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.
It’s true, even though many people who call themselves Christians don’t want to admit it. Wickedness is rampant in our nation that once called itself a Christian nation. To our great shame, we have turned away from the Creator and towards our own sinful desires. The laws that are being passed are lawlessness against God and He will not be mocked forever. I am appalled at the churches taking a stand for sin and against God and His Word. I am utterly devastated that there seems to be few who are taking a stand against the “woke” movement that is destroying the fiber of morality in our land. But my hope lies in the Lord because I know that His judgment is coming and in the end, righteousness wins.
Have a blessed day and may you stand for truth and not fall for the lies of sinful mankind.
One of my favorite holiday movies that I have watched since I was very young is “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Clarence, the angel, is my favorite character as he guides George Bailey into accepting the fact that he is important to others in his life. I just want to say that I haven’t needed an angel to know that I have a wonderful life. I have found the Lord and He has found me, and together we have made my life wonderful.
I was lost in sin and darkness, hopelessly facing a future that was scary and intimidating. Once the Lord came into my life, no matter what I have faced, I have felt loved and cared for. The challenges have been plentiful, but the Lord has always been up to the task of helping me through them. I am an overcomer because of my relationship with the King of Glory!
There’s a lot of “shaking” going on in this old world, but God is the mountain in my life that won’t allow me to be shaken along with everything else. With my eyes fixed on Him, I stand firmly and wait for the shaking to cease.
I love the word picture from this Scripture! A well-watered garden is exactly what I want to be and I go daily to the spring of life found in God’s Word in order to receive the water that I need for that day. It is in Him that I have found the wonderful life that I craved but dared not hope for in my youth. Now I am old and I can look back and see the battles that I have fought and won, with God’s help.
Have a blessed day and remember that you, too, have a wonderful life in the Lord! He is sufficient and always will be.
I struggled for a long time when I was a newly born-again Christian. I just did not understand the thought that Jesus paid everything for us on the cross and yet, there was still work for us to do here on earth. After many years of seeking an answer, I finally got peace when I realized that the work that Jesus wants me to do is not onerous or demanding but rather loving and kind and merciful. The work He has given me to do is the same that He did on earth, i.e. to spread the good news of salvation through grace.
Seeing others believe in Christ builds my own faith. Helping others to come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior builds it even more and that is a living legacy worth having. God has given us all of the tools we need to share about Jesus in His Word. Some of us are better at using the Word than others, but all are supposed to be daily digging into the Word in order to share it with those who need it. The Bible is our spiritual food and just as you would not go days without eating (unless you are called to fast for a period of time), neither should any Christian go days without reading God’s Word and letting His Spirit speak to your heart. Then, once your own faith is built up by His Word inside you, then you can take what you have learned and share it with others. A hammer builds, but only in the hands of someone wielding it. Likewise, God’s Word saves but only from the mouths of those who speak it.
Have a blessed day and may you be filled with the wisdom from His Word so that it overflows to others around you.
One of the words that is not used often in today’s world but is one that is active is ”scoffers.” These people, according to http://www.dictionary.com are those who make fun of or mock beliefs, especially moral and religious ones. If you don’t look around and notice a boatload of scoffers in the world today, then I don’t think you are paying attention. I am concerned for those who mock God and His coming judgment because the “Day of the Lord” is coming whether they believe in it or not.
Thinking that they are secure in their own worship of self and their own choices of evil, they mock God and are kind of saying, “Uh-huh. Sure. God is going to judge and Jesus is returning. Yeah, right.” Unfortunately for them, that day is coming. We don’t have to know when; we just have to believe and wait.
The Day of the Lord will be a fearsome and terrible day, coming when we least expect it. As one who likes to be organized and prepared for every possible eventuality, I have studied the Scriptures for years about that coming day and what I am supposed to do to be ready. The answer are simple and straightforward, summarized by Peter.
Did you hear that flourish of trumpets that played a “ta=dah” kind of note? Since everything as we know it will be destroyed, we should be living godly and holy lives. We are not to join in with the scoffers, the unbelievers who are digging their own grave to the pit of eternity separated from God. We are to choose rightly, stay close to God and trust that in the end, He will take care of us. He took care of Moses, Daniel, Noah and Abraham and He is no respecter of persons. He loves us just as much and gives us a guidebook about how to be living while we wait. Just as you cannot adequately create a new dish in the kitchen or put together a complicated toy for Christmas without directions, neither can you lead a holy and godly life without the directions that are contained in the Holy Bible.
