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Should Christians Participate in the Day of the Dead?

By
Christianity Today
-

The Day of the Dead? It’s a No For Us.

El Día de los Muertos, translated as the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday also celebrated in many US communities. It has roots both in the Catholic observances of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days and in indigenous Mexican beliefs about the dead.

According to the ancient religion of Mexico, Day of the Dead traditions help the spirits of the dead return to their families, keeping them happy and forestalling the difficulties the dead could inflict on the living. Celebrations vary by region, but they have much in common: altars with offerings to dead relatives, skull-shaped sugar candies, marigolds, incense, votives, and food; candlelit cemeteries; tissue-paper cutouts; and calaverita (“little skull”) decorations everywhere.

CT asked Christians who’ve been in ministry in places where the Day of the Dead is celebrated, “Can Christians participate in good conscience? If so, how?”

Sally Isáis (Mexico City, Mexico): Christians shouldn’t participate at all, given the nature of the holiday.

Every mid-October before the Day of the Dead, my parents would receive a note from my Mexico City school saying, “If your daughter does not bring her part for the classroom offering, she will flunk civics class.”

My mother would say, “I am sorry, but as evangelical Christians, we cannot be part of this celebration, even if it means Sally will not pass the course.” She would then ask the teacher if there was any way that I could make up for not participating. Some years I flunked the course, and other years I was allowed to present another project. My peers were always upset that I would not do my part to decorate the class altar to the dead. My children had similar …

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4 Ways to Keep Your Validators From Drowning Out the Holy Spirit

By
Kim Brightness
-
negative influence

I’m a geek who loves coding. My life-long romance with computer code started in the 9th grade with Ms. Meeks, a burly, no-nonsense woman who taught me how to make “Hello world” scroll on the screen per my written instruction.

That’s all code is – the instruction for what a system should do and when, where, how to do it.

But, sometimes my code was broken; it wouldn’t work at all or it didn’t work in the manner I intended. That’s when it was time to run my code through a validator.

See, a validator is another computer program that checks the syntax (did I follow the rules) and validity of your code. It usually returns “all clear” or red flags to show you where your code went wrong.

In many ways, the Holy Spirit is the Holy Validator for the body of Christ. When we’re executing the commandments of God (code), or falling short of doing so, the Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth so that God’s instructions can execute properly (John 16:13).

Bottom line, validators matter.

There Are Not-So-New Validators in Town

holy spirit

Being the counterfeit he is, the enemy has his own set of validators. And, they don’t look or operate as you may think.

There are family, friends, influencers, media strategically staged throughout our lives that, knowingly or unknowingly, operate as vile validators. When we’re about to make a bad decision, they’re right there to co-sign it and nudge us on. When there’s good we want to do, they’re right there in our ear saying, “that’s a bad idea.”

Now, you may think that the word vile is a little strong but just think of the damage that one wrong validation can do to your purpose or destiny.

What’s the worse that can happen when you run your thoughts, choices, decisions (code) through a perverted, vile validator?

‘Positive Validations’ That Had Negative Consequences

There are many examples in the Bible of how listening to the wrong voice – even for what was believed to be the right reasons – can cost you everything; take a look at these vile validations:

  • “You won’t surely die.” – the serpent to Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:4)
  • “Lie and keep part of the money for yourself, Paul won’t know…” – Satan’s influence on Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)
  • “Go and sleep with my maid…” – Sarah suggesting to Abraham to sleep with Hagar to “help” fulfill God’s promise of a son (Genesis 16:2)
  • “You brought us out of Egypt to kill us here in the wilderness and make us your subjects…” – Dathan and Abiram validating Korah’s rebellion against Moses (which resulted in their deaths in Numbers 16:12-32)

The reason why some validations are so dangerous is that they affirm and validate what our flesh already wants to do. Depending on how strong the desire, all some of us need is one person in our “amen corner.” Some agreement with our decisions or behaviors is cloaked in perversion to validate our wrong thinking and actions.

