More Than Just Some Pilgrims and a Dead Bird

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that seems more like an appetizer to another holiday. I mean, admit it, when Thanksgiving comes, you think "It's now Christmas time!" I mean, we look forward to Thanksgiving because basically it's our one day of the year where the whole purpose of the day is simply to eat a lot and no one will judge you for it. Sure, there's something about pilgrims, Indians (Native Americans for the politically correct crowd), a big boat, and some rock, but none of that's important. We just eat and finally feel free to bring out the Charlie Brown Christmas CD (or if you're in my family, Kenny G's Christmas CD, because you can't celebrate the birth of our savior without Kenny). It's amazing how much we really take this day for granted. We really lose sight of the significance of this day and what we should do other than just eating. Thanksgiving is about being thankful and it's about family and friends. Not only that, but it's about helping others be thankful for their Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, instead of having a regular service, Trailhead Church decided to bless others with a Thanksgiving that may have not have had a Thanksgiving at all. First off, I was so thankful to see all the people come out. I would be lying if I said I expected so many, so shame on me. Kudos to all that came and chose to help others and spend some time with other church members. Also, a big kudos to Jodi for being such a huge help at finding these families! So we met at the Ramada Inn and prepared the baskets with food, devotions (Santa Biblias for our Spanish speaking friends), and then we split up into our groups and headed out to deliver the baskets. My group (Ashley, Hillary, Joe, and myself) had the convenience of having our people be relatively close to each other. Unfortunately, we didn't have the convenience of speaking the same language (hence, the Santa Biblias). But lucky for us, Ashley could speak a good deal of Spanish and they could speak enough English for us to deliver the food and pray with them.

Even though there was a language barrier between us, it was obvious to see that they were thankful to be blessed with a Thanksgiving. How grateful they were to have people pray with them and deliver them a simple meal that we take for granted once a year. I can't remember a time where I didn't have a Thanksgiving. I can't remember a time where it was an option to not have a Thanksgiving because we lacked. To look in these peoples' eyes and see their thankfulness that someone would take the time just to pray with them and to deliver them a large meal, shows me that they weren't expecting to have anything like that this year.

This isn't about our generosity as people. This is about showing people God. The only reason we were able to purchase these meals was because God gave us the funds to do so and the only reason we did it was because the Holy Spirit directed us to do this. God is the great provider and this Thanksgiving, He wanted to provide for these people and show them Him through us. He also wanted to show me what I take for granted. Thanksgiving is more than just a meal. It's more than just a gluttony fest and it's more than just a trailer for Christmas. It's about being thankful. Thankful for a God that provides for us. Thankful for a God that sets us free from things we didn't deserve to be set free from. Thankful for a past redeemed, a present that makes sense, and a future that's secure. Thankful for great friends and family in my life that I see God work through everyday. Thankful that God gave those families the opportunity to sit down with each other and enjoy a large meal together and be thankful themselves.

This Thanksgiving, I'm going to have the privilege of sitting down with my family and enjoying a large meal with them, but I'll think about those families that probably understood very little what any of us had to say (except for Ashley) and think about them sitting around eating this huge meal and enjoying the time they have with their family and I know that they'll look at that moment and they'll see God.

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you? The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25: 37-40

Giving to God is not just about giving your money in the offering, giving your time in prayer, and giving your all in worship. It's also about the giving of yourself to others through love and giving them something to be thankful for.

Do You Hear What I Hear? I Sure Hope Not!

I really like Christmas music, but I very rarely purchase it. The main reason why is because it just doesn't seem practical to buy music you'll listen to for a month and a half and then pack it up until next year. I want my music to be all year round my friends! So I've pretty much depended on everyone else for my Christmas tunes...until now.

Every year, compilation CDs are put out called X-Whatever the year is (plus an X Worship CD). This year, they put out X-Christmas, so after I debated over whether or not I should purchase it, I went ahead and hit that Buy Now button on iTunes. I mean, it had Thousand Foot Krutch doing "Jingle Bell Rock" so it had to be a winner, right? I mean, if I'm going to kick off my Christmas season, I might as well do it with some sweet music.

It's not that bad. It has some winners and some "not-so" winners, but all in all, I enjoy it. I mean, it has SDS doing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and a sweet metal performance of "Carol of the Bells" by August Burns Red, but there's this one song that just about ruined my first yule-tide purchase of the year. Hawk Nelson did "Gloria." Do I really need to go further? They made the song "Gloria" (basically taking the Gloria, In excelsis deo part from "Angels We Heard On High") about "The girl of my dreams." How lame is that?! You can't just take an age-old Christmas carol about the birth of Jesus and make it some cheesy "Hi, I'm 15 and I really want a girlfriend for Christmas" song! I'm listening to this and all I can do is just sit in horror over this horrible rendition of this song. I mean, if you like Hawk Nelson, that's fine, I'm not trashing them as a band, but come on! "Angels We Heard on High?!" You're going to make that song into that! What's next?! Turning "O Holy Night" into a techno dance song about global warming?! Turning "Silent Night" into a power-ballad about having your heart broken at prom?!

Where are you when we need you, claymation Christmas specials? You knew how to kick off the Christmas season right!

Well, even though that may have put a small blemish on my Christmas season, I can't let it ruin it. There's so much to look forward to when it comes to celebrating the birth of our savior! Carols, Christmas food, candy canes, decorations, trees, church signs that say "Jesus is the reason for the season," and oh the list goes on! Here's to a Merry Christmas and an awesome Trailhead Christmas service!

And I Feel Fine

So I haven't really written a blog on my thoughts on the election and everyone should probably count that as a blessing. I'm a little hesitant to blog about political stuff now that there are people that read my blog. As a person that works in ministry, I find it important to focus on the issues but not politicians and I don't want to alienate people that may vote differently than I do for whatever reason. I do believe that there is a lack of people educating themselves on how they vote on both sides of the aisle. I think many people just base all of their info off of how biased media, bumper stickers, e-mail forwards, or what Paris Hilton says about who they should vote for as opposed to actually researching. I mean, I know it's tough because it involves something called effort but it is important to educate yourself.

Anyhow, I do have some thoughts on the election that I want to blog about. The first thing is probably the most obvious: President-elect Barack Obama. The majority of evangelicals in this country did not vote for Obama. I believe it was somewhere around 74% were expected to not vote for him. One major reason for this, is because of Obama's strong pro-choice record. Now, I could write a whole blog on the abortion issue but I won't do that today. Just know that I am very much pro-life and I find it difficult to see how anyone could be otherwise, regardless if they have religious convictions or not. So needless to say, about 74% of evangelicals and other McCain supporters were quite disappointed at this election's outcome. Nevertheless, Barack Obama is going to be our next president whether you like it or not. Now, I've heard many say "Well, he's not my president!" Yes, he is. The only way he won't be your president, is if you move to another country (just in case you didn't know, Canada already has universal health care and gay marriage so conservatives probably should not threaten moving there). The man won a fair election, so therefore he is the next American president. I'm not saying you have to like it, but it is the facts.

Paul wrote in Romans 13 that we are to submit to the governing bodies. That the only reason that they are in power is because God granted them the ability to have that power, therefore we are to do what is good before them without compromising what is good before God. What this shows us is that regardless of who is in office, God is still in control and God is still in power and whoever the president is has to answer to God for what they did with the power that God allowed them to have. So regardless of your voting preference, it is your duty to do the same thing for Obama that you should do for anyone else elected. You should pray for him (1 Timothy 2:2). Pray that God gives him wisdom and conviction. Pray that he would change his heart on the abortion issue (Mitt Romney did, why can't he?) and pray that he would successfully lead us through these difficult times. Pray that he would appoint Supreme Court justices with wisdom and conviction that will uphold morality and wisdom in this country. Back him up when he's right and speak out when he's wrong, but hoping the man will fall on his face gets us nowhere as a nation and gets you nowhere as a Christian. Doing that is a form of vengeance and it is fueled by bitterness, anger, and hatred (and I don't remember those being listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5). So pray for him. Pray that he succeeds. Not because you voted for him but because you want what's best for your country. That doesn't mean you have to vote for him in 2012, but it does mean that you have to respect the authority that God has allowed him to have. He has to answer to God with what he does with it.

The other thing is Prop 8. Prop 8 was voted on in California and if it passed it would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, and would basically ban same-sex marriage in the state. I was actually surprised to see it pass. I mean, let's face it, California is the capitol of "free-thinking" and "free-love." To see them vote to ban gay marriage, while Massachusetts and Connecticut vote to allow it, was quite a shock to me and apparently many California residents because many began to riot. This led to other nationwide protests at churches. I just read this morning where a group of protesters called Bash Back! stormed a large church in Michigan and began throwing condoms around, putting up profane banners, performing lewd acts in the pulpit of the church, and attempting to provoke a violent reaction from church members so they could videotape it. Amazingly, they did not receive such a reaction from the members, so kudos to the church for their amazing patience.

