Being thankful is a practice of expressing gratitude during the Thanksgiving holiday, focusing on appreciating what you have, reflecting on blessings, and sharing thanks with others.
It can involve any different things, like giving back to the community, expressing appreciation to friends and family, or reflecting on positive moments from the past years.
The world has gotten us into thinking that thanking God for the positive doesn’t exist. Many focus on the negative things in their life. This doesn’t solve anything, it only hinders family conflicts and adds pressure to an already boiling pot.
So today -Thanksgiving. Try to think positively, and focus on your blessings and not your burdens. This will give us opportunities for growth and test our faith.
Dressed to Kill, by Rick Renner, is one of the best books on spiritual warfare Ive read. In it he discussed five packs of swords that the Roman soldier could use. In the Ephesians 6 apostle Paul, identifies seven pieces of armor that we are to use so that we may stand firm against the enemy.
In Roman times the most deadly sword was called a machaira sword. Rick wrote about how Ephesians 6:17, “And take up…the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
The pole Paul said in Ephesians, that the sort of the spirit is the word of God. This is the rhema, a word which is an inspired utterance from the Lord. It can be defined as a spoken word by a living voice or divine spoken word from the Holy Spirit.
A rhema a word is a clearly spoken word and undeniable, unshakable, and unquestionable language that we hear and understand. Throughout Biblical history, both men and women who have made critical decisions or life-changing moves, simply because they heard a word from the Lord. God speaks undeniable, unmistakable, and questionable word to them, and they obey it. As a result God’s people who are obedient to the spoken Word of God, extraordinary accomplishment have occurred.
One thing I found over the years is that the sort of the spirit helps me stand firm against the enemy by cutting down the work of darkness.
The apostle Paul advanced the kingdom of God. He heard the rhema Word of God and obeyed it, the Gospel of Jesus was advanced against the wiles of Satan.
The Holy Spirit desired to speak a rhema word to us too. He wants to speak to us in undeniable, unmistakable, and unquestionable language that we hear and understand. The challenge becomes in the way we live in such a way that we are able to hear the subtle voice of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 4:7 says, “Today if you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts.” I believe the issue is not if God is speaking, but if we’re listening.
We must arrange our lives in a position of intimacy to hear what Jesus is saying to us. Intimacy with Jesus is fundamental to hearing, and it’s how we’re equipped to use the sword of the Spirit against the schemes of the enemy.
Being set apart for God probably isn’t a concept many understand. In the Hebrew language the word ‘Kadosh’ traditionally means to be separated or set apart for a specific purpose. It involves surrendering one’s life, actions, and mind to God.
There are some key aspects of being set apart for God:
Dedication and surrender: it involves dedicating one’s life to it in all aspects mind, body, and will to God’s use and service.
Holiness: living a life of holiness, which is a state of being unique and separate from the world’s norms. This involves reflecting God’s character in one’s behavior.
Transformation, Being set apart is not just an external change, but an internal transformation by the Holy Spirit, leading to a renewed mind that can discern God’s will for one’s life.
Purpose and mission: It is a calling to a life of purpose, often including a mission to be ‘salt and light’ in a world, and to share the good news (the gospel) with others.
The identity: The term ‘saints’ in the Bible refers to believers who have been set apart, meaning God had claimed and reserved them to His own use.
When we are set apart for God it means we are called to live according to God’s commands, which often contrasts with societal norms.
It means bearing the fruit of the Spirit. A life set apart is marked by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) such as love, joy, peace, and self-control.
Being set apart means being a “living sacrifice.” This means dedicating one’s whole life -body, mind, and actions as a holy offering. This involves presenting one’s entire self as a response to God’s mercy, setting oneself apart from the world, and aligning oneself with desires, plans, and actions with God’s will. This is an act of worship that involves a continuous process of transformation and surrendering oneself to live a life that is pleasing to God.
King David in Psalm 19:14, says it like this. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of m heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”
This prayer of acceptance is what we need to strive for every day.
I very seldom get much sleep, usually, I get 4-5 hours at night. That leaves a big space in the day that I am awake. I’ve been this way for years. And have been checked out by multiple doctors. Basically, they put me on medication that keeps me in a “zombie state” all day. In which I cannot function at all. So, I chose to listen to my body and God manage my time accordingly.
I have developed coping strategies that prioritize my tasks, my Bible study time, and praying are early in the morning, usually, between 2 and 4 AM. As to not wake up my husband. I make sure I eat and stay hydrated to avoid energy crashes. I make sure I get plenty of sunlight and try to stay active. And I try to take power naps every day that last 15 to 20 minutes.
I choose to use my long days to allow God to use me wherever He needs me. And It has definitely helped me to become closer to Him and listen with my eyes and hears.
God is the “great physician,” and when we listen to Him, things have a way of working itself out. He knows what is going on and what I can handle, and I trust that He doesn’t want me to have be on sleeping medication because many have different side effects that can be dangerous.
