A Perfect Guarantee

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God Himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:2-5 NLT

Guarantee. What a wonderful word. When you purchase a new appliance, they always ask you if you want warrantee protection. A guarantee that the appliance will last, will function correctly and will be replaced if it doesn’t work. So God gives us a greater guarantee—the Holy Spirit. Take a look at the qualities of the Holy Spirit. To begin with He has the God qualities of Omniscient, Omnipresent, Immutable, Omnificent, Eternal, Truth, and Love. I think we could add Holy, Helper and Humble. Humble, since He always puts God the Father and Jesus Christ above Himself. Helper—for that is the title that Jesus gave Him—and that is part of His mission, to help us lowly humans remember what Jesus taught. And Holy—as that is part of His very name. He teaches us to be holy, because He is Holy.

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit—give us grace to seek Your holiness in our lives—and to continue to be thankful everyday.

Friday’s Feast at the Lord’s Table

Leftovers? Is turkey your favorite leftover after Thanksgiving dinner? Or is there some other leftover that you crave more of as you open the refrigerator to peruse leftovers on the day after one of the biggest dinners of the year. Not everyone has LOTS of leftovers—but favorites at my house include leftover dressing and my homemade cranberry sauce. My niece suggested using any extra cranberry sauce for a tasty addition to homemade scones. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

1 bag - 12 ounce fresh cranberries
2 finely chopped apples—any variety
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice, plus ½ orange, coarsely chopped and the zest of one orange  
1 cup sugar, or less to taste
1 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger (candied ginger)
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a gentle boil over a medium-low heat. Cook about 15 minutes. Uncover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 5 minutes until sauce thickens.
Transfer the sauce to a heatproof serving dish and cool 10 minutes. Serve warm or you may cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or more before serving. Makes 3 cups. Serve with turkey, and then on turkey sandwiches the next day. To create cranberry scones swirl ½ cup of sauce into scones batter before baking. Enjoy anytime of the year by using frozen cranberries.

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

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