Monthly Archives: November 2014

An Awful Lot to Be Thankful For

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 mlb_choice_04    On July 4, 1939, then thirty-six year old Lou Gehrig gave one of the most memorable speeches in American sports.  Gehrig had been diagnosed with ALS, a disease that was going to claim his life within two years of his famous speech.  In that speech, Gehrig claimed to be “the luckiest man alive” and said he had “an awful lot to live for.”

     How would we have reacted if we were told that we had a debilitating disease that was sure to claim our lives in a very short time?  Would we feel like the luckiest man alive?  Would we feel like we had a lot to live for or to be thankful for?  Lou Gehrig’s attitude in the face of “a bad break” should serve as a reminder to us all about how we should look at life.

     Rather than focusing our attention on bad news or by the trials that come upon us in life, let us look to all of the blessings that God has bestowed upon us.  He has given us our very lives as our Creator (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7).  He has given us this planet with all of its wondrous beauty on which to live (Psalm 19:1; Gen. 1:1).  He has given us His word so that we can come to know Him and become His children (John 1:12; Phil. 2:15).  He gave us His one and only unique Son in order that we may have the hope of eternal life (John 3:16).

     At this time of the year, we all take a day to think about being thankful for what we have.  However, not just on this day, but all throughout the year let us count those blessings that we have from God.  Even though life can be difficult, and many times we may have to deal with trials, bad breaks, and bad news, let us all realize that we have an awful lot to be thankful for.

How Many Are There?

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one-finger    Have you ever looked around and wondered why there are so many different religious organizations or churches in the world?  It seems that there are new religions popping up everyday in most places around our country.  What is even more confusing is that most of these religious groups are all teaching and preaching a different message.  In many ways the message of one group is a directly opposed to the message of another.  Can all of these be true to the directions of God?  Is God’s message to man really full of oppositions and contradictions?  Is truth relative?

     Consider what we find written in God’s word in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (NKJV).”  Notice in this passage that there are many faiths (one) and as many bodies (one) as there are Lords and Gods (also just one).  We can also see that the body is the church by reading further in the Ephesian letter (Ephesians 5:23) and in the book of Colossians (Colossians 1:18, 24).

     Since we see in God’s word that there is just one body – just one church – then we should do all that we can to make sure that we are in that one church.  This is the church that Jesus promised to establish (Matthew 16:16-19).  This is the church that was established on that day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2).  Back in the first century there was only one church that the believers were a part of.  There were not different denominations on every corner or on every street.  Let us strive to belong to that church that was built by God!

All Gave Some. . . Some Gave All

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DSCF4430     Today we remember the brave sacrifice that this nation’s veterans have made over the course of our history.  We honor those who stood in the breaches in the defense of freedom both here in the United States and in other foreign lands around the globe.  Many young men and women made that journey for the cause of our freedom and security, and never returned home again.  While we do not want to take anything away from their dedication to this nation and its freedom, there is an even greater sacrifice that has been made on our behalf, which we must not ever forget.

The pages of the Bible are rich in the telling of the story of Jesus.  Many prophets in the Old Testament alluded to His coming to earth and the mission He was charged with completing. Isaiah 53 is especially compelling, as it gives us a glimpse of the suffering that our Savior was going to go through on our behalf.  It was for the cause of our freedom from sin, that Jesus gave His all for mankind.  Paul tells us that while we were sinners and enemies of God, the Father sent His one and only unique Son to die a cruel death on the cross in our place (Romans 5:6-11).

Even though He was innocent, He allowed Himself to be placed on that cross to die, so that our sins could be removed.  We were the ones who had sinned.  We were the ones who had fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  We were the ones who deserved death due to our transgressions, which had taken us away from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 6:23).  Instead, Jesus stood in the breach between us and our transgressions, and by His stripes, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

On this day we remember the sacrifices made by our brave men and women and express our gratitude for their service to our nation.  Let us never forget that we have freedom due to their willingness to act, but also because of the selfless sacrifice of Christ.  He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  Let us strive to do our part and give Him back our all.

Vote Early, Vote Often!

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Barack_Obama_votes_in_the_2012_election     I remember an old joke about Election Day and the Chicago way, which said to get out there and vote for the candidate of your choice from just one political party.  The fake advertisement ended with an admonition to vote early and often.  Today, many are turning out at the polls to vote for their choice candidates for sheriff, school boards, state and national congress, and judges.  We as Americans have a long history of democracy and having our say in who our leaders are going to be.

     In the Lord’s kingdom, however, that is not the case.  We already have a head of the kingdom, and that is our King.  He is our Lord as well as our Savior, and He does not have to run for office or have our vote of approval to continue His reign.  We are told that Jesus will continue to reign over His kingdom until the end of time, when He delivers the kingdom up to His Father (1 Corinthians 15:24).  We are told that Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Ephesians 5:23).  It is that spiritual kingdom that He has reigned over ever since He ascended back into heaven and took His place at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 1:1-4; Psalm 110:1-4).

    As such, it is not up to us to decide who the ruler will be.  It is not up to us to decide who will sit in judgment over us.  It is not up to us to decide which religious practices we are to perform and which we are not to partake in.  God makes those decisions, and His kingdom is not a democracy.  Thus, we do not have the right to pick and choose and make decisions about that which God has already legislated.

     As we exercise our freedom to have a voice in our government in the political arena this day, let us not forget that in matters of religion we do not get to make those same decisions.  Let us look to the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, as our leader, shepherd, ruler, savior, friend, judge, and advocate!