I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
First, let me say that I have read and enjoyed every book by Erin Bartels. Before her dissension to work with AI, she was an author for over two decades with a well-known Christian publisher. I agree with all she says in this essay and hope that you will take the time to read it and pass it along if you also agree. (Note that she uses some language that I do not agree with, but I see the passion in what she writes and understand the fire beneath her righteous indignation.)
My state Virginia is currently in negotiations for a huge data center. It is really all about the money and not the best interests of the citizens. How do you fight tyranny and a takeover of AI? Read Erin’s essay and get some good suggestions.
This all goes back to my previous post “Tethered” because once again, I am reminding you of who is the prince of the power of the air. God is Creator and He created us to create. In using AI, Satan is trying to replicate God’s power.
Please comment and let me know what you think. Do you have a data center near you or one planned? Please take the time to research the effects of these data centers on the area where you live and of AI on real creativity.
We all have invisible tethers that carry us through the day. Some are our relationships to friends and family, knowing that whatever we are going through, they will be praying for us. But what are you tethered to when you are all alone and all is quiet around you?
In our world today, people rarely allow the silence to wrap around them so that they can clearly hear God’s voice when He speaks to us. Instead, this is what just about everyone almost always has on and active.
So, what is this nifty handful of technology tethered to?
A tower with waves of communication in the air that we cannot see, but we know it works because we can check maps, listen to music or books, go on social media, etc. at all times of the day or night. One of our grandchildren indeed stays up most nights to communicate with people on the other side of the world. But I don’t think this tethering is healthy or safe. There needs to be limits and a realization that God is not on the other end of that phone or the tower.
The ruler of the kingdom of the air (including, I think the air waves through which we communicate) is Satan. Let that sink in. To whom are you tethered?
I am not saying don’t ever use your devices or anything radical like that. What I am saying is to be careful. Don’t use the devices without knowing who controls those air waves and who can intervene and cause miscommunication and false information. After all, Satan’s priority is chaos and destruction, not peace and harmony.
So, what are we to do?
We are supposed to be firmly tethered to our vine, the One who is helping us to grow to be more like Him and to produce more fruit for His kingdom. My recommendation is that when you are waiting for an appointment or at a stoplight, don’t pick up your phone. Lift your voice to the Lord, then sit silently and wait for His to talk to you. Be tethered to the vine so that when hard times come, you keep flourishing in Him, not withering away because your devices don’t have the answers you seek.
Just my two cents. What do you think? Convenience or constant temptation? Say no to temptation and yes to time with God, staying tethered to the One who is intent on helping you get Home without a GPS.
There are some important words in this scripture verse for me. First of all is the verb “is”. Present tense…right now, in the middle of my messy and frustrating life. Also, the other two present tense verbs: “trusts” and “helps”. God doesn’t stop being trustworthy or stop helping me just because the challenges get harder. He is right there the whole time.
My favorite part of the verse is: “My heart leaps for joy” because no other part of my body is capable of leaping right now. But I can feel the excitement and anticipation in my heart of a new day with God and waiting to see what He will do in my life today. That is what brings a song to my heart and praise to my lips. Not because all if going well, but because God is right here with me in the middle of it all and He isn’t going anywhere.
She’s been falsely accused of murder and is desperate to reunite with her brother, River, whose unforgettable green eyes haunt her. The secret in her past is a stinging wound, but it motivates her toward her goal: freedom.
But nine-year-old River, sent through the US Post Office to his late mother’s friend in Knoxville, never arrived. Lizzy’s dream of finding him and starting a new life away from their alcoholic and abusive father is ripped away.
Her hope rekindles as she finds an unexpected confidant to help her dodge the law and save the missing youngin’. As she finds herself trusting him, she discovers the truth of the old adage her momma repeated: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
My Thoughts
This book filled my heart with longing to help out the children and just to step in and be their advocates. Lizzy Haney has always been a responsible girl, always taking care of her little brother River while her parents are abusive, mentally and emotionally in unimaginable ways. Once her mamma dies, Lizzy is keenly feeling that River needs to escape from their dad so she mails him to a friend. I was totally unaware that this was even a possibility, but the author’s sharp attention to details and research assured me that it was done at one time, so that was very informative. Anyway, the book is layered, with methodical revelations of what has really been happening behind the scenes in Lizzy’s life and the hardship that she has suffered. This is a character-based story, but it is also plot driven. The characters are relatable and so well-developed that they came to life into my heart. The plot is fast-moving and heart-breaking at times. There are so many problems that Lizzy has had to face alone in her young life. The themes of learning to trust God and how to forgive are prevalent as well as the hope for a bright future once the past is overcome. This Appalachian novel is memorable and exceptionally well-crafted by a master storyteller. The writing is crisp and the story is startling and at times breathtaking-stopping. I loved the book and got totally invested in the story and was engaged in it from beginning to end. I voluntarily received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I also purchased my own Audible copy of this book.
Christian Fiction, Rated PG: child trafficking
About the Author
Cindy Sproles is an author and speaker. She is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries and the cowriter of the popular He Said, She Said Devotions written with her cofounder, Eddie Jones. She is a novelist and best-selling author. Cindy’s devotions and articles are published in Christian newspapers across the eastern seaboard, including having been used to represent legislature for the protection of the elderly. She is a speaker to women’s conferences addressing not only the heart of women but also their biblical responsibilities to their families. As a teacher and speaker for Christian Writers Conferences, Cindy teaches writing skills and how to write placing God in the forefront. She is a contributing author to CBN.com and is the Executive Editor for www.christiandevotions.us and a freelance editor for Ironstream Media. Cindy has served in the past as an acquisitions editor and also a managing editor for publishers and she now uses that experience to mentor and coach new writers through her mentoring service, WRAMS (Write Right Author Mentoring Service) she shares with Lori Marett. She is the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference, held each February at the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center, Asheville, NC. She is a certified life coach and mentor, an eldercare specialist, and a special needs advocate. Cindy is an Appalachian-born and raised mountain girl, and her novels strive to show life in the mountains during the1800’s. Cindy is a best-selling, award-winning novelist with her books having been named Novel of the Year multiple times. She is the mother of four adult sons and lives in the mountains of East Tennessee with her husband. Cindy can be contacted at www.cindysproles.com or by emailing cindyksproles@gmail.com.
