PEA RIDGE — What is Thanksgiving and is it important? You might ask, “Does God mention it more than a couple of times in His Word?” Well, here are just a few of His comments!!
Leviticus 22:29: “And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will.”
Nehemiah 12:40: “ So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me.”
Psalms 69:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
Psalms 95:2: “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”
Psalms 11:4: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courtswith praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
We know the book of Psalms is filled with thanksgiving, so then let’s look to the New Testament for more thanksgivings.
Philippians 4:6: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Colossians 4:2: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”
And, finally, Revelation 7:12 says: “Amen! Blessingand glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
Look around and see what great things God has done for you. Here is a short list to get you started.
Be thankful for the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, the rest God gives to the weary, an abundance of natural resources, being able to laugh when a runaway sprinkler attacks you and wins, washing machines, generators, having all the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle, lined boots, finding the cap left on the toothpaste tube, finding the perfect parking spot, syrup for your waffles, pictures to share, leaves to rake and plunge into after they are all in neat little piles on your lawn, a friend who listens, understands, prays with you and speaks truth,and, oh, so much more.
Thanksgiving ought to be a part of our every day life. Perhaps Americans ought to be thankful for the freedoms that we have left.
Thanksgiving causes us to stop, look, listen and think about those freedoms.
Thanksgiving is essential to our well-being.
Church, Pages 2 on 11/04/2009