Tag: Thankfulness

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Honoring Sacrifice, Finding Strength

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13).

On this Memorial Day, we pause to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in service to others. Their courage reflects a profound truth Jesus spoke in John 15:13—there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others. This holiday invites us to reflect not only on the sacrifices of service members but also on the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who gave His life for our salvation. Both remind us that love, at its core, is selfless and sacrificial.

As we remember those who died for our freedom, we’re also called to consider how we live in response to such sacrifices. The freedoms we enjoy—whether to worship, to love, or to pursue our purpose—come at a cost that someone else paid. Similarly, the spiritual freedom we have through Christ’s sacrifice calls us to live with gratitude and purpose. Yet, living out this calling can be challenging. We may feel weary from daily struggles, uncertain about the future, or overwhelmed by division in our world. In these moments, we can draw strength from God’s presence, just as Isaiah 40:31 promises: those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, soaring like eagles, running without weariness, walking without fainting.

Memorial Day is a time to honor, but also to recommit. How can we honor the fallen and Christ’s sacrifice all at the same time? It might be through acts of service, praying for peace, or extending love to those around us. But either way, it commands us to do something, say something, and be the light. As we place our hope in God, He equips us to live lives that reflect gratitude for both earthly and eternal sacrifices. Today, let’s hold space for remembrance and ask God to renew our strength to love sacrificially, as He does.

Father, thank You for placing me exactly where I was born and where I am now. It is because of Your grace and Your mercy that I heard the Good News of Hope in Jesus Christ Your Son. Thank You for Your grace and Your mercy, for without it, where would we be? Thank You for the freedom that we have in Christ, in Jesus’ mighty name I pray, amen.

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Honoring The Price of Freedom

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us … (Romans 5:6-11).

As we approach Memorial Day, we pause to honor two profound sacrifices: the death of Jesus Christ for our spiritual freedom and the lives of brave soldiers for our national freedom. Romans 5 reminds us that Christ died for us when we were weak, helpless, and even enemies of God. His love didn’t wait for us to be worthy—it met us in our brokenness. Similarly, our fallen heroes laid down their lives not for a perfect nation, but for the hope of freedom, justice, and a better future for all.

These sacrifices come at a great cost. Jesus gave His life to reconcile us to God, securing our eternal freedom from sin and judgment. Soldiers gave their lives to protect our nation, leaving behind families who carry the weight of their loss daily. Freedom—spiritual and earthly—is never free. It demands gratitude, responsibility, and action.

Yet, we see challenges today that dishonor these sacrifices: injustice, misuse of resources, and neglect of veterans and the vulnerable. As believers, we’re called to honor Christ and our fallen heroes not just with words, but by living out their values—standing for truth, caring for the hurting, and uniting in love against division.

Father, thank You for Your great love, that while we were still sinners, You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for us. Thank You that we can enjoy freedom in Him. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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A Reflection of God’s Love

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. ~ Proverbs 31:28NIV

Today, we pause to honor one of God’s most beautiful gifts to the world: mothers. Whether biological, adoptive, spiritual, or chosen, mothers embody a unique reflection of God’s love—nurturing, sacrificial, and steadfast.

From the sleepless nights of infancy to the prayers whispered over grown children, a mother’s care speaks of a love that keeps right on giving. It reminds us of the way our Heavenly Father loves—tirelessly and unconditionally.

The Bible lifts high the role of a godly mother. Proverbs 31 paints the picture of a woman clothed with strength and dignity, full of wisdom and kindness. But beyond her deeds, it is her heart that shines—the heart that serves, that believes, that hopes.

Many of us can trace our faith journey back to a mother or grandmother who prayed us through trials, who brought us to church, who taught us to believe in God’s promises. Her faith became a foundation for our own.

But we also acknowledge that Mother’s Day can be bittersweet. Some grieve a mother now in heaven, some long to be mothers, and others carry wounds from broken relationships. Yet even in these places, God meets us with comfort. As Isaiah 66:13 says, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”

So today, let us:

  • Thank God for the mothers who shaped us
  • Encourage the mothers among us
  • Comfort those with heavy hearts
  • And honor the One whose image of love shines so clearly through a mother’s embrace

Heavenly Father. Thank You for we are blessed because of good mothers. Those mothers who put their family first and loved, and molded, and shaped their children. We are blessed most of all because of Your steadfast love. Thank You for all that You do, in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Mother’s Legacy of Love

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ~ 2 Timothy 1:5NIV

Mother’s Day weekend invites us to celebrate the women who not only shape our faith but also shape our lives. Mothers and grandmothers pour into their families. They are the backbone of the family unit. The glue that sticks everyone together. In 2 Timothy, Paul honors Lois and Eunice, whose sincere faith was passed down to Timothy, nurturing his calling. Mothers, grandmothers, and spiritual mentors plant seeds of faith through their prayers, teachings, and examples.

Even if the father is a preacher and has a full-time pulpit, the mother or grandmother will still normally be the one to teach her children and grandchildren the gospel. A mother will do her utmost to ensure that she passes down her faith and beliefs, just as Lois and Eunice passed down their sincere faith to young Timothy.

