Some Post Thanksgiving Reflections

Hard to believe Thanksgiving Day 2009 is now in life's rear view mirror! But that is the way life is ... it flies by rapidly! As we stand on the door step of December, here are some thoughts to start your week.

1. I love the Thanksgiving holiday! Why? For starters, the day includes my favorite meal - a turkey dinner with ALL the trimmings! Yep! I'd rather eat a turkey dinner over a steak dinner any day of the week! In addition, I love just getting together with our kids and their families and just talking around the table. It's been quite the ride watching our kids grow up! Finally, what a joy it is to spend some time reflecting together on the blessings of God in our lives and then giving Him our thanks! It doesn't get much better than that!

2. Christmas Day is now only 25 days away! Among other things, that means 25 more days of pressure from Madison Avenue to get out and spend money we don't have to buy things we (or others) don't need - all in name of the Christmas spirit. Hmm. The Christmas spirit?  When I think of the spirit of the Christmas holiday I think of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). If we want to do something "in the Christmas spirit" then let's share the gospel with our friends, neighbors, co-workers and classmates. Let's give a gift to a ministry that reaches out to the poor and need, like Children's Fellowship of India or Water Street Ministries. That's what the Christmas spirit is really all about!

3. Given the fact that there are now only 31 days left in this year, let me ask you something. Is there anything you have been planning to do but just have not "gotten around to it?"  Let me challenge you to stop right now and make plans to "get around to it." It may be inviting a friend over for dinner or out to lunch. It may be something your spouse has been asking you to do around the house. It may be a spiritual discipline you have been meaning to tackle or a book you have been meaning to read. But whatever it is you have been thinking about doing --- do it! Before this year is over and a new one arrives!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Thanking on Purpose!

Every parent has had the embarrassement of their child receiving a gift and failing to thank the giver of the gift. Children must be taught to say "thank you." It does not come naturally. The default setting of fallen human nature is ingratitude. Therefore we must get intentional about giving thanks!

So ... with Thanksgiving Day just one day away, it seems like an appropriate time for me to ask, "Are YOU intentional with giving thanks?"  The Scripture is clear that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). Wow! Every blessing in life, from the taste buds you will use to taste all the deliciousness of tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast to the antacids you will have to pop afterward to deal with the indigestion (hint: as in so many things, moderation is the key!) - all of life's blessings come from the hand of our generous, gracious and never changing God!

Let me encourage you to get intentional about giving thanks - not just on Thanksgiving Day but EVERY DAY!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Talk about Some HEAVY Reading!

The debate about the current national health care legislation has been all over the news. I must admit I have read and listened to some of the news ... but not all of the news. I am probably better informed about this issue than some, but probably not as informed as others nor as informed as I probably should be. But then I wonder how anyone with a life could be "well-informed" when it comes to the health care legislation that the Senate is about ready to debate. The bill is approximately 2000 pages in length. Now how long would it take the average person to read such a monstrosity (especially given how busy people are these days)??? And I wonder how many of our senators have actually sat down and read and fully reflected on and then digested all the information contained in this bill. The government surely knows how to make things complicated! (I guess we should be thankful that this national health care legislation is ONLY 2000 pages in length. The federal tax code is some 70,000 pages long!).

As complicated as our government makes things .... God on the other hand makes things simple. Take the gospel for example. One does not need to read a 2000 page document filled with "legaleese" and "financialeese" to understand the meaning of the gospel. In fact, John 3:16 expresses the heart of the gospel quite well. In just 26 words, Jesus Christ explains the gospel when he says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Now here is a message simple enough for a child to grasp! No lawyers, accountants, medical experts or economists required!

I for one want to go on record that I am quite thankful to God that he loved me, a sinner and a born rebel, and that His Son took my place on the cross and paid the penalty for my sin!  I thank God for the simple - yet profound - gospel message!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Some Random Thoughts to Begin Thanksgiving Week

1. I wonder how many of us (myself included) are more thankful for the blessings of God than we are for God Himself. Now don't get me wrong, we should be thankful to God for His many blessings - but are we more in love with the gifts or the Giver???

