Sacrifice of praise

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hebrews 11-13; Psalm 30

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15


Not only does the writer of Hebrews challenge us to continuous contentment (Hebrews 13:5,6) but to an even more radical habit. He suggests we live lives of continuous praise.

The phrase "sacrifice of praise" snags my attention. How is our praise a sacrifice? A sidebar article in my Bible gives this insight:

"The word 'sacrifice' (Greek thusia) comes from the root thuo, a verb meaning "to kill or slaughter for a purpose." Praise often requires that we 'kill' our pride, fear, or sloth—anything that threatens to diminish or interfere with our worship of the Lord" Guy P. Duffield, Hebrews commenter, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1746.

I look with chagrin at the trivialities that can quench my praise: the weather, problems with my stuff, a headache, a stressful schedule... Yes, praising God in and through the above will need a sacrifice on my part, though a tiny one. Perhaps those little irritants are meant as rehearsal for the big problems that will inevitably come along—terminal illness, catastrophe, death—so I can be praising through those things as well.

Of course our praise isn't a Pollyanna-ish refusal to look at life realistically. It is based on our thankfulness to God who, in Jesus, stepped into time and space. He sacrificed everything for me so that my eternal destiny is sure, no matter what my circumstances here on earth.

Our Bible commenter again:

"Praise will never be successfully hindered when we keep its focus on Him."

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me today to sacrifice any and all thoughts of discontent, irritation, worry, fear … substituting them with the fruit  (thoughts and words) of praise. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 30

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Loudest praise

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 4-7; Psalm 95

TO CHEW ON: "O come let us sing to the Lord!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." Psalm 95:1-2

When were you last at a sporting event or concert where you restrained yourself from shouting? Probably not for a while.

"If we can shout at other public events, surely we can give loud and enthusiastic praise to God when with His people," says Dick Iverson, in a footnote to Psalm 95 (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 770).

According to the psalmist, we come into God's presence with thanksgiving. [It is the word todah  derived from the verb yadah: 'To give thanks, praise.' The root of yadah is yad - "hand.] "Thus to thank or praise God is to lift or extend one's hands in thanks to Him" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 760.

The psalm-writer tells why we would do that - "For (or because):

• God is superior - "The King above all gods."

• God is creator and holds in His hands every segment of creation. Whether the day ahead involves activity in the earth's depths, or the mountains, on the water or anywhere on land, God is present and directs destinies in all those places.

• God is "our God." Even though He is the great creator, He also sees and knows us as personally as a shepherd knows the members of his flock.

If you're like me just transporting yourself to church doesn't eliminate the preoccupations that fill the mind and drown out those songs of thanksgiving and shouts of praise. Let's join the writer of the old hymn and ask God to "tune my heart to sing Thy grace" by ordering our thoughts along the lines of this psalm. And then let's enter in wholeheartedly, joyfully, thankfully, and physically with "...songs of loudest praise."

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for inspiring Bible psalmists to turn our eyes toward You with reminders of Your greatness and personal care. Help me to worship You today with enthusiastic songs and shouts of praise. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 95



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Times and reasons to celebrate

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 15-16; Psalm 58


TO CHEW ON: "You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide." Deuteronomy 16:11.

Moses reminded the Israelites of three yearly feasts in Deuteronomy 16:

• the Feast of Passover.

• the Feast of Pentecost (here called Feast of Weeks, i.e. seven weeks = 7 x 7 = 49 days + the next [feast] day = 50 days).

• the Feast of Tabernacles.

As described here, the Feast of Pentecost was an annual harvest festival. It was also called Feast of Harvest - Exodus 23:16, the Day of Firstfruits - Numbers 28:26, and Pentecost in Leviticus 23:16. (Pentecost is based on the Greek translation of fifty days.)

Viewed as a whole, God instituted these feasts to help the Israelites remember their history with Him. Through them they recalled their time of slavery in Egypt, God's miraculous deliverance, their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness in tents, and the fact that God was the source of their blessing.

It's a good thing for us too, to regularly remind ourselves of these things and rejoice, like people did in the Old Testament. Matthew Henry says:

"Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel; which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always" - Matthew Henry, Commentary on Deuteronomy 16.

We can celebrate:

• Our unique story of freedom from 'slavery' and our salvation, whether it occurred when we were youngsters or later.

• How God has blessed us in the meantime with family, a home, the family of God.

• How God has seen us through wilderness experiences (death of loved ones, times of sickness like cancer or depression, financial straits, unemployment...).

