Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

The Godless

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

It’s hard to believe with all of the technological advances that there are people today who are totally Godless. Or, perhaps that is better stated, that their god is themselves or their possessions or their job. Their god is not the God of the Bible; thus they are easily led into believing more and more lies. Point in case is the Episcopalian private school in NYC that is teaching children not to call their parents “mom” and “dad.” This was reported in Dr. Denison’s Forum yesterday.

Dr. Denison March 15, 2021

There was a Papal announcement yesterday that had me scratching my head in wonder. Pope Francis has been very leftist and liberal, so his announcement yesterday that homosexual marriage is “illicit” puzzled me. According to the article I read, he said that we have to basically accept homosexuality, but homosexuals cannot get married and have the blessing of the church. What?!? I understand loving the homosexual, because they are sinners like the rest of us; they just haven’t found grace and forgiveness yet. Anyway, the Pope’s statement was a little disconcerting, like talking out of two sides of the same mouth.

The Epoch Times March 16, 2021

Dr. Denison’s Forum today addressed the topic of the Pope. It also addressed the Grammy Awards, a show that I stopped watching long ago because of its blatant disregard for any kind of decorum or morality. According to Dr. Denison, the Grammys this year were worse than ever and could be considered X-rated. This is a terrible commentary on our nation, that we would accept such a blatant display and not call it out as sin. Again, my mind is reeling with all that is happening today, as our nation spirals quickly down the rabbit hole of sin and destruction. What concerns me is that more Christians are not speaking up against things like this. Mike Huckabee, a well-known Christian conservative and former governor of Arkansas, wrote against the show in his newsletter today. Finally, Tucker Carlson from Fox News, questioned the absurdity of banning Dr. Seuss and allowing X-rated dances and songs on the Grammys.

Dr. Denison, March 16, 2021

Well, with all of that bad news, what is the Good News?

Here you go! A promise from God for the blameless. Remember that you don’t get “blameless” on your own. The only way that you are cleansed is through the blood of Christ, God’s only Son who sacrificed Himself so that we could call ourselves His children. I’m glad that I fit into the first part of that verse and feel bad for those who are in the second part. Let’s remember to pray for them to see the truth and the light and to accept the truth of God’s Word. Repentance is the word of the day.

Blessings to each of you and prayers that you will remember to pray for our nation, for the sinners and for this end of the age. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

My Refuge

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

www.bible.com/111/psa.91.2.niv

One of the favorite games of my little granddaughters in Maryland is to play virtual hide and seek with me. They hide and their daddy uses his phone and my voice to tell him where to look. The giggles are so precious, even as I am seeking them. And they are young, so hiding in the same place repeatedly is a thing with them. Recently, the youngest (who will be three in a few weeks) grabs her mommy by the hand and insists that her mommy hide with her. When I read this Scripture verse this morning, this game came to my mind. Evie’s refuge is her mommy; she knows that she is “safe” with her.

Likewise, I know that I am safe in the arms of the Father. He is my refuge, no matter what the circumstances. The last two weeks have been hard. I mentioned something previously about our home in Pennsylvania. It was the first house we had ever purchased after over twenty military moves, and I was like a momma bird with her nest. I ordered carpeting, decorated and put up curtains that I had actually picked out. We had planned to make that our real home together, pouring time and energy into making it a refuge. But then, the unthinkable happened. I couldn’t find a teaching job in PA. I tried everything that I knew to do, praying constantly for God to show me what He wanted me to do. In the end, we left our home in PA and I got a job in MD. Our home that I had created was rented to various other people and has been for the last thirty years.

Two weeks ago, we discovered that our property management company had sought approval to put our house under Section 8 rentals, without our prior knowledge or approval. My husband, who worked in real estate after retiring from the Air Force, was visibly upset. Section 8 housing usually means lower property values and can often mean renters who do not take good care of the property. We tried in vain to contact the owner of the office in PA, but he never returned our calls. Frustrated, I called the home office in TX and got in touch with a nice lady who promised to investigate what was going on. She called back and told us that the house is already leased under Section 8, again without our knowledge of approval. We cannot get out of the lease, so we are stuck. That puts us in the uncomfortable position of having to try to sell the house when the lease is up. My husband and I prayed and think that will be what’s best, but we will continue to pray. We don’t want to be sued for discrimination, but neither do we want to have a home that is losing value annually.

Anyway, throughout this nightmare, my stress level has been high, so I have been praying a lot. God has reminded me daily that He is right there with me. He is my refuge, the place I can go to be safe from all of the cares of the world. I am trusting Him to show us what to do when the lease is up and when and how we should move and leave Virginia behind. I have to be reminded daily because somehow I am hard-headed enough to try to handle things on my own, get stressed and then God’s Spirit gently reminds me that He is walking through this with me. He is helping me on the multiple phone conversations with the nice lady in TX who has taken over our account, he is guiding me as I write e-mails to the office in PA concerning the errors on their invoice and their changing our property without our permission. He has even been there when I angrily cried out that the man in PA who was supposed to look out for our best interests betrayed us and lied to us. God reminded me that I must forgive him and move on. Honestly, I am working on that. When he comes to mind, I ask God to help me to forgive him and his costly errors that have already cost us thousands of dollars in repairs that may not have even been necessary. Like little Evie, I have to have God’s presence with me so that I feel safe from all that is happening.

Is there something hard that you are faced with today? God is your refuge, your place of safety. Are you feeling assaulted by the things of the world that you can do nothing about? God is your refuge, your place of safety. I thought I knew these promises, having leaned on them for years. But then, the enemy came and showed me that I was not leaning or hiding in God; I was trusting myself to make things right. That never works because God is my refuge, my place of safety. I’m still learning daily to let go and let God be God. As someone said, this, too, shall pass.

Blessings, my friends, for a lovely day filled with insights from the Heavenly Father!

God’s Specific Directions

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

Have you ever wondered what would happen in your life if you heard God clearly and followed His directions exactly? Moses spoke to God and God spoke to Moses. Yet, Moses and his brother Aaron sinned and did not follow exactly what God told them to do.

Notice the very important word in this passage is speak.
Moses did not speak to the rock; he struck it. He did not follow God’s instructions which had been very specific.
Consequences follow actions.

Shortly after this passage, Aaron died. Later, Moses got to go to the top of a mountain and look and see the Promised Land, but he was never allowed to enter it. “Unfair!” I can hear the outcry already. What in the world was God thinking that He did not allow Moses and Aaron,who had faithfully led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the desert, to enter the Promised Land, their destination the whole time?

Well, my answer is that God was thinking that He is holy and what He asks for specifically is for a specific reason and He expects complete obedience, not a partial, half-hearted, “I’ll do it my way” kind of obedience. One of the big problems in our world today is that so many people are trying to do things their way, the way that their minds came up with, and not the way that God has said it should be.

For example, the Bible tells us that God made male and female. Now, there are people in our world who say that one can decide their gender. Really? Is that what the Holy Bible says? The Bible says that man and woman marry and become one flesh. Man today, in all of his own wisdom, has decided that homosexuality and the resulting relationships are okay. Hmm. I’m sure that is NOT what God thinks is best for our world considering He destroyed Sodom for such sin. Nevertheless, men think that they know better than God and go their own way. Like Moses, they are headed in a direction that will not allow them to go into the Promised Land.

In the time of Moses, the Promised Land was an actual, physical place. Today, the Promised Land is Heaven, that place in which we have eternal life and live in the presence of God forever. People who think that they can “do their own thing” all of their lives and then live in the presence of a Holy God are just fooling themselves. God does not respect some people more than others, and if Moses, a great leader of the Israelites, could be denied entrance into the physical Promised Land, who are we to think that we can do whatever we want and still go into the Heavenly Promised Land? How presumptuous is that!

In my opinion, the big thing that we are missing in the picture of sin and choices is TRUST. We don’t trust that God will fulfill His Word, every jot and tittle of it. I trust that God loves and shows mercy and forgives. But I also trust that He is the righteous Judge who will one day hold all men into account for their own choices and actions. Once again, remember that Moses and Aaron were not allowed to go into the Promised Land. They changed one word of what God told them to do and that made all the difference.

