Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

Searching for God

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

When I read this Scripture verse this morning, at first I was puzzled. Why are we searching for God when we know that He is always present? Why, indeed? Perhaps because we need to know that He can be found and when we are continually seeking Him, He is easier to find in our hearts. God’s strength is there for us when we call out to Him and tell Him honestly that we need Him, that we are not self-sufficient. This was brought home to me when I was in the hospital. When you are lying on your back most of the day and have nothing much to do or anyone to talk to, I found that talking to God not only passes the time, it also brings comfort and a sense of peace and hope. God wasn’t lost or anything…I just had to stop the self-focusing and focus on Him.

Likewise, we cannot hide from God. When we are being churlish or anxious or even bitter, God knows. He is always right there. And the good news is that He loves us in spite of how we are feeling or acting or being. I sing “Jesus Loves Me” to my young grandchildren and my favorite verse is this one:

Jesus loves me when I’m good, When I do the things I should. Jesus loves me when I’m bad, ‘though it makes Him very sad.

God never stops loving me, not when I am feeling sorry and lonely in the hospital, not when the pain is overwhelming and I am crying out to God for relief and a little upset that He isn’t sending it quickly enough, and when I am at home typing my blog and struggling for the words to write to express the deep emotions I have been feeling. I had so many specialists and nurses remind me that if this last episode was a TIA, it could be a warning of another stroke, and my risk is higher since I already had one, and I need to get to the hospital right away. Fear was creeping in, but God stopped it in its tracks and told me firmly that He is the One in control and He is with me to the end of this life and to the beginning of the next one. God is indeed everywhere and that comforts me that I don’t have to go far to search for Him. I just have to call out His Name.

Praises and Trust

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I can say this from a very thankful heart since I was admitted to the hospital Sunday, presenting with possible stroke symptoms again. Tests have come back negative so far. One more to go. I have had an ocular migraine which is worse than any headache I could describe. But I finally got meds for it and it has alleviated some. So, Praise God!

I’m trusting God that all will go well and I can go home soon. God is good, all the time! Two of my former students are my nurses, so I feel blessed.

Psalm 34

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Video3 Comments

I have two favorite Psalms that I often read to help me get through challenges or walk through valleys. This is one of them; the other is Psalm 91. Both are filled with promises of God’s loving care, so I turn to them when I need to feel His comfort all around me.

We are not supposed to just praise God when all is going well for us. We are to praise God AT ALL TIMES! If we feel like bragging (and who doesn’t sometimes), then our boast should be in the Lord and all He has done. There is always something great that God has done or is doing for us that we can tell others about. As Christians, when we give a testimony about what God is doing or has done, we are exalting His name in the hope that others will want to know God in the same way that we know Him.

These verses don’t say that God takes away our troubles; rather, He takes away our fears. He saves us FROM our troubles, surrounding and defending us, but we still have troubles. I have found in my life that I grow more spiritually during the challenging times because that is when I press in closer to God.

The big word for me in these verses is “refuge.” Those who are safe don’t need to look for shelter, so this is telling me that troubles will happen, even to those who are “godly people.” But even when we face difficulties, God will continue to supply all that we need, physically, emotionally, mentally. Trusting in the Lord means that we don’t have to fret over our needs because we will “lack no good thing.”

How do we show that we fear the Lord? By speaking truth and love and goodness, not evil and lies. By turning away from bad choices and choosing to do good instead. It is up to us to maintain peace with others, even those with whom we disagree. Notice the word “work.” I think that means peace doesn’t come easily but it is a task that we must exert effort to keep.

I am so thankful that God is always watching over me and listening to me when I cry out to Him. I am not righteous because of what I have done, but because of His Son’s sacrifice, so I call on God frequently for help. I feel sad for those who don’t know God and who live for doing evil; they may have everything shiny here on earth but one day, they will no longer exist, with even the memory of them gone. God does not promise that we won’t have troubles, but He promises to rescue us. If we are broken-hearted and our spirits are crushed, assailed by all of the evil around us, God holds us close and rescues us from our feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

I really don’t like the reality and truth of this verse: “the righteous person faces many troubles….” But I do like the promise here, that the Lord comes to rescue us each time. He doesn’t sometimes look away and leave us to be washed away. He protects us. Verse 20 is a prophecy about Christ. If you recall, Jesus did not have His bones broken on the cross as the soldiers started to do because He had already died. I would like to claim this promise for me, too, but it specifically refers to Jesus. (I have broken my right elbow three times and my left ankle once because I fell. Fortunately, God took care of me during these incidents and I did not need surgery…just time to heal.)

I love the idea of redemption for those of us who are serving the Lord. And the part about the wicked being destroyed spurs me to tell more people about Him so that they can change their lives and become righteous. My favorite part of this section is that the psalmist returns to the theme of God’s being our refuge. We take refuge in Him because we need a shelter and He doesn’t kick us out to fend for ourselves. He provides the shelter we need for as long as we need it.

I pray that these verses have spoken to your hearts today just as they do to me each time I read them. I will leave you with a song that started me on my journey of seeking solace in this beautiful and promise-filled Psalm.

