Happy Thanksgiving/Hanukkah

The scholars say that the convergence of these two holidays won't happen again for 70,000 years--what a special day! I recall that Lincoln proclaimed the feast of Thanksgiving in October of 1863 and it was fixed as the fourth Thursday in November by FDR. The Last Supper or Holy Communion, also known as the Eucharist (which means thanksgiving, by the way, in Greek) is a unique Christian tradition. Thanksgiving is our heritage (not to celebrate seems un-American). One of the first lessons we learn as children is to be thankful and say thanks, especially saying grace at dinner time (a family ritual, if you will). It is ingrained in us to think of the holiday as Turkey Day, with an afternoon of football and family get-togethers. One of the two real family holidays with Christmas.

Jesus healed ten lepers and only one came back to give thanks: He said, "Where are the nine?" Romans 1:21 talks about people knowing God (though not in a saving way, of course) and neither being thankful nor giving Him the glory--"so their foolish hearts were darkened" and consequently "God gave them up." Truly sober words and a word to the wise is sufficient. About giving thanks, what if you have a meal for a guest and he was to say afterward, "How much do I owe you?" Wouldn't you be insulted? We can't pay God back even for all eternity to do it. The psalmist says in Ps. 116:12, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His goodness to me?"

Lincoln said the greatest gift God has given a man is the Bible and he said it was the greatest cure for depression. The Great Hallel (Ps. 136) exhorts us to give thanks unto the Lord several times as does Ps. 107 ("Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, His mercy endures forever"). Whey gives thank you might venture to ask. Just as there are benefits to being a veteran like health care and the G.I. Bill and there are fringe benefits to a job, there are benefits to being joint-heirs with Christ and heirs of God. "And do not forget all His benefits," says Ps. 103:2. We thank God for who He is and for what He has done (as recounted the history of Israel in Psalms 78 and 105, and the praises of the Great Hallel. "The Lord has done great things for us; whereof we are glad" (Ps. 126:3). Most importantly, we thank God to gain entrée into His presence per Ps.100:4, which says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise."

I cannot help but be reminded of the following hymn: "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and you will see what the Lord has done." We are to thank God in all things (1 Thess. 5:18), for all things (Eph. 5:20), and with thanksgiving let our requests be made known unto God (Phil. 4:6). A friend of mine has a daughter that complained about the pain in her foot and he told her to thank God for blessing her foot! What faith! God turns curses into blessings and makes the wrath of God to praise Him (Ps. 76:10). The key to a Spirit-filled walk is to be "abounding in thanksgiving" (Col. 2:7). Finally, the offering of sacrifice makes us acceptable to God (Lev. 22:29), and is considered a thank-offering or a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Jonah offered sacrifice with a "voice of thanksgiving." "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me," says Ps. 50:23. In heaven, the elders and angels will offer thanksgiving to God: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen" (Rev. 7:12).

The best biblical example of contentment and thankfulness for God's provision despite matters is in Habakkuk 3:17-18: "Though the fig tree, not blossom...yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." We must learn to be content in all circumstances just like Paul in Philippians 4:13. Ever hear of the man without shoes that became thankful when he saw a man without feet? How about the father who took his son to a third world country to show them how they live to teach him gratitude, and the son was impressed that they didn't have fences! I'm sure you can think of examples galore for this blessed day. Soli Deo Gloria!

Neither Were They Thankful

 "Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy" (Psalms 107:22, NIV).

"But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you..." (Jonah 2:9, NIV).
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and grateful" (Col. 4:2, NIV). 
"Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.  Amen!"  (Rev. 7:12, NIV). 
"I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD" (Psalm 116:17, KJV).  

They knew God but didn't give Him thanks and for this reason, God darkened their foolish heart.  We are responsible for the light God has given us or we will be judged accordingly.  Thanksgiving is a sacrifice to God (cf. Psa. 50:14) and praise is another sacrifice to God (cf. Heb. 13:15) that we can offer God as a way to gain entree into His divine throne room and presence.  "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise..." (Psa. 110:4, KJV).  That seems to stipulate a formula for getting into the spirit of worship and prayer.  They are juxtaposed in this verse and go hand in hand--thanksgiving for what He's done or will do and praise for who He is and how He reveals Himself in glory. 

You can be sure that an ingrate is not filled with the Spirit, neither knows it, for this is a basic lesson of spirituality we all learn to mature in the faith.  But a lot of ingratitude is habitual and a matter of nurture and upbringing; i.e., it might be the parents who didn't bring them up right!  As Romans 1:21 equates the two and says, "they glorified him not as God." Gratitude and praise go together to comprise an act of worship that we owe God as creatures, knowing that He is alone is worthy of our worship.  We ought to be so thanksgiving oriented that we are grateful that someone thanks us for kindness rendered in Christ's name-it should make our day!  But we should remember that our tasks in the Lord are often thankless tasks!

