Thanksgiving and Suffering

I grew up in a church in rural Indiana. As a child I remember the uniqueness of the Sunday night before Thanksgiving. I remember that it was one of the few services that the pastor didn’t preach. Instead I vaguely remember two microphones down front, and that people would just get up and share what they were thankful for. I confess that as 7 year old I didn’t remember the content, but I did remember the experience.

A few years ago, prior to Thanksgiving, we placed two microphones down front and invited people to share what they were thankful for. I confess I was unprepared for the one element that so many of the testimonies had in common . . . suffering. Amazing isn’t it, that the people who have suffered the most seem to be the ones who are most thankful. In a country that seems to have a mission of removing all pain and suffering I found it remarkable that the people who had treaded some really dark times were the ones who were thankful.

The Puritans understood this best 400 years ago. Many of their prayers were recorded in a book entitled: The Valley of Vision.  They understood what many have failed to realize. That although most people thought that it was the mountain-top experiences that made life rewarding, for them it was the valleys. It was in the valleys of their life that they gave thanks.

 My only explanation for that from the Scriptures is that God wired us for dependence on Him. On the moutain-tops we fail to remember that vital lesson, and often we act independently. But in the valleys we say with the Apostle Paul, “we were burdened excessively beyond strength . . .in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” (II Cor. 1:8-9). Perhaps that’s why those believers who have known great suffering are also those who are most apt to thank the Lord. It is in their darkest hour that Jesus shines most brightly.

Survival or Servival?

Occasionally I like to make up words. Perhaps you do too. The nice thing about making up words is you can also make up their definitions. Take the words survival or servival – What’s the difference? Aside from the fact that I made up the second word, they are diametrically opposed. Survival is where most of us live. Our lives are packed with obligations. Getting from school to dinner with lessons and practices in between has filled our lives. Survival is when the calendar is primary. It means we’re in a hurry. We would spend more time talking to our neighbors or our friends, but we just don’t have time. We’re too busy surviving. The spirit of survival means we’re always putting off what’s really important.

Servival is about serving. The preciousness of others is primary, not our schedule.  Like the Good Samaritan of Luke 10, “hurting people” interrupt and take precedent over our calendars and schedules.

I have a friend who ministered in the cold, barren countryside of Russia. I once saw a video of him digging a well in the dead of winter with nothing more than an ice pick. Sounds like he should have been concentrating on survival, but instead his focus was servival.  He was there to serve others. He took time to share the gospel with the residents of Siberia – herders of reindeer. For years they had worshipped and sacrificed to their “reindeer gods.”

He would tell them that Jesus was born, lived and died, and rose again for them. He recounted that often they would weep uncontrollably at the concept of such love. My friend would take time to minister the love of God to their hurting souls. He wasn’t just surviving, he was serviving.

How about if we put people ahead of our schedules? If we found out that our schedules didn’t allow it, maybe we would just change our schedules. Jesus didn’t come simply to survive. The Gospel of Mark captured it this way. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus was a servivar.

Thanksgiving that Isn’t Circumstantial

I recognize life has grown increasingly difficult for many of us. Perhaps you are among those who enter this season without a job. You may be wondering where your next meal is coming from. Maybe it’s your health that’s uncertain. While you feel OK the doctor is telling you that’s not what the tests say.

I’ve been thinking that this season I want my Thanksgiving to be more theological than circumstantial. I mean by that, I want the Lord to be the reason I’m thankful, not what’s going on around me. Few passages of Scripture communicate that as clearly as the 100th Psalm, and few lives exemplify this as well as those first pilgrims.

Psalm 100
1Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
2Serve the Lord with gladness;
    Come before His presence with singing.
3Know that the Lord, He is God;
     It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
     We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4     Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
     And into His courts with praise.
     Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
5     For the Lord is good;
     His mercy is everlasting,
     And His truth endures to all generations.

The most well-known Thanksgiving is of the Mayflower’s Pilgrims who set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating and by fall they had lost 46 of the original 102. The harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one and the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast. After counting all their blessings and giving thanks to God, the Pilgrims, Chief Massasoit and 90 Indians joined in a three-day Thanksgiving feast


This Thanksgiving before your bow heads to say thanks, consider letting those around your table fill in the blank: “My God is _________.” In this way your Thanksgiving time becomes less about your circumstances and more about God’s faithfulness.

The Scripture’s Effect on the Mind

Twenty years ago a deeply troubled young man stepped into my office.  He was accompanied by a friend for the sake of encouragement. Together they began to pour out his sad story. When he was in 8th grade he became a victim of sexual abuse at the hand of high school teen. As he had entered high school he struggled with depression, attempted to take his own life, and was hospitalized. He had carried the dark secret alone. Neither parents, nor counselors knew his past.

Now, seven years later his anxiety was all-consuming.  His struggle with fear and worry had even crept into his sleeping hours, revealing itself through nightmares of the teen who had abused him.

I was fresh out of seminary, with limited experience in the ministry. As I reached for my Bible I remember praying to the Lord for guidance. I knew I was in way over my head.

I asked the young man what he was thinking about before he fell asleep. He acknowledged his painful past consumed his thoughts. He said tearfully, “I’m just praying to God that the nightmares won’t come back.”

