Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 177 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

4 Essentials of Thanksgiving

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 177 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored the concept of “Thanksgiving or Thanks-living, What Is the Difference?” Today we will explore the four essentials of Thanksgiving. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We drove up to Marietta late on Friday, and after sleeping in a bit on Saturday, we were able to spend the remainder of the day on the leaf harvest. It was a cool but sunny day, so it was a perfect day to be outside. Fortunately, Paula and I were able to pick up all of the leaves that were remaining on the property. My brother Jack had already picked up the leaves on his property which is all connected, so that enabled us to complete our task just as it was getting too dark to see clearly. It also started to rain just as I was parking the mower for the night. Even Paula’s mom who is 82 helped out with the blower, getting the leaves away from the house so I could pick them up with the mower and vacuum.

After I clean out the gutters and blow off the roofs next weekend, I will quickly run over the lawn once more to pick up any remaining leaves. It feels good to have the leaf harvest nearly completed for another year. We are thankful for the good health to be very active as well as the beauty that the trees bring to our property.

It is a cool week in Marietta with temperatures in the 30’s, and it is nice to be able to work indoors as I am able to enjoy the view from our 2^nd story office with large windows overlooking the property. We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving later this week with two of our children and five of our six grandchildren along with a niece, her husband, and their two young children. We have many blessings and so much to be grateful for.

It is time to head out on our Trek for today, and as we hike through each day, our focus and thoughts turn to the various aspects of Thanksgiving. As such, I thought that it would be appropriate to reflect on.

4 Essentials of Thanksgiving

As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States this Thursday, I began to wonder what the Bible says about “Thanksgiving.” Thankfulness plays an important part in the Scripture. In fact, some form of thanks is mentioned over 150 times. I knew that the Bible references thankfulness often, but I was curious about the specifics. Let’s explore a few of the many aspects of Thanksgiving found in scripture.

1. Good Deeds Produce Thanksgiving

Jesus died upon the cross to purify for Himself, a group of people zealous for good deeds as listed in Titus 2:14, “He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.”

As Jesus’s people, we work diligently in our Lord’s kingdom to do the good works God prepared beforehand as written in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

As we do the Lord’s work, we affect the lives of others. The result is Thanksgiving directed toward God.

• Matthew 5:16 reminds us that people in the world see our good works and glorify God. – “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:11 states that good deeds directed toward our brethren produce thanksgiving to God. –  “Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”

As we go through our day-to-day walk, letting our light shine as God’s children and doing the good deeds He has ordained, it causes others to glorify God and give thanks.

2. Thanksgiving Extended in Prayer

When we pray, expressing our concerns to God, we should also take the time to express our thankfulness.

• Philippians 4:6 reminds us that we tell God our problems, making our requests known to Him with thanksgiving. – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
• We are devoted to prayer, staying alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving as suggested in Colossians 4:2.  –  “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
• We rejoice, pray without ceasing, and give thanks to God as encouraged in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  – “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

3. Thanksgiving Is Given in Heaven

We don’t know a lot about heaven, often making us wonder what it will be like. One thing we do know is occurring in heaven is Thanksgiving.

• Revelations 11:17 states that the angels in heaven give thanks to God. – “And they said, ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign.’”
• When we get to heaven, we will give thanks to God for salvation, as those who were washed in the blood of the Lamb as found in Revelations 7:11-12. – “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.’”

If we’re not thankful in our prayers upon the earth, it’s doubtful we’ll live in heaven, where we’ll be busy offering thanks to God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. Every Day is Thanksgiving, for Christians

As we experience God’s goodness in our lives and offer thanks to Him, we could say that every day is a day of thanksgiving. We don’t feast upon turkey in observance of a secular holiday every day , but we offer our thanks to God in prayer, reflecting our thankfulness in everything we say and do.

• The result of our thankful lives, doing the good works God has ordained, is that it produces thanksgiving to God.
• The effect of things we do upon the earth is far reaching, even reaching the throne of God.

Whatever you do in the bustle of day-to-day life, remember to give thanks. And live in such a way that others, who watch you and experience God’s goodness from your hands, can’t help but pause and offer up a prayer to express their thanks. In these ways, God will be glorified and receive the thanks He deserves.

A thankful life is a prayerful life. A life void of prayer is an unthankful life. Let us practice the principles in the Bible we looked at today and be thankful in all situations. As you seek to be thankful, also encourage your friends and family to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we look at the 5 steps to a Thankful Thanksgiving.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!