Month: December 2025

Live Awake and Watchful

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture2 Comments

A Calling to Prepare (Daily Refresh, 11-30, YouVersion)

Just days before He would die on the cross, Jesus spoke these words to His followers:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
Matthew 24:42 NIV

He knew exactly when He would die. He knew the hour of His resurrection. He knew the plan, the timing, and the weight of everything unfolding around Him.

But here, during a series of parables, Jesus shifts His focus to what’s still ahead: His return. And He makes one thing clear—we won’t know when it’s coming. No date on the calendar. No countdown clock. Just this charge: Keep watch.

Why? Because when we live with spiritual alertness and urgency, we prioritize what matters. We live awake to the work of God around us. We live watchful over our own hearts, refusing to drift into complacency.

If every day could be the day Jesus returns, then we must live every day with the same obedience to His calling for us.

Jesus isn’t calling us to panic; He’s calling us to prepare. He’s inviting us to stay faithful and hopeful in a world that can dull our sense of eternity. To keep our hearts anchored in the truth that this world is not our final home—and He is coming again to make all things new.

So we watch and wait, but not complacently. Instead, we live today in light of that glorious day to come.

My Thoughts

Most, if not all of us, have watched the countdown clock in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. We watch with delight and anticipation, with the hope and promise that the New Year may bring.

Should we not also watch daily with that same hope and anticipation for the return of Jesus? We don’t know when He is coming back, but we know for certainty that it is going to happen. We need to always be prepared.

We prepare for company to come by cleaning our houses and making good food, perhaps even planning activities together for after the meal. We wait with happy anticipation for their arrival and then enjoy the visit.

How do we prepare for Christ to return? We pray, we read His Word, we seek His face and we tell others about Him so that they can joyfully expect His return, also. We are not supposed to be idle while we wait. He gave us a job to do and is watching to see if we are carrying out His instructions. We are not supposed to just take for granted that we will be ready for His return but go about our lives as though we have all the time in the world to get ready for Jesus to come back. We can’t know that, so we have to always be ready. You don’t pack your suitcase when your train has already arrived at the station. You pack it long before you go to meet the train. That is why we have to pack now, be ready now, because we don’t know when the Lord will return and we want to be prepared. That’s why we have to live awake to God’s Word, listening for Him to speak to us. And we have to live watchful over our own hearts, not getting tired of waiting, but always hopeful that today might be the day.

God’s Promises

On By vickleaIn Characteristics of God, promises, ScriptureLeave a comment

Cling to God’s Promises (Daily Refresh, 11-29, YouVersion)

What do you think about? 

The thoughts that fill your mind are crucial, because what you cling to influences your worldview. 

If you choose to dwell on God’s promises, you start to recognize God’s blessings during uncertain times. Trusting that God will redeem your present pain equips you to walk forward in faith and keep on fighting. 

Isaiah 12:2 reminds us that we belong to a God who is faithful to keep His promises. This God rescues us and fights for us. So when we belong to God, we have nothing to fear—all we need to do is cling to God and wait on Him to act. 

So as you walk forward today, reflect on some of God’s promises, and let them transform the way you think: 

God will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)

God’s peace will guard your heart. (Philippians 4:7)

God delights over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

God will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. (Psalm 32:8)

God is your refuge and strength, your help in times of need. (Psalm 46:1)

In all things, you are more than a conqueror because God loves you. (Romans 8:37)

God will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

God’s perfect love casts out all your fear. (1 John 4:18)

Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)

God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. (Philippians 1:6)

My Thoughts

First of all, the bold scripture passages are ones that I have memorized this year, but all of the promises of God are important.

Are you married or have you ever been married? Do you remember the vows you took that day? If you used the traditional vows, you and your spouse promised to love, honor and cherish until death parted you. That was a promise, a sacred covenant promise between you and your spouse, a covenant established by God when He gave Eve to Adam. I know that many have suffered the effects of divorce, and although my heart goes out to you, that is not the topic of today’s post. The vows remain the same, although some choices have been made to leave those vows behind and move on in life. God allows divorce but He doesn’t condone it because He is aware, as many of you are, that divorce hurts everyone touched by it and the healing is long in coming.

Back to promises. Has someone close to you promised you something and then didn’t carry it out? I don’t think I am in a minority when I say a resounding “yes” to that question. Whether the person forgot, circumstances got in the way or they didn’t prioritize the promise, I felt a little trust seep out. If this situation continues repeatedly, then trust evaporates and the relationship is likely broken, or at least irrevocably changed.

God does not lie and He does not break His promises. If He said it, we can trust that He will do it. He told Abram that He was taking him to a new land and his ancestors would be as numerous as the sand. He kept that promise, didn’t He? Even though Abraham was elderly and thought that he and Sarah would never have their own child, God blessed them with Isaac and the dynasty of Israel began. Think about the Biblical story that comes to your mind when you consider God’s keeping His promises. I think of David, Daniel, Moses, and yes, even Jesus. God promised a Savior and even though it cost Him a beloved Son, He fulfilled that promise.

Sometimes we want to force God into a corner somehow and remind Him of His promises, asking Him just when He plans to carry them out and make you the person He wants you to be. The answer is always the same. In His time, not ours. Remember that the Bible says, “When the fullness of time was come…” We are all a work in progress, but God is and always has been a perfect work, from infinity to eternity. One of His attributes is being a Promise Keeper.

I don’t know about you, but I think long and hard before I promise someone something. I want to be like the Father and keep my commitments, but sometimes I don’t and I always feel very guilty afterwards, even when I confess and the other person forgives me. God doesn’t have to be careful about making promises. They are already written in His Word, the treasure that we can find and hold on to in the hard times in our lives. Although other people may disappoint us with their lack of trustworthiness, God never will.