How can we know the difference?

So, What’s the Play Call?

How to Keep God’s Validator, the Holy Spirit, from Being Drowned Out?

  1. Root yourself in the Truth, Jesus Christ, and the Word of God. Give the final say to God through your pursuit of sound doctrine. Study God’s Word, asking the Holy Spirit to help you rightly divide what you read and are taught (Psalm 119:89).
  2. Ask God to reveal if you have itching ears. After practicing #1, the Holy Spirit will guide you into truth as to whether your desires are of God or your flesh. Are you too happy to receive the validations of others? Do the validations of others preclude any further prayer and supplication to God, as if the validators have the last word (2 Timothy 4:3)?
  3. Stop ignoring the voice of the Holy Spirit. On the outside, you’re smiling, happy, moving in the direction of destruction. But, on the inside, your stomach is in a knot, you can’t sleep at night, you have no peace. Heed these warnings of God and seek His face (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). Turn away from that evil course quickly!
  4. Accept that there is no safety in numbers against God. A trick the enemy will play with you is that – you’ll receive confirmation after confirmation, validation after validation to go against Christ and the will of God. There is no safety in numbers! Don’t believe for a second that “all these people can’t be wrong!” Remember, BROAD is the way that leads to destruction; there may be many people on the path, but the path still leads to death (Matthew 7:13).

In these last days, there will be more and more validators rising up to co-sign, validate, and affirm sin, destruction, and all manner of evil. Guard your hearts and your minds, teammates.

“Colin In Black & White”: The Black and White Prototype of Crazy Faith

By
Kim Brightness
-

“Colin in Black & White” Reveals the Crazy Faith Needed to Live on Purpose

Colin in Black and WhiteWhat if you, and only you, fully understood your God-given purpose in life? What if you understand your assignment and you’ve got the answers, but everyone around you, including those you love, wants to switch your test paper?

What does it take to stay the course? Yep, faith. Crazy faith. The kind of faith that makes you look stupid and keeps everyone scratching their heads as you stubbornly press toward the mark – as Colin Kaepernick did.

In Netflix’s COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE, we catch a glimpse of Colin Kaepernick’s coming of age story as a biracial boy adopted by white parents in pursuit of his dream to be a quarterback, all while tackling the harsh realities of racism and discrimination.

Don’t Allow a Bad Beginning and a Tough Middle to Dictate Your Ending

Colin in Black and White
Colin in Black & White. (L to R) Mary-Louise Parker as Teresa, Nick Offerman as Rick Kaepernick, Jaden Michael as Young Colin in episode 103 of Colin in Black & White. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2021

As the series begins, we observe Kaepernick’s beginning as an adopted baby. Many will see his life beginning with rejection by his biological parents. Why didn’t Colin make his biological family’s team? Even during the adoption process, Kaepernick was not a “first-round” pick, but an alternative choice at best.

As the series shifts to focus on the promising athlete’s high school years, a young Colin, starring Jaden Michael, begins his daunting journey to quarterback land filled with every obstacle imaginable.

Growing up in conservative Turlock, CA, raised by loving, well-meaning, yet culturally inept white parents (Mary-Louise Parker as Teresa and Nick Offerman as Rick Kaepernick), young Kaepernick finds himself in a constant battle to prove his worth and that he belongs where his passion leads him – to realize his dream to be a quarterback.

As Colin Kaepernick both narrates and observes his own journey on walls of screens around him, we watch with him as young Kaepernick is forced to “wait his turn” as less-talented athletes who fit the perceived prototype of quarterback (white) ascend to the position. We watch the constant barrage of rejection, snide comments, discrimination as young Kaepernick is treated differently from his white teammates. We witness Kaepernick’s greatness as a baseball player and his experienced, trusted advisors pushing him to give up his quarterback dream and pursue what he’s “really” good at.

