Always Time for Thanksgiving!

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time of year, beloved! Even as I write these thoughts to share with you, family members have arrived at our home and others are en route. I've got my "Grandpa" sweatshirt on and I'm ready to romp with grandkids. I love Thanksgiving!

God loves thanksgiving as well. More specifically, God loves your thanksgiving and mine! In fact, so vital is our thankfulness to God that He has commanded us to be thankful. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints in Thessalonica, we are to give thanks "in everything." Not for everything but in everything. No matter what we face in life - good times, bad times, happy times, sad times - we are to be thankful in heart and give thanks to Him.

And the realm in which it is God's will for us to give thanks is "in Christ Jesus." Within the realm of who Christ is and what He has done we find ample reason to give thanks from a grateful heart. You see, beloved, we can truly be thankful in every situation of life, not necessarily for that moment or its circumstances, but for the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and that everything happening in our world is moving steadily toward that ultimate moment when "every knee shall bow" and "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

So as I anticipate the arrival in a couple of hours of more family members, I can be and actually am excited and so very thankful. Thankful for the blessings of life and family, thankful for the blessings of precious time spent together, and thankful most of all for the God who loves me and has redeemed me and who is in control of all that happens.

In everything give thanks. This is Thanksgiving and a glorious time of year it is! But how truly thankful are you, beloved, as you get ready to celebrate this precious holiday? The good news is that not only are we to give thanks "in everything" but because of who God is and what God has done for us we can truly be thankful in every situation of life and give Him the praise and honor and glory He so richly deserves. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And by the way, let me just take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am to God for each one of you who has blessed my life by taking the time each week to read these devotional thoughts. What an encouragement you all are and I praise God for you!

Ron