Are You Really Thankful?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and let's all face it, between the controversy over its origin, the full-force Christmas décor already surrounding us, and the replacement of Black Friday with Thanksgiving Day shopping, you have to ask if its still a holiday, or if its just an excuse to indulge in gluttony? 

Thanksgiving shouldn't just be an annual holiday that has been nearly forgotten. Instead, it should be a state of mind. We have a lot to be grateful for!  Unfortunately, most Americans (you know like 99% of us) get distracted by our wish lists and to-do lists and never take the time to recognize our obnoxious abundance.

A few weeks ago we were blessed to have a special guest visit our church.  Stanley Gitari came from Kenya to let us know what his ministry is doing with the children in his village.  While he is a native to Maua, Kenya, he went to college in the US and has experienced our culture.  He can attest to the statistic that if you live in America, you are in the top 10% of the world.  Our homeless can go to a shelter and take a shower that will assuredly be pumping out clean water and most likely its also hot.   I would never want to live what our homeless do, but to think that they are living higher than 90% of the world is astonishing.

The things we take for granted, are things that are luxuries for so many other!  That is why I love this video by a church in Charlotte, because it allows us to see even what we have at the most basic level, is a gift! 

Two weekends ago I was in Monterey, at the Organic Outreach Conference.  This amazing event equips Christian leaders with tools to help love the world around us because God is love!  As I wrote down copious notes at the conference, I was more than inspired! There was one thing that hit me between the eyes as I listened to the various speakers and that was the statistics surrounding the state of the American church today. 

You see all Christians are called to share the love of God with the world (Matthew 28:18-20) and statistics show that a majority of Christians strongly agree (55%) with the fact that we all have a personal responsibility to share our faith, and 43% of people said they felt comfortable doing so, yet in contrast, 61% of those same people said they haven't shared Jesus with anyone in the last six months.  Why?  Why aren't we sharing the love of Jesus?  The reality is we just don't care. 

We have lost our compassion for the world around us.  Another study quoted showed that while 21% of Christians claim to pray to win the lottery only 20% said they prayed for friends of other faiths or no-faiths.  Really? I'd say we've lost some perspective.  According to one speaker, Adam T Barr, Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world, just not in America.  We are fat, dumb and happy and quite frankly, its unacceptable. 

Consumerism is our God and we will continue to bow at the alter of our own needs as a culture.  So what is the solution? I'm not suggesting you sell all you have and animate impoverished lives to understand the plight of the world.  We live the latte life and I don't see that changing anytime soon. 

Gratitude.  Gratitude is the answer.  As a Christian, I have received the greatest gift.  I believe that I need Jesus and I believe he is God.  I accepted his free gift that gives grace to all I've done wrong.  The sacrifice of his life, as the act of love needed to forgive all I've done, is the greatest gift.  It means that my life is more than the 90 years I live on earth.  I will spend eternity with him and I must live for that and not the few years in comparison, I have on this planet.  I know God has the best planned for me (Jeremiah 29:11) and while I can't always see it, I can be grateful in that knowledge because I have no idea what God has planned to do with even the worst of circumstances, but I know he won't let it go to waste.  My part is to be grateful. 

As we say goodbye to loved ones, I am grateful for the years I had.
As I suffer with sickness, I am grateful for my normal health. 
As I turn on lights in my house, I am grateful that I have electricity. 
As I take a shower or open a bottle of water, I am grateful for clean water or hot water. 
As I put on my shoes, I am grateful to have them.
As I hug my husband, I am grateful for the force he is in my life, both to encourage me and challenge me to be a better woman. 

This list goes on, and on and on. 

I am grateful for my years of infertility because of the compassion its given me for women who face that plight. 
I am grateful for a mom who would go hungry so my sister and I could eat because I was given the best example of how to mother my kids - sacrificially. 
I am grateful for the moments that sucked and had me raising a white flag because they strengthened me. 

This list goes on and on and on. 

Don't just let gratitude reside in a prescribed day of the year (or even month) but sew it into your life.  Make it a response you have to whatever comes your way.  Let it transform you so that you have compassion for those around you and love them like it's your job...because - it is!!!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Today and every day after...

The Problem With Church

If you want to get fit, which is the BEST OPTION?

1. Watch Cooking Shows and create a Pinterest pin board with examples of healthy eating, and binge watch workout videos on YouTube.

Or

2.  Fill your diet with healthy food and eliminate processed foods and sugars, as well as begin a workout routine combining cardio and strength training. 

The obvious answer is number two!  To get fit you have to engage in activities that develop a fit body.  Watching shows or reading articles on fitness will do nothing for any muscle other than your brain.  Yes, a healthy brain is important but really not the point in this discussion. 

Most people understand the importance of being active and eating healthy in achieving their fitness goals, and yet that knowledge doesn't translate well when it comes to our spiritual life. 

Many Christians utilize church more like a movie theater than a gym.  Yet, church is meant to be a gym NOT a movie theater. 

Do a google search on the decline of church attendance over the past decade and you will see, while the statistics seem to vary a bit, all agree that church attendance is declining.  There is a lot of thought on the reason for this, but I think it is because of a lack of proper focus.

1.  Church is not a building.  Sure, this can come down to a semantical argument and yes, we do "go to church" referring to a service in a building, but the Bible is clear - the church is Christians collectively.  We are often referred to as the body of Christ because God intended for us to be different yet work together just like our physical bodies.  We often get distracted by the building and forget we are the church. 

2.  We have become spectators.  Christianity is NOT a spectator sport.  It isn't a to-do list that one checks off.  Going to a weekly service is not our Christian duty.  There are no brownie points for extra weekly Bible studies or service projects.  You don't get an award for putting more money in the offering plate than your neighbor and there are no wings to gain if you volunteer in the children's department.  Of course, we do need to engage in a local church with some of the above activities but the point is where the problem can be found. 

Our Christian duty is knowing Christ and making him known. (Please note: I am not referring to the guy shouting from a public square that you are going to hell).  If you want to be a Christian and grow spiritually, that is found in reading your Bible, studying what you have read, spending time with others who are like-minded and spending time in prayer.  Spiritual growth comes in putting the needs of other's first and seeking what God might want with your time and money.  Remember the greatest commands are loving God and loving OTHERS as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). Christianity isn't about being perfect but instead allowing God to work in you.  That doesn't happen overnight, it usually takes a good 80 plus years. Trust me! I have been a Christian for 34 years and I still have a list of ways God needs to work in my life.  I am as human as anyone else.

I haven't been to the gym in awhile and when I go back I won't be benching 250 lbs.  I will start where I am, which is more like 10 lb free weights.  Spiritual growth works the same way.  We have to offer God ourselves where we are now and not expect to be ready for a spiritual body building competition next week.

In my 34 years walking with God I have seen God work in me and through me and while I still have a way to go, I still desire God's guidance change me as we walk out life and I relish that because of God, I am never alone.  I love that I have a hope in something bigger than our country, political system or my career.  I love church because of the body of Christ - the people with which I get to share community.  I love praying with friends and walking out life together.  I love seeing where I can grow and adjusting my life to allow God to do so.  I love doing Christianity as one would go to a gym. Obviously, a movie theater is more fun, but a gym is essential to our physical health.  Being active in our faith helps promote a better connection with God, others and ultimately, ourselves.

When we shift our focus we will see less fights about the worship songs we sing on a Sunday morning or how we would change the weekly schedule.  We would focus more on loving the world and pointing them toward Jesus instead of being so focused on a church staff making us comfortable. 

Its time we get out of the spiritual entertainment mode and grow some spiritual muscles!!!  Believe me you will be better for it!!!!