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.
After a hard week of tragedy in Texas, family health issues and life’s circumstances in general, I didn’t feel a lot like praising this morning. I just wanted to curl into a ball and withdraw from the chaos all around me. But, God called me to praise and that has been the best thing for me, today and every day. We were created to have a relationship with our Creator and one of the ways we have that closeness is to recognize who He is and to praise Him. The things around us fade in the presence of the Almighty God. Thus, I encourage you to join me today in praising our Father who knows all things and is always with us. Let’s check our attitude of dissatisfaction and praise God because He is good…all the time!
Do you see what I see in this verse? Everything that has breath is praising God, and I am just joining in, raising my voice with creation to the Creator of all.
Take a moment and inhale deeply. As you exhale, give God praise for the fact that you were able to take that breath. Then, spend some time just thinking of all He has done for you from the inside out.
It feels good to praise the Lord! It is like being a bottle of seltzer water, shaken up and ready to explode. Let it go…God knows that we need to praise Him.
As those of you who follow my blog regularly know, my word for this year is “listen.” God has been working on my active listening skills so that I really hear with empathy and compassion what the other person is saying. That way I hope to respond with more of Christ’s love instead of my own emotions.
Have you ever heard the phrase “speak off the cuff”? It means, according to http://theidioms.com, to speak without preparation or to speak without thinking about it. Isn’t that what most of us do most of the time? We want to get our voice out there, thinking that our opinion is the most important one. When we take time to think about what we will say, we tend to give a more coherent answer that actually addresses the issue and hopefully shows people that we are in tune with God’s Spirit.
There are some real characters on the political platform these days, those who say anything to get into the spotlight and then end up looking foolish in the eyes of many Americans. One particular politician comes to my mind immediately for her vitriol against the President and her support of all things racist. I was even more appalled at the woman from Texas who blamed the floods on those who voted for Trump and hoped that the people who didn’t vote for him were safe and that the MAGA voters got what they deserved. That doesn’t sound like any kind of Christian perspective to me. No one gets what we deserve thanks to God’s grace and mercy! But to attack grieving parents and family members and friends in such a vile manner…she doesn’t know the scriptures about listening before speaking, does she? Now ask yourself, do you listen before speaking? And do you think before you speak? We don’t want to talk to others “off the cuff.” We want to say the words that will help, not hurt more.
We need to be the ones who spread peace and love and hope, not hatred or division. If we are actively listening to what others are saying, we can respond with an answer that does not add fuel to already burning fires. Some people will set fires just to watch them burn. We are called to use our words to put the fires out and to soothe those who have already been burned by the flames.
We are the only example of Jesus that some people will see because they never go to church. If we are entering into the same kind of debates that those around us seem to think is expected, then how are we different? Did Jesus debate or did He simply speak the truth and pray? God’s Word and His truth is not open to debate. If we speak the truth in love, we are presenting a message of hope, not one of condemnation and judgment.
When someone says this phrase, “spiritual maturity” it generally makes me cringe because I know I am not there yet. And I am also aware that according to the standards of others, I may never be “there.” But where I am is seated in my recliner, reading my Bible and devotionals and praying for God to speak to me. One of the things He used this morning was a devotional from Faith Gateway by Dana K. White. Here’s a line from it:
“My level of spiritual maturity is the level of control I’ve given over to the Holy Spirit. It’s the opposite of an achievement. It’s knowing and accepting the truth that anything I understand, I understand only because God’s Holy Spirit gave me that understanding.”
So, maybe it’s my definition of spiritual maturity that needs to be honed. I have kept trying to achieve something, much like passing a test in school, but that is not it at all. Did you hear my sigh of relief? I can quit striving and just give over the wheel to the Holy Spirit. Here’s the link to the devotional if you would like to read it in its entirety. It is well worth the few minutes that you will spend doing so and I hope that it frees and enlightens you just as it did me.
Let’s just close with scriptures to ponder so that we can grow together today in the Lord.