2. I never get over just how quickly life is passing. It seems like just yesterday that I walked down the aisle to say "I do" when in fact that was over 3 decades ago! And now all three of my children have done the same! Wow! All this to say - life is precious - each day, each hour, each minute. Let's purpose not to waste our time but make it count for Christ and His Kingdom!

3. Little children are cute and impressionable. We smile at the former and often times forget about the latter. But all of us who claim allegiance to Christ must keep in mind that there are many sets of young impressionable eyes and ears upon us. We must be sure that our walk is worthy of imitating (see 1 Corinthians 11:1). The old "like father, like son" or "like mother like daughter" is very true.

4. There's no better meal than turkey with all the trimmings (by the way, if you have never tried Isaac Restaurant's  'Thanksgiving on a Bun' sandwich - you MUST do so!). Well, like many places, turkey with all the trimmings is the menu for our Smith Thanksgiving Day feast. But that is not the highlight for me. The highlight is having our entire family around the table, thanking God for His blessings and enjoying one another's company. It doesn't get much better than that. Thank you, Father!!!

And thank YOU for stopping by . . .

pj

A Real Zinger for So Many of Us!

I just came across a quote by J.I. Packer that nailed me between the eyes and then pierced my soul deeply. Please take a moment to read ... and then reflect on what he has to say.

"If we ourselves have known anything of the love of Christ for us, and if our hearts have felt any measure of gratitude for the grace that has saved us from death and hell, then this attitude of compassion and care for our spiritually needy fellow-men ought to come naturally and spontaneously to us . . .It is a tragic and ugly thing when Christians lack this desire, and are actually reluctant to share the precious knowledge that they have with others whose need of it is just as great as their own."

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

A Cow Takes a Dip!

This past Monday evening, Kathy Wydareny of Spartansburg, SC was minding her own business, going through her normal Monday evening routine. That routine was broken by what she called a "giant woosh." So she grabbed a flashlight and proceeded to go out to her back yard to investigate. To her disbelieving eyes she discovered a cow had fallen into her covered swimming pool!She immediately called 911 (It took 5 men from county rescue to pull the cow out of the pool - they used a sling). It seems the cow wandered over from a neighbor's farm and mistook the pool cover for solid ground, which the cow discovered was a HUGE mistake when the "solid" ground moooooooooved!

Hmmm. The mistake this cow made -- is the same mistake that I see a lot of Christ-followers making today. They think they are on solid ground, when they are not. Now just what do I mean by this? Far too many Christians are embracing beliefs that are not based on a solid biblical foundation. One reason for this is that many of those who are teaching from America's pulpits are giving a watered-down gospel at best and another gospel at worse (see Galatians 1:6-9 to hear what the Apostle Paul had to say about those who were distorting the gospel). To show you what I mean, check out the following excerpt of an interview done by Larry King on CNN. His guest? Joel Osteen, pastor of one of the largest (if not the largest) church in America. Just listen to his lack of clarity on what humanity so desperately needs to hear - the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

So ... in closing, let me encourage  you - if you claim to be a follower of Jesus - whenever you listen to anyone teach the Bible, follow the example of the Bereans who listened to Paul preach. In Acts 17:11 we read, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." 

Let's go and do likewise!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

Thanksgiving Day Just around the Corner!

With the Thanksgiving holiday just a week from tomorrow, I thought I would post something that would get you thinking about thanksgiving (and not just for Thanksgiving Day). So here is a quote about giving thanks from the book, Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness, by Ellen Vaughn.

"Developing the meditative habit of constantly whispering thanks to Him - no matter the situation - is in fact a mustard seed of life-changing power. Radical, for it goes to the root of who we are. Small, seemingly insignificant, yet it has the power to change our lives and blow our socks off, right in the midst of the everyday. When we really give God thanks in everything, we are acknowledging that He is sovereign and that we trust Him. And we find that it changes us." 

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj