Tag: God’s plan

Do Good To Someone

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I find this verse a bit challenging. First of all, that word “whenever.” We won’t know when that is if we are not looking for the opportunities to help others that are right in front of us. I think I am personally so focused on what I am doing or need to do that I don’t look around me and see those opportunities that are right there for me to see if I would just open my eyes.

The other word that seems to be a challenge to me is “everyone.” I don’t think I have the ability to do good to everyone, but I do know that if each of us chooses SOMEONE every day to do good for, then that will make a big impact on the everyone we are supposed to be doing good for.

My conclusion in my meditation on this verse is that God never asks us to do something for which He does not equip us and which He knows we could never do. He has a plan, and I think His plan is for us to be more aware of the needs of others and to do as much good as we can to as many as we can. For non-believers, we can perhaps open the door to share with them the love of Christ. For believers, our family members, we can help them along the road to eternity that sometimes gets to be difficult. After all, I am sure someone has helped you at some time, with a smile or a word of encouragement that kept you going during a hard day. God’s plan is not for us to be focused inward, but to focus outward, so that the good we do will reach everyone, in some way.

What do you think about this verse? Does it challenge you or inspire you? When I first read it, I felt challenged and that perhaps God was setting me up to fail. But since I know He doesn’t do that, I meditated, prayed and decided to be inspired by His Word. I’m going to look around today and find someone to do good for. How about you?

Live with Eternity in Mind

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/13

I am an obsessive planner. I plan what will be for dinner as soon as I get up every morning. I plan my lunch as I eat breakfast. I have always been a planner, thus the success I enjoyed as a teacher. Sometimes plans don’t work out, and what I am not is a good “punter.” I don’t like to fall back and punt and change my plans. Flexibility is not a strength in me, but I do try, especially when God is working on that skill in me. I am happy that I don’t have to have a plan B on the back burner for eternity. There is one plan…live for Jesus and spend eternity with Him. That is the only plan that really matters. So, choices are made based on whether they fit into the big plan of living for Jesus. Daily life can be a challenge, with a lot of choices, but if I always keep the goal in mind, I will succeed in God’s plan for me. And that’s my one big plan!

Jesus is the Word

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Establishing that Jesus is infinite and eternal because He is God just as much as the Father is God, the Bible gives us a firm foundation for our faith. Starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation, the Bible is God’s plan, unfolding for mankind. God sees and He saw. God created and said it was good. God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the Trinity that make up the truth on which our faith is built. “In the beginning”…before there was anything that we know today, there was the Word and that Word was Jesus, destined to be our Savior and our Lord forever. Worship Him and let Him know how much you appreciate Him, even if you are like me and don’t totally understand the Trinity. He says He is the Word and that is good enough for me!

The Best Word

One of the most powerful verses in Scripture is found in John’s gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

As you keep reading, it becomes abundantly clear that the author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, identifies Jesus Christ as the “Word.”

From the first sentence in the Bible, we learn that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Now, John explains, “In the beginning was the Word…” And not only was Jesus there in the beginning, but “the Word was with God…” And not only was the Word with God, but “the Word was God.”

So if Jesus has existed from the beginning, if He was with God, and if He was God, then that makes Him much more than a good person, a moral teacher, or even a prophet. 

John claims that Jesus is fully man and fully God. This seems ridiculous—unless, of course, it’s true.

The truth is, God loved the world so much that He gave up His divine privileges, was born into human skin, and died a criminal’s death—so that the people He loves could have eternal life. He loves you.

Remember: He’s not just another name from history, He’s the very Creator of life.

Trust Him to Do More

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With our finite minds and bodies, we cannot imagine all that God can do in and through us as we become willing partners of His plan. He has had a plan since the beginning to bring people to His saving grace, and in His mercy and love, He has made us a part of that great plan. We are not spectators, but participants! We need to trust God to use us to do more and be more, growing more like Him daily and asking Him what He wants us to accomplish today that will help Him achieve His plan.

Immeasurably More

What’s the boldest prayer you can think to pray? Or the most incredible thing you can dare to imagine?

Did you know that God can top it?

Paul said it like this: 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You know those quiet dreams in your heart? God put them there. You know that ache for something better than this broken world? God gave you that desire. You know the deepest longings of your soul? God knows how to fulfill them. 

Like Paul said, God can do more than we ask or imagine, but we also must remember the second part of his words: according to his power at work within us. 

It’s all God’s power and His plan. But He has invited us into it.

So what’s our part in this process? 

We can give glory to Him—knowing that it’s Him who gives us the desire and power to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13). He created us, loves us, and has entrusted us with sharing His message with the world.

We can submit ourselves to His plan—knowing that it’s all God, but He chooses to work in and through His people to accomplish His purposes. He doesn’t need us to be perfect, He just wants us to be willing.

We can trust Him with the process—knowing that He is good, righteous, worthy, strong, and eternal. We don’t have to know all the answers because we already have Him, and He can do more than we can ask or imagine.

