Happy Thanksgiving!

By: American Decency Staff

 

Think about this:  We live in a nation that has set aside a special day for the people to specifically give Thanksgiving.  That is simply AMAZING!

We above all nations (with perhaps the exception of Israel) have the richest Christian heritage and a clear history of the Hand of Providence upon the founding of our land. With these things in mind, our Congress, in 1777, proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving. Here is a portion of it (Recognize the gratitude, thanksgiving, and supplication of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.):

“It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Let us recognize that every good gift comes to us from the Father above. Let us also recognize that without God’s grace, giving to us salvation through the atoning work of Christ on the cross, we would have nothing to be thankful for. You can have all the riches of the world—but without Jesus—you have nothing. You can be poor as a church mouse—but with Jesus—you have all you need. Dear reader, know this; JESUS IS ENOUGH! For this, we should ever be grateful regardless of our outward circumstance.

Because of these things, EVERY DAY should be a day of thanksgiving. But with our nation setting aside a special day to give thanks, we have a built in opportunity to share the gospel with those we encounter. As Al Mohler shared so well in his The Briefing today, “…gratitude is actually a very powerful Christian apologetic. We understand that every single human being has that instinct and intuition towards gratitude that gives us the opportunity to explain why, but even more importantly to explain how that attitude can be rightly directed. For Christians any conversation about gratitude is an immediate entrance point into talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so with grateful gospel hearts, we will go into the American season of Thanksgiving ready to tell people why they do feel thankful, why they should feel thankful and what that feeling of thankfulness should tell them. And then we get to tell them about Jesus Christ and the gospel.”

A happy Thanksgiving from all of us at American Decency.  Take several moments throughout your holiday to be grateful for all God has done for you and share His blessing with others.

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