Did you know that what many people consider the 1st Thanksgiving and the reason for celebrating Thanksgiving is not the true first Thanksgiving gathering or the real reason to celebrate? It's not about the pilgrims. American history looks at Thanksgiving gatherings through the eyes of the pilgrims, but scripture does not. Nor would a loving and just God condone people breaking their promises to others only to kill them and steal the native's land.
In the Bible, (Deuteronomy 16: 10 -11) God told his people to establish a thanksgiving festival called the Feast of Weeks. The purpose of this annual thanksgiving festival was to celebrate God’s goodness and express their gratitude by bringing him a special, thanksgiving offering.
Deuteronomy 16:10-11 (ESV) ..Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide."
On this original day of Thanksgiving, the people of God were to bring a gift of thanksgiving to the place of thanksgiving—the temples where they worshipped. So for the Believer, The True Thanksgiving Gathering is not about celebrating Pilgrims, it’s about reflecting on the goodness, grace and blessings that come from God.
Throughout Scripture, there are many promises attached to faithful giving, because God blesses us not for us to be selfish misers but for us to bless others as we are able and led by God to do so, especially God's servants.
This Thanksgiving, consider how you can demonstrate your gratitude to God through your giving. Is there a neighbor, family member or brother or sister in Christ who has a need that you can help them with financially this Thanksgiving? Is there a shelter that you can drop of clothing that no longer fits or canned goods to? Is there a struggling parent who you can bless with a big of groceries? Is there a ministry that you feel led to bless this Thanksgiving to help them grow and reach more souls for the Kingdom of God?
This Thanksgiving try to do these two things: give thanks for the blessings that God has blessed you with and dig deep in your heart and see who God is leading you to bless this time of year.
If you would like to be a blessing to Cassandra Mack Ministries this Thanksgiving, support our music ministry by purchasing one or all of Cassandra Mack’s inspirational songs at Bandcamp
Have A Blessed Thanksgiving,
Cassandra Mack