“Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:12-14
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” - 1 Chronicles 16:34
“Historically, Thanksgiving had roots in religious and cultural tradition. Today, Thanksgiving is primarily celebrated as a secular holiday.” – Wikipedia entry under the word Thanksgiving.
If we are to believe this Wikipedia entry, we no longer thank God for our many blessings. Now I’m assuming the above statement wouldn’t apply to bone fide Christians, but who knows. Christians are susceptible to the secularization process just like anyone else.
So why should we thank God on Thanksgiving in particular and every other day of our lives as well? Because He is the creator of all things, is in all things and above all things; because He gave us life; because if we have allowed Him to be so in our own lives, He is our ruler and giver of strength and power. All financial blessing and honor come from God and not from anything we ourselves have done. We have a free will to believe or disbelieve that. We can do as we choose. With each decision we make comes consequences. We can embrace the forgiveness God has bought for us through His own Son or we can turn away from it. It is our choice. His blessings await those who embrace what millions of people consider to be the truth. His wrath awaits all others. It’s the way of things. We truly must break away from the whole idea that it is all about us, because nothing could be further from the truth. It is about God and others. We come somewhere down the line.
Being thankful is being grateful. We are grateful for all the things we have and the associations we have made and the good health we have. Are we grateful for the salvation God has wrought? Are we grateful for the mercy and grace He has displayed toward us? We should be. I can honestly say that nary a day goes by that I am not both baffled and grateful for the incredible love and patience God has shown to me throughout my life. In spite of my own stupidity and lack of good judgment, He loves me … without condition. That is unbelievable to me. Perhaps because nothing side of heaven even comes close to the love and patience God shows any of us. I have nothing to compare it to. But it feels good. I am blessed and I know it. So are you, especially if you have a personal, life-altering relationship with God. Have a very happy, healthy, blessed Thanksgiving!
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
