Category Archives: Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks

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Some time ago, Andrae Crouch penned these words: “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am, and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.“

These words capture the essence of this special time of the year.

God has once again enabled sunshine and rain, soil and seed to work together to provide food that we’re going to need in the coming months. Martin Luther once reminded us that our “daily bread” consists of food and drink, clothing and shoes, houses and farms, money and property and spouses, little children and good government, good weather, peace, good health, good friends and neighbors, and all the rest…. We remember, as Christians, that when all manner of sin overwhelms us, God continues to choose us and bring us near, and for that we give thanks and praise.

Psalm 65 is one of my favorite psalms. The psalmist lifts up the peace that comes at sunset as a time to simply stop and rest in the arms of God, and the psalmist invites us to celebrate the joy of each day’s sunrise as a sign of new beginnings. The psalmist reminds us that God cares for the earth by filling irrigation ditches with water, by softening soil with gentle rain, by blessing the earth with growth and abundance, and even by calming storms and bringing an end to human conflicts. What a wonderful and amazing God we have!

The words of Andrea Crouch are not simply a statement of faith. His words are a question. How can we ever begin to adequately give thanks for the blessings that God has poured into our lives? How can we say thanks to the God who continues to choose us and bring us near when we are overwhelmed by the power of sin? How can we say thanks to the wonderful God who softens the soil with gentle rain and who combines that rain with sunshine, warmth and soil to feed us? How can we begin to thank God for food and drink, clothing and shoes, houses and farms, money and property and spouses, little children and good government, good weather, peace, good health, good friends and neighbors, and all the rest?

The Season of Harvest is a time of the year when we celebrate the incredible power of God at work in our lives and in our world. And the Season of Harvest is also a time when we are challenged to ask ourselves: “How can I give thanks for the things that God has done for me?” All that we are and ever hope to be is the result of God’s power at work in our lives; and our response to God’s love, mercy and bounty is how we give thanks and praise to the God who continues to bless us.

Resetting Your Heart

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ZZZ - Psalm Intro and Response

In my last few posts, I have focused upon Paradise.

I pointed you back to the 21st Chapter of Revelation, and lifted-up the Day when there will not be any more crying or grief or hurt or broken relationshipss or mourning or sorrow or regrets. We have been focusing upon Olam Haba – “what our world is yet to be.” And we’ve talked about the fact that we’re just not there yet.

And so, how do we live our lives as we travel through a time that spans the period that stands between “what our world is right now” and “what our world is yet to be”?

We can spend our time and our days lamenting the fact that life can be brutal, or we can invest our time and energy in developing an intentional awareness of the ways that God is working in our lives and in the world. We can invest our time and energy in pointing out the ways that our world is far from being a Paradise, or we can allow God to help us to see goodness and blessings in even the smallest things that happen in our lives each day. And the choice is ours.

About a year ago, I placed “The Book of Blessings” in the doorway where people enter our worship space – to challenge people to stop for a moment and think about ways that God has blessed them in the last week. If you don’t worship with us at Christ’s Lutheran Church in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, I’d challenge you to get a small notebook, spend a moment thinking about ways that God’s blessed you, and write them down in your own “Book of Blessings.” It’s truly amazing to look back through pages and pages of blessings that we have intentionally recorded because in one way or another they were important to us at one moment in time. It’s also amazing to see how quickly we forget about how God has blessed us – especially when life gets tough.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly “thanksgiving” can reset your heart. You’ll be amazed at how something as simple as counting your blessings each day can reshape the way that you think about your life and the world. Why not start YOUR “Book of Blessings” today?

Click Here for this Week’s Message

Keep Stirring!

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stirring pot

Have you ever noticed that holidays bring back memories?

I remember the days when my one job on Thanksgiving was to stir the gravy, so that it didn’t get lumpy while it was coming to a boil. My mother would drain the turkey juices into a pan, put the pan on the stove, add some water and flour that she had shaken in her special little gizmo, and then she’d tell me to stir. And I’d stir, and I’d stir, and I’d stir. I’d adjust the flame underneath the pan to speed things up. And then I’d stir, and I’d stir, and I’d stir. And at some point I’d always remember what my grandma used to say: “A watched pot never boils.” And, as funny as it sounds, Isaiah drew upon that image a long time ago – writing: “Oh, that you [God] would rend the heavens and come down – that the mountains might quake at your presence, just like when the fire causes a pot of water to come to a boil.” (Isaiah 64:1-2)

A pan of water doesn’t start to boil as soon as we put it on the stove, does it? When I was serving on Thanksgiving “gravy patrol,” I’d stand beside the pot of gravy – stirring and stirring and stirring and stirring – waiting for something to happen. And that’s, often, how life works, isn’t it…?

