students of jesus

Enough with the rants and the whining: we have taught ourselves the habit of discontent. We are a people gone crazy with complaints. But the good news is habits can be dropped and new ones can be learned. We can update our software. We can see the world with fresh eyes.

A Month of Thanksgiving  is my attempt help reset our baseline and see gratitude as the “normal” God intended for each of his children. I wrote it because I believe our greatest need is to return to a “creaturely” relationship with our Creator. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. Did you know that last sentence is a verse of scripture? Visit our stern brother James and you’ll discover one of his foundations.

It’s a short daily devotional—you can read each one in a minute or two. After the devotion you’ll find a question worth asking, an action worth taking, and a quote worth repeating. Here’s a sample from day one. Get on board for the thanksgiving train: it’s underway in just a few days.

                                                                 November 1^st

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Paul’s words in Thessalonians have something to teach us about the will of God: he wants us to be thankful from the heart. Why torture ourselves over discovering God’s will when the obvious first step is right in front of us?

The Father knows thankfulness is the best thing for us—if it flows from the heart. When our hearts respond with prayers of joy and gratitude to the situations of life, we are responding out of Christlikeness and not simply parroting the company line.  One way to "pray continuously" is to develop the habit of giving thanks in all things. Gratitude is a mighty prayer in the Spirit.

Ask Yourself: Do I believe it is possible to give thanks in all situations? How could every circumstance contain the seeds of thanksgiving?

Live Into It: Each day, identify three thanks-worthy things. Use the notes App on your phone, or the white board on your refrigerator, or your bathroom mirror. It doesn’t matter if you repeat yourself some days—some things are worth giving thanks for every single day.

A.W. Tozer ~ “A thankful heart cannot be cynical.” 

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This devotional is available at Amazon 99 cents as a Kindle book, or just a bit more in paperback. Gather your wits each morning. Become sane again. Select “Restart” and you will find the world God wants you to see.

The thankful heart is awake to God’s goodness. It lives in the constant wonder of his first judgment about the world: “it is good.”