Christian Thanksgiving

By Dennis D. King

ISBN TBD 9781005281861

Copyright 2022 Dennis King

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Disclaimer

This is a Biblical based instruction. All subjects and persons mentioned, alive or dead, have been gathered from public sources. All opinions embedded in the text are strictly those of the author.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank many unnamed others for their assistance in bringing you this Christian message.

Table of Contents

Christian Thanksgiving

Novels by This Author

Children's Stories

Free Christian Essays

Toss Christian Playing Cards

Author's Notes

Christian Thanksgiving

What are you thinking of

for this upcoming Thanksgiving Day? I've known in years past, the day before and Thanksgiving morning were a time of stress for the hostess of the family get-together. Stress such as, how's the

turkey in the oven doing? Is it browning or is it getting over

cooked? Will Ellen bring the cranberry jelly or forget it like Rose did at Easter? Say, sister Nancy, watch out and don't sprinkle too much paprika on the deviled eggs. You know Uncle Spencer is

allergic to that. Jeanie, how is the brown gravy doing? Don't let it get too watery. Wanda, would you please stick a toothpick into the corn bread to check if they are done?

John, did you bring in

the Sweet Potato Marshmallow Casserole from the car? Greg, that

pecan pie your mom made looks perfect. Where is that Carolyn and

Dennis? Are they going to be late again? Hey, kids! Stop running

around! All you little monkeys clear out of the kitchen, we women have a lot of work to do and y'all are under foot. Go watch the

game with the men. Git! Scat!

Yes, Thanksgiving can

often appear to be more hectic than quiet or serene. Has

Thanksgiving lost its original meaning? I mean, how can normal

conversations compete with the supposed entertainment value of

cellphones and the blaring television? The true meaning of

Thanksgiving should focus upon relationships. Once the meal is

tabled, good conversations between relatives and friends should

abound. But let's not forget the Thanksgiving bonds Christians

share with God the Father.

Those bonds, by the way,

are a longstanding tradition stemming from the Pilgrims' arrival at New Plymouth. Their view of Cape Cod must have been an extremely

welcome sight after more than two horrendous and sickening months at sea. Surely, the Mayflower crew and the diverse group of

Puritans, Separatists, and tradesmen passengers gave thanks to

God.

Of the 149 people that

disembarked from the Mayflower, 48 were officers and crew while 101

were passengers. 56 of those were known to be Londoners and 35 were from South Holland. Only 41 of the men passengers could be

classified as “true” Pilgrims, religious separatists, seeking

freedom from the Church of England.

The Mayflower Compact, as

it is known today, was signed by those few “true” Pilgrims on 11

November, 1620, and became the first governing document of Plymouth Colony.

Not only was this a

governing document, it was the first piece of writing that

established the “Christian foundation” in this new land. One of the three surviving copies, from the 17th century, reads:

In the name of God, Amen.

We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our

Sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc. having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the

first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, doe by these

presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of

another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colonies unto which we

promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we

have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Cod, 11 November, in

the year of the reign of our Sovereign lord, King James, of

England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the

fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

At least nine of the

adult passengers were indentured servants and hired artisans who

were selected to work in the colony and in the fisheries. Also,

there were thirty-one children, 20 boys and eleven girls. Except

for one, none of these children had either a father or mother among the passengers. They may have been waifs sent to Virginia—an

increasingly used practice. Now the mystery of the waifs had

puzzled historians for the longest of times. That story is not

suitable for a Bible Study topic but can be read at

https://strangeco.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-waifs-of-mayflower.html.

We must keep in mind and

be thankful ourselves that these brave souls were fleeing the

religious persecution of King James the First of England. Had they not—who knows? America might have developed badly and not become

the stronghold of freedom, liberty, and democracy that it has been.

Originally, I wrote that “it is” but of late, I feel “has been” is more accurate.

Even as America was

formed, God was central to the lives and hearts of most of the

people in the young colonies. Then, during and after the

Revolutionary War, God's hand guided this fledgling nation.

Less than six months into

his presidency of the United States of America, George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation—the words of which are just as important today as they were on the third of October

1789.

Whereas it is the duty of

all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore

his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal

favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and

happiness.”

Now therefore I do

recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the benevolent author of all the good

that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in

rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their

becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the

favorable interposition's of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to

establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the

civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the

means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general, for all the great and various favors which he has been

pleased to confer upon us.

Thanksgiving begins with

acknowledging God as ever faithful, earnestly giving Him thanks in advance for His abundant blessings.