God doesn’t always change the circumstances in our lives (or in the lives of the people that we love) as quickly as we’d like – but we just continue to stir and stir and stir. God doesn’t always heal the illnesses that we face, or take away the sting of our grief, or heal our strained relationships as quickly as we’d like – but we just continue to stir and stir and stir. I’m sure that, at some point, we’ve all heard that “a watched pot never boils” because things don’t always happen as quickly as we’d like – but we just continue to stir and stir and stir. And that’s what this week’s message “Keep Stirring!” is all about.

St. Paul once wrote that all of Creation is groaning inwardly as we wait, together, for the Great Day when God’s going to fix it. (Romans 8:22) The prophet Isaiah tells us that from Days of Old, no one has heard – and no one has seen any other god than the Lord who comes into our world [and into our lives] (Isaiah 64:4) as we continue to stir and stir and stir. And that’s what Advent’s about. Stirring. Staying awake. Loving each other. Caring for each other. Supporting each other. Encouraging each other as we wait, together, for the Great Day when God’s going to renew His entire Creation and make it whole.

Have faith, my friend, and trust in the Lord. Always remember that the things that you’re doing – as you continue to stir and stir and stir – really matter (even though you don’t always see the fruits of you labor as quickly as you’d like). Love each other. Care for each other. Support each other. Encourage each other. And always remember that, as we wait together for the Great Day when God’s going to renew His creation, we need each other in order to be strong and courageous and active and faithful.

 

Read Through the Bible – Weeks 38 and 39

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“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever!“

We celebrate a national Day of Thanksgiving in the United States this week.

People drive many miles to spend time with their family. Houses are filled with familiar smells as pies are baked and as turkeys spend hours in the oven. Some people watch the big parades and the football games that have become a part of Thanksgiving Day. Other people spend time reviewing their Christmas list, so that they can hit the ground running on Black Friday. And, at some point, we all encounter the “pregnant moment” when we gather around a great feast and prepare to eat.

Why is it important to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Many of us live our lives believing that we work hard for all the things that we have and for the food that we eat. Many of us celebrate “Turkey Day” with little awareness of God’s blessings in our lives and in the lives of those that we love. It’s easy to forget about all of the prayers that God has answered and the blessings that God has given. It’s easy for us to forget about the blessings of good health, warm homes and peace. Martin Luther once wrote that, as Christ teaches us to pray “give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus tells us to remember that it is God who gives us our food and drink, clothing, shoes, house, money, goods, husbands and wives, children, our government, good weather, peace, good health, good friends and neighbors, self-control and a good reputation. When we pray – “Give us this day our daily bread” – we recall that God’s the source of everything.

Why is it important to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Perhaps, we need to pause and think about what life would be like if we didn’t have any food, any clothes to wear, warm homes to enjoy, and good health? Perhaps, we need to pause for a moment and think about what life would be like if we didn’t have any fresh water to drink, enough money to pay our bills, good weather, family and friends?

Why is it important to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Perhaps because it’s easy to forget that we’re richly blessed? Perhaps because we need to stop – at least for a short moment once each year – to just think about the Wonderful God who fills our lives with so many good things? Perhaps in that “pregnant moment” we can think about the people in our world who are less fortunate than we are? Perhaps in that once-a-year “pregnant moment” we can simply stop and think about ways that we can be a blessing in the lives of other people who don’t enjoy simple blessings that we often take for granted as we prepare to enter another Holiday Season?

Why is it important to celebrate Thanksgiving?

It’s important to celebrate Thanksgiving because it prepares us for what’s coming next. We remember that being “blessed” doesn’t always mean “having more.” We remember that life’s about far more than getting the biggest box that’s under the tree, or the most expensive electronic device. Life is about learning to appreciate what God gives us. Life is about finding ways to share goodness with others. Thanksgiving reminds us that God fills our lives with blessings we can share with other people. We become more generous, more giving and more aware of the needs of others when we stop and realize how richly we’ve been blessed in the past year.

I hope and pray that you’ll enjoy this Thanksgiving with those you love. I also hope and pray that, when you come to the “pregnant moment” we’ll all face as we gather around the table where a great feast is set before us that you’ll take a moment to just pause – and to reflect for a moment – and to give thanks for the many blessings that God has poured into your life.

And then, as you rise from the feast and prepare to journey into the “Season of Giving,” I hope and pray that you’ll carry with you a generous spirit – filled to overflowing with the type of thanksgiving that gives birth to love, to kindness, and to generosity.

Here are the readings for the next two weeks:

Week #38

Sunday: Philemon – Monday: Numbers 21-24 – Tuesday: 2 Chronicles 1-5 – Wednesday: Psalms 111-113 – Thursday: Proverbs 25 – Friday: Amos 5-9 – Saturday: John 19-21

Week #39

Sunday: Hebrews 1-4 – Monday: Numbers 25-28 – Tuesday: 2 Chronicles 6-10 – Wednesday: Psalms 114-116 – Thursday: Proverbs 26-27 – Friday: Obadiah – Saturday: Acts 1-2