“Ah Thanksgiving”

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

As I sit in my man cave stadium, getting ready to watch one of my favorite sports team, I ask the questions, if it was only obvious, “What in this sport of athletic contest so engages people that the contest can replace True Worship?  And, what might organize religion learn from the world of sports as we get ready for the Thanksgiving Holidays? Christians have a great story to tell.  Perhaps with some inspiration from the world of sports we will train ourselves to tell it well and excite the crowd by being Obedient to our call to the Gospel message. It’s not up to us to determine what our words and testimony produce, it’s up to us to simply share our story. The outcome is God’s responsibility.

Breaking out of the Miasma (an unpleasant atmosphere) of poverty of the mind is no easy task. First, I’ve been there and I understand. You see the devil throws our sins up to us and declares, “that we deserve death and hell, how do we speak to that? Without a feeling of guilt. Death and hell, do we admit to this? Yes, and what of it is my answer? This does not mean we shall be sentenced to eternal damnation? Even though, many today go to great lengths to assure no one is offended by our boastful words of Faith, and the biblical doctrine which excites me with happiness and joy is considered offensive to some. Is it too harsh, too old-fashioned, too insensitive? As we pass the gravy and eagerly await the main dish of Turkey. Let’s sing a song of thanksgiving. But the wisdom of this world is focused on this life, with no thought of the life to come. By no means, “for I know the name of Grace, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God”.

When the believers of Faith converge to our individual places of sacred soil during the traditions of Thanksgiving with friends and family, their true diversity comes into practice, what unites them is a shared conviction of their practice, the ritual, the devotion of their Trusted loyalty, that unites the fabric of Faith; Woven together into a beautiful fabric of expression of faith and testimony during this celebration as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision.

The Bible is filled with commands to give thanks to God (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 1181:1 Chronicles 16:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)). Most verses go on to list reasons why we should thank Him, such as “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:3), “He is good” (Psalm 118:29), and “His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). (Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful.

Scripturally, we find things related to the issue of thanksgiving nearly from cover to cover. Individuals offered up sacrifices out of gratitude in the book of Genesis. The Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were delivered from Pharaoh's army after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Later, the Mosaic Law set aside three times each year when the Israelites were to gather together. All three of these times [Unleavened Bread (also called the Feast of the Passover (Exodus 12:15-20), Harvest or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21), and the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36) involved remembering God’s provision and grace. 

In the New Testament, there are repeated admonitions to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is to always be a part of our prayers. Some of the most remembered passages on the giving of thanks are the following:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6).  

"Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men" (1 Timothy 2:1). 

Of all of God’s gifts, the greatest one He has given is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt, so a holy and just Judge could forgive us our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift. This gift is available to those who will call on Christ to save them from their sin in simple but sincere faith (John 3:16; Romans 3:19-26; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10). For this gift of His Son, the gift which meets our greatest need, the Apostle Paul says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

May God grant that He may find us grateful every day for all of His gifts, spiritual and material. God is good, and every good gift comes from Him (James 1:17) For those who know Christ, God also works everything together for good, even events we would not necessarily consider good (Romans 8:28-30) May He find us to be His grateful children.

Finally, True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good, and we are told in the Bible to do them). Football moves forward because people get knocked down.  As "pilgrims and strangers in this world" our spiritual task lies in living fully in the moment, not arriving at a state of perfection.  The promise of another game and another season can teach us much about sin and forgiveness, the foundation for genuine self-esteem, Truth in worship, the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. Even at the stadium of your choosing The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Remembering it’s not about you. 

Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.

Sports attributes can give us some wisdom for the spiritual journey:

·       be driven to improve every day as we join Jesus on his mission

·       It takes discipline

·       it takes focus. ... 

·       It takes commitment. ...

·       It takes Forgiveness, love and Grace

Lord I don’t know what you want me to do today, but you are my Joy as we are reminded about Thanksgiving.

