Thanksgiving - Just one day a year?

Thanksgiving. It's the holiday with all of the good food. It's a chance to spend time with friends and family. It's the start of the Christmas season. But how many of us actually forget to celebrate Thanksgiving for what it's for? Thanksgiving, as its name implies, is a day where we should focus on what we have and be thankful for all of God's blessings.

This Thanksgiving season I did something a little different. I went with my youth group to serve food at the Pines. The Pines is basically a set of apartments for people with lower incomes. So, we went to serve them a free Thanksgiving lunch. And as I walked around handing out plates of steaming food and dessert, I was saddened by so many of the heartbreaking stories of people struggling. There was a mother with 3 young children who was thankful for the food because she didn't have enough money to make her own Thanksgiving dinner for her kids. There was a middle-aged woman just struggling to get  a good meal everyday and she would eat all we could give her. The stories just kept coming. There are people all around us who are struggling to even have enough money for a Thanksgiving dinner. And yet, they realize that they still have blessings. Despite their circumstances, they are thankful. We have so much. We have a roof over our heads. We have food and clothing and family all around us. So what if we don't have enough money for the newest Iphone 5? Is that really the end of the world? Thanksgiving is almost over, yes. But that doesn't mean we need to stop being thankful for what we have. What if every day was Thanksgiving day?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

Give thanks in ALL circumstances. So maybe you are struggling to get by. Or maybe you are thankful for so many blessings. Wherever you are or whatever you are doing take time to be thankful for the good things. And be thankful for the bad things too. After all, the trials strengthen us.

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." ~ Romans 5:3-5

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Picture taken from http://wjof.com/faithstories/?p=478

Everything for the Glory of God

Have you ever heard of the parable of the talents? In this parable, one man is given 5 talents, another 2, and another 1. The first 2 men bring back double the talents for their master. The last man brings back just the one. He does not do anything with his talent. The first 2 are rewarded with more talents. And the last one loses his talent. The point is, we are all given different gifts. Some are given a lot of gifts. Some are given just a few. But we are all given something. We are supposed to use those talents for God's glory. Those talents are not given to us to make us great. We did not give them to ourselves! No, they are given to us to reflect the majesty of our Creator, who gave them to us. So, whatever God calls you to do, whether it's engineering, music, nursing, motherhood, etc...it should be done for God's glory and not your own.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Also, Jesus Christ bought us for a price. We are forever indebted to him and we become his slaves. We are all slaves to something. If God is not our master, it's money, fame, lust, pride, etc....We are slaves to whatever drives us to do what we do. As Christians, we become slaves to God. So, if we are slaves to God, we will follow Him. We do what he asks of us. Now, does it mean we suddenly follow God in everything we do? No. Even a slave can live in rebellion of his master. But Christians who acknowledge and realize that they are slaves of God will desire to follow their master, who bought them for a price. Thus, we should glorify the master who bought us with a price in everything we do, no matter what that is.

1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods."

Picture taken from http://www.charlesspecht.com/dying-for-the-glory-of-god/