Oh, yeah, Jesus

As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, it’s time for the Vaughans to begin the annual Thanksgiving poster. 

When the boys were little, Vicki began the annual poster as a way for each person to express their thankfulness for all to see. And, of course, the poster always included the serious – friends and family – but it also included the silly and goofy as the boys tried to make us all laugh.

At some point during our posting, one of us would come around to say, "Oh, yeah, Jesus." We had completely over-focused on all the Earthly things for which we were thankful and completely forgotten to be thankful for Jesus. "Oh, yeah, Jesus. I suppose we should put Him on our poster somewhere."

You are probably no different. We get so wrapped up in counting our Earthly blessings that we fail to think about the fountain from which all of those blessings flow. We get so distracted on the Earthly that we are blinded to the Eternal.

As I watched Halloween come and go this past week, Facebook friends began their annual day-by-day lists of Thankfulness. A few led with Jesus, but many led – just like my family's annual Thanksgiving poster – with the human and the Earthly. I watched good-hearted, wonderful believers lead out with thankfulness for the family dog, Moe's restaurant, favorite football teams, jobs, our country, and Chick-fil-A lemonade. And, so I  used my Facebook page as a reminder that all of our blessings - including family and friends - flows from the No. 1 that is Jesus. And, only Jesus. Some did not take my reminder well, reminding me that their priorities were their priorities, or that Facebook wasn't the place to be so serious, or that they didn't want to offend others with a lot of spiritual conversation. Hmmm. That all sounds like my excuses when I shamefully have that "Oh, yeah, Jesus" moment in front of our Thanksgiving poster.

As we consider, or list, or post our thankfulness at this time of year, let me make a case for Jesus being our No. 1. And, I will use two hymns from The Baptist Hymnal to do it.

In the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," the lyricist Robert Robinson reminds us that “Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandring from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.” And, he writes, “Come thy fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.” As part of our fellowship with God, Jesus - as the source of all Earthly and Eternal blessings - sought us out. Jesus is the fountain of all our blessings and deserves our loudest praise.

Revelation 22:1-2 reads, “And, the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street.” John’s vision reminds us that the water of eternal life pours out the richness of life with God through Jesus. I can almost imagine this fountain in heaven, pouring out blessings on those who love Jesus, and those blessings pouring into our lives here on Earth. The blessing of our salvation is really the only blessing that we need; the only source for our thankfulness.

In the hymn, "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow," we read these simple words: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him all creatures here below; Praise Him above ye Heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

James 1:17 reads, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father." Every good and perfect gift is from above. Every one. And, those gifts flow down from God because of our faith in Jesus.

On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, I was under a lot of stress at work and at home. I was managing a lot of responsibility at work, and then coming home to four little boys under 10. Vicki and I were like zombies passing in the hallway of our home. And, so on this Tuesday in 1998, I took an entire day to get alone with God. I went to the Baptist retreat center near Winnsboro, and went down to the lake there. I sat for hours, praying and reading Scripture, and everything came back to simply praising God and being thankful for my blessings. God even allowed me to take a nap on a bed of leaves and pine needles. At the close of the day, I made a list in the back of my Bible of all my blessings, and especially all of those times in my life when I knew that God was taking care of me.

In preparation for this lesson, I turned to the back page of my Bible and here's what I had written in the No. 1 position: “I felt your presence when I prayed to accept you in my life – when I made my pubic profession of the surrender of my life to you. I am thankful for that.”

At that worshipful moment in 1998, as I made a list of my thankfulness, Jesus was not part of an "Oh, yeah, Jesus" moment. No, I had recognized that all the blessings in my life flow from my faith in Jesus - the one who sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. In that 1998 list, the remaining 18 things include my Vicki, when the boys were born, my parents, my siblings, when my sister survived serous surgery, when my brother returned safely from the Gulf War, when God used unemployment to teach me compassion, and on and on and on. But, all those blessings flowed from the No. 1 and the only One – that Jesus died on the cross for me, and He convicted me to lay down my life and follow Him.

In Robinson's hymn of the fountain of blessings, he reminds us, too, that we are constantly being pulled away from the cross to that place of "Oh, yeah, Jesus" when he writes, “Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.” But, then there’s the chorus, where he writes, “I am bound for the kingdom, Will you go to glory with me? Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” So, even though we slip and stumble, and often forget about Jesus, the "Oh, yeah, Jesus" moment does call us back to praise Him and honor Him in the No. 1 position of thankfulness. We can celebrate and be thankful for the tether to Almighty God, calling us back to Him. We can give thanks that the Holy Spirit provides those "Oh, yeah, Jesus" moments.

This Thanksgiving, I am going to pledge three things, personally:

1. On the Thanksgiving poster, we will acknowledge Jesus as the center of our thankfulness, placing His name first on the paper. And, I will lead my family in that recognition. From there, the serious and the silliness can unfold. Yes, there is a place for the silliness because I believe Jesus loves to see us laugh with one another, especially within our families.
2. When I have the opportunity, I will remind others – as with this lesson – that all our blessings – all of our thankfulness – pours from the fountain of the cross and the resurrection. As we look into the loving faces of family, we must be reminded that the blessings of those loved ones come to us from a loving God, whom we know because of Jesus.
3. I will be attentive during these three weeks of Thanksgiving to the hurt and the pain of others, and I will look for ways to build relationships through which I might – with the courage of the cross – state and ask, “I am bound for the Kingdom, will you go to glory with me?” Lord, please use me as you will to help another person begin his or her journey of thankfulness with you.