A Thanksgiving Surprise

Thanksgiving Goodies and Surprises

How was your Thanksgiving holiday?

We had a blast here at our house.

It was especially memorable this year, but more on that later!

Thanksgiving holiday

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my husband’s world-famous smoked turkey. (Famous in our little world, that is.)

I cooked pretty much everything else, including my Dad’s treasured pecan pie recipe.

Trust me; it is one tasty, break-your-diet, just-one-more-piece, kind of a delicious pecan pie.

A Thanksgiving Surprise

Does God have a sense of humor?

I believe that He does.

Something happened this Thanksgiving that we’ll never forget. We had a couple of friends coming over that evening and, as soon as they arrived, well, I wouldn’t believe it myself if I hadn’t been there.

We heard their knocks on the door, and I went to answer. As soon as I opened the door, our guests came in, and so did…

A bird!

A surprise visitorI’m not kidding.

A bird flew in!!!

This little guy treated our house as his own personal airport. He flew upstairs and down, and all around, with the four of us gently trying to catch him.

We even got the big ladder out.

It was quite comical, and I wondered if this kind of thing ever happens to anyone else.

Maybe it was bird revenge because we were smoking one of his relatives!

Anyway, it took about twenty minutes for our fine-feathered visitor to get tired of flying from room to room.

For one last time, he flew down the stairs. One of our friends quickly opened the front door, and our little bird finally flew out.

What an adventure!

A fun Thanksgiving, indeed.

Jesus Knocks

Fortunately for all of us, eternal salvation is not elusive like that little bird.

In the book of Revelation, Scripture tells us what Jesus said to the lukewarm church in Sardis:

20Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:20, (ESV).

Do we understand what “opening the door means”?

It’s not just saying words like “I accept Jesus into my heart” that saves us.

Are we “lukewarm” like that church?

Do we have evidence of a changed life?

Are we living out our faith in Him, or just going through the motions every Sunday at church?

Do we put our complete trust in Him, or in our own ability to “handle things”?

Something to keep in mind.

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*Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Grace

His Grace Is Enough

The word “Grace” is, to me, one of the most beautiful words in the English language. When you think about what the word means, unexpected and unmerited favor, it gives me great encouragement to know that God created the potential of this beautiful quality in all of us so that we can share it with others.

Grace started with Him. His grace is enoughWhen Jesus paid the penalty for yours and my sin, His grace covered all of it.

Do we still sin? Yes, but if we truly repent, God forgives and continues to refine and perfect us. Remember the “potter and the clay” analogy? It’s a perfect description of how God works in all of our lives. God’s grace is a refining fire in the midst of trials.

Everyone has the opportunity to receive His grace. It makes me sad when I hear that there are people who still believe they have to earn their way into Heaven.

They can’t. It’s impossible. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal salvation and that is the path we must take.

A Thorny Path

It’s a path that’s sometimes filled with thorns. Bad things will happen to us – we can expect it at some point in our lives. We may even question God about the injustice of it all.

Take heart, dear one.

God has promised He would always be with us, and if it’s in His divine plan, He will bring healing if it accomplishes His purpose. There is always a purpose.

Cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease – there are so many words like these that strike fear and discouragement when they become a part of our lives or of someone we love.

How do we survive a diagnosis such as these?

faith and prayerWith Faith. It has to be with Faith.

Please add “a lot of prayer from friends and family” to that because God listens to every one. He hears your every heart beat and He hears your every word. Trust in Him and His plan for your life. We know that God is already working your suffering for good, maybe tomorrow or maybe way into the future. We must trust Him, even when the healing doesn’t come in this life.

A friend of mine, Martha F. from Texas, has experienced God’s grace within her own family. We are all sinners in the eyes of God. Here’s a verse to illustrate that from the book of Romans:

Romans 3:23 —

* 23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

All is Not Lost However

Taken by itself, one might think that all is lost, that there’s no way we can measure up. But all is not lost. Jesus provided a way for us to spend our lives eternally in His presence and where there will be nothing but joy.

Martha adds:

This verse sums up the human race to me and the grace that is available to all who receive Jesus as their Savior. It is a reminder to me that no one, no not one, of us are pure and blameless, but we have hope in Jesus as He took the punishment for our sins. Everyone has sinned, but everyone also has the opportunity to receive Christ. Because we all are sinners, Jesus died for all, not just an elect few. We all have the opportunity, as we are all sinners, to receive eternal salvation.

Nothing Compares To God’s Grace

We will have an eternal future with Him that will be better than anything we have ever experienced – that means all the beautiful sunsets, fun times spent with our loved ones, personal experiences with grace, exciting vacations, alone time spent with God – when it’s our time to leave this world, we will spend our time with Him in His holy presence and nothing can even compare with that.

His grace will always be enough. Here’s a song I love by Sara Groves. I hope you enjoy. God bless you all this week.

*Bible reference – English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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