Saturday, November 23, 2013

...WITH THANKSGIVING


Bobservations Column
by Pastor Bob Lawrenz

The Holiday Season officially gets underway this week with Thanksgiving celebrations with family and friends, and Black Friday sales for merchants and businesses. One minute homes will be filled with the aromas of turkeys roasting, stuffing and pumpkin pies. Then in a matter of hours, many will be out into the cut-throat world of merchandising coupons and limited-time special offers and sales.

This “season” of merchandising begins with the Thanksgiving celebration for family, and ends with the celebration of our Savior’s Birth on Christmas. It seems rather appropriate that Christmas turns our thoughts back to God, family, and friends; saving us from more of the world’s values, temptations, and come-ons. More, new, better, and hi-tech are the siren calls of retailers, while love, joy, and peace, is the call of our Savior.

Consumerism is their goal. Happiness and joy is ours. Over time, goals have been mingled and mixed to blend into a frenzied month of trying to fulfill our heart’s desires with material goods. Blessing others is becoming a lost art. Face-to-face communication is willingly being relinquished to texting, and gifts given to bless quickly become obsolete and unusable. If it makes you fear for our younger and future generations, your fears are well founded.

Keeping our hearts and minds on Jesus is our only protection for the worldly values that have crept into our society and now scream for recognition. To keep from slipping further into the world, Jesus’ teachings must be at the forefront of our every breath. “Hold Fast to that which is good,” Paul said in First Thessalonians 5:21. All other gains are but dung, Paul told the Philippians in 3:8.
Make this Thanksgiving a day of truly giving thanks to the One who is due our praise and our worship. Because of His greatness, faithfulness, and love, He didn’t need to go shopping for a gift; He already knew our great need and gave us His Son.

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and (empty lies), after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”    ~ Colossians 2:8 ~








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