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.
This is a busy time for almost everyone, especially those of us who have gifts to buy, a house to decorate and other seasonal errands to accomplish. As I read my Scriptures this morning, I confess that my mind was wandering to the next thing I had to get done and how long it would take me before I could move on to yet another task. God got my attention when I came to this verse and He stopped my mind from wandering away from focusing on Him.
Nothing., not one thing, can separate us from God’s love and that is all that is important, in this season and in all seasons. We can busily rush around checking off items on our “to do” list, but loving us is God’s to do list. It’s the only thing on His list. We matter to God, not the chores or the gifts or the baking, cleaning or even beautiful tree we plan to decorate in His honor. He wants our time, our love and devotion, just as wholeheartedly as He gives these precious gifts to us.
I am sure that if you are like me, you spend a lot of time talking to God, telling Him your problems and challenges and then waiting for an answer from Him. Sometimes, in fact a lot of times, I get impatient waiting for the answer and try to help God out. He doesn’t need my help. He just needs me to believe and to wait.
This verse says WHEN they call on Him, not if we call on Him. The expectation from God is that we will call on Him and His reply is that He will answer. He will be with us and will rescue us. I think the honor part comes in when others see that we trusted in God and He answered. All glory goes to the Father!
It is important that before we go before the throne of God with our petitions, we know what His will is. So, how do we do that? We have to immerse ourselves in His Word in order to discover what His will is. We have to have a relationship with Him in which we talk to Him daily and wait for Him to speak to us. Instead of a one-sided wish list that we present rapidly just before we get on with the busyness of our day, we need to take time to just sit in His presence and hear Him clearly. God wants a relationship with each of us, not a bunch of whiners who treat Him as though He is the genie in a bottle who will grant all of our wishes. We need to be aware of how our prayers will affect others and know that God is not just hearing our petitions but also those of millions of others (hopefully) and He has to take into account everyone all at the same time. My finite mind cannot even conceive of such power but God has it whether I can understand it or not, and He answers prayers according to His will. That thought brings me back to the first part of this paragraph. We discover God’s will be spending time with Him and with His Word.
May your prayers be answered according to God’s will and may you rest in faith and contentment knowing that God is working out things that are best for you and for the rest of His Creation.
Before the month of February gets started every year, I see boxes of heart-shaped candies, ads for low-cost roses and cards depicting Cupid everywhere. I get ads in my inbox and see them online, too. In spite of this onslaught of advertising, I am thoroughly convinced that the world that doesn’t know Jesus doesn’t know what love is either. It saddens me that many people settle for a cheap substitution and never consider the real sacrifices that true love requires.
This Scripture verse goes along with what our pastor told us almost five decades ago when my husband and I were going through pre-marital counseling. He said, “Love is always choosing the highest good for the other person regardless of what sacrifice you have to make to do that.” His pronouncement has stayed with me through the years and has meant that in spite of our many difficulties and differences, Harry and I have stayed together for almost fifty years. We have learned to see things through each other’s eyes and make a concerted effort to make choices that will be for the good of our life partner. In today’s world, marriage has become a trial and error situation. If it doesn’t work out, you can always get a divorce and move on. That is not the way we approached our commitment to each other. We saw it as a covenant before God and have spent many hours praying about situations beyond our control that tested our relationship with one another. Regardless, we did not see marriage as a “if it doesn’t work out” proposition but rather as a promise before God to love each other in the way that our pastor described, choosing the highest good of the other person.
I don’t like all of the hearts, flowers and candy that attempt to romanticize a commitment that is taken seriously by God. Sure, they are nice surface things but the flowers die, the candy gets eaten, the card gets misplaced and the love that you felt for that one day or that one month fades quickly into the daily battles of everyday life. I prefer to think of love as a lifetime commitment, not a month of hearts and flowers, no matter how pleasant the latter may seem. I want the love that lasts through the mountains and the valleys, the one that says, “In spite of everything, I choose you.” My husband and I spent many years separated due to his military deployments, but not once did I doubt his love for me. His calls, letters and the cassette tapes he sent just so I could hear his voice when I was lonely showed his desire to fulfill his commitment to me and our children. So, a month of love is not for me. I prefer the kind that lasts forever, the kind that brings candy home “just because” or the kind that plants flowers outside of my window for me to enjoy for the entire season. Yes, the temporary things are nice, but the ones that are deeply rooted in God as the foundation withstand the storms of time, life and trials that we all undergo. It’s good to have someone to go through life with. Life is hard…it takes a lifetime of love to make it. Jesus set the example with His sacrifice and showed us the way to truly love.
