Shepherd’s Outpost
By Pastor Ron Gardner

“I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving 
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”

Psalm 116:17

Thanksgiving in our culture: a time of friends and family gathered to share in the taking of a holiday meal, the smell of roast turkey, the table adorned with a dash of fall decor, hopefully with a prayer of blessing or even a time to share a few things we’re thankful for; nothing wrong with that. For many of us, who are a product of the public school system that has convinced us that, Thanksgiving was born as a peace offering between the pilgrims and the Indians. While the festive portion of Thanksgiving may have its claim upon that day in history, we again witness how the world system that has cleverly taken a Christian remembrance (much in the way Christmas — the birth of Christ — has Santa Clause, and Easter — His resurrection day — has the Bunny) and hidden its true meaning.

The Hebrew word translation of Thanksgiving is that of adoration, worship and a sacrifice of praise.  David declared in 2 Samuel 22:50, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations and sing praises to Your name.”   In reality, the original feast of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the foot of Mount Sinai as Moses decreed the law to the children of Israel in 1400 b.c.  Leviticus 7:15-16 tells us that, “The flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day it is offered.  He shall not leave any of it until morning.  But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice; but on the next day the remainder of it also may be eaten.” That’s right, even leftovers are Biblical!

Worth noting as well, there is no specific day in Scripture that is to be set aside for a day of thanksgiving, as each day within our hearts ought to be a day which we give a voluntary offering of praise and thanksgiving. In Colossians 4:2, the apostle Paul encourages us to “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.”  This attitude of the heart is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 as the apostle writes that we are to “pray without ceasing,” allowing our prayers are to cultivate a heart of thanksgiving each and every day.

Furthermore, the psalmist writes in Psalm 100:4 tells us we are to, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”  When do we enter His gates and His courts?  As we approach the throne of God in prayer, praising Him with a heart of thanksgiving, with a heart full of praise, blessing His name, for He alone is worthy.

This Thanksgiving, as we gather around the table, may we all offer up praise which declares thanks, regardless of what physical, financial, social, or marital state we find ourselves in presently. For our Lord cares about us, wants the best for us, and is so immeasurably in love with us. Revelation 7:12, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”