1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (NRSV)
Read 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Verse 10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.
Verse 11Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. Verse 12And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. Verse 13And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Devotion
Tonight on Thanksgiving Eve, many of us will gather to worship. It is a special time in our lives as families come together for a holiday. We are joined together as a community of faith and as a nation.
We are also approaching the day of the Great Thanksgiving when the Lord will gather us into his harvest. There will we give eternal thanksgiving in his presence forever with all the saints. There we will experience perfect love for God and one another in unblemished holiness. This is the great hope that the Spirit keeps alive in our hearts
Now we see through a glass darkly and have joy that is marred with sorrow. Then the Advent of our Lord comes. He will turn faith into sight and thanksgiving will hold us in awe forever.
Prayer
Gracious God, establish us firmly in your kingdom now, that we may be joined with all your saints forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.