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 Psalm 50:14 What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the most high God. |
Attitude of Gratitude In Psalms 50, Asaph wrote of God’s wishes for us that included: Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory. It is easy to give glory to God when everything is going our way, but oh to give thanks when the going gets tough! When I am experiencing tough times, feeling sorrow or anxious about an outcome, there are actions I must take to ensure that I will be able to find the good in bad situations. The first thing I do is to think about how different my life is today as compared to the past. Then I think about all of the people I know that are not as fortunate as me and I pray for them. Sometimes I will contact them, tell them I am thinking of them, or just listen to what they need to say. Then I write a “gratitude list.” I literally take out a sheet of paper and write down twenty things that I am grateful for. That always helps me to see that God is, was and always will be with me through thick and thin.  It is so
easy to lose sight of gratitude when we are busy living life and things are
humming along or we get too wrapped up in our own struggles to see that
others are not as fortunate as we are. This is where I start to take all of
my blessings for granted. Sometimes I become so grandiose that I actually
believe that my job, health and relationships are standard things that come
with this game called life. In reality, however, some people don’t have jobs
(many in fact); some people don’t have a friend to call their own; and many,
many people are physically or emotionally afflicted in such a way that they
are incapacitated. So, indeed, I need to remember that my life is filled
with a multitude of blessings, including those little brown ladybugs that
have taken up residence in our neighborhood. They really are cute even
though there are a million of them!Working
toward an “Attitude of Gratitude” is one of the easiest and quickest ways to
praise our mighty God while we endure tough times. Before long, we start to
realize that some people actually have it worse than us. Prayer Father God, I thank you for all the trials and tribulations that have come in and out of my life for they are what have molded me into the grateful, radical servant of yours that I am. I thank you for freedom from the bondage of self, freedom from insecurity, freedom from fear! Your power overtakes me like a tidal wave landing ashore. Your love and comfort fill me with joy. I pray that you continue to use me to my fullest capacity. When I am tired and hungry, your word, love and strength rejuvenate me! . Additional Scripture Ephesians 5:16-20; Philippians 4:6-7
Kate Geiger
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NOTE: This page contains 5 devotions. Pick
one using the above buttons. |
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| Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. |
God Is Good All The Time I love to live out of God’s promise from Romans 8:28: That we know in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Belief in this promise enables me to keep His command: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18) If I truly believe that the God who made me and saved me is working all things out for my good, then I am free to choose to praise and thank Him at all times. I
witnessed God being faithful to His promise this week when my neighbor
shared that she would be taking her sister to the hospital that morning for
unexpected heart catheterization, angioplasty and possible heart surgery, if
necessary. To complicate things a bit more, this would be the same hospital
that she had taken her husband to just two years ago for heart surgery, and
was to return home a widow. She chose to step out and walk through it with
God, as painful as it was.As soon as
the doctors took her sister to the operating room, she went immediately to
locate the hospital chaplain. God blessed her with the exact same chaplain
that had comforted her two years ago. The pain of her husband’s death still
hung like a heavy weight upon her heart. Together they went into the chapel
for prayer and God immediately removed her heavy heart and replaced it with
His light heart of love. She left with a skip in her step. And in no time,
the doctors were bringing her news that, although the tests had clearly
shown a blockage in her sister’s heart, they could find nothing and her
heart was functioning perfectly. Everyone returned home with praises on
their lips and in their hearts. They went to the hospital to get one heart
fixed and came home with two healed hearts! One more case of God working all
things for great, glorious good.I am not
naturally poetic at all, but God recently gave me these words that I shall
close with:Do you
have any worries this God-given day? Decide in
your mind you will not let them stay. Bow your
head, lift your hands and begin to praise. For the
God who is with you can make it okay.Will He
