Posted on Thurs, Nov 28, 2013 at 11:43 a.m. (EST) & 10:13 p.m. (IST), OCT-NOV 2013 Edition
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“Thankful Heart Always Nurtures Kindly Souls, Giving
Immanuel's Victorious Inspiration Now Graciously!
(T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G)”
Ramesh C. Reddy
SCRIPTURE:
Give
thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loving-kindness continues
forever. Praise
him who alone does mighty miracles, for his loving-kindness
continues forever. Praise
him who made the heavens, for his loving-kindness continues
forever. Praise
him who planted the water within the earth,for
his loving-kindness continues forever. Praise
him who made the heavenly lights, for his loving-kindness continues
forever: the
sun to rule the day, for his loving-kindness continues forever; and
the moon and stars at night, for his loving-kindness continues
forever.....He remembered our utter weakness, for his loving-kindness
continues forever. And saved us from our foes, for his
loving-kindness continues forever!" (Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26, TLB)
OBSERVATION:
IMPLICATIONS:
So, I decided to reflect upon what
happened this past year to give my thanksgiving and praise to the Lord
using the alphabet as a tool:
A- All the computer accessories such as
external harddrives, camera chips, pin drives that you Oh Lord were able
to provide for me for Pittsburgh Standard, I am so thankful to you and
praise you Lord Jesus.
B - Being able to go with my lovely wife,
precious daughter Esther, and my mom to visit my younger brothers for
Christmas break, I am so thankful to you and praise you Lord Jesus.
C - Celebrating Esther's 6-Month birthday
and the New Year with my darling wife and family, I am so thankful to
you and praise you Lord Jesus.
D - Doing the Valentine's Day surprise
for my beautiful wife Chandra you gave me, I am so thankful to you and
praise you Lord Jesus.
E - Everyday being able to spend with my
caring Chandra and our beautiful daughter Esther you gave us during the
Spring Break and beyond, I am so thankful to you and praise you Lord
Jesus.
F - For being able to celebrate with
Esther her first Resurrection Sunday/Easter at Oakland International
Fellowship, I am so thankful to you and praise you Lord Jesus.
G - Giving me the summer off to spend
with my gentle Chandra and our precious daughter Esther including
family, I am so thankful and praise you Lord Jesus.
H - Having guided my sweet Chandra and I,
to start Indian Game Night and dinner, with the diligent help of your
wonderful servant Pastor Hugo, I am so thankful to you and praise you
Lord Jesus even as you have given my wife and mom, the strength and
willingness to make all the dishes in love.
I - I was able to clear out the entire
garage packed with stuff with the non stop help of my loving wife
Chandra so that we could save money monthly instead of renewing the
lease on the garage. So, I thank you and praise you Lord Jesus!
J - Jesus, I am so thankful to you and
praise you Lord Jesus for the wonderful time we were able to have in
Washington, D.C. sightseeing and touring different places with my lovely
wife Chandra, lovely daughter Esther, and family.
K - Keeping our precious daughter
Esther's 1 year birthday celebration at Oakland International Fellowship
with all the friends and family you brought over , the precious gifts
you provided for our daughter, the amazing food, and message we could
receive on her birthday, we are so thankful to you and praise you Lord
Jesus.
L - Lord Jesus, I want to thank you so
much and praise you for the prayers of Calvin, Pastor Hugo, Pastor
Bucknell, and all those in Transformers small group who prayed for us
that Obamacare will not result in me having to have parttime work status
and lose our benefits so with your help Oh Lord, I have maintained full
time status with benefits because by your grace, I was able to meet the
1560 hrs in a year needed reminding me 'He does not fear bad news nor
dread of what may happen to him for he is settled in his mind that
Jehovah will take care of him so he can calmly face his foes'.
M - My prayerful wife Chandra's
immigration papers to remove conditional residency, I was able to send
during the 90 day period with all kinds of evidence with your help and
the prayers of your people Oh Lord so for that I thank you so much and
praise you Lord Jesus.
