When I got up this morning, I was going to go to Facebook and some other websites when I saw the following on AOL's main page: "Follow Black Friday 2012 Live" and the following came into my mind which I shared on Facebook and wish to share here:
"....what, had "Black Friday" become a major sporting event or a election that we have to follow it all day long? Are we going have Erin Andrews or Michelle Tafoya get reports from the shopping mall sidelines? Or have political pundits tell us how the winning stores were able to win over the stores that didn't so well? This is just getting sillier and sillier...and just becoming an embarrassment to a season where the focus is supposed to be on the spiritual not the monetary...."
And it's true...in a sense we don't celebrate Thanksgiving anymore , to many we seem to jump from Halloween right into Christmas...and now in order to make more money, more and more stores are opening Thanksgiving evening....the spiritual swallowed up by the monetary. This seems to be another instance of us getting away from our spiritual roots, where every holiday with a spiritual meaning seems to either be disappearing, watered down to a more secular focus, or assaulted by those who remove God from everything in this country. We now focus on glitz and glamor and things that don't last instead of the real meaning of the season which remind us of the things that do last and the meanings in relation to what God has done for us....Thanksgiving: a reminder to thank God for the blessings that we have been given, Christmas: a reminder that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, to give His life for us.....
A couple of years ago, I had mentioned an alternative to "Black Thursday" http://1ncisfan.blogspot.com/2010/11/alternative-to-black-thursday.html and maybe an alternative to "Black Friday" where the focus is on us, and that is getting back to a servant heart and use the money that you would waste on a gift that won't fit, not appropriate, or already obsolete by the time they get it, to give something to others who won't have this season and in doing so remind ourselves that if we are God's and He gave to us, then we should give and use it to let others know about the real meaning for the season....
Friday, November 23, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thanksgiving, not a day but an attitude
This year, due to the work schedules of several members of my family, we had our Thanksgiving celebration yesterday (Sunday). As per usual, I was asked to pray before the meal. And I was given (because I wouldn't have thought of it) a thought that I expressed....that Thanksgiving Day is not just a day, but an attitude.
And that is so true, because if we have been blessed (AND WE HAVE), gratefulness for those blessings should not be just limited to one day out of the year, but all year long....because God does not limit His blessing of us to just one day, but does it all year long. Just think about it....getting up each morning...a blessing. I am told that there is prayer of thankfulness that is given called the Modeh Ani, this prayer thanks God for returning the soul to the body, enabling the individual to live another day.
meals..do we give thanks for food that comes the earth? I know that others have had a hand in creating the food or the meal, but where does it originate? If you go back to Genesis, you find that all things were created by God? Do we thank Him for creating the food, for giving people talent to make food convenient for us to get, for giving people (even if it is you yourself) the talent to make that food delicious and pleasing to the eye, nose and mouth?
How about the Word? Are you thankful for being able to read a complete version of the Word? Just recently the church had the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church...in some of those countries, having possession of the Word is a crime and in other places, just having a chapter or two of the Scriptures is something of great cost.....
So hopefully each day is "thanksgiving" day for each of you and may the blessings of the Lord continue to be on those of you who are reading this....
And that is so true, because if we have been blessed (AND WE HAVE), gratefulness for those blessings should not be just limited to one day out of the year, but all year long....because God does not limit His blessing of us to just one day, but does it all year long. Just think about it....getting up each morning...a blessing. I am told that there is prayer of thankfulness that is given called the Modeh Ani, this prayer thanks God for returning the soul to the body, enabling the individual to live another day.
meals..do we give thanks for food that comes the earth? I know that others have had a hand in creating the food or the meal, but where does it originate? If you go back to Genesis, you find that all things were created by God? Do we thank Him for creating the food, for giving people talent to make food convenient for us to get, for giving people (even if it is you yourself) the talent to make that food delicious and pleasing to the eye, nose and mouth?
How about the Word? Are you thankful for being able to read a complete version of the Word? Just recently the church had the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church...in some of those countries, having possession of the Word is a crime and in other places, just having a chapter or two of the Scriptures is something of great cost.....
So hopefully each day is "thanksgiving" day for each of you and may the blessings of the Lord continue to be on those of you who are reading this....
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Another view of Sandy
Last week a storm of tremendous proportions hit the New York. Damage was widespread and thousands were affected in one way or another. Now is the aftermath of that storm and people are picking up the pieces....
And there have been the news stories, presidential visits, and telethon, etc...but something that has not been been covered is related to the spiritual side and may be an indicator of where our nation is going...
When the World Trade Center buildings went down on September 11th, 2001, there was a day of mourning and a church service that occurred that Friday, where we were given words of comfort and strength by President Bush. The first line of the speech was:
We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.
