Sorry, my uncle always says that as his announcement coming into the house, hah. Thanksgiving is a prime time. You got family. You got food. You got feelings of being happy being alive and hope for the future because of God.
Psalm 50:23Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me.”
Giving thanks actually helps the cause of good. Every time you honor God, you push things forward. God already won on the cross, but we should be his people properly. Thank him for everything you can. Big and small things are good to thank God for. Make a list. See how long you can make the list. Well that is a lot of work, just do it when you feel inspired.
Have a good day. Make others feel welcome. If you got no one, go ask around for a place to visit. There normally is more than enough food, but if you think maybe no, bringing stuff helps even if just some chips or beverages. This is a time for community! Go communitize with each other.
And if you got enough loot yourself, donate some to food banks. Those charities are normally very legit. God bless, feel satisfied, and welcome the food coma. Happy Thanksgiving you Turkeys, please do Gobble Gobble. :)
Psalm 136: A Hymn of Thanksgiving
I figured my last post was on Psalm 135 and it is the Sabbath so see if I can preach on Psalm 136. And it is fun because the title in the Good News Bible is A Hymn of Thanksgiving. Us dudes and dudettes in the United States of America celebrate this time thankful in what we have. Biblically, we know that giving God thanks glorifies him and is right to do for the cause of good. Not everyone knows this or why and even maybe people don’t know Jesus is real yet. Know thanking God for this or that is really cool to do, and is like a prayer of satisfaction and vocalizing your likes to God.
Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good; his love is eternal. 2 Give thanks to the greatest of all gods; his love is eternal. 3 Give thanks to the mightiest of all lords; his love is eternal. 4 He alone performs great miracles; his love is eternal. 5 By his wisdom he made the heavens; his love is eternal; 6 he built the earth on the deep waters; his love is eternal. 7 He made the sun and the moon; his love is eternal; 8 the sun to rule over the day; his love is eternal; 9 the moon and the stars to rule over the night; his love is eternal. 10 He killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians; his love is eternal. 11 He led the people of Israel out of Egypt; his love is eternal; 12 with his strong hand, his powerful arm; his love is eternal. 13 He divided the Red Sea; his love is eternal; 14 he led his people through it; his love is eternal; 15 but he drowned the king of Egypt and his army; his love is eternal. 16 He led his people through the desert; his love is eternal. 17 He killed powerful kings; his love is eternal; 18 he killed famous kings; his love is eternal; 19 Sihon, king of the Amorites; his love is eternal; 20 and Og, king of Bashan; his love is eternal. 21 He gave their lands to his people; his love is eternal; 22 he gave them to Israel, his servant; his love is eternal. 23 He did not forget us when we were defeated; his love is eternal; 24 he freed us from our enemies; his love is eternal. 25 He gives food to every living creature; his love is eternal. 26 Give thanks to the God of heaven; his love is eternal.
David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
2 Samuel 7:18 Then King David went into the Tent of the Lord’s presence, sat down and prayed, “Sovereign Lord, I am not worthy of what you have already done for me, nor is my family. 19 Yet now you are doing even more, Sovereign Lord; you have made promises about my descendants in the years to come. And you let a man see this,[b] Sovereign Lord! 20 What more can I say to you! You know me, your servant. 21 It was your will and purpose to do this; you have done all these great things in order to instruct me. 22 How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is none like you; we have always known that you alone are God. 23 There is no other nation on earth like Israel, whom you rescued from slavery to make them your own people. The great and wonderful things you did for them[c] have spread your fame throughout the world. You drove out[d] other nations and their gods as your people advanced, the people whom you set free from Egypt to be your own. 24 You have made Israel your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.25 “And now, Lord God, fulfill for all time the promise you made about me and my descendants, and do what you said you would. 26 Your fame will be great, and people will forever say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel.’ And you will preserve my dynasty for all time. 27 Lord Almighty, God of Israel! I have the courage to pray this prayer to you, because you have revealed all this to me, your servant, and have told me that you will make my descendants kings.28 “And now, Sovereign Lord, you are God; you always keep your promises, and you have made this wonderful promise to me. 29 I ask you to bless my descendants so that they will continue to enjoy your favor. You, Sovereign Lord, have promised this, and your blessing will rest on my descendants forever.”
This prayer is strong. It praises God for his work rescuing Israel and his continued covenants with them. God seeks us to be good and humble first, then he can lift us up like he did with David and his descendants. May all who worship the God of love, goodness and Israel be blessed.
A Thanksgiving activity
I sometimes challenge people with a form of a prayer list. In this version it is a thank you list. How many things can you thank God for? Thank him for things big and small. You can thank him for dying on the cross as a big thing. Then later on in your small things thank him for the color blue or roses or dolphins. I figure since this is Thanksgiving, it could be a good time to bring this activity up.
Colossians 3:17 (Good News Translation) Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.