Thankfulness is a trait
characteristic of all cultures from all ages whether or not they know God
personally. This is because God’s common grace invades everyone’s life to make
them grateful. However, not everyone is thankful all the time. Usually
people are grateful when good things happen to them, but when an event turns
bad that’s when the gratitude attitude takes a vacation. This is not true in
the believer’s life…at least it shouldn’t be. God’s children are thankful when
the bad times are rolling, when the wheels fall off, when things aren’t exactly
going our way, or when someone has sucked all the sweet off our sucker.
At the end of Paul’s first
letter to the Thessalonians he pulled out his automatic gospel gun and just
fired off a bunch of commands. One of them that’s gets right up into our faces
and screams for us to practice in our world today is,
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
As simple as this command is, it
is equally difficult to practice. It is not easy to give thanks in a culture
that is discontent at every turn. We live in a world that is not a happy one.
People around us are not happy with their jobs, spouses, friends, vacations,
church, or even their happy meal! We are a complaining society, and we are
defined as odd and out of touch with reality if we aren’t griping about
something.
Sometimes we need to change our
circumstances, but usually that’s not what God is calling us to. He is calling
us to change our attitude and press into Him more closely during harrowing
times. All circumstances are under the control of our sovereign God. Nothing,
absolutely nothing happens to God’s child that doesn’t first pass through His
hands, and His hands are always gracious, kind and loving.
Instead of following the path of
our complaining culture let’s just scrape the pickle off our happy meal
hamburger and eat, thanking God that we have something to eat, teeth to chew,
taste buds to enjoy, and a digestive system to process the food. Not everybody
has those!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Week after week I find joy and
encouragement in pastoring Calvary Baptist Church. These twin feelings come
from YOU, the people – the real church. The church is not the buildings or
budgets or programs. Even though we have decided that those are things we have,
if you were to take them away it really wouldn’t change the fact that WE are
Calvary Church!
Seeing you each week fills me
with hope. The hope comes because transformation is possible through God’s
Word. The Bible is what God uses to change every day people into extraordinary
servants. And change is slow sometimes; we have to be willing to wait for the
changes to occur. We can’t always have what we want, when we want it. God’s
kingdom is not Burger King! It takes a lifetime to raise kids; the same
principle is true of discipleship.
This is going to take patience.
Patience is something I have to be constantly reminded of to practice. James
points out that patience is part of the discipleship process when encountering
trials.
“For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect [i.e., “mature”] and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:3-4)
Because trials are of
“different” kinds we have to realize that once we’ve made it through one trial
another of a different type is on the horizon. Trials come to mature our faith,
to grow us spiritually. And nobody can ever say, “Hey, I’m done with trials. I
now have my act together.” We know that nobody has their act together this side
of eternity.
So what do we do? We buckle up,
hold on for dear life, sink our teeth into God’s Word, and go for it! Faith
demands this kind of tenacity. Living by faith is risky business, but it’s the
best type of life to live because it is the only life that pleases God (cf. Hebrews 11:6).
I as sit here early in the week
my heart is filled with hope for God’s church. Why? Because you keep coming
back. Why is that? Because deep down you know that gathering as God’s people,
united in purpose, worshiping as a family is necessary to scattering into the
world as missionaries. My prayer is that all of us will be successful
missionaries to our world.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Often when we are suffering, going through a trial, facing
depression, being persecuted, etc. we
react according to our circumstances. We don’t necessarily think biblical
thoughts and direct the course of our life according to wisdom. We offer up all
kinds of excuses for this type of wrong thinking: “I’m human.” “I deserve this
moment of self-pity.” “I’m a victim of my circumstances.” And the list goes on.
These excuses are really a direct hit against God.
What I believe we need is to refocus our attention on what
God’s Word says about God’s purposes behind the testing. Let’s look at one that
I hope will help us all…
2Count it
all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith
produces steadfastness. 4And
let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 ESV)
James doesn’t explain the cause of trials, he explains their purpose – perseverance that leads to maturity.
We don’t need to know the cause of our suffering as much as
we need to know that there is a purpose behind it. This is where we discover
hope in our pain. When we come to realize that God has a grand design to grow
us spiritually through the pain we are experiencing then we have reached a
pivotal point in our journey.
I’m not saying we can’t ask questions. But the tone of our
questions will determine the condition of our hearts. If we react in an
argumentative, bitter tone then we are shaking our fist at God and accusing Him
of not being good. However, if we ask in a humble tone then we are opening our
hearts up to God. Open hearts learn
while clenched fists languish.
As we face trials, and certainly we will, let’s be confident
that God has a sovereign plan for the trials. We then can find joy even in the
pain.
Grace & Peace,
Scott
I can't help thinking about where Calvary Church will be in five to ten years. I know there will be "high water" marks and "low water" marks. The years ahead will be filled with great memories as we continue our pursuit of honoring God's majesty in all we do. I also realize that we will face trials that will test our faith. Church life will not be an easy-breezy coast along the highway of no potholes. Trials will come and they will be a constant reminder that we should not make ourselves too comfortable because we aren't home yet. These times of testing can be very beneficial or equally devastating...it all depends on our response. And therein lies what I've been thinking about the last few days:
Our growth from trials will be directly proportionate to our response in those trials.
This is why James wrote "count it all joy when you encounter various trials." He knew spiritual growth would come as a result of a proper response to these times of testing. So, when trials come knocking at your door, stop and ask, "God, what am I supposed to learn from this?" And remember that God doesn't want us to go around the trial; He wants us to go through the trial with His help. I hope this helps your spiritual walk.
On another note I want to thank those who've served the Lord so well over the last few weeks on mission trips. Our thanks goes to out to Tammy Gilbert for serving for a week in Honduras. Our gratitude also goes out to Matthew Bayliff, Maggie Cox, Kacie Hines, Abby Linnerud, Ben Linnerud, Blake Linnerud, and Nikki Paxton who all served through Salkehatchie Summer Service in Blythewood, SC. These mission trips, though diverse, accomplished much for the name of our Lord. the sacrifice of your faith is a joy to all of us!
My hope and prayer for all of us this week is that we sense the smile of God on our lives as we live for Him!
Grace & Peace,
Scott
Every week in my pastoral ministry I encounter people who are going through a "severe trial." The trial they face comes with many faces and with differing severity. Some who read this have faced seeing a loved one go to the hospital, some are waiting for death to overtake someone close to them, some have had to make a visit to the funeral home to make arrangements, some have had to deal with very difficult family issues, some have lost jobs (or are at least facing that possibility), some are struggling financially, some are wresting with emotional issues such as loneliness, depression, anger, bitterness,
etc., and the list of trials goes on.
I was planning to preach a series of messages on the names of God, but the Holy Spirit has been directing me to change course and work on a series that helps us wrestle with the trials we all face. Not a single disciple reading this is exempt from facing a severe trial of faith, and I want to encourage, challenge, and inspire all of us as we face these difficult times. For now I want us to consider just two things:
Trials attack faith. What is being attacked in the trial is our trust in God. James is very specific; he wrote that when we are tested it is a testing of our faith (James 1:3). This is encouraging because faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and it is the one thing with which we can please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Be thankful in trials. This is the most difficult thing to do. Being thankful, especially in a severe trial is almost impossible. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers that they should be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is something which which I would encourage all of us to wrestle. It certainly will not be easy, but it is necessary. The thanksgiving we give to God in times of severe testing is a tearful thanksgiving.
Stay tuned. I hope and pray you all will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Why don't you join us for a worship service of giving thanks on Tuesday, November 23 at 6:30 p.m.?
Grace & Peace,
Scott
