My beloved readers, of course, I wrote this post a few weeks before the war (it feels like an eternity ago), and even in the worst nightmare nobody could then have imagined the horrific attack that happened on October 7 th and all that would unfold (and continues to unfold) after that.  It’s really hard to read it now, knowing what happened on Simchat Torah and living in the tense and almost surreal reality of Israel today. Yet, after many doubts, I still decided to publish this post. First, I want my readers to know that these unspeakable and unimaginable atrocities of Hamas were committed on the day that, according to the Lord’s calendar, was supposed to be one of the most joyful days of the year. Also, because of the last Torah portion that is always read on Simchat Torah, now, in hindsight, how dramatically these words resonate:  “Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah!” .  So, here is the post that was supposed to tell you about the joy of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. What is so special about Sukkot? Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, is the last of the “solemn assemblies” of  Tishrei , the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. I suppose, for many Christians around the world, the Feast of Tabernacles is the most familiar of all the Jewish Festivals: thousands of Christians come to Israel and to Jerusalem to celebrate this Feast! There is a lot of joy in all these Christian celebrations of Sukkot – but do you know that Sukkot is defined as a Festival of Joy,  zman simchateinu  (literally, “ the time of our joy”) ?  Scripture commands us explicitly to be joyful during Sukkot:   13  Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.  14  Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.  15  For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and  your joy will be complete <1> . Why? What is so special about Sukkot? According to Jewish tradition, on Yom Kippur, God forgave His people after their terrible sin of Golden Calf and Moses came back with the second set of tablets.  However, it is only at Sukkot, that God’s presence came back to abide among His people; it’s only at Sukkot that Divine presence covered the hand-made booths. This is the mystery and the joy of Sukkot – the mystery and the joy of God’s return and of renewed fellowship. That is why Sukkot is indeed the holiday of divine intimacy and divine presence; that is why Sukkot is called  zman simchateinu , the Season of our Joy—because God, in His mercy, came to tabernacle with His people!   In Jewish texts, we find two different approaches regarding the symbolism of the  sukkah – these booths that we are commanded to live in:  “ You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” <2> A ccording to the first one, since the people of Israel actually built little huts in the wilderness to protect themselves, we are commanded to build  sukkot  (plural from  sukkah ) in order to remember those huts in the wilderness; but according to the second approach, sukkot symbolize the divine clouds that God protected His children with in the wilderness—the Clouds of Glory that miraculously surrounded the Jews for the forty years they spent in the desert.  United, these two approaches reflect Israel’s twofold experience in the wilderness—both extremely difficult and extremely glorious: living in humble huts but lead and covered by God’s Glory! Let Us Make Here Tabernacles … We also find a hint of this “Clouds of Glory” concept in the New Testament. You would know one of the most beautiful stories in the Gospels—the account of the transfiguration. All the synoptic Gospels describe Jesus going to the mountain and being transfigured there—shining “ like the sun ” and talking to Moses and Elijah. The whole scene presents a beautiful picture of heavenly glory. And what is the reaction of the apostles witnessing this scene? All of a sudden Peter suggests that they should build tabernacles: “ Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” <3>  At first glance, it sounds like a very strange, unexpected suggestion! Where did it come from? It is only in the light of that second approach that we just spoke about – that  sukkah  is a powerful symbol of the divine presence – that we understand the reason why Peter offered to build sukkot. He was referring to this traditional symbol and trying to express the glory of God’s presence he was experiencing!   The Last Portion The joy of Sukkot reaches its peak during  Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah  (lit. The Joy of Torah) is a holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah reading. We complete the cycle, and immediately begin the new cycle, reading from the first Torah Portion –  Bereshit . In previous years, I wrote a lot about this first portion; today, lets’ talk about the last Torah Portion which concludes Deuteronomy and is also read on  Simchat Torah  –  V’zot HaBrachah  ( Deut. 33 ,  34 ). We are in Deuteronomy 33. Just as Jacob had blessed his sons before his death, so does Moses now bless the tribes of Israel. Of course, from a New Testament perspective, the most important blessing is the blessing of Judah, because it is from the tribe of Judah that Jesus came! According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus coming from the tribe of Judah, not from the tribe of Levi, signifies a change from the Old to the New Covenant – but you won’t be able to comprehend the full meaning of this change if you don’t understand the blessing that Moses gives to the tribe of Judah before his death. “Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, And bring him to his people; Let his hands be sufficient for him, And may You be a help against his enemies.” <4> Every word of this blessing is highly meaningful! First of all, it starts with the word “Listen” –  Shema  – the same word that opens “ the Shema ”, the most sacred and solemn Jewish prayer. Here we read:  Shema Adonai  – Hear Lord!  Undoubtedly, this solemn beginning marks this blessing as especially significant. “ Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah”.  Most of the commentators interpret this line in a sense that the Lord would hear the prayers of Judah’s descendants, starting from David and Solomon; and of course, I would agree with that. However, if we remember that New Testament speaks of Jesus interceding in Heaven for believers before the Father, we would realize that there an additional layer of prophetic significance in these words: “ Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah ”. Then, we have this very enigmatic sentence: “ And bring him to his people ”. The most famous Medieval Jewish commentator, Rashi, interprets: “bring him home in peace, from a war” (we know that David, for instance, was often involved in military campaigns); but once again, it seems to me that these words imply much more. This blessing becomes extremely profound if we juxtapose these words with the words of John: “ He came to his own, and his own received him not ”! In the light of these words, the blessing of Moses sounds much more significant than just “bringing him home in peace”. Finally, in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as  “the lion of the tribe of Judah ” (see also  Gen. 49:9 ), and here we also see the “conquering” side of Judah: Moses is prophesying of this tribe as overcoming, with God’s help, his enemies. “Let his hands be sufficient for him, And may You be a help against his enemies.” The descendant of the tribe of Judah, who overcomes his enemies with God’s help, whose voice God listens to and who will be brought to his people!  I think, once again we have clear evidence that one really needs to know the Torah and Tanach (the Old Testament) in order to understand the New Testament.     <1> Deut. 16:13-15 <2> Lev.23:24 <3> Mat. 17:4 <4> Deut.33:7

Matthew 3:13-4:11 Have you ever wanted to read a biography of someone you admired, a person you were curious about? After her death I found Roselyn Carter’s life fascinating. I especially admired her 77 years of marriage to President Carter. Theirs is the longest marriage of any United States President. How they worked to keep their love alive is impressive to me. One of their daily habits was to read their Bibles together every night. And, when they were to be separated, before they parted they would agree on what Bible passages they would be reading in the evening in each other’s absence. I love this and think this was such a sweet way they stayed connected. Throughout our marriage Gary and I were often physically separated as he circled the globe on mission trips, and I kept the home fires burning with our kids. While I was temporally a single mom I think knowing Gary was reading the same biblical passages as me would have comforted and strengthened me in my lonely evenings. It also, might have spiritually awakened me to the many challenges Gary was facing on these mission trips. On more than one occasion Gary’s life was endangered while we were apart, but unfortunately I was often preoccupied indulging in a tea party with self-pity. Studying a godly person’s life has often cultivated real change in me and taught me new strategies. Ironically, the Bible teaches us that when God took on a body he became like us in every way, he imitated us and yet was without sin. To come to a deeper understanding of the implications of the Incarnation , which is what we call the earthly time when Jesus took on a body, we need to remember that scripture is the best commentary on scripture. So, before we study a passage in Matthew on Jesus’ temptations I want us to check out some background information from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 2:17-18 says this when speaking of Jesus’ incarnation, 17  Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.  18  For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. CSB What did Jesus gain from this experiential knowledge of suffering when he was tempted? As the creator of time on one level God has always known the end from the beginning. But, we could say that becoming flesh grew Jesus’ empathy for us, something he would need to stand as our faithful high priest. This means Jesus genuinely suffered when he was tempted. Now, look at Hebrews 4:15, this is another verse that helps us grasp the scope of the incarnation. 15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. CSB We learn from these verses in Hebrews that to be tempted is not the same as committing a sin. Giving into temptation is when we sin. Jesus wanted to know what it felt like to be us, but he never sinned. It is incredibly comforting to me that Jesus can empathize with our weaknesses. Look at Matthew 4:1-11. 4  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  2  After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  3  Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4  He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 5  Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,  6  and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7  Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” 8  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  9  And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10  Then Jesus told him, “Go away Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 11  Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him. CSB These temptations recorded in Matthew 4 are not the only ones Jesus faced on earth because the book of Hebrews tell us he was tempted in every way that we are tempted. But, it is interesting that these are the ones Matthew felt most compelled to record. These three temptations share something in common that it is extremely helpful for us to identify. In each example Jesus was tempted to get ahead of the Father’s timing. In the Greek New Testament there are two different words translated as time in our English Bibles. The first word is Chronos and it is the marking of time off of a calendar. Our English word Chronological comes from the Greek word Chronos . The second Greek word we translate Time in our English New Testaments is Kairos . Kairos always refers to an appointed time. One of the most difficult challenges we face on earth is waiting for God’s appointed time. Every temptation found in Matthew has to do with Jesus taking a shortcut in time to accomplish God’s will. Reread each temptation and let me give you some commentary to explain what I mean. 1) “If you are the son of God tell these stones to become bread” CSB (Matthew 4:1-4.) Eventually, Jesus will supernaturally create bread when he feeds the crowds of people who come to hear him teach. He won’t make bread out of stones, but his multiplying and providing bread is still a supernatural event. As the Son of God the Father wanted him to create bread on a specific day and for a specific purpose. 2) “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” CSB (Matthew 4:5-7.) Eventually, as the Son of God Jesus will travel to Jerusalem and willingly laydown his life to die on a cross for all the sins of the world. He will not be testing God by throwing his body off the temple’s pinnacle, but after three years of public ministry he knows he is going to Jerusalem to die (Luke 9:44-45, 18:31-34). At Jesus’ arrest he reminds us he could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver him (Matthew 26:51-54). A Roman legion had between 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, so this was a lot of angelic warriors Jesus could have summoned, but he didn’t.   One of the threats Jesus had to balance then was to not die prematurely before he could finish his earthly ministry. While his daily task regularly angered the religious leaders, there was an appointed day God had set aside for him to die. This was why Jesus chose to spend much of his public ministry around the Galilee. It was a more remote region, filled with common people who were not constantly under the influence of the religious elite found in Jerusalem. Jesus submits to God’s plan that was set in motion when he took on a body. When the day comes for his sacrifice he willingly was led like a lamb to the slaughter (Acts 8:32-33). 3) “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me” CSB (Matthew 4:8-11.) Eventually, at the end of the age every knee will bow down and worship Jesus, and one day every tongue will confess he is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). When this day arrives the Father will give the nations to Jesus as his inheritance (Psalm 2:7-8). But, not yet! With these three temptations Satan was offering Jesus a quick bypass through his earthly ministry, his future sufferings, and that appointed time when the kingdoms of this earth will become the kingdoms of our God. We clearly see that not only is God’s will perfect, but his timing is perfection (2 Peter 3:8-10). As our creator (John 1:10) Jesus knew all things, but when he took on a body he felt the way we feel. Just like us, Jesus suffered when he was genuinely tempted. In Hebrews 5:8 it says this about Jesus. 8  Although he was the Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. CSB When we think of Christ’s sufferings we often go to the brutality of the cross and we should, but when we exclusively do this we sometimes miss how much Jesus identifies with us in our weaknesses. Like Christ, we suffer when we are tempted. Resisting temptation is emotionally and spiritually hard. For this reason submitting to the fullness of God’s time is just as serious as submitting to God’s revealed will. So, what might change if we knew God had empathy for us? What might change if we believed he knew exactly how it felt to be us?

