As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7
We all know Thanksgiving is about turkey and all the trappings that go with it (especially a huge variety of pies!); but what is thanksgiving really? Sure it
=s a time when, at least in theory, we gather to express our thanks for God=s provisions to us both physical and spiritual; but I ask again, what is thanksgiving?The Hebrew towdah has its root in the idea of using the hand in service. The Greek eucharistia which is the source of the English Eucharist (a reference to the observance of the Lord
=s Supper). Among other things, it too has the idea of an act of gratitude.We tend to think of thanksgiving as simply a verbal expression of gratitude. Yet, both the Hebrew and Greek let us know that words alone are not in view. The people of Israel were instructed to give
Athank offerings.@ True thanksgiving finds expression in action. Paul takes it a step farther and says our thanksgiving should be Aabounding.@Perisseuo
is the same word Paul uses in Ephesians 1:7-8, AIn Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight@ The word signifies a superabundance of grace. That grace, charis, is at the core of eucharistia.Perhaps the Thanksgiving season is a good time to reflect on Paul
=s admonition. How often do our lives really exhibit this kind of thanksgiving? Not nearly often enough, I suspect. We tend to pat ourselves on the back when we make the tiniest of concessions and, if the truth is known, our tendency is to recoil at the suggestion we actually make a real sacrifice. Offerings are one thing, but sacrifice cuts much deeper - it is costly.One aspect of eucahristia is
Asacrifice of praise.@ We sing about that but in what possible way can praise be sacrificial? Have you ever asked yourself that question before? Does it mean we give up the Super Bowl game to attend services? I don=t think so, though that isn=t a bad idea these days. By the way, Apraise@ comes from the Hebrew yadah which is the root of towdah/thanksgiving. Costly thanksgiving!What message do you suppose God intends for us to get by using action words to describe our response? Action! That
=s what John admonishes in 1 John 3:18 ALittle children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.@ For that kind of love, no token act will do. It must be something more, much more.Superabundant grace demands a superabundant response on our part. Paul describes that grace in even more superlative terms in Romans 5:20, huperperisseuo. The addition of huper escalates the magnitude of superabundant grace exponentially. How puny our vision is of the grace we have received.
In truth, how we respond is a very good measure of our understanding of grace. Those who minimize grace and their need for it, can never be truly gracious people regardless of their deeds. Their motives empty their gift of any true significance.
One popular contemporary Christian song begins with
AAbove all powers . . .@ and goes on to describe how Christ is supreme above all A. . . the earth has ever known.@ It is a glorious expression of the Divine Majesty until the closing lines stand it on its head and exalt man with the words, ALike a rose, trampled on the ground, He took the fall and thought of me ABOVE ALL@ [my emphasis].In essence, the words proclaim that Christ is superior to everything but
Ame.@ Even the description of His sacrifice as a Afall@ presents us with a serious contradiction. If what He did was a fall, then we are without hope. Praise God it wasn=t a fall!Never in the ministry of Christ was His authority more powerfully demonstrated than when He orchestrated His own death for the sins of mankind. Because of Who He is, no man could have ever taken His life in the flesh; He chose the time, the place, and the means. Just one week the crowd which shouted
AHosanna@ resounded with ACrucify him!@When He was on the cross, His thoughts were about obedience to the Father
Aabove all.@ Did He think of His tormentors and others so in need of grace? Surely, but to suggest they were foremost in His thoughts is to diminish the nature of what was accomplished at Calvary.Whether we do it intentionally or not, the consequence of diminishing the glory of Christ
=s ministry ultimately undermines our thanksgiving. We live at a time when we desperately need to recover a deeper sense of what real thanksgiving is and how it looks.Thanksgiving isn
=t about words, it is an attitude which cannot help but burst forth into action. AZaccheus was a wee little man . . .@ but when grace was extended to Him, he responded in periseuo giving half of all he had to the poor and repaying everyone he defrauded with four times the amount he had taken. We don=t see that in most modern conversions and it is rare to see such an immediate conviction.By the time you receive this the leftovers of turkey and all the trimmings may be gone, but true thanksgiving will be no less in order. Let
=s commit to making it a daily matter. Every occasion and every circumstance is an opportunity for giving thanks, IF we are willing to see it from an eternal perspective. That=s hard I know, but practice makes it easier and, in time, praise becomes our first thought and gracious living our learned response.Understand of course, that we are not capable of such living but Christ within us provokes a proper response as we take our eyes off ourselves and learn to see the world around us through His eyes. Regardless of what He accomplishes through us, we have no basis for boasting but in Christ alone.
