Theme of the Week: Thanksgiving

Pat~ · Nov 25, 2008

The calendar provided the inspiration for this week's theme: Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is closely related to praise, I think, though it's often more in reference to specific blessings in our life, whereas praise tends to be more generally associated with who God is and the adoration we have for Him.

When I think about thanksgiving, I'm always reminded of the famous Corrie ten Boom story, where she and her sister were holding secret Bible study in the concentration camp, and Betsy and Corrie were discussing this verse:

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV)

Betsy, in particular, was trying to convince Corrie that they should even thank God for the lice infestation that was plaguing their overcrowded, filthy women's dormitory. Corrie thought that was going too far; only later did she come to find out that those lice were the reason the guards did not come into their dormitory to molest them.

I guess that would be one of those things that may more accurately be referred to as offering the "sacrifice of thanksgiving"--

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.

(Psalm 116:17, NIV)

Sean D. Schaffer · Nov 25, 2008

A lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

I thank the Lord that He allowed me to go through all the negative spiritual things I went through over the last couple years. It all culminated in my getting involved with a girlfriend who was into witchcraft and talking to the dead. I saw firsthand what the Enemy can do to those who don't have Christ in their hearts, especially those who had rejected Christ outright like I had.

He allowed me to go through all that garbage so that I would see just what I had lost when I had rejected the Lord. How I had completely forsaken my sanity for the sake of hearing from my deceased biological father, dead since 1990; or how I had given up my friends, both at my building and online so that I could consult cards that allowed me to tell my own future. I lost a lot when I left the Lord, but I did not really see that I had lost very much. It was not until I started hearing growling coming from the kitchen in my girlfriend's apartment (she has two cats; this sounded like something no kitty-cat could have made, unless perhaps it was four feet tall at the shoulder!) and my girlfriend herself started claiming to be my guardian angel with the power to send me to Hell if I disobeyed her, that I understood I had lost a tremendous treasure when I left Christ.

A little under a week ago, just after I broke up with my girlfriend, I truly repented, and offered the Lord all that was left of my broken life and soul. I even went so far as to accept Jesus as God, not just as my Savior. I rededicated my life to Him, and now I'm searching for a church to belong to in my area, one preferably where I can be baptized again in His Name. I have begun to regain my sanity, and I'm no longer seeing or hearing the horrible things I had come to experience when I was with my former girlfriend. I'm no longer consulting cards or looking to speak with relatives long dead. But most importantly, I have peace in my heart again. Real peace this time, not the fake stuff I claimed to have a few months ago.

For what I went through, one might think I have reason to be bitter, afraid, or hardened even further against the Lord. But in fact, I thank the Lord Jesus that I went through all that stuff. I thank Him because He gave me a chance to go the wide path to destruction, and see for myself that it was not good. And I thank Christ because He allowed me to repent and come back to Him.

I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. And I even have friends who have allowed me to come back into their lives despite all the bad things I was involved in. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for second, third, fourth, and so on, chances to get right with Him in our lives!

God bless you, everyone, and I pray that you all might have peace in your hearts as Thanksgiving, whether your country celebrates it or not, dawns this Thursday.

AMCrenshaw · Nov 25, 2008

oh.

there's a zen saying:

zen is

infinite gratitude for all things past
infinite service to all things present
infinite responsibility for all things future

at this stage in my life, my young life, i'm only now beginning to feel this overwhelming sense of gratitude. and to Jesus, his work, his way...

can such a small space really hold how i feel?

Alpha Echo · Nov 26, 2008

It's been hard lately to be thankful. It's hard to see what God has planned and why things that are happening right now...are happening. Like your story - the girls couldn't understand at the time why they were infested with lice, and ew! Who wants that? But later they learned the full extend of Christ's plan.

My life has been tough right now, as it has been for many people, I know, what with the economy the way it is. I'm not going into details, but this thread isn't about our problems anyway.

I am, however, thankful to God for the things He's pulled me through. He kept me stronger than I thought I could ever be during a really tough time. I'm thankful for my relationships - my husband, my mother, my sisters and brothers, my in-laws, and my friends. I have been so blessed with so many people that love and support me. They are probably the greatest gift He's given me.

Theme of the Week: Thanksgiving

Pat~

Luftmensch Emeritus, A.D.D.

Sean D. Schaffer

AMCrenshaw

...

Alpha Echo

I should be writing.