N - Nicely remembering the true meaning
of Christmas, I praise you and thank you Lord Jesus that we were able to
celebrate with our precious daughter her first Christmas at 3 months
old.
O - Our finances you have continued to
provide for us and helped us to help those in need so I thank you
and praise you for that Oh Lord Jesus.
P - Precious birthday of my loving wife
Chandra, I was able to celebrate with family to give her a surprise so I
am so thankful and praise you for that Lord Jesus.
Q - Quiet Times that I have been able to
have with you my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being in your Word and
praying, I thank you and praise you so much for that Lord Jesus.
R - Redeeming us by dying for our sin on
the cross, shedding your precious cleansing blood for us, and coming
back to life to save us, I thank you so much Lord Jesus for making our
family your children so I am so thankful to you with praise Lord Jesus,
for your loving kindness goes on and on forever.
S - Singing worship songs to you in
Malayalam, Hindi with the help of a dear sister Kristen on the worship
team as she introduced new songs by my sweetest Chandra, so for that I
am so thankful and praise you Oh Lord Jesus.
T - To be able to meet weekly with Pastor
Hugo Cheng of Oakland International Fellowship to mentor me and counsel
me on different issues as we contemplated starting game night for Indian
students that you Oh Lord have helped us sustain through the months
providing them a place to hang out and eat homemade dinner so for that I
thank you and praise you Lord Jesus.
U - Unto you Oh Lord being able to direct
our precious daughter's tv time, reading time, and video time as Esther
loves to listen to songs about you Oh Lord Jesus, I am so thankful and
praise you Lord Jesus.
V - Very patiently with lots of love how
much my mommy and my brothers take care of and play with our precious
daughter Esther, I am so thankful to you and praise you Lord Jesus.
W - With all the months you have helped
us raise our loving daughter Esther to praise you, love the Lord's
prayer, and grow spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, and
mentally, I thank you so much Lord Jesus, you created all the delicate
parts of Esther's body and knit her together in her mommy's womb making
her so wonderfully complex that your workmanship is so marvelous. You
were there while she was being formed in utter seclusion and saw before
she was born. All the days of her life have been written in your book.
How precious are your thoughts towards her Oh Lord. I cant even count
how many times a day your thoughts turn towards her and us and when we
wake up in the morning, you are always thinking of us. For that I thank
you and praise you Lord Jesus.
X - Xcited to have gotten an XBox Kinect
for my birthday, gift cards, precious greeting cards that are
priceless, and an awesome coat for which, I am so thankful and praise
you Lord Jesus.
Y - You Oh Lord are our Good Shepherd who
is watching over our daddy with you and have blessed us to have a
wonderful thanksgiving with our family so I am so thankful and praise
you Lord Jesus even through the times of hardship that we have gone
through.
Z - Zealously, you Oh Lord have looked
after us and guided us through the days of joy and sadness giving us
Your Word to hold our faith and promises on so I thank you and praise
you for being there for us and answering our prayers. In Your Precious
Name I Prau Oh Lord thanking you and praising you Oh Lord Jesus! Amen!
These are only 26 of multiple areas of my life that I am thankful and praise the
Lord Jesus for.
I am glad to have reflected on what the Lord Jesus has done in my life saving a
foreigner like me and that His healing and blessings
are not limited to a particular race or ethnicity but Jesus offers Himself to the world to all who would receive Him and
come to Him. For He promises, "To all who received
Him, He gave them right to become children of God, children born not of natural
descent but from the will of God" (John 1:12)
It is in thanksgiving that we recognize that we are nothing on our
own and all the things we are blessed with come from Jesus Christ, the Creator
of Heaven and Earth.
When I give thanks, I am recognizing the One who gave
Himself for me with His sacrificial death on the cross coming back to life on
the third day to save. When I give thanks, I am figuratively throwing
myself at the feet of Jesus to show that I am nothing without Him. He alone is
the One who has cleansed me of all my sin and daily transforms my life by His
grace. It is His blessings that reveal His unconditional grace. Having an attitude of thanksgiving takes the focus off me
and puts the focus on the One who came to change my life around.