Paul targets thanksgiving as the right mental attitude in his epistles:  "Giving thanks always for all things unto God..." (Eph. 5:20, KJV); "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:7, KJV); "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18, KJV); "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts ... and be ye thankful" (Col. 3:15, KJV).  This is stated as the will of God for us.  He wants us to learn to see the silver lining behind every cloud and to learn that all our adversity and affliction is Father-filtered and will work together for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28).

The amazing example of having the right attitude of gratitude in dire circumstances is when Paul and Silas were in prison and sang joyfully unto the Lord.  No one can take away our attitude and that's why we must cultivate this as a sure way to stay focused on God.  Paul demonstrates his attitude of gratitude in prison writing Philippians by opening with thanksgiving.

Gratitude is not the ultimate proof of faith per se but is the sign of a right mental attitude (cf. Col. 4:2; Psa. 100:4).  God condemns ingrates:  "... for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 5:6, ESV).  Nowhere in Scripture are gratitude and faith equated, correlated, or juxtaposed as a measure or keynote of each other; however, faith and obedience are in Hebrews 3:18-19, NASB, as follows:  "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief"  (cf. Heb. 4:6, 11).  Some translations mistranslated these verses and put in "unbelief" instead of "disobedience."  James 2:18, NIV, says, "... and I will show you my faith by my deeds."

But the NASB and ESV are more literal and use what is functional equivalence; i.e., word for word translations not thought for thought.  Faith and obedience are eternally equated in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 (that they might "come to the obedience that comes from faith," cf. NIV) and in Acts 6:7, "They were obedient to the faith."

Also, note that Dietrich Bonhoeffer said quite dogmatically, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." These two are definitely equated in the Word.   Doctrinally speaking, the only proof of faith is obedience just as Christ admonished that if we love Him we will obey Him.  Thanksgiving, even praise, can be signs of faith but not the ultimate litmus test, but obedience is the plumbline (cf. John 14:21).  We don't have the law to obey but are measured by our obedience to the will of God (we are free in Christ but not free from God's will!), which is an easier yoke and we have the Spirit which bears witness with our spirit to give us peace. Clearly, obedience is the test:  "... Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22, NKJV).

Jesus made it clear love would be the telltale sign of the believer (cf. John 13:35) and the world would know we are Christians by our love.  Love is the distinguishing trait of our faith and its greatest contribution in charity, outreach, missions, evangelizing, and labor.  Faith is what pleases God and its expression is love:  "... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Let Us Give Thanks Unto The Lord

 "Always giving thanks to God he Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," (cf. Eph. 5:20).

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus," (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18). 

Why?  He is good and His mercy endures forever, for two good reasons. We can be secure!   We must make the sacrifice of thanksgiving that He is worthy of and is also that which puts us in the right mindset and frame of mind to worship and serve Him. Thanksgiving isn't natural just like worship; we must be oriented, taught, trained, and inspired to do so.   It's a way of forgetting about ourselves and focusing on Jesus and be filled with the Spirit.  We cannot be self-centered and spiritual simultaneously. Self and thanksgiving don't mix!  

We all have something to give thanks for even if we are impoverished or broke, even in the pandemic we can realize our blessings and celebrate our life and that it's worth saving and living for Jesus. When we give thanks it orients to eternity and off our predicament;  we must learn to live in light of eternity and not for the here and now. When we are filled with gratitude, we want to spread the cheer and payback to others and society of what God has blessed us with. 

We never give thanks in vain because in the measure we do it, God blesses in return. God is no man's debtor and pays back multiple when we give as unto the Lord. Freely we have received from the Lord and freely we are to give! We must first realize that all we own is the Lord's and we are just stewards: We must first offer ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice and render to God what is God's. That's the key, one can never repay the debt of love and grace is that which we don't deserve, cannot repay, and cannot earn even in all eternity we will be debtors to God. 

We ought to overflow with thanksgiving!  For instance, just think of the blessings of salvation both in this life and the next we have the perks of being the children of God. In our salvation, our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured!   We cannot but thank Him for His "unspeakable" or indescribable gift!  (Jesus!)   As members of God's kingdom, we have many privileges and should rejoice in our status as overcomes! Remember, we owe it all to the Lamb who sits upon the throne and has overcome and invited us to be joint-heirs.  

In short, this is God's explicit will: give thanks in all things as unto the Lord, in every circumstance even if we don't know why.   That can test our faith!  How can we do this?  There are infinite ways: multiple instruments of music, multiple songs and hymns to sing,  multiple gifts, multiple talents, multiple opportunities, multiple songs,  multiple relationships, multiple occupations, multiple hobbies, multiple blessings, multiple passions, and multiple salvation stories or testimonies.  We must render thanks for all that salvation involves and who we were before: remembering the rock from which we were hewn and the quarry from which we were dug.  

