THANKFUL

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for being the God who knows everything about me. Nothing is hidden. We are humbled that You are concerned about the anxieties that plague Your children in this fallen world. Our emotional tank feels empty. We have nothing left, our strength is exhausted. Problems multiply daily. The swamp is calling in more alligators and our canoe is sinking. You told us that even as Your followers we’d have troubles in this world. You weren’t kidding! We battle with pride, thinking ‘no need to bother God. I’ve got this handled, thank you.’ But You are telling us, Don’t just hand me your burdens, but cast them on Me. Throw them to Me. Quit trying to handle things on your own. Give Me every problem, because I care for you and what you are going through (1 Peter 5:7). Could You be clearer than what You told us in Psalm 55:22—Cast your cares on Me, and I will sustain you. I will never let you—who I now call righteous— be shaken!

We hear You say, You’re my child. I’m Your heavenly Father and I care for You. In fact, I cared so much I sent My Son Jesus to the cross on your behalf, so give Me your burdens and rest in the peace I’ll give you once you release these burdens to Me. Then sit back and watch how I turn these problems into something that makes you stronger and more like your Savior Jesus. But you gotta let go!

Help me to let go of anxieties so I can rest in Your peace and allow You to fill my blessings cup to overflowing again.

Throwing my cares and burdens on You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for caring for me. In Your name, Jesus. Amen!

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank You, Jesus, that after we came to You in repentance, You didn’t leave us alone to figure out who You are or what to do. That would be so unlike Your character. You promised to send the Holy Spirit to live within us. You said, When He comes, He will guide us into all truth. He will not speak to our spirit on His own authority, but will speak whatever He hears the Father say, and He will tell you what’s ahead (John 16:13). Thank You Lord for introducing us to Your voice, so we will know when You are talking to our inner man. You keep us in the way we should go. Help us know Your voice so intimately that the devil’s lies will be easy to spot. Give us a deeper desire to study Your Word so that Your Spirit will guide and keep us in Your will. May we be so in love with You, Jesus, that we gladly put Your desires ahead of ours and become more like You. In doing so, we honor You in everything we do. What the ancient psalmist wrote millenniums ago, is still true today: Your Word is a bright lamp for my feet and lights my pathway while I walk with You (Psalm 119:105).

Thankful Your Spirit guides us, Jesus. Amen.

Memorial Day 2019

Monday, May 27, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

“. . . that from these honored dead we take the increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

This day we pause from our busy schedules, activities, duties and pleasures to commemorate those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. These soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were not old by most standards. From Lexington’s Bunker Hill to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from Havana, Cuba, they gave their all. From the horrors of the trenches in France, to the invasion at Normandy, to Korea to the rice patties in Viet Nam, now the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, those heroes who gave their all were mostly in their late teens and twenties. In President Reagan’s eulogy of these American heroes, he spoke how these fallen warriors gave up two lives—the one they were living, and the life they would have lived. Many would never have children nor grandchildren, their lineage abruptly ended. Many would never build a home or run a business. Their sacrifice ended the difference in society they would have made for future generations. They would never stand on the slopping hills of Arlington National Cemetery to remember their brothers in arms. Instead, they now eternally rest among the more than two-hundred on these sacred grounds. Freedom is not free. It comes with a high price.

The 58,000 plus names engraved in the granite wall of the Viet Nam Memorial is the sobering realization that many of my generation paid the ultimate sacrifice. Now, as an old man (72), I walked beside the wall, reverently touching the names of those who lost both lives. I’ve had a great life, wonderful family and children, lifelong friends, blessed with health and wellbeing. I also get to write stories about Jesus. But my name could have been etched alongside the others. I’m reminded again, freedom comes with a price. Freedom is not free.

Humble our hearts, Lord, to always remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. May we never forget them.

When you meet a veteran, look them in the eye and thank him or her for their service. If you meet a Gold Star family, embrace them. They made a great sacrifice as well.

Lord Jesus, You made the ultimate sacrifice for our spiritual freedom on the cross. May we never forget what You did.

Forgive our sins. Heal our nation.

Friday, May 24, 2019

Good morning, Jesus

We’re grateful for all You’ve done for us, Lord. What a blessing to live in America, and despite our flaws, compared to the rest of the world, You have blessed us beyond imagination. Complaining and grumbling is such an insult to Your goodness and mercy. Forgive us. You’ve promised to supply our daily needs. Strengthen us to to overcome any discontentment and to resist spirits of greed and envy. Show us what blocks us from living in true happiness and contentment.

Lord, You see how our culture bombards us with glitzy advertisements to attain more stuff. A bigger house, a newer car, the latest phone we absolutely cannot live without, all promise to bring fulfillment. Fashions flaunts how all the cool people wear certain name-brand attire. With easy credit, we acquire things we don’t really need, looking for ways to be happy. But this desire to get more stuff to make us happy is nothing new. A young preacher named Timothy faced a culture caught up the “get stuff” stuff. He told his flock that true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth (1 Timothy 6:6).

Lord God, worrying reveals our lack of trust that You will meet our needs. You promised You would. Someone gave a simple solution to the problem of worrying: “Stop whining and start worshipping.” That’s what young Timothy told his young group of Christ-followers. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content (1 Timothy 6:7–8). Thank You for all our blessings, seen and unseen.

Thankful we find our contentment and happiness in life in You, Lord Jesus.

In Your name, Amen!

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, You are patient. Oh, my, how You are patient! Where would I be today if Patience wasn’t’ one of Your holy attributes.

You describe Yourself in 1 John 4:16 as how You don’t just show love, but You are love. You are the very essence of love. In Your expressions of Love detailed in 1 Corinthians 13:4 You clearly state that love is patient. Some call patience longsuffering or slow to anger. Whatever we may call it, You could have easily written us off in our rebellion and offered the grace we rejected to others. But You were patient with us, not wanting us to be loss and eternally separated from You. Patiently, You waited for us to come to You in repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The great apostle Paul, who described himself as the worst of sinners, humbly and gratefully told all who would listen to his personal story of salvation that Christ Jesus displayed His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life (1 Timothy 1:16).

Help my patience, Lord Jesus. May I be kind to those in my world and realize there’s no escaping it–people and events in this fallen world will try my patience. May Your love work through me to reach others who I deal with daily. Remind me how Your patience is working in them as Your patience desires to work in me to make me more like You. And Lord Jesus, thank You for Your patience in waiting for me to come to You and accept Your offer of grace and forgiveness.

Thankful You were patient with me in coming to You, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Oh, Lord, Your compassion knows no boundaries. You saw our struggle to find our way in our fallen state. Our condition broke Your heart. We were like sheep without a shepherd, wandering every which way in the wilderness (Matthew 9:35-38). We were exposed to the devil’s wolves, who devoured our souls and then cast us aside. But Your compassion and mercy go hand-in-hand. Your compassion demonstrated more than just feeling sorry of us. You took action. You sent Jesus to show us Your compassion. He demonstrated how Your love looks into every heart, sees every hurt, recognizes every shame, knows every fear. In His humanity, Jesus could identify with us. In His deity, His holy heart was moved with compassion to not leave us in our broken state. Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins showed Your ultimate mercy and compassion to step into our helpless state and give us new life. Jesus demonstrated the extent You will go to show Your true heart for people: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23).

Lord, teach me how to show compassion to my spouse, my children, my coworkers, the down-and-out stranger. Touch my heart, Lord and stir up in me that same godly compassion that You have for people.

Thankful You are a compassionate God, full of mercy and grace.

In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Good morning, Jesus

We’re thankful You are fair and impartial, Lord Jesus. Either though ignorance of Your Word, or from pride, some believe that noble or ‘moral’ works will somehow earn us brownie points with You and saves us a spot in Heaven. Jesus, You’ve made it clear that only by trusting in You are our sins erased and our eternal home is established in Heaven. And what’s amazing beyond reason is Your grace will save anyone who asks! Regardless of what they’ve done, from the vilest sort of humanity to the most innocent, those never corrupted by life issues, God offers His grace and salvation to all. You save those who have never set foot in a church or attended a gospel meeting. You save sinners who completely ignored You until they realized their need of a Savior. You save the moral religious folks who have participated in church all their lives but have never asked You into their hearts. You save the educated and the simple, the rich and the poor. You save the lovely and the unlovely. You extend grace to all people. Your Word tells us that You do not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who respects and reveres Him and obey God’s commands (Acts 10:34 – 35). You are more than fair to all. The only One You treated unfairly is Your Son Jesus, who was punished for my sins that He didn’t commit! By believing in Jesus’ work on the cross, anyone can be saved. Even me. Amazing!

