Have you ever been asked if you are a religious person? I have. It's a hard question to answer. I think that's because most people think of Christianity as a religion; and, in the eyes of the world, it is. But Christianity is different from any other religion. It is different because we don't just have religion we have relationship.
Religion means rules and don'ts. It means you have guidelines for what you can and cannot do. And, yes, Christianity has parts of that. Like we should follow the ten commandments which tell us things like don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't lie, etc. But Christianity is mainly about the relationship between you and God.
God sent Jesus to die on the cross so that he could be with us. When we sin, we become unholy, and God cannot be with anyone unholy. Jesus' blood makes us holy. When we choose to accept him as savior, he becomes the sacrifice needed to make us holy. Now we can have direct access to God. We can pray to him, and he hears us. He also can communicate with us, if we listen.
This whole principle reminds me of how in my education courses in college we were taught to have rules that told the children what they could do instead of what they can't. For example, rather than having the rule "don't run" have the rule that you should "walk." Most of us don't like to be told what we shouldn't do. We'd rather be told what we can do. And that's what relationship does. Christianity tells us we can go to God. We should show love to others. We should spread the gospel. Christianity is a relationship more than a religion and I'm so thankful for that.
So, do you have a relationship with God? What are you thankful for about Christianity?
One morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise, a little girl raced down the road. She crested the hill and, only then, began to slow down. The view of the beach was breathtaking. The sun glimmering off the calm waves of the ocean. The sound of the waves brought peace over the girl. She paused for a moment just to take it all in.
But that was all she allowed herself, a moment. She had a task to do, and she knew it would not be an easy one. There was a storm last night. It was a big one that kept her up with how loud it was, but she stayed brave and prayed. She knew God was protecting her. She also knew that, because of the storm, other things might happen.
Marching down the hill, she saw she was correct. Across the beach lay a sea of red and orange. This was more than she had expected! The immense weight of how many washed up on the shore hit her. How would she ever finish? The answer, she may not. For some it could be too late. But that did not matter, she would do what she could for them.
She picked up a starfish and threw it back in the waves. One down, probably more than one hundred to go. Gently grabbing another one, she threw that back into the ocean. Then another, and another. The girl continued in this task for over an hour.
People began to come to the beach. Some were jogging, others were walking. They glanced at her as she continued in her task: bend, pick up, throw, bend, pick up, throw. None of them asked what she was doing, they just looked at her for a second then went about their business.
One couple walked down the beach. The man glanced at the girl then continued talking. The woman noticed the girl and pursed her lips. What could the girl be doing? Where were her parents? The woman let go of her partner's hand and walked up to the girl, "hello, what are you doing?"
The girl paused for a moment, "I'm throwing the starfish back." Then she picked up another one and threw it back. The woman looked down the beach and saw that many more starfishes were laying there. She also noticed the sun was getting higher. "I can see that's what you are doing, but why?" The girl didn't stop this time, "these starfish washed out of the sea probably from the storm last night. I am throwing them back, so they don't die."
The woman looked at the girl in disbelief, "why would you do that? There are so many of them." "I know that" the girl replied. The woman wouldn't let the matter drop, "you won't be able to save them all. Why don't you just stop and go play? Look at how many are left; you won't be able to pick up enough to make a difference." The girl paused, smirked, picked up a starfish and threw it back into the ocean. Then she stared pointedly at the woman, "it made a difference to that one."
I know it's strange to have this post be a Thanksgiving blog but think about the world today. Sometimes it feels like you try and try to do your best in the world, but it doesn't seem like you are making a difference. There is still world hunger. There is still war. And the world is still broken. But there is something important to remember: you don't have to do big things to make a difference.
Sometimes I think we think we need to become famous or have a huge talent to make changes in the world when that isn't the case. I have found it is the little things that make a big difference. While you may not be able to solve world hunger, you can feed the hungry in your neighborhood. While you may not be able to stop war, you can love those you see each day. And, while it may not seem like a big deal to you to do one little thing for someone, it just may be the biggest deal in the world to them. In fact, it could save their life.
