A Thankful Heart at Thanksgiving

 

We are coming up to the Thanksgiving Holiday, and like so many of our American holidays we have forgotten the reason of the celebration. Christmas has turned into a big commercialized mess which has totally forsaken the Lord Jesus Christ, and Easter is no exception. Speaking of Thanksgiving, when this holiday began the Pilgrims used it as a opportunity to show thankfulness to God, family, fellow workers etc. They did this right after the harvest season to show their thankfulness for the blessings and provisions of God.

Today we do get together with our families, prepare a wonderful meal and have a great time of fellowship. It’s wonderful, but think about when this holiday began, I believe that the early settlers where truly more thankful then we are today. The pilgrims labored in the field to bring in a harvest. They had just found religious freedom, and they knew that only by the grace of God they had made it thru another season. With all that said, lets look at our lifestyle today; often we take so many things for granted that we forget to be thankful. You have shelter a home. You may think, “Well, I worked hard. I saved, I established a good credit rating, and I deserve this because of my hard work and my intelligence.” Congratulations! You think like the rest of America. Have you considered the person who doesn’t have a job? You might reply with, “I have a good education and I know how to work the job market. I’m just little ahead of the game.” You are not thankful; you are full of pride. Do you realize that there are people that have a higher education than you do who are out of work? I mentioned above about shelter. I knew a very wealthy family from Romania. They had a home that could be considered to be a mansion. One day the Russian army came and took his home, land and all the families’ possessions. He told me that he could remember walking out the door with one suit case in hand, and looking back over his shoulder, taking a final look as he was being pushed out of his home by the barrel of a rifle. I’m sure that he was proud when he sat in his big home with his heat and air. But one day it was gone. You may think you’re proud to be an American-living in a free country where that doesn’t happen. I could share many stories of Americans that have lost their lands and possessions by the power of the government.

A story comes to mind that took place on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia’s city limits. There was an elderly couple that had a little farm. This farm had been in the family for generations. It meant more to this man than the expansion of a metropolitan city. He refused to sell, but as the city annexed the area that he was in, they changed the property taxes and soon the elderly couple could not pay the land taxes. They lost their property to the Government. That is no different than being pushed out of your home at gun point. You might say, “Well, that’s progress! Some lose and some gain.” You can reason it out any way you like, but the Bible teaches us that if there is a dame in the nest with babies when you’re clearing the land not to cut that tree until the babies are gone. What do you think that God would say of a Government that pushes elderly from their nest? You might be wondering what does that have to do with Thanksgiving or being thankful? Well, I’m just saying you may have a deed to your property, but the Bible says that He can take a nation down in a day. Sometimes we take things for granted, and we don’t show thankfulness because we have them and they are ours and we earned it. We are not truly thankful. You come home to electricity, running water, heat and air conditioning thinking, I’ve earned it and I deserve it. You are unthankful. I have gone one mile across the international border of Mexico. I’ve helped little families that didn’t have jobs, homes or what you would consider to be everyday necessities. I went into some of the more fortunate areas there where folks had a home made of shipping pallets and cardboard boxes. I witnessed thankfulness to receive a few days supply of food. I sat in their one room homes where they didn’t have running water and ate dinner with them which was prepared to show their gratitude for our mission and benevolence endeavors.

You know, often time we don’t show common gratitude or thankfulness. A man comes home and his house is clean, dinner fixed, floors vacuumed, bed made, shampoo in his shower, clean towel to dry off with, clean laundry in his closet and his dresser, toothpaste in his cabinet. The furniture dusted. Shirts ironed. I know that’s what you expected. This is what your wife is supposed to do, but when was the last time that you expressed gratitude? Or is this the way it goes, the only time laundry is every mentioned is when the socks aren’t there in the drawer? Or dinner is brought up because the veggies weren’t seasoned the way you like them. The ironing is only mentioned when it’s not to your satisfaction? Show your gratitude by saying thank you to your spouse for dinner. The next time you pull the bed covers down say, “Thank you, honey, for making the bed and putting clean sheets on it. Thanks for the clean wash clothes and the full shampoo bottle, the new razor, and the bar of soap in the shower.” I know these are common everyday things. I’ve sat with men who were mourning over the loss of a wife. Now, those everyday expectation, are not happening on their own. Did it take her loss for him to realize what he had? Look around at what you have, you need to be thankful. You take your health for granted; I know people of all ages that have lost their heath. Are you truly thankful? You have eyesight, while some have lost theirs. You can walk, when there are some who’ve lost that ability. Is it going to take army tanks running thru your yard to make you thankful for your freedom? Is God allowing America to be destroyed right before our eyes because we have lost our appreciation? We have men called Veterans in our country who have lost limbs, eyes and we have some here that have been buried, for your freedom. Are you thankful? No! Some spit at our Vietnam vets when they got home. We have a news media that makes them out to be evil; when these men are following orders to defend and protect their country. Are you thankful? We are in a country where the people have lost their appreciation, honor, thankfulness and gratitude; a country that has become full of pride and selfishness.

Please consider and examine yourself. Show thankfulness to God for life and salvation. Salvation is something else that we take for granted. The people of this world they party, laugh, dance and frolic in this world and are calling themselves Christians. Christians keep His commandments if they have salvation, His commandment are not grievous to them. We don’t show gratitude for the blood that He shed at Calvary. If we did we would praise Him, worship Him, love Him and again keep His commandments. You would honor Him by attending a Church that worships in Spirit and Truth. If you are thankful that Jesus died for you, then show Him by being obedient to His Word. Get into a Church support the Pastor stand with him in prayer and fellowship. Then you can start showing gratitude to God for the Gift that He had given unto you and the Church the five fold ministry. May God richly bless you and grant unto you a spirit of thankfulness and gratitude.

Pastor Rob