President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation--1789
WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"
NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Being a Thankful Person
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I like the holiday. It comes with no pressure or expectation. I wake up in the morning and think, "Ahhhh, it's Thanksgiving! I am going to enjoy family, food, some football, play some cards or board games, laugh a lot and then look forward to another day off tomorrow!!!"
For me, Thanksgiving brings back tons of memories. I know everyone has different traditions. I learned of a family recently that goes paintballing on Thanksgiving and enjoys the loving tradition of blasting the daylights out of each other! I like it!! Hey, they are thankful they HAVE family they can nuke!! Come to think of it.....nah....
My Thanksgiving traditions are not so dramatic but it's just not the holiday without my mom's cream of mushroom soup green beans with onion rings. I still am tempted to put the black olives on the end of each finger and eat them off. And by all means don't forget the rolls. No rolls, no holiday! After dinner, do some dishes and start a water fight and then a little "cheat and argue". "Cheat and Argue" that's the nick name for a card game my brother in law refuses to play. Hey, some people shoot each other, we cheat and argue. It's THANKSGIVING!!
I've heard people say that we ought to be thankful EVERY day and maybe just set aside one day for complaining. What a day that would be! One day when you can get together with family and friends for the express purpose of griping about anything you want to! You can bash the price of gas, the lame football teams in the bay area, home prices, global warming, gripe about whatever you want and do it with a frown. You can! It's your holiday!! I have a feeling though, that if you really were thankful for 364 days of the year, you'd never celebrate "Whinersday" or whatever you'd want to call it!
That really is my point. If you are a person who gives thanks constantly it's not because every thing is going so great that you have a daily supply of wonderful events to be thankful for. That's not life. When life happens it's usually a pretty good mix if good and lousy. The person who gives thanks often, does so because he/she is a thankful person. It's that simple. Thankful people give thanks a lot. Thankful people are less angry, less stressed, less whiney and they smile a lot more! As a matter of fact, thankful people have more "good days" than unthankful people because they feel thankful for things that unthankful people don't recognize. A thankful person may have unfortunate things happen all day but will focus on the one thing that is worth thanks. Better yet, a thankful person seems to be able to find a reason to give thanks even when there is no redeeming quality to a situation.
I remember watching the movie, "The Hiding Place." It's about a Christian family in WWII Holland that prepared a secret room in their home to hide Jewish people during the holocaust. They ultimately got caught, the father and other family members were killed and the two sisters were sent to the concentration camps. The girls, Corrie and Betsy, were malnourished, beaten, abused and put to hard labor. Yet they held to their faith. They began to share Jesus in small Bible studies in the barracks but the guards would stop them and threaten them if they continued. However, the conditions got worse and worse. A horrible lice infestation broke out which at first discouraged them all. However, they discovered that because of the lice, the guards would no longer enter the barracks thus allowing the girls to have their Bible study. They learned to give thanks for even the lice!!
Thankful people can always find good in something somewhere. A lot of situations look hopeless but if we take time to look and be thankful we'll find it's not as bad we once thought. People who give thanks will have good days and bad days because life is sometimes rosy and sometimes full of problems. Thankful people seem to have rosy days more often than everyone else. Why? They are thankful even for the lice! You can take the thankful quality out of a situation but you can't take the thanks out of a person. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
Now pass the stuffing, the gravy, some olives and don't forget the rolls!!
For me, Thanksgiving brings back tons of memories. I know everyone has different traditions. I learned of a family recently that goes paintballing on Thanksgiving and enjoys the loving tradition of blasting the daylights out of each other! I like it!! Hey, they are thankful they HAVE family they can nuke!! Come to think of it.....nah....
My Thanksgiving traditions are not so dramatic but it's just not the holiday without my mom's cream of mushroom soup green beans with onion rings. I still am tempted to put the black olives on the end of each finger and eat them off. And by all means don't forget the rolls. No rolls, no holiday! After dinner, do some dishes and start a water fight and then a little "cheat and argue". "Cheat and Argue" that's the nick name for a card game my brother in law refuses to play. Hey, some people shoot each other, we cheat and argue. It's THANKSGIVING!!
I've heard people say that we ought to be thankful EVERY day and maybe just set aside one day for complaining. What a day that would be! One day when you can get together with family and friends for the express purpose of griping about anything you want to! You can bash the price of gas, the lame football teams in the bay area, home prices, global warming, gripe about whatever you want and do it with a frown. You can! It's your holiday!! I have a feeling though, that if you really were thankful for 364 days of the year, you'd never celebrate "Whinersday" or whatever you'd want to call it!
