Pilgrims, Presidents, and Proclamations of Thanksgiving | IFA

Every American knows the basic origin story of Thanksgiving.

English settlers known as the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in December 1620. Half of their group died in the first winter. In the Spring, Squanto, a Christian Native American, taught the Pilgrims how to plant and grow corn. In the Fall of 1621, they had a great harvest and decided to hold three days of feasting and thanksgiving. Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag tribe, came with 90 of his men to celebrate with the Pilgrims. And that was the ‘First Thanksgiving.’

But how did such a small event held in Plymouth, Massachusetts, over 400 years ago become a National All-American Holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year? Well, here’s that story.

From Plymouth to the Nation

Thanksgiving remained a New England regional holiday for 168 years. The Puritans settling Boston (Puritans are NOT Pilgrims) moved the Day of Thanksgiving into late November, which is far from early October harvest time. The Puritans used Thanksgiving as a stand-in for Christmas, which they did not celebrate, believing it to be pagan. Instead, the Puritans gave thanks to God for all the blessings of the prior year. It was a time of feasting before the long, cold New England winter set in.

As more settlers came and America’s colonies increased, each colony would declare its own Thanksgiving Day on different dates, usually in the Fall and always on a Thursday. During the Revolutionary War, Thanksgiving Days were declared ‘nationally’ for all Thirteen Colonies. The Continental Congress declared the First National Day of Thanksgiving for Thursday, December 18, 1777.

After the end of the Revolutionary War and the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1789, the first president, George Washington, declared the first nationwide Day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated in the brand-new country. There was no mention of the Pilgrims in the first Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation.

President Washington’s Proclamation 1789

‘Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.’

Still Just a New England Holiday

After George Washington’s proclamation in 1789, no national Thanksgiving Day was declared again until 1815, when James Madison declared a Day of Thanksgiving for the end of the War of 1812. In New England, however, the states did continue the traditional Thanksgiving Day celebrations, although the dates from year to year and state to state often differed.

Thanksgiving took the place of Christmas as nearly no one in New England celebrated Christmas. During this time, there was also no historical connection to the Pilgrims. According to James Baker in his wonderful book, Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday, he writes…

“Holiday traditions were simple and unpretentious, focusing on the immediate basics of New England life: church, household, food, and domestic leisure. It was time to review the current year, reminisce about one’s personal past, and recall family members and friends who were not guests due to distance or death.”

Sarah Josepha Hale, the “Mother” of Thanksgiving

In 1837, Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of a very prominent women’s publication called Godey’s Lady’s Book, began advocating for one national day of Thanksgiving to be held in every state and territory on the last Thursday of November.

She wrote numerous editorials on the subject in Godey’s, as well as writing to all the state governors every year, requesting they declare Thanksgiving on the same day. By 1860, she got her wish. Thanksgiving was declared by every governor for the last day of November in all 30 states and two territories.

She wrote, “We may now consider Thanksgiving a National Holiday… It is to be a regularly recurring Festival, appointed by the concert of the State Governments to be observed on the last day in November, may be established as the American Thanksgiving Day… the day would exemplify the joy of Christians and to our Great Republic… as one Brotherhood, will rejoice together, and give thanks to God for our National, State and Family blessings.”

There was still no mention or recognition of the Pilgrims’ ‘First Thanksgiving.’

Civil War and the National Adoption of Thanksgiving

In 1860, the Civil War broke out in the United States, and the first ‘national’ declaration of Thanksgiving was made. But it was President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Congress that proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for the South for July 28, 1861 after their victory at the Battle of Bull Run. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving for the North after their victories. Back and forth the two sides went, declaring national days of Thanksgiving after battle victories.

On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation officially declaring the last Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. No longer would it be up to individual governors to declare the date.

President Lincoln’s Proclamation 1863

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States… to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

The Pilgrim Story Becomes Popular

It wasn’t until the end of the 19^th century that the Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving story began to attract the attention of the entire nation. In 1889, a novel written by Jane G. Austin, Standish by Standish, romanticized the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving as an outdoor feast between the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag neighbors. It was a bestseller.

In 1897, the Ladies Home Journal, featured a ‘historical’ description of the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving relying heavily on Ms. Austin’s sentimental novel.

Still, there was no mention of the Pilgrims in presidential proclamations until Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, who referenced “the first settlers.”

President Theodore Roosevelt’s Proclamation 1905

“When nearly three centuries ago the first settlers came to the country which has now become this great Republic, they fronted not only hardship and privation, but terrible risk to their lives. In those grim years the custom grew of setting apart one day in each year for a special service of thanksgiving to the Almighty for preserving the people through the changing seasons. The custom has now become national and hallowed by immemorial usage…

Therefore, I now set apart Thursday, the thirtieth day of this November, as a day of thanksgiving for the past and of prayer for the future, and on that day I ask that throughout the land the people gather in their homes and places of worship, and in rendering thanks unto the Most High for the manifold blessings of the past year, consecrate themselves to a life of cleanliness, honor and wisdom, so that this nation may do its allotted work on the earth in a manner worthy of those who rounded it and of those who preserved it.”

A Change of Thursdays

It was in the next 50 years, after Teddy Roosevelt’s nod to the Pilgrims, that the American traditions of Thanksgiving came into focus –Pilgrims and Natives celebrating together, families returning home, turkeys, pumpkins, parades, football, and even the start of the Christmas holiday shopping.

But in 1939, Thanksgiving occurred on November 30th, the last Thursday of November. Retailers were worried that this would cut short the Christmas shopping season. The Retail Dry Goods Association appealed to President Franklin Roosevelt to change the date, and the president proclaimed the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving Day.

Many states, however, were not happy with the break in tradition. Half of the states went with the last Thursday declared by President Lincoln. Half went with President Roosevelt’s new date, which was nicknamed ‘Franksgiving.’ But the earlier date did not improve Christmas sales. Even so, Congress went ahead and passed a law in 1941 declaring the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

After the change, according to Plymouth Historian James Baker, “the Thanksgiving holiday quietly assumed its place in the regular round of American holidays. The holiday was at last as Mrs. Hale had wished, legally sanctified and nationally guaranteed. During this same period the association of Thanksgiving with Plymouth and the Pilgrims was fully realized.”

Presidential Proclamations and the Pilgrims

It’s customary for presidents to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation asking the country to give thanks for our blessings. Some proclamations hearken back to the Pilgrims; most do not. Yet the legacy of the Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving lives on today to give thanks for what God has done for us.

Here are four more Presidential Proclamations that honor the Pilgrims and their obedience in following God to a new land – “for the glory of God, and the advancement of the Christian faith” – as Elder William Brewster declared in the Mayflower Compact.

President Truman’s Proclamation 1951

“More than three centuries ago the Pilgrim fathers deemed it fitting to pause in their autumn labors and to give thanks to Almighty God for the abundant yield of the soil of their new homeland. In keeping with that custom, hallowed by generations of observance, our hearts impel us, once again in this autumnal season, to turn in humble gratitude to the Giver of our bounties.”

President Kennedy’s Proclamation 1962

“Over three centuries ago in Plymouth, on Massachusetts Bay, the Pilgrims established the custom of gathering together each year to express their gratitude to God for the preservation of their community and for the harvests their labors brought forth in the new land. Joining with their neighbors, they shared together and worshipped together in a common giving of thanks. Thanksgiving Day has ever since been part of the fabric which has united Americans with their past, with each other, and with the future of all mankind.

President Ronald Reagan, 1981

On this day of thanksgiving, it is appropriate that we recall the first thanksgiving, celebrated in the autumn of 1621. After surviving a bitter winter, the Pilgrims planted and harvested a bountiful crop. After the harvest they gathered their families together and joined in celebration and prayer with the native Americans who had taught them so much.

Let us renew the spirit of the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving, lonely in an inscrutable wilderness, facing the dark unknown with a faith borne of their dedication to God and a fortitude drawn from their sense that all men were brothers.”

President Donald Trump, 2019

“On Thanksgiving Day, we remember with reverence and gratitude the bountiful blessings afforded to us by our Creator, and we recommit to sharing in a spirit of thanksgiving and generosity with our friends, neighbors, and families. Nearly four centuries ago, determined individuals with a hopeful vision of a more prosperous life and an abundance of opportunities made a pilgrimage to a distant land. These Pilgrims embarked on their journey across the Atlantic at great personal risk, facing unforeseen trials and tribulations, and unforetold hardships during their passage… and through their unwavering resolve and resilience, the Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest the following year. That first Thanksgiving provided an enduring symbol of gratitude that is uniquely sewn into the fabric of our American spirit.”

Happy Thanksgiving. God bless you!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

Share your prayers of thanksgiving in the comments below.

Belinda Brewster lives in Plymouth, MA, America’s Hometown, with her husband, Wrestling, a 10th-generation direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, the spiritual leader of the Pilgrims. She and Wrestling attend Chiltonville Congregational Church, which is the third daughter church of the first church established by the Pilgrims. Belinda is a contributing writer for IFA. Photo Credit: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.

Source: Pilgrims, Presidents, and Proclamations of Thanksgiving

48 Ways to Show Thankfulness | Crossway

Ideas for Expressing Gratitude

Why do we need suggestions on how to express gratitude? Shouldn’t a truly grateful heart just naturally overflow in expressing that gratefulness, without needing to be prompted by tips? Well, yes. But recall that while the Bible speaks of acts of love bubbling over from transformed and loving hearts, it nevertheless gives us lots of instruction in how love might behave, including exhortations and commands to do it this way or that. Similarly, the truly grateful heart may be increasingly open to counsel on how to go about showing thankfulness. To such a heart, suggestions don’t feel like a burden. Or like law.

Since gratitude isn’t merely a doctrine to learn but a spiritual mindset to experience, below are “starters” for the heart hungry for ideas on how to demonstrate gratitude. Each of the following suggestions is easily made God-centered. For example, when thanking the pastor for a good sermon, you can say something like “I thank God for your faithful preaching,” or some expression that places God in the center of the good being performed by that preacher.

