It's the day after Thanksgiving. A day that many know as Black Friday. For those who run family finances, it might also be known as: "Yikes!" For me, Thanksgiving has historically been my favorite holiday. I'm not totally sure why that is, other than the fact that the food is great, the Dallas Cowboys play on this day, and it is a holiday that is not cluttered so much with all the commercialization. Thanksgiving always stirs up in me a sobering thought. I'm confident that those who originated the concept of Thanksgiving were most likely thankful at other times of the year, other than just the one particular day. But it has challenged me anew to ponder the issue of thankfulness, for there is a striking contrast between the person who does not know Christ and the one who is smack dab in the middle of God's will. For example, in Paul's description of the unbeliever in Romans 1, he writes, "...because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools..."(v.21). The context makes it clear that all of mankind is without excuse for their rejection of the God of the Bible, for God has made Himself evident in Creation. One of the clearest marks of the one who rejects the God who has made Himself known is that he/she refuses to glorify God and give thanks. Once a person has rejected the God of the Bible, he/she has set themselves or some lesser-than-the-true-God created thing as god. Once this happens, we will see a decrease in thankfulness.
On the other hand, the same guy who wrote the letter in our Bible known as Romans, also wrote a letter to a church in the city of Thessalonica. In this letter Paul opens the window and lets us see what God's will is for us. In I Thessalonians 5:18 he writes, "In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Students and other Christians will often wrestle with the question: How can I know God's will for my life? One very clear way (among numerous others stated in Scripture) is to give thanks in everything. Now that is a tall order, huh? Give thanks when my car breaks down? Give thanks when I have to stand in line? Give thanks when my kid disobeys? Give thanks when my kid is mistreated by a teacher or coach? Give thanks when.... (you fill in the lines). My friends, this is a distinguishing mark of one who knows Jesus Christ: Thankfulness.
Let us work hard at being grateful-thankful people. Let's learn together to be more thankful, not just when the last Thursday of November rolls around, but every day. Here's a simple assignment: Make it a point to thank someone everyday for some thing. Who knows, it might be infectious and we might see God's people become more in line with His will.
Let me start by saying: "Thank you for reading this blog."
Friday, November 26, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
The Day I Learned From Cheating!
Okay, I know this is hard to believe, and you'll have to accept this by faith, but the Dallas Cowboys use to be a really good football team. In fact, they've won more Super Bowls then any other team, except the Steelers (excuse my language:)). Back in the 1990's the Cowboys were on a roll. They had some super stars named Aikman, Irving, and Smith, as well as incredible players all over the field. In 1993 and then in 1994, they made it to the Super Bowl and were playing the Buffalo Bills (another thing you'll have to accept by faith). The Bills too were loaded with incredible players. So the game was supposed to be a good, close game.
At that time in college ministry, we would have a Super Bowl party at a house, and watch until half-time of the game. Because the Super Bowl always started mid-to-late afternoon, we would always leave the party at half-time, hit the recorder, and take off for the Sunday night church service at the church where I am a pastor. At this particular super bowl, it was a close game and frankly, I was sure that my Cowboys would lose. At this same party, there were perhaps only three Cowboys' fans (me, myself, and I) and then my wife kind of cheered for the Cowboys but she did so only because I run the finances in our family. On my part, I was troubled as the game seemed more of a defensive struggle. In my mind, I was certain that Buffalo was going to win, and then for the next two decades I would be reminded of this. So, at half-time, out the door we all went to the church service. I didn't really want to return to the house where the recorded second half would be shown because I was certain that the Cowboys lost. Well, I had a little secret. In the church office complex was a TV, and so, as soon as church was over, I sneaked into the office to check the score. It was, if I remember rightly, 30-13, in favor of my Dallas Cowboys and the game was all but over. So off to the Super Bowl party I went to watch the last half of the game. I was calm, cool, collected. I had a confidence that almost seemed over the top as the group watched the second half. I actually enjoyed the second half in a huge way. It was restful. I had some level of peace as I watched. My "hope" had changed. Before I knew the outcome, I had a hope, but that was a, "I sure hope the Cowboys win," type of hope. It was uncertain. But after I saw the final score, I had a different hope. It was a hope of certainty.
You may be asking: "Okay Blake, so what's your point? We've established the fact that you cheated and that you are having a rough football season this year, but where are you going with this?" Here's the point: If you know Jesus Christ personally; If you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, having submitted your life by faith to Him, then you have hope. The hope you have isn't a, "I sure hope this turns out okay," type of hope. It is a Biblical hope. It is a certainty. That is what true Biblical hope is. We know that Jesus Christ wins. We know that because we are "in Christ" that we win. We can rest. We've read the book and we know the end result. And we don't have to cheat to find that out. We can do what Jesus speaks of in Matthew 11 when He says that if we take His yoke upon us we will find rest for our souls (vss 28-30). My friend, Do you have that rest today? What is your hope?
