November 20, 2007 11:17 am
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Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100: Verses 3-5
Indeed the psalmist had it right. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.... be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
The Bible is filled with those giving thanks unto the Lord. As a matter of fact, the word “thanks” is used 78 times in the King James version while the work “thanksgiving” is used 28 times.
As we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, we should all be thankful and give praise to the Lord for his many blessings.
To put it in perspective, we should think back to the origins of this country and the origins of Thanksgiving.
In the year 1619, the Pilgrims came to this country for one singular reason, to escape religious persecution and to have the freedom to worship the Lord as they wanted. And that’s what they did. They worshiped the Lord as they wanted.
While it should be easy to praise the Lord today with all of our creature comforts, just imagine the plight of the Pilgrims.
They were in a foreign, undeveloped and primitive land. The journey had been difficult. They were few in numbers and had to deal with some Native Americans who didn’t want them there. There were times when it seemed like they wouldn’t make it. So what did they do? They prayed to the Lord, praising his name and offering thanks for the blessings they had received.
The Lord blessed the settlers with food and help from the Native Americans.
Then in 1623, William Bradford made a proclamation that all should give thanks to the Lord, a Thanksgiving.
Later, the first president of our United States, a nation under God, called for the first nationwide Thanksgiving. Later, Abraham Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving would be the last Thursday in November. And then Franklin Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving would be the fourth Thursday of November and that’s where it has stood.
So as you sit down with your family on this Thanksgiving for a feast that would be fit for a king in some places in the world, you should think about those first settlers and how and why this country was formed. Think about what type of conditions they endured and still found a way to give thanks.
Then think about your own situation. We live in heated and cooled houses, have warm clothes and plenty to eat. Most importantly, we have our freedom to worship as we want.
Honor the Lord and go practice that freedom, giving him thanks this Thanksgiving for all of your many blessings.
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