Romans 1:21 “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
This coming week we celebrate Thanksgiving. American history is filled with Thanksgiving proclamations (I will use the 1777 and 1781 ones in the following posts) that help us remember the true spirit of this quintessential, Bible-based American holiday. I especially appreciate the characteristic of Thanksgiving that makes it different from all other holidays.
Thanksgiving is the only holiday that carries with it an explicit obligation – to reach out to the Lord in humble thankfulness. It is a day not about celebration, but all about praise. May we take this obligation seriously!
This isn’t a day in which our focus should be on watching enjoyable football or festive parades. It isn’t a day in which our focus should be on feasting on wonderful food. It isn’t even a day in which we should focus on celebrating with family and friends. None of these things are bad and they can all be incorporated into Thanksgiving, but they don’t fulfill the obligation that accompanies this day.
It is a day to give thanks. We should never turn it into anything else. We certainly shouldn’t turn it into “turkey day” or whatever secular culture uses to mask the meaning of a day where our true focus should be upward and nowhere else.
PLEASE SPEND THANKSGIVING IN HUMBLE PRAISE TO THE LORD. Don’t let the fourth Thursday of November slip by without meeting the obligation that this day demands.
SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that a lack of faithfulness makes our nation more vulnerable), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!