take every hardship and trial away? Yes, He
can and He does take some away. Yet, some
He will use to mold you like clay Into even
more beauty, in a heavenly way.So cast
all your care on the Father this day. The One
who sent Jesus to pay for your way. Yes, the
cross that you bear may be heavy today. Yet, you
shall not bear it alone - no way!Prayer God of all hope, You are good all the time, no matter what it looks like to my eyes. I can trust you always. May I choose to praise and thank you at all times, knowing you are working all things for great, glorious good. Amen. Additional Scripture Romans 8:18; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:15-17
Becky Curtis |
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| I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. |
Thanks In All Circumstances Thanksgiving is coming and I have more things to be thankful for than I can count. As I start to name them, I'm sure they will be similar to your list. First, I am thankful that Jesus Christ died for my sins and gave me a Highway to Heaven. Through this redemption, He has given me His Body in the form of many brothers and sisters who share my blessings. This, along with food and shelter, clothes and health, beautiful sunny (and rainy) days and much more. Yes, as usual, there are uncertainties in my life. These circumstances are the stage the Director of the Drama of my life sets for me. I continue
to thank Him because I know His faithfulness better than I know the next
Act. At the same time, I cry within my spirit. I cry for my brothers and
sisters who love to keep active but have been afflicted with physical
illnesses and have been slowed down or became incompetent. I cry for
deliverance and salvation for those people who do not know Jesus. They try
to fill the void in their lives with drugs, alcohol and the occult. I cry
for the children (and adults) who are swept up into Satan's lies of
witchcraft through Pokeman and Henry Potter. Personally, I like the old
fashioned Cinderella stories where the prince comes to rescue the hurting
and captive. A friend once told me she had been looking for her Prince
Charming to rescue her when suddenly she realized Jesus Christ had rescued
her out of darkness and is her Prince Charming! We point
our fingers and look at the poor Palestinian children who are taught to hate
so they can kill their enemies and have their liberation. Psalm l22:6 tells
us to "Pray for Jerusalem." But think about it, dear brothers and sisters.
What are we doing when we allow our children to be swept up by enemies that
hide in the the occult and witchcraft? Millions of dollars are being spent
on books and movies, while people in the world are hungry and without
shelter and clothes. We pray for Rachel's children, but do we remember to
pray for Hagar's children?I have
warfare within me which is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. Also, II
Corinthians l0:4-5 tells us: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to diminish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ. Let us continue to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ as we
live in the world, but not of the world.Prayer Daily, Lord, I want to walk and talk with You. Forgive me when I grumble about little things such as dropping something on the floor and then having to clean it up. Also, I catch myself becoming oppressed when I hear about world conditions that promote fear and injustice, hate and anger. No matter what the circumstance, I want to thank and praise You for being our Deliverer out of darkness into Your marvelous Light - even when we see only darkness. Your Word tells us, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) Amen. Additional Scripture John 15:19; II Corinthians 3:19; I John 2:15-17; I John 5:4
Evelyn Rhoades
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| John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. |
The Stakes Are High The words of John 14:10 pierce my spirit. If the Father is in me, then people should see HIM there. If I am a Christian, I am representing Christ to the world, to my family, to my friends. I am the flesh and breath of the Lover of our souls. “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” If I am in the Father, people will see HIM. They will smell his fragrance of love all over me. WOW! I think that is exciting, but how true is it? If I am to be a creditable witness of the Father’s love, of His freedom, do not my words have to be his words and my actions resemble His actions? If I am doing my Father’s work, then people need to see the Father in me. I find
that my “flesh” has to die often, MY WILL has to die. I have to give up my
agenda and focus on the Father’s agenda, on HIS WILL. To seek the lost and
set the oppressed free, in the radical love of Jesus, my pride has to die,
my desires go unfulfilled, and my schedule will be interrupted often. My
spirit has to be constantly in the presence of God so the fragrant passion
of his love for others can shine through. I have to constantly forgive
