SCRIPTURE:
"Oh, give thanks to the
Lord, for he is good; his loving-kindness continues forever. Give
thanks to the God of gods, for his loving-kindness continues
forever.
Give thanks to the
Lord of lords, for his loving-kindness continues forever. Praise him
who alone does mighty miracles, for his loving-kindness continues
forever. Praise him who made the heavens, for his loving-kindness
continues forever. Praise him who planted the water within the
earth,for his loving-kindness continues forever. Praise him who made
the heavenly lights, for his loving-kindness continues forever: the
sun to rule the day, for his loving-kindness continues forever; and
the moon and stars at night, for his loving-kindness continues
forever.....He remembered our utter weakness, for his
loving-kindness continues forever. And saved us from our foes, for
his loving-kindness continues forever!" (Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26, TLB)
OBSERVATION:
I asked myself what are
the reasons the Psalmist gives thanks to the Lord?
1.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
2.
Give thanks to the Lord, His loving-kindness continues forever.
3.
Praise Him who alone does mighty miracles.
4.
Praise Him who made the heavens.
5.
Praise Him who planted the water within the earth.
6.
Praise Him who made the heavenly lights.
7. Praise Him who made the
sun to rule the day.
8.
Praise Him who made the moon and stars to rule the night.
9.
Praise Him who remembered our utter weakness.
10.
Praise Him who saved us from our foes.
INTERPRETATION:
I asked myself why does the Psalmist
reflect on everything the Lord has done?
The Psalmist reflects on everything the Lord
has done to give Him all the thanks and praise but more than that to
remind himself that everything the Lord has done, it is because of
His loving-kindness which continues forever! Praise the Lord! Thank
you Jesus!
IMPLICATIONS:
I asked myself what are the
implications for my own life here?
The implications for my own life is to
reflect on everything the Lord Jesus has done in my life and pour
out my thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for all He has done
remembering He has done all this because of His loving-kindness
which continues forever. Thank you so much Jesus.
So, I decided to reflect upon what
happened this past year to give my thanksgiving and praise to the
Lord using the alphabet as a tool!
I am thankful to the Lord Jesus for
these happenings:
NOV 2024:
Almighty Lord gave us the opportunity to
host 5 Indian international students for Thanksgiving Dinner and
message. Thank you Lord Jesus!
Blessed Lord gave my precious wife
Chandraleela the opportunity to vote for the first time as a U.S.
Citizen.
DEC 2024:
Counselor Lord being celebrated with family
dinner, gifts, Christmas tree, decorations of Light to celebrate the
Light of the world coming as God-incarnate on one Christmas night.
Deliverer Lord ensured girls and women will
be protected in women’s sports and for the Pro-Life generation
rising up.
JAN 2025:
Everlasting Lord got our family through
2024.
Forgiving Lord gives our family another
year to serve Him in Jan 2025.
FEB 2025:
Guiding Lord leads Chandraleela through
another year of birthday celebration.
Healing Lord healing our family through
different issues.
MARCH 2025:
Immanuel Lord reminding us of the power of
the Gospel as we went to Acts2Fellowship Good News Musical.
Jesus Lord empowering women even as far as
Afghanistan as we watched the true story of Rule Breakers on ANGEL
Movies
APRIL 2025:
King of kings and Lord of lords reminding
us of the sacrifice He paid, shedding His precious cleansing Blood
on the cross on a Friday and Resurrecting on a Sunday as We
celebrated Resurrection Sunday!
Loving Lord by His grace saves my precious
Esther and she gets baptized at Pittsburgh Chinese Church Oakland –
Oakland International Fellowship Combined Service.
MAY 2025:
Messiah Lord gives my precious Evangeline
to celebrate her 10 year birthday with a sleepover with her friends
and have a cosmetic shopping spree with her uncles, grandma, and
mom.
Nurturing Lord gave another year of life to
celebrate for my youngest brother and my loving mommy.
JUNE 2025:
Omnipotent Lord gave me paid time off to
spend with Chandraleela, Esther, and Evangeline at the PCCO-OIF 60
year/30 year celebration at Geneva College hearing Pastor Hugo and
connecting with dear friends Edwin and Marie and also later having
an awesome time at Taj Mahal Restuarant with Elder Calvin and Elise.
Powerful Lord gives Esther amazing ability
to bless students with Henna designs at a carnival using
Esthey4Christ for the Lord’s glory!
JULY 2025:
Quickly Lord helps Evangeline and I to find fireworks to celebrate 4th
of July near our home with Chandra, Esther, and my older brother
Ravi.
Redeemer Lord uses Pastor Ridge to preach a
sermon on our favorite Psalm of the Bible Psalm 139 which we have
prayed for Esther and Evangeline from the time they have been in
Chandra’s womb through their early years and even now.
AUGUST 2025:
Savior Lord gives Chandra, myself, Esther,
Evangeline, and my mom opportunity to visit my younger brothers
Rohit and Raj in Maryland, go to Ocean City, MD, go to Kings
Dominion, Six Flags, and Bible Museum
Truthful Lord gives me opportunity to let
others know more about His Word through Apples to Apples Bible
Edition, Bible Taboo, Bible Scattegories, Bible Outburst,
Discernment, Action Bible guess it game, and Bible Infographics
cards.
SEPTEMBER 2025:
Understanding Lord protected my mommy and
brother as their apartment complex went up in flames and by Lord’s
grace were able to recover some stuff.
