Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

Creator of All

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Out of This World (Daily Refresh, 1-26-26)

For thousands of years, people have gathered around campfires and peered into the night’s sky, studying the stars. 

Now, thanks to telescopes and satellites and advances in modern technology, we’ve uncovered more about God’s celestial creation than ever before: diverse planets, interstellar dust, mysterious black holes, and billions of other galaxies. 

What we’ve discovered, however, is not new to God. It’s the very same heavens and the very same earth that He spoke into existence at the very beginning of time. And though we’ve only scratched the surface on what’s still to be discovered, the vastness of the heavens and the brilliance of its design beckons both humility and worship. 

In Psalm 8, David wrote: 

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” ‭‭
Psalm ‭8:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The same God who hung the sun, moon, and stars in the sky also created us. He created you. It’s mystifying to think that He considers us His prized creations. 

Like David, this should humble us and compel us to worship.

Who are we, after all, to be loved, chosen, and redeemed—especially when we don’t deserve it? Who are we, when we consider the magnificence of our Creator, to be made in His image? Who are we that God is mindful of us? Who are we that He cares for the details of our lives?

We are His people. His children. We belong to Him.

So today, let’s trust in our creative, compassionate, and loving God. He is where we’ll put our confidence. He is where we’ll put our hope.

My Thoughts

The scientists and aerospace engineers have celebrations when they “discover” a new planet or star. I can only imagine what God is thinking as He looks down on mankind with all of their instruments and knowledge and is probably thinking, “It was there since I created it at the beginning.” God is not amazed by man’s discoveries, but we often are.

What we should be in awe over is God’s infinite capacity to create new things, like us, in exactly the way we work best. The stars twinkle in the night sky because that is their purpose in God’s universe. The sun lights the day, the moon brightens the night. And we have a purpose, too. I think our purpose on earth is to find the reason God created us and then run after that goal with all of our hearts. Some are created to be teachers (like me), others explorers, scientists, mathematicians, historians, etc. Whatever we were created to be, we all have one thing in common. We were all created by our loving Father in Heaven and He desires a relationship with us. His love is unfathomable and indescribable. It is always there, even when we aren’t looking for it. Just like the stars are still there in the daytime but invisible to our eyes, God is there, watching over us and applauding us when we make right choices while He corrects us and guides us for the wrong ones.

Yes, I am in awe of the universe that God has created, but more than that, I stand in absolute, open-mouthed wonder at a God who loves so deeply and completely that He made me to be just the one He wants me to be. And you know what? He made you, too!

Seeking While You Wait

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Seeking Hope in the Midst of Sorrow (Daily Refresh, 1-24-26)

Lamentations is a book of sorrow, written in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction. The city lay in ruins. Grief covered the people like dust. But right in the middle of this lament, something remarkable happens: a word of hope.

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”
Lamentations 3:25 NIV

Jeremiah, who scholars believe is the likely author of Lamentations, writes this verse not because everything was good, but because he knew God is good, even when life is not. This kind of hope is a deliberate choice to seek God’s presence when things seem dark. It’s trusting in His character when circumstances don’t make sense.

The verse highlights two actions: hoping and seeking. Hope in God fixes our eyes forward, on what He will do. Seeking Him draws us inward into relationship with the God who is already near.

Verse 26 continues the theme: “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” The Hebrew word for “wait” here is “yachal,” which carries the idea of hopeful expectation. It’s not a passive sitting still—it’s an active, trusting posture of the heart. In this context, waiting isn’t doing nothing; it’s doing the hard, soul-level work of trusting in God’s timing even when answers feel delayed.

Waiting means continuing to pray, to obey, and to believe, even in silence or sorrow, because we know the Lord’s salvation is worth the wait. Just as a farmer waits for the harvest after faithfully sowing seed, so we wait with purpose, believing God will bring restoration in His perfect time.

In his waiting, Jeremiah didn’t deny the pain. He brought his pain to God. And in that place of honest dependence, he reminded himself—and now us—that God is still good, still faithful, and still worth seeking.

My Thoughts

The devotional today made me pause and take a hard look at how I am waiting for God’s answer. My response is an honest, “not too well.” I have been impatient, demanding and outright rebellious at times as I wait for God to answer my prayers for relief from the pain in my shoulder. God is always patient, always waiting for me to quiet my heart and then listen. And when I finally did this morning, His words to me were that He is right there, walking through this time with me. He has provided caregivers, a doctor, a physical therapist and a spouse an a granddaughter who show me how much they want me to get better. They are mirroring God to me. So, I continue to pray and believe, knowing that God is always faithful and always worth seeking. It is in the seeking that I find the hope that I thought I had lost.

Strong Tower

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

God’s name is our strong tower. We call on it when we are in trouble and He hears us and rescues us. He has already saved us from our sins and daily offers us grace and mercy. We are always safe with Him. Sometimes, we have to wait for an answer, but in the waiting, we find the power of God sustaining us and holding onto us as His beloved children.

The other big thing I got from my Bible verse this morning is that if we are trying to be more like God (as all of us should aspire to do), then we will act as a refuge for others who need a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen and encourage, someone to pray with them. I don’t want to offer meaningless advice as Job’s friends did. I would rather sit silently with the person in anguish and tell them that I don’t have all the answers, but I know Someone who does. Being the person who is there for others is reflecting the character of God to them, and I want to be more like the Lord in all I do and say. God’s being a strong tower to me means that I can be strong for others. Even when I am not feeling strong or particularly wise, I can still be a presence in their lives, just showing up and letting them know that they do indeed have a friend to turn to.

