The Bethlen Home Messenger, 2000-2001 (1-4. szám)
2000-11-01 / 1. szám
^ctíbítp gígíjltgíjtő GIVING THANKS Rev. Florence Wood, LCPC how I did this, and I did that, without mention of God being the one who provided what was needed. On November 23, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. This day has been set aside to be a day where thanks is offered up to the Heavenly Father. It is a day where family and friends come together to share a meal and talk about all that the Lord has done for them. Giving thanks only to Him. But Thanks Giving should not be a one-day-a-year affair. Thanks Giving should take place on a daily basis. It should come from a person's heart and offered up to the Lord joyfully. Not because we have to, but because we know it is the right thing to do, and because we want to. God inhabits the praise of His people. He's a God that wants His children to acknowledge that He is the one that provides for their every need. In Psalm 22:3-5. we read: "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Out fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded." We see from these verses, that the Israelites trusted in God, and they praised Him for what He had done for them. And He was in the midst of them. Like the Israelites, our founding father's put their faith and trust in God. They knew that He would see them through no matter what lay ahead for them. And they offered up thanks to God, from the beginning, for what He had done for them, and for what He was going to do. The United States was founded on Christian beliefs. Our founding fathers put God first, and in doing so, God blessed them and their children, and their children's children, down through the ages. God's word tells us, that the children of those who love Him will want for nothing. But we see in our country how people are starving. Mothers and children are living on the streets with no place to call home. Poverty is at an all time high. A country that was once blessed in all areas of need, is becoming one that is in need. But why has this taken place, and why do we see more poverty and sinful acts occurring in this country? If you turn your television set on you will see and hear what is taking place. Our country and the world, is becoming a place where God is being left out. We hear Christians in this country allowed one woman to take prayer out of our schools. And we can all see what that has done for our children. For many children, that was the only place they ever got to hear the Word of God. Slowly, God has, and is being left out. Instead of mankind being thankful for the knowledge that God has given to them, they thank the one who God gave the knowledge to. They worship what has been made, instead of the Creator who gave them the ability to make it. We see that, as God is being left out, we are slowly becoming a country and world without the blessing we once had. But can this be reversed? Yes it can! We read over and over in the Bible how God's people disobeyed, and lost the blessings that God had poured out upon them. When God was put first, all was well. When God was not put first and left out, all was not. But when they repented and turned from their wicked ways, He forgave them. And they prospered as before. What He did in Biblical times, He will do for us. His word never changes. Christians need to start fresh. They need to turn from their ways that go against God's word. They need to start thanking and praising God for what He has, and is and will be doing in their lives and in their families' lives. We need to start praying and taking back that which the enemy has stolen from us. We can make a difference. We need to get back to what this country was founded on. We need to get back to God. When we do this, we will see a change, not for the bad, but for the good. God's word shows and tells us that we will prosper when He is in the midst of us. As mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, we can make a difference. We can thank God for all He is doing for us and for our children. We can sing praises to His name and thank Him for being a God who never changes. And His love for us never ends. This Thanksgiving, give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done. Thank Him for what He has brought you through. Thank Him for providing for your needs and the needs of your family. Acknowledge that He is the one who is worthy of praise and honor and glory. For without Him, we would be nothing. Thank Him for being Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider
