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Thanksgiving Surprise

11/26/2020

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God loves to surprise. He promises to do so, and in my experience He has awesomely kept His word. Since beginning to record His surprises twenty-one years ago, I have recorded over 650 unusual ones. Sometimes they are negative, but overwhelmingly they are positive, because God is good by nature.
If you have a few minutes to read, maybe you will rejoice in seeing the hand of God through what He did yesterday. And as usual, the blessings are often in the tiny details. Here are the main facts.
Two days ago I arrived in Greenville for a quick trip on family business. On Tuesday I went to the DMV with my granddaughter, to buy tags for our car. Because I was registering it in SC for the first time, the lady said there was a fee of $250. My response to her was, “Ouch!” I had no idea. But I had no choice, so I paid for it and walked out thinking, “Lord, that didn’t feel very good.”
Yesterday I was here at Karen Dr. getting ready to meet my sister-in-law for lunch when an elderly gentleman, a long time friend of our family, came by. He lives in another state and I was shocked to see him come to the door. He had heard from my father-in-law that I was here and came by to invite me to lunch, along with a retired missionary couple. I first checked with Debbie, and she was good with it, so I agreed to meet at Red Lobster in 25 minutes.
When I arrived at the restaurant, this gentleman was getting out of his car, and immediately came to me quite embarrassed because he’d just realized he’d accidentally forgotten his wallet. If the restaurant didn’t accept a check, would I mind paying for the meal and he would make the check out to me?
The four of us had a delightful lunch after which I paid. He insisted on following through with the check and asked how much it was. I showed him the amount on my phone and he started writing. Before we left the table I went ahead and unfolded the check.
I said, “Sir, that is enough for us to eat here for a few days!” It was almost exactly what I had left at the DMV the day before.
God loves to surprise. It is one of the many ways He shows us His love and proves His invisible but very real existence. If it were just once or twice, we might feel the pressure to let the skeptic argue for coincidence. But when it happens over a lifetime? Nah, I don’t think so! 
I thank and praise Him for being so loving, so faithful, and so kind.
Happy Thanksgiving! AB


Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
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Our Shield

11/18/2020

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When we think of shields we often think of ancient weaponry, for protection, and in the Bible that is the context. But the concept itself is timeless and very relevant, quite often a serious source of anxiety or peace, depending on your worldview.
Spreakers audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/4202402
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Not a Thread

11/11/2020

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Have you ever been offered a fortune that for ethical reasons you could not accept? Not me. What an interesting predicament. But this is exactly what happened to Abram.
Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/41921023
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Answers

11/11/2020

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Has God answered our prayers? Of course He has.
I have walked with the Lord for many years and He has always answered my prayers. He always answers the prayers of His children.
Sometimes He has done so in remarkable ways, when rejoicing and celebration exploded from my heart. At other times I have been greatly disappointed, and it took weeks, months, or years before I could heartily give Him thanks.
But He has never failed to respond. It is not in His character to ignore His children.
However, He always has the big picture in mind, and it’s as wide as eternity.
We need to be careful that our focus not be so narrow that we cannot accept His answers when they don’t match up with our hopes and dreams.
Besides, He can always surprise us with His goodness.
And He will!


If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?
(Luke 11:12
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Building a Name

11/3/2020

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Millions are voting and the world is watching. Even here in Spain, the headlines are all about the elections in the USA. So many projects, so many plans, and so many dreams are on the table. This week’s devotional is about the decision of multitudes at Babel and that of one man in Ur of the Chaldees. There are important and relevant lessons we can learn for today, even from these events that took place thousands of years ago.

Audio: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/41775936
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