A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – Thanksgiving

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An atheist and a Christian were talking.  The atheist said to the Christian, “You know, it is just not fair.  You Christians have all sorts of holidays to celebrate.  We get off for Christmas, you celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving is a religious holiday.”  He continued, “We don’t have any holidays for atheists.”

The Christian replied, “Sure you do.  April 1 (you know, April Fools Day).  OK, a little hokey, but be sure that we do not want to end up in the place of a fool.

Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.” The Bible defines a fool as a person who has decided that God does not exist and lives his life in this trajectory.  When a person has decided that God does not exist, he or she begins to believe that he is his own god.  No one is going to tell him what to do or how to do it.

The Bible says an awful lot about fools.  In this chapter, the Bible tells us that a fool is not interested in learning, but thinks he is a know it all.  It also says that a fool has a tendency to get himself in a whole lot of trouble because he opens his mouth before engaging his mind.

Being a fool has nothing to do with a person’s IQ or common sense.  People who are very intelligent become fools.  On the other hand, people who are simple and uneducated can be brilliant in the most important issue of life.  You see, when it all comes down, it will not matter if a person got straight “A’s” in school, or if he invented something, or if he was wealthy, or famous.  It doesn’t matter if a man or a woman is a scientist, or computer genius, or college professor.  In the end, the only issue that will determine if a person was a fool was their belief in God and in Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:20-22 says it like this:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thought and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Professing to be wise, they became fools.”

On the other hand, those who trust in the Lord will find that God is a place of safety and refuge.  Those who trust Him may not become the most successful on this earth, get recognized for being smart, or earn the best awards.  But God will make a difference in his or her life, and will show Himself faithful.  He will also prepare a place for those who believe in Him for eternity.

]]> http://blog.genesiseureka.com/2010/08/11/devotion-proverbs-18/feed/ 0 http://blog.genesiseureka.com/2010/07/24/jonathan-edwards-5-ways-to-know-if-you-are-really-christian/ http://blog.genesiseureka.com/2010/07/24/jonathan-edwards-5-ways-to-know-if-you-are-really-christian/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:27:52 +0000 Mike Hubbard http://blog.genesiseureka.com/?p=1119 Examining one’s faith is one of the most important disciplines a follower of Jesus will undertake.  Way too many people wander through life believing church attendance, spiritual commitments, or a religious experience will cause them to find themselves in God’s eternal family.  Sadly, the Bible teaches that some of these people will find themselves hearing Jesus declare, “I never knew you.”  Multiple passages in Scripture challenge us to test our faith (see 2 Corinthians 13:5).  It is possible to have assurance of our faith in Christ, but that assurance rests on the evidence of Christ’s work in our lives.  The Resurgence recently posted a very good blog based on the writings on Jonathan Edwards.  These marks of true belief will help you test your faith.  Take a look and see if these characteristics describe you!

There is no doubt that the New Testament has examples of people who are oppressed and even possessed with the demonic, so we cannot discount the possibility problems have a Satanic element.  Yet, for the follower of Jesus, the call is not primarily to the quick fix of deliverance, but the hard road of discipleship.  In Ephesians 6:12-13, Paul describes the warfare that we as Christians will face by saying,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

While acknowledging that the enemy faced includes spiritual rulers and powers, the response is to prepare for battle by putting on one’s armor and then doing everything needed to stand.  The imagery is of a soldier who carefully prepares himself for a battle.  He wears his armor, knowing how each peace functions and becoming more than sufficient in its use.  He also prepares himself by doing everything needed to stand.  A soldier gets to this point through careful preparation, diligent physical training, and deep discipline.  He is tested, tried, and ready, because the day of battle will come.
Then, after doing everything to prepare himself to stand, Paul tells him to stand firm, dig your heals in, and endure.

God does deliver people.  Sometimes that deliverance will be from demonic oppression and even possession.  This can happen in an instant, with healing and transformation happening quickly.  But most of the time, Spiritual warfare is the result of careful preparation, spiritual discipline, and daily growth.  As a Christian, we are called to live as soldiers who have done everything needed to stand, and then we are to stand firm!

Application: Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor in Germany at the time of World War II.  While Hitler did horrific things to the Jews, and multitudes of other people, many of the churches and pastors in Germany threw their support behind Hitler and the Nazi regime, while turning a blind eye to the atrocities being committed.  Bonhoeffer refused, and became a Christian voice speaking prophetically against the anti-semitism of the Nazis.  Because of his opposition, the German government banned him from preaching or any public speaking, but Bonhoeffer became part of an underground church who worked toward justice.  He eventually came to the conclusion that the only way to protect the innocent was to take out Hitler, but the conspiracy was discovered, and Bonhoeffer was arrested and eventually hanged.

The decision to take the life of Hitler for the greater good is a tough one.  We could argue over whether this was the right course of action for a Christian to take for days, but don’t miss the larger point.  Most of the church in Germany sat silently with their hands under their butts, doing nothing, or they even involved themselves with the Nazis.  Bonhoeffer understood that the call to follow Jesus was a call to help those who are hurting, and to give himself away to stand for those who could not stand for themselves.

In life, we are confronted with times when people are oppressed, and experience great injustice.  We might encounter an individual who is being robbed or beaten by others.  It might be that a group of people in our city are being treated unfairly.  Or it might be that the culture actually oppresses an entire segment of the society, much like Americans did with African-Americans through slavery.  When these times arrive in life, followers of Jesus are confronted with a decision.  Some respond by justifying the injustice and becoming involved with it.  Pastors in Germany would read from the Bible and then preach sermons filled with support for the Nazis.  Churches in the south used the Bible to justify the inhumanity of slavery.  Others, in fact, most people usually take a neutral position, turning a blind eye to the plight of hurting people.  They aren’t slave owners, or Nazi sympathizers.  They just sit silently on the sidelines and do not get involved.  The third choice is to get involved, standing for justice.  Choosing justice is always the hardest because it can lead to suffering and rejection.  Justice will take time, because you can’t help hurting people without giving time to the effort.  And, in some cases, it might even cost you your life.

The people of Edom either became part of the Babylonian destruction of God’s people, or they sat silently turning a blind eye to the plight of the people who were being captured.  Obadiah let these people know that responding in this way would eventually bring the judgement of God on themselves.  Had they responded with justice, protecting those who were fleeing rather than plundering, God would have blessed them.

Take some time today to think of people around you who are oppressed and hurting.  D you know anyone who is rejected and ridiculed because of their social setting, race, or gender?  It might be a group of people living in poverty.  How can you represent Jesus and live for justice with these people?

GOLCS McAlister’s Deli