At that time in college ministry, we would have a Super Bowl party at a house, and watch until half-time of the game. Because the Super Bowl always started mid-to-late afternoon, we would always leave the party at half-time, hit the recorder, and take off for the Sunday night church service at the church where I am a pastor. At this particular super bowl, it was a close game and frankly, I was sure that my Cowboys would lose. At this same party, there were perhaps only three Cowboys' fans (me, myself, and I) and then my wife kind of cheered for the Cowboys but she did so only because I run the finances in our family. On my part, I was troubled as the game seemed more of a defensive struggle. In my mind, I was certain that Buffalo was going to win, and then for the next two decades I would be reminded of this. So, at half-time, out the door we all went to the church service. I didn't really want to return to the house where the recorded second half would be shown because I was certain that the Cowboys lost. Well, I had a little secret. In the church office complex was a TV, and so, as soon as church was over, I sneaked into the office to check the score. It was, if I remember rightly, 30-13, in favor of my Dallas Cowboys and the game was all but over. So off to the Super Bowl party I went to watch the last half of the game. I was calm, cool, collected. I had a confidence that almost seemed over the top as the group watched the second half. I actually enjoyed the second half in a huge way. It was restful. I had some level of peace as I watched. My "hope" had changed. Before I knew the outcome, I had a hope, but that was a, "I sure hope the Cowboys win," type of hope. It was uncertain. But after I saw the final score, I had a different hope. It was a hope of certainty.
You may be asking: "Okay Blake, so what's your point? We've established the fact that you cheated and that you are having a rough football season this year, but where are you going with this?" Here's the point: If you know Jesus Christ personally; If you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, having submitted your life by faith to Him, then you have hope. The hope you have isn't a, "I sure hope this turns out okay," type of hope. It is a Biblical hope. It is a certainty. That is what true Biblical hope is. We know that Jesus Christ wins. We know that because we are "in Christ" that we win. We can rest. We've read the book and we know the end result. And we don't have to cheat to find that out. We can do what Jesus speaks of in Matthew 11 when He says that if we take His yoke upon us we will find rest for our souls (vss 28-30). My friend, Do you have that rest today? What is your hope?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Most Mundane For God's Glory
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is I Corinthians10:31. It challenges the socks off of me because I realize, every time I read it, counsel it, ponder it, how I fall woefully short of the command. The verse says, "Whether therefore, you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." It's pretty straight forward, wouldn't you say? Unfortunately, the very direct and specific command often times gets lost in the clutter of busyness. Perhaps it gets over looked because it can be so loaded down with "Christianeze" that most think it applies only to those who wear the clergy garb, or those who land in the leadership of some religious organization. Nothing could be further from the truth. The command is found in the letter written to a church in the ancient city of Corinth. The church was a mess at the time that Paul wrote this letter. Many in the church were struggling to leave behind the rudimentary effects of living in the moral filth of the Corinthian society. As one studies the book of I Corinthians, it seems like the similarities between the American church of the 21st century and the church in Corinth are striking. Needless to say, this verse was written to men and women who are just like you and me---common, everyday, down to earth folks.
So God's command through the pen of the Apostle Paul is diametrically opposed to how many of the Corinthian believers were living their lives. Paul makes it clear that even the most mundane things, such as eating and drinking are to be done for God's glory. That means, as John Piper instructs in one of his great articles, that one should drink orange juice to the glory of God. Everything one eats and everything one drinks is not just about having hunger or thirst satisfied. It isn't just about the simple enjoyment of the taste of something that we enjoy. No, it is about something much greater. It is about the Creator's glory. In 2 Corinthians 5 we are reminded that Christ died for us so that those of us who live will no longer live for ourselves but for Him. Everything we do is to be for Him, not self. So when we enjoy a great meal, a great cup of coffee, a nice cold glass of coke, or a bowl of ice cream, we do so with thankfulness in our hearts for the One who gave us all things to enjoy (see I Timothy 6). We do so, realizing that these things we eat and drink are merely tools that are intended to point to the Creator. The food we eat and the beverages which we drink are intended to give us the energy to do Kingdom business. Anything outside of that really falls short of what God commands of us. But there is so much more to the command of I Corinthians 10:31. But that is for another post.
So here's the challenge: Every time you go to eat something or drink something, enjoy it, but as you enjoy it, engage your mind to thank the One who Created; thank the One who gave you taste buds; and then take the energy you have and use the ability that the Creator gave you to speak, and tell someone else about the greatness of our God.
So God's command through the pen of the Apostle Paul is diametrically opposed to how many of the Corinthian believers were living their lives. Paul makes it clear that even the most mundane things, such as eating and drinking are to be done for God's glory. That means, as John Piper instructs in one of his great articles, that one should drink orange juice to the glory of God. Everything one eats and everything one drinks is not just about having hunger or thirst satisfied. It isn't just about the simple enjoyment of the taste of something that we enjoy. No, it is about something much greater. It is about the Creator's glory. In 2 Corinthians 5 we are reminded that Christ died for us so that those of us who live will no longer live for ourselves but for Him. Everything we do is to be for Him, not self. So when we enjoy a great meal, a great cup of coffee, a nice cold glass of coke, or a bowl of ice cream, we do so with thankfulness in our hearts for the One who gave us all things to enjoy (see I Timothy 6). We do so, realizing that these things we eat and drink are merely tools that are intended to point to the Creator. The food we eat and the beverages which we drink are intended to give us the energy to do Kingdom business. Anything outside of that really falls short of what God commands of us. But there is so much more to the command of I Corinthians 10:31. But that is for another post.
