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Thanksgiving is a delightful
day. We watch parades and football games and feast
on turkey and other delicious foods with family
and friends. But it’s important to remember what
this oldest of American holidays is really all
about. “The Pilgrims left England on September
6, 1620, and for two months braved the harsh elements
of a storm-tossed sea. After disembarking at Plymouth
Rock, they had a prayer service and began building
hasty shelters, but unprepared for a harsh New
England winter, nearly half died before spring.
Yet persevering in prayer and assisted by helpful
Indians, they reaped a bountiful harvest the following
summer. The grateful Pilgrims then declared a
three-day feast in December, 1621, to thank God
and to celebrate with their Indian friends - America's
first Thanksgiving Festival. This began an annual
tradition in the New England colonies that slowly
spread into other colonies” (from Thanksgiving
in America by David Barton).
Some Great Thanksgiving Proclamations
“Congress
recommends a day of... thanksgiving and praise
so that the people may express their grateful
feelings of their hearts... and join... their
prayers that it may please God, through the merits
of Jesus Christ, to forgive ours sins and ...
to enlarge His kingdom which consists in righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Continental
Congress, 1777).
“It
is in an especial manner our duty as a people,
with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude,
to acknowledge our many and great obligations
to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue
and confirm the blessings we experienced. Deeply
penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington,
President of the United States, do recommend to
all religious societies and denominations, and
to all persons whomsoever, within the United States,
to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day
of February next, as a day of public thanksgiving
and prayer, and on that day to meet together and
render sincere and hearty thanks to the great
Ruler of nations for the manifold and signal mercies
which distinguish our lot as a nation... to preserve
us from the arrogance of prosperity, and from
hazarding the advantages we enjoy by delusive
pursuits, to dispose us to merit the continuance
of His favors by not abusing them, by our gratitude
for them...” (George Washington, 1795).
“I
appoint... a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty
God... to ask Him that He would... pour out His
Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel; that
He would... spread the light of Christian knowledge
through the remotest corners of the earth... and
that He would establish these United States upon
the basis of religion and virtue” (Thomas Jefferson).
“I...
appoint... a day of public thanksgiving and praise...
to render to God the tribute of praise for His
unmerited goodness toward us... by giving to us...
the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten
and make us wise to eternal salvation... And to
pray that He would forgive our sins and... cause
the religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
to be known, understood and practiced among all
the people of the earth” (John Hancock).
“It
is the duty of nations as well as of men to own
their dependence upon the overruling power of
God; to confess their sins and transgressions
in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine
repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and
to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the
Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that
those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.
We know that by His divine law, nations, like
individuals, are subjected to punishments and
chastisements in this world. May we not justly
fear that the awful calamity of civil war which
now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted
upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful
end of our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties
of heaven; we have been preserved these many years
in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers,
wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the
gracious hand which preserved us in peace and
multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and
we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness
of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced
by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.
Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become
too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming
and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the
God that made us. It has seemed to me fit and
proper that God should be solemnly, reverently
and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart
and one voice, by the whole American people. 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 as a day of Thanksgiving and praise
to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens”
(Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, in 1863).
Being Thankful To The Supreme
Person
God
is a Person - the Supreme Person. He has mind,
intelligence, emotion and will. He is good and
always does what is right. He is also infinitely
pure so that not even the slightest hint of anything
bad can remain in His presence. And the truth
is that there is bad in each one of us. Mankind
has been corrupted and we are estranged from our
Creator. The purpose of your life is to be
reconciled to God and live with Him forever. The
Lord created us, loves us and longs to have a
close, personal and eternal relationship with
us; but that relationship must be on His terms
- not ours.
Thank
God that He sent Yeshua (Jesus), who is the Messiah
of Israel and the Savior of the world, to make
atonement for us so that we can be reconciled
to God and live forever! When we commit our lives
to follow the Messiah, God sends His Spirit to
live in us and begin transforming us from within.
From our inner being we start doing the things
that God wants us to do. Are you thankful for
who the Lord is and what He has done for you -
meeting your physical and spiritual needs? Do
you have a close, personal relationship with the
Living God? Have you come to Him on His terms?
Are you living the way He wants you to live? Are
you a committed follower of Yeshua?
Being Thankful In Spite Of Difficulties
The
Plymouth colony lost half its population its first
year. Can you imagine losing half your population
and still being thankful to God for the good things
He does for you
? Are you genuinely grateful to your Creator for
all the good things you have, in spite of the
difficult circumstances you may have experienced?
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, talk
to your Creator and express your gratitude that
has always been the spirit of this oldest of American
holidays. Here is a prayer you might want to pray:
Dear God, thank You for Your existence, power,
wisdom and goodness. All good things ultimately
come from You. I am sorry that I have not been
thankful enough for the material and spiritual
blessings You have provided for me. Help me to
be more appreciative of You, and from that thankfulness
be willing to serve You on your terms!
Congregation
Shema Yisrael is a community made up of Jews and
Gentiles who have come to know God and the Messiah
that He sent to help us. We would love to help
you grow in your knowledge of God and His ways.
You are welcome to join us! You can contact us
at:
Congregation
Shema Yisrael
Services: Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
At Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church
3600 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Phone: 248-593-5150
Email: Shema777@aol.com
Website: www.shema.com
P O Box 804, Southfield, MI 48037
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