Be PERFECT--OR ELSE!

As a child in the 60’s, my experience in church was one of legalism and church community enforced behavioral standards.  Live “right” and all would be well.  Pushback against anything…even if, or especially if, your personal understanding of scripture happened to be a bit different, and it would NOT go so well with you.  Whether this is a totally accurate picture or not, I do not know, because, as a child, my perceptions were still being formed.  But my perceptions were based on how I experienced the church, and my experience was one, with a few very noted exceptions, of a church community that tended to be a bit harsh and unbending.

Conformity of thought and external behavior seemed to be valued above a personal heart relationship with Jesus.  Scriptures were interpreted for you by the ordained pastor in charge of the church, and if there was any disagreement between he and his elders (and yes, in those days it was always a “he”) then we kids in the pew never knew about it.  For us, the pastor and elders represented a formidable wall of moral judgement, seeking to decide who measured up and who didn’t.  If one didn’t, it seemed they were often put away privately…that is, they simply vanished from our church community and were never spoken of again.  I don’t know where they went.

As I grew, pressure mounted for me to conform.  Baptismal classes at age 11 centered on following Jesus, but life in the church centered on conformity to community set standards.  It was confusing.  And if I, or one of my friends, began to stray a little, we were always admonished to “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect!” (Mt 5:48) And what I actually heard was- Be perfect-or Else!  Be perfect or you won't make it to heaven.  Be perfect or you are going to be lost eternally!

And the roots of perfectionism and legalism were planted deep in my soul.  I wanted to be perfect, but somewhere in my little ADD brain, ideas sprang forth to sabotage my best intentions.  And about the end of my elementary journey and the beginning of my high school years, I experienced perfectionistic burnout as I reasoned, “Well, if Jesus burden is so light, then why is the church’s burden so heavy?”

And while externally maintaining “good boy” exterior, I began engaging in a full-scale rebellion of the heart- a double life, so to speak.  I was doing the things externally that I needed to do to not become an outcast at church, yet exploring the darker side of life in private and with some of my closest friends who felt the same way I do.

A few years of that and I was exhausted with the dual roles I was trying to play.  I had to decide which way I was going to go.  A guest speaker at our Academy Bible Conference came and presented such a compelling picture of Jesus, devoid of the legalism and perfectionism, that I was overwhelmed that such could be the case.  I had a wrestling time with God and slowly the Holy Spirit broke over me with a conviction that God was not calling me to wrestle sin by myself and that I didn’t need to conform to what everyone else thought.

I relented and chose to follow THAT Jesus rather than the one of my childhood.  But over and over again, through my academy and later my college years, I continued to encounter people who would bring up the “Be ye perfect…” text.

As I studied to enter the ministry, I began learning about contexts and original meanings in the Greek and the setting, etc. and how important those are to understanding scripture.  I began seeing that a simple reading and deducing of scripture from the King James (or any other English Translation) wasn’t enough to always be accurate to what scripture intended, because the meanings of words change the further away from the original you get.  (Think the old game of “telephone” or “gossip” or whatever you called it.  Much meaning gets lost in translating what you think the other person said.)

So I began studying Matthew 5:48 from that perspective, and in fact, that changed my whole understanding of the passage and the meaning.  What I found, first, is that it is NOT a stand-alone verse.  If I consider the context, it is found in the middle of what we have called “The Sermon on the Mount”.  (See Mt 5-Mt 7). It is simply one thought in the middle of a discourse that is much longer and much more involved that mere perfectionism.

So let’s look at context first, then we will take a look at the original word and meaning in the Greek to see if we can come to a more complete understanding:  I would suggest reading all of Mathew chapters 5-7 to fully get the entire context.  But let’s start in Chapter 5.

Matthew 5, Jesus is teaching His disciples…(and the crowds that began to gather) about what it meant to be a follower of God.  Don’t pull the text out of its original context.

Vs 3-12 are listed what we have come to call the Beatitudes.

Then He tells the disciples v. 13 YOU are the Salt of the earth.  But what good is salt if it isn’t salty?

V14 YOU are the light of the world…and light is to be logically shared in the midst of darkness.

v.17 DON’T misunderstand why I have come.  Not to abolish the law of Moses but to accomplish their purpose.  What was their purpose?  To point forward to a coming Messiah who would save the world from their sins as first promised in Gen. 3:15.

Then He comes to a hinge point moment.  He suddenly flips the script on them and ups the ante.  It isn’t about keeping the law of Moses.  It’s about raising the bar.  v 20. Unless your righteousness is better than that of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom.

