Christ-centered, family-friendly devotionals that glorify God
Author: Steve Sawyer
God blessed me with the gift of writing. Mom told me I wrote paragraphs in second grade when others were learning to write sentences. I spent more than three decades in professional writing gigs. For the past eight years I've combined my passion for writing with my love for the Lord. He and I write a Christ-centered, family-friendly blog to glorify God Monday-thru Friday at https://stevensawyer.wordpress.com/. My wife and I have four grown children and two precious granddaughters we co-parent with their mom. I'm a Galatians 2:20 disciple of Christ seeking to allow Christ to live His life in me, through me, and as me.
When we develop relationships with others, whether they’re with neighbors or friends on church associates or business associates or casual friends don’t we try to put ourselves out there with others who are more like us? –same likes and dislikes, same sports teams, similar values and social presence.
We want to hang with folks like us. We don’t generally associate with folks who are different from us. Why is that? For instance you won’t find too many Auburn football fans clamouring to grab seats in the Alabama section of Bryant Denny stadium Tuscaloosa. We don’t have anything in common with our football rivals.
We’re usually not comfortable associating with folks who think differently, or act differently, or dress differently or deal with conflict, or raise our kids differently than we do. Is it healthy to promote two antithetical paradigms of relationships in our society? Instead political parties, church denominations, and ideologies seem to be pulling farter apart rather than growing closer together.
Are we headed towards full-blown socialisms? Only time will tell.
Born April 30,} 1981 died JaLeahnuary 20, 2023 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer
She was predeceased in death by her husband Daniel Jack Stephens. She leaves behind her step daughter Genesis Stephens. Her step sister Lois Whitfild, her half brother Quentin Demmon, her mother, Roxanne Hawk Holland (Edwards) and her father, Steve Sawyer.(Marie)
Leah graduated Magna Cum Laude from Auburn University Montgomery with a BS degree in biology. She obtained her degree. She obtained her Masters degree in microscopy from the University of Sydney in Australia. She worked as a lab managersd doing cancer research at Vanderbilt university.
She was a fearless traveler, a lover of art and nature, a seeker of adventure and new experyences. She made friends ef kept them for life. She laughws loudly and argued fiercely. She worked hardtlaughed loudly and argued fiercely,worked hard, loved without reservatiobdegree, and lived every minute fully. Her life was a gift to us all and she leaves this world a better place.
What a year–ender. December was not my favorite month of 2022
I spent my birthday, Christmas, New Years New Years’,
Eve, and our 29th wedding anniversary in the hospital with Covid. I’ m okay now but putting up with residual Covid fallout. Others say that could l last a month or several months or up to a year. I hope its short lived.
Anyway, thank Almighty God I’m back at my keyboard and my regular posting schedule–new posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and John Ed Mathison’s weekly posts on Thursday.
December was my least favorite month n 2022 by a country mile. I spent my birthday, Christmas, New Years Eve, all the football games on New Years’ Day and our 29th wedding anniversary in the hospital with Covid.
I’m clear and back at home now and I’m resuming my blog post schedule–
new posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Dr, John Ed Mathison’s weekly blog posts on Thursday.
Her dance card was empty, The women in the town didn’t even invite her with them to go to the well in the morning for some girl time. No men took an interest in her. She had no family. The demons wouldn’t leave her alone. She was haunted by them. She was not very attractive.
She had nothing to look forward to.. Her future was as bleak as her past had been. She had no self respect. UNTIL . . .
Jesus sought her until he found her. “:Mary, do not fear. I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.”
He bent over her and and cupped his hands around her soft cheeks and held her face to his chest.
At that very instant seven evil spirits that had been haunting her for years left her and a calm peaceful spirit she had never known swept over her whole body.
Mary Magdalene would never be insignificant again. In fact, she became one of the most significant and influential women in the bible.
In fact, her resume includes being among one of the crowd stranding alongside Jesus’ mother watching them crucify him, then watching them bury him.
Then on Resurrectiom Sunday Mary was the very first person to see Jesus come out of the grave in his resurrected body. She was the very first person Jesus spoke to in his resurrected body.
