LAST LESSONS #116 – LAST THINGS – PART 5 – GRATITUDE

 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Since next week is Thanksgiving, I won’t be writing a blog. But I can’t miss writing on gratitude. So here goes—

Being grateful in all circumstances is not easy. When we are sick or hurting, when we lose a loved one or even a pet, when we see crime and murder of unborn babies, when money is short and food too expensive, when we can’t send our children to good schools and our churches don’t teach them well, when we see friends and relatives turn away from God it’s hard to be thankful.

I am not a scholar, but I am an English teacher, so I notice 1 Thessalonians 5:18 does not say that we are to give thanks “for” all circumstances. It says we are to give thanks “in” all circumstances. Prepositions are important. One little preposition can totally change the meaning of a sentence. We certainly are not thankful for all the evil in the world, but we can give thanks in evil because we know that no matter how bad things look, God is not surprised. He controls all things, even the bad things, and it is he who allows them to happen. So, let’s see how we can still give thanks even in the bad things.

• When we are sick or hurting, we can give thanks for doctors and medicine.
• When we lose a loved one or a pet, we can give thanks that God comforts us.
• When there is crime or abortions, we can give thanks for our police and pro-life pregnancy centers.
• When money is short and food is expensive, we can give thanks that we have a welfare system and food stamps if necessary.
• When we can’t send our children to private schools and our church does not teach them well, we can give thanks for school choice and the possibility of moving to another church.
• When we see our friends and relatives turn away from God, we can give thanks that we can pray for them and ask God to give us opportunities to tell them of God’s love.

Becoming a grateful person will do wonders in your life. The author of a delightful book on gratitude gave me her book and it helped me tremendously. I’m talking about Mary Mohler’s book Growing in Gratitude: Rediscovering the Joy of a Thankful Heart.

We all give thanks at the Thanksgiving table. Each person comes up with at least one thing he or she is thankful for. Right? It’s so good to hear each person tell something for which they are thankful, even the special ones like “We get TWO days off from school.” or “I can eat all the pie and ice cream I want!” or “I’m thankful for my mommy.”

But I remember when our kids were young, each night at the supper table instead of asking them what they learned at school, we would ask them, “What is the best thing that happened to you today?” It’s amazing what we learned! I still use that question sometimes when my “elderly” friends spend too much time complaining about the food we are served.

Giving thanks in all circumstances is God’s will for us “in Christ Jesus.” Only Christians can give thanks in all circumstances because we Christians know another verse that reminds us that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.

Yes, even sick or hurting, losing a loved one, seeing the crime rate and abortions go up, not enough money, no good schools for our kids, and no good churches nearby, seeing friends and relatives turn away from God. In all these things Christians can give thanks because we have God—and he has us in the palm of his hand.

LAST LESSONS #115 – LAST THINGS – PART 4 – LEARN

 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

How do we learn as adults? An old proverb says:

    Tell me, I forget,

    Show me, I remember,

    Involve me, I understand.

More recent studies show that people remember: 10% of what they hear—20% of what they read—80% of what they see. And this is because the human brain processes visual cues better rather than the written language. The studies do not include learning from being involved.

As I age, I still want to learn things: things about other people, things that are going on in the world, things that enrich life. That is why I listen to others talk and read biographies (a good one is BIBI My Story by Benjamin Netanyahu), that is why I watch the news and listen to Al Mohler’s “The Briefing”, that is why I read good novels, listen to music, and watch my daughter paint!

But most important, I want to learn more of Jesus. I want to learn from him, as our verse says, but I also want to learn about him. I want to know him!

There are numerous ways we learn of him, but I will mention only four: listen, read, see, and experience.

1. Listen: It’s important to go to church and listen to good sermons, enroll in a Bible course where you listen to lectures, go to the Ligonier Conference every year where you will hear from the best Bible speakers of our day. There are other ways to listen, but make sure you listen to those who have their doctrine straight!

2. Read: Reading is better than listening because you will remember more. Of most importance is to read the Bible—every day! Along with my personal reading of the Bible I read a chapter in a good commentary every day. For your information, I have suggested a commentary to read with every book of the Bible. You can find this on Rafiki’s website on the page describing the Rafiki Bible Study. I also like to read biographies of Christian leaders and the history of Christianity. One short but great little book I suggest is CHURCH HISTORY 101: THE HIGHLIGHTS OF TWENTY CENTURIES by Sinclair Ferguson.

