Thankful Hearts

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Rekindling the Gratitude

by John MacArthur

The Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to heighten your sensitivity to the blessings bestowed by God.

Thanksgiving grabs your attention, shakes the cobwebs loose, and reminds you of all God's most precious gifts. That's one reason Thanksgiving has always held such a special place in my heart. It rekindles in me the kind of God-centered gratitude that our Lord demands and deserves—the kind that should readily be on our lips year round.

To help stimulate that kind of deeper gratitude, my family has adopted a Thanksgiving tradition we've found extremely helpful. Each year after our Thanksgiving meal we gather in our living room and simply recite the blessings of God that have touched our lives. One by one we circle the room, each one of us expressing our gratitude to God for His many physical and spiritual blessings.

Allow me to share with you just five blessings that deeply touch me every year and prompt me to thank God. Perhaps it'll catch and you'll be able to rekindle your gratitude!

You're Saved and You Know It

No work of God's is more beyond my comprehension yet closer to my heart and more worthy of gratitude than salvation. Before coming to know Christ, each of us lived in a self-imposed prison. Guilty, condemned, spiritually blind, and with no means to pay our debt, our destiny was one of eternal separation from God.

But Christ not only rescued us from the power and penalty of our sins, He also lifted us to a place of blessing. He delivered us from punishment and brought glory. He took away the threat of hell and gave us the hope of heaven. He dismissed us from divine wrath and brought us a divine benediction. One hymn writer put that unfathomable transaction like this:

In wonder lost, with trembling joy, We take the pardon of our God; Pardon for crimes of deepest dye, A pardon bought with Jesus' blood, Who is a pard'ning God like Thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?

We sing of salvation. We talk of salvation. Salvation is the essence of Christianity. Thanking God for saving us should be the unceasing occupation of our lips—only a stone-cold heart could offer anything less.

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

Watch a half hour of news and tell me if the word chaos doesn't come to mind. The world is gripped by it. Conflict abounds as religious, philosophical, and political systems collide. Moral, social, and economic problems proliferate but solutions are scarce. The political process is drifting rudderless on a sea of confusion. Life is all questions and no answers. There is no concrete guideline or standard by which to judge good and bad, right and wrong. The suppression of truth exacts a tremendous price.

But thanks to God, you and I have an eternal, objective, incontestable, irrevocable standard we can depend on for all matters of life. From the truth of Scripture we can understand the ebb and flow of life better than all the educators, philosophers, politicians, and social pundits combined. God's Word offers us a window on the real issues people battle. We know how to be good employees, to love our spouses, to raise our families, to truly love our neighbors. Meaning in life is not a question, it's a fact. I thank God for revealing His truth to us and for allowing me the privilege of studying and teaching it.

Life's Storms

Perhaps the most difficult time to be thankful is when we're in the midst of a setback, a challenge, or a trial. When the storm comes, giving thanks is rarely our first reaction. Being thankful for adversity is never easy, but it is always right. From experience I know the difficult times are the ones in which God seems to be most at work in our lives, strengthening our weak spots, comforting our hurts, and drawing us to greater dependence. A well-known businessman offered this perspective: "Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees." Let's not neglect to thank God for the strong winds He allows to blow our direction.

Faithful Churches

I'm sad to say there are some congregations today that seem to be wrestling with who they are and what their mission is—a spiritual identity crisis of sorts. Relentlessly assaulted by doctrinal fads, scandals, divisions, internal and external criticism, and worldly thinking, they've buckled under the pressure. The chain reaction that creates is heartbreaking. Doctrine is compromised, effectiveness is forfeited, biblical ministry is abandoned, and God's blessing is withdrawn. That grieves me, and I know it grieves you as well.

However, we can thank the Lord for the many churches that have stayed the course in spite of pressure, and the many others that struggle but have not given up the fight. Large or small, the congregations that remain faithful to God's Word are the ones that are alive, vital, flourishing, reaching their communities with great effectiveness, and advancing the kingdom of God. They've resisted the fads, remained true to God's calling, and are now seeing His blessing. I'm grateful to Him for those churches, and for the encouragement they are to me and to the Body of Christ.

The People Who Make a Difference

Someone once made this wise observation: "Friends in your life are like pillars on your porch. Sometimes they hold you up, and sometimes they lean on you. Sometimes it's just enough to know they’re standing by."

