Consider, ponder, meditate on this. Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will you like Me? or to whom shall I be equal?” There is only One who can set us free.

John 8:36 says, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!” How does He do it? Through truth. Verse 32 says that when we abide in His word, that we, “…shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Assimilated embraced truth.

Truth is a Person, not a fact. John 1:14 says that He is the word, “…full of grace and truth.” I love this verse in the Amplified. I picture it as one stacked upon the other. Verse 16 says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

2 Peter 1:3 says that He has given us, “…all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…” All things…

Colossians 2:6-7 says, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” 

One of the ways we can be built up in Him is to worship Him through His goodness. I often use Psalm 40:2-3 in my heart-words of gratitude. He brought us up from that horrible pit. We were helpless, hopeless, and lost.

He set our feet in Himself ~ the solid Rock of our salvation. He put new songs of praise in our mouths. Those who knew us before, were astonished at the dramatic change. Proverbs 9:10 says, “…the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

I encourage you to read A. W. Tozer’s book, “Knowledge of the Holy” if you never have. He writes in detail about many of the Lord’s attributes. Although he says that there are those we don’t even know about.

The Lord reveals Himself in the ways that we need Him to be for us in our crucible-trials. Glory hallelujah!

Faith sets the stage for our walk with the Lord. Romans 12:3 says, “…as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” In 2 Peter 1:5-7 Peter gave his readers the charge to add to their faith with diligence: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

Verse 8 says, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Everything in our walk with the Lord comes through our gaining experiential knowledge. It comes through our intimate communion with Him.

I placed John 15:5 as wallpaper on my heart. It is a constant reminder that, “…for without Me you can do nothing.” Anything we do in our own strength is without faith. We know from Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing His word.

Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him you also trusted, after you HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom you also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Hear ~ Believe ~ Sealed.

I remember the chorus of a hymn we often sang around our communion time. “A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings, I bring, blessed Savior, to Thee!” We have countless things to be thankful for. First our salvation. Without it we would be lost, condemned, and without hope.

I read a book by Ann Voskamp. It is called “One Thousand Gifts.” She kept a log of surprising moments and as they occurred she expressed thanks. The Holy Spirit led her into an enhanced understanding of what it means to give thanks for everything.

Psalm 100 is a song of praise for the Lord’s faithfulness. Verse 4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”

December after covid hit the scene, there was complaining in many camps. I determined before the Lord to express five things of gratitude to Him before I went to sleep. I’ve continued that practice, only no need to count ~ I encourage you to try it.

Several of Jesus’ miracles were recorded as He was moved with compassion. Matthew 14:15-21 recorded the feeding of the 5,000. Verse 14 says that when He saw the great multitude, “…He was moved with compassion…”

The Greeks regarded the bowels as the place where strong and powerful emotions originated. The Hebrew thought was where tender mercies, and feelings of affection, compassion, sympathy, and pity originated. Do you know that 80% of our immune system is in our gut?

Just wondering: how much is our health enhanced or destroyed through our heart’s attitude towards our circumstances, acceptance of who we are, or those around us? Colossians 3:12  gives us a prescription for health. 

It says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” These attributes are predicated on one thing: forgiveness. 

Verse 13 says, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” We are called to exhibit the character of Christ through every aspect of our lives.

January 1 is a great time to consider what we truly value. It is so easy to get entangled with life, that we miss nuance opportunities. I love Luke 4:4 in the Amplified. Jesus countered the devil’s temptation. It says, “…It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.”

Picture for a moment the Grand Canyon. I have only seen it through the eyes of others, as I have not been there in person. It is a masterpiece of creation. I loved to hike. I remember one time I was on a trail in Oregon. All along the pathway were tiny flowers. I marveled at their intricate design by a creative Designer.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead…” 

We are made in His image for relationship. Everyone is unique. Even twins have different thumbprints. Do you like yourself? Embrace the uniqueness of others with an open heart.

Today is the last devotional for 2025. As we each face the unknown of a new year, let’s exemplify the Lord’s character of gratitude. Matthew 11:25 says, “…I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” ~ redeemed ones.

Jesus was at Lazarus’ tomb. John 11:41-42 says, “…Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

Jesus expressed thanks to His Father, so that the crowd of grieving folks might believe. Do those around you recognize your heart of thankfulness? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says that we obey His will through thankfulness.

Stop for a minute, and thank the Lord that He always hears you ~ even your silent grumbling and complaining spirit. David wrote Psalms 17. Verse 6 says, “I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.”

I pondered these four words in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “…whether present or absent…” We know from Psalm 16:11 that in heaven we will be dwelling in His pleasures. It says, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Here is what I believe Paul was saying. Whether they were present or absent from others’ eyes, their aim was the same ~ they would please the Lord through every aspect of their lives. 

Paul had another aim. It gives us further practical applications for practicing the truth. Acts 24:16 says, “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and man.”

Titus 3:2 says, “To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” Another way to hone our aim as we put this also into daily practice.

Dwelling in His Presence creates the opportunity for Him to quietly reveal our innermost being to us. We come with an expectation for inner transformation. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

I have cousins and friends who hunt with bow and arrows. They honed their aim through much practice. 1 John 16-7 says that we hone our aim when we practice the truth. How does that work? 

Jesus said, “I am the truth…” in John 14:6. Therefore truth is a Person, not a fact. It is not print on a page, but rather a living relationship with our Creator. Genesis 1:26 says that He made us in His image. We have a capacity within us for fellowship ~ intimate communion with Him.

Meditated on 2 Corinthians 5:9. It says, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” Let’s pick up the context. Paul wrote that while we are present in our body, we are absent from the Lord. However, when we are absent from our body, we will appear face to face before the Lord.

Verse 10 says, “…that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Our aim? Pleasing Him now in every aspect.

When I began to recover from falling into the ravine 1977, I would lean into the wind and relax against it. It was called the Washoe Zephyr and it was strong. John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell from where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We are saved by faith not works. Ephesians 2:8-9. Our saving faith carries over into our living faith. We believed Him for salvation, and we believe Him to carry us through every adverse situation.

Faith is leaning on His promises, though there is no evidence of them yet. Our hope is based in One who cannot fail. Hebrews 6:19 says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.”

1 Peter 1:8 says, “Whom having not seen you love. Though you do not see Him, yet believing…” I communed with the Lord this morning before it was time to get up. I love leaning into His Presence.