Thanksgiving

I, like many of you, am in the end-of-the-year, pre-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas, pre-Kwanzaa, pre-Hanukkah, pre-Pearl Harbor Day, pre-shopping abyss- time of the year… a time of reflection. Before I install my Christmas…er…Holiday…er.. Family tree to honor the “reason for the season”, whose name is more controversial to invoke than any other, I must tell my friends in town what I am thankful for. As a bonus, I will give you a reason to be thankful this season…a few fewer words to chew/choke on. I am thankful for two main things this year…that God doesn’t give me what I deserve and that He gives me what I don’t deserve. Allow me to explain.
What do I deserve? I just want to pick out one of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20. How ‘bout the Third Commandment for an example. Exodus 20 says “"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” I haven’t used God’s name as a cuss word in many, many years (i.e. saying “G.D”.) In an amazing article on www.apuritansmind.com, Dr. C. Matthew McMahon wrote a revealing piece called Taking the Name of God in Vain. He lists many ways we, in every day life, break this commandment. A few include the obvious blasphemy in direct words such as “Oh my GXX”, and the before mentioned G.D., but not to exclude the zillions of knock-offs we use daily such as Geez, Gosh, Dang, and the like. ( I have heard it said that “If you don’t believe in gosh, you go to heck….two in one sentence…quite creative!) McMahon also rightly lays out that “when we worship with our lips and not our hearts we take His name in vain.” Ouch. God is not interested in external religion. He has a clear view of every motive and intention we have. McMahon also says “when we pray to Him but do not believe Him we use His name in vain.” Who hasn’t occasionally prayed a prayer you were sure was not going to be answered in your perceived favor? Yet another way he mentions is “when we, in any way, profane or abuse His Word, we are using God's name in vain. Every theological error, misquoted Scripture, every jot and tittle not remembered in the right way is using God's name in vain.” Yikes! Weekly with all the effort I can muster I still fall short on this part too. Yet another one he lists is “when we swear by God's name falsely, we use it in vain. Whenever we make a promise and do not keep it, we are lying as a Christian and making a mockery of God's name.” Got me again! The last I will beat us up with he say is “when we falsify a promise as if we were to do a thing if God does something for us, then we use His name in vain. When we barter with God to get something we act irreverently before Him and use His name in a way that does not glorify him.” In other words, when we say “God, make this Lotto ticket be a winner and I will serve you with the cash!” Who hasn’t done a version of that one? We would never use the name of Hitler, Saddam, Mohammad, or any one else we have distaste for as a swear word. Why our loving Creator? Given all the examples listed, I have treated God’s name in a way deserving of the death penalty according to the Jewish law of the time… many times over. This is just one of the Commandments. I am thankful this season that I don’t get what I deserve… to be ground up like a cinnamon stick and sprinkled on the buttered toast of an angel. What awesome mercy and grace (unmerited favor) our loving God extends to this obese writer (and to you as well for the asking)!
This brings me to the second thing I am thankful for… That God gives me what I don’t deserve. All blessings fall here. I have a wonderful family! My ever patient wife is slow to whack and quick to forgive and far more beautiful than I deserve (see above picture). My three beautiful kids are growing in Christ and are cooler than the other side of the pillow. My church, First Southern Baptist (shameless plug), makes up some of the finest people I know. They are family in the truest sense and deeply care about our town and the world in general! My Pastor is a man of integrity who loves his flock (and those who don’t know about Jesus too). He is also a dear personal friend who has taught me all the good stuff from my columns…the not so good comes from Oprah?! My Sunday school teacher has the same characteristics as my Pastor but with fuller hair. My town of Stockton has great people of character who care about each other (for more info Google May 4, 2003). We have several Bible-believing churches who share about Jesus. The Cedar County Republican lets me share my love for Christ with you, partially fulfilling my desire to walk house to house with a bullhorn and plead you to “taste and see” (Psalm 34:8) what I am so excited to share. I have a great job as a partner in an electronics store in Branson. It gives me freedom to write to you and others in on-line sharing and still pay the bills. Lastly, as awesome as this list is, absolutely nothing remotely compares to God sending Jesus Christ to this Earth to painfully die on a cross as a substitute penalty for the sins (not the least of which were listed above) I have committed. Romans 6:23 sums it up saying “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. I deserve death and instead get eternal life by letting the one who created us be my boss (Lord) and turning from my failed way of doing things. What a gift…without the best deal ever offered!
May God richly bless you this season! Don’t let it pass without reflecting on it! If you have questions about becoming a Christian, please email me at markapplegate@alltel.net. I am always available for you…the least I can do for such an awesome God!