As the 6-part series progresses, Kaepernick’s rejections build. Hundreds of decline letters hit his mailbox. “Not yet” becomes his go-to mantra in response to the naysayers. It begins to bog the mind how such a young man maintains his pursuit and stands firm on what he believes with so many contrary voices around him.

Colin in Black and White
Colin in Black & White. (L to R) Mary-Louise Parker as Teresa, Jaden Michael as Young Colin in episode 105 of Colin in Black & White. Cr. Ser Baffo/Netflix © 2021

The Realities of Racism

In COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE, we also see the awkwardness of yearning to embrace your culture while guided by parents who have never been exposed to it, and facing a societal system that hates it.

Viewers of faith will come to understand the differences in black and white culture and, while earthly culture doesn’t supersede Kingdom culture, how the gift of our God-given race is important to how we move and demonstrate our humanity in this world.

Team Jesus Question: How does God expect you to “do life” and interact with others in the “skin” and culture you’re in?

Kaepernick’s longing to embrace his black culture – from hairstyles to food – was a natural part of him. Hopefully, the series will make it easier to empathize with black people, who are simply and naturally born in the skin, hair, culture chosen by God, as they navigate through centuries of systemic racism, discrimination, and micro-aggressions.

The parallels of slavery and the NFL in the series may jar many, but are the comparisons off by much?

Be the Prototype of Faith, Don’t Give Up at “Not Yet”

What does a faith-filled person look like to you? While we have examples in Hebrews Chapter 11 of Abraham, Moses, even Rahab the harlot, what can be learned from COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE? What plays would Colin Kaepernick call as the quarterback in this game called life, where faith and belief are must-haves to cross the goal line of purpose? Here are a few takeaways:

1. What you start out as is not necessarily what you become.

Your life may start filled with rejection – but you were chosen by God for the assignment on your life. You may start from a losing position, but you can still end up a winner.

2. Don’t shut up and listen, listen.

You are more than a receptacle for others to dump their negative words. Know who (and whose) you are and speak up for yourself. Hear what others say, but discern what they mean.

3. Life is too short to live someone else’s dream.

Will you spend your time doing what everyone thinks is best for you, or will you go after God’s purpose for your life with all you’ve got? Life is too short to live their version of life for you and God’s version.

Bring your frustrations and fatigue with every “Not yet” in your life, and find inspiration as you watch COLIN IN BLACK & WHITE available Friday, October 29 only on Netflix.

The Body of Christ Is On the Same Team, Team Jesus

By
Christianity Today
-

Hard as it is to believe, Christians have everything they need to “be one.”

I played softball in a community league when I was a teenager. A few of us went to the same school, but we didn’t know each other the first time we stepped out under the lights together. We were strangers in gray polyester uniforms and orange baseball caps. From a distance, you couldn’t tell one girl from another.

At the start of our opening game, there was a palpable feeling of possibility. My teammates were talented, and the coach was tough. As he invested time watching us throughout the season, he positioned and repositioned us in different roles, playing to our individual strengths. As each player lived into her giftedness, there was more synergy and success. We even won a few games.

Today, instead of feeling like a single team with diversely gifted players, we find ourselves in a cultural moment where it often feels we’re on different teams altogether. This is true in society at large, and sadly, it seems just as true inside the church.

There are justifiable reasons for division. We have defensible attachments tied to our beliefs. We’ve developed hard-earned and sophisticated ways of managing our fears and preferences, and we want to protect them.

But there was a time when the church was like a brand-new softball team, stepping out onto fresh-cut grass in late summer, individual differences obscured by what they were as a whole: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. … They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. … All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:4, 42, 44).

Those early believers did not wear gray and orange polyester, but they were nonetheless marked by distinct …

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4 Reasons to Make Rest a Priority in Your Life

By
Team Jesus
-
make rest a priority

Get Some Rest, Just Like God

labor day

Dear Team,

What comes to your mind when you think of resting?

Maybe it’s sunshine, swimming pools, the beach, fishing, golf, walks by the water, taking a vacation, going to camp, ice cream, good food, and much more!

