Understanding Thanksgiving

Recently  I visited two large stores. Of course, they were decked out for Christmas and every Christmas decoration, toy, and pre-packaged ready to give gift was right there front and center. Several people I know announced they completed their Christmas shopping and have the gifts wrapped and ready and yes, one has the Christmas tree up for a week already! The radio has a totally Christmas channel airing. I ask.... what happened to Thanksgiving? Is it just a steppingstone to the Christmas festivities? Has the true meaning of Thanksgiving and the focus on praise and thanks to God been hijacked by the commercialism of Christmas?

There is plenty of time to prepare for Christmas, but let's first stop and give thanks. Let us not be so rushed and so preoccupied we fail to understand and enjoy the season and experience true Thanksgiving. Let's not get so caught up in food, and black Friday that we miss the point. Thanksgiving is an opportunity for us to share our faith and give thanks to God.  Through his grace we stand delivered. Through his goodness and love we enjoy a blessed life. 

Lord God, you are great. It is your majesty and glory that we acknowledge this Thanksgiving. May we always give you thanks and praise. You are the One who provides, sustains, and loves us. We raise up our hearts and hands in thanksgiving to you. Thank you for your love and for all our blessings today and always. Amen!

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4

 

Holy Spirit

If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to study the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to do so. This time of year, is the perfect time with many celebrating Halloween, formerly known as “All Hallow’s Eve”. Hallow means holy or saint. In the early church All Saints Day was created to honor saints and martyrs and the night before, All Hallow’s Eve, to ward off evil spirits. 

The Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, has always existed. In Genesis 1:12 we learn, “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” 

In the Old Testament the Spirit came upon individuals temporarily and selectively and gave life, courage, strength, guidance, physical power and boldness. This included:

Gideon: “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” 

Samson: “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson.” 

Ezekiel: “The Spirit entered me when He spoke to me and set me on my Feet.” Ezekiel 2:2

Job: “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4 

And more including Micah, Nehemiah, and Isaiah 

In the New Testament, the Spirit dwells in believers permanently. 

This was prophesied in Joel 2:28-29, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people; your sons and daughters will prophesy.” 

At Pentecost, the prophesy was fulfilled:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts of the Apostles 2:2-4 

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as recorded in John: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” John 14:15-17

We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit living in us as believers! It’s incredible to know that the same Holy Spirit who moved in creation, inspired prophets, and empowered kings, lives in us. Praise God!

Letter From Christ

As a Christian, whether you realize it or not, you are a letter from Christ. Those that interact and observe you, see you sharing what Christ has done in your life and the way you live because of Him. That means that you are "being read" like a letter by those around you. What kind of letter from Christ are you? 

Are you a:

Complaint letter - constantly highlighting all that is wrong with life and the world 

Short letter - with little to say because you keep Christ all to yourself

Run-on letter - filled with complexity and mystery about what really is a simple message of God's grace

Resignation letter - letting others know that you tried but are giving up on Jesus and being his follower

Warning letter - preaching without reaching a soul

Unopened letter - staying silent in fear of sharing your faith

Thank you letter - telling real life stories of the way God has been there for you and can change the lives of others

Love letter - sharing words of encouragement, joy, love and praise and the truth about the Good News of Christ and God's love

Today and every day, you represent and reflect Jesus Christ to the world. Are you a letter worth reading? Do you present the love and truth of Jesus to those hearing from you?

Choose your words, message and tone carefully. Remember, you may be the only letter from Christ that is shared today. Make sure you represent Him well.

"You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." Corinthians 3:2-3

Be Strong In the Lord

Photo by Doreen Dawson-Becker

Ephesians 6 reminds us to be strong in the Lord by putting on the full spiritual armor of God to stand against the enemy. We are told to stand our ground by first putting on the belt of truth and then the full armor including breast plate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword. 

Each piece of armor is provided by God to allow you to stand as you are “not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

God provides the armor as a gift, but you need to put it on daily in order for it to serve its purpose. If not, it is like owning a raincoat and umbrella and forgetting to put them on for protection as you walk in a rainstorm.

God's belt of truth is the most important piece or armor. In Roman times, the belt was important to secure the soldier's tunic and had a place to hold their sword. Jesus is the "way, truth, and the life." John 14:6 and through Him you come to God. In accepting Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in you and will provide gentle nudges to discern truth.  

The Breastplate of Righteousness protects you from the condemnation of the enemy. In Roman times, breastplates protected a soldier heart and vital organs. As salvation protects the head, righteousness protects the heart. In Jesus Christ, you are righteous because He gave his life as a sacrifice for you on the cross. The blood of Jesus and his righteousness covers all your sin. Think of putting on righteousness as wearing a royal robe provided to you by Christ. 

Shoes allow for sure footedness, even on shaky ground. God's shoes are Gospel shoes of peace. When you meet people in the peace of Jesus Christ and share your testimony, you will be able to stand firm and defend the Gospel.

Shield of Faith: The shield is your first line of defense against the enemies fiery darts of doubt, deception, and discouragement which are meant to destroy your faith. Without faith in God you are likely to give up on believing the truth of who you are in Christ and perhaps your walk with Jesus. 

The Helmet of Salvation: protects your mind which is the major battleground. The enemy wants you to believe you are not worthy of salvation. Don’t listen to those lies! Pray and declare the blood of Jesus over your mind. Put on the mind of Christ and take captive thoughts of guilt, shame, and doubt. You cannot earn salvation. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you became His.The price has been paid in full; the helmet reminds you of that and protects you. Nothing can take you from Jesus.Your identity and hope are in Him. 

Sword of the Spirit: The sword is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of armor are for defense, the sword is an offensive piece of armor. God's Word stands as the final authority over darkness. Speaking the Word of God has great power against the enemy. Jesus gave us an example of this when tempted by the devil in the desert saying "it is written" and wielding the Sword of the Spirit to defeat the enemy. 

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.‭‭

Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭

Don't Take it Back

Photo by Groovypat

One of the main reasons I order from Amazon is if I am not satisfied with the merchandise, I can simply send it back. Taking things back is an easy process. There are no questions asked and no return fee.

This works great for Amazon but not for God. You may have surrendered a problem or need to him and decided you will handle it on your own. Or you may have become impatient with waiting on God and think you need to step in and help him out. That's taking it back!

When you take something back from God, it demonstrates a lack of faith and trust. Do you think you are more powerful than God or have more knowledge? That's absurd. God is beyond capable of addressing any need you have and orchestrating the perfect solution.

The next time you hand over an issue, or a loved one, to the care of God remember, the Creator of the Universe knows what he is doing. You don't need to be God's project manager. He has been managing the entire universe way longer that you have been alive. Don't give into doubt and fear. God, has it covered. You just need to trust him and be still.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6