That's certainly been true in my life. I thank God daily for the many people who add so much color and warmth to my life. My best friend and wife, Patricia. Loving children and grandchildren. All who labor with me for the sake of the gospel. Each one enriches me greatly and is a very personal gift directly from the hand of God. I'm grateful for the friends—seen and unseen—whom I’ve been able to lean on, and who, to some small degree, have been able to lean on me.

Let me encourage you not to allow this Thanksgiving to come and go without taking inventory. Biblical gratitude isn't something that should pass from our minds with the passing of a season. It's an attitude, a God-focused response to circumstances that should pervade each moment of each day of each year.

May you, your family, and friends enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving season . . . all year!

THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS

The next footsteps in the corridor, he knew, might be those of the guards taking him away to his execution. His only bed was the hard, cold stone floor of the dank, cramped prison cell. Not an hour passed when he was free from the constant irritation of the chains and iron shackles cutting into his wrists and legs.

Separated from friends, unjustly accused, brutally treated—if ever a person had a right to complain, it was this man, languishing almost forgotten in a harsh Roman prison. But instead of complaints, his lips rang with words of praise and thanksgiving!

The man was the Apostle Paul—a man who had learned the meaning of true thanksgiving, even in the midst of great adversity. Earlier, when he had been imprisoned in Rome, Paul wrote, “Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:19-20).

Think of it: always giving thanks for everything—no matter the circumstances! Thanksgiving for the Apostle Paul was not a once-a-year celebration, but a daily reality that changed his life and made him a joyful person in every situation.

Thanksgiving—the giving of thanks—to God for all His blessings should be one of the most distinctive marks of the believer in Jesus Christ. Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than an ungrateful heart. And nothing will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation than a true spirit of thankfulness.

From one end of the Bible to the other, we are commanded to be thankful. In fact, thankfulness is the natural outflowing of a heart that is attuned to God. The psalmist declared, “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving” (Psalm 147:7). Why should we be thankful? Because God has blessed us, and we should be thankful for each blessing.

THANK GOD FOR MATERIAL BLESSINGS

We seem never to be satisfied with what we have—rich or poor, healthy or sick. But what a difference it makes when we realize that everything we have has been given to us by God! Some years ago I visited a man who was wealthy and successful. He was the envy of all his friends and business associates. But as we talked, he broke down in tears, confessing that he was miserable inside. Wealth had not been able to fill the empty place in his heart.

A few hours later I visited another man only a short distance away. His cottage was humble, and he had almost nothing in the way of this world’s possessions. And yet his face was radiant as he told me about the work he was doing for Christ and how Christ had filled his life with meaning and purpose.

I am convinced that the second man was really the rich man. Although he didn’t have much, he had learned to be thankful for everything that God had given him. Are you constantly preoccupied with what you do not have? Or have you learned to thank God for what you do have?

THANK GOD FOR THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE

It is so easy to take people for granted, or even to complain and become angry because they do not meet our every wish. But we need to give thanks for those around us—our spouse, our children, our relatives, our friends and others who help us in some way.

Do you let others know that you appreciate them and are thankful for them? The Christians in Corinth were far from perfect, but Paul began his first letter to them by telling them how he constantly thanked God for them (1 Corinthians 1:4). Thank God for those who touch your life.

THANK GOD IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS 

We draw back from difficulties, yet not one of us is exempt from some kind of trouble. In many parts of the world it is dangerous even to be a Christian because of persecution.

And yet in the midst of those trials we can thank God, because we know that He has promised to be with us and that He will help us. We know that He can use times of suffering to draw us closer to Himself: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3).

When the prophet Daniel learned that evil men were plotting against him to destroy him, “he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10). I don’t know what trials you may be facing right now, but God does, and He loves you and is with you by His Holy Spirit. Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness even in the midst of trials and heartaches.

THANK GOD ESPECIALLY FOR SALVATION

God has given us the greatest Gift of all—His Son, who died on the cross and rose again so that we can know Him personally and spend eternity with Him in heaven: “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable [indescribable] gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

The Bible tells us that we are separated from God because we have sinned. But God loves us—He loves you, He loves me—and He wants us to be part of His family forever. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son into the world to die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. All we need to do is reach out in faith and accept Christ as our Savior and Lord: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Have you opened your heart to Jesus Christ? If not, turn to Him with a simple prayer of repentance and faith, and thank Him for what He has done for you. And if you do know Christ, how long has it been since you thanked God for your salvation? We should not let a day go by without thanking God for His mercy and His grace to us in Jesus Christ.

