Thanksgiving is Every Day
Through Jesus then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:15-16
This year of 2020 has been a tough year to be thankful for. It’s been a hard year with so many bad things happening with the Covid pandemic, businesses and schools shut down, rising racial tensions, riots, and a hotly contested election. Many of us are emotionally and spiritually worn down. The avalanche of bad news coming down can overwhelm us with pessimism. Even now, Covid has caused us to cancel our Thanksgiving dinner plans at Dinner Church this week.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches, we seek to turn away from the negativity and try to be thankful to God. This year we need an extra effort to give thanks.
Dorothy is our example of thankfulness. She came last Wednesday to CCDC and was at the beginning of the line of people coming for a meal. She wanted to be up in line not to get the first meal but to get the chance to give the blessing over the meals. What she prayed surprised me.
Dorothy is someone I’ve shared about before in one of my messages. She used to come and complain about every little thing. She was always finding fault with something. Gradually she changed her attitude and became a different person. I think God’s grace touched her and she saw how she was loved by us.
In her prayer of blessing, Dorothy shared how many of those who came had little or nothing to eat and she expressed her thankfulness for the meals we serve. I was touched by her sincere gratitude. She was speaking what so many in line that evening felt.
Another example of thankfulness is Art Wells. He is the 85 old man who comes each week with a piece of paper that has his prayer requests. Art has COPD and walks to Circle City Dinner Church. He’s out of breath and has to sit down and rest before receiving his meal. He’s grateful that we will pray for him and his children that suffer from various life-threatening diseases. He shared Wednesday how much CCDC meant to him. He makes the difficult walk each week because he was so thankful for our prayers.
The vast majority who come to CCDC have very little materially. Most live under the federal poverty level of around $26,000. Some only have the clothes on their back. In spite of this, I don’t know of a more thankful group of people.
Giving thanks is, I believe, one of the most important acts we can do in our lives. The passage in Hebrews tells us that praise and thankfulness are essential to the Christian life. We are to continually give God praise and thanksgiving. It does not matter what our circumstances are. God is God and God is worthy of our praise.
Whether we have much materially or have little, we have something to thank God for. Gratitude is the positive energy that enlivens our spirit and compels us not only to give thanks to God but to give to those in need. The one follows the other.
Hebrews goes on to state, “And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Gratitude leads to giving. We are so grateful to God that we want to share what we have with others. This attitude of gratitude is what our volunteers bring to CCDC. They serve out of gratitude and want everything that they do in serving at CCDC to bring glory to God. In doing so they help lift the spirits of all who come to CCDC.
I’m so grateful for all those who have supported CCDC and enables us to minister to hundreds of people in the Near Eastside community. As you give your thanks to God this Thanksgiving, consider giving a gift to support our ministry. Let your gratitude overflow to those in need.
May God’s peace be with you,
Pastor Jim and Debby Riley