Give Thanks
Folks, I don’t know about you but, it hit me that another year has flashed by. It seems like it was not that long ago that we were preparing for and celebrating Christmas. And it seems like only a few days ago I was complaining that the stores were putting up Christmas decorations with the Halloween stuff…right across the isle.
And here we are at the week that the US economy says that we measure what kind of year we really are having.
Doesn’t is seem to be the focus of the financial news. That we as a nation, judge our year based on the stuff we want and purchase after thanksgiving.
We focus on the things we want and don’t have instead of noticing all that we already have. And think it is something to celebrate but, instead it seems to stress that only the tangible and measurable things make a difference.
-- Today we are using a portion of a Psalm for our scripture.
Many bibles include headings or instructions in the book of Psalms which often suggest an author or a situation and even musical instruments.
While the headings are not considered directly authoritative they are ancient, originating while the temple was in operation. So I think they carry some value to help us have a context for the Psalms.
Our scripture this morning has a heading that indicates that it is not written for a “special” occasion.
According to the heading in my Bible, Psalm 92 is simply a song for the Sabbath day. A song giving thanks to God in the normal context of a standard worship service.
Let me tell you that choosing a text that will help us focus on giving thanks to God, might seem like an easy task. There are so many of them to choose from. They are all over the place, the Psalms is stuffed full of them. They are allover the old and new testaments.
So the problem is not in finding a good text it is in finding so many that stress the importance of praise and worship.
I finally settled on psalm 92. For two simple reasons. First it tells us why we celebrate and sing, “God’s love and faithfulness.” Then it acknowledges the joy that comes from knowing it is God’s hand working in our lives which brings a joyful responce.
So, “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name”
Tell me, do you think it is possible to praise the Lord silently?
Is it possible to just offer a silent prayer and satisfy the need to acknowledge what God has done and is doing in our lives and in our church?
Ok, let me say that silent prayer can be praise but, it is a very limited praise.
I don’t know that we should be satisfied or should think that God is satisfied with limited praise.
How often do we limit our prayers for the things we need and want? Maybe we don’t say them out loud which is a limit. But, do we pester God by making the petition over and over for days and weeks?
In the Old Testament praises included sacrifices of animals and food items to give an outward tangible sign of the thankfulness that the people felt.
Songs were sung and long trips were made to offer praise.
But this Psalm suggests that giving thanks should be a daily thing, “to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.”
To acknowledge God’s love and faithfulness should be a constant thing. Singing hymns and choruses, maybe with the radio might be a valid way of offering this kind of daily praise. But I believe that the point is that they need to be thought about, spoken and even sung about.
Not as a response to a command that must be obeyed.
But as an offering of praise because you see what God is doing in this world, in our country, in our state and especially in our family situations.
Folks, how often have we had politicians take the risk of stating that they are people of Christian faith, publicly? Our president has done so on many occasion, calling for prayer and he was not appealing to Christians to forgive for a personal wrong but for wisdom and guidance.
And more recently, our governor, exposing his faith and belief in prayer to ask God for rain. Man the people come out of the woodwork to bash Mr. Perdue for exorcizing a freedom of speech which includes his statement of faith and dependence on God.
They take a political risk any time they speak out on a subject. They have something to lose, and because they admit a need for God and publicly appeal to God they immediately suffer attack.
Tell me what do we risk by offering God verbal praise?
Lets say that we might lose our job, is that a reason to hold back the giving of praise to our creator and sustainer?
Folks, I believe that it is important that when we have needs and desires and praise that we speak…we say it out loud. It is not that God has a need to hear the words spoken.
It is the world that needs to hear a person of faith expressing joy, hope, love and trust in a loving and faithful God.
A God that has touched, really touched, his or her life.
I don’t want to ask for an acknowledgment from anyone that that can’t really say yes to this question. So, don’t just say it to make Tom happy.
But, if you have been touched by God, really touched by God, this year will you give God a halleluiah?