All things…everything. Sounds like getting mature in the Lord to me. And we just have to relinquish control to the gift of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised us.
When we confess that we cannot do this Christian walk alone, maturing ourselves all by ourselves, then we are on the road to admitting that the One who is strong can use our weaknesses to teach us how to be more like Him. And isn’t that part of being spiritually mature?
I hope that your day is blessed so that you can be a blessing to others. 🙏🏻
We all carry life’s burdens every day. My big burden lately has been family health issues and car problems. Daily, I take those burdens to God and receive the reassurance that He is handling things. But there are some things, I confess, that are difficult to hand over to God, even though I know that is exactly what I need to do. The big one that comes to mind is my own mortality and the fact that my aging is not something I can deny. I face it in the mirror daily, every morning as I get up and struggle to get to the bathroom because of mobility issues. God has given me a verse that I recite frequently to remind myself of His care for me.
I love this promise and the fact that He is carrying me, all the way until I get into His arms. I have to admit that some days, I feel that need more than others, but I can rest in His love and His promise.
We often get so wrapped up in our own world and our own problems that we don’t look around us at what others may be facing.
We are a very self-centered people and God knew that about us. It’s part of our sin nature and we have to work at focusing outward towards others instead of only inward towards ourselves.
We are told to carry each other’s burdens. Rather, we are instructed repeatedly to give our burdens to the Lord. I think that one way of doing that is to focus on others, so that we are not so aware of our own burdens. Oftentimes, in fact, our burdens dim when we get a glimpse of the burdens others are lifting. The recent example that immediately comes to my mind is the flooding in Texas that resulted in numerous deaths, including children from a Christian camp. My first instinct was to ask “Why, God?” But I quickly shut that down and instead started praying for the missing children, the parents of those whose bodies were already discovered, the camp counselors and the rescuers. My mind was so occupied praying for strangers that I was not totally absorbed in my own world and its problems. I think that is the way we should be daily, not just during a crisis. Look out…not in because in so doing, that is how we can do the most good for the Kingdom of God.
The real secret to our being free of our burdens in that we help others and God helps us. The promise is that He daily bears our burdens. So, if we know, really know, that Jesus is bearing our burdens, that gives us the freedom and opportunity to look for others that need our help. The neighbor who needs a ride to the doctor. The friend who needs groceries but who won’t ask for help. The young mom who needs a break just to refresh her soul. You get the idea. Helping others isn’t so much time consuming as it is forcing us to look at others instead of ourselves and our own needs so much.
I got this prayer from the YouVersion Daily Refresh today. I prayed it several times before the words became truly meaningful to me. My prayer is that this post today will inspire you to help someone today, in a small way or big way. Just be a helper. Mr. Rogers (TV show from my children’s youth) would like that, and more importantly, I think that so would God!
I must confess that assembling together in a large church body is difficult for me because I am introverted and prefer no groups or small groups. But our church is big, we have been content there with pastors who preach from the word and a caring group in Sunday school. But why not stay at home? After all, the service is streamed. The Sunday school class is on YouTube the following week. So, why bother to go?
I think we honor God when we come together as His body and share with each other about Him. God is always listening, to our whining and complaining, to our gossip (that we aren’t supposed to do) and to our praise. I would much rather have an attitude of healthy respect for God when I go to church and remember the real reason I am there, to worship Him. To be honest, I have gotten irate in the past when the sermon doesn’t seem to apply to me or when the music is too loud (which is every week nowadays). But I am not there for entertainment; I am there for relationship, with God first and with other like-minded individuals. I think we need church to refocus and center our thoughts on what is really important in our lives.
This week was hard, with so many innocent children and adults dying in the Texas flood. I followed the news carefully, praying all the while that more survivors would be found and saved. I know and knew then that God is in control and this flash flood did not catch Him by surprise. I was, however, upended by all of the sweet little faces of those who will never go home again. Then, the Lord spoke to my heart that they are in their “forever home” with Him and He has them in His comforting, warm embrace.
