No Thanksgiving without Worship

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.    —Revelation 7:12

In America, Thanksgiving brings images of pilgrims, family, turkey, and pumpkin pie. For over ten years, I, my five siblings, who have been spread across the United States, and our families gathered for several days at one of our houses each Thanksgiving. The time together included, outdoor games like golf and football. We usually spent some time shopping together, going to a movie, and staying up late to play board games. The Thanksgiving Day meal was always on Friday, with all the fixings. Thanksgiving just wouldn’t seem right without turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and homemade noodles, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.

One year, we met at my sister’s home in the San Francisco area. On Thursday, their church had a special Thanksgiving service. Many people came, some recovering from addictions. We shared our testimonies and gave honor and praise to God. It was one of the most meaningful Thanksgivings I have ever experienced. To many Americans, Thanksgiving is not complete without food and family, but in God’s eyes, thanksgiving is not complete without worship.

In the Bible, true thanksgiving includes worship and submission to God. In the book of Revelation, the word “thanks” is found three times. Each occurrence takes place before the throne of God in an act of worship. In Revelation 4:9, the four living Beings who dwell continually before God’s throne, give glory, honor, and thanksgiving to God. When they do, the twenty-four elders fall down before the Lord and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (4:11).

Then in Revelation 7:9-12, a multitude of people coming out of the great tribulation stand before the throne and the Lamb clothed with white robes, and worship God by saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  Joining them in worship, “All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’”

The third time is in Revelation 11:17. After the last trumpet, the seventh, is sounded, the twenty-four elders, who sat on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come.”

Come to Jesus

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.    —Matthew 11:28

The Gospel might be described in one word, “Come.” Jesus invites all who are weary and weighed down with care to come to Him for rest. Jesus also says in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The cares and sorrows of this life steal our joy and burden our souls, but Jesus comes to give us abundant life: rest, peace, joy, and purpose.

Sadly and amazingly, we will do almost anything to find happiness in life except simply coming to Jesus. Oswald Chambers has said, “Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words— “Come to Me….” In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come” (My Utmost, October 8).

In the early days of my Christian life, I soon learned how people will evade and argue rather than come to Jesus. When I first began to witness and tell others my story of coming to Jesus Christ, I was surprised how quickly folks would justify their sin and argue why they did not need to come to Jesus. Almost immediately, they would give their criticism of the Church or some Christian and give their reason for refusing to come.

One lady comes to mind. I was working for a carpenter who was remodeling her kitchen. During a break she began to ask me about my life, and the subject of my dropping out of college came up. I told her my story how I asked Jesus to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins. I described the joy and peace I found in Him. I then asked her if she had found the joy and peace that Christ offers. Our conversation took a surprising turn into excuses and criticisms.

She immediately said that there was nothing wrong with owning and running a bar. I knew that her family ran one of the bars in my hometown, but I never mentioned or even hinted anything about it. It appears that she lived with a great deal of guilt for the family business. Instead of coming to Jesus, she made justification for her guilt.

She then gave me a long detailed story of how the local Methodist pastor acted poorly in her eyes in ministering to her dying father. The pastor would visit weekly to pray and give Holy Communion to her bedridden father. After each visit, her father secretly reminded her to give the pastor a monetary gift for visiting. One time, she withheld the money from the preacher, and the minister never came back. Because of this offense, she would never go to church and never come to Jesus.

I didn’t get to know this lady’s life any deeper. I don’t know the depth of her guilt and shame and any judgmental attitudes from others towards her family’s business. I also don’t know if her father died, the minister moved away, or why he never returned to visit. But I do know that I have seen this reaction toward the Gospel repeated many times by other folks. We justify, make excuses, and refuse to simply come to Jesus.

The Gospel message is for you and everyone who will come. Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” God loves you. Why don’t you come? No excuse or justification of sin is worth refusing Jesus’ invitation. Come!

My Miracle

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”   —John 6:5

Shortly after I returned from a mission trip to Central America, I met Art Winger. He had gone on numerous short-term mission work teams with World Gospel Mission. Art told me how he was miraculously healed from liver disease the year before.

Weeks before he was to lead an upcoming mission trip, Art lay gravely ill on a hospital bed watching evangelist Pat Robertson on television. Robertson was praying and naming illnesses and persons whom the Holy Spirit was telling him were being healed. As he was about to finish praying, Art yelled out to the TV screen, “What about me?” At that moment, Robertson paused and added, “Yes, someone lying in a hospital bed is being healed of liver disease.”

Art shouted, “Hallelujah,” felt a warmth come into his body, and began to get better at that moment. A few weeks later he was healthy enough to lead a work team to Honduras. Many of us often feel like Art Winger. God seems to answer other folk’s prayers, the other person has the financial breakthrough, and someone else receives their miracle, but we ask, “What about me? Where is my miracle?”

The Gospel of John includes seven miracle signs performed by Jesus so we might believe. The feeding of the multitudes in John 6 is the only miracle besides Jesus’ birth and resurrection that is included in all four Gospels. In each of the miraculous signs in John’s Gospel, there is an obstacle of faith to overcome, an act of obedience to demonstrate, and a personal participation in the miracle.

In feeding the 5,000, Jesus tested Philip by asking where they would buy enough bread to feed the multitude. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus told the disciples, “You give them something to eat” (6:37). Jesus then directed the disciples to have the people to sit down in groups of fifties and hundreds (Mark 6:39-40). After Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish donated by a young boy, the disciples distributed the loaves and fish to the crowd and then gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers.

The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle for each person in the crowd, but it was especially a miracle for the disciples. The disciples ate of the blessed and multiplied loaves, but they also helped give the miracle to others. Maybe some of us who are waiting for our miracle are supposed to be a miracle to others. When we say, “What about me?” Jesus may be saying, “Yes, what about you? What miracle are you going to bring to others?” As He told the disciples, “You give them something to eat,” Jesus may be telling us, “You, go, and be a miracle to another.”

What about you? Don’t sit around and wait for Jesus to perform a miracle for you, go and be a miracle for someone else. Allow God to use you to give and bless someone in need. We cannot, in our human ability, multiply food and heal the sick, but submitted to and in the hands of Jesus, we can do all things. Jesus told the disciples and us, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). What about you? Where is your miracle?

Consider Your Life

Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!”           

—Haggai 1:7

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to consider my life in an unexpected time and place. I went elk hunting with a friend who had successfully hunted on Colorado state game lands the year before. We hired no guide and camped on public land. Our trip only cost us money for gas, food, and license. Colorado was advertising an abundance of elk so I anticipated the hunt of a lifetime with elk behind every tree.

We began hunting each day with a pre-dawn breakfast before hiking up a mile high mountain. We mistakenly hunted the elk much like we hunt white tail deer or rabbits in Pennsylvania. My friend kept saying to his dad and brother, “We didn’t hunt this hard last year.” On my dream hunt for elk, I was thoroughly disgusted that we were seeing no elk, and I was exhausted.

On those long days hiking up and down steep mountains, I began to consider my life. I determined I was not a true hunter; I was a shooter, a killer. Back home in Pennsylvania, I seldom spent much time in the woods during the late summer and the beautiful, peaceful autumn scouting for turkey and deer. I would merely go out during hunting season and look for some game to shoot and kill. Now, as I considered my life on this dream hunt in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, I became disgusted at myself for being frustrated with the lack of opportunity to shoot an elk. I became so disgusted with myself that I didn’t go hunting in Pennsylvania after that for two full years.

Haggai prophesied to the Jews who returned from the 70-year Babylonian Captivity. King Cyrus had issued a degree sixteen years earlier that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. The returning Jews began to rebuild the Temple, but amid difficult economic times, soon turned their attention to their own lives and comfort. Haggai received a Word from the Lord calling the Jews to consider their ways and the reason for their economic distress. “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied” (1:6a).

