Thanksgiving

What are we thankful for?

Somewhere in time, December of 1621, the pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving.  This was not the first time a day of thanksgiving was celebrated in America, but it was the time our tradition was built upon.   The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in November of 1620.  They were completely unprepared for the harshness of the coming winter and even though they hurried to build shelters almost half of them perished before the coming spring.   

With the beginning of spring came help for the Pilgrims.  A Native American named Samoset appeared and he spoke English that he had learned from fishermen and traders.  He saw their plight and brought another Native American to live with the pilgrims and teach them about agriculture in the new America.  This man’s name was Squanto.  Governor Bradford said that Squanto was a “special instrument of God for our good… and never left us till he died.”  Squanto also became a Christian because of the witness of the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims recognized it was by the grace of God and the help of their new friends that the harvest that year was bountiful.    The pilgrims and other early settlers, kept the tradition of having a time of Thanksgiving in the fall and they offset this with a time of prayer and fasting in the spring. 

President George Washington and congress issued the first federal Thanksgiving proclamation, declaring in part:

                Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor…”

Thanksgiving was a day that each President made a declaration for, but the days varied a little from President to President.  It wasn’t until 1941 that Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday in November the day set aside to celebrate Thanksgiving in America. 

Thanksgiving in America is about food, family and friends. These are the basic things we celebrate.  Others add football to the mix, I put planning my black Friday shopping to the list.  It does not matter how we celebrate, all that matters it that we take time out to be thankful.  Not just for stuff, but for life.  The first pilgrims were celebrating that they would survive the next winter. 

I was listening to World News in the morning and they had a chef cooking Thanksgiving in a town almost destroyed by the recent tornadoes.  What struck me about this interview is the words of a Pastor.  This is not word for word, but the essence of what he said.   He said, this is a great Thanksgiving for us.  We now realize what we have to be Thankful for and it is not stuff.  Imagine losing everything.  Suddenly you become thankful that you and your family are alive and have food to eat.  That is what the Pilgrims were celebrating. 

If you want more information about Thanksgiving, or any other fact that deals with American History, click on the link below.  It will take you to Wall Builders.com.  This is a source of true history for those interested.

http://www.wallbuilders.com/

The next big Holiday for us is Christmas.  I will be decorating today. Yes it’s early, but I can’t wait to get started.  Christmas is in a way a day of Thanksgiving also.  If Christ had never been born, he would never have died to save us.  Salvation is truly something to be Thankful for.

I found this little video, it is the 90 second version of the Thanksgiving story.  I hope you enjoy it.

A Sermon in Three Points

Sunday’s thoughts


Somewhere in time, November 13, 2011 – I went to church, just like any other Sunday. One of our Pastor’s verbalized what I believe most Pastor think and that is they hope that the congregation actually retains some of what he preaches on Sunday. I understand that need, I used to be a teacher and I always wanted my students to retain at least a portion of what they learned past the next test. So almost one week later, I am going to recall the essence of the Sunday sermon. Of course, the sermon will be interspersed with my own thoughts and ideas on the subject, so you can’t blame my Pastor if you think it’s off base.

We have been studying John, this week, Chapter 16. The scenario for this Chapter is Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples. He knows the crucifixion is coming, but they have no idea. So here is my version of a three point sermon.

1. The Christian life is not meant to be static. Many times we find ourselves in a groove of the mundane. Doing the same things over and over and I know that is part of life. I go to work five days a week at the same time, sit in the same desk etc, but that is not what defines me or validates my existence. Our walk with Christ should never be that way. It should be dynamic and always changing. If God is not working on some element of your life right now, than I would be concerned.

2. The God we worship is a trinity. Three in one. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was set to be crucified, he knew that God the body would be leaving, but God the spirit would be coming. In a way this is better. While it would be so great to have Jesus to sit down and talk to, Jesus could not be everywhere at all times and the Holy Spirit can. This is a concept that many people struggle with. I make sense of it this way. I am made in the image of God. I have a mind, a body and a spirit that will go to heaven when I die. God has the same, only he can divest Himself of his three parts in order to reach humanity. That is pretty cool.

3. John 16: 7-8 (NIV) “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to instruct and convict us. It is not our job to convict the sinner of their sin, it is the job of the Holy Spirit. I am especially glad that is not my job. Since we are all sinners in need of God’s grace, we all need to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit instead of trying to convict others. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is not done. As we study God’s word, the Holy Spirit is that still small voice that speaks to our spirit and helps us to grow and change in our faith, this is the righteousness part. Something we could never attain on our own. We also know that when we die, we will face judgment, but because of the sacrifice of Christ, our debt has been paid.

Now that we know all of this, what do we do with it? For one, we should know that the Christian faith is unique. You don’t just come forward and commit your life to Christ and consider that the end. No that is just the beginning. Other religions that I am familiar with, the walk of faith is guided by a list of rules. You work hard, you do what you’re supposed to and maybe you will get to go into paradise. With Christianity, it may appear that we have rules as well, but really it should be about a relationship. Having a relationship with God means that as we know more about Him and want to be more like Him and the desires of the sinful nature lose their hold. It’s never gone entirely, but you will notice sinful habits loosing appeal as you move closer to the light of Christ.

The Crucifixion gave us a way of salvation that is not based on our merit. God knew we would need it. It also freed up the path for the Holy Spirit to come and work in our lives. This working made us aware of God’s grace, because no matter how good you or I am, we will never be good enough on our own to make it to heaven. We need the sacrifice of Christ to pave the way for us. Our job now is to tell others about our experience and let the Holy Spirit work with them.

