Advent

You have probably seen this, but pretty cool when Handel goes commercial.

Advent-Prophecy

The Prophecy Candle is the first candle which we light today. It reminds us of the Old Testament prophets who foretold h comes our Scripture reading for today.

The prophecy candle is the first candle during week one of Advent.  It reminds us of the Old Testament prophets predicting our hope in the coming Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Advent

Advent means “coming”, and it refers to the time immediately preceding Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas.  Advent is observed by many Christians as a season of celebration, reflection, anticipation.  For most Christians, advent is a time to worship and center on the Incarnation of Jesus and His purpose in coming to earth.  Why not ponder His purpose in coming to earth today such as all the things He gave up so that you could get in?

Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Thanksgiving

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the eleventh of November [New Style, November 21], in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

Thanksgiving

That is a sign posted over the threshold of my daughter’s bedroom.  Not without coincidence, that the sign is facing my bedroom.  In fact, I can see it from where I lay in bed.  Suspicious?  You will have to ask my wife’s intent.  But there it is every morning before I even have the chance to walk out the door with the cruel world, before I have the chance to go downstairs to start my daily routine, before I even have the chance to moan out of bed; there it is to greet me-QUITYERBELLYACHIN.  We stare at each other like the eyes of a final showdown in a Clint Eastwood western.  Which one of us will flinch first?  Then I am reminded of Paul’s exhortations to “rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”
The holiday season is gradually coming upon us, and with that time of the year we officially celebrate Thanksgiving.  As I was musing over this occasion (probably while in bed staring at that stupid sign), I thought how much easier it is to complain than it is to be grateful.  Thomas Edison said, “Grouches are nearly always pinheads, small men who have never made any effort to improve their mental capacity.”  Someone once remarked that nothing is easier than faultfinding; it takes no talent, no self-denial, no brains, and no character.  Complaints are for those who take the cheap and lazy way out.  Consider the follow findings from Scripture and allow these citations to cause you to be proactive in thanksgiving.
You should stop complaining because you love God (Exodus 16:7-8; Numbers 11:1).

We should recognize that complaints about the work of God are directly connected to God Himself.  In the passages mentioned above, God takes Israel’s ‘bellyaching” personally.
You should stop complaining because you love your soul (Numbers 11:26ff; 1 Corinthians 10:6-10; Philippians 2:14-15; Jude 16).

These citations indicate that God equates complaining with the wicked.  Jeremy Taylor once said, “It is usually not so much the greatness of our troubles as the littleness of our spirit that makes us complain.”  If you are a constant complainer, you may need to look deep within your heart and ask yourself if you have the Christ Who makes us thankful.
 You should stop complaining because you love others (Leviticus 19:18; Acts 6:1).
In Leviticus 19:18 there is a correlation between holding a grudge against someone else, and not loving him or her.  In other words, you cannot do both at the same time.  Complainers are kamikazes.  They are destructive.  They tear down.  They usually care only for their own selfishness.
You should stop complaining because things could always be worse (Lamentations 3:39).

Jeremiah, the writer of Lamentations, remarks to his audience, how can a mortal man grumble when he still lives in spite of sin?  God could have placed eternal punishment on us the moment we arrived on earth because we are sinners, yet He gives us life.  The next time any one of us are tempted to open are mouths and murmur perhaps we should remind ourselves that living in God’s grace is better than abiding in hell no matter how bad things get.
 You should stop complaining because you do not want to be judged (James 5:9).
Let us remember we are merely rehearsing here what we will review again in the heavenly tribunal.  
You should stop complaining because you like having people around you (1 Peter 4:9).
Few people like being around a grouch.  The Word of God even commends avoiding people who are “sour pusses” (Proverbs 21:19).
You should stop complaining because God does not always give you what you ask for (Exodus 16:2-3).

Complainers tend to act on emotions rather than on rationality.  Numbers 14:1-4 is a good example of grumblers who get carried away and plan to do something foolish.  They often “bite the hand that feeds them”.  Praise God that He delivers deluded minds anyway!



You should stop complaining because God may give you what you ask for.
The lesson with Israel’s ungodly desire for a king is a good reminder to keep quiet and be content in what God gives us than to voice discontentment and regret it the rest of our lives.



As we celebrate this Thanksgiving season, let us be thankful!  Think of ways you can express your gratefulness to God and others.  “Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” (Philippians 2:14-15)  I am thankful for even the little things that God teaches me valuable lessons.  Like a wooden sign hanging over the doorway to my daughter’s room, that greets me every morning and never flinches in its truth.

Nuts and Bolts

Yet another great article from my President Al Mohler.