Rejoice in the contentment which true thanksgiving brings!
New Book
Hank Hanegraaff, popularly known as
AThe Bible Answer Man,@ has recently released a fictional novel titled, The Disciple which deals with eschatological themes from a Apartial preterist@ view. I don=t have a copy and haven=t read it, but you may want to get yours soon. It was published by Tyndale House, which also published Tim LaHaye=s Left Behind series. LaHaye is reportedly upset with the firm and it is possible that when the current printing of Hank=s book sells out, there may not be another printing.Based on reviews I
=ve heard, folks who love fiction should find the book a compelling challenge to the popular dispensational view. Personally, I don=t read much fiction, but I am happy to recommend it, especially when it challenges folks to question what they believe about the scripture.So, add this one to your Christmas wish list and send me your comments. I
=d love to reprint a representative sample of your reviews in a future edition.AI was in prison and you came unto me@
All my life, I
=ve heard and read these words of Christ from Matthew 25, yet I must confess that only once have I actually gone to a prison to fellowship believers there and that was a group event. Just what does Christ have in mind here, and how much should it impact our acts of thanksgiving?Although I think Christ is, in my opinion, primarily addressing the matter of those unjustly confined, I don
=t think that rules out Christians who are confined as a consequence of lawbreaking. (Let me digress for a moment to ask for your input on a question I=ve wrestled with for a number of years now; where in scripture do we find a basis for incarceration as as means of executing justice? I would really appreciate your thoughts. I don=t find a biblical basis for anything but retribution and/or restitution, yet in our society, the victims of criminal activity are made to pay for the care and keeping of the perpetrators. Something seems very wrong with this picture.)Back to the subject before us
B Since I live in Huntsville, Texas, I am regularly confronted with our system of confinement. APrison City@ is that noteworthy place where Karla Faye Tucker and other high profile criminals have been executed with much media fanfare that you have probably seen coverage from here. Churches here have prison ministries and numerous Christians work within the system. Some are tremendous examples of the love of Christ and I have great respect for their positive influence in such a dark environment.Occasionally, I meet folks involved in prison ministries who encourage others to get involved and it has never impressed me as something I should major on in my Christian walk. Nonetheless, over the past decade I must admit that changing conditions are making such a commitment more compelling.
Living in this country, I never dreamed I would be faced with needing to visit religious and political prisoners. That kind of injustice only happens in Godless countries and maybe it speaks volumes about where we are in this country right now. We are witnessing the arrest of innocent people doing nothing but standing and praying outside abortion clinics. Laws designed to deal with organized crime are used to silence those who, exercising their right of free speech, dare to raise a voice against abortion. The travesty of justice is too bizarre to contemplate. The seriousness of the situation begins to dawn on you when people you know to be faithful, obedient Christians are carted off to jail. One friend of ours recently spent 26 days in jail on a fallacious charge of contempt of court. He had been named as a witness in a case and was ordered to provide information to the court. He did not have the requested information and told the judge so at the time of the hearing.
The judge took no immediate action but months later had him picked up in a
Aroutine@ traffic stop. After being bounced around facilities across the south, his case was finally heard and even the prosecuting attorney admitted he was innocent. The entire event had been an exercise in harassment meant to intimidate him. He lost a month=s work and had to pay thousands of dollars in attorney=s fees just to hear the government admit he had done nothing wrong.Such examples of injustice are increasing and we seriously need to consider our responsibility for prisoners and their families. I
=m happy to say that Christians rallied behind this family in a way he found overwhelming. I wanted to visit this man in prison, but visitors now must be approved and by the time they get approved, the prisoner has been transferred to another facility in another state.I share these things with you as an alert to what is happening in our own backyard. If you don
=t know anyone who has been arrested unjustly, it probably won=t be long until you do. The rise of the police state amidst the destruction of our constitutional protections is a matter of grave concern. Sooner or later, it will impact you and your family. Mentally prepare now to act as faithful servants of the King of Heaven.This generation shall not pass away. . . .
