In perhaps what has been the worst (or at the very least, most bizarre) year of my lifetime, 2020 has not been “fun” to be sure. But this year – short of Rapture or the Lord calling me Home -- I will get to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. And I get to minister (serve) you guys. So yes, I am indeed thankful, and immensely thankful for what Christ did for me (and all who place their trust in Him) on the cross.
That said, have you ever taken the time to research all that transpired leading up to the first Thanksgiving celebration? The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, after a year of incredible hardship and loss. The journey in 1620 (400 years ago this year) to Plymouth on the Mayflower took sixty-five days with no hot food, horrendous sanitation and generally miserable (cold, wet, rats, etc.) conditions. Two of the 110 on board died whilst en route (and many more arrived extremely ill). Then nearly half of those who survived the journey died during their first winter in the "New World.” Yet in spite of their losses, those who survived stopped to give thanks to God the following year.
242 years later, in the midst of another horrific year, a famous American wrote this:
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It has seemed to me fit and proper that God 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 as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."
The author? President Abraham Lincoln made this proclamation on October 3, 1863 -- in the midst of a Civil War that ultimately cost nearly three quarters of a million lives (including Lincoln's in 1865) and left hundreds of thousands more with horrendous wounds. Moreover, Lincoln was still reeling from the death of his young son the year before.
Moving into the next century, it was not until December 26, 1941, with our country freshly embroiled in WWIl and our boys dying by the thousands in the Pacific, that President Roosevelt signed a Congressional resolution (a bill) making made Thanksgiving an official U.S. holiday (and one in which our Lord was front and center).
Now fast forward to Thanksgiving 2020. Here we are in the midst of a pandemic, an incoming Administration hostile to law enforcement and all that has transpired through the rioting and hate being spewed at us. Accordingly, how should we as police officers, deployed military and folks in general view Thanksgiving? And what does God have to say to us about this iconic holiday?
A.J. Gossip, a noted theologian and fellow Scot who died five years before I was born, rightly said, "Thanksgiving is the language of heaven." How so? Here are just three points to help us understand God’s intent for us on Thanksgiving:
(1) Thanksgiving is a characteristic of a true Christian.
Thankfulness should be a characteristic of every true believer. Ephesians 5:20 (added emphasis mine) tells us that we should "always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Thankfulness for us as born again believers ought to be genuine and come from the heart. This is in contrast to unbelievers who "neither glorify Him nor give thanks to Him" (Romans 1:21).
(2) We are to give thanks in ALL circumstances.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, God, through Paul, instructs us to "give thanks in all circumstances, because this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (added emphasis)
Being thankful for good times is easy enough, but Paul – with his own imprisonment and execution looming before him – exhorts us to be thankful in ALL circumstances (to "...rejoice in our sufferings" – Romans 5:3-5).
Why? Because Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble but that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Through Paul, God goes on to remind us that "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit." (Romans 5:3-5)
Paul goes on to encourage us to be thankful because God makes sure that all things work "for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). It's not that all things that happen are good, but rather that God can cause good to come out of every situation.
We praise and thank God because trials and hardships do not limit His ability to work in our lives. In fact, when we go through hard times it gives God a chance to do a special work in us because, "the Lord is near to those with a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18), and His strength "is made perfect in our weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Indeed, when we are weak, He is strong (v. 10-11).
So how can we be thankful when everything is falling apart around us? In the midst of a pandemic and all the restrictions and hardships that have been imposed upon us? Through all the lawlessness, riots and attacks on law enforcement? Friends, it is ONLY by the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells everyone who has entered into a life-saving/life-changing personal relationship with God in Christ (the definition of a born again believer -- a genuine Christian as God defines it) and not by our own strength.
(3) Cops and Thanksgiving.
Although we're not worthy to stand before God, He not only allows us to be in His presence, He invites us! Jesus promised that if anyone comes to Him in repentance and faith, He will not turn them away (John 6:37). As Christian officers, we are to have that same attitude! God has given those of us in law enforcement the special privilege of protecting and serving others in the midst of their trials (to be a light in the darkness). What an honor God has given us (if you don't believe that, may I respectfully suggest that you're in the wrong profession)!
Christ Himself set the "Thanksgiving" example for us in the celebration of Communion at the Last Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-24, Paul reminds us that The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Thanks for what? Remembrance for what? Folks, Jesus -- the greatest "cop" in all history -- was only a few hours away from obediently allowing Himself to be broken (tortured and crucified) for us (you and me) when he "gave thanks" at the Last Supper with his “trainees” (someone who disciples others is a kind of “FTO” -- a Field Training Officer). Friends, God is calling us to do the same and He will give us the power to do so if we will but surrender in faith and place our whole trust in Him. Is that you? If not, I can't encourage you enough to scroll down to the "Know God?" section below and say "yes" to Him today.
As we give God thanks through our celebration of Thanksgiving this year, lets serve with a thankful, Christ-focused mindset, both for the "good" and for the "tough" circumstances in our lives and those of others.
Blessings!
MC
______________
KNOW GOD?
(1) Do you continue to hold to an utterly false hope that you can "earn" or otherwise "badge" your way into heaven and escape hell because you consider yourself to be a "good" cop or a "good person" (the "I'm good" mess)? That you can be "good" enough without knowing Christ as Lord and Savior? That mere "belief" is enough to "save" you (as our Lord, through James, tells us, "...even the demons believe, and tremble" -- James 2:19)? That you somehow "deserve" heaven because of your so-called "good" service in law enforcement? Take the Good Person Test and see how you do!
(2) Jesus' first recorded words in His earthly adult ministry included, "Repent and believe in the Good News..." (Mark 1:15). To repent is a "180" -- a complete, radical change of mind and heart as it relates to our sin (as God defines it). To "believe" (pisteuo in the original Greek -- a different word than James used in James 2:19) as Jesus intends it here is to wholeheartedly trust and surrender your life to Him in faith in the same way we have "faith" that our body armor will do its job against the rounds it is intended to stop; that a well-maintained weapon will function properly when used in against criminals intent on destroying us or others; or that our parachute will open when it is supposed to on a combat jump (we stake our very lives on it)! For more, see What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
(3) This same concept of "believe" (the saving kind) is further revealed in John 3:1-21 where Jesus says, "... you must be born again." Again, note our Lord's emphasis on the word "must" (not "may" or "should" or even "someday"): this is ultimately the life-saving AND life-changing personal relationship (and NOT "religion") with Jesus Christ that I stress here every week (see What does it mean to be a born again Christian?). HINT: there is no other kind.
(5) Need more? Then check out this powerful, short video message from Maj. Travis Yates: Cops and Salvation
(6) Have you now said "yes" to Jesus as Lord and Savior but are wondering what to do next? The "now what" is also vital in dealing with the issues that contribute to police suicide, PTSi and more. Click on, Now what?
MC
