Thanksgiving 365

As you begin this Thanksgiving holiday, make this a daily tradition. Better yet, make it a daily NEED!

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It is a thing across the world to set aside a time to be thankful. As humans, we certainly need to. We have much to be thankful for. As Americans, we have even more to be thankful for. And then, a step further, as Christians, we have yet added reason.

To live a life without thankfulness is to live a life that is cursed and will always be lonely and woeful.

A person who is thankless is a person constantly at odds with the world around them.

To be without thankfulness is to be selfish, anger ridden, and hateful.

A thankless person may be great in wealth, yet so poor they haven’t the cost for eyes to see.

And the descriptions of the troublesome traits we live with when we live without thanks can go on and on.

As a person moves from that thankless life to a life of being gracious and joyful at the moments (filled with gifts or simply fresh oxygen) that we are given every day, change happens. Change that is directly related to the way we are.

Taking a moment to be thankful will increase a moment of joy. Taking a day of thankfulness will increase a day of joy. Think about that! The grace of our lives can be directly metered in response to our attitude about what has been given to us. And what has been given to us is not what we hold in our hands.

The hatred we see every day on the news and TV, the hostility and malignancy spread through social media and online connections is a barrage of constant dark influence and self-centeredness. Such, I believe, is directly related to the unthankful position the world takes.

In America, we are thankful for our freedoms. We are thankful to the men and women that fought for it. Such a great wonder to behold, this freedom at the cost of lives we may never know of.

As Christians, we are blessed to be thankful to the One who began it all and invented that very freedom so many have fought for.

It is my strongest suggestion to you that you take a stand for thankful hearts. That you choose to be significant and intentional with your thankfulness. Many (Christians included) wait the whole year to bring out their thankful hearts in November and recognize reasons to be gracious.

As men and women of God, the blessed saints, we must make the action of thankfulness a daily thing! Yes, daily! Being the people chosen as the Bride of Christ, how can we not? We have the greatest gift ever given to mankind residing in our hearts. We have stepped from the curses of humanity into the beauty and wonder of knowing the God of all creation. Yet, we are whimsical about our devotion.

For myself, my wife and I take about 30 minutes each evening to tell Jesus what we are thankful for. In this process, we have learned to see a greater picture of God’s heart. We have seen His hand in many, many ways since this began. He has answered many prayers and given us much in the Spirit. Perhaps one of the greatest results has been what He has done in us personally. How we see life. How we are more gracious to others and loving. How we have learned to converse openly about His love and His gifts to us. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15, NKJV)

You needn’t preach or teach, but you need a thankful heart.

As you begin this Thanksgiving holiday, make this a daily tradition. Better yet, make it a daily NEED! Sit with your children and ask them what they are thankful for. Every night. Talk about it frequently at the dinner table. Start your prayers with things from the day that you experienced and are thankful for. Start your men’s or women’s Bible study with a few offerings of thanks to the Father. Start your day with thanks. Start giving thanks to the One who is responsible for the air you breathe and the food you eat and the love you have.

Whatever you do, be thankful from here on, not just on November 28th.

Happy Thanksgiving!
-Matt

 

 

Featured Image by Dilyara Garifullina

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About the Author

Matt Davenport Ministries is Matt and Nancy Davenport. We work in several areas of ministry, focusing on teaching the Word of God. We also publish teaching books and Christian novels. Matt is a former senior pastor, currently ordained through ABEA. Sapphire Arts, LLC, is our "tent-maker" company. We will have occasional items in here that are handmade from our small business/company.