Online Devotions: thanking God

Sunday, November 19, 2017

True Thanksgiving

November 19 (Colossians 2:6-7)

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (ESV)

There are many things for which we give thanks as we gather with family and friends on Thanksgiving Day, yet none is more worthy of our gratitude than the gift of life from God through Jesus Christ. Are we grateful for the nation in which we live? Yes, but our citizenship in heaven is more to be prized. Are we grateful for material blessings? Yes, but of greater value are the treasures that moth and rust cannot corrupt and that thieves cannot break in to steal. Are we grateful for the relationships that form the fabric of our lives? Yes, but no relationship is closer than the one we have with our heavenly Father through Christ Jesus, by whose blood we are His adopted brothers and sisters and co-heirs with Him in glory.

Friends, reflect on these blessings of immeasurable value when you are with others this week. If they, like you, have become new creatures in Christ, they will join with you in thanksgiving for that which matters most. If they do not know Jesus, it is an opportunity for you to testify to all He has done for you. And would you not be deeply grateful if by this time next year they joined you in that same thanksgiving?

Lord, my deepest thanks go to You. I could never list all the individual blessings of my life, both in this world and in the next, but I can acknowledge their source. May the words of my mouth, the actions of my hands, and the thoughts of my heart be ever directed in thanks to You, my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Without God I Am Nothing

January 29 (Genesis 32:10)

I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! (ESV)

Read chapters 29 through 32 of Genesis. Jacob worked hard for many years. Scripture tells of at least fourteen years that he worked for Laban, building his flocks and family, but when you start figuring in the number of children he had during that time, it would have been even longer. Hard work over an extended period of time. That is the recipe for success, isn’t it?

Yet in this verse Jacob gives full credit to God for his achievements and takes none for himself. Think of the things for which you have worked hard over time…a college degree, advancement within your work, a health and fitness goal, financial stability, owning a home, having children. These are things for which people take great pride and for which we congratulate each other. How often is our response in moments of celebration over personal achievement to turn the praise immediately to God?

Stop and think about that for a moment. Will you thank God for your ability to make the money you are spending at the gas station you are blessed to have nearby as you fill the tank of the car He has helped you purchase? Will you praise Him for the running water with which you brush your teeth you have been blessed to entrust to a dentist gifted by God to treat and care for? You see where this is going. There is not one thing in all our possession or achievement that we own or have done apart from God.

Lord, I owe it all to You. I owe to You all that I have and all I have achieved. Call to my mind the things I have overlooked. Develop in me such an awareness of Your hand in my life that my days are filled with praise and thanksgiving. I begin now with glorifying my Savior Jesus, Who is quite simply my all in all. Amen.

History of Online Devotions

In January of 1999, I began the Online Devotions with the teens of the church we were attending. Each week they would receive a verse of Scripture, a short reflection, and a prayer. Over the years others subscribed to this email list, and soon the Online Devotions were going out to people across the country and beyond.

In 2007 I published in book format a collection called Desert Days: Forty Devotions for Men.

After suggestions from several readers, I launched in 2010 the Online Devotions blog. Devotions are still available each week by email, and if you would like to subscribe, please indicate so in the comment box.

As I have always said, if one of these devotions touches you, you can be sure it was from God. If one leaves you flat, then there was too much of me in it.