1. My church provides a worship folder or bulletin. I routinely jot notes to myself on it as the service moves along, reminding me to thank people such as the pastor for his faithful and timely word, or the musicians for their practice and execution, or the ushers for alertly welcoming newcomers, or the folks who keep the coffee urns refilled, and so on.
2. Express thanks up and down the chain of command—thank your supervisor, those you oversee, and your peers. (While there’s a proactive aspect of leadership—initiating action and pulling the team forward—there’s also a vitally important reactive aspect. In a job I held for fifteen years, I was responsible for more than 250 employees on the pay roll. I invested significant time and attention thanking and commending people for what they were doing. It’s good for morale, it highlights what’s valued, and it rewards good behaviors and patterns. Behaviors rewarded tend to recur.)
3. Write a prayer that is only thanks and praise—no requests.
4. Say to your children or grandchildren, “I want to be a thankful person. Tell me, who do you think I should thank for something?” Ask them to be specific. Then follow through.
5. Thank God that he uses all things to conform you to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:28–29). Specifically, think of one of the most difficult things he has allowed in your life. Thank God for how he has used that difficulty to help you become more like Jesus in some specific way (such as gentleness, endurance, compassion, courage, or wisdom.)
6. Write a new verse to a Thanksgiving hymn.
7. Stock up on thank-you note cards and envelopes. Don’t put them all away; keep at least one of them out to immediately write and send a thank-you.
8. Contact a civic leader and thank him or her for something specific—the recent pothole repairs, the training for the police officers, or the new street sign.
9. When spotting workers cleaning public restrooms, or picking up litter in or near a store, or emptying the garbage receptacles at the park, thank them for keeping the place shipshape.
10. Start early to plan a short speech of gratitude for your family gathering at Thanksgiving. Perhaps thank God for something unique about each family member.
11. Thank God for “common graces,” the provisions he gives alike to all people: the sunrise, rain, air, chirping songbirds, the passing of the seasons, tides that circulate the oceans, gravity, and so on.
12. Thank God for “particular graces,” which he gives only to believers: election, predestination to justification, calling, regeneration, propitiation, adoption, repentance, sanctification, and glorification.
13. Read Ephesians 2:8, then thank God for your faith.
14. Thank God for your eyes that can read. Read about the wondrous complexity of your eyes, and thank God for each part of your eye and its wonderful function.
15. I receive numerous update letters from missionaries around the world. I often scribble comments on them and mail them back, so that we’re having a conversation. I’m especially grateful for photographs they include, so I say so. Consider what expressions of thankfulness you might extend to a missionary, and to God for that missionary.
16. Take a lined sheet of paper and write the letters of the alphabet vertically down the left margin. Then list things that begin with each letter of the alphabet and thank God for each of them. This is a simple exercise to do with children.
17. Thank God for a bad habit he has enabled you to overcome.
18. Thank God for a good habit he has established in your life.
19. Thank someone who has influenced your life and helped you address a habit—a coach who helped you with your swing of the bat at the plate, a physician who helped you quit smoking, a mentor who encouraged your pattern of Bible reading, a counselor who helped you improve your relationships or self-acceptance, and so on.
20. Look at one of your body parts, and thank God for it. Look more closely—perhaps with a magnifying glass—and thank God for the component parts. What lies beneath the skin? Thank God for those parts too. Thank God for things like digestion, respiration, and circulation that keep that body part alive and functioning.

We All Need Reminders!

In the busyness of life it’s all too easy to forget who God is, what he has done for us, and who we are because of him. Crossway wants to help! Sign up today to receive concise Scripture-filled, gospel-saturated reminders that will encourage you and strengthen your walk with Jesus.

1. Meditate on these words of David: “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, / and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High” (Ps. 7:17). Sing a song that gives thanks to God. Invite someone to sing it with you.
2. Go for a walk and find a dozen things to thank God for.
3. Thank someone you’ve never before thanked.
4. Memorize Psalm 100. Find at least seven things in those five short verses to thank God for.
5. Write a note to the pastor of a church other than your own, thanking him for his partnership in the great gospel cause.
6. Thank the Father (John 14:26) and Jesus (John 15:26) for sending the Holy Spirit. Explain what difference it makes to you that he was sent.
7. The Holy Spirit is called the Helper. Thank him for some specific help he has given.
8. List things money cannot buy. Give thanks to God and others for them.
9. Name a biblical promise God has made. Thank him for that promise.
10. Have you received a compliment from someone? Say thank you to that person. And thank God for giving you the wherewithal to do what you’re being complimented for. Invite the person who complimented you to join you in giving thanks to God.
11. Do something nice anonymously for someone. Since it’s anonymous, he or she won’t be able to thank you. Let that absence of gratitude to you intensify the humble gratefulness in your own heart toward God who has given you a zillion things for which you haven’t thanked him.
12. As part of eating at a restaurant, consider accompanying your generous tip with words of appreciation for such things as alertness (refilling your glass), cheerfulness in serving you, and so on.
13. Conduct an “open mic” time when individuals can come to the mic and fill in the blank: “I thank God for _____.” Or, how about a “thankful wall” at work? Or a whiteboard in your classroom?
14. Thank family members for something associated with each room of the house—thank them for hanging up their coats in the entry, for putting their bicycles away in the garage, for doing another load of laundry, for organizing the stuff in the trunk in the attic, for putting the dishes in the dishwasher, for hanging up towels, for putting socks in the hamper, for shoveling the walks, and so on.
15. Thank God for the courage and faithfulness of a specific Christian martyr by name. If you can’t think of any, consult resources such as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs or the website of Voice of the Martyrs.
16. Do you know someone who’s consistently grateful? (Don’t hurry past this question; pause until you come up with a name.) Thank that person for his or her good example.
17. To express my thanks, I wrote to previous pastors who led churches I attended down through the years, starting in my boyhood. (Some are deceased, so I wrote to their widows.) I also contacted previous high school and college teachers I hadn’t seen for decades. Every response from them was warm. Who helped you years or decades ago? A Sunday school teacher? Your first employer? Let them know you still think of them to this very day with gratitude.
18. Take a photo every day of something you are thankful to God for. Make a gallery.
19. Do you have a favorite book of the Bible or a favorite verse? Thank God for that specific writer by name, and for the circumstances that led to the writing of that passage.
20. Reflect on these opening words from Psalm 75: “We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near” (Ps. 75:1). Notice that word for. It points to the basis, the reason for giving thanks. What should we do when God’s name is near? Give thanks. Plunder the riches of the Bible, looking for reasons for giving thanks. And then—give thanks.

Plunder the riches of the Bible, looking for reasons for giving thanks. And then—give thanks.

1. Pray a prayer of confession admitting thanklessness. Then thank God for forgiveness and cleansing.
2. Stand in front of a cupboard or drawer or closet and thank God for each and every item in there.
3. Send a thank-you note to someone who expressed Godward words of comfort during a time when you were struggling—words that seemed to be a personal touch of Jesus in your life.
4. God used key individuals as instruments in leading you to faith in him. Thank him for the individuals who led those people to the Lord.
5. Our responsibilities and obligations can often feel more like burdens than blessings. But these are privileges, when seen through grateful eyes. Everything from paying taxes to changing the baby’s diaper can be a privilege when you think of the services purchased by the taxes, or of the babies whose digestive systems don’t work properly, and so on. List some of your responsibilities and thank God that he has given them to you to carry out for his glory.
6. Has a piece of music ever elicited your tears or made you tap your toes with upbeat enjoyment? Marvel at this, and give thanks that God designed a world in which catgut or wire (for violin strings) can be strapped to a wooden box (violin or fiddle), and then rubbed with horse hairs (of all things!) fastened to a rod (the bow), and that those vibrating strings can then jiggle the molecules in the air until the vibrations reach your ear, where they’re transferred through wax and a thin drumlike membrane and three tiny bones, onward to the intricate cochlear nerve up to the brain, where—voilà—you hear it as toe-tapping “Oh! Suzanna” or the mournful romantic second movement of a Tchaikovsky violin concerto. Amazing! God invented the whole auditory apparatus that makes that happen. Thank him that he designed the universe and your body and soul to operate in these ways. Thank him for the whole material universe that makes music possible, and thank him for individual component parts.
7. Look through your wallet, and allow the contents to trigger expressions of gratitude. Thank God for such things as the date of your birth, your health insurance, your ability to drive a motor vehicle, and so on.
8. You breathe about twenty-three thousand times per day. Don’t take it for granted. To paraphrase Psalm 150:6, let everything that has breath give thanks—thanks for that breath and for everything else.

This article is adapted from Practicing Thankfulness: Cultivating a Grateful Heart in All Circumstances.

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Sam Crabtree is a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he has served for over twenty years. He is a former public-school teacher, is the chairman of the board of Bethlehem College & Seminary, and is the author of Practicing Affirmation. Sam and his wife, Vicki, live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and have two daughters and six grandchildren.

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Thanksgiving, Entitlement, & Grace | Cranach by Gene Veith

In understanding a concept, it is often helpful to consider its opposite.  So on Thanksgiving Day, it’s fitting to think about being thankful; that is to say, gratitude.  What is the opposite of that?  “Ingratitude” doesn’t get us very far.  I propose that the opposite of thankfulness is entitlement.

This thought came to me when I came across a passage from Mark Tooley, a conservative Methodist who heads the Institute for Religion and Democracy, from two years ago.  I lift this completely out of the original context, a discussion of some Christians who have given up on America and want to start over:

In contrast with most of the world and most people in history, we today in America are mostly wealthy, comfortable, and free. We live where we want, usually in nice homes, and we go where we want, usually in nice cars. We eat well, we befriend whomever we want, we say and think what we want, and we often complain, sometimes justly, about what we don’t have. More often, our complaints reflect the sense of entitlement that we, as covetous sinners, all have to some extent. Why isn’t God giving us more? Who is holding us back? Why are we victims of such injustice? Why must we live among people we know to be wrong?

The sense of entitlement!  We think that we deserve the good things we have.  I deserve a nice home, a nice car, nice cuisine, a nice family, and a nice job.  And if I don’t have those things up to my standards of satisfaction, I feel like a victim of injustice.  “It’s not fair.”  This feeling is usually heightened by covetousness, resentment at what other people have that I don’t.  But if we do have these good things, we take them for granted, since they are nothing less than we deserve.

