In EVERYTHING Give Thanks??

I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." While on vacation in St. Ignace over Labor Day weekend with my wife, my parents, and about 35 other people from the Saranac/Clarksville area it came to my attention that Jay Frank (the son of the pastor of my home church while I was growing up) was giving thanks for the weather before our group meals despite the fact that the weather sucked. We had all driven up to Northern Michigan to enjoy the great outdoors and the outdoors was having the last laugh. It was cold, it was raining, and very few people were all that thrilled about it. And yet, before each meal, Jay would specifically give thanks for the weather along with the food and the fellowship, etc. After this had happened a couple of times, someone said to me, "he really shouldn't give thanks for this weather, God will think we like it"...the whole thing was good natured; funny actually, and when I prayed for the next meal I didn't make mention of the weather (which at the time was getting better, but not out of the woods yet) and followed it up by telling Jay that his previous thanks for the miserable weather hadn't been received with much enthusiasm...While this whole thing was just good natured fun during a time of vacation, it begs the question. Are we REALLY supposed to give thanks to the Lord in ALL things? Doesn't God know that I'm not happy with this or that current situation; how can he expect me to thank him for it? In the end, the reason that we do give thanks to the Lord in All things is because we're not thanking God for the circumstances (good or bad); we're thanking God for being who he is; for giving us life and for caring enough about our lives to send His Son to redeem us from sin. When you look at the big picture like that, you can still thank God for his goodness, his love, his mercy, his grace; despite the times when life is anything but good.

A new direction, the same ministry

I've decided to make a change in direction with my ministry that will allow me to better support my family and maintain my ministry at the First Baptist Church of Palo...I will be joining the Army Reserves as a Chaplain Candidate and re-enrolling at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary for the spring Semester. After I finish there, about 3 years, I will begin serving as either an active duty or reserve Chaplain for the Army. I've always held tremendous respect for the men and women of our nation's military and I know the toll that their service can take on them and on their families. As my friend Zach (Capt. 101st) seeks to heal their bodies through medicine, I will seek to heal their souls through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't claim any particular talents, just simply a desire to give something back in the process of moving my ministry forward. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me in the past, I continue to count upon the support of the faithful in this transition period (I will be doing the one weekend a month thing throughout working alongside a chaplain). Whatever God has in store for Nicole and I, he will provide the way to serve Him.

Well, it’s raining now

Having just experienced one of the rainiest months of June in Michigan history, we’re all well aware that the weather can be fickle. As Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Mt. 5:45) For those living through floods or droughts, dealing with the devastation of a tornado or hurricane, or sifting through the rubble from a fire or earthquake; these words may seem hollow. We’d rather have the comfort of knowing that there was someone to blame for our misfortune. However, there is a purpose to knowing that God isn’t sending good or adverse weather our way in most cases. The tendency to blame someone (usually not ourselves) for weather disasters or gloat over beautiful weather is universal with man. It may be common, but it’s wrong. God sends blessings on both the just and the unjust, and God sends adversity to the righteous and the unrighteous.
The example of Elijah keeping it from raining in Israel for three years is an exception precisely because God specifically let his people know WHY they were being punished. When the people repented, the rain came. Unfortunately, in our day, some seek to make similar connections, blaming our godless ways for a whole host of natural disasters. {Have these men or women spoken to God personally? How do they know any of this?} Do we really need the weather to lead our people to repentance? Are we not capable of seeing the goodness of God in the blessings that he sends on ALL the Earth? The next time you hear someone spouting off about the “cause” of this or that natural disaster, remember that Jesus himself told you that God sends his blessings to us all. God is good when it rains, God is good when it pours, and God is good when the rain is nowhere to be found.

When it rains on your parade

Nicole and I just returned from a much needed vacation. We were supposed to camp in the U.P. (Van Ryper State Park; Moose country, hiking, etc.), but only had one day of sun before the week-long forcast of rain, rain, and more rain came in. We struck camp and loaded everything up about 10 mins. before the first of the rain started to fall. Rather than sulk and head home having vasted the 400 mile drive to get there, we decided to drive down through Wisconsin to Chicago and see the museums (indoor, no rain worries). It costs us a little more than camping, but we rolled w/ the punches so-to-speak. In the end, we had a great trip, saw cool stuff, and spent the time together that will continue to strengthen our marriage and rejuvinate both of us in our personal and work lives. Getting rained out was in no way a tragedy, but it could have easily led to resentments or hard feelings if we didn't work together to come up w/ and alternative plan that worked for both of us. As always, in our marriage, compromise and teamwork outweigh the preferences we each have. Vacations have a way of proving things to you about your family relationships. The expecations can be really high (unrealisticly many times) and things are boudn to go wrong on the way. Take a breath, remember why you're on the trip in the first place, and enjoy God's marvelous creation (including your spouse/kids/mother-in-law, etc.).

These are the times that try men's souls.

In preparation for this year's remarks at the Memorial Day service at Palo's cemetary, I decided to contemplate Thomas Paine's famous words of encouragement to the Continental Army during its difficult winter at Valley Forge (1776-77). Washington was so impressed with the powerful words that he had them read to his whole army. With so many American soldiers stationed in harm's way, the memory of how these Patriots overcame much more difficult odds through dedication and faith, can offer us assurance in our own time of trial. The War on Terror may continue for years to come, but America will prove victorious precisely because of her willingness to send young men and women to the ends of the Earth in pursuit of freedom. As Thomas Paine wrote, "The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Indeed they do, the modern American army is an all volunteer force, just like the men who stood with Washington in America's darkest hour. They fought for an ideal that they valued higher than their own lives. Today, America's soldiers fight abroad to extend the same freedom that American now enjoy to people who have only known oppression and terror. You won't hear this side of the story from many Western intellectuals who prefer to paint these young men and women as modern Imperialists, but their disdain does not make the cause any less noble. This Memorial Day, as you hopefully visit your local cemetary to pay your respects to the veterans whose past sacrifices helped make our world the more free than at any point in human history, don't forget to say a prayer to Almighty God to protect those same men and women who proudly today wear the uniform of the United States military. As Paine wrote, "it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated."