January 31, 2023 … Giving Thanks ALWAYS …

Berry Patch Devotions in 2023 - Day 31 

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Don Moen and praise chorus singing  … Give Thanks … poignantly singing about how we Christians should sing of our thanks for God giving us His son and all what we have and all that we are.   

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Highlight Passage: … Deuteronomy 8:18 [NLT] … 

18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. …  

… Moses warns God’s people to be thankful in all things, … especially in times of success.                                                                                       

Highlight Passage (Context): …  Deuteronomy 8:10-18 [NLT] …  USE THIS LINK …  

…  God, thru Moses. warns His people to beware of pride coming from God’s goodness and giving thanks ALWAYS for God’s sustaining grace in good times as well as bad. 

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Reference Passage: … Psalm 100 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God’s psalmist sings of giving thanks ALWAYS to our ever-sustaining God.                

Reference Passage: … Ephesians 5:20 [NLT] … 

20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   

… Paul exhorts fellow Christians to give thanks to God for EVERYTHING … ALWAYS!   

Reference Passage: … Colossians 3:17 [NLT] … 

17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  

… Paul strongly charges fellow Christians to give thanks to God in all that we think, say, or do.              

Reference Passage: … 1Thessalonians 5:18 [NLT] … 

18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus..  

… Once again, we Christians are called to thank our God in ALL circumstances of life … good or bad.       

                                                                             

My Devotional Journal: Today's Our Daily Bread author, James Banks … AT THIS LINK …   reports of a horrible disaster in January, 1919 (see photo), when a molasses tank burst, sending a wave of 15 feet of molasses into the streets of Boston, killing many of its citizens.        

And as we take in the linked song and the Scriptures above, it is certainly difficult to have a thankful heart to God in circumstances like that incident in Boston, … when something so benign as molasses can turn into a disaster.  But as God’s word warns us In the highlight passage, it may even more difficult to express our thankfulness to God when things are going really well in our lives, … times when our pride causes us to forget that it is God, not ourselves, who sustains and provides for us in ALL TIMES … good and bad!  

So, I’m stopping to pray that all reading with me today, remember this truth and extend our thankful hearts to our God today, … no matter what we’re dealing with in life.          

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for providing me and sustaining me in all of my life, LORD.             

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray that all reading here will join me, … to thank You, Lord, in ALL things and ALL times our our lives.       Amen

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.