The sense of thankfulness, in contrast, is the awareness that many, at least, of the good things we have come to us as gifts.  To be sure, we might earn our salaries, which we deserve through our own hard work.  But we did nothing to deserve our talents and abilities, our upbringing in the family we were born into, our spouse and children, the various vocations where God has placed us, the opportunities that have come our way.

These and other good things in our lives come to us not because we have earned them, much less deserve them because of our wonderful qualities, but out of grace.  The grace of people who have shown us generosity–our parents, teachers, mentors, friends, loved ones–and, ultimately, the grace of God.

The connection between thankfulness and grace is made explicit in the very language of the Bible.  The Greek word for thanksgiving is εὐχαριστία.  Eucharistia.  This, in turn, comes from “eu,” the word for “good,” plus “charis,” the word for “grace.”  To be thankful is a response to a “good grace.”

Christian author Ann Voskamp, whose book One Thousand Gifts is intended to sensitize Christians to their God-given blessings, explores in an interview the implications of that word as it is used in Scripture:

This is the word that can change everything: eucharisteo—it comes right out of the Gospel of Luke: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them … ” (Luke 22:19 NIV). In the original language, “he gave thanks” reads “eucharisteo.”

The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.” Charis. Grace. Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving. Chara. Joy.

Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo; the table of thanksgiving. The holy grail of joy, God set it in the very center of Christianity. The Eucharist is the central symbol of Christianity. Glynn, doesn’t the continual repetition of beginning our week at the table of the Eucharist clearly place the whole of our lives into the context of thanksgiving?

One of Christ’s very last directives He offers to His disciples is to take the bread, the wine, and to remember. Do this in remembrance of Me. Remember and give thanks.

This is the crux of Christianity: to remember and give thanks, eucharisteo.

Why? Why is remembering and giving thanks the core of the Christ-faith? Because remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust; to really believe. Re-membering, giving thanks, is what makes us a member again of the body of Christ. Re-membering, giving thanks is what puts us back together again in this hurried, broken, fragmented world.

So Thanksgiving is connected to grace, faith, joy, Christ, and Holy Communion!  In that spirit, have a blessed Thanksgiving!

 

Illustration:  Holy Eucharist by stephencuyos via OpenClipArt, CC 1.0

Source: Thanksgiving, Entitlement, & Grace

Alexander – The Hand of providence…

 “From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”

A Heart of Gratitude

“To the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.”

“The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.” —George Washington (1778)

My Patriot Brothers and Sisters,

We are charged with sustaining the blessings of American Liberty — the “unalienable rights of man” as “endowed by their Creator,” affirmed in our Declaration of Independence and codified in our Constitution. Our core mission is to extend those blessings to the next generation.

The circumstances of certain seasons make that charge more difficult, but we approach it with no less optimism and vigor. Stand fast and firm and remember who you are, and who WE are together.

Pause with us this Thanksgiving to reflect upon how blessed we really are — blessed far beyond any measure of what we deserve. We are grateful, especially, for simple blessings and mercies.

To put our national Day of Thanksgiving into proper context is to more fully understand gratitude. In that spirit, I invite you to read this compelling “History and Legacy of Our National Thanksgiving.”

From the extraordinary journal of Mayflower Compact signer and Plymouth Governor William Bradford, “Of Plimoth Plantation,” circa 1630:

Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation.

In his First Thanksgiving Proclamation, President George Washington declared:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor … I do recommend and assign [this Thanksgiving Day] to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.

In President Ronald Reagan’s final Thanksgiving message, he said:

We Americans have so much for which to be thankful. … But prosperity is not an end in itself. It helps us pay attention to the more important things: raising our children as we want them to be raised, helping others in need, and bringing nations together in peace. … We will give thanks for these and one thing more: our freedom. Yes, in America, freedom seems like the air around us: It’s there; it’s sweet, though we rarely give it a thought. Yet as the air fills our lungs, freedom fills our souls. It gives breath to our laughter and joy. It gives voice to our songs. It gives us strength as we race for our dreams. Think of those around the world who cannot bow their heads in prayer without risking their lives. … And then think of how blessed we are to be Americans. Yes, as we gather together this Thanksgiving to ask the Lord’s blessings. … Let us thank Him for our peace, prosperity, and freedom.

Indeed.

Fellow Patriots, especially in this season, contemplate all that is good and right: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Moreover, as you gather with family and friends this week, keep the peace among those who would sow discord. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Amid the rush of this season, for inspiration, I encourage you to take a moment to consider the goodness and uniqueness of our nation and people. Enjoy watching “My Beautiful America” by my fellow Tennessean, Charlie Daniels.

Please join us in prayer for the protection of our uniformed Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families.

Thank you for supporting our nation’s premier journal of American Liberty, and our effort to support and defend our Republic’s Founding Principles, in order that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

On behalf of your Patriot team and National Advisory Committee, we pray God’s blessings upon you and your family this Thanksgiving, and every day to come.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Mark Alexander

Publisher, The Patriot Post
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

 “From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”

“How To Survive Thanksgiving”??? | The Economic Collapse

This year there have been more news articles than ever about “how to survive Thanksgiving”.  If you have not noticed this, I will provide some examples for you in this article.  Personally, the idea that Thanksgiving is an ordeal that must be endured is deeply offensive to me.  If eating a feast while surrounded by people that love you is too much of a burden, please stay home.  Thanksgiving is a day when we our not supposed to be focused on ourselves.  Instead, it is a day when we are supposed to give thanks.  In fact, according to the original Thanksgiving declaration that George Washington issued in 1789, there is someone in particular that we are supposed to give thanks to on this day.  But in our “me-centered” society, that has been completely forgotten.

I love Thanksgiving.  When I was a child, we would stop for one day to eat some turkey and give thanks for our blessings.  But today the Thanksgiving holiday has become an entire season.  The weekend before Thanksgiving is a travel weekend, many take the entire week off, and the weekend after Thanksgiving is the time when people travel home.

I kind of like that.  The more time that we can take to spend with the people that love us the better.

But many media outlets seem to think that spending time with family and friends is a problem.  For example, here is one article about Thanksgiving that discusses “the stresses that a family get-together can create”…

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday. Some celebrate it as an American tradition. Others look at it as simply an excuse to get together with family to watch some football. And still others just enjoy getting an extra day off from work or try to ignore it altogether. But however you regard it, there are often two areas in which many of us can use help: preparing the traditional Thanksgiving meal and dealing with the stresses that a family get-together can create — especially these days, when conversations around the dinner table may be even more fraught than usual.

Yes, human relationships are complicated.

But that doesn’t mean that we should just isolate ourselves.

A big part of life is learning how to love imperfect people.

Because if you can’t love imperfect people, you aren’t going to love anyone, because nobody is perfect.

Many of the articles about “how to survive Thanksgiving” are focused on how to deal with family members.  The following comes from an article entitled “How to Survive Thanksgiving with a Crazy Family”…

Every Thanksgiving, millions of Americans prepare for what just might be the most family time they’ve had in a while. For some this is great. It is a reunion full of hugs and catching up. For most, it’s a politically charged, possibly drunken, exchange of fighting words, news stories, and my favorite, family drama. While my family is, admittedly, crazy, we normally shy away from such emotionally charged topics. But there is always an instigator in each family who enjoys sparring with family, watching the flames come up from the ground and engulf their family until it’s time to eat so much they enter a comatose state, lie on the couch, and forget the pain they’ve inflicted.

Many of these articles suggest that we should just avoid talking about anything important during Thanksgiving.

Really?

What are we supposed to do?

Talk about the weather for three hours?

Political talk at Thanksgiving is something that mainstream news outlets seem to particularly dislike.  I found an ABC News article entitled “How to survive political talk at Thanksgiving dinner” to be particularly amusing…

It’s Thanksgiving, you’re enjoying your favorite foods at the dinner table, when a family member brings up who they voted for in the 2024 presidential election.

Arguments ensue.

The food doesn’t taste as good.

And now everyone’s a politician.

People have political opinions.

And that is okay.

If we can’t learn how to peacefully interact with those that we disagree with, we are going to be in big trouble.

If we had a society that actually valued the marketplace of ideas, we would relish the opportunity to chat with those that hold opposing views.

But instead we are trained to cringe at the thought of having to do that.  Here is an excerpt from a Vogue article entitled “How to Survive Politics-Talk at Thanksgiving (Without Losing Your Mind)”…

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and given that we’re fresh off one of the most contentious and politically charged seasons of our time, it’s probably not realistic to expect a holiday to be totally free of drama.

If you’re one of the lucky few whose family is united around political issues, treasure those peaceful conversations at the Thanksgiving table; for the rest of us, it can be challenging to know how best to talk to loved ones (or, to be real, tolerated-out-of-necessity ones) about anything substantive. Besides, for many of us, these issues aren’t “just politics;” they directly affect the way we live our lives and the safety and happiness of our families and friends.

If you disagree with me, that is okay.

And if I disagree with you, that is okay too.

Today, many people are actually completely cutting themselves off from their families due to political differences.

That is so wrong, but it is happening on a widespread basis.

Recently, Oprah Winfrey committed an entire podcast to people that have chosen to go “no contact” with their relatives…

When is it OK to go “no contact” with a family member? And what even is “no contact,” really?

Oprah Winfrey explored these questions on “The Oprah Podcast,” in an episode released Tuesday, Nov. 25, ahead of Thanksgiving. In the episode, audience members opened up about cutting off all contact with close relatives − even their parents.

“I know this is a tender, hot-button topic,” Winfrey said in the episode. “My hope is that we can open up the heart space and really listen. I’m not on anybody’s side. I just want to hear what everyone has to say.”

A USA Today article about that podcast explained precisely what it means to go “no contact” with someone…

“No contact” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: You cut off all communication with someone. This means no meet-ups, no phone calls, no texting and no interaction on social media. If you happen to run into each other, you either avoid them or keep the interactions short and emotionally neutral.

I know so many children that no longer have contact with their parents, and I know so many parents that no longer have contact with their children.

It is a nationwide epidemic, and it is a great tragedy.

But this is what our society has become.

We have been trained to hate anyone that disagrees with us, and that even includes our own family members.

One of these days so many people are going to look back and wish that they could have done things differently.

If you find yourself wishing that you had done things differently, this Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to change direction.