Be Ready

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/26293/day/9

Like Joseph, when we are in a period of waiting, it seems to be long and tedious. But in an instant, God can change things and we have to be ready for the change. That change may not be exactly what we were expecting, but it is always exactly what God planned for us, so we have to be ready to accept and move. Joseph didn’t continue to languish in prison after the Pharoah sent for him. He cleaned himself up and went before Pharoah. I can’t imagine he want in with an attitude of “What took you so long?” Rather, he, as we should be, was grateful to be out of the period of waiting and expectantly hopeful of what God was going to do next.

Giving Thanks Is a Decision

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/23192/day/3

We make a lot of choices everyday, some of which are automatic and others require thinking about it for a while. The choice to be thankful should be automatic, but I must confess that some days, I struggle to show my thanks to God. Maybe things aren’t going the way I think they should or my world is a little topsy-turvy. Whatever is happening in the circumstances of my life is not a good reason to ignore all God has done and is still doing in my life and to take time to be grateful to Him for everything. This devotional is thought-provoking in that it says we can hinder God in acting on our behalf by our failure to be thankful. I will have to ponder that for a while. God will still continue with His plan, but I may not be as active a participant as I should be because I failed to be thankful. I want to be all in for God and His plans for me regardless of outward circumstances. The circumstances will change (it just happens as part of life) but only I can make the choice to thank God in the midst of them and be grateful that I have a life to be thankful for.

Between Joshua and John’s Revelation

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www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/23

What a great privilege we have to be able to read the entire Word of God and be encouraged by the fact that we know for a fact that God is working out His plan and He will ultimately triumph. Like Joshua, I face many battles of Jericho in my life, sometimes it seems more than others. With me, it has been a battle to continue to have faith for healing when the healing does not come. Nevertheless, God’s Word is true, regardless of my circumstances and one day I will have total victory over this rebellious body of mine. I am thankful to know that Jesus is the Commander of God’s Armies and is returning to lead a victorious people to conquer the enemy of our souls once and for all! I am looking forward to that day and rejoicing that God’s plan is still in place, He hasn’t changed His mind about what He is doing in the world, and we can rest assured that just as Joshua was victorious at Jericho, we will be victorious if we just hold on to the Lord. The victory here on earth may not be what we expect or when we expect or how we expect, but it is coming. We just have to let God be God.

Character Over Comfort

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/8

Think about why you sometimes find yourself in difficult situations, questioning why God would allow challenges to constantly assail you. One answer is in this short devotional. Developing your character is much more important to God than providing for your comfort. Which is more important to you? For me, I don’t like the tough times, but I do want to be more like Jesus…so whatever it takes and with total confidence that God will be with me, I choose character over comfort.

An Invitation to Die

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

No one that I know has a big desire to die. We are all so busy living life and doing things that we sometimes lose our focus and our biggest desire should be to die. Not physically, not taking your last breath and planning the funeral or last wishes. No, I am talking about dying to our own desires and letting God’s desires and purpose for us to take precedent. If we believe He is a good Father, then we should also believe that His plans are best for us. Thus, if we want God’s best, then we have to die to our own desires and plans and get in step with God’s. No matter how good we think our plans are, God’s will always be better. One line in this devotional really stood out to me: Jesus could not have been resurrected without being crucified first. We cannot have a new life without turning the old one over to God, completely and without any reservations. Our invitation is to die, but the result is a new life that is better than we could ever imagine.

Dying to Live

Dying to ourselves can feel like a bad thing. Most people want to exalt, applaud, and promote themselves.

But in God’s kingdom, dying to ourselves is essential.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NIV

A lump of clay cannot become a work of art unless it is shaped into something else. A container of paint cannot be used for a masterpiece unless it is first poured out. A carbon deposit must change in order to become a diamond. A caterpillar must give up its old way of life in order to become a magnificent butterfly.

The invitation to die is actually an invitation to live.

When we give our lives to God, we’re choosing to surrender our plans, our desires, and our gifts. And that can be hard. But we also know there is something better—and Someone better—on the other side.

God can realign our plans, reshape our desires, and repurpose our gifts for His glory.

The apostle Paul, the author of Galatians, knew firsthand the life-changing power of Christ. Christ’s power radically transformed Paul from someone who persecuted believers, into a passionate follower of Jesus.

Because of that experience, Paul knew that the only way to live was by surrendering every area of His life to Christ. And that’s why he invites us to do the same.

Jesus couldn’t have been resurrected without first being crucified—and the same is true for us.

So what do you need to give to Jesus today? What behavior, habit, or thought do you need to “crucify”? Come as you are to Jesus, and give Him permission to transform and renew your life.

God’s Plans

On By vickleaIn Re-blog2 Comments

Sometimes … when the battle rages … all seems lost and useless. BUT GOD … has plans for us still. We MUST trust His process. He NEVER fails! Rise up …

God’s Plans

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