Some Thoughts About Thanksgiving

 

 

It’s hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is coming next week!

Wow, another year has flown by; it seems like we just did this…

I think that of all of our holidays in America, I like Thanksgiving the best.  I think it’s my favorite because it is a day set aside for all of us to remember all of the ways in which God has blessed us.  Giving thanks to God for His blessings is a basic part of what it means to be a Christian, and it is something that we should be doing on a daily, even continual basis; it is the foundation of humility and service to God and Man… it is utterly indispensable.

Being thankful requires humility, and humility leads to service and thankfulness.  I cannot imagine starting off a day without consciously thanking God for His blessings and giving Him the praise that He is due. I cannot conceive of a person having a relationship with Him absent the sense of awe and wonder that leads a person to a continual attitude of thanksgiving… can you?

To keep this short, let’s just agree that on this year’s Thanksgiving Day that we will not lose sight of what we are pausing to remember: That God has blessed us in countless ways, and that we as His humble servants wish to give Him all of the credit and glory that He has earned.   As we spend time with family and friends, feasting, laughing and enjoying ourselves, may we keep perspective about what Thanksgiving is all about: Giving Thanks!

The Greatest Gift of All

I thought that it might be a good idea to re-blog this post from last October; it’s one of the very first on this blog, since we celebrated Resurrection Sunday yesterday.  Why is Jesus’ resurrection an amazing and awesome thing?  Here’s an idea…

What is the greatest gift you have ever received?

There could be quite a few answers to a question like that; for me, the greatest gift I’ve ever received can be summed up in this picture…

This picture is called “The Resurrection”

There are others that have the same idea behind them…

You might think that these really don’t look like the resurrection pictures you’re used to, they usually look more like this:

There is one major difference between the first three and this last one: The last picture is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the first three are the resurrection of ME and YOU!

OK, in all four of them, the artist is giving his guess of what it would look like, so I wouldn’t claim that the scene will match exactly… not that I really care.  The fact of the resurrection (of those of us in Christ) is the point here.  The day is coming when all of us who are in Christ will arise from the dead to live with Him for eternity.

Now you’d think that this certain knowledge would have more of an effect in the Christian life than it does, wouldn’t you?

Most of us struggle through life full of worries and stress; we get all caught up in the stuff of this world… jobs, our boss, the kids, the bills, the house and all the rest.  A friend of mine put it best in a seminar when he said,

 ”Have you ever looked up at the stars on a clear night in the country?  There are millions of them; more than we can count, and every one of them is as big as our sun.  Just imagine the vastness of God’s creation: it literally defies comprehension… and yet most of us go through life worrying about what others think of us.”

Just consider the wonders of God’s creation:

How can we not be affected by its awesomeness?

Now consider the gift of eternal life… if God can make the heavens and the earth, then why would we have a problem with eternal life?  When we accepted Christ, we inherited the gift of eternal life.  With this gift, we have the certainty that just as Jesus Himself rose from the grave, so shall you and I…

Don’t life’s headaches seem a whole lot less significant?

Where are you going?

Where are we headed?

This will certainly have an effect on which aircraft we board for the trip!  The plane at the gate is headed for Houston, the one to the left is going to Spain…

The planes in the picture to the left are going to domestic (US) destinations, while below that is a plane that goes to Italy…

Or Ireland…

As Christians, is our destination just a matter of hopping a flight?

Hardly!

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

(Philippians 3:20-21)

Ultimately we are citizens of a greater Kingdom with a hope that is vastly superior to anything this world can offer; let all of us give it the priority that it deserves!

Would day-to-day life be better if we kept our citizenship and destination in mind, thought and deed every day?

I would imagine so…

A Bridge to Hope

So many people these days are feeling like there is little or no hope for the future.  Some are feeling desperate for financial reasons; it’s been a rough economy for the past 3 years.  Others feel like the love they’ve always craved is out of reach, and others are under the yoke of drug or alcohol abuse… and of course there are other reasons for a feeling of hopelessness.

If you’ve ever felt that way, and most of us have had our dark times, it would have been so great to find a bridge to get from your hopelessness to a place where your life has something to grab hold of, where life seems like it is beginning to turn and you can see your way into a better place.  Let’s be honest, as much as I might like to give a one size fits all answer, there isn’t one.  Each situation has so many pesky details…

What I can tell you is where to find a point of beginning; the place where you get on that bridge that goes to Hope: Ready?

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16)

If you are already in relationship with Jesus Christ, run to Him!

If you are not already in relationship with Jesus Christ, run to Him!  Talk to someone who can tell you about Him, read blogs like this one that can shed light on Him:  Come and see!

Before too long you’ll look out and see that you are on the bridge to Hope.

As White as Snow

There’s something about fresh snow that’s sort of comforting, although it also seems a little dangerous at the same time.  Yes, it is cold, and it can be uncomfortable physically, and heaven knows I’m not all that crazy about shovelling it; in spite of all that there is a comfort in seeing it.

It does have a nice way of covering the brown of winter… not to mention the left-over fall leaves, and it all looks so very clean.

The clean look of fresh snow is more than just in covering up the ground with a fresh white covering, it is representative of something much more profound… and a little scary.

Fresh white snow is mentioned several times in the Bible in connection with the righteousness of God and the purity of His Word, and I don’t know about you, but to me there is something slightly intimidating about that since I am so acutely aware of the fact that I just can’t measure up to His standard.

