Learn to trust God at all times. He is listening for our prayers and knows that the praise will follow. Sometimes it’s harder to trust God than others. My husband and I have had some health issues lately, not serious ones, just part of the aging process. Pressing closer to God during the multiple doctor’s visits and procedures that have to be done have helped me to stay calm and focused. In a period of time in our lives when we had planned to travel and celebrate together, we are going to dentists, eye doctors, regular physicians, and specialists instead. My prayer is to be a good witness to each helper we come across, so I lay aside my impatience and anxiety and smile with sincere thanks for the service they are offering me. Every day that we have together is a day to praise God for His grace and mercy; we are still celebrating, just not on a cross country train trip yet as we had planned. We actually planned it a year and a half ago,for our fiftieth anniversary, but I had multiple heath issues that arose that required that we stick around home for testing and such. This year, my husband had to undergo a dental procedure that will ultimately result in a dental implant when all the prep work is done. He also has to have cataract surgery that he has postponed until now when he really needs it to be able to drive. So, prayers for the procedures, the doctors to be wise and skillful and for a good recovery. But mostly praise that God has provided us for each other. When I was down, Harry was up and ready to help me. Now it’s my turn to be his helper. Praise God that we are not alone and that we are both believers, saved by grace and moving forward with the Lord into whatever adventure He has for us next.
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One More Thing
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/22
As a recovering perfectionist, I know the frustration of wanting everything to be just right, of planning for everything to be just right, and then of feeling after the event that if I had done one more thing, it would have been perfect. But then perfection is not possible in this broken world. We have to accept that and do the best we can to change what we can and live with what we cannot change. I like that the devotional’s author says that we need to help people get to that perfect place. How do we do that? We share the gospel so that they can know the peace that comes from not striving to be perfect here on earth, knowing that we are God’s children and can rest in His love, even in an imperfect world. Let that one more thing you need to do be to tell someone the difference Jesus has made in your life.
Nature is Damaged and We Are Dying
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/21
The title is not very encouraging, is it? But if you really dig deeply into the devotional today, you will find that nature is damaged resulting in disasters like floods and hurricanes because of the sin n the Garden of Eden. This damage and confusion in nature was not God’s original plan for His creation. Neither was death. Man was meant to live forever in communion with God, in a perfect place that He had created for them. But sin brought decay and ultimately physical death. Not one doctor or any elixir, no matter what they proclaim, can stop the ravages of death forever. As the devotional points out, we are not meant to live on this damaged earth forever. God has a better place that Jesus went ahead to prepare for us, the perfect place in communion with God that He meant for us from the beginning. So, does God cause the bad things to happen? The death, destruction and decay? No, sorry to disappoint you, but all the bad things cannot be blamed on a loving God. That responsibility lies squarely at our feet because we are all sinners. Thank God we have been saved by grace and this life is not all that there is!
No Surprise: Everything Is Broken
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/20
This is an excellent devotional that hits you right between the eyes. The world is broken because of sin. We cannot expect life to be easy, but we can ask God for help through the hard times. One day, this world will go away, Jesus will return and all will be as God planned from the beginning. In the meantime, press into God, hold on and know that in the end, He wins!
Update on eyes: My macular degeneration is the same, a trace in one eye. I do have drier eyes which the ophthalmologist says is age-related. So, I am resting my eyes more, using my eye drops more frequently and praying my vision improves. Thank you all for your prayers. Please let me know how I can pray for you!
Show Humility and Grace to Others
Many go through life looking at others and comparing themselves. “Well, I have sinned, but at least, I didn’t…” The truth is that sin is sin and as this devotional states, we all have the same starting point. We all start as sinners saved by grace and we are all, prayerfully, moving closer to God in this life. So, showing grace to others is nothing less than what God would expect. If you listen to the video message that goes along with this study, you will hear the speaker say that we should not treat people the way people treat us; instead, we should treat others the way God treats us. Love, just love, and humility because we are all in this life together.
Learning to Live Humbly
Have you ever met an angry Christian?
You may have come across Christians who love to grumble, complain, or even speak harshly about other people. Maybe you’ve even been that person at times in your own life.
If we’re not careful, we can easily become self-righteous within Christianity. After all, we know the truth and others may not. You might see how tempting it can be to look down upon other people, demean them, or consider them as worse off than ourselves.
But this misses the point of the gospel of Jesus.
The gospel tell us that all of us begin at the same starting point. And it’s only through grace that we come to salvation and learn the truth about God’s love for us.
That doesn’t make us any better than other Christians! In fact, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:2, we should actually be humble and gentle with others, rather than harsh and critical. He says we are to be patient with one another, helping one another in every way that we can so that we all grow together.
These ideas aren’t original to Paul. They actually came from how Jesus lived his life. As followers of Jesus, we too should strive to be gentle, humble, and patient with everyone in our life. Regardless of whether they look or think a different way, every person deserves dignity, patience, and love.
Take some time today to think of a few ways that you can grow in patience, humility, and love with others. It could be slowing down long enough for people to know you care, saying something encouraging to someone, or admitting to someone that you’ve made a mistake.
What will you do today to show humility and grace to others?
Develop New Habits
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/18
I like what the author wrote about developing new habits. Our old ones did not suddenly appear, and likewise, our new habits, i.e. fruits of the Spirit, will not happen immediately either. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to work a gradual change within us. We have a lot of road construction going on locally every summer. It seems that each time we turn on a different road, there is a sign that says. “Road Work Ahead.” We should have a constant sign flashing in our minds that says, “The Spirit is Working Here.” He wants us to be more like Jesus, we want to be more like Jesus, and together we can accomplish that goal, one day at a time. I look into the mirror these days and sometimes I wonder who that is staring back at me. It is not the same embittered, unconfident and ready to defend myself at any time person who was me for over twenty years. I have settled into a more quiet nature of one who accepts what others do, says to myself that God will take care of it and move on, without carrying a burden of unforgiveness and with a smile on my face and a light in my eyes. I am not where God wants me to be yet, but I am not where I was. Thank God that He is still working within me!
Change the Way You Think
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/17
I learned several things from this devotional today. It was enlightening to be reminded that what I think about is important because it leads to choices, either good ones or bad ones. My relationship with God starts every day with my quiet time and I never really thought about that being my “renewing my mind” but I am sure that is what it is now that it was brought to my attention. It’s like needing a fillip of gas when you are running on empty. You won’t get far until you fill up even if you think you are fine with the tiny little bit left in the tank. I don’t know about you, but I need to fill up my mind and heart with Jesus every morning, just to be able to start my engine and go through the day and its challenges. I don’t know what the day holds, but I do know that when my mind is filled with Jesus and I am constantly thinking, “What would Jesus think about my actions, attitude and behavior” then I am more likely to make right choices and have the day that God wants me to have.
Please pray for me today if you don’t mind. I am going to see my ophthalmologist because my vision has been blurry for almost two weeks. The doctors think it may be the meds I am on that have caused it, but I need to be checked to make sure nothing else is going on. Thank you for your faithful prayers, my friends. Have a blessed and wonderful day, keeping your eyes and mind fixed on Him.
The Will and the Power
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/16
Everywhere I go and just about everyone I meet has excuses for why they are the way they are. Some blame genetics, others blame circumstances, and still others blame their childhood upbringing. Whatever the excuse is, it won’t stand up to God’s scrutiny when we stand before Him. He can give us the will to want to change, if we genuinely want to do so. And He has already provided the power through the Holy Spirit. There are a lot of things in life that we have no control over and cannot change. But we can change ourselves, one stop at a time growing closer to Jesus and becoming more like Him. God has provided all we need, but we have to come to the table and partake of His blessings.
Staying on the Path
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/15
God’s Word is the exact thing that each of us needs in order to change to be more like Jesus. We don’t even recognize that we need to change unless we see the truth in His Word. Sharp like a sword, sometimes, the Word hits me deeply with a reminder of how I have fallen short. That is God’s Spirit gently telling me not to get off the path with the Lord, but to stay on that narrow way. Facing the truth about ourselves is not easy, but it’s necessary. I think it’s easier to see the truth about others and then point it out to them. But that is not what we are supposed to be doing. The only person we can change is ourselves, from the inside out. So, my prayer is to be open to the truth, even when it’s painful, because I know that god is still working on me and I want to be all that He created me to be.
Sinless v. Sin Less
www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/14
I feel like Paul sometimes who wrote that the things he wants to do, he doesn’t do and the things he doesn’t want to do, he does. And he added, “O, wretched man that I am!” That’s the problem…the whole human thing means that we are, well, human. We aren’t God and will never be God, but we are supposed to strive to be as perfect as we can, with every day being a new beginning for us. There would be no need for I John 1:9 if there were no sin, right? Thus, I am one of those imperfect Christians, under construction by the Holy Spirit and praying each day that I will sin less. I am made righteous before God, but I am not sinless and don’t think I will be until I reach my eternal destination. I hope this post makes sense because I feel as though I am rambling. Perhaps that is because I don’t totally understand the scriptures that say to “be perfect” and then to “confess your sins one to another.” I think it’s a work in progress. Jesus finished His work when He died on the cross, but my work on myself, to become more like Him, started the day I accepted Him as Savior and will continue until the day I did. My hope is in Him who helps me to sin less and love more!
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 