Image from kimberlinglutheran.org
1 "When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, 'I declare this day to the LORD your God that I have come into the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.' 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 "And you shall make response before the LORD your God, 'A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God; 11 and you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you. (Deuteronomy 26:1-11 RSV)
Gratitude is always on my mind and heart for all the miles I have traveled in my life and ministry. I am so very blessed. And the journey has always kept me blessed even through the good and the not so good. God blessed me with a good family, good educational opportunities, a wonderful wife, some wonderful children, awesome sons-in-law, some awesome and very loving grandkids and on and on we go. Nellie and I have been blessed to have been a part of some great churches with great people. That's just part of a list that I am compiling among the blessings for which I am thankful. We have been sojourners for many a time; meeting in Mission, TX, and living in many towns and cities of this great state. We have entered places as complete strangers, and later left as dear family members to many of the church families with which we served. During our whole sojourn, we have prayed and had all the prayers answered. And the passage for today was a compilation of Israel's many answered prayers, and the manner in which God was to be thanked. The liturgy called for a symbolic gift to the Lord by the priest, and this was followed by worship and rejoicing. Does this happen in your Thanksgiving setting? And the passage says this celebration should be done with all who are present, including "The Levite and the sojourner among you."
Dear Friend, plan to take advantage of this coming Thursday as a full worship celebration for all that God has done for you and the blessings you have received. Truly make it a day of returning to God what He deserves, our thanks and praise.
PRAYER: God of good gifts and answered prayers, prepare my heart for the coming days that You may be central to our worship and celebration. Make me mindful of all in my midst, especially those who may not be longtime residents of our towns or cities. May I be the answer to someone else's prayers. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
As we pray today, please pray for those who awaken in pain. A dear friend of ours awoke at 2:29 am in severe pain and my devotional arrived in time to bless her. Pray for all and others like her, who awaken to pain. Pray for Laurel Bradford who had second surgery in a few weeks in San Angelo. May she heal in comfort. Prayers for her husband, The Rev. Scott Bradford. I've also heard from some whose fur babies are seriously ill. Some have to make serious decisions about next steps and none of them are easy. May God bless them.
Have a great and blessed day in te Lord! Be an answer today!
Blessings of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
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