November 2025
Happy Thanksgiving! I thank God for my loved ones who make this outreach possible by giving their time and energy. But most of all, I thank God for our forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul prayed,
". . . giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14, NKJV).
Thank God For The Truth . . .
We overcome the lies and deceptions of this sinful world by faith in the Truth; that love, peace and joy comes through Jesus Christ alone.
"For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:4-5, NLT).
The true joy of Thanksgiving flows from a heart of understanding the Good News of our salvation by believing and receiving the following facts:
GOD LOVES ME!
"Long ago, the LORD said to Israel: 'I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself'" (Jeremiah 31:3, NLT).
"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:9-10, NLT).
GOD HATES SIN . . .
"Therefore, the proud may not stand in your [God's] presence, for you hate all who do evil" (Psalm 5:5, NLT).
"There are six things the LORD hates -- no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family" (Proverbs 6:16-19, NLT).
EVEN IF I AM A " GOOD" PERSON . . .
"People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart" (Proverbs 21:2, NLT).
I HAVE NOT LIVED A PERFECT LIFE.
"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in truth" (1 John 1:8, NLT).
NOR HAS ANYONE ELSE LIVED PERFECTLY.
"Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20, NLT).
"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23, NLT).
MY SIN HAS SEPARATED ME FROM GOD.
"It's your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore" (Isaiah 59:2, NLT).
THE PAYMENT FOR SIN IS DEATH AND HELL.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, NLT).
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28, NLT).
Thank God For The Solution . . .
BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS!
". . . but the angel assured them. 'Don't be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the LORD -- has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David'" (Luke 2:10-11, NLT).
"This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' -- and I am the worst of them all" (1 Timothy 1:15, NLT).
A PERFECT SUBSTITUTE MADE MY PAYMENT.
"And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him" (1 John 3:5, NLT).
GOD LOVES ME SO MUCH.
"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NLT).
HE LAID OUR SINS ON JESUS.
"All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's path to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all" (Isaiah 53:6, NLT).
THROUGH HIS DEATH, HE'S MY SUBSTITUTE FOR SIN.
"He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God" (Romans 4:25, NLT).
"Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18, NLT).
I CAN HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.
"And this is the way to have eternal life -- to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth" (John 17:3, NLT).
"And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12, NLT).
DEATH IS DEFEATED BY HIS RESURRECTION.
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die . . ." (John 11:25-26, NLT).
"For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14b, NLT).
Thank God For Salvation . . .
THIS GIFT IS FREE.
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this, it is a gift from God" (Ephesians 2:8, NLT).
"Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood . . ." (Romans 3:24-25a, b, NLT).
I CAN NEVER EARN SALVATION.
"Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it" (Ephesians 2:9, NLT).
"For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law" (Galatians 2:16c, NLT).
IF I TURN TO GOD AND ACCEPT THIS GIFT . . .
"Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38, NLT).
"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved . . . For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:9, 13, NLT).
MY SINS WILL BE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN.
"He has removed our sins as far as from us as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12, NLT).
The Lord says, ". . . I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins" (Jeremiah 31:34c, NLT).
"Once again you [LORD] will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean" (Micah 7:19, NLT).
I WILL BE RECONCILED TO GOD . . .
"And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was on Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead. 'Come back to God!' For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, NLT).
AND LIVE WITH HIM FOREVER IN HEAVEN.
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (John 5:24, NLT).
". . . I am going to prepare a place for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am" (John 14:2c, 3, NLT).
PRAY & CONFESS: Thank You Father for Your love and forgiveness. I believe that Your Son Jesus died on the cross as my substitute, shedding His blood as payment for my sins. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead and that He is Lord! I call now upon you Holy Spirit to come into my heart for rebirth, salvation and eternal life through Christ. Thank You Lord for saving my soul and for making me whole! Amen!!!
Man's Questions / God's Answers . . .
In this Abounding Love podcast, I share answers to often asked questions. You've probably found that men have a lot of answers, but many of them aren't good answers. And in reality, God has only one answer: His Word, Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 3:15, we are to first sanctify [set apart] the Lord God in our hearts [the seat of our thoughts, choices and emotions]. We're to be set apart for God's use, because we're to be ready to give an answer to the question why we believe as we do as Christians. With this in mind, we'll look at eleven (11) questions people may ask:
#1. Is there a God? Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1 and John 1:1; #2. Am I accountable to God? Romans 14:12; Philippines 2:10-11 and Romans 2:1-5; #3. Does God know all about me? Hebrews 4:13 and Luke 16:15; #4. Does God charge me with sin? Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23; #5. Will God punish sin? Hebrews 2:3 and 10:28-29; #6. Must I perish? 2 Peter 3:9 and John 3:16; #7. How can I escape? Acts 16:31 and Hebrews 12:25; #8. Is God willing to save me? Luke 19:10 and 1 Timothy 1:15; #9. Can I be saved now? 2 Corinthians 6:2 and John 1:12; #10. Can I be saved just as I am? John 6:37 and Matthew 9:13; and #11. Will I be assured of heaven? John 14:1-3 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14. Join me as we look at these eleven questions, and the answers to share with others. Selah!
[Click here for the Abounding Love podcast #230 Man's Questions / God's Answers, dated 10/31/'25].
A Prayer For You . . .
"May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
"So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
"I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation -- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ -- for this will bring much glory and praise to God" (Philippians 1:2-11, NLT).