November 2007 Archives

So, this is a little late, but it's important enough that I want to make sure I write this one while it's still on my mind. I'm a little frustrated with "Turkey Day" as Thanksgiving has begun to be euphemistically referred to over the past few years. I am frustrated that this time of Thanksgiving has been turned from a time to reflect upon what God has done for us as a nation to a day of football and gluttony (both of which I enjoy, by the way). I'm glad that family is still a significant part of the tradition for most, but the God-focus of this holiday has been diminished. So, I want to share here what Thanksgiving is according to the first-ever presidential proclamation from President George Washington and then explain why this is important.

I think George Washington's proclamation stands on it's own and is not too hard to read, so here it is as he wrote it. This was copied from the Library of Congress web site. You can see a photo copy
of the original text
there as well.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually--to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord--To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us--and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

If some chafe under the use of God and prayer by President George W. Bush, the first Presidential proclamation ought to cause apoplexy. The first President declared Thanksgiving to be a national day of public prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God. Note that he even offers thanks for the Bill of Rights. He seems to be comfortable with invoking God despite declaration for "religious liberty". Thus, an indication that President Washington supports the view held by traditionalists like myself that the separation of Church and State implies the State is to keep it's hands out of religion, but there's no reason why Church cannot be fully involved with State.

The main point being that the entire focus of Thanksgiving, as originally established by President Washtington, is that we need to thank God for his provision of many things and ask Him for pardon for any sins (i.e., "transgressions") we have committed against Him as a nation.

This was not the first Thanksgiving, as any first grader can tell you. Thanksgiving had been celebrated for decades in the United States according to various traditions long before the nation was even established. However, this was the first national decree in the United States. In fact, this was the first Presidential decree of any kind. Thanksgiving was the very first national holiday.

This original decree was only for Thanksgiving in 1789. It was not established as an annual national holiday until 1863 by President Lincoln (whose declaration is a further exposition on divine providence and thanks to God). The actual day was the last Thursday of November in Lincoln's precedent. President Roosevelt moved this up a bit for economic reasons. Congress, then, formally established the holiday's current date legislatively in 1941 as the fourth Thursday of November as we celebrate it today.

Thanksgiving, as celebrated in the United States, was originally established as a day to thank God. I believe this is the appropriate nature of the holiday. If you don't believe in God, who would you thank? Yourself? Your parents? Your neighbors? There's no providence, only chance and skill and why would you thank them? As such, it devolves into "Turkey Day".

I don't care how you want to tell the Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving (which really has little resemblance to the holiday we celebrate today) or if you want to say Plymouth Rock wasn't actually the first or didn't establish the tradition or whatever. All of that is irrelevant. What's relevant, is that this day was established by this nation so that the citizens of this nation may acknowledge and thank our creator for the blessings we've been provided. As American Christians, this should be our focus on this day. I do wish this would be the case for the rest of America as well, but it's free country and the rest of you can do what you please, but I hope I've at least made you aware of the intent of this holiday.

Amen.

This is a topic I've been mulling for the past couple weeks. It was sparked by an offhanded remark a friend made a couple Sundays ago. We were discussing how churches should be run. After prayerful consideration over the past three weeks or so, I've come to the conclusion that pursuing the method is not a waste of time, but very close to it. We should spend the vast majority of our time focusing on the message.

When I say "the message" here I'm referring to the Gospel of Christ, both the message of salvaation and the pursuit of God and godliness following salvation. When I say "the method" here, I'm referring to the style or philosophy used to run a church and it's ministries.

This is my paraphrase of our conversation. I said, "I do agree with the point about focusing on the message. The method is not nearly so important as our message itself." My friend responded, "That's true until our method gets in the way of our message." That statement struck with discord with me, but I couldn't have told you why at the the time. However, on the drive home, I pinned it down as I told my wife, "I suppose stating that 'the method can get in the way of the message' is one way to put this, but the really key thing is that the method is so often pursued without regard to the message itself."

Here's my point. I'm a Calvinist. I believe that God is absolutely sovereign and that man has free will. I'm not a fatalist that believes God determines what is and what isn't. Yet, as Paul made clear in Romans 9:19
and following, God is the great potter. He is the one that designed each of us and some He designed for "noble purposes and some for common use." As such, the delivery of the message will be received well or poorly based upon the workings of the Holy Spirit, not based upon the method of our delivery.

Certainly, we have influence in the way we are used as Christians (as I said, I believe in freedom of will). Yet, that implies that we live a life dedicated to Christ and holiness as outlined by the whole teaching of God found in the Bible. That does not mean that anything more than following the precepts of the Bible is required.

