#BlessingsAbound

 The list is very long.  Starting out this morning, I woke up from a very nice sleep.  That is the first thing I am grateful for and second on my list is that I woke up.  Number three is that I could walk.  I might have been walking crookedly, but I was walking.  My list keeps growing with having a home and a bed and covers and heat.  Of course, there is gratitude for the kitchen with food in the pantry and refrigerator and the toaster and stove to cook the food.  There is so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my family.  God gave me a loving husband and absolutely wonderful children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren.  There are really no words to convey my gratitude for this family.  I have a job and a car and good health to be able to work.  God brought into my life a church family and pastor that is so dear to me.  Then there is my country, the land of the free, and this is such a blessing when other parts of the world is hurting so badly.  These are filling me with great thankfulness.

We have Bibles readily available and books to read and stores to shop in.  There is such an abundance of so much that we have the 'problem' of making choices.  We have policemen to protect us and firemen to help just in case, and stop signs and green lights to control traffic or we would have a big problem.

I am ever grateful that the most Holy Creator God saw fit to place me in a God fearing family which took me to church every Sunday where I would hear about sin and it's consequences and about the Savior who paid for all sin.  I am thankful that the Holy Spirit convicted me of sin and judgement and interceded for me to the point of tenderizing my heart to be able to place my faith in Jesus as my Savior.

There is a home being prepared for me in heaven and I am so thankful that my final destination is there.  I am thankful that God loves us so much and is always working for out good.  And, I am so grateful that this loving God hears and answers our prayers.  These are just a few of the things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving Season.

#Togetherness

 It was a bold idea, that, perhaps Nimrod had, yet, it took hold and everyone supported it.  It would take hard work to accomplish this project. The result would make them famous and create a name for them, so togetherness became the by-word for these people.  They were determined to build a city and a tower that would prove they were to be admired and respected.

They made bricks and used tar as mortar and began this major project.  This happened on the Plain of Shinar which is where Babylon is located, today.  Genesis 11:1-9 tells the story.  The people all spoke one language which made it so easy to communicate and all were of one culture which led to few misunderstandings.

There was one big problem - God had told them to go and fill the earth.  They had decided that was not a good idea.  They liked togetherness more than they liked to obey God.  So, this enormous tower was under construction and moving along quite well.  That is when God got involved.  God knew that upon completion of this tower more confidence would develop in them and they would continue on the road of disobedience.  The one very simple solution developed that led to mass confusion and an utter inability to continue.  They began speaking in different languages and could not understand one another!  The work stopped and they scattered away from each other.

It states in Proverbs 18:10 that "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: The righteous runs into it and is safe."  If they had only trusted in the name of the Lord instead of wanting to create a name for themselves, they might have continued to enjoy togetherness.

This appears to be the first instance of globalism when the people decided to stick together instead of separating and developing their own nations and filling the earth.  How God handled this 'togetherness', this globalism, shows us what He thinks of the idea.  A one world government is not what God has in mind for us humans.  One leader who has made a name for himself instead of honoring the name of the Lord is not a leader to gather around and follow.  We are to trust in the name of the Lord which is our Strong Tower.

#Believers

 We are called 'BELIEVERS' because we believe.  "Everyone believes." you say. Yes, everyone believes something.  It is what you believe that makes the difference.

Would you believe the media?  It is interesting that when a witness is called to court to recount what she saw or heard she is required to swear to 'tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth'.  She cannot leave out any information concerning the event in question or tell a falsehood because leaving out information is the same as telling a lie.

"Let God be true, but every man is a liar." Romans 3:4 tells us.  The Holy Spirit spoke through Paul to make us aware of this fact - every man is a liar.  When the 'rubber meets the road' everyone of us will lie.  We lie for many reasons, but we do lie.  We can't take the word of the media or advertisers or politicians as absolute truth.  We must be discerning and in order to be discerning we must know some facts about the subject.  Otherwise, we will be snookered in.

The Lord Jesus Christ spoke of Himself as 'TRUTH'.  Believers choose to believe God's Word, the written Word and the Word become flesh.  Jesus said, " Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one if born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 and again in verse 18, "He who believes in Him is not judged: he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."  These are facts and Jesus told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  We can believe these words and place our trust in them, absolutely.

Believing Jesus' words makes all the difference in this world and in the world to come.