May you each find the love that God has for you and the love that is meant to fulfill you in this life. Have a happy life filled with love!
I am a prolific reader and as such, I have frequently read the phrase, “I serve at the pleasure of the king (or president or governor).” But I have never heard anyone say that they serve at the pleasure of the Lord. Maybe because we don’t often consider the Lord’s feeling because we are so busy pleasing ourselves and others close to us. I am happy to have discovered this verse in my Bible reading this morning because it gives me insight into God’s character. God gets pleasure from those of us who fear Him. We honor and revere Him because He is God. He takes pleasure in those who hope in his love that is always steadily fixed on us. No matter the circumstances, we have hope because we have God. That unwavering belief gives God pleasure. That’s a good thing to know and a good thing to work on in my life!
Have a blessed day and I hope that it is one in which you are aware of giving God pleasure just because you love Him so much!
The Bible is filled with Scriptures about how we should treat one another. The question is how do we treat each other at all if we don’t ever spend time with others, in fellowship with other believers to start with and then reaching out to the world? I have found myself wanted to insulate and isolate during my two weeks at home. I love going to church and seeing friends there, communicating with them and hearing what their lives are like. But the last two weeks, I have had to get my body moving forcibly to get up early and make the effort to attend. It’s a good thing that my husband doesn’t put up with slackers!
It’s hard to love one another if you never see one another, isn’t it? A phone call or a card just doesn’t make up for the personal touch that you and others need. That listening ear that you offer so freely also goes along with an expressive face and others need to see it to know that you truly care.
Just as loving is almost impossible without contact, so is serving one another. In fact, how do you know what the needs are if you don’t see them and hear about them from the person in need? Furthermore, you have needs too that can only be met by others in the Body of Christ who reach out to you with the love of the Lord.
Christ forgave each person in a personal and real way. Can we do any less? And how do others know that we have forgiven them if we never go around them? Forgiveness is a foundation of our faith; we offer it to others because it was first given as a free gift to us. I think we need to be in the community of believers to practice this skill called forgiveness. It is not something that is easy to do, but it is easier if you are among others who believe that it is necessary to move forward in your walk with the Lord.
Devotion and honor starts with giving yourself to God and spreads to giving of yourself to others.
Confession to one another holds us accountable and makes us want to be better and to do better the next time that same temptation comes around. We pray for each other and face temptation fully girded and ready, but also knowing that our fellow believers are fighting the good fight with us.
Finally, we must encourage each other. The world is a dark and lonely place, filled with sin and all kinds of horrible things. But we are not alone in the world and God never meant for us to be alone. In fact, when He created woman, he said that it was not good for man to be alone. It still is not good to be alone. We need each other for encouragement and for building each other up. Together, we build the house of the Lord which resides inside us.
I have heard many say that it is not good to go to churches because they are so hypocritical and filled with sin. Actually, what they are is a building in which we worship God and the building is filled with imperfect people who are there to encourage, forgive, confess, honor serve and love. One another! Because that is how God planned it. We are stronger together.
May the Lord bless you and keep you as you minister to one another, first in the Body of Christ, and then to the world to which He has called you to serve.
I have read this verse numerous times, but today when I read it the words “every” and “all” jumped off the page at me. Every single creature, all made by the Lord God, which is all, will bow down to the Lamb and recognize that all honor and glory and power belong to Him. Not to the greatest governor of the land, or the richest, or the most talented Hollywood star! No! The Lord Jesus deserves all the glory for it is He who has saved us! The chaos of our current governments will be gone. There will be no more sin or sickness or death. Oh, my! It all boggles my mind to even consider it. Think about the person who considers himself to be most powerful and then imagine that person standing before the Lord Jesus. Where is the power then? Blessings today, my friends, as you face a day of challenges and prayers asked and answered. May you remember that in the end, the glory and power and honor belong to only One, the One and only Son of God.
www.bible.com/1171/rev.5.13.mev
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 