So here's the challenge: Every time you go to eat something or drink something, enjoy it, but as you enjoy it, engage your mind to thank the One who Created; thank the One who gave you taste buds; and then take the energy you have and use the ability that the Creator gave you to speak, and tell someone else about the greatness of our God.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I followed some advice
Ready? Here we go. Back some time ago, a friend suggested I start a blog. I laughed, not because I'm opposed to blogs, but because I had no clue how to start one. I'm still not sure if I know how to start one. But perhaps this will work.
So I'm home from work today battling a sickness that is going through the community. Sore throat, congestion, kind of an achy body. Just enough to leave me with that lingering, "yucky" feeling. Sickness serves as a reminder of our frailty as humans. We realize when we are sick that we are not invincible. We are driven back to why we get sick in the first place. It all began in Genesis 3 when the father and mother of the human race made a choice to step outside of the Creator's counsel and bite into the piece of fruit. From that one monumental decision came a curse from the Creator. Sickness, disease, thorns, thistles, and pain all became a reality at that point in time. Sickness is part of that "groaning" aspect described by Paul in Romans 8 where he notes that the whole creation groans. We long for the day of redemption. So the physical sickness I experience today is a reminder of that groaning.
With this sickness comes pain. Have you ever thought of pain as a gift? Really, in some ways it is. Now let me clarify, I don't like pain. But one way I look at pain is that pain tells me that my nerve endings are still working. That is a great thing. In that sense, it is a gift. Years ago, I remember missionaries coming to our church from the mission field. They would show us these slides of various tribes and invariably they would show a slide of a person who was missing a hand, or an arm, or a foot, and the missionary would always tells us about how the person had leprosy. Leprosy, as I understand it, is a disease that attacks the nervous system and makes it so that the person's nerve endings fail to work. So the person in the slide often lost their hand or foot and didn't even realize it because they can't feel pain. Sometimes these individuals would rub their fingers off and not feel a thing. I think we would all agree: Pain would be very valuable to those people. It is not a good thing when the nerve endings no longer work to alert the person that something is wrong.
Where am I headed with this? Besides the nervous system and the nerve endings, there is something else that humans were created with that is really critical. It is called the conscience. The conscience is that system that alerts the person that something is not right. According to Romans 2, even the person who has never read the law of God knows that there are some basic things that are right and wrong (murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, etc.). The reason this is so is because the Creator has given the person a conscience. But the conscience only responds to that which is fed to it. If the person feeds truth to his conscience, he will stay on the path of right. If he goes against his conscience, he will slowly, but surely harden it until it no longer responds to God's truth.
We dare not stiff arm the conscience when it speaks to us. Like pain, let us use this incredible gift that has been given to us by the Creator, to help us walk in righteousness.
So I'm home from work today battling a sickness that is going through the community. Sore throat, congestion, kind of an achy body. Just enough to leave me with that lingering, "yucky" feeling. Sickness serves as a reminder of our frailty as humans. We realize when we are sick that we are not invincible. We are driven back to why we get sick in the first place. It all began in Genesis 3 when the father and mother of the human race made a choice to step outside of the Creator's counsel and bite into the piece of fruit. From that one monumental decision came a curse from the Creator. Sickness, disease, thorns, thistles, and pain all became a reality at that point in time. Sickness is part of that "groaning" aspect described by Paul in Romans 8 where he notes that the whole creation groans. We long for the day of redemption. So the physical sickness I experience today is a reminder of that groaning.
With this sickness comes pain. Have you ever thought of pain as a gift? Really, in some ways it is. Now let me clarify, I don't like pain. But one way I look at pain is that pain tells me that my nerve endings are still working. That is a great thing. In that sense, it is a gift. Years ago, I remember missionaries coming to our church from the mission field. They would show us these slides of various tribes and invariably they would show a slide of a person who was missing a hand, or an arm, or a foot, and the missionary would always tells us about how the person had leprosy. Leprosy, as I understand it, is a disease that attacks the nervous system and makes it so that the person's nerve endings fail to work. So the person in the slide often lost their hand or foot and didn't even realize it because they can't feel pain. Sometimes these individuals would rub their fingers off and not feel a thing. I think we would all agree: Pain would be very valuable to those people. It is not a good thing when the nerve endings no longer work to alert the person that something is wrong.
Where am I headed with this? Besides the nervous system and the nerve endings, there is something else that humans were created with that is really critical. It is called the conscience. The conscience is that system that alerts the person that something is not right. According to Romans 2, even the person who has never read the law of God knows that there are some basic things that are right and wrong (murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, etc.). The reason this is so is because the Creator has given the person a conscience. But the conscience only responds to that which is fed to it. If the person feeds truth to his conscience, he will stay on the path of right. If he goes against his conscience, he will slowly, but surely harden it until it no longer responds to God's truth.
We dare not stiff arm the conscience when it speaks to us. Like pain, let us use this incredible gift that has been given to us by the Creator, to help us walk in righteousness.
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