by Desiree Bustamante

Don’t Throw Thanksgiving Away With the Leftovers.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Today is Black Friday! Shopping! Shopping! Shopping! Putting up the Christmas lights.  Decorating the tree.  Watching the holiday’s final football games. Finishing up the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is OVER!

But giving thanks to our Lord for His many blessings should never be over. Giving God praise and thanks from the depths of our souls cannot be reserved for one day or a Sunday in church. The practice of Thanksgiving dwells deep in our hearts every day – an expression and outpouring of our gratefulness to God for his many abundant blessings, forgiveness, grace and mercy.

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
    Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
Psalm 100 New Living Translation

So while the beauty of Autumn is a fading memory and you might begin preparing for Christmas in some way today, make room for ongoing thanksgiving in your heart. Just as the Lord endures forever, so must our thankfulness and praise to Him be never-ending.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO