“Oh give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:2)
We are days away from the national holiday, Thanksgiving. For some this will be a very joyful time of food, family and fellowship. For others, it may be a time of sadness because a love one has passed on, or we are entrenched in family conflicts, or we are enduring financial problems or due to any of a multitude of other challenges. Today I will share some keys that can help all of us keep Thanksgiving alive in our lives – every day of the year.
On October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln announced that the our Nation would celebrate a day of Thanksgiving on November 26 of the same year, in order to express gratitude for the Union Army’s victory at Gettysburg. In the year 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill to establish the fourth Thursday of every November as Thanksgiving Day.
THE MESSIAH AND THANKSGIVING
Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus) is our example of what thanksgiving can produce. As He prayed and thanked the Father, asking Him how to provide for 5,000 hungry people with only two small fish and five barley loaves, everything needed to feed all of them was supplied. There was even an abundance of left0vers.(John 6:11) I have seen the LORD multiply food and finances many times in my own life.
We are called to abound in thanksgiving for so many reasons. We thank Him when we remember His holiness (Ps. 30:4). Thanksgiving is to be offered always (Ep. 1:16). We are to thank Him in public worship (Ps. 35:18) and private worship (Dan. 6:10). We are told to thank Him because His Name is near His wondrous works (Ps. 75:1). We are to thank Him for victory over death, and the grave (I Cor. 15:58). The list is extensive.
The wicked are characterized as those who are absent of thanksgiving to God (Rom. 1:21).
I read in a Matthew Henry commentary years ago that if you call a man ungrateful, you can call him no worse. Deut. 28:47-48 teaches us that if we will not serve God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things we have been given, we can open the door to a curse causing us to experience hunger, thirst, nakedness and want.
HEBRAIC PICTURE OF THANKSGIVING
One of the Hebrew words for thanksgiving is the word “yadah.” Yadah consists of three Hebrew letters: Yad, Dalet, He. The root of “yadah” (Yad and Dalet) will reveal a clear picture of thanksgiving. The Hebrew pictograph for the Yad is a “hand.” The pictograph for the dalet is a “door.” Doors are able to move. The concrete picture here of thanksgiving is that you are able to move your hands. We move our hands to praise the LORD. We move our hands in order to work. We move our hands to eat, to dress ourselves, to embrace and serve each&nbssp;other.
As we abound in thanksgiving and eliminate murmuring and self pity, we will see our world change around us. The LORD will multiply supernaturally the things that are needed for us to fulfil our needs and our destinies.
We choose to honor You this day, Lord, with our thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
P/Karen
THANK YOU OLIVE TREE CONNECTIONS
We are extremely grateful for all of the food that was donated at OTC this past Sunday to feed the homeless and less fortunate. I was amazed at how much food was collected. We want to thank Deacon David Dulaney for his servanthood in allowing us to use his truck to gather all the food. David delivered the large quantity of food on Monday morning to the Cooperative Community Ministry in Madison, Tn. Many families will be able to have a Thanksgiving meal due to your generous giving.
“He that has pity upon the poor lends to the LORD; And that which he has given will he pay him again (Prov. 19:17).
