BE THANKFUL THAT OUR GOD PROVIDES
Jerry Carmichael
The apostle Paul drew upon history to make a point with the Corinthian church: "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was Christ" (I Corinthians 10:1-4)

Have you ever considered what a tremendous task it must have been to feed and water that many people in the wilderness? About 3 million people would require a lot of food and water. In fact, I ran across some statistics recently: According to the Quartermaster General in the Army, it is reported that they would need 1,500 tons of food each day. That would be the equivalent of two freight trains each a mile long to carry that much food. Also, it would take 4,000 tons of firewood per day if they cooked their meals.

Of course, they had to have water. This is estimated to require 1,000,000 gallons daily or the equivalent of a freight train of tank cars 1.8 miles long just to haul the water.

Consider also that they had to cross the Red Sea in one night. If they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would take 35 days and nights to get through. So, there had to be a space in the Red Sea three miles wide and all would have to walk across 5,000 abreast to get over in one night.

Did Moses and the Israelites figure all of this out before they left Egypt? Of course not! Moses believed in God, and, like Abraham of old, he knew that God would provide.

Do you think that you have a problem God cannot solve? If He sees the "sparrow that falls" (Matthew 10:29) are we to think that He cannot or will not care for us? To say He cannot is to question God's power; to say He will not is to question His integrity. We think our problems are so big, but our God is so much bigger!


THE FIRST PROCLAMATION OF THANKSGIVING

“Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now, I, your magistrate do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th of the year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and the third year since ye pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.” --William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, 1623--

THANKSGIVING.......

Just this once, O God, I’d like to come to you with no problems, but simply to say, “Thank You.”
....For Your forgiveness when I fail;
... For the sheer joy of sleep when I’m terribly tired;
... For the silent strength of humility, when pride overtakes me;
... For the justice of Your laws, when men are cruel;
... For the growing remedies to good health, when I am ill;
... For the nurture of new knowledge when I make a mistake;
... For the simplicity of orderliness, when I face confusion;
... For the joy of helping others, when I see people in need;
... For the assurance that You have made a place for each of
us, when I feel inadequate among my peers;
... For the earthly evidences of Your will, when I’m trying to find
out what life is all about;
... For the reality of reasonableness, when I panic too quickly;
... For the fun that refreshes when everything gets too serious;
... For the renewal in moments of silence, when I’m dizzy being
busy in a going world;
...For the confidence of friends, when loved ones don’t
understand;
... For the healing love of family, when my friends hurt me;
... For Your presence when I am very lonely...
... And above all, God, I thank You for the worth and
fullness YOU have given to this world of YOURS. Amen

THANK GOD FOR...

TEXT: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

This is the time of the year when most people stop and count the many blessings we have been given. For what will you be thanking God this week?

I. THANK GOD FOR SALVATION AND ALL IT ENTAILS.
A. There are many things involved in our gift of salvation. James
1:17
B. God delights in showering us with good things. 2 Cor. 9:15;
Acts 2:38; John 14:1-6; John 3:16; Matthew 16:18 Ephesians
1:3-14
II. THANK GOD FOR OUR CHRISTIAN HERITAGE.
A. Thank God for the church that Jesus established.
B. Our Christian heritage also includes our American heritage.
C. When you study the faith of many of our leaders you see their
was based on the teachings of the Bible.
D. Thank God for the Christian heritage you had at home.
III. THANK GOD FOR OUR FAMILIES.
A. Husbands and wives, thank God for your mate! Ephesians 5:22-31
B. Parents, thank God for your children! Psalm 127:3-5; 128:1-4
C. Children, stop and thank God for the blessing of your parents.
II Timothy 1:5
D. If you were raised by someone other than your natural parents,
stop and count the blessings of that too.
IV. THANK GOD FOR THE MATERIAL BLESSINGS.
A. All of the our material things have come from God. James 1:17
Malachi 3:8-10
B. How often do you stop and thank God for your material blessings?
C. The principle of thanksgiving came from the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14