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.
I have frequently read the verses in Proverbs about God’s directing my steps. I read a verse this morning that I am sure that I have read many times before, but it spoke to me in a different way.
So often we think of God directing our steps and leading us in the way we should go, but I have never really thought about the fact that He actually is delighted in the details of our lives. The God of the Universe is paying attention to the minutiae of my life…and yours. He cares deeply about whatever affects us and like the good Father that He is, He wants things to go well for us.
So, in response, my prayer is that God will guide me in the right way, according to His Word. If we live daily according to the principles that He has established, evil cannot have the victory over us. Our guidance, and our hope, is in the Lord!
This is a popular verse to refer to when we are claiming God’s wonderful promises of protection and blessing. But we must remember that it is equally applicable to God’s judgment and justice. As I read the Bible, I am more and more aware that God’s judgment is coming just as He said because He does not ever lie…not about the good things He has promised to those who are faithful and the judgment He has established for those who have chosen to follow their own way. Think about it. God’s word is absolutely true from beginning to end and He will carry it out. May He find us faithful!
I don’t know about you, but I have not arrived at the place where I would call myself “holy.” I am being made holy, every day, as I press in closer to Jesus and learn how to be more like Him.
Jesus considers us perfect because of His completed sacrifice, but He also knows that the work in us is ongoing. We are “being made holy.”
God’s will is not to leave us where He finds us but to move us forward with Him, being made holy. Jesus sacrificed Himself once for all time (even for those who lived before the days of Jesus). God’s heartfelt desire is that we be made holy and He needs our cooperation to help make that happen in our lives. He will not take over our free will choices; we have to choose daily to serve and to want to be more like Jesus and more pleasing to God as we become more holy in His sight.
Jesus is our High Priest and He finished the work that the Father sent Him to do. Then He sat down. When do you sit down? When your work is done…when you have done all you can. Now the work of becoming holy is on us…we have to work towards being more like Jesus. No, we are not saved by works, but we can please out Heavenly Father by becoming more holy every day. Every day is a new day to make new choices that will honor and glorify God. Make good choices!
Whatever is going on in your life and in mine is temporary. In fact, this whole life on earth is temporary. We can whine, moan, complain and rail against our Creator, or we can accept, continue to praise Him and know that the lessons we are learning from our difficulties will help us to stand firmly as we wait to live in His Kingdom. What we think is so big and overwhelming is actually just an annoying pest, one that we can use to grow or that can trample us so that we are not useful to God. I choose to use troubles to grow. How about you?
So, my health has had a few blips lately, with a visit and stay in the hospital, multiple visits to specialists and a general feeling of “what’s next.” But God has been with me through it all and encouraged me with my devotional this morning.
This is a quotation from my devotional. It expresses well what I have been doing since I found out that I have to see a neurosurgeon about my frequent headaches. I am looking up! Psalm 121 is one of my favorite psalms, reminding me that nothing is happening in my life that God does not have under His control. My help has always been and will always be from the Lord.When I am resting at night, God doesn’t rest. He is looking over me, just as He is watching over Israel. God loves me and we not allow me to stumble around aimlessly searching for Him. He is right there beside me, day and night. No matter what may come against me, the Lord is my shade protecting me from harm. I don’t know the end of this health situation, but I trust the One who does know. God is watching over my life, when I go to doctors, travel to a memorial service next week, spend time with grandchildren, whatever I do and wherever I am. He is watching over me until the day He calls me home to be with Him. That is a promise from God and what keeps me looking up in faith and expectation. God is good…all the time!
Many in today’s world claim to know God, to believe in Jesus and therefore, they think that they must be Christians. But are they really? The Bible tells us that they are blinded and remain guilty because they claim that they can see. Do they really see God as He is…holy, righteous, and worthy of all praise? Do they really know Jesus as Lord and Savior? We need to be careful when we are sharing the Gospel to get to the root of what people really think and not just the surface where they claim that they are already believers. Their eternal destiny may depend on our calling a spade a spade and pointing out errors and falsehood, just as Jesus did. No sugar-coating, no watering things down. Just share the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Perhaps they will see, perhaps not, but at least you will have fulfilled your part in helping them to see clearly.