This Thanksgiving I encourage you to think back on the people who have made an impact on your life. Maybe it's someone who has been in your life forever. Or it could be someone who you don't even know their name. Think of the people who have done little things in your life that have made a lasting impact on your life and be grateful for that.
One Thanksgiving I
sent out a blog that talked about how comparison is the thief of joy. That is
still true. We can look at what someone else has and say "I want that. I
won't be happy until I have that." This is the thief of joy. But, it goes beyond that. The wisest man who ever lived was telling us that we
need to be content with what we have before we even said "I want
that." In the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon talks about how many things are
meaningless. Here is the richest, wisest man in the world telling us many
things are meaningless. He had all he could ever want and yet he said pretty
much all of it was meaningless. Why? In chapter 6 Solomon talks about wealthy people. These people have much but
they never have time to enjoy it. Instead, when they die, someone else enjoys
their wealth. What is wrong with these wealthy people? They are not
content. These wealthy people look around and say I need that and I'll be happy. They
are not happy with what they have. They are not content. God gives us so much,
and yet we never seem to be content. Let me ask you this... when you die will
anything you own go with you? No! So then why are we always ungrateful for what
we have? This Thanksgiving I encourage you to look
at what you have. Take a lesson from the wisest man on earth and don't fall
into the trap of wanting more. Think about all that God has blessed you with.
Rather than choosing to look at what you want be thankful for what you have.
Remember to enjoy the special moments in life because, when we go to heaven,
it's not going to matter what you had on earth. What is going to matter is what
you did to reflect God's glory. So, will you continue to compare your possessions to others? Will you choose to
be content with what you have? Will you look around at the blessings you have
and be thankful? Will you reflect God's glory in all you do? I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Philippians 4:11-13, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Certain ideas for this blog were pulled from the book by Jud Wilhite called The God of Yes.
Nowadays we have problems remembering to be thankful for
what we have. That could be for many reasons: we advertise for Christmas and
skip Thanksgiving, after Halloween we want to start making wish lists, we are
not happy with what we have etc.
At the beginning of November I took it upon myself to do a challenge. Each day
in November I chose one thing or event from a category and was thankful for
that. I called it the thankfulness challenge.
For this challenge I thought of different categories of things people could be
thankful for. Then I organized them into 30 days. I came up with rules like:
each day you had to say the thing you were thankful for to one person, you had
to say why you were thankful for that thing, and you had to thank God for that
thing/person.
I'm not quite done with this challenge yet but there are a few things I
discovered already. First I realized how hard it was to pick one thing or
person in each category. For example, one day I had to say a hobby I was
thankful for. I have many hobbies that I'm thankful for, for different reasons.
I discovered when I focused on the thing I was thankful for the problems of the
day didn't seem to be as big of a deal. Finally, I discovered when I told
others what or who I was thankful for it got them thinking about what they are
thankful for as well.
Think about it: do you have a lot to be thankful for? If you had to choose one
family member, friend, possession, etc. To be thankful for would you only be
able to choose one? I encourage you to really think about what you have to be
thankful for. Don't just think of tangible things or good things. I'm sure
you've had problems in your life that you may not have liked at the time, but
they helped change you for the better. Are you thankful for those problems?
Will you give thanks to God for all you have?
Imagine you had to go out and harvest items in order to
make dinner. In Bible times they had to do just that. They did not have a store
they could go to in order to buy food. They had to work for their food.
One activity they had to do was grain threshing. It kind of reminds me of
searching for gold in one of those strainer like pans. Except, rather than
sifting, they threw the grain up in the air. Why did they throw the grain in
the air? In Psalm 1 we find the answer: "Not so the wicked, They are like
chaff, that the wind blows away." Chaff is not a word that we hear too
often nowadays. Chaff is the parts of the grain we don't use in the bread. The
grain is the good part that we need to make bread.
Why should you care about grain and chaff? I am not saying you should. What I
am saying is that there is another lesson in this activity. Each day you go out
and work in some way, shape, or form. I am sure that you don't come home from
work every day saying, "I can't wait to go back. I love my job." More
than likely you wake up thinking, "Oh I have to deal with that situation
again." Or, "I cannot believe I have to work with that person."
Those thoughts are like the chaff. We must hold on to the grain, which are the
good thoughts.
We have a choice. We can choose to focus on the positive each day, the grain.
Or, we can focus on the negative things, the chaff. I don't know about you but
I don't want to focus on something that won't produce anything. Grain gives
life because it makes bread. Chaff will just bring death if that is all we
focus on.
So, do you focus too much on the negative? What can you do to stop focusing on
the negative chaff? How can you focus on the good grain today?
We
are all blessed. We have homes, food, electricity, families, friends, etc. Oh!
And let's not forget that we also have war, terrorists, abortions, and so many
other problems in the world. At this point you are probably wondering where I
am going with this but stay with me. Why aren't we happy when we have all of these things put together? That's
right, because we have a lot of bad stuff. See, humans have a problem. We have
a problem because we tend to look at the negative side rather than the positive
side of things. We find one little thing that is wrong in something or someone
and we complain about that, rather than look at all of the good things. Let me give you an example. Picture two friends walking down the street. We
will call them Joe and Moe. Joe looks around and sees a child playing with a
puppy. Joe says: "aw, isn't that so cute. The child gets to play with a
puppy." Moe looks at the child and puppy and says: "where are the
child's parents? I cannot believe someone would be so irresponsible and
let their child run around on her own!" The two continue to walk down the street and they see a man give money to a
homeless man who is sitting at the corner. Joe says: "How nice is it that
people are willing to give up what they have to give to others." Moe says:
"more than likely the homeless man is just going to use the money to buy
alcohol." The men turn a corner and Joe looks up, "it is so great that we get nice
weather to walk and talk together." Moe looks up, "there's a few
clouds up there. It will probably rain soon and our day will be ruined." Which person would you rather spend your time with? Now, I'm not saying that we
have to be like Snow White and be a ray of sunshine all the time. We do need to
be realistic at times whenever a friend is having a problem or if we are having
a problem. But, we should not be looking for the negative in everything and
everyone. God has given us so much. Isn't it time we focus on what he has given
us rather than what is wrong with what we have, or what is wrong in the
world? So, do you look for the downfalls in everything and everyone? What can you do
in order to look for the good? Will you be thankful for whatever you have? Ephesians 4:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, James 5:9
The Bible is filled with verses that remind us to be thankful for many things. However, I think we sometimes forget these verses on a day to day basis. On this Thanksgiving Day I think we need a reminder of what or who we should be thankful for each day.
FOR OUR GIFTS: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:7
FOR PRAYER: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2
FOR PEACE AND THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15
FOR YOUR SALVATION IN CHRIST: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8
FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29
TO THE LORD: "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1
FOR GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS (we should praise him): "I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High." Psalm 7:17
FOR GODS STRENGTH (we should praise him): "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7
FOR GOD'S LOVE (we should praise him): "Praise the LORD.Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1
THANKFUL IN ALL THINGS: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
My sister had the experience that many of us have in our
lifetimes: she got her wisdom teeth out. Over the course of the next week she
lived on the supply of applesauce and pudding my mother got her. We would eat
burgers and other solid food while she ate soft things. After about a week she
was able to eat solid food, somewhat. During that week she would stare at what we were eating and her mouth would
water. I finally said to her, "it kind of makes you appreciate what you
have right?" She, of course, glared at me and we moved on. But it make you
think: what do I have that I take for granted? Imagine if you had no teeth. Imagine if you only had a few pairs of clothes, or
only one. Imagine if you didn't have a bible or the ability to read the word of
God. We are blessed with so much. Sometimes I think we forget everything we
have because it's always there. During the last week of the school year I like to give my students a challenge
each day. Here is your challenge, should you choose to accept it: pick one day,
you can do more if you want, and think about or write everything you have to be
thankful for. You have blessings all around you if you just look. If you write
down your blessings keep that list handy. In the future, when you have a bad
day, get your list out and think of all the reasons you are still blessed. Then
thank God for those blessings.
I enjoy asking random questions. One day, at school, I asked my students what their favorite donut was (my school is right next to a Dunkin). They all had different preferences but there was pretty much one common trait on their donuts: they all wanted some form of sprinkles. I asked them why sprinkles are so important? They didn't really know how to answer that question other than it looks cool. Now, if my students had the option of just eating the sprinkles, I'm sure some of them would love it. But others probably wouldn't enjoy them as much. And, even if they did enjoy them by themselves, they would not want to eat them plain for long. See, sprinkles are not the bulk of the dessert. The bulk of the dessert is the ice cream, the cookies, the donut, etc. Sprinkles are just there to add color, texture, and fun to the dessert. They don't really do much other than that. In our lives we do, and have, many things. However, in our lives if we don't do one thing, we don't have the bulk of our dessert. If we don't accept Christ as our personal savior, we don't have the sweetness of his salvation, love, and friendship; if we don't accept Christ, we are missing the most important part of our lives. The thing is, when we don't have Christ as our personal savior, we feel like we are missing something. We are never satisfied. Then, when we accept Christ as our savior, we have many other challenges appear in our lives. These challenges may be so difficult that it seems like we are not being blessed by God. But we have a tendency to forget one thing: we have already been blessed by God through salvation. We already have the bulk of our dessert. We get to spend eternal life in heaven with Jesus. Everything else we get is just sprinkles on top. This is why we must follow the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which says, " Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." We will have difficulties in this life but if we have accepted Christ as our savior, we are able to face those problems in a new light. When problems come, we know we have someone who walks with us. When problems come, we know that no matter what happens to us we will have eternal life with Jesus. Rather than looking at the sprinkles, or good things, that come and go in life we should be thankful for what we do have. We should be thankful for the salvation that Jesus has given us. We should be thankful for a God who loves us and has a plan for us. So, do you have a tendency to forget that you have already been blessed in life? How can you be thankful for what you have each day? Image from here.
Some
of you know that each year I give myself a spiritual resolution. I challenge
myself to come up with one area in my spiritual walk that I need to grow in.
This year I challenged myself to be more thankful. I did this though my prayer
time with God. Each time I would pray I would start by praising God. Then I
would thank him for five things, people, or events that happened that day or
something reminded me of them that day. The interesting part of my choice is that I chose it before I even knew COVID
existed. The year before this year I realized that even with all the problems
that come in my life I have a lot to be thankful for. Many times we forget that
simple fact: we have much to be thankful for. It isn't always easy to be thankful. This year I got the flu for the first
time, got strep throat, was in quarantine for three months, did not get to go
on my official vacation, did not get to coach for three teams I usually coach
for, had to go through a lot of changes at work, and so on. Perhaps you had some of these things happen to you as well. 2020 was not an
easy year for many of us. However, this journey of trying to be thankful has
taught me that it is all about perspective. Let me show you what I mean: I got
the flu this year, which was not fun, but I had a warm place to stay and a
family who took care of me. I had strep throat this year, which was not fun,
but my sister stayed home with me to take care of me. I was in quarantine for
three months, which was not fun, but I got to spend more time with my family. I
did not go on my official vacation this year, which was not fun, but it made me
more thankful of the time I got to spend at Camp YoliJwa later when I
counseled. I did not get to coach three teams I usually coach, which was not
fun, but I was thankful for the time I got to spend with the teams I worked
with in the fall. I had to go through a lot of changes at work, which was not
fun, but it made me realize how lucky and thankful I am for a job. Do you see my point? Yes, 2020 has brought a lot of problems. We have a choice
when those problems come up: we can focus on the bad things or we can focus on
the good things that we have or that come out of those bad things. I am very
thankful that God led me to have thankfulness as my spiritual resolution this
year. It helped me get through the year, be thankful even when it was hard, and
to trust in God through it all.
