I rejoice at Your Word
like one who finds great spoil.

                      Psalm 119. 162

(My daily bread,
my daily strength.
Take as much as one can
and come back for more.
God changes
the course of our lives).

...and the king cried out
in a tone of anguish
    and said to Daniel,
"O Daniel,
servant of the living God,
has your God
   whom you serve continually,
been able
to deliver you from the lions?"

                 Daniel 6. 19

(What is my impossible situation?
The living God
    has not left me there alone.
It is not that there
         is nothing to be afraid of,
but there is everything
to trust God about.)

I have heard of you
that the Spirit of the holy God
              is in you,
and that light
and understanding
and excellent wisdom
         are found in you.

                   Daniel 5. 14

(In what I face today,
abiding in Him
           changes everything.
Everyone struggles with something.
Don't leave home
            without Him.)

For this very reason
make every effort to supplement
your faith with virtue,
and virtue with knowledge,
and knowledge with self control,
and self control with steadfastness,
and steadfastness with godliness,
and godliness with
                   brotherly affection,
and brotherly affection with love.
 
                           2 Peter 1. 5-7

(Because someday
it will keep you
       from going under.)

...but there is a God in heaven...

                           Daniel 2. 28

(And that reality
           changes everything.
God may not change my situation,
     but He can change
                  my heart in this.)

Finally, all of you,
have unity of spirit,
sympathy,
love of the brethren,
a tender heart and a humble mind.
Do not return evil for evil,
or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary
                           bless,
for to this you have been called
that you might obtain blessing.

                   1 Peter 3. 8-9

(For to this you have been called
       even in the midst of turmoil,
God calls us to be His.
Do what is right.
Seek peace and pursue it.)

O give thanks to the LORD,
        for He is good,
for His steadfast love
               endures for ever.

                Psalm 107. 1

(Not just thankful today,
    but thankful to God.
Not just for what we see as favorable,
but for His goodness
      far too deep to understand
                                               yet.
Giving thanks to God
        changes us.)
     
Happy Thanksgiving!

...that you may declare
the wonderful deeds of Him
who called you out of darkness
    into His marvelous light.
Once you were no people,
but now
     you are God's people;
once you had not received mercy
but now
     you have received mercy.

                  1 Peter 2. 9-10

(Live that way.
God has changed you.
May others say this holiday,
"Wow, what happened to her?"
"Wow, he is a different person!"
And that would be
      His redeeming grace in you.)

Open my eyes ,
that I may behold wondrous things
        out of Your Word.

                 Psalm119. 18

(God reveals Himself
   through Scripture.
Every time you open His Word,
it changes you
      and everyone around you.
Take something with you
          into your day.
"Never head into unknown territory
       without a full tank.")

The prayer of a righteous man
has great power in its effects.

                              James 5. 16

(A prayer never prayed
has 100 percent chance
of not being answered.
Praying matters.
       It matters a lot.
That is why the evil one
tries so hard to convince us
                    otherwise.
Whatever you are facing,
      have you prayed about it?)

Draw near to God
and He will draw near to you.

                    James 4. 8

(Seek God
and He will reveal
     Himself to you.
No one
    -- but no one--
stands beyond His grace.
No matter what.
Because that is who He is.
God loves you,
    and He knows your name.)

For where jealousy
   and selfish ambition exist,
there will be disorder
      and every vile practice.
But the wisdom from above
              is first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle,
open to reason,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without uncertainty
              or insincerity.
And the harvest of righteousness
is sown in peace
          by those who make peace.

                      James 3. 16-18

(Willing to yield,
willing to leave all that behind,
intentional in planting
                 something new.
What are you bringing
    to Thanksgiving this year?)

The hand of the LORD
           was upon me,
and he brought me out
     by the Spirit of the LORD,
and set me down
         in the midst of the valley;
it was full of bones.

               Ezekiel 37. 1

(You brought me here, O LORD?
God's profound purposes prevail,
even in a place of unconnected pieces,
even in what does not seem to have life at all.
Now watch
            what God will do.
Open yourself
     to the vision of God in this.)

A new heart I will give you,
and a new spirit
    I will put within you,
and I will take out of your flesh
          the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My spirit within you,
and cause you
       to walk in My statutes
and be careful
       to observe My ordinances.

                      Ezekiel 36. 26-27

(God is not about second chances.
He is about all things new.
God changes everything
       from the inside out
and aligns our hearts with His.
Love God and love people.)

Not to us, O LORD,
            not to us,
but to Your name
                   give glory.

                  Psalm 115. 1

(Whose glory am I seeking
                   in this?
Whose name have I written
                   on it?)

Therefore lift your drooping hands
and strengthen your weak knees,
and make straight paths
                 for your feet,
so that
   what is lame
   may not be put out of joint
but rather be healed.
Strive for peace
           with all men...

                  Hebrews 12.  12-14

(How am I approaching
      this difficult person,
      this impossible situation,
      this ongoing struggle?
Am I slogging through a miry bog
        with a heart already defeated?
Or am I seeking God
   that He would strengthen me
   through it instead?
What is Your way in this?
God always brings
    something different to the table.)

Light dawns in the darkness
                 for the upright;
he is gracious,
    merciful,
       and righteous.

                    Psalm 112. 4

(No matter what.
No matter where.
God opens a way,
    for grace, mercy,
          and doing what is right,
not dependent on circumstances
        but in knowing Him.)

He considered that
       God was able...

              Hebrews 11. 19

(Seeking Him
should be my first response,
         not last resort.
God is able.
         He is my strength.
Have I even considered
       the reality of God in this?)

Now faith is the assurance
     of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.

                        Hebrews 11. 1

(Not a belief system
               or a worldview,
but the certainty
    on which I stake my life,
a relationship
    that changes everything about me,
the core of who I am,
           the reality of who He is.)

And let us consider
how to stir up one another
   to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see
the Day drawing near.

              Hebrews 10. 24-25

(You need others,
 others need you.
God never intended for us
   to live in isolation,
but in love for Him
              and others.)

With God
   we shall do valiantly;
it is He
   who will tread down
   our foes.

             Psalm 108.13

(The key phrase here
        is "with God."
Don't leave home
             without Him.
Don't head into the day
       with an empty tank.
Sometimes God
          diverts the storm,
but He is always with me
              through it.
"Fear not.
      I am with you.")

For He shatters
       the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two
       the bars of iron.

                  Psalm 107. 16

(When I seek God,
     He guides me through unexpected doors
     that only He can open.
God specializes in impossible situations.
Our hope in Him
        is not a future event
but a daily revealing.)

The word of the LORD came to me again...

                                   Ezekiel 18. 1

(Not a one-time set of directives

       in time of crisis or urgency,

but a continual daily conversation.)

From the bed where it was planted,
He transplanted it
to good soil by abundant waters,
that it might bring forth branches,
and bear fruit,
and become a noble vine.

                       Ezekiel 17. 7-8

(God has placed you strategically
                 for His purposes
     that you may know Him more.
Abiding in Him,
you cannot help but be transformed,
     you shall not remain as you are.
Even in what appears a barren place,
     God creates a place of flourishing.
His Presence alters the landscape.
Change is designed by God
            to bring forth growth.)

Yet He saved them

for His name's sake,

that He might make known

            His mighty power.

He rebuked the Red Sea,

and it became dry,

and He led them

    through the deep

    as though a desert.

So He saved them

     from the hand of the foe,

and delivered them

from the power of the enemy.

                    Psalm 106. 8-10

(God leads us through

  our own deep scary places

           by His powerful hand

       and in unexpected ways

that we would know Him more.

It is not that God will be

         on the other side of this,

but He is right there with us,

             bringing us through.

God never said that life will be easy,

   but He promises,

            "I am with you.")

      

"What are you doing?"

            Ezekiel 12. 8

(Live in such a way

that others cannot help

     but ask "why?"

That is what the gospel

                looks like.)

Then I looked,
     and behold ...

          Ezekiel 10. 1

(Seek God in this.
Not if God will show me,
  but how
  He is revealing Himself to me?
God does not just show me
       a different perspective,
but His way in this.)

Seek the LORD

    and His strength,

seek His Presence

               continually.

           Psalm 105. 4

(Seek the LORD

     through this.

Even this.

God doesn't care about this?

       Absolutely He does.

God will change what you see,

how you respond,

the course of your day,

the course of your life.

He will change your heart.

God unfolds what is incredible

        in His plans for you.

Don't miss it.)

And the hand of the LORD
     was there upon me,
and He said to me,
"Arise,
go forth into the plain,
and there I will
       speak with you."

             Ezekiel 3. 22

(Even when it does not
     make sense to me,
even when it is
   a place I would not
   choose myself to go,
He whispers, "Follow Me."
In what I see a dead-end
   or a barren place,
God places
   His divine appointments.)

...and the hand of the LORD
    was upon him there.

                 Ezekiel 1. 3

(The reality of His Presence
prevails over circumstances,
even here,
 even in this,
     no randomness at all.
God never said
        life would be easy,
but He promises,
over and over again,
   "Fear not,
     I am with you.")