Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and it is going to be a great day with family. This season is full of activities, food and fun. I make sure that it also a time of giving thanks around the table before our big Thanksgiving Day meal. That is good and ought to happen but my emphasis today is making the giving of thanks an everyday occurrence. I put forth a challenge to my church and facebook friends to give thanks to the Lord about something everyday this month through Thanksgiving Day. The other challenge was to try to give thanks about something different everyday as well. It has been heart warming to see all the posts on facebook and to rejoice with them concerning the goodness of the Lord working in their lives. God truly has been good unto us and He is worthy of all our praise, thanks and worship. The challenge that we all have in this area of giving thanks is to make it our full time job. What I mean here is to be aware that the giving of thanks was never meant to be a one day occurrence or even a once a week occurrence but a character of the heart that shines forth thanks all the time. There are many things that can hinder that in becoming a reality but it is very clear as well in the Bible that this is to be the character of every follower of Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". Ephesians 5:20 "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". I am not going to focus on the hindrances but upon just two things these two verses focus on in the giving of thanks. First, we are to give thanks all the time. This means many times throughout our daily lives. The ability to do this will be completely connected to our outlook on life which in the area of giving thanks is the not only the desire but the ability to see the good and to God working all things out for our good. Let's remember that God is for us not against us. Second, the giving of thanks is concerning everything all the time. This is not always easy for us because there are time that bad things happen to godly people. The only way for a person to do this on a consistent basis is to keep their eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. When our eyes are on our circumstances then they cannot be on Jesus Christ at the same time. Wandering eyes for many can hinder that giving of thanks. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. Jesus is our source and strength. When we keep our eyes on Jesus the flow of thanks will become greater.
May the Lord bless your Thanksgiving Day with family.
Pastor John
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