Tag: Jesus

A “Mary” Christmas

On By vickleaIn Holidays7 Comments

I just could not stop myself from sharing from my devotional this morning from the book, Mornings with Jesus 2021. The lesson was about how Martha rushed around and resented the fact that Mary was resting at the feet of Jesus and just listening to him. This was like an arrow to my heart because Christmas has become a rush season to get shopping done, balance accounts and make sure that appropriate gifts are purchased and on the way to the recipients. This year has been extra challenging because I am caring for a baby and a three year old almost all day so my personal chores have to be done early in the morning or later at night. Anyway, I think I have been in the process of becoming a “Martha” when the person I really want to be a “Mary.”

That’s why I’m writing this post, to confess my shortcomings and to encourage you all to be a “Mary” this hectic holiday season. I cannot fathom the Lord rushing around from store to store (or even online) to get gifts or decorating or even planning holiday parties for various people. I can imagine Him going about His regular day of serving people and His Father, just being Jesus. In my human desire to help everyone make everything perfect for the holiday, I was beginning to lose sight of the reason for the season. But, not from here on! I am committed to walking closer to Jesus, getting to know Him better and listening for His voice, every day, but especially during this season of rushing around.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a Merry Christmas!

But from my soul’s longing for you, I wish you a “Mary” Christmas!

Blessings and prayers for you to remember the real reason for the season and to relax in His loving care.

The Price of Freedom

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Today is the day that we celebrate freedom here in the United States, freedom that came at a high price for the patriots who fought and many who died for it. These men and women had only known the subjugation of living under the thumb of British rule. When the tyranny became too much to bear, fighting the oppression became the only wise choice. So, the “shot heard round the world” that began at Lexington began the Revolutionary War that formed this great nation.

Since the 1700’s the U.S. has been engaged in other wars, including the Civil War and two great world wars. All were at a devastating cost of life and livelihoods. But I would like to say that freedom is not ever really free. Someone paid for your freedom, an ancestor or maybe even a friend.

With all of the problems that some say the U.S. is covered in, there is no greater nation to live in, nowhere in which you can have the freedom to speak your mind and to say how you feel without fear of repercussions. Lately, the media has tried hard to stifle the voices of Christians like me who believe that America is worth the price that our ancestors paid for it. Nevertheless, we have a constitution that guarantees liberty to us: freedom of religion and speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom to gather together in peaceful protests.

Now, to a topic more dear to my heart. My freedom from sin was not free either. It was bought with the price of Jesus’s precious blood. The sky turned dark, the earth shook and Jesus died on that cross for you and for me. Since our freedom from sin is not free, how can we then turn back to that sin again and again, not thinking of the cost? Would Jesus have died for just one man? My answer is a resounding “yes”! But He died for all, so that we can come before God’s throne of mercy and grace, knowing that we are accepted as His children.

As I age, my fond desire is to see my grandchildren grow and prosper in this great nation and to love and appreciate the freedom that they have here. But, even more, I want each of them to come to the saving knowledge that they are sinners and need the grace of God provided through the blood of Christ to reconcile them to their Creator. I want this for each of my friends, neighbors and even those who don’t like me or share my views. I want them to know Jesus because He is the only way to salvation and the price that He paid for our freedom cannot be measured.

There is a lot of division in our world today. When I was growing up, it seemed to be a case of the “haves” versus the “have nots.” Today, there is racial strife everywhere you turn, stirred up in large part by political parties whose aim is to win elections regardless of the cost to our nation. I kept telling my students when I taught high school that we are all kin to each other someway. After all, we are all descended from Noah. God does not look at the color of the skin, so why should I? The strife caused is not totally external. It is also an internal struggle with accepting who you are as God made you and knowing that He doesn’t make mistakes. It is allowing others to live peacefully, just as each of us desires to do. It is forgiving for the past and moving forward to a bright future. Politicians and the men in power now will not be there forever. But, one thing will stand the test of time. God’s Word! We have sown to the wind in the U.S. and seem to now be reaping the whirlwind. Does that mean that we are beyond redemption, beyond the reach of the hand of our mighty God? Of course not! Jesus paid the price for our freedom and His desire is that we accept His free gift of salvation. Once we are free from sin, no matter what happens to us on earth or in politics, our story will end well.

This is the way we should each see each other, not as enemies, but as relatives. We are all part of the family of God.
Ask yourself how you are showing love to others on a daily basis.

