True Friends

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

?Proverbs 18:24

We cannot choose our coworkers necessarily. We cannot choose all the members of our family. But we can choose our friends.

Choose your friends carefully, and look for godly friends. Look for friends who love God, who will speak the truth to you, who will help to build you up, and who will be godly influences on you.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, those three Hebrew teenagers we read about in the book of Daniel, appeared to be great friends. They supported one another. When everyone else turned against them and everyone else was worshiping a false god, these three stuck together as godly friends, even in the fiery furnace. We need friends like this.

So how do we find out which of our friends are true friends? Here is one way: wholeheartedly commit your life to Jesus Christ, and you will find out who your true friends are. Before I was a Christian, I thought I had a lot of friends. Then when I asked Christ to come into my life, I realized that I didn’t have any real friends. They all deserted me, because they did not want to follow the God that I had chosen to follow.

Here’s another way to determine who your friends are. They will be standing by you when a hardship or crisis comes. Jesus had a lot of fair-weather friends. They were there when He was doling out bread and fish. When He was healing and speaking His words of love and compassion, they were everywhere. But where were they when He was arrested and taken away? They were gone. A true friend will be loyal to the end.

Thanksgiving... and More

Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. — Psalm 105:1




Thanksgiving Day has long been a favorite holiday of mine. For me, life doesn’t get much better than a holiday that includes great food, friends and family, and football. It is appropriate and good that we take focus on this day to give thanks to God for all of His blessings to us – as individuals and as a nation.

For most of us, a thankful thought here and there, reading a poem, article or story about thankfulness, and a prayer before dinner is about the extent of our focus on thanks – which if you’re at all like me, is a significant focus! I find it very interesting, however, that in generations past, a day of thanksgiving also included a focus on confession of sin (both national and personal), and prayers that we might be the kind of people and nation God wants us to be, and that God would heal the wounds of war.

“And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed…” George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789.

“And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.” Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863.

Today, while you are enjoying the blessing of home, food, family and friends, even as we give thanks for the blessings we enjoy, let’s also remember that giving thanks is only part of our spiritual duty. We are also called to confession of sin and to ask God to help us (both individually and as a nation) to walk in obedience to all that is right and good, in step with God’s desire for our lives.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.





There are several reasons why we should give thanks with grateful and cheerful hearts:

God is great! The psalmist said, “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised…” (Psalm 96:4). As high as the heavens, so is the greatness of our God. Whether you’re looking through a microscope or a telescope, you can see the greatness of God, because all creation sings praises unto Him.
God is good! Exodus 34:6 tells us the Lord is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…” He always seeks the best for His children. Whether things are good or bad in your life, you can know that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God’s goodness is powerful, present, and compassionate!
God is merciful! It is his mercy that causes us to praise Him. We don’t deserve His grace and mercy. As a matter of fact, if we got what we deserved, we’d all spend eternity in hell. But because of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection three days later, God gives us His unconditional love and grace.


Christ pulled us from the pits. With His love and grace, His strong arms lifted us out and put us on higher ground. That’s why we should be thankful every single day! We were once estranged and alienated from God and because of His greatness, goodness, and mercy, He forgave us of our sins and gave us life everlasting. How vast and immeasurable is the love and grace of God!



If you want to give thanksgiving to God in your life: celebrate each day as a gift to God, set a time daily for thanksgiving and gratitude to God, express gratitude to the people in your life, share the grace of God with others, faithfully serve with joyful obedience, and surrender your life unconditionally to Him.



YOU’LL HAVE A HEART OF GRATITUDE WHEN YOU’VE EXPEIRENCED THE GRACE OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST.

Sweet Potato Times”

This was sent to me from a reader of my blog .Thanks to Sharon Alexander , she is 92 ,

Key Verse:

Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (NIV)



Devotion:

Another Thanksgiving spent with my husband’s family. I did not want to go, again. I begrudged the yearly expectation to show up with a smile and a hot dish. My list of complaints grew each year as to why we shouldn’t go. For example:



The turkey stuffing included raisins.

The rolls were store bought.

The glazed ham with pineapple slices was not to my taste.

All we did was watch football, not play games.

The women mingled in the kitchen; the men hung out in the den.

Plus, they always served sweet potatoes and I do not like them.



I griped incessantly each year pressuring my husband to stay home. My husband must have felt the truth of Proverbs 21:19, “Better to live in a tent in the wild than with a cross and petulant spouse” (The Message).



Now the funny thing about it, I love his family. However, my independent spirit yearned for my own holiday traditions. Any small displeasure validated my excuse not to spend Thanksgiving with them.



