A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me – Psalm 50:23

In October of 1621 God provided the Plymouth colony with an abundant harvest from the seeds planted earlier in the spring. William Bradford, the leader of the colony after the death of John Carver, declared that those living in the settlement should hold a festival of thanksgiving for the praise and glory of God due to his past mercies upon them. They decided to invite the Massasoit and other Indians whom God had allowed them favor and peaceable relations. The men gathered adequate supplies for three days of feasting, and all who gathered participated in cooking, eating, drinking, contests and the spiritual leaders of the settlement offered prayers of thanksgiving to God for his abundant blessings. God had abundantly blessed them and acknowledging this in their hearts and minds they offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving. However, it must not be forgotten that in the midst of this thanksgiving in all their memories was the loss of over fifty percent of those living in the settlement that first year before. Yet in the midst of this great loss there eyes were upon God and their hearts broke free for thanksgiving.

Soon after this first thanksgiving more colonists arrived in a ship from England. Their stores of corn for the coming winter were not enough to sustain those who had survived the first winter in addition to those recently arriving without supplies. All the families began to ration the corn they had and yet no one died in the winter of 1621-22 of starvation. The spring of 1623 came and they planted, continued their relations with the Indians, continued to explore new lands but it was a difficult year. William Bradford wrote, “the welcome time of harvest approached, but it arose but to a little. So it well appeared the famine must still ensue the next year also.” There is no record of a thanksgiving festival that fall. However, the fall of 1623 would be a different matter.

In the spring of 1623 the colonists planted a common field of corn but also each family planted and worked family plots of their own. They were seeking to increase their production of corn in preparation for the coming winter to avoid another “starving time”. Their diligence in planting and tilling the soil was met with a twelve week draught. The colonists realized that their crops were failing and so they knew starvation in the coming year was inevitable. William Bradford and the leaders of the families began to pray until Mr. Bradford called a special day of prayer and fasting. As they humbled themselves before God in prayer and fasting one colonist described what took place: “But, O the mercy of our God, who was as ready to hear, as we were to ask! For though in the morning, when we assembled together, the heavens were clear and the drought as like to continue as it ever was, yet…before our departure, the weather was overcast, the clouds gathered on all sides. On the next morning distilled such soft, sweet and moderate showers of rain, continuing some fourteen days…such was the bounty and goodness of our God!” William Bradford described it this way, “It came, without either wind or thunder, or any violence, and by degrees in that abundance as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked therewith. Which did so apparently revive and quicken the decayed corn and other fruits, as was wonderful to see and made the Indians astonished to behold.” The harvest was plentiful that fall and their abundance was so great that they were able to put up enough for winter and use some for trading with the Indians. William Bradford and the people planned another festival of thanksgiving that September and again invited their Indian friends to join them. It was again a time to rejoice in God with gratitude for his faithful display of goodness toward them. Edward Winslow wrote these words of the celebration, “having these may signs of God’s favor and acceptance, we thought it would be a great ingratitude if secretly we should content ourselves with private thanksgiving for that which by private prayer could not be obtained. And therefore another solemn day was set apart and appointed for that end; wherein we returned glory, honor, and praise with all thankfulness to our God who dealt so graciously with us.” They again turned from themselves to God from whom all blessings flow and gave a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

God is pleased when his creatures take their eyes off of themselves and fix them upon him with a heart and mind resounding in a voice of thanksgiving. We are abundantly blessed through the incredible hardship of those who have walked in faithfulness before us with their eyes fixed toward God and his promises in Christ in faith and their hearts resounding with gratitude for all God’s passed mercies. These who went before to this land were as those going to Macedonia to carry the gospel as a great cloud of witnesses. Let us learn to follow them in faith upon the promises of God made sure in Jesus Christ and learn in plenty or in want to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving for his glory.

Community

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
1 John 3:11

Community
It is said that the apostle John could be heard living among the first century church with these words constantly upon his tongue, love one another. According to John this is a true test of one’s Christian faith, the presence of love for God’s church. Jesus had told his disciples they would be known as his followers by their love for one another (John 13:35). The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in regard to their living and worshiping as the church. In his first letter to them he dealt with the gifts God would give them by His Spirit and their usefulness to the unity of the body. Yet he did not elevate any of those gifts that God would give above the gift of love (1 Corinthians 13). The actions of love given and animated by the Spirit of God is the manifestation of Christ’s presence in the church. And this love in the church is manifested in community.

Love that is Biblical is love toward one another. Therefore, love takes place in the context of people living among one another in community. The command to love one another in the Scriptures is far from individualistic. A Christian cannot continue with God as his Father and have no use for the expression of the work of the Spirit in his life from his mother, the church. The church is a place of community where the love of God is manifest and expressed in actions.

This community where the love of God is manifest and expressed is larger than ourselves. We may desire community as a benefit God gives to us. We want to be in relationship with a loving community because it benefits me. Therefore the community we are a part of on Sunday morning tends to be larger than the community we spend the rest of our time with. We will whittle our community life down to a few people that we are comfortable with, have things in common with, who think like we do, and look and dress like we do. But this reveals that our “love for one another” is really a man centered love for ourselves. We are getting out of these relationships what we think we need, that is, to make more of ourselves.

If community is the place in the church where the love of God is manifest and expressed. What gifts has God given that you can manifest and express His love and be used of God to turn the hearts of His people in a Godward direction? We have all be given time, money, we live in houses with refrigerators and stoves, we have transportation, phones, computers, mailboxes, shoes for walking, books to read, movies to watch, games to play, tables to eat on, and beautiful places to enjoy. How are we using these gifts through the spiritual gifts and talents that God has given us to love others in community?

