narrowpathministries.wordpress.com/2023/12/12/video-are-you-reading-or-feeding-on-gods-word/
Please go to the original post and follow the author. Great insight to be found here daily!
Author: vicklea
I love to read! I’m a retired teacher with a spouse of 45 years, three amazing children and nine wonderful grandchildren. I am blessed!
Trust the Provider
From Worldly Worries to Spiritual Anticipation
How much time do you spend thinking about what to eat or worrying about what to wear? Do you obsess over having—or being—enough?
While there’s nothing wrong with meal planning for the weeks ahead or creating an annual budget, Jesus explains that worrying doesn’t help:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
Matthew 6:25 NIVJesus never said not to think about your basic needs. He did say not to worry about them.
God knows what you need before you do. God knows your prayers before you pray them.
Recognizing your physical needs can remind you of your spiritual needs—an invitation to trust your ultimate Provider.
Later in the same chapter, Jesus reminds His disciples that if God provides for the birds and the flowers, He will provide for His people that much more. Then He adds, “but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
So, let’s seek Him first. During this season of Advent, reflect upon the work entrusted to us while trusting in Him for provision. And let’s not waste another second on worldly worries!
A Path through the Wilderness
Fulfillment of God’s Promises
In the Old Testament, while the nation of Israel was scattered across the land in exile for their disobedience, God was still actively working through the prophets to speak to His people. And in Isaiah 40, God tells Isaiah to comfort the people because God will return to save them.
The people of God were called to prepare themselves for the return of the Lord. It was foretold that there would be a prophet who would lead the way for God in the midst of the wilderness.
This wilderness imagery is important because God had previously led His people out of Egypt through the wilderness. This was the place of God’s great deliverance of Israel and also the place of God’s next great deliverance.
In Matthew 3:3, we find Isaiah 40:3 quoted as John the Baptist is in the wilderness preparing the people of God for the coming of Jesus. John is the voice calling out, asking the people to turn from their ways and prepare for the coming King.
The long-awaited promises of God from Isaiah and the other prophets are fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus.
When we read Isaiah and the Gospels together, we learn how God continues to be faithful to His people. He follows through on His promises. He doesn’t leave His people; instead, He makes a path through the wilderness to bring them new life.
Take some time to think about your own life. Consider during this season of Advent and time of reflection: How has God been faithful to you?
Hosanna!
All the World Awaits (Hosanna)-Chris Tomlin
I am so happy that today I finally feel well enough to put up and decorate our Christmas tree! The lights on the tree represent the lights that shone in the Heavens when the angels announced the birth of our Savior. The angel on top represents the heavenly host that came to earth to proclaim His birth. The ornaments represent the gifts that were given to baby Jesus. And the green tree…that is the best of all! It represents never dying, eternal life is now possible because the Messiah was born and came to save us from our sins. Hosanna in the Highest!
The Greatest of All
The Greatest of All
In his first letter to the believers in the Greek city of Corinth, the Apostle Paul said this:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIVThis well-known verse is the conclusion of what’s often referred to as the “love chapter” of the Bible. In it, Paul explained that spiritual gifts (like prophecy or knowledge) are helpful to the Church but simultaneously meaningless without an undercurrent of love.
Faith and hope are at the top of the list, but love is the greatest.
Think about it…
Faith is crucial to Christianity. In fact, “Without faith it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:16). “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). But one day, faith will give way to sight and what was once foggy will suddenly become clear.
Hope is also essential to those who follow Jesus Christ. And we certainly have a great hope—based on facts, evidence, and witnesses—in the God who created us, gave His life for us, and will return for us once and for all. But one day, the future we hope for will become reality.
And so, Paul says, love is the greatest. Earlier in the chapter (1 Corinthians 13:4-8), Paul defines love in action.
Faith and hope are important, but love is the greatest of them all.
God Delights in Us
This is what God delights in…
What do you think about when you think about God?
Do you feel love and acceptance? Shame and embarrassment? The temptation to run away, to show off your accomplishments, to question your Creator, or to prove yourself worthy?
To understand the context of today’s verse, we need to read two verses:
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
Psalm 147:10-11 NIVGod is not after earthly strength. It’s not about who’s the strongest, bravest, richest, smartest, or who has the most social media followers. It’s not even about who has the most consistent church attendance or YouVersion streak. If you want to please God, it’s pretty simple:
“… the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
God loves you unconditionally, but He also delights in you. Not because you’re perfect, or because you never mess up, or because you’re constantly faithful—no one is. This verse tells us that God delights in you as you fear Him—you acknowledge He’s God with a holy respect for His power, and you put your ultimate hope in His unfailing love.
During this season of Advent, a time of reflection, contemplate who God is. Reflect on His power and His love. Then, devote some time in this season to worship God for who He is and align your heart with His.
The Kind of People God Uses
narrowpathministries.wordpress.com/2023/12/07/christmas-teaches-us-the-kind-of-people-god-uses/
Please go to the original post and follow the author. Great insight here!
God’s Love
This is a busy time for almost everyone, especially those of us who have gifts to buy, a house to decorate and other seasonal errands to accomplish. As I read my Scriptures this morning, I confess that my mind was wandering to the next thing I had to get done and how long it would take me before I could move on to yet another task. God got my attention when I came to this verse and He stopped my mind from wandering away from focusing on Him.
Nothing., not one thing, can separate us from God’s love and that is all that is important, in this season and in all seasons. We can busily rush around checking off items on our “to do” list, but loving us is God’s to do list. It’s the only thing on His list. We matter to God, not the chores or the gifts or the baking, cleaning or even beautiful tree we plan to decorate in His honor. He wants our time, our love and devotion, just as wholeheartedly as He gives these precious gifts to us.
A Mother’s Thoughts
Since we moved so frequently as a military family, I have memories of each of my children in different places. I used to be upset that I didn’t have one home with all of my memories safely stored there with me. Nowadays, after suffering a stroke and losing part of my memories, I am thankful for all of the moves because I can see an image of a child in a place and know where we were and what was happening then. Tokens of their childhood are stored safely away in various places in our current home…the first haircut, the first tooth lost, the first report card. And each token carries a memory of being a young mother with a lot of love and not much knowledge about what I was doing.
That brings me to the Bible verse and a song for today.
The angels sang, the shepherds came to worship and Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, treasured these memories in her heart. It boggles my mind that a simple girl was chosen by God to give birth to the Savior of the world. It mystifies me that Mary was a mother, just like me, with hopes and dreams for her child but also knowing that He had a destiny to fulfill and she was only a small part of it.
“Mary, Did You Know?” by Pentatonix
This is my absolutely favorite Christmas song because it incorporates the love of a mother for her newborn child and the love of the child for the entire world.
Cherish your memories and hold fast to to your faith that God has a plan for your life, just as He did for Mary, and that He will bring it to pass.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 