Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

Going In and Coming Out

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Sometimes it is hard to be a good witness to others. I get really frustrated and tired at times. I think the reason is that I have to spend more time with God and ask Him to help me to see other people the way He sees them.

Moses and Aaron were the leaders of the Israelites, appointed by God to lead them away from Egypt. Before they went before the people that they were leading, they had to first go before God themselves. Once they did the preparation, they were ready to tackle the task and God showed His approval by sending His glory before all of them.

I am no Moses or Aaron, but if I am going to be an effective minister to others, in any capacity, I have to first appear before God myself. I need to spend time in prayer and worship and in His Word. My time with God needs to be quality time, not just to “get it done” and move on to the next thing. I know that God is there with me, but when I leave my prayer chair, I want to know that He goes with me so that what I speak and what I do is pleasing to Him. I am aware that I often disappoint the Lord because I miss opportunities that He has given me to serve and to say. I don’t want that to be the pattern of my life. Rather, I want the pattern to be one of taking what I get from God to others who need Him as much as I do.

If all I do is go into God’s presence and I never come out in to the world to serve, I am not fulfilling His plan for me in the world that He created. So, my prayer is that I can be a faithful servant who goes in with God and comes out with Him, too, ready to share and to be His ambassador to a hurting world.

Keep the Fire Burning

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture1 Comment

Do you remember when you first became a Christian and there was a fire kindled in your soul to tell others all about your new relationship with Jesus? God started that fire burning, and the Holy Spirit helps us to keep putting wood on the fire, but we have to participate actively in keeping the fire in our soul going.

When the Israelites offered sacrifices on the altar in the tabernacle, God established that there would be certain priests who would be in charge of keeping the fire on the altar burning.

We each have an altar to God inside our hearts that we are each responsible for and should not be letting that fire go out. How do we do that?

Jesus was our living sacrifice to the Father and we are each a living sacrifice to Him. Our lives and the way we live them keep that fire burning in a way that pleases God.

Adding Wood to the Fire

There are some steps we can take to make sure our fire never burns out.

~Read and study God’s Word daily. Have an established place to do this and a time that works for you. Your routine may have to be adjusted occasionally due to other commitments, but make sure that time with God is your priority time, not the leftovers at the end of a busy day.

~Talk to God every day, throughout the day. You would not have a very good relationship with your spouse or best friend if you never talked to them. Tell God honestly what is going on in your life. It’s true that He is omniscient and already knows it all, but He created us to have a relationship with Him. Part of that relationship is to talk to him. Frustrated? Tell Him. Angry? Tell Him. Sad? Tell Him. He can handle it all and you will feel better after being honest with our Creator.

~Take time to listen to God. God does still speak to His people, but sometimes I think we get too preoccupied with other things to wait and listen. Sometimes He will speak to me through His Word, sometimes I will hear a voice speaking to my heart and giving me directions or comfort. If we don’t take time to listen, we are missing out on a real relationship with God.

~Worship God every day. Your worship can be words of praise, a song or a hymn or just saying to Him praise words from the Bible. However you worship, remember that He is God and deserves awe and reverence in our every day life. Just as I pray all day, I also worship all day. Little things happen and I know it was God working, so I praise Him for it. Answers to prayers that I didn’t even know I needed to pray come, so I worship. Worship must be from the heart, not just from the mind or tongue. You will know when you are truly worshiping because you will feel a deep connection to God.

~Take God with you everywhere you go. He is not my co-pilot but rather my pilot. Someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you forget that God is right there and say or do something you should not do? Or do you think, pray, bless and move on. The line at the store is long and you are in a hurry. Use that time to notice other people and to pray for them. God is right there with you. He may even prod you to give someone an encouraging word or share the gospel with them. If God is always with you, you can expect Him to use you to reach others.

Are there other ways that I have not listed that you use to add wood to your fire? We are a living sacrifice, not a burnt offering, all burnt up and useless. God uses us right where we are as long as we are ready to be used. That’s why it’s important to keep our fires burning.

Keep the Fire Burning

No Perfect Church

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture9 Comments

In moving twenty plus times, my husband and I have also been to at least that many different churches. And although you may not agree with my title, I can assure you that there is no “perfect church” this side of heaven. After all, the church here on earth is made of imperfect people doing their best to strive for perfection, but our humanity keeps getting in the way.

