"Who Gets the Thanks?"

Have you ever realized a habit or tradition you practice regularly but have no idea why or what it's purpose is? You have heard of the husband who asked his wife why she cuts the holiday ham before she cooks it. Her answer was, "My mom always cut it". One day out of curiosity he asked his mother-in-law why she cut the holiday ham before cooking it. She answered "My mother always cut it." Now he had to know why this family always cut the holiday ham in half before cooking it. One holiday they were all at grandma's house so he asked her: "Grandma, why do you cut the ham in half before you cook it?" She answered, "That's simple, I never had a pan large enough to cook a whole ham!"

How often do we stop to consider why we hold to the traditions we do? I think this is an excellent time of the year to consider the purpose of holidays, most specifically Thanksgiving! I have always been amazed at the many people who celebrate Thanksgiving, yet have no appreciation for God or what He offers us through His Son Jesus. They believe they are self-made and have no appreciation for the blessings God has given to them. If one does not believe there is a God who sovereignly rules and is the source of all blessings, then there must be another answer. Here is an answer I found online: "The Pilgrims had the first Thanksgiving, because they wanted to give thanks to Squanto and the Native Americans for teaching them how to do things and live life in different ways, not just the ways the Pilgrims used to live like. Without the Native American's, they probably would have died. Today, at Thanksgiving time, we express gratitude for the good things, people, and events in our lives and the greater world around us." So basically some believe we are simply thankful to each other for what we have. We fail to mention that the Pilgrim's gave thanks to God Almighty.

President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation was pretty clear: "...To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. ...They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God...I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens..." 10/3/1863

Maybe you can help someone better understand the history of Thanksgiving Day in America by pointing them to the goodness of our Lord. We are so blessed and enjoy the many gifts that have come from His hand even though we do not deserve any of it. Let's help each other keep a proper perspective this year as we remember to give thanks to our Creator God! Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!!


"Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation." Psalm 100:3-5

Evangelizing a Profane World

As a believer, one of my biggest struggle in life is the difficulty of influencing the nonbelievers around me. I know with a hundred percent assurance that I can not do things on my own without Christ's presence in my life. While I was reading the passage 1 Peter 3:1, it says "But make sure in your hearts that Christ is Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect," it made it clearer to me that I have to recognize Jesus as my Lord and that I have to set my faith in Christ as a believer so that when I have to face the secular world, I have a stronger foundation. Most of us Christian believers are so uptight with our own beliefs that when we are surrounded by non-believers, we feel intimated. When we hear them spitting unpleasant words, our faces switch from eating a sweet honey to a bitter lemon. Yes, it affects us to a point where we should be concern about them. It is not for us to take them in our hands, like a clay, and mold them into a figure that we want them to be. Our role as Christians is to water them in order for them to be soft so God can mold them into a refined-new believer.

Our generation is moving towards profanity, and that is just reality. I have to admit myself to that fact that no matter how much I try to insist my own Christian understanding to the world, it will never be heard unless I bring it to God. I pity the unbeliever. They need help. For us Christians, it is sad that we have our own world. A world where it is not as bad as the secular world. Little that we know that if we are sitting in our own comfort zone, we are more than sinning simply because we do not care about the people who mostly need our help. Faith without work is dead, as well all know.

So, to my brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that we should give it a try to be around people who has not heard of the gospel. You never know how much it will bless you when you help God change lives one person at a time.

In Christ,
Junie