Thankful For Thanksgiving

My son came home with a paper listing all the things he and his classmates were thankful for this Thanksgiving season. The responses were excellent because all but one of them had something to do with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. A couple of responses were very specific concerning the way in which people find redemption through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For a group of kindergartener’s I was very impressed.

There was one that really caught my eye, of course that was my son’s. It said nothing about Jesus, and it was the briefest of all the comments. His response was simply, “I am thankful for Thanksgiving”. Of course being a preacher I thought, that sure is a vague answer, though it really didn’t surprise me. So I had to ask my son, “Why are you thankful for Thanksgiving?” He answered, “Because it’s a day to give back to God”. I was relieved that he didn’t tell me that it was because he liked sweet potatoes or something like that.

Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. I am thankful for Thanksgiving for the very same reasons my son is. It is a great time to give God praise for all that He is and the many blessings he has bestowed upon us. This season serves as a great reminder to give thanks and praise to the creator of all things. It is always good to have an attitude of gratitude, especially when it is directed toward God.

Psalms 136:1-3
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Even if you find your circumstances deplorable this Thanksgiving season, there is someone you can turn to and there is something you can be thankful for. God sent forth his Son, Jesus Christ, as our sacrifice for sin so that we might experience eternal life. Today Jesus, the Son of God, is alive and well and He calls all to receive him as Savior and follow him as disciples. It is because of Christ’s victory over sin and the grave that those who place their faith in Him and believe on Him are more than conquerors and able to give thanks in everything no matter our circumstances. It’s a blessing to be thankful for Thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Speak Truth To Power

If you haven’t heard the term “Speak truth to power” you have not been watching the mainstream news sources or the human rights groups very closely. People of all political persuasions and special interests are now using this phrase. From the Obama administration to Lou Dobbs, all claim to be “speaking truth to power”. The term is quickly becoming a mantra for anyone who feels as though need a voice tell “the man” they have had enough. I have not taken the time to research the origin of this statement, but I do know that the Robert F. Kennedy memorial division entitled SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, has certainly put some resources behind the phrase.

Ecclesiastes 1:9
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

As Solomon said, there is no new thing under the sun. People have been speaking truth to power for generations. Several weeks ago as I was reading 2 Kings chapter one the phrase “speak truth to power” resonated through my mind as I read of the exploits of the prophet Elijah. Elijah was told by God to send intercept the messengers of the king of Samaria as they travelled toward Ekron to worship Beelzebub. God used the prophet to send a clear message to the king that he could not miss. After that the king sent soldiers three different times, only to find that they could not stand against the prophet’s words.

The bible is full of examples of men of various means “speaking truth to power”. We could speak of Moses, David, most of the prophets, Jesus, Paul, Peter; the list really is quite lengthy. When God moves through men to speak to principalities and powers, it often becomes a great object lesson for the annals of history.

In a pluralistic society and in a pluralistic world, the question that Pilate asked Jesus must be asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38) Often times in our society when we speak of “speaking truth to power” what we really mean is our version of the truth, our world view. The philosophy professor at your local university or community college isn’t going to allow you to take the position that you actually have “the” truth, the world, flesh and the devil, want us to believe that we have a corner on “a” truth.

What I love about Jesus is that he is unambiguous about his position on this issue. When it comes to the issue of “speaking truth to power” Jesus was not gray or pluralistic. Jesus holds the position that he is truth!

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus said to the powers that be, that he came to bear witness of the truth. He doesn’t bear the burden of proving that he is true, because everything in creation and conscience points to that. Jesus’ fulfillment of every Old Testament prophecy concerning his first coming is a testament, not only that Jesus is True, but his words are truth. We cannot separate the perfect character of Christ from his words. It is the very life Jesus lived that bore witness to the reality that he indeed, is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Today, just as in the time of Christ and the time of the prophets, all who are in authority or claim to right the wrongs of the authorities they perceive they are under, must bring up the five letter word truth. While mankind can spend a fortune and a life time debating who is on the side of truth, or whose particular pluralistic, humanistic version of the truth is correct, the fact is that Jesus Christ is no less The Truth today than he was 2000 years ago when Pilate looked Truth in the face and posed the question.

For all the folks out there that are excited to speak truth to power, I would recommend a sure fire way to get through. Open up the bible (the truth) and speak it back to God, the ultimate power.

Romans 13:1-2
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

Believers in the Lord Jesus need not debate the truth, we must simple speak truth to power and there is not higher power than the Creator of the Universe. We can waste precious time appealing to lesser powers, or simply bow our knee and humble our hearts and approach the One True God. In reality, the best resistance to any power is submission to the ultimate power, The Lord Jesus Christ. If you are in bondage to sin, I encourage you to be honest with God, invite The Truth into your life and He will make you free.

If you want to learn how to speak truth to power, join us Sunday nights at HBF as we make it a point to come together to approach the throne of God and speak truth to power. I hope to see you Sunday at 6:00 P.M.

Worship

We are having a great time at MCBC. The Team from HBF is doing a fantastic job of ministering to the children of Monmouth, Illinois. My journey started Sunday night travelling in my old beater Ford with Jay Grimwood to Monmouth. It was funny when I arrived to pick up Jay, he saw my truck and asked if he needed to drive. The funny thing is that my truck looks old but many of the parts under the hood are new. My radiator is a week old, my starter is three weeks old, the alternator, motor, have all been replaced fairly recently. The motor has well under 100,000 miles and the tires have a couple thousand miles on them.

Looks can be deceiving. That is the case with my truck and that is the case with many believers. One of the finest communicators I know pastors Maple City Baptist Church in Monmouth Illinois. Pastor Mike Blake, and Beau Green are a powerful team. I am refreshed when I visit MCBC because they always have new life under the hood! Their building is well over 100 years old and their community is far from cutting edge, yet their ministry is certainly as dynamic as any you will find. There is no doubt God has placed this thriving church in this location to reach the ever expanding Monmouth Scott's. I believe in time the results of MCBC's ministry will have a great impact on the campus of Monmouth College. Some of the best and brightest attend that church and Mike and the team up here really know how to connect with them.

Pastor Shane Crawford of Rocky Mountain Baptist Church is preaching on worship. Last night's sermon was excellent! He spoke of how we always worship, it is just a matter of what we choose to worship. It was simple yet profound and caused me to evaluate the things I sacrifice for and what I really worship. I know tonight will be excellent as well as we talk about the alter.

Tomorrow night I give an update on the ministry of HBF to the Bhutanese. I'm looking forward to glorifying what God is doing for displaced Nepali's of Bhutan. I spent all those years working at a homeless shelter never realizing that some day God would introduce me to a homeless people group. It is a problem of biblical proportion which requires a biblical sized solution. It is comforting to know that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is powerful enough to address even this monumental spiritual, political and humanitarian problem.

It has been a great joy to visit with Blake Anderson, Mark Shaffer and the folks of MCBC. I especially have enjoyed meeting Artemio (I hope that is how his name is spelled). He is a pioneering pastor with a heart for God and a heart for people.

I praise God that as our bodies grow old, he continually renews the heart so we can run our race and finish our courses. I pray that we all finish strong as we follow Him to the finish line of glory!