“I understand you’re praying, but what are you thinking about.”

 “The nightmares” he said, “I don’t know how to stop.”

 Together we opened up our Bibles to Philippians 4:8 and we read,

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [emphasis added] (Phil. 4:8)

“Your challenge,” I said, “Will be to develop a plan where you think on the things that are in that list.” Together we read  the promise that came next,

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you [emphasis added] (Phil. 4:9).

 “Memorizing is only the first part” then I added, “You’re actually going to have to do it.”

“Do what?” he said.

 “Think on these things,” I replied.

Together we drew an octagon. He wrote each of the 8 qualities found in verse  on the outside boarders of the sign. Inside the sign we wrote the words “Stop! Think on these things.”  On a separate piece of paper he wrote each quality as the heading for a list. The 8 lists would be comprised of  anything he could think of that was “true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.”

One week later he returned to my office with his friend. The two sat down. I began the conversation “ How’s that Bible verse I asked you to memorize?”

His friend smiled, and shook his head as if he knew something I did not.

“Why the smile?” I asked.

 “Did you want him to tell it to you, forwards or backwards?” he replied.

 “Let’s start with forwards.” I said. The young man quoted the verse word perfect one word after the other.

 “Can  you really quote the verse backwards?” I asked incredulously.

 Phrase by phrase he gave the verse backwards. He didn’t miss a beat.

 “That’s pretty amazing” I said. “So how are the nightmares?

 He looked me in the eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled.

 “What nightmares?”

The Impact of Involved Parents

As parents we may wonder what effect the raising of Godly children who can distinguish between right and wrong and have the self-control to make the right choice, will have on our society. Researcher Doug Dale studied two families whose roots went back to the 18th century. The first family began when Max Jukes and his brother married sisters. They did not believe in Christian training. They saw no need to raise their children by the guidelines of the Bible.  Over the course of many years these two unions resulted in 1026 descendants. Three hundred died very young, and many had poor health. One hundred-forty of them served time in the penitentiary for an average of 13 years each. One hundred-ninety were public prostitutes, and there were 100 alcoholics in the group. Over a hundred year period the Juke’s descendants cost the state $1,200,000! With inflation and our welfare programs today these families would have costs the state hundreds of millions of dollars!

Contrast the Juke’s  family with another family’s heritage. Jonathan Edwards became a Christian and married a girl of like belief. After graduating from Yale in 1720, Edwards became a pastor, and later the President of Princeton University.  Over many years, from their union were born 729 descendants. Among them were 300 pastors, 65 college professors, 13 university presidents,  60 authors, 3 congressman, and a vice president of the United States. Except for one individual who married someone of questionable character the family did not cost the state a single dollar!

The marked difference between the two families was the basic training of the children. So parents remember, your investment in your children’s lives will make a significant impact in everyone else’s life too.

 Psalm 112:1-2 states “How blessed is the man who greatly delights in law of the Lord, his descendants will be mighty on the earth.” In a day when financial markets seem a volatile place to invest, investing in the lives our children through Biblical training seems to be where our focus should be.

When a Pastor Faces a Fork in the Road

If you have pastored at the same place for any length of time you know firsthand some of the hardships in ministry. The unexpected criticism. The weariness of soul. Trying to serve faithfully when your heart may not be in it. Investing countless hours in a life only to have them turn their back on the Lord.  I call those forks in the road. There are lessons that can be learned there. I shared the following presentation place with a group of faithful servants at a pastor’s conference in Maine.

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Facing the Storms of Life

The Psalmist said, “God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therfore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea…” (Psalm 46:1-2).

I wonder if Noah had similiar thoughts when the thunder started crashing outside the ark. Or maybe when the wood started creaking as the ark lifted off the ground and began to float on the surface of the water.

Pastor Chis Seay does a good job applying this truth to our personal storms.
[wpvideo WtfSavld]

Making Bible Teaching Three-Dimensional

One of the methods I have employed with great effectiveness in teaching is to reproduce the Biblical environment on the stage. At a recent Good Friday service, rather than just tell them about the events, I placed live costumed actors behind a replica of the Lord’s Table. I left the position where the Lord would sit empty. The actor’s were frozen on the set. They didn’t move or talk. I moved in and out among them, doing most of the teaching from the position where Jesus would have been sitting. This gave the audience tremendous insight into the Biblical record.

Moving Them from Listener to Learner

Jesus was an trememdously creative teacher. As Bible teachers we would do well to not simply explain his words, but attempt to emulate his style.  Beacuse I would sometimes receive criticism for teaching differently – i.e. doing something other than simply lecturing the audience; I began to evaluate what methods Jesus used when he taught others. The following are some methods that Jesus employed for the purpose of communicating truth.

The Art and Science of Teaching with Creativity

There is an art and a science to being creative for the Bible teacher. By using the five presentation tools and interspersing them throughout your Bible lesson your students will not only find it easier to  learn, but you will also hold their attention more effectively. 

These are not discovery or study tools per se. They are listed here as vehicles for communicating ruth. In some cases I have given examples of the tools, in other cases I have offered resources. When you explain a Biblical text or principle these tools become tremendous vehicles for clearer, yet creative communication.