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.
Twenty-two years ago, the unthinkable happened in the most well-known city in our nation. Two airplanes, two buildings toppled, a multitude of lives lost. So many went to work that morning and never expected the tragedies about to happen. Not only in NYC, but also in a little town called Shanksville, PA where heroic civilians wrestled control of a flying plane that was weaponized by terrorists. And then there was the attack on our nation’s military might, the Pentagon itself. The heroes are too many to name, but a grateful nation salutes them today. May we never forget the sacrifices of so many so that others might live. May we always remember the families left behind to grieve and a nation that was forever changed.
Please remember all of the heroes and their families on the 22nd anniversary of a horrific attack that took so many so quickly.
Let us remember that most of those who died did not die for friends or family. Rather, they died for strangers that they were trying to help, for work colleagues that they tried to rescue. Jesus lay down His life; no one took it from Him. The heroes of 9-11 were robbed of life by evil, but evil did not win that day. Love did! Never forget.
There is a relatively new thing in our culture today that awards trophies to every child who participates in an activity. Stating firmly that the group is a team and that they don’t want to “cause any hard feelings” or wound any young egos, every child, whether they have done a good job or not, receives a participation trophy. I have also noticed in some schools that every child gets an award for some kind of attribute that the teacher has noticed. Many of these are tongue-in-cheek and seem to be all in good fun. But what happens when that child grows up and goes to church every Sunday, taking that as the sign that they are doing just fine in their relationship with God? Is that true? Does God award those who faithfully attend church and do good deeds in His Name a participation trophy, opening wide the gates of Heaven so that they can enter in?
Sadly, the answer is “no.” One has to actually have a relationship with God in order to enter into eternity with Him. Just showing up every Sunday and every Wednesday and never establishing an individual communication with the Father that includes confession, repentance and acceptance of responsibility will not guarantee your placement into an eternal resting place with Him. There is a cost to following Jesus; it is the total dedication of your life to Him and a daily desire to serve at His pleasure, doing His will regardless of the cost to you. Maybe you don’t get the promotion you wanted because you are adamant about your faith. Maybe you aren’t popular with the “in crowd” because you live to please Jesus only. I don’t know the cost to you, but God does. It will never be more than you can pay, but it may be more that you are willing to sacrifice.
Jesus promises a crown of life to those who are faithful. He does not say that this crown is given to those who show up every Sunday, do the most good works and say the Father’s Name the loudest. Read the Word to find out what faithfulness entails. For Jesus, it was going to the cross, doing God’s will and not His own. For Paul, it was being imprisoned and shipwrecked, beaten innumerable times and still preaching about Jesus. What does faithfulness look like for you? I am not saying that you can earn salvation. That is not possible because it is a free gift from the throne of God to each of us. What I am saying is don’t delude yourself into thinking that all is fine with you and God if you show up and warm a pew every Sunday and then live like you don’t know God exists the rest of the time. There are no participation trophies with God. He doesn’t want to “cause hard feelings” or wound egos, but God cannot and will not look on sin and His standards are firm and do not change. He has requirements that include following Him and being obedient to Him and being willing to listen to His directions, not our own desires. That’s a hard truth that you can’t get into Heaven by checking off boxes that say you’re a good person who went to church, gave a tithe, helped others when you could and didn’t commit sins that made the newspapers. God doesn’t lie and if He sent His Only Son to the cross to die for your sins, He is absolutely serious that He requires some real commitment to Him on your part, not a seat warming participant but a God-fearing, God-proclaiming active player on the field of battle against sin.
These verses are sobering reminders that God is in the business of saving souls, not rewarding participation trophies just so your feelings aren’t hurt.
What is the world’s sin? My first thought was selfishness or greed or pride. But God has a different view and His is absolutely correct!
