What am I thankful for?

I believe on a day like today we all need to look at what we have and what we have been blessed with and thank God that He has more generous to us than we deserve.

First, I am thankful that I was chosen by our Lord and Savior to be a part of his eternal plan. I am thankful for my salvation and His forgiving me of my sins.

Second I am thankful for my family. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and mother to my children. God has blessed me with three wonderful kids, who for the most part, are good kids......no I'm wrong they are great kids. I am thankful for my parents and all they provided me with as I grew up. I am thankful for my in-laws (and I really am). The Lord has surrounded me with a wonderful family.

Third, I am thankful for my home church, Placerita Baptist. In a day where the Word is not taught from many pulpits, in a day when the Truth is absent from many churches, ours preaches the Word of God without reservation and with full conviction. Besides that's where my ministry is at.

Fourthly, I am thankful for the country in which God has me in. Amidst many Christians believing it's the end of the world, because Barack Obama is out President-elect. In a country that tends to dwell on all the horrible things within our country and in a country that is truly free and blessed, we should be extremely thankful for this.

Lastly, I am thankful for the meal that I am about to eat and the roof over my head. Over the past few years and my trips to Tijuana, Mexico I have grown to appreciate the things that I used to take for granted. There are so many people across this big ball called Earth that have so much less than us.

Please join me this Thanksgiving and for that matter, everyday God graces us with breath, and thinking about all that we have to be thankful for.

Where is your heart?

To some of my friends who happen to be of the smart aleck persuasion would say in my body, but that is not the question I am asking. In the ancient middle east the heart was believed the seat of all emotion, in our current culture we would believe this to be our mind. So when I ask the question where is your heart I am really asking what stirs emotion within you? What makes your motor hum? or even what brings you ultimate joy?

I think if we wanted to be honest with ourselves we would say, our kids, maybe a computer game or even an X-Box/Wii game, cars, or even money.Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

When Moses was writing this he was just coming off the Ten Commandments in Chapter 5 and was writing that God demanded all of Israel's heart. He wanted them to have His Word on their hearts. It was Gods desire to be the one thing that made Israel's motor hum. Now this command is not just to Israel then, this command is to us now. So my question is to you, where is your heart?

When I was in high school I ran. In order to be the best runner I could be I had to dedicate my whole heart to running. That meant when I ate, when I was out at night or even how late I stayed out, it was with running in mind. God here is commanding Israel and us to dedicate our heart to Him in the same manner. So, when you are out in town, or when you are alone at home, is your heart given over to the Lord. Verses 7-9 give us the checklist to see if our heart really is on god and His Word.

Look at verse 7a, "teach them diligently to your children". If you are a parent are you teaching your children through words and actions about the greatness of our God? Are you teaching them about the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? If our heart is truly given over to the Lord then we will take every opportunity and every chance to use Scripture to teach our children about God.Verse 7b says, "when you sit in your house". Your family life should exude your love for God, so much that when you are sitting at home with your family all you can do is talk about Him and what He is doing in your life and what He is doing for the family. You will be talking about the attributes of God and thanking Him for being a great God.

Next, if you had a wholehearted love for God it would be displayed in our public life.Look at verse 7c, "when you walk in the way".The idea here to the Jewish reader would have been as he is walking through town or as he is on his way to do business. For believers today this would be in our work places and as we run errands around town. When I preached on this passage a couple of weeks ago I asked the men who I was preaching to, "what would the lady at the bank, market,restaurant you frequent say if I told them you were a Christian?" "Would they be surprised due to some things you do while you are around them?" You see Christian our life is a testimony to those around us. Either it is a testimony unto darkness or a testimony unto light. Which is yours?

Next, if you truly love God with all your heart, how is it reflected in your private life? Look at the last part of verse 7, "when you lie down and when you rise".When you are at home all by yourself what rules your heart.To me this is the overarching and foundational question. How you answer this question, to me, determines how you would treat the two above. When you are all alone with he computer on, what Internet sites are you visiting? When you are all alone in front of the television, what shows are you watching? You see believer, you may fool your friends, you may fool your family, but you cannot fool a Holy and all knowing God. He is there with you when you are all alone.

Lastly, if we have a love for God the encompasses our heart in total we will treat the Word of God appropriately. Look at verses 8-9, "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." The idea here for the Jew was that of binding the Word of God to their bodies. In ancient Hebrew times they had what were called phylacteries or Tephilim. These were leather boxes with straps that the Jews would bind on their wrists and head. Inside of these boxes were mini scrolls with scripture written on them. They took this verse literally.I believe the God was speaking a little more metephorical, and I belive taht for the believer today this would mean taht we are to be using Scripture actively in our lives. We should be memorizing it. We should be utilizing it to combat temptation and sin in our lives.When I asked above about what you are doing when you are alone, this is a great time to draw on Gods truths. Put a verse up next to the computer and put a verse up next to the television. Gaurd your heart and mind from evil.

This piece of scripture has been instrumental to my heart as of late, because with all the distarctions of school, work and ministry I hadn't done a self diagnosis. I hadn't taken my heart and put it before the divine cardiologist in a while. How about you, when was the last time you put your heart on the table before God? When was the last timeyou checked your life to see if it measured up to God's standards? So as we get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, check yourself, where is your heart? On the things of this world or on God.