Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. (1 Chronicles 16:8).
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. (Psalm 95:2). Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4).
Thanksgiving! One of my favorite holidays. Not just because of the great food, family, and four day weekend, but because it is a time that we should take to reflect on what we are thankful for. The pilgrims were thankful for God’s grace and blessings that had seen them through the beginning of their new life here in America. What is it that you are thankful for?
I am thankful first and foremost for a God who loves all of us and who is always there when we need Him. Who is all powerful, merciful, and just. I am thankful for His son Jesus Christ who is God in the form of man. Who came to Earth in a humble fashion and who lived a life by an example that we should follow for our Father God in Heaven. Only by Christ’s example can we glorify God. He shed his blood so that we would be forgiven and the veil would be torn that “separated” us from God. Now that Christ has bridged the gap between man and God, I thank the Holy Spirit that convicts me and others alike. It is a voice far greater than my own conscience. It, along with the Bible, is Christ within us. The disciples had Jesus with them to teach and to give evidence of God’s presence, we have the Holy Spirit, along with faith and the most important ingredient, prayer.
I am also thankful for my wonderful wife. She is the perfect helpmeet for me. I may be the head and spiritual leader of this family, but she is most definitely the engine that keeps it going. She supports me and listens and offers a different point of view to some of my ideas and how I go about doing things (most of which is better than what I had in mind). Sometimes I have found that God will speak through her in these times. And in times where I didn’t listen to her, I wish that I had. She is a wonderful mother to our children. I am thankful knowing that our children are in good hands with someone who raises them in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). She is beautiful with a wonderful and passionate heart for this family and God. Not to mention she is an awesome cook!
Then I am thankful for my two sons. They are blessings from the Lord. Words cannot express what they mean to me. My oldest son is almost four and already has a heart for the Lord. He prays on his own, understands forgiveness, and loves many. We are teaching him that there are many out there who are less fortunate and there are others who are lost sinners and that we need to pray and be compassionate for them. Even at a young age he is beginning to understand. Our youngest son is just over one year old. He obviously doesn’t understand the things that his older brother understands, but he’s a comedian. He loves to make you laugh and does more laughing at himself. I pray and have a feeling in my heart that all (yes, we pray God blesses us with many more) of our children will serve the Lord and make a difference in this dark world.
Then I am thankful for the rest of my family. Parents, siblings, grandparents, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. You know who you are and I am blessed to have each of you in my life. Also my job, my health, my home, and my talents that God has given me and that I choose to glorify Him with. I am a blessed man and am thankful for all He has given me and done for me.
Now I know somewhere there are people who are broken hearted. Maybe you are one of them. Maybe this Thanksgiving and coming CHRISTmas season is feeling bitter. Maybe this will be the first season without a loved one. Maybe you are going through a divorce. Maybe you have become estranged from a family member or have recently parted ways with a friend. Maybe it has become hard to be thankful and find joy because of finances or because you may have lost your job. Maybe you just cannot beat this addiction and you are feeling defeated. Understood. You are human and it is only natural to feel this way. You just may not be feeling thankful for anything anymore.
But, my friend, there is something to be thankful for. It was the first thing that I mentioned that I was thankful for. Did you catch it? It was The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. What can He do for you?
I no longer see my Grandma Doris. She passed away from cancer on my Grandpa’s (her husband) birthday in March 2001. She and I were very close. She provided the love that my heart needed as a child growing up. We spent many nights talking on the phone for hours and I spent many summers at her house. She was a very joyous person and loved everyone. If she didn’t know you, she sure was going to. She obviously had the Lord in her life and concerned herself with the salvation of others. She admitted in the last days that she was ready to meet God. Wow! How we can look forward to death! Knowing we are getting ready to meet Him. I unfortunately never got to say goodbye to her. She never got to see me get married or hold my children. But I have what she had. I have the same Father, Son, and Spirit that she had. I know she is in Heaven. I am not bitter because I no longer get to see her on the holidays. Thank you Jesus! My wife and I are actually married to another person. His name is Jesus. I can tell you now that we have never broken each others hearts, split, or even considered divorce in our 11 years together. We are as happy and passionate now as we were in our younger days and continue to strengthen by our walk with Him. Our hearts are one. The word divorce is treated as a curse word in our home. Never will we split until death because of what binds us. Thank you Jesus! I had many friends in my younger days that did drugs and alcohol (although I didn’t partake). Had my heart not been discerning and I followed those friends, instead of walking my own path, I never would have met my wife and probably would not know Him. I have parted ways with these friends and no longer see or speak with them. Thank you Jesus! If you know my wife and I, then you know that we are no stranger to financial difficulties. It’s our shadow sometimes. It is the result of our choosing to have ONE income so that she can stay home to raise and teach our children in the love and instruction of the Lord. Instead of paying a total stranger to raise our children for us so that we can have more money. Money is not worth losing our children over. But no matter what we face, it always passes. We have never lost a home, a vehicle, power, phone, food, or clothing. The only thing that we lost due to hardship was the devil’s plaything- cable TV. That was worth losing. He has always provided. You can see further testimony on this by reading my first blog post “Can God Be Glorified In A Car Accident?” from July 2010. Thank you Jesus! (Adult) Pornography. That was my addiction years ago. It ran into my marriage and tortured my soul beyond definition. It was a constant temptation that Satan would throw into my face. But when I was saved and the Sprit descended upon me, I was convicted. What was once pleasurable became painful. What was once innocent became guilt. What I thought was clean became filthy. What was fun became devastation in my life. “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14, also known as Commandment 7). It was this gut wrenching shame that I felt that caused the death and burial of this sin and a new life for me. The Spirit convicted me. His word taught me. Jesus saved me. God forgave. Thank you Jesus! Thank you Jesus Christ!
That is what He has done for me. Above the missing loved ones, the relationships, the finances, and the sinful addictions, that is what he has done for me. That is why He deserves all the glory and thanksgiving. I was not born or raised a Christian. I did not sprout out of the ground what I am now. I was just like you with the same heartaches and heartbreaks. The same vices. I was once so depressed I wanted to take my own life. I have died to myself and buried that old man. Now my life belongs to Him.
He parted the Red Sea to allow His people to escape the Egyptians. He brought Lazarus back to life after four days. He healed a woman just by her touching Him. He healed the sick and restored sight to the blind. He even turned a man who persecuted, beat, and killed Christians into one of His greatest apostles and one of the biggest writers of the New Testament. He has done these for many, as it is written in scriptures.
He can do the same for you my friends. He wants to. All you have to do is open the door and invite Him into your heart. Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. Surrender your life to Him. Read His word and allow the Spirit to speak to you and teach you. Salvation is just a prayer away. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” (Revelation 3:20).
Always be thankful. Not just for the holidays, but always.
Love in Christ!
