Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 22:3; Psalm 91; 2 Peter 3:1
Lately I’ve been thinking more and more about thanksgiving — about having an attitude of thanks. We’ve heard a lot on this subject before, but it’s so important that it bears repeating. The apostle Peter sought to “stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance” (2 Peter 3:1). I, too, would like to stir up your pure mind today because I believe this devotional will really encourage you!
There is power in taking our eyes off everything that’s not right in our lives — things that aren’t exactly like we want them to be or that didn’t turn out the way we’d planned. There’s a certain inner strength that comes when we turn our focus from what we don’t have and actively focus on what we do have — for example, the bed we lie on to sleep, the house or apartment that protects us from the elements, the food we eat, our families, a mother or father who is still alive and well, etc.
When we think about it, there’s so much in life to be thankful for. And once we start thanking God and acknowledging Him for what we already have, we completely move into the arena of faith to receive even more from Him. We step out of that place of struggling and striving where we’re trying to figure out everything on our own. Instead, we find ourselves resting under the shadow of the Almighty where the devil cannot touch us (see Ps. 91:1,10) — all because we’re thankful to God!
Denise Renner is a mentor to women, an author, and a classically trained vocalist. Alongside her husband Rick Renner, Denise spent more than a decade ministering in the U.S. before moving in 1991 with their young family to the former Soviet Union where they began their international ministry.
Since that time, Rick and Denise have proclaimed the Gospel throughout the vast region of the former USSR, including Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia where they founded churches that are thriving to this day. With television, satellite, and Internet platforms combined, the ministry of Rick and Denise reaches a potential audience in the millions in both hemispheres of the world.
Denise resides in Moscow with her husband Rick, where they remain involved in the daily life and ministry of the Moscow Good News Church which they founded, a congregation that continues to grow and impact Russia’s capital city for Jesus. In the Moscow church, Denise directs a large women’s ministry, mentoring and training hundreds of women in her marriage seminars. Each year she also ministers to hundreds more at her large annual event in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Whether in historic concert halls, local churches, or conference rooms, Denise still regularly ministers in music, using her remarkably gifted voice to bring Christ’s burden-destroying anointing to those in need of His touch.