It’s about prioritizing your time awake, and learning to listen to your body and what it’s telling you.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits. The God of our salvation” -Psalm 68:19
The word team is defined as a “group of people working together on a specific task.” It is true to say that all who follow Jesus form a team. We are a group of people who are called by Jesus to work together with the common purpose of carrying out His will on earth. Understanding this all of us are part of God’s purpose.
Since we as believers are part of the team, we can say that God is our head coach, along with His Son Jesus (who saved us) and His Holy Spirit (who empowers us) can play in this game of life.
The game’s schedule is tough and lengthy though. 365 days a year, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. We never stop playing because life never stops happening.
More than that, we play against the same opponent every day. Satan’s team is powerful and determined. Their coach is crafty and clever. He is committed to his game plan of killing, stealing, and destroying (John 10:10). He’s playing to win, and he already has many victories. Just take a look at what’s going on in the world today. There’s a lot of evil in it that we can clearly see. Many lives have been impacted for the worse. Confidence when facing satan can be hard to come by, which is important that we always remember what Romans 8:37 says, “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.”
This is so important to understand, “that we are more than conquerors.” We will be victorious.
Romans 8:37 guarantees that even with all the power that Satan thinks he has in his arsenal, it is those of us on God’s team who will ultimately see the victory. God’s players will be the champions. There is nothing that can stop God’d game plan from succeeding in the lives of His players -except one thing. What can stop His plan?
His own players. It might not seem possible. But, we can stop God’s plan in our lives by abandoning His plan and doing our own thing.
Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in Me and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. Doing our own things means that we have abandoned God’s plan.
Many times, as players on God’s team, the toughest battles we face in the game of life are the ones against ourselves. We get in God’s way by not allowing Him to have His way. When we decide to take on a role of head coach, we replace God’s plan with our own.
What comes to mind on the above verse John 15:5 are the words remain in Me. This is a challenging task for each of us. Not only should we let Jesus take the lead, but also allow Jesus to keep up the lead. It means staying connected to God which causes fruit bearing to occur. Jesus makes it clear that we will never be able to accomplish anything meaningful for God without a connection to His Son.
We may start off obeying His game plan but then be tempted to give up on it as some point. Jesus clearly warns that whenever we try to live according to our own set of rules, plans, or opinions, we are getting set to accomplish a whole lot of nothing.
There is only one way to play on God’s team – His way. Knowing that the game plan of Jesus is the only one that will work for His team is an important aspect to grasp because we live in a world that tends to ignore this truth. Many people, rather than depending on the Bible’s instructions have chosen to trust their own wisdom when determining what Jesus will or will not accept from them.
This is how some players become game-day players. They don’t pray or read scripture that much during the week, but on game day – Sabbath day, that’s when God gets a lot of attention. It’s like wanting protection from injuries, the vision on the field, and the victory all wrapped up in one day. We cannot ignore Jesus all week and expect all His blessings.
No one can change God’s Word. He wants all of us, not just one or two days a week. We can’t pull this off. We cannot redefine the way Jesus works. Our earthly opinions will never be able to replace God’d breathed scripture. We need to follow Jesus only. Without twisting, manipulating, or tailoring it. The Bible must be our ultimate source of truth and guidance. It alone is the complete playbook and perfect game plan of God. All other methods will fail if they try to replace or compromise God’s truth.
When people accept Jesud and join His team but then make a lifelong continued effort to play by their own rules, they will become players He cannot use. By ignoring the game plan of God, you are cutting yourself off from the team.
Choosing to live by our own rules is like walking up to Jesus and saying, “I’m sorry, Coach, I love being on your team, but I just don’t like certain parts of your game plan. So I’ll just go with mine instead, but I’m gonna need your blessings on my plans.” If this is your approach to the biblical plan of God, then you need to consider yourself a withered branch disconnected from the tree.
Nowhere in scripture do we read about a Jesus who allows us to ignore Him yet use and abuse His power.
A player on God’s team is defined by the fact that we strive to follow Jesus every day, because for each of us, every day should be a game day.
Remember we get out what we put in.
On any team, it is not the game plan alone that determines success, but also the effort given toward executing it. As believers, we face an opponent who gives maximum effort every day. Satan’s team plays with relentless effort bent on destroying our lives.
I used to help my nagymama and father with 2 specific recipes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas. These 2 I still make today.
I remember by nagymama having my aunt mail yams to her, because they differed from American yams. But after she passed away, it caused us to change the recipe up a bit. I think this recipe is more southern than Hungarian. But it’s good, so good my family requests it year after year.
It’s yams, with honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar with butter. It’s better when used with fresh yams, not canned yams. I remember my father would let me drizzle on the honey when I was small.
Candied Yams
The other is turkey stuffing with ground beef and pork and spices like onion, garlic, ground sage, ground ginger, chicken or beef broth, and diced celery, with chestnuts, and can add pine nuts for extra flavor.
Everyone has people in their lives, who shape them, support them, and inspire them to become better version of themselves. For me, there are a few people who hold that place of honor in my life. My husband and my Pastor. Though they play very different roles in my life, both of them have profoundly influence who I am, how I see the world and how I walk out my faith each day.