Now, I strongly believe that God set up marriage to be a union between one man and one woman, therefore I supported Prop 8. I do not hate homosexuals and I do believe they should have the same rights we all have. They shouldn't be alienated from the rest of the society or treated differently and we as the church should let them know that we love them. So they should have the right to protection, the right to the legal system, the right to receive education, and the right to seek success. If you were to deny them this, then you would have to do the same to everyone that has inappropriate thoughts, lies, or does not forgive others. So therefore, gays should have the right to marry as well. Now many of you probably were shocked by that last sentence and thought I just contradicted myself but I did not. Marriage is the union between a man and a woman and gays have that right to marry someone of the opposite sex because that's what marriage is. You see, the issue over gay marriage is not whether or not gays should marry, the issue is whether or not we have the right to take a God-given institution and warp and twist it to how others see fit and that is what's wrong with the term, "gay marriage." "Gay marriage" is a contradiction in itself, much like "hate-filled Christian." The words simply do not belong together even though some like to put the phrases together.

So why is it that groups that promote "tolerance" respond with such hate? Why the violence? Why the profanity? I thought this whole concept of "tolerance" was to accept (and I guess agree with) other's opinions even if we didn't necessarily like it. Well, the people of California have spoken. Where's the "tolerance" for their beliefs? Where' s the "tolerance" for how the church believes? In this world of tolerance and "let's all hold hands and sing kum-bay-ya," why is it that the church has received the label of "hate-mongers?" I guess, this whole concept of "tolerance" doesn't apply to everyone.

We've seen the fruit of this world's "love, truth, and tolerance." It responds in hate, violence, brokenness, and the destruction of an institution given to us by God. True tolerance is loving someone regardless of who they are or what they've done, but at the same time, rejoicing in the truth of Jesus. It's a truth that accepts the person but not their sin, whether it be homosexuality or telling a "little fib." It's a truth that does not compromise to relativism and allows itself to bend with time despite criticism. It's a truth that removes a person from a destructive path and instead sets them on a rock that cannot be shaken and it is true Christ-centered love that will put people on it. God called us to love like Him. Unconditionally and without compromising absolute truth. We need to stand firm and stand in love because our country does depend on it. I learned in my Drugs and Crime class that the only way to eliminate a drug problem is eliminate the demand. That same concept applies to many moral issues we as a society face today. You want to see abortions drop dramatically? Don't put your hope in legislation (we've seen how well that works), instead put your hope in a God that can change hearts and minds to where abortion is not even seen as an option. You want to see a demand for gay marriage go down? Show people the gospel and let the Holy Spirit convict and change people. Because I have news for you, overturning Roe v. Wade is important but it won't heal the brokenness that causes women to consider an abortion and it won't stop "back-alley" abortions from taking place. I'm also glad it passed but Prop 8 and anything like it won't end people's desire to engage in homosexual behavior. Only the changing power of God through the redemption given to us by Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit can do such things and it's important that we choose to show homosexuals this through love and not obnoxious and hate-filled slander that has made people like Fred Phelps famous (you may remember Phelps from his "church's" website: http://www.godhatesfags.com/).

Whoever the president is doesn't affect my light and whoever the president is doesn't ruin God's plans. So if your guy didn't get in, big deal. God is still God and He's the only ruler that you should ever put your faith in and the Holy Spirit should be what guides your steps everyday. It's a dying world we live in and no piece of legislation or political figure can fix that. If it would, Jesus would have said "Therefore go, and establish a government ran by people bound to screw up everything up that will change hearts and minds by transforming a bill into a law."

Instead, he gave us that responsibility (Matthew 28:17-20). Love is what will change things and God is love.

Almost Over

Election Day is finally here. This is where all of the campaigning, all the advertising, all of the bashing, and all of the wondering comes to an end (at least until the next four years). I've been thinking, this has really been one of the craziest elections ever. I mean, think back to the primaries. We knew for sure that it was going to be Giulani v. Clinton, then Thompson v. Clinton, then Huckabee v. Clinton, then Huckabee v. Obama, then Romney v. Clinton, the McCain v. Clinton or Obama, and finally McCain v. Obama. Now it's about 8 hours from being over.

Anyone that really knows me, knows that I'm very opinionated when it comes to politics. I'm not like a jerk or anything about it but I know what I believe and why I believe it, but I think it's important that we all educate ourselves on politics, especially Christians. We need to go beyond basing our decisions on how Maw Maw and Paw Paw voted, who celebrities endorse (I personally don't make a decision without first consulting Miley Cyrus' blog), catchy bumper sticker slogans, or what our friends do. We need to take the time to actually care. Don't just go by the hype, but research it out. We live in very important and dangerous times and we need to know the character and the policies of those that are running because our future as a country will depend greatly on who we choose.

Now I'm not trying to tell you that it is your Christian obligation to vote a certain way, but I am saying that it is your Christian obligation to seek wisdom and take an active and not a passive stance in the place you reside. Now, will the next president completely ruin God's will and plans? Absolutely not. God already knows who's going to win. He even knew it before America was formed. So don't worry, God's not surprised by anything and regardless of who's president, he's still God, but that's no excuse to allow yourself to go to sleep and be ignorant.

Jesus '08