Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

God Is Watching

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song2 Comments

Do you remember as a child trying to get your parents’ attention when you thought you were doing some great noteworthy feat? I’m not sure I recall my own childhood, but I do remember my children crying out impatiently, “Look at me, mommy! Look what I can do!” With my attention divided between three children, I could not always look on command and I’m sure sometimes I disappointed one of them during their daring attempts to defy gravity.

The times have not changed, nor have the children’s need for attention. Nowadays, though, it is the grandchildren clamoring for my time. “Look, Nanna! Look at me!” They do cartwheels, ride bikes, jump off sofas and build towers, all with my attention riveted on them for as long as I can manage before another child’s cry diverts me.

As children of the Living God, we also clamor for attention. Speaking personally, I know that I am constantly crying out to our Father to look at me and notice what I am doing. Or, conversely, I petulantly accuse Him of not paying attention and allowing bad things to come along in my life and disrupt its flow. Like a demanding child, I want all of God’s attention all of the time. Today’s Scripture verse addresses this conundrum.

God is omnipresent, everywhere at once, watching everyone. I am struck with awe that the Creator of the Universe watches the wicked and the good. So, I pondered that thought this morning. Why would God want to watch the wicked? Because, my friends, He created them, too. They may be making wrong choices, but He loves them and desires them to straighten up and go on the right path, to choose Jesus as their Savior and to enter into a relationship with Him. We don’t need to cry out to God to watch what we are doing because He is always watching. He sees me when I lose my temper and yell at my husband for something thoughtless I think he has done. He sees me when I grumble and complain about small things that have no real importance and won’t matter later. He even sees me when I quickly send up a prayer for His help and then choose to do my own thing. Because He is always watching, God is always aware of what is going on in my life. There is no “Hide and Seek” game with our Lord. We can’t hide from Him one minute and then demand that He pay attention to us and answer our prayers the next. It boggles my mind that God can watch the entire Universe, with all of its diverse people making all kinds of choices every second, and still have time to listen to prayers, calm fears and heal. God is always watching, always waiting for when we truly need Him and in reverence call on Him to come to our aid.

I’m so thankful that God is always watching and even more so that He watches over the wicked, too. For I was once a sinner and now I am saved by His grace. I pray that many more over whom He is watching will seek Him and His free gift of salvation before it is too late for them.

Be blessed today and remember that God right there, watching and waiting to bless you!

In the Garden by Reba McIntyre and the Isaacs

Being a Follower

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

These days we find ourselves in a technology era, one that I never imagined. There are so many social media sites that I cannot comprehend the number of followers on each of those sites. But whom are we following when we go online? Whether it is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or even WordPress, we should be careful whom we follow.

The word follow is an interesting word. It can mean successive events but it can also mean to “go or come after, move behind in the same direction.” (http://www.dictionary.com) So, if you are following someone on social media, is your goal to emulate them? Do you want to move behind them in the same direction that they are going? If you are following those who are famous or rich, perhaps that is your goal, to be like them. But that is not the One we are called to follow.

This is what Jesus said when He called His disciples. He did not say to seek fortune or fame. Rather, He said to deny yourself and to take up your cross and follow Him. The cross was a place of shame, a punishment that was undeserved and yet our Lord and Savior suffered the humiliation of the cross. But here we are in this modern era claiming to have X number of followers and to be following X number of people. Our statistics seem to matter more than the example of those we are following. I follow a lot of people who read books similar to what I read, including authors and publishers and other readers. Does that make me not a follower of Jesus? No. But it does show where my priorities are. Reading is important to me, books matter to me, so those are the people online whom I follow. I also follow other Christians online, like the pastor who discipled me almost five decades ago and the current church that we attend. Jesus does not have a page for us to follow, does He? Of course not because His Book, His pages, are written in our hearts. So, when we follow Him, we are expected to follow His example. He gave without thinking of the cost to Himself. We should do likewise. He completed the ministry that the Father gave Him to do. We should do likewise. No matter how many days that God gives us on this earth, our calling is to find God’s purpose for our lives and fulfill it to the best of our ability. My greatest desire is to follow Jesus, no matter where He leads and no matter the cost. I want to wake up every morning with His Name on my lips and His sacrifice in my heart. I don’t want to be a statistic that says “Oh, me? Well, I’m a Christian. I follow Jesus.” I want to really choose to make Him the most important person in my life, my reason for being.

This is my prayer for me today and I hope it is your prayer, too. When you go online to the various social media outlets today, I hope that you will take a serious look at who is following you and what kind of example you are setting there. When you write posts, are you making sure that what you are saying is edifying, true, kind and necessary? When you respond to posts, are you responding in a way that shows you care for that person? I’m convinced that if Jesus were literally born into this age, He would be on social media but His would be a presence that called people to Him because of His great love. We are His hands, feet, eyes, ears and fingers typing on the keyboard. Are we showing His example to the world online? Are we being His witnesses as He called us to do?