In 1789, President George Washington issued the very first Thanksgiving proclamation.

He designated the 26th day of November to be a day when Americans were to humble themselves and give thanks to God for the blessings that He had bestowed upon our young nation…

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

The vast majority of the population has totally forgotten what Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about.

But it is not too late to reverse course.

I would encourage everyone to humble themselves and give thanks at some point over the next few days.

You will be amazed at how your perspective changes once you have done that.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.

The post “How To Survive Thanksgiving”??? appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Universities Call to ‘Decolonize’ Thanksgiving | IFA

Today is Thanksgiving, and Americans across the nation will celebrate with bountiful meals and family gatherings. However, while many are celebrating, educators and schools are lamenting, pushing to “decolonize” the holiday.

Visit your state page to pray.

 

From Fox News:

As families across the U.S. gather on Thanksgiving to celebrate one of the nation’s most cherished national holidays, some educators and schools are lamenting the day, pushing back on its “colonial” roots, and incorporating diversity, equality and inclusion DEI into the holiday.

At the University of California, Davis, the California History-Social Science Project, which describes itself as “Resources & professional learning for K-12 history-social science,” hosted a Zoom event called “Decolonizing Thanksgiving in the Classroom.”

“We will discuss reframing classroom practices and rituals about Thanksgiving,” the event description explained. “Centering perspectives from Turtle Island (a name for North America used by some indigenous people) will help us decolonize Thanksgiving and spark new conversations about how to authentically make meaning of this holiday with our students.”

 

UC Davis isn’t the only school to push back on Thanksgiving. Fox notes that Washington University in St. Louis, a school known for its controversial DEI policies, promoted an event to highlight “the way different cultures recognize and understand Thanksgiving.” According to the school the event is a way to actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, meanwhile, invited students to a “Thanksgiving Myth-busting” event designed to explore the “narratives justifying land grabs via colonialism.” The school is also inviting students to attend a National Indigenous Day of Mourning rally at the location of the Mayflower’s landing.

Other schools are taking similar approaches. Across the nation, educational institutions are seeking to characterize Thanksgiving as a time of mourning, highlighting the day’s “painful legacy.” We know, however, that Thanksgiving is a day best spent remembering our nation’s proud history, enjoying time with family and friends, and thanking God for all He has done for us.

This Thanksgiving, let’s pray that Americans would put divisive politics aside and focus on the true meaning of the holiday.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? Share your prayers of thanksgiving below.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Photo Credit: Mys 721tx – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101237507)

Source: Universities Call to ‘Decolonize’ Thanksgiving

The Christian Virtue of Thanksgiving | Ligonier Ministries

Gratitude is the heart’s response to grace, or at least it should be. Take Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the Psalter and thereby the shortest chapter in Christian Scripture. It reads: “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

The psalmist cannot help but be overcome by gratitude and praise. And this is for a single reason only: God’s never-ending, covenant love which endures toward His people forever. Two elements of this petite psalm should jump right off the page at us. First is the scope of those who should be grateful. Does the psalmist believe that Israel alone should shout in acclamation? Is it limited to those who have Hebrew blood coursing through their veins? No. It is all the nations! All peoples! The psalmist in a moment of jubilant thanks seems to peer from the old covenant into the eschaton, presaging the words of John in Revelation 7:9–12, which read:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (Emphasis added).

As the plan of salvation comes to fruition, all, including the heavenly host, cannot help but fall down in praise and thanks to almighty God. It is the instinct of redeemed creatures when they receive blessing without merit. And that is the second element which is apparent in Psalm 117: That for which the psalmist is so grateful is not something which he earns or deserves. It’s not something he believes he is owed. In fact, it has nothing to do with him, other than the reality that he is a recipient of this matchless gift. It is God and what He has done, without reference to our worthiness, which elicits such incredible and intense proclamations of thanks.

More than that, expressions of genuine heartfelt thanks seem to point others in a palpable way to grace. For instance, take the following description of gratitude published not by evangelicals, but by the American Psychological Association in a book titled, Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification: “What marks gratitude is the psychological response to the gift, whatever its nature, and the experience, however briefly, of the transcendent emotion of grace—the sense that we have benefited from the actions of another.” It appears that even those writing in the purely secular sphere recognize that grace is the central feature of the experience of gratitude, though they fail to apprehend the One whose gracious nature stands behind such experiences (Eph. 2:8).

Furthermore, gratitude is not merely passive and reflexive. It is also active and willful. For example, Paul, when he writes famously to the Philippians (4:4–7), states:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

According to Paul, when we willingly choose to focus on those things for which we are thankful in the Lord, it has a heart-shaping effect. Even when our hearts and minds would rather be focused on the negative. And what is that effect? When we steward our minds to meditate on the gracious gifts of God, then peace from God, which surpasses all ability to cognitively work out, seems to rule in our hearts.

I often tell my counselees that “Help!” is a perfectly acceptable one-word prayer. So too is the twice as long “Thank you!” The former is for the languishing soul, the latter for the exultant. One begs for grace, the other acknowledges grace already received.

One last point on the virtue of gratitude for this Thanksgiving: thanks is one of the major tributaries which finds itself terminating in that beautifully deep and wide river we know as awe. As we become those who intentionally transform our lives to recognize the nearly innumerable gifts given to us by God, our hearts are taken by the currents of gratitude and become those which so easily and often find themselves in awe and wonder simply worshiping at the throne of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

This Thanksgiving as we sit around with our families celebrating and rehearsing the gifts for which we should be thankful, may our praise not be platitudinous, dim, and drowsy, but rather earnest, vivid, and energetic. Coming, as for the believer they do, from grace-inundated lives, pointing toward a generous and gracious Giver, with the hope of the glorious grace we will have in its fullness one day when Christ returns and our feast of thanks finds its richest fulfillment (Isa. 25).

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published November 21, 2022.

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The Grammar of Gratitude | Key Life

Every year I hear that remark from a number of people. One of the reasons revolves around the timing of the holiday: it’s before the craziness of the Christmas season and there are no decoration expectations, ugly Christmas sweater parties, endless holiday music playlists, hectic schedules, or awkward gifts from that awkward great uncle. Thanksgiving, they’ll say, is just a time for an intentional, fantastic meal and some relaxed time with friends and family (as long as the great uncle isn’t there).

As someone put it: “I just like the feeling of Thanksgiving.” That’s not an uncommon sentiment. But some unfortunate consequences can happen when we confuse the meaning of the holiday with the meaning of the word: we can miss the Life-giving grammar of authentic gratitude.

Thanksgiving can actually prompt a powerful reset to the cadence of my journey if I realize it’s more than a holiday and more than an emotion. But for me to experience such a reset I need to take a quick refresher in English grammar. “Being thankful” or “exhibiting gratitude” implies a provider — it implies something or someone that has provided whatever I’m grateful for. You might even say it implies a direct object. One dictionary website defines a Direct Object as, “the person or thing upon which the action of a verb is performed or toward which it is directed.” (Mrs. Tucker, my delightful high school English Grammar teacher, would be proud of me for bringing this up. At least I think she would. My palms just got sweaty.)

For me to say “I’m thankful,” begs the question, “To whom am I thankful?” Whatever I’m grateful for didn’t just pop out of thin air. To be grateful is to understand not only the gifts and blessings I’m grateful for but where those gifts come from.

When I realize gratitude is not just the feeling of a holiday but an act of worship, it deepens the meaning without undermining the sentiment. With the word, “worship,” people can immediately think of a religious act confined to a house of worship. But true worship is not only a matter of going to church or corporate singing. It’s an all-of-life, humble, grateful response to the worth of God in my life. Responding to the worth of…

…His character by admiring Him,

…His grace by loving Him,

…His guidance by obeying Him,

…His agenda by following Him,

…His blessings by thanking Him…

How about taking this entire Thanksgiving week and treating it as a week of worship, an entire week of not only feeling grateful but also responding to the Direct Object of your gratitude? Of not only feeling thankful but actually giving thanks? Giving thanks to the God who gives us the people, places, and things (I’m on a roll with this grammar thing) that we consciously acknowledge as demonstrations of His smile in our story. 

Authentic gratitude will mean engaging my mind and recognizing God’s worth in every nook and cranny of my life. It’ll mean paying attention, being constantly on the lookout for His fingerprints on my day and my story and the lives of people around me. 

Authentic gratitude means engaging my heart — resonating and agreeing with the relevance of God’s proven ability to lavishly meet my needs. Jesus actually made a point of emphasizing that, when I think I’m worshiping, if my heart’s unengaged, it’s a vain waste of time. (Matthew 15:8-9)

Authentic gratitude will also mean tossing aside my addiction to passivity pills and actively engaging my strength and behavior in an all-of-life response to God’s worth. Worship is not a spectator sport. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Hebrew and Greek words we translate as “worship” involve physical postures and actions. Worship is not just an attitude—it’s an activity. It will involve the ways I consciously live my life in God’s presence, spend my time, energy and money, and treat the people around me. So it will happen in plenty of places besides church.

I love how poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning revealed some familiarity with the art of paying attention—being aware of the worth, beauty, and goodness of God that’s displayed in the everyday stuff of life—when she wrote,

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God:

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware.

At the Thanksgiving table this year, how about, instead of being “unaware,” you “take off your shoes” and really “see” the goodness, truth, and beauty of God?  And maybe even mention it in your out-loud voice?

“Place of worship” is a phrase we see on city maps and tour guides, referring to a building or holy site. This year, could I encourage you to let that Thanksgiving table not only be a setting for some great food, but also a place of worship and authentic gratitude? Even if the awkward uncle does show up.

Matt Heard is the Founder of THRIVE and is the author of Life with a Capital L: Embracing Your God-Given Humanity.

The post The Grammar of Gratitude appeared first on Key Life.

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A Prayer to Be Thankful for God’s Bountiful Provisions – Your Daily Prayer – November 27 | Christianity.com

When you look back at what God’s done, it changes how you see today. This prayer invites you to remember, praise, and give thanks with your whole heart.

A Prayer to Be Thankful for God’s Bountiful Provisions
By Lynette Kittle

Bible Reading:
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Listen or Read Below:

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday where Americans celebrate the Pilgrims and Native Americans preparing, gathering, and sharing a bountiful feast together. It’s a day our nation has set aside to give thanks to God.

