Suffering and Affliction

On September 18, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

No one likes to talk about suffering and few know really what affliction is. According to the online dictionary, affliction is a condition of pain, suffering and distress. I want to add that the pain doesn’t have to be physical; it can also be mental or emotional pain. Whatever it is that we are going through, I sincerely believe that God can use it to teach us about others and about ourselves.

God comforts us when we are in the midst of our suffering, but why would He do that? God’s desire for us is that we get closer to Him, lean into Him during our times of hardship. That way, when we see other suffering, we are more likely to recognize what they are going through and be able to reach out a helping hand and an open heart to them. God’s plan for us is fellowship, with Him and with one another. Unfortunately, many of us don’t want to admit our need for others until there is a crisis that we are facing. Then, we reach out. I hope that we reach out to God first and then to other people, but that depends on how close your relationship to God is. Do you trust Him to help you through the suffering or do you sit back and whine and blame Him for it?

For example, it’s difficult to really comfort someone who has just lost a parent without having suffered that loss yourself. Yes, you can say the right words and give the hugs, but the real understanding comes from having gone through it and come out on the other side. The important thing is to be there, ready and willing to help carry the burden until the load gets lighter. Having been there, you will be more likely to notice when the other person needs you desperately, even when it’s the middle of the night. I am not saying that you cannot be compassionate unless you have suffered yourself. What I believe is that you see the event with different eyes if you have experienced it.

Does God want us to suffer? No, because He is a loving Father. Sometimes our suffering is due to our own bad choices. Sometimes, it’s because sin is in the world and Satan is wreaking all of the havoc that he can since his time is short. Whatever the reason, God doesn’t cause the suffering but He will use it to teach us how to be patient, how to persevere, how to trust Him; in short, God uses suffering to help us to be more like Him if we are willing to put ourselves into His capable and loving hands. Then, after we have come through whatever it is, God can use us to help others. No one likes suffering and affliction. There isn’t a long line with people clamoring, “Yeah, sign me up!” But since we are well aware that it’s going to happen, we might as well have our hearts ready to lean on God and to go through it to the other side, with our eyes open to the opportunity that God may present just because of our suffering.

Everyday Is A Good Day to Praise the Lord!

On September 17, 2023 By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, Song2 Comments

Christian Praise and Worship Songs with Lyrics

Just enjoying a praise day and hope that you are, too! Have a blessed day in the Lord!

When Adversity Happens

On September 16, 2023 By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture1 Comment

What is our normal reaction when things go wrong? I don’t know about you, but I usually withdraw and question God’s sovereignty. Both are the incorrect approach to adversity. I am currently in an online Bible study with the women at my church, using the Chronological Bible and the book by Tina Wilson entitled STEP INTO SCRIPTURE. We are only on Day 6 of this amazing study and I am already learning so much about God and about myself. Here is what I took away from today’s lesson.

This is a key verse in Job as he struggles with all of his misery and his friends blame his adversity on his own sin. Job’s reply is that he will still hope in God. I want that to be my heart’s cry when the thunder rolls and the mountains quake, but I’m not there yet. Just knowing that Job could have his eyes and heart fixed on God gives me hope that when the time comes, I will be able to say the same thing. The point is not that Job is blaming God for his troubles, but He knows that God knows what is happening to him and he recognizes God’s sovereignty over all.

This is the book that we are using and a quotation from today’s study. God isn’t angry with us when things go wrong, nor has He turned His back on us and is ignoring us. He is watching over us and seeing how we react to our troubles. Will our faith grow stronger as we turn to Him or will we turn away? Obviously, God loves us and wants our faith to grow as we mature into all that we can be for Him. Jesus was committed enough to go to the cross for us. His faith is the model for the kind of faith we should have when we face any kind of trials or challenges in our lives.

I highly recommend this Bible study, especially if you are doing it with a group, but it can be done individually as well. Here is a link to get the book if you are interested. It is free on Kindle Unlimited if you have that resource.

Amazon

I am thoroughly enjoying the insight that I am learning from this book as it delves deeply into the Scripture and explores what is happening in the heart of the author as well as how we can and should respond. I hope that you will check it out.

Let me know what you think. Does adversity build faith or tear it down? How difficult is it for you to trust in God in the hard times?

Fortitude from God’s Word

On September 15, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

I start each morning with devotionals and reading the Bible. And each day, God gives me new insight into His Word and tells me truths that He wants me to learn from it. Today, He spoke to me about being encouraged, strengthened by His Word.

Grace and peace only come from God and His Son. We can pretend to find peace in other things, activities or people that distract us from the challenges of life. But the real peace and the real grace come only from God and those are what we need to face whatever happens each day.

Jesus’s death on the cross was not an accident or a coincidental happenstance. It was planned by God from the beginning, because our Father knew that we would need a rescuer from this evil world. We live in times that are exceedingly evil, but I am sure that the Roman Christians, the Greek Christians, and Daniel and his friends in Babylon felt the same way. We can only be rescued from the evil around us if we keep our eyes fixed on our Savior. Looking at all of the evil around us only has a tendency to discourage us from moving forward, but when we call on Jesus, then our focus is right where it should be, on the narrow path to salvation instead of the wide road to hell.

