thankfulness

28
Aug
2022

Humility = Service (part 1)

Thinking of others, not just of ourselves

  • The thoughts for this post and another that will follow next week stem from readings for Pentecost 12, August 28, 2022:  Proverbs 25:6-7, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, and Luke 14:1, 7-14.

If you are familiar with the TV show, The Price is Right, you know the call to bidder’s row: “Come on down! You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”  What would you think if someone barged down the aisle, uninvited, and insisted, “No, I am the next contestant; I should have been the first contestant; I should always be first in line”?

A more everyday example: I was driving recently on a section of city freeway that was under construction. For several miles, the right lane was marked “exit only” for each upcoming exit, causing congestion in the remaining lanes. In spite of that warning, in between each ramp, some drivers would speed down the right lane, then cut back into traffic at the last minute, not exiting.

That sort of behavior gets us mad. But let’s be honest. Isn’t such behavior something we all exhibit quite often? Are we always considerate, patient, humble, kind, looking out for others’ well-being?  Or do we do our own end-arounds, trying to bypass others, putting ourselves ahead even if it means leaving others behind?

Too often, a lack of humility shows up in our hearts and lives. Let me describe some scenarios.  You’ll recognize what I describe–but don’t be too quick to point a finger at some neighbor or relative or coworker. Think first of ways that these descriptions also might apply to things you feel or say or do.

  • There’s a group of people at a meeting. Everyone’s input is important, because everyone is affected by the decisions made. But Mya Myview thinks her viewpoint is the most important. Everyone else must eventually agree with her, or she’s not happy. She speaks up first. She speaks up loudest. She interrupts and contradicts others when they offer their thoughts. When the decision doesn’t go her way, she storms out of the room. Mya much needs a healthy dose of humility.
  • Bob Bossy isn’t the boss, but he acts like he is. At work, he hovers over his colleagues and tells them how they should do their jobs. At home, on any project he works on with his wife, he’s going to control the planning and the process. He’ll tell her exactly what to do and how to do it–although most of the time she has as much know-how as he does, sometimes more. But he has to feel like he’s in charge. Bob can’t be humble; he’s too busy being bossy.
  • Sophie Selfie knows, she just knows, she’s the most talented person on the planet. At her high school, she expects to have a solo at every choir concert. She assumes she should get the lead role in the school play. She posts videos of herself online all the time, showing off her singing, her theatrics, her tips for hair and makeup and wardrobe that are all just perfect. She’s offended and angry that her number of followers on social media isn’t growing as fast as she deserves.  Sophie Selfie thinks humility is for lesser people than herself.
  • Roger Rightly is certain he is right with God, certain his religious studies have made him an expert on all that is true. He’s certain that others must practice religion just as he does if they want to have God’s blessing. He writes letters to the editor of the local newspaper, condemning the immorality of those who don’t live up to his standards. If someone that he deems unworthy visits his church—maybe with clothing or piercings or jewelry he thinks inappropriate, or not matching his mindset as to what families should look like or how gender norms should be—Roger makes sure they feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. His mission is to make the world line up with the lines he has drawn around religion and belief and behavior. Roger Rightly lacks mercy and doesn’t understand humility.

Likely you could share other examples–about people you’ve known …. or confessions from your own life. Humility is not natural to our spirits. One way sin has affected all our spirits is how self-absorbed and self-indulgent and self-promoting we all can be. We think highly of ourselves. We look down on others. We prioritize our own desires. We neglect others’ needs, sometimes even trample on others.

Thank God we have a Savior who didn’t think of his own place in the universe first, but put us ahead of himself.  “Christ Jesus … though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:5-9).  It is because Christ was willing to humble himself on our behalf that we have life, we have hope, we have salvation. And Christ calls us to follow him on the path of humility. Christian faith asks of us: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

God’s proverb says: “Do not put yourself forward … or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25:6-7).  Rather than pushing and promoting ourselves, we do well to serve others diligently and humbly. When we do, then we may be called upon to take up roles of leadership or positions of responsibility. As Jesus emphasized, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).  The leaders Christ seeks have hearts like servants. “The greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves” (Luke 22:26, cf. also Matthew 23:1-12).

