Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly wants to meet President Trump “as soon as possible,” possibly over Thanksgiving, to finalize a joint US–Ukrainian peace agreement. The primary gap to be bridged is apparently over territory: the current twenty-eight-point US proposal concedes additional land to Russia beyond what it already controls.

The US argument is that the current trajectory of the war suggests Ukraine would eventually lose the territory anyway. White House officials stress that Mr. Trump’s primary goal is to end the war, no matter what the peace deal ultimately looks like.

Such an approach is often termed Realpolitik, a German word meaning “politics of reality.” Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was a foremost proponent, urging the US to engage with other powerful nations in a practical manner rather than on the basis of political doctrine or ethics. He famously stated, “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.”

In this view, advancing these interests is the job of a nation’s leaders, whatever ethical compromises must be made along the way. As the political philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah noted, “A value is like a fax machine. It’s not much use if you’re the only one who has one.”

Aren’t you glad God doesn’t feel the same way?

Reflecting on a staggering reality

The psalmist declared, “Give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). He did not claim that God “does” good but that he “is” good. His “steadfast love” (translating the Hebrew hesed, meaning “unconditional and unchanging kindness”) “endures forever,” meaning that it will eternally be what it is right now.

This is because “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and God does not change (Malachi 3:6). If the Supreme Being did, he would be less than Supreme and thus less than God.

Paul similarly reminds us that “God is for us” (Romans 8:31). Max Lucado comments:

Not may be, not has been, not was, but God is! He is for you. Today. At this hour. At this minute. As you [read] this, he is with you. God is for you (his emphasis).

Take a moment to reflect on the staggering reality that the King of the universe, the Creator of all the cosmos, the Lord of time and eternity “is for you” right now.

“A good that is forever giving”

No wonder the Bible commands us to continually “give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ,” to “offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14), to “magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30), and to give thanks “always and for everything to God” (Ephesians 5:20, my emphasis). No wonder those in heaven will spend eternity giving thanks to the Lord we worship (Revelation 4:9; 7:11–12; 11:17).

And no wonder we are called to “give thanks in all circumstances” on earth as well (1 Thessalonians 5:18; cf. Hebrews 13:15).

The Bible teaches that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). In response, St. Augustine asked:

What do we love? A good that words cannot describe, a good that is forever giving, a good that is the Creator of all good. Delight in him from whom you have received everything that delights you. But in that I do not include sin, for sin is the one thing that you do not receive from him. With that one exception, everything you have comes from him.

How will you respond tomorrow to those who prepare your Thanksgiving meal? What will you say to those who give you gifts this Christmas? Is thanking those who are kind to us not instinctive?

How much more should we instinctively live a lifestyle of thanksgiving with an attitude of gratitude toward our Father?

If we don’t, why don’t we?

Why I thank someone for something

I cannot speak for you, but I can be honest about my own heart.

When I thank someone for something, I am acting in response to their benevolence. I am admitting that they have offered me grace (defined theologically as “unmerited favor”). They have given me something I did not have but am glad to receive.

In that moment, they were in a sense my superior and I was their inferior. Consequently, I want to express my gratitude as a way of paying my debt and thus leveling the scales of merit.

Here’s the problem: My fallen “will to power” does not want to live in perpetual debt to anyone, even (and sometimes especially) to God. I want to be my own god (Genesis 3:5), the king of my own kingdom. I am happy to give to others and be thanked, but I am less happy to receive as a pauper before a prince, a beggar at the gate of the king.

But this is the reality of my status before an omnipotent God. The good news is, it is also just the posture required to experience his best.

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies”

Jesus paradoxically asserted, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). This is the first Beatitude, the first foundation stone for the Sermon on the Mount and the Christian life it teaches. Our Lord’s words can be paraphrased, “Blessed are those who are spiritually destitute and starving in their souls, for they make God their king and experience life in his kingdom.”

As a fallen human, I submit to God to the degree that I recognize my need for what he alone can provide. But the fact is, I need his best in every dimension of my life, every day. I need his wisdom for every decision, his strength for every trial, his joy for every moment.

So, if I live a lifestyle of thanksgiving with a posture of gratitude to God, I position myself to receive all that my loving Father wants for me. And my changed life will glorify him and lead others to him.

In this sense, Robert Louis Stevenson was more right than he may have known when he advised,

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.”

How awake is your soul today?

