Episode 15 - Thoughts on Giving Thanks

In the United States we celebrate a lot of holidays.  We usually have a favorite holiday.  Many, especially children love Christmas.  We enjoy the Fourth of July as we celebrate our nation and enjoy cooking out and fireworks.  But my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.

In this episode I look at Thanksgiving by discussing the two words, thanks and giving.  I hope you'll listen as I express how thanking and giving are a natural part of who we are as we walk with our Master.

I invite you to follow our podcast and share it with others as together we walk with our Master.

Please contact me if you have questions or you wish to share with me something about your walk with the Master. My email is walkingwithourmaster@gmail.com

The Prattville family meets at 344 East Main Street, Prattville, AL. Our web site is: https://prattvillechurch.org.

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Transcript

Hello friends, I'm your host Dave Laton and welcome to the podcast, Walking With Our Master, an outreach of the Prattville Church of Christ designed to inform, encourage, and teach as we daily walk with our Master. 

 In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving each 4th Thursday in November.  I didn’t know it before, but it is also celebrated in several other countries in different ways.  For example, Canadians celebrate their thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.  

We know the story usually associated with our American holiday.  It is believed to harken back to 1621 to the early settlers of North America as they survived difficult times and wanted to express thanks to God.   

Of all the holidays on our calendar, this is my favorite for several reasons.  I like watching football so there are usually some good games on the television.  And I like to eat so I can expect a few really good meals before and during the holiday.  And of course, there are usually plenty of leftovers.  But most of all, it’s an opportunity to be with family and friends.  Even those without family with them can usually find a way to get together with someone.  

 In this episode I want to look at the two words of thanksgiving and draw some insights into how they show us how to walk with our Master.

Thankfulness and giving are directly tied to each other.  It is natural that these two words are often used together, beyond the name of my favorite holiday.  It is our natural reaction when someone gives something or is kind and courteous that we react by expressing thanks.

 When someone performs a service for us, we express thanks.  We are thankful for courtesy and politeness.  We express thankfulness to God for His grace and blessings in our life.  So, you understand that being thankful is part of how we react.

Of course, God is the ultimate example of giving.  He gave us creation.  By the way, I am often appreciative that not only did God give us a wonderful creation, but he also gave us the ability to appreciate it.  God gave us life.  He gives us forgiveness through Jesus.  He also gives us a rich and full life when we obey His will.  Doing His will is our natural demonstration of our thankfulness for all He has done and continues to do for us.

Exploring the concept of giving a bit further, another way we express thankfulness is by giving.  Giving causes a positive response in our relationship.  
Thankfulness is a common theme throughout scripture.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul teaches us to give thanks in all circumstances.  It should be a way of thinking and living for those walking with the Master.

Thankfulness is tied directly to giving.  We often use the concept of giving in the same breath as thanking.  We give thanks.  A lot of times people think of giving money.  And if one can do so, there is certainly nothing wrong with that.  But there are so many ways we give.  We give our time, we give our love, we give encouragement, just to name a few.  And these forms of giving are incredibly important, more so than giving of our physical means.

To give means to transfer something to someone.  In the context of this discussion, we give physically, and we give emotionally.  It is an expression of our gratitude.  And it can express our commitment as we give our allegiance and love.

For those who follow our Lord, giving is a part of who we are.  We see God our Father as a benevolent God.  We see His Son Jesus as a giving savior.  We see God’s Spirit as a giving force in our life.  As we realize this and grow spiritual, we too become giving people.  As we’ve already said, we give time, resources, and encouragement.  We also give hope as we share our Lord.  And underscoring all of this is giving thanks for the opportunity to glorify God through our thankfulness.  We can’t help but be a giving person because we realize how much God has given for us.

An interesting paradox occurs when we give.  When we give, we gain.

Jesus said if we give up our life for Him, we gain it.  That is in Matthew 10:39.  

In Luke 6:38 Jesus taught about how we cannot possibly outgive God.  He talks about how when we give it is returned to us overflowingly.  Now, some try to use this as some kind of physical investment plan.  That isn’t the correct way to look at it.  God rewards us with spiritual blessings beyond our ability to imagine.  Jesus told us to lay up treasure in heaven because that lasts forever.  

We give by sharing our blessings with others.  That is an outflow of the new heart God has created in us.  One of my favorite Old Testament passages is found in Genesis 12:1-2.  This is when God first made his promise to Abraham that he would bless him.  In verse 2 he tells Abraham that he is blessing him so he can bless others.  You see, when God blesses us, he does so because he loves us.  But he also expects us to do something with it.  So, we use our blessings, physical and spiritual, to bless others.  It is not only to bless others, but it is a form of thankfulness for our gifts.

 As believers and followers of Jesus, we become thankful and giving.  We cannot help it as we realize the gifts of Hope and life we have been given.  And as we give, we express how we are walking with our Master.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving time.  Remember through it all, to thank God for the love he has for us and for the opportunities to express our love and appreciation as we give glory to him and blessings to others.

Well friends, I'm your host Dave Laton.  Thank you for joining us in this podcast.  I hope you will continue to do so. If you wish to share with me something from your walk with our Master or you would like to learn more, please email me at:

walkingwithourmaster@gmail.com.

I invite you to follow our podcast and share it with others as together we walk with our Master.  And until next time, remember, we give all glory to God the Father.