Happy Thanksgiving!

It is Thanksgiving morning. Sportakiss the elf is once again on the shelf; I'm surrounded by Tiff, Ethan, and our fur babies; biscuits for breakfast are in the oven; cup-o-coffee is in my favorite mug; the Macy's parade is on the TV (in HD, no less); we're getting ready to head to mom's for a Thanksgiving feast that will be so grand she called to tell me to bring my own to-go containers; I get to spend the holiday with my brother, sister, and all my nieces and nephews; I'm taking a quick peek at facebook and see lots of thankfulness; and everywhere I turn I am made aware of the power of God's love that not just directs my life, but shapes it. Yes indeed, there is a lot for which to be thankful! So know how thankful I am for all of my friends, my family, my church peeps, my Savior, and yes, even the challenges that cause me to grow stronger and stronger. 

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day as you pause, identify, and reflect over the many things for which you have to be thankful! And as you celebrate, remember those who are serving our country; protecting and caring for our communities; are working today to make our lives safer, easier and/or more convenient; and especially for those who spend this holiday missing a loved one.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

(This was originally a Facebook post from Thanksgiving morning -- 11/28/13 -- that I wanted to post on my separate blog)

Are You Thankful?

I have a pastor friend who occasionally takes a unique approach to offering a blessing before a meal. Instead of asking everyone to bow their heads and then offering a prayer, this pastor will intentionally look each person in the eye and ask, “Are you thankful?”

The first time I experienced this, I must admit that it caught me off guard; for my entire life, I either bowed my head and sang the children’s prayer, “Thank You, Father,” said the “God is Great, God is Good…” prayer, or shared in a spoken prayer either memorized or extemporaneous. Needless to say, expressing thanks for a meal in this fashion was unique for me. And you know what? That’s a good thing!

It is easy for us to get into routines with the way we offer thanks, and if we aren’t careful, we begin to take for granted the things for which we truly should be thankful! There are times when some unconventional ways to express gratitude are just what we need to help us remember how grateful we should be for all that we have.

I have read a couple articles recently that take another unique approach to helping people consider their gratitude for the blessings of life. The articles present a hypothetical idea that if tomorrow you woke up and were only able to experience the blessings for which you give thanks today, what would you have? Poignant question.

During this Thanksgiving season, many of us will take the time to express our gratitude for the blessings in life. Perhaps around a dinner table tomorrow, we will take turns sharing the things for which we are thankful. We will undoubtedly share things like friends, family, food, health, employment, God, grace, Jesus, and the like, and we should! This is precisely why we need holidays like thanksgiving, so we can pause, identify, and reflect over the blessings we have in life. But imagine what tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, would be like if you were only able to experience the things for which you give thanks today! What would you have? What would you miss?

I don’t know about you, but this idea has really challenged me to be more thankful on a daily basis for the multitude of blessings in my life. And as I gather with my family tomorrow for our traditional Thanksgiving feast, and am pressed into service for offering the blessing (after all, it is what I get paid to do, as a dear sibling once said with a wink and a smile) I think I might just take a page out of my pastor-friend’s book and offer a non-traditional way to begin our meal and ask all who are gathered there, “Are you thankful?”

But you know what? Why wait until tomorrow? I truly am thankful for my life and all the blessings I enjoy – those that bring me comfort as well as those challenges that cause me to grow – so I am going to give thanks today for those things and not wait until tomorrow!

Are you thankful? I know I am.

May God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!

From Thanksgiving to Thankful Living

We are barely a week away from Thanksgiving…can you believe it?! It is as though I can feel the power of the holiday beckoning me, calling me forward, as a way to remind me not just who I am, but whose I am!

Even though our Thanksgiving holiday is purely American, the notion of giving thanks for our blessings is not. Throughout history, God has called us to pause, identify, and reflect over the many blessings in life. So as we prepare for our Thanksgiving holiday next week, I hope you are getting ready to pause, identify, and reflect over your many blessings.

Speaking of these blessings, I read a quote that gave me pause. W.T. Purkiser once wrote:

Not what we say about our blessings,
but how we use them,
is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.

I love that quote, because it bears the active nature of what should be our Thanksgiving celebration. It isn’t merely about a couple days off from work or school, a giant meal with a turkey cooked by the FOCUS Youth as a centerpiece, or football games galore, but it is about recognizing the blessings in life and doing something with them…not taking them for granted, but allowing them to help us shape the way we serve, share, and shine for the Lord! This view of Thanksgiving should take root in our lives as thankful living.

