Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

Shield of Salvation and Gentleness

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.18.35.mev

This Scripture spoke to me this morning because of the word shield to show salvation. Doesn’t salvation shield us from the worst that the enemy can do to us? The enemy of our soul thinks that he can defeat us with death, but we have the shield of salvation. It’s like a piece of invincible armor that no weapon of the enemy can pierce.

Then, the second part of the Scripture didn’t make a lot of sense to me, so I looked it up in several versions. The one I liked the best exchanged the word “gentleness” for the word “humility.” It is Jesus’s humility that was our example and through following his example, we become great leaders in the advancement of His Word. It is not that we ourselves are great. Jesus is great through us when we humbly allow Him to use us to reach others. Just as Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth as a man, so we humble ourselves before the King of Glory and ask for His will to be done in our lives. It in only in submitting to His will that we can become great. Our greatness is not in our own strength or to “toot our own horns.” It is the Lord to whom we owe everything and to Him that we give all honor and praise. Anything we do that gives us praise should be reflected right back to Him.

So that was my meditation for today. I hope that you all have a blessed day, using the shield to protect yourself from the enemy of our soul and His example of gentleness to approach others with the Gospel.

Meditation for Today

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/exo.15.11.mev

The same God who parted the Red Sea and then sent it rolling back over Pharoah and his entire army, the same God who sent His Son to die on the cross for us and who raised Him from the dead after three days, the same God who promises eternal life to those who believe in Him and follow Him…that is the God whom we serve! This brings forth a heartfelt Hallelujah! He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Amen!

Be a Tree

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I read a devotional this morning about Zaccheus climbing the tree to see Jesus. The devotional focused on the tree; God put it there knowing that one day a small man would need to climb it to see his son.

Photo from pexels.com

The devotional charged me (and other readers, of course) to think of all of the people who have lifted you up to see Jesus. For me, there was first my neighbor Verna and her fiancée Chris. Then, there was our first pastor Dean, the man who taught me so much about studying the Bible; his favorite saying was to “be a Berean.” There was Dub, a rotund, happy pastor in South Carolina who taught me the joy of worshipping freely. There was the pastor in Virginia Beach who moved me and Hope into base housing when it became available after Harry heads already left for his deployment. I was feeling really sorry for myself because I was pregnant and had no idea how I was going to manage to move but I knew that I had a limited time before the base housing office would just pass over my name. Help came just in time! There were the people who have given us groceries when we were low on funds, the neighbor who ran across the street to take me to the E.R. with my young son whose arm was streaming blood and I couldn’t get my car started. So many trees who have given me a boost in life!

But that is not the end of the story. I have been boosted over and over again, able to climb above the problems because of others who have been there for me, just at the right time. They have been the “trees” in my life. In similar fashion, I would like to think that I have boosted others, but I don’t want to go through incidents that would try to persuade you of my being a tree. God will be the judge of that. I just want to leave you with the question. Are you a tree? Do you help others up, so that they can see above the circumstances? If we are always wandering around with the lost people and never giving them a boost to see Jesus, they may never see Him. We may be the exact tree that God put in a certain place at a certain time for a certain person. We need to look for opportunities to be a tree, stand firm for God’s Word, and like a tree, point to the Heavens, right up to Jesus!

Have a blessed day, my friends, and may you prosper even as your soul prospers.

http://www.thefellowhipsite.com

March for Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/111/psa.139.13-14.niv

Today is the annual March for Life, taking place throughout the country. You can join in virtually by going to March for Life. It has never been more important that we stand for the sanctity of life, because the President in the Oval Office is signing executive orders making life cheap and easy to “get rid of”, even at taxpayer’s expense. I have heard all of my life that if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. I’m standing for life! When the President’s press secretary was asked how he could support abortion as a Catholic, her reply was that he is a “devout Catholic.” Really? Does the Catholic Church approve of abortions now? Actually, killing the unborn is a platform of the Democratic Party, supporting Planned Parenthood and the millions of abortions that this organization performs in the guise of healthcare. It’s not a choice! It’s a baby! Thus, I’m asking for you to attend the virtual March for Life, financially support the organization if you can, support Dr. James Dobson who has fought for life for decades. In my mind, it is absolute evil to sacrifice an unborn baby to Molech, which is what I consider abortion to be, a sacrifice to a demonic god. We are called to be salt so that the world will desire to drink of the pure water of life. Let’s be salt today!

The Pathway to Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.16.11.mev

As we walk the pathway that leads to eternal life, we have the presence of God with us each minute of each day. It is in Him that we find the pleasure that we really seek. It is not the external, like the clouds in the sky or the news reports. Instead, it is God and His Holy presence that nurtures our souls and helps us each day to find the joy that He means for us to have.

May each of you find the joy today that comes from walking on the pathway to life, in the presence of God.