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” So Mary Magdalene was the one who went and told the disciples, “He has risen!” I have seen the Lord and he told me these things.
Also Mary Magdalene was part of Jesus’enterage who followed him throughout his ministry travels.
On Monday, January 2, 2023, one of the most important NFL games of the year was just ten minutes into the first quarter. The outcome of this game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals would influence the playoff status of several teams.
An unexpected thing happened. Buffalo Bills safety, Damar Hamlin, tackled Bengals Tee Higgins. Damar got up, took a couple of steps, and then collapsed on the field because of cardiac arrest.
The medical teams from both sidelines were on the field immediately and started medical procedures including CPR. After 30 minutes, they placed Damar in an ambulance and carried him to a Cincinnati hospital.
Prayer was primary for most every person. Nobody was debating whether or not you should have prayer at a football game or that players could kneel and pray. ESPN analyst, Dan Orlovsky, told viewers nationwide, “Maybe this is not the right thing to do, but I want to.” He said that the Buffalo Bills organization believes in prayer. He prayed, “If we believed prayer didn’t work, we wouldn’t ask this of you God. We believe in prayer…..” Marcus Spears and Laura Rutledge said, “Amen.” Google the whole prayer that he prayed.
People have continued to pray around Buffalo, New York, Cincinnati and everywhere. It is reported that people meet on street corners, public places, and designated venues, and circle up and pray. I think Damar is the most prayed for person in America!
This event has reinforced many beliefs and commitments for me. Here are two that I will share:
Prayer is primary. It’s sad that we have to get in situations like this to remind us of the importance of prayer. We must learn that we don’t have to get on our backs before we need to look up.
The Bible says that sincere, passionate prayer of a righteous person avails much. (James 5:16) Mark records the healing of a young boy by Jesus. When the disciples questioned why they couldn’t heal him, Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29)
Practice praying daily and experience the power of prayer every day this year.
Remember what’s important in life. At the beginning of the football game, everybody thought that game was one of the most important issues in life. Ten minutes into the game nobody thought that football was nearly as important as the life and health of a young 24-year-old ball player.
The coaches were reminded of that lesson during the time that doctors were administering to Damar on the field. Bengals Coach Zac Taylor and Bills Coach Sean McDermott were standing with their arms around each other. It was still undecided if the game would be resumed. McDermott told Taylor, “If they resume the game, I am not coaching it. I’m going to the hospital with my player, Damar.”
Begin each day in 2023 answering the question, “What and who is most important in my life?” Don’t get your values inverted. Read Matthew 6:33 and Matthew 22:37.
How many testimonies do you have? You can have many?
How many people have you shared it with?
What feedback if any, have you received? Positive? Negative? Share
Simply put an effective testimony rocks when Jesus does a transformative work in your heart no matter how small or large.
If your testimony is effective and genuine you’ll hear your voice hear the sounds of the words but the testimony will be Jesus doing the transformative work in your heart.
My entire beloved America is a total train wreck. North, South, East, West, politically, economically, religiously, socially, militarily, professional sports, medically, relationally.
Seriously–Can you think of anything, ANYTHING–that’s working the way it’s supposed to now??–this Cheryl Crow version of a Bob Dylan song is spot on to describe what a mess our country is in these days?.
No one is in charge.
The American Girl magazine is encouraging girls as young as three to change their sexual orientation IF THEY WANT TO (and they don’t have to tell their parents)The American Girl magazine is encouraging girls as young as three to change their sexual orientation IF THEY WANT TO (and they don’t have to tell their parents)The American Girl magazine is encouraging girls as young as three to change their sexual orientation IF THEY WANT TO (and they don’t have to tell their parents)
Our educational system is in peril. Some administrators and woke teachers are ignoring math and English and science and history and teaching anything they want to, usually something woke..
military recruitment is suffering all across the country.
Crime continues to get more violent and pervasive and blatant.
Inflation is through the roof. So are prices of everything.
Our president makes decisions, but his small group of advisors tells him what to decide. He’s an authority in name only. His leadership serves to bolster his legacy as the WORST president this country has ever had.