God Bless the U.S.A.-Lee Greenwood

Be a Tree

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I read a devotional this morning about Zaccheus climbing the tree to see Jesus. The devotional focused on the tree; God put it there knowing that one day a small man would need to climb it to see his son.

Photo from pexels.com

The devotional charged me (and other readers, of course) to think of all of the people who have lifted you up to see Jesus. For me, there was first my neighbor Verna and her fiancée Chris. Then, there was our first pastor Dean, the man who taught me so much about studying the Bible; his favorite saying was to “be a Berean.” There was Dub, a rotund, happy pastor in South Carolina who taught me the joy of worshipping freely. There was the pastor in Virginia Beach who moved me and Hope into base housing when it became available after Harry heads already left for his deployment. I was feeling really sorry for myself because I was pregnant and had no idea how I was going to manage to move but I knew that I had a limited time before the base housing office would just pass over my name. Help came just in time! There were the people who have given us groceries when we were low on funds, the neighbor who ran across the street to take me to the E.R. with my young son whose arm was streaming blood and I couldn’t get my car started. So many trees who have given me a boost in life!

But that is not the end of the story. I have been boosted over and over again, able to climb above the problems because of others who have been there for me, just at the right time. They have been the “trees” in my life. In similar fashion, I would like to think that I have boosted others, but I don’t want to go through incidents that would try to persuade you of my being a tree. God will be the judge of that. I just want to leave you with the question. Are you a tree? Do you help others up, so that they can see above the circumstances? If we are always wandering around with the lost people and never giving them a boost to see Jesus, they may never see Him. We may be the exact tree that God put in a certain place at a certain time for a certain person. We need to look for opportunities to be a tree, stand firm for God’s Word, and like a tree, point to the Heavens, right up to Jesus!

Have a blessed day, my friends, and may you prosper even as your soul prospers.

http://www.thefellowhipsite.com

Purpose

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/psa.138.8.mev

I’m still discovering daily God’s purpose for my life. Yes, I am old, but I truly believe that I’m still on earth because God isn’t finished with me yet. That has always meant to me that He is still perfecting me, helping me daily to become more like His Son Jesus. But, with today’s Scripture verse, I also think it means that God is still looking to use me here, to fulfill His purpose for me.

The two greatest days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.-Mark Twain

Think about that quotation, my friends. We each have a purpose in life, and God is merciful to us, giving us the days on earth to discover that purpose and to fulfill it. I pray God’s blessing on each of you as you set out to continually work for Him and to discover His purpose for your life. You were not an accident! You were wonderfully made for a specific purpose in God’s kingdom. Isn’t that praiseworthy news?

Don’t Give Up

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/heb.12.3.mev

Never, never give up! Jesus faced hostility on every hand, up to and including death on the cross. Yet He never stopped ministering to the needy and speaking truth to the people who desperately needed to hear it. We say that we are living in hard times. Well, so were the Israelites as they were under the mighty and ruthless hand of the Roman government. Who has it tougher? That’s not a question we can answer because those living during a particular time only have the viewpoint of their own timeline in which they are living. I’m sure that the Israelites thought that they had it tougher and I’m equally sure that the “man on the street” whom you ask would reply that today is tougher. Nevertheless, Jesus ministered. He walked the walk and talked the talk. He said that what He spoke and did was what His Father in Heaven had told Him to say and do. Can we do any less? We need to spend time in prayer, ask God what He wants us to do and say and then do it and say it. We cannot grow weary just because things are hard. Following Jesus’s lead, we should never give up. There are souls who need to hear the Gospel and for whom we are the hands and feet of Jesus. Let’s move, Army of God! We have our orders and they don’t say to sit and wait passively for His coming! Our orders say to work and to go! God bless you as you complete your mission.

Every Creature…All

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized5 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/rev.5.13.mev

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.

Unexpected Places and Situations

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized8 Comments

Where do you look for and find kings and princes? On thrones, right? On display for all to see. There was a news story that I read yesterday that one of the queen’s dogs had died. And the fact that the dog belonged to the Queen of England made the story newsworthy. But that is not how our Lord and Savior, the King of the World appeared. He was born in a smelly stable, among the animals, and lay in a manger, a feeding trough, to sleep. Jesus was King, but He was found in an unexpected place.