When we practice humility, we engage in service to others. Rather than thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought, we “think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3).  We recognize that within the body of Christ, each of us has individual gifts and abilities (cf. Romans 12:4-8).  As “good stewards of the manifold grace of God,” we will “serve one another with whatever gift each of [us] has received” (1 Peter 4:10).

Humility means not pushing others around, but lending a helping hand. Humility means not insisting on my way, but listening to the thoughts and concerns of others. Humility means no inflated views of how good or right I think I am compared to others, but recognizing that only by the grace of God I am who I am (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Corinthians 15:10).  When we have that perspective, we will go forward in a path of service to others, knowing that we are what God “has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Ephesians 2:10).

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To be continued …

Next time:  Acknowledging our ability to be of service to others

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
30
Sep
2021

No place to lay their heads

Grateful for our homes, we will help those who are homeless


If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard. – Proverbs 21:13


I visited Portland, Oregon in mid-summer. The weather was pleasant while we were there, with daytime highs in the mid-70s, a bit below their normal average for the time of year. Prior to our visit, however, Portland had endured a record-setting heatwave with temperatures as high as 117 degrees, and thermometers climbed back into the 90s and above 100 degrees soon after our trip. During the heat of late June, the Oregon Medical Examiner’s office reported 96 deaths statewide from hyperthermia, 60 of those in Portland. Many of the deaths were older persons living alone with no air conditioning. Additionally, county leaders in the Portland metropolitan area and elsewhere in Oregon confirmed that a significant number of persons who died due to the excessive heat were homeless or inadequately housed.  Portland is one of many American cities with high rates of homelessness.  Globally, the United Nations estimates that “1.6 billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing conditions, with about 15 million forcefully evicted each year.”

I realize how fortunate I am to have a home. I may wish I had more equity in the house that I am slowly purchasing. I wish I could afford improvements and additions to the property which are beyond my means or would press my budget. But those are problems of privilege, not the crisis-level concerns of those at risk of losing their housing.  In the United States today, an estimated 2.6 million tenants are facing eviction if they don’t receive aid. Due to the pandemic, the federal government authorized a $46.5 billion eviction prevention program, but to date (eight months after Congress approved the funds), less than 17% of the rental aid has been distributed. Congress also authorized $10 billion to help the more than 2 million homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgages, but that program also has been agonizingly slow in responding to the needs that exist. In August, the federal moratorium against evictions was ended by the Supreme Court, which means the risk of more people losing their housing has increased. A state order against evictions ends today in California, which already has more homeless persons than any other state, including nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless (living in tent encampments, in cars, in abandoned buildings, on the sidewalk, etc).

We may contemplate renovating our homes, upgrading to bigger or better homes, purchasing a vacation home in addition to our homestead property. Having a sizeable amount of earthly possessions is not inherently wrong; we remember that God blessed faithful forefathers such as Job and Abraham with great wealth (cf. Job 1:3, Genesis 12:1-2). However, we do well to heed also the prophet Isaiah’s warning to God’s people, that “God expected justice” but instead heard cries of injustice (Isaiah 5:7), admonishing those “who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you” (Isaiah 5:8). We recall also Jesus’ parable of the rich man who planned to build bigger barns to store all his excess goods. God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20). Jesus reminds us, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). 

Our days on this planet are not permanent. We are called to see ourselves as “strangers and foreigners on the earth” who are “seeking a homeland … a better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13-16). We are also called to live in community with one another as we sojourn here. In the eyes of God, an acceptable “fast” (reducing our own consumption) is “to loose the bonds of injustice … to let the oppressed go free … to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin” (Isaiah 58:6,7).

When Jesus came down and “pitched his tent among us” (John 1:14, literal translation), living our experience on this earth, he said to those who would follow him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).  Surely, our Savior has empathy toward those who have no home. Christ seeks to provide us all a home in his heavenly mansions. In the meantime, until we reach that heavenly home, let’s strive to help one another and all of our neighbors have a safe place to be in this world.

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I’ll link here several highly-rated charitable organizations aiming to reduce homelessness. There are many more you likely can find in your own area.