Remember, we are commanded to give thanks and this is for our good as God doesn't have anything to gain; He is worthy and deserves to be praised and worshiped with thanksgiving. When we do so, wonderful peace will fill our hearts for doing God's will.  Even in prayer, the right attitude is to do it in thanksgiving and to prepare our hearts with it. Praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He's done, even given us the victory!  Our conversation and fellowship should be in thanksgiving and no obligation but willingly and voluntarily. We are to worry about nothing, pray about anything, and thank about everything if we want to enjoy the peace of God in our hearts.   

In summation, giving thanks entails much more than just telling someone "thank-you" or even doing lip-service to God to that effect, but in bearing fruit in respect to it and being a witness of thanks to others, doing good works showing and proving gratitude as in remitting a debt.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Neither Were They Thankful

 "Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy" (Psalms 107:22, NIV).
"But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you..." (Jonah 2:9, NIV).
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and grateful" (Col. 4:2, NIV). 
"Amen!  Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever.  Amen!"  (Rev. 7:12, NIV). 
"I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD" (Psalm 116:17, KJV).  

They knew God but didn't give Him thanks and for this reason, God darkened their foolish heart.  We are responsible for the light God has given us or we will be judged accordingly.  Thanksgiving is a sacrifice to God (cf. Psa. 50:14) and praise is another sacrifice to God (cf. Heb. 13:15) that we can offer God as a way to gain entree into His divine throne room and presence.  "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise..." (Psa. 110:4, KJV).  That seems to stipulate a formula for getting into the spirit of worship and prayer.  They are juxtaposed in this verse and go hand in hand--thanksgiving for what He's done or will do and praise for who He is and how He reveals Himself in glory. 

You can be sure that an ingrate is not filled with the Spirit, neither knows it, for this is a basic lesson of spirituality we all learn to mature in the faith.  But a lot of ingratitude is habitual and a matter of nurture and upbringing; i.e., it might be the parents who didn't bring them up right!  As Romans 1:21 equates the two and says, "they glorified him not as God." Gratitude and praise go together to comprise an act of worship that we owe God as creatures, knowing that He is alone is worthy of our worship.  We ought to be so thanksgiving oriented that we are grateful that someone thanks us for kindness rendered in Christ's name-it should make our day!  But we should remember that our tasks in the Lord are often thankless tasks!

Paul targets thanksgiving as the right mental attitude in his epistles:  "Giving thanks always for all things unto God..." (Eph. 5:20, KJV); "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:7, KJV); "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18, KJV); "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts ... and be ye thankful" (Col. 3:15, KJV).  This is stated as the will of God for us.  He wants us to learn to see the silver lining behind every cloud and to learn that all our adversity and affliction is Father-filtered and will work together for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28).

The amazing example of having the right attitude of gratitude in dire circumstances is when Paul and Silas were in prison and sang joyfully unto the Lord.  No one can take away our attitude and that's why we must cultivate this as a sure way to stay focused on God.  Paul demonstrates his attitude of gratitude in prison writing Philippians by opening with thanksgiving.

Gratitude is not the ultimate proof of faith per se but is the sign of a right mental attitude (cf. Col. 4:2; Psa. 100:4).  God condemns ingrates:  "... for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 5:6, ESV).  Nowhere in Scripture are gratitude and faith equated, correlated, or juxtaposed as a measure or keynote of each other; however, faith and obedience are in Hebrews 3:18-19, NASB, as follows:  "And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief"  (cf. Heb. 4:6, 11).  Some translations mistranslated these verses and put in "unbelief" instead of "disobedience."  James 2:18, NIV, says, "... and I will show you my faith by my deeds."

But the NASB and ESV are more literal and use what is functional equivalence; i.e., word for word translations not thought for thought.  Faith and obedience are eternally equated in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 (that they might "come to the obedience that comes from faith," cf. NIV) and in Acts 6:4, "They were obedient to the faith."

Also, note that Dietrich Bonhoeffer said quite dogmatically, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." These two are definitely equated in the Word.   Doctrinally speaking, the only proof of faith is obedience just as Christ admonished that if we love Him we will obey Him.  Thanksgiving, even praise, can be signs of faith but not the ultimate litmus test, but obedience is the plumbline (cf. John 14:21).  We don't have the law to obey but are measured by our obedience to the will of God (we are free in Christ but not free from God's will!), which is an easier yoke and we have the Spirit which bears witness with our spirit to give us peace. Clearly, obedience is the test:  "... Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22, NKJV).

Jesus made it clear love would be the telltale sign of the believer (cf. John 13:35) and the world would know we are Christians by our love.  Love is the distinguishing trait of our faith and its greatest contribution in charity, outreach, missions, evangelizing, and labor.  Faith is what pleases God and its expression is love:  "... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria!