Month: March 2024

Be Courageous

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

I have to confess that I have not been feeling very courageous lately. In fact, I have been more like a coward after hearing the word cancer spoken about my beloved grandson. I have feared the future for him, the suffering he must go through and just the general fear of such a diagnosis. But God has been speaking words of comfort all week and today, this devotional spoke courage right into my spirit. I have told myself and you many times that God is in control, but when my faith is tested, I backed away from that strong belief. God is drawing me back into the place where I belong. He knows my doubts and fears and He is right there with me. He is right there with our grandson, answering his questions and doubts. It is easy to believe in God when all is going along just as we expect, with no big issues or problems. The hard part comes when there is a challenge to our faith. Satan uses these challenges to test our faith, to see if we can be pulled over to his side. Remember that Job’s wife told him just to curse God and die. Basically, she was telling him that there was no more reason to believe in God any more as much as he was suffering. However, the opposite is true. When the suffering, testing, and challenges to our faith come, that is when we cling tighter to God and He moves closer to us. The courage comes not from within me, but from knowing that God is on my side and He is working on the problem even as I go about my daily routine. God hasn’t forgotten Isaac; He is more beloved of God than he is of me and my husband. God has the situation under His control, so we can courageously say that it will be okay because God is with him and with us.

God is with You

Throughout the Bible, there are various moments where God tells someone to not be afraid. Each one comes at a time when the hearer has every reason to be very afraid.

In one instance, Joshua, the leader of Israel after the death of Moses, was taking the Israelites to their promised land (see: Exodus 3). He was leading over one million people to a place God had promised, and it meant going through some overwhelming and terrifying situations.

In the midst of this, God commanded Joshua to do two things:

Obey the Word of God and, be strong and courageous because the Lord was with them. (See: Joshua 1:7-9)

In Matthew 28, Jesus says something similar just after His resurrection. He is with His eleven disciples and He tells them:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV (Emphasis added)

Jesus tells His disciples two main things:

– Obey His word (“go into all nations and make disciples”) and, He would be with them.

– God is always the same. He was the same God when He gave Joshua His word and the assurance of His presence, and He is the same God who gives us His Word and assures us of His presence. We are known, loved, and cared for by the faithful, consistent God—and He will never leave or abandon us.

Today, reflect on the ways you can teach others about Jesus and His words. How does His Word and His presence make you strong and courageous? Before leaving this time, thank God for His promise to always be with you.

God’s Victory

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/25

Before reading today’s devotional, I had never really considered the significance the Sabbath Day played in the defeat of Jericho. God’s victory was a sure thing as long as the people did the work of obeying God on the other six days. That sounds like a simple thing, but it is sometimes difficult to walk out our faith all the way until we can enter into our eternal rest with God. Our walk has to be one of total dependence on God, knowing with a certainty that He was, is and will be victorious. And we can humbly say when God leads us to victory, “I’m with Him,” knowing that He is the reason for our own triumph.

Between the Wilderness and the Promised Land

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/24

If you read the devotional, you will know that the obstacle between the Israelites and the promised land was a fortified city named Jericho. We all have obstacles in our lives that we have to overcome. Right now, mine is trusting God in the medical situation with our grandson. Each day, I have to give the anxiety and heartache to God, again and again. I know that God is sovereign and in control and that this tumor did not surprise Him, but it has shocked me. As I read about Jericho and God’s unconventional way of defeating that enemy, I know that the same God can lead our family past this obstacle. There is nothing God cannot do, and I am believing that He will use this for the benefit of those who need to draw closer to Him, including me. The wilderness seemed to be my own health problems and I thought all of that was done…but then, Isaac’s tumor was found. So, standing at the walls of Jericho, I am trying to maintain my trust and I am putting my hope in the Lord who created our grandson and loves him even more than we do. Obedience is the key to winning the victory. What God told the Israelites to do didn’t make a lot of sense in the natural order of winning battles, but they did it anyway. What God is speaking to my heart is to be still and trust…doesn’t make much sense to me when I want to find another answer, an alternative medical solution, something. But God says to be still and trust, so I am fighting myself every day to do just that.

I am sure that you have a Jericho in your life, too. Listen to God’s instructions about how to fight that battle and be an overcomer. As I told Isaac, “Nothing will happen today that you and God cannot handle together.” Reach out to God and ask Him what He wants you to do as you prepare for battle. And when He answers, do it.

Between Joshua and John’s Revelation

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/23

What a great privilege we have to be able to read the entire Word of God and be encouraged by the fact that we know for a fact that God is working out His plan and He will ultimately triumph. Like Joshua, I face many battles of Jericho in my life, sometimes it seems more than others. With me, it has been a battle to continue to have faith for healing when the healing does not come. Nevertheless, God’s Word is true, regardless of my circumstances and one day I will have total victory over this rebellious body of mine. I am thankful to know that Jesus is the Commander of God’s Armies and is returning to lead a victorious people to conquer the enemy of our souls once and for all! I am looking forward to that day and rejoicing that God’s plan is still in place, He hasn’t changed His mind about what He is doing in the world, and we can rest assured that just as Joshua was victorious at Jericho, we will be victorious if we just hold on to the Lord. The victory here on earth may not be what we expect or when we expect or how we expect, but it is coming. We just have to let God be God.

Joining God in His Plan

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/22

This is a thought-provoking devotional today. I never considered the fact that an angel would not permit a man to worship him, so the Commander of God’s Armies does seem to be an appearance of the Lord Jesus. I think, if I recall correctly, that is called a Christophany, an appearance of Christ before He was sent to earth in human form. Anyway, I think it is important to note that Joshua was ready to be led by God. Joshua was a strong leader, yet he had to come to the realization that we are not the leaders of God’s army; God is. I like how this devotional puts into focus that when we go into the world, we are not taking God to the lost. God is already there. We go in order to get into step with God’s plans for those people who are lost and need to have a relationship with their Creator. All we do to promote God’s kingdom should be falling under the umbrella of God’s plan, not our own. Thought-provoking to me, and perhaps to you, too.

Salvation Is A Gift

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App5 Comments

Have you ever been given a nicely wrapped and beautiful gift and immediately handed it back to the giver, saying that you are not interested and don’t want it? My guess is that hasn’t happened. Everyone likes to receive gifts, whether they are for a special occasion of a “just because” gift. My husband frequently surprises me with small tokens of his love, a gift that he got when he was out doing errands and thought of me. Did you know that you are on God’s mind all the time and that He has offered a free gift, the gift of salvation and eternal life, and yet some of you have turned away from the gift, rejecting it just as you reject God? The gift God offers cost you nothing; it is totally free. Yet to our Lord and Savior, it cost everything. We can only be right with God by accepting His gift. I can only imagine how much it must hurt God when so many people every day reject His gift, choosing instead the shiny things in this world that distract from the gift of the eternal life to come. We are only on this earth for a short while and what we do with our time here shows clearly what our priorities are and if we have accepted God’s gift of salvation. The era of technology that we live in today offers all kinds of glittery distractions to take our attention away from God and all that He offers us. Don’t be deceived. Your inheritance with the Lord is already there for you, but you have to accept it.

Justified by Faith

The letter to the Romans is packed with deep theological truths that are meant to shape the way Christians live. Paul, the writer of the letter to the church in Rome, covers the details of what is known as “the Gospel message”—a message that was handed down to them.

One of the central components to the Gospel is that salvation comes through faith alone. That means that we are saved by the power of God through believing and trusting in Jesus. Every Christian comes to God through faith—not through good deeds or by trying to earn salvation.

Paul says that we have peace with God by our faith in Jesus. Prior to that, we were considered ungodly and unrighteous, because we would live our lives in our own power, doing our own things. This led to separation from God.

However, by faith in Jesus, we are justified before Him. This means that through Jesus’ own right-living, we are made right before Him. Even though we still make mistakes, we stand innocent before God because of Jesus. 

It’s through being justified that we become children of God. We can have a relationship with God because of our status in Christ. We have access to God Himself, knowing that He is transforming us through our relationship with Him.

This means none of us can brag or boast about being a child of God. We all receive grace freely through faith. So right now, take a few moments to thank God for the incredible gift of salvation that He offers you. Then, reflect on what it means to be included in His family.

Telling Is Important

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/20

The faith we have is meant to be shared with the next generation. They need to hear about how we came to believe in the Lord Jesus and all that He has done for us during our lifetimes. It isn’t enough that they see our lives, although that should be a good witness to them. They also need to hear the stories. I think I have told all of my children and grandchildren my testimony but since my memory is faulty, it will not hurt to tell them again. It is in the telling that I am reminded to God’s goodness to me just as I am telling others about all that He has done. Just as the stones were set up by Israel when they crossed the Jordan River, I have memories from all of the churches we attended and what I learned there. I have Bibles marked with verses from various sermons by various pastors and notes that I have taken over the years, both in my Bible and in notebooks. You may not think so, but your children and grandchildren need the evidence of your faith shown to them so that when times get hard for them, they can look back and remember to keep the evidence of God’s working in them and their own faith. God does everything for a reason; we often don’t understand it at the time, or ever here on earth, but God has a plan and a purpose and He knows what He is doing. I needed to remind myself of that today as our oldest grandson is facing a tremendous medical burden. Please pray for him and for his family. I don’t know what God is doing here, but I know that He is control and can take care of cancer and all of its ill effects just as He took care of me when I had a stroke. God is good…always and in all ways, even when we don’t understand.

God Is Always Right on Time

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/19

There has never been a time in my life that I did not know that God was working things out, regardless of how difficult the circumstances became. I like the details in this devotional about what had to come together perfectly in order for the Israelites to cross the Jordan on dry ground. The thought of a super computer and engineers was amusing to me, because God just saw what needed to be done and did it, at the absolutely perfect time. It’s a good thing to keep in mind that when we are getting impatient and wanting God to act quickly, He is in no hurry because He knows that what He does and when He does it will be the best thing for us and at the right time.