Thanksgiving That God Is In Control Of The Future

Giving Thanks At Thanksgiving … But Not To GOD

by Dr. Paul Kengor

Giving Thanks At Thanksgiving … But Not To GODThe Center For Vision & Values

Grove City, PA –-(Ammoland.com)- In 1789, America’s first president proclaimed a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” George Washington implored the heavens to “pardon our national and other transgressions” and urged the citizenry to practice “true religion and virtue.”

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln urged his countrymen to set aside the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Subsequent presidents continued this civic-religious tradition. “More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God,” said John F.

Kennedy in his first Thanksgiving proclamation. “They paused in their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence.

” Quoting the Bible, President Kennedy affirmed: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, was the old America

In the New America, we apparently know better. Our culture transformers are eagerly remaking Thanksgiving in their own image. This is especially true on the education front.

I was recently alerted to a Thanksgiving Day lesson at the website education.com, a go-to source for teachers. On the main page is a 60-minute lesson plan titled, “Giving Thanks for Thanksgiving.

” “Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to teach young students about early days in the original colonies,” the plan informs us. “Students will discover the purpose and people involved in the first Thanksgiving.

” The “learning objectives” are succinct: “At the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify the purpose of the first Thanksgiving as well as several people involved in celebrating it.

The introduction instructs the teacher:

“Call students together. Ask students to think about some of their favorite holidays and what they to do on these holidays. Tell students that Thanksgiving is coming up. Ask students what some of their favorite Thanksgiving traditions are. Read Thanksgiving Day.”

“Thanksgiving Day” is one of three books recommended in the lesson: “Thanksgiving Day” by Anne Rockwell, “Thanksgiving Is …” by Gail Gibbons, and “The Very First Thanksgiving Day” by Rhonda Greene.

I do not own these books. I went to their Amazon.com pages to read the descriptions. There is no mention of God, though there are bountiful references to Native Americans, various tribes, corn, stuffing, and turkeys. The Creator even gets trumped by cranberry sauce.

The reviewer underscores the “significant historical fact” that the Pilgrims had fled religious persecution, that their Thanksgiving feast was about giving thanks to God, and that Lincoln enacted Thanksgiving Day for just that reason.

Thus, writes the reviewer, “the author’s careful avoidance of this fact is a disappointment. But if you are more on the politically correct side, you will find this book to be a perfect introduction to Thanksgiving for your children.

”

Indeed, if you’re on the “politically correct side” of the New America, this is perfect—a book that comprehensively airbrushes God from the historical picture.

The “review and closing” portion of the “Thanksgiving” lesson at education.com concludes with these guidelines for the teacher:

“Have students line up to present their Thanksgiving fact and what they are thankful for. Congratulate the students on their hard work. Encourage everyone to dig into the yummy food and enjoy having a Thanksgiving feast together!”

Dig in, kids, without a thought of thanking the Almighty.

I ask my secular-liberal friends: Is it any wonder why so many people are homeschooling their kids? Think about it. You can dis religion, if you prefer. You can even despise it. But a truly “inclusive” education cannot exclude such essential historical facts. This is historical fraud, forgery, perjury.

I’m reminded of a conversation I recently had with a friend who works in the children’s section at Barnes & Noble. She regularly briefs me on the latest political correctness and rank secularism pervading today’s books offered by “educators.” She was cataloguing the stock of Thanksgiving books.

“How are they?” I asked.

“You don’t want to know,” she groaned.

She found only one book in which thanks was given to God.

“Well, then,” I asked her, “what are they giving thanks to?”

“They’re just thankful,” she said vaguely. “They’re simply thankful.”

“'Thankful’ for what?” I replied.

She again emphasized: “They’re just thankful.”

Well, that isn’t Thanksgiving. It never was. Welcome, pilgrim, to the new world

–Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. His latest book is Takedown. His other books include 11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative, The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor and Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.

Источник: //www.ammoland.com/2015/11/giving-thanks-at-thanksgiving-but-not-to-god/

Question: “Why is giving thanks to God important?“

Many of us may wonder why it is so important to give praise and thanks to God. Let us look at it in this way, we as people that are made in God's image and his ness, we love to be praised and exalted when we do anything good. It is in our nature to always want to be praise and look up to.

I say that to say this that just us God also love to be praise because we are of him, and not us he deserve it. No man can out do God goodness and love toward mankind therefore his praise must be continuous in our mouth, and pouring thanksgiving to him who deserve it all. There are also many blessing in giving thanks and praise.

 The two things that “offend God” the most are ingratitude (confessing not His hand) and disobedience. Having a thankful heart make us happy it is more a spiritual thing then natural “Why? because God take pleasure in our praise and thankfulness and we know God is a spirit. It even show that giving praise and thanks to God gives us a better health.

When people are not grateful they tend to complain, and that isn’t good for anyone. For example, even though the Lord had delivered the Israelites from slavery and given them manna to eat, they were not grateful. Notice what happens: “And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it” (Numbers 11:1). So the Lord hears when we complain, and He does not it.

 Great blessings are promised to those who are grateful. The Lord said, “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more” (D&C 78:19).

Let us follow the counsel of Paul who said, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Scripture instructs us to thank God for many things. We are to thank Him for who He is. Psalm 30:4 says, “Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name” Psalm 97:12. We should also thank God for His nearness. “We give thanks to Thee, O God, we give thanks, for Thy name is near” Psalm 75:1.

Paul gave thanks to God for his salvation and his opportunity to serve Him: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.

And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief” 1 Timothy 1:12–13.

(Luke 17:13) When Jesus encountered the ten lepers on his way to Jerusalem, all ten asked to be healed. All ten obeyed Jesus' command to go show themselves to the priests. As the lepers went to the priests, they were healed. However, only one returned to thank Jesus.

That seemed to surprise Jesus. “Were not all ten cleansed?” he asked. “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:17). Jesus did not heal the lepers for the thanks. But He really appreciated it when one He had healed remembered his kindness.

I want to encourage you today that God loves each of you so much and there are so many physical and spiritual benefits for dailygiving thanks. We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel thankful for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be thankful.

We can hurt and still be thankful. We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward God. That is what the Bible calls a “sacrifice of praise” Hebrews 13:15.

Giving thanks to God keeps our hearts in right relationship with Him and saves us from a host of harmful emotions and attitudes that will rob us of the peace God wants us to experience Philippians 4:6–7.

What makes Christians most thankful is the work of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 9:15, Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” He gave thanks for the result of the work of Christ, which is our salvation 1 Corinthians 1:4. That is also his theme in Colossians 1:12–14.

Paul sums up the doctrine of salvation in three great truths: inheritance, deliverance, and transference. They are both a description of salvation and a cause for thanksgiving. He unfolds the specifics of his gratitude in those verses. Giving thanks also reminds us of how much we do have.

Human beings are prone to covetousness. We tend to focus on what we don’t have. By giving thanks continually we are reminded of how much we do have. When we focus on blessings rather than wants, we are happier. When we start thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective changes.

We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful blessings of God.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Heb. 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Giving thanks helps keep our lives clear of anxiety, sin, darkness, deception.

Romans 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, Philippians 4:6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Giving Thanks is a container that allows us to hold blessings, benefits and responsibilities

Eph. 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

#4 Giving Thanks puts us in a position to allow God to transform every weakness into a strength through Christ. 2 Cor. 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
#5 Thanksgiving draws us closer to God and to others for help and healing James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Psalm 35:18, I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. I pray that God speaks to your heart this Thanksgiving day, as you praise Him and give Thanks to Him.

.

.

Note: This lesson was not written entirely by us. Parts of this lesson was taking from different articles that was written by different people on the topic therefore we are not taking credit for all of it. This was post only to help those who read it to understand about the importance of the  topic, to the glory of God.

Источник: //www.facebook.com/notes/jesus-saves-church-of-god-of-prophecy/the-importance-of-giving-thank-and-praise/910143679038863/

Does God Answer Our Prayers?

By Marilyn Adamson

Click above to watch video

Have you ever known someone who really trusts God? When I was an atheist, I had a good friend who prayed often. She would tell me every week about something she was trusting God to take care of.

And every week I would see God do something unusual to answer her prayer.

Do you know how difficult it is for an atheist to observe this week after week? After a while, “coincidence” begins to sound a very weak argument.

So why would God answer my friend's prayers? The biggest reason is that she had a relationship with God. She wanted to follow God. And she actually listened to what he said.

In her mind, God had the right to direct her in life, and she welcomed him doing just that! When she prayed for things, it was a natural part of her relationship with God. She felt very comfortable coming to God with her needs, her concerns, and whatever issues were current in her life.

Furthermore, she was convinced, from what she read in the Bible, that God wanted her to rely on him that.

She pretty much exhibited what this statement from the Bible says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”1 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer…”2

So, Why Doesn't God Answer Everyone's Prayers?

It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with him.

Further, they have never received from God complete forgiveness for their sin. What does that have to do with it you ask? Here is an explanation. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God.

Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”3

It's pretty natural to feel that separation from God. When people begin to ask God for something, what usually takes place? They begin with, “God, I really need your help with this problem…” And then there's a pause, followed by a restart… “I realize that I'm not a perfect person, that I actually have no right to ask you for this…

” There's an awareness of personal sin and failure. And the person knows that it's not just them; that God is aware of it too. There's a feeling of, “Who am I kidding?” What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them.

This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

How Does Prayer Work?

You must first begin a relationship with God. Here's why. Imagine that a guy named Mike asks the president of Princeton University to co-sign a car loan for him.

If Mike doesn't personally know the president of Princeton, that car loan is not going to happen.

Yet, if the daughter of this president asked her dad to co-sign a car loan for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters.

When it comes to God then, do you really know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? Or is God pretty distant, pretty much just a concept in your life? If God is distant, or you're not sure that you know God, here is how you can begin a relationship with him right now: Getting Connected.

Will God Definitely Answer Your Prayer?

For those who do know him and rely on him, Jesus seems to be wildly generous in his offer: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”5 To “remain” in him and have his words remain in them means they conduct their lives aware of him, relying on him, listening to what he says.

Then they're able to ask him whatever they want. Here is another qualifier: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.

“6 God answers our prayers according to his will (and according to his wisdom, his love for us, his holiness, etc.).

Where we trip up is assuming we know God's will, because a certain thing makes sense to us! We assume that there is only one right “answer” to a specific prayer, assuming certainly THAT would be God's will. And this is where it gets tough. We live within the limits of time and limits of knowledge.

We have only limited information about a situation and the implications of future action on that situation. God's understanding is unlimited. How an event plays out in the course of life or history is only something he knows. And he may have purposes far beyond what we could even imagine.

So, God is not going to do something simply because we determine that it must be his will.

What Does It Take? What is God Inclined to Do?

Pages and pages could be filled about God's intentions toward us. The entire Bible is a description of the kind of relationship God wants us to experience with him and the kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

“…the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for [trust] him!”7 Did you catch that? someone rising his chair to come to your help, “He rises to show you compassion.” “As for God, his way is perfect…

However, God's greatest display of his love and commitment to you is this: Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,”10 which is what Jesus did for us. And so, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?”11

What about “Unanswered” Prayer?

Certainly people get sick, even die; financial problems are real, and all sorts of very difficult situations can come up. What then?

God tells us to give our concerns to him. Even as the situation remains dismal, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”12 The circumstances may look control, but they aren't. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, God can keep us together. This is when a person can be very grateful that they know God.

“The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

“13 God may provide solutions, resolutions to the problem WAY beyond what you imagined possible. Probably any Christian could list examples this in their own lives. But if the circumstances do not improve, God can still give us his peace in the midst of it.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”14

It is at this point (when circumstances are still tough) that God asks us to continue to trust him — to “walk by faith, not by sight” the Bible says. But it's not blind faith. It is the very character of God.

A car traveling on the Golden Gate Bridge is fully supported by the integrity of the bridge. It doesn't matter what the driver may be feeling, or thinking about, or discussing with someone in the passenger seat.

What gets the car safely to the other side is the integrity of the bridge, which the driver was willing to trust.

In the same way, God asks us to trust his integrity, his character…his compassion, love, wisdom, righteousness on our behalf. He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”15 “Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us.”16

In Summary

God has offered to answer the prayers of his children (those who have received him into their lives and seek to follow him). He asks us to take any concerns to him in prayer and he will act upon it according to his will.

As we deal with difficulties we are to cast our cares on him and receive from him a peace that defies the circumstances. The basis for our hope and faith is the character of God himself.

The better we know him, the more apt we are to trust him.

For more on the character of God, please see “Who is God?” or other articles on this site. The reason we pray is God's character. The first prayer God answers is your prayer to begin a relationship with God.

Footnotes: (1) 1 John 5:14 (2) 1 Peter 3:12 (3) Isaiah 59:1,2 (4) John 10:14,27-28 (5) John 15:7 (6) 1 John 5:14,15 (7) Isaiah 30:18 (8) Psalms 18:30 (9) Psalms 147:11 (10) John 15:13 (11) Romans 8:32 (12) 1 Peter 5:7 (13) Philippians 4:5-7 (14) John 14:27 (15) Jeremiah 31:3 (rsv) (16) Psalms 62:8

About the author

Источник: //www.everystudent.com/wires/prayers.html

Текст 5 Thanksgiving

Thanksgivingis celebrated in the USA and Canada. In The USA, it is celebrated onthe fourth Thursday in November every year. The Canadians celebrateit on the second Monday in October. It is associated with givingthanks to God. In the beginning people expressed gratitude for theharvest they reaped. It used to be a religious holiday but now it hasbecome a secular celebration.