Of course, the way we answer that beginning question is dependent upon what we have going on and what season of life we are in. But, for all of us, at some point, we hopefully have some type of intentional rest carved into our lives.

We ALL NEED to get away and rest! We also just need to take some time to rest during our normal schedules and on the weekends. Unfortunately, this is something a lot of us are not very good at. Culture often feeds us the lie that we aren’t living to the fullest if we aren’t going non-stop, filling up our calendars, and constantly working long hours.

When we look at how God created us and placed things in order, we see a different model. 

Key Principles on Rest to Encourage Your Heart

make rest a priority

1. Rest does not mean weakness.

At times, we may all think that if we take a day off, turn off our phones, get away for the weekend, or go to bed a little early, that we are being weak. We may think, “I’m a strong person because I work hard and constantly stay after it!”

Yes, you may be. And, you should work hard. But, just because you take some time to yourself, doesn’t mean you aren’t a strong person. I would say that when you take time to rest, you are actually making yourself a stronger person because you are recognizing that if you are going to give your life 100%, as you should, you first have to be fueled up and re-energized through rest.

2. We aren’t meant to go non-stop.

I’ve seen people work themselves so hard that they eventually found themselves burnt out, depressed, or spread so thin that it began to take a negative toll on them physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.

Don’t get me wrong, I recognize that there are seasons of life where we will just be busy. Sometimes, you can do nothing about that. There will be days when you have to work long hours, get up extra early, stay late, and put in overtime. The issue though is when that becomes your normal way of living.

There is a difference in living in a season, yet understanding that you can’t stay in that season, and just living in a state of non-stop going. We were created to be able to function with a certain capacity. Once we have hit that capacity, we should then take the cue to rest.

3. It’s okay to say ‘no’ sometimes.

This one is so hard for me. Naturally, I’m a people-pleaser. I remember times in the past in ministry, where I would say yes to everything I was asked or nudged to do. My thought was, “Well if I’m going to be effective in ministry and truly grow, I need to learn to do everything. I don’t want to let them down.”

There is obviously great benefit with having different experiences and exposure to various things, but you can’t do it all, all the time time, every time!

We may have a hard time saying no to a social event, volunteer opportunity or a task someone wants us to do. But, you can’t do everything! Not every good opportunity is a God opportunity.

4. Small decisions to rest now will pay off in the future.

Wherever we may find ourselves, we can establish some of these principles now. It doesn’t matter our age or what we’ve done. One of the things I love about the gift of life is that tomorrow is a new day!

As long as the Lord wills, we have a new opportunity to establish some healthy rhythms in our lives. Even if it may seem small, it will pay off. Small changes in our rest habits over time can change our lives and help us define our new-normal moving forward. Try making small adjustments now – stick to them and see how they help you.

So, What’s the Play Call?

I believe we should rest consistently for many reasons, but ultimately, God commands us to. As a Christian, I believe that God set things in place for a reason – one being our work rhythms and the amount of activity we are able to handle. We see this being put into place in the creation account from the very beginning in the Old Testament.

Genesis 2:2-3 says:

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

There are so many passages of Scripture that speak to the importance of rest in various ways: Hebrews 4, Matthew 11, Psalm 4, 23, 34, 62, Deuteronomy 5, Mark 6, Philippians 4.

At the end of the day, I hope you found these words encouraging, and you make rest a priority. Maybe even begin some new rhythms in your life that you can incorporate into your weekly rhythm.

Let’s honor and worship God through our rest. Get some rest real soon and enjoy it!

—

Matthew Weaver is a Christ-follower, husband, friend, adventurer, speaker-preacher, blogger & pastor. Visit his blog at https://mweav.com.

Haiti Negotiates with Gang, $1 Million Ransom for Each Kidnapped Missionary

By
Christianity Today
-

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Negotiations stretched into a fifth day seeking the return of 17 members of a US-based missionary group kidnapped over the weekend by a violent gang that is demanding $1 million ransom per person.

