One week till Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but this year I have been looking forward to and thinking about Thanksgiving extra.  I tend to focus on the negative, so I have to put extra effort into giving thanks.  Sometimes giving thanks is easy because of happy or exciting circumstances, other times it’s challenging because of difficult circumstances.  This is one reason I love Paul’s letters.  Paul went through many crazy, hard experiences, and he was always giving thanks. 

Some of the things Paul gives thanks for are:

• Other believers (Rom. 1:8; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3)
• The witness of believers (Rom. 1:8)
• Being freed from sin and becoming slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:16-18)
• God’s grace given to us in Christ (1 Cor. 1:4)
• The victory we have in Christ (1 Cor. 15:57)
• God’s indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)
• Our inheritance (Col. 1:12)
• God’s strength (1 Tim. 1:12)
• Putting him into service (1 Tim. 1:12)

Giving thanks is a command for Christians.  Scripture instructs us to pray with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 4:2).

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.  Ephesians 5:18-21

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:15-17

Everything we do is to be done in a spirit of thanksgiving in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Thanksgiving accompanies Christ’s peace in our hearts. 

Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16

God is pleased with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and in Christ we are able to continually praise and give thanks to God. 

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5

I have a fun challenge for all of us this Thanksgiving: Let’s make thankfulness lists – who are we thankful for?  What has God done in our lives that we’re thankful for? Even through the craziness of this year, God is still good and His promises are still true.  Let’s praise the Lord and offer Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving this week! 

With love,

Kelsey