Author: John Page 137 of 172

Psalm 107:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

The following text comprises President Reagan’s 1986 Thanksgiving Proclamation:

By the President of the United States of America, A Proclamation,

Perhaps no custom reveals our character as a Nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day. Rooted deeply in our Judeo-Christian heritage, the practice of offering thanksgiving underscores our unshakeable belief in God as the foundation of our Nation and our firm reliance upon Him from Whom all blessings flow. Both as individuals and as a people, we join with the Psalmist in song and praise: “Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.”

One of the most inspiring portrayals of American history is that of George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. That moving image personifies and testifies to our Founders’ dependence upon Divine Providence during the darkest hours of our Revolutionary struggle. It was then – when our mettle as a Nation was tested most severely – that the Sovereign and Judge of nations heard our plea and came to our assistance in the form of aid from France. Thereupon General Washington immediately called for a special day of thanksgiving among his troops.

Eleven years later, President Washington, at the request of the Congress, first proclaimed November 26, 1789, as Thanksgiving Day. In his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, President Washington exhorted the people of the United States to observe “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” so that they might acknowledge “with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.” Washington also reminded us that “it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”

Today let us take heart from the noble example of our first President. Let us pause from our many activities to give thanks to Almighty God for our bountiful harvests and abundant freedoms. Let us call upon Him for continued guidance and assistance in all our endeavors. And let us ever be mindful of the faith and spiritual values that have made our Nation great and that alone can keep us great. With joy and gratitude in our hearts, let us sing those stirring stanzas:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in the spirit of George Washington and the Founders, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 27, 1986, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon every citizen of this great Nation to gather together in homes and places of worship on that day of thanks to affirm by their prayers and their gratitude the many blessings bestowed upon this land and its people.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh. Ronald Reagan.

Let us mimic the character of our nation’s founding by showing thankfulness and gratitude towards the Lord on Thanksgiving Day. Doing so is rooted deeply in our heritage, and like our forefathers, reveals an unshakable belief in the Lord as America’s foundation. We are wholly dependent upon Him.

Let us also “be mindful of the faith and spiritual values that have made our Nation great and that alone can keep us great.” As Reagan proclaimed, Americans must affirm by our prayers and our gratitude the many blessings bestowed upon this land and its people.

PLEASE PRAY WITH AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF THANKFULNESS FOR THE ABUNDANT BLESSINGS IN OUR LIVES AND IN OUR NATION. There is much for which to be thankful, and gratitude should drive us to our knees.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  Please see this previous post for President Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation: https://prayatlunch.us/thanksgiving/

I Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Christians are not to be mediocre in anything we do because all our actions represent Christ.  We are not to perform marginally in our chores, our ministries, our professions, our schoolwork, or our housework.  Instead, we are to strive for excellence in all that we do.  After all, the Bible makes clear that we are to do everything for the glory of God.  He deserves our best in all areas of our lives.  We are to prepare for excellence and put excellence into practice for Him.

If you are called to the ministry, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a politician, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a mother or a father, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a scientist or an engineer, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be an entertainer, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a businessman, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a craftsman, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a laborer, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be an athlete, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be a soldier, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  If you are called to be an author, prepare and do it to the glory of God.  Whatsoever you are called to do, prepare and do it to the glory of God.

The world sees mediocrity all around us.  There is nothing mediocre about Christ, and as Christians our actions should not represent Him as such.  PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ALL WE DO.  Christ deserves our best as we continuously represent him.

Genesis 41:46-48 “And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt.  And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.  And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.  And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.”

The Lord gave Joseph, like Daniel, amazing visions that he was able to use to gain favor with the rulers of his land.  Joseph, like Daniel, was faithful to put the Lord first and to follow Him.  Joseph, like Daniel, relied heavily upon the Lord’s blessings to serve faithfully and fully.  Joseph, like Daniel, diligently put his unique God-given gifts into practice in a way specifically tailored to his situation.  Like Joseph and Daniel, we are to do the same.

