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As we all know, in just a few days this country will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day. This is a day when North American people, as well as Hispanics, will celebrate this day in the same fashion. This is a day when everyone will clear their agenda, and find the time to come together to enjoy the delicious feast. This is a day when the entire family interacts, something that is seldom seen now days. However, the problem that exists in this precious and special day that has been set aside to thank God for his blessings, is that with time it has lost its’ real meaning. Unfortunately, many have stopped seeing it for what it was intended, rather they see it as one less work day, or a day for a family dinner or get together, but nothing else. Many have forgotten or simply have chosen to ignore, that this day was set aside by the founders of this great nation to thank God for all that He had given them. Many people have a party that has a great list of invited guests; however, many forget to invite the most important guest of all. There are many that invite a large number of people, but they forget, or simply refuse to invite God. Why does this happen? This is something that happens because most times many fail to realize everything that God has done for them. This is the reason why, today, I want us to reflect on why we must thank God. Let us now turn to the scriptures that we will be using today. Psalms 118:1-4- Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 3Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 4Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.” I know that this world is full of people that think that they have nothing to be thankful for. I know that there are many people that may be going through difficult situations; whether with family members, sons, daughters, wife, husband, etc. And in our time, I know that there are numerous people that are struggling with their economy. However, regardless of how difficult a particular situation may be, there is always something to be thankful about. Let’s reflect on this for a moment to determine if what I am saying makes any sense. Why should we be thankful to God? If we take the time to analyze our life, I think that all of us here will agree when I say that we have to thank Him for everything. We have to thank Him: “for He is good.” Tell the person sitting next to you, God is good. When we take the time to look up the history of this beautiful Christian tradition, we find that the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, and they invited the local Wampanoag Indians. Days of thanksgiving were celebrated throughout the colonies after the fall harvests. However, not all thirteen colonies celebrated Thanksgiving at the same time until October 1777. George Washington was the first president to declare the holiday, in 1789. By the mid–1800s, many states observed a Thanksgiving holiday. Meanwhile, the poet and editor Sarah J. Hale had begun lobbying for a national Thanksgiving holiday. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, looking for ways to unite the nation, discussed the subject with Hale. In 1863, he gave his Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday in November a day of thanksgiving.[1] In this Proclamation President Lincoln stated: “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, 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. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”[2] In other words, this day was set aside as a special day when an entire nation could join together to thank the almighty God for His benevolence. Unfortunately, not everyone sees the celebration of this date in the same way; the sad truth is that the majority of people no longer share the intended purpose. A large number of people only see this date as one less workday, or as a day for a family reunion. The purpose of thanking God for all the blessings that He has bestowed upon us has been replaced with the sharing of a large feast, the drinking of alcoholic beverages, and watching the football games on the television. Why has this happened? This has happened because slowly but surely, God has been eliminated from the equation. It is as we find in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 when we read: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” We are definitively living in dangerous times. How can we recognize that we are living in dangerous times? It is very easy. When you can speak about anything and everything, except about God, without offending anyone, then we need to recognize that we are living in dangerous times. When it is perfectly fine for the entertainment industry to promote fornication, adultery, lustfulness, and greed, but we are criticized and chastised when we attempt to speak about what God tells us about these things, then we must recognize that we are living in dangerous times. When our children are indoctrinated by false theories about the origin of creation, and they are not taught that there is a God, creator of the heavens and the universe, then we must recognize that we are living in dangerous times. When we see that people would much rather attend a social gathering or event instead of attending church to praise and worship the almighty God, then we must recognize that we are living in dangerous times. I could go on and on, but I think everyone here can easily recognize that we are living in dangerous times. However, regardless of all of this, God is good. Tell the person sitting next to you, God is good. We must thank God for He is good. I know that I have said this on other occasions, but the fact that we are gathered here today is a great reason to thank God. I say this because there are countless people in the world that would love to gather in a place to praise and worship God, but they cannot. Say with me: thank you Lord for this place! The fact that we have been able to listen to these praise and worship songs is a great reason to thank God. I say this because there are countless people in the world that would love to be able to hear, but they cannot. Say with me: thank you God for I can hear! The fact that we are able to express ourselves, sing and worship freely is a great reason to thank God. I say this because there are many believers that live in countries where they do not have the liberty that we sometimes take for granted. Say with me: thank you Lord for the freedom you have given me! The fact that we opened our eyes this morning is a great reason to thank God. I say this because this means that He has blessed us with one more day of life. Say with me: thank you Lord for this day that you have given me! The fact that next Thursday we will have a delicious dinner is a great reason to thank God. I say this because on a daily basis countless people die of starvation. Say with me: thank you Lord for the blessings that you have bestowed upon us! I am sure that everyone will agree that we must thank God for all of these things; however, many may not be experiencing such pleasant moments. I know that some are currently going trough tough times; I know that there are many currently going through some difficult situations. Nevertheless, I am about to say something that may surprise you. The fact that we may be experiencing a difficult situation with our son, daughter, wife, or husband is also a great reason to thank God. I say this because God has blessed us with that daughter, son, wife, or husband. Say with me: thank you God for my family! The reality of it all is that no one here is exempt from having to traverse through difficult situations, but let us never forget that God is good, and even through those times, He never abandons us. Look at what we find in Psalms 23 when we read: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” This is the God we serve, the God that loves and takes care of us; the almighty God that will guide and protect us. This is the God we serve, a living and caring Father. Say with me: thank you Father for your unconditional love! Let us thank God: “For His mercy endures forever.” God’s mercy is something that may have not learned to value, but the truth of it all is that without it, none of us would be here today. No matter how good we may think we are, no one here is worthy of standing before God’s presence. This is something clearly stated in Romans 3:23 when we read: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But because of God’s mercy we can now stand before his presence. Look at what we find in Titus 3:4-6 when we read: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior”. His mercy allows us to approach Him confidently to find the solution to our problems or afflictions. This is something clearly expressed in Hebrews 4:16 when we read: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. I do not know about you, but I say, Thank you God for your mercy! The psalm that we are using today states: “Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever”. And this is something that we must all do. We must proclaim God’s mercy; we must proclaim God’s love. Perhaps we lack the ease of words to preach about this theme. Some may lack the Bible knowledge to explain all of this, but one thing that none of us lack is the presence of the Holy Spirit that now dwells in us. This is something that our Lord clearly states in John 14:16-17 when we read: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you”. Tell the person sitting next to you, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, then it is as we find in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when we read: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” As I said, we may lack the biblical knowledge to teach, we may not have an ease with words to preach, but on this day of thanksgiving, we do have the power to be the examples to follow. We can serve as the example to follow in our family, with our friends, and in our jobs. We have the power to say that this date is much more than a meal and a football game. We can all say: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 3Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 4Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.” In conclusion, this beautiful day of celebration has been slowly loosing the intended purpose. Slowly, but surely, the enemy is attempting to erase God from the mind of men. I say to you today, do not allow this to happen in your home. Do not allow your home to be filled with guests and relatives this date without God’s presence. There are so many things for which we must thank God that it is impossible to list them all; as I have said on other occasions, there is a blessing in everything. When we reflect in our life, I think that we will all realize that we have everything at our reach, but that on occasions, we forget to thank God. It is sad to think that at this very moment, there are many in the world suffering from hunger. There are numerous children that will die of curable diseases, because they are unable to obtain the medical care that they need. It is sad to think that on a daily basis, numerous people die without having accepted the Lord in their heart. It is sad to think about these things, and many do not even want to do so, but it is the truth. It is for these and countless other reasons that we can never say that we have nothing to be thankful for, rather we must thank God for everything and at all times. In only a few days, we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day, but for us, Thanksgiving Day is every day. It will be very beautiful to gather with our family, it will be very beautiful to share with our friends, but we must thank our celestial Father for His kindness and love everyday of our life. Do not forget to be the example to follow, do not forget the precious inheritance that you will be leaving your children and loved ones by celebrating this day for what it truly is. It is a day dedicated to God. A day dedicated to prayer; a day to thank God for everything that He has done, is doing, and will do in your life. When you sit down to enjoy that lovely feast do not forget to say, “We thank you Lord for all the blessings that you have bestowed upon us; we thank you Lord for your presence in our home”. Let us thank God for all the blessings that He has given us, but let us never forget that this is something that we must do daily. The world has attempted to eliminate God from the equation, and this is why the world finds itself in the condition that it is in. I say to you today, invite God into your home and your home will be reigned by His love, peace, and mercy. I say to you today, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever”. [1] Thanksgiving History “From fall feast to national holiday” by: Damon Goldsmith
[2] Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day October 3, 1863 by: Abraham Lincoln
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