“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“In the Name of God” begins the “birth certificate of America,” as it is called. The Mayflower Compact was the first step leading to the creation of the Constitution.

Every Thanksgiving we have an annual holiday reminding us to give thanks to God, just as the Pilgrims did in their long physical and spiritual journey.

“In the Name of God” is where America began, and I trust that today, though they have been long dead, the Pilgrims may still speak to us through this national holiday that we might learn something of those grand ideals, those spiritual truths, that so gripped their lives and so changed the world. Though their voice has oft been silenced by the cacophony of secular voices in our time, I think Thanksgiving should be a time to take a few minutes to thank God for His many blessings. That would include our fathers and mothers who brought forth this good land.

The Pilgrims based their colony on the Bible. They were fair in their dealings with all. They began as a church in England, where there was no religious freedom, so they moved to Holland, where there was toleration. Eventually, they came to America to worship Jesus according to the dictates of their consciences.

The Pilgrims dealt with unbelievably difficult circumstances. Half their number died that first winter, but through it all they thanked God. They provide a model of giving thanks to God in all circumstances.

Lord God, we do give thanks to You for all Your blessings. Give us Your strength in hard times to continue to give thanks and praise to You. Help us to honor this holy day by true thanksgiving to You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN THANK
HIM EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.

“…and the same horn was warring with the saints and prevailing against them”

— Daniel 7:21

In Daniel 7, the prophet, who lived about 500 years before Christ, had a vision in which he foresaw one pagan kingdom after another arise. They were like beasts. The final one, believed by most commentators to be the Roman Empire, was a fierce persecuting beast. It waged war against the saints, and for a time it prevailed against them, and Rome provided a picture of what was to come.

The great persecutions that have come to the Christian church down through the centuries have come from government. One government after another, from Egypt to Assyria to Babylonia to the Roman Empire to the time of Hitler to the Soviets, all have fought against the saints of God.

Remember that the saints in the early times of this era had to face the actual beasts in the Coliseum. In America, I think initially we had a government that looked upward to God. But more and more progressively, because of the sinfulness of Christians, because of our unwillingness to witness for Jesus Christ and get involved in the culture, we are seeing more and more discrimination against things Christian. If you are truly a Christian, then expect anti-Christian persecution. Jesus said that if they persecuted Him, the Master, how much more will they persecute us, His followers? But we can rejoice because one day, in His sovereignty, He will show us why He allowed it all.

Lord, give us strength today to face any persecution for Your name’s sake. Strengthen our faith so that we will persevere to the end and receive the Crown of Life. Let us be faithful in prayer for all who suffer for Your sake…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE MORE CONCERNED
WITH GOD’S APPROVAL, NOT MAN’S.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

— Colossians 1:13

There are those whose theology does not allow them to admit that Jesus Christ has a kingdom today. They believe that His kingdom is not to be established until He returns a second time. Therefore, they cannot allow that the stone cut out without hands landed upon the Roman Empire (in Daniel 2:34-35), and that it depicted Christ coming to establish His kingdom. They cannot allow that it is a picture of Christ coming to establish His kingdom in the midst of the Roman Empire, and which brought down the empire. They have to see it as something in the future.

Now they give a number of theological reasons for their views, but none of them allow that Christ already has a kingdom. In fact, I have heard people refer to Christ as our Prophet, Priest and soon coming King. But according to the Reformers and the Reformed churches in general, He is King.

So does Jesus Christ have a kingdom today? That is a question worth asking. When Paul wrote the sentence above to the Colossians, it says that He transferred us—past tense. It is an accomplished fact. We have been translated/transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son. I am thoroughly convinced that Jesus Christ is presently a King, that His kingdom is already established. Of course, the day is yet to come, when the world will see the fullness of His kingdom. Regardless of our theological differences, there is no doubt that it is Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords and no one else.

Our Father in heaven, give us strength and wisdom today to read Your Word correctly. Thank You that You are a king, Lord Jesus—not only a king, but the King of kings—the eternal King of Your kingdom in which You have placed us. Thank You that You have set us in Your kingdom of light…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE HAIL
AND HONOR CHRIST THE KING.

“After this I saw in the visions at night a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong. And it had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”

— Daniel 7:7

Hundreds of years before it arose, Daniel foresaw the Roman Empire. The same ten horns in this verse are like the ten toes of the image described in Daniel 2, believed to represent ten rulers of the Roman Empire.

This beast (verse 7) is not given a name. It is more dreadful than any of the previous beasts and is exceedingly strong with great iron teeth. The beast devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all of the rest.