As we prepare for next week’s holiday, how are you preparing to measure your own Thanksgiving? It is certainly appropriate to pause, identify, and reflect over all God and others have done for us, but consider how you might do something with those blessings for God and others as well. When you do this, your thanksgiving truly shapes your living. Consider the words of Apostle Paul from Colossians 2.6-7:

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (The Message)

It is my heartfelt prayer that you have a blessed and marvelous Thanksgiving! It is also my heartfelt prayer that your thanksgiving spills over into thankful living as you pause, identify, and reflect over your blessings, and then do something with them to make a difference in the world for God and in the lives of others!

Momentum

I am a big sports fan. One of the things that makes watching a sporting event so exciting is momentum. Momentum is what you can consider an intangible part of the game, but when watching or playing, momentum is palpable. When your favorite athlete or team is doing well, you can feel the momentum build…it draws you to the edge of your seat, gets you to your feet, and helps you cheer a little louder. When your favorite athlete or team isn’t doing as well, you also can feel the momentum wane…you sit back, your heart races, and you fear the worst. Professional golfer, Rocco Mediate, once said, “As any athlete knows, momentum is the most unstoppable force in sports. The only way to stop it is if you get in your own way, start making stupid mistakes or stop believing in yourself.” Momentum might be an intangible, but when it shifts, it really is palpable!

Momentum isn’t just evident in sports, but in many aspects of life; and yes, this even includes the church. We experience momentum when we see vision realized, missions accomplished, and lives turned toward the Lord. When faced with momentum challenges in our lives and church, remembering the Great Commandments – to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12.30-31) – and the Great Commission – go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus] commanded (Matthew 28.19-20) – is essential!

There is a great story in the book of Acts that speaks to me about momentum in this sense. It occurs in Acts 9 when Saul of Tarsus was blinded and convicted by Jesus, then converted to become the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian missionary of all time. Before he was Paul, Saul of Tarsus was an enemy to Christianity. He was devoted to seeking out followers of Jesus and putting an end to them. As a result, people were afraid of him, and rightfully so. But as Jesus changed Paul’s heart on the road to Damascus, he sensed a shift in momentum that forever changed his life. This does not mean that everyone was comfortable with life change, but Paul’s encounter with Jesus left him undeterred. Check out this verse: But their suspicions didn’t slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah. (Acts 9.22, The Message).

As I read that verse, I cannot help but think of football and a running back plowing through the defensive line with his teammates leading the way. Everyone on the offense is unified with one goal: working together to reach the end zone and score the touchdown. And once the running back “breaks the plane,” the culmination of that momentum shift is realized…people jump to their feet, arms raised in the air, and voices cheering in unison. If you think about it with your favorite team about to win the big game, you can almost feel the energy and excitement can’t you?!?!?

We have the opportunity in our daily living to be momentum-builders for others. When we put others’ needs before our own, it can make someone’s day and change someone’s life! Have you seen the story of the Olivet Middle School football team that is going around the Internet right now? It was featured on the CBS evening news; you can watch the 3-minute video below. 

Think about how the selfless acts of those young football players changed the momentum of not only that one child’s life, but everyone’s on the team!

I want to encourage you to build a little momentum for the Lord in your life by pointing people to Jesus. Often times we think it takes big things to accomplish such change, but in reality, we are often moved most by the little things…the simple things. So find someone in your life that needs a little Christian love, serve them and show them the love of our Almighty God! And you never know, it might just be the greatest thing anyone could ever do!

Rescued!

I saw a true story on the news that occurred in California. There was a former US Marine heading out on some errands with his cocker spaniel, Honey, locked in her travel kennel in the back of the car. As the driver was backing out of the driveway, he lost control of the car and plunged into a ravine. The driver was seriously injured and feared the worst. After being pinned in his car for several hours, he grew painfully aware that he might not make it. It was then he knew he needed a miracle.

The driver was able to shift his body in such a way he could free a hand to reach the dog’s kennel. In tremendous pain, the man was able to unlock the kennel and free his dog. As Honey looked curiously at her owner, the man told her to go get help. And off the dog went.

The dog walked for quite a distance until coming upon one of the neighbors. Somehow, the dog conveyed to the neighbor that there was trouble, and in typical Lassie fashion, led the person back to the wreckage and her owner in great peril. The neighbor was able to get help to the former Marine and this story has a happy ending. But what makes this story even more extraordinary is the man had only owned Honey for two weeks after adopting her from a rescue shelter.

