Scripture often tells us that thanksgiving should be constant, that our gratitude shouldn’t rise and fall with our circumstances and preferences. Saint Paul taught us to pray and give thanks in every circumstance (Eph 5:20; 1 Thess 5:17), and he practiced what he preached (Acts 16:25; 1 Cor 1:4). This means we base our prayers on the promises of God. The prophet Daniel is a powerful model of promise-based prayers that transcend circumstances and preferences. Remember how Daniel turned away from sumptuous food fit for a king to eat only vegetables? Remember how Daniel prayed and gave thanks with his window open even though he knew it could lead to his execution? Let’s learn how to give thanks with Daniel!
Thanksgiving
Giving Thanks with Paul: Colossians.2
While we should always give thanks for the blessings God gives us, our gratitude should ultimately be for the grace that has opened our eyes to realize our need of Christ. Whatever material blessings we have or lack are from the providence of a good and faithful God. Our bounty is not the fruit of our hard work, self-sufficiency, and national superiority.
Thanksgiving during COVID-19
So, here we are with winter coming on, COVID infection rates rising, and hospital rooms filling. In most places in the USA this year we’re not even supposed to gather with our families for our traditional Thanksgiving celebration on November 26. Our politicians on both sides of the proverbial aisle are blustering contradictory messages about the situation because that’s what politicians do. These are not exactly the kind of circumstances that stir us to give thanks. But where does it say that thanksgiving is only based on favorable circumstances?
Giving Thanks with the Gospel According to Mark
Lately I’ve been thinking about Mark, mainly because I just contributed a post on Mark for Credo magazine. After writing the post, it occurred to me that what I was seeing in Mark is a huge reason for thanksgiving. As you may have guessed, Mark has nothing to say about turkey and all the trimmings. In fact, although Mark directly mentions giving thanks only a few times, his story of Jesus gives us a profound reason for thanksgiving. In the USA the Thanksgiving holiday is November 28 this year, but Mark’s message gives us something to be thankful for every day of the year. God does not give up on flawed followers of Jesus, and neither should we.
Giving Thanks When It’s Hard
How we respond to different circumstances shows what we really think of God. A friend recently found out that, contrary to previous reports, she does not have cancer. Our response was Praise the Lord! But other friends just lost their son to cancer. He had a wife and three young children. Was our response Praise […]