Once again, my prayer for you and me is that we may be blessed so that we can be a blessing. But I also pray that God will help each of us become more like Him, a person worthy for others to follow, both in our physical lives and online.

A New Heart

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior almost five decades ago, I did not know all of the benefits that I would receive from my relationship with Him. I just knew that I had read the Book of John, knew that I was a lost sinner without Him and asked Him to forgive me and live in my heart. One of the most special benefits that I have found in this relationship is that my heart is new, not the same at all as before salvation.

This verse from the prophet Ezekiel was written to the nation Israel and part of the prophecy about their restoration. But isn’t it true of each of us Christians, too? God has given us a new heart, one that is open to His Spirit and to hearing the cry of others who are lost just as we once were. I cannot hear a siren of an ambulance without praying for the person that they are rushing to rescue. Why? Some would say because I was once in that vehicle rushing to a hospital after a stroke. But that isn’t the reason because I have been praying after that sound for years before my stroke, that God would comfort the person, give wisdom to the caregivers and medical personnel and give peace to the family members. I can only attribute my call to prayer as a change in my heart. Pre-salvation, I would hear a siren and just keep on with my busy life. Now, I feel I am much more open to God’s Spirit and His leading me, not only into prayer but in going to places and to doing things that I may not be comfortable doing but that I feel a strong pull of the Spirit that He wants me there doing what He is calling me to do. I am thankful for this verse in Ezekiel because it confirms what I knew had taken place on February 28, 1973. My heart changed and I became a new creation in Christ.

Think about all of the changes in your heart and how the Holy Spirit has led you since you came to know the Lord. Be mindful that He is a creative God and is ever changing us, for our benefit and for His purposes. But, like a gentleman, He waits to be asked in. I hope that you have invited Him into your heart and that you are finding great pleasure in living for Him. I know that I am!

I’m praying for God’s best for you today and that you will pause, consider the beat of your heart and how God has changed it into a new heart that is beating for Him. Have a great weekend! Be blessed to be a blessing! 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

The Lord God Almighty

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I have been reading and studying the Book of Amos in our Sunday School class and it is an eye-opening look at God’s powerful judgment. The people whom He loved so much that He led them out of Egypt, defeated all of their enemies and led them into a land flowing with milk and honey, that same people were under His judgment because of their falling away and becoming just like those they lived among. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

That’s why God calls us to be in the world, but not of the world. We have to live here on earth because that is where our Creator placed us. We are called to be lights in a dark world and the darker the world becomes, the more our lights will become apparent.

God keeps speaking to me clearly that judgment is coming on the earth. Of course, I don’t know when. No one does. But I do know that He is calling each of us to shine brightly in spite of the darkness that is overtaking the earth. In the book of Amos, God pronounces His judgment on Israel, His chosen people. If they did not escape God’s wrath, how can we hope to do so? The answer is that we cannot. Bummer, right? But the truth is that we can be prepared by humbling ourselves before the Lord and asking what He wants us to do in these days.

God has not changed His identity. He is the Lord God Almighty, Creator of all and He expects His people to continue to follow in the path of righteousness. With changes coming at us fast and furiously, and with darkness all around us, we can cling to the fact that God has not changed and will always be there for us.

I’m not prophesying the end of the world because God already did that. I’m not prophesying about God’s judgment because God already did that, too. It is important though that I pass on to you the gravity of this age and that God wants us to remain close to Him, reading and meditating on His Word and faithfully praying so that we are not caught unaware.

This is a sobering message that I really didn’t know how to share and I still don’t know if I have adequately presented it. I can only write what is in my heart and pray that God will prepare the path of your heart to read, accept and take it the way God means it to be. It is a warning from the Lord God Almighty, in one Biblical book after another. The time is coming and we have to be ready.

I heard someone say in my Bible study group on Monday night that they don’t know if they will be ready for the Lord to return because they want to continue to live, watch their children grow up and get married and meet their grandchildren. Is that not what we all want? And it may still happen! But just in case it doesn’t, we can’t love this life so much that we aren’t willing to let it go in order to be with the Lord for eternity.

May the Lord bless each of you today and give you insight into how you can let your light shine even brighter into this dark world. Be blessed, my friends, so that you can be a blessing.

Equipped to Do Good Works

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

What does it mean to be “equipped”? According to the dictionary online, this is the definition:

equip

ĭ-kwĭp′

transitive verb

  1. To supply with necessities such as tools or provisions. synonym: furnish.
  2. To furnish (someone) with the qualities necessary for performance; prepare.
  3. To furnish for service, or against a need or exigency; to fit out; to supply with whatever is necessary to efficient action in any way; to provide with arms or an armament, stores, munitions, rigging, etc.; — said esp. of ships and of troops.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

All of these apply to the Scripture verses that I read this morning.