God’s Love

On By vickleaIn Scripture16 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/1jn.4.16.mev

This verse was just what I needed to read this morning. It opened a door for me that I thought that I had closed long ago. You see, I don’t tell this to many people, but I grew up in an upper middle class home where everything physical that I needed and much that I wanted was provided, but I didn’t really feel loved. My mom told me frequently how ugly I was and even told me to plan to go to college and get a good job because no one would want to marry ugly me. I recall going to the bathroom where I could be alone and softly singing to myself the song that I had learned by going to church with my neighbor, “Jesus Loves Me.” I didn’t really know what that meant, but it soothed my aching young heart. Anyway, I studied my constantly. I didn’t date in high school at all because I was focused on studying. I had a high GPA in high school, got a scholarship and went to college where I studied to be a teacher. When I met my future husband the summer before my senior year, he kept telling me how beautiful I was and I knew, from experience with my mom, that he had to be lying. Thus, later, when he said that he loved me, I didn’t believe him. Not really. Then, in February of 1973, a neighbor told me about Jesus and His love for me. I read the book of John and discovered that love for myself. It was the forever kind of love that I had craved my entire life. I eagerly accepted Jesus into my heart and my life. For the first time in my life, I felt love and it was such a different feeling. I tried to explain it to my mom and dad, but they just dismissed my testimony. I explained it to my fiancé and he told me to get rid of this Jesus thing or he was walking away. Well, I told him that Jesus died for me and since he had not ever done anything so bold and loving for me, I chose Jesus. When Harry understood that I meant it, he started going to church with me and he, too, accepted Jesus into his heart. Two months later, we were married. I finally knew what love was because I had met the Man who is love. I knew God’s love for me, the kind that lasts forever. My new pastor soothed my old wounds and told me that God made me just the way He wanted me to be and God doesn’t make “junk.” Thus armed with new confidence, I have gone through over forty years of life and almost forty eight years of marriage, knowing in my heart, in the deepest part of me, that I am loved. When I was alone on base after base with the military, I knew that God loved me. Through all of the trials in my life, I have held on to that truth: Jesus loves me! He always has accepted me just as I am and He loves me, with all of my flaws and failings, He loves me. I am enjoying a life filled with God’s love. Does that mean that everything has been wonderful during my entire life? Of course not! God doesn’t promise that all will work out just as we want or expect. He does promise His forever love, and that is enough for me. I hope that is enough for you, too. If you don’t believe me and my testimony, I pray that you will believe God’s Word. It’s His gift of love to each of us, so that we can learn and hold on to His precious promises. God bless each of you with a special portion of God’s love today. No matter what happens today, you and God are going through it together, and His love will be there for you…always!

Light Affliction

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/2co.4.17-18.mev

This was one of my Scriptures in my devotional this morning and I chuckled to myself when I read the first part about the “light affliction” because I was thinking of my ankle. I almost fell again in the bathroom this morning when my ankle turned and almost gave out. I was not laughing then because I have been in physical therapy for almost six weeks now, with another three weeks predicted by my therapist. And this all from a broken foot in September! So, light affliction and for a moment. Yes! In light of eternity, these last few months are but a blink of an eye. I’m hoping that the pain that I’m going through will be for some higher benefit, like the people that I get to talk to about God and pray for at PT. The lady who is mourning her ill relative, the one who is all alone and trying to take care of herself after she hurt her foot much more seriously than I did, the many who are practicing to move their knees again after replacement surgery, and the former students who now work there and with whom I can share my faith. So, yes, I have to drive to PT, “suffer” through exercise and manipulation of my injured joint. But I get a blessing each time I go because there is someone new there with whom I can talk and share the Gospel. I pray that each seed that I plant will one day bear fruit and lead the person to a glorious eternity with our Savior. After all, that is why each of us is here…we are seed planters and water bearers and sometimes, we even get to harvest. We keep on pressing forward until Jesus calls us home, even with hurt joints. God didn’t plan my hurt ankle, but He can surely use it! How will He use you today to touch someone for eternity? Bless you as you discover your path today!

Be the Light

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

www.bible.com/111/mat.5.14.niv

In a world filled with sin and darkness, we are called to be the light. It doesn’t say in this verse that we are to be inactive in this whole light thing. We are actively shining into the darkness, just like the headlights on the car on a dark night. There are all kinds of obstacles that could impede our progress in our journey with the Lord, but with our lights shining, we make progress and we show others the way, too. We can’t hide the light because it is on the highest setting, “full bright” to show others who are lost in the darkness the path that they should be on. Some will heed and follow, but others will choose to stay in darkness. We can’t get discouraged about those who don’t want to be in the light. They prefer that their deeds be done in darkness, some even proclaiming wrongly that they have the light when they don’t. Don’t get discouraged. Just keep shining.

Pray for the United States of America

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

Keep on praying. That is God’s commandment to His people. He doesn’t say that we should only pray when we need something. He says to continually pray…in good times, in bad times, in times of plenty and times of need. So, that is my commitment this year. I do not like the new President for many reasons. But I am committed to pray for him, his safely and for wisdom for him as he leads our great nation. Please join me in this prayer, for our nation needs its Saints to pray.