America’s Thanksgiving
Written by Elinor Montgomery – emontgomery@cogeco.ca
November 22, 2015
How is it they are so busy trying to change the name and meaning of Christmas, to the point that there is no reference to the name of Christ remaining in it? The baby in the manger is completely forgotten, yet the name of Thanksgiving remains intact. It is all so simple when you know the heart of God and the desires of Satan; but very few do. Even fewer believe that Satan exists, though the Bible would be a mammoth sham if this were not true and Jesus would be a terrible liar and perhaps the biggest con artist in all of history. You have no choice, but to believe this about Jesus, if you do not believe there is a devil.
Christmas is a great threat to the devil because hearts resonate with a certain joy, which does not exist at any other time of the year. Lights are central to this celebration, which is a sharp reminder of the thrill that the light of the world brings into our lives. There is nothing good or joyful in Satan, which would cause a child to stand in wonder before a decorated and lit tree.
Sadly, close to Christmas time, we feed the children hours of sappy movies about elves and supercilious Santa Clauses who are more or less responsible for saving Christmas. At the same time, we will not show them beautiful, biblical stories, like we used to do, which enhanced the celebration with an element of the truth about salvation.
Unfortunately, mankind has ceased to equate the goodness of God with the light and the truth, which designate Jesus to be the way, the truth and the life. In fact, anyone reading this statement, might well mock me for even suggesting the politically incorrect idea that there is only one way to God, with such mockery coming from the very same people who fill the church pews of America.
Today is the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and it would be in order, more as tradition than anything else, for most Christians to honor the church with their presence. However the real Thanksgiving, which comes on Thursday, is very likely to be celebrated with a bounteous meal served at the table, with no sound of words of thankful prayer offered to the giver of all good things, which includes the bounty set before us.
If, perchance, thanks should be given, it quite likely would be to the god of one’s choice, just to be inclusive, politically speaking. Then a ‘one-two-three-go’ attitude prevails to dig in and shovel the food in as fast as one can, without actually making oneself sick. As Americans stuff themselves, Satan revels at the sight of how they have allowed the celebration of Thanksgiving to have become such a display of greed without gratitude to the one who really distributes the grain of life to mankind.
The devil has clearly put his stamp of approval on how we have come to celebrate one of our feast days in this country designated to the honor of our God and to no other god. Satan is up to his good, old, religious scheme of things again for merchandizing that which God has determined for the purpose of honoring and worshiping Him. Thanksgiving Day now takes a back seat to ‘Black Friday’. In fact, according to the ads on television, I would say it is a celebration now more of that big day of merchandizing and greed, which could even surpass ‘Boxing Day’, as the other dream day for merchants in America.
Of course, Easter cannot be overlooked. If you were to suggest it represents the time of Passover and the true meaning of the cross, most people who call themselves Christians and attend church regularly, would have no earthly idea of what you are speaking. Mention Easter bunnies, which lay Easter eggs and you have recaptured their attention and understanding even though rabbits laying eggs is about as possible as fish flying. I wonder how long it will be until ‘Black Monday’ will follow Easter Sunday, vying for position as the latest new merchandizing scheme of the business world for exploiting the greed of American citizens.
Americans don’t believe, don’t understand and don’t care, even if they were, for some unlikely reason, to have their eyes opened to the truth. The nation has become the homeland presently of the Laodicean church, which is on snooze as the world is beginning to self-destruct, just as God said it would. The so-called church has become exactly that which was prophesied of it in the book of Revelation with the last of the seven churches rising up at the same time as the last of the seven empires of Satan is about to come forth as the One World Order.
How could one be provided with a better picture of our present problems in the world than by those, which surrounded the building of Noah’s ark? It is a repeat performance today of the violence and terror filling the world as it filled the world in Noah’s day, just before the judgment fell on the people who so displeased the Lord that He wished He had never created man.
As is the situation today, men’s hearts were set on evil all the time. However, there was one righteous man, called Noah, a type of Jesus, who built a perfectly safe ark to house those he would save who obeyed and carried out the job of building the ark of salvation with him. The cross is our ark of salvation.