In another story in the Bible, the disciples start rowing across the Sea of Galilee and Jesus tells them that He is staying behind to pray. They just go about doing what he told them to do, i.e. go to the other side. Suddenly, they see Him walking across the water to the boat. On top of the water! Unexpected place for Him to be, right? The disciples seem to be awestruck, exactly as I would have been. This is the story in which Peter steps out of the boat and also walks on water, as long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus. He begins to sink once he looks at how large the waves are. There’s a good lesson for us there; we absolutely have to keep our eyes on Jesus when the waves of life are overwhelming us. But the unexpectedness of Jesus’s appearing on the water is also a lesson for us.

You see, Jesus appears in the most unexpected places and situations in our lives. Honestly, He is always there for us, but there are some times in my life that I believe that I can see Him and reach out and talk to Him. One such time was when my daughter lost her beloved baby in utero. Tessa Serenity had spent six and a half months growing inside her mom and being cherished. Then, in an instant, with one ultrasound, the promise of a new baby was ended. As my husband and I rushed to drive the nine hours to comfort our daughter and her family, I felt the presence of Jesus closely. I myself was grieving, but I had what I believe was a supernatural ability to walk and talk with the grieving children and to just be there for their mom and dad. I’m looking forward to meeting Tessa in heaven one day, but meanwhile, during a situation in my life that was totally unexpected, Jesus stepped in and reminded me that He was there with each child and with my grieving, inconsolable daughter. He spoke to my heart and gently reminded me that He had sent a Comforter to be with my family and the Holy Spirit’s presence got us through that really hard time.

When my father was dying in a VA hospital in Florida, I had just retired and I wanted to jump into the car with my husband and head there as quickly as I could. But, do you remember the boat that Jesus walked towards on the waves? How many disciples got out of the boat? One. Just one. Again, the Lord spoke to my heart and calmed me, telling me that my brothers were with my dad and that was how it should be. They had been the ones to spend the most time with him during his life, even working with him at times, and so they should be the ones to be by his side as he passed from this life to the next. My brother James had to cross the bridge of forgiveness to be with my father, and I consider it a major miracle that James talked to daddy about salvation and had the great privilege of leading him to the Lord and of being with him when he drew his last breath. Who was with them? Jesus was. From the beginning, when they walked across the crashing waves into the hospice room, Jesus was with my brothers. But He was also with me, holding me in His arms and comforting me in exactly the way I needed. You see, I was in PA at the time, with my daughter and her family again. The sight of the grandchildren reminded me that generations continue and daddy was gone to be with Tessa. He had never met any of my grandchildren, but I knew that he would recognize Tessa and that both of them were loving on each other. Daddy always loved babies, so I could picture him cuddling little Tessa and holding her close to his heart. One thing I remember from my childhood is my my father holding me gently and encouraging me to breathe through my asthma attacks. Anyway, Jesus was always there, just when and where we needed Him. Daddy’s death was not unexpected, but His acceptance of Jesus as His Savior was. Jesus was there for him, for my brothers and for me.

I could go on and on about all of the places and situations in which Jesus suddenly showed up. But instead, I want you to think of how Jesus has appeared and given you just what you needed when you needed it. Blessings, my friends, for a grateful and expectant heart. For it is in keeping our eyes on Jesus and our hope in Him that we know how much we need Him. Yes, He shows up unexpectedly, just like we know He will because He loves us. Unexpected? Maybe. But always welcome and always a big part of the life of believers.

Cry Out to Jesus by Third Day

God’s Promise to Us

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized7 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/isa.49.15-16.mev

I am a mom of three adult children, yet it seems only yesterday that I held them in my arms and cuddled and fed them. It seems only yesterday that I was teaching them to walk, encouraging them to talk and then, later, to be independent and, hopefully, to make good choices. Even though each of my children has his or her own life now, with their own family, my children are still close to my heart, prayed for daily and thought of more times per day than anyone could think possible. God sees each of us as His child; He has gently and patiently fed us, encouraged us to mature and to walk closely to Him. This verse reminds us that He has us written on the palms of His hands, just where Jesus received the nails of the cross. Coincidence? I don’t think so. It is at the cross that Jesus thought of each of us, even with His last breath. And it is there that God wrote us on the palms of His hands, that we might know forever His great love for us.

Who Do You Follow?

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized5 Comments

www.bible.com/111/php.4.9.niv

Jesus is the model for our behavior. Not our pastor, although that might be good for a while, but he/she is human and will fall. Not our spouse or our friend for the same reason. Only Jesus was without sin and He showed the way to be like Him in what He did every day for regular people just like you and me. I hope that your day is blessed so that you can go out and bless someone else.