From
the Pastor's Study...November 2009
“Give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good; his love endures forever.”
(Psalm
106:1,
NIV)
Can
you believe that it’s already the first of November!? Before long we’ll be
talking about Christmas! In fact, as we were driving home from our vacation last
week, we saw Christmas decorations being put up in more than one community…and
it wasn’t even Halloween yet! Oh well…Let’s talk about Thanksgiving for
now…
There
are so many places in scripture where we are told to give thanks to God. While
we were visiting another church during vacation, we were reminded that
everything we have and all that we are is only on loan from God; nothing really
belongs to us – we’re just privileged to be able to use the many gifts and
graces God provides. This understanding should make us even more eager to give
thanks to God for everything – after all, we didn’t create anything – God
allows us to use the wonderful things that he created. That’s a pretty special
blessing. We get to use God’s wonderful Creation and God doesn’t charge any
interest on the loan! WOW! Try suggesting that particular arrangement to your
favorite bank and see how far you get.
Thanksgiving
Day comes around every November. In school our children hear about the Pilgrims
and that first thanksgiving with the Indians. We see turkeys and cornucopia
everywhere we go. We plan meals where too much food will be lovingly prepared
and frantically enjoyed. We anticipate major football rivalries and plan the
holiday around kick-off times. Some will get up early to watch the several
parades that start the day; gotta see Santa’s first official appearance. Many
will plan their first Christmas shopping day by checking the ads in the Lawton
Constitution. What’s missing from this list? – “Give thanks to the Lord, for he
is good; his love endures forever.”
The
apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, “Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV) Paul
didn’t tell them to give thanks when God blesses you; give thanks when things
are going your way; give thanks when you feel good; give thanks when you
remember to; give thanks for all the good things in your life; give thanks for
good weather and a healthy body. Paul told us to be joyful always, to pray all
the time, and to give thanks in all
circumstances.
As
we approach this traditional holiday of food, football, and family, I am
reminded of a message I delivered not too long ago called, “It’s Good to Give Thanks.” (It’s available on our Pod Cast
if you’d like to refresh your memory. http://sermon.net/revdtabbs ) The point
of that message was that giving thanks is not about the “thanks”…it’s
about the “giving.” It’s
about what we do with those things for which we are thankful. It’s about
realizing that to give thanks is to take action; it is to
do something with the blessing God
shares with us. The psalmist tells us that God’s love endures forever; one of
the ways that is possible is through the ministries of God’s people – by
giving God’s love away to others we enable that love to endure forever. God
uses us to spread his love around. The biggest part of our “thanksgiving” is
the giving away of those things God allows us to use.
You
may have noticed that we did not have a big stewardship campaign this year. You
didn’t receive a letter asking you to commit your finances to the church for
the coming year. There were no pledge cards to fill out and send back; there
were no sermons or testimonials about how important your gift is to the ministry
of the church. Instead, we have spent a lot of time this year talking about
“thanksgiving” – We’ve been talking about giving to God what has always
belonged to God: all that have and all that we are.
So,
here we are…Thanksgiving approaches – food, family, and football; it’s
time to give thanks. Christmas isn’t far away – the “season of giving”;
it’s time to give thanks. “Give” is an action word – we are called to do
something for God with the things God gives us to use…talent, resources,
prayers, skills…all those things that God “loans” us without interest,
without price. I could send you a letter asking for your commitment to tithe; I
could preach a “money sermon” designed to encourage you to give more.
You’ve heard all of that before and you know that the church needs your
support. The thing is, it’s not about the church or the budget or the
financial reports – it’s about worship.
“Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” It’s
about doing God’s will. “Give thanks
in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
God bless,
Pastor Don