Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

God’s Divine Contentment

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

Called to Contentment (Daily Refresh, 1-17-26)

Observing Sabbath-rest allows us to step into the same rhythm God established in creating the world. Scripture tells us when God rested from His work, it was because His work was complete (Genesis 2:1). God took joy in His accomplishment. 

In Hebrews 4:10, the writer draws a parallel between God’s rest and ours: “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” We’re invited to delight in His presence and share in God’s divine contentment.

This rest isn’t about taking a break from good works. It’s about surrendering the need to control by trusting in the completeness of God’s work. Our “rest” releases us from the burden of proving ourselves good enough to earn His love and approval. These things have been secured through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. When we step into this rhythm of rest, we can find contentment that spills over into every part of our lives.

Is God calling you to stop trying to do everything on your own and instead find peace in Jesus’ finished work on the cross?

Lay down your burdens, not out of laziness, but surrender. Believe that the One who made the world also takes care of you.

My Thoughts

I don’t know about you but I have trouble resting. I don’t mean falling asleep, although that is sometimes an issue, too. I mean “resting”, just letting go and being content with being in God’s presence and in a safe place in my life. I am always looking for the next thing that I need to do, the next appointment I need to go to, or the next person I need to call. Rest means that instead of looking around for what I need to do next, I am happy with what has already been accomplished and just rest. I am at peace and instead of having scatter thoughts all over the place, my mind is resting, too, as I consider my relationships with God and others as the blessing they are to me. Jesus has already done everything that needed to be done for me on the cross, so I don’t need to prove myself to God once I accepted Him as my Savior. Something in my mind, however, keeps wanting me to prove myself to others, and I need to work on getting to the point where I accept myself as I am and don’t strive so hard to please others. That way I can rest, whether they approve or not. That’s because deep in my heart and soul, I know that God approves and He is calling me to rest, to accept and to be content.

Encouragement from the Lord

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

This verse was one of my memory verses for 2025. I still review it frequently, not because I don’t recall it but because I want to slowly read the encouragement there. I read one line at a time and pause after each one to think about what it means in my life.

“The Lord your God is in your midst” means that God is right there in the middle of the mess that is my life. He knows and understands all of my frustrations about my daily life. He doesn’t “hang up” and tell me to move on. She just stays there and comforts me with His presence.

“The Mighty One, will save” means that God is in the process of saving me every day. Salvation is not a once and done and then you are complete. God is constructing me to be more like Jesus and He doesn’t ever give up on me.

“He will rejoice over you with gladness” means that there is nothing I can do to make the Father turn away from me. He is rejoicing for my victories just as He is continuing to work on me in my defeats. That thought makes me more likely to continue to strive to be more like Him. He rejoices with gladness. He is happy that I am His child.

“He will quiet you with His love” helps me to calm down and listen to His voice. God has something to say in the middle of my chaos; I just have to get quiet and listen. He doesn’t get me quiet by saying, “Will you just shut up?” No, I feel His presence all around me and my heart and soul get quiet before Him.

“He will rejoice over you with singing” makes my heart happy when I think about God singing a song just for me because He loves me so much. During my rough childhood, I used to lock myself into the bathroom and sing “Jesus Loves Me” quietly to myself. If no one else acted as though they loved me, I knew that Jesus was right there. Now, as His adult child, all grown up and with a relationship with Him, I am glad that God rejoices over me. He doesn’t berate me or try to make me feel guilty. He rejoices over me, singing a song of love and acceptance, one which we all need sometimes.

I have shared this favorite verse with you as well as my thoughts about it. What is your favorite verse of encouragement? I want to know so that I can meditate on it, also.

Blessed to be a blessing!

Following Your Heart

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Centering Our Hearts (Daily Refresh, 1-15-26)

One of the most important biblical topics is your own heart. Throughout the biblical story, God shows that He is not nearly as interested in your money, time, or service as much as He is your heart.

Why is this important? Jesus taught his disciples that the heart is the center of our lives. Our emotions and our desires flow from the condition of our heart. If God gets access to our heart, then the rest of our lives follow after.

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. The things that we treasure in our life reveal where our heart truly is. The things that we think about, spend our money on, and use our energy to attain—that is where our heart is.

But it’s not enough to just not let our hearts dwell on those things. Instead, we need to train our hearts to dwell on Jesus. The apostle Paul encourages us to dwell on the things that are of God:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8 NIV

This type of thinking moves our heart to cherish Jesus as our treasure above everything else on earth.

If you’re honest with yourself, where would you say your treasure is currently? What are the things you devote your time to and spend your money on? Consider how those things reveal where your heart truly is. Spending time in God’s Word and in prayer are great ways to reorient our hearts back toward God.

