The Real First Thanksgiving

[The Real First Thanksgiving]( Current Teaching Series [How God Blesses Grateful Hearts: A Thanksgiving Message]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [The Real First Thanksgiving]( By Rick Warren — 11/22/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the LORD your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you.” Deuteronomy 16:10 (GNT) The gathering most Americans think of as the first Thanksgiving happened 400 years ago. But 3,000 years before that, God told the nation of Israel to establish a thanksgiving festival called the Feast of Weeks. They were to celebrate God’s goodness and express their gratitude to him by bringing him a special, annual thanksgiving offering. Deuteronomy 16:10-11 says, “Celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honor the LORD your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you . . . Do this at the one place of worship” (GNT). On this original day of thanksgiving, the Israelites were to bring a gift of thanksgiving to the place of thanksgiving—the temples where they worshipped. This thanksgiving offering has been practiced by God’s people for thousands of years and is mentioned many times in Scripture. God says in Psalm 50:23, “Those people honor me who bring me offerings to show thanks. And I, God, will save those who do that” (NCV). The Bible tells us many times what kind of offering we should give: We are to give God the first part of our income—not the leftovers. We should put God first in our finances. Anytime you give an offering to God, it represents three kinds of gratitude: past, present, and future. Your offering shows gratitude for God’s blessing in the past and his blessing today and faith in God’s continued blessing in the future. God always honors faith with his blessing. In the Bible, there are more promises attached to faithful giving and generosity than any other subject. Why? Because God wants his children to be like him. And he is a generous God! Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “If you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you” (TLB). If you’ve trusted Jesus to forgive your sin and save your soul, then you can trust God to keep his promise to take care of you. Your thanksgiving offering shows God that you trust him for all things and at all times. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - If you were to put God first in your finances, what would change about the ways you give, save, and spend? - Once you’ve trusted God to save you from your sin, how does that make it easier for you to trust him for everything else? - This Thanksgiving, how can you show God your gratitude through your giving? The post [The Real First Thanksgiving]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get The Purpose Driven Life: 100 Illustrated Devotions for Children when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( It’s vitally important for children to understand that even before the universe was created, God had them in mind, and he has a special plan and purpose for their life. That’s why Pastor Rick created The Purpose Driven Life: 100 Illustrated Devotions for Children. This inspirational resource presents the principles found in Pastor Rick’s life-changing bestseller, The Purpose Driven Life in 100 devotions that speak directly to the daily challenges kids face. Powerful Scripture passages and engaging illustrations provide real-world applications to help children discover their purpose. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 1 full-length message from Pastor Rick's series How God Blesses Grateful Hearts: A Thanksgiving Message. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: How God Blesses Grateful Hearts: A Thanksgiving Message [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, PO Box 80448, Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688, United States