Monday, November 25, 2013

7 Ephesians 5:15-21: Part 3

Ephesians 5:15-21 * The Message (MSG)

11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,

Climb out of your coffins;

Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

17 Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

18-20 Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.[1]

PRAYER JOURNALING

1 Make sure to prayer journal your thoughts, what jumped out at you, what questions you have, what you said to God, what God said to you, and how you can apply it to your life.

2 List at least ten things for which you are thankful right now.

6 Ephesians 5:15-21: Part 2

Ephesians 5:15-21 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

15 So be very careful how you live [walk]. Do not·live [walk] like those who are not wise[foolish], but ·live wisely [like those who are wise]. 16 Take advantage of every opportunity[or Make the most of your time; …redeeming the time/season], because these are evil times [ the days are evil]. 17 So do not be·foolish [ignorant] but·learn what the Lord wants you to do [or understand the Lord’s will]. 18 Do not be drunk with wine, which ·will ruin you[is debauchery/reckless living], but be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak [ …speaking] to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord. 20 Always give [ …always giving] thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

21 Yield [Submit; Be subject;  …yielding/submitting;  grammatically linked to the previous sentence, and so part of being filled with the Spirit] to each other out of reverence [respect; fear; awe] for Christ.[1]

PRAYER JOURNALING

Make sure to prayer journal your thoughts, what jumped out at you, what questions you have, what you said to God, what God said to you, and how you can apply it to your life.

EPHESIANS 5:20

Ephesians 5:20 * GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

20 Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[2]

Ephesians 5:20 * New King James Version (NKJV)

20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[3]

Now, look at the versions of Ephesians 5:20 listed in Day or Chapters 5-6. What is the main idea from each of the translations or versions? Prayer journal your response before you read another word from today’s study or devotional.

ALWAYS GIVE THANKS

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:20 to ALWAYS give thanks. Always GIVE thanks. And, always give THANKS.

Can you tell the difference between the three things I just wrote, where I emphasized different words? Prayer journal your answer and write the differences in the meaning of each emphasized sentence of: ALWAYS GIVE THANKS.

So, we are to always give thanks.

How often is that? Prayer journal your answer.

We are to always give thanks. That means always and without stopping. It means we are to give God our thanks all day and night long, each and every day for the rest of our lives.

Prayer journal your thoughts.

READING THE BIBLE AND DOING BIBLE STUDY

Do you want to get the most out of the Bible? Do you want to grow a deeper faith each day? Do you long to hear a word from God?

If you said yes to any of those things, then let me share something with you. If you want any of those things, then you need to be in the Word of God. Period. End of story.

The Bible is His Word. It is the Lord talking to you and teaching you. It is His way of showing you the way to go. It’s instilling truth in your life.

Do you ever feel like your faith is low or running on empty? Do you ever feel like you could, and probably should, get more from your spiritual life and faith? The answer is simple. Get in His Word.

A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS is only one tool in your closet. Make sure as you use this devotional Bible study to look up all the verses and to do so in at least three versions of the Bible. Make sure to have your own private Bible study time and also do a Bible study with a group at least once per week. And, make sure to read your Bible each and every day all year long. If you read four chapters a day, you will read the Bible all the way through in a year, if you so desire. Or, do two chapters per day and read the Bible all the way through in two years, so you can take your time and absorb the Bible thoroughly and completely.

Implement everything in the previous paragraph, and your faith and your life will grow in leaps and bounds.

Do this for the rest of your life, each and every day, and see what God does with your life. It will be truly amazing.

ASKING A GREAT DEAL: TAKING A LOT OF TIME AND COMMITMENT

Just in case you are noticing something about A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS, and that is there is a great deal I am asking you to do, you’re right.

PRAYER JOURNALING

1 What did you learn today?

2 What did God say to you?

3 What did you say to God?

4 Before today, how often did you give God thanks? Was it always?

5 Write a summary of what you learned today.

6 List at least three more things you are grateful for.

What do you thank God for today?

