Thankful Thursday - Thanksgiving Every Day.....1.16.2025

 Thanksgiving Every Day

KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 92:1-5

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: 

Leviticus 22:29-3 – Psalm 50:23 – 2 Corinthians 5:8

What comes to mind when you think about Thanksgiving Day?

For many of us, it would probably be turkey. After all, it’s the centerpiece of our traditional celebration. As family and friends gather around the table, we generally offer a sincere prayer of gratitude to God for all His blessings before enjoying the food and fellowship. But what comes after dessert? For some people, it’s a football game. Others start planning for Christmas shopping the next day. Although Thanksgiving always ends, our expressions of gratitude to God should continue throughout our daily lives.

Gratitude to God not only honors Him, but it is good for us (Ps. 92:1).

In the Old Testament, He used the sacrificial system to teach His people to be grateful. When He established the Hebrews as His nation, He gave them very specific and detailed instructions concerning His laws and sacrifices so they’d know how He wanted them to live. Through these ordinances, 

He taught them three important truths: 

        (1) God is holy, 

        (2) man is sinful, and 

        (3) obedience is essential.

Because Jesus was the final sacrifice, we are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices. However, the principles the LORD taught through the sacrificial system are still true and applicable for us today. One of the offerings He prescribed was called a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and it was performed every morning and evening (Lev. 22:29-33). The twice daily offering reminded the Hebrews that the LORD was the one who brought them out of Egypt and gave birth to them as a nation. He alone saved, kept, and provided for them just as He does for us today.

Should we do less than the Hebrews—giving thanks to God every morning and evening in recognition of Him as the source of everything we have? 

One of His most precious provisions is His written Word, which instructs us and reveals everything we need to know about the LORD. 

Our gratitude for it can be gauged by our attention to it. If we’re truly thankful for His Word, we’ll diligently read it each day.

How can we follow the example taught by the daily sacrifice of thanksgiving?

We can begin by taking note of simple blessings that God provides each day. Having a car to drive, receiving income from employment, or having a family and a home in which to live are all reasons to be thankful. So often we take these things for granted, but they are all provided for us by our loving heavenly Father.

Having a grateful heart keeps our minds focused on the Lord.

The daily thanksgiving sacrifice was a continual reminder to the Hebrews that their God provided for all their needs. Likewise, each morning is an opportunity to thank the Lord for a good night’s sleep. Even if we tossed and turned all night, we can still be grateful that He’s given us another day.

Gratitude honors God (Ps. 50:23).

When we acknowledge the Lord as the source of all our blessings, we are exalting Him by declaring our dependence upon Him. Who hasn’t breathed a prayer of thanks after narrowly escaping a car accident? Appreciation helps us realize that we cannot make it through life without God’s help.

Thankfulness is expressed in a variety of ways.

Sometimes we gather in worship services to fellowship together and sing praises to God. But we can also worship the Lord when we’re alone by letting everyday activities—no matter how simple—become reasons to thank Him. Another way to acknowledge the Lord as our provider and express our gratitude is to give Him the first part of our income.

A spirit of thanksgiving is the result of remembering all God has done for us.

The Scripture describes many blessings and privileges, which result from our salvation and should invoke gratitude in hearts.

• God chose us before the foundation of the world.

• We are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

• We are eternally secure.

• We have been given gifts of the Spirit.

• We have an intimate relationship with the Lord.

• We have the peace of God in our hearts.

• The Lord loves us unconditionally.

• We’re never distant from the presence of God.

• The Lord provides for our needs.

• We have His divine protection each day.

• We have the promise of a bodily resurrection.

• We have the blessing of God’s atonement through Christ and total forgiveness of our sins.

• We have an eternal home in heaven and the promise of the resurrection.

• We’ve been given the Word of God, the source of all knowledge and understanding.

True, heartfelt, daily thanksgiving has a powerful impact on our lives.

It results in a changed mindset and a desire to obey the Lord. Gratitude . . .

• Keeps us continually aware that we are walking in God’s presence. This contributes to a godly lifestyle.

• Motivates us to look for the Lord’s purposes in everything in our lives. Even if we don’t understand what He’s doing, thanking Him lifts the burden.

• Helps us bring our will into submission to His when we suffer pain or loss. By thanking Him in the midst of our pain, we acknowledge His loving sovereignty.

• Continually reminds us that He is our God and motivates us to tell others about Him.

• Reminds us of our continuing dependence on Him.

• Helps us trust the Lord. Because He alone knows what’s best, we can thank Him even if we don’t understand why something’s happening. God honors our thanksgiving the most when we feel like we have the least reason for gratitude.

• Is essential for rejoicing in the midst of suffering. When the bottom drops out of our lives and everything looks dark, songs of praise and thanksgiving restore our hope, assuring us that God is the Light in our darkness. Removes anxiety. Gratitude can drive out worry.

• Keeps our focus on the Lord. The situation may not change, but our attitude will.

• Energizes us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

To Consider:

How can we make gratitude a daily practice in our lives?

