Category: Thanks Be to God

Visiting Royalty

Matthew 2:1,2                                                          Visiting Royalty

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?  For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’” (ESV).

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These men were the first Gentiles to recognize Jesus for who He was, and they came to worship Him.  They must have suspected that Jesus was to become more than the “King of the Jews,” else why would they have worshipped Him?  When God put a special star in the sky that they could follow, He was letting them know that something of great import had happened.  It’s interesting that they did as Abraham did, they followed the leading of God, but there the following ended for them.  They returned to their own lands, but not before they had seen the one born King of the Jews, given Him gifts, and then worshipped Him.

The Christmas carol, “We Three Kings,” was written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857.  The song takes us from the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, through His earthly ministry, His crucifixion, and finally to His resurrection.  It is particularly important that this song uses the voices of these three wise men—gentiles—to follow the life of the One who was and is the Savior of all mankind.  At this very early time in the life of Jesus, we have the recognition of Jesus as more than just the “King of the Jews.”  He was recognized first by those of His nation, Jewish shepherds, but then later by those outside the nation of Israel, just as He was during His ministry and the ministry of His close followers—first to Israel and then to the Gentiles.

The chorus that follows each verse “O star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright, Westward leading, still preceding, guide us to the perfect light” tells of the journey of the magi who followed the “Star of wonder” and “Star of night” until that star guided them to “the Perfect Light”—the star having royal beauty, Jesus.  We may not have a visual star in the sky to follow, but I am convinced that God puts something in all of our hearts that will lead us to Jesus just as surely as those wise men of old were led to the child who was to become the “King of the Jews.”  All we need to do is emulate the magi and follow the leading given by Almighty God.

 

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain

It’s Still Thanksgiving

Philippians 4:6,7                                         It’s Still Thanksgiving

“Do not be anxious about anything.  Instead, in every situation, through prayer, and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.  And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (NET).

 

Well, thanksgiving is over.  NO, IT IS NOT!  We are told to give thanks in every situation.  Thanksgiving is to be included in our prayers and requests.  And when we do include thanksgiving, we will be given the peace of God.  The verse doesn’t say that we will get what we pray for, but that we will have peace.  It’s interesting that the verse says that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds.  We need God’s peace to protect us from the barbs of satan.  His barbs are constant, but we can always remind him that he is a defeated foe—defeated by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We just need to use the victory that Christ bought for us and brought to us.

So when are we to be thankful?  We are to be thankful in every situation, and that includes the little and the really big problems.  That also means that we should be thankful when things are going well.  Yes, we owe thankfulness and appreciation to God every minute of every day because He has given us everything from the oxygen we breathe to the promise of eternal life with Him.

The people we thanked this past week are still doing those things we thanked them for, and we need to continue to express our thanks to them throughout the year.  It’s a long time between thanksgivings if we wait until late November to thank the people who make our lives comfortable, safe, and enjoyable.  So let’s celebrate thanksgiving all year.

Oh, thank you to those who bake pies.  (Sorry, I forgot to thank you yesterday.)

I’m Thankful for My Church

Hebrews 10:24-25                                 I’m Thankful for my Church

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as we see the Day approaching” (NIV).

 

I’m glad and blessed to be in a local church where we do “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  God is love, so as we spur each other toward love, we are helping each other to move closer to our Lord and Savior.  Good deeds occur as the result of living in love and spreading the love of Christ.   We are led in this pursuit of love and good deeds from the pulpit by our pastor, by the praise and worship we join, and not least in the conversations we have before and after services.  These conversations are where we begin to apply what we have been taught.  We do encourage one another also in several monthly informal gatherings.  A word of encouragement and prayer from a church friend goes a long way toward lifting my spirits when I am discouraged.

We are told in Romans 12:4-5, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (NIV).  In our church we have people with many different skills and abilities, both spiritual and physical.  When the speakers, the singers, the prayers, the cleaners, the encouragers, the ushers, the security people, the office workers, and the prophets all work together, God is glorified and people are blessed.  I am thankful that in my church this happens often, and blessings flow within the church body and to the surrounding community.

Thankfulness

Psalm 100:4                                                                    Thankfulness

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (NKJV).

 

It’s ten days before Thanksgiving, and I thought it was time to write about thankfulness.  But then I thought that thankfulness is something we should have all year.  I’m glad that our nation has chosen a time to publicly thank God for His provision, and I celebrate it, but I feel ashamed that I waited  until now to write about thankfulness.

First of all, we owe our greatest thanks to God Almighty for His love that caused Him to create the universe.  God is due our thanks for everything we have in our daily lives, and we owe our greatest thanks to Him for providing eternal life for us in heaven with Him.