As with all good sermons, there has to be special music to back up the point. Enjoy the video.

So Long Self

The Battle Within

Somewhere in time, November 10, 1988, I married my husband Bill.  This week we had some time off work and we took a few days to get away.  It was fun and we went to the zoo and did some walking.  One of my husband’s favorite CD’s to listen to when we travel is the Mercy Me Tenth Anniversary greatest hits CD.  They have a song called, “So Long Self.”  I am not sure how long the song has been out, but we have owned this CD for quite a while.  The message of the song is a fun reminder that our human nature is sinful and we battle against this to choose God’s nature and not our own selfish nature.

The chorus of the song is as follows:  So long self, well it’s been fine, but I have found somebody else.  So long self, there’s just no room for two so you are going to have to move.  So long self, don’t take this wrong, but you are wrong for me, farewell, oh well, goodbye, don’t cry.

I like the song, it is pretty fun, but I don’t think we often realize we are in a war.  We live in a world that constantly pulls at us to give in to our human nature and not the nature God gives us.   I know in my life, I deal with this battle every pay date.  Money is not a bad thing and it certainly helps to pay bills and buy food, but when I have extra, what is my first inclination?  That is the war between the flesh and the spirit.  My first inclination is what I can get for me.  I have a coupon for Kohl’s etc…  My first thought is not, where can I give this extra.  I know that Phoenix Rescue struggles to give Thanksgiving to hundreds of homeless and poor families here in Arizona, but that is not my first instinct.  I know that Samaritan’s purse reaches all across the world and operation Christmas Child is a big need this time of year.  But again, that is not my first choice.

This struggle is not unique.   Paul mentions the struggle in Romans 7:15 (NIV)  “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”  Galatians 5:17 (NIV) “ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 

Jesus went off to pray because He knew his crucifixion was imminent and He told the disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

By default, we choose things that satisfy our flesh and not our spirit.  We wage a constant battle with in ourselves between the spirit of God that lives in us and our human desires that we were born with.  It takes time to have the things of the spirit take precedence.  The longer we follow Christ, the better we get at winning the war, but the struggle never ends.    

I call my selfish nature, my internal Diva. That is the one that thinks I should be driving my new Camaro down to Kohl’s and using my thirty-percent off coupon.  The side that listens to the spirit takes the 2009 Hyundai that I am still making payments on to Wal-Mart to buy groceries.  Not that owning a Camaro is bad, but it depends on what your focus is on.  Should it be on our wants or the needs of others?  I have realized that my impulses are bad, so I should not act on them.  When I take time to stop and think, then the still small voice of the spirit can remind me what is really important in life and it has little to do with my car or my clothes.

Each of us struggles, but if we realize we are in a struggle, we have won half the battle.  I hope you agree with me that it is time to say, so long self.

Crazy Enough

The Commandment to Love

Somewhere in time, Approximately AD 60-65, the disciple Matthew wrote what we now know as the gospel of Matthew.   Last year, Mercy Me put out an CD titled “The Generous Mr. Lovewell”.  I hope you are wondering what the two have in common, well both have a section that tells us to love.

Let me give you Matthew Chapter 6:47 from the Message Bible. “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love you friend’, and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that.  I’m telling you to love your enemies.  Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.  When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God created selves.  This is what God does.  He gives his best – the sun to warm and the rain to nourish – to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty.  If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?  Anybody can do that.  If you simply say hello to those who great you, do you expect a medal?  Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.  In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow-up.  You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live out your God-created identity.  Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

I like the Message Bible for a different presentation of familiar scriptures.  I especially like that it tells us to grow-up.  This particular passage, I have read this many times and I always kind of by passed it.  I do not hate anyone, so I am doing well.  I assumed, but lately I have really started to think about this.  Is indifference a form of hate?  I don’t know, but I can assure you it is not love.  While I did not hate anyone, I was indifferent to quite a few and that is not love either.

At work, I had to come up with a song that I could share with the group. I think they were trying to build morale.  I had just purchased the Mercy Me CD, “The Generous Mr. Lovewell”, so I picked a song from there.  The words below are the lyrics from that song.

 Crazy Enough

Call me crazy.

But what if we learned to love our brother for nothing in return.

Oh how the rules would change. 

Reaching out to the ones who need help. 

Treating them as you first would treat yourself.

Now that would be insane.

It may just be crazy enough  to work if we could only love.

What if we somehow changed the world?

It may just be crazy enough.

It is so strange to think that one day we will truly see everyone the same.

Oh, could we be so kind.

To sing along when life’s playing their tune.

And cry with them when their heart’s broken in two.

Have I lost my mind?

It may be just crazy enough to work if we could only love.

What if we somehow changed the world?

It may just be crazy enough.

Oh, have I gone mad believing that love still has a chance?

It may just be crazy enough.

It is amazing to me how God can use a song to send me a message.  This helped me change my perspective.    If every Christian, chose to love as Christ loves maybe there is still hope for us to change the world. Something else I read helped me to understand just how important it is to God that we love others, not just the ones that love us. 

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) “Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love you neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

All the Law and the Prophets, everything we consider a rule or a commandment can be handled, just by truly loving. In my Christian life, if I just concentrate on loving God first and then loving others, everything else will fall into place.

My assignement for myself and everyone willing to take the challenge.  Find someone that really is not loveable and reach out to them in love.  It may just be crazy enough.

http://youtu.be/LfmNKmB-Ap8