Thanksgiving
As I sit in LAX for a super long layover before we board our plane to Portland, I can hear multiple conversations about family, Thanksgiving plans, friends, etc. It is that time of year. Michelle and I both think it is one of our favorite holidays, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I hope that you can pause to authentically thank God this year. Sharing what we are thankful for serves to keep things in perspective. A few years ago I lost my Pop right before Thanksgiving, and celebrating without him was only made easier by being intentional to recognize and express gratitude for all the things I still have in my life.
_Look at Psalm 100:_
_1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation._
David exhorted his people to worship God. Verse 4 of the this hymn says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." _ True worship includes a thankful heart! It has to be both being thankful and acting thankful.
Do you display and teach thankfulness in your home? It is never about circumstances, it is always about Jesus. Authentic joy never is about what happens "to" us but rather what has happened "in" us, and the proof of that is then what happens "through" us.
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln made the following proclamation: _"It has seemed to me fit and proper that [the gifts of God] should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."_
The America of 1863 was being torn by a civil war that cost more American lives than all of the other wars the USA has been involved in. Research shows that most of the deaths didn't result from the battles but from disease, yet in spite of all of that Lincoln saw that America had a lot to be thankful for, and beyond that, he understood the benefit of being intentional about expressing thankfulness.
Check out this verse in Philippians: _Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky”. Philippians 2:14,15_
The apostle Paul is talking to a church in the city of Philippi who was experiencing insane persecution. He is writing this letter while he is in prison, for a crime he didn’t commit. The entire letter is about one thing. Joy. I think one of the most obvious ways that we noticeably become ungrateful is when we start to complain and argue. When we complain we notice everything that is not right, and forget the One who defined right. Eventually we lose our joy. Another sign of thankfulness drift is that we begin to get apathetic toward those around us, and also we become entitled.
If I could highlight one thing to work on in your life, it would be learning to be thankful._ Learning to worship has to begin with examining my own heart and really my own words. Stop grumbling, stop complaining, stop arguing, stop noticing everything that isn’t right, and as Paul says, start shining in your world like the stars in the sky.
It is SO easy to drift from being thankful. Thank God for Paul, who reminds us about being filled with joy. This thanksgiving, pause to remember and reflect on what is true about you. As Christ followers we are children of God. Adopted, redeemed, loved, known and blessed. He has good plans for you. Really. Learning to be thankful is a key ingredient to a proper worship relationship with the heavenly Father. Let others know you are thankful because thankfulness is contagious! Be an inspiration to others to acknowledge God's many blessings. Be loud in your joy so everyone can see. Acknowledge that Yahweh is your God, and enter in to His presence with praise and thanksgiving.
Michelle and I are so blessed to know Jesus, to love each other, to have three amazing kids, and to lead a church that is changing the world. We are excited to see what God has next for all of us. The best is today. This is the day of salvation.
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