Thanksgiving

8 Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;     make his deeds known to all people! 9 Sing to God, sing praises to him;     dwell on all his wondrous works! 10 Give praise to God’s holy name!     Let the hearts rejoice of all those seeking the Lord! 11 Pursue the Lord and his strength;     seek his face always! 12 Remember the wondrous works he has done,     all his marvelous works,     and the justice he declared— 13         you who are the offspring of Israel, his servant,         and the children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 14 The Lord—he is our God.     His justice is everywhere throughout the whole world.

1 Chronicles 16:8-14

Thanksgiving. We are now in the month that we celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving, in which we are supposed to be thankful for what we have, for the country we live in, and for our families. This is all well and good, but we should never lose sight of what the most important thanksgiving we can give is: thanksgiving to God for what God has done and continues to do for us. I know it seems simple, but it is very important. In a world that espouses self-everything, as Christians, we need to be counter-cultural and give credit to the Creator of the Universe, not just ourselves and our own human accomplishments. Some see that as weakness. I see it as strength. As I see it, our worth comes directly from God’s love of God’s own creation. We do have real value, not because of what we do, but because God loves us. This extreme love was proven in the person of Jesus Christ. The world needs to hear this message. Give thanks, but make sure that the thanksgiving is to the right entity for the right reasons.

God made us. Thank you. God loves us. Thank you. God desires relationship with (even) us. Thank you. God gives us each and all gifts and skills and abilities. Thank you. God uses everything in our lives to improve us and make us more like him. Thank you. God is still working in our lives, especially through the trials, for the good. Thank you.

May the God of Creation continue to bless you, and may we continually praise and give thanksgiving to God.

Yours in Christ, Pastor Brian