The first American Thanksgiving did not occur in 1621 when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with a group of friendly Indians.
Rather, the first recorded thanksgiving took place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it wasn’t a feast.
The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60.
The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come.
When help arrived in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.
We celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, but as believers, we are to give thanks every day.
In this Thanksgiving Blog we want to look at three things we are to be thankful for every day.
First, we are to be thankful for Material Blessings.
1 Tim. 4:3-4 says, “God created food to be received with prayers of thanks by those who believe and know the truth. Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks.”
We see from these verses that we are to give thanks for our food.
From this, we can say that we are to be thankful for all the material blessings that the Lord gives us.
We aren’t to become materialistic and live for material things, but what the Lord gives us, we are to be thankful for.
Second, we are to be thankful for People Blessings.
Philippians 1:3 says, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”
We are to be thankful for the people the Lord has brought into our lives, since they enrich our lives and help us to grow in Christ. Even those who bug us at times!
Third, we are to be thankful for Spiritual Blessings.
Let’s look at six ways that the Lord blesses us spiritually:
1. God hears our prayers.
John 11:41 says, “Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.”
2. God has freed us from sin.
Romans 6:17-18 says, “Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin … Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.”
3. God has given us victory in Christ.
2 Cor. 2:14 says, “But I thank God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ.”
4. God has given us a rich inheritance in Christ.
Col. 1:12-14 says, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
5. God causes our growth in Christ through the instruction we receive.
Col. 2:7 says, “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.”
6. God has given us the greatest gift of all – Christ.
2 Cor. 9:15 says, “I thank God for his gift that words cannot describe.”
Take a moment and thank the Lord for all His blessings in our lives!
Blessings!
Pastor Ken Keeler, Director of Church Ministries