I hope that as you look back at 2020 you try to see the things, places, people,
and events that you have to be thankful for. I pray that as we move into 2021
we all remember that we have much to be thankful for. So, are you choosing to try to be thankful in all things? How can you remember
to be thankful each day? Will you choose to trust in God and his plan?
Many of you know I am a preschool teacher. Thus, I work with many different children who come from many different places. One child came to my classroom who was a 5 year old who had never been in childcare before. My co-teacher and I quickly realized that she was used to getting what she wanted. For example: one time the children were on their beds after lunch. During this time the children are being called to use the bathroom and working on independent work on their beds. Well, during lunch this child was playing with her food (we could also tell that she was sleepy). My co-teacher and I decided that she would not be allowed to have independent work until she could sit quietly on her bed. When it finally registered with her that she was not allowed to have the toy she wanted she began to cry, scream, and kick her bed. Now, for those of you who have not worked with children this age, this is not typical reoccurring behavior for a 5 year old. Yes, children would have temper tantrums every once in a while but this one was the third one that day. My co-teacher went over to the child and told her that she seemed tired and that maybe she should go to sleep. If you guessed that didn't get her to calm down you are right. Why was this child crying so hard? She was crying and having a temper tantrum because she wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. In her mind, she should get the toy to play with because she wanted it. She wasn't thinking about the fact that she wasn't using good manners at lunch. She wasn't thinking about the fact that she was tired. She wasn't thinking about the fact that her teachers were trying to prepare her for life; because in life you don't usually get what you want if you throw a temper tantrum. Okay, so at this point you may be wondering why I am telling you this. Again, I have a point; and that point isn't how you should care for your kids. My point is that sometimes we act like this child. We may not cry, scream, and kick but we do pout and complain. When something bad happens in your life what do you usually do? Normally, if you are a Christian, you ask God to take the problem away. When you really want something to happen what do you usually do? If you are a Christian, you usually ask God to give it to you. When we ask God for something we may get a few different answers: no, yes, or wait. And, there is one outlier that we sometimes get: yes, but not in the way you expect. God is a good Father. He loves us and gives us what we need and not always what we want. However, sometimes we forget this fact and act like this child. We complain about how hard our lives are. We pout when things don't happen the way we expected. What happens in these hard times or when we want something is that we forget something very important. We forget that God is a good Father. We forget that God loves us and cares for us. We forget that we are called to be joyful in all circumstances. We forget that God is at work even if it doesn't seem like it. God works all things together for our good. At times, we may wonder what he is doing but we need to have confidence in him and trust in him. We need to remember that in good times and bad times God is at work. So, what do you do when things are not going the way you expected? Will you trust that God has a plan for your life? I encourage you to thank God each day for the blessings he has given you and for him loving you.
It is Thanksgiving! It is when we celebrate everything that we have and that we have been blessed with. However, this year, Thanksgiving is a bit different. Some of us may not be meeting with family. Some of us may not be traveling or having some of the same traditions occur. This year it seems like much has been taken away. Some of us may have lost our jobs, lost a family member or friend, lost the ability to do something you love, etc. This is not what we would call a "normal year." It may not be a "normal year" but we all have a choice of what to do with this not so "normal year." We can choose to let it make us bitter or let it make us better. There is incredible power in perspective. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it. We can choose to react in anger or react with God and his plan in mind. We also have control over our thankfulness. I do not know about you but this year more than ever I have been thankful for the little things. Many times, around thanksgiving we focus on what we are thankful for. Many times, we say we are thankful for a home, job, health, family, etc. I am thankful for those things but this year I am more thankful for the little things. I am thankful for the way my dog is always excited to greet me when I come home, I am thankful for the little bit of time I got to spend coaching my High School goalies and my College players (shout out to Donegal and LBC players). I am thankful for how my mom is willing to listen to how my day went even if she is tired. I am thankful for my siblings who still enjoy playing games with me (I like playing board games). I am thankful for my co-workers who uplift me in hard times. I am thankful for my dad who can fix many of the things around the house when they break. I am thankful for Jesus who died on the cross for my sins so he could be with me. And believe it or not, in certain ways I am thankful for COVID. You probably heard screeching tires there. I mean it, in certain ways I am thankful for COVID. In the past, I have written a blog about blessings where I say that blessings are not always what we would call "good things." Sometimes blessings are what we would call "bad things." Have "bad things" happened because of COVID? Yes, but have "good things" happened too? Yes! Again, it all depends on how we look at it. Romans 8:28 says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Did you catch that? The Bible says, "in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him." So many times we forget this verse. Many times, we forget that God is working things for our good. He has a plan in the good and the bad. That is why we can be thankful in the good and the bad. That is why we can praise him in the good and the bad. That is why we can trust in him through COVID, through loss, through fear, through death, and through it ALL! So, what is your perspective on this year? Does your perspective need to change? Are you thankful and trusting God in all things? How can you trust God more each day?
