I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
Do you tend to worry? Do you let small things bother you so much that you can’t think of anything else except that one small thing? This describes me…I am still learning not to worry, but it’s a hard thing for me. I am a champion worrier, much to the dismay of my loved ones and my own body. I tell myself that I have let it go and next thing you know, that concern has popped right into my head again. So, this is my exhortation to you and to me today and into the future.
I don’t really worry about food or clothing, but I do sometimes worry about issues with my body and things around me that need repairs that I don’t have the money for. I think that this Scripture applies to anything and everything that we are worrying about. We need to let it go and trust God to take care of things for us. No, He is not suddenly going to make all the needed repairs, but I believe that He can keep them going until we do have the finances to repair or replace them.
This right here is where our focus needs to be, on God and His kingdom and His righteousness. If our focus is on God, then it is not on the things that concern us. I have found that mostly what I worry about doesn’t even end up happening, so I am choosing to let go, one day, one hour, one minute at a time and believe that God is taking care of it for me.
That being said, I would appreciate prayers for our upcoming trips to graduations. Thank you in advance and God bless you!
The second definition in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary is “belief and trust in and loyalty to God.” The sub-definition is “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” First, I was concerned about why faith in God is not the first definition. That place belongs to the word “loyalty.” I can see that, but my personal opinion is that the definitions are not in proper order. Nevertheless, now that we know from the dictionary what faith is, what is it really? What does the word “faith” mean to you?
To me, faith is what allows me to go through hard times, knowing that the God I love and serve is waiting for me on the other end. Faith is also what I tried to show to my children and still try to show to my grandchildren. I show them through my prayers and my testimony and my Bible study that I truly believe in God. Proof that He exists? Faith is not dependent on any scientific study but rather it depends on a relationship that is established on the day you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and start a relationship with the Father.
Faith is not a feeling that you get, but a heartbeat that pumps inside you and becomes part of who you are. I could no more wake up without faith than I could awaken without a heartbeat. I wouldn’t exist as the person I am without my faith in God, my belief that He is there working on my behalf and will never let me down.
My faith in God started as a small seed, trusting Him to save me from my sins and to bring me into a right relationship with Him. How did that seed get sown? By reading God’s Word and believing it! And every day that I read and study His Word to me (and to you), my faith is nurtured, much like watering the rose bush outside my window.
We have faith that when we go out to start our car in the morning, the car will turn on and we will go. We have faith that the GPS giving us directions knows what it is doing. You get the idea. Can you see all of the internal workings of the car that make it go? No, but you trust that it will. Do you understand how a GPS works? I guess some real brainiacs will say “of course” but I don’t understand it and doubt that most people do, but I still trust it will get me to where I want to be, even with a several “re-routing” statements along the way.
Faith in God is kind of like believing and knowing without seeing or totally understanding. I know that God created me because His Word says so. It is not by accident that I was born or that birds can fly or that fish can swim. God designed it all this way and He is the sovereign One who continues to watch over His creation. How do I know that? Because I have faith that the Word of God is totally accurate and true.
Whatever you believe in or have faith in is what your life focus is. If your belief is only in yourself, then you focus on keeping yourself happy and secure. I am glad that my focus is on God since I don’t have to be so self-centered on my happiness and security since it is a part of what God promises me, i.e. contentment and provision.
Others have used this analogy so it is not mine originally, but we cannot see the wind, but we can feel it. And if there is a big storm, we can hear it. The wind is there whether we see it or not. So is God. He is there, working behind the scenes of our lives to help us to get to know Him better. But we have to do our part. When we know a hurricane is coming, we prepare by gathering supplies like batteries and toilet paper. The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming again. Are you getting ready? Are you faith-filled and prepared to meet the Lord? You can get ready by spending time with God and His Word. Learn what it says to you about His love, sacrifice and plans for you. Every day that you spend with God is a blessing and an opportunity to build your faith.
We cannot know the future, and I don’t think I would want to know it, honestly. But I can trust that whatever the future brings, God will be right there with me. That is faith.
We may not know where life will take us each day, but we can rest assured that the One who is leading will be faithful to lead us through the storms, out of the valleys and ultimately into His presence.
I have found that as I am aging, I am becoming less likely to sleep. I awaken early in the morning, may or may not take a short nap and then stay up until around midnight. This has been my new schedule for months now. Prior to that, I was rising early (about six) and going to bed by nine or ten. That is a much better choice for me, I think, but insomnia has become an issue. Thus I have sought out scripture verses about sleep.
