THANKSGIVING THOUGHTS.

 

Cartoon from James Lawson. Used by permission.

This week, I saw a couple of posts and and heard a podcast dealing with Thanksgiving. 

Let me start with this cartoon by James Lawson that has blessed me for years. I do, however, have an answer or two about why pilgrims are loved and Puritans are hated. It has nothing to do about doctrine, but rather who is the oppressor and who is oppressed. The Pilgrims are seen as victims to the bad Church of English who were persecuting them. The Puritans (at least some of them), on the other hand, were the oppressors. The existence of Rhode Island is proof of that, where Roger Williams and other Baptists fled to.

Switching gears but not leaving the cartoon yet... To be honest, I don't think the Pilgrims are as beloved as they used to be. Is doctrine involved here? Good question, but if it is, it's not that the hatred toward the Pilgrims/Puritans' Reformed Doctrine but the doctrine that is shared by all believers.

This is related to an article that was on the Indianapolis Public Library's website. There question is what indigenous peoples think, giving the answer that they see Thanksgiving as a day of mourning. They gave a link to see for the indigenous people's view of colonization. First, let me state that I don't think that the original residents of this country were treted right by some of our ancestors. Howver, should we have what has been a day of celebration of faith and family and for the unenlightened, football (the enlightened, like me, have the TV tuned to America's Dog Show) and feel guilty for something that we personally didn't do and something that we can't undo even if we wanted to (which I do).

Let me share a couple of thoughts I've heard before, but Al Mohler (President of The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville) reminded me. First, Thanksgiving is uniquely American holiday. Second, even the non-Christians are thankful, but to whom? Doesn't this show that we're not as secular as the world wants us to be?

Again, happy Thanksgiving. Hope your day is blessed.

DEVOTIONAL ON PSALM 26:6-7

Miller Park Zoo, Bloomington, IL

"I will wash my hands in innocence;

So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,

That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,

And tell of all Your wondrous works.

Psalm 26:6-7, New King James Version.

Do you get excited about proclaiming with a voice of thanksgiving? I do. There is something exhilarating to have a heart full of gratitude to God especially, and likewise to others as well. Same thing with telling of God's wondrous works, from the beauty of His creation to His transformational work in our lives.

Of course, it's hard to do if there isn't thanksgiving in your heart to start. Likewise, we don't often proclaim God's wondrous works because we're looking for other things and/or are not recognizing His works when we see them.

Another reason we're not thankful and proclaiming God's works is dealt with in the first six verses of Psalm 26. Maybe we're not trusting in the Lord. Perhaps we're not asking Him to test our hearts. It could be that we're comfortable (or at best not uncomfortable) with the ungodly. And then, we may not be confessing our sins and seeking inner purity.

I don't know about you, but I'd rather be proclaiming with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all of God's wondrous works.

Lord, thank you for all Your wonderful works. Grant us a heart that seeks things to be thankful, and a spirit overflowing that we want to share what you've done in our lives. In Jesus' name, Amen.
 

SHOULD YOU HAVE SAID "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE?"

 

Shoebox gifts for the Baptist Center under Christmas tree at Arlington Avenue Baptist Church

Okay, show of hands. How many of you have ever said when someone gives you a gift or an act of kindness say something like "You shouldn't have" or "You didn't need to do that?" I probably have.

Why do we say that? Simple. To let the giver know that they were in no obligation to give that gift or to do something for the other person. After all, how many of us add a name to our card or gift list because we received something from that person? In those cases, our giving is more guilt or feeling that we're in debt to the other. Thus, we say those things to let a person know they don't owe us.

However, there are two other reasons people might give you an unexpected gift or do something for you that you didn't solicit. I'll divide them in two groups.

1. Those who needed to. These people have giving in their DNA. When Becky gets good service, she adds that person to her list to give them a thank you card. It's in her DNA. Thus, some people give not out of guilt but because they're wired that way. To tell these people "You didn't need to do that" is a lie. Yes, they did need to.
2. Those who should have. These people feel God nudging them to do something for another. Or, to put it another way, God wants to bless a person and He wants you to deliver that blessing. For them not to give would be disobedience to God. Therefore, telling them "you shouldn't have" is wrong. Yes, they should have.

In other words, when someone does a kindness, maybe all you should say is "Thank you." They're doing what God wants to do.

A NEW ADVENT APPROACH? PART 1 OF 4: AN ADVENT OF GRATITUDE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

An African Nativity Scene, with a frame borrowed from Facebook.

I spent the first 30 years of my life with an absent Advent. In the hymnal I'm most familiar with, I noticed a handful of Advent hymns and designated separately from the Christmas songs, but I still didn't really get it. I was more familiar with Lent (by reputation, not by practice) than I was with Advent. 

Recently, some of the churches I've attended have the advent candles. Also, at Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, I've seen two different breakdowns of the four weeks of Advent: Prophets/Angels/Shepherds/Wise Men and Hope/Peace/Joy/Love. The last couple of years, I've been going through the latter (last year, combining the Advent theme with my Sunday Psalms series). 

This year, I've decided to take a more creative approach, and pick out four themes on my own for this Advent series. I'm picking four topics - okay, each theme has two related topics - that both we have through the First Coming of Christ and desperately need to live out.

Today, I'll start with an Advent of Gratitude (Thanksgiving) and Encouragement. I consider them related: Gratitude is being appreciative of what others do, and encouragement is motivating others to keep it up.

Do we have thankful hearts? Do we have minds trained to encourage? 

And do I need to elaborate more than just asking the two questions? I don't think so, but let me know if you disagree. 

SUNDAY HYMNS, PART 16 OF 22: TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Conservatory, Nashville TN

 

Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word.

Make friends of God's children; Help those who are weak; 

Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

 

Take time to be holy, The world rushes on; 

Spend much time in secret With Jesus alone;

By looking to Jesus, Like Him thou shalt be;

Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

 

Take time to be holy, Let Him be thy Guide,

And run not before Him, Whatever betide;

In joy or in sorrow, Still follow thy Lord,

And, looking to Jesus, Still trust in His Word.

 

Take time to be holy, Be calm in thy soul; 

Each thought and each motive Beneath His control;

Thus led by His Spirit To fountains of love,

Thou soon shall be fitted For service above.

 

NOTES ON HYMN

• I find it interesting comparing this song with "More Holiness Give Me" (see Part 9). Both songs have a 6,5,6,5 double meter, which alone means they can be interchangeable. Not only that, but both are in 6/8 time, and have the rhythm of dotted quarter note, three eight notes, two dotted quarters, repeat, with the even lines combining the two dotted quarters at the end. And is it coincidence both talk about holiness?
• I mentioned my pattern of going in alphabetic order, and made a slight variation of moving "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus" forward a couple of weeks so it would be posted by Reformation Day/All Saints Day. This song happens to fall on the week before Thanksgiving. But isn't there a connection between gratitude and holiness, especially if that gratitude is to God for all He does? If we are truly grateful, wouldn't we separate ourselves to Him and His purpose?
• I mentioned doing the first sixteen hymns in alphabetic order (again, with one variation). Yet there are half a dozen more installments! What will I be doing with those? Well, you'll find out next week!