WHAT???  These were the professional religious people!  They spent ALL DAY EVERY DAY seeking to live out the law of Moses…at least externally.  The rest of us don’t have time for that.  We have to make an honest living.  But Jesus isn’t done yet.

V21-48 He raises the bar so hopelessly high that most may have despaired.  He begins a series I have termed: The Law Says…But I Say.  It’s a teaching of taking what they considered to be the route to be saved and what they considered the minimums of religion and showing them how hopeless they actually were at being able to live them out.

Jesus is giving them a list of things that they have believed for centuries and then raising the bar.

V 21 Law says: Don’t murder.  I say…if you are even angry with someone you are subject  to judgement.  If you call someone an idiot or your curse them, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

V27: Law says: Don’t commit adultery.  I say…if you even look at a woman with lust, you’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart.

V.31. Law says: A man can divorce his wife by simply giving her a written notice.  I say…if you divorce, unless there is unfaithfulness involved, you cause her to commit adultery and if you marry a divorced woman you also commit adultery.

v.33. Law says: You must not break your vows to the Lord.  But I say…don’t even make vows by heaven, earth or Jerusalem, because you have to power to keep them.  Simply say yes or no and leave it.

V 38 Law says. Eye for eye.  I say..if they slap the right side turn the other cheek

v 40 Law says: If sued for your shirt…I say…give them your coat too.

V 41 Law says: If a soldier demands you carry his gear for a mile… I say…carry it 2.

42 Give to those who ask…don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.

43 Law says Love your neighbor and hate your enemy… I say…Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.  You will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

He gives sunlight to both the evil and good.  He sends rain on the just and unjust.

It's easy to love only those who love you…If you are only kind to your friends how are you different than anyone else? And then we come to our verse. Matt. 5:⁴⁸ But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Quoted here from the New Living Translation).

Now in its original context, Jesus doesn’t stop talking right there, but goes right on teaching.  “Watch out!  Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” Matt 6:1

He then goes on to contrast what the Pharisees do with what His disciples should do.

Phrases from the following verses would include: v2 “don’t call attention to yourself” , v 3“don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” v4 “give gifts in private and the Father will reward you.”

V5 Don’t pray in the streets to be seen.  Pray in private. V7 When you pray, don’t babble on and on… but pray like this: and He gives them a sample prayer.

V14 If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you refuse to forgive others your Father will not forgive your sins.

He goes on to talk about fasting, and storing up treasures in heaven so that your heart will follow your treasure.  He talks about being careful what you look at and what you set your heart on so that you won’t be enslaved by your love of money.

Then He points out our need not to worry, but to trust.  And so on.

The context is not talking about working your way to heaven, or a formula for perfectionism.  So let’s go now to the actual word translated "perfect" in this passage.

The word translated “perfect” in verse 48 is the Greek word “telios” (tel’i os) and means literally: brought to completion; fully accomplished, fully developed;  complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); without shortcoming in respect of a certain standard.

So a more literal translation of that verse might be: Be complete (spiritually mature) as your Father in heaven is complete.   Or Be fully developed spiritually as your Father in Heaven is already fully developed.

What would that mean in this context?  Jesus has already told them that they will have to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees if they are going to make it.  He has already pointed out what the law said and then raised the bar.  He goes on to say, in essence, “…and there is a whole lot more!  Deeds aren’t to be necessarily seen, forgive freely, pray in private for what you need, look towards your treasure in heaven, so your heart will be there and not here.

And I can imagine the disciples thinking…”this is going to be next to impossible.”  But in the ensuing weeks and years, they began to see that though they weren’t equal to the righteousness that Christ was calling them to attain, that HE, in fact, was, and that He was calling them to live in HIS righteousness.  They began to realize that they had salvation through their faith in Jesus, by the Grace of God, and that it was God Himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit that was leading and growing them into the followers the HE was desiring. 

In fact, Paul, in the books of Ephesians and Philippians attests to this idea. Quoting now- but all emphasis mine)

Eph. 2:4    "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) ⁶ For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. ⁷ So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of HIS grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Eph. 2:8    God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

NOTE: So I can’t make myself perfect OR complete.  It is Christ’s work in me.  My job is to simply focus on experiencing Christ and learn of Him and then HE does the work changing me to be more like Himself.  Paul continues this line of thinking in Eph 3:14-21.