Our purpose for being created is to do good works, and bonus! God already prepared for us what He wants us to accomplish. We just have to get in step with His plan.

How do we as Christians get equipped, ready to fulfill God’s purpose? All of the answers are found in God’s Word. We prepare ourselves for our Godly assignments by immersing ourselves in His Word, thus getting the tools and the qualities that we need for each day of service to Him.

My prayer for you today is from the Bible and I hope that it will bless you as it is blessing me.

God already knows what we need and will give us all that we need. Powerful truth!

May the God of all creation be with you today as you discover your daily work for Him and may He equip you to do it with all of your heart. Be blessed to be a blessing!

Answered Prayer

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song4 Comments

Doxology

And another verse from a devotional that I completed last year:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow

By Thomas Ken

Praise God the Father who’s the source;

Praise God the Son who is the course;

Praise God the Spirit who’s the flow;

Praise God, our portion here below!

I’m very blessed to report today that our daughter’s pathology report came back with clean margins. That means the surgeon got all of the carcinoma (yes, it was cancer) and that there is no reason to do more surgery or even more treatment. The news was better than I expected and I am so thankful for the prayers of friends, family and my online followers.

I must admit that I was praying all week (actually for the last month since we heard about the upcoming surgery) for our daughter and her family. And I managed to hold on to my faith, secure in the knowledge that whatever happened, God is in control. That is still true. In the big things, the small things, the things that we think won’t matter to God at all, He is concerned and makes Himself known in so many ways.

One last thing before I go. My husband and I have not been able to have a date in months because we have been taking our grandson out weekly and that is where any extra funds we have had is going. He is going into the USN on April 26th and we wanted to bless him before he deployed, to pour love and caring into his life. Anyway, Harry and I went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate the good news we heard from Hope. We went to a favorite restaurant that has the kind of food that I’m allowed to have and will cook it to order without salt or other seasonings for me. Well, the food was great but the service was awful! The waitress asked for our drink order but didn’t bring anything for twenty minutes. Then, when she finally returned with them, she brought me water instead of the tea that I had requested. Another ten or fifteen minutes passed and I got my tea. Another waitress then came out of the kitchen and approached our table with two hamburgers. Well, that was not what we had ordered, so she returned to the kitchen and after another twenty minutes or so, we got our food. Talk about not knowing what to expect next! Finally, after a long wait, we got our check and I told my husband (I was paying this time) that I was going to bless our waitress in spite of her shortcomings, so I gave her a large tip. My husband said that I was extending mercy and grace to her. Of course! Just as God does for me daily!

If you get the chance today, extend mercy and grace to someone who is irritating you. You will be blessed in your heart and soul because of your kindness to a stranger. Who knows? Maybe they’re having a bad day, just got bad news, or are struggling in ways that we cannot see. Everyone needs a blessing. God blesses each of us so that we can in turn reach out and be a blessing to others.

Have a blessed day, my friends and remember to go to church tomorrow.

What Do You Really Need?

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Sometimes, rather often actually, I get my needs mixed up with my wants. When I do that, I find myself unsatisfied with myself and pouting at God for not supplying all of my wants. Then, He gently chides me and reminds me that needs and wants are completely different. For example, I would really like to have a home in a suburb, closer to hospitals and as I call it, civilization. But do I need that? No. We live in a rural area and we are fine here, at a distance that is inconvenient but not impossible.

Note the use of the word NEED here.

Too often, more frequently than I like to admit, my mind spirals off into the world of “what ifs” and I begin to fret. For a person who claims to have unshakeable faith in God, I get really upset with myself when that happens. I have to hold on to the Scripture above and remind myself that God gives me a train ticket for each hour of each day, not one for the next day. He provides what I need when I need it, and worrying about things will not change the course of events. But prayer does!

Have a wonderful and blessed day, watching for how God fulfills your needs and thankful that He provides for each of us.

Like a Tree

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

In my devotional this morning, I was directed to this Scripture verse.

When trees are cut down, if the root is still in the ground, there will eventually appear new shoots and as times goes on, a new tree will begin growing. Since we live in the middle of a lot of trees, I can bear testimony to this truth. How many times we have seen trees fall after a big storm and then we see the shoots of new growth begin to appear! In fact, to totally destroy a tree requires a tractor and a stump remover because you have to take it out by its roots. That being said, think about our roots.

We are told to be like trees, and we are to be rooted and grounded in God’s Word. What can move us if that is true?

We have to do our part and remain in His Word, not listening to the ones who speak foolishness out of their ignorance about God and His promises. I want to be like a tree, standing tall and strong for the Lord, dependent on Him for the water of His Word that nourishes me and for the gentle movement of the Holy Spirit that lifts me up closer to Him. We are so blessed to have God’s Word to read every day so that we can be strengthened in our walk with Him!

May each of you be like a tree, blessed beyond measure by our Creator and standing tall against all of the storms of life. May you be blessed to be a blessing to others!