My husband and I are part of a small group that studies the Bible together on Monday evening. Last night our lesson was about Jesus being the Good Shepherd and our responsibility to be shepherds ourselves. Let me share with you a small portion of the lesson that was eye-opening to me.
Jesus did not call Himself just any shepherd. He is the GOOD shepherd. He fulfilled all that the Father told Him to do, ultimately laying down His life so that we can share eternal life with the Father. Good shepherds in the field have to protect their sheep from danger: the wolves, the lions, the terrain. They also have to keep their sheep from wandering off. I’m sure you have heard before that sheep are dumb; they wander away and have even been known to step off of cliffs or into culverts and get stuck. So, the responsibility for taking care of sheep is not to be taken lightly; it’s a 24/7 job for those who choose to accept it.
Jesus knows each of His sheep. By the way, in case you don’t know it, we are the sheep to which He is referring. He knows our weaknesses, our strengths, our needs and our failings. Real shepherds spend so much time with their sheep that they get to know all of them well, the ones who need a little extra care of the ones who are stubborn and need to be cajoled some. Likewise, Jesus knows each of us, and the really good news is that He loves us in spite of our shortcomings.
In the book of Jeremiah, God promises the people to give them shepherds. Note that the word is plural and this is where the lesson got very personal for me. Not only are we sheep, but we are also called to be shepherds. We minister to other sheep just as God has ministered to us. Who in your life told you about the Lord to begin with? Was there someone on whom you depended for advice and to lead you along the way until you felt steady on your feet on the new path to eternal life? For me, it was my neighbor Verna. She gave me a Bible, told me about the Lord and met with me regularly to discuss God’s Word. She also invited me to church and transported me there. She was my shepherd for a good while, until I could stand securely alone. I didn’t know at the time that she was being a shepherd, but I recognize that now.
Whatever shepherd God has sent to lead you is taking you out of the wilderness of sin into the land where there is a river of life and no lack of any good thing. The wilderness is where we used to live as sinners, content to follow the path the rest of the world was following. But the shepherd that God sent led us away, gently and with encouragement and truth. We are to lead others in like manner so that they, too, can be freed from the sin that has held them captive for years. Thus we become shepherds to others just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Peter, the “rock upon which the church was built,” was asked by Jesus three times if he loved Him. Each time, Peter answered affirmatively, getting hurt that the Lord seemed to need that reassurance. What Jesus needed from Peter was a commitment that he would become a shepherd and feed His sheep. Jesus is not here on earth walking around now as He did with Peter. But He left a job for Peter, and for us, to do. We are to continue to feed His sheep. The baby lambs (new converts) need the most care, then the yearlings (a little more mature, but not grown yet) and finally we can let them wander and become shepherds to other sheep. We are called to be shepherds, following the example of Jesus and not leaving anyone to wander alone in the wilderness.
I like this analogy and how simple it seems now, but I honestly had not really thought about it before. Those who mentored me and helped to make me into the Christian I am today were shepherding me. I was a lost sheep, wandering in the wilderness of sin, before Verna chose to step out and lead me into the safety of the arms of the Good Shepherd. May each of us take this responsibility seriously and look for people who need to be led to the truth. And once we have found them, we cannot just hand them a Bible and walk away. We need to be there to answer questions, to study with them and to set them firmly on the right path to eternal life. Jesus commanded Peter to “feed His sheep.” Can we do any less?
Yesterday’s meeting was a true blessing for me! I got to meet a lot of new ladies and interact with them. So, that is my good report.
Today, in my devotional, I read the blessing that God told Moses and Aaron to speak over the people of Israel as they continued to travel to the Promised Land.
I am praying this promise over anyone who reads it today as well as over the people of Israel as they face a mighty and devious foe. Grace and peace from the Lord is a real blessing.
I only have a brief post today because I have a meeting with the ladies at my church. It’s called “The Gathering” and we are gathering together to study God’s word and to fellowship. I am looking forward to it but also a little anxious as the introvert in me has a tendency to be when I know I will be in a large crowd of people. Nevertheless, I am stepping out of my comfort zone in order to receive from God whatever He has for me there.
I pray that all of you will be nourished by God’s Word today, not just the milk but the real meat of the truth in His Word. May you be blessed to be a blessing!
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 