A bunch of libraries are forbidding faith-based books from having story book hours.
I could go on and on. The point is we’re losing our freedoms a little at a time to far out non Christian liberalism and woke everything.
Let’s go back the question at the top of this post.
Can you think of any part of our entire country that’s working like it’s supposed to?
If you can, I’d like to know what you think.
Y can email me at stevesaw@gnail.com
Fortunately God is in control of everything. We might not understand it, we might not believe it/. we may reject the idea (too bad) but Almighty God is in control. Always has been, always will be
She was a teenager. A virgin. Engaged to be married. She lived a life of quiet faithfulness to God. We don’t read that she was extraordinarily beautiful, nor wise. Nor rich. Nor from royalty. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was, by all accounts, extraordinarily ordinary, yet humble. She lived in Nazareth. an out-of-the way village, probably just a few hundred folks. Nathanael once remarked to Phillip, “Can anything good ever come out of Nazareth?”. It was a place you’d want to drive through, not stop to visit.
After Gabriel announced to Mary that she had found favor with God, after he told her she would soon give birth to the Savior of the World, after Gabriel told Mary her Son would be extraordinary, her response was simply, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”
I sometimes wonder why God didn’t choose the mother of the Savior of the world from higher up the social ladder.
I think it was Mary’s quiet faithfulness. Her total surrender to God’s news. Her servant’s attitude. Her humility. All found favor with God.
Have a “Mary” Christmas this year. Never ever feel ordinary. Never feel that you don’t matter or that you couldn’t glorify God with your life, regardless of your circumstances.
God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people who, like Mary, live in quiet faithfulness, humility and submission to God.
Jesus is smack dad in the middle of everything Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, Christmas cardsChristmas carols Christmas gifts, Christmas presents, Christmas dinner. Christmas stockings
Where is Christ?
I’ll tell you where he isn’t.
Everywhere they celebrate Christmas. Drive up and down the streets and what do you see? Lots of prett y Christmas lights, and snowmen, and wr eat hs hung on doors. Do you see Jesus? He’s nowhere to be found.
Every program and cable show comp ete to see who can air the tackiest, most artificial, contrived attempt to portray a Christmas message.
But no Jesus.
Every business and car dealer advertises great deals and deep discounts on their products.
But no Jesus.
What ever happened to, “Jesus is the reason for the season”?
Jesus is not the reason for the season for most of the country. Most folks today have lots of things on their minds besides Jesus They’re watching Christmas movies at the theater. At home they’re watching Christmas movies on TV with 115 minutes of commercials and 5 minutes of program. 5hopping, travel, school breaks, holiday plans, baking, neighborhood gatherings, in laws, decorating, snowball fights.
But no Jesus.
Where is Jesus?
Is he in the congregations of the megachurches on their Christmas Eve services? Is he in the thousands of churches on Christmas Sunday? NO
Christ is alive and well abiding in the hearts of every believer
I didn’t go in for all that Nintendo and game boy fad in the 80’s. It didn’t intrigue me like it did a few of my friends. The Nintendoe technology was crude and still in its neophyte stage. The Nintendo did have one really cool feature though. Right next to the “START” button was the “RESET” button. So if you didn’t like your score, or just wanted to start over, all you had to do was hit “RESET” and you could begin a new game, start over. A brand new fresh start.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a reset button for life?
What about that discussion you had with your wife that went South in a heartbeat and you said some awful, mean, hurtful things to her. With the reset button it’s like it never happened. You could reset the balance on your credit card so your balance could go back to $0. You could reset your marriage, relationships, the mortgage. All kinds of stuff if you just had a reset button.
Some
If you are in Christ, then Jesus is your life’s reset button. Jesus has a brand new life for you; but you need to completely destroy the old you completely.
So how do you make sure your old self is gone completely. That’s no easy task. Come back to my For His Glory blog site Monday t find out how you can get rid of your old self completely and forever. Promise!
Do you know Jesus? YES___NO____? I don’t mean do you know about Him, or have you heard about Him, or you’ve heard other folks talk about Him? Maybe you’ve even read about Him in the Bible.