A mother’s legacy isn’t always in grand gestures but in quiet moments—bedtime prayers, shared Bible stories, or steadfast trust in God during trials. Think of a mother figure in your life: perhaps a mom who modeled forgiveness, a grandmother who sang hymns through hardship, or a mentor who prayed for your growth. Their faith, like Lois and Eunice’s, ripples across generations, pointing us to Christ.

As we prepare for Mother’s Day, take a moment to reflect on how these women have shaped your relationship with God. Their love reflects His, nurturing us to grow in faith. Even when they falter, their sincere devotion inspires us to persevere. Today, let’s honor them by embracing the faith they’ve shared and passing it forward, trusting God to water the seeds they’ve sown.

Heavenly Father, thank You for mothers and grandmothers who mold and shape the lives of their children and grandchildren. Thank you for my own mother. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Prepare For Thanksgiving

[19] And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. [20] They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. [21] The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. ~ Matthew 14:19-21NIV

Both times, Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish. He never prayed for it to be multiplied. Jesus simply gives thanks for it. He then breaks it and gives it to His disciples to distribute. I want you to notice that there is no record of Jesus praying for a miracle. No record of Jesus praying for the loaves to multiply in order to feed the five or four thousand. The only thing Jesus does before breaking the food and handing it out, is give thanks for it.

Imagine, all Jesus did was give thanks and the food multiplied more than enough for five thousand men plus women and children. Let that sink in. A prayer of Thanksgiving is more powerful than we give it credit for. So many of us pray and pray for things to happen in our lives, but rarely do we see it come to pass. Could it be because we’re to give thanks and then act in faith? I’m not saying that we should stop asking for things, James says we have not because we ask not. Therefore, we must still have to ask for what we need, but this is giving thanks for what they had, and it multiplied to more than they needed.

In other words, if you have money but you can’t pay the bills because it’s not enough, you give thanks and then act in faith. If you have food to eat, but it’s not enough, you give thanks, and you act in faith. Now, I want you to understand that this isn’t a cheat code or a way to easy living. I’m not even saying this is the formula to always get what you have multiplied to what you need. Why? Because giving thanks will only work if your heart is pure and your prayers are heard.

Here’s what I mean. Jesus prayed every morning, regardless of how early it was or how late He went to bed the night before. It didn’t matter. Jesus got up early before His day’s work and prayed. I’m willing to bet He never prayed for less than an hour. He would never hold Prayer to a higher standard than He held Himself. Therefore, every morning Jesus prayed at least one hour. Then, every night, Jesus prayed. It didn’t matter how long of a day He had or how tired He was, or how late it was. Jesus secluded Himself and prayed. And when He prayed, He didn’t sleep. He didn’t get distracted. Jesus prayed.

How many of us can say that we do the same thing? How many of us can say we’ve followed in His footsteps? I know for myself, I can say with utmost confidence that I have not. I pray when I get up and I pray before I go to bed, but my prayers aren’t an hour in length. And if I’m really tired, I’ll fall asleep, wake up, and then have to apologize to God. While my spiritual growth has grown, I’m not there yet.

If we want to do miracles like Christ did and even greater ones like He promised, our spirit man has to be stronger. Our spirit man can’t be weak and our flesh control our lives. We have to be strong in the LORD. Our flesh has to be crucified each and every day. Our prayer life has to be strong. Our worship has to be strong. Our faith has to be strong, and the only way to strengthen our faith is to read the Word of God. Therefore, the time we spend in the Word has to be strong. Our walk with Christ has to be strong. Our good fruit-bearing has to be strong.

We can’t allow ourselves to think too much of ourselves than we ought, or we’ll never grow. We have to look at ourselves with honesty. These things need to change, so let me start with this one. And we tackle it one step at a time so that when we are in a situation where we need our bread and fish to multiply, our prayer of Thanksgiving will be heard by God and answered when we act in faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For Thanksgiving.

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A Son Given

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~ Isaiah 9:6

At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of over a millennium of prophecies. Over 600 years before His birth, Isaiah prophesied that a child would be born but that a Son would be given. Isaiah was differentiating between the physical and the eternal being of Christ. Jesus, as a child had to be born, but Jesus as the Son of God, He had to be given. Why?

Because Jesus’ role in the Trinity is that of the Son. Therefore, He has and will always be the Son. Isaiah was speaking to the eternal God that is Christ Jesus. So, this Christmas, let us rejoice and give thanks for our God Himself saved us. He Himself redeemed. He Himself washed us clean and cleansed us from all unrighteousness.

Thank You, LORD, that You didn’t leave my redemption up to chance. You didn’t leave it up to fate or even a person You created just for the part, You Yourself set off Your Godliness and stepped into the form of man to save me. Thank You, LORD, for Your never-ending love. Please help me not to get caught up in all the things that are currently happening this Christmas, but instead, help me to focus on You. Help me to dwell in Your unconditional love. Teach me to love You the way You love me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Count Your Blessings

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the LORD of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever. ~ Psalms 136:1-3

The Psalmist starts out shooting straight from the hip. He boldly states, give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. He continues the theme of God having, or possessing, and showing an everlasting, steadfast love. Then, to back up what he is saying, he reminds them of all the great things that God has done. How He created the heavens and the earth, and all of the stars that we see at night, including the sun and the moon.

