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LET US BE THANKFUL Life is always busy, but preparing for Thanksgiving Day can be a real undoing! Cooking, cleaning, shopping, decorating, and possibly traveling can sometimes make Thanksgiving too busy to enjoy. Perhaps you didn't know that the first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 Pilgrims and 90 Indians. Whoa! Thank God for just Thursday. Personally, I love Thanksgiving. It's a chance to get to see family and friends, eat some great food, and do some remembering together. In Psalm 78, God said He made a law in Israel that the fathers must teach their children to the fifth generation that they might have hope in God. Teach them what? His ways, His works, and His commandments. Remembering the goodness of God puts hope into your heart. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but faith is the substance of things hoped for. Thanksgiving is a powerful weapon in the kingdom of God. God is attracted to thanksgiving. He inhabits the praises of His people. One of the twenty-two kinds of people we are warned to avoid in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is the unthankful. When we approach God we are to always be thankful. Philippians 4:6 (NKJ) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. It is important to set aside time to be thankful to God. To be thankful for His mercy, His grace, His provision, protection, the leading of His Spirit, for divine guidance, and favor. It's also important to be thankful for our salvation, eternal life, and the ability to hear and obey His voice. Be thankful that He will never leave nor forsake us. The list of things to be thankful for is endless. Psalm 100:2-5 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves, We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 103:1-5 Bless the Lord O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Let's take some time and be thankful. God loves it! God Bless, Joe McGee Click here Joe's Newsletter Archives for past articles by Joe McGee. |
