Month: January 2026

Transformation

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I know that we can all agree that when a caterpillar changes to a butterfly, that is a transformation. Do you remember the story of “The Ugly Duckling”? A group of ducklings are swimming around and another creature who thinks he is a duck, albeit an ugly one, joins them. Teased mercilessly, the duck eventually becomes a beautiful swan because that is what he was all along. I think of my transformation more like becoming who I am meant to be, like the swan. I may consider myself unworthy, but God makes me worthy and every day that I spend in His Word, I am becoming more like the person He created me to be. The change is not on the outside, but on the inside and starts with God meeting me right where I am and showing me the hidden truths of His word so that I can apply them to my life.

I am becoming the butterfly/swan I was meant to be by spending time with my Creator so that He can show me clearly His vision of who He created me to be. Sometimes I get confused and don’t see myself clearly, but God is always there to show me again and again, patiently working with me on one attribute that He wants me to acquire before we move to the next one. A caterpillar seems to become a butterfly without much effort, but if you remember from your school days, there is a whole metamorphosis, a cocoon process and finally the beautiful emerging butterfly. God designed that for the caterpillar. I am in my cocooning state, if you will. God is preparing me to be a butterfly and I may not get there before He calls me home, but He is always working on me to make me exactly what He wants me to be in His kingdom. Flawed, imperfect but loved by the Almighty God who sees me. (El Roi and El Shaddai)

Don’t give up on the process of transformation. Submit to God, stay in His word daily, give Him time to speak to your heart and know that the change is taking place. Change takes time, but the wait is worth it!

Being Near to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Nearness That Reshapes Us

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been?

Maybe it was a quiet cathedral, stained glass filling the room with colors, or a forest alive with bird songs and dancing leaves. Wherever your place is, have you ever wished you could stay there forever—surrounded by so much beauty and safety that your soul can finally breathe?

David prays that way in Psalm 27:4:

“I have asked the Lord for one thing,
this is what I desire:
to live in the Lord’s house all my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
and to contemplate in his temple.” (NET)

For ancient Israel, Jerusalem’s temple marked the center of their world—the place where Heaven and Earth meet. That idea first appears in Genesis, in the garden of Eden, where God walked with humanity and provided everything necessary—a place with no suffering, no threats, no death.

David’s longing isn’t for a spectacular building but for closeness with God—the kind of nearness that reshapes a person and brings true peace.

When Jesus arrives, he moves that Heaven-and-Earth space from Jerusalem’s temple into human hearts. People become the temple where God dwells. Divine beauty and peace are no longer tied to one city or structure; they’re found wherever God’s will is done “on Earth as in Heaven.”

Today, ask: What do I want most? David’s answer exposes humanity’s deepest desire—to be safe, loved, and at peace with our creator.

My Thoughts

Who doesn’t like to feel safe and at peace? When I became a Christian over five decades ago, for the first time, I felt loved and welcomed, at peace with the person God created me to me. I have had ups and downs in my walk with the Lord, yet I continue to return to that same place of peace. It isn’t a building, a monument or a beautiful part of nature. It’s the quiet place I find within myself when I focus on my relationship with God and how close I know that He is to me. He is right there, in my whispered prayers and in the prayers that I don’t say but that are in my heart. God hears and moves closer to me, just when I need Him. This is my piece of heaven on earth.

The Sabbath Rest

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

God’s Rhythm to Bless Us (YouVersion,Daily Refresh, 1-03)

Humans have a complicated relationship with rules. Even as small children, we struggle to understand the “why” behind them. 

Consider how parents teach children to brush their teeth, reminding them morning and night. That child might only appreciate the chore years later, as they grow into adults and experience expensive and uncomfortable dental work. It’s then that a dull tooth-brushing routine feels valuable. What a shift in perspective! 

We weren’t made to serve a strict toothbrushing schedule, but toothbrushing was made to serve us to help maintain healthy teeth. 

Jesus brings similar wisdom and perspective to the expectation of taking a regular day of rest (Sabbath). The Jews knew that God was insistent on Sabbath observance, but they almost thought of it as if it were a chore. Jesus reminds them that people weren’t made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was created for people by God to provide much-needed rest. 

Sabbath rest is God’s rhythm to bless us, not God’s requirement to burden us.

How can we know this is true? Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. He’s the maker (and fulfiller) of all God’s good rules, and He knows that regular rest is one of the rhythms that leads to an abundant life.

