The Encourager Newsletter
Toward Knowing God and Walking With Him
A FREE WEEKLY PUBLICATION with a BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW –
Volume 4 Issue 17 – November19, 2010 Dan Carr, Editor
Worship God with Thanksgiving
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call
upon the name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:17)
Going to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to worship God in Old Testament days was a big occasion and it always included thanksgiving. Families, especially the men, made the trip three times a year from all parts of the nation. They prepared food for the trip and slept on the ground along the way. From the north, some traveled over 200 miles one-way, and many from all over traveled over 100 miles one-way.
Some of the Psalms are called "ascension" Psalms, because they were sung by pilgrims as they climbed upward on their way to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. As they made the long journey from home, many of them used the time to recite all the Scripture they knew and carried on conversations about their God and their relationship to Him.
Not only were the Scriptures recited; they were also sung and if several were traveling together the sound could be heard a distance and perhaps other traveling groups caught the sound and joined in. The giving of thanks to Jehovah was a vital part of their journeying worship as well as when they reached the Temple. They brought offerings to the Temple and one of the offerings was "thanksgiving" as we see by the verse above. The Psalms gave structure to their thanksgiving. Some of our hymns today do the same thing as the Jewish Psalms.
The fall trip occurred about October at which time three feasts were observed: The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles. These were memorial days for the Jews from the time of their leaving Egypt until they settled into the Promised Land. The Feast of Tabernacles reminded them of how their forefathers had lived in tents and hovels made of branches. But there is also great meaning for us today.
Jewish writers: Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal say: "The three fall feasts portray events to be associated with Christ's second coming. The Feast of Trumpets depicts the Rapture of the Church. The Day of Atonement points to a great host of people, Jews and Gentiles, who will be saved when they see Him coming and appropriate the benefits of His death. The Feast of Tabernacles speaks of the day when the Messiah Himself will tabernacle among men, wipe away every tear, and bring in the utopian age or 'golden age' of which men have dreamed since time immemorial."
When Jesus visited briefly with the woman by the well in John 4:5-42 they talked about water from Jacob's well and the water of everlasting life springing up inside the believer, which was the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus told her that God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth and that God seeketh such to worship Him. Getting saved involves much more than eternity in Heaven. It's the entry gate into a continual fellowship or communion with God. Thanksgiving is always a great part of communion with God because He is our creator, redeemer and provider and we acknowledge those things.
There is such a thing as "praying in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18) and that prayer driven by the Holy Spirit will always acknowledge God for who He is and it will of necessity include thanksgiving to Him. Holy Spirit prayer will never allow us to brag about ourselves and how self-sufficient we imagine ourselves to be. The Bible is full of references of humble people giving thanks to God, being thankful to Him.
Those who truly know God understand that … in him we live, and move, and have our being;…(Acts 17:28), have no trouble understanding the essential element of thanksgiving and worship of the living God.
Warming a cold heart. When we stray away from our daily fellowship with God, our hearts are cold and calloused and we know it. No one has to tell us. Praying comes hard. There's nothing that will warm a cold heart like beginning to thank God for His blessings. Thank Him for everything you can think of because He made it all. After we remind ourselves of all the things He has already done for us, it's not so hard to realize that we should thank God and praise God for who He is and what He has done for us all of our lives.
When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count you many blessings ev'ry doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.
Johnson Oatman, Jr. Ω
A Thanksgiving Message –Barbara Carr
"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD
with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that
the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates
with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto
Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all
generations." Psalm 100:1-5
Presidential Proclamation. "Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may be then, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe.
And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid, that on the occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the great Disposer of events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling-place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.
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 twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the independence of the United States, the eighty-ninth."
Abraham Lincoln. As we read this speech by Abraham Lincoln, our attention is drawn to these words: "Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe." Look at his recommendations: "Humble themselves in the dust; offer up penitent and fervent prayer and supplication." Much of our Christian heritage is left out of our children's history books today. It is important to teach them about the Pilgrims. The following is a short
History Lesson. "After enduring religious persecution in their native England and for twelve years in Holland, the pilgrims sailed for America. They were modest men and women with a great hope and inward zeal. They rested in the providence of God that He was leading them to a land of religious freedom to advance the gospel of the kingdom of Christ.
The voyage of the Mayflower took twice as long as Christopher Columbus' voyage, enduring several wintry storms. After arriving in their new land, they faced disease, famine, bitter cold and many dangers. However, when the Mayflower made its return voyage, none of the pilgrims returned with it.
Their first harvest occurred in the autumn of 1621. Their own seed had barely grown, but the Indians had shown them how to plant corn which yielded a huge harvest. On the first Thanksgiving, they celebrated God's goodness to them with a party of ninety Indians. Their Thanksgiving feast lasted three days and included a festival of sports." (Taken from a Day Spring Card)
Let's remind ourselves and others of our many blessings that our merciful God has bestowed upon us. We do not deserve these blessings, but He loves us and in His goodness gives blessings too many to count. May you all have a blessed and bountiful Thanksgiving! Ω
This article can also be viewed at www.biblewalking.blogspot.com
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