But do you have a personal relationshipwith Jesus? Let me tell you why the answer to that question is so vital to tour future. The moment you die you will find yourself briefly in the presence of Almighty God. If you say, “Father, I’m one of your children (0f course God already knows you’re one of His children). God will wrap His arms around you, and say, “Come with me now to your eternal home I created for you when I created the Paradise I call Eternity where we will be with each other forever.
For those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation and a forever home in Eternity, they will be cast into the pits of hell where they will suffer unceasing torment, anguish and excruciating agony 24 hours a day
I don’t mean9 Do you know about him or read stuff about hiin, or heard others talk about him or even read about him in the Bible. I’m talking personal relationship. Like call him and ask him to catch a good movie with him, or text him to see if he’d like to go grab a coffee together. That’s Personal.
Let me explain to you why your answer to that question is so vital to your destiny.
All of us (humans on the planet) will die some way some time some way.
When we take our last breath–EVERY ONE OF US we will stand in the presence of Almighty God and give your answer to that question, Are you a child of God or not. Of coarse The Creator of all life already knows who all his children are. No last minute changes of heart here at the gates of Heaven.
God will look at you and smile. He’ll put his arms around you and say, “Come and see where we will live together for Eternty in the garden Paradise I prepared for you and all my children from the foundations of the world.
If you failed to accept God’s offer of salvation and promise of eternal life you are banished to hell forever to live in unquenchable fire and never-ending torment and suffering and anguish and pain that will never end.
(Editor’s note) I wrote Sweet Tea and Jesus several years ago. It remains one of my readers’ most liked posts. It is also one of my favorites.
Folks who live outside the Deep South don’t understand Sweet Tea. If you go to most restaurants or truck stops north of the Tennessee line and ask if they have Sweet Tea, they’ll say, “Sure, sugar’s on the table.” (That means, “No. We don’t have sweet tea. Sugar’s on the table.”)
When you make real Sweet Tea, first dump two cups of sugar into a pitcher. Bring a half gallon of water to a boil. When it boils put in three family-sized tea bags. Leave it alone for five or six minutes. Remove the tea bags and bring the tea to a boil. Pour the tea into the pitcher and stir it until the sugar melts. Fill the pitcher half way with ice and stir until the ice melts. Then fill the pitcher with cold water. Stir until blended.
Something real scientific happens when you make Sweet Tea. When the sugar dissolves in the tea, you no longer have sugar and tea, you have Sweet Tea. It is a different mixture. Two separate ingredients mix together to form a new substance. It’s no longer sugar, and no longer tea. It’s Sweet Tea. The sugar won’t settle on the bottom of the pitcher, because it’s not sugar any more. The liquid will always be Sweet Tea to the last sweet drop in the pitcher.
The Bible teaches us that’s the same thing that happens when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and invite Him into our hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man (water) be in Christ, (sugar) he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (Sweet Tea).
As born again believers we are now spiritually in Christ, and will be forever. God has already guaranteed our position in Christ for eternity. Ephesians 2:5-6 proclaims, “even when we were dead in our transgressions (God) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
As a new creation in Christ, He wants to live His life in us, through us and as us to bring glory to God. As part of our true identity we are in Christ and Christ is in us. We’re new creations.
The next time you drink a big glass of Sweet Tea, think about being a new creation with Christ living in you and you in Christ. And for all you Yankees, I hope y’all get to visit us down here one day and savor a tall cool glass of this delicious nectar us Southern folks call Sweet Tea. Y’all will just love it.
Now I’ve got two language college degrees. And many of my friends are well educated too. I have asked several of them if they’d explain they think woke is, and they can’t tell me what it means.
So I did some research, because I really want to know what it means. I did find out from my reading that I am NOT woke. I never have been nor will I ever become woke.
Someone I read said woke has a built in conundrum. From all I read I can agree.
I must say that from all I read from some self-proclaimed scholars and some highly skilled experts in their fields of knowledge no one could explain satisfactorily what woke means.