Laodicea was a rich church as the community was a financial center in Asia Minor. Some scholars note that it was the financial capital of the region, with a wealthy banking system. When the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 60AD, the Laodiceans rebuilt the city at their own expense, without the help of Rome. Thus, the city was very affluent and self-sufficient. Sound familiar? Some scholars believe that the book of Ephesians was a circular letter written to several churches, including Laodicea, though only references to Ephesians survive to today. Additionally, some Greek manuscripts of I Timothy end with the words: “Written at Laodicea, metropolis of Phrygia Pacatiana.” This may refer to copies written in Laodicea and sent out elsewhere. “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.  “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ ” ( Revelation 3:14-22 ). EXAMINATION Contrasts: Jesus used things from his audience’s own location or culture to make his points. That is no less true with these contrasts. Notice the contrasts: Wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked Rich, white garments, clothe, salve that you may see “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.” Notice that Jesus ties in the church’s works with the phrase cold or hot. What does cold or hot have to do with works? The answer comes in what cold or hot represent. Cold water was used for planting and drinking. I.E., refreshment. Hot, like the mineral springs, was used medicinally. The hot waters came from six miles north in Hierapolis and the cold came from Colossae. One is evangelism, one is discipleship. Jesus wanted his people engaged in either hot or cold works. But apparently, Laodicea didn’t have either of these works. They were a self-sufficient church. “Lukewarm.” The waters from Hierapolis would gather into pools that by the time of arrival would become lukewarm. The lukewarm pools were known for making people sick. “Spit you out of my mouth.” Jesus’ reference here is kind of the nice way of saying what he means. This is literally a reference to vomit. The modern way of saying this is, “You make me sick.” When someone says this, they usually say this in anger or disgust. This is the emotion being conveyed in this passage. “You make me sick.” This is not the picture of “Jesus meek and mild,” is it? We tend to think of the gentle Jesus, the loving Jesus, the compassionate Jesus. But we sometimes forget that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. He is just as much wrathful and hating of sin as he is loving through his sacrifice. One New Testament scripture even tells us, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” ( Hebrews 10:31 ). Thankfully, the hands that have embraced us were first nailed to the cross. “Rich, Prospered, Need nothing.” Occasionally, I visit a church that reminds me of Laodicea. They are a dynamic church, but since thousands attend, they spend that money on things like giant screens, smoke machines for worship, and other extravagant things for their worship service. I’m not criticizing the pastor, but these things don’t seem necessary to me for genuine worship. I even watched a service one day when one of the associate pastors said to the crowd, “Our church is the best church in the world.” He wasn’t kidding. Things like this make me think of this part of our passage: rich, prospered, needing nothing. But Jesus has something more to say about this. “Wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Here we see the contrast that Jesus is drawing from Laodicea’s culture to get their attention. Though the city was wealthy and had no physical need other than water. So too, this church felt equally secure in its wealth and self-sufficiency. “Gold refined by fire.” The smelter would fire gold and other precious metals to the point of becoming a fluid and the impurities would rise to the surface, called dross, and be scooped away, leaving only pure gold. We should not miss the fact that when God does this in our lives it’s a process that hurts. Jesus wants us for pure use. It may even be said that God doesn’t really come into full use of us without first having us hurt deeply. “Rich.” What are you looking for in your spiritual life? Jesus uses the word, “Rich” here in a different way than the Laodiceans used it. Their riches of the world were spiritual poverty. Jesus wanted to give them true riches for eternal life.  Genesis 15  says that God is, “…our great and exceeding reward.” In him are our riches. Not in things, even heavenly things. “White garments.” Whereas Laodicea was “Naked,” Jesus offered “White garments.” This is a contrast on three levels. First, they are spiritually naked, so they need clothing. Their sin needs to be covered over. Second, the use of “White” is also a contrast because the city was known for producing a fine, black wool. “White garments,” as we know from scripture, represent purity and holiness.  “’The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” ( Revelation 19:7-8 ). Third, the priests of the temple in  Ezekiel 44:17-19  were forbidden from wearing wool while serving God in the temple. Their garments had to be white linen. “When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat. And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments.” This is a picture of holiness and being set apart for the Lord’s service. But it also a type for you and I when we are clothed in righteousness we will never leave the temple. As the priests had to disrobe into normal cloths when they left the temple. But you and I will be clothed in holy garments forever, signifying that we will never leave God’s presence in the New Heaven and Earth. “Shame of your nakedness.” This reference goes back to  Genesis 3 . Remember that Adam and Eve sinned before God and tried to cover themselves with leaves. After finding them in hiding, the scripture says that God gave them clothes made of animal skin. “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” ( Genesis 3:21 ). This indicates an animal sacrifice for the sin of Adam and Eve, and the skins represent the covering over of their sin by the sacrifice. This also looks ahead to the sacrifice of Jesus. So, don’t miss this correlation from  Revelation 19:8 , “To clothe herself in fine linen.” The coverings are no longer of animals because animal sacrifice was done away with because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Our symbol is not animal skins or black wool, but fine, white linen. “Salve…so that you may see.” Laodicea produced a salve that was said to have healing properties for eye conditions. Jesus uses this reference to show the church that they are blind and need his healing. Spiritual blindness occurs when we see our sufficiency and think we need nothing. In reality, we end up spiritually blind. There is an interesting correlation here with Jesus’ discussions with the Pharisees in  John 9:39-41 . After healing a blind man, Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” The same application is being made in today’s passage. Sometimes when we look at ourselves, we think we need nothing beyond where we are spiritually. Once, when teaching a men’s class I taught on spiritual growth. One of the members, a man who claimed Christ for many years, interrupted me and said, “Why do I have to learn this stuff. I prayed the prayer. I’m in!” Sadly, he didn’t’ see his own spiritual poverty. He didn’t think he needed to do anything to grow in Christ. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Though this letter is harsh, the Laodicean’s should have taken comfort in Jesus’ declaration of love. This is similar to  Hebrews 12:5-6 , 11 , “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives…For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” I think this is a terrifying thing. For Jesus to be outside the door is to be separated from him spiritually. The home is ours; we occupy it. Jesus is on the outside. Here’s the catch. When you open the door to Jesus, you surrender the ownership of your home to him. He is your Lord. He indwells you and retains all of the rights to your life, and he can do with you whatever he pleases. Do you sometimes feel like you are in control of your life, or that you have not surrendered all to him? “As I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Just like above, when we go to the Father’s throne, we are entering his house. And he shares his throne with us. It does not put us in charge. But it demonstrates the great depth of his forgiveness and love that he would share his reign with us. Consider also this great contrast in our passage. The Laodiceans go from being spit out of Jesus’ mouth to sitting on God’s throne in victory. No matter how bad we are, how disobedient we are, there is always hope for great reward from God when we repent of our sins and truly surrender our lives to him. INTERPRETATION If we look at ourselves and don’t see sin that needs repenting, then we are spiritually blind.  If we think that we have all that we need in life and don’t see a need for spiritual growth, then we are spiritually poor.  If we think that we have “arrived” and don’t need to know more to have a relationship with God, then we are spiritually naked. Jesus wants to reverse our spiritual condition so that we become spiritually rich, dressed, and seeing. He wants us saved, spiritually growing, and spiritually active. If we are not under these three things, then our salvation is in question. Many Christians see financial security as a sign that God is blessing us because he is pleased with our lives. Laodicea may have felt the same way. But financial blessing may not be a sign of God’s pleasure. It may be that we have a Prosperity Gospel attitude, that God wants to give us the best. In fact, one of the greatest blessings the scripture says we can receive is being granted the right to suffer for Jesus’ name. Did you catch that? GRANTED to suffer as if it is a blessing and a right. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…” ( Philippians 1:29 ). Are you cold, hot, or lukewarm? APPLICATION Let’s ask some questions of ourselves to figure out which category we belong in. Do I want others to come to know Christ so much that I’m willing to do something about it? I did not want to move to Mongolia. But when we learned that 98% of Mongolians had never heard the Gospel, we knew we had to go. We had to do something about it. Do I want to build up others in their faith so much that I’m willing to do something about it? Do I want a vigorous and active faith in Christ, always expressed in my speech and works? Or do I only pursue my Christianity at church on Sunday? John’s big idea is not just so we can be rich, dressed, and see. It’s so that we can use those things to advance the kingdom of God. We become rich so that we can share our riches with others. We become dressed so that we can present the Gospel through our lives and words. And we become seeing so that we can recognize the opportunities around us so that we might share the Gospel and help others see Christ as well. This is what Jesus wanted the Laodiceans to do, and he wants us to do it as well.

I know what you are afraid of. I’ve been there myself. I understand what it means to have spiritual fear. Maybe you’ve never heard it put that way before, but you know what those fears are. They range from simply sharing Jesus with a person you’ve just met to suffering for your faith. Living in the modern world, in a culture dominated by so-called modern sensibilities we sometimes define what is appropriate or prudent in our spiritual life by the circumstances around us and how we feel. If we feel nervous, or intimidated, or unsure of ourselves we shrink back from doing that which the Bible encourages us to do. Here, let me give you an example. Sharing your faith with your family. Have you ever talked about Jesus with your parents or siblings? Who are you to tell your parents about their sin and need for Jesus? Has that ever run across your mind? Sure it has. What if it causes a tear or break in your relationship? I know you’ve thought of that too. Just how far do you have to go with your Christianity in order to be a real Christian anyway? One passage of scripture has given me great encouragement when facing spiritual fears. It’s not a passage you may have ever thought of, so I’d like to unpack it for you to help you discover that the Gospel of Jesus is not something that you ever need to feel fear to express or defend—no matter who or what you are faced with. So let me do three things. First I want to share a fear I had to face down. Then I want to share with you 12 spiritual fears (trust me, you’re in the list). Then I want to show you from the book of Acts how you can wipe those fears away. I had been accused of a crime. In Mongolia, where I lived at the time, it was a serious accusation that carried penalties of up to 10 years in prison depending upon how the law was used. I was called in to the police office for interrogation and then to the prosecutor’s office. It was serious. Certain foreign friends were encouraging me to flee the country. I was on foreign territory. The police were corrupt and we wondered if they were bought or harassed into going after me. My accuser was a former employee, disgruntled, with a no compromise attitude. She falsely accused me. But it wouldn’t be the first time a false accusation in Mongolia resulted in a prison sentence. I was afraid of what might happen. I was faced with a choice. I could avoid the whole situation by leaving the country before things got too hot (there are no extradition treaties between Mongolia and the U.S., so if I left it was doubtful I’d be sent back). Or I could take the risk and face the charges, making my case for my innocence. Needless to say, I was afraid of what might happen. There was a choice to make. Then one day it hit me, if one of my Mongolian employees had been falsely accused of a crime they wouldn’t be able to just up and leave and escape the whole situation. They would have to face it down. Was I any better or any different? Certainly not. By looking at what my Mongolian friends would have to go through I gained the courage to stay and make my case. I would take the risk, not knowing what false charges and corruption might lead to. So I made my case, using true and rational words, compared to the lies that someone wanted to imprison me with. Thankfully, the authorities recognized that the charges were demonstrably false and dismissed the charges and nothing more than the lies they were.  True and rational words.  What does this have to do with spiritual fears? Fear is fear, no matter what it is about. Fear is paralyzing. Fear is poison. Fear robs us of the truth and keeps us imprisoned in a false state of mind and even false expressions of life. To live in fear is to live in a lie. I was not going to live in someone else’s lie. I would face my fear and speak the truth. Thankfully, in that situation, truth won the day. I’ve made a list of 12 things that Christians fear. You are in that list. Everyone is. These are things concerning our belief in Jesus and expressions of our faith that many Christians, especially modern-day Christians, fear to take part in. When we refuse to overcome these things (and them is the right expression), we live in the midst of a lie. We let Satan rule the day with his false accusations. We even accuse ourselves and the lies perpetuate and continue, trapping us even further. Find yourself in this list. •              Fear of sharing your faith •              Fear of sharing your faith with your family •              Fear of sharing your testimony •              Fear of acknowledging you are a Christian •              Fear of standing by moral values •              Fear of admitting you believe in the Bible’s stories, like the flood, Joshua’s long day, the virgin birth, etc. •              Fear of teaching •              Fear of ministering to the homeless, prisoners, or less fortunate •              Fear of going into ministry •              Fear of meeting new people •              Fear of a specific ministry, to women, to children, to men, etc.  •              Fear of suffering or enduring hardship for your faith          You are in that list. I am in that list. There are things that I still fear from time to time that I struggle to overcome. But my overcoming of those fears is made a bit easier by a little passage of scripture from the book of Acts. Chances are, it’s a passage you’ve never considered memorizing. You’ve probably read past it a dozen times or more and it’s never stuck out to you. But it is a powerful truth that can help set you free from the fear of expressing your Christianity openly in virtually any situation.          In Acts 26 as the Apostle Paul was offering his defense to Festus and King Agrippa about the false charges laid against him, Paul tells the king about a vision he had from Heaven where Jesus spoke to him, converting him, making him a Christian. Stop there. Have you ever had a vision? Have you ever seen Jesus or an angel in a dream? Chances are you might feel a little nervous about sharing it with others as you might be considered a loon, yes? But look at the scripture. Paul shares his wild story. It’s so wild to Festus that he interrupts Paul and says these words, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind” (Acts 26:24). Modern vernacular: “Dude, you’re crazy. You’re a loon.” But Paul answers Festus with words so right on target and so profound they should help us wipe away any fears we may have of expressing our faith and serving God.           “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words” (Acts 26:25).          Zoom in on that. “True and rational words.” Paul’s vision. Paul’s experience with Christ. Declaring that eternal life only comes through Jesus. Proclaiming the Gospel to men and women during his defense that can ruin his life. The resurrection from the dead. True and rational words.           Isn’t that the problem with our fears? When we get right down to it, to the very core of our fears, we sometimes think that what we have to say will not appear true or rational. We worry about what people will think of us. In fact, that’s the center of most fears we face: what will others think? Paul blows that away with true and rational words.          The testimony of Jesus is not some crazy story. Elsewhere Paul, speaking to the authorities said, “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8). For Paul the Gospel was simple common sense. Telling people about Jesus was common sense. It wasn’t radical from his perspective. It was real. It was reality. It was just the way things are. It was normal life. Why should Paul be afraid to talk about normal life?          Look again at your list of fears. What do you want to share with your neighbor or your family? True and rational words. When you are persecuted for standing up for your moral convictions what are you standing up for? True and rational words. When you are ridiculed or considered a fanatic for believing in Joshua’s long day, Noah’s flood, or the virgin birth, what are you standing on? True and rational words. When you fear to witness or teach others what can help you overcome your fears? True and rational words.          The Gospel of Jesus really is foolishness to those who reject its true and rational message (I Corinthians 1:27-28). But Paul tells us the message of Christ is only foolish to those whose hearts and minds have not been enlightened by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 1:18). We live in a different reality, one of true and rational words about Jesus, the scriptures, and God’s plan and principles for man.          Think through your fears this way: What do I want to share with my friends? True and rational words. What do I want to teach to others? True and rational words. What do I want to reach out to the less fortunate with? True and rational words. Once you and I come to full grips with the nature of what the Gospel really is, how then can we fail to take our stand on the truth about Jesus, the scripture, and the testimony God has given us? Therefore, take your fears by the scruff of the neck and boot them out the door. Believing and standing your ground on true and rational words is your first step to overcoming your spiritual fears.

