Thanksgiving

Originally a celebration by religious people giving thanks for a bountiful harvest, Thanksgiving is truly an American holiday. A day of thanksgiving was included in the charter founding Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia in 1619. The most portrayed historical American celebration is the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts in 1621, which recognizes the Wampanoag Native American’s contribution to the survival of that colony.

This wasn’t the first, though. Harvest celebrations were commonplace in Europe. Mankind has been giving thanks for centuries. Rather than being an excuse to have a couple of days off to visit family, it began as recognition of God’s interaction in their lives.

This year our family will gather at First Daughter’s home, with her son’s family (including four of my absolutely fabulous great-grandchildren) along with Son’s family (including my youngest two grandchildren) and Second Daughter’s family, too (which includes one of my beautiful great-grands and my very pregnant granddaughter – due Thanksgiving day.) We will have too much food, never too much laughter and create memories for lifetimes. So will many others this holiday for giving thanks. I pray their holiday is filled with joy and blessings along with their gratitude.

The Bible tell us to offer thanksgiving, willingly.

And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. (Leviticus 22:29 KJV)

David practiced this, cleansing before giving thanks.

I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD: That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. (Psalms 26:6-7 KJV)

Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: (Psalms 50:14 KJV)

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psalms 69:30 KJV)

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. (Psalms 95:2 KJV)

Today we will say grace before our meal and mention so many of things for which we give thanks. In my heart I will remember this Psalm with it’s depth of meaning.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalms 100:1-5 KJV)

And I will say, within the depth of my soul, with all my mind, from my heart:

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. (2 Corinthians 9:15 KJV)

The Bible Says

The loss of a young person appears a tragedy. This past week I’ve learned of the passing of a thirteen-year-old boy and a thirty-one-year-old woman. Both from families whose faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord is sustaining them not only through the loss but into the future where they will see this verse fulfilled:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV)

We have faith that this to be true because we look upon the Bible as God’s word to mankind. We read in Genesis 1:1 that God created this world and from Revelation 22:20 that Jesus will come again. In between are thousands of years of inspired writings from a multiplicity of authors that attest to God’s interaction with His creation.

Among my favorites is the book of John. It begins much as Genesis:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3 KJV)
Because we have faith, we can follow this verse:

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Ephesians 5:20 KJV)My parents died five years apart, to the very month. I miss them still today. I would love to see them, call them, just talk with them and get a bit more information or share something that has happened. Still, I can give thanks every day for so many reasons that involve my parents.

With the two people mentioned in the first graph, I can give thanks, too. I am grateful for knowing the teen who lived with a brain tumor for so many years and did so with a gracious witnessing of love for others along with a faith in Christ that will ripple for years to come. I am grateful for having heard Sarah Hinkle’s music, listening to her family’s testimony and their ministry.

I am grateful that the Bible tells us we will meet again.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3 KJV)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV)
Most of this I have faith in because the Bible – and the lives of people as these – tells me so.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13 KJV)

I really like the way my sister-in-law worded Pascal’s Wager (the emphasis is her own):

“I WOULD RATHER LIVE THINKING THERE IS A GOD AND DIE TO FIND OUT THERE ISN'T THAN TO LIVE THINKING THERE ISN'T A GOD AND DIE TO FIND OUT THERE IS.”

Sorrow for Hinkle Family

Long time readers of this blog might remember me mentioning the ministry of The Hinkle Family. The family’s gifts are singing, evangelism and a deep concern for nursing homes. Their ministry is to visit nursing homes, singing with the residents and sharing the gospel.

In addition to their website, you can follow the family on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hinkle-Family/111647932912

Our church is one of many supporting this ministry. At least once a year they visit nursing homes in this area and spend a Sunday morning sharing that ministry with our congregation. Here’s an iPhone capture during their presentation this last July.

I mention them today requesting prayer support. Monday, November 22, 2010, there was a fatal accident in Weatherford, Texas. Sarah, the alto in the group, did not survive and was called home to be with her Lord. No matter how much faith we have in our Lord and Savior, this loss leaves a hole in lives that will take time to heal. Sarah will be missed by her family and by everyone uplifted by their music and their ministry.