—
Billy Graham, condensed

How Being Unthankful Can Send You To Hell

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. -Romans 1:21

Watch, listen or download the full message by Dr. Liam Goligher here.

Thanksgiving

Thank You for wonderful things from above.
Thank You for life, Father; thank You for love.

Thank You for laughter, thank You for tears.
Thank You for happiness down through the years.

Thank You for peace, Father; thank You for joy.
Thank You for gifts that earth cannot destroy.

Thank You for friends, Father; thank You for foes.
Thank You for secrets no earth-child knows.

Thank You for songs in the darkest night.
Thank You for turning despair into light.

Thank You for dying, Lord, on Calvary's tree.
Thank You for saving a lost lamb like me.

Thank You for keeping me day after day.
Thank You for keeping me straight on the way.

Lord, when in glory, I see Your dear face,
I'll thank You again for undying grace!

—Selected

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

Seven Ways to Show Gratitude (Trailer)

Watch, listen or download the full message by Dr. A. T. Stewart here.

Endless Thanksgiving (Trailer)

Watch, listen or download the full message by Dr. Philip Ryken here.

Thanksgiving or Thanksliving

Watch, listen or download the full message: "Sweet, Savory Thanksgiving" by Joel Beeke here.

But I Don't Feel Thankful

by Jim Elliff

"But I don't feel thankful." I can hear this perfectly logical complaint coming from my kids when I make them say "Thank you" for some act of kindness done toward them. Should we really act grateful when we are not?

But perhaps the better question is, "How could we be so blind to all that God has done that we would ever be ungrateful?"

When the Pilgrims ate the first Thanksgiving meal in 1621, they were being thankful even though they had seen horrific tragedies from the very beginning of their experiment in this new land.

"The Mayflower remained in New England with the colonists throughout the terrible first winter. Although the ship was cold, damp and unheated, it did provide a defense against the rigorous New England winter until houses could be completed ashore. Nevertheless, exposure, malnutrition and illness led to the death of half the group, both passengers and crewmen. There were four deaths (and one birth - Peregrine White) during the month they spent at the tip of Cape Cod. The remainder of the winter saw the deaths of another 40 or 41 colonists. At the lowest ebb, only seven people were healthy enough to tend the sick. On January 14, a fire destroyed the thatched roof on their first structure or "rendezvous" but fortunately none of the sick people that lay within were hurt. A second fire a month later was put out without incident." (Plimoth Plantation web site, www.Plimoth.org).

Experiencing the loss of loved ones and all normal conveniences and even basic necessities has a way of heightening one's appreciation for God's most mundane mercies.

It all has to do with our starting place. What do you think you deserve? If you deserve to be six feet under with your soul writhing in hell, then you're bound to have an elevated motivation to be thankful for any mercy at all. Even a few drops of water on the tip of the rich man's tongue, as in Jesus' Luke 16 story, could elicit thanks, if you felt what you really deserve.

The problem with being thankful is not so much one of manners as it is of alertness to the facts, that is, simply having open eyes to what is true. And it is true that you and I deserve nothing good. No, more than that, we deserve everything bad—an eternity in hell.

Sure, it makes sense to teach our kids to say "thanks" even when they don't feel like it. It is a reasonable service to others and makes our world much more pleasant to live in.

But we could probably nip ungratefulness in the bud if we could ever learn well what we deserve because of our sins.

Try this mental exercise this Thanksgiving when you are feasting on turkey and dressing and enjoying a warm and comfortable home or apartment. Stop for a moment and look around you at the abundance, the family, the nice clothes you have and all you enjoy, and then say to yourself, "I deserve hell." Repeat it several times and believe it because it is true.

Then thank God for even the next breath you are given. Because it is only "in Him" that we "live and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:26)

Copyright © 2002 Jim Elliff

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No Thanksgiving or Thankful?

http://beltoftruth1.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-thanksgiving.html

Give Thanks

Count Your Blessings

How many things do you have to be thankful for? Perhaps it has been a while since you sat down and really considered that question. If so, I would encourage you to take the time—today—to create a list of everything for which you are thankful.

What types of things will you put on your list? Most people begin with houses, cars, and other possessions. Next on the list might be family and friends. Don’t forget to include important but often-overlooked items such as health, freedom, and even life itself.

Wages or Blessings?