Hover you mouse over the scripture reference to read  I Samuel 16:1-13 . EXAMINATION (V.1) “How long will you  grieve  over Saul?” The Hebrew word for “grieve” in this passage is usually denotes mourning over a death. Samuel’s grief over Saul is deep and painful. He is not simply upset over Saul’s rejection of the Lord; he is deeply pained.  (V.1) “For I have  provided for myself  a king among his sons.” This is in comparison with the choosing of Saul. God chose Saul to represent what the people wanted in a king. In  I Samuel 8 , God tells Israel what kind of king Saul will be. This is in contrast to David, who is God’s choice for what he wants in the king. Notice the language used by the writer. God says he “provided for himself” a king.  (V.3) “You shall  anoint for me .” The same thing happens again. The king is not for the people; he is for the Lord.  (V.7) “When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.’ But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because  I have rejected him .’” This is the same thing that God said about Saul. He had rejected him. What a terrible thing to hear. Jesse’s sons had a godly heritage in their father and their ancestors. Boaz, who they are all descended from, was a godly man. Yet, the Lord rejected Eliab, and in fact, all of Jesse’s sons except David.  (V.7) “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance,  but the LORD looks on the heart .” Q: Why is the heart so important in scripture? The heart is the seat of our emotions. While it is part of the mind, it is from where we make our deepest decisions. The scripture often speaks of doing things from the heart, including forgiving others. Eliab did not have a heart dedicated to the Lord. This was also Saul’s problem. But we see from the Psalms that David loved the Lord and his word.  (V.11) “Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but behold,  he is keeping the sheep .’” Q: Why do you think that David was told to keep the sheep when the prophet wanted to meet Jesse’s sons? There are a couple of things to note here. First, David was regarded with low esteem by his family. He had to keep the sheep instead of meeting the prophet. Jesse could have honored all of his sons by being sure David was there. But he didn’t. He could have had a servant watch the sheep, but he didn’t. This was an insult to David. But notice David’s attitude. David was busy being faithful in his duties when God called him.  (V.13) “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him  in the midst of his brothers .” Q: What do you imagine David’s brother’s attitudes were when they saw David so highly honored by the prophet when each of them were rejected? This was not done secretly. Now, we’re not sure if his brothers knew David was being anointed as king, but they knew the anointing was significant and honored David above all of them. This may have incurred some jealousy. Later on, one of David’s brothers, Eliab, rebuked David for coming to the battle with the Philistines. I tend to think that they knew David was being anointed as king. They just couldn’t wrap their heads around it.  There are two parallels to this in scripture. First, Joseph was given dreams about his future and his brother’s bowing before him. They rebuked him for his dreams. The second is Christ. His brothers also rejected him, but later, at least two of them came to faith in Christ: James and Jude.  (V.13) “And the Spirit of the Lord  rushed  upon David from that day forward.” This use of “rushed” indicates that David was given the power to fulfill his calling. He still had a lot to learn from this point on, and his character still needed to develop, but the point is that from that point on, David was a new man.  INTERPRETATION Q: What do you think is the main point that God is driving home in this passage? Choice and heart. (V.1) Regarding God’s choices, sometimes they cause us pain or grief. Samuel grieved over Saul and God’s rejection of him. But God’s choice had to stand, regardless of the pain.  (VS. 1 & 3) “Provided for myself,” and “anoint for me.”  God is the one who chooses those who will serve him and how we will serve him. Ultimately, in this passage is a prophecy of the coming Christ. Paul notes that the Old Testament promises are “yes” in Christ ( II Corinthians 1:20 ,  Galatians 3:15-16 ). This means that the promises are to Christ. Thus, Christ is the real king.  (V.7) “The Lord looks on the heart.”  God is concerned about the affairs of the heart. Everything in life springs from the orientation and purposes of the heart. David guarded his heart, and that qualified him for God’s choice. David didn’t know everything he needed to know, but he had a heart that would enable him to learn and serve.  (V.11) David keeping the sheep.  This was the beginning of God calling David into service. God spoke and said, “Arise and anoint him, for this is he.” Some people think you have to be sitting quietly and listening for God to speak to us, to call us. However, that’s not the model in the Bible. In scripture, people go about their normal routine, and God interrupts their lives and speaks to them.  APPLICATION The big idea of this story is about choice. We are given a glimpse into how God makes his choices for those whom he calls. Note: this is not about God choosing us for salvation. That is a different issue. Here, we are dealing with God’s call into useful service and how we must spend our lives. We see a two-fold process in God’s choice.  First, he rejects those who reject him, and Second, he chooses those who have a heart for God God rejected Saul. He rejected Eliab. He rejected all of the brothers. But he chose David. The crux of it all is to ensure that we have a heart for God. Jesus Christ must become the supreme affection of our lives.  Note also that God chose David when he was still immature, and he would grow into his position. God also chooses us when we are not fully mature. Consider others in the scripture who were called when not mature: Joseph, Samuel, and Jeremiah. All our lives we are growing spiritually, no matter our age or status. He is teaching and training us to serve him in whatever calling he has on our lives. There is an old saying:  “God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips the called.”  So, like David, we must do three things: Keep faithfulness. David continued to watch the sheep. Stay focused on Christ when insulted or offended. David did not protest when he wasn’t invited to meet the prophet.  Come when you are called. When God makes his will known, pursue it as he empowers you. Finally, when God chooses you, he will empower you. Note what the scripture says happened after David’s anointing. “The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.” If God chooses you for something, he will empower you for it, even if it’s just to learn and grow. www.guywithabible.com

1. Gen Z is in Revival and Retreat At the Same Time Sometimes you get conflicting data on a trend, and this is what appears to be happening with Gen Z. If you’ve been at all active on social media in the last two years, it’s almost impossible to miss the renewal (revival?) that’s happening across college campuses and with young adults across America, the UK, and in other places around the world. What began or at least crystallized at the Asbury Outpouring in February 2023 has continued in pockets and waves in various places. The UniteUS movement that swept across US college campuses in 2024 is a clear indicator that something is happening among Gen Z right now. The college campus phenomenon corresponds with Barna data showing that Gen Z is generally spiritually open , with over two-thirds of Gen Z saying they are highly or moderately open spiritually. There are three factors to pay attention to. First, spiritual openness doesn’t always lead people to Christianity. It can just as easily lead people to Buddhism or a self-directed spirituality (among many other options). Second, even if peoples’ openness leads them toward Christianity, that doesn’t automatically translate into church attendance . Finally, notice the drop off in spiritual openness between Gen Z teens and Gen Z adults. There’s a significant 18-point drop in Gen Z’s who say they are highly open spiritually once they become adults compared to when they were teens. There are three factors to pay attention to. First, spiritual openness doesn’t always lead people to Christianity. It can just as easily lead people to Buddhism or a self-directed spirituality (among many other options). Second, even if peoples’ openness leads them toward Christianity, that doesn’t automatically translate into church attendance . Finally, notice the drop off in spiritual openness between Gen Z teens and Gen Z adults. There’s a significant 18-point drop in Gen Z’s who say they are highly open spiritually once they become adults compared to when they were teens. I think that’s a very healthy tension to live in. And if more churches embrace a non-derivative approach, the Church will have the innovation and diversity we need for the future. What To Do By all means, learn from other churches and best practices, but don’t ignore the movement of the Holy Spirit or the uniqueness you bring. Authenticity resonates. Practically speaking, open up more vulnerably in your messages. The best definition of vulnerability I know is that vulnerability makes you question whether you’re being too transparent. It feels risky. Second, coach your worship leaders and service hosts to be more sensitive to what’s happening in the room, not just committed to reciting scripts. And finally, in your service planning meetings, don’t just fill in the blanks with three songs and a message. Take time to be truly creative. While this trend is a lot deeper than three simple steps, those steps can usher you into a new, more responsive, and open era. 5. The Church Leader Mental Health Crisis Is About to Get Worse So, the good news is that the mental health of church leaders has rebounded somewhat from an all-time low during COVID. There are storm clouds brewing, though, and that’s why I’m not convinced we’re out of the woods yet.  The number of pastors who have given real, serious consideration to quitting full-time ministry within the last year dropped from an all-time high of  42% in 2022 to 33% in 2023 . While that’s encouraging, it still means that a third of all pastors in America are contemplating packing it in. Yikes. A third of all pastors in America are contemplating packing it in. Yikes.Share on X More alarmingly, though, according to Barna data,  18% of pastors have thought about suicide or self-harm  in the last year. That’s a staggering statistic. Fuelling this is a pervasive loneliness among senior pastors that is intensifying, not abating. Today, more than ever, pastors are unlikely to be getting the personal support and relationships they need to thrive.  Today, more than ever, pastors are unlikely to be getting the personal support and relationships they need to thrive. Share on X As recently as 2015, 37% of pastors said they were receiving monthly personal, spiritual support from a network of peers or mentors. Today, just 19% of pastors are getting that support, which, of course, means that 81% of pastors are not getting regular personal support that’s vital to leaders. There’s one trend in pastoral mental health that’s sobering and disturbing.  When you look at  age-adjusted statistics  about how pastors are faring, the results are staggering. While 21% of pastors over the age of 45 say they are flourishing in their well-being, only 7% of church leaders under the age of 45 say they are flourishing. In other words, the next generation of church leaders are not all right. Not only is there a shortage of next-gen church leaders ready to step into leadership, but those next-gen leaders are already not thriving.Not only is there a shortage of next-gen church leaders ready to step into leadership, but those next-gen leaders are already not thriving.Share on X That’s a major concern. What’s At Stake As go the leaders, so goes the church. If the leaders aren’t healthy, the church won’t be healthy. If the leaders aren’t healthy, the church won’t be healthy. Share on X We already have a mental health crisis in the church, but what’s ahead in the next few years in terms of global instability, economic challenges, and the development of AI is going to push leaders to a new edge. What To Do It’s hard to prescribe something that will magically ‘fix’ a generational mental health crisis, but that doesn’t mean we should do nothing. At a minimum, senior leaders need to model healthy practices both in their leadership and in their lives. Gone are the days when leaders can or should drive their teams to work 60+ hours a week and remind people “they can sleep when they’re dead” or that they should “burn out for Jesus.” I know that it still exists in pockets, but it’s not only toxic; it’s bad theology. Similarly, I still hear reports of pastors who have embraced personal margin and health in their lives but expect their teams to pick up the slack. So the leader is ‘healthy’ (if you can call it that), but the team and organization are dysfunctional and overworked.  That’s a recipe for future failure, too.  The mantra I’ve embraced since my burnout almost 20 years ago is “Live in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow.” Not  survive  tomorrow, but  thrive.  This isn’t just a personal credo; it needs to be an organizational reality as well.  I have a lot more on that in  At Your Best , but the reality is we need to see leaders, teams, and churches flourishing.  The call to ministry can be difficult and demanding, but too often, we make it far more difficult and demanding than it needs to be. The call to ministry can be difficult and demanding, but too often, we make it far more difficult and demanding than it needs to be.Share on X So, What’s Next For Your Church? These are the church trends I’m keeping an eye on in 2025. I hope and pray they help you and your team thrive, responding to the organizational, cultural, and personal challenges you face. For more, listen to my  podcast series  on Church Trends here and download the free  Church Trends Leader Guide  to walk you and your team through the teachings and how to apply what you have learned to your church.  The future of the church, of course, is bright. It gets brighter still if our generation of church leaders sees the moment we’re in clearly and responds accordingly. www.careynieuwhof.com .

