Thanksgiving acrostic

“That my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever" (Psalm 30:12)

“He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:5)

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17)

“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course jesting, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving" (Ephesians 5:4)

 Kevin Bauer was dead in transgressions and sins, but because of God’s great love, made him alive in Christ; for "it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5)

“Saying, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever" (Revelation 7:12)  

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1)

 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart, I will tell of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1)

 Victory over death itself through Jesus: “Where O death, is your victory?  Where O death, is your sting?  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57)

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30)

“Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:13)

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

It was more difficult to create an acrostic with the word “thanksgiving” than I first thought it would be!  But I still enjoyed composing it.  

 

Did you notice what I did for the difficult letters of K and V?  For the letter K, I put my name, and cited Ephesians 2:1, 4-5.  Of course, I did this because that passage reads, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions and sins – it is by grace you have been saved.”  I’m so thankful to God for the incredible gift of salvation from the penalty of sin, through Jesus Christ.  I'm so thankful for friendship and fellowship with the Lord.  Nothing trumps this gift.

As for the letter V, I stated the theme of 1 Corinthians 15:55 and 57 first.  This is a passage that speaks of how the power and sting of death has been defeated.  If Jesus didn’t literally and bodily arise from the dead, Christianity is just a bad joke.  But “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20).  Jesus is risen; He is risen, indeed!  Therefore, death itself has been defeated.  What does that mean?  For the Christian, death is nothing more than transporting to the presence of Jesus in Heaven.  I am thankful for this assurance.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kevin

The historical context of Thanksgiving

I've never done this before, but essentially this entire blog post is a lengthy quotation from a got questions.org article on why Americans celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place.  Let me make this clear: there is no copyright infringement here.  This material clearly does not originate from me; and, as got questions copyright policy stipulates, I am copying it exactly as it appears on their website, and I have given clear credit to them as the source.  Furthermore, I’ll have the link below, as I won’t be citing the whole thing here.  So now that all that is out of the way, here comes the fascinating content.  The author of the article writes:

 

“The original thanksgiving celebration was held by the Pilgrim settlers in Massachusetts during their second winter in America in December, 1621.  The first winter had killed 44 of the original 102 colonists.  At one point their daily food ration was down to five kernels of corn apiece, but then an unexpected trading vessel arrived, swapping them beaver pelts for corn, providing for their severe need.  The next summer’s crop brought hope, and Governor William Bradford decreed that December 13, 1621, be set aside as a day of feasting and prayer to show the gratitude of the colonists that they were still alive.

These Pilgrims, seeking religious freedom and opportunity in America, gave thanks to God for His provision for them in helping them find 20 acres of cleared land, for the fact that there were no hostile Indians in that area, for their newfound religious freedom, and for God’s provision of an interpreter to the Indians in Squanto.  Along with the feasting and games involving the colonists and more than 80 friendly Indians (who added to the feast by bringing wild turkeys and venison), prayers, sermons, and songs of praise were important in the celebration.  Three days were spent in feasting and prayer.

From that time forward, Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a day to give thanks to God for His gracious and sufficient provision. President Abraham Lincoln officially set aside the last Thursday of November, in 1863, “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.”  In 1941, Congress ruled that after 1941, the fourth Thursday of November be observed as Thanksgiving Day and a legal holiday.”

Read more at http://www.gotquestions.org/thanksgiving-Christian.html

My heartfelt sentiment

In the spirit of this Thanksgiving season, today I wanted to express how grateful I am for you, my beloved readers.  Whether you are a faithful reader, a casual reader, or you just recently found this blog, I just wanted to say thank you for reading what I have to write.  If you have ever read my words, you are a part of my list of reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving season.  I’m honored that, in a very real sense, you would invite me into your home.

I’ve had conversations with people who say that they have perused my blog, and some have told me that they regularly check in to see any new material I’ve written.  I’m touched and grateful for this.  While I know that technically a blog is just an online journal, it’s nice to know that others take the time to read what I’ve composed.  Once again, I can only respond with a sincere and heartfelt thank you.

Let me conclude with my prayer for you that the Apostle Paul prayed for his readers in Ephesians 3: “I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you…may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know that this love surpasses knowledge.”

God bless you all, 

Kevin

The simplicity of the gospel

I recently heard someone on the radio say that they have been a Christian for their whole life.  I’m sorry to be contentious, but this actually isn’t possible.  I know it may seem like I’m being rather nitpicky, but this is actually very important.  Let me illustrate.

