Thanksgiving

Michael Bimbo Ojelabi, M.Sc.

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;

who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

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Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;

so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psa 103: 1 5).

At in-gathering offerings and celebrations, we give thanks to God for bountiful harvests and
joyfully celebrate as family and congregation worship the Lord for the successful completion of
another season.

Though their first winter in the New World was hard, tough and difficult, the Pilgrims and many
early settlers took the spring to learn from Native American Indians how to cultivate their new
lands and adapt to their new home.

The peace pact between the settlers and the natives gave a peaceful atmosphere that colored
their first in-gathering celebrations in the fall of 1621, and thus the first American Thanksgiving.

In truth, and indeed, there was always something to thank the Lord for.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6,7)

In 1881, one of the great historians of the Yoruba People, the Rev. Samuel Johnson, the
Anglican Pastor of Oyo, described my great-grandfather, Pa Jonathan Ojelabi, as the foremost
Christian gentleman in his town.

Grandfather Emmanuel Ojelabi , a man of stupendous wealth and influence in his days, left his
wealth and immense connections, prepared a trust, and prepared a master plan to care and
cater for his family, as he embarked on Christian evangelistic campaigns across the northern
part of Yoruba land.

Preaching in various towns and villages, and teaching people about the love of Jesus Christ,
Grandpa Emmanuel Ojelabi died in the course of these missionary works, and was buried within
the courtyards of one of the churches he helped to set up.

His offspring thrived and remain in Christianity till this day. We thank Thee O Lord!

Dad and Mum were Roman Catholics, and so were we, the children. It pays to serve Jesus! Let
people see Jesus in you.

I give thanks to God today for a good life, a happy family, a kind, understanding, and loving wife
and godly children.

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It has been a wonderful experience in life for salvation, justification, and the great hope of
eternal redemption.

The greatest experience of any man is his transformation from a Gentile into one of the
partakers of the blessings and covenants of God, through the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ.

The blood of Jesus was shed for all men at Calvary, and as many as claim it by faith unto
genuine salvation becomes the children of God..

That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
(Eph 2:12,13).

It is great to understand that God loves me so dearly and gives me the wonderful gift of Jesus
Christ for Salvation, full redemption, for sanctification, and the blessed hope of seeing Him
when He comes for His elect..

Right from my days at the St. Marys Catholic Mission School, life has provided me with caring
tutors, Jesuit Priests and Nuns who taught and schooled me with creeds and dogmas, seasoned
teachers, wonderful schools, and very rich elementary and tertiary education.

All these have worked together to fashion me into a godly parent, a loving husband, a mentor
unto others, and a useful influence onto children, families, other people and organizations.

This is not just a coincidence but rather the unmerited work of Gods grace and the wonderful
benevolence of God to another one of His undeserving human beings.

God I thank you.

Jesus I praise you.

God performs His wonders in mysterious ways, far beyond our understanding, to care and cater
for us. All we need do is to thank Him and praise Him always.

Heikki Koivu was once the MD, Managing Director, of Perusythyma, the Finnish Civil
Engineering Construction Company, where I started my working career.

Armed Robbers attacked one of the project sites of the organization where I was the
Accounting Officer. Though the thieves missed their target loot, the monthly salaries and
wages, but the Police arrested me and locked me up as their prime suspect.

Heikki Koivu trusted me, took special flight to site from a far distance when he was informed,
and went through a rough ride with the police to get me released.

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However, the police vehemently refused to let me go, but Mr. Koivu spoke glowingly of me and
stuck out his neck to sign all necessary papers that led to my release from detention.

Three months afterwards the robbers were caught in their attempt to cash some Thomas
Cooks travellers checks stolen from us during the robbery.

Mr. Heikki Koivu was proved right and I was vindicated. It was the grace of God at work.

Had Mr. Koivu not taken that risk, my life would have gone in a different direction, probably
pitched with gangsters and criminals. I sincerely bless the Lord for the kindness of this Finnish
gentleman.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; (Psa 23:4).

Dr. Donald Eickner, in his inaugural address to college freshmen, taught me how to place good
value on time, and how to make the best use of every passing moment.

Write down your achievements in the past five years, and then explain what you seriously
want to achieve in the next five years. Work hard and pray hard about it!, the college
President taught me.

I graduated from college and Graduate School to become a Project Manager where time and
planning are key tools all the time. Many thanks to Dr. Eichner, and glory to God Almighty!

Though I was born into a family of strong dedicated Christians and strong believers, Professor
Johnny Manassian led me into a better understanding of the Good News the Gospel of Christ.