List as many as you can in your prayer journal throughout the day and night. Be thorough. Spend as much time as you can--and even some you can't.

5 Ephesians 5:15-21: Part 1

PRAYER JOURNALING: A PRAYER OF THANKS

Write out a prayer of thanks to God before we even start the devotional today. Take some time to turn to Him and turn your heart and mind to always giving Him thanks today, this day.

List three things at least as to why you are thankful for this new day.

ALL THE BIBLE VERSES LISTED

We will try to look at several, if not all, verses about thanksgiving in the Bible. Needless to say, I am going to type out several verses for you to read, and will give several verses for you to look up, where I will say, for example, “(See Luke 9:23).”

Look all of them up in your own Bible as well. Make sure that I am not steering you wrong. For all you know, I could change a couple of words around, or worse, listed the wrong reference. Do not trust what I say. Instead, read your own Bible and see it for yourself.

WHEN IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE OR DOESN’T REALLY GRAB YOU: If you read the translation or version I have listed, and it does not grab you, then try to read the same verse or verses from your favorite version of the Bible. Does that help you get more out of the verse? If so, great. If not, check out another version of the Bible.

WHEN YOU WANT TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A VERSE: Look up as many translations or versions of the verse or passage as time will allow. I recommend for each time you look up a verse or verses, look up at least three version, but preferably more. Why? The more versions you look at, the more you will get out of it and the greater and more in-depth grasp you will have of the text.

Personally, I try to look up at least five versions, but will also look up more when I really want to study something.

So, make sure to look up at least three versions of the Bible of everything I list or type out. Then, you will get the most out of this you can.

Also, as you read each and every verse in this A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS, make sure to prayer journal your thoughts, what jumped out at you, what questions you have, what you said to God, what God said to you, and how you can apply it to your life. Why? Again, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it—pure and simple.

EXPANDED TEXT

I think you will start to see a pattern in my writing and in this devotional. If it’s a really good passage of Scripture, jammed-pack with golden nuggets, I am going to list more than just the verse that talks about thanks. After all, the more we look at the context of the verse about thanks, the more we will understand what thanks is, how to give it, what it means, etc.

Today is another example of me expanding to show more than just the verse of thanks (see Ephesians 5:20). Write out Ephesians 5:20 in your prayer journal at this point. I recommend writing at least three versions of the verse in your prayer journal. Then, pick one to memorize.

Ephesians 5:15-21 * New American Standard Bible (NASB)

15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.^{^[1]}

PRAYER JOURNALING

1 Make sure to prayer journal your thoughts, what jumped out at you, what questions you have, what you said to God, what God said to you, and how you can apply it to your life. Also, is there a verse or verses you want to memorize or at least look at each day? Pick at least one.

2 What did you learn from verses 15 and 16?

3 How can you be careful how you walk, my friend?

4 How can you make the most of your time?

5 How can you avoid evil during your day? The answer is found in verses 15-16. Prayer journal the answer.

6 What did you learn from verse 17?

7 How do you avoid foolishness? (The answer lies in verses 15-17.)

8 How do you understand what the will of God is? (The answer lies in verses 15-17.)

9 What have you said to God up to this point?

10 What has God said to you up to this point?

11 List at least five things in which you are grateful for.

12 How can you apply these verses to your life today, tomorrow, and in the future?

The FIRST Thanksgiving

What you know about history might be wrong. (I say with a smile on my face and offer you a wink.) I know most of what I knew about American History was wrong until I moved to Virginia a while ago. So, I wanted to share this new factoid with you.

The First Thanksgiving did not happen where or when you might think. (I know I didn't know this until somewhat recently.) It happened in Virginia, believe it or not, at the Berkeley Plantation in what is now Charles City, Virginia in the year 1619.

It was based on the tradition to give thanks to God and was about prayer. So, yes, it was a religious and spiritual tradition. Take a look at each these links to learn the true history about the First Thanksgiving in the United States of America (particularly link 3):

1 http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/index.html

2 http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/4-centuries.html#fourcenturiestop

3 http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/the-new-world.html

(Side-Note: I also have found out since I moved here that I am a distant relative of the Harrisons.)

(Image Credit: Microsoft Images Online)

Sunday, November 24, 2013

4 Keep a Thanksgiving List

Make sure to prayer journal about at least three things you are thankful for each day.
I keep a list of 25 things I am thankful each day, where I add a couple items to my list all day and night long—so I am always giving thanks to God.
Start your list today, but try your hand with listing 25. From here on out, write as many as you can per day, with a minimum of at least three, but preferably more.

3 1 Chronicles 16:8-9: Part 2

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * Expanded Bible (EXB)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him [L call upon his name].

Tell [Make known among; Proclaim to] the nations [world; peoples] what he has done [his deeds/accomplishments].

9 Sing to him; sing praises [make music] to him.

Tell about all his ·miracles [wonders; wonderful acts/works].[1]

I have the feeling you might wonder how much time we are going to spend on the passage of 1 Chronicles 16:8-9, but there is a reason we are spending so much time on the verses. Actually, there are a couple of reasons:

1 We should never rush through the Word of God. We should take our time with it and spend as much time in it as possible. The more we time we spend on it, the more we ponder it and think on it, the more we apply it to the lives, the better.

2 It is an important passage about giving thanks and tells us why and how to give thanks.

So, let’s spend another day on this passage—today.

Moreover, there is a reason why we are looking at several translations of the same biblical passage. It’s because the more versions or translations of the verses we read, the more broader and in-depth understanding we will glean, just like the more time we spend on it will bring more understanding and comprehension as well.

I think if we were to take one verse from the Bible and study it alone all day and night long for the rest of our lives, we would discover we learn something new about the verse each day. After all, the Bible is living and active:

Hebrews 4:12 * New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.[2]

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

1 Spend some time and give God thanks and pray to Him in your prayer journal, as it says in verse 8.

2 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 3, just before this section and afterward. What did you learn?

3 What have you said to God?

4 What has God said to you?

5 What can you apply to your life? How? Plan to do so immediately and make sure to prayer journal your plan about how to apply 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 to your life.

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * New Century Version (NCV)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.

Tell the nations what he has done.

9 Sing to him; sing praises to him.

Tell about all his miracles.[3]

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS: TELL WHAT GOD HAS DONE

1 What has God done in your life—today, yesterday, in the last week, in the last month, in the last three months, in the last six months, in the last year? In the last two years? Five years? Ten? More? Be thorough. List as many things as you can. This will take hours to days to weeks or months to get it all down on the page. Spend some time here.

2 1 Chronicles 16:8-9: Part 1

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

8 “Give thanks to the Lord.

Call on his name.

Make known among the nations what he has done.

9 Sing to him.

Make music to praise him.

Meditate on all the miracles he has done.[1]

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THANKS?

Ideally, we will go through the Bible and read every single thing the Word of God says about thanksgiving and ingratitude in the next year. But, there is so much to cover, so we will see how far we can get in the study, look, and reflection (Hint: There might need to be another book of this type written—or maybe three or four. We shall see.)

This is the first reference we will look at: 1 Chronicles 16:8-9. Let’s first, however, start with a baseline and figure out where we are with thanksgiving in our lives and in the Bible.

Remember the rule of thumb for this entire year: The more you put into this year, the more you will get out of it.

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

Today has quite a few questions, but it is for a reason. Please answer each and as thoroughly as you can. Do not give simple answers and make sure to explain your answers. Be thorough. Write more than you normally would in response to each question. Remember the rule of thumb for this entire year: The more you put into this year, the more you will get out of it.

1 Define thanks.

2 How do you offer thanks to someone?

3 How do you offer thanks to God?

4 How often do you try to offer God thanks?

5 How often should you offer God thanks”

6 What can you do in order to offer God more thanks in your life?

7 So, what does the Bible say about thanks? Write in your prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

8 What do you think the Bible says about thanks?

9 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 1.

10 Write your thoughts about 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 from the version written out in Day 2.