It’s also a yearly reminder of the faith of our founders. Yet, sadly, many have forgotten that the true focus of Thanksgiving Day is to give thanks to God.

The following are four ways to focus on thanking God for His bountiful provisions:

1. Thank God First and Foremost

Thanksgiving Day is about being committed to thanking God first and foremost, as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 urges us to do.

Just as the Pilgrims and Native Americans, our thanks aren’t to be conditional or based on what we’ve gone through during the year, but rather a commitment to thank God and trust Him, regardless of our current situation, whether we are struggling with life’s circumstances or living comfortably.

2. Thank God by Remembering

The Pilgrims focused on thanking God by remembering His faithfulness and protection over them. We, too, can include remembering on our Thanksgiving Day, as Psalm 77:11 proclaims, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.”

Even though we’re experiencing difficult times, we can remember all God is doing and has done in our lives, starting with our Salvation through Jesus Christ, to His giving us the desire of our hearts and meeting our daily needs.

As urged, “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

3. Thank God by Praising Him

We can thank Him by praising Him to one another, as Ephesians 5:19-20 urges, “Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Thankfulness goes hand-in-hand with praising God. Through our words, actions, singing, and playing music, like Psalm 100:4 describes, we can “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” 

Praise is often expressed through songs, as Psalm 147:1 encourages. “Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!”

Our praise can also be expressed through the way we live our lives; by the words we speak, and the way we treat those around us. It can be lived out in our willingness to serve others because of all God has done for us. 

4. Thank God through Sacrifice                                                                                        

Sacrifice pleases God, and when we praise Him during difficult times, He receives it as a pleasing sacrifice. As Hebrews 13:16 reminds us, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Additionally, sacrificial praise occurs when we move past our own disappointments and losses to praise God, as Psalm 116:17 encourages, “I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the name of the Lord.” 

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father,

On Thanksgiving Day, we thank You first and foremost for Your goodness, Your faithfulness, and Your Salvation. 

We also thank You by remembering all that You have done for us through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Thank You for sending Him to the world and for His laying down His life so that we may live.

Help us to praise Your name whenever we can and to those around us through our words, singing, music, actions, and serving others.

We thank You by offering You a sacrifice of praise through our lips and by sharing what we have been given with those around us. Despite our current situation, losses, and disappointments, we praise You because You, and You alone, are worthy of our praise.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Join the conversation! Share how today’s devotional spoke to you on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: ©Getty/Drazen Zigic

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

https://www.christianity.com/devotionals/your-daily-prayer/a-prayer-to-be-thankful-for-gods-bountiful-provisions.html

What Is Thanksgiving Day? | Ligonier Ministries

The First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an American holiday that stretches all the way back to a time long before America became a nation. The Pilgrims landed in 1620. They faced brutal conditions and were woefully unprepared. Roughly half of them died in that first year. Then they had a successful harvest of corn. In November of 1621 they decided to celebrate a feast of thanksgiving.

Edward Winslow was among those who ate that first thanksgiving meal in 1621. He noted:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we gathered the fruit of our labors. . . . And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want.

In addition to the fowl eaten that first Thanksgiving, the Native American also brought along five deer as their contribution to the feast. Presumably they also ate corn.

Over the centuries, Americans continued to celebrate feasts of thanksgiving in the fall. Some presidents issued proclamations. Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation for a perpetual national holiday set aside for thanksgiving. In 1863, with the nation torn apart by the Civil War, he declared:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

Ingratitude

So we have a holiday of thanksgiving born in and further nurtured during times of great adversity and struggle. We might think that times of adversity and challenge would spawn ingratitude, while times of prosperity would spawn gratitude. Sadly, the reverse is true. A chilling scene from the animated television show The Simpsons demonstrates this. Bart Simpson was called upon to pray for a meal, to which he promptly prayed, “Dear God, We paid for all of this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.”

Prosperity breeds ingratitude. The writers of the Heidelberg Catechism knew this. Question 28 asks what it benefits us to know that God creates and sustains all things. The answer is it gives patience in adversity and gratitude in prosperity. Moses also knew this. In Deuteronomy, he looks ahead to times of material prosperity for Israel, then sternly warns, inspired by the Holy Spirit, not to forget God. “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth’ ” (Deut. 8:17). We did this all ourselves. Thanks for nothing. Human nature trends toward ingratitude.

Another culprit breeding ingratitude is our entitlement culture. Simply put, why should we be grateful for what we deserve and what we have a right to? I was owed this, goes the culture, therefore why would I say thank you?

To Whom Are We Grateful?

A third culprit concerns what UC Davis professor of psychology Dr. Robert Emmons calls the “to whom” question. In his scientific study of gratitude, Emmons came to the realization that gratitude raises a singular and significant question: When we say thank you, to whom are we grateful?

The interesting thing here is that if we trace this “to whom” line of questioning back, like pulling on the threads of some tapestry, we find a singular answer at the end of each and every thread. The answer is God. To whom are we grateful? We are grateful in an ultimate sense to God.

Our Benefactor does “good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Theologians call this common grace. God as creator cares for all His creation and provides for our needs. He gives us our very lives and our very breath.

Our Benefactor also does good by giving His most precious gift, the gift of His Beloved Son. Theologians call this saving grace. Gifts often cost the giver. What a costly gift the Father has given us in sending the Son. So Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift” (2 Cor. 9:15).

The Necessity of Thanksgiving

When we consider God as the “to whom” we are thankful, we may well be seeing both the necessity of thanksgiving and the eclipse of thanksgiving. As culture veers more and more towards a secular state it shrinks back from gratitude. So vainly we think we did this all ourselves. So wrongly we think we deserve, or even have a fundamental right to, all of this. We also know what is at the end of the string if we pull on it long enough. We know that we will be confronted with a Creator. We know we will be accountable to a Creator. Saying thank you means we are dependent, not independent. We would rather be ungrateful. Paul says we know God from all the evidence He has left of Himself, but we don’t want to “honor him or give thanks to him” (Rom 1:21). Then the downward spiral begins. A culture of ingratitude careens ever downward into decline.

We should not be counted among those who see the fourth Thursday in November as nothing more than a day of football and over-indulgence. We should be thankful for one day set apart to consider all that we have and realize that all that we have has been given to us. Of course, such gratitude should in no way be limited to one day out of 365.

Having been imprisoned for one year, four months, and eighteen days in a Nazi cell measuring 6 ft. x 9 ft, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote what is certainly a reminder of the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday:

You must never doubt that I’m traveling with gratitude and cheerfulness along the road where I’m being led. My past life is brim-full of God’s goodness, and my sins are covered by the forgiving love of Christ crucified. I’m so thankful for the people I have met, and I only hope that they never have to grieve about me, but that they, too, will always be certain of and thankful for God’s mercy and forgiveness.

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This article was originally published November 23, 2020.

http://feeds.ligonier.org/~/929108540/0/ligonierministriesblog

February 28 | ACKNOWLEDGING THE ULTIMATE SOURCE

“… joyously giving thanks to the Father” (Col. 1:11–12).

✧✧✧

Joyous thanksgiving acknowledges God as the giver of every good gift.

The inseparable link between joy and thanksgiving was a common theme for Paul. In Philippians 4:4–6 he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!. … Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” He told the Thessalonians to “rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16–18).
As often as Paul expressed thanks and encouraged others to express theirs, he was careful never to attribute to men the thanks due to God alone. For example, in Romans 1:8 he says, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.” He thanked God, not the Roman believers, because he knew that faith is a gift from God.
That doesn’t mean you can’t thank others for the kindnesses they show, but in doing so you must understand that they are instruments of God’s grace.
Thanking Him shows humility and acknowledges His rightful place as the Sovereign Lord and the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Those who reject His Lordship and refuse to give Him thanks incur His wrath (Rom. 1:21).
Only those who love Christ can truly give thanks because He is the channel through which thanks is expressed to the Father. As Paul says in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Hebrews 13:15 adds, “Through [Christ] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
As one who is privileged to know the God of all grace, be generous in your praise and thanksgiving today. See everything as a gift from His hand for your joy and edification.

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Suggestions for Prayer: Read aloud Psalm 136 as a prayer of praise to God.

For Further Study: From Psalm 136 list the things that prompted the psalmist’s thanksgiving. How can that psalm serve as a model for your own praise?

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1993). Drawing Near—Daily Readings for a Deeper Faith (p. 71). Crossway Books.

SOCIALISM: A Christian Response (Part 1) | VCY

 SOCIALISM: A Christian Response (Part 1)

Welcome!

I’m Bub Kuns, and today we’re talking about socialism.

Did you know that long before Karl Marx, the Pilgrims had a failed experiment with socialism?

When the Pilgrims first arrived in America, Governor Bradford arranged for them to have a communal farm. Everyone would share the harvest of crops equally, no matter how much each person helped — or didn’t. CLASSIC SOCIALISM!

This, of course, removed incentive for the Pilgrims to work, so many did not. Realizing there would be a scant harvest, Bradford changed course and gave each settler HIS OWN piece of land to farm, allowing each to keep what he grew. With this incentive, the Pilgrims began working hard, and when harvest eventually came, the new colony’s crops were abundant. 

Believers today should learn from the Pilgrims’ failed experiment with socialism, seeing the value of incentive for achieving God-given potential.

And how else should Christians respond to socialism? We’ll discuss that another time.

For more information go to http://www.hopetools.net.  Stay Bold!

Bub Kuns is (at heart) a storyteller. He is a director, producer, writer, performer and editor. Bub’s life mission is to help and guide people to love God with all their “heart, soul, mind and strength.” Part of how he does that is by providing truth-filled, accessible, captivating content that packs a little punch. Bub produces content that inspires, challenges and activates believers to use their talents and voices to make a difference in their communities and in the world for the cause of Christ. 

Pray for Reconciliation with God that you may Have His Blessing and Abiding Presence

Matthew Henry’s “Method For Prayer”

Petition 3.8 | ESV

That we may have the blessing of God.

