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Today’s Devotional Verse

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me. Philippians 2:12‭-‬18 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/php.2.12-18.KJV

A Heart Full Of Thanksgiving 3 Day Devotional. Day 1:

Thanksgiving Defeats Sin

Our relationship with God before sin entered the world resembled a posture of upright confidence. We stood without shame before God. All our affections were aimed directly at the Trinity, and we were perfectly fulfilled. When we chose to sin, and gave into the belief that God and his commands “are not enough,” the Scripture describes us becoming bent. We no longer aim in posture toward God in full assurance of our identity, but we bend toward the world in an effort to find affirmation and acceptance. This is the way Paul speaks of those who are without Christ; “they are crooked and twisted” (PHI 2:15). 

So what is the cure to our crookedness? Philippians 2 tells us how to become blameless, innocent, and without blemish even amidst our sinful desires and world. Paul tells us to “do everything without complaining or disputing.” In other words, be thankful. Paul tells us that our thankfulness will cause us to “shine like stars” amidst “the dark.”

Our world is caught up in entitlement and thus we are ALWAYS discontent. We are just like Adam and Eve in the Garden. We think we deserve to be gods. Thus, we are on an endless quest to captain our own ship, and the reason we are never satisfied, and view all those that stand in the way of our satisfaction as enemies, is because we will not allow ourselves to be happy until we have it all. As a result, we are bound in discontent. Wallowing in our own pride. We are chasing shadows.

Thanksgiving is a lifestyle! If you’re struggling with sin in any fashion today, it’s a worship (thanksgiving) problem. You are worshipping yourself, someone, or something over and above God, and the only way to defeat sin is to transfer your worship. This is what thankfulness does. It takes your focus off your deceptive need, and places your gaze upon the King. 

To learn more about how you can grow in your thankful worship, register for our global Make Jesus Culture Conference. Visit www.makejesusculture.com or the www.gardencityproject.com

12 Days of Thanksgiving Devotional. Day 12:

Happy Thanksgiving!! For the past eleven days we have offered up our thanks to the Lord for SO MUCH! We have thanked Him for Salvation, Grace, Living Water, the Bread of Life, His Holy Spirit, spouses, children, Gifts from the Holy Spirit, His calling, provision, and His leading as our Shepherd. Today we give thanks to the Lord for free-will, among other things. We will allow our thankfulness to be our sacrifice to the Lord Most High.

In John 7:17 of the New International Version Bible, we read, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” Chooses is highlighted here, because we see the Lord allows us free will. We are afforded the opportunity to choose to respond to Salvation, operate in Grace, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. We choose to look on our spouse and children as gifts from God and seek Him in our relationship with them. We get to choose to accept and respond to the gifts of the Spirit He desires to share. We get to choose to walk in His calling for our lives. We also get to choose whether we will offer THANKFULNESS to the Lord. 

Not one of us is a believer operating as a puppet by a celestial puppeteer. The Lord desires we choose, with a heartfelt devotion to our Shepherd, to love and allow Him to operate freely in and through our lives, all while picking us up when we stumble – and we will stumble. So before you sit down to enjoy your succulent turkey, ham, or turducken, be encouraged to go before the Lord and thank Him for the free-will He affords you to live and operate in, while He causes you to become more like Him each day. Before you sit down to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day parade with your family, ask them to share their hearts and all they are thankful for when it comes to God’s goodness. Before you take a nap while the National Dog Show plays in the background, choose to give thanks for the rest we find in knowing we are a children of God. A God Who provides an eternal rest from all our striving and yearning for temporal things of this world, for His Kingdom.

Happy Thanksgiving, be well, thank You God!