Holidays

Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Psalm 107:8 Years before Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, turkey was on the menu. William Bradford (1590-1657) noted that there was a great store of wild turkeys used during that “First Thanksgiving” in 1621. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) thought so highly of this bird that he wanted to make it the national symbol. However, there were enough people who disagreed, and the bald eagle won that recognition in 1782. Turkeys are a rather appealing bird, …

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? …

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:1-3   I read those verses today – Father’s Day here in America. I was pretty young when my earthly father died. It came as quite a shock to me when it occurred. I thought things like that always happened to someone else’s family, not ours. My dad really loved trees. Each year he’d get some from the state natural resource …

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to …

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:21-23 My wife recently took a picture of this ornament on our tree. She could not see the flare of the light, but it showed up in the picture. Fascinating. And she …

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus …