Psalms 107:21-22
21 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
22 Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.
Have you given any thought about what the pilgrims went through, the men and women who sat down to have the first Thanksgiving together in 1621. They had uprooted lives and sat sail for America, an endeavor so hazardous that published guides advised travelers to the New World, "First, make thy will." The crossing was very rough and the Mayflower was blown off course.
Instead of reaching Virginia, where Englishmen had settled 13 years earlier, the Pilgrims ended up in the wilds of Massachusetts. By the time they found a place to make their new home - Plymouth, they called it - winter had set in. The storms were frightful. Shelter was rudimentary. There was little food. Within weeks, nearly all the settlers were sick.
Governor William Bradford later recalled, "was that in two or three months’ time, half of their company died, especially in January and February, being the depths of winter, and wanting houses and other comforts; being infected with the scurvy and other diseases.... There died sometimes two or three of a day."
When spring came, Indians showed them how to plant corn, but their first crops were dismal. Supplies ran out, but their sponsors in London refused to send more. The first time the Pilgrims sent a shipment of goods to England, it was stolen by pirates.
If you had been there in 1621 - if you had seen half your friends die, if you had suffered through famine, malnutrition, and sickness, if you had endured a year of heartbreak and tragedy - would you have felt grateful?
I looked up the word Thanksgiving in Hebrew and it is tôwdâh (to-daw') and it means confession, praise, and offering.
I don't know about you, but I do not want to sit around the table on Thanksgiving and confess the bad things I have done in my life. I am Thankful to Jesus for forgiving me of my sins. However that is not what this means. It means to confess our Thanks for something that has been done for us.
So have you ever thought about what God has done for you?
I have thought about it many times and have came up with a lot of things, more than I can count.
In Psalm 107 it say giving thanks, giving sacrifices of thanks and DECLARING His works with rejoicing.
Last week on Sunday my wife, myself, and 3 other people were in the van when we pulled up to a light and it turned green before we had started to slow down much and out of sight here comes a car from out left probably doing about 35 to 40 and runs thru the red light just before we got there. My wife immediately says Praise The Lord we were not there yet. Then she proceeded to tell everyone in the car to Thank God for not being in a wreck.
Rejoice when you just miss a wreck. You should be thankful for all things that God does for you.
Colossians 4:2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
Paul said this in Philippians
Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Every time that I kneel to pray I always thank God for who He is and everything He has done in my life.
Paul and Silas was in a prison when they started to praise and worship God and was set free from the chains that bound them.
The Israelites were praise God on that 7th time around when the walls of Jericho fell and crumbled to the ground.
Where is your Praise? Where is your Thanksgiving?
This week we will be celebrating Thanksgiving for more than 350 years since the Mayflower had landed and made peace with the Native Americans that lived here. 40 years of their sitting around and having a Thanksgiving meal with each other there was one of the biggest wars in history because they had out grew the land that was giving and took from the natives.
Our Thanksgiving should be a celebration of God and what He has done for us. He healed me from near death when I had COVID, blessed me with money when I had little to live on. He blessed me with family and friends that I have and go to church with.
Most importantly He saved my soul from a burning hell. He washed my sins away and gave me a way to go to Heaven when I die.
Where is your soul today? Have you giving your heart to Jesus? Are you on your way to heaven?