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DECEMBER 2025 LETTER
Every day is a day to thank the Lord. We can express thanksgiving with a grateful and humble heart. Gratitude only comes when we have the right perspective. It's not about what we have, the season in which we are in, or what we feel. Every day we have something to thank the Lord for. For every minute, for every second, just for the air we breathe, for waking up and going to bed, for our salvation, for being able to see what He has given us and done in our lives. We can thank Him for all of this. When we have this perspective, we can have a grateful heart towards Him every day of our lives, 365 days of the year.
A wrong concept of gratitude is only thanking the Lord when everything is going well, when we are feeling good or when good emotions are brought about. Gratitude is an attitude of the heart, with thanksgiving at all times and in all places. This attitude is reflected in our lives through our thanksgiving towards Him!
Something very significant we can learn from the apostle Paul is that despite the condition of his situation, he was content and had the right attitude towards God in every season he found himself in. His heart was grateful to God, regardless of his circumstances. His joy came from knowing Him and simply from serving the Lord, not from what he possessed, but from carrying out the Lord's work. We can see His attitude in Philippians 4:11-13, Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
This statement from the Apostle Paul shows that he was content simply doing God's work. He knew very well where his strength came from to continue fulfilling his calling to take the gospel wherever the Lord led him. What a powerful testimony this is for us! He was in a state of peace and contentment in the place where he was serving the Lord. We all must reach this place. And we can only attain it when our focus is solely on the things of the kingdom, doing His perfect will, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith as Hebrews 12:2 says.
I believe this state of contentment comes only through our intimacy with the Lord. When our relationship with the Lord is established, we can reach spiritual maturity, and we can see many things from a different perspective; we can recognize that He is more important in our lives. Desires we may have had are aligned with simply doing the Lord's will. That is where our desires shift from one state to another, to doing only His perfect will. Why do I say this? When our gaze is fixed solely on the Lord, we reach spiritual maturity, focusing our attention on heavenly things only.
How can someone recognize the Lord's goodness and always have a heart full of thanksgiving, when their gaze is fixed on the wrong things? They cannot, because their gaze is fixed on things that are not important, and because of this, they will not have a single moment of thanksgiving towards the Lord.
Remember, the true reason for this season is Jesus! Although we don't know the exact date of His birth, one thing we cannot deny is His birth- we celebrate in recognition during this season. We know that He was born for a great purpose of the Father. Through Jesus, we receive redemption from sin so that when we are saved, our lives are to serve Him and to live for Him. Live with a heart of gratitude towards God at all times, in every place, and for all that He has done in your life.
Ephesians 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:6-7 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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