The Armenian Seventh-Day Adventist lecturer proved to me that no one get saved or
converted into Christianity by virtue of religious background or lineage, but through a personal
encounter with Jesus Christ.

Dr. Manassian showed me Steps To Christ, and led me truly to my Savior.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (Joh 8:32).

Many thanks to you Johnny Mannassian!

Not much of a swimmer, I was caught off-guard once at an ocean brook and within very shallow
areas of a quiet sea beach as we went for a swimming spree after a difficult and tough college
semester exams.

I was actually drowning and was almost lost at sea, but for the grace of God and the prompt
intervention of good friends, who rushed and swam deep to rescue me and revived my life. I

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give a million thanks to those wonderful Loma Linda College friends and course mates who
saved my life at sea.

For what else are friends and friendships, than that a man lay down his life for his friends?
There is no greater friend like Jesus Christ.

I was a Graduate Assistant at the Lebanese American Universitys graduate School of

Management to Professor Robert Polhill. In January 1987, the famous and highly principled
American Professor of Accounting was kidnapped along with three other lecturers in Beirut,
Lebanon, by religious fanatics.

Somehow, I also became a prime target for kidnap because of my closeness to the American
Professor and being a non-Arab student.

Professor Polhill was very fond of me as a lecturer, boss, friend and counselor. I went
underground for a while, but realizing that all things are possible with God, I came out of
hiding and hit the lecture halls in faith, praying and trusting God for His intervention.

To the glory of God, I graduated from school in fine colors, and Professor Polhill was released by
his captors in April 1990 after 39 months in captivity.

All things are possible with God, glory to His holy name.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?12095-1/news-conference-released-hostage-polhill

Talking of friends, I surely have them plenty, and across the nations.

Friendship is good when your friends are true!

Korion came from Armenia, Barn is from Lebanon, Newborn is an American, Phillips is from
Trinidad and Tobago, Murray is a Canadian, Tabingo is from the Philippines, Balcha Gizaw came
from Ethiopia, Takeo is Japanese, Burgess is English, Emilio is Argentine, Gramkow is German,
Luigi is Italian, Zekry is from Egypt, Sonig is from Syria, Errki is Finnish, Ccille is French, &
more.

Of my friends, I can truly say, That man had nothing and gave me half of it, and we both had
abundance.

You may not be rich or wealthy, but if Jesus makes a great difference in your life, then you must
be living a rich, peaceful, victoriously virtuous and abundant life. No friend like Him.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

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Gods only begotten Son came to change your gloom to brightness.

He has come on wounded feet to roll out your ailment and smooth your scattered sickbed.

Christ enters your life with spike-pierced hands to soothe your pain with His balm and His
precious blood, shed on the cross at Calvary, for your thorough cleansing.

Jesus Christ washes away your grief and discomfort with His undefiled living waters.

Demonstrate your faith in Him, accept Him, and pray unto Him to take you in, and He will.

People, when they first come to America, whether as travelers or settlers, become aware of
a new and agreeable feeling: that the whole country is their oyster. (Alistair Cooke).

My friends, across the world, became agreeable to me and friendly, not because of me or any
virtue, but largely because the Grace of God allows us to be pals and guys to each other, with
that unique friendly affection seasoned with empathy. Go, and do likewise!

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

In one of his many Letter From America, Alistair Cooke said; It has been an unchallengeable
American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a

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delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it.
(Alistair Cooke).

With love and affection will every American family gather together around the family dining set,
on Thanksgiving Day, to dine together, making the turkey and cranberry sauce, seasoned with
the love of the family that binds, the essential ingredient and meal.

Second Monday in October is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, but the holiday falls on the fourth
Thursday in November in the United States of America and some parts of the Caribbean Islands.

Thanksgiving Day culture or tradition actually began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of
the harvest and of the preceding year. It is good to thank people and praise the Lord from time
to time.

Whatever need or challenge you may have in life, you only need to taste and see that the
LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

I want to thank God for my Dad; he died June 1975 at 75, when I was very young and tender.

I always thank God for Him, a nice and kind man, who taught me to pray, to know God, and to
attend early morning mass.

Dad regularly prayed with his family early in the morning and at night, every single day, except
when he travelled, and that not so often. Mum religiously took up that practice after the death
of our father.

It is indeed a spiritual practice I gladly took up as soon as I got married and started my family.

Dad taught me Christian virtues and good manners, to be meek and lowly like Jesus, to love
from the heart, be good and support the needy. He bought me many good things, especially
My Book of Prayer, and a Rosary from the Vatican in Rome.