If you would like to hear more about blessings check out this sermon (search "Beatitude Blessings" in the sermon search link on this website http://maytowncog.org/services.htm)
Imagine you wake up early, get dressed, eat breakfast,
spend time with God, and relax for a bit in the morning. Then, you hear a bump.
You begin to get goosebumps and you cringe. It is about to begin. Here they
come: the children! They come running and bumping down the stairs. There is
yelling, fighting, music blaring, and much more. This is the life of a mom.
I’m kidding, sort of. Ha, I’m not a mom but I do have
one. I am also a teacher so in a way I am like a mom to my students. And, if
you are a mom, your house may not look like the one I just described. It may be
better, or it may be worse. I know that no matter what your home life looks
like you will probably be stressed at some point. It may even seem like there
just is not enough time in the day.
For those of you who are not moms or do not work with
children, here is a video describing everything a mom says in a 24 hour period
but in 2 minutes and 55 seconds.
Wow, that song was impressive. But, what is more
impressive is all that mothers do in a short time. Time is a valuable thing.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every
matter under heaven.” Time has a way of changing things. Children are born,
they grow, and they leave the nest. That’s just the way things tend to work. We
never know how much time we will have with someone. That’s why we need to be
thankful for the time we do get with them.
Today, I encourage you to send a message to your mother
thanking her for all she has done for you. Mothers I encourage you to be thankful for the time you have with your little ones. They grow up so fast.
When looking at the Bible many people were tested. However,
there was one person who was tested to the extreme measure: Job.
In Job 1 we find out that Job was very rich and followed
God. By all accounts Job was what we would consider by today’s standards, a
good person. He cared for his servants, possessions, family, and God. Then one
day disaster struck: one servant after another came to tell Job bad news. In the
end it turned out that Job’s oxen, donkeys, sheep, servants, camels, and
children were all taken or dead.
Could you imagine if all of your possessions were taken
from you in one fell swoop? That’s exactly what happened to Job. He had all of
his possessions taken. He had his children taken. Many of us would have yelled
at God and asked him why this happened. Job said “the Lord gave, and the Lord
has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job.1.21).
Job recognized something that many of us have a hard time
understanding. God has given us everything we have. You may say, “well I worked
for my money and used it to buy everything I have.” Who gave you your job? Who gave
you the talents you have to get that job? That’s right, God gave you those
things.
These days we are going through are not easy. But rather
than look at what we lost maybe we need to be like Job? Job lost everything that
we consider important on the earth except for his spouse. And, he didn’t even
know why it happened! Job had extreme faith in God. He trusted that God was
still working for good. He gave thanks to God even in his difficult
circumstance.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We are to
give thanks in all circumstances. That means when we are offered a job
promotion we give thanks. When we lose our job we are to give thanks. When things don't go the way we planned we are to give thanks. When a family member or
friend is diagnosed with a serious illness we are to give thanks. We don’t just
give thanks in the good, we give thanks in the bad too. We do that because we
trust that God has a plan, even if we don’t know what that plan is.