Without belief in God and His Son who offers the free gift of salvation, mankind continues to live in sin, separated from God. The sad thing is that most people, at least here in the U.S., know about God but they don’t choose to have a relationship with Him. They choose to refuse to believe in Him. Have you ever heard the saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it”? That’s how some people are about God. They want Him to prove His power and show them nothing but grace and mercy instead of what we all deserve, which is judgment. The fact is that God already proved His power over death, sin and the grave when Jesus rose from the dead. He proved His love when He sent His only Son to die for us. And yet, some refuse to believe for various reasons, none of which make sense. Jesus is the answer to all of life’s problems, mankind is in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean of sin and they refuse to believe in the Lord because they just don’t want to change the way that they’re living. They are too attached to their lifestyle of sin to try to change it. Sad commentary on stubbornness, isn’t it? Satan said, “I will” and proceeded to challenge God’s authority and power. Jesus said “Not my will, but Yours be done.” I choose to believe in the unselfish and truth-telling Lord of Heaven and earth instead of the prince of the air who will one day be condemned into the Lake of Fire. Those who refuse to believe are choosing their own destiny, and the consequences that they will suffer are eternal. As Christians, we need to do all we can, whenever we can, to persuade those deniers to turn and believe and repent. But we also need to accept that the final choice is theirs, no matter how much it hurts to acknowledge that we cannot save people. Only God can do that. One thing we need to be aware of is that we need to pray before we go on the battlefield, gird up with our spiritual armor and get ready for battle. Satan wants their souls to spend eternity with him. God wants them to believe so that they can spend eternity with Him. The ultimate choice is theirs; our responsibility is to share the truth of the choices that they are making.
Who is the Lord of your life? Is it yourself? Something you have accomplished in your life that you are proud of? A material possession that means more to you than anything? Or perhaps your family whom you love dearly. These things may be important to us, but none of them can be the Lord of your life. There is only one Lord, one God, and as a dear pastor used to say, “It ain’t you!”
Only our God can help us when we are fearful. He is our Lord.
God’s Spirit was sent to abide in each of us and gives us the freedom to choose to make Him Lord in all of our daily decisions.
God is our lighthouse, the one who shows us the way and gives us the power and strength to follow the right path towards eternity with Him.
Remember when you didn’t worry at all about anything because you knew your parents were taking care of everything for you? Food was prepared and served for you, clothes were purchased, rides were arranged or provided. I never remember getting one single bill during my childhood. My parents just did what parents do, they took care of us. And like most children, we just took their provision and care for granted.
As an adult, we are assaulted on every side by things that could cause us great concern. I say “could” because if we are leaning in to our Heavenly Father, we know that He is caring and providing for us just as our loving parents used to do. The storms of life are many and unexpected, but nothing surprises God and He is a stable rock for us to cling to in a sea of change that threatens to overwhelm us.
Lest you think I must be going through a really tough time right now, I’m not, at least not currently. But life has a tendency to throw curve balls when we least expect them, so I am clinging to this Scripture to help me through whatever comes next. God holds on to me just as I hold on to Him and His promises. The verse clearly says I will help you. It doesn’t get any better than that. He is as close as our hand reaching out and promises His assistance, no matter what we may need. He is our steadfast source of strength and ready to battle with us against the waves of life. He may not take us out of the storm. In fact, in my experience, that rarely happens. However, He is there in the storm with us, calming our hearts so that we can make it through to the calm that awaits us after the storm passes. Storms of life come and go, but our God is always there. Always!
All of us have days in which we just feel like we cannot do one more thing for one more person, not even ourselves. We are plodding along in life and then something happens to force us to take stock of where we have been and where we are going. That pause, that quiet moment, even when I feel as though I am asking God for answers, is the time when I get the greatest encouragement.
Most of us don’t have a team of cheerleaders shouting for us to keep going, that we can make it, But the Bible tells us that we do have a “cloud of witnesses,” the great patriarchs who have gone before us and perhaps loved ones who have already passed away. They are our cheering section. But God is our great encourager.
Sometimes, I feel as though I had plans and then life happens and the plans fall through. But God’s plans never fail. He is faithfully loving and will never abandon me, leaving me to wander alone aimlessly searching for purpose. He has given me a purpose and He has a plan. Even at my advanced age, I am still useful to God’s big blueprint plan for mankind. I was reminded of that when I visited my son and his family and was asked repeatedly to tell stories from the Bible by the children. They are hungry for God’s word and I had the knowledge to share with them. I think that is part of God’s plan, for me and for them.
I must confess that as my body ages, I tire more easily, and some days I just want to stop doing. But God in His mercy gives me the grace and strength to keep going, reminding me that He is still working on me as I work for Him. Because God is my great encourager, He will not sit idly by while I throw a “pity party.” He invites Himself to attend and reminds me of all that He has done for me so that the party meant to take place in the Land of the Mollygrubs ends up being held in the Land of Thankfulness and Gratitude. God will always be there, continuing His work in me, until He calls me home. And I pray that I will be willing and able to continue my work for Him all the way to the blessed end of my life here on earth.
