I don't know if you have noticed, but people have a tendency to blame God for what happens in their life.  The humorous thing is when a person who has no attachment to any specific faith, but when something bad shows up, then they blame God.  They are essentially part-time atheists: act like God doesn't exist, but when something bad happens, blame him!  

But Christians fall prey to this syndrome too.  We readily affix the blame on God's end for the junk in our lives.  For example: I make a bad/unwise/ungodly decision, and then get angry with God for the consequences of my actions!  It's almost silly to see it typed out in front of me: I blame God because of my poor choices.  Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it?

We are all guilty of blaming God in one way or another.  If a loved one passes away, we say, "Why would God let this happen?"  If we lose our job, we say, "How could God do this to me?"  Or maybe you've been the victim of this statement: "I just don't think God wants me in a relationship right now."  (Without opening up a can of worms - which I am aware I already did - I think this last statement is one of the silliest of all time.  There are definite instances where God is tugging on the heart of someone for a time of total singleness - no marriage, no dating, etc. - but usually, I've heard people use this as a cop-out.  It isn't always like this, but oftentimes it really means, "I want to date this other person, so I'm going to use God as an excuse so I can end things with you."  It's pretty brutal, it's quite lame, and it's very immature.  If you find yourself wanting to say that to someone, make sure it's truly the Spirit of God and not your fickleness telling you to say it; you don't want to be the one blaming God for something like that.)

Where do we get the idea that it is our place to blame God for the bad things in our lives?  As if we can throw ourselves a pity party because God is picking on us.  But the Bible says, "It rains on the just and the unjust."  In other words, you're not being singled-out as the object of God's wrath.  We all go through pleasant and unpleasant experiences.  But the option we do not have is to blame God when life does not go as we planned.  Relationships may fail, our health may fail, and we may not have as much money as we'd like, but there is one constant: God is still God.

How can we change our attitude?  It's so easy to default to blaming God; how do we break away from that?  It starts with your perception of who God is.  Be honest with yourself: What do you think of God?  No, not your Sunday School answer.  Deep down, what do you think of when you think of God?  What feelings and emotions do you have?  

You've heard it as many times as I have: "What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you."  A.W. Tozer's statement seems to apply to just about any problem you might have in life.  What do you think of God?  If you can answer that, you can assess whether or not you have a tendency to blame God for things that haven't gone as you planned.  You want to know who had the right perception of God?  It was Job.  Everything was taken from him in a flash - his family died, he lost all his possessions and wealth, and even his health deteriorated - and yet Job trusted God: "Even if God kills me, I will still trust him" (Job 13:15).  I love that.  

I don't know if I'm at the point in my spiritual journey where I can say that wholeheartedly, but I know this: I want to be.  I'm done with the blame-game when it comes to my relationship with my Heavenly Father.  And when I've got that settled, it paves the way for the opposite to happen: I can have an attitude of Thanksgiving.  Blaming God is the number one barrier to having a heart of gratitude, and this Thanksgiving season, I'm encouraging all of us to stop blaming God so we can truly express our thanks to Him.  Join me.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone where everything they said sounded so right?  I mean, with every statement that person made, you were saying in your head, "Yeah!  More of that!"  It might happen (and hopefully it does) on a Sunday morning or a Thursday night, when you are listening to someone share from God's Word; you just can't get enough of what that person is saying.  That's why we say, "Amen," by the way: it is just an emphatic way of saying, "Yes! I agree with all of it."  Or for those of you who went to high school in the 1970s, it was, "Right on."  But since most of you have let go of the permed hair and polyester suits, we'll forget about that.

But you're "Amen" moments aren't restricted to church services.  Maybe you are having a conversation with a friend who is just fired up about what has been going on in their life.  It could be that they have made some major upgrades or they recently began a journey of faith, and when they tell you about it, you just feel like saying, "Amen," or "Yeah! More of it!"  Recently, I had an experience where I found myself having that reaction with someone who was an unlikely candidate for an Amen.