No matter what is going on around us, we can still offer praise to God. He has not and will not change and He is fulfilling His purpose for us.

God is our strength each day and our salvation at all times, even when we are facing troubles. I know with every part of me that nothing will happen to me today that God and I cannot handle together. He is as close to me as my next prayer, and He is close to you, too, if you want Him to be.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

On September 13, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

One of the first things God told Adam and Eve was to “be fruitful and multiply.” I have always taken that to mean physically produce more children and populate the earth. This morning in my devotional, my eyes were opened to a spiritual meaning, also.

God repeated this command to Noah when he disembarked from the ark and came out on dry land, a totally clean earth with all of the sin wiped out.

Again, this certainly does mean populate the earth. But I think it also means to tell the new people that are born about God.

I wasn’t in the Garden of Eden with Adam, nor was I on the ark with Noah. But because of these ancestors of all of us, we exist. Physically, we have life. What about spiritual life?

In the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples just before He ascended to the Father, he did not say “be fruitful and multiply.” Instead, He applied God’s truth to the spiritual and told the disciples to go and make other disciples. How does one do that? By telling them about Jesus! By giving God the glory for all that He did through Jesus. God has not changed His word because God does not lie or change. He has, however, expanded on it. When we go out and tell others about Jesus, we are being fruitful and we are multiplying. We are adding souls to the Kingdom of God and more people who are ready and willing to give Him the glory. Having three children, I did the physical part of “being fruitful and multiplying.” But how many spiritual sons and daughters have been added to God’s Kingdom because of seeds that I have sown? I don’t really know because I am not always there for the harvest. God didn’t say to make sure you stick around for the harvest, but He did say to make disciples. To me, that means to lead people to the truth of the Gospel and then to establish them in God’s Word.

Thus, once again, God has enlightened me to more truth in His Word than I realized was there. Being fruitful is not just giving birth physically. It can also mean being fruitful and telling others about Jesus. If each one tells one, and they in turn tell others, there is the multiplication factor. God’s plan all along has been for His Kingdom to expand, for all to come to the knowledge of the Lord. We have His command and we are expected to act on it!

A Prayer for Today and Maybe Everyday

On September 12, 2023 By vickleaIn Song, Video2 Comments

Authors have written books about the day after 9-11. Presidents have made speeches. Congress has passed resolutions. But I have done nothing on the day after one of the worst days in the history of the United States. This morning I was feeling kind of out of sorts, not really discouraged, but just not feeling as though I had done much for the survivors, the people left behind. Then, in Dr. Denison’s Forum this morning, was this song that is also a prayer. I share it with you in the hope that you will join me in praying it, today and everyday that you remember. You don’t have to remember the words, but I hope that the heart of the message will touch you deeply in your soul, where you long to make a difference.

God of the Poor Lyrics by Graham A. Kendrick

Beauty for brokenness

Hope for despair

Lord, in your suffering

This is our prayer

Bread for the children

Justice, joy, peace

Sunrise to sunset

Your kingdom increase!

Shelter for fragile lives

Cures for their ills

Work for the craftsman

Trade for their skills

Land for the dispossessed

Rights for the weak

Voices to plead the cause

Of those who can’t speak

Friend of the weak

Give us compassion we pray

Melt our cold hearts

Let tears fall like rain

Come, change our love

From a spark to a flame

Refuge from cruel wars

Havens from fear

Cities for sanctuary

Freedoms to share

Peace to the killing-fields

Scorched earth to green

Christ for the bitterness

His cross for the pain

Friend of the weak

Give us compassion we pray

Melt our cold hearts

Let tears fall like rain

Come, change our love

From a spark to a flame

Rest for the ravaged earth

Oceans and streams

Plundered and poisoned

Our future, our dreams

Lord, end our madness

Carelessness, greed

Make us content with

The things that we need

Friend of the weak

Give us compassion we pray

Melt our cold hearts

Let tears fall like rain

Come, change our love

From a spark to a flame

Lighten our darkness

Breathe on this flame

Until your justice

Burns brightly again

Until the nations

Learn of your ways

Seek your salvation

And bring you their praise

Friend of the weak

Give us compassion we pray

Melt our cold hearts

Let tears fall like rain

Come, change our love

From a spark to a flame

Friend of the weak

Give us compassion we pray

Melt our cold hearts

Let tears fall like rain

Come, change our love

From a spark to a flame

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Graham A. Kendrick

God of the Poor-Graham Kendrick

Not Forgotten

On September 11, 2023 By vickleaIn anniversary, Scripture1 Comment

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.

A Participation Trophy

On September 10, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

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.

The Sin of the World

On September 8, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

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.

The Lord

On September 7, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture, Song1 Comment

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!”