We know the family will be in need not only for prayers from those who love them, but in financial needs. Sarah was driving a car pulling a trailer with much of their equipment, which scattered across the roadway. Although nearby churches responded to recover what could be, much was destroyed. I know of several churches in our area that will be collecting donations to help the family with necessary expenses as well as replacing the equipment in order to continue their ministry.

If this need places a burden on your heart, please consider a donation. There is an address on their website for a church contact:

Hinkle Family
c/o Grace Baptist Church
600 S. Trinity St.
Decatur, Texas 76234

Or you may reach them through our church:

Hinkle Family
c/o First Baptist Church of Cottondale
145 County Road 3355
Paradise, Texas 76073

Please, as you pray, keep this family lifted through their grief, knowing that we should …

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 KJV)

Ephesians 4 - Spiritual Gifts

Our Youth Sunday School classes are studying in Ephesians, and Sunday’s lesson was 4:7-16. No, I won’t place the entire lesson here, it covers much more than I wish to address today. I only want to touch upon spiritual gifts.

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Ephesians 4:7-8 KJV)

Our Youth Pastor passed out a questionnaire Sunday from Ephesians Four Ministries. There are several websites that have such an analysis available for those who seek to best know their gift for serving God. Over the years I’ve taken many such quizzes in the business world. Almost all have told me I’m detail-oriented, that I enjoy research/reporting and I do well in administrating. The jobs I’ve had attest to that.

The Bible shows a number of such gifts, with a few listed here:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (Ephesians 4:11 KJV)

This is a fulfillment of David’s writings:

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. (Psalms 68:18 KJV)

The analysis has 108 questions That means quite a few answers to give, but it is an interesting array of information. There are three possible answers for each one: Almost Always, Occasionally, Not Very Often. There are no absolutes, for we are not, ourselves.

When you complete the quiz, your name and e-mail address is requested so that you might receive about a five-page printout with your results, an explanation of the results and a comparison with others who have taken the quiz. Here’s the short list of gifts listed – in alphabetical order, not importance: Administration, Discernment, Evangelism, Exhortation, Faith, Giving, Hospitality, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Helps, Teaching, Wisdom.

Why look at these? Why not simply do what comes to mind when a need is recognized? The purpose of these gifts is to be a blessing and work together with the body of Christ and that body functions when the gifts are being used. Each member fulfilling a purpose builds a strong foundation for a church.

Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, where bickering and fighting were evident. He was being the mature Christian discipling (teaching, training) the new Christians. Without such discipling to aid in Christian growth, we remain as children, prone to bickering when we misunderstand or are misunderstood.

There were two areas that popped to the top in my results: Teaching and evangelism. As you have read through my blog, do you think their results fit:

"As a teacher you are one who communicates knowledge, guides, makes known or relays facts. You are likely more in-depth than the average Sunday school teacher. You have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by making clear the truth of God's Word with accuracy. As a teacher you live to learn and teach (or perhaps write if you teach through the written medium)."

What’s your gift?

Class of 2010

Today’s Bible reading was written for me by others. They gave it to me yesterday during a graduation ceremony for a young lady in a class by herself – figuratively and literally!!

The Class of 2010 consisted of one of our more outstanding Youth members. I remembered when she was in out Sunday School class and I would go to her mother and thank her for her daughter. Her sister was already in the High School class and both of those girls had so many things in common – their beauty went all the way through their souls.

Our Youth Pastor read from Psalms 144:12.

That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: (Psalms 144:12 KJV)

Our Pastor used 1Timothy 1:5.

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (1 Timothy 1:5 KJV)

Her first Youth Pastor here (now a pastor of his own church) read from Proverbs 4:18.