3. See: See Christ in nature, and in other people. This takes practice. We practice thinking about Christ as Creator of nature when we look at the clouds and the stars, the flowers and the birds, the grasshoppers, and the elephants. We see Christ in those he has created in his own image. Not only in babies do we see Christ, but haven’t you seen a person who “shows you Jesus” by the way he or she lives? 

It takes more practice seeing Christ in the less than lovely. Even though it is hard for me to do, I try to see a person Christ died for when someone treats me unkindly or does things that I don’t like. That takes practice and prayer and I’ll admit I have a long way to go!

But to see Christ there is nothing to compare with traveling to Israel. Go there and you can see where Jesus lived, and taught, and died. Seeing those places has never left my memory. If possible, make the trip. It will make a lasting impression on you. Jesus was there.

4. Experience: To experience learning more of Jesus I suggest being involved in the things he was involved in and doing it for his sake.

• Jesus taught so maybe you could teach a Sunday School class or a Rafiki Bible Study or even become a pastor or seminary professor—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus fed people so maybe you could help at a soup kitchen, or fix meals for the sick or elderly—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus healed so maybe you could become a doctor, a nurse, a paramedic, or nurse’s aide—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus comforted so maybe you could become a counselor, or make hospital visits, or visit the elderly in nursing homes—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus proclaimed the gospel so maybe you could become a missionary to Africa, or to your friends and neighbors—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus prayed so maybe you could set a regular time to pray specifically for the needs of others—for Jesus’ sake.

Learn to know Jesus by hearing, reading, seeing, and experiencing him. Nothing is more enjoyable or restful for your soul.

LAST LESSONS #114 – LAST THINGS – PART 3 – COACH

 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14

In the same way that a football coach trains a quarterback to throw the ball to the wide receiver by constant practice, so those who coach less mature Christians teach them how to distinguish good from evil or right from wrong. Knowing good from evil or right from wrong keeps people from making life-long mistakes. But this kind of discernment takes practice. It takes training and that’s where coaching comes in.

I’ve watched my great-grandsons (one a quarterback and the other a wide receiver in high school) practice throwing and catching by the hour. But it’s when their coach shows them how to improve their performance (because he has practiced for years and learned the right and wrong ways to throw and catch balls), that they excel.

Every one of us who has lived past sixty should be coaching at least a few younger people in the areas of work where we have succeeded through much practice. Maybe in sports, maybe in business, maybe in art or music, maybe in ministry, or maybe in being a good mom or dad.

I am grateful for the coaching that Wetherell Johnson (the founder of BSF) gave me for many years. I would never made it in the ministry of BSF without the teaching and example of Wetherell Johnson.

The Lutheran Church in Tanzania also set an example for me of preparing the next generation. Bishops in the Lutheran Church in Tanzania elect an Assistant Bishop who may be in that position for as much as twenty years before becoming the Bishop! It takes time and a lot of practice for a person to learn how to do something well, and a good coach is his most helpful asset.

A good coach is essential for the next generation of Christian leaders, whether they are to lead in the home, in the church, in the school, in the workplace, in the arts, in sports, or in politics. Every Christian needs a good coach—and every mature Christian needs to be a coach to those following him or her. How do we who are older coach the young? 

1. By example: We must give them a picture of what success looks like.
2. By advice or counsel: We must talk to them and tell them what we have learned.
3. By listening to them: We must ask them where their trouble-spots are and listen to what they tell us.
4. By wanting their success more than our own: We must want them to surpass us in whatever field we are coaching them.

The best coach who ever lived was Jesus. He coached his disciples for three years (the Gospels) and then he left them to build his church (Acts) until he returns (Revelation).

We live in the days of building the church. Our job is to learn from our Coach Jesus as we study the Scriptures. We also look for a godly human coach to help us in our practice sessions. Then as we mature, we coach those who will follow us in our particular calling.

Have you thanked God for the people who have coached you throughout your life?

How can you be a better coach to those who will follow you in a particular work to build the church of Jesus Christ?