So, going to church yesterday was like the culmination of my thoughts over the weekend. I wanted to do and be there and help, but I was here, across the nation, and all I could do was pray. How was I able to pray for complete strangers whom I will never meet in this life? Because I have a relationship with God and He is their Father, too.
That’s why we go to church, assembling ourselves together and talking to each other about the hard things, the toll that the deaths have taken on us emotionally. And the family of God encourages us to keep going, keep praying, keep obeying. God puts us where He needs us when He needs us to be there, and yesterday, I needed to be with my church family to be reassured of God’s constant presence and love even during a disaster and great tragedy.
Think About What You Think About (You Version, 7-06-25)
What you tell yourself every day matters. If you believe something about your identity that isn’t true, then you will struggle to believe what God says about you.
But, when you root your identity in God and allow His Spirit to shape your life, you will begin to see yourself the way He sees you—and this will influence the way you treat people, situations, opportunities, and events around you.
So here are three ways you can guard your thoughts and declare God’s truth over your life:
1. Identify the lies you tell yourself.
Your words and actions reveal the narratives you tell yourself. To figure out if a narrative is false, ask yourself: Is this thought marked by fear, insecurity, pride, bitterness, or a lack of confidence? Is this thought leading me to cynical or self-serving behavior? If you can answer “yes” to either of those questions, then the narrative you’re telling yourself probably needs to be addressed and adjusted.
When you can identify where and when you began believing a lie, it’ll be easier to change the way you think.
2. Shift your perspective.
For every lie, there is a truth that can replace it—and those truths can be found in the Bible. Look over your list of lies, and ask God to show you in His Word what His truth is. Create mental space for the Holy Spirit to clearly show you how He sees you.
3. Declare what’s true.
Turn the truths from Scripture into specific, intentional statements you can declare over your life each day.
Here are some declarations to get you started:
– I am enough because I am a child of God.
– I rejoice in suffering because Christ suffered for me.
– I am not ashamed of Jesus because His sacrifice changes lives.
– I am greatly loved, and so I love others like I have been loved.
– Nothing can separate me from God’s love.
As you practice these steps, keep in mind that if God—whose Word is truth—says something about you, then it must be true. So allow His Holy Spirit to transform the way you think. Let His thoughts about you become your thoughts about you.
My Thoughts
For most of my life, I believed the lies that I am not enough. God, however, has spoken the words to me again and again that not only am I enough, He loves me just the way I am. My lack of self-confidence and my reluctance to believe that I am loved stems from a difficult childhood, but my belief in a good and merciful God who loves me more than I ever thought possible has helped me to overcome my doubts. How I perceive myself is changing still. I continually have to remind myself that God loves me and made me the way I am. No fear, no shame, no ridicule…just love.
One of the things that we as Christians need to realize is that confession and cleansing is not a “once and done” action. It is ongoing, a process that gives us transparency before God. That transparency isn’t for God’s benefit. He already sees all and knows all about us. It is for our benefit, so that we can have a clear conscience and stand before the Father pure and holy as He desires for us. I am not getting into the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” I am talking about confessing our sins and being forgiven on a daily basis, sometimes more than once a day even.
I use the acronym ACTS for my prayers. If you are not familiar with it, here is what it stands for:
A=Adoration
C=Confession
T=Thanksgiving
S=Supplication
I used to get adoration and thanksgiving all mixed up together. But I have personally discovered that adoration is being aware of and loving God for His character traits, like His mercy, grace, holiness, etc. Thanksgiving is thanking Him for what He has done for us. So similar, but really not the same, right? Sometimes, it is hard for me not to jump right in and start telling God my prayer requests. But by using this acronym, I slow down and spend the time I need to acknowledge God’s power and love, tell Him how I have failed Him and ask for forgiveness, thank Him for what He has already done, and then I can tell Him my current needs or desires.
Anytime we sin, we let a little darkness into our lives. If we want to live completely in the light and be the light, we have to stay prayed up and transparent before God and others. There is a lot of talk about politicians being “transparent.” Since I don’t think that will ever truly happen this side of heaven, I don’t have a firm grasp on what transparency looks like, but my own thoughts are that I am totally and completely honest with God. It is humbling thing to do, but it is also necessary for my relationship with God to be closer and fulfilling. The door to my heart that God holds in His hand is closed until I open it with the key of confession and humble submission to ask for His forgiveness. It’s hard to hear from the Holy Spirit when I am holding on to unconfessed sin. Here are some reminders from the Scriptures of why the C in the acronym is vital to our walk with God.
Do you recall who in the Bible claimed to be holy and without sin? That would be the scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, whom Jesus called out and called “vipers.” Why would He do that to the leadership? They had not repented of their sins and they were using their positions of power to oppress the people under a multitude of requirements in order to gain power and wealth. I don’t claim to be holy except with the righteousness of Jesus. He cleanses me each time I go before Him and confess and then I move on and try to do better in the future. My right-standing before God is because of Jesus. My clear conscience before God is because I confess and ask for forgiveness.
Why not take a few minutes now to do the ACTS prayer? It can be as short or as long as you need. Just take time to refresh yourself before the Lord. I can assure you that you will have burdens lifted and be really ready to face a new day with the Lord. God bless you!
I am participating in a group Bible study online with some ladies from my church. It’s called “Loving God Greatly-Abiding in Jesus: Bearing Fruit that Lasts.” We are only on Day 4 of fourteen days, but this devotional is really speaking to me and in some ways calling me out. Today was one that did the latter. Here is the text from the YouVersion Bible App:
The Light that we are called to shine through our lives is not for others to better see us, but to better see Christ. When we abide in Jesus, our lives begin to reflect His Light, shining in a world that desperately needs to see Him. This Light is the evidence of God’s Love within us, transforming our lives and radiating out to bless those around us.
As we learn to abide in Jesus, something beautiful happens: gratitude begins to overflow in our hearts. We start to see God’s Goodness in every moment. Praise becomes part of our daily rhythm. It’s not just a quick “thank you” here and there but a deep and constant awareness of and gratitude for His Presence.
Our lives become a testimony of God’s Faithfulness, a Light that points others to His Love. It’s shown in acts of kindness, forgiving those who’ve wronged us, speaking comfort into someone’s pain, and choosing humility over pride. When we abide in Christ, we find that our good deeds are simply the natural overflow of His Love in us.
Sweet friend, your Light may seem small at times, but Jesus assures us that God uses every act of faithfulness and obedience to bring Him Glory. The impact of your abiding life goes far beyond what you can see or even imagine. When we choose to live as a Light for Him, we’re part of something Eternal, pointing others to the source of all Light—Jesus Himself, the Light of the World.
This devotional made me see how far I have come, but more importantly how much further I need to go. I have a little, tiny light that I hope is bringing hope to a lost world, but I don’t always see the effects of anything that I do, so I am not sure that I am having any kind of effect at all. I just want people to see Jesus in me and to show gratitude to God for who He is and what He is doing in their lives. Some days I feel pretty good about how I have represented Christ that day and other days I just feel beaten down, like a dry corn stalk in the summer heat. I don’t feel successful but I keep trying. After all, I am representing the King, and anything I do on His behalf is a way that I hope is bringing glory to Him. How about you? Is your light shining?
We can trust God to always provide even when we don’t know how it can possibly happen. God is always there, always desiring the best for His children.
Times can get hard because life is hard. But no matter what, before the hard times come, we need to purpose in our hearts that we will trust God’s provision and continue to rejoice. He has given us a Savior, the gift of eternal life and a relationship with our Creator. Everything else is just extra, as they say, the cherry on top.
Do we look at all we have and have confidence that we will continue to have it tomorrow and all of the tomorrows to come? Do we recognize that all we have comes from the God who is blessing us. Thus we learn to depend on God and not on things. The things we have may vanish, but God remains steadfastly beside us.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 