Thanksgiving and Praise

        Mom never knew about Pepperidge Farm Stuffing. She would be up at about 4 AM and take a couple of loaves of white bread and lay them out on the oven rack and then bake them until they were all toasty. The aroma would come into my bedroom which wasn't too far from the kitchen. She would then combine all of the ingredients to make what we called, “dressing” for Thanksgiving. For the adults, it was oyster dressing. She tore each slice of toast up into small pieces and prepared the large bowl of dressing. Since I didn't like the oysters, she made me my very own special bowl of Thanksgiving dressing. The pies had already been baked and the turkey was then placed in the oven to begin it's slow roasting for the next seven or so hours until the noon meal. In those days, they had not come to know the Lord yet as that didn't occur until about 30 years later. Certainly, different pictures come to mind as I think about previous Thanksgiving days. There was the period of traditional football games, parades and the gathering of families now and then. These days, my thoughts are turned in a different direction. Psalm 100:1-5 says, “ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

            If you are reading this, chances are, you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ especially if it is sent directly to you. The devotion gets forwarded by several different people and appears a couple of places on the “web.” There are those who have requested their own copy and so it is sent to about 49 other people scattered here and there around the country. For all of you who know and love the LORD, Thanksgiving is a special time when we purposely think about what God has done for us and how He has blessed us beyond measure. Midst the grief, discouragement, despair and trouble in the world, there is still some things for which we can be thankful. Even in the the days of sickness and personal tragedies, there is still a mighty long list of things that remind us of God's blessings. We are reminded to enter His gates with thanksgiving and to come with praise and to be thankful unto Him. When we stop for a minute to pause for a reflection of our blessings, the top of the list for me is salvation. As unworthy as I am, the Lord saved me and for that I am truly thankful. I am thankful for the promises of the Word of God like the one that says that God will never leave me nor forsake me. I am thankful that Jesus said that He was going to return someday and the way things look, it could be before we finish eating this year's turkey. Maybe you have forgotten the blessings of the year or maybe even last week. Perhaps you have forgotten when God kept you from being in a dangerous situation or when you were delivered from harm and didn't even know it. Perhaps you have forgotten how God worked in your life last week when He provided all that you needed from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. Yes, God has been faithful and has blessed us beyond our possible dreams and sad to say, we often forget about it within a couple of days. Thanksgiving for the believer isn't just one day a year. It goes on day after day after day. It is an everyday event because God has been faithful, is being faithful and will be faithful in the days to come. Give thanks to Him and praise Him for His wonderful works in your life. “For the LORD is good....”