Martin Luther King was quoted as saying woke is to stay alert, awake, vigilant, ,and to adjust and face the challenge of change. One writer described woke as being “cool”. Another writer said woke means a pat on the back for the left and a way to affirm the sensitive
In general woke seems to be the rallying cry of the increasingly left wing Millennial generation.
If any of you ever find out what woke really means let me know please.
Our woke-riddled entertainment industry seems to court the gay crowd but also encourages and promotes their active participation in the industry.
The sad truth is that society seems bent towards accepting, even promoting gay behavior in TV and cable programs, and in movies. like gay men kissing and foundling each other on screen. You can witness gay women embracing each other.God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19), therefore, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 5:1, 2).
Homosexuals I assume are the same as the LBGTQ community.
They have all made the same mistake that a zillion folks have made over the years just like Adam and Eve did when they started this whole thing in the Garden of Eden. They decided they’d rather make their own decisions and follow their own will rather than follow God’s will and perfect plan for life.
They use selective scripture to make their claims that God made them ““For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (from Psalm 139) (this scripture makes no claim to include homosexuals.
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19), therefore, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 5:1, 2). What in God’s name do these verses have to do with legitaimizing LGBTQ sinners. The “L”, the “G”, and the “B” in their logo represent people who practice same sex intercourse which is a SIN! and God hates sin. He cannot even look upon sin.
Let’s remember that of course God loves every man or woman who label themselves as LGBTQ. If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10 :9 He created them, but He HATES their sin. Every LGBTQ risks eternal damnation unless they become one of of God’s children and play their Get Out Of Hell Free card –that means repent and claim Jesus as Savior
He was crucified on the cross to forgive the sins of the world. That means LGBTQ sins as well.
That doesn’t mean we won’t stop sinning.
What it does mean is that when we draw our last breath and stand before Almighty God, He will gather all his children, those who have claimed Jesus as their Savior and surrendered their lives to the Kingship of God.
Those who have failed to accept God’s free gift of salvation and promise of eternal life with God will be cast into the pits of hell where they will live forever in unbearable anguish and unending suffering, torment, pain and constant torture 24 hours a day for eternity..
Would you please think deeply about what God has to say about ALL sin and accept His free gift of salvation so that you will escape this judgment and spend eternity in heaven with God?
Our culture, and all the Woke thinkers have really messed up gender identity with heir contrived identities.
There are two identities– only two 1. MALE and 2. FEMALE. You can’t change an identity.
How are they different? Well, the female has breasts and the male doesn’t–never has. The female has a vagina, and a womb, a vulva, and ovaries. The male does not. The male has a penis, facial hair and most men have disgusting habits.
All human beings received their permanent and true identity thousands of years ago.
God gave Adam (the male) his identity, and Eve (the female) her identity, in Genesis chapter 2. God didn’t create any more identities then, nor has He created any other identities since.
Despite some folks’ efforts to change their identity biologically or surgically or emotionally or just a male announcing he feels more like a girl now–I think those guys are perverts and just get a charge out of dressing out with girls. You don’t see many girls wanting to be boys. I told you some boys have disgusting habits.
All this identity mess never should have never happened. But for the zillionth time man chose to rely on his own will instead of depend on God’s perfect plan and will.
Sometimes in life we feel like we are living on a mountaintop. Other times, we feel like we are in the valley. Paul said that we ought to be thankful in all situations of life. (Ephesians 5:20; I Thessalonians 5:18)
One of the best examples of this is Coach Jimmy Perry. About thirty years ago, he was one of the top weightlifters in the state and was a runner up to the Mr. Alabama contest. He then discovered he had to have a kidney transplant.
I went to Birmingham with him. His faith was radiant! The transplant was successful.
Last November, as he and his wife, Judy, were driving to Birmingham for a check-up, they received a phone call from the Alabama High School Athletic Association congratulating him on being selected to the Alabama Football Coaches Hall of Fame. He was on the mountaintop.
Later that day in the doctor’s office, the examination revealed clear cell cancer. They told him that he only had less than three months to live.
From the mountaintop to the valley. It was a long drive back home. But Jimmy has a strong faith, a great attitude, and a lot of people praying for him.
Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2021 were really tough as Jimmy processed the fact that this would be the last ones he would spend with his wife, kids, and grandkids. His faith was strong.
He and Judy went back to Birmingham for his final check-up in January 2022. His doctors were immediately amazed because they couldn’t find the cancer! The doctor asked him what he had been doing. Jimmy replied, “We have been praying.” The doctor’s reply was, “What you’re doing is working a whole lot better than what we are doing.”
The doctor then said we have one more test we need to run involving your DNA. He said there’s only a one percent chance that this test will prove that you are clear. Jimmy looked at him and smiled and said, “One percent and God is all the odds I need.” Jimmy was right. The test showed complete healing!
As usual in August, he invited me to come over and speak to his football team and their parents at the beginning of the season and have a prayer in the locker room for the families.
The picture above shows us with his quarterback, K.J. Jackson. He is a big boy. I offered to give K.J. a few tips of playing quarterback, but Jimmy wisely said we didn’t have time!
Saint James had its best season ever. They played Piedmont, the defending state champions, in the Championship game and were trailing 20-10 at the half. Jimmy and his staff made adjustments at halftime and came out and scored 35 points and won 45-28!
K.J. threw for 5 touchdowns in the second half and was the MVP. He is only a junior and had 41 touchdown passes for the year!
Coach Perry was back on the mountaintop, but he lives as humbly and gratefully on the mountaintop as he does in the valley. He believes in the power of healing. He has experienced it. He still makes every day count. He still wants to make a difference in the lives of young people.
How do you handle the mountaintops and the valleys?
He was an apostle. He gave up everything he had to follow Jesus; He was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He was there when Jesus fed the 5,000. He helped pass out the bread. He saw all the miracles. He watched Jesus calm the seas and raise Lazarus from the dead. He preached the Gospel all over the territory From all indications he appeared to have a strong active faith.
So what happened? Deep in his heart Judas was doubleminded.
The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately sick.
Who can understand it
Jeremiah 17;9
Judas went to the high priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I turn him over to you?” So the Jewish leaders counted out thirty pieces of silver and handed it to Judas. From that moment on Judas looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
We all know the rest of this story.
When Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. “I have sinned.” he said ” have sinned against innocent blood.”
The Jewish leaders answered, “What is that to us, That is your responsibility. So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.
In 1 John 2:1-2 John teaches: My dear children I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
They went out from us, but they (Judas was among those who left and were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19
So, was Judas saved or not? Can you justify your answer?
God blessed me with the gift of writing. I turned His gift into a challenging yet rewarding 30-year writing career. When I retired I created my “For His Glory” blog so I could continue my love for writing. This month I begin my 13th year blogging on “For His “Glory”.
If you’d to message Steve or discuss a post or Scripture contact me and I will always respond. stevesaw@gmail.com
A thankful heart determines the kind of attitude we have in life, the kind of disposition we display every day, the kind of expressions we have on our face, and represents the kind of faith that we have. A thankful heart is extremely important.
One of the greatest men who ever lived was Dr. Billy Graham. He preached to more people and saw more people come to Christ than anybody in modern history. He once said, “A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord.”
A thankful heart represents a humble spirit where we recognize that we did not create the things that we enjoy. A heart that fails to give thanks is one that begins to take blessings for granted and take credit for all accomplishments. G.K. Chesterton said, “The critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
A thankful heart requires that we take the effort to thank not only God but also people. During the Pandemic, Jeff Gerson was placed in New York City’s NYU Langone Tisch Hospital with COVID-19. When he was intubated, he lost consciousness. He woke up one month later and had no memory of his recovery.
But he wanted to thank the heroes who saved his life. He tracked down the names of all 116 doctors, nurses, and therapists by looking through his insurance records and treatment charts. He then sent a handwritten note of thanksgiving to each one of them. He explained, “Healthcare workers often go without appreciation and the point of my letter was to thank them for what they did for me.”
Each of us is where we are because someone helped us get there. A terrible thing is to develop an arrogant attitude that assumes we are responsible for the accomplishments that we enjoy. Remember—if you ever see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn’t get there by himself!