Eph. 3:12    Because of Christ and our faith in Him,^a we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. ¹³ So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

Eph. 3:14    When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,^{a 15} the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.^{a 16} I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. ¹⁸ And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. ¹⁹ May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Eph. 3:20    Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Phil 1:⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

So my takeaway… God wants me to be spiritually mature (perfect) able to look, act and emulate the Character of Christ.  NOT because “I” work hard at my own perfection, but because I spend my time putting down my roots into the love of Christ and drink the nutrients of HIS love into my life and allow Him to change me.

Much like a tree cannot produce good fruits by choosing to pull its roots up to focus on the fruit it is producing above, nor can I, if  I am simply focusing on my fruits. (choosing not to lie.  Choosing not to do some sin, etc)  Instead of pulling up my roots to inspect my fruit, I have to send them down into the soil of the grace of God and simply absorb Jesus into my very being and let Him be lifted up through the core of my being and HE does HIS work in me to transform me to be more like HIMSELF…so that when that day comes, HE presents me to the FATHER as a perfect person, (“telios” completed, fully accomplished, fully developed, without shortcoming in respect of a certain standard) even as my Father is telios!  Praise God I’m not left to fend for myself.  NOR are you!

The Bride of Christ has a Cutting Habit

As a pastor, I am weary. Not only of the whole Covid thing, or the political thing.   I'm  weary of wading through much of the stuff that gets sent to my inbox by well-meaning people that I love who are trying to "get me on their side" in hopes of using my influence to help gain a following. Yes, I'm weary of Christians who have forgotten their calling and have made it their mission to champion lesser callings even to the detriment of the other members of the church.

We Christians, have almost always, been our own worst enemies.  And many of us have ceased to promote the cause of God as we have been side-tracked promoting the causes of men.  And whenever that happens, division occurs in the church.

To be sure, there is already plenty to divide Christians, what with our doctrinal differences and understanding of the scriptures from our varying vantage points and ecclesiastic filters.  Differences of opinion have always existed, but they don’t have to divide us.  In fact, they can be learning points as we discuss and share our understandings with others and they with us.

It’s when we cease discussing and instead, begin yelling, both verbally and non-verbally, that the damage is done.  And let’s be clear, there is lots of damage being done to the Body of Christ right now by those inside it.   It is as if the Bride of Christ has become enmeshed in self-destructive cutting, seeking to do another part of the Body in, never realizing that cutting one part of the body always takes its toll on our own part of the Body.  We can’t build up our side while the other side bleeds out!  We are ONE BODY!

And to an on-looking world, we appear to be more and more psychotic, and the cause of Christ is dismissed as ludicrous and laughable.  And as the Body bleeds, it bleeds precious souls who can no longer stomach the infighting and the aggression shown by one part for the other.

Often, those are the souls of the young, who take the very life-blood of the Body with them.  They have enough Jesus that they want to hold on to Him, but want to distance themselves from His Bride because they either cannot make sense of the Church any longer, or they themselves have been led to take up lesser causes by those in charge.

This is not new, you know.  We find an interesting story recorded in the book of 1 Corinthians. The topic: Meat offered to idols.  Oh…it was divisive.  

“We are free in Christ!”, one would say, “and therefore it doesn’t matter that it was offered to idols!”   “But we have left idol worship and there is so much other food out there!  Why should we go back to eating that food?”  “You are just yielding to fear and not standing in your freedom in Christ!”  And the debate got so hot they finally asked Paul to weigh in.  And Paul approached it from a whole different angle than they were expecting.

1Cor. 8:4    So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. ⁵ There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. ⁶  But for us,

  There is one God, the Father,

by whom all things were created,

and for whom we live.

And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,

through whom all things were created,

and through whom we live.

And those on the “freedom” side of the issue went…aha…see…WE were right!!  But Paul isn’t done yet. Let’s read on.

1Cor. 8:7    However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. ⁸ It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.

Do you see where Paul is heading here?  And the next sentence is key here as we even look for application today.

1Cor. 8:9    But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. ¹⁰ For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? ¹¹ So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. ¹² And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 

And then Paul finishes with his own declaration—¹³ So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

The principle is simple— Live your life in such a way that you seek to build other people into stronger believers. It means living as a Christian on a higher plane than just our own thoughts and beliefs.  It is taking others into consideration as we hold ourselves to a higher standard of seeking to be Christ-like in our behavior. It means humbly laying down our “rights” as humbly as Christ laid down His life.  