My Thoughts

Today’s devotional hit me right where it hurts…in my heart and my conscience. I may seem to have everything together, but the truth is that I don’t. I have a lot of problems ordering my thoughts and getting myself motivated to do what I should do. Yes, I spend time in God’s word daily. But am I really focused? Sometimes, my phone is right next to me and when it lights up with a notification, I pause my devotional time and see who or what is calling my attention. Thus, my attention is divided. I need a “rerouting” on my heart and mind, so I am choosing to focus on God during the next hour of my devotional time, with my phone face down and away from me and my thoughts centered on the Lord. I cannot give God half of my attention when He deserves all of it. I want to treasure my time with Him and look forward to it, not see it as one more thing on my “to do” list to complete and check off. I confess that my busy days with medical appointments have led me to act more like my time with God is a chore and not a treasured choice. The appointments are still going to happen, but my time with God cannot wait. If I want to truly show Him how worthy He is to me, then I need to set aside other things and just focus on Him. He sees me and I want to see Him, high and lifted up on His throne and in my life.

Gentle Words

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Have you read harsh words from Jesus to any of His followers? Honestly, I haven’t. He rebuked, guided, cajoled, taught and spoke in parables. But harshness wasn’t his “go to” way to communicate. (I am not referring to Jesus with the money changers or the Pharisees. I am talking about when He was talking to those who followed Him.)

Have you ever had a harsh boss, someone who spoke in commands instead of leading by example? Having moved so many times and teaching in so many different states, I have experienced working with many principals who thought that they knew everything and were there to make sure that I knew that they already knew it all. How do you deal with harshness?

I am sad to confess that after years of dealing with one particular boss, I responded with snark and not a lot of respect. He absolutely got under my skin and knew it. I recall once he gave me a bad review on a lesson plan he came in to observe because I gave a test when he was there. What? When I met with him, I pointed out none too kindly that if he had bothered to read my lesson plans that were sent to him every Monday morning, he would have seen that the chapter test was planned for that day and I had no desire to change the date just because he came in to observe my teaching. Not the best side of me, I know, and I have repented since then. Nowadays, I am working on the whole gentle answer thing.

Responding with harshness makes the other person defensive and nothing is accomplished in the end. A gentle answer may or may not make the other person think about what they have said, but at least it gives me time to reflect on how I contributed to the situation and how I can best represent Jesus in it.

I recently had an altercation with a close relative. She lectured me about something I had not done, all online via a spoken text message. Lots of capital letters in there as she was shouting at me as she spoke and I could hear her in my mind. I could have defended myself and rightly pointed out that the accusation was unfounded, but instead, I responded something like, “I hope you have a good day.” I did not address the issue at all because I knew she was not ready to hear me.

Remember the old saying from your mom and grandmother? “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything.” I think that is sage advice when you are being attacked and know that you are defenseless against the assault of words coming your way. The best thing to do, I think, is not to defend. I recall that when Jesus was before the rulers, He did not defend Himself. He barely spoke a word, although He, of course, was right and they were deliberately accusing Him falsely. Instead, He let things play out, went to the cross and had the title over the cross “King of the Jews” as commanded by Pilate. The accusers wanted the title to say, “He says He is…” but Pilate shut that down with His authority and said it stood as he had decreed. Jesus didn’t have to defend Himself to be recognized as the Sovereign of the World.

Gentle answers are not easy to do. We want to rail at the person who is in our face, giving us “what for” and in no uncertain terms telling us what they think of us. Nevertheless, if we step back from the situation then we can reply gently and move on. Yes, our feelings are still hurt and we may be fuming on the inside. But it is up to us to control ourselves and not let anger take over.

Since the altercation, I have sent several texts sending holiday greetings and today I sent one asking about her health and telling her about new books coming out. She may/may not answer me at all. That has been my experience in the past. But it’s okay because I am keeping the door open in case she wants to come in and actually talk instead of attack.

I think about all of the problems going on in DC and throughout the nation. What would happen if one, just one person, decided to respond gently instead of with the same kind of vitriol that is being tossed their way? Maybe, just maybe, our leaders could go about the business of running the country instead of just their mouths. But I digress. This is not a political commentary but rather a social one.

I want to encourage my readers to think before you reply and to reply gently. That includes the whole “speaking with the fingers” thing that so many of us do daily. It is better, in my opinion, not to reply at all than to reply with harshness, even if what you were going to say is true. Truth doesn’t always make it kind, does it?

Have a thought-filled day!

Thoughts Come Knocking

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Whether you have a doorbell or people just knock on your door, how many of you rush to the door and fling it open without checking who is there first? I know my grandchildren are guilty, and I am sure that when I was younger and more innocent, I would do the same. But I have learned through watching news stories, hearing what has happened to friends and acquaintances, and just the cautionary voice in my mind, that it is a good idea to see who is there before I open the door to invite them in or to converse with them.

Did you know that you should treat your thoughts the same way, especially the negative ones? I have no idea what research says about the number of thoughts we have per day, but I know that it’s more than I can count. And each one of them comes into our minds first (that’s the knocking) and we can choose to open the door to our hearts or not. That fear or worry or negativity that assaults us constantly can be dealt with like closing a door on an uninvited guest. We have to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. I recommend three positive thoughts, including a refocusing thought, a positive promise from God (which requires hiding His Word in your heart so you are ready to use it when you need it) and a simple prayer for God to keep you focused on the positive.