Quote for the day:

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” —Cicero

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“Signs of a true revival have been piling up lately”

As we focus on gratitude this Thanksgiving week, let’s consider a recent article in the Atlantic that offers surprising encouragement about evangelical Christianity. Spencer Kornhaber reports:

Signs of a true revival have been piling up lately. After years of decline, church attendance has leveled and might even be climbing. TikTok brims with “Christiancore” aesthetics and tradwives. An administration whose Millennial vice president converted to Catholicism just six years ago is pushing explicitly theological policy crusades. And the musical middle has gone megachurchy, filling the Billboard Hot 100 with country-tinged redemption tales and actual worship songs.

The rest of the article focuses on a new album by Rosalía, a singer Kornhaber describes as a “Catalan superstar.” In the album, she “adopts the sound and ambitions of a classical oratorio to mirror the modern quest for salvation, in all its thrilling and frustrating contours.”

Kornhaber writes: “The question of what we believe about our souls and what that belief demands is more serious than lifestyle fads or partisan politics allow for.” I completely agree. However, he then concludes: “Embracing that search, Rosalía preaches, can be as significant as having an answer” (my emphasis).

This is an assertion we need to discuss today, for reasons that far transcend the article that asserts it.

Science documents positive effects of religion

In Why We Believe: Finding Meaning in Uncertain Times, Oxford theologian Alister McGrath cites evidence that the “act of believing” confers significant benefits such as “giving structure to life, providing reassurance, reducing anxiety, and facilitating social integration.”

This is good news, since we are believers by nature. The Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith writes:

All human beings are believers, not knowers who know with certitude. Everything we know is grounded on presupposed beliefs that cannot be verified with more fundamental proof or certainty that provides us assurance that they are true. This is just as true for atheists as for religious adherents. . . . There is no universal, rational foundation upon which indubitably certain knowledge can be built. All human knowing is built on believing. That is the human condition.

However, when we practice our beliefs through religious activities such as prayer, Bible study, worship, and other spiritual disciplines, we seem to experience especially noteworthy benefits. For years, scientific research has documented the positive effects of religious observance. From mental health and social stability to charitable giving, civic engagement, and overall wellness, the pattern is clear: engaging in religious practices is good for us.

So we can be thankful for the increase in religiosity Spencer Kornhaber and many others are reporting these days. As he notes, “Embracing [the] search” for spiritual meaning produces significant benefits.

But can these benefits be “as significant as having an answer”?

Drenched on my morning walk

I went for my early morning walk yesterday, ninety minutes before rain was predicted to begin in our area. Ten minutes later, it started to rain; by the time I made it back home, I was drenched.

The thought occurred to me: Humans are better at predicting and controlling what we create than what we do not. Mechanics can predict the performance of cars more effectively than meteorologists can predict the weather because people make cars but God makes nature. Doctors can do much to treat the diseases of bodies made by our Creator, but medical science ultimately cannot prevent death—only God can.

There are clear benefits to the practice of religion, just as there are benefits to walking in nature or visiting an art gallery. Similarly, an attitude of gratitude lowers the stress hormone cortisol and increases “feel-good” hormones like dopamine and serotonin.

But the greatest benefit of thanksgiving, like the greatest benefit of religious practice, comes not from the act but from its object.

When we can “do all things”

Paul assured us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, my emphasis). Notice that the apostle did not say “in the church” or “in Bible study.” His Greek phrase, translated “in Christ,” means “located within or connected directly to Christ.”

The Bible is a sacred book (2 Peter 1:21), but it is a means to the end of knowing its Author personally (John 20:30–31). Worship is transforming to the degree that we focus our hearts on an Audience of One and are awed by him (cf. Isaiah 6:1–8).

As we noted yesterday, our ultimate purpose in life is becoming like Christ (cf. Romans 8:29). However, the power to know him in a transforming way is found not in us but in him. He alone has the ability to defeat our temptations, pardon our sins, heal our deepest hurts, and empower our faithful service.

When we seek to know the living Lord Jesus intimately, he makes us like himself and continues his ministry in the world through us. As Paul testified, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV, my emphasis).

But only then.

Warren Buffett’s farewell advice

The famed investor Warren Buffett is retiring at year’s end and recently wrote his farewell letter to shareholders. In it he advised:

“Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.”

I want mine to say, “He lived to know Christ and make him known.”

What do you want yours to say?

Quote for the day:

“Study to know Christ more and more, for the more you know, the more you will love him.” —George Whitefield

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What do these surprising political headlines from the weekend have in common?