The group includes five children whose ages range from 8 months to 15 years, although authorities were not clear whether the ransom amount included them, a top Haitian official said Tuesday. Sixteen of the abductees are Americans and one Canadian.

The abduction is one of at least 119 kidnappings recorded in Haiti for the first half of October, according to the Center of Analysis and Research of Human Rights, a local nonprofit group. It said a Haitian driver was abducted along with the missionaries, bringing the total to 18 people taken by the gang.

The Haitian official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, told The Associated Press that someone from the 400 Mawozo gang made the ransom demand Saturday in a call to a leader of the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) shortly after the abduction.

“This group of workers has been committed to minister throughout poverty-stricken Haiti,” the Ohio group said, adding that the missionaries—who were returning from visiting an orphanage when they were abducted—worked most recently on a project to help rebuild homes lost in a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on August 14.

Yesterday, CAM asked for prayer, stating:

Today, we again commit our workers to God’s care. “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). Pray that our workers could respond to hatred with Jesus’ love, overcome the spirit of fear with faith, and face violence with a genuine …

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Faith Muscle: Why Only YOUR Reps Will Grow Your Faith

By
Kim Brightness
-
faith

Can I Borrow Your Faith Muscle?

faith muscleOh, if life were that easy.

Have you ever gone to the gym and felt the immediate need to gulp down a 32oz bottle of haterade?

Half-shirts and bra tops exposing beautiful, firm six-packs. Chiseled calves and quads that say ‘hello” with every step. Biceps and well-defined shoulders connect to backs who’ve never seen a day of back fat in their lives?

Wouldn’t the whole no-pain-no-gain thing go down much easier if you could simply borrow their muscles? No sweat, no effort – just exchange your fat and flab for sexy firmness.

Or, how about when life gets rough – wouldn’t it be easier to just lean on someone else’s faith?

“Hey, could you go pray, meditate, sacrifice, and do all the work for me, please? Let me know when my problems are solved, OK?”

When it comes to putting in work – humanity is generally lazy. I, too, have to fight complacency, laziness, thoughts of giving up or taking the easy way out just like the next teammate. Our adversary, the devil, would love nothing more than for our purpose to be swallowed up with “playtime” in our rejection of the discipline and commitment it takes to glorify God with our lives.

No matter how much we try to resist it, faith without works is dead (James 2:17) – and so is every gift, dream, and purpose God has for us, without faithful activity!

You’ve Got to Use Your Own

Here’s the truth. God has given ALL of us a portion of Faith (Romans 12:3). It’s just like on Oprah’s Favorite Things – “You get some faith, you get some faith, and you…”  Everybody gets a faith starter kit!

Faith is what keeps your dreams alive when hard times have you on life support – and hard times are guaranteed (John 16:33), Team. But in the belly of Faith lies Hope to keep going when all else around you logically says, “Give up, stop trying.”

But, here’s the kicker: No one can use YOUR Faith but YOU! God’s measure of faith to you, is YOUR gift. There will be some circumstances in life where NO-BO-DY can pray, pull, or drag you out; you’re gonna have to dig deep within the measure of Faith God has given you, get some dust on your own knees, let the tears mess up your make-up, and fight your own way out!

So, what you do with your measure of faith matters because faith has the power to grow. It’s a seed, a MUSCLE that, if you put it to work, will flourish and produce lasting results that you will appreciate more because YOU put in the work. You worked the muscle!

So, what’s the play call?

Stop depending on someone else’s faith muscle. We will never fortify our character by trying to capitalize on the prayers and hard work of others. The faith to produce results for your life lies within YOU!

Move past the fantasy of easy outs, gain-with-no-pain, and dodging your own work. Faith without work will always yield dead results. Trust that there’s a six-pack for your own faith just waiting to say, “I knew you could do it!”

17 Missionaries Kidnapped in Haiti

By
Christianity Today
-

A group of 17 missionaries including children was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti on Saturday, according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident.