We have been attending a local church for almost four years now and have been basically content with the teaching, the fellowship, and especially the worship. That changed a few weeks ago when I had to leave the service in tears because the bass was set too high and it was hurting my brain. Literally! I know that is hard to understand, but since my stroke, heavy bass and extremely loud noises cause me to cringe and sometimes cry out in pain. My brain seems to be almost bouncing inside my head and I just cannot cope with the pain. My neurologist said that is not abnormal for stroke survivors and suggested noise canceling headphones when I need them. I got several really good pairs of headphones but I had not had to use them for several years except for occasional birthday parties with grandchildren. I had my headphones with me in church that day, but they did not block the reverberation in my brain, so I ended up leaving the service. I came back in for the sermon and then left before the closing song since it was too hurtful, also.

My husband, ever protective of me especially since my stroke, called and spoke to the senior pastor. He suggested that we go to the “Common Room” which is usually used for overflow from the services when they get too crowded. There we would have access to closed circuit TV broadcasting the service. That has been better, but it certainly is not providing the fellowship I would like.

The problem started when we got a new worship leader and apparently his way of doing things is louder. I have asked that the audio person adjust the bass because it affects my health. The reply was that others are affected too, those with heart monitors or pacemakers. And yet the problem continues.

Yesterday was a bad attitude day for me. I didn’t want to sit in the room with just my husband. One of my friends from our small group joined us, saying that she was going to be our fellowship. Harry went into the auditorium and got our communion for us, so everything went okay. But I was still feeling excluded over a problem that I have no control over. I have prayed and prayed about what to do and the answer came this morning. I am to be quiet and to wait for God to take care of it.

Since I am a big proponent of spreading life, I know that I have to be quiet in this situation because my negativity is doing the opposite. Instead of calling the worship team a “garage band on steroids” I am choosing to call them the worship team or praise team. The fact that I cannot be in the auditorium to participate does not take away from the service that they are providing. And I am trusting God to take care of me and my needs, whether in the auditorium or a side room.

I am not sure what calamity could come from my voicing my opinion about the bass being too high, but I don’t want to find out either. I just know that I cannot be in that room because I don’t want to take a chance on having another stroke due to the irritation of the bass. So, I am guarding my mouth. Why? Because there is no perfect church and I cannot change hearts and minds by complaining since no one seems to comprehend the damage the overly loud bass does to my brain. My husband and I briefly considered looking for a new church. But we love our Sunday school class and get fellowship there and from our small group that meets each Monday evening. We have made friends there, people who check on us in bad weather and are willing to help out when we need it. Unless God specifically says to move on, we are staying put and trusting Him to take care of things there. Would I prefer to be able to be in the regular service? Of course! But rather than call the Common Room my “exile island” I am choosing now to call it my “refuge island.” Attitude makes a difference, especially when dealing with imperfect people in an imperfect world. God is taking care of me just as He always has and I am thankful for His concern and compassion.

Reacting to Tragedy

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture6 Comments

The last few days have been long and sad. First, there was the plane crash in D.C. Investigations are ongoing, but it is enough for me to know that there were almost seventy people who died within minutes of the collision between the plane and the helicopter. You have probably seen the horrifying photos and videos for yourself.

I was still struggling with the “why” for the first tragedy when another tragedy happened. The second aircraft that went down over Philadelphia was a medical transport, carrying a young girl who had been sponsored by the Shriners to have her procedure in the U.S. The plane was taking her and her adult companion, two doctors and two pilots back to Mexico. The news reports said that the hospital had given her a “going home” party. Once I heard of the second crash last night, I was devastated, but I knew that my heart was not aching as much as those involved, both in the plane and on the ground.

So, how do we as Christians react to such tragedy? I will tell you first what I think we should not do. We don’t need to be pointing fingers at air traffic controllers, their training or their abilities. I am confident that they were doing the best they could. Nor do we need to start blaming DEI or the previous administration. Wherever the fault lies, there are a lot of innocent people who died and they need hope, not shaming and finger wagging.

We can offer that hope to them in the name of Jesus Christ. He came to give hope and comfort. I don’t think we will ever really understand why such tragedies occur. The FAA and the DOD may issue statements with what they think is the answer, but the real answer is we don’t know. What I do know is that God was waiting for these victims who knew Him with open arms and reassurance of His love. They went from death to His presence as long as they knew Him as their Lord and Savior.

The urgency to tell others about Jesus and the free gift of salvation that He offers has been stirring in me for a while. These tragedies brought this need to the forefront. How many did not know the Lord? How many went to be with Him while others will never see His face? Those thoughts kept me awake and desperate to tell others about the Lord. I pray that each person on each flight had someone in their lives who cared enough to tell them about Jesus and the eternity with Him that could be theirs.