• How God continues to provide for us through the produce of our own gardens, or the salary from our workplace, or our pensions if we are retired.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Israelite example of regular, repeating celebrations that helped them review their history with You. Help me to remember in a similar way, and weave an attitude of rejoicing and thanksgiving into the fabric of my life. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 58

The Bible Project VIDEO: NEPHESH: Soul (Shema word study series)



Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

You shall not covet

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus19-21

TO CHEW ON: "You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant or his ox or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's." Exodus 20:17 ESV

A modern version of this verse might read: You shall not covet your neighbor's magazine cover house, her granite counter tops, or her chef-quality stainless steel kitchen. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his home theater system, his SUV, or anything else that is your neighbor's.

Think what serious trouble the advertising industry would be in if everyone suddenly started obeying this. For isn't stimulating the desire to possess what we don't have behind most advertising whether in print, online, or TV? 

On the surface the sin of coveting may seem insignificant when compared to the other sins on this list We are tempted to ask, is covetousness—a sin so endemic to our culture we hardly notice it in ourselves or others—really as serious as murder, or stealing, or adultery? It's not even an action, just an attitude.

Yes, it is only an attitude, but what an attitude!

• It whispers to us that what we have is not enough or good enough and plants a seed of dissatisfaction with God and His provision in our lives.

• It can be a gateway sin—the first step down the road to committing a more "serious" sin, such as stealing or adultery.

• Covetousness was the active ingredient in Satan's temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1-6) and continues to appear first on the ingredient list of temptation through the centuries (James 1:13-15).

What is the best way to overcome covetousness? Perhaps it's not a head-on offensive at all but the oblique defense of distraction and replacement. Today let's  distract our covetous tendencies with an attitude of thankfulness, and replace the list of things we want with the things we have. Instead of covetousness, let's nurture contentment,

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for highlighting the dangerous attitude of covetousness. Help me to detect it and then defeat it with gratitude and contentment. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 23


The Bible Project VIDEO: Exodus 19-40 (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When giving is receiving

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 32-34

TO CHEW ON: "'Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.' Then he urged him, and he took it." Genesis 33:11

Esau's first refusal of Jacob's gift may have been inspired by Middle East etiquette. But I believe Jacob was genuinely relieved when his brother finally accepted his present of goats, sheep, camels, cattle and donkeys (Genesis 32:13-15).

The impulse to give springs from a variety of motivations:

Sometimes we give because it is just the thing we do in our culture, as in leaving a small gift for someone after staying in their home or when celebrating someone's birthday or wedding anniversary.

At other times we give because we don't want to feel beholden or in the debt of someone.

And sometimes we give because we are so full of the generosity poured out on us, we can't help but spill it over onto others.

Esau didn't have a gift for Jacob, so perhaps one can assume this gift of Jacob's was not given to conform to custom. I'm sure there was some assuaging of guilt on Jacob's part. Maybe he saw his material gift as a sort of payback for absconding with the birthright and blessing, which were rightfully Esau's as firstborn son. However, Jacob also cites God's gracious dealings with him as a reason for his generosity.

In the end Esau's acceptance of Jacob's gift (signifying, perhaps, that he forgave Jacob?) was itself the greatest gift Jacob could have wished for.

Let's be aware of the dynamics of gift-giving, and be motivated above all by God's generosity to us. And let's also be alert to the fact that sometimes our gracious receiving a gift from someone is in itself a gift to them.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your generous gift of Jesus. Help me to give out of a heart that is full of gratefulness to You, and to be sensitive to times when giving means receiving. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 10

MORE: Gift-giving customs

Giving gifts, especially in business, carries a different significance in the various regions of the world. The article "International Gift-giving Protocol" explains appropriate gift-giving customs in various countries and cultures in the world.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Count a different kind of blessing

Photo courtesy RGBStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 89:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance." Psalm 89:15

When we feel discouraged or stressed or sorry for ourselves, we're often encouraged to count our blessings. Our list usually includes blessings of the physical life—food, shelter, clothes, family, friends, etc. But do we ever go beyond to also count our spiritual blessings?

Ethan, the Ezrahite, writer of Psalm 89, sets a good example for us in Psalm 89:15-18. Some blessings he names:

1. Familiar with the sound of worship: "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound." For the Israelites that would have been singing, shouting, and instruments like the harp, the trumpet, and the horn (Psalm 98:4-6).

2. Life directions: "They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance."

3. An association with a God of great reputation: "In Your name they rejoice all day long."

4. Worshiping a God who is righteous: "And in Your righteousness they are exalted."

5. The ability to glorify God through successes: "For You are the glory of their strength."

6. Divine favor: "In Your favor our horn is exalted."

7. Divine protection: "For our shield belongs to the Lord."

We could add these blessings to our count. Pause, sometime, to listen to the sweet sound of worship coming from the sanctuary of your church during a morning service. The music of our contemporaries worshiping and adoring God is a beautiful thing!

