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One of the reasons I love Thanksgiving is because it asks us to stop and enumerate everything we’re thankful for. At its best, it’s a day of love and goodwill that changes attitudes in a way that few other holidays can. Likewise, one of the reasons I love celebrating communion at church is because it humbles me by reminding me of my place in my relationship with God. Humility and thankfulness, for me at least, require regular practice. If I don’t practice them I tend to slip into a selfish pride that does nothing but damage my thought life and my relationships.

In the following devotional from Delve into Jesus, Michael Lane discusses how we don’t just magically become humble and thankful. Both are postures we have to commit to in our daily lives:

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not certain how to make myself become humble or to force myself to feel thankful. If I were to attempt it and fail, then I might be inclined to shrug my shoulders and give up in despair. But no, we are commanded to do, not to be. Fortunately, I do know how to humble myself and how to give thanks, so I can concern myself with doing something tangible, instead of trying to be something intangible.

Though we may not succeed in becoming humble and thankful by striving for that directly, by humbling ourselves, we will become humble and by giving thanks, we will become thankful.

Every day, there are terrific opportunities to humble ourselves which we may overlook. It’s a choice we have to consciously make whenever we feel that we may not be getting our due. When we discover that a co-worker has been promoted to the position we felt we deserved, then we can choose to compliment and congratulate them or we can choose a bitter and resentful reaction. When you volunteer for an event at your church and all that remains is the job of cleaning up, then you have a choice to make. Will you walk away in disgust because that job is beneath your talent, or will you gratefully accept the task and complete it without grumbling? Humbling ourselves is as simple as making the decision to suppress our pride whenever it rears its ugly head. The more we do this, the easier and more natural it will become until, at long last, we will be humble.

Giving thanks is likewise a conscious decision we need to make daily. As part of our regular prayer time, we need to get on our knees – metaphorically and literally – and thank God for the abundant and rich blessings in our life. We should list all of our blessings – our home, a warm meal, the love of friends and family and most importantly, our salvation – and take a moment to truly appreciate each of them. In time, we will evolve from someone who gives thanks to someone who is truly thankful.

Do you find it hard to be humble or thankful?

Recently, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have gone on a mission to convince wealthy people to give away 50% of everything they own. If they’re successful, it’ll mean approximately $600,000,000,000 going to charities worldwide.

Most of the article talks about the fascinating history of the proposed pledge:

The idea of aiming for a 50% slice of net worth was pragmatically pulled from the sky, being less than the principals would have liked to ask for but perhaps as much, at least initially, as they can get. The pledges, meanwhile, were never envisioned as legal contracts but rather moral obligations to be both memorialized in writing and taken very seriously. They are in fact to be posted on a new website, givingpledge.org, whose construction Melinda Gates oversaw. The 99% pledge that Buffett is making is likely to be the No. 1 document on the website, if he is not beaten out by his Seattle friends. [...]

The definition of success in this venture may take years to figure out, but each of the principals has reflections about the matter. Buffett knows that everyone rich has thought about what to do with his or her money: “They may not have reached a decision about that, but they have for sure thought about it. The pledge that we’re asking them to make will put them to thinking about the whole issue again.” He warns, most of all, against the rich delaying the decision of what to do with their money: “If they wait until they’re making a final will in their nineties, the chance of their brainpower and willpower being better than they are today is nil.”

As a Christian, this reminds me of two stories. One is the story of the rich young ruler. In it, Jesus tells a young man to sell everything he owns and to “follow him.” Of course, the man goes away sad because he can’t dream of relinquishing so much.

The other is the story of the widow with two mites. After watching rich men donating huge amounts of money, Jesus sees a widow give her last two coins and declares that she gave more than any of the rich men.

Neither story is a perfect analog to what Gates and Buffett are after, but I do think the challenge falls somewhere in between them. The idea is for these billionaires to give in a way that they would never have imagined on their own, and in doing so make a real difference in people’s lives. They’re not being tasked to give it all away, like the rich young ruler was, but to give more than a token amount, like the men at the Temple did.

Clearly, the Biblical stories are motivated by faith, which the Fortune article doesn’t discuss; but I wonder if if some will find the motivation to participate in the pledge in their faith. After all, what they’re being asked to do is give in a way that runs contrary to the ideas that helped them gain their wealth.

What do you think of this challenge? Do you think that 50% is too high or low of a number? If they actually reach their goal, do you think it will have any effect on your personal giving?

Do you have any accomplishments you’re particularly proud of?

We’ve all been successful at something. Whether it’s a small or big, those moments of success stick with us. For example, I still remember the elated feeling after I won the Frisbee toss in my fourth grade gym class’ track and field day. Looking back on it, I can recognize that it’s a seriously inconsequential achievement, but to my fourth grade self getting that blue ribbon was the best thing in the world.

