Are You Getting And Giving The Right Message This Thanksgiving?
Good Morning Friends,
The typical American family portrayed on Norman Rockwell’s Thanksgiving canvas seems a distant memory for only a few but what I think is most interesting is that if you look at that bird on that table it was skinny. It needed the help of all the fixings. The odd but melancholy reality is that today for many, we have an overabundance that does not require us to depend on sharing. The reality is that for many of us, we live in a world of greed and commercialism. Still Thanksgiving is a day made by God for God, not for Black Friday. And like all the rest, we should be thankful, for there is an important lesson to learn in it. Thanksgiving Day, declared a holiday by President Lincoln after the Civil War, was defined as a time to seek unity and as a reminder we are to also seek a love that does not divide. We are not to be caught up in the crafted image of Pilgrim’s and Native American feasting on Holy Ground so much as an image of appreciation that the Lord has made each day for everyone. So during the holiday eat lots of turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with whipped cream and then go out shopping or serve meals to the disadvantaged or watch parades and football games and take a nap, but whatever you do please know that God is to be in it if one hopes to have a happy experience. Are You Getting And Giving The Right Message This Thanksgiving?
Scripture: Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Psalm 95:2 (NRSV)
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6 (NRSV)
‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:25-34 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s scripture we learn that being thankful helps balance out the anxiety in our life…the anxiety of being in the tension of the church, in the tension of the march of history in and toward the Kingdom of God. The beauty of giving thanks to God in this reality is that God totally deserves it. God is the Good Master…the Good Teacher. God wants us to believe and be thankful that our sins have been forgiven. Because this provision is so intimate a fellowship, we must not consider praise of God, the provider, a luxury. We must consider it essential…fundamental to life. For the abundance of God’s power is to bring awe as well as excite our hearts in praise. So, when all the analysis is over, of the things of this world, and we discover that something is mysteriously missing, we need to translate the truth of today’s scripture into a little human cooperation with Him. We must stop being theists in our heads and secularists in our actions. Remember God is still involved in revealing the ways of heaven to us, so learn how to work with God. Discover that freedom is found in access to God’s presence and that this experience is also a place of reverence and fear as well as love and praise.
And So, on this Thanksgiving Holiday give a little by acknowledging the giver of all things and you might well experience the surprises of God in the blessings of being thankful. There are events that are etched into our minds and hearts that live there forever. I have experienced more than my fair share in celebration of weddings and birthdays and national holidays this week. They exemplify a moment in time when everything seemed to change. We refer to these sometimes as defining moments. Experiencing them properly hinges on trusting God and being thankful. Then in love we can on these milestones mark our place in the music of our lives. Be thankful.
Pray that each dawn be a blessing. Pray that each one of our sunsets be a shout for joy. Pray that we be thankful and turn to worship, not worry. Pray that we would know that God is with us and for us all. Pray that in the uncertainty of the future and perhaps because it is uncertain, we can show our faith and in that faith be thankful. Pray we give thanks with praise of God whose favor and grace in overcoming the power of sin in our lives instills in our heart sincere gratitude.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 