Victorious Lord brings Esther through 12 years of life so she can
celebrate her 13th
birthday as a teenager with a Friday
sleepover, Saturday OIF Picnic,
Sunday Volleyball Game, and Tuesday birthday party with gifts.
OCTOBER 2025:
Wonderful Lord brings me through another
year of life as I have been blessed to serve the Anthology
undergraduate students with Pastor Jesse, Emily, Eugene , Mei Ru.
Xcited Lord,
feeds His Word to me helping me
grow in His Word as I teach CBT from 1 Timothy 4.
NOVEMBER 2025:
Yahweh Lord gave me wonderful opportunities
to serve the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship CMU students.
Zealous Lord uses His children to glorify
Him as Esther serves on worship team for first time.
These are
only 26 mentioned but there are multiple areas of my life that
I am thankful and praise the Lord Jesus for. I am glad to have
reflected on what the Lord Jesus has done in my life saving a
foreigner like me and that His
healing and blessings are not limited to a
particular race or ethnicity but Jesus offers Himself to the world
to all who would receive Him and come to Him. For He promises,
"To all
who received Him, He gave them right to become children of God,
children born not of natural descent but from the will of God" (John
1:12)
It is in thanksgiving that we recognize that
we are nothing on our own and all the things we are blessed with
come from Jesus Christ, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
When I give thanks, I am recognizing the One
who gave Himself for me with His sacrificial death on the cross
coming back to life on the third day to save. When I give thanks, I
am figuratively throwing myself at the feet of Jesus to show that I
am nothing without Him. He alone is the One who has cleansed me of
all my sin and daily transforms my life by His grace. It is His
blessings that reveal His unconditional grace. Having an attitude of
thanksgiving takes the focus off me and puts the focus on the One
who came to change my life around.
I ask you now dear
friend, what are A - Z things you can give T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G
to the Lord for from NOV 2024 - NOV 2025?
Dear friend, the place you give thanksgiving
in your life will determine if it is a one day in November thing
filled with feasts of food with family and friends or will it be a
daily 365 day event filled with the Creator's presence in your life
and all the blessings He has showered upon your life. Friend, there
is excitement to celebrate thanksgiving with family and friends
eating a feast but when we focus on the gift alone instead of the
giver then we have missed the true meaning of thanksgiving.
So when we celebrate Thanksgiving with a feast
let us be thankful for all that the Lord Jesus has done in our
lives. I know it should not just be confined to the last Thursday of
November but daily.
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-17, NIV)
Jesus wants us to always be thankful and that
is His will. Yet, so many times we forget to give thanks and that
makes Jesus sad. I don't want to make Jesus sad but remember all
that Jesus does for me each day.
What has been awesome for me to do in the past
was write down 5 things that I have been thankful for each day not
duplicating any response during the week, otherwise it just becomes
a routine and I would write the same things each day.
Before the Thanksgiving meal, take time
to write 26 things you are thankful to the Lord for this past year
using the alphabet A-Z as a guide. Your focus should be on the Lord
Jesus for these 26 things.
The place we give
thanksgiving when that place involves the Lord Jesus Christ will
make us well spiritually too as Jesus promised the Samaritan:
Then he said to
him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
When we are thankful and grateful remembering
what the Lord has done for us, it is also a reflection of our faith.
There is a positive correlation between being thankful and our
faith. How appropriate is this passage on this day of
Thanksgiving 2025 so we do not forget the true meaning of
Thanksgiving.
Thank you Jesus for all you have done in my
life. I love you Lord Jesus.
Let us remember what the
Pilgrims did when they came on the Mayflower as their hearts were
filled with gratitude and thanks for how the Almighty Savior rescued
them and brought them through the harsh times in a new land. Thank
you Jesus. This is the origins of Thanksgiving.
I also believe our
health and joyfulness in life is tied to thanksgiving! No wonder
Jesus says,
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-17, NIV)
What is giving of thanksgiving anyway than
praying continually to the One who is the Giver of all things daily
in our lives. Praise the Lord! Thank you Jesus.
May you remember this day that Thanksgiving is
more than just turkey, stuffing, parades, and football but the
essence of Thanksgiving is JESUS CHRIST. Amen!
The purpose of today's devotional is to
understand the importance of being thankful for the things the Lord
Jesus has done in our lives instead of taking things for granted
knowing there is a positive correlation between being thankful and
our faith.
"Thankful Heart Always
Nurtures Kindly Souls, Giving Immanuel's Victorious Inspiration Now
Graciously!"
(T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G)/"What
are A - Z things you can give T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G to the Lord
for from NOV 2024 - NOV 2025?"
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for everything
that you have blessed our life with. Help me to be specific each day
Oh Lord to thank you and count my blessings in this life you have
given me. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for all that you have
done for our families. I love you Lord and need you. Thanks Lord as
we celebrate Thanksgiving, it does not have to be a one day event
but a daily event for you are the Giver of all Gifts and the Source
of life for us. Thank you so much Jesus for this time and being our
Lord and Savior to all who turn their lives to thee because you have
given an invitation at the cross of Calvary. Thank you for that
invitation which is a free gift of your grace. Thank you that you
want us to be thankful in all circumstances so please help us Lord.
I love you Jesus and need you. Take me as I am and use me for your
honor and glory. Help me live for you Jesus. Thanks so much Jesus
for dying for my sin to cover me in your precious blood and coming
back to life to save me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace,
Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a
life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I
need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround
me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your
presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you
love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek
your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for
your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case.
Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!
(Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)