My reaction to the tragedies is a burning desire within me to not allow others to leave this earth without the opportunity to know grace, mercy and forgiveness. I could care less about the politics and who is blaming whom. Souls are worth more than bitterness and opportunities to point to the other guy. Shame on anyone who takes advantage of these tragedies to push their own agenda! And bless those who see this sadness as an opportunity to stand in the gap and go and tell.

In the meantime, while I wait for God to tell me what to say and to whom, I am waiting. Just as the Israelites did not move until God led them, I am not speaking or posting online or condemning anyone. Rather, I am waiting for God to give me the words to speak and to point me to whomever needs to hear them. I am waiting and listening for God to give me directions even as I pray for the families of those who died. Please join me in praying for their comfort, peace in their hearts and provision for each of them spiritually, physically and mentally.

More Than Enough

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Have you ever had to prepare a meal for a larger than usual group of people and you had no idea how much food you would need or how you would afford it all? We invite family over for holiday meals and with our retirement income, we have to plan in advance the groceries we will need and get them as we can, leading up to the event. Then, when the time of celebration arrives, we can relax because there is always more than enough. Like Jesus feeding the 5000, we usually have food left over and send it home with our guests.

When Moses was following God’s command to get the tabernacle ready, he called for the people to bring offerings. They brought so much that he had to tell them to stop bringing their gifts.

See that phrase? “More than enough.” God doesn’t use people to bring just what we need; rather, His provision is always abundant, much like the abundant life that Jesus promised us.

Jesus’s sacrifice was for the Jewish people, but we Gentiles were always right there in God’s thoughts and He had already planned to provide the sacrifice for us, too. Jesus died for all, and His sacrifice is more than enough to carry us through this life and into our eternal one with Him. Unlike me who sometimes gets weary of doing things for others and end up doing a halfway, unsatisfactory job preparing for company to come over, Jesus gave His all, and it was all that was needed to save THE WHOLE WORLD from our sins. When I consider His great sacrifice and suffering, I am more than willing to give so that others can hear and share the gospel. God has been blessing the world He created since the beginning of time, and He always gives more than enough.

When…

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, testimony1 Comment

I think of the word “when” as almost like a promise. My mom used to say to me, “Your father will take care of you when he gets home!” Rather than be terribly frightened at the punishment that I knew would come, I was happy to know that daddy was coming home. That was because he was generally my defender and intercessor with my mother. He could calm her down, and although I might be punished, the punishment would fit the offense rather than the outrage of my mother.

The Bible has a lot of “when” in it. Here are two I found recently during my devotional.

Hidden within the context of this verse if the idea that I will get anxious. Never mind that the Bible also admonishes me not to be anxious, but to always pray. Never mind that I know that God is always with me. Sometimes situations cause me anxiety that seems to overwhelm me. I was once diagnosed with agoraphobia and spent months talking to a therapist so that I could go out into crowds again. Yes, I was a Christian then, but all of the therapy and the self-talk in the world could not convince me that it was “safe” for me to be among a group of people, particularly strangers. How did I overcome this disability? I recited Scripture, with my eyes closed. Then I would open my eyes and see things the way God saw them…just fellow travelers in a world that is not our home. I am thankful that God is always there to console me and remind me from His Word that He is there and will take care of me until it is time for HIM to call me home. I sometimes still have episodes where going into a room with strangers, or even on a highway filled with cars, I get anxious. God is faithful to remind me that He has never let me down and He never will.

I think this verse can be taken literally for me as well as spiritually. The joke in our household is that if there is one spot of ice, my foot will find it and I will slip and fall. In fact, I may even fall on dry ground. I sometimes fall for no reason at all. The last time I had a big, scary fall was several years ago. I was just walking from one end of our house to the other, and suddenly I found myself face down on the ground. Praise God that I didn’t break anything! I was quite bruised and very sore, but no broken bones. God took care of me even when I literally fell on my face. The spiritual part is when I start doubting; I consider that my foot slipping. Instead of being firmly planted on my rock of faith, I move and then I start asking questions. But God supports me even then, with His love and reminders of all He has brought me through and all we have to look forward to in the future, together.

So, it’s not an “if” for me…it’s a when. And I am grateful that God continually whispers His sweet words of comfort and reassurance for me when I am anxious and when I am falling. He lifts me up and sets me right back where I belong, on the solid rock of His love and grace.

“Are You There, God?”

On By vickleaIn devotional, promises, Scripture2 Comments

Sometimes, in very dark moments, as I cry out to God, I really want to know if He is there as He has promised. I want to feel His presence. God’s answer is found in His Word.

He doesn’t say He is taking a break, resting or on the phone right now with someone else with a bigger issue. He says He is always with us.

