**This is a re-post, updated. I welcome your thoughts and comments and wish all of you a fun-filled, Christ-centered Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving. A day of giving thanks.
The definition is implied in the name.
But why do we say thank you?
Because something nice has been done for us. Because someone has given us something. Because we are responding to a kindness or blessing that has been bestowed upon us.
In so doing, we are implying that there is someone to respond to.
In the tradition of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims, with help from the Indians (ahem, Native Americans) were able to give thanks to God for his many blessings. For helping them survive. For providing food. For bringing them to the New World where they could practice their faith without persecution.
So today, why do we celebrate Thanksgiving? Some will say it’s just another holiday involving family, food, and football.
But the implication is there– we are thankful.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to sit down around a Thanksgiving meal and eat without thanking the Lord. How awkward. How strange. How sad.
So, for those who don’t believe in God–why are they celebrating Thanksgiving? Who are they thanking? In the spirit of being thankful, what are they thankful for? If God didn’t bless them, then are they eating turkey and green bean casserole in honor of their bosses? Their friends? The bank? The economy? The government? Their own accomplishments?
What exactly are they thankful for? Stuff, surely. But what about the “stuff” that can’t be given by man? What about the breath in our lungs, the ability to wake each day, the family that surrounds us– our very existence?
It just doesn’t make much sense to me not to recognize the higher power in that.
We celebrate Thanksgiving because we are thankful for the many blessings given to us by the only one with the ability to bestow them. Whether you refer to him as God or just Divine Providence, the fact that you celebrate Thanksgiving at all implies that there is one to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.
If they are true to their belief, all atheists should be alone on Thursday, eating cold spaghetti. After all, Thanksgiving is a day of remembrance of tradition–a tradition born out of the idea of thanking God.
Thanksgiving is about much more than being thankful for “stuff.”
I have an idea–invite an atheist friend to your table and thank God for his or her presence and the opportunity to celebrate this holiday while sharing the truth and example of Christ.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Share with me: If you could only choose one thing to be thankful for this year, what would it be?
I’ve read many posts lately, most from well-respected bloggers (many of the mommy kind), who have written that we, as Christians in America, shouldn’t concern ourselves with the political climate of our nation or bother being involved in politics.
I couldn’t disagree with this view more.
Why have these posts encouraged a lack of political participation among the God-fearing, Born-Again?
The reasons are many, but most boil down to one idea: We are not meant for this world.
Well, that I agree with. We aren’t meant for this world. As born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we are meant for a Heavenly Kingdom that will one day come– a kingdom where our only ruler will be the perfect Christ who sacrificed himself for us.
And like the many who look forward to that day, I do, too. But until then, we live here, in the imperfect world in need of Christ.
These writers would have us think that as Christians, since we are bound by a Heavenly King, we need not participate in earthly politics or concern ourselves with anything but showing the love of Christ.
I only partially agree.
I am 100% on the bandwagon with showing the love of Christ all the time, to all people, no matter what.
BUT…the Heavenly Kingdom has not come–yet. And while we are living on this earth, we are subjected to the authorities which God has put in place over us (Romans 13:1-7).
Thank God that we live in a nation where we have some say in that authority.
Politics in America can be ugly. It can be disheartening. It can be frustrating. There is no perfect candidate.
But we live in a nation where we do have a say, and therefore, it is our right and our responsibility to exercise that say.
The Bible clearly states that our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20) and that we should obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). But wouldn’t it be nice if we could change our political climate and elect men who also serve the God of Heaven?
It’s not an impossible idea.
You can’t legislate morality.
This is another excuse I often hear when people have given up on politics in America.
And yet, God did legislate morality. Just look at the 10 Commandments. If we make the argument that we cannot, at all, create laws based on an innate sense of right and wrong, then we might as well throw out laws that stop people from murdering, stealing, and raping, just to name a few. Anarchy seems to be the only solution for those who think we can’t legislate morality.
Abortion and homosexuality are not the only moral issues in America. We can legislate morality, and we do.
Even among Christians, there is much disagreement over political matters.
But that doesn’t mean we should shut down and simply not participate. On the contrary, as Christian Americans we should be active in our government at all levels, protecting the freedoms that allow us to worship freely, spread the Word, and help others who very much need the love of Christ.
If we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the political climate around us, we may come up to find that we’ve lost the very rights we take for granted.
So pray that God will convict your heart about which candidates and which legislation you should vote for.