Themost important part of the celebration is the dinner which includesthe customary turkey served with cranberry sauce, and pumpkin. A lotof business goes on during this holiday. For example, restaurantstake advantage of the holiday to sell turkey dinners

Familiesand friends usually get together for a large meal or dinner duringThanksgiving and have a lot of fun. That's why, the Thanksgivingholiday weekend is considered one of the busiest travel periods ofthe year. Students are given a four-day or five-day weekend vacation.Thanksgiving is also a paid holiday for most workers.

Выберитеправильныйвариант:

The origin of the name”Thanksgiving” comes from:

• thanks given to God

• thanks given for the help the early settlers got from each other.

Thanksgiving is a timeto

• worship God

• Thank god, eat and have fun.

It is a vacation for

The main food that isprepared in this celebration is:

• cranberry sauce, and pumpkin

• turkey

Текст 6 christmas

Christmasin Britain is all about nice food, presents and family reunions. Oris it? An alarmingly large number of British people would say thatthere is a lot more to Christmas than meets the eye (of a foreigner,of course).

Shopping.

OfficiallyChristmas and New Year celebrations run from the 24th of December tothe 2nd of January. However, for many Brits the Christmas marathonstarts as early as the beginning of October with the first festiveadverts on TV.

By the end of November shops are so packed that onlythe gloomy realization that Christmas is looming and there is nothingyou can do about it can make you swap the comfort of a soft sofa andnice cup of tea for big crowds of panic-stricken people.

Theidea of Christmas shopping is that you spend as much money as you canon anything you cast your eyes on, preferably something neither younor your family (friends, pets etc.) will ever use. An averageBritish family spends £670 or more around the Christmas period.

Another big source of spending is Christmas cardswith an average British person buying 46 greetings per year!

Somepeople just cannot stop spending. It is very easy to spend more moneythan you actually have as most people have a number of credit cards.Buying on credit is increasingly becoming part of British culture aspeople are constantly encouraged by banks and advertising to buymore.

It is not unusual for someone to turn Christmas spending intopaying debts for the rest of the year. And, of course, there are alsoJanuary sales.

Hung-over and exhausted the whole population of theBritish Isles rushes to shops to hunt for bargains and next year’sChristmas presents!

Family

Finally,the presents are bought, wrapped and put away in a safe dark cornerand it is time to enjoy Christmas with your family. Although it isnot a crime to spend the New Year with friends, British Christmas isdefinitely a family celebration.

As, quite often, grown-up childrenlive a long way (or what seems a long way) from their parents, somefamilies only get together once a year, for Christmas. But even ifall the family lives close by, it is a must to spend Christmastogether.

Normally this means three days: Christmas Eve, ChristmasDay and Boxing Day.

Itseems a short time but in reality it is not. Firstly, not allfamilies get on well together.

Besides, being such an old tradition, there are thingsthat just have to be done at Christmas even if the whole familysecretly hates it. For example, playing traditional boards games, andeating Christmas cake.

And if you do not see anything wrong withplaying games, just imaging if you had to do it every year for therest of your life. Doesn’t sound a jolly prospect now, doesit? As for Christmas cake, heavy and overfilling it is not toeverybody’s taste. To make things worse, it takes weeks to make andwhen it is ready it can last until Easter, so even if you do not it, you have to try and eat some at Christmas to avoid being hauntedby it months after.

Naturally,all this creates some tension. According to statistics, the number offamily breakdowns doubles in the post-Christmas period as a result ofstress, debt and over-consumption of alcohol. As it is a well-knownfact, some magazines publish tips on how to cope with Christmas, suchas yoga, meditation or holidays abroad.

Ответьтена вопросы:

1. When do Christmas and New Year celebrations run officially?

2. When does the Christmas marathon start for many Brits?

3. When are shops packed?

4. What is the idea of Christmas shopping?

5. How much does the average British family spend around the Christmas period?

6. What is the money spent on?

7. What is becoming part of British culture?

8. When and why does the whole population rush to shops?

Источник: //StudFiles.net/preview/3934638/page:11/