I encourage you to think about what you lost and what you
still have. Think about what God has blessed you with over the years. Thank him
for all he has done, is doing, and will do in your life.
“That old law about ‘an eye for
an eye’ leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing”
(Martin Luther King, Jr.).
David was probably one of the
best kings of Israel. He followed God and chose to obey God’s commandments.
David was promised that he would become king. He was blessed by God when he
defeated Goliath, he married the King’s daughter, and was a major part of the
King’s army. David was set up in Saul’s household. He probably thought that he
was going to become king in that traditional way. God had different plans.
Saul began to hate David
because Saul thought David would take his kingdom. Saul even tried to kill
David many times. David had the chance to kill Saul twice. David had an army
behind him. He even had people offer to kill Saul for him but David refused.
David knew that he would receive the promise in due time. He refused to do what
was wrong in order to gain something for himself.
Nowadays many people say do
what you need to do to get ahead. Success is measured in how quickly you can
get to the top. It does not matter how you get there or who you have to
trample. But, God tells us to do the opposite. We are to love everyone and we
are not to repay evil for evil. It is our job to trust God and let him bring
about his plan in due time.
So, if someone wrongs you will
you take vengeance upon them? Will you love those who wrong you? Will you trust
that God has a plan for you?
As you know, I like to challenge myself with something
out of my comfort zone; or, something I think is a need in the world from time
to time. This past month I challenged myself to show my appreciation to at
least 1 person every day. I may have said "I appreciate you" face to
face, given someone a gift, or sent a text to someone. A few things happened
when I did this.
1. The person ignored it. Maybe she/he didn't know how to answer. Or, she/he
looked at it and moved on with her/his day.
2. The person said thank you.
3. The person said thanks and said she/he was thankful for me too. Then we
started talking more about how things were going in our lives.
4. The person said thank you and then asked if I was leaving somewhere or
dying.
I found all of these responses interesting. However, one of the more
interesting is that people thought something bad was happening to me. I think
that people are not used to getting random notes of appreciation so they assume
the worst. What if we made if so that everyone felt appreciated every day? What
would the world be like? Now, I'm not saying we should appreciate to the point
of people feeling that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. But,
people should feel loved.
Philippians 2:3-4 says: "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look
not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." We
are all unique. We have different abilities, interests, and talents that God
has given us. What if we focused on appreciating other's abilities, interests,
and talents instead of tearing them down? What if we were thankful for those
people and things we have in our lives? I encourage you this thanksgiving to
show your appreciation, not just for what you have in your life, but also for
who is in your life.
I'm sure that you have heard the hype about The Greatest
Showman at some point this year or last year. People have been saying many
things about it. I saw it and there are so many great messages behind
it.
Barnum came from a poor family and felt that he had to prove to others that he
was more than what he came from. He starts a circus. He puts people who were
rejected by society on stage and gives them a purpose. Many people did not like
that but others did.
The show became a huge success. But, there were still some people who protested
the show because it celebrated people who were different.
God created all of us differently. We may wonder "why do I have to be so
different?" God has a purpose for everything he does. It's not easy to
trust him sometimes but it is worth it. These people in The Greatest Showman
were rejected because they were different. Because they were different they
were able to do things that other people couldn't do. Through the the process
of putting on a show they became a family and changed the way people look at
others.
I won't go into too much more detail in case you haven't seen the movie, I do
recommend it by the way. There are some other really great messages in the
movie as well.
So, when you see someone who is different what will you do? If you are treated
like an outcast what will you do? Will you trust in God and his plan?
Picture that you are in a
room with children. Children are great but sometimes children complain, a lot.
