A Time To Give Thanks
Thanksgiving Day was not appointed by the
church. Thanksgiving Day is not an American
day in origin either. The harvest was celebrated
in Europe, and services of gratitude are ancient
in world religions as well. The purpose of our
National Thanksgiving Day is to give thanks to
Almighty God for His many blessings and
mercies to us as a nation, and as a people.
It was George Washington who proclaimed Thanksgiving as a National
Holiday Nov. 26, 1789 and made the first Presidential Proclamation
suggesting we should all include thanks to God for the adoption of The
Constitution. And it was Abraham Lincoln in 1863 who set the last
Thursday in November as the day. While Thanksgiving Day has lost
most of its overtones of a harvest festival, it has been proclaimed by the
President each year for the purpose of a day of general thanksgiving for
God's blessing to our nation. Whatever the reason and whatever the time
that is set, it is good that our government still proclaims such a day in
recognition of God's providence. That, in itself, is worth giving thanks
for in these days, is it not? Let's pray that our President will not fail to
do so again this year. (He did intentionally drop declaring a World Day
of Prayer this year.)
The word “thank” is the old form of the past tense of the verb “think”.
Giving thinks is giving thanks. Take that one step more and you can
realize that the result of thinking thanking will be thanksliving. Need I
say more? Be sure you thank God for His many blessings every day!
-Pastor Starkey
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