The missionaries were on their way home from building an orphanage, according to a message from Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries.

“This is a special prayer alert,” the one-minute message said. “Pray that the gang members would come to repentance.”

The message says the mission’s field director is working with the US Embassy, and that the field director’s family and one other unidentified man stayed at the ministry’s base while everyone else visited the orphanage.

No other details were immediately available.

A US government spokesperson said they were aware of the reports on the kidnapping.

“The welfare and safety of US citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State,” the spokesperson said, declining further comment.

Meanwhile, a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States is in touch with Haitian authorities to try to resolve the case.

According to its member profile with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Christian Aid Ministries works mostly with Amish and Mennonite volunteers in relief efforts. A post on the Christian Aid Ministries site last week described its sponsor-a-child school program in Haiti, which it says supports 8,600 children.

Haiti is once again struggling with a spike in gang-related kidnappings that had diminished after President Jovenel Moïse was fatally shot at his private residence on July 7, and following a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest Haiti …

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How to Move When Others Don’t Understand God’s Call on Your Life

By
Alecia M. White
-
call on your life

I was out running errands one Saturday. City traffic was a little wonky, but to be expected, especially since I was near the mall and other shopping centers. Oh yes, and don’t forget to factor in construction on every major street and highway in the city.

Anyhoo, I was driving in the right lane, ready to turn at the next light, when I realized that everyone was making their way into the left lane. As I continued on, I noticed that an officer had someone pulled over. Of course, I needed to make my way over, so I put on my signal, in hopes that someone would slow down enough to give me space.

Well, I sat for a few seconds while at least four cars passed me by; they’re not so gracious about letting people in around here. The driver of the last car that passed me, looked me in my face with an irritated expression, as if I’d decided to cut him off for no reason. He didn’t see what I saw ahead, he had no idea that cars were trying to move over because an officer had the lane blocked. 

Others May Not Under the Call on Your Life… and That’s Okay.

god-given purposeThis is not my venting session, although that driver stepped on a nerve of mine. Nope, this is to let you know that not everyone can see what you see. They have no idea why you are moving the way you are or why you have to change lanes. And you know what? That’s okay! In fact, it’ll probably always be that way.

Often, we get frustrated because we want those around us to understand our call and our assignment, and most times, they won’t. There are times when people just have to see the manifestation of the vision to get it. There will also be times when folks will see it and still not support you or even try to understand. Yes, that’s still okay.

This realization made me a little less irritated with the driver that wouldn’t let me over (not much, though). I understand that he had no idea that I needed to get into his lane. See, there will be times when others feel threatened by your call because to them, it seems you are trying to “drive” in their lane. When you are focused on others and what they have going on, it can look a lot more like taking over your lane than you just going in the same direction. 

So, What’s the Play Call?

I saw a Facebook status one day that read, “It’s not everyone’s job to understand your calling. It wasn’t a conference call.” Listen, this is one of the truest things I’ve probably ever read. You must be okay with God leading you into places and spaces that others won’t understand or be willing to go with you. I know it can be tough when others aren’t willing to “let you over”, but just trust the direction that God is steering you. Here are a few things to remember when folks won’t let you in their lane:

  1. Let Jesus take the wheel. Go ahead and chuckle, but know that when the Lord is your official GPS, you will have no problem navigating in or out of any lanes. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6
  2. Stop worrying about who will “let you over”. As I said before, not everyone will be thrilled about the call on your life or that you are changing lanes. But, if it’s where you need to be headed in this season, you can’t get caught up with their opinions or ignorance. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
  3. Trust God’s timing and go for it. If you’re anything like me, you will talk yourself out of things at any time. God’s timing is not based on how ready you feel. As the saying goes, sometimes you’ve got to “do it afraid.” “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Psalms 56:3
  4. Move when God is signaling you to move. You see, I could have just waited it out until the officer was done with his stop since nobody wanted to let me in their lane. Instead, I was persistent and kept my signal on. If God is leading you into a new lane, leave your signal on and get over. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

No matter what looks of irritation or reactions you get from others, be sure to operate in the lane that God is calling you to in this season. 

