Skipping Thanksgiving?

(This message was originally published on November 9, 2013) Last month, I heard a news report about how Halloween is now second only to Christmas in regard to the impact it has on the United States economy. It appears that Thanksgiving has taken a back seat!

In stores, you will notice that the transition has begun or has already taken place from fall merchandise to Christmas-related merchandise.

Interestingly, our cable provider transitions on November 1 to playing Christmas music. Now, I love listening to Christmas music. But a thought occurred to me just the other day-are we now skipping Thanksgiving?

John Grisham wrote a book titled, Skipping Christmas. But it actually seems more probable that Americans are more likely to skip Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a biblical concept and a key characteristic of the Christian life. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are thankful and grateful for our salvation, for the Word of God, for loved ones, for God's calling, and so forth.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 instructs us, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

I'm struck with how that Scripture tells us to give thanks IN everything and not FOR everything. We can give thanks IN everything because the Lord Jesus is with us and He promises never to leave or forsake us. "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

Mark your calendars. Don't skip Thanksgiving!