Thanksgiving

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1).

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2).

Those of us in the Church of God and in the United States have much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States, started as a tradition by those coming to this land who were thankful for God's protection and blessings.

Over the last two hundred years, the United States has been greatly blessed by God. We have more personal freedom, including the freedom to practice God's truth, than most nations of the world. We are still the most prosperous nation on earth. We are the most powerful nation on earth. God has worked things out in our history to make it thus. During the civil war, the nation was in danger of being split, but in the end we were united. God gave us the victory in World War II by intervening in many instances, I believe.

Yet the nation has been turning away from God in many ways.

It has been nearly 40 years since the Supreme Court decision known as Roe vs. Wade guaranteed that women would be able to have abortions, and since that time about 40 million or more unborn children have been aborted. Our public schools and secular colleges and universities are dominated by a godless, materialistic outlook that denies God's existence and creation, teaching that we came into existence through the random forces of evolution. Disrespect towards God and His name is a dominant characteristic of the entertainment of this country, the TV, movies, music, games, books, magazines, and websites Americans spend so much time with. Many people downplay the actual giving of thanks on Thanksgiving. They observe a day, but call it "Turkey Day" as if we are celebrating a turkey.

And the United States is beginning to lose its blessings.

We in the Church of God should not succumb to the attitude of unthankfulness around us. We have much to be thankful for.

Those of us who have jobs can give thanks for our jobs. Those of us who have families can be thankful for our families. Those of us who are able to attend Church of God services and enjoy fellowship can be thankful for those things. Those of us who are healthy can give thanks for our health.

We can all give thanks for the Bible and God's truth. We can thank God for opening our minds to understand His Word and His truth because so few people on the earth do. We can thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ so that we can have the opportunity to enter God's Kingdom and live in joy and peace with God and Christ forever. We can even give thanks to God during our trials because we know that God works all things for our good in the end (Romans 8:28, Romans 8:18).

Let us always have an attitude of thanksgiving towards God for the blessings He has given us and will give us.