Category: Scripture

From the Holy Bible

Lacking Fear of the Lord

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

As I listen to snippets of the news (I can never stand to watch an entire broadcast because the reports are so negative) and receive blurbs about what’s happening around the world, I am struck by one common theme. People around the world have lost their fear of God. They don’t reverence Him nor are they awed by His power. Mankind in general has become a god unto themselves. They are their own idols, and in setting themselves up for their own narcissistic worship, they deny the reality of God and the fact that one day He will reign and every knee will bow before Him.

It is the fear of the Lord that gives life because in fearing our Lord, we are ready to submit to Him and His desires for us. The escape from death comes when we recognize Jesus as Savior and Lord so that one day we can live eternally with Him. Those in the world today are living for today with no thought for the eternal consequences of their actions. That is why it is imperative for those of us who know the truth to be good ambassadors and share the Gospel, even when others don’t want to hear it. We have to fulfill our responsibility before the Lord, giving Him the respect and awe He deserves and then step back and let Him work in that person’s heart. One person at at time is how change happens, and the Lord knows that change certainly needs to happen in our world today. I think it starts with a healthy fear (respect) of God.

Pray and Give Thanks

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song, Video6 Comments

I think that this verse has been a theme in my life for the last three or four months. Undergoing one medical test after another, I must say that anxiety fluttered within me and tried to take hold. I kept repeating verses to myself about casting my burdens on the Lord and that He was with me no matter what I faced.

My last medical test was on Monday, an MRA, which I was told means Magnetic Resonance Angiograpy. In other words, they were taking pictures of the blood vessels inside my brain to see if anything was amiss there. (This followed an episode with blurred vision and severe vertigo.) Anyway, I would be lying if I did not confess my anxiety that hit strongly as my husband drove me to the hospital for the test. He prayed for me, I went in and tried to read as I waited to be called. The test itself wasn’t so bad, just a helmet like thing fit over my head and face and into the tight quarters of the MRI machine I went. I prayed while I was in there, and I gave thanks for all of the good reports so far. None of the multitude of tests had shown anything significant, so I was very grateful that all kinds of medical issues had been ruled out.

I got the results sent to me via message from the hospital later that evening. Of course, I couldn’t understand the medical terms but I did notice that the MRA picked up on the fact that part of my brain doesn’t get blood anymore. That would be where I had my stroke, of course. So, I waited for my neurologist to call to interpret the results. He called after I was in bed (he is one of the hardest working, most dedicated doctors I know, working long after office hours) and left the message with my husband.

“The results are normal!” That was the doctor’s pronouncement.

My husband let me know once he got off the phone and I was exultant that God came through for me again. As I prayed, I asked God why so many tests and then normal results. Now, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t want a bad report. I was just surprised that I had so many symptoms and the test results were all fine. God spoke to my heart and told me that He used the tests to draw me closer to Him and the healing came from Him.

Arising this morning to a new day without any new tests or specialists to see, I immediately turned to praise. As I took my shower, I sang “1000 Hallelujas” quietly to myself. As I read my devotionals, I played Chris Tomlin’s “Holy Forever” over and over again, worshipping the Lord for His power, grace, mercy and love for me.

I accept God’s sovereignty in my life and His magnificent way of getting my full attention. I am thankful that He loves me enough to take the time to work on me.

Holy Forever-Chris Tomlin

Forgiveness

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

You would think that I am asking for the sun, moon and stars when I ask that my siblings try to get along with each other. But there is this thing called forgiveness that is the obstacle. For many years, I have been the only sibling talking to everyone. As a second child of five, that is a somewhat precarious position for me at times and often stressful. I have talked to each sibling, explaining to them that the cost of forgiveness is not to the person that they aren’t forgiving but to themselves, but my pleas are to no avail. The offenses seem petty but I am sure that they are not to the one offended. Nevertheless, I still keep trying to get everyone together. I keep telling them that it’s going to be really sad for the first time for them to see and talk to each other in decades may be at my funeral and I won’t be there to see it.

People in today’s world don’t understand that holding a grudge, no matter how small, affects you physically, mentally and emotionally. God knew that and used Paul to instruct us to forgive. After all, God forgave us so who are we to hold a grudge against anyone? Give people grace…that’s what God gives us. Allow them to make mistakes and then forgive and move on. The burden of not forgiving is heavy and the price may never be known. So, go to bed each night with forgiveness on your lips and in your heart. Let God carry the burden to carrying out justice if it is needed. That’s not my monkey or my circus, so I personally refuse to demand that God let me do His job. What a presumptuous thing that would be!

Not Destroyed

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

I have been reading the Book of Job and have discovered many spiritual nuggets there that are profound in their simplicity. Although Job’s friends missed the mark in their advice, sometimes what they say has a tiny little sliver of truth that can be extrapolated and is certainly useful to hold onto. I think of the friends who gave Job unsolicited advice, Elihu is my favorite. Here is one of the things he says:

Read that verse several times as I did. It is absolutely awe-inspiring to realize how powerful God is. He made the earth and all that is in it, sustains life on earth, sends storms, keeps the seas within its boundaries, and even numbers the hairs on our heads. Through all that we do to show that we desire our independence from God, He continues to be just and righteous and does not just wipe us out with one word. He could, but He doesn’t because His love is more powerful than His anger at our sin. A day is coming when this earth will be destroyed and all that is in it, and God will be totally justified in His wrath-filled judgment. In the meantime, He gives us His Word, with verses like this to remind us of His grace and mercy.

Kneeling Before God

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

When everything seems overwhelming, the best thing we can do is to kneel before the Lord. He already knows what we are facing and kneeling before Him tells our own hearts that we are submitting our problems and our very being to Him and His will.

In our worship, as we kneel before Him, we are acknowledging that He created us and continues to watch over us. There’s a book I read long ago entitled “He Is There and He Is Not Silent” by Francis A. Schaeffer. It’s a relatively short book but I remember that it is filled with encouragement to trust God even when we are not seeing Him move as quickly as we would like. God is always speaking is the theme of the book; the problem is that many of us, including myself, are not always open to hearing. We get busy trying to solve our own problems and go in our own way, not heeding God’s still, small voice or taking the time to get His opinion before we move out into uncharted waters. Listening to God as we kneel before Him is imperative to being able to let go and allow Him to take charge of the situation. He has wanted to do so all along, but out tight grasp on it doesn’t allow Him to move in our lives. We ask Him to move, to answer prayer, to be God, and then we hinder His movement because we don’t listen. How many troubles could be avoided, how much more for Him could be accomplished if only we would listen to Him every day?

What We Think

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

It is very easy to think about our everyday circumstances and the current news cycle and how it affects us. It is even easier to get caught on that merry-go-round of scattering our thoughts every time a new event happens that distracts us. God’s Word, however, is clear in telling us to choose to think about the things above, the things that really matter to God. Spending time in God’s Word will tell us what is important to Him and what should be important to us.

Once we start thinking correctly, then we can follow this admonition to always rejoice, continuously pray and be thankful in everything. After all, God’s will is for us to be joyful Christians who are tuned in to His will and thus our prayers are tuned in, too. In following God’s instruction book, the natural result is that we will be “setting our mind on things above” and giving thanks in all of our circumstances. God knows, He cares and He desires for us to be more like Him.

Watching and Waiting

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I remember as a child watching out the window for my daddy to get home. He may have a surprise for me, but he always had a big hug and a smile. As I grew older, I watched out the window for a date to arrive, anticipating but also a little fearful. Once I got married, I watched for my husband to come home from deployment. I knew the general time of his arrival, but I never knew how long it would take him to finish the process so he could actually come home. So, I watched and waited. Once we had children, we watched and waited together for daddy’s arrival, making signs to welcome him home and some baked goods that he enjoyed. Now that I am older and the children have moved away, I watch and wait for phone calls, FaceTime and letters or cards. The watching and waiting never stops.

