Thanks
Today is the day we gather around tables to give thanks.
But for believers, thanks is merely another word for praise given to God for everything He has done for us.
Awhile ago, we noticed our time of thanking God for our food around our table at dinner was getting kind of stale. The kids were distracted, uninterested, and definitely not praying. It was the monotony of a daily ritual that was causing the not to focus.
So, one day, I created a catchy song that invited us to join hands and thank Jesus for what He’s done. Then each of us took turns singing our prayers to Jesus, thanking Him for what He’s done. The result was several months of focused time actually worshiping Jesus for what He’s done in our lives.
Don’t let today (or any day) be a day where you give polite, half-hearted thanks to God. If it takes busting out of the routine it’s worth it to truly thank God for what He’s done in our lives both tomorrow and every day.
(BTW, if you’re up, Doug Black starts his tremendously funny commentary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Twitter at 8/7 CST. Join him for the hilarity.)
Photo Credit: Prayer #2 by Connor Tarter
True Community Begins With One Guy
It seems kind of obvious. But it’s not.
Most people are hungry for community. They want to be accepted. They want to be loved. They want to be supported. They want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.
But if you look at any successful community, you will find one brave soul. This guy (or lady) wanted what everyone else wanted, but instead of looking around for a community that would serve him, asked a different question: “What will it take to make a community?”
Now the hard part probably wasn’t the sacrifice, though there would be plenty of that. The hard part was the fear: Fear of rejection, fear of being ignored, even fear of being successful. True community, real community only happens by becoming vulnerable. And vulnerability is scary. Real scary.
So the start of every true community is one person who decides to push past the fear. They make themselves vulnerable and in doing it they provide the freedom for others to do the same. Sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, people gather and begin to share in the vulnerability that this first person was brave enough to express. Jesus Himself modeled this for us. In the end it cost Him everything, but He left behind a community called the church which changed the path of civilization as we know it.
I believe God is looking for people like this all over the earth who do this for friends, family, and neighbors. Centered around the Gospel of Jesus and the reality that God has welcomed them as sons and daughters, they turn and invite others to a table, to a family, and to a relationship that will last longer than eternity.
Maybe, just maybe, if you could get past the fear, that might be you…
Photo Credit: Lonely Traveller by Sanoop
Wasting Your Life on Seashells
It’s an old story from John Piper, but it’s worth repeating.
A young man gives his life to Christ in high school. He’s told to wait to go hard after the Lord until after college. Once in college he meets the girl of his dreams and decides to marry her. She loves Jesus and is everything he ever wanted. He gets told to wait to serve the Lord fully until after he has a job and can support her.
Our young friend marries the girl, gets a good job, and is about ready to turn his attention to truly serving the Lord like he’s always intended. But our friend’s wife gets pregnant and so his plans are postponed again. The now not-so-young man continues plodding in his job, seeking pay raises and promotions to care for his young family. The obligations of being a father push aspirations of getting serious about the Lord until after the baby (and his brothers and sisters) graduate from college.
That day comes and goes. For the last ten years our now middle-aged couple has been hearing about how they need to save for retirement because no one else will. So they stay working, saving up money for the retirement home in Florida that was supposed to be their dream home.
Finally the day arrives. The once young man and his wife retire and move to Florida. They have a nice, small house by the beach. And everyday the old man walks along the side of the ocean and picks up seashells. His whole life now has come down to this moment every day where he spends his time enjoying seashells.
This is the point where Piper pulls out of the story, looks you straight in the eye, and tells you “Don’t waste your life on seashells.”
Friends, life is busy. Obligations push us to chose the immediate over the important. But if we’re not careful, the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of pleasures and riches will choke out the life of God in our souls. We have to chose what’s important and not be told what’s important. Because the world will tell us to chose sea shells. And if we follow along with the crowd, that’s what we’ll have.
So, what will you chose? Seashells, or something more?
Photo Credit: Seashell by Moyan Brenn
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 