In this room the children are complaining. They say things like: "I'm
hungry," "I'm thirsty," "it's too hot," "why do we need to be
here?" You parents out there have probably had a time where your kids were
saying things like this. It is really draining to hear people complain like
this. What can you do in these situations? Jud Wilhite has an answer in his book The God of Yes. His children were complaining like this during a
car ride when all of the sudden he yelled, "thankfulness
competition!" They would go in a circle and say things they were thankful
for. The first person who could not think of something lost. Doing this got
them focused on the things they had rather than what they did not have at the
moment. This world is filled with people who complain when they
have so much to be thankful for. As Christians we are called to be set apart,
and yet many times it’s the Christians who do the most complaining. This
Thanksgiving I encourage you to look at what you have rather than look at
what you don't have. Maybe even have a thankfulness competition at your house
this year.
1 Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians
3:15-17, Psalm 107:1 Image from here.
Have you ever wondered if everything you do is worth it?
I know I have, because I do a lot for others and I enjoy doing it. However, it
is sometimes hard to keep helping others when you feel like it doesn't make a
difference.
When I start to feel this way I think of a song from The Prince of Egypt called
"Through Heaven's Eyes." Some lyrics are, "A single thread in a
tapestry, though its color brightly shines, can never see its purpose, in the
pattern of the grand design." Our story isn't a whole tapestry. Our story
is only one part of the tapestry. We are part of His story. While we are here
we have a choice: do we want to be part of God's story and shine brightly for
him, or do we want to try to do things for ourselves?
The song goes on to say: "So how do you measure the worth of a man, in
wealth or strength or size, in how much he gained or how much he gave, the
answer will come to him who tries, to look at his life through heaven's
eyes." Many people try to measure their worth through possessions or success.
However, those things are only temporary. We do not take any possessions with
us after we die. Many times people compromise to gain success. That is not what
we are called to do. We are called to love others and reflect God's glory.
Finally, the song says: "No life can escape being blown about, by the
winds of change and chance, and though you never know all the steps, you must
learn to join the dance." This life is not going to go the way we planned.
God has got better plans for us. We can step back from our lives and not do
what God calls us to do. We can kick and scream all we want but God's plan
comes about (Jonah). Or, we can walk with God and join the dance of our lives.
We don't know what steps God will call us to do, but if he is with us guiding
our steps we cannot lose.
We are not on this earth for a very long time. It may seem like forever when we
are here but it is only a short time. We can choose to live this life for
ourselves and then rot in eternity. Or, we can choose to follow God and make a
difference in the lives of others.
So, do you believe that your life is part of His story? Will you live your life
to reflect his glory? How can you take steps to follow God and help others
today?
1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 John 2:15-17, Proverbs 3:5-6
Way back there was a movie
that came out called Tron. In the movie humans were called "users"
and those who were a part of the Tron game were called "programs."
Oddly enough I didn't always relate to the users (humans). Many times I felt I
related with the programs. The programs did not like users because they felt
betrayed by them and they were also kind of brainwashed to not like them. I go throughout my day trying to help others as much as I
can. Because of that, I feel like I get used a lot. Don't get me wrong, I'm
okay with doing all I do for people because I believe God calls me to do it.
But, when you go through your day writing lesson plans, making items for your
class so your kids can improve, writing unit plans, making gifts, coaching
soccer, doing much more, and then repeating that the next day you feel burned
out. To make matters worse... typically we don't get thanked for
what we do. I'm not saying that we should do the things we do so we get thanked
or so we feel better than others. What I'm saying is that it is scientifically
proven that if you hear the simple words: "thank you" you are more
likely to continue to do what you are doing. There are days where I wonder if everything I do is worth it,
especially since it all can be overwhelming. Then I think about Jesus. He did
many things for others and there were times he never got thanked. He also, kept
going even if it may have seemed overwhelming to us. Jesus probably had more
right than most to be overwhelmed. He could have given up... but he didn't. He
knew that if he did not keep fighting then we would all die. He did everything
he did because of his unconditional love for us. So, when you ask yourself "is this all worth it?"
Who will you turn to? Will you keep fighting the good fight even when it seems
like no one is thankful for what you are doing?
Romans 5:8, Philippians
2:3-4, John 13:34 Check out this video to see how saying thank you and focusing on positive things can make you happier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5lZBjWDR_c
