Wednesday, November
27, 2013
As
Children of God, we should practice Thanksliving Daily! I sometimes cannot remember, at the end of
the day, how many times and for what I have said ‘Thank you LORD.” Be sure it
is part of your daily thinking! Did you
notice the spelling? Did you know this is an extremely rare event that Thanksgiving
and Hanukkah fall on the same day? The last time this happened (say some)
Thanksgiving had not yet been recognized as a Holiday. Because of the
difference in our calendar and the lunar calendar - the projection for this to happen
again is not in this century!
"And do not get drunk with wine, for
that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another is
psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your
heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Ephesians. 5:18-20).
Hey
gang: It is my sincere opinion that designating a day called ‘Thanksgiving’
is, in reallly for those who are non-believers in the goodness of Jesus
Christ. Why do I say that? Because Paul teaches us, in I
Thessalonian's 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.” In other words, thanksgiving should
not be a special day, but an on-going lifestyle for believers –Thanksliving”.
I have good news for you, there is never a day goes by that God does not bless
us in some way!
Let me
put some meat on that statement. We recently spent a month volunteering
at Voice of Martyrs in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We had one week left on our
commitment, but all and we finished our task a week early, so we packed up and headed
home. In packing I placed a notebook that contained financial records for
the past ten years in the bottom of a box, without thinking.
Later I
needed something from the notebook, and I could not find it anywhere. We
frantically looked in every nook and cranny with no success. We even
called the motel in Branson, Missouri, where we had stayed during Veteran’s
Week, but it was not there either. My nerves were rapidly becoming
frazzled.
My
prayer was very simple and to the point, "Lord, I do not need this
frustration at this time.” Later that day we headed to town for a dinner
engagement and, as I pulled out of the driveway, I heard a noise in the back of
the car. When I checked, the box that contained the notebook, along with other
materials, fell over and opened! Now wasn't that lucky? No way,
Hosea!
Several
years ago, I was pulling our RV home from a weekend in the woods. We were on a
back road, doing around fifty miles an hour, when a car pulled out of a
driveway about five hundred feet in front of us. Corrective action
prevented my hitting the car, but shortly after that the driver slammed on the
breaks and began a left turn off the roadway! There was no way in the
world I was going to keep from plowing into the car, but somehow, not only
did I not hit the car, but did not shake up the contents of the coach!
I think
about that incident each time I drive by that spot and thank God, again, for
what He did that day. Have you ever taken the time to sit down and make a
listing of the times God blessed you with a very special blessing? Have
you ever considered the times He may have saved your life and you knew nothing about
it? Are you one who tends to use the phrase, “Boy that was lucky”? (Try saying “Thank you LORD.)
If the
will of God in Christ Jesus is to give thanks to God in everything, every
believer should know why we should give thanks and be grateful at all times.
Gratitude is a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation for everything that
Almighty God is doing in our daily life.
Soooo,
young colleagues, may I suggest that sometime - in the leisure of your
Thanksgiving celebration- take your Bible and concordance and do a word study
on thanksgiving and gratitude. You will find many such references in both
Old and New Covenants, for it is God’s will.
George Washington’s First Thanksgiving Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His
protection aid and favors…
Now, therefore, I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of
November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of
that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good
that was, that is, or that will be that we may them all unite in rendering unto
Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind of care and protection of the
people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which He has
been pleased to confer upon us.
Blessings
this Thanksgiving day, and again in
2022!
Gramps
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