Happy Thanksgiving to all the family and friends of BBT.  I hope you’ll all be enjoying your own family and friends tomorrow and taking a moment to reflect on all that God has done.  We had a small group at church last Sunday.  Of course we always want more to come, but we were sorry so many missed our guest speaker for Sunday school.  Be sure and listen to the podcasts.

This week I want to share something with you that I’ve been thinking about for a while.  You might have heard about the brouhaha over the new Starbucks cups.  I was disturbed and disappointed by the way some folks reacted to it.  There are definitely times when Christians need to stand up for their believes.  We should resist being pushed out of the public square by the same kind of bigotry that we are often accused of having.  But we need to be careful.

Every year there’s a fuss over one company or another eliminating Christmas from their places of business.  It is sad.  It’s also perfectly reasonable for us to decide to take our dollars to places that don’t do it.  But when we become militant and belligerent about it, I think we’ve forgotten to take Jesus into those very places we want Him to be.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)  We are rightfully disturbed by the things that are happening around us.  We’re supposed to turn the other cheek, but our faces are getting soar and we’re ready to start slapping back.  Someone moves a hand and we launch a preemptive strike.  What we end up doing is reinforcing the negative image that many people already have about what a Christian is.  As we enter another Christmas season, let us prayerfully consider what we do and strive for peace whenever possible.

Come join us as we study God’s word together.  Have a grateful Thanksgiving.  We’ll see you Sunday!

In His love,

Larry