Tag: James

Read and Do

On By vickleaIn YouVersion App1 Comment

Many of us read the Bible daily, but how many of us take the time to ask God to show us what He wants us to do after we read it? The Bible is an active and living Word that can change us from the inside out if we let it. The first step is to read, but don’t forget to ask God what the next step is…what do you need to do with what you have learned from your reading? There is so much meat in God’s Word, but sometimes I get so busy that I suck it down like it’s milk and move on. I want to take the time to chew slowly, savor what I have read and really let it nourish my spirit. We all need to spend time with God reading His Word, but when we leave our quiet place of reading, do we let His Word change us to be more like Him? Reading is fine…but doing is where the change takes place.

The Living Word of God

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Bible is that it’s just another book.

In fact, many Christians treat Scripture as if it’s just a collection of ancient letters and books that inform us about God and religious matters.

While the Bible is certainly a collection of ancient documents, it is also much more than that. It is the very word of God. The Bible is inspired by God, which means He spoke through humans to create these letters and books.

More than that though, God’s Word is living and active. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to speak to us even today. This is what makes Scripture distinct from any other book.

James tells us in James 1:22-24 that the power of Scripture doesn’t just come by hearing it, but by living it out.

Scripture has the power to radically change the way we live, but we must take the effort to first read it, and then do what it says.

James says that anyone who reads Scripture and doesn’t follow God’s way is only deceiving themselves. We think we are following God simply by reading His Word, but God desires that we live out the truths of Scripture in our own life.

This is what it means to follow God’s way rather than our own.

Take a moment to consider a few ways you can begin to live out the truths in Scripture. Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal to you an area of your life to transform by His Word. And then, resolve to not just hear God’s Word, but to do what He says as you follow after Him.

Rescued

On By vickleaIn Scripture9 Comments

Sometimes attacks come when we least expect them. Actually, most of the time, that’s when they happen. This last week was no exception in my life. First, our air conditioner stopped working. Bad news for me because I am asthmatic and need the “canned air” to breathe. The repair was completed last Friday and we were able to finance having it done. Not part of the budget, but it’s done. The really good news is that the entire time our AC was down, there was a cool wave in Virginia so the house stayed comfortably cool, meaning I was able to breathe well without the stultifying humidity that makes me gasp. Thus, God blessed us even during this trial.

A few days ago, my son told me that he had received a letter from our grandson in boot camp. Isaac has Covid-19 and as a result has been moved out of his division into quarantine. We have no idea when he will graduate now, but we do know that it will be delayed until he is completely well and has been placed into a new division. I have no doubt that God is working in this situation to redeem it, just as he did with the petty annoyance of our air conditioning. In the meanwhile, I can’t write Isaac (no address, since it’s by division) or call him (no phones allowed), but what I can do is pray for him to be encouraged during this time of waiting.

I don’t know that this is a test of Isaac’s faith as much as it is a test of mine. I have prayed for him faithfully every day (several times a day) to be successful and protected in boot camp. And then…Covid. Well, God didn’t say bad things wouldn’t happen, but He did promise to be with us through them. So, like the rock pictured in the Scripture above, I want to rise above the circumstances and praise God for what He is doing and what He is going to do in this young man’s life, and in the lives of the multiple other seamen recruits who have the same malady. It will be a great day when I hear that he is restored to his training, but in the meantime, I hope that you will join me in prayer for him to be strong in his faith at this time. That reminds me about the small Bible that we gifted Isaac to take along with him to Great Lakes. I wanted to give him a Bible but I didn’t know if he would even appreciate having one along with him. He was raised in a home in which Bible reading is reserved for church time, so thus my reluctance. I read the brochure provided by the USN about items the recruits could/could not bring along with them. One of the things they were told not to bring was their phones (no phone numbers available to them) or books other than religious materials. They were allowed a pocket Bible only. Thus, on the last day that we visited with Isaac before he left, we went to a bookstore and I purchased a pocket Bible for him. He was a little leery about this gift until I showed him the blank pages that could be his address book for phone numbers for family and friends. He grinned at what he considered my duplicity and was happy to accept the gift, along with the addresses and phone numbers that I printed neatly inside for him. I was not at all being duplicitous, telling him that the Bible would serve two purposes, one to encourage him to read God’s Word and two, to have that information about loved ones handy. After all, he had not memorized any phone numbers because he always had them in his phone and just touched the number and it dialed. Now, he has both resources. Thus, when I write him letters and include a Scripture for him to read, he can refer to his new pocket Bible/address book. 😉

In the meantime, God continues to work in our lives and to work out His salvation within each of us. Sometimes the process we go through is painful, but we know that God is in control, even when our lives take unexpected detours. He is the God of the mountains and the valleys!

May your day be blessed with the revelation of God’s presence in your life and the knowledge that He is rescuing you and He will rescue you, over and over again.

Scriptural Musings

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

This morning during my devotional, God spoke to me through various Scripture verses. I am grateful to Him for His Holy Spirit who leads me and guides me each day and shows me truth from His Word.

God works in each of us if we will allow Him to do so. He has a purpose and a plan and it pleases Him when we follow His plans instead of our own pursuits.

When we see others suffering and just pass by instead of being a Good Samaritan, then we are denying the fact that we are part of that suffering. We are all one, together. When one suffers, we all do.

Some of the people who consider themselves wise are not following the admonition to live humbly. I have always heard that if you toot your own horn, then no one else does. We are expected to make humble and wise decisions in ALL that we do, every day in every way.

This is a song that I used to sing in church many years ago, one that still gives me great pleasure as I focus on the coming Day of the Lord, when all of the Redeemed will gather together. There will be only joy, no sorrow or mourning. This particularly touched me today as a fellow co-worker from my school passed away Friday from Covid. He had been vaccinated, so there are a lot of questions in my mind about how this could happen. He was only in his fifties and leaves behind a loving wife and five children. I hope to see him again someday when all of us together go to Zion, singing with gladness because Christ has redeemed us and for all eternity there will be no more sorrow.

Thank you, my friends, for reading through today’s ramblings with me. I need God every day. I need to hear from Him every day. And, while I am still on earth, it gives me great pleasure to share His Word with you. Have a blessed day, filled with His Spirit. Be the Good Samaritan. Be the difference that the world sees and wonders about.