Have you noticed the flood of software and tools that are available to help us remember things? I take advantage of many of them because they help me remember birthdays, anniversaries, important events, and even my day-to-day schedule. Can we all admit we need help remembering things?
The Apostle Peter knew we forgot things — even things we’ve known or done over and over. Sometimes reminding wasn’t just about putting back in mind something we forgot. Sometimes reminding was about stirring up something important in the same way you stir up hot coals of a campfire to get the flames re-ignited. Peter wrote, “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:12)
The Lord gave us rainbows so that we’d remember the covenant He established with Noah; that He would never flood the entire Earth again. When you see a rainbow, does it remind you of the grace of God and His covenant with you?
God also gave His people special days and events to remind them of His love, His mercy, and His hand of deliverance from dire circumstances and enemies. We see this in Deut. 16:1-3:
In honor of the Lord your God, always celebrate the Passover at the proper time in early spring, for that was when the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night… Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days eat only bread made without yeast, as you did when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that you will remember the day you departed from Egypt as long as you live.”
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. It is not a day of celebration that God created or asked man to set aside to thank Him. It was a day that the leaders of our nation established. Do you have any idea how miraculous that this actually happened is? Can you imagine a day being set aside today by the leaders of our nation to thank the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the freedom we have and to worship Him freely? Today it would not happen.
The fact that we can still celebrate Thanksgiving despite the attacks upon Christianity is nothing short of miraculous. It also helps us understand how deeply the people of that day loved and honored God.
The following are portions of the text of the Continental Congress November 1, 1777 national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation; as printed in the Journals of Congress:
…It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States, to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December next, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessings on the governments of these states respectively…
So how can we make Thanksgiving more special unto God? Can you plan a time within your Thanksgiving Day — even if just for a couple of minutes if there are those present who don’t think like you — to read a verse and maybe something from history; to remind those with you how miraculous the creation of this day was. And to acknowledge that it couldn’t have happened without the hand of God moving upon the hearts of men?
Can you take a minute to pray — giving God sincere thanks; asking Him to help us return to Him? Pray about it. Prepare for it. You can keep it short. But make it sincere. It counts and will reach the heart of God and affect the hearts of those you are with.
Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.
(1 Chron. 16:35 NLT)
Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.
Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.
Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.
In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.
Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.