Title: Thanksgiving in the Bible
Contents
The content of the text is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Today is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is based on the Jewish Feast of Thanksgiving (Leviticus 23:9-14) and the Feast of Tabernacles, and today's Thanksgiving Day was started by Puritans who came to America from England. In 1620, the Puritans who went to America, a new and unknown world in search of freedom of faith, offered the first fruits of their crops to God as the first fruits. Today, thanksgiving services are held wherever the gospel of Christianity has been preached.
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln designated the fourth week of November as Thanksgiving Day, and in 1913, President Roosevelt changed it to the third Thursday in November. In Korea, Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1904, so 100 years have passed. At first, it was celebrated as November 10, but in 1914, each denomination gathered to observe it on the third Wednesday of November, but it was changed from Wednesday to Sunday.
We sing it in hymns. “I have decided to live according to the will of the Lord.” I decided to live with gratitude. Amen to everything too!
A male deacon of a church received grace during the early morning prayer sermon saying, “Live with thanks.” I decided to ‘live with gratitude today’ and got on the subway, but not long after that, a seat in front of me was empty. As I was about to sit down with gratitude, I heard an old woman's roar of "Wait!" and the bag flew away first. The male butler thought to himself, ‘I have to live with gratitude for everything, but in this case, what should I be thankful for?’ After a while, the male butler found the condition of gratitude. So I prayed. "Thank God. I am so grateful that this woman is not my wife.”
In today's text, "Gratitude is God's will" If we follow God's will, we will bear the fruit of thanksgiving and grace. The will of God is the will of God that no one can transcend or ignore. The fruits of blessing, the fruits of prosperity are borne. If gratitude is precious and blessed, would Jesus have left a record of “those who give thanks” in the Bible? There are two representative records, one in Luke 21:1-4 and the other in Mark 14:3.
Then Jesus said, Verses 6-9 "Jesus said to him, "Be alone, why are you tormenting me? He has done good to me. The poor are always with you, and I can help you whenever you want. But I will not always be with you." I anointed my body with ointment with all my might, and prepared for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in remembrance of her.”
If you are obliged and calculated to perform a face-to-face ceremony that is conscious of others' attention, not all of the perfume, but a few drops is sufficient. At that time, when the daily wage of a worker was 1 denarius, 300 denarii was a huge amount. By the way, this woman offered a full bottle of very expensive perfume, worth 300 denarii, which could possibly be the whole of her fortune. Because this was thanksgiving based on faith, the Lord was pleased and praised it.
Gratitude based on faith is not wasted. I want to give you more. Joy abounds. Such a person always reaps better things as they give. I pray that the lives of the members of the Shepherd Church who participated in the Thanksgiving service will always be thankful and overflowing with blessings.