Covenant Church

Little did I realize the impact of affectionately calling a Russian brother in Christ a "Turkey." The expression had brought laughter countless times with friends, children, and grandchildren.

My Russian brother did not laugh. In the conversation that followed he shared that the countries of Russia and Turkey have had a troubled historic relationship. Russians find no humor in being called a "Turkey."

Anyway, who wants to be a turkey at Thanksgiving? Who wants to be a turkey anytime? Turkeys tend to have a short life and end up in a cooker. Who decided turkeys should be the religious meat of an American Thanksgiving? Anyway, I am glad someone thought to add the cranberry sauce.

Here we are ready for Thanksgiving 2008! My hunch is that with the political wars in a lull, stocks and gas prices down, and a lot of question marks hanging over our heads—folks will make an extra effort to get together this Thanksgiving.

My hope is that when we get together we will take time to give gracious thanks for the food on the table and for all blessings. We are short on praise. We have been through an egotistical time of celebrating our own virtues, lauding our own successes, enjoying our pleasures, and dreaming worldly dreams without God being in our dreams. We have used the words like "deserve," "want," and "need" casually, as if all good things have come to us because of our own efforts.

Humility deserves a place at our table. We begin by recognizing that God created us. God breathed into us and we became living souls. God gives the sunshine and rain. God gives the rest. God heals our bodies. God conquers our enemies. God saves our souls.

Daily He loads us with benefits. His plan is for our good. His strategy is for our salvation. He understands that the plan of Jesus was and is to save us from our sins. Jesus came for redemptive purposes to save us from the schemes of hell. Jesus came to conquer evil, to provide healing for our bodies, and to provide life eternal for all who believe.

John reminds us that He, the Word, was in the beginning. He created all things. He is the Light.

Paul writes to the Colossians that Christ is supreme over all. He is the Head of the Church. He is the fullness of God. He gave his blood to make peace in heaven and earth. He is the Good News who brings us into the very presence of God.

Imagine sitting at a table. Looking at the turkey. Taking time to think such thoughts of humility. Imagine how gratitude begins to flow. Gratitude to God. Gratitude for Jesus, His death on the Cross, His Resurrection, and His promise to return.

The Bible prophesies that in the last days men's hearts will fail them for fear of things to come to pass (Luke 21:26). The scripture may well refer to the time of the anti-christ. However, II Timothy 3 preludes the coming of Christ with the stage being set for the anti-christ.

The turkey is on the table. Time to reflect. God has brought us this far. He is faithful. We are his children. He has never failed us. We believe that God is with us. He will not leave us. He will not forsake us. Therefore, we declare our loyalty to Him. We affirm our devotion to God. We thank him for blessings past, present and future.

If there is turkey on the table, less or more, we humbly bless Our God. We celebrate His providence in our lives. We thank the Lord for family, for friends, for soldiers and civil servants who give their lives to serve others, for missionaries and others who are serving Christ near and far, and for the Church, including our local congregation.

We take a moment before the food for our bodies to pledge that we will be faithful to the God who has been faithful to us. We are thankful!

With Thanksgiving,

Pastor Bare

"No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" (I Thessalonians 5:17).