Similarly we can thank God for all the other blessings Ethan names—the insight we get  from the Bible on how to live, that our God is strong, righteous, gives favor, protection, and enables us to live for His glory. In fact, without these blessings as the foundation of our lives, I would suggest that the other blessings we so easily list would be mere shells of themselves.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the spiritual blessings that are the foundation of, and give significance to, all my other blessings. May I never take them for granted. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The impossible life

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

TO CHEW ON: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Reading through this passage, I'm struck by how impossible its instructions are:
"… be patient with all …. always pursue what is good, for yourselves and for all … Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks …. Test all things … Abstain from every form of evil…"

Can you do it? Neither can I!

The process Paul is describing here is sanctification. He uses a form of the word in a sum-up verse after naming the specifics above: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely..." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

The Encyclopedia of the Bible defines sanctification:
[…  the process of acquiring sanctity or holiness as a result of association with deity. Its synonyms are consecration, dedication, holiness and perfection" - Encyclopedia of the Bible, accessed through biblegateway.com.]

It's an impossibly tall order. However, the next verse has the reassurance that we're not expected to do it by ourselves. This process of sanctification is not, finally, our project but His:

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Whew! So we can just sit back and it will happen? Not exactly. We have a part to play. It's really a joint effort.

An article in The Dictionary of Bible Themes lists means and obstacles to sanctification (each undergirded by many Bible verses*):

Means of sanctification:

• The work of the Holy Spirit

• Meditation on the Scriptures.

• Our active pursuit of holiness and righteousness.

• Obedience and self-denial.

• Prayer.

Obstacles to sanctification:

• A lack of faith.

• Rebellion against God.

• Satanic temptation.

• Self-indulgence and greed.

• Yielding to sinful desires.

Let's view the specifics of the sanctified life (the 'be patient with all," the "rejoice always," the "pray without ceasing," the "in everything give thanks" etc.) through the grid of these means and obstacles. Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to put His finger on where we need to change—be more joyful, pray more, give thanks etc.? Do we read the Bible? Do we meditate on it? Do we actually obey the things God tells us to do? Do we pray, confessing the times we resist, rebel, mess-up?

Or do we throw up our hands with "This is too hard!" and carry on as usual, resisting the voice of conviction to be joyful, pray, give thanks, procrastinating on obedience, telling ourselves, everyone else can live like they please—why can't I?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the means You have given to bring about this set-apart life. I love the part of the definition that says it comes about through "association with deity." I want to hang out with You today. Amen.

MORE: *Access the article on Sanctification and view supporting Scriptures:
1. Click on the link 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 (passage on biblegateway.com).
2. Click on "Study This" - the blue box that displays to the right of the reference.
3. In the right sidebar that opens, click on "Dictionary of Bible Themes."
4. Select #6745 "Sanctification."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Magnify God with your gratitude

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 69:19-36

TO CHEW ON: "But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:29-30

David continues on with his list of negatives.

(Several of them remind us of passages from the gospels and Acts, where the writers quote the very words of this psalm.

• Psalm 69:6 - John recalls this verse after witnessing Jesus' early cleansing of the temple in John 2:17.

• Psalm 69:21 - Jesus is offered gall and sour vinegar while on the cross in Matthew 27:34.

• Psalm 69:25 - Peter refers to this verse in relation to Judas when the apostles discuss finding about a replacement for him in Acts 1:16-20.)

Then notice how he changes course. At the junction of verses 29 and 30 it's as if he says to himself, Enough of this dwelling on the negative! And he begins to give God praise and thanksgiving.

He chooses to praise "with a song" getting his vocal cords involved.

He determines to "magnify Him with thanksgiving." I envision him peering at God and who He is through the magnifying lens of gratitude and appreciation. This makes Him bigger than the bad stuff that's happening to him; it magnifies Him.

Another meaning of magnify is to extol and exalt. We do that too as we direct our attention and fill our thoughts and our mouths with praise of God and thanksgiving to Him.

How can we do that practically?

You know all those blank notebooks people give as gifts? I've labelled the spine of one of them GRATITUDE. I write in it things for which I'm thankful. As I've persisted with this, guess what? A grateful, thankful attitude is becoming my habit!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being bigger than all my problems and for loading my life with good things. Help me to look away from my troubles to You and Your good gifts. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A love-psalm to God

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 116:1-19

TO CHEW ON: “I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications” - Psalm 116:1

The writer of this psalm has just been through a terrifying and life-threatening experience - Psalm 116:3, 6, 8, 9.

He refers to some of the things he did (and that we typically do) during this time:

• Pray (make “supplication” = humble prayer, entreaty, petition); call on God , “implore” for deliverance - Psalm 116:1,2, 4.

