Walk in the Light

Tag: thankfulness

April 25, 2026

April 25th, 2026
Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Philippians 2:12-18

Highlight Verse:

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Confession time – I stole this idea from our church small group this week.

And you thought I was going to confess that I like to complain and argue.

You wouldn’t be wrong.

The Teams chat at work is full of the shortfalls of our dispatch software or customer errors or traffic or weather. I could go on.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the complaining. I’d be lying if I tried to say that I didn’t complain some too.

I do my best to stay positive, but it’s so easy to find stuff to complain about.

Someone in small group last night had an excellent idea.

When you find yourself complaining, turn it into thanksgiving.
- Does the house have problems? Be thankful you have shelter?
- Does an accident ahead have traffic tied up? Be thankful you are not in the accident and pray for the healing of anyone injured.
- Bills piling up? Be thankful for God’s provision and pray for wisdom and blessings to help you get them paid.
- Feeling the aches and pains of age or sickness? Thank God for the gift of each breath.
When you keep a positive attitude, people will be drawn to you like a magnet.

When they find out that attitude is founded in your faith, they will want to know more about it.

You will shine like a bright light in a dark world.

What have you been complaining about and how can you turn that into thanksgiving?
March 26, 2026

March 26th, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Hebrews 12

Highlight Verses:

“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is so much in these two little verses.

Our heavenly inheritance is unshakable! There is no question – it is coming.

Our worship should be thankful.

It pleases God when we worship with holy fear and awe.

And for that final verse, let me ask you to think back on some of your deepest worship experiences.

If you are like me, every selfish thought was consumed by the zealous fire to worship God with everything.

God’s consuming fire will dissolve away everything that does not belong, leaving a pure life of worship.

What would it take to deepen your worship experience?
Do you incorporate thanksgiving in your worship?
November 27, 2025

November 27th, 2025

Thanksgiving Day – Special Reading (I’ll cover today’s normal reading Saturday)

Reading Psalm 136:1-9

Highlight Verse:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭136‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Happy Thanksgiving.

Instead of the usual devotion today, after you read today’s reading, please comment what you are thankful to God for today.

I’ll start:

Of all things, today I’m thankful for transportation.

Airplanes and automobiles are bringing my two older daughters and their husbands to visit today!

Two of their grandparents will be by today as well for a beautiful family time.

Tomorrow, my wife’s faithful Subaru will take us to Nebraska to see another grandparent and other relatives.

I’ll admit, I was prompted to give thanks for transportation because I spent much of yesterday afternoon and evening working on my not so faithful (very old) pickup truck.

Me yesterday

Even though that job was difficult and still isn’t all the way done, I was thankful for the experience (though you wouldn’t have known it from my grumbling as I battled stuck ball joints).

I learned from the difficulties and succeeded (halfway so far) despite the stuck parts.

Now I plan on enjoying the presence of family and some really good food.

I pray that you may find joy in all that Thanksgiving brings you – both in the holiday and the state of mind.

Remember to comment with what you are thankful for!
November 14, 2025

November 14th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Ezekiel 1-3

“From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Is this what God looks like?

Ezekiel’s visions are pretty incredible. He described living beings with, shall we say, very interesting details.

He goes on to describe God like He was on fire.

Was this a product of his imagination?
Is this what God looks like?
Does this description fit with other descriptions of God in the Bible?

In the New Testament, we have good descriptions of God in the form of Jesus.

While Ezekiel’s vision seems a little fantastical, I don’t doubt that He appeared to Ezekiel in that form.

This is what Ezekiel needed to see and how the exiles needed Him described.

Outside of Jesus, most Biblical descriptions of God say that His glory was too much to view.

Perhaps Ezekiel gets the welder’s mask view.

But the view of God in the New Testament is a God with us.

Jesus was both human and God, able to relate to his disciples, hang out with them, and lead them in a very personal way.

God may be radiant beyond comprehension, but He is also personal.

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are able to be in His presence, with reverence and relationship.

Is your vision of God one of blazing radiance or personal familiarity?
What kind of vision of Him do you think God would want you to see today?

Today I am thankful that God wants to have a personal relationship with me and you.
November 12, 2025

November 12th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 21-22

Highlight Verses:

“He sang: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭22‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This Psalm of David is inserted here near the end of his life.

David looked back over his life and saw all the times God stepped in and protected him.

As a warrior king, those times were numerous.

And for that, David gave thanks.

I wouldn’t say I’m near the end of my life but I’ve lived long enough to be thankful for the Lord’s protection and provision.

There was the time at age 14 when I foolishly rode my bike from San Mateo to San Francisco and back, passing through dangerous neighborhoods, a protest at City Hall, and exposure to traffic.

Or the time a semi truck came around a curve in my lane on a narrow two lane highway in the mountains of North Carolina. I firmly believe God guided my little car right into that tiny space next to the guard rail as the truck flew past.

Or when my van’s engine blew up late at night on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as I was moving here to Colorado. God provided everything I needed to complete the move.

These are a tiny sampling of the times when God stepped in and protected and provided for me. I’m sure there were many more I never knew about.

For all of them, I am eternally thankful.

When in your history has God protected or provided for you far beyond normal?
How can we all show our thanks for these instances?
November 1, 2025

November 1st, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 136

Highlight Verse:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭136‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Welcome to November!

As the month that we in the US celebrate Thanksgiving, many say it is a good time to give thanks for something every day of November.

I encourage you to post something to be thankful for each day on social media to encourage other to express their gratitude to God as well.

I’ll start it off:

I am grateful for my family. Aside from trick or treaters, it was a quiet evening at home. My wife is visiting her father for the weekend and our youngest was hanging out with friends. I saw our son a couple of times, but he tends to hang out in his room.

As a partial introvert, I don’t mind the quiet, but it also makes me appreciate having the family around.

I have been blessed with an amazing wife, four awesome children (now all officially adults) and so far, two sons-in-law.

The love that flows through this home is seen in the words and deeds of all those around me.

For that, I am very thankful to God.

What is the first thing you are thankful this month?
Please share so others may be encouraged to be thankful.
September 24, 2025

September 24th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 7-8

Highlight Verse:

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭7‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David was just told that he was too violent to build the temple.

Maybe it was because of that violent reputation that Nathan delivered that message with the news that David’s family dynasty would continue.

David did not react with violence.

He reacted with humility.

He recognized that the true credit for his position went to God.

He knew God well enough to know that everything good in his life had its source in his Creator.

It’s easy to forget that.

We work hard to get where we are. We want to credit.

Like David, we need to know the true Author of our lives.

We owe our talents and skills, even the very breath we breathe to Him.

David had it right giving all the credit to God.

If we are honest, we must do the same.

Have you ever caught yourself patting your own back for your accomplishments?
How did that work out for you? (It never worked well for me).
August 8, 2025

August 8th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jeremiah 28-30

Highlight Verse:

“And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You could call this, “Lessons for the Exile Life.”

You might say, “But I’m not in exile.”

Good for you.

But most of us have at least something they aren’t satisfied with in their living situation.

Maybe your job is less than ideal, or your employer has values that don’t line up that well with your values. (That would be me).

Maybe your house or apartment is too small, old, hot or cold.

Maybe you wish you could move back to an area where you know more people.

You long for the “good life” where things go your way.

Israel wanted to be back in their own country.

Jeremiah told them to settle in and make the best of the situation.

Blessing those around them would bless them.

The same is true for us.

Even if we aren’t where we want to be, we need to take a positive attitude and help those around us.

If you have kept a positive attitude through a bad situation, how did your attitude help?
What does that look like in your situation today?
Thanksgiving Day, 2024

November 28th, 2024

(Today’s normal reading will be on Saturday, Nov. 30th)

Special Reading – Psalm 100

Highlight Verse:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Last night we struggled with how to seat 11 people at the dinner table today.