Psalm 34-The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

The Road We Want

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Look at the action verbs in this Scripture: Stop, Look, Ask, Walk, Travel, and Find. There is a progression here in making wise choices. First, we have to stop, pause long enough to hear the voice of the Lord and not the clamor of the world all around us. Look around—examine the choices before you. Ask—the Bible says that we don’t have because we don’t ask. Before you make a choice, ask what the way that God wants you to take is. Then, walk that path. God doesn’t promise that it will be easy or without some challenges along the way, but he does tell us to travel along that path and there our souls will be able to rest. Why? Because we are following the purpose, the plan, the path that God established for us. Unfortunately, too many of us turn the wrong way, saying that the road we want is different than the one God has set up for us to take. God will allow us to make our own choices, but then we will suffer the consequences of traveling the wrong way. Like a good GPS system, God will look at the road we are on, the one where we took the wrong turn, and He will recalculate a new path for us. It may take us longer to get to where He wants us to be and we may miss some blessings along the way, but God will not give up on us. His purpose and plan will still be fulfilled, often in spite of us because we didn’t carefully stop, look, ask walk, travel and find. God wants us to find that rest that He has promised, both here on earth and in eternity with Him.

Claim Your Blessings

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

If you knew that someone had started a bank account in your name with, say, a million dollars in it, would you just leave it there and never touch it or use it? Or would you go to the bank, present the appropriate ID, sign the forms they require and start using your unexpected wealth? I’m pretty sure most if not all of us would do the latter. But did you know that we are daily not claiming gifts from God?

God’s Word is filled with blessings for His people, yet there they sit, unclaimed, either because we don’t know about them or think that they cannot possibly be for us. In today’s world of selfishness and each one out for himself, it’s hard to fathom that God is our advocate, in our corner at all times and has provided for us before we even ask. So, today, I leave you with a blessing to claim and a challenge to look for other blessings in the Bible that are yours if you would only see them, claim them and praise God for them. Now, just a disclaimer: I do not belong to the “name it and claim it” group of prosperity-driven Christians. I am just saying that if you have a prayer that needs to be answered and find a blessing in the Bible that fits that need, then claim that blessing as an answer to your prayer. Sometimes, we are still praying when God already sent the answer and we didn’t notice yet.

Don’t forget to say “Thank you” to God for all of His rich blessings that He gives us every day!

A Thought about Gratitude

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture3 Comments

Remember the Biblical story of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus, yet only one came back to thank Him? How many times have you been the one who remembered to give thanks instead of continuing on your merry way and forgetting quickly what God has done for you?

We don’t need to give God thanks because He needs to hear it. Our hearts need to be open to the relationship with God that becomes fuller and more complete when we give Him thanksgiving instead of taking His love for granted.

Look at that very small and very important word “all.” When things are going well, be thankful. When things are not going great, be thankful. Getting into the habit of having an attitude of gratitude will open our hearts and minds to hear from God and be blessed by Him, even in the midst of trying circumstances.

Sunday Prayer

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture2 Comments

Sunday is a day of reflection, spending time with God and other Christians at church and also with my husband just talking. So, I don’t have a lot of time to spend on writing my blog. When I prayed about what to do for my Sunday posts, God said to just pray. Thus, here is my prayer for you today.

In Jesus’s Name. Amen!

Timid but Bold

On By vickleaIn Scripture6 Comments

I am generally a very introverted, timid person. I don’t like large crowds (or even medium-sized ones). I avoid being around a group of strangers, not because of them but because of my own timidity. Today I have a women’s group meeting at church. I have looked forward to it and dreaded it at the same time. I look forward to it because of the fellowship but I dread it because I’m so shy and it’s hard for me to talk to people and feel as though I fit in. Usually, in group settings, my husband is there to run interference, check on me, draw me into conversations, etc. But with a women’s meeting, I’m on my own. Thus, the dilemma.

As I prayed this morning and spent time in God’s Word, this is the Scripture that I read. I did not go looking for it, but God directed me to it through a devotional that I read daily. Just in time for my meeting today! God will be with me, He loves and accepts me and I can count on Him to stay right by my side even when I’m feeling alone. I know that all of this is very strange to my readers who know that I taught in public schools for over thirty years, a profession that required public speaking daily. But I should note that I always had lesson plans to keep me focused on my tasks instead of how self-conscious I was feeling. In the group today, I fear leaving my comfort level, but I am also going to be bold and go regardless of my timidity. How’s that for stepping out in faith?

My other verse for the day is all about God’s calming my fears, so I’m trusting Him to come through for me and that I will make some new friends there. (The ladies that I used to be with at these meetings have moved to a different church.) Inhale and exhale, deep calming breaths…almost time to get ready to go. God is my Redeemer, my Savior, my Father and my Best Friend, so I’m counting on Him!

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Blessed are the Persecuted

It’s not always easy to stand for what’s right—especially when someone makes fun of you, gossips about you, lies about you, or even abuses you because of your decision.

But when sharing the eighth of the beatitudes—a series of promises Jesus made about God’s Kingdom—Jesus offered some hope:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:10 NIV

Leading up to this verse, Jesus had spoken unexpected blessings over an unlikely group: the poor in spirit, those who were mourning, the meek, those craving righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. Finally, He offered a blessing to the persecuted.

Jesus elaborated:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now, we won’t be blessed for facing the consequences of our own terrible decisions. But Jesus is saying that you will be rewarded when you are shamed, canceled, or even physically persecuted because of Him.

Jesus knows what it’s like to suffer for the sake of righteousness.

You will be blessed for standing up for what is right, for trusting in God’s Word, and for defending those who cannot defend themselves. And when it gets hard, remember: you’re not alone.

The prophets before us were mocked, beaten, and even killed. Jesus’ disciples, the ones hearing these words, would also suffer and die because of their beliefs. They were persecuted for doing things differently: for loving their neighbors, fighting for sexual purity, resting on the Sabbath, and most of all, for declaring Jesus as Lord.

So no matter what it costs you, you will be blessed for standing up for what is right. Jesus says that yours is the kingdom of heaven.