Don't Recycle Thanksgiving
Gerry Thomas, a salesman for C.A. Swanson and Sons, is credited with inventing the TV dinner in 1953. The idea came about after Swanson had leftover turkeys from Thanksgiving and needed to find a way to keep them from going bad. So he packaged the leftovers into tiny aluminum trays and latched his wagon to the rise of the obsession with in home entertainment and, Voilà, the TV dinner was born.
A genius idea if you're into recycled "thanksgiving."
Recycled "thanksgiving" might be just fine when it's packaged in a disposable, alumininum tray, basking in the glow of the boob tube, but it's definitely not what's on the menu when it comes to a heart of praise.
Scripture exhorts us to "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV). To adequately rise to the demands of this commandment, we must be very actively, very currently, very continuously engaged in the practice of praise and gratitude.
The King desrves the full and fresh feast of our thanksgiving, not the remnants and leftovers of a heart consumed with earthly cares and distractions.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" (Psalm 100:4, ESV).
Remembering Madden
If you are a football fan and you see “Madden,” you are most likely to think video games. An annual, updated version of Madden NFL has been released since 1994, and before that it was called “John Madden Football” (from 1988 to 1994). Many of the earlier game players, those up to 2009, would have heard John Madden’s voice providing commentary for football games on TV and radio. However, if you are old enough, you know that the man for whom the ever-popular video game is named was a successful head football coach for the Oakland Raiders from 1969-1978. After that, he was an NFL broadcaster for 30 years for CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. Before that, as diehard Madden people can tell you, he was head coach of Hancock Junior College for two years (1962-1963).
What’s the point? Over time, John Madden went from football coach to broadcaster to namesake of one of the most popular video games of all time. The name “Madden” means one thing to a kid with a Playstation or Xbox and another to his Raiders-loving grandpa.
How many people, ideas, and words appeal to us differently, depending on our age, outlook, or experience?
Of all these, take the name “Jesus.”
To the child, He is the theme of Bible story books, the answer to every Bible class question, the subject of “Pew Packer” songs. To the skeptic or the searcher, He is an enigmatic religious figure who may be seen only as a teacher or a good man. To the nominal Christian, He is a shadowy, mysterious figure, a virtual stranger.
But to one who has walked with Him and continues in an ever-deepening relationship, He is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named…” (Eph. 1:21). He is the highly exalted one, bestowed with “the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). “He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). He is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). He is unchanging, and therefore, “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8).
The longer and better I know Him, my connection to Him grows more intimate.
How well do you know Jesus? I don’t know how far back you go with Him, but each day should mean knowing Him better and seeing Him in a different light. God wants Him to be, “Christ in you, the hope of glory…” so that He can “present every man complete in Christ” (Col. 1:27, 28).
Follow Jesus' Trail
Hansel and Gretel are the young children of a poor woodcutter. When a famine settles over the land, the woodcutter's second wife tells him to take the children into the woods and leave them there to fend for themselves. The woodcutter opposes the plan, but his wife repeats her demands until he reluctantly agrees. They are unaware that in the children's bedroom, Hansel and Gretel have overheard them. After the parents have gone to bed, Hansel sneaks out of the house and gathers as many shiny white pebbles as he can, then returns to his room, reassuring Gretel that God will not forsake them.
The next day, the children's stepmother gives them small pieces of bread before she and their father take them into the woods. As the family walks deeper, Hansel leaves a trail of white pebbles. After their parents abandon them, the children stay in the woods until night falls and the moonlight reveals the white pebbles shining in the dark. The children then safely follow the trail back home, much to their stepmother's rage. Once again, provisions become scarce and the stepmother angrily orders her husband to take the children further into the woods and leave them there. Hansel attempts to gather more pebbles, but finds his stepmother has locked the door.
The following morning, the children's stepmother gives them smaller pieces of bread, before she and their father take them back into the woods. As the family treks, Hansel leaves a trail of bread crumbs for him and Gretel to follow back home. However, after they are once again abandoned, the children find that the birds have eaten the crumbs and they are lost in the woods.
Despite the Devil and his demons' attempts, the "breadcrumbs" Jesus left behind are still there to lead us safely back to Him. If we follow the trail of His Word and His example, we can embrace the hopeful expectation He alone provides.
To know the way is to know Jesus Himself.
"'You know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” (John 14:4-6, NIV).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).