Periodically I’ll notice a little baby or toddler wearing football attire, declaring allegiance to a certain team.  It’s adorable, but in reality, that baby is not really a fan of that team; the person who dressed that infant is.  Sometime that child has to make up his or her own mind about whether they want to root for that team.  It’s the same with Christianity.  At some point, you have to decide that you want to have a right relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.  The Bible says, “Yet to all who received Him, those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

I’ve talked about this before, but here’s how it happened for me: I went to a Billy Graham crusade in 1987.  The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple that even a child can understand it and that’s what happened to me.  Graham spoke about how the Bible says that all have sinned; this sin is offensive, vile, and repugnant to God.  Because of this sin, I stood guilty before Him; worthy of condemnation.  It didn’t matter if I lived a good, virtuous, upright life because no one could ever perform enough acts of righteousness to appease God’s holy hatred against sin.

 

But God, out of His amazing love for humanity, sent Jesus to Earth to die on the cross to satisfy the righteous anger God has for sin.  Only Jesus, because He is both fully God and fully man, was qualified to pay the price of mankind’s sin.  Jesus presented the “sacrifice of atonement” as it says in Romans 3:25, for all sins.  Because of this, I could actually have an intimate friendship and fellowship with the Creator of the universe.  I was invited to put my faith and trust in Christ, and I did so.  Life hasn’t always been easy just because I became a Christian, but I’ve never been the same since that day.  This was, without a doubt, the best decision I’ve ever made.

Kevin

“In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” – Ephesians 1:7-8  

More thoughts on Psalm 23

A little while back, I talked about Psalm 23:1.  This verse says that God is my shepherd, and therefore, I will not want.  Or as I described, this means that God will provide for my daily needs.  There’s more I want to say about this classic Psalm today.  I’m not going to go through every verse in this Psalm, but I do want to underscore a few sections.

First of all, I don’t want to gloss over the phrase “The Lord is my shepherd”.  Remember who it is that’s writing this Psalm (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit).  David was a shepherd.  He knew what it was like to provide for, protect, lead, and guide his sheep.  When he thought about his relationship with God, he stated that it was God Himself who was his shepherd.  That’s the key phrase of the whole Psalm.

I like the word picture in verse 2: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.”  This reminds me of God’s protection.  My assumption is that if a sheep is going to lie down in the grass, he will only do so if he feels safe.  If he feels threatened or afraid, he will not be in such a state of tranquility.  The sheep instinctively know that the shepherd is providing protection from oncoming danger.  In the same way, God supplies protection in countless ways.  We aren’t even aware of all the ways that God protects us on a daily basis.

I think this same notion is reiterated when we get to verse 4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”  Why?  Because “you are with me”; furthermore, “your rod and staff they comfort me.”  Why would a rod and staff provide comfort?  If a predator tried to attack the sheep, the shepherd has offensive weapons to protect the flock from danger.  I have felt God’s protection in my own life on many different occasions.

Let me conclude with a wonderful phrase in verse 3: “He restores my soul”.  This is such a precious verse to me.  Candidly, there have been times in my life when I have chosen sin.  I’m not proud of it, but it’s true.

 

However, the fact of the matter is, God’s Spirit never lets me truly enjoy it.  He gently prompts me to return to Him.  So I repent.  I cry out for His forgiveness and cleansing.  I subsequently feel like I’ve taken a spiritual shower; I feel clean.  I feel a peace that passes all human understanding.  Or, to use David’s words, I feel restored.  The Lord, in those moments, restores my heart and soul to where it was: desiring to live for God and to please Him in my everyday choices.

Kevin

Discussing "The Dark Knight Rises" (part 2)

Previously, I began talking about the elements that I loved in the film “The Dark Knight Rises”.  But, as I mentioned last time, this movie also has facets that I don’t care for at all.  So for today, I’m going to highlight the elements that I didn’t like.

As I said before, major spoilers abound ahead (except for #1).  If you haven’t seen the movie, and you want to be surprised, you have been warned.

#1: Bane’s muffled voice

I want to emphasize this clearly: I liked the Bane character in this film.  Some didn’t, but I did.  But what I didn’t like was the fact that he was difficult to understand.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s an interesting cinematic idea to have him appear in this mask, but don’t have that mask muffle his voice.  If the viewer doesn’t have the subtitles on, you can’t catch everything he is saying.  Some have stated that you can get the gist of what he is saying, even if you can’t understand every word.  Fair point, but it shouldn’t have to be that way.  You should be able to understand everything.

#2: Miranda’s death scene

First of all, throughout most of the movie the audience doesn’t know that Miranda Tate is actually Talia, the daughter of Ra’s, the main villain from “Batman Begins”.  Once that revelation is given, we don’t really get to see her as Talia for very long until she dies, which is a real shame.  