In my devotional yesterday, I was encouraged to make sure that I am following God’s plan for my life and not pursuing the things of this world. People who don’t know God are seeking riches, fame, and a lot of material things and pleasure. My purpose is to serve God and His kingdom in whatever way I can for as long as I am able.
Many reach the top of the ladder of success only to find that it is leaning against the wrong wall. Purpose in life is far more important than property or possessions. Having more to live with is no substitute for having more to live *for.* ~Nicky Gumbel, One Year Bible Devotional, September 2, 2023
Read that quotation again and really think about it. For years, I pursued the goal of being named “Teacher of the Year.” I worked hard, gave 110% to my students and their parents and wanted all of them to be successful in learning how to study. The end result was that the students were thankful, as were many of the parents, but the only teachers who were ever recognized were the “pets” or those who taught the mainstream classes for which the standardized tests were given. I gave up on that goal after I noticed that the “winners” were always the same people; they just took turns by department: math, science, history, English. God spoke sternly to me then and told me that my prize was not in being recognized but in serving Him and His plan for me. My purpose changed and so did my outlook about the other teachers. They were winners of a title, but they didn’t know the Lord as Savior, so ultimately, they were lost.
God created each of us with a purpose in mind. It is up to us to find out what that purpose is and to pursue it wholeheartedly. I was a good teacher, but that is not because I had any special talents or abilities. I was a good teacher because God’s Spirit gave me insight daily into the needs of my students and He showed me creative ways to reach them. I was good because God gave me that purpose and the ability to go with it.
The most important thing in life to pursue is not a thing, but a person. Jesus Christ…first, last and always…needs to be the center of all that you do, every day. The other things (riches, fame, etc.) may or may not come. But the promise is that you will have all that you need, not necessarily all that you want. What do you need to be happy and feel fulfilled? I need to know that I am doing God’s will and hearing His voice direct me daily, to leave my comfort zone and speak kindly and with encouraging words to strangers. I am not a farmer, but I am determined to sow seeds for the kingdom daily.
What I considered “good” (a title and the recognition that went with it), God didn’t esteem at all, or not that I could tell. God just wants me to treat everyone equally (justice), to be kind to all and to be humble before my Creator who gave me all that I have and made me all that I will ever be. In the end, what matters is leaning that ladder I’m climbing against the firm foundation of God’s Word. It’s the only way the ladder won’t fall and I won’t be disappointed in the end.
What is your purpose? On what are you leaning your ladder? I hope this post today has given you food for thought.
I really enjoy finding prayers within the context of scripture. It’s like God is saying to me, “Pray this one.” So, I do and it always blesses my heart. May your heart be blessed with this prayer and may you indeed be filled with hope.
That word “submitting” is not very popular today as it evokes memories of men “lording it over women” and women subserviently doing as they are told, when and how they are told. But submission is actually a protection provided to us by God, especially when it refers to submitting to God.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “submit” means to allow another person or group to have authority over you. You willingly give permission to God to have authority over you. That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to me, especially since God made me and knows exactly what I need and exactly when I need it. When I am submitted to God, then I have peace. Why? Because peace follows naturally once I know that all that I am and ever will be is in the loving hands of the One who knows me best. And why will things go well with me? Does that mean nothing bad will ever happen? I really wish the latter were true, but life happens every day when we are making other plans. We just have to be willing to learn from the things that we consider bad and move on. I have found that in the moment of dealing with a crisis, everything looks really overwhelming. But when the crisis is past, I can look back and see that they really weren’t so bad. Frequently, I can see God’s hand at work in these circumstances, not that He caused them, but that He works with me in them. He is constantly by my side, helping me to be the one He wants me to be instead of the one that I insist I want to be. For example, we just got home last night from a week of visiting our youngest son and his family. Today, I am just finishing four loads of laundry and then I have to go to the laundromat because our dryer is broken. The parts are coming in sometime next week, but in the meantime, I am inconvenienced by having to go about half an hour away and wait for the clothes to dry before coming home again. Crisis? Not really…but a definite “life happens” moment. Going to the laundromat is not my idea of fun times, but I expect that God can use that time with me to reach my willful heart as well as use me to reach out to others at the laundromat. Perspective…it’s all about perspective. And being willing to submit.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 