Thanksgiving Day With The Pilgrims
God's blessings to you on this great Thanksgiving Day.
I'm not sure many will actually read this article on the day I send it out, because it is after all Thanksgiving Day. But if you are reading this article on the actual day of Thanksgiving, what are the things for which you are truly thankful?
We all tend to say family and friends, but in our fast-paced society we rarely take time to be with family. The best we often do is communicate over the phone or maybe with FaceTime. We talk about being thankful for our health, but how many of you are truly trying to take care of your health? We eat junk food and fast food. We're so busy most of the time we're eating on the run rather than relaxing. At times we skip meals and other times we gorge ourselves.
Then there are those who say I'm thankful for my nation, which is a good thing. But what have we done to better our nation? What have we done to preserve our freedoms, or undergird and support our own society? Most of us are in the mode of taking and not giving.
So, what is it that we are actually thankful for? Are we thankful for God? Most of you who are reading this have some connection with Jesus and Church. But is God a priority, or is He and afterthought in your life?
I'm not trying to rain on your Thanksgiving Day parade, I simply want all of us to stop and reflect on the real blessings we have. There have been so many traditions which have grown up around Thanksgiving that we have lost sight of why it all began.
Why did the pilgrims board a ship and sail away to a land they'd never seen before? What would move them to leave everything they had ever known, and work to forge a new life in an unestablished land? Well, if you know your history you know it was for the freedom of religion. They weren't looking for a better economic situation or better education are really even political freedoms although that is closely tied to religious freedoms. What they wanted was their freedom to worship God as their conscience led them. The winter of 1620 was extremely hard on the small Pilgrim band. Half of those who had arrived in the new world were buried in Plymouth MA.
What would have been our response, especially our response toward God, if we had given up everything for Him and set off to build a new life and half of those who accompanied us had died because of the hardship? Would we have been angry with God? Would we have blamed God? Would we have shaken our fist toward heaven and declared “You failed me God!”
While it is possible that there were those among the pilgrims who responded in these ways, what we have on record is that they worked diligently, even after that first winter, to build a new life. They sought out the local indigenous Indian tribe and learn from them what they needed to prepare for the next winter. They learned to fish, hunt the wildlife in the area, grow and harvest the natural foods of the land they were in, and they reaped a bountiful harvest. It was at this time of harvest that the small band of pilgrims along with their Indian friends gathered together for a three day festival thanking God that he had provided what they needed for the upcoming winter. This first Thanksgiving looked nothing like our celebrations of today. There was probably no Turkey and dressing, candied yams, or pumpkin pie. They probably had roast goose, lobster, corn, potatoes, and maybe some fruit, but it was their celebration.
What gave those first pilgrims the ability to lose so much and still trust God to guide them into the future? What gave them the fortitude to “rise from the ashes” as it were, and take the first step toward building a new life after what had been such a dismal beginning? There is only one thing which can overcome tragedy and empower a life and that one thing is faith.
It was their faith in God that move them to stand strong in their convictions in spite of the overwhelming circumstances they faced in England. I mean honestly, with the threat of gathering to worship potentially resulting in prison, physical torture, and execution, would you be sitting in the pew at Spirit and Truth?
It was their faith in God that motivated them to sell what meager possessions they had and board a ship to this land which they had never seen, and take the first step toward a nation with religious freedom as its foundation.
It was their faith which enabled them to bury their families, pull together, and work so that their future in this new world would not be the same as their past.
It was her faith in God that helped them to see that the indigenous people of this land were their friends and not their enemies. The language was a barrier, the skin color was different, even the way they lived seemed odd, but the Native Americans of the East Coast saved this new nation when they taught the pilgrims how to survive.
And it was their faith that moved them to pause and celebrate God's goodness when they had reaped a bountiful harvest. That harvest meant they would survive another winter without the calamity of the first. From those meager beginnings America was born.
It would be another 242 years before our National Day of Thanksgiving was established in the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln signed it into law in the year 1863. That does not mean there were not many Thanksgiving celebrations that took place every year, it was just unorganized. With the recognition of a national holiday our entire nation stopped to give thanks to God for His blessings. They looked back on the past and saw God's faithfulness, and they look forward to the future trusting in His guidance, and in the midst of the moment they celebrated the blessings at hand.
As the years progressed Thanksgiving became something else. It was marketed as the beginning of the Christmas season, shopping, traveling, big parties, and extravagant meals, became the norm and marked the day. This was not the intent of our national holiday, but it is the only thing many people know.
May we be those who on this day look back on God's faithfulness, look forward with confidence because of His promise to lead us, and in the midst of this moment give thanks for who He is as our God and the freedoms we enjoy as a people.
Blessings to you and may your Thanksgiving Celebration be filled with the blessings of God.
