Macy Day’s Parade and the Brand New Hope on the
Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Purity 585
Purity 585 11/25/2021 Thanksgiving - Purity 585 Podcast
Good morning
Today’s photo of the boat launch at the Martin Dunham Reservoir in
Grafton NY comes to us from yours truly as I went “off road” for a moment on
Monday to capture it and to experience the peaceful stillness of being alone in
nature right in the midst of a busy workday.
Today is Thanksgiving and while most of us will be gathered with friends
or family to enjoy a holiday meal, my thoughts turn to those who will be flying
solo. I have a friend who did just that
and is enjoy their solitude at a resort in Aruba where the fare is more likely
to be jerk chicken than Tom Turkey. But
I also know of others that will be in solitary environments today that will be
far less tropical and exotic.
While we can surround ourselves with others, or choose to be isolated
with all our familiar comforts, or take it on the road to some tropical resort
to manipulate the conditions to give us peace and happiness, unless we have
peace within and can maintain it regardless of circumstances we are apt to
experience depression despite our best efforts.
We can also choose to overindulge with food or alcohol to try to comfort
ourselves. With the legalization of marijuana in NY state, you even have the
option of making Thanksgiving a “green day” with a freedom that was unavailable
in the past.
As a “Christian with a past”, I can testify that I tried all of the
above with zeal but can tell you that all my “experimentation and research” has
concluded that substances, no matter how elicit or benign, do not provide
lasting satisfaction or fulfillment. Substances will not make you happy and are
literally a dead end and many will lose their lives today because of the direct
effects of substances or due to their influence on one’s health or
decisions. So be safe.
I have Green Day on the brain this morning, not because I am going to “blaze
up”. But because as I started to write this I was thinking of two of their
songs.
As I contemplated those who will be alone this Thanksgiving I thought
about the lyrics from Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and how I once thought
that they adequately described my life when the song came out in 2004. They say:
“I walk a lonely
road
The only one that
I have ever known
Don't know where
it goes
But it's home to
me, and I walk alone
I walk this empty
street
On the Boulevard
of Broken Dreams
Where the city
sleeps
And I'm the only
one, and I walk alone
I walk alone, I
walk alone
I walk alone, I
walk a-
My shadow's the
only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's
the only thing that's beating
Sometimes, I wish
someone out there will find me
'Til then, I walk
alone”
It’s a great
song, but the problem was that I wasn’t walking alone. I had a wife and a
family at the time, a good job at least financially speaking, and didn’t want
for anything. But regardless of the promise
of the American Dream to bring happiness, those relationships and all the
things I had didn’t bring fulfillment. I
still felt alone.
I also didn’t
have a relationship with God as I had suffered through some traumatic losses
and chose not to believe in a personal God. Even though I said I didn’t believe, I was
trying to find peace in Eastern Mysticism and Monastic practices that sought to
control my experience through meditation and changing my perspective. Even though I found a measure of peace
through those efforts, it was a lonely road and even though I would have never admitted
it at the time, my searching and working for peace and meaning were evidence that
I really wished that “Someone out there” would find me.
It being
Thanksgiving in 2021, I also thought of Green Day’s Macy’s Day Parade and its
somewhat prophetic, melancholy but hopeful lyrics. The song starts out declaring that:
“Today's the Macy's Day parade
The night of the living dead is on its way”
With the dystopian
reality that is present and increasing in the “land of the free”, with:
·
“areas of mandatory,
and truly useless, PPE”
“Do you feel
lucky, punk? Well do ya? Better mask up!”
I thought
Covid was over?
It’s never
over! Unless we say it’s over!
·
and now with the mandates that will force people to receive
medical treatments to retain employment, by our government and those faceless
but oh so politically correct corporations who in the Spirit of Nazi Fascism
are making Americans truly understand that “freedom isn’t free” and that your
personal choices can and will affect where you can pursue your financial happiness.
With all of
that and the political divide in our country going on it does indeed feel that
the “night of the living dead is on its way” and if we consider the disengagement
of people who are captivated by their cell phones we could make a case that –
the night, dawn, and day of the dead has already come.
But before I
get too grim on “Turkey Day”, too late?, Let’s move on to the more hopeful
parts of Green Day’s Thanksgiving Holiday song that could inspire us to look
past the present days of confusion and past all the things that the world tells
us will make us happy. The song goes on to say:
“Give me something that I need
Satisfaction guaranteed
'Cause I'm thinking 'bout
A brand new hope
The one I've never known
'Cause now I know
It's all that I wanted”
The Brand New
Hope, who is Jesus Christ, found me in
my darkest days of walking down the boulevard of my broken dreams as I walked “alone
and now I know that my wish for “Someone out there” to find me has been
granted.