• Invoke God’s name (which implies an acknowledgement of His ability, power, and reputation) - Psalm 116:4.

• Cry - Psalm 116:8.

• Believe - Psalm 116:10.

• Make vows (promises) to God of what we’ll do if we get better - Psalm 116:14,18.

Now recovered, he:

• Tells God he loves Him - Psalm 116:1. (I love how my Bible’s study notes elaborate on this: “‘I love he LORD’ is the exact response God’s heart desires as a result of God’s interventions in our lives” - Dick Iverson, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 777.)

• Declares that he will pray to God as long as he lives - Psalm 116:2.

• States that he will keep walking with God - Psalm 116:9.

• Gives thanks for salvation - Psalm 116:13, and recovery - Psalm 116:16.

• Promises to pay his vows, to keep those sickbed promises - Psalm 116:16.

Doesn’t Psalm 116 express well those feelings of relief and gratitude we also feel on getting better?  It would be a wonderful praying-the-Bible passage to express thanks for recovery from sickness or other life-threatening time.

It also has a beautiful reminder for us when God denies our prayers to get better:

“Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints” - Psalm 116:15.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for so often being Healer and Helper to me. Help me to respond with gratitude, praise, kept promises, and love. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Statute songs

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:49-64

TO CHEW ON: "Your statutes have been my songs

In the house of my pilgrimage." Psalm 119:54

Why do we sing?

Some of us sing almost unconsciously, in a habitual sort of way. Sometimes we hum or sing along with the catchy tunes on the radio or our listening device; we know the words and the melodies and rhythms make us feel good. Sometimes we sing the songs of our childhood to entertain grandchildren, and the songs of our youth to remember the past. And we sing in church.

I would submit that the last singing—in church—may be the most unemotional, mechanical kind of singing we do. It’s what’s done there so whether we enter into the message and emotion of the song or not, we sing.

Here the psalmist talks about singing God's statutes. Were these the Mosaic laws set to music? Did he sing them to help him memorize and review the myriad commandments contained in the code? Perhaps. But they seem meant also to bolster his faith and remind him that God is right there beside him in his pilgrimage life. We get the sense that he turns to these songs when life gets puzzling and discouraging, singing them to remind himself of what and who is his focus.

Or perhaps he didn't literally put God's commandments to music but he is using music here as a metaphor for how God's laws put joy into him in the same way a song would.

Eugene Peterson says about joy:

"Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship, it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience. ... Joy is a product of abundance; it is the overflow of vitality. It is life working together harmoniously...


Peterson goes on to say that when we feel joyless, we may try to rouse joy artificially with entertainment. But though a comedian or movie may amuse us for a time, the joy they give is never permanent. However, he says, there is a way to live that taps into genuine joy.


"We can decide to live in response to the abundance of God and not under the dictatorship of our own poor needs. We can decide to live in the environment of a living God and not our own dying selves. We can decide to centre ourselves in the God who generously gives and not in our own egos which greedily grab." A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p. 96-97 (emphasis added).

I think that's what the psalm writer is doing here: living in response to God's lavishness, in an environment of an alive God, centering himself in God with music the reminder and overflow of such a life.

I ask myself, how can I do that today? How can you? Singing to remind ourselves of God's goodness and to express our gratitude—outside of church, and in—is a good place to start.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to focus on Your abundance, to centre myself in You, to live in Your environment to the extent that songs of faith, hope and joy will well up inside. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Maintaining the highways to Zion

Illustration from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 84:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed—happy, fortunate, to be envied—is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion." Psalm 84:5 AMP

The writer of this psalm draws our attention to the delights of the House of God. For him it's a literal place, a building, the temple in Jerusalem.

He speaks in picturesque language of his envy of the sparrows that nest near the altar. He glosses over the difficulties of the journey to Jerusalem, telling how even the Valley of Baca* becomes a place of springs because of anticipation. He would be willing, he says, to do the lowliest job at the temple—be a mere doorkeeper—rather than live separated from God in the "tents of wickedness."

I doubt that these days we feel the attachment he felt to a church building or the place we meet for worship. In many cases the venue in which we gather isn't even used solely for church but might, for the rest of the week, serve as a home, classroom, theatre, hotel meeting room etc.

Which is why I love how the Amplified translation shifts our attention from the place we're going to how we set out to get there: "Blessed—happy, fortunate, to be envied is the man … in whose heart are the highways to Zion." For no matter where we worship, our meeting with God begins with an attitude and journey of the heart.

How can we make our hearts  "highways to Zion," not only as we prepare to meet together on Sunday, but every day? Embedded in this psalm are some of the practices of these pilgrims that we could perhaps adopt ourselves.