We always have a friend in God. He is the One who sustains us in the hard times and walks with us through all of the valleys. And when the going is particularly rough, He is our strong tower, right there beside us, cheering us on and letting us know that His love never ends. That’s what God is to me and what I desire to be for others.

Extend Mercy

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Undeserved Mercies (Daily Refresh, 1-20-26)

When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…

They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.

They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.

And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:

“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:15‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬

Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)

God’s ways might not always be easy, but they can always be trusted. 

When we choose unforgiveness, hate and anxiety and bitterness will likely take root. But when we choose forgiveness (even though we might need to consider new boundaries), love and peace and reconciliation can flourish.

So, what about you? Have you ever been mean? Have you been selfish? Talked behind someone’s back? Broke a vital promise? Lied, criticized, ignored, or done the unthinkable? Have you ever decided to give up and walk away?

In our unique-to-us ways, we’ve all let someone down. We’ve disregarded God’s instructions and, instead, created our own instructions. We’ve messed up.

We deserve God’s wrath but, instead, He’s offered us His unconditional love. 

Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, we didn’t get what we deserve. And even while hanging on that cross, breathing His last earthly breaths, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Jesus repaid our evil with extreme mercy, leaving us free to conquer evil with good. So today, let’s honor His sacrifice by treating others the way He treated us.

My Thoughts

None of us deserves God’s mercy, but He gives it to us daily anyway, every time we mess up. He continues to reach out with love. So, who are we to choose to judge others and act out with vengeful behavior? Will that change that person’s actions? No, but it may create a vicious cycle of “getting the last laugh” and bitterness. Is that how you want to live, sowing seeds of discord all along your path in life? How about being like Jesus and start with mercy, compassion and understanding? That person may never change and may always be a burr under your saddle, but you can rest in God’s love, knowing that you chose to do right, to reach out and to forgive. Our victory is not in how many “gotchas” we accomplish daily but in how often we show the love of Jesus to others, especially those who mistreat or abuse us.

Wheat or Tares?

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I pondered these verses as I read this morning. I know that I am supposed to be producing wheat, or maybe I am wheat. Whatever, I am supposed to be a grain that feeds others. Wheat isn’t in a field just to look good and then die. Rather, it is harvested, ground up and used to make bread, cereal and other good things to nourish people. If I am not being useful to nourish others, then I cannot call myself wheat, can I?

Growing next to the wheat, and sowed by “the enemy” are the tares. What are tares? According to the New Oxford American dictionary, tares are a weed that resembles wheat. And I thought an important part of this scripture was that they are right next to the wheat, hard to discern which is which out in the fields. But when it is time for harvest, the reapers gather the tares first and prepare them for destruction. I don’t want to be a weed that is good for nothing except to be burned.

Instead, I want to be the wheat that can be used to feed others. My testimony is important. The way I grow and keep my life is important. It’s not just the reapers who are watching me; those who hunger for the Lord are watching, too, and if I am doing what I am supposed to, I will be able to feed them exactly what they need so that they can be part of God’s kingdom, too.

Isn’t it interesting that the tares are right beside the wheat, much like many who claim to know the Lord are in the world with us? By their fruits, we can know them. The Lord sends the reapers out and we need to make sure that we are the wheat and not the weeds.

United Under Christ

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

The Importance of Unity (Daily Refresh, 1-18-26)

What does unity mean to you? In a chaotic and divided world, sometimes the word “unity” can sound like something irrelevant, something that just can’t work in the broken world we live in. Division is nothing new. In fact, it was a challenge very early in church history and something the apostle Paul addressed head-on.

In 1 Corinthians 1, we see that Paul had received reports that believers in Corinth were segmenting themselves based on who shared the gospel with them. They said things like, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or, “I am of Christ.” Rather than being united as one body of Christ, they were dividing themselves into smaller groups and factions.

Paul was very moved by this. In 1 Corinthians 1:13 he asks them these simple questions: “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Paul didn’t want the believers of Corinth to get lost in comparisons and separations. He wanted them united under Christ: one King, one Gospel. 

Paul brought them back to the only thing that matters: salvation is from Christ alone. Without Christ, there is no unity. But under Christ, we can be united in a way that the world has never seen or understood. 

In a world of fighting and division, the body of Christ gets to show the power of the Gospel. We are united, focused on Christ and only Christ.

My Thoughts

On Saturday, the state of Virginia got a new slate of officers. The governor is now Spanberger, a liberal who says that Virginia is now a “sanctuary state.” The lieutenant governor is a Muslim who took her oath on the Quran, the first state-elected office ever of a Muslim. And the attorney general, well, he’s the one who said he would like to kill those who didn’t believe as he did. My thoughts? I shook my head in sorrow and disbelief and prayed for my state and our nation. This is all very divisive, isn’t it?

So I am glad to have this devotional this morning. We didn’t make it to church on Sunday because of wintry weather and because I wasn’t feeling well and had to spend much of the morning in bed fighting dizziness. Anyway, here I am, happy to report that I am united with other believers in Christ, and I firmly believe that as Christians, we will be tested in our unity in the days to come. I don’t want to focus on the differences between denominations but on the one thing we have in common if we call ourselves CHRISTians. We are saved because of His sacrifice and because of His great love, we are to love on another. Period. The divisiveness between Christians needs to end so that we can stand together against those in the world who do not believe and who would seek to destroy our faith. If you don’t believe that is where we are headed, then you haven’t read and clearly understood the book of Revelation. Yes, in the end, we win! Hallelujah! But check out the persecution and destruction before the victory at the end. Truly, united we will stand as Christians if we want to make it through the dark days of the creeping takeover of our nation by the forces of unbelieving evil doers. Stand for Christ or fall for all of the lies. The choice is ours…make a good one!