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Be My Guest”

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and you staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

Perhaps no passage of scripture has been used more often to bring solace to a hurting heart than this one. This means that God is with us and his presence comforts us. It means that wherever we are in whatever situation, we are not alone. Being alone and being lonely are two different things and is so dispiriting that has you feeling perplexed with a feeling of utterly being alone. You see from my encounter, those who suffer seclusion, experience depths of despair emotionally expressed in Jesus heart-breaking cry on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 The reason for Jesus to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It could be that Jesus’ intent in quoting Psalm 22:1 was to point His hearers to that psalm. When they read Psalm 22, they would no doubt see the many fulfilled prophecies included in that song of David. Even while experiencing the agony of the cross. 

There have been times during my faith journey where I have felt, being alone and being lonely. I would wonder what is causing this loneliness and what is the cure to being alone without being lonely, and being lonely in a crowded room. What a state of mind, such an emotion brought on by feelings of separation from other human beings. Those were the times when I had difficulty believing God was with me. A deep sadness that came within my mind with the idea you are alone in the world especially after a lost and needing someone to “Be My Guest”; thoughts of not having a friend, that no one cares, that no one is concerned about anything that might happen to me/us, that no one would care if we were to die or shed a tear over our grave. 

Thoughtfully, was Jesus teaching the crowds and proving yet again that He was the Messiah who fulfilled the Scriptures?

When connecting meaningfully with others who are suffering, keep it simple. Say hi, It’s good to see you. Your next move may be silence, just a listening ear or you could touch the person with a warm hug, depending on your relationship with them. My advice, don’t start with, How are you? You could say, “Fill me in on what’s been happening.” But what helped me the most was when the friend was quiet and Listen to me. You see listening much more than talking leads to victory in caring.

No one felt loneliness more keenly than David. In a series of earnest, heartfelt appeals to God, David cried out in his loneliness and despair. His own son rose up against him, the men of Israel went after him, and he was forced to flee from the city, and leave his house and family. Lonely and afflicted (Psalm 25:16) his only recourse was to turn to God and plead for mercy and God’s intervention (Psalm 25:21) because his only hope was in God. It is interesting to note that the word “lonely” is never used in the New Testament to describe people. In the New Testament, the word “lonely” only occurs twice and both times refers to desolate places (Mark 1:45); Luke 5:16)) where Jesus moved off into the wilderness to be alone. 

Whatever the cause of loneliness, for the Christian the cure is always the same—the comforting fellowship of Christ. That loving relationship with our Master has reassured and encouraged countless thousands who languished in prisons and even went to their deaths for His sake. He is the friend who “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24) who lays down His life for His friends (John 15:13-15), and who has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We can also take part in community with others by participating or sharing in the sufferings of a brother or sister loneness. You may never be more Christlike than when you participate in this loneliness and sorrow of hurting world, wrestling with the pain and providing the comfort of community as you model the life of Christ in ministry to others, you become Christ to hurting people.

We can take comfort in the words of the old hymn that says it best: “Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He is with me to the end. Hallelujah, what a Savior!”

Dear Lord open my mind, O Lord, to the influence of your blessed Word. Teach me what you would have me know about a loneliness and suffering world. Let knowledge chase away my misconceptions, and let love abound in the understanding I gain. Guide me with a listening heart as I enter the place where they are. Helping me understand it’s not about me and get to know each of them as individuals, even as Jesus knows me. Understanding just being present is sometimes all we need. This I ask in your Son, Jesus. Amen

God Bless You and This Ministry!

“Limit your discerning for the sake of love”?

Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That's an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour. That's incredible. We are overthinking when thoughts about problems, relational issues, and even plans dominate our waking hours. Everyone overthinks occasionally. We may have seasons of overthinking when we are engaged in a major project, such as moving into a house, starting a company or even what we tithe to the church? 

Sometimes the statement “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” is taken out of context and used to support self-confidence or positive thinking. So, if you “think” of yourself as rich, you will be rich. And if you “think” of yourself as poor, you will be poor. As you think in your heart, so you are. Such a faulty interpretation has nothing to do with the context of Proverbs 23:7. This passage advises against taking up an offer that is not genuinely from the heart.