The Power of Thanksgiving Every Day

By
Keiston France
-
team jesus

Thanksgiving Power

In Luke 17, out of the ten lepers healed by Jesus, only one man scrambled back to say thanks. I am sure that the other nine had an attitude of thanksgiving but never applied their gratitude. The power of saying thanks is a simple thing, but often hard to do. A friend of mine says that unexpressed gratitude can often be interpreted as being unthankful. Sometimes it can even be viewed as arrogance or ignorance!

Every day is Thanksgiving for a Christian.

Thanksgiving should be the theme song for followers of Christ. We should have thanksgiving flowing from our lips daily. The people we connect with should be soaked with thanks because we are overflowing with gratitude.

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
– Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)

A Thanksgiving what-if?

thanksgivingThankfulness overflows if we have deep roots in Jesus Christ and if our lives are built on Him. Is it any wonder that thankfulness is in short supply? As followers of Christ, if we are over-filled with God, then we overflow with thanksgiving. Otherwise, we are just selfish and stingy like the world. Unfortunately, there isn’t a culture of thanksgiving in today’s ungrateful society.

I have to admit, I am great at thanking God for the people in my life during prayer time, but I’m not very good at putting that attitude of gratitude into action. I often fail to overflow with words of thanksgiving to others. My attitude is good, but my actions are lacking.

When we overflow with thanksgiving, it shows in everything: our speech, attitude, and actions. We are first thankful to God and then thankful for our family, job, church, friends, neighbors, and even our boss. We are even thankful for the tough times, because as Romans 5:3 states, “we also rejoice in our afflictions because we know afflictions produce endurance.” So, we must learn to do better at the following:

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
– Proverbs 3:27

Pray in thanks, then say it!

Pray it, but make sure you say it! No more withholding blessing and thanksgiving from those who deserve it. What are you waiting for? Be sure you tell others how grateful you are for them. This is the power of thanksgiving in the action. Think about it.

So, What’s The Play Call?

  1. Are you thankful? Would others say you have a heart of thankfulness? Why or why not?
  2. List three people you are thankful for and why.
  3. What are the things that prevent you from expressing your thanks?
  4. Time to act: now go tell those three people that you are thankful for them.

 

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They Changed Their Minds about Slavery and Left a Bible Record

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Two businessmen’s unusual conversion in 1700s South Carolina led them to liberate the people they put in bondage. At first glance, William Turpin and his business partner, Thomas Wadsworth, appeared to be like most other prestigious and powerful white men in late 18th-century South Carolina. They were successful Charleston merchants, had business interests across the state, got involved in state politics, and enslaved numerous human beings. Nothing about them seemed out of the ordinary. But, quietly, these two men changed their minds about slavery. They became committed abolitionists and worked to free dozens of enslaved people across South Carolina. When most wealthy, white Carolinians were increasingly committed to slavery and defending it as a Christian institution, Turpin and Wadsworth were compelled by their convictions to break the shackles they had placed on dozens of men and women. In an era when the Bible was edited so that enslaved people wouldn’t get the idea that God cared about their freedom, Turpin left a secret record of emancipation in a copy of the Scriptures, which is now in the South Carolina State Museum. Perhaps it’s not surprising that this story of faith and freedom is mostly unknown. The two men were, after all, working not to attract attention. Neither had deep roots in Charleston or close familial ties to its storied white “planter” dynasties. Turpin’s family was originally from Rhode Island, and Wadsworth was a native of Massachusetts who moved to South Carolina only shortly after the American Revolution. Both had public careers and served in the South Carolina Legislature, but their political profiles were not particularly high. Neither of them appeared to give any of their legislative colleagues the sense that they were developing strong, countercultural opinions on one of the most ...Continue reading...

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