What effect does thankfulness have on our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions?

What keeps us from thanking God in the midst of hardship or pain? 

What can we do to increase our trust in Him so gratitude will be our first response?

Blessings.....

What the Bible Says About Prayer

 What the Bible Says about Prayer

by Charles Stanley, 2012

Nearly everyone reaches a moment, when the only thing he or she can think to do is pray. Tragedy, uncertainty, unrest, fear, insecurity and trouble can bring even the most self-assured individuals to their knees.

Right now Americans are nervous about the upcoming presidential election, shell-shocked from a number of deadly mass shootings, concerned about the jobs and real estate markets and the  hurricane season that has just begun. The days ahead are sure to be filled with many prayers for protection, prosperity, patience and peace.

But why is it that the urge to pray only seems to come when the going gets tough? When life is going well and everything seems to be right on track, we think ourselves to be fully capable of handling it all. Many people only recognize their need for God when things begin to fall apart.

We turn to prayer because it is the most personal way to experience God, to encounter Him and to grow in knowledge of Him. According to the book of Ephesians, God’s desire is for us to pray “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18).

Still, people are most motivated to pray when they need something from God. But what does the Bible say is the reason God wants us to pray?

Jesus provides clear instructions when it comes to prayer. In what is perhaps His most well known public address, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares with His followers what has become known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” His example models prayers of praise, submission to the will of God, reliance upon Him for daily sustenance and requests for forgiveness and deliverance. Jesus’ prayer focuses more on honoring God than listing needs to be met.

Interestingly, shortly after this instruction on how to pray, Jesus reminds his followers that "the Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). This raises a fairly obvious question: if God already knows what we need, why bother asking?

The answer: Prayer is not a transfer of information, but rather an act of humility.

Prayer requires us to admit that perhaps we don’t quite know it all. In our culture, there is great pressure to have the answers, to convince everyone that we have it all together and to be completely self-sufficient.

According to Scripture, God is all knowing and completely wise which means He understands everything about a situation and sees the best path through it (Psalm 147:5). While our days are filled with expectations and demands, God is waiting for the moment when we say, ”I don’t know, but I know who does.”

Ultimately, Jesus demonstrates through His own life that prayer provides an avenue to the Father. Throughout the New Testament, we're told that Jesus "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:16). He was actively carving out time alone to meet with the Father in prayer.

In Luke 10:27, Jesus issues the command to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But how can we love someone with whom we never speak? It is only through prayer that one can move from knowing about God to knowing God.

Perhaps you’ve never experienced a moment when, out of desperation, you bowed your head to pray. That’s ok. There is a first time for everything. But you don't need to wait until a crisis looms to begin a relationship with God through prayer.

If you have never really prayed, I urge you to give it a try. After all, the Bible tells us that your prayers will be met with God's delight (Proverbs 15:8, Psalm 149:4). The act of prayer leads to the peace, patience and perseverance we all so desperately need. With that in mind, what have you got to lose?

Dr. Charles Stanley was the pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta, founder of In Touch Ministries and best-selling author of many books. His latest is "The Ultimate Conversation: Talking with God through Prayer." He passed away April 18, 2023.

Sacrificing Your Future for the Pleasure of the Moment

Genesis 25:24-34 –

24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name sau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” 33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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We are living in the “now” generation. Whatever we want, we can often find a way to get it immediately.

This could be good if it’s a legitimate and pressing necessity, but it can also be dangerous if what we desire is not something God wants for us. The problem with “have it now” thinking is that we don’t pause to consider the consequences of our actions. One of Satan’s tactics is to keep our minds on the pleasures and benefits of whatever he’s offering us. How much better it would be if we submitted our desires to the Lord and waited on Him to provide what He knows is best.

Many people today are living for the moment and are willing to pay any price to get what they want. This is the situation we see in the story of Jacob and Esau recorded in Genesis 25:25-34, [see scripture above]. How each brother responded to this situation teaches us an essential lesson.

Abraham’s son Isaac had twin sons with his wife, Rebekah. Esau was the firstborn and grew up to become a skillful hunter, but Jacob was a peaceful man who preferred staying home. One day when Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from hunting and said, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished” (v. 30). Jacob told Esau if he’d swear to sell him his birthright, he would let him have some stew.

In a Hebrew family, the birthright was a very precious possession of the eldest son, which granted him the place of headship, honor, and authority in the family, as well as most of the father’s property after his death. Yet Esau was willing to trade away this privilege for some soup. His choice demonstrated that he despised his birthright (v. 34).

Esau’s mindset is a perfect picture of our society today, which tends to think only of the present without considering the future consequences.

When do we sacrifice our future for the pleasure of the moment?

When we disregard the sacred values in life.

God gave us the Ten Commandments as a law by which we are to live for our good, but if we disregard them, we’ll end up suffering the consequences in the future.

When we insist on immediate fulfillment of our desires.

David and Samson are two biblical examples of this. King David yielded to his lust for Bathsheba and resorted to the murder of her husband when she became pregnant. The pleasure of a moment yielded painful circumstances for the rest of his life.
Samson was given supernatural strength by God to fight the Philistines, but his desire for Delilah led him to foolishly tell her that the secret of his great strength was in his hair. As a result, she cut his hair, and the Philistines overpowered him, bound him, blinded him, and threw him in prison to work as a grinder. He wrecked and ruined his life by seeking his own desires instead of obeying the Lord.

When our focus is on the worldly rather than the eternal.

We tend to think we can pursue whatever we want because no one, including God, will notice. We forget that His principles never fail. Whatever we sow now, we will reap in the future.

When we make irrevocable decisions in periods of physical and emotional weakness.

This is exactly what Esau did. In a moment of fatigue and exhaustion, he forgot about the future and traded away his promised position of authority and power in the family for a bowl of soup. Later when he wanted it back, it was too late. He had lost his birthright forever. Sin cannot be hidden from God. Its satisfaction is only temporary, and regrets always follow.

When we have no respect for spiritual things.

King Saul is an example of someone who disregarded God’s decision to make David the next king of Israel. In his determination to hang on to his kingdom, he did everything he could to hunt down and kill David in an attempt to thwart God’s plan to make David the next king. As a result, Saul suffered mental torment, and both he and his son Jonathan were killed in battle. He destroyed his future because of his obsession to keep what he desired most—the kingdom.

When we fail to examine the possible consequences of our actions.

Judas walked with Jesus as one of His disciples because he thought Jesus would overthrow Rome, liberate Israel, and rule the world. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he betrayed Jesus and suffered eternal condemnation.

Anytime we sin in seeking our desires, consequences will follow.

Instead of rushing ahead to fulfill our longings, we should consider God’s will and timing for our lives.

We must guard against being like Esau who sacrificed his future for a moment’s pleasure. His bowl was filled with soup, but we fill ours with all sorts of sins instead of seeking the only One who can truly satisfy our souls.

What is in our bowl today that carries disastrous consequences?

Alcohol? – We can buy and drink all we want and feel good for a while, but the results of becoming enslaved to it are difficult and long-lasting.

Prejudice? – Passing judgment on others simply because you don’t relate to them never pleases God.

Drugs? – No one ever intends to become addicted to drugs, but the sought-after pleasure and relief soon turn into bondage.

Bitterness? – It begins with anger and grows into a more destructive emotion that affects our entire being.

Adultery? – Although it’s often glamorized in our culture, adultery destroys individuals and families.

Abortion? – It may seem like a way to escape a difficult situation, but those involved in abortion carry a heavy weight of guilt.

Hatred? – Even if we feel justified in our hatred, it damages our emotions, health, attitudes, and relationships with others and with God.

Unforgiveness? – The right response to every offense is forgiveness, but harboring unforgiveness is a sin that hinders our lives.

Anger? – When we hold on to anger for wrongs committed against us, our bodies, feelings, spirits, and relationships suffer.

To continue in these sins will only result in future suffering. If we find any of these in our lives, we need to ask God to cleanse and forgive us so we can live the life He intends for us.

Let Us Consider:

Have we, like Esau, ever traded something precious for a moment’s pleasure?

What consequences did we experience?

What lessons did we learn?

The next time we have a strong desire and the ability to fulfill it, what should we do to ensure that we do not make a foolish decision?

What spiritual benefits and fruit come from denying ourselves some of our desires?

Blessings......

When God Looks on Us with Favor

Isaiah 66:1-2

1 Thus says the LORD:

    “Heaven is My throne,
    And earth is My footstool.
    Where is the house that you will build Me?
    And where is the place of My rest?
2  For all those things My hand has made,
    And all those things exist,”

Says the LORD.

    “But on this one will I look:
      On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
      And who trembles at My word.

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Believers are always under the canopy of God’s grace and love. Nothing we do can change that. At the same time, our behavior and heart condition do determine whether we receive the fullness of His blessings. Today’s passage teaches us how to experience the Father’s favor.

First, He desires that we have a contrite heart and a humble spirit (Ps. 51:17). For that to be the case, all aspects of our lives must be surrendered to Jesus. Yet some dreams, desires, and people are difficult to release into His hands.

Anything we do not give over to His authority is evidence of pride, the exact opposite of what our Father wants in His children. Remember that “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Lack of submission proves that we think our way is better than His plan.

Second, God tells us to tremble at His Word (Isa. 66:2). Scripture — the unfolding revelation of Jesus Himself — is living and powerful to teach and transform us. Consider how we treat this treasure. Do we devote time each day to know what the Bible says and how to apply its principles? Do we hunger for more of the Word in our lives so we can know its Author better? One measure of our reverence is obedience: to honor the Lord, we must obey Him.

We all desire God’s favor. Are you living in a manner that positions you to receive His full blessings? Prayerfully consider whether you have submitted all areas of your life — from finances and health to relationships and work habits — to Jesus Christ. Recognize His authority in all things, and revere His Word.

Blessings.....

Blog author note: this is from my “Save for Bible Study” folder – it is by Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries 2009