Log In Sign Up
Shop
  • Buy Subscriptions
  • The Upper Room Store
  • eCourses
Donate
Upper Room logo
  • Daily
    • Daily Devotional
    • Disciplines
    • Sight Psalms
    • New Every Morning
  • Prayer
    • Request Prayer
    • Prayer Wall
    • Books on Prayer
    • Articles on Prayer
  • Community
    • Walk to Emmaus
    • Chrysalis
    • Face to Face
    • Journey to the Table
    • Academy for Spiritual Formation
    • Discovery Weekend
    • eLearning
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • International Partners
  • Engage
    • Write
    • Donors
    • Volunteer
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Upper Room Books
    • Articles
  • Our Story
    • About
    • History
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • Upper Room Ministries Blog
    • Help & Support
    • Contact

Disciplines

  • Archives
  • About
  • Submit
  • Subscribe
  • Disciplines
    • Disciplines
    • Archives
    • About
    • Submit
    • Subscribe
October 10, 2022

“Give Thanks!” For What Exactly?

W. Scott Haldeman   |   Read Deuteronomy 26:1-11

(Image by: Pixabay)
  • Text Size
  • Comment
  • Share

Share on Socials

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Lectionary Week
October 10–16, 2022
Scripture Overview

At last Jeremiah is able to bring a message of restoration and hope. God promises a new covenant with the people, and they will internalize the law in their hearts so that they will keep it. The psalmist rejoices in such a reality. He meditates on God’s law all day and has been granted profound understanding. This allows him to walk faithfully in God’s paths. The reading from Second Timothy confirms the ongoing power of God’s law in scripture, which is given by God for our good. Timothy is charged always to be ready to preach it faithfully. Luke hits on a different theme: the importance of persistent prayer. In the parable a heartless judge finally yields to a persistent widow, so we should be similarly tenacious with our prayers to God.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Jeremiah 31:27-34. How have you broken your covenant with God? How has God responded?
Read Psalm 119:97-104. The Jewish laws of the Hebrew scriptures are part of our Christian heritage. How can you delight in the law?
Read 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5. How can you learn or teach from scriptures you do not normally read?
Read Luke 18:1-8. Through the familiar call to pray always, the author reminds us that we are called to pray for what God wants. What is at stake when you pray for justice and mercy?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

1 Once you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and are settled there, 2 take some of the early produce of the fertile ground that you have harvested from the land the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the location the LORD your God selects for his name to reside. 3 Go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him: “I am declaring right now before the LORD my God that I have indeed arrived in the land the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest will then take the basket from you and place it before the LORD your God’s altar. 5 Then you should solemnly state before the LORD your God: “My father was a starving Aramean. He went down to Egypt, living as an immigrant there with few family members, but that is where he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. 6 The Egyptians treated us terribly, oppressing us and forcing hard labor on us. 7 So we cried out for help to the LORD, our ancestors’ God. The LORD heard our call. God saw our misery, our trouble, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with awesome power, and with signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land—a land full of milk and honey. 10 So now I am bringing the early produce of the fertile ground that you, LORD, have given me.” Set the produce before the LORD your God, bowing down before the LORD your God. 11 Then celebrate all the good things the LORD your God has done for you and your family—each one of you along with the Levites and the immigrants who are among you.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

It was not until 1957 that the Canadian Parliament declared the second Sunday of October as “a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” The day’s roots reach back, however, to rituals for a plentiful harvest among the First Nations;...

God of wanderers, we give you thanks not for what we have taken but for what we receive. Amen.


0 Comments
  • Share:

Save as Bookmark

Log In to leave a comment

Loading more

Citizenship in the Kingdom of God

Citizenship in the Kingdom of God

I have been involved in justice ministry since 1958. During that time, I have known dozens Read More

Related Resources

A Guide for Small Groups

View

Tips for Leaders of Small Groups

View

A Guide to Daily Prayer

View

How to Have a Daily Devotional Time

View

The Upper Room
1908 Grand Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212

Customer support:

800-972-0433

Contact The Upper Room

  • The Upper Room daily devotional
  • Store & Resource Library
  • Upper Room Books
  • Disciplines
  • The Prayer Wall
  • The Academy for Spiritual Formation
  • eLearning
  • The Walk to Emmaus
  • Face to Face
  • Chrysalis
  • Journey to the Table
  • Discovery Weekend
  • Sight Psalms
  • New Every Morning
  • About Us
  • Upper Room Ministries Blog
  • The Upper Room Chapel
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
© Copyright 2025 The Upper Room
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Help & Support

Log In to The Upper Room

Sign in with The Upper Room

or

Sign in with Facebook

Sign in with Apple

Don't have an account? Click here to create an account and sign in.