Monday, November 25, 2013
Psalm 92:1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.
THANKSGIVING IS GOOD
Soon we will arrive at the date on the calendar called Thanksgiving. It is a holiday that has been celebrated in our country on the fourth Thursday of November ever since 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln, during Civil War times, made a proclamation to the citizens of America "to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the Heavens."
Strictly speaking, the Thanksgiving festival isn't part of the Christian church year (as, for example, the festivals of Christmas and Easter are). Still, Christians are glad to celebrate it. We know that it's a good thing, well-pleasing to our God. He encourages us in a great many places in the Bible to lift up our hearts to Him in gratitude for His blessings.
As we gather for worship at His house this week and assemble with loved ones around a table lavishly spread with mouthwatering food, let us do so with appreciation that it isn't our strength which produces wealth and all that it enables us to enjoy. It's our Father in heaven who gives us the ability to earn a living and to benefit from the fruits of our labors (all from the wellspring of His goodness, wholly undeserved). Let us tell Him "thank You" knowing how glad He is to receive such praises that well up from the hearts of His believing, grateful children.