Personally, I am very thankful to God for my wife, our three sons, our three daughters-in-law, our three granddaughters, our four grandsons, our one grandson-in-law, and our one grand fiancé.  My life is full and quite blessed because of these beautiful gifts from God.  Family, the great invention of God, is the glue that holds communities and nations together.  When we can live together, work together, worship together, and love together, with God at the center of the family, the world is blessed.

Since I’m  being personal in this message, I will state my thankfulness for my church, Faith Community Church, East, in Tucson, Arizona.  We were welcomed within a minute of entering the church the first time, and the welcome was confirmed by many people before the service even started.  It felt like home, and it has been so for many years.  Friendships continue to grow as more people join the church.  God is praised and worshipped each time people gather there.  The Word of the Lord is preached and opportunity to reach out to the community is provided.  It’s a good place to grow closer to our Lord and to learn how to be His light in the world.

I hope that you are blessed as I am with a wonderful family and a blessed church.  If you are, thank God for them today.  If you don’t have one of them, family or church, or even if you don’t have either, give thanks to the Lord and ask Him to lead you to both.

Praise and thanks to our Great God!

 

P.S.  The church pictured is not Faith Community Church, East, but a Pennsylvania church.

Trust and Peace

Philippians 4:6,7                                                     Trust and Peace

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

 

It was very peaceful to look into this scene of calm blue water surrounded by snow-capped peaks from the deck of a large and stable ship.  All I had to do at that moment was to look on the glory of God’s creation, appreciate it, and thank Him for it.  It brought great peace to my mind, my heart, and my spirit.  That God would create all this just for our enjoyment, speaks volumes of His love and care for us.  The amazing beauty and grandeur of God’s creation, from the stark dryness of the desert to the sweeping  beauty of Alaska, cause joy and peace to rise within me and draw me closer to the one who created all this.  When I consider the great variety of the animals and the plants, in addition to all the landforms, I am overwhelmed.

Even though the beauty and magnificence He created are mind-boggling, they pale in significance when compared to the most loving, most sacrificial act of our God.  He left His place in heaven and came to earth as one of us and offered His body to purchase salvation, the forgiveness of sins, for us.  He allowed men to nail Him to a cross where He hung until His body died.  Satan may have considered this to be His great moment of victory, but it was just the beginning of satan’s humiliation in front of his minions when Jesus roared forth out of hell and brought our salvation with Him.  With salvation, He also brought peace for those who will accept Him, trust Him, and live for Him.

Thank you, Jesus, for the beauty of creation that I always enjoy, but I thank you  most for bringing me victory over sin and its contract with satan.  Thank you, Jesus, for providing a place for me with you for eternity.  I have trusted you, and You have given me peace.

Justice from the Heart of God

Luke 18:6-8                                          Justice from the Heart of God

“Then the Master said, ‘Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying?  So what makes you think that God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people?  Won’t he stick up for them?  I assure you, he will.  He will not drag his feet.  But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?’”

 

The corrupt judge in the earlier part of this parable gave in to the persistent widow who kept badgering him with her plea for justice.  Jesus assures His listeners that the Father will step in and gain justice for His people, particularly for those who are persistent in their prayers, asking Him for His help in granting justice.  This is definitely an encouragement to keep on praying even when we haven’t yet been granted what we ask.  There is a key word in this parable, and that word is “justice.”  I don’t believe that we can use this parable as encouragement to continue to pray for just anything we may want or desire.  It is specific to the quest for justice, for His help when we have been wronged.  God is not the spendthrift gift-giver who gives gifts haphazardly.  He always has purpose in His giving of gifts.  He knows the difference between good gifts and bad gifts that may eventually bring harm.  He, the omniscient God, certainly knows what is good for us and what is harmful to us.  When we have been wronged and deserve justice, He will see that we get justice.

God’s ultimate judgment comes about when we die.  If we have any sin listed in our account we will not be permitted in heaven.  Wait a minute!  I have sinned, and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t.  You mean that I have no chance to get into heaven?  No, that’s not quite true.  What is true is that we have all sinned, and what is also true is that Jesus died on Calvary for our sins and arose three days later with victory for us because He had paid the debt for all our sins, and they are no longer listed in our accounts.  So, I can spend eternity in heaven even if I have sinned?  That’s right, as long as we have asked Jesus to forgive us for our sins and have accepted His sacrifice on our behalf and call Him Lord.  So, God gives us more that the justice we deserve; He also gives us grace in the forgiveness of our sins.  He provides justice for us here on earth and grace for eternity.