In the field of residential construction there is a movement in America to develop neighborhoods that create community. The houses are close together, the front porches are close to the sidewalk and the street, and the streets are narrow. There are parks in the neighborhood with playgrounds, basketball goals, and trails for walking, and some have developed grocery stores, shops and business offices in the middle of the development. But does this careful planning and developing create community? Community, that is for the glory of God, is developed in the eternal counsel of God. It is given through His love, manifest and expressed by His Spirit and expressed through the lives of a people who have died with Christ to sin and now live to God and one another in a community of love.

Confounded by the Glory of God?

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. (Ps.19:1-2).

The infrared instruments upon NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have discovered a planetary aurora over Saturn that is unlike any yet to be seen. This blueish green aurora is similar to the Earth’s northern lights, yet it is completely different and unexplainable. The scientist who are receiving this data through the instruments upon the spacecraft are “confounded” because it “it behaves unlike any other planetary aurora known in our solar system.” One scientist studying the phenomena said, “Our current ideas on what forms Saturn's aurora predict that this region should be empty, so finding such a bright aurora here is a fantastic surprise.” There are other auroras observed on other planets where they are caused by the magnetic fields of particles trapped on those planets or solar winds but what they are observing on Saturn is unexplainable and does not relate to what they have previously discovered about other auroras. It is constantly changing and sometimes disappears within a 45 minute period of time. The scientists are confounded and mystified.

To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing…Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isa.40:25-26, 28)

Man’s telescope is blocked from view and his discoveries and explanations cannot apply understanding. He is confounded, mystified and surprised for a time until God allows a window into his ways. The heavens declare the glory of God and he speaks of his eternal power and divine nature so that we may see his creative and sustained works and marvel at his might and beauty in worship and trust. Whatever you may be confounded by, mystified or surprised by God is not and just as he creates and governs the beauty of the heavens so he has created you and governs all things in the heavens and the earth to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes (Rom.8:28). Therefore wait for the LORD by looking up and out in wonder and with repentance and faith and walk in his strength in Christ by his Spirit.

The Prudent Acts with Knowledge

I have made it a discipline to read a chapter in Proverbs each day according to the day of the month. In doing this I hold fast to God’s promise in Proverbs 13:13 “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.” I long for the reward of knowing God and his will so that my soul is satisfied in him in all that he is for me in Jesus Christ. But as I have considered this promise, will be rewarded, with the condition, revering the commandment, I am struck with the necessity of not only reading, meditating and studying the word, but acting upon it.

The writer of Proverbs confers with this when he says, “In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.”(Pr.13:16) To revere the commandment is to treasure it and act upon it, doing what it says. And so those who are wise, fearing God as he reveals himself in his word, act by applying wisdom to life. Therefore the Christian must act and when he acts he will either flaunt his folly because he is not growing in the knowledge of God through his word, or he will reflect the glory of God in his acting because he is being renewed in his whole being by the knowledge of God through his word. By the grace of God we must not only be hearers of God’s word but doers (Jas.1:22).

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Recently I watched a two part DVD, “Long Way Round” featuring the motorcycle travels of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman as they traversed from the U.K. across Europe through Russia and ending in New York. The adventure was rigorous and to a risk taking adventurous spirit like mine, challenging. However, the language of Charlie Boorman was quite often offensive and especially coming out of the most difficult times of their journey through Mongolia and Russia.

What does this have to do with “Thoughts on Thanksgiving”? As I reflected on their journey and the increased amounts of stress they were under in the most difficult circumstances I wondered what made these travelers more debased in their use of language as they came out of these times of stress having accomplished something difficult. It seemed that the more stress they were under and the more difficult things became it would humble them and cause them to be more gentle, thoughtful and solemn but when they would make it through those times their exaltation was expressed in obscene and foolish talk. Why?

The conclusion I have come to is in the heart of pride. Pride is self exalting not self forgetting and others exalting. Pride is self focused and God forgetting refusing dependence on the only worthy exalted God. Paul speaking to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:2 says, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful…”. Paul is telling us that not having gratitude is reflective of a heart of pride. And in Ephesians 5:4 Paul says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” Here he says that the ugliness of language is in contrast to the language of gratitude. If a person does not have a clear sense that all the difficulties they have come through are owing to God’s mercies, and rather look to themselves as one who has traversed the trials and come out on the other side then there is not gratitude but pride expressing itself in the ugliness of self exaltation.

Therefore humility before God and His sovereign mercies is necessary to fill our hearts with gratitude expressed in songs, prayers and words of praise and thanksgiving. The heart of the Christian must look back with clear thoughts of all the mercies of God as Creator, Sustainer, Provider and Redeemer to express in affections and words gratitude. If we fail to remember all that God has been and done for us to exalt Himself as our greatest treasure then the storehouses of gratitude will be bankrupt. If we fail to follow the rivers of His mercies back to the headwaters, springs and falls of His glorious mercies then fresh cool streams of gratitude will run dry in our hearts. And in those bankrupt and dry hearts will grow the ugliness of pride that exalts self and forgets God. The life of God in the soul of man is reflected in magnifying God with thanksgiving when the soul rises to the heights of God dependence for all that He has been for him in His triune nature.

God is carrying His church the “Long Way Round” through deep valleys and grand vistas, down rough roads and up smooth roads, through deep waters and along gentle streams, among hard people and gentle people, among different people and like minded people. But in all the circumstances, situations and relationships He carries her through “his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning.”(Eccl.3:22-23) Therefore in the stresses and strains of trials, affliction and suffering the church can come forth in humility with hearts overflowing in thanksgiving. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col.3:16-17)