We are to use God-given wisdom and Holy Spirit nudging to dictate the course of our lives and to influence those around us.  We are to be faithful to put the Lord first and to follow Him.  We are to heavily rely upon the Lord’s blessings to serve faithfully and fully.  We are to diligently put our unique God-given gifts into practice in ways that are specifically tailored to our situations.

Our gifts aren’t the same.  The Lord won’t direct us in the same ways.  God’s blessings and our opportunities for impact are unique to our situations.  Yet, if we are faithful to follow Him while resisting the urge to limit the spheres within which we utilize our gifts, our influence can bring forth what this world needs.  We can bring it forth by the handfuls.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS OF ALL PROFESSIONS TO IMPACT EVERY CORNER OF OUR LAND.  Joseph and Daniel impacted the corners of the land where the Lord had directed them.  They did so faithfully and diligently.  They did so by the handfuls.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  Please see this prior post for related thoughts:  https://prayatlunch.us/standing-before-kings/

Daniel 1:20 “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”

In an essay on Christian apologetics, C.S. Lewis wrote the following:

“While we are on the subject of science, let me digress for a moment. I believe that any Christian who is qualified to write a good popular book on any science may do much more by that than by [any] directly apologetic work. The difficulty we are up against is this.  We can make people (often) attend to the Christian point of view for half an hour or so but the moment they have gone away from our lecture or laid down our article, they are plunged back into a world where the opposite position is taken for granted. As long as that situation exists, widespread success is simply impossible. We must attack the enemy’s lines of communication. What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects–with their Christianity latent… You can see this most easily if you look at it the other way round. Our faith is not very likely to be shaken by any book on Hinduism. But if wherever we read an elementary book on Geology, Botany, Politics, or Astronomy, we found that its implications were Hindu, that would shake us. It is not the books written in direct defense of materialism that make the modern man a materialist; it is the materialistic assumptions in all the other books. In the same way, it is not books on Christianity that will really trouble him. But he would be troubled if, whenever he wanted a cheap popular introduction to some science, the best work on the market was always by a Christian.”

We need Christians to produce the “best works” in all areas of our society.  Daniel’s works were exactly that.  He and his faithful colleagues were ten times better than the alternatives.  Such powerful capability and credibility were impossible to ignore by the powers of their world.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIAN EXCELLENCE IN ALL ARENAS.  Such excellence won’t just happen, but must be prayerfully and practically supported and cultivated by our Christian communities.   In doing so, we can better shake the world for Christ.

Daniel 1:3-4 “And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.”

With the election now in our rearview mirror, one final election-related area is worthy of consideration.  Over the weeks that I wrote about the election, I lamented the lack of strong Christian candidates on the ballot.  The world is partly at fault for this gap, weeding out many Christian candidates before the election because they were considered too conservative and fundamental.  Yet, the Christian community may be at fault as well.

Daniel and his faithful colleagues were useful and impactful because they were both capable and faithful.  They had cultivated the amazing gifts God had given them and were able to stand in the king’s palace because they were educated, credible, and skillful.  Their without-blemish testimonies were able to influence the core of the Babylonian government because the world first recognized their superior talents.

Our land desperately needs strong and capable Christians behind our pulpits.  We need strong and capable Christians leading our ministries.  Yet, we also need strong and capable Christians elsewhere.  We need strong and capable Christian politicians.  We need strong and capable Christian scientists.  We need strong and capable Christian entertainers.  We need strong and capable Christian businessmen.  We need strong and capable Christian craftsmen.  We need strong and capable Christian laborers.  We need strong and capable Christian educators.  We need strong and capable Christian athletes.  We need strong and capable Christian soldiers.  We need strong and capable Christian authors.  We need strong and capable Christians in all professions in order to truly impact every corner of our land.

The Christian community must encourage and promote the full cultivation of talents among our faithful.  Only by doing so can our professional influence fully complement our ministerial influence for the cause of Christ.  PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIANS IN ALL AREAS WOULD BE CAPABLE, CREDIBLE, AND FAITHFUL.  Daniel was!