Transition Projects

  • Over 50 years of helping deliver life-saving and life-changing assistance to some of Portland’s most vulnerable residents
  • 100 out of 100 rating on Charity Navigator

Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV)

The People Concern

  • Los Angeles area organization seeking to empower homeless persons to be housed, healthy and safe and to become active participants in the community
  • 100 out of 100 rating on Charity Navigator

HomeAid America

New Story

National Alliance to End Homelessness

Religious statement:  “Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment” (ELCA, 1990)

Scripture quotations, except where indicated otherwise, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Posted by David Sellnow
06
Sep
2020

Work is essential

by David Sellnow


When the COVID-19 pandemic began, state governors issued orders identifying essential workers whose labors were needed for community health and sustenance and safety. As pandemic conditions have persisted, we’ve come to see how work is essential for everyone. Those who’ve been forced into unemployment are painfully aware of how much their work mattered, especially as extended unemployment benefits ran out.

Even in Eden, work was provided for Adam and Eve. We may sometimes think of work as a necessary evil, but meaningful labor is actually an ongoing good that God intended for us in this world. Being on a perpetual vacation with nothing to do would not be paradise. Vacations provide needed respite from overwork. A weekly day of rest (sabbath) is a divinely designed time to withdraw from busyness and renew our spirits in communion with our Creator. But work itself is a vital part of our human experience. Anyone who has ever lost a job and been out of work knows what a blow to personal identity and security and hope it is.

Work is God’s way of providing for our needs in daily life, as well as the needs of our neighbors and communities. Studies have found that job loss and insecure employment have damaging effects on individuals’ emotional well-being and overall health. A 2009 study found that “unemployed workers died more than a year earlier than average” (Houston Chronicle, 2/1/2019).  As to community wellness, a study published in 2001 in The Journal of Law and Economics found that “a substantial portion of the decline in property crime rates during the 1990s [was] attributable to the decline in the unemployment rate.” When work is unstable, our own health and the stablility of whole communities is threatened. .

All work that has a beneficial purpose is godly work. A devoted church worker, Martin Luther, labored hard to teach this truth about work outside of church. In his era, clergy persons were held to be somehow holier than ordinary people simply by virtue of the religious positions they occupied. Luther reshaped the outlook on vocation or “calling,” assigning honor to all community members who were doing good work for their neighbors.  

In his address To the Christian Nobility in the German lands (1520), Martin Luther wrote: “A cobbler, a smith, a peasant—each has the work and office of his trade, and yet they are all alike consecrated priests and bishops. Further, everyone must benefit and serve every other by means of his own work or office so that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, just as all the members of the body serve one another.”  Luther also has been quoted saying, “Every occupation has its own honor before God. Ordinary work is a divine vocation or calling. In our daily work, no matter how important or mundane, we serve God by serving the neighbor and we also participate in God’s ongoing providence for the human race.”   Marc Kolden, writing in the Lutheran Journal of Ethics (2001), emphasized that Luther’s thought wasn’t so much about what formal occupation you might have. Any and every role in which you labor for others–even “the most mundane stations” and lowest tasks–”are places in which Christians ought to live out their faith” and help others by their efforts. In his writing On the Estate of Marriage (1522), for instance, Luther highlighted the noble duty of a parent changing diapers as an act of faith and love and service.

As COVID-19 began to ravage the United States, healthcare workers were hailed by members of their communities, from the banging of pots and pans each evening at 7:00pm in New York to residents going outside and howling at 8:00pm each night in Colorado. This was welcomed as recognition of essential efforts. I pray that through this present crisis, we learn to applaud work and workers in all sorts of needed roles, and also respect and remunerate workers appropriately for what they do to hold our communities together. Many of those considered “essential workers” under governors’ orders are in positions that are paid minimum wage or not much more. In my state, someone working full-time at minimum wage must spend roughly half their income to afford a one-bedroom apartment. They’d spend quite a bit more than half their income on rent in a metro area. According to government-defined standards, households that spend more than 30% of their income on rent are defined as “cost-burdened” and qualify for public assistance. Those spending more than 50% of their income on rent are “severely cost-burdened.” Something does seem amiss when persons doing work that we consider essential to community life have a hard time making ends meet as residents in the community.

