The Dallas Cowboys. Turkey. Stuffing. The busiest travel day of the year. Parades. Grandma’s house. Cranberry sauce. Pumpkin pie. All of these listed and more have become synonymous with Thanksgiving. However, Thanksgiving did not start with the idea that we can watch parades, football or prepare for the Christmas shopping the next day. Thanksgiving started because of the generosity of the pilgrim’s neighbors.
The story is told that the first Thanksgiving Day was in 1621 when the Native Americans had a great farming season and the pilgrims were running out of food. The Native Americans had compassion on the pilgrims, so they invited them to a great feast. In this great feast they ate turkey, pumpkin, cranberries, corn, and other foods. The great feast was about sharing the blessings they had received and preventing their neighbors from starving.
In the late 1700's, George Washington declared that the third Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving; a day to celebrate the generosity that the pilgrims had received from the Native Americans. However, Thanksgiving started taking on a new meaning when in 1939, President Roosevelt set Thanksgiving Day one week earlier so that merchants could have a longer shopping season before Christmas. Trying to get back to the real reason of Thanksgiving, Congress ruled in 1941 that Thanksgiving would be the 4th Thursday in November and become a Federal holiday proclaimed by the President each year.
We all have our reasons why we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. To the Native Americans, it was about being thankful for the abundance of the crops and generosity. For the Christian, it can be about not only being generous with the blessings we have received from God, but also about how we can demonstrate our thankfulness. I suggest three ways to demonstrate your thankfulness this year:
#1. By singing: Psalm 147:7 says "Sing out your thanks to Him, sing praises to God." Nothing makes you more aware of God's presence faster than praising God.
#2. By serving: The Bible says to: “Serve the Lord with gladness.” When we serve, it puts God on display for others to see how wonderful, gentle, and caring He is
#3. By sharing: Sharing the gospel shows our gratefulness toward God for what He has done in our lives. Isaiah 12:4 says, Thank the LORD! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done….”
This year, find ways to be generous and at the same time, demonstrate your thankfulness for what God has done in your life!
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Spiritual Connectedness
I want you to know that our life does not consist of working our way to heaven, but rather being invited in because of the grace of God.
I bear fruit in my life because I love God. I do not do “works” in my Christian life because I am afraid that God will send me to hell. I do “works” in my Christian life because I am grateful for the grace, mercy, and forgiveness He has “freely” given me!!!! God will not keep the doors of heaven shut and prevent anyone from coming in if we do not keep a 40 hour spiritual work week. Those who “love” God will always be a light. Forgive often. Tell the Good News! Be commited to discipleship. Love unconditionally. Accept people for who they are. Heavens doors are wide open for anyone who accepts the gifts God has freely given.
It is not our job to be the keeper of the gate and determine who is faithful and who will get heaven. It is our priveldege to tell the powerful news of Jesus and share our testimony of what He has done in our lives.
Chuck Swindoll is a premier religious writer and an excellent speaker. Chuck gives some very good principles on bearing fruit when he/she is connected to God. The following is an article from Chuck Swindoll:
Just before His death and resurrection, Jesus revealed that the secret of growing God's fruit is in being at home with Him. That's the true definition of the familiar word abide. This is how Jesus describes what that means in John 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Spiritual fruit is not the result of self-effort. You grow more of God's fruit not when you try harder, but when you stay connected to the Source. When you abide in Christ, you invite Him to live with you each day and reproduce His character in you. God's character at work in you looks like:
LOVE: This is God's agape, love that selflessly seeks the highest good of the other person.
JOY: Joy as a fruit of the Spirit is a settled confidence because God controls the details of your life, you can trust Him in any circumstance
PEACE: The unshakable, inner calm you experience when your mind and heart are at rest because you are trusting fully in Christ.
PATIENCE: A fruit of the Spirit that means to be "long-tempered," the opposite of short-fused irritability.
KINDNESS: The Spirit's fruit that braids mercy and grace, humility and gentleness all together.
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
I bear fruit in my life because I love God. I do not do “works” in my Christian life because I am afraid that God will send me to hell. I do “works” in my Christian life because I am grateful for the grace, mercy, and forgiveness He has “freely” given me!!!! God will not keep the doors of heaven shut and prevent anyone from coming in if we do not keep a 40 hour spiritual work week. Those who “love” God will always be a light. Forgive often. Tell the Good News! Be commited to discipleship. Love unconditionally. Accept people for who they are. Heavens doors are wide open for anyone who accepts the gifts God has freely given.
It is not our job to be the keeper of the gate and determine who is faithful and who will get heaven. It is our priveldege to tell the powerful news of Jesus and share our testimony of what He has done in our lives.
Chuck Swindoll is a premier religious writer and an excellent speaker. Chuck gives some very good principles on bearing fruit when he/she is connected to God. The following is an article from Chuck Swindoll:
Just before His death and resurrection, Jesus revealed that the secret of growing God's fruit is in being at home with Him. That's the true definition of the familiar word abide. This is how Jesus describes what that means in John 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Spiritual fruit is not the result of self-effort. You grow more of God's fruit not when you try harder, but when you stay connected to the Source. When you abide in Christ, you invite Him to live with you each day and reproduce His character in you. God's character at work in you looks like:
LOVE: This is God's agape, love that selflessly seeks the highest good of the other person.
JOY: Joy as a fruit of the Spirit is a settled confidence because God controls the details of your life, you can trust Him in any circumstance
PEACE: The unshakable, inner calm you experience when your mind and heart are at rest because you are trusting fully in Christ.
PATIENCE: A fruit of the Spirit that means to be "long-tempered," the opposite of short-fused irritability.
KINDNESS: The Spirit's fruit that braids mercy and grace, humility and gentleness all together.
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
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