That really is my point. If you are a person who gives thanks constantly it's not because every thing is going so great that you have a daily supply of wonderful events to be thankful for. That's not life. When life happens it's usually a pretty good mix if good and lousy. The person who gives thanks often, does so because he/she is a thankful person. It's that simple. Thankful people give thanks a lot. Thankful people are less angry, less stressed, less whiney and they smile a lot more! As a matter of fact, thankful people have more "good days" than unthankful people because they feel thankful for things that unthankful people don't recognize. A thankful person may have unfortunate things happen all day but will focus on the one thing that is worth thanks. Better yet, a thankful person seems to be able to find a reason to give thanks even when there is no redeeming quality to a situation.
I remember watching the movie, "The Hiding Place." It's about a Christian family in WWII Holland that prepared a secret room in their home to hide Jewish people during the holocaust. They ultimately got caught, the father and other family members were killed and the two sisters were sent to the concentration camps. The girls, Corrie and Betsy, were malnourished, beaten, abused and put to hard labor. Yet they held to their faith. They began to share Jesus in small Bible studies in the barracks but the guards would stop them and threaten them if they continued. However, the conditions got worse and worse. A horrible lice infestation broke out which at first discouraged them all. However, they discovered that because of the lice, the guards would no longer enter the barracks thus allowing the girls to have their Bible study. They learned to give thanks for even the lice!!
Thankful people can always find good in something somewhere. A lot of situations look hopeless but if we take time to look and be thankful we'll find it's not as bad we once thought. People who give thanks will have good days and bad days because life is sometimes rosy and sometimes full of problems. Thankful people seem to have rosy days more often than everyone else. Why? They are thankful even for the lice! You can take the thankful quality out of a situation but you can't take the thanks out of a person. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
Now pass the stuffing, the gravy, some olives and don't forget the rolls!!
Friday, November 2, 2007
The Motive Behind Being Like God
God's too smart for us. Yeah, yeah. Where did THAT brainstorm come from? Before you act so surprised, think about how we live. We juke left and then go right on Him but He doesn't bite on the fake. We try all sorts of spiritual misdirection but it never works. He's smarter than us.
Here is the real deal. We DO stuff. God looks at WHY we do stuff. Even if the outcome is identical for two different actions the one with the pure motive will be pleasing to God and the one without a pure motive will be worthless.
Prayer is a good example. The religious leaders in Jesus' day prayed a lot. Good thing, right? BUT their prayer was a show. It was an attempt to impress other people with their spiritual intensity. Prayer is good, but the motive behind the prayer can render it powerless.
I have to watch this all the time as I pastor my church. Why do I care for certain people or give some specfic attention? How do I act in certain situations and for what end? Are my actions a pure, guileless love or is there a personal agenda involved? When I speak is there any hint of, "I hope the people like my preaching." When I sing or play do I internally want the people to say, "Wow, our pastor is good!" When I encourage someone is it for their sole benefit or is there a desire for them to appreciate me or be impressed by my "wisdom"? Motives, when revealed make nice behaviors really ugly.
Have you ever done a really nice thing and inside wished someone else saw you do it so an impression would be made? Have you ever given of yourself sacrificially but soured afterward when no one thanked you? What was the motive? Motive makes the difference in everything we do.
This is never more clear than the motive behind the desire to be like God. Follow this train of thought. The Devil wanted to be like God and got kicked out of heaven. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God and got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Then God throws us a nasty New Testament curveball and says, "My goal for you is to be like Me." WHAT???? Explain please!!
Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 teach us in the midst of some prophetic revelations, that the reason Satan was cast away from God was because he wanted to be like God. His aspirations were for God's power, God's position and God's glory. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden he appealed to her by saying, "You'll be like God, knowing good and evil." In Romans 8:29, God says He has predestined us to be conformed the likeness of Jesus.....in other words, to be like God. 1 John 3:2 goes further when it says, "When we see Him we will be like Him for we will see Him as He is." God WANTS us to be like Him! Then why did Satan and original man and woman get disciplined?
Motive. That's the difference.
Why did Satan want to be like God? He wanted to be almighty. He wanted to call the shots. He wanted for his beauty and his name praised and glorified. Sorry, wrong answer.
Why did Eve buy the lie and take the fruit? She felt like there might be something true in Satan's words. Is God really taking advantage of me and keeping me down? I want to know what He knows. He's holding out on me. I don't think He is being straight with me. I want to take charge of my own destiny. Swing and a miss.
