Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Remembering

10 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Mid-Week Medtiation, Psalms

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When our ancestors were in Egypt, they gave no thought to your miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea (Psalm 106:7, NIV).

Eric E. Wright 4

Distant Lighthouse – Photo courtesy of Eric E. Wright

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is kindness.

A kindness remembered is like fresh water to a thirsty soul. It brings a smile to the heart and the face. Pause for a moment to recall when someone was especially kind to you. Are you smiling as you think those thoughts?

Now let’s take a moment to fix our thoughts on God. Are there moments when God showed great kindness to you? God did miracles for the sake of His people when they were enslaved in Egypt. Has God done any miracles for you?

If we reflect on instances when God has been kind to us, I believe something begins to change inside us. Our rebellious, quarrelsome nature retreats to the back corner and in its place thanksgiving comes to the fore.

Kindness begets kindness. Here’s hoping you set in motion an outbreak of kindness today.

Response: LORD God, you have shown me kindness in the face of Jesus Christ. He loves, forgives and works miracles on my behalf. I remember your kindness today. Amen.

Your Turn: What can you do to demonstrate kindness today?

Despite Affliction and Pain

26 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Psalm 69, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 69

Verses 29-36

But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.

 I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.

Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,

for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;

 the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there (NIV).

Reflection

The word ‘despite’ does not appear in this final reading from Psalm 69, but despite its absence it’s at the core of what David is saying here.

But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

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National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON — photo by David Kitz

Despite affliction and pain David resolves to praise God and give Him thanks. David decides to rise above his circumstances. He does not give into his troubles and sorrows. He does not yield to the complaints of his body. Not by the flesh, but in the Spirit, he rises above his afflictions.

Often I would rather wallow in my difficulties and coddle my discomforts. But the LORD calls us to live on a higher plane. It takes praise, thanksgiving and a song in our heart to lift us to that higher level. But before the song comes and the praise begins to flow, we determine our response. We must decide. We have a ‘but-as-for-me’ moment.

Despite opposition from our flesh, despite the doubts and misgivings of our peers, we determine that God is worthy of our praise. He is the God of the afflicted—not just the God of the feel-good set—so let the thanksgiving begin and praise burst forth.

Often God sees our heart and He intervenes and our situation changes. But if not, He is still worthy of whole hearted praise. Take time to praise and thank Him now.

Response: LORD God, in my difficulties I praise you. This pain-prone human flesh praises you. Thank you for this life you have given me. Your goodness and mercy never end. Amen.

Your Turn: Is praise difficult for you at times?

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

12 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by in Devotionals, Psalm 100, Psalms

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Reading:                                          Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

  Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations (NIV).

Reflection

When you grow up on a prairie farm, as I did, you appreciate the traditional aspects of Thanksgiving all the more. You are reminded each day that the food on your table does not simply come from a store. You are actively engaged in producing the nourishment that sustains your own life.

Aichi-Ken, Japan -- David Kitz

Aichi-ken, Japan — David Kitz

As a youngster I sat down to many a Thanksgiving feast, and almost all the food found on that groaning table was home-grown. I watched those vegetables growing in our garden in the hot summer sun. I even pulled the weeds from around those peas. And those mashed potatoes, I helped my mother hill those tubers in the spring and then dug them up after the frost hit in the fall.

My brother loved growing pumpkins, and mom would turn his favorite into the best pumpkin pie east of the Rockies. And how can you eat pumpkin pie without a mound of whipped cream on top? Well let me tell you, it tastes even better, when just that morning you milked the cows that produced that sweet rich cream. Oh, and that huge turkey—we’ll miss that pompous strutting gobbler out by the henhouse. But I’m sure we’ll get over it, somehow. For now, let’s just dig in.

Let’s all dig in, and give thanks to the God, who made all this possible. This sumptuous feast has been brought to you by Him. Now that’s Thanksgiving!

The great God in heaven has been kind to us. He has answered our prayers. He brought the warmth of spring and the rain of heaven. He caused his face to shine upon us. The rich earth responded to his touch. It brought forth its bounty, and now around this table we have gathered together as a family to celebrate God’s great goodness to us.

As the psalmist declares, “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” So today with joy-filled hearts we enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. We give thanks to him and praise his name.

Response: Heavenly Father, thank you for all your kindness. You have been so good to us! Help us to maintain an attitude of gratitude all year long and not only on Thanksgiving Day. Amen.

Your Turn: What blessings from God’s hand are you most grateful for?

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

19 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Psalm 50, Psalms

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Reading:                                         Psalm 50

(Verses 7-15)

“Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (NIV).

Reflection

What is humanity’s greatest sin? Think about that for a moment. Is it murder? Hatred? Racism? The desecration of the planet? All of these are serious problems—serious sins. But what is the greatest sin?

Central Park, New York, NY - David Kitz

Central Park, New York, NY – David Kitz

Psalm 50 begins with a great summoning of all nations. The LORD is about to enter into judgment. But what charge does He bring against His people? He does not accuse them of heinous crimes, or the desecration of His temple. I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. Instead God calls for thank offerings. The LORD wants His people to have thankful hearts.

There is something rather anticlimactic about this call for thanksgiving. My initial reaction is one of surprise. I thought we had a serious problem here. Why summon the nations to a great gathering unless there is a declaration of some significance. Surely a lack of thanksgiving is an offence of no great significance. Or is it? Apparently in God’s view it is of great importance.

In his epistle to the Romans, St. Paul attributes a lack of thankfulness to the blinding power and deception of sin. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:20-21).

Because of its long term consequences, a failure to offer thanks may be the gravest sin of all.

Response: LORD God, I owe my life to you. I have so much to be thankful for. Every day is a gift. Amen.

Your Turn: What are you most thankful for?