This verse tells me that sleep is a gift from God that I have to accept and be thankful for. So when I sleep more than a few hours, I am very grateful to God for His love and His gift of sleep.
I have never been one who has a lot of bad dreams that keep me awake. Rather, it is my mind that won’t shout off, thinking of all I need to do to prepare for whatever is coming into my life soon. This verse tells me not to be so concerned about tomorrow and its problems, but just to lie down and get some sweet sleep.
I am grateful every morning that I awaken to a new day with new possibilities. There are few nights that I don’t get up at least once during the night to head to the bathroom, but even when that happens, this week, I have been able to go right back to sleep instead of the usual tossing and turning. God sustains me all night long, and He gives me songs in my mind to comfort me and scripture verses like this one to remind me of His constant presence in my life.
We all have very busy lives and need to rest as much as we can. A normal night’s sleep for me is 5-6 hours. If I sleep less than that, I need a nap sometime during the day and usually rest for about an hour, depending on how tired I am and how cooperative my cat is. I am envious sometimes of my husband who sleeps 8-10 hours every night. He goes to bed late but he doesn’t get up until noon or after. That works well for me because it gives me the quiet time I need every morning with the Lord.
If you are having difficulty sleeping, I don’t have a solution but I have the answer. Pray, recite verses, sing quietly to yourself or just say the words to a favorite song to yourself. Counting sheep doesn’t work for me, but counting blessings and reminding myself that sleep is a gift from God does.
The simple answer to this question is that we all are. Some are more vocal than others and some have evangelism as their profession, but we have all been called to be evangelists, to share the good news about Jesus.
In the devotional this morning that I read about evangelism, I chuckled when the speaker in the video reminded us that we don’t plant seeds and then stand and yell at them to grow. Our responsibility is just to plant the seeds and that can look like a lot of different things.
We can encourage someone when they need a pat on the shoulder, a hug or a kind word. Speaking of kindness, we should always be kind to others no matter what kind of day we are having or the mood we are in. There is never an excuse for rudeness. In today’s world of selfishness and entitlement, it is evident that rudeness seems to be prevalent. That is why Christians can stand out and consistently offer kindness as our banner, not demands. And, of course, we can share our testimony with others about the difference Christ has made in our lives.
The last one is the hardest one for me because of my introverted nature. But I know that if I have established a relationship with another person, then it is easier for me to talk to them about my past, where I came from and how my life changed. I think one of the keys of a good evangelist is establishing relationships, not just preaching the gospel and expecting people to take your word for it.
Regardless of how we do the job that Jesus tasked us to do while we wait for His return, we are not in this alone. Evangelism is a team effort. We are the seed sowers while others who come behind us may be the ones who water or give nutrients to the new plant. We do what we feel the Spirit prodding us to do and then let God take over. That relieves us of the burden of thinking that is all on us…it isn’t and God’s Word tells us that.
Our purpose in evangelism is not so that others can see us and offer us any kind of recognition. Rather, it is to just go and tell. We tell with encouragement, kindness and our testimony. We tell with words from God’s Word. God will bring the growth but the seeds have to be planted first and that is our responsibility.
At the top of John chapter 5, John explains that anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ—the prophesied Messiah—has become a child of God.
When we become children of our Heavenly Father, we not only inherit a forever kingdom and an incorruptible legacy, but we’re also granted the privilege of approaching the King of all kings.
John said it this way:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 NIV
As the text continues, John reiterates the fact that God loves to give us what we ask for—when it’s asked with the right motive.
Think about it this way: is a child concerned about approaching his loving parent for a snack, for a hug, for advice, or for help?
When we come to God with a similar childlike confidence—in sincerity, humility, trust, and even desperation—we can be certain that He hears us. When we submit a request, we might get a yes, we might get a no, or we might get a not yet. But regardless…
We can know that God hears us as we trust Him with our prayers.
The author of the book of Hebrews put it eloquently: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
Whether you need wisdom, direction, or practical help, you can come boldly to our gracious God. You can come to God with your praises and doubts, opinions and concerns, thankfulness and questions.
