Thanksgiving: Count Your Blessings, by Peter Batzing

Unfortunately, the custom of thanking the Lord at mealtime, once a prevalent practice in American life, is fast fading from the scene. Nowadays most people seeing someone bow over food would wonder, "Why?"

How blessed we are if we have health! What is a beautiful home or wealth or an elegant dress without a fit body? Perhaps you say, "My health isn't as good as it once was." Be grateful it is no worse. If you are not bedridden, thank God you can be up and around. If you have recovered from serious illness, thank God, too.

How thankful we ought to be for the use of our five senses, which bring us the delights of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch!

By giving us eyes, God has made it possible for us to see sunrise and sunset, to distinguish between colors, movement, lights and shadows, and to note the outline of live faces and sculptured forms.

How impoverished we would be if we had no ears. Music, the sound of singing birds, the patter of gentle rain on the roof, the howling of the wind and the blowing of snow outside the window, would all be lost. Says the writer of Proverbs, "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made even both of them" (Proverbs 20:12).

And who hasn't enjoyed the taste and smell of freshly baked bread, the fragrance of a blackberry bush, the scent of roses blooming in the spring breeze, the aroma of an apple?

Yes, we should be thankful for blessings of food, health, safety, mind, family and life. But most of all we should be grateful for spiritual blessings, especially for the grace of God in sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die on the cross as payment for the guilt and penalty of our sin. The Bible tells us:

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Many do not recognize that they are lost and headed for destruction, nor that Christ suffered at Calvary to rescue them, so they never say "thanks" to the Savior. How about you? Have you ever recognized your sin, your need and His provision? Have you ever thanked Christ for dying for you? Perhaps now is the time.

Dear Lord, Thank You for dying for me on the cross. I realize that I am a sinner and can in no way save myself from sin's penalty of death. Thank You for paying it for me to secure my forgiveness and for rising again to give me new and eternal life. I am eternally grateful. Amen.