I Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Jonah 2:9 “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the LORD.”

I Corinthians 4:7 “For who maketh thee to differ from another?  and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?  now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”

In this weekend after Thanksgiving, our sense of gratitude should be burning bright.  As we reflect upon our amazing blessings and the richness of God’s love that is manifested in the upcoming Christmas season, we should be filled with a desire to praise God and serve others around us.  It should all stem from a profound sense of gratitude to a Lord and Savior who have given us far more than we deserve or could ever earn. We are magnificently blessed.  Yet sadly, so many of those around us are not living in an uplifted and encouraged state.  Their spirits are dull, dim, and dour.

Os Guinness, the son of a missionary and a social critic, stated that a society with “no sense of God produces modern people with no sense of gratitude.”  In far too many cases, this describes the situation perfectly.  Our societal self-sufficiency has sapped our ability to see the source of our blessings. We don’t recognize our dependency and moral debt to the One who richly provides all things.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A SOCIETAL SENSE OF GOD THAT YIELDS A PROPER SENSE OF GRATITUDE.  Modern people need Him just as much as anyone ever has.