My Thoughts
I hate to write this because I don’t want you to misunderstand what I am saying, but I John 5:14 is one of those scriptures that I don’t like to share. For years, this particular verse was what I call the “prosperity gospel” of “Name it and claim it” fame. I am not a proponent of this particular method of trying to attract people to the Lord because I think it twists God’s Word and tries to get people to come to the Lord for the wrong reasons. On the other hand, as the writer of this devotional in the YouVersion points out, if we ask according to His will, then we can indeed expect answers. The caveat is that the answer may not be what we wanted or expected, but He will answer.
The problem I have with sharing this scripture verse is that people don’t always seek God’s will before praying and then get disappointed when He doesn’t answer. Or they don’t really want to know God’s will before their petitions because they already have a vision of what they plan to ask for. A bigger house, a powerful position or anything material is not promised in God’s Word. He says He will give us all that we need, not all that we desire. The only way to find out God’s will is to spend time with Him and His Word. The time we spend with God molds our will to be more like His and then when we pray, we can do so with confidence and expectation, knowing that what we are asking is something that God really wants to do for us. For example, God wants people to come to know Him, so we can certainly expect that praying for hearts to be open to Him is in His will. But, we also have to be aware that God is not going to make that person we pray for into some kind of responsive robot. They have to want to know Him, choose to know Him and repent. God can create situations in which the sinner comes face to fact with the reality of their sins, but He does not change their heart just because we ask for it; the sinner has to change. God has already provided the sacrifice, once for all, and He waits patiently for the sinner to come to His throne of grace. So, although we pray for salvation for a friend or loved one, once we pray this prayer that is part of God’s will, we have to accept the fact that God can do all things but He chooses to limit Himself to the individual making the correct free will choice. We cannot just “name it and claim it” because there is a lot going on in the spiritual realm that we may not be aware of.
The steps are not to see the shiny new toy and then pray that you will get one just like it. Absolutely not! We spend time with God in Bible study and reflection and then we pray according to His will that He has revealed to us in our time together. The final step is the hardest one. Then we wait, confident that God is working out His will in His time and for our good always.
Thus, with all that being said, I have difficulty sharing and telling you my thoughts about this verse since I don’t want you to take the verse out of context or misunderstand my words. Do I believe God answers prayers? Without a doubt! Do I believe that God answers every prayer just the way we expect? That answer is a firm “no” because I believe God answers prayers according to His good will, not mine and not in my established timeline.
First of all, let’s define “status.” According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, status is: “position or rank in relation to others or relative rank in a hierarchy of prestige especially : high prestige.” Kind of wordy, but it does say what status is. First, let’s talk about it in relationship to others.
In today’s world of never having enough, people tend to equate their well-being, their status, if you will, with the number of material things that they have and the quality of those things. It’s good to have a nice house, but a big, nice house is better, for example. It’s great to have a nice car, but an expensive car with all of the newest bells and whistles is better. Status is elusive and changes quickly, depending on your social circumstances. I know this from experience because I grew up in a home that was considered upper middle class and my family was considered well-to-do. Not wealthy, but respected for all of the things we had, like a Cadillac in the driveway and a pool in the backyard. Then came the devastation of my family losing everything. There went their long-standing status in the community, in less time than it takes to read this blog post!
The second definition for status is rank or prestige. That is not so different from the first definition, but I think it also deals with how you see yourself in society. The lepers in the Bible were outcasts, so their status in society was the lowest of the low, yet they still called out to Jesus to be healed. They knew that they were unworthy, but they knew to whom they could appeal. India still has a caste system and the status that you are born into is one that you will have your entire life. While we in the U.S. gasp at such a concept as not being able to improve your status, we have the same general concept. A Rockefeller family member is automatically accorded more respect and gets the best tables at the best restaurants like it’s part of the benefits of having that name. The Smiths, however, are not treated so royally. In fact, the working class Americans generally remain in that working class for a lifetime. On the other hand, one of the great things about being in the U.S. is that one can work hard, get a better education and move from one “class” to another. Nevertheless, we are still a nation of “haves” and “have nots.” I am sure that we can all agree that some are privileged and some are impoverished and sometimes it is a case of birth family and circumstances, not choices.
Now, back to status and the real purpose of this post today. I used to be upper middle class. Now, I am lower middle class and not bothered by my drop in rank in society. That is because my status is not dependent on what the world says I am or thinks about me. I must confess that once I was into titles and status and wanted to succeed and be recognized as worthy of honor and respect. I earned some titles and awards as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. But nothing that I have ever won can compare to what I am now.