I ask you now dear friend, what are A - Z things that
you have witnessed that you can give
T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G to the Lord for?
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess
5:16-17, NIV)
Jesus wants us to always be thankful and that is His
will. Yet, so many times we forget to give thanks and that makes Jesus sad. I
don't want to make Jesus sad but remember all that Jesus does for me each day.
What has been awesome for me to do in the past was
write down 5 things that I have been thankful for each day not duplicating any
response during the week, otherwise it just becomes a routine and I would write
the same things each day.
Before the Thanksgiving meal, take time to write 26 things
you are thankful to the Lord for this past year using the alphabet A-Z as a
guide. Your focus should be on the Lord Jesus for these 26 things.
The place we give thanksgiving when that place involves
the Lord Jesus Christ will make us well spiritually too as Jesus promised the
Samaritan:
Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made
you well."
When we
are thankful and grateful remembering what the Lord has done for us, it is also
a reflection of our faith. There is a positive correlation between being
thankful and our faith. How appropriate is this passage on this day of
Thanksgiving 2013 so we do not forget the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Thank you Jesus for all you have done in my life. I love you
Lord Jesus.
Let us remember what the Pilgrims did when they came on the Mayflower as their
hearts were filled with gratitude and thanks for how the Almighty Savior rescued
them and brought them through the harsh times in a new land. Thank you Jesus.
This is supposedly the origins of Thanksgiving.
I also believe our health and joyfulness in life is
tied to thanksgiving! No wonder Jesus says,
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this
is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess 5:16-17, NIV)
What is giving of thanksgiving anyway than praying
continually to the One who is the Giver of all things daily in our lives. Praise
the Lord! Thank you Jesus.
May you remember this day that Thanksgiving is more
than just turkey, stuffing, parades, and football but the essence of Thanksgiving is
JESUS CHRIST. Amen!
The purpose of today's devotional is to understand the
importance of being thankful for the things the Lord Jesus has done in our lives
instead of taking things for granted knowing there is a positive correlation
between being thankful and our faith.
"Thankful Heart Always Nurtures Kindly Souls, Giving
Immanuel's Victorious Inspiration Now Graciously!"
(T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G)/"What are A-Z things
you have witnessed that you can give T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G to the Lord
for?"
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are my all in all. You are my Prince of Peace,
Rock, Savior, and Friend. You are my Holy Father guiding me through to live a
life of righteousness, holy righteousness. Oh God, I need you more than ever. I
need to feel your hands around me holding me tight. I need your love to surround
me so that you can glow in my life. Help me please Jesus. I desire in your
presence. Thank you for guiding me to live a life of righteousness. Oh God you
love me more than ever. You hear my voice when I cry out to you. When I seek
your face, you fill me up. You are my all in all. Thank you Jesus so much for
your help no matter what I face, your grace is available and you take my case.
Thank you for hearing us and answering us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!
(Most of the prayer is from a vineyard song called “All in All”)
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.
No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in
and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with
the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend.
You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word
reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you
and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before
moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to
which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be
part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible
believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to
Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who
brings us hope, healing, and help!
No matter who you are, it is not ever too late
to join a Bible-believing church or a college fellowship. I highly
encourage each of you to come to Transformers Small Group on Friday
nights at 7:00 p.m. and Oakland International Fellowship on Sunday
mornings at 9:30 a.m. for prayer, 11:30 a.m. for worship, 10:30 a.m. for
Sunday School, and 12:30 p.m. for fellowship lunch.
May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and
forever! Amen!
Feel free to email
me at
reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com
if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with,
talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is
412-641-9426
"This is my
work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work
within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB) |
2013 DEVOTIONALS: Mark 8:34: "Why D.E.N.Y youself in the one life you have to live?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Nov 16, 13, 08:13 a.m.) Philippians 4:9: "How do you know your P.E.A.C.E is real?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Oct 19, 13, 08:17 a.m.) Philippians 4:9: "What kind of S.O.L.D.I.E.R will you be?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Oct 12, 13, 11:29 a.m.) Psalm 139:13-18: "Who cares for your B.I.R.T.H.D.A.Y in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Oct 05, 13, 1:00 p.m.) Philippians 4:8: "What is your T.H.I.N.K.I.N.G based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Sept 25, 13, 10:29 a.m.) Philippians 4:6-7: "How do you handle A.N.X.I.E.T.Y in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Sept 21, 13, 08:18 a.m.) Philippians 4:4: "When do you R.E.J.O.I.C.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Sept 14, 13, 12:36 p.m.) Philippians 4:5: "What measure of G.E.N.T.L.E.N.E.S.S do you have?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Sept 09, 13, 12:03 p.m.) Philippians 4:3: "How have you C.A.M.P.A.I.G.N.E.D for Jesus Christ in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Sept 06, 13, 07:17 a.m.) Philippians 4:2: "How do you respond to a P.L.E.A.D in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, Sept 04, 13, 12:00 p.m.) Philippians 4:1: "Where do you S.T.A.N.D on love in your life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, Sept 03, 13, 12:00 p.m.) 1 Thessalonians 1:3: "What does your L.A.B.O.R show in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Sept 02, 13, 10:04 a.m.) Philippians 3:18-19: "Why shed your T.E.A.R.S for others in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, Aug 21, 13, 08:26 a.m.) Philippians 3:15-17: "Who are what are you willing to P.A.T.T.E.R.N your life after?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Aug 19, 13, 10:08 a.m.) Philippians 3:12-14:"How can you deal with the P.A.S.T in your life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Aug 15, 13, 04:21 a.m.) Philippians 3:1-11: "Why for R.E.F.O.R.M.A.T.I.O.N you need the transaction of the cross?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, Aug 14, 13, 05:55 p.m.) Philippians 2:25-30:"When will your H.O.M.E.C.O.M.I.N.G begin?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, Aug 13, 13, 10:39 a.m.) Philiippians 2:20-24: "How can you Q.U.A.L.I.F.Y well in other people's lives?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, Aug 09, 13, 08:38 a.m.) Philippians 2:17-19: "When do you live out your F.A.I.T.H in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, Aug 08, 13, 03:19 a.m.) Philippians 2:14-16: "What does your B.E.H.A.V.I.O.R do for others in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, Aug 07, 13, 12:03 p.m.) Philippians 2:13: "How do you W.O.R.K out your Salvation?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Aug 05, 13, 01:33 p.m.) Philippians 2:13: "What path have you taken for S.A.L.V.A.T.I.O.N in your life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, Aug 05, 13, 01:33 p.m.) Philippians 2:12-13: "What is the point of O.B.E.D.I.E.N.C.E in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, Aug 03, 13, 01:28 p.m.) Philippians 2:9-11: "How do you handle the N.A.M.E of Jesus in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, Aug 02, 13, 07:58 a.m.) Philippians 2:8: "What can the C.R.O.S.S do for you in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, Aug 01, 13, 08:03 a.m.) Philippians 2:5-7:"How do you match Jesus' A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E in life?"By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 31, 13, 10:50 a.m.) Mark 10:6-9: "What does Jesus want for your M.A.R.R.I.A.G.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, July 30, 13, 11:24 a.m.) Philippians 2:3-4: "How do you respond to God's C.O.M.M.A.N.D.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 29, 13, 09:53 a.m.) Philiippians 2:1-2: "What C.O.N.D.I.T.I.O.N are you in?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, July 27, 13, 11:42 a.m.) Philippians 1:29-30: "How do you handle S.U.F.F.E.R.I.N.G in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, July 26, 13, 10:02 a.m.) Philippians 1:27-28: "How do you C.O.N.D.U.C.T yourself in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 25, 13, 11:17 a.m.) Philippians 1:22-26: "What are your C.H.O.I.C.E.S based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 24, 13, 09:50 a.m.) Philippians 1:21: "Why D.I.E for Christ?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 22, 13, 3:33 p.m.) Philippians 1:21: "Why L.I.V.E your life to be appreciated by others?