Happy Thanksgiving

This is  to wish all who read a BLESSED and safe Thanksgiving. We truly have so much to be thankful for regardless of what we hear or see happening around us. Let’s not get so wrapped up in the hoopla of the day that we forget to give Thanks to the One who has BLESSED us with his Son Jesus to be our Saviour, Healer, Advocate, everything we need to live a Victorious life.

I was scanning through some articles online about the original Thanksgiving and how we have failed to recognize the importance of this day. Contrary to popular belief the Pilgrims came to this Country to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ;Not to “seek their fortunes” as some have written. These were people who had a desire to see THE BLESSING spread to this New World. They wanted to advance the Good News to the whole World. And  it is still an ongoing job today.

The Pilgrims would likely have not survived had the Indians not helped them with growing their crops, building housing, and which fruits and plants were good for food and which were poisonous. I am including a  few links at the end of my article so you can go and read it for yourself. We have a lot in this country to be Thankful for every day, not just the last Thursday in November.

In 1621 the Pilgrims set aside a 3 day feast to give Thanks to God for the BLESSINGS that they had experienced even though the devil had thrown a lot of challenges on these early settlers and had tried to wipe them out with sickness and diseases. Thanks be to god for those who survived that 1st winter and  had planted crops with the help of the Indians.

Thanksgiving Day was not repeated for several years because the early settlers were busy cultivating and building their houses.A drought threatened to wipe out their  crops so those early sttlers set aside a time to pray and seek God to bring rain ( According to 2 Chronicles 7:14) and once they had  prayed and had repented for sin in their lives they received a fourteen day slow, gentle rain. A day of Thanksgiving was held later in 1624. We can see from this that it is easy to get so preoccupied that we forget to Thank God for His BLESSINGS!

In 1676 a Proclomation was wsset forth to Honor God prayers and a time of thanksgiving. Here is a copy of  that;

1676 Thanksgiving Proclamation

“The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present Warr with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed, It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions: The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God’s Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and souls as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.”

George Washington made an official Proclamation concerning this that we seldom hear about; Here is what he said:

George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Contrary to popular belief, even after President Washington made this declaration it was still not done on a yearly basis. President Abraham Lincoln  made that proclomation in 1863 and can be read below;

By the President of the United States of America.

               A Proclamation.

               The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields
               and healthful skies. 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. In the midst of a civil
               war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to
               invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has
               been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed
               everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly
               contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth
               and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not
               arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our
               settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded
               even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding
               the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country,
               rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect
               continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor
               hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most
               High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered
               mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and
               gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. 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. And I recommend to them that while offering up the
               ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with
               humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender
               care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable
               civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of
               the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be
               consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and
               Union.

               In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States
               to be affixed.

               Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one
               thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the
               Eighty-eighth.

               By the President: Abraham Lincoln

               William H. Seward,
               Secretary of State

Over the next seventy five years it as traditionally celebrated on the last Thursday with only a few variations. In 1942
Congress finally  declared that it would celebrated on the fourth Thursday on November and has continued  that
way through today.

In the Name of Jesus, we Thank You Father God for all you BLESSINGS in this Nation and all of her citizens.
Thank You that we live in a country that You have BLESSED with your mercy and with Your love. You have shown
Your goodness and  hand  of protection to this country. I lift up our Military and thank You for protecting them.
Let them know we love and appreciate them and are believing God's Word and declaring it over them and that they do
not wear the sword in vain! We Thank You for our leaders and all those in Authority in this Nation. we Thank You that
they follow  Your Word and your leading in making the decisions that face this Nations economy and Military. They
have been placed in a position of authority and that  allows you to turn their hearts as the rivers of waters. Thank You
that we are a nation that has an abundance and falls short in no good thing. we are a nation that is spreading the
Gospel  from the top of the  world to the bottom and all the way around it because you have made it possible.We
Thank You that our children live in a country that is not divided by civil war they are walking in THE BLESSING in
every area of their lives and serving You all the days of their lives. Thank You Father for hearing from heaven, forgiving
our sins and healing our land according to your Word . These things we pray in JESUS Name

I hope this has opened up some facts concerning Thanksgiving day and that it is a BLESSED one for you and your
 family! Below are links to  some of the information cited in this column 

http://www.new-life.net/thanks01.htm

http://wilstar.com/holidays/wash_thanks.html

http://wilstar.com/holidays/thanksproc2.htm

http://www.new-life.net/thanks02.htm