I am a DK, a Daughter of the King. I can rest fully secure in my Father’s love, knowing that will not change because He does not change. My position in the family of God is not dependent on anything I do but on all that Jesus already did. That gives me peace as well as rest from competition with others. God puts all of us on an even plane; we are all sinners saved by grace. The wealthy cannot buy their way into heaven and the poor cannot beg their way in. There is only one way, one door to get to spend eternity with God and that is through His Son Jesus. So, I have given up on the FFV (First Families of Virginia), the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and OWC (Officers’ Wives’ Club). I have traded that illusory status for one that is everlasting, a a child of God and there I remain, in my little house in the big woods, driving an older car and not really caring that I don’t have all the things.
Death is a thief that takes all you have accumulated and gives it to someone else. Wealth doesn’t endure, but hope in a future with God does.
This verse says clearly what our priorities need to be and it is not in gathering things so that we look better to others. That is not to say that all people who have nice things are wicked, just that having nice things won’t get you out of death and into heaven.
This is a promise that we who confess Jesus as Lord can firmly grasp and count on. No matter how others view my status, God only sees whether I have been made clean by the blood of His Son and accepts me just the way I am.
I have been up for over two hours and I am just now getting around to my devotionals. Why is that, you may ask? The reason is that I have six or seven books releasing in the next ten days and I was busy promoting them online. Now, to start my real day…
I awakened in the wee hours of the morning with a deep pain in my chest and a fear about a heart attack. Since I have multiple health problems and see a cardiologist regularly, I did not awaken my slumbering spouse. Rather, I prayed and did some deep breathing, relaxed and fell back to sleep. But the pain was my wake up call that we all die and leave these bodies behind. When I got up and read the headline that the Pope had died, I was reminded of what the Lord had told me as I suffered through the anxiety of pain in my chest. We all die…even the head of the Catholic Church is not exempt from the end of life here on earth.
But…good news awaited me in my devotional today! When I die, as we all must some day, I will not be left in the “realm of the dead.” My soul, the real part of me that relates to God and will continue to live, will never decay. This body is a tent, a temporary dwelling place for my soul until God calls me home. And so is your body and the body of anyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior.
So, that’s my Monday minute. Have a blessed week and enjoy the weather wherever you are and whatever it is doing. God made today for us to live, laugh and love others.
I am creating this post early since tomorrow my husband and I are traveling to a nearby town to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary. But I couldn’t let the day go by without wishing everyone in my little blogosphere a Happy Easter!
Easter is my favorite holiday. Most people say that Christmas is their favorite, and I think that used to be my answer when I was younger. But now that I am counted with the elderly, I look forward to Easter and the joy and hope it brings.
Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his wife are in Israel now, serving our nation as he has done for most of his life. As you read this scripture, say a prayer for him and Janet to be safe and well there.
The world cannot understand the attitude of Christians when someone dies. It is our belief that death is not the end of life but a new beginning, so we mourn the fact that our dear one is no longer with us, but we celebrate their new life with the Lord if they were believers. I can only imagine the devastation of the disciples when Jesus was crucified. We have the Bible to read and encourage us, including the testimony in the New Testament of all who saw the Savior alive again after the Resurrection. They had to truly believe without any evidence except their wholehearted faith in who Jesus was and all of the miracles that they had seen Him perform. I think it would have been an especially difficult time, filled with fear and doubt and a feeling of “now what.” Three days later came the rejoicing, but what a tumultuous three days those must have been, with emotions churning and fear attacking constantly.
No matter what face in life and in death, there is always hope. Jesus made sure that we knew that when He encouraged us that our grief would become joy. In the Old Testament, there are passages that say our mourning turns to dancing and our sorrow turns to singing. How can we do anything less than worship when our eternity is secure because of the sacrifice of the Lord?
I like this graphic that I found online. It perfectly describes what death should be to each of us. Yes, we mourn, but as Paul said, we don’t mourn as the world mourns because we know death is a new beginning, not a complete ending. I don’t know what Heaven is like or the experience of death, but I do trust the Father to be with me when I die and that He has prepared a place for me to be with Him. After all, He promised and He always keeps His promises. (Numbers 23:19)
So, if you are going through a period of grief this Saturday before Easter, remember that the Lord promised that joy is coming. I have found since the years that I lost various loved ones and my best friend to that enemy called death, I can look forward to a day of total joy when I am reunited with them and never have to say “good-bye” again.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 