NOVEMBER’S THEME — “SEEING THANKSGIVING FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE”

BEATS FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART

STOP MEASURING YOUR WORTH BY YOUR SPIRITUAL PERFORMANCE

You are accepted in Christ before you accomplish anything for Him.

Ephesians 1:6, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

WHEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD BECOMES A PERFORMANCE

Have you ever missed your morning prayer time and felt, by evening, as though you needed to make up for it before you could talk to God? You meant to spend time with Him. Then the phone rang, someone needed you, or you simply got distracted. Now you have a quiet moment, and instead of using it to pray, you spend it thinking about how poorly you’ve done. On a good day, you come to God easily. On a hard day, you hesitate. Little by little, you begin to judge whether the Father will receive you by how well you think you have served Him. Paul gives you a firmer place to stand. God “hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Before you count a single thing you did for God today, take a moment to remember what Jesus Christ has already done for you.

YOUR ACCEPTANCE IS A GIFT OF GRACE

Notice who acts in Ephesians 1:6. God has made us accepted. Then notice where He has placed us. We are accepted “in the beloved,” in His beloved Son. Your standing before the Father rests on Christ and His righteousness. That is as true on the day you can hardly concentrate long enough to finish a prayer as it is on the day you serve with joy. Your spiritual habits matter. Time in Scripture teaches you to recognize the voice of truth amid all the other voices you hear. Prayer gives you a place to bring your burdens to the Father. Serving puts your love for Him to work for somebody else. Each of these is a way to live out the relationship His grace has already given you. So when you open your Bible tomorrow, take a breath before you read. You have time to listen. You can let one verse sink in without worrying about how many pages you finish. And if you missed yesterday, you can begin again today with a simple prayer. “Father, thank You that I can spend this time with You. Help me hear what You want to teach me.”

BRING YOUR FAILURE INTO THE FATHER’S PRESENCE

There is a difference between conviction that gives you something specific to confess and accusation that leaves you feeling unwelcome. Conviction may bring to mind the sharp words you spoke to someone you love. You can name those words before God, ask His forgiveness, and go back to that person and make things right. Accusation takes the same moment and keeps you sitting there thinking, After what you did, how can you even pray? First John 1:9 gives you something solid to answer that accusation with. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The promise turns your attention to His faithfulness. You can tell the truth about your sin because you are coming to the Father through the Son who bore it at the cross. You can take responsibility without spending the rest of the day trying to punish yourself into feeling worthy of forgiveness. If something comes to mind as you read this, bring it to God now. Be plain with Him. If there is a person you need to call or a wrong you need to repair, ask Him for the courage to do it. Then thank Him for hearing you. Even when your feelings take time to settle, His promise gives you reason to trust Him.

LET THE LOVE OF CHRIST CHANGE THE WAY YOU OBEY

A person who fears rejection can spend an entire day doing the right things and feel very little joy. There is always another task to finish and another mistake to worry about. Even prayer can begin to feel like a conversation in which you are waiting to find out whether you are still welcome. Think about what changes when you begin the day knowing you belong to Christ. You can bring the Father an honest prayer instead of trying to sound stronger than you feel. You can read a passage that corrects you and receive that correction as His care. You can do something kind that nobody sees and be content that the Father saw it. Love will sometimes ask you to do a hard thing. It may mean forgiving someone or admitting you were wrong. In that moment, remember the patience Jesus has shown you. Ask Him to help you extend some of that patience to the person in front of you. Obedience becomes deeply personal when you can say, “Lord, You have loved me here. Help me love this person here too.”

Imagine a little boy standing outside his father’s study. He has broken something he was told to leave alone. He wants to tell his father, but he keeps walking away from the door and coming back. Finally, his father hears him in the hallway and opens it. “Dad, I need to tell you something.” “Come in, son.” The father listens. They talk honestly about what the boy did and what he needs to do next. And when the conversation is over, the boy lingers. He has discovered that he can tell his father the truth and still sit close to him. Perhaps you have been standing in the hallway, rehearsing what you would say if you felt welcome enough to pray. Through Jesus Christ, you can come to your heavenly Father now. Tell Him what happened. Receive His correction. Stay long enough to thank Him that you belong to Him.

REST IN WHAT CHRIST HAS ACCOMPLISHED

At the end of the day, you can look back honestly. Thank God for where He helped you obey. Confess where you sinned. Take whatever step of repentance you need to take. Then let the day end with your eyes on Christ. You may have things to put right tomorrow. You can do them as someone the Father has already received in His beloved Son. Tonight, you can close your eyes with a simple prayer of gratitude. “Father, thank You that my place with You rests on Jesus.”

WARFARE PRAYER

Father, thank You for receiving me in Your beloved Son. In the name of Jesus Christ, I reject the enemy’s accusation that I must earn my way back into Your presence. Bring Your Word to mind when fear tells me to hide. Show me plainly where I have sinned, and give me the humility to confess it and the courage to make things right. Guard me from pride on days when I do well and from despair on days when I stumble. Help me trust the righteousness of Jesus Christ when my own heart condemns me. Let the security of Your love give me the freedom to obey You gladly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

DAILY CHALLENGE

The next time you catch yourself thinking, I haven’t done enough for God today, pause and ask, “Is there a specific sin I need to confess?” If there is, name it before the Father and take one step to make it right. If you are replaying a missed routine or comparing yourself with someone else, read Ephesians 1:6 aloud and thank God for receiving you in Christ. Then take a few minutes to be with Him.

Truth to remember — The Father has received you in His beloved Son. Let your obedience be your thank-you.

TUESDAY’S PRAYER NEEDS

Carol Amgel

Britany Smith

Carol Rhodes & Family

Darlene Kelley

Darlene Thaxton

Ginny Ford

Heather May

John Palmer

Kim’s McClain’s Mother & Sister

Pat Chupp

Rob Davis

Rose Fuller-Chronic Back Pain

Susan Bankston