Well, Thanksgiving is upon us once again, and I hope we’ll all take a few moments during this special day to stop and reflect upon the reason for its existence as a “holiday”…

Thanksgiving isn’t simply an excuse to stay home from work or school. It isn’t “just a holiday” on which we gather with family and friends to share memories and love and good cheer. And it’s so much more than an opportunity to turn on the TV set and watch a football game in the middle of a weekday!

Yes, Thanksgiving is a day for enjoying all of those activities and many, many more, but the most important reason, by far, for celebrating this wonderful day is to give thanks to our loving and merciful God for all of the many blessings that He has given us throughout the past year and our lifetimes. Let us always remember that all good things come from Him, and on this Thanksgiving Day let us earnestly thank Him for sending us showers of blessings – the most precious of all being the gift of eternal life.

According to the calendar, it’s still autumn, but according to the blustery winds and snow blowing around outside at this very moment it most surely is winter! Here in southwestern Virginia, the weather has been quite unusual so far this year. The ground saw very little snow last winter, and the spring, summer and fall up to this point have been warmer than usual and extremely dry. With the yearly rainfall amount at approximately half of normal, 2007 is on course to set a new record for the driest year ever!

The extreme heat we endured during the summer and early fall finally broke a month or so ago, treating us to a relatively short but sweet autumn. But that all came to an abrupt end a couple of days ago when a blast of wintry weather hit us like a cannon ball smashing through a plate-glass window. Just as the memories of last summer’s oppressive heat were beginning to fade, we find ourselves having to bundle up like we’re preparing for a trek across the frozen arctic tundra.

Of course one of America’s favorite pastimes has always been complaining about the weather, but it seems like there has been a lot more unpleasant weather to complain about in 2007 than in years past. With the arrival of 2008 just around the corner, hopefully it won’t be very long until we can get a fresh start weather-wise. In the meantime, let’s all just keep praying that the good Lord will send us a bunch of replenishing rain and snow to compliment his many wonderful blessings.

I’m sure you’re probably familiar with the timeless Christmas carol “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”. Well, I’m beginning to think that we should revise the title and make it “The 55 Days Of Christmas” instead! It seems like every year the Christmas shopping season starts a little earlier than it did the year before.

This year most of the stores in my area began placing Christmas items on the shelves the day after Halloween, a full 54 days before jolly old Saint Nick starts shimmying down chimneys and dining on countless helpings of milk and cookies. It’s almost like they have made the decision to completely ignore the Thanksgiving holiday and get a really, really early start on milking that greatest cash cow of all time: raving hordes of Christmas shoppers.

And to add insult to injury, it’s getting increasingly difficult to find gifts with a Christian theme, let alone gifts that actually celebrate the birth of the Christ Child – the world-changing event after which the holiday took its name. Slowly, but surely, over the years the spirit of Christmas has morphed from one of love and appreciation for our Saviour and a celebration of His miraculous birth to a virtual two-month, all-out, no-holds-barred shopping spree.

We have become too busy trying to be the first person to buy Junior the latest version of the hottest gadget (which will no doubt be released, ahem, just in time for Christmas!) to be bothered with the task of explaining to him why Christmas exists in the first place. What a sad, sad situation.

My hope for this Christmas season is that some of us will put down the credit cards for a few minutes and sit down with our youngsters and have a heart-to-heart talk about the true meaning of Christmas…

A little over 2,000 years ago, the baby Jesus was born of a virgin - sinless, and without blemish. He was sent here by His Heavenly Father to serve as the only perfect sacrifice; to willingly shed His blood on the cross at Calvary so that we sinners might be forgiven of our sins and spared the endless agony of an eternity spent in a literal burning hell.

On that clear, cold night so long ago, a miracle took place when the only perfect human being ever to walk upon the face of the earth was born in a smelly stable in a tiny desert town called Bethlehem. But this tiny babe wasn’t simply a perfectly innocent human child, He was also fully God – and some 33 years later He would complete His earthly mission of becoming the Saviour of the world.

The true purpose of Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, but we’re the ones who received the gift…the gift of eternal life. This year on the morning of December 25, I hope you’ll join me in saying “Happy birthday Jesus. And thanks so much for the wonderful gift!”

Luke 2:7  “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

“Don’t blink…
Just like that you’re six years old,
and you take a nap,
and you wake up and you’re twenty-five,
and your high school sweetheart
becomes your wife.

Don’t blink…
You just might miss
your babies growing like mine did.
Turning into moms and dads,
next thing you know your “better half”
of fifty years is there in bed,
and you’re praying God takes you instead.
Trust me friend, a hundred years
goes faster than you think…
Don’t blink…”

– From the song “Don’t Blink”
by Kenny Chesney

I heard this song the other day, and it got me to thinking about just how short our lifetimes actually are in the grand scheme of things. If we’re lucky we’ll make it to 70 years of age, perhaps even 80. A few of us will make it into our 90′s, and fewer still will live to see 100. That sure sounds like a long time, but if you think about it, it really isn’t that long at all.

It seems like only yesterday that I turned 8 years old, that glorious age when I was finally qualified to play Little League Baseball. I loved that game more than any other, and as I stood behind the backstop watching the older boys swing the bat, field grounders and catch pop flies, I longed for the day when I could finally put on a crisp, white uniform of my own and join them out there on that field of dreams in tiny Damascus, Virginia.

Then, before I knew it, I was too old for Little League so I moved up to the next level, still loving the game just as much as I had 4 years earlier. Then I woke up one morning and found myself at Holston High School. Sports were still important to me - and I played several of them - but by that time I had set my sights on my future. It seemed like my high school years would never end. But end they did, and all too quickly.

The years since high school and college seemed to fly by, and now I find myself facing the second half of my life, wondering just what happened to the first half. When I was growing up the years seemed to last forever, but nowadays they seem to be going by at light speed!

My granddaughter Olivia is 12 years old and counting, and like I did at that age she simply can’t wait to turn 13 and become a teenager. In fact, she’s already looking forward to getting her drivers license and making her own way in the world. She’s in such a hurry to grow up, but someday in the not so distant future she’ll wake up like I did and wonder just where all those years have gone.

At most, God only grants us humans a century or so of life on planet earth, a time that seems so long when we’re youngsters, but is actually so short when compared to eternity. You see, when our time here is up, our “lives” will really be just beginning…

Each and every one of us will spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell, and which destination we ultimately arrive at will depend on whether or not we accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation. And while 100 years is a lofty goal, it is by no means guaranteed so it’s important for everyone to accept the Lord’s precious gift of life right away. There is no time to waste because none of us know the day or hour in which our earthly lives will come to an end.

It might be tonight for all we know, or it might be when we’re 100. But that day will surely come, so it is imperative that we be prepared to meet our maker, literally, on a moment’s notice. Do it now… Don’t blink!

Acts 16:31 – “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Romans 10:9 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

Imagine for a  just a moment that you’re Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania. After bravely joining the Marine Corps to help defend our nation in the war on terror, your son returns home in a casket draped with the American flag, yet another fine young man who literally gave his all to defend our nation against those who strive to destroy us. As you prepare yourself for the funeral, your emotions no doubt run the gamut from a feeling of immense loss to immense pride in the selfless service your son gave to his country. And now, the funeral…

As you prepare to lay your precious son to rest, you become aware of a sinister presence – a group of protestors chanting messages of hate while holding signs declaring “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers”. Talk about adding insult to injury!

Well, that’s exactly what the Snyders and hundreds of other grieving families had to endure at the funerals of their fallen loved ones thanks to the pastor and members of Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Apparently, their twisted interpretation of the Bible has them believing that God hates homosexuals and that our brave men and women in uniform are dying as punishment from God for tolerating them – neither of which is true. I guess they must have neglected to read John 3:16 which states “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

You see, “the world” in that scripture refers to each and every sinner, and that includes homosexuals as well as “straights”. As a Baptist myself, I believe that God makes it very clear in His Word that He considers homosexuality to be a sin, but He also makes it very clear that He loved all of us sinners enough to send His only begotten Son down to earth to shed His blood on the cross so that we all could have the opportunity to repent of our sins and gain eternal life. To think otherwise would be, well, un-Christian.

As for this “church’s” belief that God is allowing our men and women to die on the battlefield as punishment for our nation’s tolerance of homosexuality, I can’t even begin to tell you just how stupid that concept is. While I do believe that God does bring judgment and hardships of various kinds on societies that refuse to follow His will, I believe He would never single out the best and brightest among them (like our brave men and women in uniform) to bear the brunt of that punishment.

Even with all its faults, the United States of America is still by-and-large a God-fearing nation, and we have been richly blessed over the years because of that fact. The sons, daughters, sisters, bothers, moms and dads who are dying every day in defense of our great nation are true heroes, and I believe that God holds their service and sacrifice in high regard. I also believe He will bring stern judgment to those who disrupt and defile their funeral services with their shameless and wicked displays of hate and misdirected angst. In the meantime, a Maryland jury has awarded Mr. Snyder an $11 million judgment for his pain and suffering at the hands of “Reverend” Fred Phelps and his two daughters Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis.