THANKSGIVING IS UPON US

“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.” Psalm 95:1-3 NASB.

The year is quickly disappearing. We have less than two months before Christmas and little more than that before the year is just another chapter in history.

Thanksgiving was set aside as a day to thank God for His grace and blessings to this nation. Even my Webster’s defines ‘Thanksgiving Day’ as, “the day each year for praising God for His mercies.” As a nation, we like the day off work and we may be anxiously awaiting the best ‘football’ for the day. In the meanwhile, any thoughts of God are generally left out. Isn’t it interesting that it was originally a day set aside by our nation’s leaders to ‘thank God’, but now we dare not mention His Name? We can’t mix that ‘state and religion’ thing.

As Christians, we too, can get caught up in the dynamics of the day without taking the time to remember why the day was set aside. If you are anything like me, you know how much you have to give God the glory for. My short list includes, my wife, who is the love of my life. My children and their spouses, who all make me very proud. My grandchildren, who bring me joy and have given to me many fond memories. The people who make up both my extended family and Marilyn’s. The people of the church which I am privileged to serve. They are the some of the most special people in this world. I could go on and on, but I said this was the short list. But, I can’t stop without speaking of the gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9 NASB. I thank God for saving my soul. I thank Him for reaching down to capture my heart for His glory. As we can clearly see from the above verse, there is nothing that can be done to earn our salvation. God intends it that way so no one arriving in heaven can brag about how they got there. We are all going to recite the same thing, “I am here by the grace of God.” While you can’t earn it, you must receive it. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His Name.” NASB. If you have never received Christ as your personal Savior, why not make this your best Thanksgiving ever by doing so? If you do know Him as Savior, why not pause for a time between football and turkey to thank God for all the wonderful things He has done, and is doing, in your life. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High: to declare Your loving kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night.” Psalm 92:1,2 NASB.