The only one You cannot save are those who have believed the lie that they do not need Jesus to get into Heaven. In their proud hearts, they trust their own merits and works are so good that God will roll out the red carpet at the Pearly Gates for them. Your Word states clearly, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).

Thank You for saving us [me] and not holding our sins [my] against us [me], Lord Jesus. Your children are grateful. Amen!

Monday, May 20, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Sin broke Your perfect world. Lord. How I hate sin! The devil’s corruption, which spreads pain, heartache, and eventually death and separation from You, has not ceased. He’s always badgering us, lying about his prowess to control us. But You are faithful to Your creation. From the beginning, You had a plan to reconcile us back to You forever through the blood covenant of Your Son Jesus. You are faithful, saving all who place their trust in Jesus’ work on the cross. How much more can You prove Your faithfulness? After all, You did the ultimate–You sent Jesus to the cross to keep Your promise. Oh, the great love You have for Your children, not because we’re perfect, but because You take delight in Your kids.

Through our friends may betray us, or our family not understand our reasoning for following You, You remain faithful. Just because we’re Your follower doesn’t exempt us from adversity and hardships. Society mocks and ridicules us for having faith in You. Mountains of trouble we never thought would happen to us may come out of nowhere, yet we have this confidence: Lord God, You are faithful, and we will see Your goodness done on our behalf (Psalm 27:13; Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28). Lord God, be our faithful shelter in times of trouble and grant us peace as we wait upon You.

Thankful You are faithful, Lord God. Amen.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

We’re thankful, Lord God, that one of Your divine attributes is You are accessible. Where would we be if You were not? Through Jesus, sinful, broken and fallen people have access to You. In truth, You have always been close to us, but our sin created a barrier that blocked us from having a personal relationship with You. When Your Spirit revealed our lost condition, we came to our senses, humbled ourselves and trusted Jesus’ work on the cross for our sins. Despite the depth of our alienation from You, we were thrilled to find Your arms wide open, waiting to embrace us as Your child. But You didn’t stop with just saving us. You even went so far as to put You Holy Spirit to live within us so our access to You is never hindered. Your Word plainly states that with Jesus, we can approach God the Father with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12). You know our needs. You hear our cries. We realize we cannot save ourselves. Thank You that the door to Your Throne room is never closed. As Your servant Paul explained to the former pagan Romans (and to us), that through Christ, we have received grace to have access to God the Father, the Lord of Heaven and Earth (Romans 5:2).

Thank You, Lord God, that Your door is always open to those who humble themselves and call upon You for mercy and grace.

Thankful You are an accessible God. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Good Morning, Jesus

Why do I worry about stuff, Lord? Most stuff I worry about is out of my control anyway. When I hear news reports of calamity running rampant, of depravity destroying our way of life, taking our culture to new sewer levels, why do I get anxious? At times, I feel like I’m plagued with more problems in this fallen world than anyone else. People tell me; “Don’t fret—God’s got this! He’s in control.” Yes, Lord, You are in control. According to Your Word in Isaiah 14:24 You are the sovereign God of all creation, and Your divine will is done. So why do I have trouble believing what You say? As a Christ-follower, why do I turn my problem-solving attention to every gimmick the world offers instead of trusting my concerns to You?

How can you trust someone you barely know? You whisper in my spirit. The more you know about Me, the more you can trust Me. Get to know my attributes and write them on your heart. My Holy Spirit lives within you, and wants to teach you about Me, but we need your cooperation. Follow the instruction manual I gave you, My Word, and do your part. I’m ready to talk if you’re ready to be still and listen.

“Lord God, give us a stronger desire to know You and who You are. Then no matter what happens, our trust in You and Your Word will not waver. ”

Desiring to know You more, Lord Jesus. Amen.