If you are struggling over whether or not to include something on your list, perhaps it is good to ask yourself: “Did I earn it, or was it given to me?” Some would say that if you work and earn a paycheck, you have no reason to be thankful for it—after all, you earned it, right? On the other hand, should you not be thankful for your abilities, for health, for the job itself, as well as for everything else which makes your job possible?

Every good thing we receive is a gift from God—a true blessing—for which we owe Him thanks. The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father” (James 1:17). Even more than this, according to God’s Word we should be thankful for everything that comes our way—even difficult things: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The Most Important Blessing

I hope that when your list is complete, it will contain the most important blessing of all—eternal life. Have you received this gift of God’s grace? If not, let me assure you that we need to receive it, we can receive it, and we may know we have received it.

First of all, why do we need eternal life? We need it because we “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We need it because, due to our disobedience, the only things we have earned from God are death and judgment: “The wages of sin is death;” “after this the judgment” (Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:27).

Secondly, we can receive eternal life from God as a gift: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Salvation from sin and its penalty cannot be bought or earned or achieved: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Many people mistakenly believe they can earn salvation, or if they are “good enough” they can merit a home in Heaven. But God says there is only one way to Heaven—and Jesus is the way: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

Lastly, we can know that we are saved—we can know that we have eternal life. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth to suffer, bleed, and die in our place—as our substitute. Jesus bore the penalty for our sin, and waits to save all who acknowledge their need of Him, turn to Him in repentance, and trust Him as their Savior. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Receive God’s Gift Today

Have you turned to God as a guilty sinner in need of a Savior? Have you abandoned any hope of saving yourself and placed your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners? If not, I urge you to do so today. Jesus died for you. He lives for you. He is waiting for you to come to Him: “him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

It’s a good thing to be thankful. It’s a better thing to thank God for your blessings. But the best thing of all is to know Him personally and experience the joy of Him washing away your sins, making you fit for Heaven, and giving you a brand new life in Him!

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Source: http://www.mwtb.org

Thoughts for Thanksgiving

by James McAlister

In an era not so long ago, our country was being ripped asunder by internal turmoils and differences—much as it is today. Yet even in the midst of the darkness of civil war, Abraham Lincoln cast a ray of hope that the nation might once again have "full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

We would do well to review some key thoughts of Lincoln's proclamation of October 3, 1863, which set the precedent for our national Thanksgiving holiday.

"The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God . . . . "Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore . . . . No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience . . . fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

As in Lincoln's day, our nation's deep wounds beg to be healed. Peace, harmony and tranquillity cry for restoration. Our moral compass pleads for calibration.

Perhaps it is time to move our Thanksgiving holiday beyond feasting, fellowship and football. Perhaps it is time to embrace Lincoln's advice to observe a "day of thanksgiving and praise. . . . with an attitude of humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience"?

The results might be surprising—and enduring.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.- 2 Chronicles 7:14

Copyright © 2004 James McAlister. Used by Permission.

www.BulletinInserts.org, a ministry of Christian Communicators Worldwide: www.CCWtoday.org

Are We Thankful?

I recently received a letter from a young brother in Christ which gives food for thought. He quotes Jonah 2:9, "But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving: I will pay that that I vowed. Salvation is of the Lord."
He then goes on to write: "Jonah is thankful in Jonah 2:9, but not in Jonah 4:1, showing how easily we can change our attitudes. In Jonah 2:9, in spite of many discomforts, Jonah was thankful." He then lists several discomforts Jonah had in the fish's belly, and points out the fact that we take many of our blessings--the light and air and freedom we have which Jonah did not have, and yet fail to be thankful for them or even acknowledge they are God's mercies to us! He then asks, "Have we been spared the judgment our sins deserved? If so, how much we have to be thankful for!"

Truly, the greatest of all blessings is the eternal salvation of our souls through our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to earth to die in our place that we might be forgiven of all our sins and possess eternal life by faith in Him. Only thus can we be saved from the judgment to come which we deserve. Are we genuinely thankful for the love which took Him to Calvary to suffer, bleed and die for us?

The spiritual blessing of salvation which God bestows upon all who receive His Son as their Saviour becomes more precious as time goes by. This is quite the opposite of the many material blessings we have which soon deteriorate, or pass away altogether. As one has written: "We thank the Lord for food, clothing and shelter. However, a suit of clothes is not considered precious after it has been worn for 10 years. The food we eat satisfies only for a few hours. But my salvation means more to me now than it did 25 years ago." How true! Let me ask again, Are we thankful for both material and spiritual blessings we possess?