A
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.@ (Matthew 24:34)Contemporary prophets of a future
Alast days@ struggle to deal with this simple statement of Christ. There is no question Christ is addressing the disciples questions about the age to come which will usher in the eternal kingdom. He describes the events they will witness and puts that assurance in all caps and bold type!Notice the first word in the passage,
Atruly.@ Needless to say Messiah was truthful, but He emphasizes the certainty of this statement with the word which gives us Aamen.@ The meaning of the word is one of certainty and assurance, Aso be it.@ If Jesus says the amen, can there be any doubt but that this word is sure? Paul wrote ABut as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us-- by me and Silvanus and Timothy-- was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes; wherefore also by Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.@ (2 Corinthians 1:18-20).You must see the power in Paul
=s statement. Jesus didn=t just say Aamen,@ He is the Amen! How can any believer doubt the certainty of His word? Yet, many do.Christians holding the dispensational view are required to challenge the certainty of His word because their understanding of
Aend times@ events forces them to do so. They have it backwards. The scripture should compel their understanding of Athe time of the end,@ not the other way around.One attempt to avoid the conflict is to redefine genea as race. However, even those who choose to do so acknowledge that everywhere else in scripture it means exactly what it says, the people living at that time. To call the veracity of Christ and His word into question with no biblical support for doing so is anything but proper interpretation.
Another ploy to escape the obvious is to change the text so that it says,
Athe generation which sees the signs@ Jesus foretold. Not only does that add to the text, it is self-defeating. The generation then living did, in fact, see the signs Jesus warned them about. The very fact they fled from the city is sufficient evidence they believed the events Christ prophesied were happening. Numerous others throughout history have been sure the events were unfolding in their time. Simply taking Christ at his word and reading a little history clears up the confusion for the honest student.By the time you receive this, Christmas will be just around the corner. Listen carefully to the words of the familiar carols you hear and sing. Let them transport you back to that time in history when the
Along expected Jesus@ made His entry into this world in the form of human flesh.Grasp the urgency of the time and understand anew why
Athe hopes and fears of all the years@ were met together in Bethlehem that night long ago. How could they have been excited about a Messiah with promises to them which would be left unmet for thousands of years after their death? How would that have been Agood tidings of great joy@?They knew that the appearing of Messiah was the inauguration of the last days foreseen by Jacob in Genesis 49:10f. They may have missed the nature of Christ
=s ministry, but they by no means we=re wrong about it=s timing.What He began at the cross, He was faithful to complete before that generation passed away. God
=s word is true.Post Election Reflections
Few folks who pay attention to things political were surprised by the outcome of the presidential election earlier this month. The pages of history yet to be written will confound their readers as they seek to understand how a people could continue to aid and abet their oppressors. One hardly needs more compelling evidence this country is in an unchecked free-fall characteristic of other cultures which imploded due to the gangrene of apathy and ignorance.
A
Conservatives@ can now go back to sleep for four more years. The world is safe for Ademocracy@ because their man=s tyranny is better than the tyranny of others. God help us.Hopefully a few have been awakened by the actions taken by Mr. Bush since November 2nd. Of course, he knew John Ashcroft and other members of his cabinet would be leaving long before the announcements came after the election. Those announcements were delayed because the appointments Bush had in mind would have easily cost him votes.
The evangelical community roared in unison that they elected the Bush and that he now has a mandate to address their issues. Well, he addressed them; he looked those voters square in the eyes and spat in their face with the nomination of pro-abort Alberto Gonzales to the office of Attorney General.
