Devotion 11.20.23

Psalm 67

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us—

2 so that your ways may be known on earth,

    your salvation among all nations.

3 May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you rule the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations of the earth.

5 May the peoples praise you, God;

    may all the peoples praise you.

This week is the week of Thanksgiving Day, Nov 26. What is it you are truly thankful for?

I can answer that question very quickly after last week's trip to Nashville with others from our church to attend "Exponential." What is that? you may ask. That will be covered in devotions starting the Monday after Thanksgiving because this week, we want to focus on those areas of our lives and people in them for which we are thankful.

For today's devotion, tied to a theme in Exponential, I am thankful for those who have taken time to "disciple" me. Those who have taken the time to guide me, as a follower of Jesus. Those who have taken time to mentor me and nurture my gifts to share Christ's love with others, including the men who read this are certainly at the top of my list of people for whom I am truly thankful. My parents top that list as do two people specifically in my lifetime, Pastor Todd Dittloff and Juergan Koetter, both of whom were there in my 20's as I was getting my "sea legs" in this faith walk with Christ. Pastors since have helped me along the way as well, including both Tim Radkey and Eric Hiner, who have heard my confessions and provided guidance and the love of Christ when needed anyway, no matter how low or rotten I may have felt at the time. All four challenged me to be more and to push myself in areas where growth was needed, but they didn't or don't do so as a method of salvation (works). To learn from them has been a great experience for which I'm thankful.

We have had people who God has entrusted us to and to whom God has entrusted us. So the logical question is, "If you have been discipled, who are you discipling? And who are they discipling?" That's an awesome responsibility, but as our psalmist notes in this week's assigned psalm for Thanksgiving, we praise God for an abundance of gifts and grace. 

Galatians 6:2 tells us to "bear one another's burdens." That's a command and one reason for our men's ministry, as we seek to be men of God to be there for one another as needs arise. It is a great responsibility but a great joy as well as we seek to care for one another as we seek to become men of God and as we seek forgiveness, grace, love and mercy for our "feet of clay."

For these things, I am eternally thankful.