Posted on 01/01/2024 3:15:48 PM PST by luvie
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Happy Thanksgiving! Have a wonderful day.
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Around the national Thanksgiving holiday, the US president welcomes two turkeys to the White House before granting them a presidential pardon. Instead of being served as the main dish of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, the turkeys safely live out the rest of their lives on a farm. Although the turkeys canât comprehend the freedom theyâve been granted, the unusual annual tradition highlights the life-giving power of a pardon.
The prophet Micah understood the significance of a pardon when he wrote a strong warning to the Israelites still in Jerusalem. Similar in form to a legal complaint, Micah recorded God bearing witness against the nation (Micah 1:2) for desiring evil and indulging in greed, dishonesty, and violence (6:10-15).
Despite these rebellious acts, Micah ends with hope rooted in the promise that God doesnât stay angry forever but instead âpardons sin and forgivesâ (7:18). As the Creator and Judge over all, He can authoritatively declare that He wonât hold our actions against us because of His promise to Abraham (v. 20)âultimately fulfilled in Jesusâ death and resurrection.
Being pardoned from all the ways we fail to live up to Godâs standards is an undeserved gift that brings immense blessings. As we grasp more and more of the benefits of His complete forgiveness, letâs respond in praise and gratitude.
What are the benefits of the pardon God offers? How does it prompt gratitude?
May I live, merciful Father, in gratitude because of the pardon Youâve offered me.
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A man in court filed a restraining order against God. He claimed God had been âparticularly unkindâ to him and had exhibited a âseriously negative attitude.â The presiding judge dismissed the suit, saying the man needed help not from the court but for his mental health. A true story: humorous, but also sad.
But are we so different? Donât we sometimes want to say, âStop, God, please, Iâve had enough!â Job did. He put God on trial. After enduring unspeakable personal tragedies, Job says, âI want to argue my case with God himselfâ (Job 13:3 nlt) and imagines taking âGod to courtâ (9:3 nlt). He even puts forth a restraining order: âWithdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening meâ (13:21). Jobâs prosecution argument wasnât his own innocence but what he viewed as Godâs unreasonable harshness: âDoes it please you to oppress me?â (10:3).
Sometimes we feel God is unfair. In truth, the story of Job is complex, not providing easy answers. God restores Jobâs physical fortunes in the end, but that isnât always His plan for us. Perhaps we find something of a verdict in Jobâs final admission: âSurely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to knowâ (42:3). The point is, God has reasons we know nothing of, and thereâs wonderful hope in that.
What occasions have prompted you to âtake God to courtâ? Why is it okay for you to ask Him tough questions?
Dear God, I sometimes feel angry about what Iâve had to endure. Please help me bring my complaints to You. For further study, read Understanding the Bible: The Wisdom Books.
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The book of Daniel spans seventy years of the Babylonian exile and is both biography (chs. 1-6) and prophecy (chs. 7-12). The first six chapters tell how Daniel distinguished himself to become the trusted adviser to Nebuchadnezzar (5:11-12) and Darius (6:1-5)âkings of two of the superpower empires of the ancient world. When God exiled the Israelites to Babylon, He commanded them to work for âthe peace and prosperityâ of their conquerors (Jeremiah 29:7). Daniel âwas trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligentâ (Daniel 6:4) and âso distinguished himself . . . that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdomâ (v. 3).
Raw fish and rainwater. An Australian sailor named Timothy survived on only those provisions for three months. Marooned on his storm-damaged catamaran, he was losing hopeâbobbing 1,200 miles from land in the Pacific Ocean. But then the crew of a Mexican tuna boat spotted his ailing boat and rescued him. Later, the thin and weather-beaten man declared, âTo the captain and fishing company that saved my life, Iâm just so grateful!â
Timothy gave thanks following his ordeal, but the prophet Daniel revealed a grateful heart before, during, and after a crisis. Having been exiled to Babylon from Judah with other Jews (Daniel 1:1-6), Daniel had risen in power only to be threatened by other leaders who wanted him dead (6:1-7). His foes got the king of Babylon to sign a decree stating that anyone who prayed âto any godâ would be âthrown into the lionsâ denâ (v. 7). What would Daniel, a man who loved and served the one true God, do? He âgot down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to . . . God, just as he had done beforeâ (v. 10). He gave thanks, and his grateful heart was rewarded as God spared his life and brought him honor (vv. 26-28).
As the apostle Paul wrote, may God help us âgive thanks in all circumstancesâ (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Whether weâre facing a crisis or have just come through one, a grateful response honors Him and helps keep our faith afloat. Â
Why is it vital to regularly thank God? How can you grow a more grateful heart?