1480 “Attitude of Gratitude” Psalm 103 Drawing Near CD4 We continue our series on prayer and we look at thanksgiving today. One of the aspects of our prayer life out to be a grateful heart, an attitude of gratitude. And so we’re turning to Psalm 103 this morning to kind of take a look at David’s heart of thanksgiving. Why don’t we pray before we start. Lord, we are grateful that we are in a comfortable room right now, a comfortable setting and we have the freedom to worship and to read this book, the Bible, a privilege that many across this world at this moment do not have. We are so blessed and we’re so thankful. Help us Lord to return thanks often, not just before meals but as a way of life. For we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Let me read to you what a businessman once wrote, a cynical businessman. He said, “People are ingrates, it took me sixty-one years to find that out. I have 175 employees, men and women. At Thanksgiving I sent them 175 choice turkeys, only four thanked me. Two thanked me by notes and two said thank you when they chanced to meet me in the hall. Because of their thanklessness I have decided to never go out of my way to be nice again. If you want to find gratitude, look for it in the dictionary.” I’m glad that God is not like that. Though I can understand that tendency to become cynical because people often are ungrateful. But how often have we failed to give thanks and yet God has continually poured out his gracious blessings upon us. You know, of all the books I’ve ever read on prayer, I’ve noticed that not many of them include a chapter or a section on thanksgiving, ironically enough. It seems that the hardest arithmetic for us is counting our blessings. But David does in Psalm 103. In fact, David realized his need to be thankful and so he talks to himself about it, which by the way is something David is good at. There are a few psalms where David stops and talks to his soul. At one point he said, “Why are you disquieted within me O my soul.” Now here he says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all of his benefits who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindess and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” It is supposed that David wrote Psalm 103 during one of the darkest times of his life, if not one of the darkest times of the entire nation of Israel. It was at a point where he had the tendency to complain, to bemoan his circumstances. And so he stops, talks to his soul as if to say, “Hey, wake up in there. Bless the Lord. Let’s count his benefits and let’s return thanks because of it.” It’s the natural tendency of mankind to look at the black dot on the white sheet, right? Though there’s more white in thes sheet, there’s that little black dot, our attention is drawn to that black dot. We count the days that are overcast rather than the days of sunshine. What makes headline news? Disaster, crises. It’s rare that somebody will come up on Nightline with some good news, so great thing that happened, some great humanitarian outreach. It’s usually the catastrophes that make headline news and that’s often our focus. One of my favorite books, and actually one of the best books I’ve ever written on a loving God and a suffering world is by John Tal Murphy. And in the first chapter of the book, he wrote something I’d like to share with you this morning. He said, “It is ironic almost to the point of comedy that people should so focus on evil that they blindly overlook the immeasurable abundance of good, happiness and even pleasure carried on by this planet at every given point in time. Should we count the thorn without counting the stars? Do we forget that there is more peace than there is war? That there is more beauty then there is ugliness? Why should we focus on hate and miss seeing love? Or, hear the groans of grief but be deaf to the songs of joy? On any fair estimate, the sheer volume of beauty, pleasure, goodness, and happiness in the world would eclipse the very highest count of evil.” David understood that and at a very low time he commands his soul to bless the Lord because he refused to be blinded by all the bad things. We should evaluate our hearts as we go through this study today and ask ourselves the question: Does thanksgiving permeate my life? Or, does complaining and ingratitude and indifference mark it? I think a Christian should be marked by thanksgiving. And some of the benefits are listed here. First of all, verse 1, the response to God’s benefits is that one word bless. “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” The word bless is tantamount to thanking God. In fact, it could be defined as adoring God because of his goodness and returning thanks. If you have an Amplified Bible this morning it says, “Affectionately and gratefully praise the Lord” because praise and thanksgiving are often synonyms. Look back at Psalm 100 and notice verse 4. David says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name for the Lord is good.” When the Jews would often open up in prayer to give thanks to God, they would use the word bless. They would say baruch ata adonai elhani, blessed art thou O Lord our God, because the word bless means to give thanks. And often as we read the book of Psalms there’s this spontaneous eruption of praise and thanksgiving that comes from so many of them. I was actually going through the Psalms this week trying to land on a good psalm that would give an overall balance to the theme of thanksgiving. I found that there’s so many of them where there’s that eruption of thanksgiving and praise for God’s benefits. Bless the Lord, or render adoring thanksgiving unto the Lord; which was a part of God’s people throughout history. In the Old Testament, one of the offerings that the children of Israel were to bring to the temple was the thank offering. In Kumran, down by the Dead Sea, the Essene (Ascene?) community developed what they called Thanksgiving psalms and they put all of the psalms in the scripture that spoke of thanking God in one section and on special feast days would render thanks unto the Lord. Then we come to the New Testament and we find that thanksgiving isn’t just important for people back then but for Christians. It’s hard to find a single letter of Paul the apostle, though there are a couple, that don’t begin with thanksgiving. A couple examples: the book of Romans starts out, “First I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith is reported all over the world.” Then he writes to the Corinthians, “I always thank God for you because of his grace given to you in Christ Jesus.” To the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Now when was the last time you said that to your mate or to your child or to your friend, where you said, “I thank God for you. When I remember you, y heart if filled with thanksgiving and I just thank him for your presence, your love, your fellowship. Paul did. We should probably at this point define thanksgiving because it’s different from worship. Thanksgiving is a form of praise where I respond to God because of what he has done for me. Worship is where I respond to God for who he is to me, we’ll get that at a later time. David is responding to God’s benefits. Bless the Lord. He’s responding to all the things that God has done. Thanksgiving, gratitude, is to mark the prayer life of a Christian. We’re not to just rush into God’s presence and say, “Look here I am, I’ve got a need, here’s my list, take care of it.” It says, “We’re to enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.” And so Paul writes to the Philippians and he says, “Be anxious for nothing, in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will be yours. It’s to mark the prayer life of a Christian. More than that, it’s to mark the lifestyle of a Christian. I think it should just be part of the attitude, “Oh thank you Lord,” it should just come forth spontaneously from our life. Again, Paul wrote to the Christians, as a matter of life, “Whatever you do whether in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.” When do you give thanks? What is the time or the occasion that prompts you to say, “Oh Lord, thank you.” Well, we could say, “Well before I eat.” Right? We usually want to give thanks and return thanks before we eat a meal. But listen to what G. K. Chesterton once wrote, he said, “You say grace before meals, all right, I say grace before the concert. I say grace before the opera. I say grace before the play and the pantomime. And I say grace before I open a book. I say grace before sketching, before painting, before swimming, fencing, boxing.” Isn’t that great? Oh Lord, just bless this time, Whoosh! “I thank God and I give grace before walking, before playing, before dancing. And I say grace before I dip my pen into the ink. David needed to command his soul to thank God, because of the human tendency to not do so, to complain. I’d like you to keep your finger here and turn with me to Luke, New Testament, Luke chapter 17, for just a moment because we will understand that thanksgiving does not come naturally, it needs to be cultivated. It needs to be cultivated. Luke chapter 17, verse 11 begins, now what happened is Jesus went to Jerusalem but he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. “And as he entered a certain village there met him ten men who were lepers who stood afar off. The lifted up their voices and they said, ‘Jesus, master, have mercy on us.’ So when he saw them, he said, ‘God, show yourself to the priests.’ So it was as they went they were cleansed. Now one of htem when he saw that he was healed returned and with a loud voice glorified God, fell down on his face at his feet giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give gloryto God except this foreigner?’ And he said to him, ‘Arise, go your way, your faith has made you well.'” This story is interesting on several accounts. Number one, there’s nine Jews and one Samaritan, who are together. Ordinarily Jews do not hang out with Samaritans. Samaritans are unclean, they’re halfbreeds. And Samaritans because of their spiritual pride wouldn’t hang out with the Jews. But a common disease has brought them together. Isni’t that often the case? Tragedy will bring people together. It’s been said that adversity makes strange bedfellows. And here they are together, standing afar of because they have a disease the law required that they couldn’t come near to a person. And when they saw people walking they would have to shout, “Unclean.” In other words, “Back off, I’m contagious.” And so they did, they cried out instead of approaching the Lord, verse 13, “They lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.'” Now I want you to notice that that is an earnest prayer, like many Christians pray. It was a prayer filled with the recognition of the authority of Jesus, “Jesus, master.” And they recognized his mercy, “Have mercy on us.” Again a prayer like many Christians would pray recognizing the authority of Jesus, praying in Jesus’ name, recognizing God’s mercy and God’s love. But then we read that nine-tenths of them did not thank Jesus, again like many Christians. I wonder if the ratio, nine t one, has really changed all that much. I know that when we were putting prayer requests in the agape boxes, though we felt it was an honor to pray for the church, it was about that ratio, at least, nine to one prayer requests to praise reports, thanking God for what people had received. The point is is that these lepers were there for the handout but they were absent for the hands up. When they got healed, they just went, “Oh great, I guess I deserved it.” And Jesus expressing pain said, “Where are the ten? Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? And he noticed that this foreigner, this Samaritan, naot the Jews, not the people who should have given thanks but the Samaritan gave thanks. It is human nature to crave, desire, want, plead, beg; but not to give thanks. Back in the 1800s right of Lake Michigan, well there was a ship The Lady Elgin, it sailed people across Lake Michigan. And during the storm it was floundering. People were being thrown off board, they were drowning. A student from Northwestern University, Edward Spencer swam and fought the waves sixteen times to save seventeen people. He finally collapsed in exhaustion. He never recovered totally. The reports say that he lived his life with ill health, broken health, the rest of his life because of that episode fighting the waves in the cold of Lake Michigan. When he died at age eighty-one in California, the obituary in the newspaper said that not one of those seventeen people that he rescued years before ever sought him out to give him thanks. Not one said thank you. George Patton, one of America’s greatest generals said that of his thirty-five years of military experience, he received only one letter from a soldier who was thanking him for his leadership and his protection. That’s human nature. It starts when we’re kids. What do you say to your child, I have to do it all the time when somebody blesses him, “Nathan, what do you say?” “Oh, thank you.” It’s not natural. It’s not natural. In fact The New York Times published, they made note of this, several pages weeks before Christmas of letters to Santa Claus. “I want a new toy,” “I want a new bear,”I want this.” The New York Times also said they received one or two letters annually thanking Santa Claus for those gifts. Now we know Santa Claus didn’t give them, the point being: the give me, the I want a was there, the thank you was not. Is this really important? Oh, you betcha, because the scripture says that the root of rebellion against God is the failure to render him thanks. Listen to what Paul said in Romans, “Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful but they became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were _________.” There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “When you drink from the stream, remember the spring.” Returning to give God thanks. So David begins the Psalm with a commandment to his own soul. The response to God’s benefits, thankfulness. Let’s go back to Psalm 103. The next thing we notice is the recollection of God’s benefits. In verse 2 he says, “Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all of his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindess and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.” Now keep in mind again that David is speaking to his own soul. He’s talking to himself, he’s saying, “Soul, wake up! Listen, bless the Lord, he’s been good to you, he’s forgiven your sins, he’s healed you, he’s blessed your mouth with good things, your strength and your youth is renewed.” I personally think thatit is good to make inventory of God’s blessings, to make a list. You will be amazed at how quickly you run out of paper. Last night I decided to take a walk and put this into practice, I was walking through the neighborhood and I was just thinking of all the things I had to thank God for. I barely had any time to ask him for things because more things just kept coming to mind. And by the time I got to my prayer, man it was like, “God, you’re so good.” So let’s think back to God’s benefits. In fact, did you know that the word think and thank have the same root? Because once you really think about you’re going to thank God for an awful lot. Let’s follow David’s list. He says first of all, “who forgives all of your iniquities. ” Consider the cross, consider that on the cross Jesus put out his arms and said, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.” And then he finally said, “It is finished,” or literally “paid in full.” Their sins had been paid in full. When’s the last time you just said, “God thank you that you died on the cross for me and I don’t have to go to hell. I have redemption.” A man sat in my office this week and I was telling him about Jesus Christ and he said, “You know, I’ve heard a lot of television evangelists say the same things. You know, “If you accept Jesus Christ, he’ll give you this and he’ll give you that and your life will be sweet.” And I said, “No, no, no, no, no, I’m not saying that. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m promising that if you give Jesus your heart, he’ll forgive you of your sins and you won’t go to hell.” That’s the most important benefit you have to thank God for, who forgives all of your iniquities. That’s just not past tense, he still does it. WE still blow it, right? We still come before him and say, “Oh Lord, forgive me.” And he graciously forgives all of your iniquities. Look down at verse 8, he kind of recaps on that, “The Lord is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him.” This is one of my favorites verses, “For he knows our frame and he remembers that we’re but dust.” We often forget that, don’t we? We think, “I’m a rock.” God looks at us and says, “Dust.” And actually I take comfort in that, God doesn’t expect the highest from me, he knows, what do you expect from dust? To blow around a little bit. It’s kind of useless until somebody takes it and makes something out of it. God knows our frame, remembers that we’re but dust and he forgives all of our sins, all of our iniquities. By the way, that word iniquities is a strong word. It does not mean mistakes because God doesn’t forgive mistakes, he forgives sins. Sins, iniquities, transgressions, he forgives all of your iniquities. It is great for me to know that I have an advocate, right now, this morning, in the court of heaven. And I have an accuser on the other hand, just like you do, and you know what it’s like to have Satan accuse you, don’t you? Well, he does it before God the scripture says day and night. He might loook over this crowd and say, “Okay God, see that girl back there? She yells at her husband. And see that guy over there? He beats his kids, he has lustful thoughts. But if they’re brought before the cross of Jesus Christ, the Father can say, “Forgiven.” Each time, “Forgiven.” We have an advocate who forgives all of your sins. When was the last time you just thanked God for that? Actually I think that almost every episode of prayer should begin, “Lord I thank you that I can even pray to you right now because Jesus died on the cross for me to allow this to happen.” I can empathize with the man who said, “I want only one word on my tombstone: forgiven.” One man stood up and he said, “Jesus Christ has forgiven all my sins and he’s never going to hear the end of it.” I like that, I’m going to make sure I thank him for all of eternity for what he has done for me, he’s never going to hear the end of it. Next on the list, he heals all of your diseases. We take for granted our health, until we lose it, until we’re missing some function or some part and we go, “Oh, I took it for granted.” He heals all of your diseases. Do you thank god for your health? Lord, thank you for my hands, my eyes, thank you for my legs to walk, even slowing down a bit perhaps, Lord I thank you that I still have them. One commentator, actually many believe that this is not a reference to physical healing but spiritual because the context is that David is looking at his soul, his inward man. He’s saying, “Soul, wake up. Bless the Lord, think of all that he’s done for you, soul. He’s forgiven your sins, he’s healed your diseases.” And we know that the soul can have ailments too: discouragement, depression, doubt, fear and anxiety. And the Lord can heal all of those diseases. This verse has special application to my friend in San Diego, Mike MacIntosh. Before God touched him, he believed for two years that he had half of a brain, half of a head. He believed that his head was shot off and he was afraid for two years to look in the mirror for fear of what he might find out when he looks. And he came to the Lord one night and he told the problem that he’s had because of the drugs and the psychological problems. And we said, “Well let’s pray for you Mike, we think God can heal you too.” And God took this guy from a stuttering maniac who thought half of his head was shot off to a dynamic evangelist and a pastor. He heals all your diseases. Next on the list, who redeems your life from destruction. Let me give you another translation that I like. “He redeems your life from going to waste.” Hey listen, you were in the pawn shop before God got a hold of you. And there were no bidders. And God saw that broken life and he said, “It’s going to waste, I’m going to redeem him from destruction.” Listen to another translation, “He preserves your life from the grave.” I think the idea that David has is that in this life God preserves you and keeps you and how many times has God saved your hide? Can you look back and you think, “Oh, you know that car pulled out, I didn’t see it, I could’ve been killed.” Did you thank the Lord for it? You know, the way some of you drive, this should be an important verse. God dispatching his angels to protect you. I can imagine, when I get out on the road, God says, “Oh double up on the angels, Heitzig’s driving.” When I was thirteen years old, my parents were driving across Nevada and a man came across the other lane, he was total inebriated and he fell asleep at the wheel and hit us head-on. He was instantly decapitated. My mother was in the hospital for two months, they thought she was dead, my dad was also in the hospital. I came out with a bloody nose, not one broken bone, God preserved my life. And I thank God for that. I often look back to that actually, and think, “you know God preserved me. Why?” Because he had something for me to do. You know I think that each one of you are invincible until God’s finished with you, that no one can take your life from you until God is finished with you, doing what he wants to do in and through your life. Hey, and then when he’s done, who wants to hang around anyway? When I’ve done what God has called me to do, he let’s go for it. But until then, he redeems your life from destruction. Let’s go on and read the next part, “He crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” God is so tender, he’s so gracious. Even when we goof up he doesn’t forsake us, he’s tender, he’s merciful. Thank the Lord for those times, thank him for his company, thank him for his blessings. Did you just get a new job? He got it for you. How about a raise? That was God. That successful surgery? You have him to thank for it. Now you might say, “Well I’ve been praying for a job for months, I haven’t got one.” Hey you bless the Lord too, you’re still alive aren’t you? He’s still on the throne, isn’t he? Let’s notice the next phrase. He satisfies your mouth with good things. Now we all know what it’s like to thank the Lord for our food, right? “Lord, thank you for this meal. In Jesus’ name.” Did you know that the Jews would pray after their meal because of verses like this? Once they were satisfied with good things, their belly was full, they would bless the Lord who gave them things to satisfy them, to acknowledge God. There was once a woman, a slave woman in the South, and she prayed before her meal, she said, “Much obliged Lord for these vittles.” A little boy was watching her and said, “You know, you can eat your vittles regardless if you thank God or not.” She said, “That’s true son, but it makes everything taste better to be thankful.” He satisfies your mouth with good things. How about it? Next time you bite into something and it’s, “Wow, that’s good, thank you Lord.” “So that,” verse 5, “Your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” I think the whole point of this Psalm, that David is responding to God’s benefits in thanksgiving, he enumerates those because he is showing that life is absolutely and totally dependent upon God, every single thing that you do is dependent upon God. And the appropriate response to that is an attitude of thankfulness. Not an attitude of ingratitude, but one of gratitude. Back East, in a Methodist church, a little kid said, “Lord, I thank you for my mommy, I thank you for my daddy, thank you for my brother, thank you for my sister, help my dog, help my cat. And Lord, please take care of yourself because without you we’re sunk.” I love that prayer, he saw htat he was totally dependent on God. “Hey, without God, we’re sunk.” Totally dependent. He recalls his benefits, in verse 6 he goes on, “The Lord executes righteousness, justice for all those who are oppressed. We read the verse 8, look at verse 15, “As for man his days are like grass, as a flower of the field he flourishes for the wind passes over it and it is gone, in its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him and his righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep his covenant and those who remember his commandments to do them.” When a person recalls God’s benefits, it indicates something about that person. Thanksgiving is an indication of the heart just like ingratitude and complaining is an indication of the heart. When a person complains, it indicates that he doesn’t believe God is good. When a person thanks God, it indicates that he believes in his heart God is good, that the will of his Father is perfect, that father knows best. In Psalm 118 David said, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.” I might ask, has God been good to you? I can answer that myself, God’s good to everyone. Oh, but are there bad things that happen to you? Yes. When those bad things happen, does that mean God isn’t good to you any more? You feel that way, right? When Job suffered the loss of his family, all of his possessions and he was sick and scratching himself with a piece of pottery. His wife gave him that wonderful encouragement, “Curse God and die.” What was Job’s response? He said, “Shall we accept good from the Lord and shall we not accept adversity?” Is this only a one-sided deal that I say, “Oh God, thank you for all the good things. Shall we not accept adversity from the Lord?” It said, “In all this Job did not sin with his mouth. He said, ‘The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed (again there’s the word, the heart of thanksgiving) blessed be the name of the Lord.” Now that doesn’t mean that everything in life is directly from God but he certainly does peruse it and he allows it come in our lives. But the scripture says, “All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.” And when I say, “God, thank you,” it indicates that my heart believes that God is good. You see, thanksgiving is based upon the belief that God is painting a picture of my life and it’s going to turn out okay. Even though right now the picture looks a little fuzzy, there’s a blob of green here and a little blob of orange here and the figures aren’t quite painted in. And we look at that and think, “What a mess.” But in the mind of the artist he knows the finished product and when I thank the Lord in the midst of the blob, it indicates that I believe the artist is good and he’s going to make things out for my good and for his glory. Also, when I give thanks it shows that I live a life of balance, it keeps me from self pity. We often come before the Lord very narrow-minded, right? “God, I have a few things to tell you. Here they are. I need…, I want…” But thanksgiving balances out our life, in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, enter into his courts with thanksgiving. Don’t rush into his courts with a list, “God I’ve got to go, got a lunch, got a fax here. Take this, do it for me, see you later.” No you enter into his gates with thanksgiving it will keep you on balance. It’ll balance out your life. You know, last night as I was walking the neighborhood and I was thinking of all the things to thank God for, by the time I got to my requests, I had such faith that God would answer it, because I was just going over God’s track record, thanking God for all the things he has done and given. By the time I got to these requests, I just thought, “Well, it’s pretty consistent with your character, isn’t it, that you’re going to take care of these as well.” It brings us balance. Now I’d like you to look down at the end of Psalm 103, where David concludes by giving us the range of gratitude for God’s benefits. The response to God’s benefits, bless the Lord. The recollection: he forgives you, he heals you, on and on and on. Now look at the range in vesre 20, “Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do his word, heeding the voice of his word, bless the Lord all you his hosts, you ministers of his who do his pleasure. Bless the Lord all his works, in all places of his dominion, bless the Lord oh my soul.” David covers the range of creation. It’s as if he’s standing out there saying, “Angels listen up, thank the Lord, praise the Lord, bless the Lord.” All of you ministers bless the Lord, all of the works and creation of God’s dominion bless the Lord, and let my soul also bless the Lord. I’ll join in your voice.” Psalm 103 verse 22, another translation says, “Bless him all creatures of his in every corner of his dominion.” David’s point is this: thanksgiving should go on by all of God’s created beings all of the time. All of the time. “In everything give thanks,” Paul said, “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” “In everything give thanks. All of the time.” There are two levels of gratitude. Let’s call one lower level, the second one upper level. Unfortunately and I admit I am in this category, we kind of dwell in the lower level. The lower level of gratitude is where we see God’s work in our lives as intermittent spurts of goodness. Some big blessing comes along and we go, “Whoa, man I’ve been praying for that raise for a long time. Thank you, Lord.” But living on that level of gratitude only shows that we are selfish and that we miss the total perspective of God’s goodness. We’ll only thank him for those pleasurable comfortable things, we won’t thank him for all of, even the bad things that happen, because our view of goodness is comfort rather than becoming like Jesus. Now the upper level, the higher level, is a consistent thanking God, in good and in bad, believing that all things will work out together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. I admit, I have a long ways to go, I often complain, I often wonder. Instead of saying, “Look, you’re in control and I thank you for what you’re doing, even though I don’t understand it. Corrie Ten Boom who was in a concentration camp in World War II for housing Jewish people when the Nazis were taking over, she went to Rabrinsbruck and in her book the Hiding Place, she said she went into the barracks and they were horrible, horrible barracks. The beds were wasted, there were holes in the windows so t6here was cold and there were fleas in the bedding. Corrie’s sister said, “Let’s go point by point over the room and thank God for every provision he’s given us, that he’s given us beds, that he’s given us at least a place to lay our head.” So they went through thanking God for everything in the concentration camp. Corrie ten Boom, said, “I won’t thank God for the fleas. I refuse to thank God for these fleas, they’re an annoyance.” Months later she found out that the reason the soldiers refused to come in the barracks which allowed them to have daily prayer and Bible study is because of the fleas. And at the end of that she said, “God, thank you for the fleas.” A consistent outpouring of thanksgiving, that higher level is like an evergreen. You know, it’s funny, evergreens don’t lose their leaves, do they? They’re green in the summer, they’re green in the winter, if there’s snow, if it’s a hundred and five degrees, they’re green. A Christian can live like an evergreen, the heat of problems, the cold situations of departure, death, disease, still shining for the Lord. I’d like to read you what Matthew Henry, one of my favorite commentators as I was a young Christian, wrote the night he was robbed. He said, “Lord, I thank you, first of all because I was never robbed before. Secondly, because although they took my purse they didn’t take my life. Third Lord, thank you because although they took my everything, it wasn’t very much. And fourth, because it was I who was robbed not I who robbed.” Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all of his benefits. You won’t be able to remember all of his benefits but don’t forget them all either. Count them, enumerate them, I challenge you to go home and make a list. You’ll be there a while. May God give us the attitude of gratitude. Next month we celebrate a special festival, what do we call it? Thanksgiving. It’s a great holiday. Did you know that the months and years before Thanksgiving was inaugurated that the Pilgrims made seven times more graves to bury the dead than homes to house the living. They buried more people, more people died than remained. And yet William Bradford, the first governor, the first government official of the land gathered the survivors together. In the year 1623 this is what he said, “Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes and garden vegetables, he has made the forests abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, inasmuch as he has protected us form the ravages of the savages and spared us from pestilence and disease, he has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that ye pilgrims with your wives and little ones do gather at the meeting house on the hill between the hours of nine and twelve in the daytime, on Thursday, November 29th in the year of our Lord 1623, the third year since ye pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, and there go to listen to your pastor and to render thanksgiving to your almighty God for all of his blessings.” Goodness, that’s a government official saying that. But Thanksgiving is never to be confined to a day, it’s to be an attitude of the Christian. Father, with a heart of thanksgiving we’ve touched on just a few blessings this morning. The principal one being that you forgive all iniquities and you separate our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. Lord I pray that you might change from those of us who see the black dot, the cloudy days, that we would live seeing y our goodness and not complain because we don’t’ have more but thank you for what we have, having an attitude of gratitude, that that would be a mark not only of our prayer life but of our life in general. For we ask it in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen. www.connectwithskip.com

Being Thankful for the Lessons Granny Left Me Lesson #1 – What She Wouldn’t Do Despite it all, she was always thankful. Indeed, that is the lesson behind most lessons. And because she was thankful, she would never evaluate her life based on the rubrics that men apply to lives such as hers. She would not appeal to the tenants of justice as they assumed that mankind possessed the right to avoid all that is wrong in a world that had long forgotten that a great wrong sets the stage to do a greater right. She would not play the victim, for that was to miss the fact that defeat holds the raw ingredients from which the greatest victories are crafted. She would not bemoan what she did not have for that was to miss celebrating what she did. She would not complain as that was to focus on what did not happen instead of focusing on what could. She would not seek the security of wealth or material comforts for she understood that those were places to hide, and that hiding never eliminated what you were hiding from. Lesson #2 – What She Would Do Because she was thankful, she believed that the course of the day did not represent the course of one’s life. That victory was not based on the nature of any outcome, but on the fact that one stood by their values even in the face of the most devastating outcomes. She believed that life was a privilege even when it didn’t feel that way, and to embrace it as such would always rekindle that sense of privilege regardless of the darkness of the circumstances. She believed that having nothing was a great gift because there is a great good to be learned in poverty that would be forever lost in the blind acquisition of material things. She believed that fear was the absence of faith and that faith would leave us with the absence of nothing. And above it all, she believed that God held every tear in the hallow of His hand, and that each one that she had cried was intermingled with a thousand of His own. And that someday He would welcome her home, draw her deep into His embrace and let the tears of both spill on the floor, never to be collected again. What I Learned I stood up, brushed the snow off wet knees and scanned her headstone, drawing its features and forms into some place of the deep soul. With increasing depth, I slowly realized that the key to it all was that she had lived a thankful life. But it was more than that. Far more. It was a ‘deeply’ thankful life. Not in the form of some cherished ideal that she held, or a practice made habit, or some socially appropriate attitude that she became adept at. That wasn’t it. Rather, it was a thankfulness that was cultivated to the point that it saturated her being and came to define who she was verses simply being something that she did. A thankfulness that was blatantly revolutionary, even though few would ever have the privilege of beholding it. A thankfulness born of a hard life, of cherishing little things instead of seeking many things, of diligently working to see blessings where others saw nothing, and of understanding that God’s greatest gifts are not that of material things but of inner things that will walk with us into the next life when everything else will fall away in the transition. Standing there, finding myself holding my life up against hers, I realized that what she was, I was not. That maybe I need to go mend some clothing instead of assuming that I deserve new. Fix a few shoes so that I begin to appreciate every step that I take. Ride a bus and meet a friend because I finally gave my journey enough space to intersect another. To get some day old bread every now and then to better appreciate it when it’s fresh. To see my occupation as a privilege instead of a paycheck. To turn down the lights and lower the heat in order to learn that my comfort doesn’t rest in what’s outside of me but what’s inside of me. And Then…To Climb a Tree Shifting my gaze and looking up at the sprawling oak, I thought that maybe I need to go climb a tree…metaphorically anyway. I thought, maybe I should do that the way my grandmother did it, by being thankful for the things that she was thankful for; the stuff of bread and shoes and trollies. Or more broadly, maybe I need to do so by finding something to be thankful about in everything. To seek out the good and be thankful for the fact that is it always there to seek out. To pursue a sense of gratitude when the world sees nothing but nothing. To give optimism a hand up, knowing that behind the mask of pessimism there is nothing more than this pathetic fear that spends every waking moment fearing that we might actually succeed. To say “thank you” at the very times where I’d prefer to say “no thank you.” For as I’ve pondered it all, I realize that these are the precious lessons of my grandmother. And in rigorously implementing these lessons, will I find myself scaling the kind of tree that we’re all looking for? The kind that my grandmother climbed? Every day. Will I have a chance to perch in their lofty canopies so that I might leave my world of personal destitution and emotional poverty to run in the world of clouds and sky? And will these kinds of trees be there for me until I am called to run the wilds of heaven? In this world, is that really possible? Is it? What I know is that my grandmother did it with great grace, and in the doing she forever answered that question. A Final Thanks It has been years now. And since that visit to my grandmother’s grave, I’ve yet to have that sense of thankfulness seize my soul as it did hers. I’ve yet to have it saturate my being and come to define who I am verses simply being something that I do. However, without reservation I can say that I spend far more time in the trees than I ever have before. I sit on many limbs these days, working to live out the stuff of bread and shoes and trollies. And from this blissful vantage point, I look up into the world of clouds and sky a little more each day and shout, “Thanks granny!”

Nestled slyly in Queen Creek Canyon, under a canopy of towering trees, lies one of the oldest arboretums in the western United States, Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Hiking trails, carefully designed to showcase the park’s striking desert beauty, beckon visitors off a central path that is deeply shaded by majestic trees first planted along Queen Creek more than seventy-five years ago. The soothing song of a melodious stream flows for half the year through the canyon, fed by snowmelt and seasonal rains. This unique desert oasis is on of my favorite places on the planet. Traveling east of Phoenix, Arizona, off of Highway 60, you will find the park waiting for your discovery. Bring your camera, good walking shoes, and maybe binoculars because Boyce Thompson Arboretum has something blooming year-round. Boyce Thompson was a copper baron who in the early 1920’s built his 7,000 square foot home in the canyon, and with almost 400 acres at his disposal, began collecting drought-tolerant plants from all over the world. In 1924, he founded the arboretum and in 1976, it was turned into an Arizona State Park. Boyce Thompson Arboretum is what I call a kept garden. While guests like you and I can enjoy exploring the park, we do nothing to preserve the beauty that we find there. Someone else does the manual labor of creating and maintaining the canyon. Visiting kept gardens is refreshing. We get to enjoy the majesty and glory of God’s creation, but we do not have to break a sweat creating the flowerbeds or planting the trees which grow there. Isaiah 35 teaches us the difference a kept garden can make in a person’s life. It is an example of Hebrew poetry and is a poetic description of what happens when God keeps a garden in the desert. Look at Isaiah 35:1-2 1) The wilderness and dry land shall be glad: the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2) it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. ESV There is a genius in the way God inspired the Hebrews to write poetry. The Hebrews did not rhyme words in their poetry like we do in English. They created parallel thoughts. For example, in English we might write, “Hickory, dickery, dock, the mouse ran up the clock.” But the rhyming of words in English makes English poetry untranslatable. When you translate “Hickory, dickery, dock, the mouse ran up the clock,” in Spanish it does not rhyme. Hebrew poetry can be translated into any language in the world because the poetic thoughts have a parallel symmetry instead of a rhyme. For example, the phrase “The wilderness and dry land shall be glad,” in verse 1 correlates in thought with “the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus.” Examine the two thoughts from the end of verse 2. See how “the glory of the Lord” and “the majesty of our God” express the same idea. Verses 1 and 2 are a perfect example of how the Hebrews harmonized imagery. The concepts flow back and forth. Rhyming always has to do with sound. So technically, it would be incorrect to say they rhymed thoughts, but the ideas they compare are always poetically equal. Because the Hebrews wrote with parallelism instead of rhyming word sounds, we can translate this poetry into any language in the world. We could also say verses 1 and 2 are placed at the beginning of this chapter like a preamble, giving us a brief glance into what the entire chapter will include. And even in verses 1 and 2, we can begin to glimpse what happens when God keeps a garden in the desert. From the very inception of Isaiah 35, God desired this poetry to be enjoyed by all of humanity. The creator of the universe, with great forethought, inspired Isaiah to write these words with poetic parallelism so humble translations could be made for all the people, from every tribe and language. Here in a creative writing style, we get a hint at the missionary heart of our good God. Neatly tucked inside of Isaiah 35 then is important spiritual evidence. God loves the world. He loves the ethnicity of the world and designed it so his poetic words could be translated into any tongue and still be poetry. This is a God with deep eternal plans. Could this Poet lover care about our individual thirst? Is this even possible? The answer from scripture is surprisingly, yes. Our majestic God, who knows the end from the beginning, also cares about your suffering and mine. Miraculously, God’s long-range plans extend to us. God is on our side. This belief in God’s goodness toward us is critical, because if you want to bloom in the desert, you must see that blooming is God’s idea. When we find ourselves living in a spiritual desert, we must understand that God wants us to bloom. God designed us to bloom and in Isaiah 35, God equates blooming in the desert with gladness and rejoicing. Each of us has an eternal reason we were given life. As we think about what blessings God has planned for us, it is imperative we see that flowers are God’s idea. When we blossom, we are blessed and so is God. It is vital that we begin to appreciate God’s farsightedness for us. Sometimes, we might feel we are being prideful when we want to do something good and marvelous with our lives. This desire to bud into flower is a desire to nurture, not something to feel funny about or to view as an act of pride. God wants us to know his pleasure, and we taste his delight when we can enjoy who he created us to be. Blooming is a deeply satisfying experience, as we walk into that future for which we were created. The most important lesson we need to activate today is that blooming is God’s idea, not ours. Take a moment to consider these questions about your spiritual desert: 1) How does it make you feel to know that God created you to bloom? 2) Does it change your perspective about God or your current desert landscape? Why? 3) Reconsider the list of dreams you compiled in lesson one. Could the fulfillment of any of these dreams bless God? Could they bless you? In the coming days, keep reading Isaiah 35 as often as you can. Begin to saturate your spirit with this life-giving water. Isaiah 35 is more than just an example of Hebrew poetry; it is also a passage of prophecy. Only God could inspire the writing of words that are both poetic and prophetic at the same time. The entire book of Isaiah is a book of prophecy, and the future predicted in Isaiah 35 has yet to be fulfilled. As you continue meditating on these ten verses, hold the picture of a kept garden in your mind. In our next installment, we will look at the future events predicted in these verses and continue seeking the spiritual significance of a kept garden.