For example, I have been in a lot of pain lately because of my shoulder. I am not complaining, just stating a fact. For a few weeks there, I was getting so little sleep that the first thought in my mind every morning was how tired I was and I wished I could go back to sleep. I realized that I was starting my day with negativity, so I purposed to start with positive things instead. I would tell myself, “Yes, I hurt. But I am thankful for the rest that I got and the ice that helped the pain.” Then, I would quote a favorite scripture like Psalm 121, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills where my help comes from. My help comes from the Lord, Maker of Heaven and earth.” Next, I would say a simple prayer like, “Lord, I need your strength to get through the day.” It would be nice if I could report that the negative thoughts only occur first thing in the morning, but they keep coming back and I keep having to answer the same way, with positivity. Not because everything is going well but because I am absolutely positive that God is right there with me, even in the storm that is my pain.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? It isn’t. Sometimes, I still get caught in the trap of opening the door and entertaining the negative thoughts. Ultimately, I catch myself and turn around, close the door and work on practicing Phil. 4. We have the power over our thoughts, and we can welcome in the good ones while shutting the door on the bad ones. Focusing on positives is a good habit to form. I am not there yet, and I may never be “there”, but I am at least aware and working on it and I close the door more often these days. I hope that your day is filled with beauty, God’s promised fulfilled and positive thoughts about God, yourself and others!

Blessed to be a blessing!

Never Too Young or Too Old

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Be the Example (Daily Refresh,1-11-26)

Have you ever felt too young—or too old—to do something important? Too small for a big job? Too inexperienced to contribute something meaningful? Too underqualified to make a real difference?

In the book of 1 Timothy, which is a God-inspired letter from Paul to his “son in the faith,” Timothy, Paul equips and encourages Timothy in things like doctrine, leadership, and living out the ways of God. He writes: 

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you’ve ever felt too young, remember that God has purposefully put you here, at this specific time in history. He desires to use your passion, drive, vision, energy, and ideas to magnify His glory. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

If you’ve ever felt too old, remember that God has purposefully put you here, at this specific time in history. You have grit, wisdom, leadership, and the gift of life experience. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

You are never too young, or too old, to be used by God.

No matter your age, God has empowered you to love Him and to love others, and to live a life that points people to Him. How can you do that? You can set an example—in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you love, in the way you live out your faith, and in your purity.

You can be the example.
You can represent Him.

My Thoughts

I am consistently reminded by God’s Spirit that I may be the only “Jesus”that some people will see today, so I need to act accordingly. When I am in pain and trying to hold in the grimace that wants to encompass my whole face, I am reminded that the pain is temporary but where people will spend eternity is forever. When I am having a bad day and things are just not going the way I planned or the way I want them to, I am reminded that the world is fallen and things aren’t going God’s way either. But I can make a difference to others by not showing the a bad attitude. We can make a difference, one person at a time. Jesus took our sins on the cross and suffered a horrible, unimaginable death. We can show up every day with a positive attitude, determined in our hearts to represent our Lord to the best of our ability. Don’t be one who believes in “fake it until you make it.” Be the one who “shows it until they (the others in your life) know it.”

Be blessed to be a blessing!

Unforgettable God

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Never Forget (Daily Refresh,1-10-26)

Humans are forgetful…

We forget what God has said.
We forget what God has done.
We forget what He’s called us to do.
We forget who He’s called us to be.

The word “forget” can mean two things: to not remember (sometimes by accident) or to ignore (sometimes on purpose). To “forget” is to fail to hold something in our minds.

When faced with hard things, we might beg for miracles or plead for provision, but when we get the thing we asked for, we can still tend to forget what God has already done for us. We’re not alone in this—the Bible is full of stories about people forgetting God … But that doesn’t have to be us. That doesn’t have to be you.

We’ve stepped into an ongoing story that’s been playing out since the beginning of time. With zero help from us, God has hand-crafted this breathtaking world and chosen the unique times and spaces in which we show up. And even though the world seems to get crazier and scarier by the minute, God is always at work in the mess.

We need to remember God’s faithfulness in our collective history. We need to remember God’s goodness in our personal lives.

We can fight against forgetfulness today—right now—by remembering that it was God who created this world and filled it with good things—including us! It was God who offered us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. It was God who gave us real purpose: to love Him and love others; to know Him and make Him known.

And when we pause to remember God’s gifts, God’s provision, and God’s faithfulness, it triggers a powerful response: worship.

“Let all that I am praise the Lord …”

Both God the Father and Jesus explain how to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27). Your thoughts and feelings, your passions and desires, your talents and personality, both the physical and spiritual … if it’s a part of you, it was meant to praise God! 

So how have you seen God show up in a way that you never want to forget? Thank Him for what He’s done, and worship Him for who He is.

My Thoughts

I am one who forgets easily, so I write down things that I want to remember. I write what God has done and is doing so that when I feel as though I am walking through a valley, I can be reminded of what God has already done. No matter what is happening right now, God is faithfully working, even when we can’t see Him or the answer. It’s on the way! So, taking time to worship God for who He is reminds us of what He has already done. It’s a circle of faith that gets bigger and stronger with our believing and our worship. What has God done for you? I am blessed beyond measure and waiting expectantly for what God will do next in my life.