Thursday was Thanksgiving Day, and most Americans ate a lot on this day!
The two biggest sellers in any bookstore, according to Andy Rooney, are cookbooks and diet books.
The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food, and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it.
A California scientist has computed that the average human being eats 16 times his or her own weight in an average year; while a horse eats only eight times its weight.
This all seems to prove that if you want to lose weight, you should eat like a horse.
Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving, it is a reminder for us to be thankful every day.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says,
“Thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances may be, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.”
Thankful believers are those who tap into the Holy Spirit’s power, because it is not always easy to give thanks for certain things in our lives.
However, because of Romans 8:28 we can:
“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
In Matthew 10:8 it says this,
“Give as freely as you have received.”
Since we have been freely given to by God and we are thankful for it, we will freely give to others.
If we are thankful people, we will see ourselves as those who have received everything from the gracious hand of God.
As 2 Corinthians 3:5 says: we are not
“to claim anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.”
What do we have in this life that was not given to us by God?
We see this in Philippians 2:13-14,
“God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Do everything without complaining.”
We see here that the Holy Spirit works in us, to empower us to both have a desire not to complain and also not complain.
If our minds are filled with thanksgiving to the Lord, it eliminates complaining. An ungrateful person is one who receives God’s good gifts without showing appreciation to the giver.
Two men were walking through a field, they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence.
The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it.
Terrified, one shouted to the other, “Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it! I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.”
“But you must, the bull is catching up to us.”
“All right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know. My father used to repeat it at the table, “O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.”
This humorous story suggests a valuable truth.
No matter how severe the trial, believers should give thanks in everything.
May we catch the true spirit of Thanksgiving Day, every day!
If we do, we benefit and Christ gets the glory!
Blessings!
Pastor Ken Keeler, Director of Church Ministries