In Colossians 3:15, God says, "Be ye thankful." Isn't it strange that God would have to command us to give thanks? Alas, the callousness of our hearts seems to take all His blessings for granted and hardly ever responds in expressions of gratitude! The Psalmist writes, "Forget not all His benefits" (Psalm 103:2). How soon we forget the blessings, but remember instead the few trials and bitter experiences which, if we only viewed them by faith as allowed of Him, would draw forth our thanksgiving even for these!

Another has said, "To be thankful means to be thinkful." Is it not true that if we do think more upon the blessings God has given, our hearts would overflow with thanksgiving and love to Him? I believe that would be the case. And as Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If our minds are set on "things above," (Col. 3:2), and we "behold the beauty of the Lord" (Psa. 27:4), our hearts will be filled to overflowing and our mouths will speak thanksgiving and praise to Him. Thanksgiving will then become a day by day experience and not merely a one day a year observance.

From Moments With The Book

The Thanksgiving Lesson

by J. R. Miller, 1912

Gladness may not be thanksgiving. It certainly is not all of thanksgiving. One may have a heart bubbling with joy, without a note of thanksgiving. The task of happiness is one to which we should all firmly set ourselves. To be miserable in this glorious world, is most unfit. We should cultivate joyousness. But our present lesson is a larger and deeper one. Thanksgiving implies thought of God. One may be glad all the day—and never think of God. Thanksgiving looks up with every breath, and sees God as Father from whom all blessings come. Thanksgiving is praise. The heart is full of gratitude. Every moment has something in it to inspire love. The lilies made Jesus think of his Father, for it was he who clothed them in beauty. The providence of our lives, if we think rightly of it, is simply God caring for us. Our circumstances may sometimes be hard, our experiences painful, and we may see nothing in them to make us glad. But faith teaches us that God is always good and always kind, whatever the present events may be. We may be thankful, therefore, even when we cannot be glad. Our hearts may be grateful, knowing that good will come to us even out of pain and loss.

This is the secret of true thanksgiving. It thinks always of God and praises him for everything. The song never dies out in the heart, however little there may be in the circumstances of life to make us glad. Thanksgiving is a quality of all noble and unselfish life. No man is so unworthy, as he who never cherishes the sentiment of gratitude, who receives life's gifts and favors—and never gives back anything in return for all he gets.

Until we think seriously of it, we do not begin to realize what we are receiving continually from those about us. None may give us money, or do for us things which the world counts gifts or favors, but these are not the best things. Our teachers are ever enriching us by the lessons they give us. Those who require hard tasks of us and severely demand of us the best we can do, are our truest benefactors.

Sometimes we complain of the hardness of our lives, that we have had so little of ease and luxury, that we have had to work so hard, bear so many burdens, and sometimes we let ourselves grow bitter and unthankful as we think of the severity of our experience. But of all times—it has been in these very severities that we have got the richest qualities in our character. If we are living truly, serving God and following Christ, there is no event or experience for which we may not be thankful. Every voice of our lips should be praise. Every day of our years should be a thanksgiving day. He who has learned the Thanksgiving lesson, well has found the secret of a beautiful life.

"Praise is lovely," says the Hebrew Psalmist. Lovely means fit, graceful, pleasing, attractive. Ingratitude is never lovely. The life that is always thankful is winsome, ever a joy to all who know it.

The influence of an ever-praising life on those it touches, is almost divine. The way to make others good—is to be good yourself. The way to diffuse a spirit of thanksgiving—is to be thankful yourself. A complaining spirit makes unhappiness everywhere.

How may we learn this thanksgiving lesson? It comes not merely through a glad natural disposition. There are some favored people who were born cheerful. They have in them a spirit of happiness which nothing ever quenches. They always see the bright side of things. They are naturally optimistic. But the true thanksgiving spirit is more than this. It is something which can take even an unhappy and an ungrateful spirit—and make it new in its sweetness and beauty. It is something which can change discontent and complaining into praise; ingratitude into grateful, joyful trust.

Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart, transforming the disposition and the whole character. Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality. An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always. This lesson is learned only when it becomes a habit which nothing can weaken. We must persist in being thankful. When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness, and sing in the darkness. Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.