So, as we observe Labor Day, let us pray:

  • with deep thanks for our own employment if we continue to have employment;
  • with passionate concern for all who are facing unemployment or reduced employment and income;
  • for generous gifts to churches and charities who work with persons in need; 
  • for strength and hope and help if we ourselves are financially burdened and at risk;
  • for recognition of all workers’ worth and the value of others’ work on our behalf;
  • for a willingness to share in supporting one another as neighbors in society;
  • for wise leadership in our nation and world to guide economies through difficult challenges;
  • for personal commitment to do all forms of labor and service as acts of faith in answer to our calling as Christ’s people.


“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms“ (1 Peter 4:10).

“Brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good” (2 Thessalonians 3:13).

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Posted by David Sellnow
10
Jan
2020

Prayer Q & A

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on September 2, 2017.

Thoughts on Prayer

by Ashley Renstrom

What is Prayer?

“You are in my prayers.” “I’ll be praying for you.” Christians often share those words with others, but what do they really mean? What is prayer? Prayer is a Christian’s way of communicating with God. It is conversation with him, the communion of a believer’s heart with God. Prayer is the work of the Holy Spirit in Christians. The Holy Spirit works through the Bible; that is the means by which he fills us with God’s grace and enables us to pray.

Prayer is not just rambling words, as Jesus reminded us when he said, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Prayer involves our words and our heart. King David wrote, “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight” (Psalm 19:14). In prayer, we want to align our hearts with God.

Prayer is not magic. It does not make demands. Prayer is not a guarantee against suffering. It is not an opportunity for us to show off. Prayer is not a last resort. Instead, prayer is talking to the one true God. Prayer is a wonderful privilege, a blessing earned by Jesus and granted to believers.

Why Do Christians Pray?
Prayer is an amazing privilege, a blessing earned by Jesus and granted to believers. Prayer occurs when a believer talks to God with heart and mind. We know what prayer is, but why do we pray?

One reason Christians pray is to spend quality time with our heavenly Father. Here on earth, we talk with people on a daily basis. As we communicate with them, we understand them better and build a relationship with them. The same is true with our heavenly Father. We have the opportunity to talk with him daily about anything and everything, spending quality time with him and growing closer to him.

We also pray because God directs us to pray to him. He tells us to call on him in the day of trouble (Psalm 50:15), and to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Christians pray because God promises to hear and answer our prayers (Psalm 91:15). We pray to God to give thanks to him, to praise him, and tell him our thoughts, worries, and troubles. God loves to hear our prayers (Proverbs 15:8), and desires for us to talk to him each and every day.

What Can Our Prayers Include?
Joseph Scriven was an Irish poet who lived in the 1800s. He suffered many tragedies and trials in his life, including the deaths of two fiancées and bouts of depression. After the death of his first fiancée, Scriven emigrated from Ireland to Canada. While in Canada, he received word that his mother had fallen severely ill. He wrote a poem to comfort her. In that poem he wrote, “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” That poem was later set to music and is known as the hymn, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus.” Joseph Scriven nailed it on the head: we can pray to God about anything and everything.

An acronym frequently used to help people focus their prayers is ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

  • Adoration is all about praise. In a prayer of adoration we get to express our love for God and praise his power and majesty.
  • We need to come before God in confession each and every day. We sin daily and fall short of God’s perfection. So we confess our sinfulness and specific sins, ask for forgiveness, and thank the Lord for his unending mercy and grace. Each time we confess to God, we trust that he forgives us. We also ask for help to turn away from future temptations.
  • Prayers of thankfulness give God glory. There is much we are thankful for! We can thank him for all of the earthly blessings he bestows upon us, but do not want to forget thanks for our spiritual blessings as well. Thank Jesus for dying on the cross for you. Thank the Holy Spirit for the faith he has worked in you.
  • Prayers of supplication can be for ourselves and for others. No prayer is too big or too small. We pray in accordance with God’s will for desires for ourselves and others in this world. No matter what we are praying about or praying for, we pray in the name of Jesus and pray according to God’s will, for he knows best.
What’s The Answer, God?
God delights in our prayers and he hears all of them. He is never too busy to listen. We don’t have to leave a message on the answering machine and wait for him to listen and respond. He listens to our prayers the moment we begin speaking to him.