Shockingly, not all of my friends are Christ-followers.  I like it that way, mostly because Jesus was called a friend of sinners and usually distanced himself from self-righteous people.  About 2 weeks ago, I was talking with a guy (well, I was listening - I wasn't doing much of the talking) who told me how his mom was super religious and super strict.  This guy and I both hail from Irish-Catholic heritage, and so this came as no surprise.  Apparently, at 20 years old my friend found himself at odds with his mother who constantly berided him for not "going to confession" and "attending mass more often."  I could hear some resentment in his voice, and understandably so; I don't know anyone that embraces negative commentary on their spiritual life.

And it was at this moment where I had that feeling where I wanted to just say, "Amen!" but I knew the time didn't call for it.  My friend said something like this: "And - I don't know - I've just never felt right about confessing to a priest.  I feel like I can talk to God on my own time and my own terms and I don't need a priest to do it for me.  God knows my heart and he knows how I feel.  I can talk to him on my own."  In retrospect, I hope I kept a poker face because I was shocked at the words my friend spoke.  He is by no means a religious person, and at his own admission, his lifestyle is not exactly godly.  To my knowledge, he's never "prayed the prayer" or walked an aisle, but he was more theologically in-tune than most Christians I talk to.  And to that I wanted to say, "Amen."

Regardless of your religious affiliation (or lack thereof), the Bible is clear on this.  In one portion it says, "Let us approach [God's] throne of grace with confidence" (Hebrews 4:16).  We still honor and respect God for who he is, but we can come to him anytime, any place because of Jesus.  That same writer went on to say: "So, friends, we can now - without hesitation - walk right up to God, into 'the Holy Place.'  Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God" (Hebrews 10:19-20, The Message).  

My friend had such a Scriptural foundation for what he believed, and he probably didn't even realize it.  And I probably could not have convinced him any other way.  That's the beauty of Truth - it's unshakable, it's unwavering, and it transcends religious affiliation or personal preferences.  God's Truth shows up everywhere, and when it does, you can respond, "Amen," no matter how unlikely the source is.

I remember singing that song often...well, not that often, just every second and third and fourth Sunday of November leading up to Thanksgiving.  It was - and is - a song that reminds us that we have much to be thankful for.  And we do: GOd is incredibly good to all of us.  now, that doesn't mean we have everything we want, but it does mean that we have everything we need.  God has richly provided for me and I just want to say around this Thanksgiving that I am grateful.  I am thankful for my wonderful family -- and while I include Pat, Marc, and Jonathan, I also include you. I am thankful for you!  I can't think of a higher privilege than to serve alongside of you wonderful people every week throughout the year.  God has been good to me!

And you know what?  We can be thankful for stuff that we wouldn't even think was good stuff.  After all, God uses the bad stuff in life (what we think of as bad) to shape us into His likeness (and that part is always good).  Now, this may sound like crazy talk to you -- to thank God for the good and bad -- but thanking God is a whole lot better than complaining.

It reminds me of the story of Matthew Henry.  He wrote a commentary series that I have in my library.  He lived a long time ago.  One time, Matthew Henry was robbed.  That very night, in his journal, he wrote: God, I thank Thee - that I was never robbed before.  God, I thank Thee - that although they took my all, it was not much.  God, I thank Thee - that although they took my wallet, they did not take my life.  God, I thank Thee - that I was the one being robbed and not the one doing the robbing.

Now THAT is a perspective.  I am asking you to find something to be thankful for at this point in your life.  I don't believe it's a difficult task, but if it is for you (for whatever reason you may have), I encourage you to find at least one thing you can be thankful for.  I believe God will bless you and make you a blessing if you will simply be thankful.

And when you have been thankful, you are in the perfect spot to join all your friends for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 20th.  The dinner begins at 6:30PM (SHARP!) and includes the Usual-But-Always-Delicious Turkey dinner, with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie...PLUS the worship celebration led by Benji & Jenna Cowart (our worship leaders here at The Chapel at CrossPoint).  It will be a great evening.  Make sure you get your ticket soon because we have invited the Golden Eagles to join us and we only have room for 350.  This event will sell out, and you will not be able to get a ticket at the door.  Spread word quickly, and be sure to join us on for our Thanksgiving Celebration.

I am praying that God will bless you and make you a blessing.

--Pastor Deone--