Read & Reflect

John 14:1–6 (ESV) 

¹ “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ² In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴ And you know the way to where I am going.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

As we finish our Thanksgiving Devotions, let’s marvel with gratitude on the ultimate meaning of our salvation.

Isaiah 25:6-9 (ESV)

⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

  a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

  of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain

  the covering that is cast over all peoples,

  the veil that is spread over all nations.

⁸    He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

  and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

  for the Lord has spoken.

⁹ It will be said on that day,

 “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.

  This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

  let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”7

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

Today’s text is another example of heartfelt gratitude.

Isaiah 12 (ESV) 

¹ You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord,  for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away,  that you might comfort me.

² “Behold, God is my salvation;  I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song,  and he has become my salvation.”

³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴ And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,  call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples,  proclaim that his name is exalted.

⁵ “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.

⁶ Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,  for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Read & Reflect

The psalmist in today’s text expresses humble gratitude and contentment that can serve as a model for our own prayers of gratitude.

Psalm 16

¹ Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;  I have no good apart from you.”

³ As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,  in whom is all my delight.

⁴ The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;  their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out  or take their names on my lips.

⁵ The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;  you hold my lot.

⁶ The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷ I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

⁸ I have set the Lord always before me;  because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;  my flesh also dwells secure.

¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,  or let your holy one see corruption.

¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;  in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Read & Reflect

Giving thanks is one of the chief joys granted to God’s children, and we would do well to practice it and grow in it.

Psalm 108:1–6 (ESV)

¹ My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!

² Awake, O harp and lyre!  I will awake the dawn!

³ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

⁴ For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

⁶ That your beloved ones may be delivered,  give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

Gratitude must be expressed in order for it to have its full effect on our lives.

Luke 17:11-19

¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

Apostle Paul never got over the fact that that God not only saved him but also called him to serve him. This calling has been extended to all believers, and it’s a privilege and honor for which we should experience deep gratitude.

1 Timothy 1:12–17 (ESV)

¹² I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, ¹³ though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.  But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen.

2 Timothy 1:8–12 (ESV)

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power  of  God, ⁹ who  saved  us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰ and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹ for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ¹² which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

Out of all that we thank God for, surely the people he used to bring us to salvation must be high on the list.

Exodus 2:1–10 (ESV)

¹ Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. ² The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. ⁴ And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. ⁵ Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother.  ⁹ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your  wages.” So the woman took the  child  and  nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

Read & Reflect

Something about the servant’s reaction tells us that he did not fully comprehend what had just happened. As we strive to appreciate what God has done, let’s focus today on the debt of sin that God has forgiven us out of his mercy.

Matthew 18:23–35 (ESV)

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one   was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’   ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?

Read & Reflect

Apostle Paul prayed that we as Christians would grow in the depths of our appreciation for the richness of our salvation.

Ephesians 1:15–21 (ESV)

¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for  you,  remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might  ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority  and power and dominion, and above  every  name  that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

What are some lessons from today’s text, and how do they apply to your life?