As you ponder the truth of God’s Word, may you be blessed with peace and the absolute certainty that God is indeed coming in judgment, but there is no fear for those who remain in Him. Have a blessed and wonderful day in the Lord!
I am one who likes to bask in my comfort zone and hardly ever choose to leave it. Recently, when we came to Maryland for a Thanksgiving holiday visit, I was faced with being thrust out of my comfort zone suddenly and without notice, and I was not happy about the circumstances. Once again, my son’s regular caregiver quit taking care of his children to take a seasonal job, so the family was left without a babysitter. I was aware that this might happen, but in the back of my mind, I had told myself that we had reached thanksgiving and the young woman had no job yet, so I was probably going to just go home with my husband. Alas! On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, that all changed and I have been called upon to care for grandchildren again. Now, that is not what the comfort zone was. I have cared for them before and didn’t have too many problems. No, the comfort zone I left behind was one of knowing and planning and organizing and having things with me that I think I need for a long stay. Nevertheless, I said that I would stay and God has been working out things for me to get my meds that I need, warm clothing and foods. In fact, there is a bonus to this year’s stay. I get to go home on December 10th for a week while the family goes to visit Disneyworld. Hurray! I said I would take on the challenge of gathering meds here, layering clothes and purchasing special foods and God met me where I was, holding out His hand to hold me up.
I’m sure that if you are familiar with the Bible story about Peter walking on the water towards Jesus, you know that he had to have the courage to step out of the boat before the confidence came that he could walk on water. Courage generally seems to precede confidence in the Lord. Later in the same chapter, Peter took His eyes off Jesus and began to sink. When we are in the middle of hard circumstances, that is when we are compelled to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, regardless of what is going on around us. Once Peter got his eyes back on Jesus, he was okay again.
There are many Biblical examples of those who showed courage and received the confidence that they needed. Noah started building a boat when God directed him to do so. It seems that it took him almost six years to build the ark and there was no sign of rain. One pastor told us, and it made sense to me, that there had been no rain on the earth until the time of Noah. So, when God told Noah it was going to rain and flood the earth, Noah had no idea what to expect, but he dutifully and with courage followed God’s command. As a result of his faithfulness, Noah and his entire family were the only ones left on the earth. One of my favorite Bible stories is about Daniel and his friends being thrown into the fiery furnace. They had courage to be willing to sacrifice their lives for their belief in God and God took care of them IN the fire. Both Noah and Daniel exhibited extraordinary courage which resulted in more faith in God, both for themselves and those they encountered.
My point is that when Jesus gives you the opportunity to step out in faith, go ahead. He will meet you and hold you up if He has to and as a result your faith will grow. What a testimony you will have from just stepping out and letting courage precede confidence!
Have a blessed day filled with courage to step out each time God asks you to do so!
The Lord who created us knows that we are but dust from the earth and one day our human bodies will return to the ground from which it was created. But our breath, our soul, the inner part of us came from the very breath of God. That is why I believe that life is sacred and not to be dismissed as not valuable. Today, mankind is generally led around by the current beliefs, whatever they may be. The current term is a being ”woke” but I actually think that the people of the earth are more asleep to the mighty power of God and His judgment that is coming than they have ever been.
Like dust, we are blown around by the winds of change, the opinions of man mattering more to many of us than the truth of God’s Word. My prayer and hope is that there will be a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit that blows into each life of each Christian. If I must be blown around, God grant that it will be with the wind of the Holy Spirit and not the hot air that man produces with his own ideas of right and wrong.
What settles dust blowing around? Rain! The refreshing rain of the Word of God that showers us with His truth about His love, grace, mercy and, yes, the judgment to come. I desire to be refreshed daily so I spend time in God’s Word allowing Him to speak to me. It’s amazing to me that some people never spend time with God and yet they think they have all of the answers to life’s problems. It’s not a possibility for them to have answers since they don’t even know what the questions are. Who made us? God. To whom do we owe everything we are and all that we have? God. Who decides our ultimate fate for eternity? God. I am praying that God will intervene in the sinfulness of our world and send His wind and His rain. But, whether he chooses to continue to strive with mankind or not, I do know that my life in Him is secure and I can trust Him to send His Holy Spirit to guide me and His rain to teach me.