How they must have laughed at and mocked Noah for building such a boat in a land where it never rained and water was scarce in supply. During those many years of construction, can you imagine the taunting Noah and his family would have been forced to endure? “Where is the flood and where is your God now Noah? There is no sign of either Him or a flood.”
Can you imagine their surprise when the impossible began to happen with the animals appearing, two by two, and then entering into the ark? Can you imagine the shock at the first drops of rain being felt? Then, can you just imagine how the mocking would have changed to begging at the closed door of the ark, which God, Himself, had closed, so that no others could enter the vehicle of safety that Noah had so faithfully built for himself and his family? If it weren’t so tragic, one could say that the joke was finally on the mockers.
The world is again as it was in the days of Noah. It is all there – the violence, the terror, the disdain for those who righteously are trying to warn a most ungrateful brood of vipers, still persisting among the religious who are stuck on tradition. They have no earthly idea, whatsoever, of what God is about to do in the way of judgment on a wicked world.
Pick up your dusty Bibles and read about a woman called Hannah, mother of Samuel, the first judge/prophet (1 Samuel 2:1-11). You will see in her what real gratitude and thanksgiving look like. Her heart rejoiced in the Lord whom she saw as her salvation. She did not even mention the enormous gift He had given her in answer to her prayers. Her focus was on the giver. She honored His unspotted purity, His almighty power, His unsearchable wisdom and His unerring judgment. Her heart rejoiced in the joy of the Lord, giving back to Him the gift of her child to serve Him and His purpose for Samuel’s life.
The exaltation of the nation comes only from God, as do all the good gifts of His creation for His people who are called by His name, but not for those who reject Him. Surely we, today, who have known such enormous bounty and freedom in this land, could have shown a little thanks with a heart like that of Hannah who only could dream of the luxuries we enjoy as Americans.
Read for yourselves and discover what true love for and gratitude to God is about. In all things she honored and desired to please Him, even more than she wanted to keep the child she so begged Him in prayer to give to her. One cannot even imagine Hannah wanting to participate in any part of an American Thanksgiving as it looks today.
To one, God gives plenty, and to another, He taketh away; He kills some, but keeps others alive. How can it be wrong if it is within His plan? Promotions in men’s lives come from God, to serve His purposes. The most unlikely ones can go from prison or from captivity of one sort or another to the palace, for example, as did Joseph, Moses, David and Daniel, to the point of inheriting the throne of glory.
Hannah understood that the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, people who often have to endure mockery, even from those closest to them, before tasting victory. All of the powers, which come against the Lord and His own will not change or thwart the plans of God. The designs against His kingdom will be dashed in the end and He will exalt the horn of His anointed.
Can you even imagine Americans, this Thanksgiving, as the one nation under God, which they claim to be, sitting around their bounteous tables, raising such praise to Him as Hannah did? What a contrast between two very different expressions of thanksgiving, from heartfelt praise to little or no praise and thanks at all! The hearts of the people are centered more on ‘Black Friday’, which is a very black day, indeed, when one puts it into perspective.
One can rest assured that America would have far less to fear today in a world gone mad, if she had not forgotten to praise and give thanks to her God for all the good He has done for His people in this land. Where else, except from God, is the solution to the terrorism, which we are experiencing, to be found, when we choose to reject Him and remove Him from the public square?
Wake up America! You are no longer fooling the world with your blatant harlotry toward your God. No wonder the cults pour into the nation, getting themselves in place to inflict their gods upon you, including the god of Islam. The future rests in your hands but the victory will be the Lord’s.
Get down on your knees and beg forgiveness for having given room to Satan’s plan for liberalism from God, with no gratitude for the liberty He has bestowed upon this land. The sheep remain ever on the right and the goats, on the left. Choose this day whom you will serve and honor as the God of this nation, and to Him pour out your hearts in gratitude for all the good things, which come from Him!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever (Psalm 107:1).