The Thanksgiving Miracle

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Psalms 105:1

You know that picture in our minds we all get of the Indian brave who walks into the Pilgrim village in the spring of 1621 to show the Pilgrims how to plant corn? Wasn’t his name Squanto? Or didn’t any one ever tell you about Squanto?

This Thanksgiving tale of the Indian who greeted the Pilgrims with an English “Welcome” and then taught them to plant corn and fish, always seemed to me to be just that – a tale, until I learned how God had brought it all about. A slave ship sailing along a shore, kidnapping young boys and taking them back to Spain. An entire tribe wiped out by disease. A lone man returning from Europe to find no one left. There’s far more to the truth than meets the eye here. God is always taking the evil man devises and turning it into good for those that love him.

In the Bible Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. They thought he probably died in Egypt until they went there to buy food. Who should they find to provide for them, but their own brother, in control of all the food of Egypt. Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil against Joseph, but God had used it for good.

In the same manner, the slave traders of Europe had meant it for evil against the Indians but God used it for good for the people who came seeking to worship him in a new land.

What can you find out about the first Thanksgiving? About Squanto? What can you tell this Thanksgiving about God’s goodness to you and to God’s people? Won’t you share God’s blessings with us, so that we too might rejoice with you in God’s blessings.

squanto 

A Thanks Giving Tree

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:18

Thanksgiving – it’s right around the corner. Have you considered the things that you are thankful for? I’ve seen several Thanks Giving Tree. Basically, they are twigs or drawings with paper leaves attached. People write or draw something on a leaf every day and attach it to the tree. It’s a simple reminder of how blessed we all are.

Have you considered your greatest blessing and where it came from? Salvation would have to be one of the first leaves on my tree. God freely sent His Son to die for my sins so I can spend eternity with Him. But someone at some point in time had to be willing to be responsible for the family into which Jesus would be born. Abraham was that man. God wanted to see if Abraham was willing to give his son, Isaac, back to God as a sacrifice. God stopped Abraham just in the nick of time. Because Abraham obeyed God’s voice, he received a promise that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his family. Wow! What a promise to know that somewhere down the line God’s Son would be born into Abraham’s family. Abraham believed God and obeyed God in all He asked.

I’m just wondering what blessings we would receive if we believed and obeyed whatever God asked of us. Would school be a better place? Would there be peace in our families? What would our nation look like if we Christians obeyed God? Is there hope for the lost? Abraham could have thought all hope was lost when he had no child. Yet he continued to believe God and when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 they had a child, their only son that God asked Abraham to sacrifice. God blessed Abraham with family because family is the only thing that lasts.

Why not begin a Thanks Giving Tree today. Then let us know how God has blessed you. 

Hide and Seek in Plain View

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. Deuteronomy 4:29

Have you ever played hide and seek in the dark? It can be a lot of fun until you run over a birdbath or a lawn chair or whatever and go stumbling and tumbling into the hedges and ponds. We know we are looking for someone but we can’t see the obstacles in our path if we play in the dark.

We all live our lives in the dark spiritually until we understand what we are seeking after. We look for things to satisfy us. We look for people we think will satisfy us. We look for jobs that pay lots of money in hopes of finding the price that will satisfy. Hopefully, we realize that what we are looking for is actually God, who has been waiting for us all along.

Deuteronomy tells us that if we start right now and seek the Lord, we will find him. We must seek him with all our hearts and with all our souls. He is not hiding, but he is waiting in plain sight. We can’t let the things of this world or family or friends keep us from seeking God. We must put first things first. Matthew tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto us. What things? All the things we put before God, the obstacles that keep us from finding the God our hearts desire. God wants to provide us with all the necessary things, but they should never be the object of our desires. God should and must come first.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near; Isaiah 55:6

What obstacles stand in your way? From this moment on, seek the Lord thy God. Won’t you let us know how you found Jesus?

November's Seven Sisters

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name: Amos 5:8

Have you ever lain out under the night sky and gazed up at the stars? One of the constellations that can be seen from dusk until dawn in November is Pleiades, the Seven Sisters. They are up from Orion’s belt, past Taurus, the bull. They look like a small misty dipper. Did you notice Orion was mentioned in the verse from Amos? Have you made the connection that the seven stars are Pleiades? Hmmm. Seven stars, seems that reminds me of another verse. Revelation 1:20 says the seven churches have 7 angels, which the Bible calls stars. Pleiades is held together by gravitation. These 7 stars are the only ones in the constellation that are easily visible with the eye. There are actually many other stars in the constellation. Revelation 1:16 says Jesus is seen holding 7 stars in His right hand. Amazing. What could hold churches together more than the right hand of Jesus? You know there are actually many more churches than the 7 churches of Revelation. We are all held together by the blood of Jesus. We are in His right hand whether we are in America, Africa or Afghanistan, Jesus is the power that saves us and binds us together. Jesus gave us a Great Commission to preach the gospel to the whole world. The gospel is the water of life. Here again, as I look at the small misty dipper of the Seven Sisters, I think, what is a dipper good for but to give water to thirsty people.  What great reminders our Creator, Jesus, has given us through the night sky? Amos reminds us to seek Him. The Lord is his name.

November is a great month for star gazing. The nights are cool and crisp with clear skies. Try finding a spot away from as many street lights as possible. www.earthsky.org is a great site for help in finding constellations but I recommend an adult help you. It contains good information but it is not a Christian site.

Won’t you share your thoughts about the constellations you find?

Blessings,

Gail