Philippians 4:6 should

provide for our inner tranquility. Do not be anxious about

anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

The spirit of

thanksgiving does not begin in 1621 but goes back to man’s first

breath, where the spirit of thankfulness was a natural response

from Adam and Eve toward God. This was, of course, before their

fall. Afterwards, Adam knew he and Eve had sinned—and their

firstborn son, Abel, killed the firstborn of his flock as a sin

offering (Genesis 4:4)

But has humankind been

slowly losing the spirit of thanksgiving until now? Is it almost

gone? Many express a general thankfulness but not expressed toward our God Almighty. It could be argued that Thanksgiving has lost its spiritual significance in America, if not the world. Many see it as just another day off, a time for families to come together. A time of feasting and football.

This trend is another

sign that marks the days in which we live. Surely these are

sorrowful signs—and we have heard much talk about the signs of the times. Which are sign of advancing warnings. Paul may have

described it best.

Paul spoke of these days,

our current days, in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of

themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving,

slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have

nothing to do with such people.

They are the kind who

worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil

desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Do people love money

today? Are they abusive? Do they love their day-to-day pleasures

more than they love God? What stories have you heard on the news

about teachers teaching untruths? Can boys be girls if they want to and girls be boys? Can men give birth? America has degenerated to the point that a sitting Supreme Court Judge cannot, or most likely would not, define what a woman is. Is this not a sad state of

affairs?

These idiotic beliefs

were not expressed late in the twentieth century, but as the

twenty-first century opens we seem to be accelerating our nation's downward spiral. I predict it will get far worse as the sharp

fingernails of Satan clutch wandering souls tighter and

deeper.

The Bible tells of other

signs that people would be “unthankful.” Romans 1:21 People knew

God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him.

Their ideas were all useless. There was not one good thought left in their foolish minds.

Most Christians would be

thrilled and very thankful to be used by the Lord to see other

people saved, but Jonah was not thankful at all when God asked him to go on a mission of warning.

The people of Nineveh

were sinners and did not follow God's laws. So, God tapped Jonah, a true believer, and asked him to go to Nineveh and tell the people that in 40 days, he will destroy their city. However, Jonah

disliked Nineveh and its citizens. So, he decides to sail away from the city of Nineveh rather than going towards it.

The Lord spoke to Jonah,

son of Amittai: “Nineveh is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things.” But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. He went to Joppa and found a boat that was sailing to the faraway city of Tarshish. Jonah paid money for the trip and went on the boat. He wanted to travel with the people on this boat to

Tarshish and run away from the Lord.

It is hard to imagine

that a believer would disrespect God to that extent or be so

unthankful.

But Jonah, as we all

know, finally was bent to doing God's will after the ordeal with

the fish and being thrown up onto the shore. He relented and gave warning to the people of Nineveh. It is assumed that it was around the 9th century when God forgave the people of Nineveh. Jonah’s

message to the people on Nineveh opened their eyes. The people of Nineveh then turned into godly people. They started to follow God’s teachings with all their hearts. They started to pray to God. From the path of sinfulness, they moved towards the path of virtues.

That is why God decided to forgive them and did not destroy the

city of Nineveh, at that time.

But as human nature is

often ungrateful and unthankful, the children of Nineveh grew to

adults and reverted back to their sinful ways. And God did destroy that city of more than a million souls.

Romans 3:3 speaks

directly to us when it says: It is true that some Jews were not

faithful to God. But will that stop God from doing what he

promised?

I ask, “will it stop us

because some people hate God.” Many people think it is up to the

Church to keep the things of God alive—including the spirit of

thankfulness. But is that true? I believe the task belongs to me

and you. We must find ways to express thankfulness to God every day in almost every way. So what if the world forgets God or blames Him for their troubles? We believe in Him and we should give thanks to Him. Our acts and attitudes should not be based on the

unresponsiveness of the unbelieving world towards God. It must be based upon our experience, our own thankfulness for all that He has done for us.

For what if some do not

believe? Shall their unbelief make our faith of God without effect?

No!

If we have the faith of

God, and openly express our faith in Jesus, He will show us, in

many ways, more and more blessings to be thankful for. Revelation 11:17 says: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, because You have taken Your

great power and reigned.

Several years back, I was

driven to place pen to paper and write prose. One of those poems

follows.

Thanks Be to God

Dear God, Thank You for

the gift, the blessings of

bringing us together, now

and for all time.

Thank You for forgiving

us and cleansing our transgressions

of action, omissions, or

our reoccurring imperfections.

