“. . . in everything give thanks;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1Thessalonians 5:18
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness every day! As Christians, every day can be a day of thanksgiving. Still, it is good to set aside a special day each year as a reminder to give thanks to God. Tragically for many in our culture, the giving of thanks has become a forgotten project – “Why should I give thanks? And to whom?” Many will see Thursday as little more than “Turkey Day” – an excuse to eat and drink too much while watching TV and looking for Black Friday sales in the ads or online. What is often missing in our modern “holiday” is any sense of joy or gratitude toward the God to whom all praise is due for all good things!
Romans 1:21 says our lack of gratitude is at the heart of much of our sin! For, although we know about God, we neither glorify Him as God, nor give thanks to Him. In our sin we find our hearts filled, not with thankfulness as they should be, but with pride, selfishness, bitterness and complaining. Taking God’s blessings for granted, we assume we deserve better than we have, griping when we don’t receive what we believe we are entitled to. But the Gospel frees us from such self-obsessed delusions. It re-orients our lives to God and puts Him at the center instead of us! When that happens we become free to do the one thing we were created to do – enjoy making much of Him who gives all life and every good thing!
This morning, I pray that you know this freedom and are ready to express it joyfully in words and songs of heartfelt gratitude offered to the One who is worthy of all praise through Christ! For it is Christ who has given us Himself so freely, to rescue us from our sin and lavish us with an abundance of grace so that we might be free to glorify and enjoy Him forever! So come, let us adore Him and give Him thanks for all he has done and given, and continues to give.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
Pastor Scott Lee