What do you check on your device every day, just like clockwork and a habit you have formed? For me, it’s first text messages, then email, and maybe social media if I have time. But priorities dictate that I should be checking my heart every day and starting each day with time with God. That’s a habit that is easy to break because God doesn’t have a red circle above His head with a number on it impressing you to check in right away. What He does offer is peace, security, and His presence to calm you, along with answers to all of your questions.
Email tells me what friends and authors are up to. Texts tell me what’s on sale (gotta love that spam!) and how family is doing, along with some nice photos. But nothing there is going to affect my eternity like my time with God. Sometimes, my time with the Lord is abbreviated due to appointments that I have to rush to get to, but I always, always set aside time to be with Him. He is waiting for me, and I know it, even without the big red numbers that are my nemesis of attraction online.
I don’t ever want my time with God to be part of a list that I check off..done! No, rather, I want my time with God to be the most important part of my day, kind of like the necessity of taking a deep breath and feeling the cleansing it seems to bring deep inside. So, when you are just checking your device, how about putting it aside, turning the sound off so you aren’t distracted (I turn mine face down so the notifications don’t annoy me) and then just spend time with the One who created you, knows you best and loves you most? What is God going to tell you today? You won’t know until you check in with Him, will you?
Whoever tells you that you are too bad, too unworthy, too awful for God to forgive you…they are wrong. God is right. He is always faithful. Just as He was the One who clothed Adam and Eve when they recognized that they were naked, He is the One who draws us to Him so that we can have a relationship with Him through the free grace and mercy that He offers. Believe the truth, not the lies.
I am reading a stack of books right now, so here are a few that I hope you will consider purchasing to add to your reading pleasure.
“‘Hey, Elam, want to race?” Glancing over at the El Camino idling in the next lane, Elam shook his head. “Not the time or the place, man,” he called back. “What’s the matter, Mueller?” Chris Weaver goaded. “You chicken?’”
“FBI Special Agent Collin Sullivan—aka Sully—gripped the SUV’s wheel and glanced in the rearview mirror once more. The silver sedan was still there, following at a discreet distance, but it was enough to set his teeth on edge.”
“A chilly, late-May breeze whisked stray leaves across the road and kicked up mini dust devils as Skylar Jansen jogged past the Yosemite Valley Nature Center.”
When I say I am trying something new, it is usually a new food, a new outfit or a new habit I want to form. When God says that He is doing something new, it is an unimaginable totally new thing. After all, He is the Creator and can create new things from nothing.
So while I am trying on a new pair of shoes, God is changing the world for the better. A pathway through the wilderness? Yes, please! How many times have I felt stuck in a wilderness (usually of my own making) and walk in circles trying to find the way out (an answer to my prayer)? Meanwhile, God is right there creating a pathway and I have to open my eyes to see it. That’s the problem…God is always working but I am not always seeing what He is doing for me.
God’s new thing may not look the way I expect it will, but it will always be exactly what I (and you) need exactly when we need it. So, I exhort you to be ready, to look for that new thing that is not exactly what you were waiting for, but it is the answer you have been anticipating.
Jesus said a lot of powerful, enlightening, and important things. But there’s one command that sums it all up…
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
John 15:12 NIV
It sounds simple, right? But when we look at Jesus’ life, how did He love? And how can we strive to love like He did?
Love compelled Jesus to give up His privileges. As Creator and Lord, Jesus can do whatever He pleases. But instead, the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)—temporarily relinquishing His rights so that we could be right with God.
Love compelled Jesus to prioritize people. The woman at the well. The man with leprosy. A Roman officer. A blind beggar. Peter’s mother-in-law. The widow’s son. A despised tax collector. Even the thief hanging next to Him on the cross. Jesus didn’t see problems—He saw and loved people.
Love compelled Jesus to serve others. He washed His disciples’ feet, pursued the marginalized, had compassion on the sick, weary, and broken. In the end, He gave His own life for us.
Love compelled Jesus to value truth and grace. In a world where many elevate grace while others only magnify truth, Jesus valued both. He was passionate about God’s ways and God’s Word while also showing great compassion to those who needed it most.
If we’re ever unsure about how to love others, let’s look to Jesus as the ultimate example. He lived selflessly, prioritized other people, served to the point of death, and valued both truth and grace.
And as we love like Jesus, we will become more like Him.
My Thoughts
Loving like Jesus is not just good advice or an empty platitude. It’s an expectation that God placed on us once we decided to follow His Son. How do we love like Jesus? The video that goes with this devotional makes a good point. We aren’t supposed to be a ☕️ to hold the love that the Savior gives us. We are supposed to be a funnel. Love in…love out, all the time. Not when we feel like it or have some extra time on our hands so we might as well use it to show love to someone. We are a funnel of God’s love all the time. We are supposed to love on people, not our electronics that are a pseudo-representation of the people with whom we communicate. Each person whose life crosses ours today deserves to know that God loves them and we do, too. Loving selflessly is hard, but Jesus showed us the example to follow. We are COMPELLED to love just as Jesus was and still does. Each time we make a choice to love, we are becoming more like Jesus. And the Father smiles.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 