Keep in mind that no man is perfect– only Christ is– but over and over and over and over God has used imperfect men to do his bidding. You only need open the Bible and scan to discover this truth.
Exercise your right and privilege as an American and vote on election day.
It’s important. There’s plenty of God’s work being done when you cast your vote.
***Election day is November 6th!
Share with me: Who was running for President in the first election you participated in?
Is is a prayer you learned as a child, one recited for a specific purpose?
Is it a self-created prayer, but mentions the same topics in the same order every time?
Is it a different prayer uttered in a different way every time you pray?
When do you pray? Morning? Before meals? Before bed? Daily? On Sundays? Only when you’re really in need?
Do these things even matter– the words you say and the frequency with which you say them, or is prayer really about what’s in your heart?
According to Craig Groeschel’s The Christian Atheist, there exists an entire group of Christians, those who build their lives around their belief in Jesus Christ, who either don’t pray at all, or when they do, believe that prayer isn’t effective.
When I first began reading the chapter on prayer, it blew my mind, mostly because I am a HUGE believer in prayer. In fact, for years I’ve lived my life in a purposeful state of constant prayer.
I pray at specific times of the day, sure, like before meals and before bed, but I strive to have a constant and open communication with God. I pray all the time. About everything. I rarely say “Amen” because I want that heart-line to be open all the time.
But that’s just me.
My husband isn’t like that at all.
He is a strong, God-fearing, Bible believing man who was saved by grace at a young age and has lived his entire adult life as a follower of Jesus Christ.
But he was raised in a very traditional Southern Baptist church. The kind that banned certain types of music in the teenage population and brought in pastors to evangelize hellfire and brimstone.
For him, prayer was boring. It was ritualistic. It was used to scare the life out of others. It was done by those who constantly threw in the “thees” and “thous” and communicated with God like he was the “great and powerful” wizard behind the curtain.
My husband once admitted to me that he wasn’t really sure if God cared about his prayers.
“With war and cancer and people who have real problems, why would God care about the things I pray about?”
This conversation came after we’d been married nearly a decade. For all that time, I’d had no idea that my husband struggled to believe in a powerful prayer life.
And he is not alone.
So many struggle with the idea of prayer– that it’s about the eloquence of your words or the length of the prayer itself.
Surely those who are more “holy” are heard by God first. Surely those who love to pray aloud are those who are heard by God.
But as Groschel points out, there are ways for those who struggle with the power of prayer to realize that prayer changes everything.
It’s about realizing what prayer is and to whom it is.
Realize who you are talking to. The God of the universe. The one who is I Am. The creator. The Savior.
It can feel a bit overwhelming. What do you say to the God of the universe? Whatever you want because here’s the really cool part– He wants to hear from you. He’s excited to hear from you!
Move the focus from yourself onto God. Realize that you are talking to a friend who wants the honesty of your heart– He desires time with you.
When you change your perspective on who you are talking to (the God of the universe) and why (because he wants to hear from you), it helps you to realize that every thought, fear, joy and pain you experience is a treasure to him, and he wants you to talk to him about it.
God wants honesty. He wants you to be real with him. He wants truth. He wants your heart with or without the “thees and thous”.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matt 6: 5, 7
And that’s what prayer is– an honest conversation with the God who created you and knows you by name.
If you feel like prayer just doesn’t make a difference, pray about everything on your heart. God will answer. Maybe not all at once, maybe not quickly. But when he does, you’ll never doubt that prayer works.
I love the verse below because Jesus tells us that prayer works. But he also reminds us that when we pray, we must have a heart that is free from unforgiveness and hatred.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:24-25
Prayer is powerful. Prayer changes things. And more than that, it changes people.
And the best part is that God wants to hear from you.
He doesn’t care about the words you use. He doesn’t care about whether or not your prayers are eloquent and well thought out.
What he cares about is that you take the time to talk to him and that you talk to him honestly.
It’s that simple.
There is so much more wonderful information in this chapter, but I leave you with one of my favorite comedians and his hilarious take on staunch, strict prayer.
Hopefully it will give you a chuckle and help you to remember that prayer is for everyone, no matter what.
I pray for you that you’ll find the joy in the power of prayer.
As the lone female in my house (even the dog is a boy), I often feel outnumbered, so it’s by the grace of God that I can use writing to help me connect with other hopeless romantics. These passionate, “heart-y” words stem from my deep love for Jesus, my husband and our four boys, my calling to write His story, to teach, and my deep, abiding love for music and chocolate. Always chocolate. Find out more on my “About” page.
Hale and Hearty Words 