When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. – Deuteronomy 8:10Thousands of years after this verse was written, in the midst of a hard winter that killed half of their fellow travelers, the Pilgrims who settled America still had a lot to be thankful for. Just before they arrived, a plague had wiped out a hostile tribe that would have killed them. Fifteen years earlier, one member of that tribe had been taken to Europe, was taught English, became a Christian, and came back to America just in time to teach the Pilgrims how to survive. Thanksgiving is a reminder that we have a good God who rescues us in a broken world.
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God – Colossians 1:10According to Paul, truth is revealed by our lives, not just our thoughts. But the information age causes a problem: we think that because we’ve learned about something that we are living it. We want to gather data about prayer, but we fail to pray! But Paul reminds us that it’s the actual actions of our lives that proclaim the truth that we know. We know enough, now it’s time to apply. What do you need to apply today? Don’t try to get more information, do what you know now!
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow”- when you now have it with you. – Proverbs 3:27-28
After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. – Judges 2:10
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. – Hebrews 4:9-11Just like the other commandments, the Sabbath of Moses was a shadow of the Sabbath that Christ gives us. Jewish adherents celebrate Sabbath once a week, but Christ wants to offer Sabbath to his people everyday. Notice that we are to take great effort to enter the rest of God, because we are prone to take the burden of our work and our lives everyday. But to constantly wrestle with those burdens, willingly lay them down and rest is an action of faith and obedience that God blesses.
