The Voice of Thanksgiving

“Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind. for Your loving-kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth [faithfully].  I do not sit with false persons, nor fellowship with pretenders; I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.  I will wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, O Lord, that I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works.”  Psalm 26:2-7 AMP

Yes, this is the time of the year that our thoughts turn toward visiting family, having a delicious meal with turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings.  We traditionally recollect the story of thanksgiving:  the Wampanoag Indians brought the berries and game, the Pilgrims brought vegetables and desserts.  They joined together in what would probably be the last true show of friendship between the two races for more than one hundred years.  The Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims gave thanks for their harvest and new friends.

I urge you, brothers and sisters in the Lord, as you enjoy happy times with friends and family this Thursday to also take time to get quietly before the Lord and thank Him for it all.  For without Him you truly are nothing and would have nothing (John 15:5).  Express your love and adoration to Him NOT for what He has done for you but for Who He IS (Psalm 68:35), and tell Him how grateful you are for all He has done for you (Ephesians 5:20).

I guess Colossians 3 exemplifies this season best:

“And above all these [put on] love and enfold yourselves with the bond of perfectness [which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony].  And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].”  Colossians 3:14-16 AMP

EXPECT THE LORD!

“Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!”  -Psalm 31:24

As Christians we are taught that Jesus is coming back to gather us and take us away from this earth (1 Thess. 4:17; Mat. 24:29).  So we look forward to that day while we struggle with the troubles of living in a sinful world.  We have hope that one day He will come and take us away from it all.  Well, why not expect Him sooner?

How about expecting the Lord while facing economic upheaval?  Have you ever experienced the struggle of not having enough money to make-ends-meet?  I know of a couple who are struggling to do so.  Last month they took 10% of all the income they had and gave it to the Lord through their church.  That meant they would not have enough to pay all their rent, but in faith they gave, in faith expecting the Lord to help.  God came through with an extra job for him which gave him enough to pay the rest of his rent and some extra for gas.

Consider expecting the Lord in the salvation of a loved one.  A close friend of mine has a son in his late 20’s who has been a ‘speed’ addict for a number of years, already in and out of prison, jail, and recovery programs a number of times.  He knew his mom was a devout Christian but he did not want to have anything to do with God.  She and I prayed often for his salvation and expected the Lord to intervene.  A few months ago he was arrested on breaking his probation and had the choice to go back to prison or one more chance in an in-house recovery program.  While in this recovery program he accepted the Lord as his savior and has remained clean ever since.  Now he is calling his mom and encouraging her with what he reads and discovers in the Bible. 

The first car I owned I purchased in 1976; I have driven myself in the various cars I owned wherever I had to go from that date until 2003 when the car I had at that time had its front end and standard transmission go out at the same time.  It was a 12 year old car and would cost more to repair than it was worth.  I did not have a car for six years and had to take the bus or gain rides from friends and relatives all the time.  I could not afford to purchase a new or used car so I expected the Lord, telling Him in prayer that if He gave me a car then I would in turn use it for Him by giving rides to others in need just as people had given me rides.  In 2009 a couple I know, in obedience and prompted by the Lord, gave me their car when they got a new one.  Now I am able to give others rides and have great times of fellowship and witnessing in that car.

Now that I have ‘started the ball rolling’ so-to-speak, it is YOUR turn.  What stories can you remember where someone expected the Lord and saw Him come through?  I would love to hear them so please send them along to me at kingsmonarch@gmail with “Expect the Lord!” in the subject line.

What needs do you have in your life right now?  How about in your friends and relatives lives?  Are you ready to start expecting the Lord today?

(Psalm 27:14; 31:24; 40:1; 130:5; Prov. 20:22; Isaiah 40:31; Lam. 3:24; Micah 7:7)

  

“So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.” –James 5:7 AMP

PLAYING CHURCH

Can you guess what this article is going to be about?  A good start to finding that out is to ask ourselves this question:

“Why go to church?”

My first response to this question was the “automatic” response most Christians give:  Because God commands it (Phil. 3:17; Col. 2:19; 1 Thess. 5:11; 2 Thess. 2:1; Hebrews 10:25).  Indeed, God wants us to gather together, encourage one another, comfort one another, and be knit together in love, but not everyone who attends has these goals or attitudes.

A good example of the wrong type of church attendance is what I observed as a missionary serving in Jamaica.  There are more churches per capita in Jamaica than in the United States.  While attending a church in Saint Ann’s Bay one Sunday I observed a service with many people coming forward to give their lives to the Lord.  The next Sunday I again observed a large group of people coming forward, but upon close observation I noticed that it was pretty much the same people who came forward the previous Sunday.  I asked our Mission Team leader, Ron, about this and he told me that they came forward on Sunday seeking forgiveness for their sins then they would go out to the Rum Bars to drink and commit other sins during the week.  By Sunday they would be back in church to get rid of their sins again.  They no longer felt “clean.”  Ron explained that they did not understand what repentance really was and that this was one of the focuses of our ministry there, to take them past forgiveness of sins into repentance and full discipleship in Christ.

We may not have as many churches per capita as Jamaica but we have some of the same problems.  I have observed people in my church attending when things are going wrong in their lives.  They come to have us pray for them then when God answers their needs we do not see them for months, or until they have another need.  Some have attend a few Sundays and asked for financial assistance.  Once they receive some money to help pay their rent or food needs then we do not see them until they are in dire straights again.  Our church tends to have a lot of people with needs:  drug addicts, homeless, prostitutes, homosexuals, and people just out of jail or prison to name a few.

Does that offend you?  Most Christians these days would have a struggle dealing with or ministering to people with these needs but our Church has learned to reach out to them.  We have taken the vision of our Pastor, “To feed the poor, to clothe those who are in need, to reach out to the young people, to teach Jesus Christ, no other, and to keep it as simple as possible,” to heart.  Are we perfect in this outreach?  No, we struggle with opinions, finances, drops in attendance, of giving to people who show no appreciation and such but the key is we do not see these physical outcomes as failures.  We see successes because in each case we focus on our obedience to what God has called us to do regardless of the outcome.

I know up to this point you thought I was going to say that coming forward again and again to get rid of sins or getting money out of the church then never returning are signs of someone “playing church”.  Actually I see these things as cries for help and God has charged us with building his Kingdom by ministering to and bringing in those who cry out.  I see that the real way to “play church” is to go for the singing and the sermon and never reaching out to the person sitting next to you who may be grieving for the loss of their spouse, or may have just been evicted from their house.  The chairman of Jews for Jesus, Moisha Rosen, said it best:

“The Church is not a country club for saints, but a hospital for sinners” –Moisha Rosen

So, are you going to keep “playing church?”  Are you going to keep sitting in the waiting room of the Sinner’s Hospital reading the literature (Bible, bulletin and newsletter) and listening to the music (praise and worship) or are you going to put on a spiritual medical uniform and reach out to hurting person sitting next to you?  It is time to quit “playing church” and start building it instead.  The decision is yours.