Zondervan Inspire

Thankfulness Opens Our Eyes

From the Editor: Today I'm at home enjoying a thanksgiving feast with my family, thinking about how blessed I truly am.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

We long for tangible evidence of God's love, but we fail to see it, in part because we have not learned to be thankful. It's not just that God likes to be thanked. It's that we need to thank him. Expressing our gratitude is like holding a little celebration in God's honor. It's a way of feeding on his goodness, reminding ourselves what he's done for us. Thankfulness opens our eyes to God's faithfulness, which in turn nourishes our faith. No wonder the word "Eucharist," a common name for the Christian commemoration of the Last Supper, comes from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving." Skipping gratitude is like skipping the meal God has prepared for us. Without it, we merely move on to the next need, feeling hungry and empty without the faith to believe that God will sustain us.

From Praying the Names of Jesus

by Ann Spangler

The Bottom Line

From the Editor: I find that the more I practice being thankful, the more joyful I am.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

"The bottom line for you and me is simply this," writes pastor and author Bruce Larson. "Grimness is not a Christian virtue ... If God really is the center of one's life and being, joy is inevitable. If we have no joy, we have missed the heart of the Good News." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest, put it even more simply: "Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God."

When King Solomon was just beginning his reign over Israel, he unexpectedly experienced God's presence while praying outside the temple. Awed and inspired by this heavenly encounter, Solomon's immediate response was unbridled thankfulness and joy—a joy so great that the king called for a raucous, nationwide 15-day festival of celebration and dedication to God (see 2 Chronicles 7:1-10)! Probably the closest modern parallel to this event is the American celebration of Thanksgiving. The fact of the matter is that, for the Christian, every single day is Thanksgiving Day, a day to celebrate what God is doing in your life and to reflect on his goodness and grace.

From New Men's Devotional Bible

Ruled by Generosity

From the Editor: My pastor delivered what might be the best sermon I've ever heard him preach last Sunday. In it he pointed out how blessed we are in this country, how our problems are "rich nation" problems. It was a good reminder to tangibly remember our brothers and sisters who don't have it as good as we do, and to season our days with the spice of gratitude no matter what.

Wishing you blessings today,

Keith 

We see the economic dimensions of the new exodus again and again in the early church. On the heels of the story of the languages and the three thousand being added to their number, we're told that they "were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need" (Acts 2:44-45).

Instead of building towers and forcing others to make storehouses out of bricks so that some are stockpiling while others are slaves, this new movement is ruled by generosity. And compassion. And sharing. The gospel for these first Christians is an economic reality. It's holistic and affects all areas of their lives. It's an alternative to the greed and coercion of empire. It's a whole new order of things. And what does Paul do everywhere he goes? He takes an offering for the poor (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:19; Galatians 2:10). He never stops reminding people of their responsibility to use their wealth and power purely and properly, for the benefit of those who need it the most.

From Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile

by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Celebrate What God Has Done

In our confrontations with obstacles or opponents today, we would do well not to focus on the troubles lined up against us. Instead, we need to celebrate the God who has already demonstrated his power and provision in our past. We don't need to be fretful or anxious. We need to anchor our hearts and minds in God's overwhelming track record.

The Bible says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you" (James 4:8). Apparently not all Christians live the same distance from God. Even though we all belong to his family, some are pressing in closer to his dynamic strength than others. As we live a life full of praise and thanksgiving for past mercies, we experience God coming ever closer to us in the present.

From You Were Made for More: The Life You Have, the Life God Wants You to Have

by Jim Cymbala

Any comments or testimonies today?

Appreciating Imperfect Gifts

Next Thanksgiving you will probably sit around the table with your extended family. Maybe everyone around the table will be a model of mental health and emotional intelligence. Maybe not. Rick Warren says that every family and every group has at least one person who requires extra grace. And if you look around the table and cannot find the extra-grace-required person, it's you.

Maybe being grateful will require learning to be grateful for flawed people and imperfect gifts. Be grateful when your child attempts to make the bed, even though he or she makes it imperfectly. Be grateful when your spouse expresses affection, even though he is awkward. Be grateful that your body still moves around, even though it gets a little more wrinkled and lumpier every day.

From When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back in the Box

by John Ortberg

Any comments or testimonies today?

Wake Up to Gratitude

The feeling part of gratitude is important. But don't wait to feel thankful before giving thanks. Usually the thinking and the doing lead to the emotions. C. S. Lewis once said that it's a thin line between pretending to feel something and beginning to feel it. There is a reason why the holiday is called Thanksgiving, not Thanksfeeling.

The apostle Paul wrote, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." God says to the human race: "Wake up. I need to tell you I love you." Every once in a while, people do wake up. When they do, what they wake up to is gratitude.

From When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back
in the Box

by John Ortberg

Any comments or testimonies today?

pretty good

We should be thankful for how much we have been given. We can become obsessed with comparing ourselves with others—whether it's to brag about how much better we are than "them" or to be jealous of what someone else has that we don't. Instead, why don't we try comparing ourselves with people like modern-day slaves and the oppressed? We'll probably find we have it pretty good in comparison. Thankfully, most of us will never have to know the kind of suffering and hardship slaves endure every day.

From Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World

by Zach Hunter

Any comments or testimonies today?