In the last six months, as I have faced numerous medical tests, I have been in a season of watching and waiting. But it is the Lord that I am watching and waiting for. I know that He is always there for me, so I am watching to see what He will do in my life and I wait for His answer. All of the doctors have their own opinions, but it is only God who has the real answer. So, I watch and wait and know that God is hearing me. He hasn’t failed me yet…years of watching and waiting have taught me that He is faithful and the last six months are building my trust. One more test on Monday, an MRA that the neurologist ordered to see if there is something going on with the blood vessels in my brain. Maybe. Maybe not. God knows. So, for Him, I watch and wait. He made me, He has healed me too many times for me to count, and He will also take care of this problem in His own way and in His time. His way and His timing is always perfect. Thus, watching and waiting while I hope in the Lord is a good, encouraging thing for me to do. It’s a blessing to know that God is right there, ready to send the answer to my prayers.

Building Your Faith

On By vickleaIn Quotation and Citations, Scripture3 Comments

If you have been walking with the Lord for any length of time, you have read the Scripture that says:

Thus if you want to please God, then you know that you need to have faith. But what is faith and how do you strengthen and build your faith?

Faith is putting your trust in God, regardless of circumstances and outward appearances. David had faith when he faced Goliath. Gideon had faith when he took a small band of men with him to defeat a large army. Stephen had faith when he faced those who ultimately stoned him.

How do you build your trust and your faith? The answer has always been there for you. You read the Word. You listen to the Word. You follow His Word. In doing so, you build your faith, that is, your trust in God. It’s hard to stand on God’s promises if you don’t know what they are, so it is imperative to memorize His Word so that you have it handy when you need it. God makes our faith strong by giving His unerring, infallible and eternal message to us. It is up to us to read it, hear it and heed it.

I want to see the invisible God, believe for unbelievable miracles and receive what others say is impossible. I’m spending time in God’s Word so that my faith is stronger. I pray that you are doing likewise.

Exaltation

On By vickleaIn praise, Scripture, Song, Video1 Comment

What does it mean to exalt the Lord? According to the online dictionary, it means to “elevate with praise, to glorify.” So, why do we exalt the Lord when He is already in the Heavens, the real Master of the Universe? I think we exalt Him because we need to hear ourselves acknowledge His power, His sovereignty and His worthiness to be praised. So much of the time, all day long, we spend giving ourselves and those around us little pep talks, telling them and ourselves what a good job we are doing or how much we appreciate the effort that they are making. Yet, when it comes to God, I think sometimes we take Him for granted, choosing to esteem ourselves rather than our Creator. So, today, I am taking time to exalt the Name of the Lord for WHO HE IS, not for all that He has done for me, although that list is innumerable. I just want to focus on His Lordship, His Kingship, on His character that is unchanging.

We cannot tell of the Lord’s greatness without acknowledging Him as the One who is the Ruler of our hearts. God is God…let’s praise Him and let Him know that although the world may turn against Him, we know that He is and always will be Lord of all.

1000 Names-Phil Wickham

A Thousand Hallelujas-Brooke Ligertwood

Great Is the Lord-Michael W. Smith

Blowing Wind

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

One of the arguments that I have heard for years about the existence of God and the Holy Spirit is that although you cannot see the wind, you see what its effects. Likewise, we don’t see God, but we see His actions on the earth. I am eternally grateful that God sent Jesus to save me, filled me with His Spirit and continues to guard my heart and mind through Him. It is up to me to continue to walk with God. The wind continues to blow, drawing my attention hither and yon. But the blowing wind is not what I should be focused on. I need to focus on the power that created that wind and how much love is behind all of creation.

I cannot explain my salvation or the change in my heart and my life, but I know that it is a fact. Just as the wind blowing through the trees causes the leaves to move, God’s Spirit moving in my heart causes me to draw closer to Him and away from the world.