Now fast forward to October, 2012. Hurricane Sandy hits New York and New Jersey. And the difference???? There has been no proclamation for a day or mourning or fasting....There has been no church services attended by leaders to give aid and comfort to those who are sorrowing....the only thing we have heard is the voice of Governor Andrew Cuomo telling us:
“This is the Ground Zero site. This is a monument to human capacity and human endurance. And, this is New Yorkers’ way of saying we’re not going to give up. We’re going to come back and we will. This city will rebuild and the state will rebuild, and I believe will be the better for it.”
No mention of God's help, no mention of prayer for the missing and the dead, no mention of fasting, repentance, etc...just we will rebuild stronger than before....Now if this were isolated, we would say that this is just an isolated leader who is spitting in the face of God...but it's not....there has been no proclamation from our President, no proclamation for the Governor of New Jersey (who was hit equally as hard as New York was), nor from the Mayor of New York City...In essence, there has been no spiritual guidance or dimension to the aftermath of Sandy....
And there is plenty of blame to go around:
There was a song many years ago by Keith Green called "Asleep in the Light". He wrote this in 1978, almost three and a half decades ago, but I believe it is just as relevant in 2012 as it was when he wrote it....
Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care
Are you gonna let them drown
How can you be do numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
"oh bless me lore, bless me lord"
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But he cries, he weeps, he bleeds
And he cares for you needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in
Oh can't you see it's such a sin
'cause he brings people to you door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say
"god bless you, be at peace"
And all heaven just weeps
'cause Jesus came to your door
You've left him out on the streets
Open up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay
God's calling and you're the one
But like Jonah you run
He's told you to speak
But you keep holding it in
Of can't you see it's such a sin
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
'cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on get out of your bed
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
Don't close your eyes
Don't pretend the jobs done
"come away, come away, come away with me my love
Come away, come away, come away with me my love"
And there have been the news stories, presidential visits, and telethon, etc...but something that has not been been covered is related to the spiritual side and may be an indicator of where our nation is going...
When the World Trade Center buildings went down on September 11th, 2001, there was a day of mourning and a church service that occurred that Friday, where we were given words of comfort and strength by President Bush. The first line of the speech was:
We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them.
Now fast forward to October, 2012. Hurricane Sandy hits New York and New Jersey. And the difference???? There has been no proclamation for a day or mourning or fasting....There has been no church services attended by leaders to give aid and comfort to those who are sorrowing....the only thing we have heard is the voice of Governor Andrew Cuomo telling us:
“This is the Ground Zero site. This is a monument to human capacity and human endurance. And, this is New Yorkers’ way of saying we’re not going to give up. We’re going to come back and we will. This city will rebuild and the state will rebuild, and I believe will be the better for it.”
No mention of God's help, no mention of prayer for the missing and the dead, no mention of fasting, repentance, etc...just we will rebuild stronger than before....Now if this were isolated, we would say that this is just an isolated leader who is spitting in the face of God...but it's not....there has been no proclamation from our President, no proclamation for the Governor of New Jersey (who was hit equally as hard as New York was), nor from the Mayor of New York City...In essence, there has been no spiritual guidance or dimension to the aftermath of Sandy....
And there is plenty of blame to go around:
- A governor who is too busy living in sin (don't think I've forgotten about your divorce and relationship with Sandra Lee, Governor Cuomo)
- Politicians (Mayor Bloomburg, Governor Christie) who have either sold themselves out to a PC agenda or are "afraid of alienating voters"....
- A President (Barack Obama) who seems to think that the only "God" worth mentioning and worshipping is himself and a media who is willing to be acolytes and cover up his support of sin in many areas....
There was a song many years ago by Keith Green called "Asleep in the Light". He wrote this in 1978, almost three and a half decades ago, but I believe it is just as relevant in 2012 as it was when he wrote it....
Do you see, do you see
All the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care
Are you gonna let them drown
How can you be do numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
"oh bless me lore, bless me lord"
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But he cries, he weeps, he bleeds
And he cares for you needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in
Oh can't you see it's such a sin
'cause he brings people to you door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say
"god bless you, be at peace"
And all heaven just weeps
'cause Jesus came to your door
You've left him out on the streets
Open up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay
God's calling and you're the one
But like Jonah you run
He's told you to speak
But you keep holding it in
Of can't you see it's such a sin
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can't fight
'cause it's asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you've been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can't even get out of bed
Oh, Jesus rose from the dead
Come on get out of your bed
How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done
Don't close your eyes
Don't pretend the jobs done
"come away, come away, come away with me my love
Come away, come away, come away with me my love"
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