Thanksgiving: True Compassion and Gratitude

Thanksgiving: True Compassion and Gratitude           by Kelly Durant 11-19-17

I John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but indeed and in truth.

2. How many of you have ever seen beggars? I mean hungry ones with very sad faces? There are a lot of them in South America and each day I had to have a few pesos ready to give out. If you don’t help you are going to feel very bad thinking about how you did not help someone in need! Right? But you can always observe hundreds that do not care at all and just walk on by!

The first Pilgrim Colonists in 1621 in this country were literally dying of hunger after arriving to this land from England. They arrived in the summer and did not have time to plant for the harvest and they had no provisions for the winter. Immigrants seem to always have a hard time no matter where they move to! Right?

A Cuban I shared a coffee with one time told me he was so poor when he got to Miami that he would catch pigeons on the beach in order to be able to eat! Sometimes we are unaware of how poor some people around us actually are! Also, never judge, appearances deceive!

3. We can be thankful for Thanksgiving Day because it has shaped Americans as a culture to remember to be grateful to God and to be compassionate! Americans have historically been one of the most generous helping people on earth giving over 260 billion to individuals or charity each year! Half of that goes to churches! This is one reason why Satan has been working so hard to divide and destroy our faith and this country! “Tolerance” the past few years seems to apply for every type of religion and all types of evil but “tolerance” is not offered to Christians the ones helping ministries with 130 billion a year! But Satan controls multi-trillions through his despots!

The Native American Indians, and historically most cultures in the world, have a tradition of celebrating the fall harvests which sustains them through winter. Even pagan European cultures knew there was a God that provided and they had festivals as well. It was Pres. Abraham Lincoln that made Thanksgiving Day an official holiday in 1863 to, as in his words, “remember Almighty God”. But it had been celebrated for over 150 years prior to that!

4. It is amazing how the Indians showed compassion on these new strange white immigrants. Everyone today should celebrate this act of compassion and gratitude to God and should express gratitude to our remaining noble Natives! Thanksgiving Day should be a day in which we recognize God’s mercy through others and this should prompt us to show compassion on someone less fortunate in our society.

The essence of being a Christian is that we are supposed to live out compassion and gratitude in our every action, and often we do may meet others that know and practice it innately because they are spiritual. All people still have a God consciousness (as mentioned in Romans 1) and God sees all. How much more Christians must do it!

The scripture of today, of showing compassion, was in its essence being practiced by a people that at that time were be called ‘savages’. Interesting God’s humor in how He used so called “savages” to save the Christians from hunger by throwing a big party and feast! But that set the stage for how every immigrant should be compassionate ever since that Thanksgiving day!

5. This nation, founded by Christians, currently still lives with this standard and tradition of compassion and it is established as an example for all generations so that we must keep the tradition going always be compassionate and feeding and caring for others. I would like to suggest that when we show the less fortunate compassion that we not forget that this includes the widows, the homeless, and the immigrants. (the ones the Bible names repeatedly)

But for the cold hearted and compassionless, hear this warning: Proverbs 21:13  Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

These Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe gave an example of how all people can without any discrimination of race and class appreciate one another, love and share, and thank God that He is keeping them alive! The best way to connect is to share a meal with someone!

6. Think about this, God feels deep pain when he spares lives and then later these same people become proud and greedy and forget Him! In other words, God gets angry and judges severely people who are non-compassionate and unthankful!

Where do we find evidence of this? In the O.T., Moses freed 6 million Jews from the slavery of Egypt and how did these people respond? Did they praise Him every day? No! They complained constantly against God, they built idols to worship any god except the One who had saved them! Their punishment was to wander lost 40 years in the desert and never reach the promised land!

God has a way of judging and destroying the nations that are unthankful to Him! All the world’s super powers of the past, Egypt, Persia (Iran), Greece, and Rome, look at them today! They are still bankrupt, in turmoil, and divided! They have been cursed for several thousand years now because their people became aggressors to steal, enslave, and exploit instead of being people who were loving and giving, compassionate worshipping God!

7. Many Native tribes were peaceful and loving and spiritual, but others were war-like and they would invade and kill everyone in the peaceful tribes. This was the same scenario as in Europe where the white tribes of peaceful people were invaded by Vandals, Vikings, and other barbarous war like Caucasian people. Today those past aggressor’s powers have disappeared. And why is that?  Because it was prophesized by Jesus in Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  But there are still not enough meek ones yet! The evidence is there, God humbles or He exalts nations! It’s all in accordance to how much they obey God.

Are we becoming a nation that is more overrun by greedy deceitful aggressors that will scam and rob and even kill old ladies to steal? Are we as a nation losing our protection and blessings from God because too many people have stopped being compassionate people who thank God for their lives? How have Christians gone wrong to be deceived to follow false doctrines?

8. Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. I propose to you that as many as half of today’s so called Christians are no longer reading and following Biblical principles but rather they are following men and teachings that are filling them with bitternesses and destruction.  Many so called churches are now accepting false ideas and politics and the erroneous liberation theologies. They want justice, but in their own revengeful way and it is painful to see these deceptions at work making people divisive, unfriendly, and isolated.

We believe that the despairing needs of others is solved by obeying Jesus example, and that is having a heart to God and a hand to man! We help as in I John 3:16!

Yet the modern trend is to believe that social justice, which may or may not include caring for the poor, should be by force and carried out by imposing on the prosperous ones steep penalties, taxes and laws so that it permits the shifting of the wealth to themselves. Covetousness is against God’s law but many break it. This is a sign of the times. Listen to what the anti-christ will do.

9. Daniel 11:24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

What it amounts to is Satan has always wanted to prove He is as good as God to show compassion. Satan wants to appear compassionate! God’s way is the sacrificial way, the laying down of your life for others, the giving of your time, talent, and treasure to others giving them the gospel of salvation in love due to your gratitude to God.  True Christians willingly share with those in need!

10. Satan’s imitation of compassion is destructive and like the warmongering aggressors. Historically between Russia, China, and the rest, 100 million or more have died under atheist Communism. The lie of all lies is that the government under some despot dictator who says he cares for the poor is going to really care for the poor. He robs from the rich but never really shares it. It never happens! We have not seen a model of true compassion happen yet. We have witnessed Russia, China, Vietnam, N. Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela as they give crumbs to the masses of people while the leaders live in ultra-luxury.

 Jesus exposed Satan in John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

God’s compassion is not bound by a race, religion, or place. Jesus example of the Good Samaritan points this out!  Compassion must be put into practice by those that know God or otherwise the world’s (or Satan’s) idea of compassion becomes a method of oppression and destruction!

11.The world can be divided into 2 types of people, the Satanic self-righteous condemning greedy destructive and imposing types who want to take from you, or the sharing spirit –filled caring sharing and loving type that thanks God for everything. Which type are you?

In the end, you are either practicing compassion from God or you are not! If not, then you are comparable to the soon to disappear war-like selfish people of the past that forcibly took what they coveted to consume and destroy. Only the meek will inherit the earth!

Only Jesus love can change hearts that are hell bent on stealing, invading, killing, and disrespecting other races and cultures! These atrocities still continue on today in the world in our metropolis mega cities, and in all countries everywhere. Let’s practice sharing with all! Let us pray for a return to a thankfulness to God and a practice of real compassion! The practice Thanksgiving today is needed more than ever! We must thank God for He is limitlessly good!