Time to set the mood

Rub-a-dub-dub thanks for the grub
- Amen

Ok i know that Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, and I know that it is the only time of the year when we are actually required to be thankful, but I figured I would do my best to get you in the mood a little early this year.  And since I don't know too many thanksgiving songs, I will just spit out a few bible verses for you.  That way when it comes time to say grace before your thanksgiving feast you can impress your whole family with a loquacious bequeathal of gratitude unto an amicable God. (translation - you can speak a lot of thankful words to a gracious God)

So often we are so blinded by what we do not have that we can not see everything that we do have.  I am certain that someone reading this is thinking, "what do I have to be thankful for, my life sucks", well the seemingly simple act of reading this post puts you near the top of the chart when it comes to blessed people.  I say that for two reasons, 1. you have an internet connection, that is something that most of the world does not have.  2. You are able to read at all, that puts you ahead of 1 billion people on this earth.  So trust me when I say, you have plenty to be thankful for.

It's easy for us to be thankful when we have what we want, when we are healthy, when things are going our way.  But when life throws us a curve ball, when we are face down in the ditch, when things are not the way we would like them to be, that's when giving thanks gets difficult.  We have all been through those times, everything is going so poorly that we forget about all of the blessings that we do have.

Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon

Were all written by Paul in prison

A good example for us to live by goes by the name of Paul, The Apostle Paul that is.  Paul wrote several letters to several different churches, many of these letters were penned while he was behind bars for proclaiming his faith.  The first 14 verses of the book of Colossians are all about being thankful, these verses were written while Paul was in prison.  Paul had it tough, he was doing what God told him to do and now he was in prison for it, yet Paul was still thankful to God.

I encourage you to be thankful even when it seems as though there is nothing to be thankful for, as long as you have breath in your lungs you can be thankful.  I know life may be tough right now, tougher than I may be able to imagine.  Remember this though, God has a deep love for you, a love that is unquenchable, rest in that love, know that He is with you, and be thankful for that.

I leave you with this quote:  "A blessed man who never takes the time to count his blessings is not nearly as blessed as the man who has little but thanks God daily for that which he has"

If you want to be blessed, be thankful for what you already have.

Deal Lord,

Thank you for your blessings in our lives

We know that we are not worthy of anything that we have

yet you decide to bless us with so much.

Help us to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving

help us to see all of the blessings in our lives

and help us to remember to thank you for them daily.

In the holy name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

Let the arrows fly

Take any happy group of people today, put them in a room together, then try to make them hate each other in 10 minutes or less by asking them one question; what would that question be?

What is your opinion on homosexuality?

Yeah, i bring a trident to all my debates

Immediately you see tensions rise, fists ball up, and shanks being pulled from back pockets.  It is almost impossible to find any group of people who agree on this subject.  Even many of my closest friends have different opinions than I do.  

As a pastor I am sure you can all guess what my stance on the subject is, and if I had to guess I would say 50% of you disagree with me.  Yes I think homosexuality is wrong, but before you hit the back button or click over to your Facebook page to share with everyone how hateful I am, you should know that I am in no way bashing or hating homosexuals, quite the opposite really.  

I have noticed lately that as debates and disagreements rise the hatred between the two sides rises with them.  Neither side of the isle is excused from this.  Rather than fan the flames and cause hatred to grow I would like to offer a loving opinion on the subject, one that I believe the bible supports, and one that I think all Christians should learn from.  

I do not hate gay people, I do not dislike them, and I would love to see gay people attend my church.  As a student of the bible I know that a righteous person has never walked through the doors of my church.  We are all liars, we are all thieves, we are all immoral, and homosexuality falls into the category of immoral (Romans 1:26-27).  I believe that homosexuals are in the same boat as the rest of the world, we all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  So in all honesty, I am not sure why this is such a big deal in the first place, why doesn't Westboro Baptist go and picket the funerals of lawyers since they tend to be such big bad liars (sorry lawyers, your just the easiest to pick on).   If I hated sinners I would have to hate myself first because I am the worst sinner I know (1 Timothy 1:15).

At this point I would have to imagine that the opposing side here is asking, "what right do you have to say that homosexuality is a sin, why do you get to decide who some one should love and who they shouldn't".  In reply to this question I say this, I do not have that right, I do not get to decide. God does. He says that homosexuality is bad so I am just agreeing with Him.  So let me ask you a question, again I do not want this to come across in a hateful manner but I think it will prove my point.  

What would you think of a middle aged man who says that he is naturally attracted to pre-pubescent girls, he says he was born that way, and it is natural for him.  If you are like most of the population you would say that he is disgusting and that he can not do that because its wrong.  If we apply the thinking of the homosexual movement we would say that he should be allowed to love whoever he wants to love.  I am sure you can see where I am going with this, its a very slippery slope.

Sin is sin, it does not matter what form it comes in.  Our society has told us that some is worse than others, but the bible makes it clear, we all sin, and God hates it all.  The only way that we can avoid the wrath that God has stored up for sinners is to allow the atoning work of Jesus to cover that sin.  Whether your sin is lying or homosexuality, God wants to see you repent, turn to Jesus, and live the life that He has called you to live.  

In conclusion I want to make myself very clear.  I have a deep love for homosexual people, do I agree with them, no, do I want to see them repent from homosexuality, yes, but most importantly I want them to know that God loves them more than anyone else does.  The moment that we put our trust in Jesus, and repent from our sin, God will give us new desires, he will cause us to love things we never thought possible, and be people that we never thought we could be.

So bring on the negative comments below, tell me how wrong I am, but know this; I'm just telling you what the bible says, so your issue is not with me, but with God, so let Him know how you feel.

Dear Lord,

I pray that your message of love will begin to permeate this nation,

I pray that we will see that we are all in the same boat,

Sinners, in need of love and grace.

I pray that you will do a great work in the lives of your people,

helping us to spread love and peace, not hate and war.  

I pray that the message above would cause us to think,

To think about who we are, and who you are, and realize how much we need you.

We love you God, and we pray this in Jesus name,

Amen