1. We can remember former meetings with God and dwell on their delights. The psalmist says, "My soul yearns, yes, even pines and is homesick for the courts of the Lord" − Psalm 84:1 AMP.

2. Singing is mentioned several times (Psalm 84:2,4): "Blessed … are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all day long" - Psalm 84:4 AMP.

3. We can focus on our blessings, even in the midst of difficulties - Psalm 84:6.

4. We can trust. The Amplified Bible expands: "... blessed ... is the man who trusts in You, leaning on and believing in You, committing all and confidently looking to You and that without fear or misgiving" - Psalm 84:12 AMP.

We don't have to wait for a special day to go to a special place and experience the joy of God's presence. We can keep our heart highways to Zion maintained every day of the week!


PRAYER: Dear God, the psalmist's delight in experiencing Your presence here is contagious. Help me to feel the same pull to spend time with You. Amen.

*Baca is a type of balsam plant that can survive in dry conditions. So perhaps this valley is known as a particularly desolate, dry spot. The Amplified translates it: "Passing through the valley of weeping…"

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Thanks for abundance

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 65:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "You crown the year with Your goodness,
And your paths drip with abundance." - Psalm 65:11


What a perfect psalm to read and meditate on during this month of thanksgiving (well, at least in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October). This psalm is like a list poem that names things for which the writer David appreciated God. These are things for which we too can be thankful:

1. God hears our prayers (Psalm 65:2).

2. He provided an atonement for our sins (Psalm 65:3). In the Old Testament the people sacrificed animals. David would have been referring to that kind of atonement. Then God sent Jesus, the Lamb of God, who became the atoning sacrifice for anyone and everyone in the world who believes (1 John 4:10).

3. God draws us to Himself (Psalm 65:4).

4. He satisfies our spiritual hunger in His house (worship and community) (Psalm 65:4).

5. He performs amazing feats all over the world (Psalm 65:5).

6. He created majestic mountains, a reminder of His power ((Psalm 65:6).

7. He stills sea storms, a reminder that He can also still the tumult of national war and strife (Psalm 65:7).

8. The natural world He created awes people all over the world (Psalm 65:8).

9. He made the glory of sunrise and sunset (Psalm 65:8). What a fine description:

"You made the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice."

10. He sends rain and other precipitation so that the land is productive (Psalm 65:9-10).

11. His generosity makes possible the climax of the year, when the fields and hills sing with ripeness and abundance (Psalm 65:11-13). Here we have abundance in shops, supermarkets, and malls all year long!

What five personal items would you add to this thanksgiving list?

12. ____
13. ____
14. ____
15. ____
16. ____

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for all You are and give! I am so blessed by Your rich generosity. Amen.

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

A time to work

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

TO CHEW ON: I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied....and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God." - Ecclesiastes 3:10,13


We are again at a turning point in the year. Today is Labour Day in Canada — the holiday that, it has always seemed to me, officially ends the summer and ushers in the fall. When I was a teacher and again when I was a parent with school-aged children, this holiday was very significant.

It seems appropriate to have, as part of our reading on this day, the philosophical list of contrasting experiences that make up life (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), to which today we could add:

• A time to vacation and a time to come home.

• A time to play and a time to work.

Hopefully your kids' school supplies are all bought, packed, and ready for their first day in the classroom tomorrow. It's nice to be able to spend this last holiday of the summer relaxing, or going on a picnic, or tidying the garden, or whatever you enjoy doing before again facing the reality of another season of work tomorrow.

Yet despite work's bad reputation, it seems that life without it would be like a diet of ice-cream and chocolate bars: a sweet treat to begin with but soon boring and unhealthy.

May our work yield the food, drink, and satisfaction that Solomon refers to when he calls it "the gift of God" - Ecclesiastes 3:13.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for my work, which gives my life structure, purpose, challenge, and the satisfaction of accomplishment. Help me to view it as a gift from you. Amen.

MORE: The origin of Labour Day in Canada

"Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s. The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to December 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week. (From the Wikipedia article "Labour Day.")

Remember—and thank!

Building a booth for the Feast of Tabernacles

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 118:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever."  Psalm 118:1

You have no doubt noticed how the pain and stress of past torments and troubles fades with time. When I look back on events of ten, fifteen years ago, they have a rosy glow about them. Even the hard times feel like "the good old days."

That phenomenon seems to be in evidence in this psalm. The writer recalls dangers, times of distress, being surrounded by enemies, attacked as if by "bees," manhandled and pushed. Yet the main memory is of God coming to the rescue.

