Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Milestones of Thanksgiving - Submit!

We’re getting ready to travel to my son’s home in Indiana. On the way we will pick up our daughter and her husband. My wife and I have gone back and forth on which route to take to get there. There are parts of going around Chicago that we do not enjoy. So, we have started going through Iowa and across to the bottom of Chicago and across Indiana. That route is not really open to us. So we considered going state highways in Iowa for a while. Then our son tells us that we should not worry about going through Chicago. We can also go south from Rockford and take 80 across. So now we have 3 possible routes to go. Which one to take? I think we have decided to take our son’s suggestion. That way, if it’s a mess, we can make him feel bad for leading us wrong. And if it’s a great route, we can tell him how wonderfully smart he is. Naw – really, we will probably not make the final decision until we are .5 miles from the intersection that makes the difference. On the other hand, we know that our future is really not in doubt. We do not know it, but our God does. Which brings me to the second Milestone of Thanksgiving. Submission.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Consider this. Real thankfulness to God acknowledges and submits to God’s loving sovereignty and control.

In this brief consideration, I want to link James 4:13-15 to this passage in Proverbs. Consider the first part of our verse.

“A man’s heart plans his way.” We make plans. They are either long range, or .5 miles from the intersection that makes the difference. But seldom do we live a random life. Even in times of uncertainty, we endeavor to develop a strategy for whatever part of life we can see coming, however dimly. The New Testament author, James, points out that while we all make plans, we need to understand that the future is not in our control. He reminds us that our life is like a mist or “vapor” that is gone almost as soon as it appears. That level of uncertainty is not entirely comfortable to most of us. We like to think that we can have control over something, that we can make a difference, leave some sort of legacy. So we make intricate plans. It is natural to make plans. It is even wise to make plans. However, it is not wise to consider our plans the end of the discussion.

The last part of the proverb says, “…but the Lord directs his steps.” I can remember making lots of plans, having lots of dreams, seeing many opportunities. However, I also remember how unseen changes on the path, circumstances beyond my control, changed my direction, and brought me to a place where God is using me. Could He have used me where I wanted to be. Sure. If he had wanted me there. But he wanted me here. And he directed my path here. Interestingly, the writer of our proverb makes a distinction between steps and path. At best, I can only plan a few steps, and I might even take those steps. But, God has the plan of my life in His hands. If I let Him, He can take my faltering, uncertain steps and He can bring them to the place where He always intended me to be. The only requirement – submitting to His leading. When we get there, we can be truly thankful.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Milestones of Thanksgiving - Rejoice!

The first Milestone I want to consider is the believer's rejoicing over God's mighty acts. Psalm 118:22-24 is a passage used in the New Testament referring to Christ, the chief Cornerstone. These verses form a template for Thanksgiving because they demonstrate the kinds of things that cause rejoicing in the human heart.

Verse 22: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." In every building project there are materials deemed to be of insufficient quality, and rejected. The spiritual leadership of Israel rejected Christ, but God made Him the foundation of God's plan of redemption. But this was not only so with Christ. David, the youngest and possibly smallest of his family, was thought to be insufficient to a man's work by his family. He was, however, chosen by God lead His people, Israel. Matthew was a tax collector. As such, he was reputed by some in Israel to be a traitor - not worth much. However, he was chosen by Christ to one of the 12 disciples, an Apostle, and the author of one of the accounts of His Lord's life. John Newton was a slaver. No one accounted him of any value. A more wretched man could not be imagined. However, God's grace so changed this man that he wrote one of the most beloved hymns in our hymn books, "Amazing Grace." That God can take that which others reject as useless and make it, not just useful, but a reflection of His glory should make the believer rejoice.