He taught me to be bold, honest, to have faith in God, and to be myself.

I thank God for Mother Dear, my loving mother, always looking after us and caring for us, her
children, and relatives. She is a faithful Christian woman amongst women. A woman of
substance, still caring as she always does, even in her nineties!

I thank God for my brothers, and my sisters, the senior ones helped me to be good and become
somebody, when Dad was gone. When people talk of sibling rivalry, I speak of our cooperation.

I thank God for my wife, my helpmeet, who left the shores of a thousand miles to prove her
love and true affection for a simple man like me. Shes always there to help, to love, and to
support me.

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So quickly, some spouses are so sorry enough to quit, packing it up and separate or divorce.

The unmerited and undeserved grace of God gives me a wife who has so much faith in Christ
and the kind heart to accept me for who I am, to cope with me, and to cheer me up when I feel
low.

Thirty odd years of marital relationship may not have been a great milestone, but I thank God
for keeping us together these odd thirty years. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Gen 2:24, Mat 19:5,)

I thank god for giving us a home, despite the racial and cultural divergences. Truly, my wife is a
testimonial that black and wife marriages works, and work wonders with Jesus Christ in the
midst.

God give us Christian homes!

Homes where the Bible is loved and taught,
Homes where the Masters will is sought,
Homes crowned with beauty Your love has wrought;

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I thank God for my children, The Threesome Talents, who gives me the joy of parenthood, and
that of a caring father.

Children are a great heritage, and makes me glad whenever they say Dad!!, either asking for
something, looking for something, or trying to say something from the heart.

The kids, as they grow from infancy through childhood and adolescence forces you to learn how
to pray in total Faith, to learn to say that it is well , when it was not really cool.

By hanging upon faith, that a sick little child will come out of it bouncing and bubbling, is key to
our faith in Christ Jesus, because all things are possible with God.

I grew up in a family full of strong men and women, mostly Christians; trained literate men and
women. The family stead was always a beehive of activities and celebrations, especially at
Christmas. Its our version of Thanksgiving Day.

The Ojelabis - a family and a clan, resting upon the Power and Faith of Christ Jesus What the
Lord hath wrought. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any
divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What
hath God wrought! (Num 23:23).

I thank God for the Ojelabis, at home, abroad, and in the Diaspora.

Of course, not every Kennedy is a star, nor all Roosevelts are Presidents, the Ojelabi Family is a
great family, a fantastic clan, a peculiar people.

Most of all I give glory to God for the marvelous grace to be a Christian and to be glad in sharing
it, to be born-again and to gladly belong to a family of believers who are earnestly contending
for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

We all love life, and we all prefer to have and sustain the good life.

However, there is only one life, and pretty soon its fleeting hours will be done.

Life has many bad routes, and lots of wrong ways, useless ideas and devilish ideals.

But life has only One Right Way The Way of the Cross, only one Truth, and one Light.

Only those who ply the Masters Highway of Holiness will be redeemed by Him at His next
appearing, for the Rapture of the Saints.

My Christian Family of Heaven-bound Christians helps me daily in Quiet Time, Searching the
Scriptures, in hearing the unadulterated and undiluted Word of God at Monday Bible Studies,
Revival meetings and Sunday Worship.

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I am thankful to be part of them by His grace because each of these people are looking for a
city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, a Kingdom which cannot be
moved.

I thank God for my Pastor, the General Superintendent of the Church of God and believers in
Christ, teaching us to live and uphold holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord.

Going to one particular church or another does not necessarily mean going to Heaven. Many
church leaders and pastors have deviated from the Faith and departed from the Gospel Truth.

My Pastor, as a godly anointed true Father-in-the-Lord, my spiritual Overseer, my counselor,

and my best friend, teaches me, preaches unto me, and pray for me daily that Christ might
redeem me from all iniquity, and purify me unto Himself as a peculiar person, zealous of good
works.

His utmost desire and goal for me is that I must belong to the fellowship of a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; to shew forth day-by-day
the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:

How about your fellowship and your pastor?

Today, Thanksgiving Day, as we savor the turkey and cranberry sauce, amongst families and
friends, let us not lose sight of the Blessed Hope of Christs soon appearing to take home all
those who are faithfully waiting and watching for this great re-union of all the saints
triumphant.

The true essence of life and the major reason for our existence on earth is to so live in order to
be part of the Saints Triumphant. I hope, pray, and strive to be one of them, and wish same for
you.

Oh give thanks to The Lord; Call upon His name;

Make known His deeds among the people!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His steadfast love endures forever! (1 Chr 16:8,34).

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