Hi Christ Church!

The Christmas season is about to kick into full gear soon!  But first…let's rest in the Thanksgiving holiday.  This is an American holiday - not a worldwide one or a religious one - even though there are some overtones of religion in that the colonists came to this country to escape religious prosecution.  But this holiday is traditionally filled with turkey, stuffing, cranberry, family and of course football! 

So how do we keep the focus on God this Thanksgiving?

It should go beyond just going around the table and saying what you are thankful for - this is a nice thing to do, but this year, let's focus on this passage:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

We rejoice always.  This does not mean we are always happy.  God did not promise continual happiness on earth.  But joy is a fruit of the Spirit - and if we look to God in our challenging times as well as our times of “happiness”, then we will be filled with joy - and we can always rejoice.  We rejoice in knowing that the Lord is always with us, that God always loves us, and that one day we will see Him face to face. 

We pray continually.  This means that we do not pray just when we need something from God.  We do not pray just when we are sad.  We do not pray just during church.  We pray every day.  We pray in good times and in bad times.  Prayer should be an essential part of our daily lives - because God is an essential part of our daily lives.

We give thanks in all circumstances.  We are not thankful we are sick.  We are not thankful we lost a loved one.  We are not thankful for the stress and challenges in our lives.  But we are thankful we have a God that has never given up on us, has never abandoned us, has never stopped loving us.  We give thanks for God’s power over evil - God’s power over the sickness - God’s power over all the bad times.  We are thankful that God sustains us through it all. 

This Thanksgiving, make sure you are rejoicing, praying and giving thanks - for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

Amen.