In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
It was Friday morning and Randy was
more or less expecting a visitor and sure enough, at 9:00 sharp he
heard a hard wrap on the door of his office. “Come on in
Sergeant!' Randy called out with out looking up from his desk, “I've
been expecting you.” “How did you know it was me?” Sgt. Halfway
asked as he entered the room
“After what happened Wednesday
night, I figured you be showing up for some kind of statement.”
“Yes.” Sgt. Halfway shook his head, “That's why I'm here. So,
Randy, What happened?” “It was like my worse nightmare come
true.” Randy said as tears started to run down his eyes, “It was
suppose to be a Thanksgiving Eve service. A time when we were
suppose to be giving thanks.”
“Suppose to?” Halfway questioned
as he pulled out a notepad and pencil. “Well,” Randy said, “I
think you’ve heard that Harold had caught a skunk.” “Tell me
about,” Halfway grunted, “Half of Pupperville has called the
police station to complain about it. I even heard that his mom was
trying to give Harold away.”
“I’m beginning to wish she had.”
Randy told the Sergeant, “Didn't you say something in your sermon
last week about being thankful for everything and everyone including
Harold?” “Yeah.” Randy sighed, “But that was before Wednesday
night.” “You mean before Harold brought that skunk to church.”
the Sergeant interrupted. “Yeah.” Randy replied.
“For the record, Why was Harold
allowed in to church with a skunk? Couldn’t somebody smell it?”
Sergeant Halfway asked as he got ready to jot down Randy's answer.
“Nobody thought to check Harold,” Randy answered, “Because
we've gotten so used to him smelling like a skunk. Everybody tries
to stay as far away from him as possible and that's probably why
no-one noticed it hiding under his coat.”
“That makes sense.” Halfway nodded
in a agreement, “Continue on.” “Well,' Randy went on, “About
half way through the service, the skunk got loose. When it got
loose, Harold started chasing the skunk around trying to catch it.
Harold and the skunk were under the pews, over the pews, across the
laps of everyone and then... the skunk started spraying. People
started screaming and running every which way trying to get out of
the building. Eventually the skunk escaped but the damage had
already been done.”
After jotting a few notes down, Sgt.
Halfway than asked about the damage that had been done. “The skunk
smell is everywhere.” Randy told him, “I'm sure you could smell
it when you came in. The janitor said it could take months to get
the odor out of the church. And as for the people, there's no more
tomato juice in town.”
“Well,” Sgt Halfway said as he
closed his notebook. “You can always look on the bright side? “There’s a bright side?” Randy
asked a bit puzzled. “Yeah.” Sgt Halfway said as he headed for
the door, “It’s a good way to find out if you really are thankful
in all things.” “What an excellent sermon idea,” Randy said as
he stood up to walk Sgt Halfway out. “That is, if any one will ever
show up in church again.”
Would you be thankful if Harold showed
up at your church and let his skunk get loose and it sprayed? And,
would you be thankful if it was during a time set aside just to be
thankful? "Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to
Me. "You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven
days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the
appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt.
And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. "Also you shall
observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors
from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at
the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from
the field. Exodus 23:14-16 (NASB)
The Feast of Ingathering is also know
as the Feast of Booths. In Deuteronomy 16 God gives a few more
details regarding this feast. "You shall celebrate the Feast
of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing
floor and your wine vat; and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and
your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the
Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your
towns. "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your
God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God
will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,
so that you will be altogether joyful.... Every man shall give as he
is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has
given you.
At
the time of harvest a feast was to be had, to celebrate before the
Lord – for what He had given and an offering was to be given in
return. It was a type of thanksgiving that lasted 7 days. A
thanksgiving that was forgotten until the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The story can be found in Nehemiah chapter 8 if you wish to read it
in full but to sum the story up. The walls of Jerusalem had been
rebuilt and the people were returning. Upon their return they got
together and asked Ezra to read to them form the book of the law of
Moses which God had given them. So, Ezra called the people together
and read to them explaining things along the way. Along the way they
learned of the Feast of Booths and decided they needed to celebrate
and did they ever.
We
have 1 day set aside for celebrating, for giving thanks, but have we
forgotten to celebrate, to praise God, to give thanks. I
know of no place in scripture that the Israelites were told they
didn't have to celebrate when they went into captivity, when things
were not going their way. Their feast was mandatory, ours is
voluntary but even at that should we let bad times, etc keep us from
giving thanks, from celebrating and praising God? Do we need
everything perfect before we say a word of thanks and than go back to
our lives....
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
In everything give
thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)
Here's Something To
Ponder
- Are you truly thankful when things go wrong?
- Are you truly thankful when things go right?
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