How was the New Testament Scriptures Compiled? One day I was visiting with a friend who was raised in church, but a bit of a skeptic. He asked me, “Jan, did you know that it took the church four hundred years to determine which books should be considered scripture?" “I did know that!” I spoke. “But do you know why I hate this historic fact?” Then he said, “No! Why do you hate this ‘historic fact’?” “Because hardly anyone who quotes this bit of history wants to tell you why the church waited four hundred years to meet and discuss what was scripture?” I answered him. “Floating this truth without telling the ‘why’ leaves out the best part of the story and can even be deceptive.” By 120 AD all of the New Testament books were written. But the first Christian synod to determine which books should be included in the cannon and which ones should be rejected wasn’t until 393 AD. If we don’t know our church history these dates might at first appear suspicious. For the first four hundred years after Jesus’ death Christians were systematically persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, and this menacing danger lasted until Emperor Constantine. Because believers were being hunted down, arrested and literally thrown to the lions in coliseums for sport, it was not prudent for Christian leaders to travel and meet openly. Constantine on his death bed made it legal to practice Christianity within the empire in 337 AD. But it took a while for this safe word to spread. Under these years of persecution, when professing faith in Christ was risky, these courageous martyrs went to their death praying, like Jesus, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Their emboldened spirits haunted their tormentors, and eventually changed the heart of an entire empire. Persecution and martyrdom, then, is the reason that Christian elders did not meet earlier to discuss what books should be included and excluded from the New Testament Cannon. With that background let’s look at how the New Testament was written. All Scripture is God breathed. The oldest books in the New Testament were the letters written by the Apostle Paul. His epistles were written to encourage individuals and the young churches that he had established as a missionary. We don’t know if he had a sense that he was writing scripture, but he did know he was teaching truths the church needed to hear. Paul’s letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 said, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” ESV All scripture is God breathed. This is a very important statement. God wrote the scriptures. I can imagine that these attendees at the early synods then were looking for God’s breath in every manuscript they considered. It might surprise modern Bible students to learn that in the beginning the early church showed little interest in creating a written record of Jesus’ life and ministry. 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 says, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” ESV These five hundred eyewitnesses believed that Jesus’ second coming would be in days or weeks, not months or years. So, they devoted themselves to evangelism and missions, not the recording of Jesus’ words. Many scholars now believe the first letter Paul wrote was to the churches in Galatia. If you compare the book of Galatians with the book of Romans, you will notice they share the same two-part outline. First, Paul explains who we are in Christ. Before Christ it was impossible for us in our strength to please a holy God. But, now because of the power of Jesus’ blood sacrifice believers are forgiven, declared righteous, and reborn with a new spiritual nature. It is trust in this declared righteousness that enables us to love like Jesus loved. Just as salvation was by faith alone, our future spiritual growth and progress is only possible when we trust God’s work. Our old self effort tried to transform us from the outside in, but God’s eternal life will now change us from the inside out. Paul is emphasizing in this first section that even the strength to live for God comes from God, not our efforts. In the second part of Paul’s outline, we see how we should now love because we have undergone such a radical spiritual transformation. If Paul was only articulating some moral code, he would still have been teaching the law. If we compare the New Testament books of Galatians and Romans, we notice that the arguments Paul made to the Galatians are more crudely stated and at times are even inflammatory. In the book of Romans, Paul’s identical outline is employed, but is stated with more maturity and gentleness. Scholars believe Paul taught the same message wherever he journeyed and with time he refined his major teaching points. By the time he penned his letter to the Romans Paul’s persuasion skills were notably eloquent. Not every letter written by the early church leaders were considered Scripture. Interestingly, we do not have all the epistles that were written to the early churches. For example, we see in Colossians 4:15-16, Paul says this: “Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.” ESV Paul wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea that we don’t have and if you read 1 and 2 Corinthians you will notice that there were four books written to the church in Corinth. We only have the 2nd and 4th letter to the church in Corinth. We don’t know why these letters were not preserved or considered God’s word by the early church, but just because an Apostle penned a letter to a church it did not mean that epistle was considered scripture. All Scripture reveals the personality of the writer. When you analyze the different books of the New Testament you will see that while God breathed his inspiration into each writer, he also allowed each writer’s personality to shine through their words. The people who penned the Word of God were not robots that just received dictation. For example, in the gospels we see that different aspects of Jesus’ ministry intrigued each writer in unique ways. It was only after many of these five hundred eyewitnesses of the resurrection started dying that the young church began embracing the need to record the life and words of Jesus. The first person to be inspired to do this was John Mark. Today most scholars suspect that the first gospel written was the Gospel of Mark. We believe this because Matthew’s gospel includes 97% of Mark’s words and Luke’s includes 88% of Mark’s words from his gospel. So, by analyzing the content of each gospel there is strong evidence Mark was written first. John Mark the author of Mark was an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, but was probably only an older child or teenager at the time of Christ. Later as a young man, probably in his early twenties, John Mark was invited to go on a missionary journey with his cousin Barnabas and the Apostle Paul. We don’t know why he abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first journey, but he did and returned to Jerusalem. When it came time to plan their second missionary trip Barnabas again wanted to take young John Mark, but Paul was against it. Such an argument arose between them that Paul and Barnabas split and went on two separate missionary trips. It is fascinating to study Paul’s opposition to John Mark. It wasn’t long before this incident, when the same Barnabas had defended Paul before the church elders in Jerusalem, who feared he was still plotting to kill Christians. Even though the Apostle Paul wrote large sections of the New Testament, and as a missionary moved with holy boldness, his attitude toward John Mark feels unmerciful. Fortunately, Barnabas was a Christ follower who believed in second chances. With time John Mark’s faith did mature and he was inspired to write the first gospel. Look at Mark 14:51-52. Here is a passage where Mark may have written himself into his narrative. This event happened on the night Jesus was betrayed. “And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” ESV This episode does not appear in any other of the gospels. We do not know which of the next two gospels were written first Matthew or Luke. They were probably both written about the same time. Matthew the author of the gospel of Matthew was one of the original twelve Apostles and was definitely an eyewitness to the resurrection. Before he met Jesus there is evidence Matthew didn’t value his Jewish heritage because he had become a Roman tax collector. First century Jews often viewed tax collectors as being in cohorts with Rome’s occupation. Maybe money was his first love, but after meeting Jesus everything changed. When Matthew begins penning his account of Jesus’ life, he wanted to portray Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. With his emphasis on Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies Matthew’s gospel makes a perfect transitional book from the Old Testament to the New Testament scriptures. Luke is the only gospel writer who was not a witness of the resurrection. He is also the most educated of all the gospels writers. His Greek vocabulary and grammar usage are complex and considered more difficult to translate. Luke was a doctor by profession and a gentile convert. He intended his gospel to be the first book in a two-part set and his second book was the book of Acts. With these two volumes Luke would write the largest part of the New Testament. Even though Luke was not an eyewitness, his Gospel is full of eyewitness’ testimonies. He either interviewed Mary the mother of Jesus or spoke with close family relatives. Without Luke we wouldn’t have the birth records of John the Baptist or of Jesus. Luke’s gospel has been called the feminist Gospel because he highlights the women and children who came in contact with Jesus. He also, emphasizes the prayer life of Jesus.’ He was a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and includes himself in the “we” narratives of the book of Acts. Look at Luke 1:1-4 to see what he intended. Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all the things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. ESV John the author of the Gospel of John was probably the last gospel writer. He most likely had a copy of Matthew, Mark and Luke in his possession when he began writing. His gospel’s tone is very different than the other authors. He includes many stories and teaching that the others neglected to include. You can almost hear him saying, “You guys left out the good stuff!” As an Apostle he was an eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection and refers to himself personally throughout his book as “The disciple that Jesus’ loved”. With his writing, John paints compelling word pictures of Christ like “the Living Water,” “the Bread of Life,” “the Lamb of God,” and “the Light of the World.” John gives us his purpose in John 20:30-31: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” ESV When we investigate the lives of those whom God chose to write the New Testament, we see that they were a group of imperfect and flawed individuals. We come away more impressed with God’s ability to use them, than their righteousness. John Mark was an early failure as a missionary and Matthew betrayed his countryman by becoming a tax collector for Rome. The Apostle Paul persecuted the early church and sought to kill them before he had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. What events might make someone feel disqualified in our day to speak for Jesus? Our stories matter. Just like the early church, our life experiences, and the circumstances God has used to draw us to himself are unique. No two testimonies of redemption are exactly alike. Unfortunately, when we withhold our story, we are withholding the glory of God that is uniquely ours to give. So, like the early church let us be emboldened, and not be hindered by our past mistakes. Let’s make ourselves available to God and embrace with confidence the breath of God found in his word, so we can share our own legendary tales.

Introduction I grew up in the church, but until a few years ago I knew nothing about the Christian Calendar. My background did not include observances such as Advent. To me Advent was nothing more than a “word” that appeared on the signs of other churches. I knew what time of year I would see it as I drove by — Nothing more. This word, this observance belonged to their church culture, not mine. Then a few years ago my husband and I heard a radio interview with Bobby Gross, author of Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God. We sat riveted. This was new to us!! Since the time of that interview, we have in some way celebrated each new Christian Year which means annually observing Advent. Never in the same way. Always different. To observe Advent, or the Christian Calendar for that matter, in exactly the same way each year would run the risk of either becoming mechanical and meaningless. On the other hand, giving ourselves permission to celebrate differently each year allows us to adjust our observances to our “season of life” and keeps things fresh. This booklet is a resource for observing the season of Advent whether you are celebrating it for the first time or the fiftieth. The ideas contained within are plentiful and varied to help meet the constraints of life seasons and to provide “freshness.” As the season approaches, take some time and contemplate how you and your family might make this a meaningful Advent by selecting options that speak to your soul. A Primer The seven seasons of the Christian Calendar are Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, The Paschal Triduum, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Additionally, the seven seasons occur in three cycles: The Cycle of Light, The Cycle of Life, and The Cycle of Love. The Christian year begins with Advent which occurs over the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. Advent is part of the Cycle of Light which is the celebration of the Incarnation – God with us. The Cycle of Light also includes the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the season of waiting. The beginning of the church year, it derives from the Latin adventus which means “coming.” Advent is the season of thoughtful reflection and repentance. To observe Advent means to spend the weeks before Christmas rethinking our priorities, realigning our lives with God’s desires for us, and seeking forgiveness. It also means beginning anew. Radically against our current culture, the traditions of Advent serve to remind us that we are waiting for Christ. Each of the four Sundays of Advent has a watchword for the day as well as a biblical figure with whom it is associated. The Four Sundays of Advent First Sunday – WAIT – Isaiah – Isaiah 7:1 On the first Sunday of Advent we wait for Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth. We also wait for the risen Christ to come again. In Hebrew, the word for wait is also the word for hope. WAIT— I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6) Ideas for Observance: • Make or purchase an Advent Wreath. • Light the first candle of the advent wreath on this evening. (Purple) • Say a short prayer when lighting the candle. • Read and meditate on Psalm 130:5-6. • Follow a schedule of daily Advent Readings. • Incorporate a purchased or handmade Advent Calendar into your celebration. • For younger children, use the Countdown to Jesus’ Birthday Advent Calendar. • Make an Advent Paper Chain of Acts of Kindness or Names of Jesus. • Participate in an Advent service project individually, as a family, or with friends. • Decide on the recipient of a family gift. Provide “shepherd’s pouches” for each family member so each can “save” money to be given toward the gift. Second Sunday – PREPARE – John the Baptist – Luke 3:4 The second week of Advent we prepare. Preparation involves paying attention and staying awake. Advent reminds us to be on guard, to keep watch that we might be ready for Christ when he comes again. PREPARE – And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:76-79) Ideas for Observance: • Light an additional candle on this evening. (Purple) • Read and meditate this week on Luke 1:76-79. Third Sunday – REJOICE – Mary – Luke 1:46 While the other three weeks of Advent are symbolized by the color purple, this Sunday has a different color. The color for the third week of Advent is pink, the color of joy. It’s a reminder that this time of waiting and preparation is a joyful time. REJOICE – My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49) Ideas