NOVEMBER 2008 DEVOTION

"Let us come before Him with thanksgiving."  Psalm 95:2

I recently read about an American pilot who was shot down over New Guinea in 1943.  Local natives rescued him from the Japanese and cared for him until he was well enough to return home.  After the war, the pilot raised money to finance a school on the island and in 1970, he and his wife went personally to New Guinea to express their thanks and live among the people for fourteen months of the school's development.  There is nothing like thanking someone in person.  Who deserves your thanks today?  What about God?

"Let us come before Him with thanksgiving," reminds us that we can come to Him "in person" twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  We simply have to choose to spend our time in that way.  While I'm sure God appreciates a thankful heart, I can say with assurance that more than the gratitude, He just loves us to "come before Him."

God loves spending time with you whether you are laughing, crying, angry, or thankful.  How much time have you spent with God this week?  Why not take another challenge in November?  Plan regular walks with just you and the Lord.  Commit to spending time listening for His voice through the Bible and prayer.  Substitute a mindless thirty-minute television show with some much-needed time with God.  You won't regret it.  In fact, I feel sure you will "Come before Him with thanksgiving."

Let's pray.  Father, thank You for wanting to spend time with us!  Please help us to make the decision to spend more time with You.  We love You and praise You.  In Jesus' Precious Name we pray.  Amen.