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Thanksgiving Day
All across America, people are preparing for Thanksgiving Day. In our modern times, some people are now calling it Turkey Day.
I have enjoyed a lot of those special days. It is good to set aside a day to remember all the reasons for being thankful. However, I believe that we should be thankful for every day God gives us.
Thank You, my God!
Psalms 100 NKJV guides us along the path of thanksgiving. It does not limit our thanks to one day and helps us focus on God’s many blessings. You might want to read it over several times.
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Daily, even moment by moment, our hearts should praise Him. We belong to Him and He is the One who made each of us.
It is the Lord our God who gives us each the breath we breathe. He is the One who gives us the ability to rejoice in a world that is ever-turning toward evil and destruction.
He provides all.
Paul admonishes us in Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV to, 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I get all excited when I read this Scripture. Be anxious for nothing! We are in the hands of our Holy God and can present all our needs to Him. What a great privilege it is to be able to talk to our Creator who is our Heavenly Father.
If we trust in Him we will be a peace in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” is ours to claim. Things will not always turn out the way we want them to, but we will have complete peace knowing that God is in control.
Give thanks in word and deed!
Everything we do in this time God has given us upon earth should be done with thanksgiving. He created us for a purpose and He uses us as we allow Him for that purpose. Scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:10 NKJV, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Paul also tells us in Colossians 3:17 NKJV, “17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
We have a job to do and as we do it we should be thankful.
Thanksgiving Day is every day when we come before the Lord and serve Him. When we do the good works God has prepared for us to do it should give us joy.
Thank Him even at the end!
Thankfulness is a lifetime expression of our love and dependence on God. Paul speaks often on us rejoicing in the Lord and yet he suffered many things at the hands of unbelievers.
Paul lists these hardships in serving Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NKJV, he says, “24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”
We do not have a record of what Paul said and did right before his execution. However, I can see him in my mind praising and thanking God for using him.
I am so thankful to God for all He has done in my life. Riches and fame are not part of my life, but joy unspeakable and peace of mind are always with me in Jesus.
Today and every day of my life is Thanksgiving Day!