O God, be gracious to me and bless me and make your face to shine upon me; Psalm 67:1(ESV) yes, let God, my God, give me his blessing. Psalm 67:6(ESV)

May the LORD, he who made heaven and earth, bless me from Zion; Psalm 134:3(ESV) bless me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:3(ESV)

O that you would bless me indeed! 1 Chronicles 4:10(KJV) Command the blessing upon me, even life forevermore; Psalm 133:3(ESV) for you bless, O LORD, and it shall be blessed. 1 Chronicles 17:27(KJV)

Let me receive blessing from the LORD, even righteousness from the God of my salvation. Psalm 24:5(ESV)

Have you but one blessing? Indeed, you have many blessings! Bless me, even me also, O my Father; Genesis 27:38(ESV) yes, let the blessing of Abraham come to me, which comes to the Gentiles through faith; Galatians 3:14(ESV) and the blessing of Jacob, for I will not let you go unless you bless me. Genesis 32:26(ESV)

That we may have the presence of God with us.

If your presence will not go with me, do not bring me up from here; Exodus 33:15(ESV) never leave me nor forsake me. Hebrews 13:5(ESV)

O cast me not away from your presence, or ever take your Holy Spirit away from me; Psalm 51:11(ESV) but let me always dwell with the upright in your presence. Psalm 140:13(ESV)

Pray for Reconciliation with God that you may Have His Blessing and Abiding Presence

Thanksgiving in the Midst of Hardship | Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc

If we said there is a great deal of angst and bitter division in our nation these days, I think most Americans would agree. Thankfully, Thanksgiving has arrived, and perhaps we may get a momentary reprieve from the never-ending cultural quarrel that besets us. It has always been one of our favorite holidays, a day originally set aside to thank God for all His myriad blessings, nationally and personally. But for many, Thanksgiving today may be seen as little more than a day off work, at least for those not responsible for preparing “Thanksgiving dinner.” As with many American celebrations — originally called Holy Days but known in modern times as holidays — Thanksgiving has lost much of its initial holy intent. As we consider The First Thanksgiving we see that:

The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. But these were days of prayer, not days of feasting.

Initially, this was a time devoted to the corporate worship of God for His goodness and provision. What Did The Pilgrims And Wampanoag Indians Celebrate In 1621? rightly points out:

The First Thanksgiving: The Thanksgiving Feast. The English colonists we call Pilgrims celebrated days of thanksgiving as part of their religion. … Our national holiday really stems from the feast held in the autumn of 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag to celebrate the colony’s first successful harvest.

The trip across the ocean was very difficult. When they landed, winter was already setting in, and the end of the voyage certainly wasn’t the end of their trials. At the end of the first brutal winter, only fifty of the one hundred people who made the trip had survived. The small band celebrated with their benefactors, the Wampanoag Indians or “Eastern People.” Despite the hardships and losses the Pilgrims suffered, they viewed this first Thanksgiving as a time of celebration and appreciating the blessings of God’s protection and provision. They had endured constant reminders of the precarious nature of human life, and out of great loss, there was great joy and thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims had a decidedly different outlook on life than most of us do today. They expected life to be very hard and were not surprised when it was exactly that. They did not expect ease and comfort, in part because they had never known anything close to the comforts and conveniences we enjoy today. They had great difficulties establishing themselves in a new land but likely had known great difficulties in their homeland as well. Being deeply persuaded that this life was short and mean, while eternity was long and satisfying was how they made it through the hardships of life. And so, they were thankful for their deliverance. That’s not to say they were superhuman, floating through life without ever experiencing emotional despair, frustration, or deep sorrow, but they had an eternal perspective that kept them going.

As we consider the history of this day, we are mindful of all that we should be thankful for on this particular Thanksgiving Day. Just for beginners, we don’t have to go out in the cold to track and kill an animal for our upcoming feast. Most of us have no experience hunting — we do our “hunting” in a climate-controlled environment where our biggest challenge may be the hordes of shoppers in the checkout line, especially if we need to shop on Wednesday.

In that way and so many others, most of us do have a much easier life than people in past generations. However, we are not being Pollyannish. We experience loss and frustration and sometimes great sadness in our own lives, and we personally know many Christians who are right now experiencing terrible illness or great loss. We must work, as do all Christians, to keep an eternal perspective on the trials we go through and remember that God is in control of things that are completely out of our control.

And, as Christians, we need to be able to identify the forces we are compelled to fight in this life, forces that aim to destroy us and our faith and witness. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Those spiritual forces seem to become more brazenly apparent every day, which is the result of vast numbers of people turning further and further away from God, leaving a spiritual vacuum to be filled, and it is being filled.

No matter the appearance to the contrary, the true division that matters for eternity is not about being black or white, rich or poor, bikers or drivers, but is between those who are adopted children of God vs those that reject Him. As God’s children, we are thankful for God’s many material blessings. We are also very thankful to God’s people from times past — like the Pilgrims and so many others — who made it their business to share the faith and pass it down to our generation. Their spiritual resilience — their determination to live as Christians despite hardship — is our blessed heritage. We can certainly be thankful for that.

We are personally thankful for the opportunity to be in ministry, and to share the gospel with those that God puts in our path. Yes, life even today is difficult and may become more difficult as our nation and indeed the whole world drifts further and further from the true God, but like our Christian forebearers, we know and strive to remain mindful that this life is short and mean and eternity is long and satisfying.

The apostle Paul experienced a few minor difficulties in his life. He recounted some of these to the Corinthians:

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)

Sounds pretty brutal… Yet he is also the one who wrote:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

God’s will for us is to give thanks for our blessings, both spiritual and material, despite whatever hard or contrary circumstances we may find ourselves in. Why? Because He is bigger than our circumstances and will carry us through until the day we meet Him face to face. Perhaps one of the most popular Thanksgiving songs we have was penned by Henry Smith:

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, “I am strong”
Let the poor say, “I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us”

Our hope is that every person reading this will experience an interlude of peace and gladness this Thanksgiving. Our prayer is that we will all as Christians remember to pause and thank God for all our blessings. We also ask Him to help us maintain the eternal perspective we all need to live out Christian holiness in our lives and pass on our faith to our children and others. Happy Thanksgiving with love and blessed celebration of the incarnation in a few weeks…Ω

Source: https://midwestoutreach.org/2024/11/28/thanksgiving-in-the-midst-of-hardship/

The History of Thanksgiving Day: A Christian Call to Gratitude | Josh Buice – G3 Ministries

Thanksgiving Day stands as one of the most cherished holidays in American history, uniquely interwoven with both religious devotion and civic celebration. Its origins trace back to the earliest days in the history of our nation, particularly the Pilgrims’ famous feast in 1621. Beyond its historical roots, Thanksgiving calls Christians to embody a life of gratitude with deep roots in biblical principles. As we consider the history of Thanksgiving in America and its rich Christian heritage, it’s likewise important to remember that gratitude is central to the Christian’s life.

The Historical Origins of Thanksgiving in America

The story of Thanksgiving begins with the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620. In the fall of 1620, 102 colonists sailed for the New World on a well known sea vessel known as the Mayflower.  These Separatist Christians, seeking religious freedom, exited the ship with chest boxes filled with personal property as they started a new life in a new land. These Christians who were influenced greatly by the Reformation would also bring with them the 1560 Geneva Bible.

Their first winter was harsh and they were massively unprepared. As they endured a harrowing first winter, nearly half of their number died. Yet, by the autumn of 1621, with the help of the Wampanoag (Native American Indians), the Pilgrims harvested their first crops. Governor William Bradford organized a feast to give thanks to God for His provision and protection. Attended by both the Pilgrims and their Native American allies, this meal is widely considered the first Thanksgiving.

While the exact menu is uncertain, accounts suggest it included venison, wild fowl (possibly turkey), corn, and other locally available foods. Unlike the modern Thanksgiving meal, it likely lacked pies and sweetened desserts, as sugar and flour were scarce.

This feast, however, was not intended as an annual event. The concept of Thanksgiving as a recurring celebration emerged later, tied to various religious and civic observances. In 1789, President George Washington proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving, emphasizing gratitude to God for the blessings of independence and constitutional government. Similarly, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Lincoln’s proclamation explicitly acknowledged God’s providence, calling the nation to repentance and gratitude amidst the trials of war:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

Since then, Thanksgiving has been celebrated annually in November, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt formalizing its observance on the fourth Thursday of the month in 1941. To this very day, families gather around a table of celebration in an annual tradition deeply rooted in American history.

Biblical Foundations of Thanksgiving

The Christian faith is inherently a faith of thanksgiving. Scripture abounds with exhortations to gratitude, emphasizing a response to God’s grace that flows from a true heart of worship. The Psalms, often described as the hymnbook of Israel, are replete with calls to thanksgiving:

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4, ESV).

This verse portrays thanksgiving as the appropriate posture for approaching God, recognizing His goodness and steadfast love. Gratitude aligns the heart with God’s purposes which encourages a proper spirit of dependence and joy.

The New Testament echoes this same theme, with the apostle Paul frequently urging believers to give thanks. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Thanksgiving is not contingent on favorable conditions but flows from the unchanging reality of God’s sovereignty and love.

Similarly, in Colossians 3:17, Paul writes: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Thanksgiving permeates every aspect of the Christian life, transforming ordinary actions into acts of worship.

The ultimate foundation for Christian gratitude lies in the gospel. Paul emphaszies this in 2 Corinthians 9:15 as we writes: “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” The gift of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and resurrection ensures eternal life for believers, providing a wellspring of gratitude that transcends temporal blessings.

Thanksgiving and Christian Theology

Theologically, thanksgiving is deeply tied to the doctrine of God’s providence. The Pilgrims understood this, attributing their survival and success not to chance but to God’s sovereign care. This perspective is evident in Governor Bradford’s writings, where he describes their journey as an act of faith, guided and sustained by God.

The most grateful and thankful people in the world should be the church of Jesus Christ. It is a great contradiction to see Christians filled with ingratitude and frowning in light of God’s amazing grace and kind provisions. Commenting on Psalm 61:8, Charles Spurgeon writes the following in his Treasury of David:

There should be a parallel between our supplications and our thanksgivings. We ought not to leap in prayer, and limp in praise.

Moreover, gratitude combats sin by redirecting the heart toward God. Paul identifies ingratitude as a root of idolatry, writing in Romans 1:21: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Thanksgiving, therefore, is not only a response to God’s grace but also a safeguard against spiritual decay.

