“Ah Thanksgiving”

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

As I sit in my man cave stadium, getting ready to watch one of my favorite sports team, I ask the questions, if it was only obvious, “What in this sport of athletic contest so engages people that the contest can replace True Worship?  And, what might organize religion learn from the world of sports as we get ready for the Thanksgiving Holidays? Christians have a great story to tell.  Perhaps with some inspiration from the world of sports we will train ourselves to tell it well and excite the crowd by being Obedient to our call to the Gospel message. It’s not up to us to determine what our words and testimony produce, it’s up to us to simply share our story. The outcome is God’s responsibility.

Breaking out of the Miasma (an unpleasant atmosphere) of poverty of the mind is no easy task. First, I’ve been there and I understand. You see the devil throws our sins up to us and declares, “that we deserve death and hell, how do we speak to that? Without a feeling of guilt. Death and hell, do we admit to this? Yes, and what of it is my answer? This does not mean we shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? Even though, many today go to great lengths to assure no one is offended by our boastful words of Faith, and the biblical doctrine which excites me with happiness and joy is considered offensive to some. Is it too harsh, too old-fashioned, too insensitive? As we pass the gravy and eagerly await the main dish of Turkey. Let’s sing a song of thanksgiving. But the wisdom of this world is focused on this life, with no thought of the life to come. By no means, “for I know the name of Grace, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.

When the believers of Faith converge to our individual places of sacred soil during the traditions of Thanksgiving with friends and family, their true diversity comes into practice, what unites them is a shared conviction of their practice, the ritual, the devotion of their Trusted loyalty, that unites the fabric of Faith; Woven together into a beautiful fabric of expression of faith and testimony during this celebration as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision.

The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 1181:1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)). Most verses go on to list reasons why we should thank Him, such as “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:3), “He is good” (Psalm 118:29), and “His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). (Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful.

Scripturally, we find things related to the issue of thanksgiving nearly from cover to cover. Individuals offered up sacrifices out of gratitude in the book of Genesis. The Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were delivered from Pharaoh's army after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Later, the Mosaic Law set aside three times each year when the Israelites were to gather together. All three of these times [Unleavened Bread (also called the Feast of the Passover (Exodus 12:15-20), Harvest or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21), and the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36) involved remembering God’s provision and grace. 

In the New Testament, there are repeated admonitions to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is to always be a part of our prayers. Some of the most remembered passages on the giving of thanks are the following:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).  

"Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1). 

Of all of God’s gifts, the greatest one He has given is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt, so a holy and just Judge could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift. This gift is available to those who will call on Christ to save them from their sin in simple but sincere faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:19-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10). For this gift of His Son, the gift which meets our greatest need, the Apostle Paul says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

May God grant that He may find us grateful every day for all of His gifts, spiritual and material. God is good, and every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17) For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good (Romans 8:28-30) May He find us to be His grateful children.

Finally, True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them). Football moves forward because people get knocked down.  As "pilgrims and strangers in this world" our spiritual task lies in living fully in the moment, not arriving at a state of perfection.  The promise of another game and another season can teach us much about sin and forgiveness, the foundation for genuine self-esteem, Truth in worship, the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. Even at the stadium of your choosing The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Remembering it’s not about you. 

Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.

Sports attributes can give us some wisdom for the spiritual journey:

·       be driven to improve every day as we join Jesus on his mission

·       It takes discipline

·       it takes focus. ... 

·       It takes commitment. ...

·       It takes Forgiveness, love and Grace

Lord I don’t know what you want me to do today, but you are my Joy as we are reminded about Thanksgiving.

God Bless You and This Ministry!