11 What did you say to God about questions 1-4 today?

12 What did God say to you about questions 1-5 today?

13 What do you hope to get out of the next year?

WRITE A PRAYER OF THANKS

Write a prayer of thanks about everything from Day 1 and 2. Make sure to thank Him for as many things as you can. In other words, be thorough. Do not shortchange your thanks to God for anything from this devotional or from what God has done throughout your day and night the last two days.

Also, as you give God thanks, thank Him for certain things from your past, things from today, and things from the future.

This does not have to be a formal prayer by any means. What matters is that you make it personal. It’s also okay for it to be rough and unpolished. God does not care about that. He care about your heart. That’s all. So, do not put undue pressure on yourself.

As you pray, think of God as your father or your best friend or both, whichever is easier for you. Pour out your heart to Him.

1 God Has A Purpose for You and A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS

1 Chronicles 16:8-9 * New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

Let the whole world know what he has done.

9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.[1]

Welcome to a year (or whatever timeframe you end up reading this) of always giving thanks. I imagine it’s going to be quite the journey for each of us. God will not leave us where we are and will use what we learn to bring himself more glory and honor and praise. We just need to make sure to give it our all, no less, and see what God’s going to do with it, through it, and change us.

There is a reason why you have looked at this blog post series or book, let alone possible purchased a copy. It’s because God has put it on your heart. He has put the desire on your heart to bring Him thanks always (see Psalm 37:4).

I repeat:

You are reading A YEAR OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS for a reason.

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTIONS

1 What do you think the reason is God gave you an interest in this topic, blog post, or book?

[1] NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Welcome

Welcome, friend, to a look at doing something few of us do, yet alone all year long, and it’s always giving thanks.

Thanks might be a new concept for some of us, if we are honest without ourselves.

I am one of those people, by the way. The idea of giving thanks is rather foreign, but always giving thanks to God is far more foreign and is something I don’t even know or recognize. I’ve tried to give thanks, but not all the time. I’ve always tried to keep a gratitude journal—and that flopped. I know giving God thanks is important, but I think my hang-up has been: How do you give God thanks? That’s what this book is about. It’s about learning to give thanks always, and all year long, for the rest of our lives.

This is a devotional. It’s true. But, it’s so much more than that. It’s also a Bible study, a workbook, and is a prayer journal—all rolled into one.

This book is a book meant for devotions. It’s a book of thoughts on thanksgiving and what the Bible has to say about thanksgiving. It’s also about the things we are thankful for and is how we will create a list of what we thank God for in our lives. It will be our way to count our blessings and look all around for glory sightings.

I hope you read it as a devotional, where it brings you to devotion to God and for God—as you always give Him thanks. Read a sentence or two, a page or two, or a chapter,—and think on it all day and night. Pray about what you read or what makes you think. Let it inspire you to offer God thanks for the things in your life.

You might even think about keeping a prayer journal to write in and write everything you are thankful for and any thoughts that come to mind as you go through this book.

Read this book slowly. Absorb it. Do not just read through it as fast as you can. Chew on each word. Think about them and get the most you can out of them. The words I use are intentional and are meant to get us to think and inspire us to always give overflowing thanks.

There will be an accompanying Bible study and journal in time. However, if you look up each and every verse in your favorite Bible translation (version) and journal about them, then you will get a great deal out of it and it will be a wonderful Bible study. Do it all by yourself, with a friend, or with a group.

Set your own pace. Take a year to get all the way through it, as you look at it each and every day and allow it to bring you to the Lord and thank Him for everything in your life and all that is around you. Or, take a month or several years Just don’t rush through it and make sure to think deeply on these things (see Philippians 4:8 and Psalm 1:2).

Although, I think this can be one of those resources that the moment you finish reading it all the way through, you will want to do it all over again and see how and how things have changed in your life just since the first read-through and participation.

Make sure to give this your all. Do not give a half-hearted attempt, if you want to get the most out of this ALWAYS OF ALWAYS GIVING THANKS.

Enjoy!

~ Stacy Duplease