Blessed Beyond Measure
At Thanksgiving many of us like to take measure of the blessings in our
lives. Last night as I sat playing a
board game with my grandchildren I had a unique experience. Other family members were in the living room
watching the prerecorded Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It struck me as funny because till that point
I had not realized the difference in this Thanksgiving. The TV had not been on all day and everybody
had been enjoying time together.
To me the Macy’s Parade had always epitomized what was wholesome and
good about America. Yet as I sat at the
kitchen table and watched it unfold something different was happening. Maybe it was just my perspective, but some of
the so called entertainment bordered on the decadent. They proclaimed their pride. It made me think of what the Bible says on
the matter. Pride goes before the fall. As I watched it I could not help but
think of a chapter in the Bible that talks about the Blessings and Curses that
befall nations based on their relationship to God. It is found in the 28th
chapter of Deuteronomy. Over the years
I have seen America move from the totally blessed part of the chapter to the
cursed part. It is not my imagination
and anyone that takes the time to read it will see what I am talking about.
The irony to me is that it has been one of the most blessed years of my
life. It has not been only from a financial perspective, but also from a
spiritual perspective. My eyes have been opened to all the real blessings in my
life. As I have been cleaning out and reorganizing my room to move a
great-nephew in with me it has made me see even more how blessed I am.
Part of getting the room ready to move a fourteen year freshman in with
a sixty-seven year old required some serious downsizing. I cleaned out and my dresser and took it to
St. Vincent de Paul. Cleaning out the
closet I got rid of my leather jacket from my biker days. It was only about thirty years old, but fit
my high school senior grandson who just signed up to enter the Army after he
graduates. My field jacket which was
closer to forty years old fit my youngest grandson. It also required getting rid of tons of other
clothes. I had size 38 and 42 jeans in
my closet that still had the tags on them.
I wear a size 48, down from size 50.
Also got rid of all the X, XL, and 2X clothes that I couldn’t or can’t
wear anymore.
Then I started on books knick-knacks and other miscellaneous stuff. It ended up being about five boxes this time. Several other boxes went to the Lord’s
Warehouse a few weeks ago. People have
asked me are you dying. Not any more
than anyone else. It is just that I
finally realized someone could get some use out of all the stuff I have been
hoarding for no good reason.
My wife knows I am trying to lose weight and asked me if I wouldn’t be
able to wear the clothes at some point.
My answer was simple I will get new ones that fit. That brings me to the other part of my
blessing. A couple years ago I filed for
compensation for Agent Orange which I was exposed to during my tour in Vietnam.
It was finally approved and has required
me to make some major adjustments to our lifestyle.
Over the last couple years I have been fortunate enough to have been in
the position that I had to give away almost a hundred thousand dollars. No it was not my money. Our church died from attrition. We were down to six of seven people and some
Sundays the preacher only had three or four people to preach to. We finally voted to close the doors. It was not because the church did not have
the money. We had plenty of money. I have to wonder though if the money had been
spent while the church was still alive, if maybe it might have survived. We sold the building and contents and then
had to give the money away.
There is a certain irony to this situation as years before I had urged
the spending of the money and did not have the position in the church to make
it happen, but due to attrition the duty fell to us younger members to deal
with the funeral arrangements. It was
always ironic to me that the church was dedicated on December 7th,
1941. Yes it was being dedicated at the
very moment the attack was taking place on Pearl Harbor. Another factor that added to that irony was
that I was born on Pearl Harbor Day in 1946.
The point I am trying to make is that America is such a Blessed nation
and yet we about to throw it all away because of greed and incompetence. America is so obsessed with having, but not
with sharing. Congress wants to balance
the budget on the backs of the poor, by taking away the benefits that people
need because of their incompetence.
As a Christian Nation we should understand the third chapter of Malachi.
God said he would open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so great
it could not be received. It would only
be received though by giving the tithes and offerings required by God. That is something this nation has forgotten
about over the last fifty to sixty years.
The book of Malachi makes clear that a day of reckoning is coming to any
nation that turns its back on God. Saying
we are Christians does not make it so.
It requires actions to back it up.
The many disasters that have hit
America over the last few years have made it clear that the heart of America is
still a giving and caring heart. It is
the head that is sick and taking America on a path that will end in our
destruction. God has always honored His
Word. Not only too bless, but also too
judge. It is time to wake up and get
involved. If you are not part of the
solution, you are part of the problem.
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