We may call one day in the year Thanksgiving Day, and fill it with song and gladness, remembering all the happy things we have enjoyed, all the pleasant events, all the blessings of our friendships, all our prosperities. But we cannot gather all our year's thanksgivings into any brightest day. We cannot leave today without thanks, and then thank God tomorrow for today and tomorrow both. Today's sunshine will not light tomorrow's skies. Every day must be a thanksgiving day for itself.

HT: www.gracegems.org

In Every Thing Give Thanks

While we look on Thanksgiving Day in the United States as an annual celebration of thanksgiving for the mercies of the closing year, it was really born of man's gratitude toward the Giver of ever good and perfect gift, as recorded in most ancient days.

The Pilgrims came to America in the Mayflower, landing in Massachusetts. They were in search of a land where they would be free to worship the Lord as they desired. After a winter of hardships, when they harvested their first crops, the Pilgrim fathers, through Governor Bradford, proclaimed a Thanksgiving feast October 24, 1621. Under our present government a day of thanksgiving was appointed by President Washington at the request of Congress, upon the occasion of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Its national celebration in recognition of the year's blessings was first recommended by proclamation of President Lincoln in 1863, and has since been annually observed.

It is a profitable lesson when we learn that we are not the source of our blessings. We are the receivers. All comes from God. It is He who gives us strength and wisdom to obtain each rightfully gotten blessing. The founders of our country realized this.

The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Let us remember that true thankfulness comes not from circumstances, but from the heart.

Jesus once healed ten lepers but only one of them came to thank Him (Luke 17:11-18). Ingratitude was prevalent in Jesus' days on earth just as it is now (2 Tim. 3:12). But that fact does not excuse any true Christian for being unthankful to the Lord for His many blessings and for His sacrifice on the cross to put away his sins. For that we should constantly thank Him!

--E.L.J. from MWTB

Read No Thanksgiving post from last year.

No Thanksgiving!

What attitude is fostered by removing God from His rightful place as Creator and Lord? Without a doubt it is one of unthankfulness. In fact, ingratitude always accompanies departure from God. In (Romans 1:21) we read that turning away from God's testimony of Himself in creation, which renders the heathen without excuse, made them "unthankful" as well as vain, foolish and darkened.

One of the signs of the last days is that men will be "unthankful" (2 Timothy 3:2). Not many would question that this condition exists today. And the rapidity with which this attitude is permeating all levels of society, accompanied with selfish, hateful words and riotous deeds, only manifests how steadily unthankfulness is engulfing this Christless world.

Apostasy is the giving up of truth once nominally held. This is what Christendom is guilty of today. True, there is the "form of godliness," but "denying the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5) which reveals it is merely a degenerating profession of "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24).

Only a ministry of Christ can produce an attitude of thankfulness in the heart and cause an expression of true thanksgiving with the lips. The rejection of such ministry only further opens man's sinful, selfish heart to display itself more fully, just as it is doing today.

How is it with you, dear reader? Are you marked out by "No thanksgiving" in your heart and life? Or are you truly grateful for the grace and the mercy God has shown to you in His blessed Son?
Have you been cleansed from your sins (1 John 1:7), and like the leper who was cleansed from his leprosy, returned to give the Lord Jesus thanks for His merciful kindness (Luke 17:11-19)? Have you received His marvelous gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23), and do you join in with those who exclaim, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15)?

Do you realize that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above? Are you therefore known as "giving thanks always for all things" (Ephesians 5:20)? If so, you are a product of divine grace, and for this you will be eternally thankful, never ceasing to be amazed that He should have ever loved you (Revelation 5:9-14).

If, however, "No thanksgiving" characterizes you, be warned that you are in danger of the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Luke 13:22-28) in hell forever. Then there will be no opportunity nor cause to give thanks. "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:5). Turn now to God in repentance and by faith "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). By thus accepting Christ as your personal Saviour, you will be able to join in the following ascription of grateful, eternal Thanksgiving:

"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14).

As you can see, dear friend, though the terms "no thanksgiving" and "unthankful" may not at first seem too bad, especially since the whole world is characterized by them, they are indeed a serious, solemn warning that we are living in the last days of God's grace, just preceding His righteous judgments. May you heed this warning, and be one of the thankful "few" who find life in Christ (Matthew 7:13,14).
--D.T.J.

Scripture verses quoted from the King James Version (KJV).
Source: Moments With The Book, www.mwtb.org
No Thanksgiving or Thankful

Thoughts on celebrating God during Thanksgiving

What are your thoughts on celebrating God during the Thanksgiving holiday? -John MacArthur

Source: http://www.gty.org