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!

Infinitely Costly, Absolutely Free

On By vickleaIn Book Review, Scripture2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/8

I vividly recall telling our young children that they could not have the latest game system because the cost was too great. I also remember our very precocious son saying, “But you just have to go to the bank and get money for it, right?” Thus ensued the discussion about money having to be put into the bank first and the fact that priorities of life required things like groceries and paying bills instead of a new game system. Trying to teach them the value of a dollar, my husband and I told them that they could save half for it and we would pay half once they had saved enough. They had no idea how many hours they would have to do menial labor in order to earn enough for the game system they had set their hearts on. Well over a year later, they had the money, but their interest in that particular system had waned since a newer, better model had been released. After much discussion, they got the newer one and were well pleased with themselves over all of their hard work paying off, finally.

We sometimes blithely say during this season of Jesus’s death and resurrection that He shed His blood for us. We tell others that the gift of salvation is free to all who believe. But do we stop to think of the cost to Jesus and to His Father? Our freedom from sin cost them the relationship that they had enjoyed from eternity on since for a few minutes when Jesus hung on the cross, His Father could not look on Him. Jesus felt forsaken, but He was willing to give up heaven for each of us to one day be with Him there. I cannot imagine the grief of the Father and of the Son when the moment came for Him to bear our sins. I know that was the plan all along, but it didn’t negate the reality or the pain. Thus, the cost was unimaginable for our beloved Savior, but the price He paid made salvation free for us. We did not have to toil to earn it, do endless good deeds to get God’s attention and hope it worked, or make a sacrifice or a bargain with God so that salvation would be part of our lives. We just had to accept the FREE gift that cost Jesus everything! In my finite mind, it is difficult to understand the ramifications of Jesus becoming sin for each of us. However, I know that because of His willingness to sacrifice Himself, I am able to stand clean before the Father, having confessed my sins and repented of them. Money in the bank? No…a deposit in our soul that is without measure!

A Response of Faithful Living

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/7

The big question that many ask is, ” Are you a Christian because you serve or do you serve because you are a Christian?” We had a luncheon at church yesterday for the volunteers at our church. It was a big crowd incorporating greeters, parking lot attendants, security, children’s ministry workers and media techs. All of us were there because we serve, but the question was asked about why we serve. I have to honestly say that being a Christian came first for me, and the Holy Spirit prodded me to use the talents I have to teach in order to work with the children. So many try to show God all of our good works, with the thought that surely we can earn our way into heaven. It just doesn’t work that way. The only way into eternity with God is to accept His FREE gift of grace. The works follow after you accept His gift, from a heart of gratitude and an attitude of servanthood modeled by Jesus Himself. We cannot outgive God, nor should that be a goal. We are here on earth for a short while, and our mission is to love God, love others and to serve both. Our heartfelt response to God’s precious gift of His Son should be a life lived faithfully for Him.

Faith-Full and Wholehearted

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/34

This devotional today really spoke to me, especially since I am feeling every one of my seventy plus years these days. I never thought about the fact that Caleb was in his mid-eighties when he asked Joshua to give him land that belonged to giants. He was still willing to take on great enemies and claim what God had promised, even in his advanced years. (Perhaps at that time, mid-80’s was closer to middle age or a little more, but to me, it seems very old.) God strengthened Caleb, showed him favor and he was able to conquer that land.

How many times have I faced giants in my life these days and just told God that I am too old and too tired to fight anymore? I can tell you honestly, I have not been a Caleb! God is speaking to my heart that He will let me know when it is time for me to rest and not attack the giants that come against me. But that time is not now. So, I want to be more like Caleb and less like me, knowing my weaknesses but also confident that whatever I face, I face with God on my side. I want to be faith-full and wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord who has saved me and who will save me.

Undeserved Favor from God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/5

There needs to be more stories in the news like the one in this devotional about the selfless acts that one person does for another person in need. How much more pleasant it would be to watch a news show with some positive news on it? We may never make the news but we are called upon to be selfless and Jesus modeled that for us when He went to the cross. God’s gift is completely free for us, but it cost Him dearly. When we accept His gift of grace, mercy and ultimately salvation, we are part of His army of volunteers that He sends into the world to represent Him. We may not be able to do big things, but we can do something every day to show someone the love of Jesus in our lives, opening a door for them to get to know Jesus for themselves. I confess that I have been prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something for a stranger and have walked away instead, sometimes due to shyness and the thought that I might be embarrassed. I am trying to do better and to follow the His leading, to help others selflessly regardless of how I personally feel about stepping outside of my comfort zone. Sometimes God prods us to do something that costs money (He knows we have it or He wouldn’t ask us to give), sometimes He encourages us to give time or a tangible gift of some sort. Whatever it is that He tells us to give, we need to be ready and willing to reach out to others. God reached down from heaven to each of us when He sent His only Son to die for us. It seems to me that it’s a small thing for us to obey His call to reach out to others. His undeserved favor is supposed to be passed on, not hoarded.

