Category: Holiday

…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

“in”

Not “for”

but 

“in.”

Beloved, there are things that occur in our lives that only a deranged person would be happy about.

Hey, I can’t pay my mortgage and I’m about to be homeless. Thanks, God!!

Wow, I just lost seven of my toes in a tragic rollerblading accident. Thanks, God!!

Gee, the dog just vomited up half of Kentucky on the carpet. Thanks, God!!

Feel free to add to the list.

Point is, trying to be thankful for the horrible nastiness of life is something best left to the truly psychotic,

which you are not.

I hope.

But God is not calling you to be thankful for these circumstances.

Only in them

See, being thankful in all circumstances is an acknowledgement that your circumstances do not define you, that they are not the end goal of your existence. No matter what awful, dystopic, dyspeptic, yougottabekiddingme events overtake us, our lives and selves remain rooted with Christ in God.

Uncrushable

Unsinkable

Unshakeable 

Whatever this world rolls your way, you can be thankful that God remains God, and you remain his, and that remains everything.

So, be thankful, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (Psalm 107:1).

God is good.

He doesn’t have to be.

He chooses to be.

God loves us.

He doesn’t have to.

He chooses to.

Look, we can get into a theotechnical debate about whether God is bound by his own nature to be what he is, or whether he possesses self-determinative power

and that would be fun

but until you convince me otherwise, I’m gonna go with the fact that God is…you know…God, and he could have done it any way he wanted to.

There is an image that comes to my mind as I write these words.

It’s Calvin and Hobbes.

Not the theologian and the sociopolitical philosopher, although…

No, I’m talking about the kid and the tiger.

If you aren’t familiar with the famous comic strip by Bill Watterson, I weep for your ignorance and encourage you to avail yourself of the great riches to be found before you continue here. For the enlightened among you, I’m thinking of the strip in which Calvin imagines himself as God, “but Calvin is no kind and loving god…and the puny inhabitants of Earth displease him!”

What follows is destruction on ohsomany levels.

Beloved, we need never ever even for a moment fear that God will decide to stop being good, or stop loving us, or restructure the foundation of the Universe to reflect darkness rather than light.

He has chosen to be good, and it is so.

He chose to be kind and loving and giving and gracious and merciful.

And it is so.

Forever.

Give thanks, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong…”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

And now let the sick say, “I am whole,”

Let the bound say, “I am free,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give Thanks

(Give Thanks, Don Moen, 1986)

Because of what he’s done for us.

For you

Spend some time this morning considering all he has done for you.

I think you’ll find it’s really quite a bit.

You can start with the big ones–the Cross, the Resurrection, Eternal Life.

That’ll keep you chewing for a while.

Then, may I suggest that you scale it down to the little things that have seemed so giant to you over the years…

How has he strengthened you?

How has he provided for you?

How has he healed you?

How has he freed you?

You might want to set aside a goodly chunk of time. You have a lot to think about.

Happy Monday, Beloved

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong…”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

And now let the sick say, “I am whole,”

Let the bound say, “I am free,”

(Give Thanks, Don Moen, 1986)

Do you feel free?

Sometimes I feel rather bound, actually.

I’m bound by time.

I’m bound by finances.

I’m bound by what others expect of me.

I’m bound by what I expect of myself.

I’m bound by my failures

and my successes

and my fear of failure

or success.

And yet, I know the Truth.

I know Truth  personally…and he has set me free.

Beloved, when will I finally get it through my thick head that my feelings are a very poor gauge of reality?

Maybe today?

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.

And now let the weak say, “I am strong…”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

And now let the sick say, “I am whole…”

(Give Thanks, Don Moen, 1986)

God is not bound by time.

Stay with me here.

God created time.  He exists outside of it.  He is simultaneously present at all moments of eternity.

So…..?

So, my body may ache, my soul may weep, my society may be wracked with sin and pain and loss.

but

God sees more.  He sees me as I am, but also as I will be.  He sees the aching, but also the relief.  He hears the weeping, but also the rejoicing.  He knows the sin, but also the redemption.

Singing this line is not a denial or what is.  

It is a celebration of what also is.

Not just someday, but right now.  Because for God, it’s all right now.

When God looks at you…what does he see?

Wow

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.

And now, let the weak say, “I am strong…”

Let the poor say, “I am rich,”

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

(Give Thanks, Don Moen, 1986)

Yes you are.

Rich

Oh, your car may be falling apart and your dishwasher may be dying and you may be checking the sofa for enough change for a Del Taco run, but you are rich.

First, in this world you are rich. Beloved, there are people out there who pray for shoes so they won’t have to walk barefoot

who pray for clean water to wash the dishes with

who pray for dishes…and food to put on them.

And in the spiritual world…are you kidding?  You’re the beloved child of the King of, you know, Everything.

You are in possession of the greatest treasure the universe has ever known:

the love of God.

Baby, you are rolling in it.

Bask in your wealth today, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday.

Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.

And now, let the weak say, “I am strong…”

Context is really important.

This line from Don Moen’s song is found in the Bible in Joel 3:10.  Of course, those of you who look it up will find that the Lord is actually speaking to the enemies of Israel, the nations who have plundered and destroyed his people.  God is essentially telling them to “Bring it on,” to prepare to fight, because God is going to turn them to powder.

Not exactly the same feeling Mr. Moen was looking to engender in his song.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, for one thing, I want you to be Biblically literate.  If we’re going to use Scripture, we should at least know what it really says.  

Also, even with the contextual confusion, this remains one of my all-time favorite worship songs.  And the message is true, even if the reference is a bit askew.  The Bible is full of the truth that God gives strength to the weak.  He offers–may I be so bold as to say that he wants–to show his strength in our feebleosity.

Do you feel weak?  

Well, you are…you know… in and of yourself.

But in Christ…oh, baby!

In Christ you are mighty.  In Christ, you have the power to do battle with whatever comes against you today.  In Christ, your weakness is transformed into his great strength.

So now, though you are weak, say, “I am strong!”

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.