Psalm 118 was part of the Feast of Tabernacles celebration. The Feast of Tabernacles was a main feast of the Jewish year, taking place in our October, five days after the Feast of Atonement. One of its main purposes was to keep alive the memory of how God helped and preserved Israel during her sojourn in the wilderness.

On the first day of that eight-day feast each person helped gather twigs of willow, palm, myrtle or bulrushes to build temporary huts or booths. These booths reminded them of God's protection, preservation, and shelter from heat and storm during their wilderness wanderings. Everyone from children to servants joined in the celebration.

On the eighth and final day of the feast Israel's high priest led a procession of priests and thousands of worshipers. They descended from the Temple Mount to the Pool of Siloam. There the priest filled a pitcher with water, then the procession took another route back to the temple. The priest poured the water on the altar in a ceremony to invoke God's blessing of the "early rains," of October and November, ensuring a spring crop.

As the water was being poured out the temple music (Hallel) began. Psalm 118 was part of the Hallel (Psalm 113-118). Israel's memories of trouble and God coming to their rescue—setting them "in a broad place," being on their side, quenching enemies "like a fire of thorns," being their strength, song and salvation.

We don't have to wait for a special feast day to praise God for how He has similarly been with us and helped us. Let's take some time today to "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

 
PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for all the times You have preserved me and my family—through childbirth, accidents, work firings, illnesses, moves, travels and trips… You are good! Amen.


MORE: More about the feast of Tabernacles (also called Feast of Booths, and Sukkot)

Learn more about the Feast of Tabernacles from these web articles:

• Sukkot (Article on Wikipedia)

• Feast of Tabernacles (Christ-Centered Mall site) 

• Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) - Bible Truth Website

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Consider the benefits

This 'memory aid' hangs in our living room. It was made by Christians in Vietnam, many of whom have been persecuted for their faith.  

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 103:1-22

TO CHEW ON: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits.” Psalm 103:1-2

Do you sometimes awaken in the morning besieged by first thoughts of uneasiness, foreboding, dread? I must admit that even in smooth stretches of my life, this is my experience way too often. One of the best ways to dispel this anxious fog is to do just what our verses today say: “Bless the Lord and think on His benefits.”

David lists many of them in this passage:

• He forgives our sin. Can you imagine how heavy life would feel if you had to live it under the guilt of the wrong things you had done?

• He heals our physical diseases. Not only has He designed our bodies to rejuvenate themselves but over the years people have made all kinds of discoveries about the body and healing so that nowadays there is a pill for practically everything. And He is also the God who can heal miraculously.

• He redeems our lives from destruction. “Redeems” = buys back with His sacrifice so that we are spared eternal destruction. He can also redeem from the foolishness of earlier decisions. 

• He satisfies our mouths with good thing so that we have the strength to carry on. I think this means more than just good physical food. I take it to mean a supply of good things mentally and spiritually, so that we have renewed energy for life and work.

• He knows our human vulnerabilities, deals with us like a sympathetic father.

Now add to that list of benefits your own personal list. Here are some items that come to mind:

• A wonderful husband and family.

• Citizenship in Canada – a nation of freedom and peace.

• A beautiful, comfortable home.

• A church where I am challenged and where I have a place to serve.

… I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the idea.

Whatever your life situation today, spend some time remembering “all His benefits.” It will lift you up in ways that nothing else can.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for who You are and all Your benefits to me. Help me to live within an atmosphere of remembrance and thankfulness today.

MORE: Memory aids
God instituted many physical and dramatic aids to help us remember Him and what He has done for us.

- The Israelites were to celebrate the Passover as a remembrance of their delivery from Egypt.

- The High Priest had stones inlaid on the shoulders of his his ephod as a remembrance of each tribe in Israel.

- The people were to put fringes on their clothes to remind them of God's commandments.

- We celebrate the Lords Supper to remember Jesus death.

- Moses instructed Israelite parents to attach God’s word to their bodies (the first salvation jewelry?) and write it on the doorposts and gates of their houses.

Do you wear things or decorate your house with any aids that help you remember God and His benefits to you?

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks to God for what is and what is not yet

"Then the earth shall yield her increase" - Psalm 67:6

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 67:1-7

TO CHEW ON: "Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You." Psalm 67:3,5


This is Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. We are admonished by many voices to have a thankful attitude. But there is a curious lack in speaking of who to thank.

I suppose that's not surprising. In a society that has largely abandoned a belief in God, or at least in a God who is involved and interested in our personal lives, who or what is there to thank? Our lucky stars, a rabbit foot, the feng shui of our house?

The praise in this psalm is not a peon to capricious good luck, however, but to God—the God of creation, of covenant with forefathers, of story and history, of redemption, salvation, reclamation, and righteous endings. This is the God I too praise and thank.