You do realize the AG heads the Department of JUSTICE don
=t you? What kind of justice will be administered by a man who believes the federal government has no duty to protect innocent life in the womb? Is that the kind of justice YOU want administered? If so, don=t be surprised when you are charged with some crime against the state. If you plan to hold your tongue regardless of what government does, and to bend to any measure it enacts, you probably won=t have a problem. On the other hand, if you believe there is a point at which you would have to disobey government edicts and resist its mandates, you would be well advised to write your representatives and urge them to reject this nomination (among others).The President pulled a
Abait and switch@ scam on voters and most are saying nothing. The previous appointees certainly were not winners, but they are being replaced by people who are even more willing to impose ominous restrictions to our liberty.To add insult to injury, Mr. Bush couldn
=t wait to approve an increase in the national debt. Congress met late on Nov. 23rd to increase the debt ceiling to $8.18 TRILLION increasing your individual share $2,700 to about $28,000! Remember this betrayal while you are cutting corners trying to make ends meet. The country=s debt now represents about 70% of the total economy! If you are in that kind of trouble personally you know how much trouble you have. Fortunately, the Fed can always print more worthless money to pay the bill. I jest, of course, because that devalues what you=ve worked all your life to put aside for your future and your heirs.I challenge you to listen to Christian programming the next four years. PLEASE, notify me every time a well known Christian leader says something negative about the President. At the same time, keep track of how often they attack the President
=s detractors. Compare that to what happens when a Democrat is elected. When that happens, they turn their focus to the misdeeds of the President and rally his detractors. If you think Christian media is willfully misleading its audience, you are right on target. Be wise, look to other sources. Keep an open mind. Do you homework. Deny lawbreakers the only thing they really care about, your vote.The Apprentice
=s JournalWow! The past three months have been a blur and a lot of things have happened! The bluebirds were back one evening in September to make a final inspection of the house. The hummingbird migration was incredible this year. We had three feeders out and at one point we were going through a half gallon of sugar water daily.
It has been a long time since I
=ve seen hummers swarm like that. When I brought a feeder in to clean and fill it, they were teeming at the door before I opened it! It was quite an experience to stand there and have them landing on the feeder while it was still in my hand. The drone of so many hovering about my head and face was really loud. We managed to get some video of them and it is something to see.One dominant bird would hover above the head of others on the feeder and suddenly drop, grab them with his feet, and fall, pulling them off the perch. Some varieties share pretty well, but some are real tyrants!
One evening as we were getting ready for bed, Sharon heard a commotion in the backyard. I went out the door and noticed the gate by the garage was open. I began looking around the yard and found one of the deer twins had managed to knock the gate open and was trapped in the yard. He couldn
=t see the top rail of the fence and so he just kept running into it, butting it with his head. Chainlink fence isn=t what it used to be and he was beating it up pretty good. I opened all the gates and finally managed to direct him to one of them. We were both relieved, but it took me almost an hour the next morning to repair most of the damage to the fence. We haven=t seen them since that night.On the garden front, the fall tomato experiment didn
=t go as well as I had hoped, but we did get a few. The okra is 12 feet tall and still blooming, but the shorter days have stifled production. I did get some giant pumpkin seeds out late. Two vines have just about taken over the entire garden and encroached on part of the yard as well. The largest pumpkin is about 45 inches around which makes it far short of the mammoths you see on the news from time to time. Nevertheless, I hope to get a couple out early next year and at least work for a local record.It looks like we could have our first frost this week and that would be welcome. The trees have been dropping their leaves but without cooler weather, the colors have not been as dramatic as they were in the past. The signs of approaching winter remind us that following growth there is a time of rest and replenishing.
Fall planting and pruning is work and months of things lying dormant gives a stark appearance to the life which is waiting for God
=s moment to emerge in the spring. It is easy for us to grow impatient with ourselves, especially as we reflect upon past decisions, but we do well to remember that in every moment, God has a purpose. In this season of thanksgiving, I pray we will commit ourselves to adding action to our words and live as a thankful people. Truly thankful people don=t live casual or careless lives because every moment is captured as a gift from God.That doesn
=t mean we lead lives devoid of diversion, but it does mean we guard against allowing diversion to become the norm. It is a good exercise to occasionally assess just how we spend our time. Do be aware that even Aspiritual@ things can become diversions if we allow them to interfere with our walk. Living faith is about building and maintaining relationships: first with God, then with others. When we lose that perspective we can expect correction. You=ve probably heard the statement, AHe=s so heavenly minded that he=s no earthly good.@ Most of us have known people like that. Maybe we=ve even been like that. Faith is not something which detaches us from the world around us, but rather it causes us to engage the world in a positive way for the purposes and glory of God.As we gather with families and friends this year, let us look for opportunities to grow deeper relationships. Enjoy the anticipation such sharing builds for the glorious blossoms of grace which will appear in due season.