The Word of the Lord through His prophet, Haggai, reveals to the Jews that the reason for their economic distress is that they did not seek to rebuild the Temple and glorify God; rather, they sought personal pleasure and comfort. A second call to “Consider your ways,” was followed by the call to “‘Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,’ says the Lord” (1:7). Israel heeds God’s call and resumes the Temple renovations within the month.

Haggai chapter 2 again calls upon the Jews to consider their ways and how the economy had improved. “Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’” (2:19). It might be difficult to put ourselves in the exact situation of the Jews of Haggai’s time, but if we seek to follow the Lord, God can bring all the resources of the universe to meet our needs. Jesus said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Consider your life. Is your life in shambles and unprofitable? It is time to seek the Lord and His Kingdom. Consider from this day forward if God does not add “all these things” to you as well.

Blind Faith

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.    —John 20:29b

Seeing is believing. Many of us won’t believe anything unless we see it. This might be why many of us believe, “It must be true; I read it on the internet.” In thinking about blind faith, believing without seeing, I thought of Missouri as the show-me state. Missouri designated the Missouri mule as the official state animal in 1995. I am quite certain of this because I read it on the internet. Mules are known as durable, hardworking animals, but with only one speed, their own. The show-me label for Missourians showing them as conservative, hard-working, and down-to-earth might be interpreted by some as stubborn and mule-headed.

I heard a joke describing how determined Missourians can be. A farmer from Missouri bought a mule for $100 from his neighbor, but it died before he picked it up. “Load it up,” he told the seller. “What are you going to do with a dead mule?” asks the first guy. “Raffle it off,” says the buyer. “You can’t raffle off a dead mule.” “Sure I can. I just won’t tell anyone it’s dead.” They meet a week later and the first farmer says, “What happened with the dead mule?” “Raffled him off and sold 500 tickets at $2 each.” “Didn’t anyone complain?” asks the first farmer. “Only the guy who won and I gave him his money back.”

The Gospel of John records seven miracle signs performed by Jesus so His Disciples and true followers might believe. The first miracle sign is turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana. “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11).

In the second miracle sign, Jesus returned to Cana, the site of His first miracle. A certain royal official, whose son lay sick in a nearby town, went to Jesus and begged Him to come and heal his dying son. Jesus, either to test his faith or to rebuke the sign-seeking crowd, replied, “Unless you people see signs and wonders … you will never believe” (vs. 48). Jesus then told the man, “Go; your son lives” (4:50). The man believed and headed home. His servants greeted him on the way with news that his son was made well at the exact moment Jesus said, “Your son lives.”

At the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus greeted Thomas for the first time after the resurrection. Thomas had vowed he would not believe unless he saw and touched Jesus for himself. Jesus told him, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b). God does not expect everyone to believe with blind faith. The Lord is at work in each of our lives everyday if we will only open our eyes to see and believe.

John describes the purpose of his Gospel in the last two verses of chapter 20, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:30-31).

The very final verse of the last chapter in the Gospel of John concludes this theme, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (21:25). Open your eyes and see God’s wondrous works around and in your lives. Don’t be stubborn like the mule. See and believe. How blessed you will be if you believe without seeing.

David's Songs

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.    —Psalm 137:1

Many in the over 50 crowd will remember the 1972 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond, Song Sung Blue. It was an immediate hit partly because of its simple but truthful message. If you feel sad, write a song or poem about it, and you will begin to feel better. The first verse and chorus read, “Song sung blue, everybody knows one. Song sung blue, every garden grows one. Me and you are subject to the blues now and then, but when you take the blues and make a song, you sing them out again.”

Much of the ever-expanding counseling industry is based on this song’s truth. If you are troubled by an issue and feel down, talk about it with someone. Share your feelings and struggles, and you will soon begin to feel better. Christians and Jews, using the Book of Psalms as a songbook, already knew and practiced this truth and more. The themes to the songs in the Psalms are not only sad songs but include joyous songs, prayers, and prophecies, as well.