As I read and re-read Psalm 67 I sense inner affirmation but also tension. Two of the things the psalmist names I can say a big "Yes" to:
- Thanks for salvation (Psalm 67:1,2).
- Thanks for the abundance that fills my life (Psalm 67:5-7).

But the middle item:

"O let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth."

raises objections. So many nations are not glad or singing for joy. Where is God, the righteous judge, in those places?  What if I lived in one of them? How would I testify to the truth of this?

I suppose we need to focus on the little word "shall" here ("For you shall judge the people righteously…"). It tells us this is something that hasn't happened yet but is still in the future. And so our thanksgiving becomes a matter of praising God not only for what we have, but for what we still look for Him, in faith, to be and do.

PRAYER: Dear God, we thank You that Your actions in the past have given us confidence to put our faith in You for the present and future. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A Thank-You List

 "The valleys also are covered with grain..." Psalm 65:13 

Round bales near Chetwynd B.C. - Photo by V. Nesdoly

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 65:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "You crown the year with Your goodness,
And your paths drip with abundance." Psalm 65:11

On this Thanksgiving Sunday (in Canada), Psalm 65 reminds us of how wide-ranging and robust God's goodness to us is.

He has made a way for us to approach Him (Psalm 65:1-4):

• He hears our prayers.

• He provides atonement for our transgressions (sins—the times we miss the mark). [Atonemebt = kaphar, which means to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement]

• He chooses and draws us to Himself (Psalm 65:4 compare to John 6:37).

• Our worship spot—for David a temple, for most of us a church—has its own set of benefits and goodnesses.

He is responsive to us (Psalm 65:5-8):

• He answers our prayers in righteous and awesome ways.

• The storms of nature and human conflict which mystify and frighten us—He has power to still them.

• Nature's beauty, as in each sunrise and sunset, is a joyful reminder of Him.

He provides for us (Psalm 65:9-13):

• He sends rain. This summer even our normally rainy corner of B.C. was dry, dry, dry. In late August on the first day of rain in weeks and weeks, I'm sure I heard the ground and plants sigh with relief. This year I particularly thank God for rain.

• There is abundance—green sprouting in the desert, hills bursting into bloom, sheep dotting the landscape, fields of ripening grain. We might add orchards dropping fruit, vines heavy with reddening tomatoes or sweetening grapes, grocery store shelves so bountifully stocked we have a hard time choosing.

Let's pause with David on this weekend set aside for gratitude, to sincerely thank God for His gifts to us in every department of life!

PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive me for my often ungrateful and entitled attitude. Thank You for salvation. Thank You for my relationship with You. Thank You for more than enough for my physical well-being and enjoyment. Many, many thanks! Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The antidote for GREED

What Madame Blueberry's learns

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 5:3-20

TO CHEW ON: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity, or of greed." Ephesians 5:3

It hits me as noteworthy that "greed," what we might consider a two-star sin in badness, sits next to five-star horriblenesses like sexual immorality and impurity.

"Greed" - "intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food" Dictionary definition, is hardly a stranger to us.

I'm spending some time with my grandkids as I write this. Yesterday I heard one of them asking his mom when he could go shopping for a certain big toy he wanted. She answered him by asking if he really needed that toy and suggesting he'd have to get rid of some of his other toys to make room for another one.

Later in the day we watched a Veggie Tales video, the one with Madame Blueberry (I had no idea of the theme of this  video when we picked it!). In it Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato discuss Larry's desire for accessories for his mechanical jeep. They decide to visit Madame Blueberry, who lives in a beautiful tree house but is very unhappy because she is always comparing her things and her house to everyone else. (She has a shelf with pictures of all the stuff she wants, from new spoons to an air compressor. Later when salesmen from the new Stuff Mart up the street invite her to go shopping, she, Larry and Bob are out of the treehouse in a flash.)

On the way to Madame Blueberry's house, Larry and Bob happen upon a little girl who is celebrating her birthday with a humble piece of apple pie. The song they overhear her sing delivers a beautiful and memorable lesson for Larry, Bob, Madame Blueberry, kids and adults. (The veggies will recall this song later, when Mme. Blueberry's stuff becomes a huge disappointment.) Here are some of the lyrics:

I thank God for this day
For the sun in the sky
For my mom and my dad
For my piece of apple pie! ...

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart!
I'm glad for what I have
That's an easy way to start

Listen to the whole song...

Our passage paints a picture of life in the Spirit.

