Black Friday?

Black Friday?

Where I live, It's Friday morning. I celebrated Thanksgiving, yesterday, with a wonderful group of students, staff, alumni, and guests, here at Pacific Islands University. Through the wonders of technology, I was able to be present at the table with my family on the US Mainland, just a few minutes ago, as they sat down for their Thanksgiving meal, at my elder son's home. Being in two days at once, and a couple of things that came up on the internet this morning remind me of the value of time. A friend used an old expression, that I heard many times from old-timers back in Virginia, "You're burning daylight." Generally, when I heard the statement, it came from an older man, addressed to some teens or young adults. The meaning/implication of the words is that this is no time to be goofing off. There are important things to be done. Then I read an email from a man about fifteen years my senior. He talked about others, in the generation before him, who had had an impact on his life. As I read his note I could feel the clicking of the cosmic clock throbbing in my bones. Which brings me back to Friday. It's already Friday here, and it's just a couple of pieces of pie and a turkey sandwich away for many of you. Is it a black Friday? There is nothing wrong with seeking a bargain. In fact, in many ways, it is virtuous, but the materialism and greed that mark the day are another matter. Maybe your's will be a blue Friday. There is a tinge of that in my heart. It was good to see Kathy on the screen a few moments ago, but in other ways it only made me miss her more. I think of a friend who has been separated from his wife for nearly a year, and another couple spending this Thanksgiving in the cancer ward. While we are thankful, the reality is that this is a world filled with pain and difficulty. Just this morning a good plan that I had ended up in a crumpled heap. It's not a metaphor. The remains are in the trash. My broken plan is no big deal. It'll be remedied. For many, earth has no cure. I look out the window, though, and I see a bright blue sky, with fluffy clouds floating along. I think it's a good day to plant some seeds. This Friday is neither black, nor a somber blue. It is bright with hope. The same God to Whom I gave thanks with my friends yesterday, and, via the internet, with my family today, is the God Who gives hope. Romans 5:1–5 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. In Christ, it's a Bright Friday. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Thank God for Who He Is

Before we discuss the reason for the season, what is the reason for your thanks?

I hope you have been thinking about something more than Something to Think About, because I haven't offered much grist for your thought-mill, lately. Out here way past what most of you consider West, it's Thanksgiving. I can smell the turkey cooking. As soon as I finish this I'll join my friends at church for a Thanksgiving morning service. I can truthfully say that I am thankful. I am challenged, though, by the unknown poet of Psalm 107, to ask myself, "Why?" Millions of people will recite today, "God is good, all the time," but I fear that most will not wrestle with the fact that God is good, even when He's not being good to me. Don't tune me out just yet, I haven't forgotten Romans 8:28. In this Psalm, though we read of hunger, thirst, wandering, sickness, imprisonment, storms, distress, and depression. Much of the language lays the cause of this at the feet of God. Is God good? The Psalm begins with this statement:          Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,          For His lovingkindness is everlasting. It is not a statement of "good to me," but of God's character. As I give thanks today, will my gratitude be anchored in an appreciation of who God is? It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Take note. Give Thanks!

For what, do I give thanks?

I’m on the road again. Thankfully, I was able to work a short visit to my younger son's home into my itinerary. While talking to my wife, I was reminded of God's goodness in answering some serious prayers that Kathy and I have offered up.  I wouldn't have thanked the Lord if I hadn't taken the time to consider what the Lord had done. Take time to look and listen. Make sure you notice God's goodness.   Don't let it become trite. It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Repentance: It's a good thing.

Heading the other direction is good.

I’m riding through Texas as a write, so it’s no surprise that I just passed a load of cattle. Looking through the openings in the cattle trailer, it seems the beasts are calm. Are cows too dumb to worry, or are they modeling a trait that I should emulate? I mean, you’ve got to figure that the critters aren’t on an educational field trip. It’s likely that the next time they’ll be on the road, they’ll be in a refrigerated truck. I suppose it’s possible that they may be headed to a restaurant near you. God gave you and me more sense than those burgers on the hoof, contented rolling toward a meeting with the butcher. “Where am going?” is a question that each of us needs to ask him/herself from time to time. Proverbs 14:12 indicates that it is possible to be on a path that seems fine, but ends very badly.   There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death From the prosperous farmer in Jesus' parable, to Richard Corey, to people we know, there are folk all around us who are on a trip that isn’t going to end well. We tend to paint the word “repent” in negative hues. "Preachers who preach repentance are just trying to ruin our fun." But repentance basically means to turn around, and if you are headed down a road like my bovine fellow travelers, turning around is a really good idea.   It's STTA (Something To Think About).

