Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving! It is my favorite holiday. Somehow our society has managed to spare this holiday of the commercialism given to Christmas and even Easter. By virtue of its name, we are reminded to be thankful for our blessings.

It is such a family time also. I heard on the news today the large numbers who will be traveling 50 miles or more to be with family tomorrow. We will travel 500 miles round trip to be with Bruce's family. There will be a gathering of 50 or more including four generations of extended family. We will hug and laugh and eat and catch up on each other's lives since last Thanksgiving. As I look around the room, I will thank God for the rich heritage and blessing of this family.

Many of the Psalms entreat us to give thanks to the Lord. Psalm 100 tells us to enter His gates with thanksgiving. In Philippians we are told to be anxious for nothing but to pray with and attitude of thanksgiving. How can we not be thankful for all things when it flows from our heavenly Father out of the bounty of His grace and mercy?

Our blessings cannot be counted, but let's go to God in prayerful thanksgiving today, beginning with the salvation we have through the blood of Jesus Christ. May we recognize God's blessings in our lives and may we be thankful.

Friday, November 21, 2008

There is a candy dish on my desk filled with soft peppermint balls. Those who spend any time in our building know this. The reactions to this offering are varied to some degree, but they all carry an element of delight. Children enter my office with their eyes focused on the candy, then look up at me and back at their moms to silently ask if it is all right to take one. Adults spot it, say, "Oh, this is just what I need; may I?" I pop way more into my mouth in a day than I should, but that pure sugar is so good!

I got to thinking about how we greet this candy compared with how we approach the study of God's word. Jeremiah says, "Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts." (Jeremiah 15:16) Ezekiel 3:3 says, "He said to me, 'Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you." Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth." From Psalm 34:8 we hear, "O taste and see that the Lord is good;"

Now, of course, we are not literally going to eat the Bible, but we are certainly to study it and to internalize it, to gain sustenance and strength from it. Even though at times God's word is convicting and speaks of judgment, there is still a sweetness because it is God's word. It is only as we delight in it that it becomes "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Changes

Well, it seems that although we have enjoyed a distinctive fall, it is not lasting long. When the temperature dips below freezing, we call that winter here in Montgomery. Christmas decorations have been out in stores since Halloween and I was greeted by Santa Claus at Publix last night. Constant change. These specific changes happen routinely year after year. We can pretty much depend on them.

Life changes come on a regular and irregular basis. Some of these changes are welcomed (the birth of a baby) and some are not, and even dreaded (death of a loved one, financial loss). How thankful I am that through all these changes and the effects they have on our lives, our God remains constant. Hebrews 13:8 tells us "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever". In Lamentations 3:22-23 we read, "The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness."

Just as we know that we can depend on the seasons changing, we know that we can depend on the constancy of our great God, His faithfulness, and daily mercies. He will take us through these life changes for His glory and our sanctification. Praise be to Him forevermore!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Fall Musings

It seems everyone is commenting on what a great fall we are having this year. The beauty of the turning leaves reflects God's glory and causes us to pause and thank Him for His creation. Someone said to me yesterday, "We are having a real fall." It amuses me that I, along with many others, are amazed (and thankful) when fall or winter or spring are distinctive seasons here in our part of the South. Summer is always distinctive and often invades the other seasons.

I pray that I might be a distinctive child of God and that I might show others what a 'real' Christian looks like. Alas, the reality is that often I am not distinctive, that often I allow the world to invade my thoughts, my attitudes, my actions. Today my prayer will be that I will reflect God's glory and that I will bring honor to Him as His creation and His child.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Little Things

It is the little things that trip me up, that challenge my faith, that cause me greatest regrets later on when the Deceiver brings them to my mind again and again. It is the critical word that jumps out and attacks, the passing on of “harmless” gossip, the negative thought that comes unbidden but is allowed to take root with destructive potential. It is saying yes to one more thing than I can manage or saying no to something I really should do. It is not attending to the important and then having to deal with it as it become urgent. It is missed opportunities – little moments when I could have blessed my husband, my children, my best friend or the cashier with the sad face at the check-out counter. It is pride that rears its ugly head so often.

I can handle the big things – the illness and death of my father, the major change in my mother’s health and lifestyle, the marriage of my three children, the birth of grandchildren, the change of jobs for my husband, financial insecurity, being uprooted and moved out of my comfort zone. I can handle these because I have no choice but to go limp in the arms of my heavenly Father, totally dependent for comfort, security, peace of mind and the ability to put one foot in front of the other until this particular storm passes.

Why, then, do I try in my own strength to handle the minutia of each day? Why don’t I depend on Him to take each thought captive, to set a guard before my lips and to let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in His sight?

The small things, also, most often are what disrupt and distract the church from its mission. It is not usually issues of doctrinal import but murmuring, grumbling, complaining that niggle at and eat away and certainly can erode the very structure of the body of Christ. It is majoring on minors and getting so caught up in views, activities and discussions that have no eternal ramifications. It is pride and attitudes and silly territorial issues that have no place in God’s scheme of things.

The challenge, then, both personally and for the church is to have our focus so firmly locked on Christ that the temporal and worldly cannot draw us. The challenge is to be like the man of Psalm 1 who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor sits in the set of mockers but claims his delight in the word of God and meditates on it day and night. It is to be like the tree planted by the water, yielding fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control and gentleness.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I Got To Thinking

I have been writing my thoughts for some time now, and have recently shared them with some special people. My prose seemed to bless them, so, I got to thinking. Maybe, if I established a blog, wrote my thoughts where they would be available, they would bless more people. Therefore, I humbly share my ponderings through this blog. If God chooses to use my words to bless others and bring glory to Himself, then I will be extremely blessed.