lifestyle-religion

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am convinced that every person alive has much for which to be thankful. Oh, there are plenty of things which we can complain about. There are a multitude of reasons to be or become depressed. And, if we so choose, we can worry about anything. If it is not an international crisis in Israel or Ukraine or China or wherever, it may be presidential politics or state and local issues. We can find ourselves discouraged over the stock market or the price of dairy products in the grocery store.

Let’s talk about God. More often than not, when tragedy strikes, as it did for the nation of Israel just about a month ago, our thoughts turn to God, and why would He let such devastating circumstances happen. I for one do not claim to have a corner on the “God” market, or even a majority of “God” stock, but I do know, from the Scriptures three things that are true about God.

All eyes are turned toward Israel, a relatively tiny country whose entire area is only about 20% of the state of Ohio. This country would fit five times inside the borders of Ohio. Geographically speaking, nothing makes this little sliver of land particularly desirable, and yet this tiny region has been the center of conflict for millennia. There is not a lot to attract anyone to that land geologically either. Prime Minister Golda Meir was once quoted as saying, “Let me tell you the one thing I have against Moses. He took us forty years into the desert in order to bring us to the one place in the Middle East that has no oil!”

November is set aside as the month of Thanksgiving. As we approach the holiday at the end of the month, many take these weeks to intentionally consider the blessings of life. The last few years have been tough as we’ve navigated a pandemic, tried to regain our normal, faced rising costs of inflation, and now see war breaking out in the Middle East. It’s easy to feel fear and frustration more than thankfulness.

The social media memes often declare, “Prayer changes things.” I would not argue with that statement, but I have also discovered that some prayers change me. It is one thing to pray, “God please care for the poor and needy.” It is quite another thing to pray, “Lord, help me see the poor and needy through Your eyes.” It is easy to pray, “God, please do something about alcoholism and drug addiction in our town.” It is quite different to pray, “Father, help me make a difference in the life of my friend who wants to have victory over her alcohol addiction.”

I don’t know about you, but with the world situation what it currently is, and with it going where it seems to be going, it is hard to sit down and listen and read and watch the news these days, isn’t it? At times it seems that everything around you is collapsing. Apart from the world news, other things around us seem very fragile. Endeavors you invested in may fail. People to whom you minister may disappoint you. The business or career you worked hard to build may crumble. The health you have spent so much of your life perfecting and protecting may fail, just when you are ready to live – really live! These times, as difficult as they are, are opportunities to stop and examine what is truly important to you.

On Tuesday morning, Ohio Living Cape May hosted a Pastor Appreciation Breakfast to honor and celebrate local pastors and their staff for helping fulfill their mission: “To enhance the physical, mental and spiritual well-being, consistent with the Christian Gospel.”

When the day finally came for me to get my driver’s license, I was ready to go. I had purchased a 1962 Ford Falcon from a farmer that had used it to round up his cows. I had spent $15 for the car and probably gave too much for it! Soon, I began to invest in new springs, shocks, and tires. I tore out the interior and replaced it with fuzzy shag carpet and swiveling chairs that reminded me of the chairs on Star Trek. An “Ahooga” horn, an eight-track player, and a 12-inch steering wheel completed the interior. My buddies and I looked pretty “far out” as we drove to the local Dairy Queen and the mall.

In the words of A.W.Tozer, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the very most important thing about us. You may be asking, “Why is it so important what I think about God? Why does it matter?”

If you’ve ever had someone hit you up for stamps – old stamps, commemorative stamps, foreign stamps, and more – then you may have heard of Right Sharing of World Resources. Quakers around the country collect stamps through the Quaker Missions Stamp Project to support this organization’s work.