Thanksgiving
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Today’s message is from Jon Bricker. Jon has had several messages to share in the past, and we invite you to read them. They can be found in the Archives section. Jon is a full time minister with a passion to evangelize the lost. We pray that this message is a blessing to you, and, during this Thanksgiving season, we pray you would take the time to meet with the Lord in prayer and joyous thanksgiving. Our God is worthy of our thankful praise.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, as revealed by the Holy Spirit to Jon Bricker…

November is one of my favorite times of the year. Well, I mean, the END of November is one of my favorite times of the year, because the last Thursday of every November is Thanksgiving. Americans all over the country take a day to join with friends and family and reflect on the blessings they’ve experienced over the last year and to give thanks.

For Christians, thanksgiving and reflection on God’s blessings towards us should not be regulated to the last Thursday of November. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul the Apostle writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God’s family, His children, should give thanks to God no matter what time, day, or situation they find themselves in. That is our Father’s desire – that we be thankful in all of our circumstances.

But how is that really possible, you might be asking yourself? How can I be thankful in really, really hard circumstances? Well, to be perfectly honest, I have trouble being thankful even in really good circumstances! There are so many good things in my life that I fail to give God thanks for. I tend to believe that I deserve good things to happen to me, so I have come to expect good things. Not only does this attitude cause me to be ungrateful towards God for the good things I have, but it also causes bitterness to rule over my life when bad things happen.

Here is the truth; I am a sinner, and in Romans 6:23, the Bible says that, ‘the wages of sin is death’. What I deserve for my sin is death – bad things. I deserve God’s judgment, God’s anger, and God’s condemnation for my sin against Him; the fact that I experience good things as a sinner is a miracle of God’s grace in and of itself. I should be ecstatically grateful for the good things I have received from the God I have sinned against. That should blow my mind! But that is not all…

Not only have I received good things from a God who I have done bad things to (disobeyed, failed to give thanks to, tried to live apart from), but God, in His great love and mercy, has sent His Son to give His life as the sacrifice for my sins. Not only has God allowed me to live life here and enjoy some of the pleasurable things that come with it, but God has made a way for my guilt and condemnation to be lifted off of me. God lifted my guilt, shame and condemnation off of me and placed it on His Son Jesus Christ. God then poured out all of His justice, wrath and anger onto His perfect Son so that I could be free from His judgment and enter into His love and care.

God is my Father now: John 1:12 and Romans 8:14-17.
God is for me now and not against me: Romans 8:31.
God will work all things (even the bad things) in my favor eventually: Romans 8:28.
God will lead me the way He wants me to go: Psalm 23.
God will never let me go: John 10:28, 29.
God has forgiven all of my sin: Psalm 32:1, 2.
God will walk with me through any trials I face: Isaiah 43:1, 2.
God has made me His beloved; nothing can separate me from His love: Romans 8:38, 39.


These are only a few of the reasons Christians have to thank God, no matter what the circumstances. Please look these scriptures up and see them for yourself, and then search through the Bible and write down more reasons God gives His children to celebrate His goodness all year long; you will find many…



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