S U N D A Y S N I P P E T S (tm) # 4 4 8 October 95 Thanksgiving ------------ To the Christian, the natural response of the heart is one of _thanksgiving_. The believer knows that all earthly blessings originate from one heavenly Source, and daily offerings of gratitude in prayer is the norm to him. In Canada, we will observing national holiday by the name of Thanksgiving on Monday (Oct. 9th). When this day was originally instututed by the Canadian Parliament many years ago, the day was declared to be a day on which all Canadians would observe in gratitude to God Almighty for a bountiful harvest. Appreciation for one's daily bread is a reasonable place to begin if one is a novice on the road of thanksgiving. When one begins to realize that ultimately, the ability to labour, to earn money, the freedom to buy the food, and the health to digest it are all gifts from the benevolent heart of the Lord, one can then grow in understanding how He has provided graciously in many other aspects of life. "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all cir- cumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." [1 Thess. 5:16+, RSV.] Thus wrote an apostle who had to learn firsthand to trust God both in times of blessing and in times of lack and suffering. How often do we hear our secular colleagues complain when times are tough, and say nothing when times are good! Christians are to be unlike that; in fact, a mature Christian learns that even hard events have a good side to them, a greater good than the evil (even if it cannot be perceived at the moment). In closing, let me include a short but appropriate hymn written by Isaac Watts, 1719: From all that dwell below the skies Let the Creator's praise arise: Let the Redeemer's Name be sung Through ev'ry land, by ev'ry tongue. Eternal are thy mercies, Lord; Eternal truth attends thy Word: Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore Till suns shall rise and set no more. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sunday Snippets" is the trademark of G. MacKenzie Strickland. May be freely redistributed - Please forward to a friend. Sunday Snippets are posted weekly on Newsgroups like Soc.Religion.Christian and others. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Will your computer account be closing soon, perhaps due to a job change, moving, or finishing a course? Send me a note to let me know, thanks :) -------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/sunday.snippets: snip95-44.txt .