The Relevance of Thanksgiving Today

In a culture increasingly characterized by entitlement and discontent, the discipline of thanksgiving stands as a countercultural witness. Thanksgiving reminds believers of their dependence on God and calls them to a life marked by humility and joy.

For Christians, Thanksgiving Day provides a unique opportunity to reflect on God’s blessings and proclaim His goodness to a watching world. Gathering with family and friends, sharing meals, and recounting testimonies of God’s faithfulness can transform a secular holiday into a spiritual celebration.

Thanksgiving has served as a reminder of God’s providence and a call to national and personal gratitude.

Additionally, Thanksgiving offers a chance to engage in acts of compassion, echoing the Pilgrims’ spirit of fellowship with the Wampanoag. Whether by serving needy people in your community as an outreach through your local church or opening homes to the lonely, Christians can model gratitude through generous hospitality.

The history of Thanksgiving in America is inseparable from its Christian roots. From the Pilgrims’ first feast to President Lincoln’s wartime proclamation, Thanksgiving has served as a reminder of God’s providence and a call to national and personal gratitude.

For Christians, the significance of Thanksgiving extends beyond a single day on the calendar. It is a reminder of the gospel’s transformative power, compelling believers to live lives of worship and service. As Paul exhorts in Colossians 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

No matter what your family traditions look like this Thanksgiving Day—make sure you remember to pause and give thanks to the God of all mercy, grace, and daily provision.

Thanksgiving is not merely an American tradition; it is a biblical imperative, a response to God’s grace that should define every Christian’s life. No matter what your family traditions look like this Thanksgiving Day—make sure you remember to pause and give thanks to the God of all mercy, grace, and daily provision. May this Thanksgiving, and every day thereafter, be marked by hearts overflowing with gratitude to the glory of God.

https://g3min.org/the-history-of-thanksgiving-day-a-christian-call-to-gratitude/

How to experience Thanksgiving in three tenses | Denison Forum

How to experience Thanksgiving in three tenses

If you’re like most Americans, your Thanksgiving meal today will include oven-roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin or pecan pie. In previous generations, however, your table would have been laden with devilled turkey, oysters, boiled chestnuts, sweet potato balls, green bean pudding, vinegar pie, and cranberry wine.

While I’m partial to oysters, I’ll otherwise take our menu over theirs. At the same time, I’m not sure all progress is worthy of the name.

• Dining rooms are disappearing, in large part due to the pandemic when such areas became classrooms, offices, and gyms. Since I’m terrible at balancing a plate on my knees, I’m glad our dining table is still available today.
• More than half of those surveyed said they plan to eat out at a restaurant for their main holiday meal; 82 percent of those choosing to dine out do so to reduce the stress of preparing the meal. Since Janet does the cooking at our house (for culinary reasons and to protect the lives of our guests), I can’t speak to the latter fact. But I’m glad our family will have time together undistracted by a crowded restaurant.
• More than a third of Americans will watch football today. While this sport-spectating tradition dates back to 1876, the game is more popular around the world than ever. I’m a lifelong football fan, but I’m glad Janet will make us pause the game for the family meal (especially if the Cowboys are losing).

Here’s another way I hope we’ll go back to our past: while Thanksgiving these days is all about food, football, and frenzied shopping, its antecedents were anything but.

“A profound and heartfelt gratitude to God”

Billy Graham writes:

The Pilgrim Fathers who landed at Plymouth to settle in what became the United States of America can teach us an important lesson about giving thanks.

During that first long winter, seven times as many graves were made for the dead as homes were made for the living. Seed, imported from England, failed to grow, and a ship that was to bring food and relief brought instead thirty-five more mouths to feed but no provisions. Some Pilgrims caught fish, and others hunted wildfowl and deer. They had a little English flour and some Indian corn.

Yet William Brewster, rising from a scanty dinner of clams and water, gave thanks to God “for the abundance of the sea and the treasure hid in the sand.”

According to today’s standards, the Pilgrims had almost nothing, but they possessed a profound and heartfelt gratitude to God for his love and mercy.

Their example reminds us that thanksgiving depends not on what we have but on being grateful for what we have. Not only are we called to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, my emphasis); we are also told to “give thanks for everything to God the Father” (Ephesians 5:20 NLT, my emphasis).

How can we be grateful “for everything”?

“When I fall, I shall rise”

On Monday, we focused on what Jesus did for us in the past by purchasing our salvation. In response to his sacrifice, we are called to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise” to God (Hebrews 13:15).

On Tuesday, we explored what Jesus is doing for us in the present as he prays for us, heals us, guides us, and meets our needs by his grace. When we remember such provision, we are moved to present-tense gratitude even in the hardest places of life:

• “The Lᴏʀᴅ is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer … I call upon the Lᴏʀᴅ, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:2–3).
• “The Lᴏʀᴅ is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lᴏʀᴅ is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalm 27:1 NLT).
• “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3–4).

Yesterday, we considered what Jesus will do for us in the future. He will take us to be with him in heaven one day (John 14:3); in the meantime, he will lead us into his “perfect” will (Romans 12:2) and redeem all he allows for his glory and our good (Romans 8:28).

We can therefore say with the prophet: “When I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lᴏʀᴅ will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8). And we can pray with Henri Nouwen:

Even when it seems that things are not going my way, I know that they are going your way and that in the end your way is the best way for me. O Lord, strengthen my hope, especially when my many wishes are not fulfilled. Let me never forget that your name is Love.

“Thanksgiving is what you do”

Across this Thanksgiving week, I’ve been thinking about Tim Keller’s observation:

“It’s one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.”

For all Christ has done, for all he is doing, and for all he will do, what will you “do” in response today?

NOTE: On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to express my gratitude to all who read the Daily Article and to all who partner with us financially to make our ministry possible. It is a wonderful privilege to share this calling with you each day. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3).

Thursday news to know:

• A battered and diminished Hezbollah accepts a cease-fire
• Multiple Trump appointees targeted by bomb threats, swatting
• US secures release of 3 Americans in prisoner swap with China
• Northern lights may be faintly visible across parts of the US on Thanksgiving
• On this day in 1520: Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Pacific

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” —Robert Louis Stevenson

The post How to experience Thanksgiving in three tenses appeared first on Denison Forum.

Make Thanksgiving Great Again: Recovering America’s Forgotten Holiday | Standing for Freedom Center

https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2024/11/make-thanksgiving-great-again-recovering-americas-forgotten-holiday/

Don’t let the mass media, the retail stores, or our secular culture steal away the opportunity to gather with family and friends and reverently thank Almighty God for all His good gifts — especially the supreme gift He has given us in Jesus Christ.

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Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a troubling trend in the festive habits of my fellow countrymen.

On November 1, Halloween decorations come down and Christmas lights go up. Pumpkins are immediately replaced with Christmas trees. Musical selections skip from the “Monster Mash” to “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.”

I played some chess growing up, but right now I’m not searching for Bobby Fischer. I’m searching for our forgotten American holiday: Thanksgiving.

What’s happened? Why has this cultural amnesia set in, leading Americans to skip over one of our most important, and quintessentially American, holidays?

First, the near disappearance of Thanksgiving from our celebratory liturgies is, in large part, due to the commercialization of the competing holidays that bookend our dedicated day of gratitude. Sandwiched between the profitable sales “giants” of Halloween and Christmas, media and retail marketers have decided that giving thanks just doesn’t sell.

Walk into any major retail store, and the scene is the same. Overnight, end caps go from bursting with candy to being flooded with stocking stuffers. Halloween, with its costumes and candy, sets the stage for a month-long shopping frenzy that culminates in the gift-giving extravaganza of Christmas. Walmart, Target, Costco, you name it, barely allow the leaves to turn before decorations shift from pumpkins to reindeer, blurring the lines between these distinct holidays. This rapid-shift pours gas on the fire of year-end spending — and sidelines Thanksgiving.

Second, the gradual disappearance of Thanksgiving from its traditional prominence in American culture can also be attributed, in part, to the ongoing secularization of the nation. As the U.S. has moved towards a more secular society, where religious observances are less emphasized in the public sphere, the inherently religious roots of Thanksgiving have been overshadowed. This holiday, with its historical ties to giving thanks to Divine Providence, has seen its spiritual essence diluted by a society increasingly focused on inclusivity.

Finally, what little attention is paid to Thanksgiving these days is almost always focused on “Black Friday” shopping details. Quite ironic (and sad), isn’t it? The one holiday we have in America dedicated to giving thanks and expressing gratitude to God for all that we already have has been co-opted by a consumer product sales agenda with one goal in mind: Getting you to buy more stuff.

Given this unfortunate development, I have a modest proposal: It’s time to make Thanksgiving great again.

But how? Three suggestions.

Remember the Christian Origins of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving began as an explicitly Christian holiday, rooted in the Protestant faith and practice of the early European settlers in America. The first Thanksgiving in 1621 was not just a communal feast but also a religious observance, where the Pilgrims, who were devout Separatists seeking religious freedom, gave thanks to God for their survival and successful harvest following a harsh winter. This event mirrored the Christian tradition of giving thanks found in the Bible, notably in the Psalms, where thanksgiving is expressed through prayer and communal celebration.

Over the years, national days of thanksgiving were proclaimed during times of significance, often with direct references to God’s providence and mercy. For instance, George Washington’s first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789 explicitly acknowledged the “many signal favors of Almighty God,” setting a precedent for viewing Thanksgiving as a day to recognize Divine blessings.

In 1863, amidst the Civil War, when President Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official national holiday, his proclamation was imbued with Christian sentiment, calling upon Americans “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” He invited the nation to not only give thanks for the blessings of the year but also to pray with “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.”

From its inception, Thanksgiving was founded on the recognition that everything we have has been given to us as a gift from God and that our posture in celebration should be one of gratitude towards the Lord.

When you gather with your families tomorrow, remember that. Acknowledge it. Don’t just “be thankful” in general. Give thanks to God.

Resist the Siren Song of Holiday Commercialization

If you’re not careful, our culture will lead you right from Halloween to Christmas, papering over the importance of Thanksgiving with some football games and Amazon Prime deals. Don’t let that happen.

