Thanks-living Thanksgiving Day in the United States is an annual day of thanks for the blessings of the past year, observed on the fourth Thursday in November in each of the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It is a historical, national, and religious holiday that began with the Pilgrims. After the survival of their first colony through the bitter winter, and the gathering of the harvest, Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony issued a thanksgiving proclamation in the autumn of 1621. The proclamation stated: "Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings." -- William Bradford This first thanksgiving lasted three days, during which the Pilgrims feasted on wild turkey and venison with their Indian guests. Days of thanksgiving were celebrated sporadically until, on Nov. 26, 1789, President Washington issued a proclamation of a nation-wide day of thanksgiving. He made it clear that the day should be one of prayer and giving thanks to God. It was to be celebrated by all religious denominations, a circumstance that helped to promote a spirit of common heritage. Credit for establishing this day as a national holiday is usually given to Sarah J. Hale, editor and founder of the Ladies' Magazine (from 1828) in Boston. Her editorials in the magazine and letters to President Lincoln urging the formal establishment of a national holiday of thanksgiving resulted in Lincoln's proclamation in 1863, designating the last Thursday in November as the day. Succeeding presidents annually followed his example, except for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1939 proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a week earlier -- on the fourth but not the last Thursday -- to encourage holiday shopping. In 1941, Congress adopted a joint resolution setting the date on the fourth Thursday. A traditional Thanksgiving dinner takes place yearly at the White House and in almost every American home. Roast turkey and pumpkin pie are among the symbols of this festival. An ancient harvest symbol, the cornucopia, or "horn of plenty," has also been attached to Thanksgiving. Schools and businesses close for this day of family reunion and national, rather than individual, giving of thanks. -Biblical illustrator Most of us as Americans have no idea of the world that we live in. The poor in our country live a lifestyle above the rulers in many nations. Those of you who have visited other countries know what I am talking about. I am sometimes frustrated when I hear people talking about all of the poor in this country. Poor who are making 10-20 times the annual income of the average worker in the rest of the world. Kind of reminds me of a story that I heard once. There was a farmer who was a perpetual grumbler who couldn't find anything about which to give thanks or praise. Although financially he was very successful, because of a very sour attitude, no one enjoyed his company. Nothing seemed to please him. His pastor tried to help brighten the outlook, all to no avail. At the time of the potato harvest, the disgruntled farmer enjoyed a bumper crop. Wanting to strike a more cheerful note, the minister suggested, "Brother I understand you've had a tremendous season with potatoes this year. That certainly must be cause for rejoicing!" The chronic complainer never even smiled, but sourly responded, "Yes, it's true. The harvest was good enough. But my problem is, I don't have any bad potatoes to feed my pigs." - BI That reminds me. Have you ever heard anyone complaining because their freezer was too full and they had no place to put anything? Or their closet? Hmmm. I guess I stepped on my own toes there. Gene Perrett listed eight things to be thankful for: Be grateful... * for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family come in for their after-dinner snacks. * for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals. * for the bathtub -- the one place the family allows Mom some time to herself. * for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They're such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents. * that we can still have a good heart-to-heart talk with our youngsters. They need a good now and then. * for gardening. It's a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change. * for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language. * for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey's done. The children of Israel had times for thanksgiving. In the fall they celebrated the harvest with the festival of first fruits. Exodus 34:22 "And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Lev 23:10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. There are three principles that we are going to look at today. We have just seen the first one. That principle is that God comes first as we look at the blessings that He has given to us. The Children of Israel brought the very first part of their harvest as an offering to God. It was done as part of worship. Giving is still part of worship. Secondly, they were to take care of their own necessities. The 4th commandment requires that we work for 6 days. Some people miss that. 1 Tim 5:8 "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Paul further states that anyone who does not work should not eat. It follows that for the farmer to survive the winter, he had to set food aside for the months when things were not growing. Thirdly, those who had were to provide for those who had not. Lev 19:9 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 'And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God. Notice what it does not say. It does not say that the farmer was to gather this and give it to the poor. The poor were to come and work at gleaning to provide for their own sustenance. Not even the poor were to eat without working for their food. In the parable that Jesus told of the rich man who tore down his barns to build larger ones, the problem was not with the storing of grain. The problem was first that he congratulated himself for all that he had accomplished. And second, that he was not generous with those in need. As we contemplate these three things we discover that all of these were to be accompanied with thanksgiving. Let's just quickly apply these principles to where our day and time. God still asks that we put Him first. We do this in our tithes, offerings, and worship. Offerings include more than money and time. Offerings include the praise and adoration of Him as our Maker and King. Psa 50:14 "Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High." In applying the second principle to ourselves, we need to make a qualification. It is important for us to differentiate between our needs and our wants. And we are good at deceiving ourselves about this. But we are to take care of our needs. I do not believe it is right to ask someone else to take care of our needs when we are not doing our best to do exactly that. There is no provision in God's economy for laziness. We were made to work, from the beginning. The only thing that has changed from the Garden of Eden is that work has in some cases become a chore rather than a pleasure. The third principle requires that we help care for those who cannot care for themselves. The phrase "widows and orphans" comes to mind. They are to glean when they can, to be helped when they cannot. Following these principles results in what I call thanks-living. The sacrifices of thanksgiving that the Psalm speaks of. Psa 107:21-22 "Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! {22} Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing." Thanks-living is not just a head trip. It is the practical application of a heart full of praise for God and concern for His creation. And thanks living cares for another problem that humans tend to have. -- I want to read from President Abraham Lincoln's Proclamation for a National Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, April 30, 1863. We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, the many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self- sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. If such were the case in the days of Abraham Lincoln, what are they in our days? Thanks living keeps our thoughts and ideas in perspective. Let's read a few more passages on thanksgiving. Psa 69:30 "I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Phil 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" Rev 7:12 "saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."" Psa 92:1-2 "It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; {2} To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night," Psalm 107 Finally, The apostle Paul gives all this resounding exhortation: Eph 5:20 "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," That's Thanks living.