Category: YouVersion App

Don’t Forget to Trust God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13952/day/13

I have been guilty of self-reliance, of making a plan and rushing like crazy to carry it out, only to find out that it was the wrong plan and at the wrong time. When we put our trust in God, we can be certain that any plans we make WITH Him will come to fruition. It’s when we make plans and leave God out that we get into trouble. Sometimes I think we make a plan and ask God to bless it instead of asking God to help us make a plan that He will be able to truly bless because He is in the center of it. Trusting God is paramount to making plans and to seeing them fulfilled.

Our Calling

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13952/day/11

We are called to never give up on anyone. Keep praying, keep saying the gospel message to them and keep an open relationship with them. God did not give up on Israel. He allowed them to be taken into exile, but He still kept a root that He nurtured and is continuing to nurture. And He never gave up on us. You may think you were not as stubborn and sinful as Israel, but think again. Indeed, we all were and our turning to God was not a fluke but His plan for us. He may not have sent a prophet like Isaiah into our personal space to warn us and get us to change our ways, but He sent His word, drew us to Him and then showed us the truth of our need for salvation so that we would accept His grace and mercy. So, when we are discouraged about friends and family members who seem to be turning a deaf ear to our witnessing, remember that Isaiah just kept doing what the Lord told him to do and he never gave up.

Offer Your Brokenness

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13952/day/10

Did you know it is perfectly acceptable to be totally honest with God? He knows everything about you anyway, so being honest and transparent before Him is helping YOU with your relationship with God. He already knows what you need to confess, what you need help with and what your struggles are. So, just offer your brokenness and let the Master restore you to wholeness.

Tested but Persevering

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

I have to confess that I have not been counting all of my trials lately as joy, but God reminded me today of how much I have been pressing in to get closer to Him during these hard times. And that is a good thing.

I was really looking forward to a break from all of the doctors and new meds and testing that I have had to have done in the last month. We came to Maryland to see our son and his family and to celebrate our youngest grandson’s third birthday. It has been a joyful time for the most part, but my poor, sweet husband has an abscessed tooth that suddenly showed its ugly head the second day of our visit. We spent the last two days trying to get our dentist in Virginia to send the medicine to the pharmacy here in Maryland in order to alleviate the pain. Our other option was to go home early before the party for Nathan. After I called the dentist’s office myself and told them that Harry’s jaw looks like he was in a prize fight and definitely lost, the nurse said that she would send the medicine again because it looked like they sent it but it didn’t go through. Finally…at nine o’clock yesterday morning, Harry got his medicine and could start feeling better! But then, I went into the family’s living room and discovered that the oldest granddaughter had the flu and was sick all day yesterday. I ministered to her needs, giving her ice packs for the pain, soda crackers and water and generally encouraging her to rest, praying the whole time that this bug doesn’t creep around the rest of us.

So, my plans were not God’s plans. I planned to get away from illness and it followed me here. He’s still teaching me, and I’m still learning. I hope one day to get the point where I “lack nothing” but obviously, I am not there yet.

A Signpost to the Glory of God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13952/day/6

All the years of studying the Bible and the problems that Israel had, I never really thought about the fact that Israel was meant to be a signpost to God for others. Instead, Israel became like the pagan nations they lived among and did not point the people to God but to sinful ways. Are we as a church being apostolic as we should be or are we being like Israel was before their exile, just fitting in and getting along with the culture we live in? That is a hard question to ponder, isn’t it? We were called to give glory to God, not to give a pass to the current standards or the culture we live in. Israel was a sinful nation who turned away from God and has paid a heavy price. But they are still God’s chosen people. He has not turned away His love from them. He still continues to woo them, just as He continues to remind us of why He saved us from our sins. We are to spread the good news about the Lord. We are a signpost to eternity, not a yield sign for the current culture.

God Is Our Devoted Doctor and Loving Parent

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13952/day/4

The newspapers and all of the news stations on television are filled with stories of murders, assaults, wars, and general mayhem in the world. Social media is filled with people blasting one candidate or another who is running for an office. Meanwhile, God patiently waits for us to recognize that we need a physician to fix what ails us. We have turned from God and towards our own pleasures, losing ourselves for hours at a time in mindless social media. God loves us enough to wait patiently for now, but He will not always do so. Just as He judged Israel and allowed them to be taken captive to Babylon, He will one day judge all of the earth for our folly in not paying attention to His glaring warnings about what is to come. I’m glad that I can depend on God to be my physician and fix what is really hurting me…it’s a heart matter, a matter of knowing who you are supposed to be in God and striving towards that goal every day. I’m thankful that God is a loving parent and He never gives up on me!