Rebel against the commercialization of our holiday season however you can. Some might object to this but consider waiting until after Thanksgiving to hang the lights and blast the Christmas music. Use the month of November to reflect upon all the good things that God has given you: family, home, church, a job, your friends — whatever it may be.

Don’t let the allure of cheap TVs draw your mind away from meditating on what you already have. Consider making a list, writing down one new thing each day in November, and thanking God in prayer for that blessing in your life.

Work to focus on the spiritual and communal essence of the holiday rather than the consumer-driven aspects that often dominate the season. For example, you can incorporate Scripture readings, prayers of gratitude, and hymns into your Thanksgiving celebration.

While our culture might change, God does not. James 1:17 reminds us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Honor Christ Above All

Finally, as you celebrate Thanksgiving, with the food, fun, and festivities that are appropriate to the day, remember and honor Jesus Christ.

I add this because, as Christians, we should always go one step further when it comes to “Thanking God” for His gifts. Yes, celebrate the Divine providence and blessings of God, but not in some detached or deistic manner.

God has not just given us homes, families, and full tables. He has given us eternal salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting in His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let every bite of turkey, every laugh shared with a friend or family member, every embrace from a relative you haven’t seen for years remind you to lift your eyes to the throne of Christ, who ever lives to intercede for us.

Recall the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:32, who joyfully proclaimed the goodness of God when he reminded his readers that “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Even if your celebration is more meager than you wish it would be, or if you’ve had a rough year and when asked to list what you’re thankful for have a hard time saying anything more than “I guess just to be here,” if you are in Christ, you have everything you need. It might not be everything you want, but it is everything you need.

If we want to make Thanksgiving great again, we need to remember the reason for our thanks in the first place. We must acknowledge the Source of all of our good gifts — Almighty God — and the supreme gift He has given us in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

I hope that tomorrow when you gather with friends and family, your household becomes a little platoon in a larger rebellion against the disappearance of Thanksgiving in American life.

Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday. It’s an American holiday. It’s on our calendars for a reason, because once, in our country, we knew how important it was to slow down, remember, and give thanks to God for His blessings.

Don’t let the mass media or the retail stores steal that away from you, your family, or our nation.

So, let’s make Thanksgiving great again — because giving thanks to God is one of the greatest things we can ever do.

The Christian Virtue of Thanksgiving | Ligonier Ministries

Gratitude is the heart’s response to grace, or at least it should be. Take Psalm 117, the shortest psalm in the Psalter and thereby the shortest chapter in Christian Scripture. It reads: “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!”

The psalmist cannot help but be overcome by gratitude and praise. And this is for a single reason only: God’s never-ending, covenant love which endures toward His people forever. Two elements of this petite psalm should jump right off the page at us. First is the scope of those who should be grateful. Does the psalmist believe that Israel alone should shout in acclamation? Is it limited to those who have Hebrew blood coursing through their veins? No. It is all the nations! All peoples! The psalmist in a moment of jubilant thanks seems to peer from the old covenant into the eschaton, presaging the words of John in Revelation 7:9–12, which read:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (Emphasis added).

As the plan of salvation comes to fruition, all, including the heavenly host, cannot help but fall down in praise and thanks to almighty God. It is the instinct of redeemed creatures when they receive blessing without merit. And that is the second element which is apparent in Psalm 117: That for which the psalmist is so grateful is not something which he earns or deserves. It’s not something he believes he is owed. In fact, it has nothing to do with him, other than the reality that he is a recipient of this matchless gift. It is God and what He has done, without reference to our worthiness, which elicits such incredible and intense proclamations of thanks.

More than that, expressions of genuine heartfelt thanks seem to point others in a palpable way to grace. For instance, take the following description of gratitude published not by evangelicals, but by the American Psychological Association in a book titled, Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification: “What marks gratitude is the psychological response to the gift, whatever its nature, and the experience, however briefly, of the transcendent emotion of grace—the sense that we have benefited from the actions of another.” It appears that even those writing in the purely secular sphere recognize that grace is the central feature of the experience of gratitude, though they fail to apprehend the One whose gracious nature stands behind such experiences (Eph. 2:8).

Furthermore, gratitude is not merely passive and reflexive. It is also active and willful. For example, Paul, when he writes famously to the Philippians (4:4–7), states:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

According to Paul, when we willingly choose to focus on those things for which we are thankful in the Lord, it has a heart-shaping effect. Even when our hearts and minds would rather be focused on the negative. And what is that effect? When we steward our minds to meditate on the gracious gifts of God, then peace from God, which surpasses all ability to cognitively work out, seems to rule in our hearts.

I often tell my counselees that “Help!” is a perfectly acceptable one-word prayer. So too is the twice as long “Thank you!” The former is for the languishing soul, the latter for the exultant. One begs for grace, the other acknowledges grace already received.

One last point on the virtue of gratitude for this Thanksgiving: thanks is one of the major tributaries which finds itself terminating in that beautifully deep and wide river we know as awe. As we become those who intentionally transform our lives to recognize the nearly innumerable gifts given to us by God, our hearts are taken by the currents of gratitude and become those which so easily and often find themselves in awe and wonder simply worshiping at the throne of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

This Thanksgiving as we sit around with our families celebrating and rehearsing the gifts for which we should be thankful, may our praise not be platitudinous, dim, and drowsy, but rather earnest, vivid, and energetic. Coming, as for the believer they do, from grace-inundated lives, pointing toward a generous and gracious Giver, with the hope of the glorious grace we will have in its fullness one day when Christ returns and our feast of thanks finds its richest fulfillment (Isa. 25).

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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published November 21, 2022.

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9 Things Public Schools Won’t Tell You About The First Thanksgiving | Babylon Bee

It’s Thanksgiving week, which brings back memories of what you learned in school about the first Thanksgiving, where pilgrim settlers and natives gathered in peace to eat food, debate about who the land belonged to, and watch the Macy’s parade. But what about the things they didn’t teach you in school?

The Babylon Bee is here to fill in the gaps left by the things public school won’t tell you about the first Thanksgiving:

1. The Patriots defeated the Redskins 42-3 in the first Thanksgiving Day football game: It was just the first of what would be many slaughters.
2. The turkey was carved by none other than a young Joe Biden: Historian accounts tell of how young Joe enjoyed sniffing the hair of young Indian girls.
3. Even though they were starving, the pilgrims politely passed on the Indians’ marshmallow jello salad: There are fates worse than death.
4. French settlers in Canada got the date wrong and accidentally celebrated a month early: A tradition that continues to this day.
5. Pilgrim wives rushed off following the meal to get doorbuster deals at Kohl’s: Bonnets and shoes with large silver buckles on them were going for half price.
6. Indians were suspicious of the hot dish labeled “smallpox”: One Indian did politely end up taking some of it home, though no one is sure what happened after that.
7. Scandal erupted after it was revealed that the pilgrims’ potato salad was store-bought: The tell-tale clear plastic clamshell container was reportedly found in the trash can.
8. Several pilgrims still ended up dying of starvation after they got tired of eating leftover turkey sandwiches: Even the hungry can only eat so much turkey.
9. The holiday was later named for the man who came up with the idea, Bob Thanksgiving: And for Bob, we are all truly thankful.

Your public school education may have robbed you of this valuable knowledge, but now you know the whole story. What other little-known facts about the first Thanksgiving have you heard about? Post them in the comments below.

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Watch as Democrats try to figure out what went wrong this election.

What will they do differently?

https://babylonbee.com/news/9-things-public-schools-wont-tell-you-about-the-first-thanksgiving/

Thanksgiving, William Bradford, 1590-1657 | Christian Heritage News

 By Barry Waugh – Posted at Presbyterians of the Past:While strolling the mall just a few days before Reformation Day, I noticed that the theme-oriented temporary stores, glittering foil ice sickles, Santa’s centrally located seat, holiday food vendors, and the colors red and green were already making their annual appearance. Now keep in mind for those unfamiliar with the day of year that the Reformation began is the same as Halloween. My memory may be off, but it seems to me that not so long ago the annual marketing event known as “Christmas,” or more generically, “The Holidays,” did not begin touting its wares until the Friday after Thanksgiving. After all, it was probably not too long ago that many of those gifts that were so desperately needed last year were tossed on the pile in the garage made up of necessary gifts from years before. Thanksgiving is the forgotten, or maybe suppressed, event between the night for goblins and the day for gifts. To be thankful one has to admit the need of someone else, whether it is asking for a ride to work or a reference for a job application. The trouble is, every person needs God because he brings the rain to fall, he provides the air that is breathed, and a beautiful creation, but it seems he is the one forgotten, or ignored, even though “every good and every perfect gift comes from above” (James 1:17). The selection transcribed in this article is an excerpt from William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, which is his account of the settlement of Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1647.William was born to William and Alice Hanson Bradford in Austerfield, Yorkshire, England, early in 1590. He had two sisters, his father was a farmer, and his mother was the daughter of a local shopkeeper. His father died when William was an infant. By the age of twelve he was a voracious reader of his Geneva Bible which he often quoted in Of Plymouth Plantation. Influenced by William Brewster of the nearby village of Scrooby, he adopted congregational church government and separated from the Church of England. Due to persecution in his homeland he moved with other dissenters to Amsterdam, briefly, and then Leyden in the Netherlands. He taught himself Dutch and some Hebrew and Latin. When he was twenty-one years old in 1611, he received his inheritance and went into business as a weaver. His pastor in Leyden was John Robinson. Weaver Bradford impressed the leaders of his church with his abilities sufficiently that he and his wife Dorothy May were included among the pilgrims headed to the New World. Having arrived in the depths of winter after the long sea voyage, the conditions were tough. While he was away with an exploration party surveying the area by boat, a trip that included the landing of December 11, 1620 at Plymouth, Dorothy drowned in the ocean as she awaited his return. It is believed, though Bradford does not say this specifically, that she committed suicide because the desolation and extreme conditions of her new home were too much for her. In May 1621, Gov. John Carver died, then William Bradford at the age of thirty one was unanimously elected the second leader of Plymouth Colony, a position he held almost continually until his death May 9, 1657. At the time he died he had a library of about 400 books, which was quite a collection for one to have in the era.

Continue here.

https://www.christian-heritage-news.com/2024/11/thanksgiving-william-bradford-1590-1657.html