And yet, here we are a few thousand years later, and many of us have either never stumbled on this part of the Bible, or have forgotten this principle as we use the same logic and arguments of those in the world and seek to pummel those who oppose us into alignment with our beliefs about politics, the virus, masks vs. no masks and vaxx vs. anti-vaxx.   And when they refuse, we either redouble the direct attacks at them, or we (perhaps angrily or perhaps sadly) leave them and join others who believe like we on those topics, and talk about how ignorant, mislead and wrong the other side is.  And we forget that they are someone for whom Christ died.

While I’m not suggesting that you violate your own conscience in any way, I am suggesting that perhaps you could tone down the rhetoric when discussing them online, as well as in person, with someone who may not see things as you.  Where you may see a conspiracy or loss of freedoms, others are living in abject fear of a disease that has perhaps already taken a loved one from them.  To ridicule them for their fear doesn’t build up the Body of Christ.  It cuts it open.

And while you may believe that everyone should be wearing a mask, being critical, judgmental and dismissive of those who perhaps choose not to or see it as an invasion of their freedom also doesn’t build up the Body.  It cuts it open more.

Have you considered that it is pride that keeps us from even wanting to humble ourselves to help someone on the other side?  What if we were to humble ourselves, for the sake of Christ, and actually try to apply Biblical principles to the difficult situation that we face?

What if, for those who believe it is necessary to wear masks for the health of the whole community,  we were able to re-apply Paul’s words of 1 Cor 8:7 here?  Perhaps we could rephrase it to read:  “We don’t lose anything if we wear it and we don’t gain anything if we don’t wear it.”  In other words, wearing a mask is not necessarily the point, but what if, though I might not believe in their efficacy, I went ahead and wore one in public, not for MY sake, but for the sake of those who are fearful and just want to feel safe?  Could I further the cause of Christ by simply being considerate of others?  

And for those who would love to see forced vaccines, what if you were to go back and look at verse 12.  "And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ."

Christ’s way has never been one of force, or ridicule, or superiority, or battling of words or any of the things we employ as we seek to best our opponents, whether inside or outside the church.  His has always been a way of love and of choosing to humble oneself for the good of others, putting their needs ahead of one’s own.

Have we forgotten why Christ died and the message He entrusted to us?  It isn’t to politics, or to champion masks or vaccines that we are called.  We are called to so much more.  Ours is a calling that is to help people see that God loved so much that He sent His son Jesus to die because He was not willing for ANY to perish!

If we continue on, I fear that with each jab, stab or slice, more precious souls will continue to bleed out of the Body, leaving it weakened and dying.  And we are doing it to ourselves! We were meant for so much more.  Christ calls us to a higher level.  And if we continue to attack one another within the walls of the church, Christ’s sacrifice and message of Love is totally voided and nullified in the eyes of an onlooking world.

Though the commandments, the Sabbath, the Sanctuary and the Second Coming doctrines are all important, NONE of them are what Christ said would be His identifying mark of His followers.  There is only ONE identifying mark and we are missing it badly right now, Church.

John 13:35  “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

The left hand has to stop cutting on the right and the right has to stop slicing the left.  We are all ONE body.  Let’s take care of ourselves through the power of Christ and then get on with taking HIS message to a dying world because THAT is our true mission.

Philippians 2:5-11
5    You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6    Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸  he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9    Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹  and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Long Haul Endurance

 As this Covid thing rages on, I find myself growing very weary, and some days, just flat out discouraged. It's so hard some days just to get up and put one foot in front of the other and make yourself go out the door to do the same things you've done so many days before. And to make it worse, it sometimes feels like you aren't getting anywhere. Which is what makes today's word stand out like a sore thumb. I woke up this morning with the word "ENDURANCE" on my mind.

I thought first of Joseph and all he had to endure. I thought of the text that we looked at a few months ago that started simply with the words, "Two years passed..." when Pharaoh's butler had forgotten him in the jail after promising to tell Pharaoh about him. Contrast that with the idea that we are about 9 or 10 months into this COVID trial, and he had another 14 months totally BEYOND that. Bless his heart...and that was AFTER he had been sold into slavery by his brothers and falsely accused by Potiphar's wife! He truly ENDURED a lot!

My mind went next to Moses and how much he had to endure just leading the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years. I will be finishing 40 years of ministry next May seeking to lead the children of Adventists and at many turns, it has been totally exhausting. The complaining, the stubbornness, the power plays and the criticism that Moses had to endure, I've also had to endure...but what's worse, unlike Moses, I've turned around and done the same to those God put over me. They have had to endure ME! (and I know that sometimes I'm not the most pleasant to be around).