Going Home, or Leaving?

Heading the other direction is odd.

In the morning I leave where I've been staying for the past nine months and head home for a brief visit. Only, I'm not sure that's what I am doing. Could it be I'm leaving home to go back to the place where I used to live? Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for sympathy. Other than the fact that I'll be sitting in airplane seats way too long, and I'll be away from Kathy for three weeks, I don't find what I'm doing distasteful at all. It's just odd. If you came in late, I'll point you to a brief word of explanation. I'm a retired pastor, lived all my adult life in the same place, and in our "retirement," Kathy and I took a temporary assignment 8,000 miles from home. You can find out more here. We have been here in our comfortable little apartment long enough that it doesn't feel temporary. It kinda' feels like home. I'm headed back to the U. S. mainland because of business. It used to be when I'd go away on business that I'd pack enough stuff to last until I got back home. This evening I packed a supply of stuff to last while I'm visiting home. Some of the old Gospel songs talk about this kind of dissonance in a far more profound way.   "This world is not my home. I'm just a passin' through." "I've got a mansion . . . in that bright land where we'll never grow old." "Swing low, sweet chariot, comin' for to carry me home."   The Psalm writer spoke of that not-at-home-ness when he said,“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25–26) In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul spoke of his desire to be "present with the Lord" (Philippians 1:23), yet he knew there was yet work to be done (24). What I am experiencing as I get ready go away from home and back home at the same time is something like the way God's people should always live. I'm where I am for reason, but this isn't my final address.   It's STTA (Something To Think About).

The Just Shall Live By Faith, #4

The Righteous Person Shall Live By Faith.

“But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38–39, NASB95)   The Scripture is not inhabited by superhumans, but by ordinary folk who walk and talk like the rest of we mere mortals. I'm not denying the miraculous. You find that in scripture, but interwoven with the mind-boggling we find the mundane. The angel who caused Peter's chains to fall off of him, and enabled the Apostle to just walk by the guards, told him to put on his own robe and shoes. Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000, but the Disciples had to gather the leftovers. That basic humanness is not only seen on the front side of the Bible, but when you look behind the screen at those to whom the various books are written, you see a motley crew, much like us. One of the similarities is the people wanted something that they could touch and see, and carry in their pocket. The tendency comes out in our first-cousin Thomas--good oldDoubting Thomas. It's a family trait, isn't it? “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Let's not be too hard on him. The other Apostles had seen the marks. Later Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who believe without seeing. This is a tension that comes through very clearly in the book of Hebrews. The writer of the book, again and again, makes known the superiority of Christianity over Judaism, yet it is clear that the people to whom he is writing were tempted to go back to the old ways, just as their ancestors had turned back to idolatry when they "threw [their gold] into the fire, and out came this calf" (Exodus 32:24). What is the way of life of the Christian? What do we hold on to? What do we look at? For the third time the New Testament quotes from the Prophet Habakkuk. "The just shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4) The writer of Hebrews goes on to tell us a bit about faith.     “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NASB95)   I tend to think of faith as an act. There was a point in time when Ibelieved. Faith, though, needs to be a way of life. As I walk in faith, God gives assurance and conviction, but believe, I must. It's a bit like getting out of bed, some days it is harder than others, but it's worth the effort.   It's STTA (Something To Think About).

The Just Shall Live By Faith, #3

The Righteous Person Shall Live By Faith.

“Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”  (Galatians 3:11) How does one lay hold of this righteousness of God, the only kind of goodness that will enable us to stand before God's holy standard? It is not a task to accomplish or a prize to earn, rather it is a gift to receive. The Apostle Paul confronted the works gospel that was being promoted by the heretics who were seeking to lead the Christians of Galatia astray, this way.   “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:6–8, NASB95) The New Testament makes clear that the Gospel is a message of Good News. Yet there is a natural tendency for we people to make it a challenge to work hard. Make no mistake, there is much work to be done, but the labor is  labor of love. It is the Christians response to God's gift of grace, not the means by which salvation is earned.   It's STTA (Something To Think About), and to rejoice in..