OnFire 123 Happy thanksgiving

Hi Folks! Happy Thanksgiving. We Canadians like to celebrate our Thanksgiving early. If anyone knows why, let me know.

Here’s a joke I told yesterday in church - A man went to the store to find a turkey for his wife. There weren’t any left in the freezer section, so he tracked down the meat manager. “I don’t think we have anything left,” he said, but he went to look anyway. He returned holding the smallest, scrawniest turkey the man had ever seen. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else back there?”

Not wanting to disappoint the man, nor lose a possible sale for the undersize turkey, the meat manager offered to look but returned with the same bird. “I found this other one back there,” he explained. “That one isn’t any bigger than the last one,” he moaned. “Perhaps I’d better take both.”

Its OK to groan now. Maybe this joke is better - A woman went shopping for turkeys but couldn’t find one large enough. “Is this as big as they get?” she asked the clerk. The clerk replied, “Yes ma’am - they’re dead.”

I know - I love groaner jokes.

I’ve got a touch of cold, but I’m better today than yesterday. It felt good not to set the alarm clock this morning. The boys and I split some wood today for a man in our church. We hope that our example in service will help instill it in them.

Blessings for your week.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Yesterday in church we celebrated the Lord’s Supper as we always do on the first Sunday of the month. How appropriate on Thanksgiving to remember that Jesus gave his body and blood for our sins. We need to be thankful for so many things, not the least of which is a relationship with God the Father because of Jesus Christ.

In preparing for my Thanksgiving message I had one of those “How did I never see that before?” moments. I have read or heard the passages around the Lord’s supper* literally hundreds of times, but I saw them in a new way this week.

Despite my familiarity with these words, it had never occurred to me that Jesus gave thanks even though he knew what the symbols meant. He gave thanks for the bread, knowing it was the symbol of his own body, nailed to the cross. And he gave thanks for the cup, knowing that in less than 24 hours his blood would drip onto the ground.

That thought just about dropped me. How could Jesus give thanks? Wow!

He gave thanks because he knew that his trouble would have a benefit in the end. His death would make it possible for you and me to have a relationship with God the Father. “And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) It is easy to give thanks in times of blessing, harder in times of difficulty, but this is what Jesus did because he knew good things would come from his hardship.

In the same way that Jesus’ troubles produced something good, it helps to know that our own troubles will produce something good. Paul wrote that we “also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4). We learn endurance and prove our character through testing. And with this comes hope, which gives us what we need to continue.

The word “character” caught my eye. It comes from a Greek word which means to be approved through testing. In other words, we prove ourselves through times of testing. We will never be “tried, tested, and true” without being tried and tested.

I want to mention something here to clear up a misunderstanding that floats around. I once heard a friend say, “God must want me to learn something because my grandmother is sick.” I don’t think God does these things to test us. Rather, these experiences are an opportunity to learn, develop, and grow.

Jesus shows us that we can be thankful in times of blessing and times of trouble. We may be tempted to think suffering is a waste. “What good will come out of it?” At the very least, we develop endurance, character and hope. So often, God brings much more from it.

Jesus certainly proved his character on the cross. His love for us held him there. May our love and gratitude hold us so that when we will be found to be true.

Blessings for your thanksgiving. Be on fire,

Troy

ON FIRE is a weekly letter of encouragement by Troy Dennis. To be added to or removed from the ON FIRE list contact him at onfire@eastlink.ca . Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com This letter published Oct 8, 2007.