others their trespasses. My disappointment in them has to always go on the
back burner so I can see them through the Lord’s eyes and not mine. I have
to step aside and allow God to move. Allow HIM to live in me. God will never
force his spirit on us; we have to invite him in.The stakes
are very high because I can turn others away from Him by representing him
negatively. As a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ, I am an ambassador
of His love, of His truth. I am the bearer of Mercy and Grace, or I am an
obstacle, a dam keeping his spirit from flowing out on others. I choose and
it is a choice I make daily, sometimes hourly.Prayer Oh Dear Father, how often I have failed to represent you properly. I realize how much you depend on me to be authentic to others so they may know you. Let my hands be your hands, my heart your heart. May my spirit feel your feelings and my thoughts know your thoughts. May you totally invade me so that I may invade the world with your love and your truth. Forgive me for my pride, my resentment and my fear. Cleanse me with your truth and breathe into me so I may exhale nothing but you. Amen. Additional Scripture Mark 8:29; John 14:9; John 8:42-47; Proverbs 3:5-6
Sherry Canfarelli
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| Lamentations 3:19-24 I remember my affliction, the bitterness and the gall . . yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness . . The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him. . |
God Never Forgets To Remember! Scripture tells us that our enemy, Satan, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But even if he is given permission to afflict us with any evil thing at all, we have the assurance that he is still kept on a leash. In all his evil among men or in nature, we must remember Satan is still under God’s power and control. Since Satan cannot win in a hand-to-hand battle with God, his power against God’s power, he continually tries to alienate man from God and God from man, an alienation that cannot be reconciled. In the case of Job, the man who in his righteousness delighted God, Satan claimed that Job’s godliness was self-serving, that he was only righteous because it paid off in blessings from God. And if God would allow him to tempt Job by taking away his many blessings, Job would be exposed for the unrighteous sinner Satan believed him to be. Unfortunately for Job, the only way to prove Satan’s accusation wrong, was to let Satan do as he wanted. To rob Job of every sign of God’s favor, all his many blessings. So God let Satan have his way with Job, within specified limits. Despite
all the pain and suffering inflicted upon him, and even though he challenged
God’s reasoning for his suffering, Job still would not curse God. He knew in
his heart he would be vindicated. And because of Job’s continued belief in
God, the story has a happy ending (Job 42:10-17) and we learn that our
righteousness, our faithfulness to God, has such value that God treasures it
more than all.In times
of distress, we have to look past the problem and keep our focus on, and our
faith in, God. In doing so, like Job, we will be lead to see God’s hand at
work and not curse Him with any wrongdoing. We should praise our Lord God in
all circumstances, good or bad. People are naturally happy on some
occasions, but the Christian’s joy is not dependent on circumstances. It
comes from what Christ has done and it is constant. Followers of Christ are
continually thankful, whatever the circumstances, and will trust God to see
them through. God will always remember His covenant to never leave us or
forsake us. To remember is not merely to recall to mind; it is to express
concern for someone, to act with loving care for them. When God remembers
His people, He does so with favor. There is a new beginning after each
“flood” in our life. If we remain faithful, the Lord will not only remember
us, He will bless us.In this
season of Thanksgiving, focus on appreciating what is and that God is in
control versus what might be or what might happen. Do not forget what the
Lord has given you. Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. God gives us a daily dose of His strength
every morning and if we go forward in the way He has set before us, He will
fulfill His every promise. The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it more
abundantly.
Prayer Lord God, may your constant and consistent blessings never dull my gratitude for them. I humbly confess that you are my strength and all I have was given to me by You. I thank You for all that is in my life; the good times and the trials. In remembering the good times, I can go through the trials, knowing You are in control of them as well and will work all them out to my good and, most importantly, to your glory! How I love to have your glory shine through me. What a blessing! Thank You. Yes! Additional Scripture Lamentations 3:19-24; James 4:6, 10; John 10:10; Deuteronomy 8:11-14; I Peter 5:8-9; Job 1:12
Pat Hedleston
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