God's Minute

December 2

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

OUR dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the rest, refreshment and safety of another night and for the light of another day. Thou art the giver of every good and perfect gift, and we give Thee our thanks for health preserved and life continued, and for another day with its opportunity of service. Give us stronger faith and confidence that we may go day by day, relying only on Thy sustaining strength and guidance.

Preserve us from temptation and sin, and grant that something of good may be accomplished by us during the hours of light, and that we may then find, as the day closes, that there have been some victories won and some development in our spiritual experience; and we do most humbly pray Thee that we may so spend all the days and nights of our earthly lives that when Thou dost call us hence, we may go into Thy presence shining and without shame, trusting only in the merit of Thy dear Son, our Lord, and this we pray for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Walter Duncan Buchanan, D.D.,
New York City

A view from my porch

If you look closely, you can see my neighbors--two of them--across the street with snowblowers. Notice, too, that our sidewalks are already done. Well, they were a half hour ago. We went out about 5:30 to work on the driveway and sidewalks. It was dark then. Over two hours later we finished up and we could probably start all over again.

Still snowing! I think I'm going to get plenty of practice with the snowblower today.

But isn't it lovely?

Related Tags: first big snow, snow blower, winter

God's Minute

December 1

I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee.--Isaiah 48:17

O GOD and Father of all the families of the earth, Thou art worthy of our daily love and constant gratitude. Thou knowest we can never be other than children crying to Thee for food, raiment, and shelter for our sustenance and protection. We stretch our hands toward Thee to be lead through paths we cannot know, beside which temptations lurk and snares are set. Deliver us, we beseech Thee, from the evil one.

Help us to appreciate our earthly family relations, established and wondrously blssed by Thee. Grant that our home may be kept in peace and goodwill among all of its members by that love for one another which casts out suspicion and fear. We consecrate it with all its interests to Thy care and service, that the yearning of our hearts for Thy approval and indwelling may bring to us godliness with contentment.

Today, in our family worship, we confess our sins that He Who is faithful may forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As we go forth to our individual tasks, give us courage, strength, patience and that wisdom which cometh down from above, which is first gentle, peaceable, easily to be entreated, full of good works. All of these blessings we ask in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

President I.N. McCash, LL.D.,
Spokane, Washington

Giving Thanks in November III

• November 30 This morning I have been reflecting upon the past month of thankfulness. I read through all the thanks I've posted and remembered each day. Springing up with those memories were so many other thankful thoughts, unwritten but not forgotten. So, this morning I am grateful for this thankful exercise. I can't end the month without thanking Rebecca, who challenged us to share our blessings in this way. I guess in this way, I have come full circle, for I began this with a post of thanksgiving for her friendship. So, thank you Rebecca. I thank God for you!

• November 29 For the last two years I have subscribed to daily email readings from the Bible through Bible Reading Plans. There are many different reading plans available, but the one I have been reading is the "read the New Testament in one year" subscription. Every morning when I retrieve my email messages, a chapter of the New Testament is waiting there. This morning I read the book of Jude. Tomorrow starts the Revelation. I'll admit that unless I am doing a study on end times or eschatology, I rarely poke my nose into the Book of Revelation. This system forces me to attend to every part of the New Testament at least once a year. I realize it isn't a substitute for the deliberate study of God's Word, but it serves another purpose--to fill my mind with the Word of God first thing in the morning and to cause my heart and mind to become more aware of God's Word and its impact in my life. Beginning in the new year, I am going to subscribe to reading the Old Testament in two years (one chapter per day on weekdays and two chapters per day on weekends) and either the Words of Jesus four times in the year or the New Testament Letters three times in the year. I am thankful for this daily reminder that God's Word is my daily bread and I heartily recommend this to my readers.

• November 28 I'm thankful for mild weather all this month. The furnace hasn't had to run very much so far this heating season, so that's a blessing!

• November 27 I'm thankful that homeschooling is so flexible. We had to change our geometry curriculum back in October. We were both floundering with our Abeka DVD course. Now we're using Math U See Geometry and Sam is excelling and I am relieved that apparently we have made the right choice.

• November 26 It's Sunday again. Every Sunday I am so thankful for my church and for my pastor. I'm thankful for a pastor who isn't afraid to call sin sin and who never fails to call everyone, belivers and unbelievers, to come to Christ. The gospel is presented each week; clearly, compellingly, and winsomely. Today our pastor's son, John, sang from Handel's Messiah--The Trumpet Shall Sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. It was absolutely beautiful. My heart lifted in praise and thanksgiving for the promise that someday we shall be changed. I'm thankful for scripture set to music.

Ephesians 5:18-2o Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• November 24 and 25 I'm still behind posting each day, but I have been thankful for many things over the past two days. I've been decorating for Christmas and so I've been holding in my hands so many years' worth of precious memories. All the little ornaments the children have made for me over the years (both my own and my students), all the ornaments and decorations that have been lovingly made by family and friends--memories of Christmases past. I've lived a very happy life and I am so grateful to God for the many blessings I've enjoyed!

• November 23 OH! I was so busy having fun with my family that I forgot to post my thankful thoughts on Thanksgiving yesterday! There are so many things for which I am thankful--our family, our home, our church, our pets, good health. But at the top of the list is Christ, my Redeemer and Friend. Without Him, all the blessing of this world would be just that; this world's blessings. But with Christ, I have blessings unspeakable and full of glory awaiting me because of His mercy and grace.
  

• November 22 Today was my Thanksgiving baking day. I made two pumpkin pies, a pumpkin marble cheesecake, a batch of chocolate mint fudge, cranberry salad, got my veggies ready to steam, and prepared my dressing. On days like this I am always so thankful for my full sized stove in the basement. Ours is a tiny bungalow kitchen and the wall oven, though fairly new, isn't much bigger than an Easy bake oven, so two years ago Tom bought me a full sized range with the biggest oven he could find for the basement. It makes for quite a few trips up and down the basement stairs, but I think of it this way: I'm burning some extra calories and making room for a sliver of cheesecake, right?

• November 21 This thankful thought seems a little difficult to express, but I'm going to try to do it anyway. I'm thankful that God understands. Not just that He knows, but that He understands. There is a difference. People will misunderstand, but He never will. I will misunderstand myself and only He is able to open my eyes and make me see where I have been wrong about myself. And He is the only One who can bring about lasting change. I'm thankful that I am His child.

1 John 3

19By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

God's Minute

November 30

I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever--John 6:51

WE render Thee grateful thanks, Thou source of every blessing, for the rest of the past night under the mighty shadow of Thy wings, for the daily bread of Thy providing, and for new opportunities of welcome service, each in our appointed calling. We thank Thee for Thy revelation in Jesus Christ and for "the bread of life" so abundantly provided in Thy Holy Word for our spiritual sustenance. O make us truly mindful of all Thy many blessings, and let our lives show forth Thy praise. We pray Thee for grace to employ the hours of this day aright. Grant us strength of body, mind and soul to perform our tasks acceptably in Thy sight. Shield us from harm and give us victory in the hour of temptation. Sanctify our homes and make them nurseries of Thy kingdom. May Thy Spirit rest upon all institutions of learning. Remember in mercy the laborers in the harvest fields abroad. Let Thy name be hallowed and Thy will be done in our homeland. Breathe Thy quickening Spirit upon Thy Church. Grant each of us grace to bear faithful testimony in word and deed to the saving power of the cross. And when we have finished our allotted task here below, receive us into that perfect world above with Thee and the innumerable multitude of those who have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. We ask it all in the name of our blessed Redeemer.

Amen.

C.J. Sodergren, A.M., D.D.,
Minneapolis, Minnesota