I next thought about Jesus. He endured much. When you think of a spotless, totally innocent, holy being, having to just COME to this earth, it had to be painful to His divinity. Perhaps that is why God had Him be born and grow up, so He didn't have to learn about all of the evil all at once. Contrast that to the end of His life AFTER He had encountered demons, masses of broken people and hated by those who claimed to be representing Him.

To be alone in the Garden, much like Eve thousands of years earlier, facing the tempter and enemy of souls, but with the heat turned up way beyond what Eve and Adam had to face. Yet Jesus endured. He held on and persisted in prayer. He asked for what He wanted, yet said, "But not if it is in place of YOUR Will, Father. I want YOUR will above mine." And HE endured to the very end of His life to give us hope in the middle of ours.

It is during the most difficult times that we are to endure hardship so the Lord can show Himself strong in our lives. The Bible doesn’t just speak to physical suffering, but especially to suffering for the sake of the Gospel. It doesn’t just call us to endure suffering, but to embrace it. Check out these passages.

2Tim. 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

8 ¶ So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.

1Pet. 4:12 ¶ Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 ¶ So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

What was that? Those who suffer according to God’s will… whoa…hold the phone… What does that mean? God wants us to suffer?

No…but He doesn’t necessarily want to rescue us from the troubles of this life because if He did, He knows that we would just be satisfied with staying here and then we would never long for heaven…so He allows suffering. Suffering, from that perspective then, is within His will… Whenever it comes, Peter says our response should be to commit ourselves to our faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Paul writing to Timothy says: 2 Timothy 2:3 "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." -

The writer of the book of Hebrews 12:7 "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

James adds this. James 1:2 ¶ Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (endurance) 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

That’s a reason for endurance. It helps us become mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Need one more reason to develop endurance and perseverance in your life?

James 1:12 ¶ Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

So yeah...I'm tired of this COVID mess, and I wish it would just go away... I'm tired of this election mess and the uncertainties it continues to bring. I'm overwhelmed at times by all of the evil, sickness, death, and other things beyond my control, but I am called to endure it, and whatever other trials come my way, knowing that my faith is being built day by day, one choice at a time and that in due time, like Joseph, I will be taken from this dump of a prison to the palaces, not of Pharaoh, but of God Himself.

Hold on my friend! You too, with the the grace and help of God, can endure today.

The Thank-You Cure

When I was a kid, when the fall colors started to appear and the weather grew crisp in the Northern Hemisphere,  we began to look forward to a holiday that we in America simply call, Thanksgiving.  It was a time to celebrate God's mercies to us throughout the year and to join with extended family members and spend a weekend enjoying food and each other's company and to discover your place in a shared family lineage as the stories were piled one on top of the other and laughter and love seemed to rule the day.  

It seems as though, in our current era, we have no time to celebrate Thanksgiving, as the retailers would have us jump from Back to School Sales to Halloween Sales and then straight to Christmas.  And we have all but forgotten Thanksgiving.  Were it not for grocer's who still want to cash in on the reminiscent holiday, it would probably totally be skipped.  But the Thanksgiving holiday is not what I am trying to champion here.  While I think it is still an important holiday, I would suggest that it is what is behind the holiday that is really important.  Thankfulness.  The act of being truly grateful for what we have.  I even believe that being thankful could help us with the worry fear, anxiety and other things that we struggle with on an almost daily basis now.  Which reminds me of A. J. Cronin and a story he once wrote.

A. J. Cronin was born in 1896 in Cardross, Scotland. He was educated at Dumbarton Academy where he received baccalaureates in medicine and surgery. In 1914, he entered the Glasgow University Medical School, graduating in 1919. During World War I Cronin served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy. After the war, he worked as a ship's surgeon on a liner bound for India, and then served in various hospitals. In 1930, his health broke down and he turned to writing as a profession. In 1931 he produced his first novel, "Hatter's Castle," which became an immediate success. He followed it with several best-selling books including "The Citadel," "The Stars Look Down," and "The Keys of the Kingdom." 

Once Cronin told about a colleague who gave an unusual prescription to patients afflicted with worry, fear, discouragement or self-doubt. The doctor called it his thank-you cure. "For six weeks I want you to say thank you whenever anyone does you a favor. And to show you mean it, emphasize the words with a smile." Within six weeks most of the doctor's patients showed great improvement.