When Rome came onto the scene, it was a republic, which made it different from all of the monarchies that had come before until finally Caesar Augustus made himself emperor.

I don’t know that we can be dogmatic about our interpretation here. But I believe we see here a prediction of the long war against God that took place during the Roman Empire. Their rulers blasphemed greatly and had themselves called gods. They waged war against the saints. But eventually, God judged the wicked empire and toppled it. Also, Rome was a picture of the war against God that was to come. Though His kingdom has many enemies, even today, they are destined to fail.

Sovereign Lord, grant us the strength today to see clearly Your work in history. Help us to understand how the rulers and kingdoms of this world topple and fade away, while Your kingdom is eternal. Let us fear You alone and no earthly ruler, no matter how powerful they may become…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE RECOGNIZE
HE IS SOVEREIGN OVER HISTORY.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost…”

— Titus 3:5, kjv

This world does not operate on grace; it operates on the basis of merit, on the basis of justice. Quid pro quo, this for that; you do this, you get that. That is the way the entire world operates—on the basis of justice or equity.

Early in my ministry, I went to preach in a jail, and a man snapped at me that all he demanded was justice. I said if he got justice, the floor would open up and send him to hell.

What we need is mercy, not justice.

Consider the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the famous couple accused of being Soviet spies who gave away our atomic secrets. They were convicted for espionage by the jury and were sentenced to death. Their lawyers said to Judge Kaufman, “Your honor, all my clients ask for is justice.”

Judge Kaufman replied, “What your clients have asked for, this court has given them. What you really mean, is what they want is mercy, and that, this court is not empowered to give.”

But that is precisely what our God—the Judge of all of the earth—is able to do: grant us mercy. That is the wondrous news of the Gospel.

While none of us is perfect, and none of us has lived up to God’s standard, and all of us have fallen short, Jesus Christ came to do what we are unable to do. In His mercy, He saved us by His blood.

Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace, which alone saves us through faith in You. Forgive us when we presume on Your mercy. Thank You, Jesus, for paying a debt You did not owe at a price that we could never pay…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN RELY ON GOD’S MERCY.

“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.”

— Acts 22:6

Consider the resurrection of Jesus in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, the apostle. By seeing the risen Christ, Saul knew in an instant, Christianity was true after all.

In that instant on the road to Damascus, the whole world of Saul, the Pharisee, was changed. He had believed quite emphatically that with the ignominious death of Jesus the “Imposter” upon a cross, the true God had conquered, and the end of that life was sealed forever. He believed that Jesus was exposed for the fraud that He was, and God had put His seal upon the truth of the religion of the Jews.

Now, suddenly, everything was turned topsy-turvy. God had obviously raised Jesus from the dead, for He was alive and He was glorified. He was evidently the Son of God as He had said, raised from the dead. He was, indeed, the Living Messiah, as He had claimed. Paul’s world was completely changed. In that brief moment the life of Saul was transformed. Now he knew the truth.

Paul had believed, like so many persecutors of the church, that he was doing God a favor. He believed that the Christians were wrong and that he was doing God’s will. Then Jesus revealed Himself, and in an instant Saul realized he was wrong. The resurrection of Christ changes everything.

Lord Jesus, we praise You that although You died for the sake of our trespasses and sins, You were made alive by Your Father. We praise You that in an instant You can change the hearts of even the most antagonistic of souls…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN SEE LIFE
THROUGH THE GRID OF THE RESURRECTION.

“We had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”

— 2 Corinthians 1:9

“Sweet are the uses of adversity.” At least so said the bard from Stratfordon- Avon. I am afraid, however, if actually put to the test of a vote, there would be an almost unanimous disagreement with Mr. Shakespeare on that point. “Bitter” is the word. Crushing, wracking, wrenching, discouraging, heartbreaking, and faith-shattering are the uses of adversity. This, I am sure, would be the attitude of most people.

Several years ago I received a call from a woman who was an atheist. Several times in the midst of her conversation she referred to one tragedy or another, always to be followed by the comment: And where was God then?

I suppose there is nothing that causes more people to stumble in the matter of faith than the problem of suffering, because none of us is exempt in this fallen world. We all face it at one time or another in our lives.

But God uses troubles in our lives to clear away the dross. He lets us undergo suffering that we might be of comfort for those undergoing similar problems. Most important is that we will never be like Jesus without the crucible of Jesus, the most desirable person who ever lived, who was portrayed as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). If we would be like Jesus, we will have to pass through the valley of the shadow.

