Dear One,

The United States is very blessed to have the national holiday of Thanksgiving! With our eyes upon God’s goodness and grace, we can overflow with gratitude every day and thereby live a rich life. The Scriptures repeatedly encourage us to be thankful.

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:15-17

Yahweh our God has been so gracious to all of humanity it is only fitting that we, His children, have a lifestyle of thanks living that is much more than merely saying thanks before we eat or go to bed or setting aside one day during the year. Our overall demeanor should be an attitude of gratitude, and we should have lives that exude with thankfulness.

According the study of the Scriptures, astronomy, and history, the birth of Jesus Christ was in the autumn season, very probably September 11, 3 B.C. Since we celebrate his birth on December 25, tradition obviously has held sway over truth. The name “Christ-mass” gives a not so subtle hint as to the origin of this inaccuracy. Anyone interested in learning the truth about the date and derivation of Christmas can easily do so using the internet. Nonetheless, that we celebrate the birth of our Lord is a reason for great rejoicing and praise. This would be a good time to study the birth of Christ. A good starting point can be found in my book Jesus the Christ, chapter two, “The Birth”. The gospels reveal extensive praise and thanksgiving connected with his birth.

May God’s blessings abound for you this holiday season.