Our Daily Bread

Today's devotional!

Always Giving Thanks

Bible in a Year: Psalms 13-15, Acts 19:21-41

Be very careful, then, how you live . . . . always giving thanks to God. Ephesians 5:15, 20

Today's Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20

A fifty-ton, female humpback whale swam into a web of crab lines off the coast of California, trapping her in a tangled mess. Hundreds of feet of line and hundreds of pounds of traps wrapped around her body as she struggled to stay afloat. Four divers came to her rescue, swimming under her belly. For an hour, they cut rope—dangerous work since one flap of her tail could have killed them. After they freed her, rather than immediately escaping, she swam to and gently nudged each diver. “It felt to me like she was thanking us,” one rescuer said.

Whether or not whales are able to express gratitude, being thankful is truly an important part of being human. It’s vital for our life with God. Many of us thank Him for larger blessings (the birth of a child or healing from a disease). However, Paul tells us to offer gratitude for every gift we receive, for every bit of goodness we encounter. We’re to be “always giving thanks to God,” the apostle writes (Ephesians 5:20). Not sometimes. Not only for exceptional moments. Always. And to make sure he’s made his point, Paul adds a bit more. “[Make] the most of every opportunity” and give thanks “for everything,” he says (vv. 16, 20).

Genuine gratitude is more than an occasional word we offer; it’s the posture of our lives. Gratitude turns us to God over and over again, always giving thanks in celebration.

By: Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray
What gifts can you thank God for today? How can you move toward a posture of gratitude?

Dear God, please help me to live a life of gratitude to You.

What experiences have you had that seem beyond explanation? How do they help you see God at work?

Thank You, dear Father, that You hear my honest prayers and meet me where I am.

Restful Moment with God🙏
Choosing What Is Right: Psalm 34:14 (NIV)

Lord, help me find my confidence in You alone. Amen.🙏

How have you felt that something or someone is missing? How can you respond to God’s drastic love for you?

Dear heavenly Father, I love You very much. Thank You for loving me first.

Today's devotion!

God’s Drastic Love

Bible in a Year: Psalms 7-9, Acts 18

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. John 3:16

Today's Scripture: John 3:16-21

Daniel was born into a Romanian orphanage. For seven years, he only left his crib to go to the bathroom. When he turned eight, a family from another country adopted him. They knew about attachment disorders—that Daniel could have difficulty attaching to them as his parents. Slowly, Daniel started to trust them. Over time, though, he began to rage to the point his parents hired a bodyguard to protect them from Daniel’s outbursts. They decided on a controversial therapy: For the next five years they were never away from Daniel even if he had a meltdown. On his thirteenth birthday Daniel broke down and, for the first time, told his parents he loved them very much. His mother summarized the experience: “Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental. Love is a battlefield.”

We’re all born knowing that something or someone is missing. Like Daniel, we have an attachment disorder. But God “so loved the world” so much that he took drastic action—“he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16), meeting us on earth’s battlefield in what we call the Incarnation. “Light has come into the world” (v. 19).

God took drastic measures to demonstrate His great love for the world. For you. His strong, determined Father-heart beats to hear from us the words Daniel’s parents finally heard: “I love you very much.”

By: John Blase

Reflect & Pray
How have you felt that something or someone is missing? How can you respond to God’s drastic love for you?

Dear heavenly Father, I love You very much. Thank You for loving me first.