Thanksgiving

     I'm certain we have an idyllic image of the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 brought about by paintings such as the one above.  We should know the subsequent tempestuous history of European immigrants and the native American Indians.  But I do hope that there was a time, however brief ,when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe sat down to feast and be grateful in peace.

     We in this country truly have reason to be grateful on this day.  This should be a day we pray with gratitude to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us over the year...the bountiful harvest.  We may be suffering through a family member with cancer, loss of job, loss of a loved one, or some other great upheaval, but, if we can find the blessings hidden underneath those circumstances, we have accomplished what God desires...spiritual joy amongst great trial and tribulation. 

     May the day bring a discovery of peace and gratitude to God.  The Pilgrims had nearly starved to death that first year on this continent.  Yet they took time to give thanks to God for giving them aid through the very people they were taking their land from.  Yes, eventually, the human greed factor came into play over the land, but, for one day,  The human race was doing something pleasing in the eyes of God.

CHANGES

     As you can see, changes are being made to the Blog.  The changes were needed to reflect the changes God is bringing about in my life.  Change can be good when Christ driven.  Bring it on, Father!  He never ceases to amaze me. 

Who Can Save Us From Our Wrongs?

     There is only one way to salvation.  Make no mistake and listen to no other religious publication or holy book of any religion for there is only one person through whom salvation is found:

It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

"the stone the builders rejected,

which has become the capstone.

 

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:9-12 (NIV)

     Never let anyone confuse you or change your mind on this, the most important of points in a Christian's faith.  Furthermore, why would you want any other person to have such authority?  This Jesus that proved himself so loving and so deserving of such status and authority stands alone among men. 

     Do not worry or fret over who has this or that authority.  The Bible clearly states that Jesus is the only one with authority from God to save.

That Guy Needs an Attitude Adjustment

     The Bible is just too complicated.  Scholars, theologians, clergy, and everyday Christians spew out all manner of this means this and, no, that means that.  God loves us all, but is going to torture us to death if we are not Christians.  You must jump through this hoop and memorize that verse.  Jesus was a simple carpenters son who is going to come back and take holy revenge on all the bad guys, and that group seems to include pretty much everybody.  Why even try?  It is hopeless.  Nobody can be that good all the time.  I know Jesus was perfect, but he was the only person in all the people to ever have existed.  We're all going to hell and burn for eternity.  Who wants to live under a God like that?

     Religion, church attendance in general, is dying.  This Bible and all its outdated laws, demands, demands, demands.  All those demands go against modern civilized society.  Nobody has seen God or his son, Jesus, in over 2000 years.  Is this it?  Is this fruitless, hopeless daily struggle it?  We live for a few years if we don't die during or shortly after birth.  We have science and technology such as mankind could only imagine just a hundred years ago, and it all indicates that this is it...one and done.  I've never seen, heard, nor smelled God or any other evidence of a supreme being.  Why are we here and why just to live a few years struggling, at best?

     Hmmm...I recognize that person; that was me at twenty-three, wasn't it Father?  I was a spiritual mess.  I was running on empty after the Vietnam War and really angry at You and mankind...mostly at You.  You wouldn't talk to me, I thought.  The truth is that I wasn't listening.  I was doing all the talking, griping, and cussing.  You couldn't get a word in edgewise.  I couldn't see You.  I had let the world hide You from my sight.

     Father, You have infinite patience to have put up with my mouth.  I recall some of the terrible things I said about You.  Yet, you just turned the other cheek letting me wear myself down.  I was mean.  I was the picture of cruelty.  You know that when I go into a fight, I give it all I have.  I know You, and You knew exactly what you were doing.  You knew you had me right where you wanted me.  You wanted me to let it all out.  What an astounding game plan you had.

     I'm glad all that is over, but it was a powerful and breathtaking display of perseverance, forgiveness, and love on your part.  You never veered from the lessons You taught us and the example You set during your time upon this earth in human form.  Praise You, my Father.  Holy is your name.  Praise You for letting me come to know You on a personal level.  Praise You for not striking me down.  But I've never heard nor seen You ever exhibit one instance of anger, hate, or revenge against me.  You have shown me nothing but love and compassionate understanding.  I have never experienced your wrath.  You spoil me like an only-child.  You could have had me for far less, but chose instead to make me wealthy spiritually.  I know you are up to something, Father.  When our Lord comes the next time, I think we'll all be surprised by the manner in which He appears...again.  You give us all these hints, but we are always surprised and looking in the wrong direction.  I love You my dear Father.  Amen

Old Bird's Blessing

     We purchased a creative hand-crafted wooden turkey made from pine tree leftovers from a roadside craftsman in Arkansas about three years ago.  The artist was in his eighties and, actually, did really good work. 
    
     We used the eccentric looking turkey for our Thanksgiving Dinner Centerpiece.  My grand kids and we came to accept the old bird as part of our fall-season decor.  Last Thanksgiving, disaster struck.  During a vigorous inspection by my grandson, the old bird and his beak were separated.  As he is not covered on our family medical health insurance policy, Caroll and I have set about studying  beak restoration and, finding the appropriate materials, will rebuild Old Bird's beak with its turkey beak accessories if possible.

     But until we gather together all the needed pieces, Old Bird sits beakless and cautiously optimistic on the table...just as I would; were I missing one of my facial appendages. The truth be told, Old Bird is suffering through this entire affair without a gobble.  Guess that comes with the loss of beak.  I think he understands that, if he were made of the same materials as a normal turkey, he would have been in the oven three years ago, and so is very fortunate to be merely beakless for a while.

