November, 2007
by Pastor Dave Speicher

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln established a national holiday in the United States as “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” For centuries, people in various countries have held harvest festivals to celebrate the production of food from the land and the blessing of life. In our nation, Thanksgiving Day was specifically established as an opportunity to give thanks to Almighty God because the Bible tells us He is the source of all of our blessings and provisions. Richard Cohen, a Washington Post columnist, on one occasion indicated that he thinks most holidays have been corrupted by commercialism, but that Thanksgiving Day has retained its intended purpose. He said, “This is a very rare day. It is wholly and entirely about gratitude.”

No matter what others do, as Christ followers, we have the privilege and responsibility of extending the spirit of thankfulness to every day of the year. Ephesians 5:19-20 says “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ALWAYS giving thanks to God the Father…” Colossians 2:6-7 tells us to continue to live in Christ, to be strengthened in the faith, and to be “overflowing with thankfulness.” The Apostle Paul goes on to say in Colossians 3:17 that “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING THANKS to God the Father through Him.” Why would the Apostle Paul urge his readers to be giving thanks so much and how can we do that? We can do that because of what God has done for us as indicated in Colossians 1:12-14 which says we give thanks to the Father because we “…share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He (that is God through Jesus) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” That’s enough reason to give thanks ALWAYS, isn’t it? PRAISE GOD for His incredible salvation and gift of eternal life. The chorus “Give Thanks” has been around for a long time, but it is still a great chorus that reminds us to:

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now let the weak say, “I am strong.” Let the poor say, “I am rich,”
Because of what the Lord has done for us.
And now let the weak say, “I am strong.” Let the poor say, “I am rich,”
Because of what the Lord has done for us.
GIVE THANKS!

Are you singing it yet? I hope so… and I trust you will let God give you a spirit of thankfulness that will cause you to overflow with gratitude each day as you live for Jesus. As we let a spirit of gratitude be developed in us daily we then have a stronger desire to do whatever we can to help others experience the forgiveness of Christ so they can be rescued from the dominion of darkness and be brought into the of kingdom of Light. While you are daily giving thanks to God for His blessings would you also consider praying about doing something in a tangible way to help people around the world find out about Jesus? You can do that by giving to World Mission Evangelism through the Thanksgiving Offering to be taken on Sunday November 18. What you give for Missions in the Thanksgiving Offering goes to help support our 700+ missionaries who are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ in 150 nations around the world. You will be blessed as you give! Have a wonderful November giving thanks to God!! I look forward to our times of worship and rejoicing in the Lord each Sunday.