It was a good problem to have. We eventually arrived at a satisfactory solution.

In the process, I had to think of my growing up days. Thanksgiving was often spent with my Godparents. Their family of 6 would come eat with our family of 7 or vice versa.

There was always a kids table.

It was usually chaos.

It was awesome.

Times were not always good back then. More often than not, they were pretty bad.

But there was always something to be thankful for – dear friends, family, food on the table (even if we knew there’d be turkey sandwiches for at least a week).

Sometimes it can seem like there is nothing to be thankful for.

I’ve lived long enough to know that something good will come out of even the worst of times.

This year, I am thankful for family, for provision, and for God’s grace and mercy.

But I’m also thankful for the good that came from the bad: For the empathy that came from living through my parent’s divorce, for the reliance on God’s provision that came from the times of financial crisis, and even for the closeness to God that came out of my depression after my own divorce.

Sometimes God’s most precious gifts come from life’s hardest moments.

What good things are you thankful for today?
What good has come from bad situations in your life? Are you thankful for that?
June 4, 2024

June 4th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 11-12

Highlight Verse:

“But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!””
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

On Sunday we were bumped from a flight.

No warning. No explanation. Just a “your flight information has changed.”

Granted, the new flight was a direct instead of connecting.

Still, we would be home and hour and a half later and were already at the airport where then had to wait for nearly 9 hours.

Do I sound like I’m whining?

Kinda like the Israelites were doing in today’s reading.

In the last hour of waiting for our new nearly on time direct flight, we heard the boarding announcement for our previous flight, over 4 hours late. We would have been stuck in Dallas with no connection.

Instead, the airline provided us with the best way home given the circumstances.

God was providing the best for the Israelites but the didn’t like it. So, he gave in to their demands.

They didn’t like that so much either.

God provides what’s best for us through the opportunities he places in our path.

We would do well to accept those opportunities, make the most of them, and be thankful in the midst of them.

On a side note, I feel like I should mention that I don’t believe that abusive situations are God’s best for anyone. In that sort of situation, I believe it is best to ask (beg) God for a way out and to seize that way out when it arises.

What plans has God changed for you that seemed bad at first but turned out good?
In what ways have you provided God’s answer for those in bad situations?

Tag: thankfulness

And you thought I was going to confess that I like to complain and argue.

When you find yourself complaining, turn it into thanksgiving.

You will shine like a bright light in a dark world.

There is so much in these two little verses.

Our worship should be thankful.

God’s consuming fire will dissolve away everything that does not belong, leaving a pure life of worship.

Of all things, today I’m thankful for transportation.

I learned from the difficulties and succeeded (halfway so far) despite the stuck parts.

I pray that you may find joy in all that Thanksgiving brings you – both in the holiday and the state of mind.

Is this what God looks like?

This is what Ezekiel needed to see and how the exiles needed Him described.

God may be radiant beyond comprehension, but He is also personal.

Today I am thankful that God wants to have a personal relationship with me and you.

And for that, David gave thanks.

For all of them, I am eternally thankful.

As the month that we in the US celebrate Thanksgiving, many say it is a good time to give thanks for something every day of November.

For that, I am very thankful to God.

David was just told that he was too violent to build the temple.

He reacted with humility.

He knew God well enough to know that everything good in his life had its source in his Creator.

If we are honest, we must do the same.

You could call this, “Lessons for the Exile Life.”

But most of us have at least something they aren’t satisfied with in their living situation.

Even if we aren’t where we want to be, we need to take a positive attitude and help those around us.

There was always a kids table.

Sometimes it can seem like there is nothing to be thankful for.

Sometimes God’s most precious gifts come from life’s hardest moments.

Do I sound like I’m whining?

God provides what’s best for us through the opportunities he places in our path.