Our devotional this morning from Strength for the Journey reminds us that while our accomplishments seem amazing in the moment, when viewed from the vantage point of eternity, they quickly become meaningless:

So here’s the sobering lesson. No matter how important your accomplishments are now and how much applause they generate, time will eventually erase the headlines of your life. Ultimately, all that will be left is your name and dates on a seldom-visited tombstone.

Unless, that is, you live your life to do something of significance for eternity. Like the preacher says, “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last!” So here are some suggestions for living a life that counts forever.

* Give meaningful portions of your time, gifts, talents, and money to advance the eternal cause of Jesus in your town. Remember, that wiggly six-year-old in your Sunday school class may be the next Billy Graham! (See Matthew 25:21.)
* Encourage your children to consider going somewhere in this world to win people to Christ and to plant churches that will propagate the eternal power of Jesus to save those who otherwise are eternally lost. (See Matthew 9:36.)
* Raise a godly generation to carry the eternal values and principles of God’s Word into their world. (See Psalm 119:89-90.)
* Be like Jesus: live to win a lost friend to the eternal joy of heaven. (See Luke 19:10.) Love and obey God with all your heart. Look forward to His appearing and receive a crown of righteousness when you get to heaven. (See 2 Timothy 4:8.)

Read the rest of the devotional at RBC.org

What do you invest your time and energy into that has eternal significance?

Despite their close association with Jesus, the twelve disciples were not models of spiritual maturity. On the contrary—it’s hard to read many New Testament passages without rolling our eyes at their short-sightedness or wondering how they could possibly have failed to grasp Jesus’ teachings.

It is, of course, unfair to judge the disciples from our vantage point two thousand years later. If we were in their position, following a radical teacher whose teachings routinely overturned their long-held religious beliefs, we’d make the same mistakes they did. But it’s still instructive to examine the disciples’ weaknesses, and to ask ourselves if we are doing any better today. That’s what this devotional from Today does:

Perhaps more than anything, the disciples were lacking in prayer. They often were not able to act wisely when there was a crisis. When Jesus needed them to keep watch and pray while he searched out the Father’s will that night on the Mount of Olives, he found them asleep. How frustrating this must have been for Jesus when he was in anguish!

Jesus has shown us how important a life of prayer is. In prayer he connected with his Father in heaven, finding renewed energy and courage to keep on with his mission. And on this night, as Jesus prayed before his arrest and crucifixion, he needed the Father’s assurance that his death on the cross was the only way to save us from our sins. We needed Jesus to do this for us, and he found the strength and the will to do it by connecting with God through prayer.

Many of the disciples’ stumbling points can be traced back to this one thing: a lack of prayer. How about you—is prayer a central part of your everyday life, informing your decisions and guiding your actions? If you had been on the Mount of Olives that night, would Jesus have found you deep in prayer… or dozing off with the disciples?

Justice has been on my mind this morning since I read about the conviction of Khmer Rouge torturer/executioner Kaing Guek Eav. Is a 19-year prison sentence “just”? Does the extent of his crimes merit a harsher sentence, or should his regret and guilty plea earn him a lighter one?

Those are questions that will be much discussed in Cambodia over the next few months, you can be sure. But today’s Words of Hope devotional, about the Christian understanding of justice, seems timely. What does justice look like through the Bible’s eyes, and should a Christian’s definition of justice differ from a non-Christian’s?

There is a great debate in legal and philosophical circles about the nature of justice. The ancients defined justice as giving others their due. Modern theories of justice often talk about fairness and equality.

Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” God calls us to be agents of his justice on earth. But doing this requires deep, prayerful humility. Christian justice has no place for vengeance, self-righteousness, or “getting even.” Instead, justice requires us to seek the good of others, even those who have wronged us. And though that may still require us to take legal action against wrong-doing, we are called to do it in a spirit of love and mercy.

Read the full devotional at Words of Hope.

This quiet and humble approach is a far cry from the “justice” regularly presented in our popular entertainment and in the day-to-day news cycle. What do you think? Does your Christian concept of justice ever conflict with your instincts, and if so, how do you resolve that tension?

I’ve yet to go to a church in which someone hasn’t made a political statement from the pulpit. Usually, it comes out around election time, and usually the person isn’t trying to push an agenda. Political thought is just a part of being a human, and sometimes those feelings come out.

But sometimes, mixing politics and religion can be very distracting. Possibly the most egregious personal example I’ve seen happened last year. We had a guest speaker at our church who was formerly steeped in the civil rights movement. His message was extraordinarily politically charged, and he made no bones about what party he supported. Needless to say, many people in the audience disagreed with him. A man in front of me who had been fidgeting the entire time at one point audibly said “I’m leaving if he keeps this up!”

In that case, politics did nothing but distract the majority of the congregation from the message the speaker had. Even those who agreed with him felt the tension in the room rising.

Occasional guest speakers aside, has your pastor ever engaged in political statements from the pulpit? When it does happen, how does it make you feel?