For, from Your all seeing

vantage point, You saw…

our silent needs, then

answered all unspoken prayers…

As You merged flawed

souls into many precious solitaires,

knowing Jesus shed His

blood for us, hear our promise to

Always to believe in You,

always hold You in awe and each day praise You.

Please God, cast Your

special Grace upon all our dear children,

blessing each as You have

blessed us.

For it is only You, the

Holy Trinity, that holds our trust, our salvation.

Dear Creator Divine,

please hear our fervent and prolonged pleas.

If times of turmoil are

forthcoming, God please bless all our extended families.

To be near You, God, we

open our hearts, give You our love, our thanks

By placing this poem to

pen… In God we pray, Amen.

DDK 10/31/2003

Remember to keep the

spirit of Thanksgiving alive in your life. Think back, almost

everybody has heard, “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father above.” Thank God for your blessings and

goodness!

First Thessalonians

5:16-18 instructs us; Always be joyful. Continually be prayerful.

In everything, be thankful, because this is God’s will for you in the Messiah Jesus. Ephesians 5:20 teaches us to always be giving

thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

Be thankful for what you

have because many people, in America and virtually in every nation across the world have nothing. People without clean running water, no electricity, therefore no air conditioning over the hottest of summers and no heat in the coldest of winters. No cellphones, no

headphones, no television, no oven or microwave.

But more importantly, no

Bible, no church building, no pastor, no way to learn of God and

all of His grace of faith.

Count your blessings

daily. Do not ever let anyone see you being unthankful towards God or rebelliousness towards God. Never be a bad example of an angry or ungrateful Christian.

Colossians 3:15-17 tells

us well. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which

indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Psalm 79 sings the

feelings of a grateful, thankful soul.

O God, the nations have

come into Your inheritance;

Your holy temple they

have defiled;

They have laid Jerusalem

in heaps.

The dead bodies of Your

servants

They have given as food

for the birds of the heavens,

The flesh of Your saints

to the beasts of the earth.

Their blood they have

shed like water all around Jerusalem,

And there was no one to

bury them.

We have become a reproach

to our neighbors,

A scorn and derision to

those who are around us.

How long, Lord?

Will You be angry

forever?

Will Your jealousy burn

like fire?

Pour out Your wrath on

the nations that do not know You,

And on the kingdoms that

do not call on Your name.

For they have devoured

Jacob,

And laid waste his

dwelling place.

Oh, do not remember

former iniquities against us!

Let Your tender mercies

come speedily to meet us,

For we have been brought

very low.

Help us, O God of our

salvation,

For the glory of Your

name;

And deliver us, and

provide atonement for our sins,

For Your name’s

sake!

Why should the nations

say,

“Where

is their God?”

Let there be known among

the nations in our sight

The avenging of the blood

of Your servants which has been shed.

Let the groaning of the

prisoner come before You;

According to the

greatness of Your power

Preserve those who are

appointed to die;

And return to our

neighbors seven-fold into their bosom

Their reproach with which

they have reproached You, O Lord.

So we, Your people and

sheep of Your pasture,

Will give You thanks

forever;

We will show forth Your

praise to all generations.

Also, there are many

other Psalms of Thanksgiving. Here is a smattering.

Psalm 7:17, I will give

to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing

praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 28:7, The Lord is

my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 50:14-15,

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most

High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Psalm 69:30, I will

praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with

thanksgiving.

Psalm 95, Let Us Sing

Songs of Praise: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a

joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his

presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King

above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the

heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our

God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his

hand.

Let your heart range free

in your free flowing expressions of love towards God and all the

souls you meet—be they friend or foe.

The End

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Please,

if you think someone else might benefit from reading this, send it to them by email or email me their address and I will forward this essay to them anonymously. Rest assured, I do not solicit anything from anyone. For more about this author or list of my free books, please go to www.smashwords.com/interview/DennisDKing.

Please feel free to contact me, Dennis King, at DoJ@mail.com if you have questions, comments, corrections, or just wish to share your troubles or testimonies.

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Novels by This Author

Betrayed

by Soldiers is a novel about Marines and Army soldiers in wartime Afghanistan. The grit and intellectual capabilities of two Recon

Marines and a female Army Corporal are pitted against a vast,

interwoven network of traitorous Americans, corrupt allies, and

foreign spies. Their destinies are interwoven during the clash of a terrorist ambush. During this explosive firefight, a cowardly

Sergeant First Class detonates a terrorist’s suicide vest. Two

soldiers were saved and one was killed One was a dirt-bag and one a hero. The Marine Lieutenant is injured so severely that he becomes a double amputee. Even with both feet blown away, the officer

struggles to make a courageous comeback.