Not only does God always hear all of our prayers, he also answers all of them. God may answer our prayers in a few different ways. He might say, “No, that’s not good for you. I love you too much and have a better plan.” When our prayers are not answered in the way we want, it does not mean that God did not hear the request. It does not mean that God did not answer your prayer. When he doesn’t answer in the way we want, he is answering in the way that is best for us. It is not always easy to understand in this life. However, we have his promise that he will always do what is best for us.

Another answer God gives to prayer is, “Wait, and keep talking and listen to me.” While we wait, God draws us closer to him and strengthens our faith. A psalmist wrote, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5). In this day in age, people want instant answers to everything. However, God does not follow our timeline. God has his own timeline, and it is the best. While we wait, we wait patiently, leaning on his word.

God may also answer a prayer with, “Yes, here it is right now,” or “Yes, here is what you asked plus a little more.” God answers our prayers with answers that are best for our welfare. He loves us and takes care of us spiritually and physically. God knows what he is doing. Jeremiah wrote, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

We see God’s answers in our lives and hear his answers when we read his Word. It is important for us to stay connected to God through his Word and listen to him. It becomes easier to accept God’s will in answering our prayers when we remember that he “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). God loves us, and we can trust him to answer our prayers according to what he knows is best for us—because his way is perfect.
Posted by David Sellnow
24
Dec
2019

Can you be thankful if your turkey is skinny?

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on November 22, 2018.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I dug out a message I had written for church use some years ago.  I needed to remind myself to be thankful even when material circumstances aren’t ideal.  As the Word of God urges, “Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
May you find blessing this Thanksgiving.

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Can you be thankful if your turkey is skinny?

by David Sellnow

At your house on Thanksgiving Day, when it’s time to have a prayer before the meal, is there somebody who blurts out, “Praise the Lord and pass the butter”?  It’s just a silly comment made in fun, but it points to an attitude we all fall into quite often:  Praise the Lord (a little) and pass the butter (a lot).  We’re in a hurry to get done with spiritual things so we can get on to other things that we think of as more enjoyable.  Praise the Lord a little, then let’s get on with lunch, or football, or shopping, or movies, or whatever.  At our Thanksgiving meals, what gets more attention and conversation—the spiritual blessings of the past year, or just how good all the foods taste?

We are people who easily focus on our bellies.  We hunger for extra helpings.  We have an appetite for pleasures and possessions.   Our Thanksgiving celebrations tend to flow in that direction too.  We notice material goods that God bestows—sufficient income, paid-up bills, bodily health, absence of pain, etc.  We’re glad and thankful when there is a big fat turkey on our table.

But what if there isn’t?  Can you be thankful if your turkey is skinny?   Can you be grateful if good things seem few and far between?  Can you still have Thanksgiving if your income is dwindling and bills are increasing, if your health is poor and pain level high?  Can you be thankful even where there’s not much in the freezer and the cupboards are almost bare?

To consider such questions, let’s give our attention to Hebrews chapter 12.  We’ll pay particular attention to the key verse at the end of the chapter (verse 28).  But let’s walk through the beginning of the chapter first, to see the overall inspired train of thought.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (World English Bible) …

Let’s lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, that you don’t grow weary, fainting in your souls.

  • The first answer to the question, “Can you be thankful if your turkey is skinny?” is: Yes, if you’re looking at what’s truly important.  What’s important in life is not how much comfort or luxury we have in our present life.  Eyes of faith are fixed on Jesus and on heaven.  If we keep looking ahead, in Christ, to our ultimate goal, we can find reason to be thankful even during times when we suffer miserably.  Look at the great number of prophets and apostles who lived their lives that way.  Look at Jesus himself!  He suffered horrors beyond our imagination, but was willing to endure all because he knew the outcome was eternal life—not just for himself, but for all of us with him.  We are his pride and joy, the reason he endured such suffering.  Surely we can endure pain and hardship for the sake of Jesus, who is our pride and joy.

Hebrews 12:4-13 …

You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin. You have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children: “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord,

nor faint when you are reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not children. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.  All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  Therefore lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

  • Can you be thankful if your turkey is skinny?  Yes, if you value healthy discipline. Facing hardship and enduring pain is not a bad thing.  We may feel bad in our bodies, but suffering is enormously good for our souls.  In good times we are too apt to forget about God, our Maker and Preserver who gives us all good things.  In tough times especially, we realize that we are dependent on God and call out to him for our needs.  God often uses physical losses to do us spiritual good.  We give thanks when we suffer, knowing God is using the suffering to train our spirits, disciplining us as his children so that we don’t get so caught up in the wants of this world, but rather see the greater value of spiritual things.