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Fri, July 19, 13, 10:20 a.m.) Philippians 1:20: "Where do you need to have C.O.U.R.A.G.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 18, 13, 05:17 a.m.) Philippians 1:19: "Who should you C.A.L.L often in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 17, 13, 09:41 a.m.) Philippians 1:19: "What reason do you have to R.E.J.O.I.C.E in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, July 16, 10:23 a.m.) Philippians 1:15-18: "How are your M.O.T.I.V.E.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 15, 04:57 a.m.) Philippians 1:12-14:"What have your C.H.A.I.N.S done to others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, July 11, 10:40 a.m.) Philippians 1:12: How can you A.D.V.A.N.C.E the Gospel?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, July 10, 11:46 a.m.) Philippians 1:9-11: "What is your L.O.V.I.N.G response based on?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, July 07, 03:24 a.m.) Philippians 1:7-8: "How can your A.F.F.E.C.T.I.O.N grow towards others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Thurs, June 27, 10:21 a.m.) Philippians 1:7-8: "Why can you only be saved by G.R.A.C.E alone?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Wed, June 26, 10:42 a.m.) Philippians 1:3-6: "Where are you C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T in?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Tues, June 25, 12:42 p.m.) Philippians 1:3-6: "How can you attain a P.A.R.T.N.E.R.S.H.I.P in the Gospel?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Mon, June 24, 11:22 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-3: "How will others R.E.A.C.T towards God when they remember you?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (Sat, June 22, 11:34 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "Why bother to let others T.R.A.I.N you when you are already a leader?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 21, 10:58 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "When do you B.L.E.S.S others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 20, 08:33 a.m.) Philippians 1:1-2: "Who will you be a S.L.A.V.E to in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 19, 1:26 p.m.) Philippians 1:1: "Why should you believe you are H.O.L.Y instead of a sinner?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 17, 11:38 p.m.) Psalm 46:1: "Where do you need R.E.F.U.G.E from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.) Proverbs 14:12: "Why seek God's R.I.G.H.T over our right?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 14, 08:30 a.m.) Psalm 42:5: "Why H.O.P.E and praise the Lord in your distress?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:36 p.m.) Psalm 40:1-5: "Where do you need to be L.I.F.T.E.D up in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 13, 01:34 p.m.) Mark 9:28-29: "What can P.R.A.Y.E.R to Jesus do in your friends lives?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 11, 07:53 a.m.) Mark 2:2-5: "What kind of F.R.I.E.N.D will you be thought of as?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 10, 07:03 a.m.) Mark 3:14-15: "Why S.P.E.N.D time with Jesus daily?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 08, 11:07 a.m.) Psalm 34:4: "What can you do with your F.E.A.R.S in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 07, 2013, 8:43 a.m.) Psalm 33:4: "What will you do with F.A.I.T.H in your classes?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 05, 2013, 9:31 a.m.) Mark 1:43-44: "What does your disobedience C.A.U.S.E for others in life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (June 03, 2013, 2:57 a.m.) Mark 1:41-42: "What past do you need to be C.L.E.A.N from?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 31, 2013, 10:54 a.m) Proverbs 29:25: "Where will you take a S.T.A.N.D without wavering?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 30, 2013, 07:43 a.m) Matthew 18:21-22:"Why F.O.R.G.I.V.E when it will happen again?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 29 2013, 09:35 a.m) Psalm 27:14:"How do you C.O.P.E with your hurt?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m) John 12:24:"Who do you remember physically and spiritually on this M.E.M.O.R.I.A.L day?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 27, 2013, 11:13 a.m) "What has the law P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D you to do but it goes against the Lord?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 09, 2013, 6:57 a.m) "Who do you become an A.T.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N to and why?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (May 08, 2013, 6:58 a.m) "What has A.N.G.E.R done to your relationships?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 29, 13, 1:28 p.m.) "How can the L.I.G.H.T impact your life?" By Ramesh C. Reddy (April 06, 13, 11:48 a.m.)
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