How true! That is why our God is so very specific about His way. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6) Even throughout the Old Testament, our loving God set up many landmarks along the way. Do you remember the story in Genesis 28? After the Lord had revealed Himself to Jacob in a dream, Jacob set up a pile of stones at Bethel, the very gate of Heaven, as a reminder for future generations of God's provision and of their responsibility to be thankful. Israel did this many times. When the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River and passed over into the Promised Land, they piled up stones at Gilgal (Joshua 4). It was to be a memorial--a place where future generations could remember what great thing God had done and be thankful for it. In 1 Samuel 7:12, we read about another pile of stones, and this one is called Ebenezer, meaning "our helper". In fact, this is the memorial that most influenced us to name our church "Christ Our Rock Bible Church" for, indeed, Jesus alone is the Stone of Our Help.

Thanksgiving Day was intended to be one of those places of remembrance. A woman by the name of Sarah Hale longed to see such a day--a day for the entire nation to give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow. Through endless letters, newspaper articles, and pleading with three U.S. Presidents over a period of ten years, she finally gained a partial victory--a Thanksgiving Day in 29 states. But then came the dark days of the Civil War and no one would listen to a plea for thankfulness amidst the blood and strife. Except for one man. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving Day nationwide. In part, he said, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God! We have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these things were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us."

Let's set up a pile of three stones this Thanksgiving, and thereby, remember our God. Let the first one be PRAYER. When we hear of pilgrims, we think of black hats and muskets, but rarely do we remember they were a godly people who left England AND persecution in order to worship God in His way. Their road would be a very hard one, as it will be for any who truly follow the Lord (Matt. 7:13,14). In 1623, they planted corn, but they no sooner got the seed in the ground and they ran out of food. They prayed daily, "Give us this day our daily bread." And that prayer was always answered--daily! With a single boat and net, they caught fish. When that failed, they dug in the sand for shellfish. In June, their hopes for harvest were nearly blasted when the draught withered the corn. They all expected to die.

So, they set apart a day of humiliation and prayer, on which they worshipped for eight or nine hours. By that night, a gentle rain began to fall and the drooping corn revived. Let this Thanksgiving Day be a day of humiliation and prayer. Pray for the Living Water, which is Jesus Christ (John 4), to "reign" down on you and yours. Pray for true salvation. Pray for the true church to leave the entertainment and the fulfilling of self behind and get serious about following Jesus in His way. Pray for His guidance in your life, as well as daily provision for all your needs-- not desires, but daily needs.

The second stone to be piled up is the WORD OF GOD. All other blessings flow from this landmark. Awesome and wild in its sweep, the Bible covers the total range of human experience. It contains language that is earthy and direct, as well as some of the sublimest poetry. In fact, many of our greatest writers have achieved their greatest success by doing little more than rewriting Scripture. Hundreds of years of archeology have never disproved it, only confirmed its every word. Sixty-six books, over forty authors, and more than three thousand years in the making-- and it all says the same thing-- Jesus is God, and you're not. Thank Him for that!

The third stone to go up this Thanksgiving is TESTIMONY. If you are truly thankful for the Cross of Calvary and all that God has done for you, it will show in your life. The word "thanksgiving" actually comes from an old English word that means "thanksliving". Thankfulness will be lived out. Years ago, a missionary gave a few pages of Scripture to a Native American Indian. He read them and gave his heart to Jesus-- he was born-again. He proceeded to find one of the missionary's footprints, measured it, and made a magnificent pair of moccasins for him. He then traveled 200 miles on foot to give them to the missionary as an expression of his gratitude.

Paul told the Thessalonians, "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." No matter your circumstances, whether they be easy or hard, give all thanksgiving to God. If you are thankful, you will not only say so, you will do so. We are not saved by our giving of thanks, but it will flow from a saving faith in Jesus Christ (James 2:26). This Thanksgiving Day, set up the landmarks of prayer, the Word of God, and testimony for all to see. Don't keep them all tucked away in your van- -get them out, follow them, and you won't get lost. Remember--Jesus is the only road God wants you to take. Thanks be to God!