Veterans | Thankful Thursday

I appreciate all the military men and women in our great nation. I know many fought hard and gave their life for our freedom and I am so thankful. I am equally thankful for the men and women in uniform who gave it their all and got to come back home to American soil. History tells us that America has not been kind to our heroes very often. After Vietnam those who were sent overseas and saw things most of us never even see in our worst nightmare, and they returned to a country who turned them into villains and despised them. It is so wrong and for that I am so sorry. I was not alive during that war but my heart breaks to read about the things that was said and done to our war heroes.

Today is Thankful Thursday, and I am so grateful for all our soldiers in every branch of the armed forces. My pastor recognized our veterans today and I got choked up. Tears filled my eyes as I looked into the faces of these brave men and women who fought for our freedom and served in any capacity! I enjoy my freedom in this country because of those who have gone before and those who continue to serve today! God bless you all!!

I have family members who are veterans and I appreciate them so much. I am glad they were allowed to serve and come back home to us when many others were not. I cannot imagine the courage it would take to enlist even in times of peace, knowing how volatile this world is right now. I pray for them and thank God for them.

JOHN 15:13 Greater love hath no man this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I do not know anyone who laid down their life for friends. Do you know who did lay down His life for His friends, for the whole wide world? Jesus Christ did that. Not just for the Jews. Not just for His disciples. He died for the entire world. I am so thankful that He gave His life for mine! What a Redeemer! What a loving God we serve!

Are you a friend of God? Jesus goes on in verse 14 to say, "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." That's it! That is the requirement to be a friend of Jesus. Do what He says. Obey Him. Listen to Him. Love Him!

If you are thankful for salvation in Jesus Christ today, why not tell someone? Share your testimony. You never know who needs that kind of encouragement and hope, especially in the troubled times we live in. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, make today the day you say yes to the Master. Put your hand in His nail scarred one and you will never regret it. Do it today!

What are you thankful for on this Thankful Thursday? Let God know it!

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Veterans Day | Bible Study

Happy Veterans Day! I am so thankful for the men and women who sacrificed for my freedom! God bless you all. I know it is hard on military families to have their mom/dad, wife/husband, son/daughter in the military and miss holidays, special events, birthdays, and other celebrations but what a wonderful gift you have shared with me and my family and countless others across this great land!

I have a lot of relatives who are/were veterans, including my father-in-law Roy. We are so thankful for the gift of service they have shared. I am so blessed to be free and I do not take it lightly. I realize freedom is never free and many paid the cost with their very lives.

We, at Blue's Blessings would like to thank every veteran for their service! Kadesia designed these Veterans Day Activity Cards for this month's subscription boxes. I am excited to share them here on my blog.

I realize this month's Bible study posts have been different than other Bible studies I have shared but I wanted to emphasize the special honor it is to celebrate our heroes and read what God's Word says about the sacrifices these men and women made.

JOHN 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

There were many men and women who literally gave their life for their country. The folded flags and marked graves tell the story without words. As those they left behind tried to put one foot in front of another, numbly navigating this life without their loved one, their hero was gone but not forgotten. Jesus said there is no greater love than for someone to lay their life down for their friends. He should know because He did the same thing. He laid down His life for His friends and His enemies. He took the thorns and the nails for the very people who placed Him on that cross. I want to remind you of His last words as He died for the salvation of the entire world.

LUKE 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." 

LUKE 23:34 Then said Jesus, "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do." And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.

LUKE 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise." 

Jesus knew what was going to happen after He died. He comforted the daughters of Jerusalem and told them to cry for themselves and their children because of the wickedness all around them. He asked forgiveness for the very ones who were crucifying Him! He had mercy on the cross as a criminal cried out for salvation.

With the final breath in His body He was comforting, forgiving, and saving. He was loving to the very end of His life. I don't know about you but if I was tortured and beaten and crucified, forgiveness of those who were wounding me would not be the first thoughts in my mind. Yet, Jesus, the Son of God, could have called down the host of angel armies in heaven who were no doubt on the verge of heaven looking down in grief and pain at what we had done to the Master! They were ready and waiting for Him to call them to bring Him relief and take Him Home but Jesus never summoned them. They would have obeyed in an instant and spared Him of the heartache and the grief He experienced in the garden the night before. Jesus did not take the easy way out. No, He paid the extremely high price for a world that did not love Him first, and some did not love Him at all. Could you do that?

We might be willing to die for someone we love but none of us has enough love, compassion, grace, and mercy to be tortured and killed for someone who hates us. It's okay though, because we do not have the power Jesus has to forgive. Our death would not mean much. We could not redeem fallen humanity with our life. Jesus did that.

So on this Veterans Day as we remember and honor the brave men and women who laid it all on the line, and those who continue to do so, let's not neglect to thank God for the sacrifice of His Son Jesus who died for our sins.

God bless you and God bless America and America bless God!

~Bridgett Owens