With Thanksgiving

by Ron Hamilton, Conference Minister

We will soon gather with our church family, personal family and friends to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. I have found that it is one holiday that has retained God-centered focus, and I am thankful. It is wonderful to see communities gather for special church services to thank God for His provision and faithfulness. Family dynamics change when people come together with an attitude of gratitude and prayerfulness.

Thanksgiving is an important expression of faith that keeps our hearts and minds centered on the Lord.

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

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4–5)

These verses remind us that we are to worship with thanksgiving. We are to pray with thanksgiving. We are to receive all that God has given us with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not an attitude to be surfaced on occasions to give us a more positive outlook on life. It is a reflection of our walk with God in which we continually recognize and confess the privileges of a relationship with Him.

Followers of Jesus have so much to be thankful for. We thank God for His unconditional love. We appreciate the fact that He loves us so much that he sent His one and only Son, Jesus the Christ, to open the door for our salvation. We celebrate the transformation that comes from a relationship with Jesus and the work of His Spirit in our lives. We are continually encouraged by the hope of eternal life that is ours through Jesus. One day out of the year is not long enough for us to express all that we have to be thankful for.

God is honored when we live with thanksgiving. The ministry of our churches is strengthened when we do God’s work with thanksgiving. We experience God’s best when we live each day with thanksgiving. I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving holiday. Even more, I pray that God will develop a thankful heart in my life and in yours.