Furthermore, her cause of death is unclear.  Talia is in a truck, and it topples from the street into a parking garage.  The fall isn’t very far at all (check this out on you tube, if you wish, there are good videos of this scene), yet oddly, she is near death.  She dies after gloating that she has completed her father’s work.  But again, why exactly does she die?  After all, Commissioner Gordon was in the same vehicle, and he is completely unharmed by the fall, despite the fact that he isn’t wearing a seat belt and (if I’m not mistaken) Talia is.  It’s not clearly explained.

#3: The final five minutes

Please don’t misunderstand me on this point: I don’t dislike the ending in the slightest; I very much liked it.  But I’m not crazy about how the filmmakers chose to conclude the film by bouncing from character to character.  There’s John Blake quitting the force and finding the Batcave, then Commissioner Gordon discovering the repaired Bat-signal, and Alfred discovering that Bruce faked his death, and ran away with Selina.  I was beginning to tear up at seeing Bruce very much alive, but the scene quickly cuts to someone else again.

 

Yes, I would concur with someone who argues that these shots are important conclusions for each of these characters, but I would contend that it’s too choppy.  I would have preferred that they linger on these developments a little while longer.

For example, I would have liked to have seen a final conversation with Bruce and Alfred.  Have Alfred walk up to Bruce and Selina at the cafe and say something like, “It appears reports of your demise were exaggerated.”  “Yes, Alfred.  It was better that way.”  “Your secret is quite safe with me,” Alfred might have replied.  “What’s next for you?”  “The next chapter of my life,” Bruce might have answered, “It’s Blake’s fight now.  I’ve retired.”  

Not only does this provide the audience closure for the Alfred/Bruce tension (something that was sorely lacking in the movie), it also shows that Bruce knew that Blake would discover the Batcave and subsequently choose to protect Gotham, something that is only hinted at in the film.

Kevin

Discussing "The Dark Knight Rises"

The movie “The Dark Knight Rises” was released back in 2012 and so perhaps my thoughts on it should have been submitted a while ago.  But, as of late, I’ve been contemplating the facets of this movie again.  This film is an interesting one.   It has aspects about it that I liked and aspects that I didn’t like.  So today, I’m going to talk about 3 things that I enjoyed, and then next time, I’ll mention 3 things that I thought could have been done better.

 

Please note that there will be major spoilers in my thoughts from start to finish (except for #1); keep this fact in mind if you haven’t seen this flick and you want to be surprised.

#1: Anne Hathaway’s performance/the Catwoman scenes

I can’t overstate how much I enjoyed Anne Hathaway’s performance as Selina/Catwoman.  She nailed the intricacies of the character perfectly.  Every scene that she in is captivating.  While Michelle Pfeiffer is still my favorite Catwoman, Anne does an absolutely incredible job.

#2: The Batman/Bane fight

Specifically, I’m referring to how Bane actually defeats in the middle of the film.  Bane lifts Batman over his head and drops him on his knee, breaking Batman’s back.  This sequence is straight out of the comic book entitled “Batman Knightfall” (only in the comic book Bane did this in the Batcave).  In the comic storyline, as Bruce recovered, another character became Batman and this new guy was the one who actually defeated Bane.  I never particularly liked that development. That’s why I love how in “The Dark Knight Rises” Bruce recovers, both physically and psychologically, and he is the one who stops Bane once and for all!

#3: Batman saving the city from the atom bomb

I loved the notion of having Batman save the city by flying the bomb away from the city limits and dropping it safely into the ocean.  This was the perfect conclusion; this was Batman being the savior of Gotham that he was born to be.  It was even more fitting to see that Batman faked his death, and was mentally ready to move on with his life as Bruce Wayne.  Some have wondered how Batman survived the whole ordeal.  After all, it was the middle of the ocean.  My response is Batman always has a contingency plan.  There was a completely feasible option that he employed, we may not fully understand what it was, but he definitely had a survival plan in mind.

To be continued!

Kevin

The fundamental character of Superman

The other day, I got into a conversation with someone about Superman.  This person stated that she didn’t particularly like Superman; he is her least favorite superhero.  I told her that I understood and I think I do.  Superman is the ultimate, clean cut, pristine good guy.  He is, as I’ve said in this blog before, the gold standard of superheroes.  Superman is ethical, moral, and altruistic.  Christopher Reeve’s Superman once told Lois Lane that he didn’t tell lies.  How much more virtuous can you get than that?

