True Meaning of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my wife’s favorite holiday. Like myself, my wife is a realist. If you ask, “Is the glass half empty or half full?” She would ask, “Well, did you pour into the cup or out of it?”. Okay, so – she’s not this bad (though, actually, I am). But it is because of this that we may not always appear to be thankful. But we really are, thankful for a lot of things.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”. This makes me think of Psalm 118:24 which says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Pentecostals have a song about this we used to sing when I was a kid). I heard a guy just yesterday saying in a store how he didn’t have anything to be thankful for. A guy passing said, “You’re alive aren’t you?” – to which he replied, “Barely”. While the guy seemed to be joking, I kind of felt sorry, or bad, for him.

I recently saw where an actor from my childhood recently committed suicide. People thought he had a lot going for him and he was an inspiration to many. We don’t always know what people are going through, or what they truly are thinking. If you ever need to talk to someone about anything (ANYTHING) seriously don’t hesitate to reach out.

For the lives of Christians it goes beyond giving thanks even while suffering. Another Psalm says, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1. Another Pentecostal song is pulled from another Psalm that reads, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”, Psalm 103:2-5. There’s so much to be thankful for here in these passages/promises.

Really, if you ever wonder why God is good to us, as undeserving as we are (speaking for myself of course) it’s actually pretty simple. Corinthians 9:11 reads, “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”. God blesses us so we can bless others… one of those others is actually Him.

The true meaning of the word “Thanksgiving” is to glorify God as an act of worship, giving thanks for all the things God has provided (which is actually everything (including the air we’re breathing)). Even Webster’s definition of thanksgiving is, “a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness. : the act of giving thanks. “Divine goodness”, even the world’s chief definer of things can’t deny who we are to be thankful to.

So, while Friend, Food, and Football are all causes for celebration (or feeling thankful for), let’s try to remember the true reason we’re on this earth. That’s to glorify and worship God, giving Him thanks for all he’s done, does, and will continue to do.

Announcements:

• Christmas party – December 3rd
  • Be sure to HC and vote – https://f3gastonia.com/2022-f3-gastonia-christmas-party-awards/
• Christmastown 5K is THIS weekend
  • Show up and park before 5pm and stay until 7pm.
    • See Slack and/or Broke for more details.

Prayer Requests:

• Huckleberry
• Medicine Woman
• Wirenut’s family
• Wichita’s Wife and Family – Congrats on the new baby due tomorrow!
• Sarlacc and his family
• Stogie’s Mom’s knee and his Dad