God Uses Our Brokenness

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/32

I am broken, and if you are honest, so are you. In what ways are we broken? We are not perfect yet, not what God wants us to be. As one writer said, “We are all still under construction.” Sometimes, I feat that there is so much broken inside of me that it just cannot be fixed. And then God reminds me of where I started and where I am now, and in looking back with thanksgiving, I see that He is still working out His plan for me. God can use that brokenness that I am so frustrated over sometimes to show others that I am not complete in God but that I am trying. It is in my failures that others can see me as God sees me, a work in progress. I think it encourages others to want to know how they, too, can be a project for God to work on and one day bring to completion. The Christians who present themselves as “holier than thou” and “be like me” are not doing God or themselves any favors, nor are they drawing people to a loving God who is patiently working on each of us to make us more like His Son. We have to let others see us as we are, not quite fixed yet but better than we were. I think God can use that to draw others to Him because they will see in us the possibility of change and hope.

Jesus Paid the Price

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/3

As I read today’s devotional, I was reminded of the summer that my husband took our two sons to Germany and Italy. In Italy, they all wanted to visit the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. There was one small problem. One of our sons had only packed shorts and the requirement is for the male visitors to wear trousers. The boys were disappointed until my husband came up with the plan to allow the younger son (who had not brought any long pants) to wear his (my husband’s) pants and my husband would forego the adventure, giving preference to our sons. (What a good dad, right?) The funny thing is that Harry was about four sizes larger in the waist than Steven and about four inches shorter, so Steven buckled the belt in the last hole, wore his pants as low as he dared to keep them on and off the two boys went on their quest to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece.

The devotional made me also think that we don’t have to worry about what we need to wear to get into heaven. We will be clothed in righteousness, provided freely by our Savior Jesus. God always provides a way for those He loves to be with Him, and I am thankful during this Easter season to be reminded of fun times that the boys had with their dad and the sacrificial love that Harry showed as an example to them of the great love that Jesus has for each of us. Harry saw the Sistine Chapel through the eyes of our sons who described it in minute detail for him. And God sees each of us through the eyes of His Son who has made us holy by the shedding of His own blood.

God is good, all the time. Circumstances are not always great, but God is always good.

Public Display of Love

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/2

When my husband and I were dating, it was the 70’s, the era of free love, hippies and doing what felt good. Nevertheless, we did not show each other a lot of public displays of love. We were quickly enamored with each other, but we shared kisses and cuddles privately, out of the view of a majority of others. Both of us were raised to believe that our love was between us, not to be gawked at by those who may or may not be commenting on our affectionate shows of love. Nowadays, some fifty years later, we kiss in restaurants or on sidewalks or wherever we feel like, and we sometimes hear others say, “Aww. How sweet!” We don’t kiss to get a reaction. We do so because our love for each other bubbles over and out.

About 2000 years ago, Jesus gave us a model of selfless love when He went to the cross willingly and died for us there. He hung on that cross in front of a multitude of believers and scoffers. He was not afraid to show His love for us in a very public and humiliating way. Now, every day, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our love for Him by telling others about His great sacrifice and how it has changed our lives. We cannot just hide His love in our hearts, but we need to take it to others. His model showed us that it was meant t be public, meant to be shared. And if others ridicule us because of our sharing our faith, then we are compelled to share anyway. Our words may mean the difference between their suffering or rejoicing for eternity. It’s a public display of Jesus’s love for us and for all mankind.

Take Time to Talk and Listen to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/29

I read two devotionals this morning that had a recurring theme, that of talking to God before carrying out my plans. As Tina Wilson said in her book “Step into Scripture” for today’s devotional, “We blaze ahead with our plans, not thinking of what God wants or seeking him first. Then, when things fall apart, we wonder why God let it happen.” The important words are OUR plans and not seeking God first. I confess that this is a great fault of mine, to make plans and forge ahead. Then, in the middle of a mess and chaos that I never expected, I ask God what happened and why He wasn’t there. You know why, don’t you? I didn’t pause to talk to Him first, ask Him what plan He would like me to follow and then listen to Him. Joshua made this mistake in attacking Ai, and there was a consequence to pay for it. We don’t get out of the messes that we make unscathed. God wants us to learn the important lesson of calling on him FIRST, then executing the plan that He has put into our hearts. Good to remember that God loves us enough to keep us straight about just Who is in control!

God’s Grace

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/3797/day/1

God has given us the gift of His Son and as a result, His grace shines in our lives. Should we not also show mercy and grace to others? We are quick to judge, to angrily lash out when someone doesn’t meet our expectations. Instead, we need to take a step back, ask for God’s wisdom to handle difficult situations and extend grace to the person who has offended us in some way, big or small. We can all show the world what grace means by how we act towards them.