God says what He means and means what He says.

I hope that you have a blessed day and that you feel God’s presence leading and directing you in the way you should go.

How to Be Saved

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Over four decades ago, a sweet neighbor explained to me how to be saved and gave me a Bible to read. Considering how lost our world is now, it seems relevant that I share these Scripture verses with you for you to ponder.

Note that this verse is from the Psalms. God always had a plan for redemption of sinners in place. In the Old Testament, the people made animal sacrifices and times established by God. In the New Testament, Jesus sacrificed Himself Once, for all. But confession of our sins remains the same, regardless of the time in which we live.

The reason it is so important to confess our sins is so that we can be cleansed. We don’t have to go to a place or a person. We just have to confess our sins to Him. He hears us, and his faithfulness and justice reaches down to us, forgives us and cleanses us from wickedness.

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus by Hillsong

May God bless you this day and every day with a cleansing of your heart and soul so that you can go out and bless others with the Good News that there is salvation available to all.

Praising God

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

We had some disturbing news this week and we are trying to work through a difficult situation with a property management company, so prayers are appreciated. In the meantime, God has called me to praise Him. When the circumstances are going well, praise Him. When everything is turned upside down, praise Him. Whether things work out or not, I’m trying to remain calm and focused on God who will take care of us, regardless.

My Scripture verses from my devotional this morning were just what I needed to start today. They are like a breath of fresh air to my soul. I had to remind myself today that nothing will happen that God and I can’t handle together. Of course, my husband is with me in this, too, but his constantly talking about the problem is wearing on me. I’m hoping that I can get him to take time to pray with me today about it, longer than a cursory, “God, take care of it for us” kind of thing. Anyway, I feel ready for a new day and I hope that you do, too.

O Lord by Lauren Daigle

I pray that each of you has a blessed and wonderful day, filled with His presence, His comfort and His love.

A Loving Eye

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

www.bible.com/111/psa.32.8.niv

Every parent knows that the best thing we can do for our children is to prepare them for life by consistently instructing them and teaching them, leading them in the right way. So this verse really touched my heart, especially the part about God’s eye being on us to counsel us. I remember my kids saying that I was giving them “that look” which they knew meant that whatever they were doing needed to stop immediately and they needed to make a choice to change their actions before I changed it for them. I also recall my students telling me that I had that look in my eyes that showed them that I meant business and that they needed to listen. They called it “the teacher eye.” With this Scripture today, it verifies that the look and the teacher eye were real and they are gifts from God, the One who loves us and uses that eye to counsel us. With just a look from the Father, we are advised to change our path, to go the right way, to choose wisely. Just as my children and my students knew exactly what I expected when I cast my eyes upon them, so do we when God looks at us and clearly speaks through His Word that we need to straighten up and fly right!

A Prayer for Love, Knowledge and Insight

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

It has been almost twenty years since our youngest child left home for college. That was the beginning of the end of having children at home, the beginning of becoming an “empty nester.” When each child left, I gave them plenty of advice: finances, relationships, and finding a good church to go to. I prayed for them daily; in fact, their names and a prayer were never far from my thoughts and still are. But this prayer that I found in my devotional this morning is what I should have been praying for all of these years.

It is Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, but it is also a prayer that we can and should apply to all of our loved ones. For it is in this prayer that we find the love, the knowledge and the insight necessary to fulfill a life of promise in Christ. It is a prayer for making good choices and to one day be able to stand before the Lord “blameless.” It’s not enough to know God’s Word; it has to be applied to one’s life. That is my prayer for my children, for my friends, for other family members and for my lost loved ones and friends. Jesus saves. He left us the Holy Spirit to give us insight and discernment, His Word to give us knowledge. If we stay close to Him, we “abound in love.” How can we do any less than love others when He chose to die for all?