In my devotional on Wednesday (from ALL GOD’S CREATURES: DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ANIMAL LOVERS 2024), I read a quote from Cathy Mayfield that resonated with me and my propensity to doubt. She wrote: “‘Are you there, God?’” “‘Are you breathing, My Child?’ I heard Him say.”

Since I have struggled with breathing all my life, having been born with asthma, this simple quotation really spoke to me. Every breath I take is from God, and He is as close as my next breath. I thank Him for His reassurance and His constant presence.

Carried

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture5 Comments

Do you remember carrying your children around when they were young? I vaguely remember doing that, but I actually remember carrying around my grandchildren. The youngest is three now, and when he was four months old, I stayed with him for four months to take care of him while his parents worked. And, of course, I had to carry him because he wasn’t walking yet. In fact, he had just started trying to crawl when I returned home again. Anyway, sometimes I was a little afraid to pick up that little one because I am not always steady on my feet, but I prayed that God would help me carry Nathan safely, and He did.

I cannot imagine anyone carrying me these days. I am “pleasantly plump”, elderly with aching bones and don’t like to be touched much, not to mention carried. But the Bible says:

God is carrying me, in His heart and mind, all the time. He is ready and able to sustain me and rescue me, and He is the One who knows me best, since He created me. So, I am content in my Father’s arms.

Of equal importance is that Jesus is our High Priest and carries our names before the Father, right into His presence. Remember when Aaron, the High Priest and Moses’s brother, wore an ephod with the names of the twelve tribes on it. When he entered the holy place, he was bringing them before the Father. So, not only is God carrying us, but His Son carries our names with Him before the Father, letting God know that we are part of the family, grafted in or adopted as His children. What wonderful word pictures I had this morning in my devotional! I am old and gray…God is carrying me! I am a child of the King, and Jesus bears my name before His Father. How blessed I am to be carried, with no worries about God’s ability or stability. He is able and willing!

Do you at times want to lay down the burdens of life and just be carried away to a place of peace and joy? Then, imagine God doing just that. He wants to, and He will, if you will surrender those burdens to Him and allow Him to pick you up right where you are and carry you to a place where He can minister to you. It is in His arms that I find comfort, solace, rest and strength. I hope you find that, too.

Really Listening

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

Hearing vs. Listening

Throughout the pages of Scripture, there’s a word that gets repeated:
“hear,” or a related word, “listen.” In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word “Shema” translates into English as “hear” or “listen” and is often used to emphasize the act of listening, understanding, and obeying.

Today’s culture places value on doing many things at once; we often try to listen while focusing on other tasks, which divides our focus. The sound of someone’s voice might come into our ears, but if we’re also scrolling social media, doing schoolwork, or making a meal, we might not fully understand their words.

But in the biblical context, “hearing” does not simply include sound reception; it also involves active obedience and an effort to understand.
In Mark 4:9, Jesus invites us to listen—to hear and obey, encouraging us to pay careful attention to His words: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus isn’t just asking us to audibly hear His words and carry on with our personal agenda; He’s urging us to actively listen and obey, to live by His truth. Listening and obeying are what build our faith in Jesus Christ. Hearing the Word of God should lead to a transformed life marked by fruitfulness.
As you reflect on the idea of listening in Scripture, consider your heart and spiritual receptivity. Are you attentive to God’s Word, allowing it to transform your life, or is your hearing divided, causing you to resist His call?

What I Think

My focus word for this year is “listen” so how appropriate that today’s scripture verse and teaching is about listening actively, a skill that I am working on since that is something God told me I need to cultivate. I am one of those multi-taskers. I scroll through my phone, straighten up something around the house, have the TV on in the background, and all the while my husband is talking to me. I must confess that a lot of what he says is repetitive since he is at the age that he cannot remember saying things previously. But that is no excuse not to give him my full, undivided attention. I used to (before I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to make “listen” my focus word for the year) play games on my phone as we went on errands together, or even long trips. I realized when I was the driver for my husband after his surgeries how lonely it must have been for him for me to always be occupied while he was busy keeping us safe as he drove. You see, after his surgery, he slept, and I had no one to talk to. So, that was the beginning of being prompted to be an active listener, not just of my husband but of everyone.

I also noticed that since I am a Type A personality and have difficulty sometimes with my words (since my stroke), I am often forming a response in my mind while someone is speaking. The Holy Spirit admonished me, reminding me that He will help me speak when it is time, but my job when someone else is talking is to listen attentively and trying to understand what they are really saying, not just their words but their hearts behind the words.

