26th November 2023
Thanksgiving
Most Americans will have just celebrated this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, a special time with family and friends over good food. As believers, of course, we don’t limit giving thanks to God to a single day, because giving thanks is the keynote of our lives and our worship.
In Ephesians 5:19-20, the apostle Paul wrote: ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (NIV 1984)
The Greek-speaking Christians called the Lord’s Supper Eucharist, which means ‘thanksgiving.’ And no wonder, because the greatest gift of all is the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus has washed away all our sins, become one with us in such a way that he will never let us go, raised us with him in his resurrection and included us in the fellowship he has with the Father.
In Jesus, we find that the Father loves us unconditionally, and that the Father sent his Son not out of anger or a need to punish someone, but out of his immeasurable love and his unbending commitment to our redemption. We see this in Ephesians 2:1-10.
And even though none of us deserves God’s favour, he loves us anyway. He not only forgives all our sins, but also lives in us by the Holy Spirit and transforms us into people who love him and love others just as he loves us.
Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) says, ‘For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’
There is no greater comfort than to know that God is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to him. Like the father of the prodigal son, God never gives up on us, and always runs to meet us in joy when he sees us coming down the path toward home.
That’s the gospel – the good news of God’s love for every one of us – good news that we have the blessing to spread. And I want all of our readers to know that it is your faithfulness in prayer and in financial support, and the faithfulness of others like you, that makes us able to spread this good News.
So, let me thank you for all you do in Christ’s service and for being who you are in him. May God bless you all!
Presented by Joseph Tkach
About the writer:
Joseph Tkach is the retired President and Board Chair of Grace Communion International and resides in Oregon, USA. Word of Life each Sunday is taken from ‘Speaking of Life’, (https://www.gci.org/videos/media-speaking-of-life/), a public resource video on the USA website of Grace Communion International.
Local congregation:
You are welcome to attend one of our local church congregations located throughout the UK and Ireland. For details of your nearest local congregation check on our website, Grace Communion International | Grace Communion International under the ‘Churches’ tab, or ring +44 (0)1858 437099.
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church