THANKSGIVING
November 19, 2017
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This Thursday, November 23, 2017, we Americans will sit down to an abundant and delicious Thanksgiving Day meal. As we buy and prepare to set an abundant table upon what or upon whom will be our focus? For whom or what are we preparing this very special meal and gathering our loved (and perhaps some not so loved) ones? Is it just a day off, a long weekend, a chance to sleep in, a chance to have some of our favorite foods, a chance to gather our families and friends, an opportunity to watch games on TV, and drink beer or is there a transcendent idea, a reality beyond all of those things?
I think most, perhaps all, Americans know there is some connection between the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. It is difficult to pin down exactly when the first Thanksgiving occurred in American or in and among the colonies of the new world. The American Historian David Barton (a Christian) indicates there is evidence of a Thanksgiving celebration at Cape Henry, Virginia in 1607. The Thanksgiving celebrations depicted by the picture at the top of this article is of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts in 1621. This Thanksgiving occurred in spite of the fact that half of the colony had perished the preceding winter and the harvest for the winter of 1621-1622 was a meager one. David Barton writes that the Governor of the Plymouth Colony called a three-day festival which included times of thanks fo God, athletic competitions, fellowship, and food. The focus of the Thanksgiving Celebration is to give thanks to God, the food, the fellowship, and the games are all demonstrations of the goodness of God and a part of the reason to give thanks to the Almighty God. These folks circumstances were far from good yet they understood the importance of thanksgiving to God. Do we?
The Pilgrims that came to these shores to escape religious persecution were grateful for the freedoms of this land and later instituted a government that guaranteed those freedoms. They understood that none of this was possible without the help and oversight of the Almighty God. The authors of the insightful book “7 Tipping Points that Saved the World” point out that less than 5% of the people who have ever lived, lived in freedom. A large number of people on the earth at this moment do not have the freedoms we enjoy especially religious freedom. Just as the focus of these first Thanksgivings were focused on giving thanks to God so it has been down through the years. A review of American Presidential Thanksgiving Day Proclamations from the founding of our country have made the central figure of this special day, the Almighty God. For example this is a part of what President George Washington said on October 3, 1789. “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor – and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Wow! This is our heritage.
As we prepare for and gather this Thursday let us be sure our main focus and purpose is
to give thanks to God and by the celebration demonstrate His goodness in our lives. His goodness in our lives are our families, our friends, the various entertainments, and the abundance of good food. Let each of us purpose in our hearts this Thanksgiving Day to focus on the Almighty God. Enjoy all of the other with full recognition that it is only possible because of Him. Let us not make the food, the family, 
the friends, the desserts and drinks, or the games our gods but be clear that all of those are possible because of a merciful God who enjoys our abundance. When we study the full counsel of Scripture we find that thanksgiving is essential to our relationship with the Almighty God, our Lord and Savior, and the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Like the Pilgrims we can give thanks in all things, for all things, because none of those things move us knowing that in Him we reign as conquering kings in the earth for His glory.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Ephesians 5:20 (KJV)
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Romans 8:37 (KJV)
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Romans 5:17 (AMP)
17 For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
HAPPY THANKSGIVING BY ALL!!
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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