Finally one year on the way to his parent’s home, I snapped. The recipe I was assigned to bring was sweet potatoes. I’m sure you know the recipe that includes lots of brown sugar, marshmallows and butter spread across the top of the orange squashy vegetable. (Remember, I do not like sweet potatoes of any kind.) I wrapped the steamy dish in towels to transport it to Thanksgiving dinner. We piled the kids into the back seat. I plopped down in the front seat and my husband placed the hot pan of syrupy bubbling goo on my lap. As we rounded the first corner from our house, the pan slid, tipped and spilled all across my beige pants. My legs burned and my eyes filled with tears. I let all my pent-up frustration break upon my husband as my children sat silently with their eyes looking down. I ruined Thanksgiving for everyone.



As I look back, I realize how selfish I acted each year. My heart did not display thankfulness for my husband, my kids, the extended family or the abundance of delectable provision God provided each year. All I thought about was me. Even worse, I illustrated a poor example of Christian behavior to primarily unbelieving relatives.



Times change.



Two of my three grown children now live out-of-state. My dear mother-in-law died a year ago. Funny how time alters our feelings. At this moment, I would jump at the chance to return to a past Thanksgiving. I would watch my children play with their cousins. I would hug my mother-in-law. I would bring that silly marshmallow orange glob and I would eat it with relish. I miss those sweet potato times.



This Thanksgiving, remember to be grateful for the small things in life. And if you are married, give your husband the opportunity to say, “House and land are handed down from parents, but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.” (Proverbs 19:14, The Message.) Joyfully give thanks to the Father God, not only for the food, but for the family, friends and circumstances that you find yourself involved with this Thanksgiving. Because times change and there is a season for everything.



My Prayer for Today:

Father, remind me that time changes circumstances. Let me display grace and thanksgiving throughout these holidays, regardless of what I want. Help me to exhibit kindness, patience and joy to my family and friends. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.



Application Steps:

1. Make a list of everyone you anticipate to gather with you on Thanksgiving Day. Write one compliment for each person and share it with him or her with a grateful heart.



2. If you crave something special to eat for Thanksgiving Day, stock your pantry with the ingredients. Decide to prepare it for the holiday or to enjoy it sometime this month.



Reflection Points:

What do I tend to complain about during the holidays?



Is there something I dislike that will change over time?



Would my husband say I am a congenial or petulant spouse?



How can I change my attitude to reflect a truly thankful heart?



Power Verses:

Philippians 2:5, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” (NIV)



Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (NIV)



Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.” (NIV)

Opportunity

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.

Christian One Liners

Don't let your worries get the
best of you; remember, Moses started
out as a basket case.
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Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited
until you try to sit in their pews.
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Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisors.
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It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.
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The good Lord didn't create anything
without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.
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When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.
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People are funny; they want the
front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.
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Opportunity may knock once, but temptation
bangs on your front door forever.
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Quit griping about your
church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.
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If the church wants a
better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
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God Himself does not propose
to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?
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Some minds are like concrete
thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
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Peace starts with a smile.
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I don't know why some people
change churches; what difference does
it make which one you stay home from?!
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A lot of church members who
are singing "Standing on the Promises"
are just sitting on the premises.
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We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.
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Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.
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Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
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Don't put a question mark where God put a period.
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Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.
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Forbidden fruits create many jams.
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God doesn't call the qualified,
He qualifies the called.
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God grades on the cross, not the curve.
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God loves everyone, but probably prefers
"fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts!"
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God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
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He who angers you, controls you!
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If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!
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Prayer:
Don't give God instructions -- just report for duty!
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The task ahead of us is never as
great as the Power behind us.
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The Will of God never takes you to
where the Grace of God will not protect you.
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We don't change the message, the message changes us.
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You can tell how big a person
is by what it takes to discourage him.
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The best mathematical equation I have ever seen:
1 cross + 3 nails= 4 given.
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If this e-mail blessed you in a profound
way today my Dear Friend, PLEASE pass this along to
everyone in your address book
to bless them today, tomorrow and ALWAYS! May God and
His Son bless you from today on out! Don't FORGET
pass this e-mail along, I'm sure someone
will LOVE it just as much as you and I did.

Life {2}

"The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7 NIV

Thoughts for Today
If you were traveling on an airplane, who would you want in control of flying the plane: a trained pilot … or a six-year-old child?

If you were having surgery, who would you want to be in control of the surgery: a doctor … or a gourmet chef?

If you need help for your life, who would you want to be in control: Almighty God who created all things and is all-knowing and all-powerful and loves you unconditionally … or you, the created?

Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

Our world is in turmoil today. Wars, terrorists and famines. Traditional values being turned upside down. Horrific crimes. Financial ups and downs. But amid the turmoil is a place of security. Of indescribable peace. That place of refuge is in Jesus.

Consider this…
If you are already trusting Jesus to be in control of your life, continue standing fast and strong. The turmoil around us will continue and is likely to grow, but Jesus will always be greater.

"Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence." Ephesians 3:12 NLT

Prayer
Jesus, thank you for providing a place of safety and peace in the middle of chaos. I want to trust you as Lord of my life and experience the peace that only you can give.