Dear God, please help me give thanks even when life is hard.
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Happy December First!
We are freezing here in Wisconsin, about 22 degrees today, 10 tonight.
All the way up to 29 on Monday.
29 will be nice.
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It’s realy cold here too.
I wish I was back in Florida. (sigh)
Titus was one of the young men that Paul mentored in ministry. Unlike Timothy (see Acts 16:1-3), we know little about Titus. Weâre not told how he and Paul met or how he came to have the apostle as his mentor. Titus is mentioned ten times in 2 Corinthians (2:13; 7:6, 13, 14; 8:6, 16, 17, 23; 12:18 [twice]) and two times in Galatians (2:1, 3)âsolidifying our picture of him as an important member of Paulâs team. The only other mention of Titus (aside from the letter addressed to him) is in 2 Timothy 4:9-10, where Paul writes to Timothy: âDo your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.â
During his college days at Florida State University, Charlie Ward was a two-sport student athlete. In 1993, the young quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as the countryâs best college American football player, and he also starred on the basketball team.
During a pregame talk one day, his basketball coach used some foul language as he talked to his players. He noticed that Charlie âwasnât comfortable,â and said, âCharlie, whatâs up?â Ward said, âCoach, you know, Coach Bowden [the football coach] doesnât use that kind of language, and he gets us to play awfully hard.â
Charlieâs Christlike character allowed him to gently speak to his basketball coach about this issue. In fact, the coach told a reporter: âItâs almost as if there was an angel looking at youâ when he talked to Charlie.
A good reputation with unbelievers and a faithful witness for Christ are hard to maintain. But at the same time, believers in Jesus can grow to be more like Him as He helps and guides us. In Titus 2, younger men, and by extension all believers, are called to âbe self-controlledâ (v. 6) and to âshow integrity . . . and soundness of speech that cannot be condemnedâ (vv. 7-8).
When we live that way in Christâs strength, weâll not only honor Him but also build a good reputation. Then as God provides the wisdom we need, people will have reason to hear what we say.
How does a good reputation help you influence others? What will help you grow in Christlike character?
Dear God, please help me to grow in character that reflects You and honors You. For further study, read EvangelismâReaching Out through Relationships.
Good thing I stuck the shepard’s hooks I hang bird feeders on, in the lawn a few days ago. Our ground is too hard to do that now. Filled the feeders today. Will be fun to watch the birds all winter. đ
Everyone in the community of believers in Jesus was afraid of Saul because he was persecuting them (Acts 9:2). Even Ananiasâwhoâd been given explicit instructions from Jesus to go to the house where Saul was stayingâwas afraid of the man (vv. 10-19). Later, when Saul, âwho was also called Paulâ (13:9), escaped with his life to Jerusalem, Christâs disciples refused to allow him to join out of sheer fear of him (9:26). It was Barnabas who convinced Peter and the rest to welcome him as a fellow disciple of Jesus (v. 27), and it was Barnabas who saw potential in him for serving the church at Antioch (11:25-26). Where other believers feared him, Barnabas saw someone whoâd been radically changed by Christ. Because of this encourager, Paul was able to begin the ministry that would forever change the trajectory of the church.
âSheer encouragement.â That was the phrase J. R. R. Tolkien used to describe the personal support his friend and colleague C. S. Lewis gave him as he wrote the epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkienâs work on the series had been painstaking and exacting, and heâd personally typed out the lengthy manuscripts more than twice. When he sent them to Lewis, Lewis responded, âAll the long years you have spent on it are justified.âÂ
Perhaps Scriptureâs best-known encourager was Joseph from Cyprus, better known as Barnabas (meaning âson of encouragementâ), the name the apostles gave him (Acts 4:36). It was Barnabas who advocated for Paul to the apostles (9:27). Later, when non-Jewish believers began to place their faith in Jesus, Luke tells us Barnabas âwas glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their heartsâ (11:23). Luke describes him as âa good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,â adding that because of him, âa great number of people were brought to the Lordâ (v. 24).
The worth of encouraging words canât be measured. As we offer words of faith and love to others, Godâwho gives âeternal encouragementâ (2 Thessalonians 2:16)âmay move through what we share to transform someoneâs life forever. May He help us to offer âsheer encouragementâ to someone today!
Who would you like to encourage? In what ways might you share Godâs love with them through a kind deed or word?
Dear God, please help me to be an encouragement to someone today.
Brrrr! I hope things warm up a bit for you soon. 29 sounds much better than 10!
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