In verse 23, the Psalmist says, "This was the Lord's doing; it was marvelous in our eyes." In old Israel, General Naaman wanted God to heal him. To demonstrate His power, God commanded that Naaman bathe in the Jordan River. No one else could heal him, but God could and did. Coming down from the mount of Transfiguration, the Lord encountered a demon-possessed boy that His disciples could not care for. But He could. George Mueller looked around London and saw the heart-crushing poverty and loneliness of the orphans of his day. No one really cared, and thought he cared, deeply, he had no resources. By trusting His God to meet the need, and moving forward in faith, he saw God move and provide in ways no one else could have. The child of God has always found reason for rejoicing in the fact that God could use them, even though they, and others, might have thought them of little of no value.

Verse 24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." God is the one who makes opportunities. In Revelation 3:7, to the church at Philadelphia, He calls Himself, the God "who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens." Paul spoke of the door God had opened for Him to speak. In the circumstances of our life, at the most unlikely moments, God opens an opportunity for victory.

At this Thanksgiving season, we can rejoice that God has given us the opportunity to serve Him, and make the most of it for His glory.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Milestones of Thanksgiving, Getting Started

My wife Jacque and I have been amazed at how easily our culture moves from Halloween, actually based on an occult observance of pagan cultures, to Christmas, the celebration of the incarnation of the Son of God. Two things are noteworthy here. First, moving so seamlessly from Halloween to Christmas is only possible because in our culture, Christmas means little more than Halloween. Both are about the Gross National Product – delivering what sells. Thanksgiving, by contrast, does not move dolls, or games, or even clothes. Compared to Christmas and Halloween, Thanksgiving is really quite boring (unless you raise turkeys, that is).

Second, even those who encourage us to remember “the true meaning” of the holiday, get it wrong. We are told to love our families, and to remember the sacrifice of others and to express our thanks for them by doing something ourselves.

What is not mentioned in our culture is the fact that the “real meaning” of Thanksgiving is giving thanks, not to ourselves, or each other, but to the God who has given us so many blessings. What has obscured this is the nearly complete abstinence of genuine Christian thought in our culture. What should concern us is how easily this particular brand of abstinence is embraced, inadvertently, by believers. We still give prayers of thanksgiving at the huge meal. But in the end, it’s about eating and watching football.

My point here is not to make everybody feel guilty about thanksgiving dinner, or a relaxing afternoon. I started out remarking about the near seamless transition from Halloween to Christmas, barely noticing Thanksgiving. I don’t think anything will change our culture. What I think is needed, though, is for God’s people to guard their attitude. This thanksgiving our family will get together and enjoy a big, traditional meal. And we will probably find a way to watch some football. But, we are also taking this time to imitate the God who has given us so much by giving of ourselves to one another. Maybe when we are able to be a channel of God’s blessing to someone else, we will understand a little more of what it means to be thankful to God.

It could be argued that Thanksgiving is half of Worship. God is always worthy of our worship. But, He has done so much for us that the child of God should be highly motivated to give Him worship for His blessing in their life.

I am going to examine Milestones of Thanksgiving in the next several postings. Not that they must come in any particular order, but I believe that these are important and effective truths to remember in giving thanks, whenever we express it – especially now.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

The Length of Jesus' Ministry

A pastor gets a lot of questions. And, usually, if one person has asked it, someone else probably has as well. When those questions come in, and when they are not personal in nature, I will share the answers here at AlwaysForward.

Q: How many years did Jesus teach before his death?

A: It is not completely certain how long Jesus’ ministry lasted. However, I understand the Biblical evidence to indicate that Jesus’ ministry lasted around 3 ½ years. His baptism by John the Baptist came several months prior to the first Passover (2:13, 23) of His ministry. In 4:35 the Lord mentions that the harvest was four months away. Therefore, at this time, Christ is coming up to the second Passover. The harvest happened at about the same time as Passover. John 5:1 mentions an unnamed feast, which probably was the Feast of Tabernacles, which would have been after the Passover which came close after 4:35. Somewhere in here was the second Passover. John 6:4 mentions another Passover, the third, followed by Tabernacles and the Dedication. The final, fourth, Passover is mentioned in John 11:55. Using this information, it appears that Jesus’ ministry lasted around 3 ½ years.