As many as 80 of the 150 Psalms were written by King David. In his life, David experienced the full range of human emotions as recorded in the Psalms. Have you had problems with your children? They cannot compare to David’s. David’s son, Ammon, raped his half-sister, Tamar (2 Samuel 13:14). Another of David’s sons, Absalom, proclaimed himself king and attempted to assassinate his father, King David (2 Samuel 15). David expressed his fears and broken spirit to God in his own Song Sung Blue called the lament Psalms.

David’s songs also include songs of praise. Psalm 150 was possibly sung at the dedication of the second temple and has been used by both Christians and Jews in celebratory worship. “Praise the Lord! … Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (vss. 1, 6) We are exhorted by scripture, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). We can do exactly that by sharing the Songs of David in the Psalms.

If you are feeling sad and no one seems to care, you can go to God and tell Him everything that is on your heart. If you feel uncomfortable speaking so harshly to God, go to some of David’s Songs and read them to the Lord. For example, read all nine verses of Psalm 137. You will be shocked and moved by the pain behind the words. The Psalms were inspired by God and given to human beings to recite and sing back to God. God can handle the feelings of your struggles.

If you are extremely happy but don’t want to make those around you who are struggling feel worse, then turn to David’s Songs and sing praise to God. I have found it is often much harder to share praises with folks than sorrows. When you share your bad times, people can sympathize with you and feel better about themselves. When you share your joys, it may come across as bragging and make people feel worse about themselves. Sing the songs of praise and thanksgiving in the Psalms. “Come before Him with joyful singing” (Psalm 100:2b).

No matter where you are in life: hurting and far from God or close to the Lord and filled with joy, you can express those feelings to God through the Psalms. David sang, wept, and danced before the Lord. We can, too. 

Divine Appointment

And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.    —Ruth 2:3

I spent a few days last week in the woods of western Michigan with my Uncle Joe at his primitive cottage. Uncle Joe joined the Navy right after high school. He went to basic training and then on to advanced schooling as a naval electrician. During some rough housing in the barracks, he broke his glasses. Joe’s eyesight was very poor. I always remember him wearing those coke-bottle thick lenses. When the doctor checked his eyes, he asked him how he ever got into the Navy in the first place. He was immediately given an honorable discharge.

Upon arriving home, Joe went to the courthouse to sign his discharge papers. While there, he just happened to meet an old friend who told him a steel mill in Ohio was hiring, “Just go down the hall and sign up.” Joe signed up, took an aptitude test, and was hired on the spot. Joe moved to Youngstown, Ohio and raised his family. He retired from US Steel many years ago.

Thinking about that chance meeting with his friend at the courthouse, I asked Joe if he ever thought how completely different his life might have been if the timing had been even a few minutes different. I don’t believe that moment at the courthouse was a chance happening; rather, it was a divine appointment.

The Book of Ruth tells the tragic story of Elimelech and Naomi. Famine comes to Israel. Elimelech, his wife, and two sons move to Moab to find food. Elimelech dies. Both of the sons marry, but after about ten years, both sons die leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law to helplessly fend for themselves.

Upon hearing the famine had ceased in their hometown, Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, return to Bethlehem and begin scavenging the leftovers behind the barley harvesters. Ruth has one of those chance encounters with a man named, Boaz. “And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech” (2:3).

Naomi and Ruth’s lives completely change as a result of that choice to glean in Boaz’s field. As events unfold, Boaz agrees to buy back Naomi’s lands and marries Ruth to raise up an heir for Elimelech and Naomi. If you check out the genealogy in chapter 4, Ruth and Boaz have a son named Obed. Obed became the grandfather of King David. As you may know, King David became the ancestor of Jesus.

Uncle Joe’s chance meeting with his friend was no coincidence, but a divine appointment. Joe, his family, and future generations have been changed by that one moment. Ruth, Naomi, Jewish history, and the entire Christian world were affected by Ruth’s “happening” to glean in Boaz’s field. Here again, not a happening but a divine appointment.

Think back over your past. Praise God for those divine appointments in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to those everyday chance happenings that might really be God’s divine appointments. God is at work in your life each and every day. Live expectantly and keep alert to open doors and opportunities to serve. Nothing just happens. God has a plan and a purpose for your life.