As I was reflecting this morning on being thankful, one of the things that I am so thankful for is that God pursues us. We may not think about this often, but it is an important quality about God that sets Him apart. In most other religions, the seeker has to constantly try to reach out to the god, hoping to appease him or her. Not so with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is constantly striving to draw others to Him.

And what’s so neat is that it doesn’t stop with our salvation. No, God is constantly calling us to Himself, to a deeper, fuller, richer relationship with Him. Our initial acceptance of Him is only the “top layer” of our journey with Him, and if you stop there, you’ll miss so much more. As we dig deeper, God reveals new facets of Himself, new truths to be discovered, new joy to be experienced, and new work for us to do. We learn deeper prayer that gets to the heart of Him.

And what is the greatest of all, is that we can never get to the point where we can “outgrow” God. He has infinitely more in store for his pilgrims than we know. The deeper we dig, the longer we stay on the journey with Him, the more we’ll discover about Him and ourselves.

Happy Thanksgiving! Continue on your spiritual journey with persistence, just as the Pilgrims taught us so many years ago.

Pray on!

“Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve always loved the story of the Pilgrims traveling by the Mayflower to America. I especially like how the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims to survive that first devastating winter—it was a time of peaceful coexistence before trouble started between these two groups.

To celebrate Thanksgiving of 2011, Mary and I are having a Thanksgiving contest. We’re giving away a prize to one adult and one student who leave a comment on this blog. All you have to do is share with us in the comment section about something you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Even if this has been a difficult year for your family, think of one thing you’re thankful for and tell us about it.  By focusing on the blessings God has given us, we can change our attitudes about our circumstances. We’ll randomly choose one adult winner and one student winner from the responses we receive. Be sure to leave your name. We’ll announce the winner on the blog, and then the winner will need to e-mail us your mailing address.

What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Thanksgiving and pray on!

(The painting is called “The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris, courtesy of commonswikimedia.org.)

Thanksgiving is a holiday that seems to get lost in the frenzy of black Friday and the coming Christmas celebration. However, we can change that. Let’s use this opportunity to really celebrate Thanksgiving by taking the time to reflect on the many ways God has blessed us. What are you thankful for this year?

For each person who leaves a comment on this blog, we’ll enter your name in a drawing to win a prize. Tell us what you’re thankful for and check back at the end of November. We’ll post the winner’s name on the blog. If you’re the winner, I’ll need to get your address to send you the prize.

Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to count your blessings!

Pray on!