My husband is my closest friend and strongest companion. He is the person I trust with my struggles and every day hopes. His patience and kindness and will to protect me at any cost create a sense of safety that anchors me, his humor and warmth makes even ordinary days feel special. One of the things I admire most about him is his steady character he is the same loving, supportive man in private as he is in public. His commitment to our marriage, his work and our family encourages me to be just a dedicate and intentional in my own life. With him, I feel loud, not just for who I am today, but who I am growing to become. My pastor played a different, but equally important role in my life. Through his teaching, guidance, and example helped strengthen my relationship with God and deepen my understanding of the Bible. His sermons are not just messages, they are lessons that challenge me to grow, to forgive, and to live with more compassion. I love how he has a genuine heart for people. He listens without judgment, encourages without pressure, and constantly demonstrates the humility and grace that he preaches. His leadership has shaped my spiritual walk and given me a clearer vision of what a life of faith looks like in action.
Although , they influence me in different ways -one through personal relationship, and the other through spiritual direction they both bring out the best in me.
What gets us into heaven religion or relationship? The path to heaven is not based on following a set of rules, but having faith in Jesus Christ, believing in His atoning death and resurrection, and repenting our sins.
There are core requirements we need to begin a relationship with God:
Faith In Jesus: believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins and was resurrected.
Repentance: Acknowledge your sins, and turn away from them, asking forgiveness.
Receiving God’s gift: Accept the give of salvation through faith which includes His righteousness, rather than trying to earn it through your own works.
There are some additional practices that are rooted in the Bible.
Baptism by immersion of water is an important act of faith that represents a believer’s commitment to Jesus and the washing away of sins (John 3:23, Matthew 3:16).
Living a moral life involves striving to live according to God’s moral standards and avoiding specific sins, which are seen as evidence of your faith and a way to stay in a state of grace.
An analogy I heard years ago is this:
If you go to a stranger’s home and say, “I’m moving in with you, and you have to let me because I’m a good person” of course they would say “no.”
So, why on judgment day when we meet Jesus do we expect Him to let us move into heaven just because we think we are good? He doesn’t know you because you never had a relationship with Him.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord, will enter enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?.’ Then I will tell them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you worker of iniquity.”
This passage is a warning about false believers who perform religious deeds in Jesus’s name but lack a genuine, personal relationship with Him.
My pet peeves are people interrupting me when I’m talking. It is so disrespectful that I sometimes I just walk away. My second one is seeing people who are rude to the waitress or waiter at a restaurant. One thing is for sure if I am at the table and the person is rude to the worker, I will not be going to a meal with them again. The third thing is when people have no regard for other people. It’s all about them, and when you ask them to stop they play the victim card.
Could you imagine how devastating it was for the disciples to see Jesus go? But the Holy Spirit needed to be sent to us.
I can not imagine the pain and uncertainty the disciples felt when Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection. Knowing they would face these feelings, Jesus prepared His disciples before His crucifixion. He told them He needed to go away and send the promised helper, the Holy Spirit. It actually was to their advantage that He go away and send the helper (John 16:7-15). The Holy Spirit is with us now, dwelling within every born-again believer. He does so much to encourage, equip, protect, and guide His people.
Jesus responded to the sorrow that had filled His disciples’ hearts. He had shared with them that He was not just going away, but they were going to experience some extremely difficult days of persecution even unto death. Nevertheless, in spite of this Jesus told them. Even though they would feel alone they were going to suffer, the Holy Spirit would be there to help them along the way.
Because Jesus in His humanity restrained Himself to time and space, it was to the advantage of His disciples then, and now they He goes away and sends the Helper, the Holy Spirit so the disciples might experience His presence and power with them always, and everywhere. While I’m sure it was terribly upsetting and disheartening to witness what was about to take place, it was better for them if Jesus went away, or the Helper would not come.
The Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus was exalted. Since the work of atonement must first be accomplished for Jesus to be glorified, and since the Helper represented the presence of Jesus. Jesus by definition must depart before the Holy Spirit (helper) can be given. It was only through the internal presence of the Jesus Spirit (the Holy Spirit )will the disciples and we could truly understand Jesus.
John 16:8-9 lays out the basic role of the Holy Spirit. “And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.”
There is only one question when it comes to sin and judgment. Do you believe in Jesus? If you have saving faith in Jesus, then your sin is atoned for in full. Your debt is completely paid. But to reject Jesus in this life will result in judgment in the next.
Thankfully while we still have breath, the Holy Spirit‘s work regarding sin is conviction, not judgment. He will convict the world concerning sin. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is intended to lead us to repentance and confession, not guilt and shame. Our default status as sinners is to reject Jesus, to not believe in Him. So, we need the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins in order to bring us to repentance and belief in Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is making us more like Jesus. There comes an increasing righteousness in our lives if we have the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring change to our lives of born-again believers.
Jesus promised in John 16:24 that when the Holy Spirit comes, “He will guide you into all the truth and will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears (from God) He will speak.”
I really don’t have a preference between the two. I have lived near the mountains all my life. I could adapt to the beach very well. I have read that preferences are subjective and depend on personality and desired activities.
From Pity to Praise 