Free to Fellowship with God On this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. Leviticus 16:30 Imagine returning to your estranged parents’ home only to discover they have changed the locks on the doors and deny your request to enter. You’re willing to return, but …
Messiah
What Did You Expect? She [Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 Did Christmas disappoint you? Maybe your loved ones neglected to buy the present you wanted, or a child threw a tantrum when an expected gift wasn’t under the …
Annunciation
A Life-Changing Announcement God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26–27 “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” That may be the most famous hello in biblical history. Imagine Mary’s …
The Pilgrims’ Gratitude
A Thanksgiving Choice Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1 When William Bradford wrote about the Pilgrims’ 1620 arrival in the New World, he said, “Having found a good haven and being brought safely in sight of land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought …
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Thankful People I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30 As we gather around Thanksgiving Day tables, many will be thankful for the sumptuous food set before them. But as Christians, our thankfulness focuses on spiritual blessings. We’re thankful for who we’ve become in Christ and for all God has given us. We did …
Grateful for Salvation
A Joyful Thanksgiving Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3 As a child, did you dress up as a …
Grateful for the Unshakable
A Firm Foundation of Gratitude Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:28 Floods, earthquakes, fires, and droughts. These natural disasters remind us that we live in a fragile, unpredictable world full of grief and sorrow. Yet each time one of these …