Sunday, November 30, 2008

12 pound turkey leftovers

How was your holiday? Were you thankful? Did you give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever? Or did all the 12 pound turkeys make it more difficult than you could bear?

I was blindsided by a 12 pound turkey this weekend and I think it was still frozen. I really didn't see it coming. I think we recovered as best we could and made the most of our evening, but I think afterward, everyone was overshadowed with a deep sorrow that is not easily rectified. I know I had a stomach ache that was not entirely the fault of too much pie.
So if this happened to you too, what do you plan to do about it? Maybe you were not directly responsible for the problem and only witness to it, or maybe you were a major contributor. Either way, the solution is the same.

Colossians 3:12-15
God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So you should always clothe yourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Even more than all this, clothe yourself in love. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace.
To really experience the power of this passage, read the whole thing. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=58&chapter=3&version=78&context=chapter

(I still haven't been in serviced by someone to learn how to do that more efficiently, but I know you'll forgive me. It's not nearly a 12 pound turkey infraction. More like a Cornish hen.)

Back to the point. It doesn't matter who we are upset with. Some of us are upset with employers, family members, the government, neighbors, ex-friends, fill in the blank. Whatever the problem, we are called to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us. There are no buts about it. Christ has forgiven us. Our sin put Him on the cross and He forgave us. HE FORGAVE US. We have no excuse not to forgive someone else.

As much as we enjoy the leftovers from Thursday's feast, eventually we've had enough. If we hold on to it too long, it starts to rot. Don't let your anger, hurt feelings and disappointment fester and rot in your heart.
Please
Please
Please
Extend forgiveness today.
Isn't it time to let the turkey go? There can't be that much left. After all, it was only 12 pounds.

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