Halleluiah – Praise the Lord
As normal every day Christians we should be open to noticing the works of God and because of our openness, we should actually have a small insight into the mind and heart of God.
When we get a glimpse of God’s heart and mind, when we see where He is working, we should have such a joy because of the revelation…not because we are so smart but because of what God shows us about Himself.
When that happens, we tend to notice how big God is, it builds our faith and should cause almost uncontrolled joy.
Has a sunrise or sunset brought a tear to your eye? Has the sight of a child sleeping brought a smile to your face?
When the good report comes, when the accident is avoided, when the missing child is found, when pain and suffering are removed we should freely give thanks.
Now this scripture also tells us that not everyone will understand and acknowledge what we see and know. In fact it looks like the foolish will be everywhere like grass and weeds. They can exist to make life miserable or more often exist only to take up space as they never have any genuine lasting joy and peace.
And tragically, in the end, they will be destroyed. However, God will always be around. God will be praised and exalted forever.
I think that it is a good thing that our country has an established holiday to celebrate and give thanks. But our country is filled with people that ate only thankful for the days off, for football games, for special events that only happen a few times a year.
Have ya’ll ever stood in front of one of the fun house mirrors at the fair and looked at how distorted your reflection is?
Taller, shorter, fatter, skinner…I sort of liked the last view.
The point is that is the way I see how thanksgiving holiday is treated in our world today.
I see the intents, the faith of our establishing fore fathers distorted.
I see the reshaping of history by a foolish world that is headed for the destruction of real history and ultimately a destruction of our country as we know it.
Not because it is right and fair to most people but, because the people of God are afraid to stand up and be heard as people of faith.
Be heard praising God and giving thanks, not just a emotion, a feeling but, thanks to a higher power.
I hope you are asking how we might all do better in that.
Let me tell you that it will only happen if we allow God to help us. If we notice where God is working and seek to know his heart and mind not just for ourselves but also for the Muslim and the Jew and the un-churched and event the most vocal atheist.
We do that by giving thanks to God every day. We do that by thanking God verbally during our day. We do that we allow people to hear some element of our faith in the way speak and act.
We do that when we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by offering thanks to God.
Let me give you a NT scripture that helps us with giving thanks, 1 Thessolinains5:16-18.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Giving thanks is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes we are just too busy to notice the joyful things and they seem to slip by and a holiday like we are celebrating this week can bring us back into the right frame of mind.
Giving thanks is even harder when the year has been bad. When we are suffering grief and loss, when the pain won’t go away and life is really hard.
Paul encourages us to give thanks anyway. Not for the hard times but for the love and faithfulness of God who will never leave us. This holiday is also good to help us to find something to be thankful for when life feels so dark and dangerous.
To help us in giving thanks this week I hope you will join in an exorcize with me.
I am going to share a list of things that I am thankful for. I am following the ABC’s as a simple guide. Some of my items are small and others a big. As I go through my list I hope you will mentally look for just a couple of things that your are truly thankful for and before we close maybe share them with your church family.
My ABC’s of thanks
A – Air, Where would we be without it.
B – Babies, the innocent, trusting life that can be held in your hand.
C- clothes that fit a little too snug...Because it means I have enough to eat.
D- democracy
E- encouraging people
F- Family the ability to belong, all different kinds
G- Grace - God’s Grace - Gods redemption at Christ Expense
H- Handprints on walls - Hope
I - imagination
J- JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR ME!
K- Kitten
L- Love – that I am loved far more than I can ever really understand
M- MOM
N- Nature
O- Oil – Representing the abundance and healing of God
P- Prayer – really works
Q- Quiet
R-Reading Glasses
S- space I find at the far end of the parking lot...Because it means I am capable of walking.
T-Time -- Time Time
U- USA
V- Vision – to see
W- wrinkles don’t hurt
X – x-ray
Y- you – my flock -
Z- Zion - the city of God
