Thanksgiving to Whom?

Thanksgiving – That time of the year when we are encouraged to “give thanks” to God for His abundance of blessings to us, the greatest of which is the opportunity to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ!!

That’s right; we “give thanks” to God, the LORD Almighty, JEHOVAH Jireh (the LORD Who provides)!!! Not to Allah because it was not the Muslims that came over on the Mayflower. Not to the Great Spirit because it was not the Native Americans who initiated this celebration. And certainly not to the turkey because, if it was up to him, he would probably do away with this holiday.

Perhaps we can and ought to give thanks for those Pilgrims who ventured here; perhaps we can and ought to give thanks for those early Indians who helped them survive; perhaps we can and ought to give thanks for those who struggled, fought, bled, and died here to preserve this land, its resources, and our freedom; and perhaps we can and ought to give thanks for those founding fathers who feared God enough to establish our government upon the principles of That Which has been guaranteed to stand forever – the Word of God. It is appropriate to give thanks for these, but to Whom do we give thanks?

We give thanks to the One Who gave those adventurers their courage; we give thanks to the One Who gave those Indians their heart for hospitality; we give thanks to the One Who gave those early Americans their determined will; we give thanks to the One Who gave those founding fathers their great wisdom. we give thanks to the One Who gave us His only begotten Son “that [we] might have life, and that [we] might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10, King James Version of the Holy Bible)

Now, … have a happy Thanksgiving!

No Double Standard

The Holy Spirit, through Paul's letters to Timothy (I Timothy 3) and Titus (Titus 1), provides us with a couple lists of qualifications for bishops, deacons, and elders in His church. So are ministerial leaders held to a higher standard than the lay people? Please allow me to put it this way: No!

But a simple declaration rejecting a double standard is not enough. For it would seem that there are some within the church quite ready and willing to affirm that “pastors, too, are only human.” In other words, “we lay folk are not the only ones living shallow, disobedient lives of compromising God’s law; we need leaders who can relate. Jim Baker, Ted Haggard, and Parson Smith ought not be expected to live in such a way that sheds light on our own hypocrisy.” – That is exactly the opposite of what the Holy Spirit requires.

There is no double standard, because of the imitation principle set forth clearly in the writings of Paul and, of course, by Christ Himself. In The Christian Counselor’s Manual,* Jay Adams points out that Christ called the twelve apostles to be “with him” (Mark 3:14), so that they would learn how to be like He is and not just how to say what he says. Of course, Christ was successful as evidenced by the testimony of the Jews who took notice that the disciples “had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). This same principle is mentioned by Paul multiple times while directly summarized in I Corinthians 11:1, where he writes, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

So that which is required of elders is required of all men of God, at least, in principle. All of God’s people are to obey these standards, and we ministerial leaders are to show them how. We are the example-setters, the pace-cars, the under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd, or, if you will, the bellwethers of the flock, following the Great Bellwether, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

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* - The Christian Counselor's Manual, by Jay E. Adams, (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865, USA; copyright, 1973 by Jay E. Adams. First printing, November 1973; Twelfth printing, March 1982), pp. 335-336.

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

“And lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13, Luke 11:4). What does this mean? “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). If God does not tempt us, then why does Christ instruct us to pray that God “lead us not into temptation”?

Frankly, I must not claim that I have a clear understanding of this teaching from Jesus, and that which I may understand is highly likely incomprehensive. One suggestion that I now offer is that it may be paraphrased somewhat as follows, keeping in mind that this clause comes near the end of a model prayer that Christ is teaching His disciples: “Father in Heaven, above all these petitions I make to you now, ‘thy will be done’ and not mine, especially if the granting of my will and my petitions will probably lead me into situations where I will be tempted to disobey you.” Or in the words of the Proverb writer: “… give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain” (Proverbs 30:8-9). So “don’t answer my prayer and give me such abundance of blessings,” or in short, “please do not give me so much good … that I then become tempted to deny you.”

But then are we to pray for much evil …, that is, that evil come and attack us so that we may prove our love for and faith in God? After all, Christ Himself said, “It must needs be that offences come” (Matthew 18:7). Well, obviously then, we need not pray for it (since it already “must” come); rather, we are to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Since we know that God’s grace abounds and also that “iniquity shall abound” (Matthew 24:12), then we know that temptations will come; but “when they do, let not evil have its way with us. May our enemies fall into their own traps with which they meant to tempt and ensnare us” (Psalm 35:8, Proverbs 28:10).

We pray that we may avoid making “provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). We pray that we may avoid temptation (Luke 22:40). Yet “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed;” (James 1:14) … “but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13). We are thankful that “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (II Peter 2:9) and “deliver us from evil.”

Worse Than an Infidel?

“If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” – I Timothy 5:8

The Smith’s are Christians. The Jones’s across the street are not. The Smith’s have had several children and adopted a number of others. The Jones’s have had quite a few kids as well.

Having watched Suzy Jones get on and off the school bus and meander the sidewalk back to her house, Mrs. Smith has often thought that Suzy would be better off living in the Smith house. Rumor has it that, while Mr. Jones seems many times to be a likable guy, he frequently blows his paycheck on internet gambling, loose women, and alcohol. He has even occasionally beat his wife and children or left them stranded out on the street.

Yet Suzy generally appears to be a rather cheerful young woman, especially given her circumstances. One would think she hasn’t much about which to be cheerful, but I guess she’s been developing somewhat of her own hedonistic life and has also been gathering a host of party friends with whom to fritter it away. But Mrs. Smith sees through it all. She knows that Suzy can have a much more abundant life. – “Oh, if only Suzy could see the life that she’s missing.”

“Suzy!” Mrs. Smith calls out one day, just as soon as Suzy’s friends have driven away from dropping her off. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something. – Now that you’re an older teenager, and … well, … I wonder what you’d think of possibly …, um, … well, how would you like staying with us for a while. Come and see what life is like in the Smith house,” Mrs. Smith smiles widely. “Whada ya say?”

“Why?” Suzy seems to ask curtly.

“Well, I thought that, um, … well, my husband works with your dad once in a while, and so …, uh, … well, even some of the neighbors have even noticed that –”

“Well, I happen to know some of your children,” Suzy interrupts, “who used to live with you … and who haven’t come back to stay even when they’ve had opportunity. And also some of your foster children have opted out of being adopted by you. And then how ‘bout the ones who still do live with you? They seem to be sick more often than they are well!
“Why would I want to live with you? Shouldn’t you be taking care of your own before worrying about someone else?”
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“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning … the church”
(Ephesians 5:32).