Having a National Holiday of thanksgiving this past week was a time to give thanks to God for all our blessings. Both the Early Colonists in Massachusetts and Virginia had a feast to celebrate the blessings God had given them in a new land and this is the inspiration for our National Holiday.
With more and more people turning away from God, and they have no one to give thanks to, will Thanksgiving disappear? Will the courts of a Pagan Nation rule that Thanksgiving is unconstitutional because it is a celebration of a religious practice? Will the majority of Americans become non believers and demand that Religious Holidays be banned. The trends are pointing toward an eventual majority of the people becomming non believers.
Showing thanks or gratitide was important to Jesus. Luke Chapter 17 tells of an incident when ten lepers stood away from Jesus and begged him for mercy. Jesus told them to show themselves to the Priest and on the way they were cleansed. One turned back after discovering he was healed and glorified God and at the feet of Jesus gave thanks. Jesus said, ” were not ten cleansed, but where are the other nine”‘? Paul the apostle in his letter to the Ephesians, Eph. 5:20 taught them to be “giving thanks for all things unto God in the name of Christ” .
God will bless a thankful people and withhold blessings from the ungreatful. Condider the Children of Israel when God decided to finally free them from bondage to the Egyptians and restore them to the promised land. Instead of showing gratitude to the lord they rebelled against Moses and the Lord. Because of this the Lord confined them to the dessert for years.Finanally when the Lord allowed the Israelites to enter the Promised Land there were only two men he felt were worthy to enter, Joshua and Caleb. All the rest of the Isaraelites originally freed had died in the desert and weren’t able to go with their thankful and obedient decendants to the promised land.
How do we show gratitude? Do you know people who are always complaining? Have you helped someone who them complained about what you didn’t do for them? In constrast do you know people who are always appreciative when you help them and express that to you. Do you know people who have a positive attitude and if things go bad they expect a better day tomorrow? Which ones would rather spend time with?
Some people keep a “Gratitude Journal” and write down things they are grateful for on a regular basis. What a splendid idea to focus on the things that go well rather than things that go wrong. We knew a woman who was a teacher of indifferent teen age boys . If ever there was an opportunity to focus on the negative this was it. This woman’s husband asked her this question at the dinner table every night. What is the best thing that happened to you today? That forced her to look for “rainbows” every day because she knew the question was coming. Her focus was on the positive rather tlhan the negative. And guess what? She loved her job. And guess what else? She rarely had a time when she did not have a great experience.
How often do you express appreciation for someone close to you such as a family member? Do you know anyone who doesn’t need to know they are appreciated? When is the last time you told your spouse or child you love them? If it isn’t daily you are failing miserably.
Are there people in your past that have made a big impact on your life? Did you thank them? If not, why not now? Is there something that your parents taught you or did for you that meant a lot to you that you haven’
t thanked them for? Have you thanked God for talents you have or other blessings he has given you? When you express gratitude to God and obey his commandments he will give you greater blessings.
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