     The moral of this story is that even a beakless wooden turkey has things to be thankful for.

     Please, be grateful to our Lord for the many blessings this and every year.  If you think you have none, look around; it will not take you long to find someone a lot worse off than you and, possibly, carrying a radiant smile for their bountiful blessings. 

Amen

Thou O' Lord, You are my glory, my reason to live,

     You lift me up when I fall

My King are You O' Lord,

     You rule me with a mercy I do not deserve

My Comforter are You O' Lord

     There are no worries when I turn toward You

My riches are You O' Lord,

     Spiritually, I am wealthy beyond that which man can imagine

My Lord, You give your love freely,

     I have no needs that You cannot meet with your love

You are my one and only, You are my God,

     I am nothing without You. but everything with you.

     

Spirit vs Pocketbook

     After Jesus was resurrected, he began to resurrect our spirits as we showed faith.  He told the disciples that someday people would believe even though they would not have the advantage of seeing him in the flesh doing all the miracles that He performed while upon this earth.

     My fellow saints, we need one another to give strength and confirmation to that faith that seems to ebb at times.  There are strength in numbers.  Make any rock you stand upon your church.  There are many people hurting out there.  Many of the hurting are poor, but there are many of the rich hurting as well.  Some of the materially rich have set their faith largely on material things and found it an empty and lonely life at the top of this material world.  They are lonely while standing in a forest of friends; people dressed merely in the costume of a friend.  When the money disappears, so do the friends.  Pray for the rich and pray for the powerful for many of them are in need of richness in  spirit to complement their richness in the material things.

     Our Lord cares not whether we are rich or poor in material possession.  He is concerned with the poor in spirit, and they can be at any level in the material world.  Do not confine yourself to looking in the direction of any one material class; rich, middle class, poor.  We our concerned with the condition of the spirit, not the pocketbook.  Christianity is faith in the lasting, the forever...in God through Jesus Christ.

Can We Smile and Laugh?

     I heard a non-Christian describing a Christian as some sour-faced old man and woman with their index finger pointed at you saying, you're going straight to hell, young man.

     Unfortunately, that is the picture many people have of Christians.  That is sad, because a Christian has many more reasons to be smiling and laughing than a non-Christian.  Do a little research in the Bible about the joy salvation instills in us as faith-filled Christians.  Have you ever come across a description in the Bible of Jesus being a sour-faced person?  I certainly have not.  He was full of smiles and laughter.  A person may attract but is not going to convert people by being sour-faced.  Yes, he possessed deep seriousness, but his mission was to spread the Good News.  I get the distinct impression that he wanted us to be loving, kind, compassionate, forgiving, and full of joy with a smile affixed to our face to encourage others to think and, eventually, have faith.

     If your are moping around with a frown on your face, you are not following the instructions from the man himself, Jesus Christ, son of God.  Our faith in God is all the reason we need to smile with the great hope he gives to us each and every beautiful day he eagerly and lovingly presents to us.  By the actions of Jesus, I think we can safely say, God has a smile on his face 24-7-365.  Kick up your heels and rejoice in your salvation my fellow saints, and make the rest of humanity wonder what they are missing.

A Risky Move

     I recently took a very risky move by the looks I receive from fellow Christians when I tell them what I did.  Now I lay my actions before you.

     I took an early retirement from my job to serve our Lord.  I do not have bundles of money and a paid for home.  Eventually, I will need to find some form of supplementary income.  My well-healed, well-set Christian friends gawk at me like I just committed myself to abject poverty and a life of standing on the street corner begging coins from passersby.  How could you be so stupid?  Are you crazy?  You aren't the brightest bulb in the house.  What possessed you to take such a risk?  What does your wife think of this madness?

     I suppose they have attended church most or all of their lives (a lot more than my wife and I have) and have never read the Bible or had faith in God.

     I would never do this without the support and agreement of my loving wife.  She is very intelligent and knows I have done some really idiotic things over the years, but not this.  Another important point, I would never do this without talking it over with (for years as it happened) God and receive his approval.  If you think this action put a smile on my face and improved my attitude, you should hear (I hope you hear Him regularly) God's opinion of this act.  He is even more ecstatic than I.  Jesus told us God Will provide.  He didn't say, God might or will partially provide.  He used the word will or shall.  But my wife and I have taken some insane risks in our forty-one years together, so why not for our Lord.  What if Jesus had said, do what!  I ain't putting my earning power on the line...much less die nailed to some cross for a bunch of ungrateful people.

     When you really think about it, most of us take many big risks in the course of our lives over material and worldly matters.  When God asks, you think that is risk?  Evidently, we do, because all but a few people when asked grumble while avoiding spiritual contact and making excuses when our Lord brings up the subject.  You're talking about God, creator of all and the most powerful being in existence.  You think he doesn't have the means to take care of me or is he is lying?  Get a life and begin faithfully believing in what God's word in the Bible tells us.  Today, begin serving the most loving, the most serving being and really enjoy life...forever and ever.  My favorite comment: Not everyone can do that.  Oh, yeah, they can and should.  Those grumblers take various passages from the Bible out of context and produce some brilliant excuses.  They forget that God knows what is in our hearts before we ever pray it.  You can't hide from God, folks.  Who would want to hide from God? 

     Please, my fellow saints, take a few so-called risks for Him. Neither I nor you would have walked willingly to a tortuous death on that cross.  Is there any more powerful example of risk taking behavior?  I'm not brave like Jesus.  If I can do this, so can all of you that are much more courageous than I.