Notice the motives. I want. My pleasure. My glory. I deserve. My power. My freedom. I need. My goals. My desires. I am somebody!!!!
I, I, I, I, I.....my, my, my, my, my......this is called pride: a preoccupation with self.
In the New Testament it's all about losing the self not promoting self. "If you lose your life you'll save it." "Deny yourself." "I must decrease." "The least will be the greatest." "When I am weakest His strength is made perfect."
When it comes to my relationship with God, my focus must be on God: Serving God, honoring God, pleasing God, glorifying God, loving God. This is called humility: thinking of yourself less.
Why do you do what you do? Self gratification? Self advancement? Self service? Personal glory? You may get some of that but you'll never be like God. Self sacrifice? Self denial? Self control? God's glory? He will transform you into the likeness of His Son.
Satan, Adam and Eve, you and I, even God wants us to be like Him, but only with the right motive. Today, don't just DO stuff, think about WHY you are doing it. Motive makes all the differnce.
In His grip,
Greg
Here is the real deal. We DO stuff. God looks at WHY we do stuff. Even if the outcome is identical for two different actions the one with the pure motive will be pleasing to God and the one without a pure motive will be worthless.
Prayer is a good example. The religious leaders in Jesus' day prayed a lot. Good thing, right? BUT their prayer was a show. It was an attempt to impress other people with their spiritual intensity. Prayer is good, but the motive behind the prayer can render it powerless.
I have to watch this all the time as I pastor my church. Why do I care for certain people or give some specfic attention? How do I act in certain situations and for what end? Are my actions a pure, guileless love or is there a personal agenda involved? When I speak is there any hint of, "I hope the people like my preaching." When I sing or play do I internally want the people to say, "Wow, our pastor is good!" When I encourage someone is it for their sole benefit or is there a desire for them to appreciate me or be impressed by my "wisdom"? Motives, when revealed make nice behaviors really ugly.
Have you ever done a really nice thing and inside wished someone else saw you do it so an impression would be made? Have you ever given of yourself sacrificially but soured afterward when no one thanked you? What was the motive? Motive makes the difference in everything we do.
This is never more clear than the motive behind the desire to be like God. Follow this train of thought. The Devil wanted to be like God and got kicked out of heaven. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God and got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Then God throws us a nasty New Testament curveball and says, "My goal for you is to be like Me." WHAT???? Explain please!!
Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 teach us in the midst of some prophetic revelations, that the reason Satan was cast away from God was because he wanted to be like God. His aspirations were for God's power, God's position and God's glory. When Satan tempted Eve in the garden he appealed to her by saying, "You'll be like God, knowing good and evil." In Romans 8:29, God says He has predestined us to be conformed the likeness of Jesus.....in other words, to be like God. 1 John 3:2 goes further when it says, "When we see Him we will be like Him for we will see Him as He is." God WANTS us to be like Him! Then why did Satan and original man and woman get disciplined?
Motive. That's the difference.
Why did Satan want to be like God? He wanted to be almighty. He wanted to call the shots. He wanted for his beauty and his name praised and glorified. Sorry, wrong answer.
Why did Eve buy the lie and take the fruit? She felt like there might be something true in Satan's words. Is God really taking advantage of me and keeping me down? I want to know what He knows. He's holding out on me. I don't think He is being straight with me. I want to take charge of my own destiny. Swing and a miss.
Notice the motives. I want. My pleasure. My glory. I deserve. My power. My freedom. I need. My goals. My desires. I am somebody!!!!
I, I, I, I, I.....my, my, my, my, my......this is called pride: a preoccupation with self.
In the New Testament it's all about losing the self not promoting self. "If you lose your life you'll save it." "Deny yourself." "I must decrease." "The least will be the greatest." "When I am weakest His strength is made perfect."
When it comes to my relationship with God, my focus must be on God: Serving God, honoring God, pleasing God, glorifying God, loving God. This is called humility: thinking of yourself less.
Why do you do what you do? Self gratification? Self advancement? Self service? Personal glory? You may get some of that but you'll never be like God. Self sacrifice? Self denial? Self control? God's glory? He will transform you into the likeness of His Son.
Satan, Adam and Eve, you and I, even God wants us to be like Him, but only with the right motive. Today, don't just DO stuff, think about WHY you are doing it. Motive makes all the differnce.
In His grip,
Greg
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