Deep

Cover Shakedown is a stand-alone sequel to Betrayed by Soldiers.

Each novel should appeal to past and present members of the U.S.

military as well as any reader interested in espionage or detective stories. The lead female, Army Corporal Isabella DuLay, is

portrayed as intelligent and strong, yet vulnerable, spunky, and

lucky. The leading male characters are First Lieutenant Robert

Steele and Sergeant Cassius Kelly, both Recon Marines.

In this novel, the criminal

network is almost stamped out by the dangerous undercover work of Sergeant Kelly and Corporal DuLay. Lieutenant Steele, a double

amputee, is released from Walter Reed Hospital. Will they and their fledgling Security and Private Investigating firm, BlackSteel,

survive the hit men dispatched by a foreign government?

Can our heroes bust up the

networks selling black market explosives and distributing

counterfeit bills? Tracking spies, traitors, and pushy politicians, they not only survive firefights but battle inter-agency turf

struggles between the Department of Justice, NSA, and the

Pentagon.

Being fact-based, this

story has intriguing characters and lures the readers on to

remember wisps of reported events where truths and conspiracies

abound.

Romantic

Poetry is a book of 20,000 words of original poetry delivered in

more than 150 poems. Within this volume, you'll discover short and lengthy poems mainly about a real romance, decades in the making, and heartfelt feelings captured by nontraditional sonnets.

Basically, the first 10,000 words were written to win the love of my sweetheart. Mostly romantic, some poems are witty, insightful, or downright crazy. Once you have downloaded your copy, please feel free to copy and personalize any poems you wish for your private or romantic use.

The Soul

Searching Robot is a Sci-Fi story about a robot trying to find a

soul so it could be saved. An intelligent robot becomes a Christian believer. Though he has faith, he concludes a soul is needed to be saved. He hooks up with a retired Space-tech who pumped plasma

through Earth's ozone. It was an exhausting job. Then another

devil-induced plague is about to envelop the earth. They must meet & beat Satan with the help of Lady Montague. Who wins? Who

dies? Who is shackled in hell for all eternity? You? Hopefully

not!

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Children's Stories

The

Soulful Robot is the same story as Soul Searching Robot above, but rated “G”

Tick,

Tock, and Tink's Time Machine is about three mice who go back in

time and have frolicking adventures. Mainly, this is an

'illustrated, flip the pages' story to be read to younger children.

After a short while, your kids may surprise you and know the words attached to the drawings on the page.

Tick,

Tock, and Tink's Second Adventure is about three mice who built

their own time machine and overcame the situations they ran into

while exploring a jungle in the ancient past.

The

Strawberry Squirrel is a short story about two adventuresome

squirrels. This story was written so a parent or guardian could

read a portion to their children right before bedtime. The actual storytelling time, allowing for adult and child interaction is

approximately fifteen to twenty minutes.

Magical

Tales of Turtles and Treasure is about kids finding a magic turtle on a beach and going off on magical adventures. This delightful

story is centered around a magical turtle and a pair of inquisitive kids. In the opening pages, a distressed Sea Turtle is crying out for help while stuck upside down in a seashore crevice. Enter our heroes, Dick and Jane, to tug and twist the helpless creature to

freedom. But everybody needs to be careful. Mysterious islands are on the horizon, and volcanoes might erupt without

notice.

Satan's

Rummage Sale is a modern-day fable suitable for teens and

adults.

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within.

All of these and more can

be found at SmashWords dot com and other great, online retailers.

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Author's Notes As an ordained chaplain, I

have led ministries in prisons, senior facilities, and in Baptist and non-denominational Bible Study groups. I am fortunate that on one internet site alone, my fifty-plus Christian-based works have been viewed more than 100,000 times in over one hundred countries and in all the states of the USA. The average for my rated essays has been 4.25 out of five stars.

If you are looking for a

biblical scholar to defend every single word, line, or message of the modern-day bible, perhaps my Christian writings are not for

you. I have no theological degree. However, with years of

experience as a Mission Chaplain, I have studied and led Christian ministries in prisons, senior facilities, rehab centers, and Bible Study groups. I mention this not out of pride but to encourage you to write from your

Author's email is

HLS@USA.com

Table of Contents

Christian Thanksgiving

Novels by This Author

Children's Stories

Free Christian Essays

Toss Christian Playing Cards

Author's Notes