I am discovering that listening is not always automatic or easy. Most of the time, at least for me, I have to discipline myself to focus. One of the things that has helped me is imagining that it is Jesus talking to me. Would I tune Him out, be disrespectful to Him? I hope not…nor should I be so to others. I never know when God might have a message for me in the words that someone else is speaking.

The Scripture today says that “He who has ears, let him hear.” We all have ears, and unless you have a hearing impairment, you can hear. But hearing the words or the sounds of the words isn’t enough. We have to really listen, strive to understand and if the word is from the Lord, to follow through with obedience. I know that I feel better about myself and the other person when I am really listening and responding appropriately to them. God listens to us, and I am sure at some times, He would prefer to tune out our whining, complaining and constant requests. But He never does…He models listening for us. He is always there, always ready to answer and He always understands our needs, our frustrations and our basic weaknesses of just being human. Can we not extend that same grace to the people all around us?

Listening is a skill, but it is also a privilege. Think, if you can, of someone you know with a hearing disability. What they would give for the gift of being able to hear clearly! We have that ability and misuse it or ignore it, in favor of our own selfish desires and needs. I am so thankful that God is leading me this year on a journey of self-discovery as well as finding out about others by really listening to them.

How about you? Do you really listen or are you preoccupied and multi-tasking? Hear…really listen…and then your actions will make more sense to you and to the other people with whom you are interacting.

Be a Mobile Mountain

On By vickleaIn Book Review, Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

From the YouVersion Bible App, Daily Refresh

Mobile Mountain Communities

Imagine a community where honest people work together to fix brokenness. Every person you meet loves you authentically, and you love them in the same way. How would living in such a community change the way you think, feel, and act?

Jesus invites us into that kind of community. In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

The Greek word for “hill” can also mean “mountain,” and in the ancient imagination, mountains were places where Heaven and Earth intersected—where people could encounter the gods. The ancient Hebrews understood mountains as unique spaces where God meets with humanity and where both dwell together as partners.

Abraham experiences divine testing and blessing on a mountain. God invites Moses up a mountain to receive instruction. And the prophet Isaiah uses mountain imagery to dream of a day when the Heaven-on-Earth space will expand beyond the mountain, filling the world with God’s Kingdom and vanquishing the darkness of evil.

This makes Jesus’ teaching truly wild! He’s saying that Heaven and Earth reunite through people—through us. When Jesus calls his followers a “city on a mountain,” he’s saying they will bring the mountaintop experience to the world. He’s inviting us to become mobile mountains, creating pockets of Heaven on Earth wherever we go.

We do this by letting go of the old ways of fighting our enemies and picking up the practices of Jesus—feeding the hungry, living justly, and loving people patiently. When this happens, the light of God’s way that leads to true life shines through us, piercing the darkness. So let’s find ways to be mobile mountain communities and participate in making God’s Kingdom shine brightly on Earth as it is in Heaven.

My Two Cents

The imagery in this devotional made me think about mountains in the Bible. Moses received the Ten Commandments on a Mountain and Jesus prayed on a hillside garden and then died on a hill, Golgotha. A mountain seems to be a place to meet God, to get direction from Him or to carry out His instructions to us. Instead, I think many of us, including me, have become immovable mountains. We have God’s truth inside us but we don’t go out to share it. We wait for people to come to us. Jesus didn’t stay on the mountainside praying. He left and went out among the people, ministering to their needs wherever He found them. Note that He found them; that means He was always looking, eyes open and heart ready to reach out and help others. I think we Christians are waiting for the sinful world to recognize their sin and come to us. I just don’t see that ever happening. People need to be told the truth before they can believe the truth. People need to know that there is a place to get closer to God before they can even attempt to do so. I like the line above that says we are to be “mobile mountains.” We bring God to people instead of expecting them to come to us and then we will tell them about God. Not many unchurched, unsaved people get up early on Sunday morning and head to church to hear God’s Word. Thus we need to lose our concept that if we make the church inviting enough, with enough programs and appealing worship, that they will come. It won’t happen…they don’t know what they are missing, and even worse, they don’t care. We need to take the gospel to them! Jesus didn’t say, “Sit in the church and wait for them to come.” Rather, He told us to go. We are to be the ones to carry His message to the world, not sit complacently and wait for a dying world to come to us. Tell your mountain to move…and get going with sharing His love and His sacrifice with everyone that God puts in your path. We can make a difference in the world if we will only realize that we are God’s testimony to the lost people; we are the conduit from them to God, until they come to know God personally themselves.

What do you think? Do you agree that we need to be a mobile mountain?