Give Thanks to God for Everything! November 23, 2014 Ephesians 5:15-20 (New Living Translation) 15 So be careful how you live. Don t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19 singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the cold and the snow we had a few weeks ago, I can tell you that I was very thankful that I had heat in my house and heat in my car and heat in my office. And I was thinking of some of our neighbors here in Pueblo who don t have homes, much less cars and I wondered about whether they would find a place at the Salvation Army or the Rescue Mission or somewhere else in town to sleep. We only had a few inches of snow. And I was thinking about our neighbors in the area around Buffalo, New York that got six feet of snow this week. And I was thankful that we only had eight inches of snow this month and not six feet! In the midst of that storm here-on Wednesday afternoon when it snowed so hard and we cancelled all of our evening activities, Dini discovered that we had no heat in part of the Education Building. I was thankful that she discovered that and that we were able to call our HVAC guy to come and fix the furnace before pipes broke and we had a real mess on our hands. And I was thankful that he did so. And even though it was only 62 degrees in the Sanctuary last Sunday because of the prolonged cold outside, I was glad that it was much warmer inside than it was outside and that we could be inside and not outside. Do you think that is odd? Well, didn t Paul say to give thanks in all circumstances? OK, maybe those examples are pretty minor in the whole scheme of things. But can we really give thanks in all circumstances? What about when someone dies? What about when someone has cancer? What about when we are not sure how we are going to pay the bills? Can we be thankful then? I had a great family friend that I had known for almost 40 years. He died last year. About 10 years ago he diagnosed with bladder cancer and opted to have his bladder removed. He lived almost ten years after that until he was in his 80 s. Do you think he was thankful in the midst of his cancer diagnosis? Well, you judge for yourselves. I d like to share one of his e-mails from after his surgery (I should mention that he was a master punster): 1
Dearest Friends & Family, Pity the poor upholsterer, he's always in "recovery". Like an old sofa I'm hoping that the recovery will not take too long and in spite of having the same old frame underneath, I'll be a better functioning self. Saw the Dr. today. He says I'm doing great, so I guess I am. I'm healing just fine. It doesn't even hurt to cough any more. But the part we knew would be difficult, the rearranging of my digestive system, has been the rocky road. So what I want to say more than anything else is my thanks for having the most wonderful family in the world. I can't write more now, except to say that from my perspective, one of the keys to the health care crisis is "care". The caring and love from the nurses that I experienced is something that money can't buy. All for now - Thanks for your prayers, your e-mail, your cards, your love and support. Much love, Dave He just had his bladder removed and yet he was joyful he was taking time out to thank his family, the nurses, and all who had prayed for him. He was thankful in the midst of his situation. That s what the apostle Paul was trying to communicate to the church in Ephesus be thankful in the midst of your circumstances. Paul said to make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Paul said, OK, so what s going on in the world around you isn t so great. But, you don t have to get sucked in to what is going on. You can choose how you live so choose wisely. It could almost seem that Paul s words could have been written to us. Our economy is still struggling, jobs often seem tenuous at best, the future seems uncertain. We can certainly get wrapped up in all of this and worry. We can get stressed. We can be sad. We can be depressed. Or, we can be thankful. We can fill our lives with distractions to keep our mind off of our problems. With thanksgiving we can distract ourselves with food and drinks and lively parties. We can fill up on these things or we can fill up with the Holy Spirit. That was what Paul was recommending to the people of the Church in Ephesus. He saw people having gatherings which involved lots of reveling where people were looking to get away from their problems for a while and he told the Ephesians to look to being filled not with wine, but with God. That being filled with God, they might have even better relief from the things of the world that caused them grief. This is what the apostle Paul had been talking about in the 4 th chapter of Ephesians as he gave the church instructions about how to live: 17 With the Lord s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 2
20 But that isn t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God truly righteous and holy. 30 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Be filled with the Spirit then you ll sing praises and give thanks. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we could give thanks for everything? If we could find ways to give thanks, whatever our circumstances. What would our lives be like and what would the lives of those around us be like? There is a story about an elderly widow who appeared at her church during a harvest festival in India with an extraordinarily large offering of rice - far more than the poor woman could be expected to afford. The itinerant pastor of the church did not know the widow well. But he did know that she was very poor and so he asked her if she were making the offering in gratitude for some unusual blessing. "Yes," replied the woman. "My son was sick and I promised a large gift to God if he got well." "And your son has recovered?" asked the pastor. The widow paused. "No," she said. "He died last week. But I know that he is in God's care; for that I am especially thankful." Wow! Is there something in your life that is bringing you down that you need to find a way to give thanks for? Maybe you know the story about the group of students who were asked to list what they thought were the present Seven Wonders of the World. Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: 1. Egypt s Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal 5. Empire State Building 6. St. Peter s Basilica 7. China s Great Wall While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not yet finished her paper. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, Yes, a little. I couldn t quite make up my mind because there were so many. The teacher said, Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help. The girl hesitated, then read, I think these are the Seven Wonders of the World: 1. To see 2. To hear 3. To touch 3
4. To taste 5. To feel 6. To laugh 7. To love. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! Maybe that was what Paul was trying to get the Ephesians to understand. There is much to be thankful for. We have a God who loves us, who has given us the opportunity for life. We get to choose how we live our lives. We get to choose whether we seek God s path for our lives or whether we decide to go it alone. And even if we decide to go it alone, God will still be there, ready to help us when we come to the realization that we can t do it on our own. God loves us enough to let us make our own mistakes and he is there to love us through when we need to put it all back together. What can you give thanks for this Thanksgiving Day? The gift of life The gift of parents who loved you and raised you to respect every human being The gift of friends who have been at your side in good times and tough times The gift of teachers who taught you knowledge and gave you wisdom The gift of a spouse The gift of a child The gift of books and music and art and food. The gift of God s love But, you may say, well I wasn t lucky enough to have those things. My parents weren t what one would hope for, my teachers didn t appreciate me, my spouse left me, my children are ungrateful so I have a hard time being thankful. C.S. Lewis once wrote, Love and your heart may be broken. But would you really want to exchange a broken heart for never having loved at all? Isn t it better to have loved someone say, five, ten, or fifty years than never to have loved that person? For most of us, I think, the answer is obvious. I am thankful for the gift of life, but I am even more thankful for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ. A life lived in relationship with one who loves us more fully than we can ever comprehend: that s something to be thankful for to know that God loves us, God forgives us, and God accepts us just the way we are. We are God s children, all of us. We live in God s world. We are called into God s family. How could we not be thankful? 4
As Paul instructed the Ephesians: be careful how you live. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit that you might sing praises to God and give thanks to God for everything. Maybe you can give thanks to God for the fact that your furnace works. Maybe you can give thanks that your car started today so that you could come to worship. Maybe you can give thanks to God that a loved one is now in God s eternal care. Maybe you can give thanks that you can hear or see or taste? Today, find something that you can thank God for. There is something. Tomorrow find something that you can thank God for and the next day and the next day and the next day..and then watch and wait and see what a difference giving thanks to God for everything makes in your life. Let us pray God we thank you for being a loving God. We thank you for being so patient with us when we choose to live our lives foolishly instead of wisely. Help us to keep you at the center. Remind us of all the things that we have to be thankful for in our lives, in our homes, in our families. Fill us with your Spirit that we might give thanks for everything. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. 5