Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

My Thoughts on a Potpourri of Verses

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As I read my Bible and devotionals this morning, my mind kept returning to all of the chaos and evil in the world. I sought God’s help in understanding and the hope that only comes from knowing and believing His Word.

Fear tries to overtake my heart because of all of the rampant evil. But God continually reminds me that He is trustworthy and I need not be afraid.

God will always protect me from the evil that surrounds me. I can count on Him to be with me in the middle of the storm.

Our hope lies in the cross where Jesus stated, “It is finished.” He completed the sacrifice for me so that I can be with the Lord forever. Victory is assured…I just have to get through to the end of this present evil age.

It’s a scary thing to contemplate that the God of justice will judge our nations for their wickedness. Refusing to acknowledge God won’t end in anything good for those who turn their backs on Him. I’m blessed to be on the winning side but I am sad for those who flaunt their evil ways and taunt God with their worship of self.

God does not want to destroy nations or the wicked. He prefers that everyone join in accepting His free gift of salvation and come to Him as victorious servants, not continue to be seemingly free evil doers. The second death is the final and ultimate death, the one that determines whether we end up in the lake of fire with Satan or in Heaven with God for eternity. God prefers that we repent but He will not force us to do so.

God gets a lot of the blame for what happens on earth. My thoughts are that people get the consequences that they deserve for their foolish choices. Being angry with God is worthless because in the end, the one who is destroyed is the one who refuses to be wise and repent.

Out of all of my verses this morning, this is the one that stood out to me most and made my heart leap, not necessarily with joy, but with recognition of truth. One day, there will be justice. God’s final judgment will mete out justice to all. The godly will be rejoicing but the evil will be terrified. Sounds fitting to me…and a hope to look forward to. When I was growing up and didn’t know God as Lord, I was frequently bullied. Since I did believe in a higher power, I would pray that one day God would “give them what they had coming to them.” Little did I know that the final judgment is exactly what that will be…God has the final word, so fearing the Lord before judgment day is a must if you want to be in the group that is rejoicing.

Praise the Lord that the victory is already His!

A Word about “Sound of Freedom”

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Video4 Comments

Just the message that I sent out yesterday that my husband and I had tickets and were going to see “Sound of Freedom” evoked various responses. My liberal sons jumped on the QAnon bandwagon, ridiculing our choice of movie. My sister wanted to know which theater we were going to because there had been many glitches in the AMC theater chain. (We went to the Regal.) But I was not going to be thwarted from my desire to see this film, so after my medical appointment, we headed into town for the matinee.

I would like to encourage everyone to see this heartbreaking movie, not because of the heartbreak but because of the truth that is in it. No, it is not totally factual. It has been fictionalized to make a better story, but if you read the real story of Tim Ballard and his efforts to rescue children, you will see that there is plenty of truth in the film and that is what breaks my heart. Especially the part about our nation being the largest purveyor and supporter of child trafficking and pornography.

“Sound of Freedom” -Official Trailer from Angel Studios

If you cannot afford a ticket, then Angel Studios has provided a “pay it forward” program to help you to see the movie. Just go to their site and follow the links. Tickets for Sound of Freedom

The tagline for the movie is that “God’s children are not for sale.” Remember that Jesus took the little children into His arms and blessed them; He did not turn them away. The current problem with our border is not just drugs, though that is horrific, too. The cartels use the open borders to traffic children. See the movie. Pray hard for this evil to be exposed and that God will have mercy on the children and save them. See the movie. If you are like me, your eyes are already somewhat open to the evil that men do to little children in the name of profit and pleasure. But if you are like me, you have no idea of how extensive the problem is. See the movie. And then spread the word so that others will see it.

Difficult to watch and impossible to forget. See the movie!

The Present Tense

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As a grammarian and a retired foreign language teacher, I am generally aware of the use of tenses in sentences. I notice present, past and future tenses and sometimes that makes all the difference in my thinking. Today in my devotional, it’s all about the present tense, where I am right now.

