Thanksgiving

Psalm 95: 1-6 O Come, let us sing unto the Lord let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with THANKSGIVING, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great king above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us WORSHIP and BOW DOWN: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. ~

Thanksgiving: in America is a day we gather with family and friends to fellowship together around the dinner table, usually its the one day a year we set aside to list off what we are thankful for, some of us even recount the history of why we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Then the very next day on"Black Friday" we rush out long before the sun is ready to rise, to stand in lines outside of stores, to fight our way through the masses, to gain the coveted items on our Christmas shopping lists. One day its give thanks and the next its got to have more. Its a sad reality for America, a reality that does not reflect well upon our nation's character.

I know it's so easy to get caught up in life, things to do, places to go, people to see... A whole day, week, month, year could go by without us stopping to think of the many daily things God has blessed us with. The fact that today I woke up and took a breath is reason enough for thanksgiving. And then add on that I have a place to live, an abundance of things (from clothes, to books, to everything else in between), that I do not want for food, that I have a family who loves me, and most important of all I have life and salvation in Jesus Christ. In light of all of it I have something to praise and be thankful for every minute of every day! But is this the case?

I submit to you a cause for hope, whether or not you found yourself in a state of thanksgiving today does not mean that this very moment going forward you cannot be thankful and cultivate a heart of thanksgiving! Think on the many benefits of Jesus Christ. Start with the simplest, I have life! I am breathing! I have a Savior! There is a God, who has made Himself near to us! I am amazed at how fast the list can grow.

As for our nation the same manner of thinking applies. I know that at the moment we seem to be caught in a downward spiral moving farther and farther away from our roots, from the  very God of the Universe who for years upon years has blessed us abundantly, but that does not mean from this moment hence that cannot change! How? 2 Chronicles 7:14 says If My people, which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Let us pray for restoration! And in our own lives let us seek not to be like the world, but transformed and far different, a peculiar people, light and salt, those who love God's commands and follow hard after Him! What a mighty God we have, may we rejoice in Him alone!



Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindeness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles...!