for Observance: • Light an additional candle on the Advent wreath. (Pink) • Read and mediate on Luke 1:46-49. • Send an annual Christmas letter as a way of reflecting on the past year. Joyfully notice the ways God has been present and faithful in your life and the way you have been able to be part of God’s work in your corner of the world. Fourth Sunday – Love – Joseph – John 3:16 The fourth Sunday of Advent is a time to see one another as the God-bearers (or imagebearers) we are. We do this by supporting and loving one another. LOVE – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Ideas for Observance: • Light an additional candle on the Advent wreath. (Purple) • Read and meditate on John 3:16. More Ideas for Observing Advent: • Fast from certain foods, saving your enjoyment of them for Christmas. (Optional: Break the fast on Sundays.) • Decorate a mantle or table. (Optional: Wait until December 24th to decorate for Christmas or decorate slowly throughout the month.) • Give yourself permission to sing (Isaiah 65:17-25). • Allow yourself to groan (Romans 8:18-25). • Practice restraint: o Skip mailing Christmas cards and send Easter greetings instead. o Rather than purchasing gifts, make a charitable donation in the name of your loved one(s). o Decline a holiday party or two. o Cut back on baking goods and/or eat fewer Christmas goodies. • Practice retreat (rather than continually being on the “Go”): o Spend some time alone. o Schedule times of quiet and reflection. o Sit for a time at the feet of Jesus. • Assume an alert and open posture: o Ask God to heighten your awareness of His presence. o Plead with Him to open your eyes to what He is doing—in you and in the world. o Meditate on the example of Mary’s open posture in Luke 1:38. This Advent season, step into the Story. Acquaint yourself with the season. Learn more about it. Think through meaningful ways of inhabiting the season. Scripture Challenge Hope Isaiah 40:3-5 Isaiah 9:2 Jeremiah 33:14 Isaiah 7:14 Luke 2:12 Matthew 1:21 Acts 5:31 Love Luke 1:28 Luke 1:30 Luke 1:31 Luke 1:32 Matthew 1:22-23 John 1:14 John 3:16 Joy Luke 1:46-47 Luke 2:1-3 Luke 2:4-5 Luke 2:6-7 Luke 2:8-10 Luke 2:11 Romans 15:13 2 Corinthians 9:15 Peace Luke 2:15-16 Luke 2:17-18, 20 Luke 2:19 Isaiah 9:6-7 Psalm 29:11 CHRISTMAS EVE John 1:1-5 This Scripture Challenge is extremely versatile. Use this list of Scripture in whatever way works for your personal schedule and unique wiring. You might choose to read or write the Scriptures daily. Other options for using the Scriptures in the Challenge include journaling, Verse Mapping, Praying in Color, meditating, or memorizing. Advent spans 22-28 days depending on the calendar year. In years when the season is shorter than 28 days, you may choose to combine days or begin early. Praying through the Season Use this guide to help you pray specifically each day of the Advent Season. If desired, use the blank Advent Calendar to pray these prayers in color. 1. Pray for your friends. 2. Pray for your school. 3. Thank God for Jesus. 4. Pray for your community’s police officers and fire fighters. 5. Pray for your mom and dad. 6. Thank God for the earth. 7. Pray for your schoolteachers. 8. Pray for people around the world. 9. Thank God for your family. 10.Pray for your pastors. 11.Pray for the people who work in your church. 12.Pray for your neighbors. 13.Thank God for the Holy Spirit. 14.Pray for the less fortunate. 15.Thank God for Advent. 16.Pray for your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives. 17.Pray for our country’s leaders. 18.Pray for the workers in your local hospital. 19.Thank God for your health. 20.Pray for those you know who are lonely. 21.Pray for missionary families. 22.Pray for your sisters and brothers. 23.Thank God for His amazing grace. 24.Pray for those you know who are sick. 25.Pray for those who are overseas and cannot be home for Christmas. Also pray for their families who will be missing them. 26.Pray for the people in your neighborhood who do not know Jesus. 27.Praise God for His never-ending love. 28.Praise God for the gift of Jesus. For calendar years when Advent is not 28 days in length, you may double up on some of the prayers. Loving Acts of Kindness Baking, Making, & Taking (or Mailing) • Surprise your mail carrier with some goodies. • Deliver treats to a local fire station. (Home baked or prepackaged.) • Make some bookmarks. Leave one in a library book as you return it, give one to your librarian, donate some to your local hospital. • Make get-well cards for someone who is ill. • Make Christmas decorations or cards for your neighbors or mail them to far away relatives. • Take poinsettias or handmade Christmas decorations to your nearest nursing home. • Make a tree decoration for your baby-sitter. • Treat everyone in your class to a candy cane or cookie. • Make Christmas cards for the workers at your school or church. Providing Needs & Wishes • Put money in the Salvation Army bucket. • Grant a wish for a foster child. (http://www.onesimplewish.org/grant-a-wish/) • Donate to your local foodbank. • Donate new toys to Toys for Tots or your local children’s hospital. (http://toysfortots.org/donate/toys.aspx) • Donate to a local homeless shelter. (Most shelters provide a wish list on their website.) • Provide a gift for Angel Tree. • Buy a gift for someone in need. • Donate meals to No Kid Hungry. (https://www.nokidhungry.org/) • Donate your outgrown toys and clothes. • Donate books you no longer read. • Donate a coat to charity (leave an encouraging note in the pocket). • Reverse Advent – Grab an empty box or basket. Each day of Advent put one non-perishable food item into your container. On Christmas Eve, deliver the filled container to a foodbank or local shelter. • Make a monetary donation to a charity. • Contribute to worldwide relief and evangelism by providing a gift from Samaritan Purse’s catalog. (https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/gift-catalog) Encouraging Through Word & Deed Let someone go ahead of you in line. • Carol in your neighborhood. • Draw a picture for someone. • Pay for someone else in the drive thru. • Take coffee and donuts to your teacher. • Write a note to someone telling them 10 things you love about them. • Do something nice for someone. • Rake leaves or shovel snow for a neighbor or relative. • Offer to help an elderly relative or neighbor with their Christmas decorations. • Mail letters or cards to soldiers. (See http://www.amillionthanks.org/send_a_letter.php#sendletter for guidelines, samples, and a list of drop-off locations.) • Write a letter to your sibling telling them why you love them. • Put money and a happy note in an envelope. Tape the envelope to the front of a vending machine. • Write thank you cards to people who have influenced you positively: teacher, coach, club leader, babysitter, mentor. • Pick up litter in a neighborhood park. (Be sure to wear gloves.) • Offer to bag the groceries of the person in front of or behind you at the checkout. • Help around the house without being asked to: set the table, cook dinner, wash the dishes, take out the trash, pick up all your toys, make your bed, clean your room. • Write notes and mail them to the houses with beautiful Christmas light displays. Thank them for putting up the lights for you to enjoy. • Help someone do a chore or other job. • Help your mom and dad with a job. • Designate a special day: “Smile at Others Day,” “Hold the Door for Others Day,” “Give Sincere Compliments Day” • Feed the birds. 37 Ideas for Family Time 1. Read the Luke 2 Christmas account together. 2. Go ice skating. 3. Bake and decorate cookies. 4. Visit a tree farm and pick out your Christmas tree. 5. Decorate the Christmas tree. 6. Hold a family game night. 7. Make Christmas ornaments for your Christmas tree. Make a few extras to mail to far away family or to give to neighbors. 8. Put on your coats and go for a family walk. 9. Read Christmas books and stories together. 10. Go for cupcakes or ice cream. 11. Make Christmas cards. 12. Hold a family movie night. 13. Cut out paper snowflakes and decorate your windows. 14. Dance to your favorite Christmas music. 15. Drive around and look at Christmas lights. 16. Have a Christmas themed meal. 17. Go Christmas shopping. 18. Build gingerbread houses. 19. Make a Christmas Pinterest craft. 20. Read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. 21. Set up a hot chocolate bar as a treat after dinner. 22. Blast Christmas songs and sing along. 23. As a family, do one or more of the Advent Loving Acts of Kindness. 24. Bake a holiday treat to share with your neighbors. 25. Make gifts for your teachers. 26. Color Christmas themed printables. 27. Make a handprint Christmas wreath. 28. Bake a birthday cake for Jesus. 29. Have a slumber party by the light of your Christmas tree. 30. Unplug from electronics for an entire day. 31. Bundle up, sit by the fire pit, and enjoy some s’mores. 32. Make a snowman, real or handcrafted. (Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB4jFqkn8MY for an easy sock snowman tutorial.) 33. Make a popcorn or paper chain garland. 34. Order pizza, spread an old sheet, and have a picnic in front of the Christmas tree. 35. Write a letter to Jesus thanking Him for the gifts He’s given, especially the gift of Himself. 36. Make a photo journal. Take a photo each hour of the day. 37. Look at old family photos and movies together. Care Packages for the NICU Be sure to check with your local NICU before putting together and delivering your care packages. Ask for their help in making sure the items in your care packages adhere to their hospital policy. List of Suggested Items: • Granola bars • Fruit bars • Snacks: chips, crackers, etc. • Gum, mints, candy • Room temperature, microwaveable meals • Instant oatmeal • Hot chocolate • Hand lotion • Lip balm, chap stick • Tissues • Dry shampoo, hairbrush, hair ties • Deodorant • Nail files • Smell good sprays (Be sure to check on the rules/guidelines for this one!) • Magazines • Books to read to the baby • Small notebooks • Journals • Pens • Thank-you notecards • Postage stamps • Gift cards: restaurant, gas, grocery A Selection of Resources from around the Internet Jesus Storybook Bible Advent reading plan FREE printable from Home with the Boys - http://homewiththeboys.net/jesus-storybook-bible-advent-curriculum-collectors-edition-andmore/ FREE printable ornaments to go along the Jesus Storybook Advent readings from All These Things - https://redheadjulie72.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/easy-advent-idea-with-the-jesus-storybookbible/ The Genealogy of The Lord Jesus Christ (Abraham-Jesus) from Jessica Lynette 25 Christmas Advent Readings based upon Andrew Peterson’s The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats. Two FREE PDF versions are available for download on this site: one with images, one without - http://www.jessicalynette.com/genealogy-of-jesus/ The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats: An Unlikely Royal Family Tree by Andrew Peterson - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400309093/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative= 390957&creativeASIN=1400309093&linkCode=as2&tag=laisi20&linkId=VHTQMRU4GEMJ7SLA Kids’ Advent wreath FREE printable from Look to Him and Be Radiant - https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/look-to-him-be-radiant-6063229/kids-advent-wreath-freeprintables-3831511423 Advent Wreath Color Page FREE printable from Free and Fun Christmas - http://www.freefunchristmas.com/christmas-coloring-pages/advent-wreath-coloring-page/ FREE downloadable Advent reading plan from Hello Mornings - http://www.hellomornings.org/advent-reading-plan-day-1/ An Advent Pinterest Board compiled by Deborah Haddix Includes links to patterns, printables, and “How-to” posts on everything from advent wreaths to calendars to paper chains. A wide variety of style and complexity is represented -  https://www.pinterest.com/DeborahHaddix/advent/

PSALM 23 David, the author of Psalm 23, illustrates the relational and covenantal nature of God from the vantage point of a shepherd taking care of his sheep. Just as sheep are totally and completely cared for by their shepherd, God’s people are looked after by their Lord; the Good Shepherd makes sure that He provides for His children. God meets our needs. He meets the needs we are aware of, and He also meets the needs we don’t even know about. Regarding our spiritual needs, often what we need spiritually, we won’t desire in the flesh. God will make us lie down (vv. 2-3a) to give us the restoration and rest our soul needs. He gives us places of comfort so we can refocus on Him, recharge and be restored to full capacity. God meets our directional needs as well (v. 3b). Because we are sheep that are in constant need of guidance, God is our ultimate personal shepherd. The Lord God guides us like a modern-day GPS. When we get off a righteous course due to our own disobedience, God recalibrates our lives, course-corrects us and fully reconnects us with Him. So many people do not recognize or guard against getting direction from the wrong GPS — secular culture, the media, friends, or even personal opinion. God wants to lead in His way, and if we get off track, He guides us to get back on track. In addition to spiritual and directional needs, God offers to meet our emotional needs (v. 4). Sheep are easily emotionally stressed by events that are not as bad as they appear. For example, when sheep find themselves in the shadows, they interpret the lower light they experience as darkness to be feared. Because of the inability of sheep to see the big picture, they assume that the darkness signals that they are in the dead of night. As a result, they operate in fear. Many believers similarly allow temporary difficulties or challenges to cast a shadow on how they operate and move through life. Gripped by fear or paralyzed by other negative emotions, they do not turn to God and allow Him to lead them. God wants to calm our fears and help us confidently trust in Him and His ability to lead us well. Beyond our spiritual, directional and emotional needs, our physical needs can be met by God, too. Just like a shepherd feeds his sheep when they are hungry and cares for his sheep when they are wounded, God cares for the tangible, physical needs of His people. In Psalm 37:25b, David says, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.” God cares for His people when they are hurting. Scripture says, “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds” (Ps 147:3). God is an overflowing source of provision, and His provision never runs dry. Because we are spiritual creatures who do not live on Earth forever, God can meet our eternal needs. He is preparing a place for us (John 14:3). He wants us to love Him and intentionally pursue His goodness with eternity in mind. We serve a God who is comprehensive. He can meet all our needs as we follow Him and trust Him. When we understand how God leads, cares for, guides, and protects His own, we can confidently lean on Him and look to Him as our Good Shepherd. While all the needs mentioned can surface at any time, the current COVID-19 situation has pushed specific needs to the surface for many. What area of need has come to the forefront for you because of the global pandemic? Let's Get Personal • Do you trust God as your Good Shepherd? How do you know? Do you exemplify your trust by following His lead? • How has God proved Himself to be a Good Shepherd in your life? In what ways has He tangibly provided for you spiritually, directionally, emotionally or physically? • Go deeper! What specific spiritual, directional, emotional or physical needs in your life do you believe you most need God to meet? Share your particular request with your group and talk about what you are hoping God will do to meet your need as your shepherd. Take The Next Step Are you sure that your eternal need has been met? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Are you living a life surrendered to Him in preparation for an eternity in God’s presence? God often works to meet the needs of believers as they work to meet the needs of others. How are you allowing yourself to be a vessel that God can use to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world that needs to know He can practically and tangibly meet their needs? Want to go deeper? Take a look at the following passages: Psalm 37:25; 147:3; John 14:3; Ephesians 3:20. RENEW YOUR MIND “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1