Greetings,
The theme of thanksgiving looms large at this time of the year in the U.S. due to the fourth Thursday of November being dedicated as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Since it is not a religious holiday we can engage with our families and friends in its observance. However, it is difficult to fully relate to how the secular nation focuses on this day. The origin of Thanksgiving was much more God-directed than we see in its observance today. After a very difficult first year experienced by European settlers in 1621, a period of thanksgiving was set aside at the end of the summer harvest. One has to wonder if their strong religious roots and desire to “purify” the religion imposed by the Church of England didn’t lead them to attempt to imitate the biblical example of the Feast of Tabernacles – a time of rejoicing following the larger summer harvest.
Whatever the motivation, their thankfulness was directed to God for their new land and its provisions. Today God gets a very minor acknowledgement in the gratitude department. It has become a consumer driven day and this year the emphasis seems more on the fact that Thanksgiving (always a Thursday) precedes and connects with Black Friday – the biggest retail sales day of the year. The “Black” here is in reference to the increased volume of sales – being in the “black” (positive) financially as opposed to being in the “red” (negative).
While we can celebrate with our families and reach out to friends, it might be good for us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Thankfulness is a character trait that God’s people should develop. Expressions of gratitude directed to God should be a daily part of who we are as a people. “I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude” (Psalm 109:30). In the Old Testament thanksgiving was a regular part of temple worship. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Thankfulness as expressed in the Hebrew language usually had God as the object rather than man.
When the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem and placed in the temple, David appointed the Levites to acknowledge what they were all to be thankful for and on that day David delivered a psalm of thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16; Psalm 105). If we read these words carefully and note the specific things that we can – and should – express gratitude to God for, we will have much we can be thinking about that will be pleasing to our Father. Just observing one day does not suffice. God’s Word shows us that it involves a constantly positive and active attitude toward His blessings “And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
Mini Conference
We would ask for your prayers in regard to a mini conference we are holding over the December 5th and 6th weekend. Now that we have two teams operating together – Council of Elders and a Business Management Team, we need some face to face time to make sure we all understand what our roles are and how we will work together in family style governance. We also need to explore how we can begin to move forward with the development of the website and improve the quality of our video presentations. The conference will be held in the Bay Area.
Services this Sabbath will be streamed from Concord CA.
Warm Regards,
Brian Orchard