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18 KJV)

Her father, an ordained minister now serving as our Children’s Director, used Psalms 1:1.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2 KJV)

All apply to her. She is shiningly polished as a palace and is a strong cornerstone, building her faith through works for others. Her heart is pure and her faith most certainly unfeigned. She serves as a shining light for the children she works with, her peers she spends time with and adults that have been blessed by her service.

I was struck as her father pictured the steps of walking, standing, then sitting with non-believers. It’s gradual, insidious and painful for people to watch when a child of God takes those steps away from His plan for lives. Therefore, it is such a blessing to see one who has walked in Godly counsel; who has stood firm in faith with her peers and yesterday sat with a congregation who watched her, alone, walk down the aisle as the entire Class of 2010.

You see, she was home schooled, working at her own pace with one of the best of teachers – her mother. She completed the high school curriculum with grades of A’s and B’s, applying herself to studies as she applies herself to life – whole-heartedly.

Does it sound as though I love her? I do. She’s part of my extended church family and I’ve known her for almost six years, counting it a privilege to have been one of her teachers. Next fall we will lose her to college, eventually to a blessed young man. It will be for him to come to understand what we already know – she’s a Proverbs 31 woman and eventually he’ll know that:

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:11-12 KJV)

H.A.L.T.

Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11 KJV)

When evil goes unpunished, people begin to think that since So-and-so is doing it and got away with it, it must be okay. Sort of as children who come to parents and ask for they know is wrong, but “everyone is doing it.” There are evil things, and men are fully set to do them.

The battle against these things must not be lost simply because punishment does not occur speedily. And, that battle begins in our own minds. We must know what is good as well as what is evil. The Bible confirms there is such a thing as evil. Christ’s example prayer mentions it.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13 KJV)

He also said it can be within us and that it is the opposite of good.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Matthew 12:35 KJV)

James tells us that temptations are not from God.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:13-14 KJV)

Paul tells us temptation can be overcome.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV)

Evil is deceptive. It does not appear as such, but will look good and it will be something we desire. Paul wrote about how it affected him:

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. (Romans 7:15 KJV)

It has been said that Satan tempts us during vulnerable moments. We’ve been cautioned that when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, we can be vulnerable. I’ve heard this called the HALT warning – and it is good to stop and think twice under these conditions. During those second thoughts, ask whether what we are about to do fits in any of the following categories.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 KJV)

As Christians, we should walk closely with Jesus. Staying close by reading His word, being in prayer and fellowshipping with other believers. As Paul said:

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 KJV)

A Cross

There’s a cross on the front of our church building, facing the road. It’s empty. I wear a small gold cross on a chain around my neck. It’s empty. There’s a white yarn cross in the middle of my yarned Bible cover that my mother-in-law made for me. It’s empty, too. They are all as empty as His tomb.

I see a crucifix on some churches, and on gold chains around necks, even on Bible covers. They depict the reality of His crucifixion, His death on a cross thousands of years ago.

Why the cross? Romans looked upon it as the ultimately degrading death for those who opposed them. It removed power, made the victim powerless. To the intellectual Greek, it was illogical to offer a way of life that obviously ended in death. To the Jew, who looked to victory over their enemies, it was the greatest of defeats.

Yet the cross remains a symbol today of glory, power and victory. It is the symbol of fulfilled prophecy. Instead of death, it is the symbol of life. Instead of a man impaled upon it, it displays its emptiness and that of the tomb that followed His crucifixion.

“The glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome,” recognized by Edgar Allan Poe and history, is gone. The Jews have returned to their Holy Land (as prophesied) and have rebuilt a land flowing with milk and honey.

Yet, just as Moses lifted up a serpent in the wilderness:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (Numbers 21:8 KJV)

Even so was the Son of God:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 KJV)

My Lord was upon the cross for less than a day. He was there to remove sin.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29 KJV)

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12 KJV)

Even the high priest at the time of His death understood the concept, though neither the man nor the reason for His death:

Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. (John 18:14 KJV)

Paul did understand, and explained:

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28 KJV)

My Lord is alive, in Heaven, no longer on a cross.

Photo taken by Ian Britton and shared on FreeFoto.com