As some of you know, We recently relocated to Ames, Iowa but we continue on occasion to visit our former church in Denver, Bethlehem Lutheran Church. (Plus, we attend some Broncos games, ha ha). When I visit I really enjoy before attending a game the exciting routine of making time with God. By attending worship service as well as men’s bible class because it puts everything in perspective. My mindset is renewed, my soul is filled and burdens are replaced with His peace. It’s the difference between my day being ruled by His Spirit or overwhelmed by the pull of this world. This week the topic was about Tithing, this made me Think?

The bible class starts with a brief video about tithing. Then we start with questions,” What does tithe, mean to you”? Why do we tithe? Do you know of people who go into debt to tithe? For most it takes a leap of faith to speak about tithing, “Thinking about bills to be paid expenses you haven’t thought of yet, and your fingers shake as you pray, God let there be enough at the end of the month.”? Our ultimate thoughts are, “Tithing is about trusting God, and trusting God is a journey”. But I couldn’t help but think about the Law? The plethora of details about tithing must be addressed. It consumes our thoughts for a time and we even get pressure from it. Thinking about giving to the lord is good, but overthinking can turn a simple God honoring matter into an overly complex one.

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus embodied the perfect balance between grace and the Law (John 1:14).

 Every day of my life I am guided by the Holy Spirit to guides my search of Scripture, with wisdom, truth and the heart so/we can “study to show ourselves approved unto God” (2 Timothy 2:15) and discover the beauty of a grace that produces good works.

Malachi 3:9-10 is often used to teach the need for Christians to tithe to local churches today. That passage reads, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Does this teaching apply to Christians today?

The context of this passage concerns the Israelites not bringing their offerings to the temple. Because of their disobedience, God had judged them with a small harvest. 

 It also teaches, that the Jews were to give a tithe as part of the temple worship, but it does not teach that Christians are to give to churches. Malachi was written more than 400 years before the start of the first church in Jerusalem. Applying its command of temple giving to the local church takes these verses out of their original context. When there is a discussion about tithing, usually once a year a problem in itself. I have questions,” Are New Testament Christians commanded to tithe or not”? To be clear, a tithe is literally a “tenth,” or 10 percent. 

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of His day, saying, “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” Luke 11:42. 

You see this verse was saying, “Pharisees, you obey the Law of Moses and you tithed scrupulously, yet you do not truly love God. They were challenged to do both. So, in today’s world are we the same? “Why” do we individually ask the question? Knowing that The Law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17). Why did the leaders struggled with whether or not to command these new believers to follow the Mosaic Law? In the end, only a few instructions were given for the sake of peace, but tithing was not among them. Acts 15:19-21It is interesting that the issue In the earliest days of the Christian church was dealing with is still very much an issue in the church today. 

The truth in the New Testament is saying to give freely to support the needs of others (Acts 2:45; Romans 15:25-27) livelihood for Christian workers comes to mind (1 Corinthians 9:11-12; 1 Timothy 5:18), and to expand Christian outreach (Philippians 4:15-16).  No specific amount is ever commanded, and no percentage is suggested. While a tithe or tenth of one’s finances may be a good standard to use for Christian giving, it is clear the early church did not focus on a specific amount but rather on meeting needs.Tithing is God’s management training for man. So, I use the analogy of a swimming pool for my tithing. The shallow end of the pool is the start of tithing as we grow on our faith journey, try Sugar Bear to jump in to the deep end and give back to God what is His. Meaning the tithe is God’s property that we are required to return to Him, however an “offering” is that which we give voluntarily out of our own property after the tithe has been subtracted. As we give our tithes, and give offerings above our tithe to God, He will continue to bless us and multiply our return in proportion to our investment in Him (2 Cor. 9:6).

Further, the early church made it abundantly clear that these rules were not requirements for salvation by reaffirming that salvation is by grace for both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 15:11). How many arguments would be solved if the church today would simply follow the principle set in the past wisdom thoughts—limit your liberty for the sake of love? 

My Living, “Life Verse” today:

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Phil.3:7, 10

God Bless You and This Ministry!