Pastor Russ
I'm not sure many will actually read this article on the day I send it out, because it is after all Thanksgiving Day. But if you are reading this article on the actual day of Thanksgiving, what are the things for which you are truly thankful?
We all tend to say family and friends, but in our fast-paced society we rarely take time to be with family. The best we often do is communicate over the phone or maybe with FaceTime. We talk about being thankful for our health, but how many of you are truly trying to take care of your health? We eat junk food and fast food. We're so busy most of the time we're eating on the run rather than relaxing. At times we skip meals and other times we gorge ourselves.
Then there are those who say I'm thankful for my nation, which is a good thing. But what have we done to better our nation? What have we done to preserve our freedoms, or undergird and support our own society? Most of us are in the mode of taking and not giving.
So, what is it that we are actually thankful for? Are we thankful for God? Most of you who are reading this have some connection with Jesus and Church. But is God a priority, or is He and afterthought in your life?
I'm not trying to rain on your Thanksgiving Day parade, I simply want all of us to stop and reflect on the real blessings we have. There have been so many traditions which have grown up around Thanksgiving that we have lost sight of why it all began.
Why did the pilgrims board a ship and sail away to a land they'd never seen before? What would move them to leave everything they had ever known, and work to forge a new life in an unestablished land? Well, if you know your history you know it was for the freedom of religion. They weren't looking for a better economic situation or better education are really even political freedoms although that is closely tied to religious freedoms. What they wanted was their freedom to worship God as their conscience led them. The winter of 1620 was extremely hard on the small Pilgrim band. Half of those who had arrived in the new world were buried in Plymouth MA.
What would have been our response, especially our response toward God, if we had given up everything for Him and set off to build a new life and half of those who accompanied us had died because of the hardship? Would we have been angry with God? Would we have blamed God? Would we have shaken our fist toward heaven and declared “You failed me God!”
While it is possible that there were those among the pilgrims who responded in these ways, what we have on record is that they worked diligently, even after that first winter, to build a new life. They sought out the local indigenous Indian tribe and learn from them what they needed to prepare for the next winter. They learned to fish, hunt the wildlife in the area, grow and harvest the natural foods of the land they were in, and they reaped a bountiful harvest. It was at this time of harvest that the small band of pilgrims along with their Indian friends gathered together for a three day festival thanking God that he had provided what they needed for the upcoming winter. This first Thanksgiving looked nothing like our celebrations of today. There was probably no Turkey and dressing, candied yams, or pumpkin pie. They probably had roast goose, lobster, corn, potatoes, and maybe some fruit, but it was their celebration.
What gave those first pilgrims the ability to lose so much and still trust God to guide them into the future? What gave them the fortitude to “rise from the ashes” as it were, and take the first step toward building a new life after what had been such a dismal beginning? There is only one thing which can overcome tragedy and empower a life and that one thing is faith.
It was their faith in God that move them to stand strong in their convictions in spite of the overwhelming circumstances they faced in England. I mean honestly, with the threat of gathering to worship potentially resulting in prison, physical torture, and execution, would you be sitting in the pew at Spirit and Truth?
It was their faith in God that motivated them to sell what meager possessions they had and board a ship to this land which they had never seen, and take the first step toward a nation with religious freedom as its foundation.
It was their faith which enabled them to bury their families, pull together, and work so that their future in this new world would not be the same as their past.
It was her faith in God that helped them to see that the indigenous people of this land were their friends and not their enemies. The language was a barrier, the skin color was different, even the way they lived seemed odd, but the Native Americans of the East Coast saved this new nation when they taught the pilgrims how to survive.
And it was their faith that moved them to pause and celebrate God's goodness when they had reaped a bountiful harvest. That harvest meant they would survive another winter without the calamity of the first. From those meager beginnings America was born.
It would be another 242 years before our National Day of Thanksgiving was established in the United States of America. Abraham Lincoln signed it into law in the year 1863. That does not mean there were not many Thanksgiving celebrations that took place every year, it was just unorganized. With the recognition of a national holiday our entire nation stopped to give thanks to God for His blessings. They looked back on the past and saw God's faithfulness, and they look forward to the future trusting in His guidance, and in the midst of the moment they celebrated the blessings at hand.
As the years progressed Thanksgiving became something else. It was marketed as the beginning of the Christmas season, shopping, traveling, big parties, and extravagant meals, became the norm and marked the day. This was not the intent of our national holiday, but it is the only thing many people know.
May we be those who on this day look back on God's faithfulness, look forward with confidence because of His promise to lead us, and in the midst of this moment give thanks for who He is as our God and the freedoms we enjoy as a people.
Blessings to you and may your Thanksgiving Celebration be filled with the blessings of God.
Pastor Russ
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2 Comments
Thank you God for the endless blessings you have given us. Keep us safe in your Hands.
Great message that we should be thankful for the right things during Thanksgiving. God bless.