Dear Lord, give me strength for today to not lose hope in You whenever I suffer. Help me to realize that You are purifying me. Also, help me to weep with those who weep and to be a comfort to those around me who are suffering…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN PERSEVERE
EVEN THROUGH SUFFERING.

“…the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…”

— Ecclesiastes 9:11

It is the victory of faith that enables us to go on in the final count. When you think of Abraham Lincoln, what qualities come to your mind? Would it be compassion? Concern for the little man? Justice? Humor? I think if we really knew Abraham Lincoln, we would know that the overriding quality of his character was nothing other than perseverance. He was simply a man who persevered to the end.

Abraham Lincoln was a failure. He was a miserable, wretched, repeated failure. As a young man, he ran for the state legislature and was overwhelmingly defeated. He then went into business, failed completely, and spent the next seventeen years paying off the debts of a no-good partner. Although he did win a Congressional seat once, he was not able to successfully return to Congress. After that, he tried to get an appointment to the U. S. Land Office and was turned down.

He then decided that what he ought to do was to run for the Senate of the United States and he was pounded into the ground. He was defeated here, and he was defeated there; he failed in this, and he failed at that; he was overwhelmed here, and he was overwhelmed there; he was a loser, until he ran for the presidency of the United States and became one of the greatest men this world has ever known.

The character of a loser is that he quits. Deep down, Abraham Lincoln was never a loser at all because he never quit.

Lord, give me strength for today to persist in doing what I believe You have laid on my heart to accomplish. Even if I have to plod along and deal with one setback after another, help me to persevere in the end. Spiritually, I thank You that You have promised to finish in me what You have started…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN OVERCOME
ONE SETBACK AFTER ANOTHER.

“O you simple, understand wisdom, and you fools, be of an understanding heart.”

— Proverbs 8:5

Certainly, we should be seeking wisdom. But in one sense the Bible presents wisdom as seeking us. We can see this is the great wisdom chapter of Proverbs 8.

In the first eleven verses we see an introduction of Wisdom personified as a woman standing at the gate calling forth boldly for all to come and hear what she has to say. She sets forth her reasons why men should trust in her in contrast to the seductive, sinful women who are described in the preceding chapters.

Then in verses 12-21, Wisdom displays her various excellencies and points out what she has accomplished and what she continues to accomplish in the lives of those who have sought after her.

In the second half of Proverbs 8, we see that Wisdom is to be sought after and acquired. By seeking Wisdom, we are seeking God. We see here an adumbration, a foreshadowing, of the incarnate Christ. We see that there is something more here than just a human wisdom, but here is the One by whom God created the universe. The creation poem found in verse 22 and following is similar to the Logos passage in John 1.

Finally, in the last few verses of Proverbs 8, again Wisdom articulates the duty of all to harken to her instructions. By Wisdom, God created the world.

God is the source of all wisdom, and He wants us to walk in His wisdom.

Lord Jesus Christ, give us strength today to live in Your wisdom. Help us to see that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to You. Grant us Your wisdom that we might know Your thoughts and practice right thinking…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN WALK IN HIS WISDOM.

“Why, my soul, are you cast down? Why do you groan within me? Wait for God; I will yet thank Him, For He is my deliverance and my God.”

— Psalm 42:11

From the depths of the psalmist’s sorrow, he calls out unto the depths of the mercy of God, knowing that help shall come, so he has put his hope in the Lord. Consider how many times God has turned things around in a sudden way.

Who would have thought:

• In the hour when Lazarus lay stinking in his tomb, that soon he should be rejoicing around the table with his Redeemer?
• When Jonah was in the depths of the sea that soon he would be preaching at Nineveh?
• When Nebuchadnezzar, the mighty monarch of Babylon, was out munching on the grass in the forest, that one day soon he would again be sitting upon the throne in Babylon?
• When Joseph was deep in the prison in Egypt, that soon he would be prime minister of the greatest nation in the world at that time?
• When Job was sitting there on a dunghill scraping off his sores in the midst of his sorrow, that soon he would be rise up and be richer and more blessed in everything in this world?

Put your hope in God, despite your circumstances. As the hymn notes, “Hast thou not seen how thy desires ‘ere have been granted in what He ordaineth?”

Heavenly Father, give us strength today to praise You in the midst of trouble to wait upon You and to remember that our lives are in Your hands and You will turn all things to benefit my soul and Your kingdom…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN RECOGNIZE THAT
GOD CAN TURN THINGS AROUND IN AN INSTANT.