Now let’s jump ahead to the powerful concluding verses of the chapter –

Hebrews 12:28-29 …

Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

  • Whether your turkey is fat or skinny, it doesn’t matter. Simply “say grace” and give thanks in every moment, just as we do as we sit down to a meal.  Offer prayers and continue to serve the Lord.  Worship the God who made you, who saved you, who gives you a place in his eternal kingdom.  Worship him with your whole life.  Appreciate and praise what he’s doing each day.  Don’t ever become complacent about your spiritual life or your thanks to the Lord.  Remember, God is a consuming fire whose glory we will be glad to see, but who can also burn us in a moment if we push him out of our hearts and lives.  Hold onto the grace that God has given you in Jesus.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  Follow the pattern of the great cloud of witnesses of the faith, the heroes of the Bible who lived by faith (who were described in Hebrews chapter 11).  As it was for them, so it is for us:  The righteous live by faith, and we give thanks to the God who has given us that faith.

So praise the Lord and pass the butter as you celebrate Thanksgiving.   Even if you don’t have much beyond bread and butter to pass, even if your turkey is skinny, God be praised.  He is our eternal Redeemer.

Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

Thankful for a promise we can’t comprehend

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on November 26, 2014.

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Finding Comfort in Predestination

by MacCartney Mendolla

Predestination (or election) is a topic that Christians become squeamish about. However, the doctrine of predestination gives comfort to the believers because it assures them of their eternal life in Christ. Sometimes we want to put this doctrine on the back burner because it causes confusion, intimidation, and may cause hurt feelings. We don’t like thinking that our God wouldn’t select some for eternity in heaven. Our own human reason makes us feel uneasy about the doctrine of election because we like to think God chooses everyone to be saved.  Paul described the doctrine of election in this way:  God “chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:4-6).  These thoughts can make us uncomfortable because selection occurred before creation. Before we could even breathe or sin, God chose us. Our own human logic believes that if God created some to be elected then he had to have chosen some to damned. However, this is not the case. God wants everyone to be saved (as stated in 1 Timothy 2:4).

The doctrine of election also makes us uncomfortable because we don’t know if we have been selected, for that is veiled from our eyes. We cannot see the “list” of those selected. But we do have the Bible and it is God’s truthful Word.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Although we cannot see back into eternity and know who is elected, we can find comfort in our lives now and notice what God is doing for us and what he promises to do for us in the future. We also receive his Word by hearing, listening, and reading it. God has taught us to trust him.  And we do trust his promises, for God never breaks a promise.  This is the promise of God we hang onto:  “Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

God elected some, but the Bible does not say he chose any person to be damned to hell. However, people can willfully reject God’s grace in Christ and not receive the inheritance of heaven, which is given to us through faith.  God’s election is not something by mere chance; rather, it is by God’s undeserved love for us. Jesus said to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).  God chose us and there is nothing we could have done to become one of the chosen.  It is by grace that we believe in Jesus as our Savior and because of grace we will be in heaven.  Election is the starting point of our salvation and also a promise from God that we embrace by faith. The doctrine of election goes along with justification, sanctification, and salvation.

People all too often believe that they must do something to be saved. The truth is, no matter how many good deeds we do, they will never get us into heaven. All of us fall short of heavenly standards of being absolutely holy and blameless. If it were up to works for salvation, grace wouldn’t be needed from God.  Paul affirmed this truth:  God “has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9).  Because of Jesus’ redeeming work we can stand “holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:4) already now and finally on judgment day. Jesus has already paid for our sins. Through him we believe in him and all he has done for us.

Christians, take comfort and reassurance in the doctrine of predestination. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith-and this not from ourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works—so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Take this gift given to us and believe in Christ Jesus our Lord who has saved us and gives us eternal life through him. Continue to grow in the faith and knowledge of our loving God. Look forward to our eternity in heaven.

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“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8).

Posted by Electric Gospel