• It's a life of "light" - Ephesians 5:8,9

• Transparency and openness - Ephesians 5:13

• Wisdom - Ephesians 5:13

• Mouths full of encouraging, uplifting, God-praising words and songs - Ephesians 5:19

• And the antidote to our very-bad greed—THANKFULNESS:  "... always giving thanks to God the Father for everything" - Ephesians 5:20.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to practice thankfulness, first in my thoughts and then in my words. Amen.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted s in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Giving thanks

"Feeding the Multitude" 
by William Brassey Hole

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 6:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise the fish as much as they wanted." John 6:11

This passage with its narrative of Jesus giving thanks then distributing bread and fish resonates with other scenes and meanings.

• On the following day, Jesus explained the miracle in another teaching session. There He said, " 'I am the bread of life' " - John 6:41.

• We think of the Lord's Supper:

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body'" - Matthew 26:26.

• We remember another scene where two disciples traveled to Emmaus and along the way encountered an interesting stranger. When they begged Him to stop with them, He blessed their evening bread, broke and gave it to them, and they recognized—Jesus (Luke 24:29-31)!

The words "given thanks" in our focus verse are a translation of the Greek word eucharisteo.

[Eucharisteo  is made up of eu = well and charizomai = to give freely. It means to be grateful, to express gratitude, to be thankful. Eleven of the 39 appearances of the word in the NT refer to partaking of the Lord's Supper, while 28 occurrences describe the praise words given to the Godhead. During the second century, Eucharist became the generic term for the Lord's Supper" - Dick Mills,  Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1453.]

I never hear eucharisteo now but I think of Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. In it she tells the story of a friend challenging her, in a time when she was searching for a greater sense of God's reality in her life, to make a list of ordinary things (like bread and fish) for which she could give thanks. Could she get to 1000?

This challenge became a practice for her. It put her on the road to a whole new understanding of God's activity in her life and gratitude for it—eucharisteo. She, in turn, challenged others so that the naming of life's ordinary gifts has become a movement of sorts.

And so I am challenged today by Jesus' example and Ann's exploration, to express my gratitude for life's ordinary gifts—like coffee, and my trusty Bic pen—and extraordinary gifts—Him, His body and blood, our mysterious union as I partake of the Eucharist, His life in me as I eat His word ... it goes on and on.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I love the scene of you giving thanks for food before distributing it. It reminds me to reflect on the source of every good gift and to return my thanks to You—instead of mindlessly grabbing blessings as my right. Help me to live gratefully today. Amen.

MORE: Ann Voskamp writes about eucharisteo

"In the original language, 'he gave thanks' reads 'eucharisteo.'

I underline it on the page. Can it lay a sure foundation under a life? Offer the fullest life?

The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning 'grace.' Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks.

But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning "joy." Joy. Ah ... yes. I might be needing me some of that. That might be what the quest for more is all about—that which Augustine claimed, 'Without exception ... all try their hardest to reach the same goal, that is joy'" -Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, page 32.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Is praise your default setting?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 63:1-11

TO CHEW ON: “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life my lips shall praise You.” Psalm 63:3

Lisa Coriale, a friend of my daughter’s, has cerebral palsy. This lovely young woman lives in a body that is stiff and twisted. She has a hard time making herself understood when she talks. But she has amazing pluck and determination, has earned a university degree, and is trained as a social worker. She also has amazing faith – evidenced in a book of poems she published a few years ago. Though lines like these don’t surprise me:

“Spinning out of control
Grasping onto whatever I can
An item shatters on the floor
Higher waters overwhelm me” – from “Rant,” p. 27

…what I do find surprising is the note of triumphant praise that ends almost every piece:

“Remember to thank Him for everything” – from “Open Doors” p. 26
“He will set you free” – from “Freedom” p. 29
“The hand of God will create the ultimate / masterpiece for our lives” – from “The Hand of God” p. 32.

(All quotes from Transparent a book of poems by Lisa Coriale)

Psalm 63 was also written from a hard place. When we realize David was hiding from Saul in the wilderness of Judah at the time he wrote it, words like, “Because Your lovingkiness is better than life, My lips shall praise You” could easily puzzle us.

For what was he praising God? Perhaps he was praising because God had given Gad the prophet the message for him to flee, and so for the moment he was eluding jealous King Saul. Or perhaps his praise was sparked by the fact that he had just found water, or that he and his men were able to survive at all. Or maybe he praised God just because God is worthy of praise no matter what is or isn’t happening for us. “Thus I will praise you while I live…”

What is your situation today? Are you praising God in it? I find that even when things are good my attitude doesn’t naturally tend toward praise. I need to work on making praise my default setting no matter what my circumstances. And so I say with David: “My lips shall praise you… I will bless You while I live…I will lift up my hands… My soul shall be satisfied… my mouth shall praise you… I meditate on You… I will rejoice.”

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me train my attitude toward praise so that it is my first reaction in every situation. Amen


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.