One of the marks of genuine thanksgiving is when we can thank God for the tough times of life. The tough times are when we learn the best lessons. Paul reminded us that we should rejoice in our suffering because suffering brings endurance, and endurance brings character, and character brings hope, and hope never disappoints. (Romans 5:3-5)
Rev. Martin Rinkart was a 31-year-old German pastor when the 30 Years War broke out. He ministered during the war, the Plague, and a time when there was very little food. He wrote that he saw “30 or 40 people fighting in the streets over a dead cat or crow.” He buried 4,480 people during that time!
Martin always encouraged people to take refuge in God. Their ultimate security must be with God and not with the military. Through all the suffering, grief, and deaths, Rinkart always thanked God for the blessings he enjoyed.
In that setting, he wrote the hymn, Now Thank We All Our God. It became the second most sung hymn in Germany behind A Mighty Fortress is Our God. It began as a prayer before meals and later became a national hymn. It taught people to thank God even in the toughest times.
A thankful heart is not developed by receiving thanks but giving thanks. And a thankful heart isn’t active just one day a year, but every day!
God blessed me with the gift of writing. I turned His gift into a challenging yet rewarding 30-year writing career. When I retired I created my “For His Glory” blog so I could continue my love for writing. In December I’ll begin my 13th year blogging on “For His “Glory”.
If you’d like to chat or discuss a post or Scripture please email me.
College football has become big business. The introduction of the NIL-Name Image Likeness—has made it possible for players to get paid huge amounts of money. Some college players are making well over $1 million a year.
The introduction of the Transfer Portal has also revolutionized football. If you have a good NIL program, you can get a lot of players out of the transfer portal who add tremendously to your team. Signing on recruiting day is still important, but so many of those high-round recruits wind up at another school.
The buy-out for head coaches in the SEC, who get fired, has become one of the most lucrative professions anywhere. Someone said that if you can ever get a head coaching job, you will be set for life.
Auburn had a coaching change on November 1. It was a culmination of a lot of discussion over the last couple of years. The fired coach Bryan Harsin should be able to live on the buy-out!
An interim coach was named the next day. It was Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. He is a former great running back. He was the coach for the running backs for Auburn this year.
Cadillac is a breath of fresh air for college football. He came in with energy and enthusiasm. He had no experience as a head coach, and only four days to prepare for Mississippi State. Five of the assistant coaches had also been fired. With little time to prepare, Auburn went into the game with an inexperienced head coach and an offensive line coach in charge of calling the plays. No wonder Auburn was a big underdog.
But Cadillac did not dwell on how bad the situation was. He began by thanking God for the opportunity he was given. His enthusiasm and energy were contagious. Auburn almost upset Mississippi State. They lost in overtime.
But did they really lose? They did on the scoreboard, but in the post-game conference, Coach Williams talked about the Chapel service for the team on Friday night. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at that service. The FCA Chaplain at Auburn is my good friend, Chette Williams. He and Coach Williams have more in common than the same last name and the same initials—they have the same values about winning.
In the Chapel Service on Friday night, Coach Williams reported that eight football players accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior! Wow! Coach Williams was excited about that. In my opinion, that’s the most important thing a coach can do. In the future, people will forget the score of the game, but for eternity people will remember the win that night in the Chapel service.
I don’t know how the future will go with Coach Williams, but he has certainly injected a great perspective that I think that all coaches should follow.
The question for you and me is—what kind of energy, discipline, teamwork, and “never quit attitude” do we bring to our work every day? Is our job a platform for doing ministry? I recognize there are some HR guidelines that have to be followed, but within those how can I win people to faith in Jesus Christ?
Football at Auburn is different—and eight young men are really different!
"...Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19: 11-12
Sharing the Gospel message of hope, strength, love, and peace through Jesus Christ to those who are hurting in their soul or spirit. This is the mission of Healthy Mind Ministry
"...Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19: 11-12
Sharing the Gospel message of hope, strength, love, and peace through Jesus Christ to those who are hurting in their soul or spirit. This is the mission of Healthy Mind Ministry
For His Glory 