Then the Psalmist makes it personal to the Israelites; he reminds them how God judged the Egyptians who had enslaved them for 430 years and how, by His great power, and because of His everlasting, steadfast love, He delivered them out of bondage. He reminds them how God was with them as He led them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land and how He gave them victory over all of their foes.

It reminds me of the hymn that we used to sing:

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done

That is exactly what the Psalmist is doing here. He is counting all of their blessings, and he is naming them one by one and finds that God is the possessor of an enduring, everlasting, steadfast love. A steadfast love that remembers that we are of low estate. That we are but dust, just mere mortals.

So, this Thanksgiving, let us start a new tradition, a tradition of being thankful. Every morning, remind yourself of two or three blessings that you have enjoyed. New ones and blessings from years and years ago. In so doing, you will see that God is indeed good, and His steadfast love endures forever.

Father, thank You for being so kind to me. Thank You for blessing me even when I do not deserve it. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross for me. Help me to have a thankful and grateful heart. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Ungrateful Heart

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. ~ 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Paul prophesied that in the last days will come times of difficulty. That people will become arrogant, abusive, brutal, and not loving good, but right in the middle of it all is the statement that people will be ungrateful. They will be thankless. That describes this generation, and this society.

Even the older folks have hardened their hearts. You can hold a door open for them, and they walk right through, young and old, with not so much as a word of thanks. Not even a nod of acknowledgment. No matter what you do for them, it is never good enough. It just seems to all fall on a hard heart.

This is exactly what Paul prophesied 2,000 years ago. Paul compared ungratefulness to the same level of evil as lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, treacherous, and brutal. Imagine that, being ungrateful is the same as being a lover of money, which is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Why? Because having an ungrateful heart is a sign of a hardened heart, and a hardened heart is a sign of a lack of love. Without love, there is no salvation. Love is the one fruit that is mandatory to obtaining and maintaining salvation.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for every time I have been ungrateful and/or unthankful. Please forgive me and heal my hardened heart. Please help me to love all people the same way You do. Help me to see value in others’ time, actions, and needs. Help me to treat others the way I would like to be treated. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Heart of The Leper

11 On the way to Jerusalem He was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” ~ Luke 17:11-19

When the Lepers saw Jesus coming, they stood at a distance, as per the law, and cried out to Him. Lepers had to separate themselves to avoid infecting others with the incurable disease of leprosy. In His great compassion, Jesus healed the ten lepers and sent them to the priests so that they could be pronounced clean by them and they would be accepted back into society and return to their families and to their homes.

This was not arbitrary. It was as per the Law of Moses (Leviticus 13:2–14:32). When they heard Jesus’ instructions to them, they all took off running to find the priests. On the way to the priests, the Scripture tells us that the lepers were all cleansed. Meaning that they were all healed of their leprosy.

But one of them, when he saw that he was cleansed, he stopped running, and being overwhelmed with gratefulness and thankfulness, he turned around and ran back to Jesus to say, “Thank You.” Thank you so much, LORD Jesus. His parents raised him well. Raised him with manners. Raised him to have a grateful heart and not take blessings for granted.

Now, let’s think about this for a moment. The Scripture said as they were going to show themselves, they, meaning all ten of them, were all cleansed. That means that they all acted in faith, but it was only one, after seeing that he was cleansed, turned back to say thank you. When you have an ungrateful heart, you don’t see the good that is done to you or the good that’s done for you. It just doesn’t register. It’s all about you and what you want or what you have. You feel like it’s your right. You deserve it. You are entitled to it! Whatever it is.

It’s easy to look at these nine men who didn’t return to Jesus and criticize them, but how many of us take the time out of our day to thank God for His many blessings, mercies, grace, and love? It’s easy to judge others and say what you would’ve done differently when you’re not in that situation, but it’s much harder to pronounce judgment when you look at yourself honestly, without excuse.

Dear LORD, help me to look at myself through the lens of honesty. Please forgive me for all the times I have been ungrateful. Thank You, LORD, for every good and perfect give You have given me. Thank You for every little and great blessing You have poured down upon me. Please soften my heart and humble me, that I might have a thankful and grateful heart and always hold myself to a higher standard than I hold others. Thank You for Your steadfast love and mercy that renews each morning. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Rejoice For Your Sake

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray constantly, 18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18CSB

Paul said rejoice, but it’s hard to rejoice if your heart is ungrateful. Therefore, he said to pray constantly or continually. Now, that is not to say that we are continually on our knees. That would be absurd to think that because, after all, there is life. Need I say more, job, family, spouse, children, etc. But we are always in an attitude of prayer, continually.

Then he ends it with, in everything give thanks. Research has proven that being thankful or grateful has many health benefits, such as an improved immune system, being more positive, and a brighter overall outlook on life. If for no other reason, be thankful for your own well-being. Be thankful for your own good.

Father, give me a thankful and grateful heart so that in all things, I can give thanks with a grateful heart and be able to praise You in spirit and in truth. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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