God – indycrowe

Ideas for Growing in Gratitude

“Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Bible tells us to give thanks in all seasons. It’s a year-round, every-day opportunity. We should not wait until Thanksgiving Day or the month of November to be grateful, but we can leverage this season to increase the gratitude we feel, cultivate the habit of thanksgiving, and deepen our awareness of all the reasons to praise and thank God.

It’s a great season for churches, families, and individuals to lean into giving thanks to God together. Like so many things, there is a shared joy that doubles our own joy when we do things with others, and thanksgiving is no different. As we practice giving thanks in our churches and homes, we are encouraged by how God is at work in the lives of those around us and we are reminded of the many reasons to thank God based on who He is and what He does.

As I’ve read about, studied, wrote on, and practiced the spiritual habit of thanksgiving over the last decade, here are a few resources to help you grow in gratitude.

Entrusting Things to A Trustworthy God

On the day I send kids back to school, God “just so happens” to have me writing up a few Bible study questions on Hannah “lending” or entrusting the son, Samuel, that God had given her (1 Samuel 1:21-28).

Handing over, surrendering, or entrusting things to God isn’t as easy as it sounds. We don’t like to let go of control, even though we ultimately know everything is better in God’s sovereign hands, and even though us having any ounce of “control” is just an illusion.

But entrusting things to God reminds us how vulnerable we, or our kids, truly are. These feelings, or this place of surrender, is typically the last place we want to be, and yet, it’s the very place God knows we need to be. Faith and trust aren’t really needed until these sorts of moments.

How David Learned His Lesson the Right Way (Eventually)

There’s an interesting story from early in David’s reign as king that takes place in both 1 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13-15. After securing a new capital city, one of King David’s first recorded acts was to defeat the Philistines, retrieve the ark of God, and begin the important process of putting it in the new capital so God’s presence and worship would be at the center of Israel’s kingdom and life. David admonished the priests and people for not prioritized seeking God by seeking the ark in the days of Saul (1 Chronicles 13:3).

What Does It Mean that David was “a man after God’s heart”?

When I began studying David, one question that intrigued me was what it meant that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). When I asked people what they thought this phrase meant, I heard differing opinions. Some were even bothered by the fact that such a sinful person was described this way. So what does it mean?

New articles and book excerpt

Over at The Gospel Coalition, I’ve posted a new article on “Your Wilderness Wanderings Aren’t a Waste.” It overviews the theme of wilderness, spanning from Israel to Jesus, and reminds us that God’s ultimate goal in any wilderness season or situation is “to do you good in the end” (Deut. 8:3). Older TGC articles I’ve written can be viewed here.

Bible Reading Plans for Holy Week

Sometimes it’s nice to have a reading plan that takes you through a month or a semester, but other times it’s great to have something for one week. Here are a couple of reading plan options for Holy Week leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The Point of the Plagues, the Passover, and the Parting of the Sea in Exodus

My daughter is learning in elementary school about recognizing a story’s theme or purpose. She moved past identifying characters, setting, storyline, and plot, and now she’s learning to identify key themes within a story or the larger purpose of it.

It’s not only something we’ve done with stories she reads or movies we watch, but it’s something I ask on the drive home after church on Sundays. For both kids, they can retell me what their Sunday school teacher talked about, but it’s often harder for them to answer the why behind it. Yes, the walls of Jericho fell, but what’s the greater point being taught? The kings of Israel worshipped false gods, but what’s the purpose of the story being told?

It’s a helpful skill for reading books, watching movies, or listening to sermons and lessons.

In most passages of Scripture, you can boil the overarching point of a story or passage by answering these two questions. What is God revealing about Himself? How are we meant to respond to God in light of that revelation?

Lent 40-Day Reading Plan

The Christian seasons of Lent and Advent are a great time to commit to daily Bible reading as you prepare your heart for Easter and Christmas.

During the six-week Lenten season, Christians have historically focused on the wilderness temptation and sufferings of Christ, including his crucifixion on Good Friday, ultimately leading to his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It’s a season of being emptied of ourselves as we reorient ourselves on the fullness of life in Christ. It can be a time of spiritual refinement and refreshment as we walk through our own wilderness season eager to receive God’s grace. In this time, followers of Jesus ask God to rid us of our fleshly desires and satisfy with the glories of the gospel of Christ.

Psalms Prayer Guides & Worksheets

I’m teaching a short class on the Psalms, and so far, we’ve studied Psalms 3 and 13. Each week I’m creating a prayer guide with some reflective questions that can help us pray back the psalms through in our own words in light of our own circumstances. We want to both learn about God but also talk to Him.

Part of what we’ve talked about is praying with both honesty and humility before God. Eugene Peterson describes this as praying who you actually are not praying who you think you should be. But we’re also letting the Psalms help us express what we’re thinking and feeling while also shaping our thoughts and feelings.

Singing Praise when Pain Stings

I think we can know God has good plans and purposes for us in our personal trials, and yet the pain of those trials lingers. There’s a sting of the trial but then there can even be a bit of a sting in God walking us through it. I say that believing God is always wise, good, loving, and faithful in everything we go through, and that He is with us in whatever dark valley He leads us through. You can know God’s heart is good and loving, you can trust His character and plan, and yet it still hurts. You might even be able to give thanks to God or be thankful for the trial in retrospect (or at least grateful for what God has done in and through it) and yet still carry wounds and scars from it all.