Psalm 100:4, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto him and bless His name.”
Thanksgiving is a time set aside each year for us to let God and others know what we are thankful for. As Christians we ought always to be thankful, not just for one day a year. At Calais I taught through a very brief word study on “thanksgiving” and “praise” for the past 2 Wednesday nights, as I knew I would be out of town last Sunday and this week of Thanksgiving. The word study was a very interesting one and I would encourage each of you to do the same study some day. You’ll find that the word “thanksgiving” is found some 23+ times in scripture and the word “praise” is found some 250+ times in scripture. There are even 4 examples such as the one above where they are found together! As you begin to study the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words you’ll soon realize that they closely resemble each other in definition. God puts great emphasis on the act of being thankful and “praiseful” unto Him and others for what we have received and I think it would do us all good to be more mindful of giving thanks and offering praise.
As you gather with your family and friends this Thanksgiving day, make it a point to share with them what you are truly thankful for. Be specific, and don’t leave God out of the picture. For we know that all good things come from above!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Brandon L. Ward
