November, 2005 Newsletter

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November 15, 2005
Volume XXXVIII
Number 11

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his…. Enter his  gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever….” [Psalm 100:3-5]

Thanksgiving Holiday is just around the corner! However, Christmas decorations are already in full swing in the shopping malls! We find very little symbols for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving may be a national holiday, however, in the marketplace, Christmas merchandising reigns! We hear the story about the Grinch who stole Christmas, but in the marketplaces Christmas merchandising has stolen the traditional Thanksgiving celebration. Money not only changes hands—it changes the hearts of people.

Are we allowing the marketplaces to squeeze us into their pattern rather than spending more time thanking God? We should be thanking God more rather than thinking about twinkles and gifts for the holidays. Without minimizing the joy and fun of Christmas, we would do well to celebrate the Thanksgiving tradition. Thanksgiving is not just a national tradition, it is a biblical tradition.

In the Bible, God initiated thanksgiving. After the six days of creation in Genesis, God looked over His work and declared, “It was very good!” God was tremendously satisfied and rejoiced in His excellent work! Isn’t that a model of a thankful attitude we should have toward any work well done?

Although the creation was marred by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God’s grace kicked in immediately and set the redemption plan into motion. In Genesis 3, God promised that He will send a Redeemer to remedy the decay and death of mankind. He graciously covered the couple with the sacrifice of innocent animals in Genesis 3:21 before removing them from decay. We should be thankful to God for the provision of His covering to protect us from the fallen world.

God has preserved the redemption message in history through the lineage of Seth, the offspring of Adam and Eve. The Flood wiped away sinful humanity, but saved Noah and his family—thus preserving the redemption plan. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all respectively chosen to carry on the redemption plan of God. God’s plan was fulfilled nearly 2,000 years ago when He sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, as the divine redeemer when He died on the cross. He not only said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people” (Mark 10:45), he fulfilled it. Thanksgiving is a time to remember all the blessings we received from God. It is a special time to celebrate God’s Redemption Plan as we truly celebrate by receiving the Redeemer Christ into our hearts. We can then sincerely say, “Give thanks to Him and praise His name!”

— Pastor Jim Sakurai

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