Discerning relevant ways of delivery is a good thing, but you must first be intimately acquainted with the message itself. If you focus on the method of delivery rather than the details of the message, then you will be ill equipped to adapt when faced with a change in parameters. Culture can change quickly in a short-time or you may be confronted by someone from a different culture or sub-culture than your methods were designed. At which point, you may be emphasizing the completely wrong aspects of the message to best reach that person.

Now, the good thing is that even under these circumstances, we still learn that God is sovereign and that the message can reach someone dispite a complete failure in delivery. Therefore, using the wrong method won't hurt, but only if that method includes a firm basis in the message. Too often, I think, Christians fail to deliver the message entirely because they are too focused on how to deliver it.

That's only covering the first side of the coin, though. The other aspect to consider is how to grow baby Christian's into maturity so that they can lead the church of the next generation into the same position and so forth until Christ's return. I believe that the importance of the message still trumps whatever cultural baggage we bring in to how we run our church.

I don't care if members of your church dress up or dress casual or even grungy. I don't care if your church sings hymns, rock songs, or raps. I don't care if your church prays aloud as a group, performs liturgical prayers, or prayers in utter silence. I don't care if you meet on Sunday, Saturday, Wednesday, or every other day.

I care if you're sharing the Scriptures. I care if you're exploring the truth and earnestly seeking God's wisdom. I care if you're using discernment to expel any false teacher who would cause divisions. I care if you're earnestly asking God to conform you to his will and daily taking up your cross to die to self and serve those around you.

All that is to say, use whatever method you have to to make sure you are being equipped for the purposes of sharing the Gospel with those who need to hear it and for the purpose of encouraging and equipping believers who have accepted it. Focus on the Bible and the message God has delivered through it.

Ultimately, let us not get lost in searching for the best way to run a church and simply get about the business of doing it.

When thinking of chapter 5
of Matthew
I usually think of the Beattitudes and specifically a study I was part of with my friend Brian which made this short but difficult passage even more difficult by making it clear. The Beattitudes are impossible, but vital to the Christian life. They tell us what it means to be truly like God.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 3
) I must weaken my spirituality and taken on the Holy Spirit to be like God.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (v. 4
) Is it really better to be sad because of sin and the world that loves it? Yes. God will be there for you.

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (v. 5
) Those who use powerful abilities are not inheritors. Those who choose not to use what power they have will be.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (v. 6
) But don't we all yearn for satisfaction in lust, gluttony, self-vindication? True satisfaction won't come from these things.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (v. 7
) Show mercy and even if you fail to see the favor returned, it will be returned in heaven.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (v. 8
) Who can possibly claim to be so pure?

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (v. 9
) Who wants to make peace? We all want to have our rights instead.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 10
) But why must I persecuted first? Why doesn't God just hand out the kingdom of heaven if He's so nice?

"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (vv. 11-12
) I don't want to be a prophet or lumped into the same group. I just want to be a guy who can live his life in peace. Why is being hated a good thing?

Anyone who wants to tell you that believing in God will make you happy and give you what you want isn't being entirely honest with you. Christians believe that the more we desire God the more we will be at peace and have joy and will get what we desire, but that's not exactly the same thing. If you desire God, the very nature of your desires will change and what you wants lusted for will seem less and what God will give you will be more.

The other aspect of these verses that is so disturbing is that they pretty much eliminate all Christians from receiving them. This is why Christians have been called hypocrites (ironically, that's a term popular in modern culture because Christ used it). However, hypocrisy is not when you hold up a high standard for everyone and yourself and fail to meet it. Hypocrisy is when you hold up a high standard for everyone and yourself and then excuse yourself when you fail to meet it. There's an important difference. Back to the point, no person on earth can meet this standard. Only the man who preached it ever did.

Reading forward in this chapter it gets worse. Christ goes on to preach about how the nation of Israel has failed to be salt and light to the world as the Church so often has. He says the law of Moses stands even though I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't failed to desire something someone else owns ("Thou shall not covet") or fail any of the other hundreds of commands in addition to the 10 commandments. Christ actually says that just being angry and hating someone is enough to send you to hell. Just imagining the sin of adultery is the same thing as committing the crime.

Finally he tells us to simply tell the truth and never take revenge when someone wrongs us and to love even those who hate us. Who has failed to do these? This passage is hard. It's not hard to understand, but it's hard to read if you really read it and think about yourself. Anyone really reading to understand this passage should be feel like total scum when finished.

How can anyone think that God would care at all about our accomplishments after all that? A good person? Who's that? Can anyone claim they've never retaliated against someone, never thought lustful thoughts, never been angry, was pure of heart, never took pride in this world? No. Failures. Every single one of us.

May God have mercy on every one of our souls.