love them.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “Indeed, our chief defect as Christians is that we fail to realize Christ’s love to us.”*

I often write about the love of God shown in Christ’s sacrifice for us. I think I often write about it because I am often thinking about it!  It always shakes me to my core to think about God loving me, a sinner. That verse in Romans 5 says it all to me. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [vs 8 NIV]

This past Saturday we celebrated Veterans Day. It has been proven far too often that members of the Armed Forces will lay down their lives for their comrades in battle. But I wonder how many would lay down their life for their enemy? That is not what you do for your enemy.  Yet, that is what God did for His.

In sin I lived until the call of the Gospel reached me. I was God’s enemy. I neither acknowledged Him as Lord of my life not had any desire whatsoever to serve Him and then His love flooded my heart, His grace took hold of me and faith arose. For the first time in life perhaps, I understood what “love” was. God loved me. He proved it to me in His offer of Christ’s sacrifice for my sin.

Oh, beloved of God, let us never as Lloyd-Jones wrote, “fail to realize Christ’s love to us.” Let us not doubt how much He was willing to give so that His enemies might become His children. Let us never fail to proclaim His love in this life so that others might come to know Him.

*Martyn Lloyd-Jones (The Unsearchable Riches of Christ [Baker], p. 219)