What a story. I wish I could know what was running through the minds of the man and dog in the midst of that crisis. Luckily this story ends well with the man and dog even on the rescue scale. But each and every one of us needs to be rescued by One with whom we can never get even on the rescue scale.

The Bible tells us that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3.23) We, therefore, are all in need of rescuing. And in Jesus, God sent us exactly what we need for salvation. In Jesus God gives us the sweet gift of forgiveness for our sins. And we can rest assured that God is actively seeking us out, looking for that one special moment to pluck us from the perils of sin and certain death into life eternal. This might seem like a miracle, but there is no end to the length God will go to save those He loves.

Once we are rescued, we need to start living like it! We need to embrace our salvation and with God’s help avoid the pitfalls of life—you know what they are for you. This brings to mind the word repentance: accepting God’s love in Jesus, turning away from an old sinful life, and not returning to it; living a life of repentance forces us to be aware of our weakness and asking God’s help to keep away from those things that put us in peril. And in every day since our rescue, live according to the love of the One who delivered us from our doom.

Honey the cocker spaniel was well aware of how it felt to be rescued. This motivated her to find help and rescue her owner, playing a major role in the miracle. As people, when we’ve been rescued, we owe it to others to share the life-giving power of a rescue by offering them Christ. And then model a rescued life by not returning to the ruins of our old lives, forever embracing the new world of hope and love before us. In so doing, we become part of the miracle; a miracle that forever changes life and provides the hope necessary to live anew for the LORD.

“God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons.
He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much,
the Son who got us out of the pit we were in,
 got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.”
(Colossians 1.13-14, The Message)

The Cycle of Generosity

We just completed  our Abundant Joy campaign! I have heard a lot of very positive feedback, and I couldn’t agree more! The purpose of the campaign was to help encourage and empower us to be generous with our lives, and as a result, experience the abundance of God’s amazing love. As we considered ways to holistically give our lives to God in this series, we explored:

-          Giving God our time: devoting our day to the Lord so He can guide us;

-          Giving God our worship: we are going to worship something, so we need to give our worship to the ONE who truly deserves it;

-          Giving God our service: we each have been blessed with talents and spiritual gifts to use in GOD’s kingdom;

-          Giving God our Generosity: using our financial resources to bless others and point them to God.

Of course, if you missed any of the messages in this series, you can watch them on our web site by clicking here: http://www.cokeschapel.org/sermons4.html.

This past Sunday, as we brought our series to a close, I talked about what I call the cycle of generosity. As we think about generosity in our personal and corporate lives in the church, understanding this cycle is important: all of our resources come from God and God wants us to use our blessings to help and connect with others, enabling us to introduce them to God. This reminds me of the great quote by William Barclay, “What is needed in this world more than anything else is something which will link a man to his fellow men.” This cycle is captured in Paul’s writing to the Romans:

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; everything happens through him; everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes. (Romans 11.33-36, The Message, emphasis mine)

I am so grateful for…and continued to be amazed by…the generosity of this church! Throughout the series we celebrated the various ministries that help us connect with others and point them to God. From our daily ministry in the church, community, and Childcare Center to our special offering for the Bibles and hymnals to go to Mozambique (we raised over $2,700, shattering our goal, meaning we’ll be able to provide a combination of 270 Bibles and hymnals to the Liberdade United Methodist Church!!!), the generosity of individuals and families has enabled our church to be generous for the purpose of changing the world, beginning in our own back yard. And friends, let me tell you, God is blessing this! Hearts are being touched and lives are being changed in our midst by the light and love of God in Christ Jesus! And isn’t this what it’s all about anyway?

I want to thank everyone who has so far given a commitment card for your estimate of giving to God’s ministry through the church. The preliminary reports from the first Sunday of receiving the commitment cards is really encouraging! So far, we have received 36 cards pledging $163,000 to the Lord! I also want to thank those who are still prayerfully considering what they will give. We will be collecting these cards the next couple of Sundays (though we can really take them at any time), so there are still opportunities to share these estimate of giving cards as an act of worship in one of our services. Of course, if you cannot make it to worship, please feel free to contact Velda Graydon or the church office and we will do everything we can to help in your own personal ministry of generosity.

I am going to sign-off this week with a Proverb that has helped guide our campaign and messages over the past month. May this Proverb help us all remember what is we are called to do; who it is we are called to serve; and how we fit into God’s plan for bringing hope and help to the world!

The world of the generous gets larger and larger;

the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;

those who help others are helped.

(Prov.11.24-25, The Message, emphasis mine)