The Lord keeps me from all harm…right now. He is currently watching over me and all that I do. I consider that very comforting. God is not confined by the constraints of time as we know it because He is infinite, but He steps into my present and is carefully watching over me. Comforting, isn’t it?

The verb “is” means currently, present tense. God has been my refuge and strength in the past and will continue to be in the future. But for today, I can count on Him to be my refuge, to be my strength right now, right where I am and in the circumstances I am currently facing. Encouraging, isn’t it?

Every day, each of us faces new troubles, whether from our health, our family circumstances, our finances or whatever comes up. God is always present, right there with us, no matter what we face. He saves us, present tense, from whatever enemies may attack us. The promise is that He will protect us and the reality is in the present tense. His hand is already there, ready for us to grasp and be saved by His power and mercy and grace. Humbling, isn’t it?

Although my focus is on the present tense in this little blog today, I want to end with a view of the future. God is always trustworthy. He is a rock on which we can stand and take refuge. We can trust Him forever because He never changes and He never will. Powerful, isn’t it?

As you read your devotional today and spend time with the Lord, may He be ever present in your heart, mind and soul.

A Day for Praise

On By vickleaIn praise, SongLeave a comment

My husband and I have been traveling for most of the last month. Since our grandchildren are distant, we visited them for several weeks. We did come home for a few days to rest and repack, but then I set out again to visit my sister while my husband went to see his brother. All of the travels are over now, and I am so grateful for the safety that we enjoyed and also for being able to go to our church again. Our Sunday school teacher graciously sent us the video lessons that we were missing via email so we were able to continue the class study of Revelation. But nothing compares to being with our church family! So, today is a day for praise for me. Praise wells up in my heart each day as I ponder all of God’s goodness and blessings. May you be blessed with these songs that I am sharing and if you have other favorites, please share them with me.

What a Beautiful Name It Is-Hillsong

I Raise a Hallelujah-Hillsong Woship, Lauren Daigle,Casting Crowns

Holy Forever-Chris Tomlin

A Thousand Hallelujahs-Brooke Ligertwood

10,000 Reasons-Matt Redman

Inheritance

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

Some people may dream of big houses and big cars, but I spent many years when I was younger dreaming of an inheritance that would take care of all of my financial woes. College debt? Gone! Car loan? Paid! Mortgage? Wiped out! Well, all of those things happened but not because of anyone leaving me a great sum of money. I paid off my college loans, my car loan and we are still working on the mortgage. Now my sites are set on a different kind of inheritance, having re-focused on what is truly important.

Since God is my inheritance, I don’t need to fret about the future, either here on earth or for eternity. God takes care of my needs, both physical and financial and the bonus is that He always takes care of me emotionally and mentally. My hope is in Him and who better to hope in than my Creator? I will never have a big house or a fancy car but that’s okay because I no longer care about those kinds of things. I just want to spend eternity with my Father in Heaven, rejoicing around His throne about the inheritance than no one can take from me. My future is secure with Him and I am thankful for it.

The Purpose of Praise

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

I think that praise has at least a twofold purpose. The first one, of course, is to recognize the accomplishments and who someone is as opposed to being just another “face in the crowd.” Praising God allows us to make sure that God is assured the first place in our lives as we humbly acknowledge that He is Lord and Creator of all. He is not a god that we have made and can manipulate to do our bidding. Rather, He is the GOD of the universe and He accomplishes His will, either with or without our cooperation. We bless God when we praise Him, not because He needs our praise but because we do. That brings me to the second purpose of praise.

The other purpose is more personal. I praise because I need it! This past week I have been with a relative in another state and it’s hard to praise aloud here since she doesn’t believe in God or want to hear anything about Him. My soul is a little weary of not being able to play my praise music and sing along. But I have discovered that I can sing silently in my heart and still be uplifted and encouraged as I hear the words spoken within me. The second purpose of praise then is to establish the relationship between me and my Creator and to remind me of how much He loves me and cares for me. God wants me to know about His love, every hour of every day and for me, He uses praise to bring His everlasting love to my remembrance.

Hezekiah’s Prayer

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture1 Comment

King Hezekiah was faced with an enemy who was not only powerful, but Sennacherib also knew how to use psychological warfare. He tried to convince the Israelites to surrender to him and all would be great in their lives. King Hezekiah wisely told the people to ignore Sennacherib and not to even reply to him. Then, he laid out the matter before God and trusted God’s sovereignty to protect them.

By acknowledging who God is and how powerful He is, Hezekiah opened the gates of Heaven for God to help him in his dire situation with the ungodly king of Assyria.

Here is a prayer that Nicky Gumbel wrote in the One Year Bible devotional this week. I am praying it for our nation and our world and hope that you will agree with me and pray this heartfelt prayer, also.

Lord, as we look around at the state of our city, our nation and our world, we need your deliverance. You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see. Pour out your Holy Spirit again. May we see people seeking your name again. May we see miracles of healing. May we see the evangelisation of our nation, the revitalisation of the church and the transformation of society, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.

~Nicky Gumbel, July 11, 2023

A Prayer for You

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture2 Comments

Sometimes, my devotional leads me to a prayer, a time of crying out to God for myself and for others. Such was the case as I read and studied my Bible verses this morning. May this prayer be true in your life today and every day in which you face darkness. May the light that floods your soul give you the hope that you need and the confidence to realize that you are His children. One day we will inherit the kingdom that He has prepared for us. Until that day comes, may our hearts be totally consumed with the light of His love, mercy grace and hope.

Hostility and Hope

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

There is no doubt in my mind that we live in a world that is hostile to the things of God. There is also no doubt in my mind that God put us here for a reason and we need to fulfill His purpose for our lives in spite of the hostility that surrounds us.

Jesus was crucified because of the hostility that people felt towards Him. Their jealousy and short-sightedness led them to force our Savior to die a horrible death on the cross. But did He quit, slink away and hide and hope no one continued to bother him with their petty, ungodly beliefs? No! He stood for the truth, went courageously to the cross and carried out God’s plan for our salvation. If we just keep in mind all that Jesus endured, the hostility that we face won’t seem so insurmountable anymore.

I like the phrase in this verse that says, “you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.” We may be called to do so one day, to stand before the ungodly and defend out faith. And when that happens, may we be found worthy to glorify God even unto death. Yes, we are struggling against darkness, a sin that seems so prevalent that the world seems to have gone insane. But we are still called to stand for righteousness and truth, regardless of the consequences to us. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope lies in our ultimate salvation from the world and the eternal life that awaits us. Thus, we can continue to fight against the sin of the world and carry hope in our hearts.

Knowing What to Do

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

In this world we live in in which evil is rampant and godly leadership doesn’t exist, I am often baffled about what to do. The Bible gives the answer.

We need to call on God for help. He has never changed and never will. When the people of Israel faced many enemies on all sides, they realized that the only help that was possible was from God.

Our enemies are currently spiritual ones…those who whisper in the ears of non-believers (and unfortunately, even some believers) that whatever they want to believe and do, that will be okay. After all, in the current climate of permissiveness and debauchery, there is no standard of right and wrong. However, we who believe in the God of the Bible, know that there are standards and that God cannot possibly be pleased with our nation (or the world, for that matter) right now. In order to survive in this chaotic miasma of sin, we have to daily call on the Lord for help just to get through the day. When we see people flaunting their sin before God, do we speak out or remain silent and pray. I pray that God will give me the wisdom for what to do. The sins of today don’t just affect our current generation but all generations to come. Being “woke” doesn’t just make you broke as the pundits are saying, but it also leads you and those who follow you into the arms of the Destroyer. The attack is real, but so is God. Thus when we don’t know what to do about all the evil around us, prayer is my weapon of choice. I pray that God will help the Christians around the world to hold the line and to declare His truth.