Looking for some everyday inspiration? Our friends at Bible Gateway have just launched several new free email newsletters to deliver insightful and encouraging content straight to your inbox.

If spiritual insight is what you’re interested in, you can sign up to receive the Verse of the Day or a daily devotional by Charles Spurgeon. For a taste of Bible history, the “Men of the Bible” and “Women of the Bible” newsletters explore the lives of famous Bible characters, drawing from them lessons for our lives today. You can also sign up to receive news and announcements from Bible Gateway.

Stop by and take a look at the newsletters, and sign up for all that interest you. Bible Gateway plans to add additional newsletters on a regular basis, so check back periodically to see what’s new. Enjoy!

We all know that life can be discouraging. Like everyone else, I’ve been through times when it seemed that everything was going wrong. In those moments it would have been easy to rationalize throwing in the towel and walking away from the situation; but whenever I managed to stay and work through the situation, it proved to be a life-changing event. There’s something about standing up in the face of adversity that tests and strengthens our character in profound ways.

This devotional from Daily Encounter urges us to follow the advice of Paul and to never waver in our diligence to the Gospel. Much like the famous Churchhill quotation to “never, never, never…give in,” we need to stick to our convictions in the good and bad times:

It was during World War II when Great Britain’s back was against the wall defending herself against seemingly overwhelming odds with the unrelenting onslaught of Hitler’s military might, and the unyielding bombing by the German Luftwaffe.

Winston Churchill was asked to address the students at Harrow School, the school I believe that Churchill himself had attended as a student. The following is the speech that he gave that day:

“Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

When it came to never giving up Churchill certainly practiced what he preached. His determined leadership helped win the war against Germany. And when it comes to God’s work, let us all be like the Apostle Paul who said about his work for God: “It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work [of telling his Good News to others] and so we never give up.”

Is your life characterized by this resolution? When life’s challenges feel overwhelming, what helps you to hold your ground and resist the urge to give up and walk away?

If we believe the media, retirement is a perpetual vacation. After a long stretch of working, we finally have time to practice our golf swing or indulge in the finer things of life. But what would life look like if we viewed retirement as an opportunity to serve, rather than a time to sit back back and relax?

In today’s Our Daily Bread, the author points out that God told the Levites to help and minister to the people after they retired. It seems that Biblically speaking, retirement isn’t a time to rest on your laurels, but instead it’s a time to serve those around us:

Did you know that God told the Levites to retire from their regular duties at age 50? (Num. 8:24-25). But He did not want them to stop helping others. He said that they should “minister with their brethren… to attend to needs” (v.26). We cannot take this incident as a complete teaching on retirement, but we can see a godly implication that continuing to serve others after our working days are over is a good idea.

Many people find that when they retire they have nothing meaningful to do with their time. But as the Levites and Sir Edmund Hillary did, we can refocus when we retire—giving of our time to help others.

How could you serve after you retire?

Have you ever been called a “Pharisee”? I hope not—it’s a term deeply associated with arrogance, legalism, and hypocrisy. It’s one of the harshest insults you can throw at a Christian, because it implies that in their obsession with being holy, they’ve failed to grasp Christianity’s most basic teachings.

But at one time in history, the word “Pharisee” wasn’t an insult; it was high praise! When Jesus criticized the Pharisees, he was challenging people’s core concept of what holiness and faithfulness looked like. In this devotional from Slice of Infinity, Jill Carattini imagines how Jesus’ words about hypocrisy might play out in the modern world:

Ironically, the description “pharisaical” would once have been a great compliment. The Pharisees were highly regarded guardians of the strict interpretation and application of Jewish Law. They were known for their zeal and for their uncompromising ways of following the God of their fathers. It is likely that the apostle Paul was a Pharisee, and it is suggested that much of his Christian theology owes something to the shape and content of this earlier training. In other words, to be a Pharisee was not an easy life riddled with loopholes and duplicities, like we might assume. The Pharisees were so certain there was a right way to follow God that they sought to follow Him to that very letter with all of their lives.

In this light, Jesus’s words seem a little harsher, his tone a little crueler, and perhaps his warnings a little closer to home. In the Pharisees, Jesus scolded the very best of the religious crowd, those who dedicated everything, and cared the deepest about following God. If Jesus came today into churches and singled out the ministers who work the hardest, the youth who are most involved, and the families who serve most consistently and called them a brood of vipers, we would be hurt and confused and even defensive. This is exactly what happened amongst the Pharisees.

Imagine the jarring effect Jesus’ words must have had—it would be like seeing the most dedicated and earnest members of your church criticized for being hypocrites! But Jesus’ message was not just a condemnation—it was a call to change. While most of the Pharisees resisted that call, at least one of them—Nicodemus—realized that even a life lived in pursuit of holiness could go astray, and sought out Jesus.

Have you ever felt convicted of being a modern-day Pharisee, finding yourself spiritually astray despite your devotion to church and religion? How did God deliver that message to you, and how did you respond?