• “Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene to quit Congress after Epstein files feud”
• “Trump pivots from bashing Mamdani, predicting he will ‘do a great job’ as mayor”
• “Supreme Court, for now, keeps in place Texas Republican-friendly congressional map”
• “Orthodox Church pews are overflowing with converts”

In each case, you have to be grateful for what is being reported to experience the news as good news. If you’re not a fan of Mr. Trump or Ms. Greene, if you don’t find New York City or Texas state politics relevant, or if you’re not interested in the cultural narrative illustrated by the Orthodox Church’s rising popularity, you won’t click on the links.

Here’s why this theme matters this Thanksgiving week and every week.

How God treated my migraine in Cuba

Gratitude is the pathway to flourishing. It’s not enough to have the resources necessary for happiness—we must be grateful for these resources to experience their full benefit.

Consider a mundane illustration: My wife sent me to our bank the other day to draw out some cash from the ATM. The machine asked how much I wanted. I asked the screen what the maximum amount was. It told me $800, so I asked for that amount. It then canceled my transaction. When I went inside the bank to see what had gone wrong, I was informed that $500 is the maximum amount you can withdraw, a fact lost on the ATM’s messaging system.

I was frustrated by this technological snafu, but I had been contemplating today’s theme for a few days and remembered it in that moment. I therefore made myself express gratitude for a bank that holds our money, ATM technology that dispenses it, and enough money to be able to withdraw what we needed.

My friends in Cuba would not share my frustration. A recent article in the Economist profiles the ongoing crisis gripping their island nation: electricity usually does not work, and water is often unavailable for drinking, cooking, washing, or even flushing a toilet. According to one study, 89 percent of Cuban families live in extreme poverty; only 3 percent can get the medicine they need at pharmacies.

Over my many preaching trips to the island, however, I have seen Cuban Christians adapt to their challenges. Without electricity, they open the windows of their worship centers and praise God by sunlight and candlelight. Without government support, they grow their own food and share it with each other. Without medicines, they pray for healing.

During one of my trips, I developed a migraine headache one evening. There was no aspirin or other medicine to be found, so the pastor brought an elderly member of his church to see me in my hotel room. “Brother Ben” anointed my forehead with oil and prayed for me, and my headache vanished.

Our Cuban sisters and brothers have taken to heart the biblical command, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Their gratitude helps them identify God’s blessings and then enables them to experience his gifts personally.

Displacing bad behavior with good behavior

This principle is rooted in basic human nature.

Many years ago, an article by the New York Times columnist David Brooks explained our theme. According to Brooks, “There’s a trove of research suggesting that it’s best to tackle negative behaviors obliquely, by redirecting attention toward different, positive ones.” He added, “Don’t try to bludgeon bad behavior. Change the underlying context. Change the behavior triggers. Displace bad behavior with different good behavior.”

In other words, when we are frustrated, disappointed, or otherwise challenged, choose to “give thanks in all circumstances.” Look for a reason to be grateful even in the midst of disappointment or pain.

You may be in the hospital, but you can be grateful that hospitals exist and that you are receiving medical care. You might be grieving the end of your marriage, but you can look for whatever good came from your relationship and be thankful for it. You could be facing your first Thanksgiving without a loved one, but you can remember wonderful times together and focus on the fact that every day is Thanksgiving for those who dwell in God’s glorious paradise.

When we do this, we experience more than the pleasurable emotions resulting from the dopamine and serotonin released in our brains by gratitude: we position ourselves to experience personally the blessings we remember.

“Changed” or “exchanged”?

This principle applies most of all to our ultimate purpose in life. Oswald Chambers observed, “The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of himself, the Holy One, by putting into me a new disposition, the disposition of Jesus Christ.”

Being “born again” is therefore not just metaphorical but real (John 3:3). Jesus remakes us as God’s children (John 1:12) and infuses us with his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). When we mentally replace our fallen nature with his perfection, seeking to manifest his character and continue his earthly ministry, his Spirit does something mystical and even miraculous in us.

Watchman Nee was right: “We think of the Christian life as a ‘changed life,’ but it is not that. What God offers us is an ‘exchanged life,’ a ‘substituted life,’ and Christ is our Substitute within.”

Remember the impact Jesus made in his incarnation. Now imagine his impact through yours.

Our omnipotent Lord cannot be Lord of our lives without changing our lives (cf. Acts 4:13). However, as Tim Keller noted,

“If God is not at the center of your life, something else is.”

Would those who know you say God is at the “center of your life” today?

If not, why not?

Quote for the day:

“Outside Christ, I am empty. In Christ, I am full.” —Watchman Nee

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