Are you down to try it?  As you consider your answer, here are a few other things to think about.

"Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies." - Charles E. Jefferson

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." - Colossians 2:7

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks should not be a once a year event. Nor does it necessarily need to be smothered in food and feasting.  Rather, it should be practiced daily for all the blessings that we receive. Are you feeling worry, fear, discouragement or self-doubt? Today in prayer, thank Christ and thank others whenever anyone does you a favor.  And to show you mean it, emphasize your words with a smile!

Will You Yield? NEVER!!!!

Storms are a natural part of life.  Small storms, like frantic searches for car keys when you are due at an important appointment.  Medium storms, like not having enough money to pay rent, or someone slamming into your parked car, putting your patience to the test as you walk through mountains of insurance issues and getting your car fixed or totaled and finding a replacement.  Finding a broken pipe, or a rotted floor or some other headache that you hadn't planned on dealing with. Then there are those HUGE storms.  Storms that threaten to do us in. That phone call that lets you know a loved one has been in a bad car accident, or has passed.  That doctor's report that tells you that you have cancer or COVID or some other equally bad piece of news.   How do you hold on then?  How do you not only hold on, but how do you actually grow stronger?  I believe it is in learning to yield your circumstances to God..

But that is much easier said than done, since yielding requires giving away even the last bit of the control we have.  But yielding to your circumstances to God can actually help you grow stronger as you meet the challenges of life. 

Yielding.  It means to “give way, to acquiesce.”  A more personal definition would be: to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another.  

But we don’t like to yield (except, perhaps, to our temptations!)  It is not in our nature.  Everything within us revolts at the sound of yielding.  Oh, we do it when we have to…like when we come to a busy street and there is a yield sign.  But we don’t do it readily.  As a matter of fact, if the truth were to be known, we are approaching that yield sign to see if we have enough room to squeeze out in front of that car that is coming.  If we have just enough room, we will usually gun it to pull out in front and let them step on the brakes rather than yielding.  

In fact, as I have studied human nature, we don’t even value the idea of yielding, because we think it makes us look weak.  We, like Robin Hood, when presented with the question “Will you yield?” quickly respond...at least in our hearts, "NEVER!"  We would rather fight and go into the water before we would allow someone else to get the better of us.

So when someone says you can grow stronger through yielding, it almost sounds impossible.  But it is true.  Part of growing stronger as you go through the storms of life is realizing that God can use whatever circumstances you find yourself in if you will just rest in His care and yield to His will for you.  And if you’ve learned to trust Him in the good times, it is much easier not to panic in the storm.  

I had a mentor once, an older retired minister, named Sam. He still worked part time at the church I was at for a small stipend, but he loved people and he loved God and wanted to continue to spend his time bringing the two together. Sam was married to Dorothy.  And Sam and Dorothy had weathered many storms in life.  Family problems, many deaths of those close to them, financial pressures and at times, their own health challenges.  

One day Dorothy began to experience some abdominal pain.  She chalked it up to something she ate and figured it would pass.  But instead of going away, the pain got progressively worse, so she scheduled an appointment with her doctor.

A few tests, and the diagnosis did not take long.  She was already in stage 4 of pancreatic cancer.  I watched as Sam took care of her over the next few months, spending less time at the church and more by her side.  It wasn’t long before Dorothy died, her abdomen having swollen to the size of a basketball from the cancer inside her.

I will never forget that funeral and especially the graveside service.  Sam was there, and though he shed his tears over the one he had spent so much of life with, he wasn’t angry, he wasn’t questioning God and he wasn’t particularly trying to keep a stiff upper lip to put on a good show.

I walked up as he watched them shovel the dirt onto her casket and I put my arm around his shoulder.  He looked over at me and said, “I praise the Lord that He gave me such a good woman to go through life with.  She was my sweetheart.  The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. I trust Him to do what’s best. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

That spoke volumes to me of a trust in God that can develop in a person who chooses to yield to the will of God for their life.

What about you?  Have you learned to yield your impossible circumstances to God?  Your suffering can make you bitter or better?  Closer to God or farther away.  It depends on what you choose to do.  Yield or retain control…But I think if we can learn to yield, we will find that our lives will be more in control and make more sense and we can have a peace about us that does not flee in the presence of bad circumstances.  And no matter what, we can say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  

The question I (and you as well) have to answer as I meet each of life’s challenges: Will  you yield this circumstance to God?