Dear friends in Christ,

          President Abraham Lincoln, after the bloody battle of Gettysburg in October, 1863, established the fourth Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving in the midst of the worst conflict our nation had ever seen.  137 years later on Thanksgiving Day 2000 we seem to be in another civil war, this time one of words.  We're a nation divided over the limits of government, and the value we place on human life.  But despite the uncertainty of who will be our next president, we have not rioted in the streets, and we are a nation at peace.  We still have a lot to learn, but praise God, He seems to be patient with us.

          These days, for some reason, I find myself thinking about things that happened when I was growing up.  Sometimes thoughts turn to cousins and old friends or youthful adventures and foolish things done long ago.  A few weeks ago as I was planning for the coming change of church seasons, an old song kept coming to mind.  It was called, "Count Your Blessings".

          No, it's not the one we just sang.  This one was recorded by Perry Como and went something like this:  "When you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep, and you'll fall asleep, counting your blessings."  It was a wonderful song and it made the Top Ten for a few weeks back in the late 50's when music - and America - was more civilized.

          Fat chance a song like that would make the Top Ten today!  Something in the unraveling fabric of our present society ridicules such religiosity.  Music today glorifies the cynical in tunes that are unsingable.  But this song had a great message.  It echoes the Gospel reading today from Matthew 6 that worries will keep you up all night; but counting your blessings gives you peace.  Counting your blessings is always far better.

          How are you doing counting your blessings?  It's not easy, is it?  It's surprising how many people, when asked to identify a unique blessing, struggle with this and often "punt," saying they're thankful for family, or health or freedom.  But then who isn't?  We're all grateful for those things.  But what specific blessing stands out for you today?  Is it that you're free of cancer or free of pain?  Did your kids turn out well anyway?  Have you conquered a bad habit?  Did you make a big decision about job or location that turned out good?  You see, the more you dig, the more you'll find blessings to count.  And if you can't find one great thing, keep trying!

          It's easy to generalize, but there are great benefits at identifying specific blessings.  What is it about your life that is uniquely yours, that wonderful thing no one else may know?  What I'm talking about is owning up to some special thing God has done for you.  Genuine thankfulness comes from the heart and not just the lips.  Some call it an "attitude of gratitude."  They mean it's looking for thankfulness every day.  That way, counting your blessings comes easily.

          If we're going to count our blessings, we need to start with the heavenly ones.  St. Paul knew all about those.  Early in life he'd gone up against God and lived!  He persecuted the Lord of the universe and instead of being dead, he was forgiven!  He may have felt like one of the lawyers who stood last week before the Florida Supreme Court.  Paul, however, was not mauled by a group now known as "the seven dwarfs," but by God.  The Lord Jesus knocked him the ground, blinded him to the futility of his ways, and gave him a new start.  From then on, Paul lived a life of thanksgiving.  He counted his blessings every day.

          And so it moved Paul to write, "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."  Paul was counting his blessings because he knew his own sin.  Trouble with most people today is that they don't know what sin is.  They're too full of themselves.  They hate to admit that the face they see in the mirror is not pretty.  They don't see sin that damns, only mistakes for therapy.  They're not sinners, just victims.  Far too many people today pride themselves at looking reality squarely in the face and denying it.  Whatever became of sin?  Whatever became of personal responsibility?  As one Christian writer, Francis Schaeffer, once asked, "Whatever Became of the Human Race?"

          But Paul knew the damning effect of his own sin, so he counted his blessings, and rejoiced that he was counted worthy to be God's child.  To the Thessalonians he wrote, "We constantly pray for you, that God may count you worthy of his calling..." (2 Thess. 1:11)  If we all took time to realize where we'd be without God, every day would be a mini-Thanksgiving.  Because of Christ God doesn't count our sins against us, but He does count us worthy to be His children.  Because of His love for us on Calvary, all believers are part of the family of God.  So first of all, today, let's count our heavenly blessings that come because of Jesus!

          Then we need to count our earthly blessings, the ones most visible.  That's what we usually think of at Thanksgiving - our health, family, possessions, freedoms, maybe our church.  That's what we'll write about on our green cards.  Earthly blessings are evidence that God provides us our needs and many of our wants.  If you want to know what I wrote down, here they are:  I'm thankful I've never been a patient in a hospital, not once, not ever.  I'm thankful I'm off all medications now and feel good without them.  I'm thankful I have a home office, and that Carol puts up with me.  And I'm thankful for the repairman who came yesterday and fixed our old copier.

          We as a people are so incredibly fortunate.  Unless you've ever travelled to a Third World country, you can't understand how much we have.  It's all evidence we are loved by God, and yet we forget His blessings so quickly.  Hard as it is for us to imagine, we all must admit we don't deserve what we've been given.

          There was once a man who set out to adopt a troubled teenage girl.  Someone, frankly, should have questioned his sanity.  The girl he adopted was destructive, disobedient and dishonest.  She didn't listen and rebelled against every good thing he did for her.  One day she came home from school and ransacked his house looking for money.  By the time he arrived, she was gone and the house was in shambles.

          On hearing what she did, friends urged him not to finalize the adoption.  "Let her go," they said, "after all, she's not really your daughter."  His response was simply, "Yes, she is my daughter, because I told her she was.  Nothing can stop me from loving her."  Eventually the police brought her home, but she tried to run again.  Finally one day in blind anger, she screamed at him, "Why do you do this?  Why don't you just hate me for what I do?"  He said quietly, "Because I choose to love you."

          "Because I choose to love you."  That's the heart of our Heavenly Father.  He made a covenant, an unbreakable commitment, to adopt His chosen people Israel.  They rebelled, but He still kept them as His people.  God kept the covenant by sending the Savior He promised.

          After Christ did what was necessary, the Holy Spirit came and established the Christian Church as God's new chosen people.  Like people of old, we still rebel, but God still keeps His covenant.  He chooses to love us, even when we curse Him and run away.  He loves us, no matter what, unconditionally.  It's one thing for God to love us when we're obedient.  The wonder of it all is that he loves us even if we ransack His house and steal His goods.

          And look at the goods we have!  If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.  If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, or spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.  92% of the world's population have less than you!  If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the millions who will not even survive this week.  If you've never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

          If you attended this worship service today without fear of harassment, arrest, or torture, you are more blessed than two billion people in the world - a third of the world's population - who cannot do this.  If you or your parents have been married to the same person more than 25 years, you are very rare.  If today you find something for which you are truly thankful, and then give God thanks, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.  If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, do it because they need it!

          It would be a wonderful thing that if every day, perhaps around supper time, each of us took a moment to say out loud what one thing we found to be thankful for that day.  That would help us all keep or eyes open!  And if nothing else, remember, you are forgiven!  "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."  Have a good day, my friends, and count your blessings.  Amen!

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.