What does it mean to be a seeker, to seek God with all of your heart? I think that most of the time in most of my pursuits, I am half-hearted in my efforts. I do what I need to do to complete the task and no more. But I think a true seeker of God is “all in,” totally dedicated to finding out more about God’s character and truth from His word, wholeheartedly devoted to getting closer to Jesus. The goal of every Christian should be to be a seeker, not a watcher. A watcher just stands on the sidelines and views the action. The seeker jumps into the pool of the mysteries that are God, plunging completely into His Word and delving deeply into the secrets that His Spirit will reveal. I long to be a seeker daily and I am working on it, but I confess that sometimes I am only a watcher. I desire to find God in the ways that He wants to reveal Himself to me.
Have a beautiful and blessed day in the Lord. As you seek Him, may He give you the peace you need for the tasks for today.
I must admit that I make a very poor servant, especially when unexpected circumstances come up. A point in case is this week when I found out that I need to stay in Maryland. I haven’t been whining, not externally at least, but inside, every part of me has been saying, “But I had other plans. What about my plans?” Today, God spoke to me through His Word and gave me the answer I have been needing all along.
I am not as strong as I once was. I don’t have the stamina or physical capability to do many things, but I can do some things and God will help me through the next two months when I need to be a caregiver for my grandchildren. I pray that the ultimate result will be that God will be praised and get the glory for my being willing to serve. Therein is the secret to service…we don’t serve to get thanked or gifts. Rather, we serve to give all of the glory to God. May the children see Jesus in me as I love them in a special way during this season of giving. Instead of being all about me and what I am sacrificing, it has become all about Jesus and what He already sacrificed so that I could share His love with my young grandchildren.
May the Lord bless and keep you with His strength and lead you to serve for His glory.
I don’t know about you all, but I personally have a tendency to kick myself repeatedly and hard about my shortcomings, especially the things I can no longer accomplish because of my physical problems. For example, since I will be staying in Maryland doing childcare again, I have been very anxious about what I cannot do for the toddler in my care. It’s hard for me to keep up with his activity level, so I have just been doing the best that I can and praying that God guards him from danger.
When I take time to ponder what’s in my heart (anger at the woman who let my son down again for the second year in a row) and to repent and ask forgiveness for my unrighteous feelings, I know that God doesn’t condemn me. He knows what is is my heart and how I long to go home to my normal routine. God doesn’t condemn me because of me and my actions or thoughts; He doesn’t condemn me because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is truly finished, so that I can feel confident in my ongoing relationship with the Father.
Have a blessed day, knowing in your heart and mind that God does not condemn you but forgives and welcomes you as a beloved child. Not perfect, just forgiven!
No matter what the circumstance is, there is always something to be thankful for. Notice that the Scripture says IN every situation, not after you have made it through to the other side. I am facing a mountain right now and God spoke clearly to me this morning to give thanks to Him. After all, I have spent the last few weeks with posts about thankfulness and then a challenge comes around and I started whining and thinking of all of the negatives. It seems that my husband and I came to Maryland to visit family for Thanksgiving, but he will be leaving to go home without me because my son needs me to care for the youngest as I did last year. That was a vague possibility in the back of my mind since his normal caregiver is a family member who lives here in Maryland, and just as she did last year, she took another job. And, of course, gave the family no notice about her plans. Just a text that said, “On my way home from my new job.” I was angry at first at the numerous hardships this causes me, the inconvenience of not having enough warm clothes here or all of my extra meds. But I quickly calmed down, got my husband to pick up my OTC meds that I don’t have here and have become resigned to the fact that I will be here for most of the next two months. That may not seem like a mountain to most people, but the little one is now a very active toddler, and I am a very slow-moving Nanna who stays in pain from arthritis. That being said, God is always full of mercy and loving kindness and had helped me to make it through the days so far that I have been caring for him this week. God even put this verse into my mind this morning first thing when I awakened and emphasized the word “in” for me as His Spirit whispered soft words of encouragement for me. So, I’m facing a mountain but I won’t be alone because God is there. He knows my physical shortcomings and He promises to strengthen me and to keep me (and the little one) safe. I need to look at it as an opportunity to be a good witness and to be helpful during my aged years. Inconvenient? Yes, but a lot of opportunities are.
Since today is Thanksgiving, I will cease my current theme unless the Lord leads me in this direction more. I just want to say to each of you that I am thankful for your taking the time to read, to comment and to share my blog. You are nameless and faceless friends, but you are important to me and you matter a great deal to the Lord.
May your Thanksgiving Day be filled with blessings that overflow from your heart to the hearts of those you love. Be blessed to be a blessing!