Yes, I pray for our children daily. I also pray for others whom God brings to my mind. Prayer is a powerful weapon in the hands of the saints of God. We need to use it as Paul did, to teach and to bless.

Have a blessed day filled with abounding love, knowledge and insight!

He Is Worthy

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/1sa.12.24.mev

This is an admonition from my devotional this morning. It’s one to memorize and keep in our hearts, Fearing the Lord is giving Him the reverence He deserves. He is a good Father. We are to serve Him daily. How? By following His Word. Jesus’s last commandment to His disciples was to “go…and tell.” If that is what Jesus told His followers then, isn’t He saying the same thing to us now? Finally, we are to think about all of the great things He has done for us. In doing that, we focus on thanksgiving and the positive things in our lives. There is so much for which to be thankful! This verse encapsulates what our relationship with the Lord should be on a daily basis.

God bless you as you go through today with fear of the Lord, serving Him with thanksgiving in your hearts. He is worthy!

The Reward Is Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

www.bible.com/111/pro.10.16.niv

If we are the children of the Lord, the end result of our labors on earth is life, eternity with our Savior and our God. It is imperative that we teach the Gospel to as many as possible before we leave this earth because their end is death, an eternal separation from God. Many preachers today are saying that there is no hell, no judgment. The Word of God clearly points out repeatedly that hell does exist and that it was not made for man originally, but if man persists in sin, then death is the consequence.

What makes someone righteous? Belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior! There is nothing, not one thing, that we can do to earn salvation and eternal life. Jesus already paid the price in full for each believer.

What makes someone wicked? A constant choice to sin. Note that word, choice. Sin is a choice. You don’t fall into sin. It doesn’t reach out and grab you. You make a choice to sin once. Then, as time goes on, the choice becomes easier, almost automatic. You look around and your life has changed because of your choices.

Each day, we all have choices to make. The righteous make choices based on our belief that Jesus died for us. For me, I don’t want to disappoint Him or cause Him any more suffering than what He already went through for me. So, I strive to please Him, often asking Him what I should do before I make a decision. Likewise, the wicked make choices, too, but they believe that the only one that they answer to is themselves. Humanism is rampant in earth today. It’s broadcast on every news channel, on every radio station, the evil choices that men are making without any consideration for the eternal consequences.

Our mission on earth, as Jesus’s followers, is to take as many people with us to Heaven as we can. We share the Gospel, tell the wicked that there is a different choice for them, a choice that means eternal life instead of eternal damnation. Sharing the Gospel is not a choice for us; it is a commission from the One who saved us. God is holding back His judgment on the earth so that as many as possible can be saved. He doesn’t want anyone to go to hell, but he will allow it to happen because He is righteous and just. Right now, I believe that He is showing His mercy, but that will not always be so. May He open the eyes and ears of the wicked to hear and accept His truth and may we be His willing servants to tell that truth to others.

God bless each of you that you may accept and go forth today with the Word of Truth in your hearts and on your lips, ready to tell those who need to hear.

Promises of Strength and Peace

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.29.11.mev

This Scripture verse is made to order for me this morning, and I hope that the promises it contains bless you, too. Just when I was thinking that I could not take one more bit of bad news about the current presidency in the USA and the pandemic and the scary attitudes toward Christians, God gave me this verse to read, to remind me of His promises that never end. He continues to strengthen us and give us peace during some challenging times. I’m convinced that the times will become more challenging and dangerous for those who believe in Jesus as Lord. But I’m also convinced that the strength and peace that God promises will still be there for us. Good news! His promises aren’t just for the good times; they are for every day, no matter what we face. Daniel faced the lion’s den and knew these promises firsthand. Jesus went to the cross and knew the peace and strength of being the Son of God, resolute in His determination to carry out the will of His Father. I’m not saying that I want to go into a lion’s den or even that I’m there now. But I know that I am called to carry my cross daily and sometimes that means being kind to the people who are not kind to me. I’m saying that God will meet each of us wherever we are in our walks with Him and give us the strength and peace we need to continue our faith journey.

God bless you today with His peace and strength. May you feel Him near and hear Him whisper of His great love for you.