The comfort, however is greater than the danger, for in Christ we too can be made to “measure up”.  Not, of course, by our own work but instead by His.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  (Isaiah 1:18)

Our sinfulness and imperfection, our unholy thoughts and motivations, our inadequacies and unfaithfulness are made white as snow by the blood of Jesus Christ.  It doesn’t matter than I am my own worst critic, it doesn’t matter than somebody might not like me or that I might stumble and fail.  What matters is that our Lord has taken care of all of that ‘stuff’ and in God’s sight, by His great mercy and love we are as white as snow in His sight by and through Jesus Christ.

Since Jesus has done this for us, doesn’t it motivate you to redouble your efforts to live a life pleasing in His sight?

Peace for Christmas

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

(Phil. 4:7)

When you watch movies about Christmas, you almost get the idea that there is something magical about it, but sadly, this really isn’t true.  In fact, this attitude results in quite a bit of disappointment and sadness.

There is no magic about Christmas as a date on the calendar.  But there is great power in the One whose birth we celebrate.  It could be that most people just behave better at this time, once the shopping, preparation and craziness is over and they can sit back and relax.  Maybe for some, their humanity is more visible; the truth is, I don’t know.

Here is what I do know: Peace comes from relationship with Jesus Christ, and we celebrate His birth at Christmas.  If you desire peace in your very soul, you must develop your relationship with Him, for peace comes not from without, but from within.  Seek Him, cherish your time with Him, and live for Him; peace from deep within will be your reward.

Glory to God in the Highest

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

(Like 2:14)

Thus sang the host of angels the night that Jesus was born inBethlehem.  The shepherds who witnessed this were dumbstruck.

The eternal plan of Almighty God was beginning to unfold; Magi in a manger were a rare sight, but angels singing in the desert was rarer still!

Shepherds were at the bottom of the social structure of the day… why did the angels announce the birth of Christ to them and not to the king?  And, why was the King of kings born to an unknown girl in a stable instead of to someone in a high station?

I’ve heard countless ideas; here’s mine:

Those who lived at the bottom of society in those days were not filled with pride at their earthly status; they had no status.  They were not full of themselves; they were ‘nobodies’ as far as society was concerned.  Jesus came to save those who would be willing to follow God.  He came to set us free from our sins…

Those who are satisfied in themselves, their positions, their riches and in what they think they are lack the humility to follow God in fact they probably don’t see any need for God and would prefer to forget all about Him.  In order to follow Christ, we must put self aside and serve Him.  How can we do that if we are at the center of everything?

O Come O Come Emmanuel!

Image via Wikipedia

This Christmas carol contains the essence of the yearning of a people for a savior.  “O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel”

Hold on, wait!  Ransom…?

Yes, Ransom. Israel was in slavery to sin; so are we.  Being held captive to sin, living in rebellion against God because of sin… yes, “ransom” is exactly the right word.

Jesus came to this earth to pay the ransom for our release from this bondage, and He did so by giving His life for us.  By giving His life for us, He paid the price for our redemption, and by doing this, He took away sin.  Yes, I know that this is a familiar story, but it isn’t the whole story…

In a nutshell, we were living in rebellion against God from the time of the fall of Adam.  All of the rest of the Old Testament tells the story of God working to rebuild the relationship that was lost, and progress was made, but fellowship was never restored between man and God until Jesus paid the ransom for our sins.  This is the indispensable act that makes the resumption of fellowship between man and God possible.

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel has come to thee O Israel!

Related articles

• Aftermath: Rebellion and Hope (lifereference.wordpress.com)

Light of the World

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(Matthew 5:14-16)

Image via Wikipedia

You and I: We are the light of the world!

Our light however doesn’t simply come from our own ‘greatness’ but rather, it is the reflected light of the truth of God.  If we fill ourselves with Christ, if we fill ourselves with His love, His righteousness and His attitude of service, then we reflect these attributes to a world that is desperate for them.  But wait… isn’t that easier said than done?

The answer to that question is a definite “maybe”.

If we are willing to put self aside, to serve others and to immerse ourselves in His Word, then it isn’t so difficult; in fact it will come naturally.  On the other hand, if we can’t get over looking out for number one, or always putting self first… or if we are simply too busy to pray and study God’s Word, then we will never grow enough.

With that said, the choice is ours.  Will we commit ourselves to something greater than self, or will we live in a small world dominated by the unholy trinity: Me, Myself and I?

Would you like to live a happy, full and satisfied life?  If so, reflect the light of God’s love.

Related articles

• Living in the Light (lifereference.wordpress.com)
• The Light of the World (lifereference.wordpress.com)

Want to save the world?

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

(John 3:17)

Have you ever met someone who was out to save the world?  Such people are very enthusiastic, very driven, and mean well for everyone.  They often go into the law or journalism politics, teaching, or medicine and they are full of ideas to help society.

They are also taking a different path to salvation than the one God set about.  The world we live in has lots of problems, and I certainly don’t need to remind you of them, but the one over-riding problem that the world has, the one that is the cause of all of the others is that people in our world are not living in relationship with the God who created them; this is how God intended to save the world.

You can play a significant role in saving the world, by becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ.  Doing what He would do, knowing what He taught us and putting it into practice in your life will show the way for others to enter relationship with God.  This will come about not by your flowery words, but through the example you set and the way you live.  Dare to answer God’s call