Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23 is probably one of the most familiar Psalms. Read it again slowly. As you read, place emphasis on the third person pronoun he and his. Let this emphasis remind you that He, the shepherding God, is present in your life. Read these verses again slowly and emphasize all that He does. He makes me lie down, He leads, He refreshes, He guides. Thank Him and praise Him for being the shepherd.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 John 5:1-15 – The Message
5 1-3 Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-born. If we love the One who conceives the child, we’ll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God’s children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome.
4-5 Every God-born person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.
6-8 Jesus—the Divine Christ! He experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death. Not only birth from the womb, but baptismal birth of his ministry and sacrificial death. And all the while the Spirit is confirming the truth, the reality of God’s presence at Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, bringing those occasions alive for us. A triple testimony: the Spirit, the Baptism, the Crucifixion. And the three in perfect agreement.
9-10 If we take human testimony at face value, how much more should we be reassured when God gives testimony as he does here, testifying concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God inwardly confirms God’s testimony. Whoever refuses to believe in effect calls God a liar, refusing to believe God’s own testimony regarding his Son.
11-12 This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.
13-15 My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for suffering in Ukraine and Israel. As you enjoy safety and Thanksgiving today pray for them.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Happy Thanksgiving! Are you alone? Give thanks. Are you surrounded by family? Give thanks. Are you feeling physical well? Give thanks. Are you feeling physical ill? Give thanks. Are you financially secure? Give thanks. Are you financially uneasy? Give thanks. In everything, give thanks, is what Paul wrote. But what if you are not feeling particularly thankful today? Don’t be fooled into thinking “if only…then.” “If only I was not alone then I would be thankful.” Realize this: there are many who have far more than you, yet they are not remotely thankful today. They have family, health, and money, yet they are very unhappy. Then there are people with (probably) far less than you, who are very thankful. Paul also wrote that he learned the secret of being content with little OR much. He had learned to be thankful in the strength of Christ, not in himself. Ask Jesus to make you thankful IN him and FOR him today. By all means thank him for his many gifts, but ask him to make you thankful for Jesus plus nothing else. We will not get there in this life, but it is the right direction to head.