Test Your Knowledge of Thanksgiving

With all the controversy about the origins of Thanksgiving (was it the Pilgrims or Squanto that celebrated it first?) I thought I would steer clear in this post and focus instead on some fun facts surrounding the holiday. And, of course, what better way to do that than with a test? Have fun with the following questions and then, most of all, have a happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

1. Approximately how many pounds of turkey will Americans feast upon on Thanksgiving Day? (a) 200 million pounds; (b) 500 million pounds; (c) 900 million pounds; (d) 1 billion pounds.

2. On Thanksgiving day the average person will consume how many calories of food? (a) 3,400; (b) 6,000; (c) 3,500; (d) 4,500.

3. The original date to celebrate Thanksgiving Day was established by which American President? (a) George Washington; (b) Thomas Jefferson; (c) Abraham Lincoln; (d) Franklin Roosevelt.

4. The number of places in the United States named after the Thanksgiving holiday's traditional main course (ie. Turkey, Texas - pop. 489; Turkey Creek, Louisiana - pop. 363; Turkey, North Carolina - pop. 270) equals: (a) 5 towns & 9 townships; (b) 4 towns and 9 townships; (c) 3 towns & 9 townships; (d) 2 towns & 9 townships.

5. The following part(s) of a turkey is/are not edible: (a) gizzard; (b) gobble; (c) giblet; (d) wattle.

6. Turkeys are unusual creatures. Can you name something unusual about the turkey? (a) they have heart attacks; (b) they can drown if they look up when its raining; (c) they fly to Australia in the summer; (d) they stick their heads in the sand.

7. Which food item(s) was/were missing from the original Thanksgiving feast? (a) pumpkin pie; (b) milk; (c) bread & butter; (d) cheese.

Answers: 1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (c) 5. (b) & (d) 6. (a) & (b) 7. (a), (b), (c) & (d).

(This test was developed and based on information from the following websites: Thanksgiving Gifts - Fun Facts about Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving by the Numbers, Turkey FAQ, and Turkey Facts & Thanksgiving Fun.)

What About The Faithful Who've Died?

There are three things that are true about believing loved ones that have gone on. The first thing that's true is: They’re with the Lord. They go to heaven. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, the Apostle Paul writes (and I paraphrase) in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, the second part of v. 8. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And so when a believer in Jesus Christ dies, they are no longer there in their body. But they're some where. At the exact moment after their last breath, these go directly to Jesus. It’s the first thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re with the Lord. They go to heaven. It's that quick, my friends. And now the second thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re made whole. They get new bodies. ******* And when Jesus first reappeared after rising from the dead – have you ever read it? – the disciples were “startled and frightened,” the Bible says, “and thought that they were seeing a spirit” (Lk. 24:37). But then Jesus said to His startled and frightened disciples – He spoke and said, “‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have’” (Lk. 24:38). The fact is Jesus had a restored body after having died and come back to life. Jesus had a restored body. And then He even went on to ask for something to eat to give further proof. I just love that story. Have you ever read it? ******* “For this perishabl[e, my brothers and sisters] (that is, these frail and very temporary bodies of ours) - For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting’” (1 Cor. 15:53-55). It’s the second thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: They’re made whole. They go to heaven. They get new and restored bodies, too! And now on to the third and final thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: We’ll see them again. They will be at the reunion. Will you? ******* What reunion? ******* “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18). The church at Thessalonica worried about believing loved ones who’d gone on and what would happen to them? And so the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 16-18 that I just read so that they would feel at ease. Those who’d gone on were to be a part of the reunion – that grand and glorious reunion when Jesus comes back for His people. Those who’d died wouldn’t be left out of it. Actually, they were the first ones who’d participate. It’s the third and final thing that’s true about believing loved ones that have gone on: We’ll see them again. They go to heaven. They get new and restored bodies, too! They will be at the reunion. Will you? “[I]f you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9). “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed” (Rom. 10: 11bc).

Meant For Worship - Part 2

The Bible declares without contradiction that God and God alone is to be the One whom we worship. We were indeed meant for worship like we saw the woman in the first post of this series worships Elvis. But it's the God who created heaven and earth (and human beings, too) that's to be the focus of our worship, not a person! In Psalm 2:11 the Scriptures say, "Worship the Lord with reverence." In Psalm 29:2 we read, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in holy array." And in Matthew 4:10 Jesus Himself confirms that God is to be our worship focus. In response to the devil's demand for worship Christ declares, "'Begone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only"'" (Mt. 4:10). And the fact that the God we are to worship is Jesus Himself is also made evident through the Scriptures. Our Savior is to be worshiped because He is God. This is important to realize because other religions direct their followers to worship their so-called "gods" which are not really gods at all. Jesus Christ is the one and only true God (Titus 2:13). Speaking of Him Hebrews 1:6 states, "And let all the angels of God worship Him (Christ)" (Heb. 1:6; Ps. 97:7). And in Matthew 2:11 it says, "...[The Magi (wisemen)] came into the house and saw the Child [Jesus] with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him (Christ)..." (Mt. 2:11). While on earth Jesus actually received worship without remark and didn't deny His Godhood. He did so because He is God and God alone is to be the focus of our worship. In John 10:38 the man born blind and healed by Jesus says to Him, "..."Lord, I believe [in You]." And [the formerly blind man] worshiped Him (Christ) (the verse closes)" (Jn. 10:38). And in Matthew 28:17 we read of the disciples' reaction to our Savior's appearance after the resurrection. There it says that, "...[When] they saw [Jesus], they worshiped Him (Christ); but some were doubtful" (Mt. 28:17). Again, my friends, we were meant for worship. Our worship focus is to be God and God alone. And because Jesus is God, when we worship Him, we are fulfilling our privilege.

Meant For Worship - Part 1

Worship. We hear the term used often. Sometimes the church building is called a house of worship. Sometimes the Sunday morning church gathering is called a worship service. But I don't want to talk so much about buildings and/or services. What I want to talk about instead is personal worship. A good way of determining who or what a person worships would be by asking the following questions: "How much time is he or she devoting to it?," "Does his or her lifestyle revolve around it?," "Is it central to him or her?," and, "Could he or she live without it?" A street was named "Elvis Place" (after Elvis Presley) being the ultimate victory of one woman's tireless efforts to bring it to pass. The young (at the time) and excited Miss Frazer's response would be to go and see, of all things, an Elvis movie. The question was, "Which one?" You see, she'd seen them all. And some more than once. For example, Miss Frazer had seen the movies, Love Me Tender, 107 times, Loving You, 110 times, King Creole, 91 times, and Jailhouse Rock, 91 times. When you add to this that Miss Frazer moved from New Orleans to Memphis to be near Elvis (his mansion is at Graceland), has twelve scrapbooks full of Elvis memorabilia - along with 40,000 pictures of him and a life-size cardboard replica of Elvis propped up overlooking her bed! - I guess you might have just a slight inkling as regards who this young lady has as a focus? You and I were meant for worship. But the worship we were meant for wasn't the worship of Elvis or any other person (or anything else). I'll talk more about who we were meant to worship in Part 2 of this blog post series. To come soon.