Because of
the reality of life and death, the only satisfaction that is guaranteed is going
to have to be one that goes from here to eternity. That guarantee is found in
John 3:16, that says:
John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
When you put your faith in Jesus, you
receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and your everlasting life
begins. In Christ, you are forgiven of
all your sins and are reconciled to God.
In Christ, we become adopted sons and daughters of the Creator of all
things and receive meaning and purpose for our lives as we are called to represent
and serve God’s kingdom through sharing His love though good works and by
making disciples.
It's Thursday, and I shared today’s photo
because it features a pathway of sorts and I do that to encourage people to get
on the path of Christian discipleship that starts with faith in Jesus Christ
and continues into God’s will and purpose for our lives.
So as we gather together to give thanks
for all that we have in life today, or if you find yourself alone, remember
that in Christ you are never alone for God will never leave us or forsake us
when we decide to walk with Him.
Whether you are in Christ or are just wishing
that “Someone out there” would find you, I encourage you to keep seeking the
Lord because the peace that God wants you to have doesn’t lie in substances to
consume, things to accumulate, or even in our earthly friends and family.
Ultimate satisfaction that is guaranteed requires
a search for the Truth, the Way, and the Life that God has provided. Christ came to save us and make us new. So keep walking and talking with God and He
will show you where to go and when you find your place in his kingdom you will
realize that you have found all that you wanted.
God bless you all and Happy Thanksgiving!
Today’s Bible verse is
drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verses are:
Romans 11:28-29 (NLT2)
28 Many of the people of
Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet
they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob.
29 For God’s gifts and his
call can never be withdrawn.
Today’s verses speak of the harsh spiritual reality that the
very people that received the word and blessings of God the Father have turned a
blind eye to the Messiah’s coming and that “outsiders” like you and me, us Christians,
have benefited from it.
However, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still
loved by God and the word of God indicates that all the true spiritual sons of
Israel will see the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make Jesus their Lord
and Savior someday, the ones that will
live anyway.
Yeah, Revelation paints a disturbing picture that reminds us
that only those who stand with Jesus will stand for all eternity and scripture
indicates that we must be spiritually born again through faith in Christ to
become the children of God.
That’s enough end times for now. Let’s focus on the good
news for today. Although Christ’s return is the best news, the future fulfillment
of His coming kingdom and turmoil and devastation that will usher it in may make
us lose our appetites this Thanksgiving.
Instead let’s focus on the thing that can sustain us today
and everyday until the day of the Lord: the love of God and the fact that His “gifts
and his call can never be withdrawn.”
When we make Christ our Lord and Savior, we are sealed by
the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence as children of God. Nothing we do will change our relationship
with God, we are forgiven of all we have ever done or will do, and nothing can separate
us from His love, even when we fall into sin or make other colossal errors in
judgement.
But enough about me, ha ha, God’s gift of salvation to us is
guaranteed and His call on our lives to be fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ
is continuous. So let the love of God
rule in your heart and mind to give you peace and to empower you to courageously
offer the truth of the gospel to others and to discover and to answer the Lord’s
call for your life.
As
always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from
prominent Christian counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with
their walk.
Today we continue sharing from June Hunt’s “Evil
and Suffering… Why? Is God Fair?
As always, I share this information for educational purposes
and encourage all to purchase June Hunt’s books for your own private study and
to support her work.
D. What Does "Theodicy" Mean?
If it is true that "Life is full of suffering, and then you
die," what is the purpose of living at all? This life, however, is but a
fleeting training ground for the life to follow—eternal life that will go on
forever. God will use the sufferings in this life for our eternal good if we
choose to rely on Him.
While this is not the best of all worlds, it is the way to the best
of all worlds! Only by giving control of our lives to our Lord and Savior in this
life can we be given the next life God has prepared for us.
"Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory
that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal." (2
Corinthians 4:17-18)
- The word theodicy
is a theological term used in apologetics (a defense of the faith) to
vindicate the goodness, justice, and existence of God in the face of all
the evil and injustice in the world. Those who are convinced that God is
absolutely just know that His reputation is not at stake and can state
with absolute confidence...
"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you." (Psalm 89:14) - The Greek
word theos means
"God," and the Greek word dike carries the idea of
"justice." As you increasingly come to know the Lord God, you
increasingly have confidence in the character of God.
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4) - Theodicy
is a logical defense of the goodness of God despite the existence
of evil in the world. Because logical reasoning can be effective in
presenting truth to those who have not heard the truth, we are told...
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously
against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Biblical Counseling Keys: Evil and Suffering... Why?: Why God? Why?.
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