My Thoughts

God set the standard and example for a Sabbath rest when He rested on the seventh day after creation. Many of us push ourselves to work, work, work, seven days a week. If we are not going to a job, we are still doing things that occupy our time and our minds. For me, after we attend church, I do rest. I sit in my recliner, watch a show that I have been meaning to take time to see, read a book and nap. The regular chores of book reviews and reading a certain number of pages per day is put aside as I rest. My husband, who is in charge of the cooking here at home, always makes enough on Saturday for leftovers on Sunday. Or, if that isn’t possible because of the planned meal, he buys takeout and has it ready for us to eat after church, along with a soup to warm up. Whatever it is, it is simple, easy to get ready, and allows him to spend the afternoon with the TV on football as he naps. We honor God by attending church and then we rest, just as God meant for us to do. The rest we have on Sunday prepares us for the busy week of appointments and meetings. This week, I start physical therapy and our Bible Study group begins again for the New Year. The busyness doesn’t seem so overwhelming if we take time to rest first. I encourage all who read this to take time to rest on the Sabbath. God wants us to establish a time for our bodies to refresh themselves, with Him as the center of our lives and of our resting time.

Cain and Seth

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

Having started a new Bible plan that is taking me through the Bible in a year once again, I am in the book of Genesis. And even after years of reading the Bible through annually, I am still discovering new things. Yesterday, I read the story of creation and at the end of each of the six days, God said the creation was good (or very good when He created man) and then the Bible tells us “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) This phrase is used for each of the days of creation. (Genesis 1: 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). But on the seventh day, God rested and the Bible does not close out that day with the same phrase. One of my devotionals pointed out that the reason may be that God’s rest is forever for those of us who dwell in His presence. Interesting and something new for me to ponder.

In today’s lessons, I read about Cain killing Abel and also about Adam and Eve having another son named Seth to replace their murdered son Abel. I am sure you are familiar with these stories. But did you notice (I didn’t until today) that Cain left God’s presence and went to live elsewhere. He voluntarily went away instead of asking for forgiveness or trying to get closer to God by repenting.

Cain’s bad choices had repercussions for his ancestors, too. One of his ancestors was Lamech and this is what happened to him.

Lamech also killed someone. Sin doesn’t run in families; it is not an inherited trait. But I do believe that when we leave God on the back burner and turn away from Him, not only do we suffer consequences, but so do ancestors. Unwise choices are made when God is not right there before us, loving and guiding us.

On the other hand is the family of Adam, Seth and his ancestors.

I noted in this verse that Adam knows that God is the author of life and gives God credit for giving him a new son named Seth. The relationship between Adam and God was not changed by the murder of Abel. He didn’t seem to grow bitter and turn away. Rather, he turned towards God and knew that God had given him another son.

As for Seth’s ancestors, check out this verse. They began to call on the name of the Lord. This is, of course, a long way from the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked and talked with God daily. But it is definitely progress in the right direction, towards God instead of away from Him.

Each of us has this same choice. We can live our lives as if we are all that matters (thus teaching our children this falsehood, also) or we can make God a priority and set that relationship as an example for our children to follow. Their choices are their own, but we set the example and the repercussions can be far-reaching.

May each of us be aware of our choices and the effect that they have on those who come behind us.

Happy New Year and My Word for 2026

On By vickleaIn Scripture11 Comments

Every year for many years now, I have chosen a word to focus on, a word that helps me to center in on God throughout the year. Last year’s word was “listen.” I confess that I am still working on the skill of being an active listener and to tuned in to God. That just tells me that God is still working on me and I am not close to perfect yet.

This year’s word is similar in that it is a verb. Having a tendency to judge by appearances and oftentimes hastily, I have prayed and I think that God wants me to “see” this year. He wants me to see things as He sees them, to look for Him in the little things, to find Him wherever I go and in whatever circumstance I find myself. I frequently look at a situation, judge it as hopeless and then cry out to God to get out of it. This new year, I want to see the situation as God sees it, an opportunity for me to grow and to press into Him. I want to cry out to God to see things as He sees them before I pass judgment on them as bad or awful or unworthy of my time. I want to see people as God sees them, as created by Him, no matter how annoying they may be to me.

These are my verses that I have chosen to accompany my word of the year.

Do you choose a word for the year, or do you have a resolution that you would like to share? No judgment whether you have one or the other or none at all. I just want to see you on my blog post, commenting so that I can get to know you better. After all, I am hoping to spend eternity with you!