Dear friends, our prayers from Nellie, the girls and I, for all of you on this very special day! Have a great and happy day! We're thankful for so much but more importantly for you.
As we pray this morning please remember those who don't usually have the meals that will be served in so many places today. Pray for blessings on the Hannah Circle of our church as they prepare the first ever Thanksgiving meal in our activities building. May God's presence be a blessing to all who prepare and participate.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: THANKSGIVING DAY! Do this before eating! Or cooking!
Let’s go to Jesus today. Read Matthew 6:25-34. Write that down in your own handwriting as if God had addressed it to you. What is God’s message to you in those verses? Are you God-Fearin’ and God Respectin’ yet?
Matthew 6:25-34 reads in this way:
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.
It becomes so easy on a day such as today to say that God provides. I heard on the radio yesterday that most people in the USA will gain at least two pounds just in the eating that is associated with this weekend. And even scarier is that from today until the 2nd of January, most folks in the USA will put on almost 12 lbs! That's a lot of food! And the focus on this day has been on the food. My sermon Sunday highlighted my feelings about the day when I was younger. I had a "list" of things that my mother had to fix or it wasn't "Thanksgiving." I was missing the point. Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to have such a list, most cooks love that folks admire and look forward to certain things, but when we fail to give thanks for whatever we have before on that table, it is not Thanksgiving. The focus should be on God and what God provides for us.
Jesus used the occasion of the Sermon on the Mount to share with all who would listen new ideas for living and folks must have said, "Wow, why didn't I think of that!" Jesus knew the fear on so many people in his day was about having enough just to get by and Jesus says, "God provides." Look around you to the nature. Look at the birds and how they eat. God provides. Look at the flowers and how they're clothed. God provides. What really should hit home with us is when Jesus asks us those questions that you know are more a statement: Aren't you worth more than they? And the answer is (read Psalm 8 again) of course!
The second part of Jesus' concern is how we fret about so many things even when we've heard God provides. I know some of us are wired differently than others but we still must ask like Jesus, what do we gain by worrying so much? The key Jesus adds, is seeking first the things of God and God's righteousness "and all these things will be yours as well." The first and more important things are the things of God. Those are what matter. Loving God, knowing that God loves us. Seeking to love one another. Seeking to serve and give as God has given us. These are the things of God. And wonderful things will follow. We can't outgive God!
Enjoy your meal today. Enjoy the company. Yell at the TV and scream your teams on to victory. But first, give thanks. Seek God and get ready to receive that which is so much better!
PRAYER: Father, we thank you for all that we always receive from You. For this day and its specialness, we are so blessed. We pray for those who today for the first time in their lives are without someone dear to them that your comfort would be with them. But for those who are still with us and who are new to our table, we thank you as well. We praise Your name and we thank you for Jesus. Amen.
Have a great day filled with joy and blessings!
e.v.