It is for this reason that some cannot relate to Superman (and perhaps why some classify him as their least favorite superhero).  But it doesn’t matter; if you try and make Superman less just, decent, and righteous, you deviate from the fundamental essence of the Superman character.  Superman really is a boy scout, as he has often been labeled, and that’s not a bad thing.  In such a dark, cynical, self-seeking world, we need a character like Superman.

Furthermore, some have submitted that Superman is a type, and picture of Jesus Christ; a fictional character who resembles Christ.  For instance, Stephen Skelton devoted an entire book to this subject in his work “the gospel according to the world’s greatest superhero”.  With that in mind, check out this apt summation of Superman that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar gave in a commentary from an episode of the TV show “Smallville”:

“He makes the right choice.  He makes the choice we wish we would make.  He’s a selfless hero.  We’d like to believe, in the right time, in the right situation, we would do the right thing.  Which is why, I think, Superman has been so endearing over the years.”  I wholeheartedly agree.  And this has obvious Christ-like overtones.  In Isaiah 7:15, it states that the Messiah will “reject the wrong and choose the right.”  Does this sound like Jesus to you?  Does it sound like Superman?  It sure does to me.

Kevin

What does the phrase "I shall not want" mean?

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (KJV).  Those are the familiar words of Psalm 23:1.  For years, I would read that phrase “I shall not want” and wonder what exactly it meant.  The Lord is my shepherd; therefore I have no dreams, plans, desires, or ambitions whatsoever?  How could that be what the verse was saying?  I didn’t understand it.

 

I’ve come to understand that this phrase has more to do with the fact that God will supply the basic provisions of life.  Got questions.org wrote an article on this that was helpful to me.  Here’s a quote from it, and I would encourage you to check out the link.  “Psalm 23:1-3 tells us that the shepherd meets the sheep’s every need: food, water, rest, safety, and direction.  When we as believers follow our Shepherd, we, too, know that we will have all that we need.  We will not lack the necessities of life, for He knows exactly what we need.”

http://www.gotquestions.org/Lord-is-my-Shepherd.html

Let me re-write that last sentence again: “We will not lack the necessities of life, for He knows exactly what we need.”  This jibes with the way other translations render Psalm 23:1.  For instance, the NCV translates it this way, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.”  The World English Bible offers, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing.”  The CEV says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I will never be in need.”

In Matthew 6, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field…will he not much more clothe you?”  I can trust my Heavenly Father, My Heavenly Shepherd.  He will provide for me.

Kevin

Contemplating the rapture

After writing what I did yesterday about “Left Behind” I felt compelled to talk in more detail about this concept known as the rapture.

 

First of all, some have criticized the "Left Behind" book series because it operates from what is called the “pre-tribulation” view.  That is, that Jesus will rapture His church prior to the seven year period known as the Tribulation.  But there are other views.  There’s the “mid-tribulation” view (the rapture is in the middle of the Tribulation), and there’s the “post-tribulation” view (the rapture is at the end of the Tribulation).

My reading of the Bible has landed me on the pre-tribulation view.  Let me attempt to explain why.  First of all, one of the main passages that teaches the rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4.  We read, “For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up [that is, snatched up quickly, or raptured] with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever” (verses 16-17).

With this context of 1 Thessalonians 4 in mind, it’s interesting to then read these words in chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 9).  Furthermore, in Revelation 3:10, Jesus says: “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”  These verses seem to indicate that God will take His church to Heaven so that she will not experience the years of the Tribulation.

Secondly, in Matthew 24 Jesus says, “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not have let his house be broken into.  So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”  There’s imminence in Jesus’ words.  As if He is saying that He could return at any day.  To me, this imagery doesn’t make as much sense if Christians were on Earth for the Tribulation, or for the rise of Antichrist.  These events would certainly get our attention; so if that were the case, why then would the Lord say that His coming would be as surprising a thief in the night?

Third, in Revelation 1-3, the church is referenced several times, but then we read these words in Revelation 4:1, “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in Heaven.  And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”  The time of the Tribulation is then described in detail, but interestingly, the church is not mentioned being on the Earth.

Let me conclude with a verse from 1 Thessalonians 4.  I already quoted verses 16-17 that mention the rapture of Christ, but notice verse 18; it reads, “Therefore encourage each other with these words.”  Encourage each other with the truth of the rapture of Christ.  Notice that that verse doesn’t say, “Therefore debate each other with these words to the point where divisions occur.”

Whatever the exact time frame may be, the rapture of Jesus Christ is supposed to be a comforting, reassuring thought, not a point of division.  Personally, this whole concept is very comforting for me to contemplate.  This plight on Earth will not last forever; Jesus will one day come and take the Christians to be with Him forever!  This fact is to be celebrated, not fought over to the point of losing friendship and fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ!

Kevin