Are You Prepared?

Prepare the way for the Lord. (Mark 1:3)

As the calendar year draws to a close things get hectic. Our schedules fill up with meetings, school programs, and numerous obligations. The closer we get to Christmas the more preparations are demanded: presents to buy, houses to decorate, meals to plan. And let’s not forget about those holiday crowds and traffic jams!

Then amid all the clamor and activities come these words from Scripture:
Prepare the way for the Lord.

They remind us that, above all, we need to prepare for the Lord himself. That’s what Advent is all about – squarely focusing our attention on the thing that matters most: the birth of Christ.

Let’s face it: these days there’s no such thing as a stress-free Christmas. But the one thing we can do is be sure that, in all our preparations, we prepare for the Lord to come afresh into our hearts.



Above all, we need to prepare for the Lord Himself.



Make Every Day Thanksgiving

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave him thanks.

Romans 1:21



Too often when we think of the spiritual life we think of great Christians and their exploits – prayers, fasting, enduring temptation, carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and the like. But for the most part their lives, like ours, are composed of the sum total of the little things we do on a daily basis. “If you are faithful in little things,” said Jesus, “you will be faithful in large ones” (Luke 16:10).

One of the “little things” we too often neglect is gratitude.

Day by day God showers blessings upon us. His gifts of grace are innumerable, ranging from remarkable acts of providence to our daily bread and the gift of life itself.



Gratitude is how we show our appreciation for God’s lovingkindness. It’s our way of “blessing God” (Psalm 103). In addition, studies have shown that expressing gratitude has been linked to increased levels of happiness. Gratitude rebounds to the one giving thanks!

An excellent way to make sure we’re not neglecting this virtue is to make every day Thanksgiving. Take time out at the end of each day and ask yourself: what am I most grateful for today? Then show God how much you appreciate his gift by giving thanks from the bottom of your heart. 



 

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Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving

With the appearance of several new biographies and Steven Spielberg’s new movie, Abraham Lincoln has been garnering a lot of attention lately. We thought it would be good to post the words of his original Proclamation of Thanksgiving.

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

By the President of the United States of America

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the field of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than theretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony wherof I have herunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[Signed]
A. Lincoln



No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.

Abraham Lincoln

The Gate of Thanksgiving

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise (Psalm 100:4).

Sometimes we ask ourselves, “Where can I find God?” The answer? God is everywhere, including wherever you happen to be at this moment. In spite of this, sometimes it’s difficult to experience his presence in our hearts. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a gate through which we could enter into the presence of God?

There is such a gate. It's wide open and welcoming and leads directly into presence of the Lord. The way to enter it, says the psalmist, is with thanksgiving and praise. Just lift up your heart and walk right in. Sincerely thank your Creator for his many blessings, great and small. By so doing you’ll find yourself in the presence of him who said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”

The gate is wide open and welcoming.

Does Your Soul Need Restoring?

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:2-3)

Our souls need maintenance as we travel the road of life. What potholes and rutts are to cars, stress is to souls. Sometimes stress comes as a downpour that rocks our world: major illness, loss, or unemployment. Sometimes it’s a constant drizzle of trials and assorted aggravations. Either way, we may find ourselves swamped in negative emotions and feeling spiritually depleted.

At such times we need to remind ourselves, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Psalm 23 is a true spiritual restorative. Healing virtually pours out of its promise of green pastures, still waters, and fragrant anointing oil. If we find ourselves in the valley of darkness, we have the consolation of God’s presence and the security of his rod and staff. If we are beset by enemies, he prepares a banquet for us. His goodness and mercy follow us always.

So why not spend a few quiet moments with the Good Shepherd and his Psalm? It’s healing words will restore your soul.

We need to remind ourselves: The Lord is my Shepherd.

Christ Knocking at the Door

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if anyone hears my voice, and opens the door,

I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20).

The Risen Christ is speaking but to whom are his words addressed? Is he speaking to the lost? Is he addressing seekers who have yet to find? Not at all. Sadly, he’s speaking to a church that has become lukewarm in its devotion. Its deeds were neither hot nor cold (Rev. 3:15). This is aptly depicted in William Holman Hunt's famous painting by the weeds that have overgrown the door (see below).

Christ desires nothing less than to be fully present in our lives. He wants to share in the day-to-day details of our lives – to sup with us, as Scripture puts it. And he never stops knocking. In the picture it’s late at night. No matter. All he asks is that we open the door and let him in. Why not open the door of your heart right now?

The Light of the World (William Holman Hunt)

Christ desires nothing less than to be fully present in our lives.