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.
We could all sit around some days and have a little pity party about all of the bad things that are happening in our lives and in the world around us. We could lament the fact that we prayed, but we haven’t gotten an answer yet. (At least, not the one we expected or wanted).
How about instead of a pity party, we have a praise celebration? Instead of thinking about all the negatives, start thinking about what God has already done for you (and for this sinful world). Satan certainly doesn’t want us to remember so I think he tries to block our memory of the good things and puts the bad things at the forefront of our minds. We need to purposely choose to think of the good things, as Philippians says:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/php.4.8.NIV
It is when we start remembering what God has already done that we have a testimony to share and a faith that cannot be quenched! So, let’s get out of the pits of despair and stand on that mountain of faith that God created for us to stand on.
This is my prayer for you and for myself and it is a memory verse that I have been working on this week.
Do you enjoy Crowder songs? This is one of my favorites because it reminds me not to “get amnesia” but to focus on what God has already done!
If you read my blog last week, you know that the week was a hard one for me. Two friends passed away and I was devastated and faced with my own mortality and the certainty that death comes to everyone. I got through that week, only to be faced with another challenge.
My husband and I have one vehicle. For many years, when both of us were working, we had two, but once I had my stroke and my husband retired, he started doing most of the driving, so we just have one car now. We drove that car for thousands of miles last month to get to graduations and then at the beginning of June to go to the beach to meet my brother from Colorado. All of those trips were definitely worth the exhaustion I felt when we got home. Unfortunately, the car is feeling the effects of that long, arduous trip, also. On the way to the visitation for my dear friend, I noticed the engine was grinding so I told my husband that it needs to be checked again. Just before our trip, I paid almost $1000 for repairs because it needed a new valve cover gasket. So, I am not looking forward to new repair fees. When my husband checked the oil on Saturday morning, it was low, so he added oil. Now I have an appointment tomorrow to take the car in to have it checked for oil leaks and to have the oil changed again. That sound you hear is a big sigh from me.
My scripture verse this morning is one that I am now working on memorizing because I really need it.
That word “as” is very important in this verse. Joy and peace come at the same time that we trust in Him. That’s where we find our hope. So, even as I am frustrated about the car, anxious about the finances to pay for it again, and disappointed that this is happening now, God is telling me to trust and He will give me joy, peace and hope. That is quite a promise and one I really needed today.
We need to start looking for another car, but we are in total disagreement about what to look for. My husband wants a car for $5000 or less, so he is looking for what I call a “junker clunker.” I don’t want to put more money into repairing a car while we are paying for it, so I want to look at a mid-priced car with lower mileage, thinking it would last longer. We are not at a total impasse, so I am praying what to do. I love my husband, but his decisions are not always the wisest although they may be the thriftiest. I hope you will join me in praying that God will show us what to do in this situation and that we can reach an agreement by following Him.
Meantime, I will continue to focus on this verse and pray fervently that I can trust even as the anxious thoughts attack incessantly. I hope that you will join me in my prayers and that you, too, will find the joy, peace and hope you need for whatever you are facing.
The world cannot understand the attitude of Christians when someone dies. It is our belief that death is not the end of life but a new beginning, so we mourn the fact that our dear one is no longer with us, but we celebrate their new life with the Lord if they were believers. I can only imagine the devastation of the disciples when Jesus was crucified. We have the Bible to read and encourage us, including the testimony in the New Testament of all who saw the Savior alive again after the Resurrection. They had to truly believe without any evidence except their wholehearted faith in who Jesus was and all of the miracles that they had seen Him perform. I think it would have been an especially difficult time, filled with fear and doubt and a feeling of “now what.” Three days later came the rejoicing, but what a tumultuous three days those must have been, with emotions churning and fear attacking constantly.
No matter what face in life and in death, there is always hope. Jesus made sure that we knew that when He encouraged us that our grief would become joy. In the Old Testament, there are passages that say our mourning turns to dancing and our sorrow turns to singing. How can we do anything less than worship when our eternity is secure because of the sacrifice of the Lord?
I like this graphic that I found online. It perfectly describes what death should be to each of us. Yes, we mourn, but as Paul said, we don’t mourn as the world mourns because we know death is a new beginning, not a complete ending. I don’t know what Heaven is like or the experience of death, but I do trust the Father to be with me when I die and that He has prepared a place for me to be with Him. After all, He promised and He always keeps His promises. (Numbers 23:19)
So, if you are going through a period of grief this Saturday before Easter, remember that the Lord promised that joy is coming. I have found since the years that I lost various loved ones and my best friend to that enemy called death, I can look forward to a day of total joy when I am reunited with them and never have to say “good-bye” again.
From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Advent, Day 25”
It’s a Merry Christmas
Two thousand years ago, the world was waiting for a Savior. He would be their hope for the future, peace in the present, joy in all moments, and love for all people. Little did they know that God was working out His grand plan through a small, lowly family in Bethlehem.
Today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who brought all those things, and more.
Where there was no hope, Jesus brought a new hope—hope founded on His life, death, resurrection, and the promise of His return.
Where there was no peace, Jesus brought a new kind of peace. A peace that isn’t dependent on the whims of humans, but on the unchanging nature of God who sustains us, makes us whole, and gives us a calmness the world can’t touch.
Where there was no joy, Jesus brought joy. To everyone under the oppression of sin, He offers freedom. And to the foreigners and outsiders, He offers a seat at His family’s table. Through Him, we can find joy in all things.
Where there was no love, Jesus brought love. During His life on earth, He spent time with people across varying social classes and ethnicities. He disregarded who culture told Him to associate with and instead offered His perfect love to everyone He met.
The Son of God made Himself low so that He might be raised above all. This Christmas, finish your Advent season by worshiping Him!
Pause, Read, and Reflect:
As you’re with family or friends, spend time reading today’s Scriptures aloud. Then, take a moment to read and reflect on this Christmas prayer together.
Lord, thank You for Your Son, who died to unite me with You. Today, I thank You specifically for Jesus’ birth, and the way this moment changed everything for the better. Help me to follow You with the same level of commitment that Christ had during His time on earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.
I created this using Canva, so feel free to share if you would like. It’s my online Christmas card.
My Thoughts
I was thinking that I would be sad today because it is just my husband and me here and no one is coming to celebrate with us until the 28th. But, I am not sad at all. I have shed a few tears but that’s because of the wonderful difference Christ has made in my life. I hope each of you have found the hope, joy and peace that only Jesus Christ can bring to you. Have the most wonderful Christmas ever! I am blessed to be a blessing and hope that you are, too.
From the You Version Bible App devotional, “Advent: 25 Days”
Find Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love This Season
How are you feeling this holiday season? Is life like a Christmas movie, full of wonder, happiness, and endless cups of hot cocoa? Or are you feeling stressed out, anxious, or maybe even grieving? The classic Christmas song says it’s the most wonderful time of the year, but for many of us, it can be the most overwhelming time of the year.
We can’t guarantee that reading this Bible Plan will make it snow on Christmas or magically make all your holiday worries disappear, but it is designed to help you find hope, peace, joy, and love this season.
What Is Advent?
Advent is a Christian tradition of anticipating Jesus’ birth on Christmas. Each week of Advent focuses on one word that reveals how Jesus’ birth changes us. The four words which you’ve seen already are hope, peace, joy, and love.
Now, let’s pause because if you’ve been to church, read the Bible, or spent any time around Christians, then you’ve probably heard these words a lot. And maybe these words feel a bit vague. That’s why we’ve defined these words below.
Hope: A wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present
Peace: A state of wholeness, calm, and renewal between us, God, and others
Joy: A resilient cheerfulness anchored in the goodness of God
Love: Following Jesus’ example by treating everyone as valuable and worthy of sacrificial care
Over the next few weeks, we will explore the Bible and see how God’s gift to us provides hope, peace, joy, and love. We’ll also see how these gifts impact how we live every day.
So whether you’ve practiced Advent for years or you’re just learning about this tradition, we can all find hope, peace, joy, and love this season. Tomorrow, we’ll begin our first week by taking a closer look at God’s plan for hope.
Pause and Pray:
Lord, thank You for the great gift of Your Son. Please help me focus on You this Christmas season. Free my life from distractions and give me Your hope, peace, joy, and love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My Thoughts
I researched a little bit and found out that Advent comes from that Latin word “adventus” which means arrival. Arrival of what? At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus on the earth, the only One who can reconcile us to the Father and who teaches us about what true hope, peace, joy and love are.
I just returned from a trip to Maryland and got to witness just a little. I shared with my young grandchildren about our tradition of baking a birthday cake for Jesus. We have been doing that since our children were very young. I told them that Christmas isn’t about the tree and presents but it’s all about Jesus. One of the kids was amazed while the toddler was bored and the oldest wandered away. But I least I got to share about the real meaning of Christmas and hope that it stays with them in some way for a long time. It breaks my heart that the only meaning some people have for Christmas is a wish list and a visit to Santa. The real meaning is lost in the commercialism of the season that the retailers have hyped so much that Jesus seems lost in the commercials for the newest gadgets, toys and must-haves before anyone else has things. I don’t think Jesus minds our enjoying giving, but I am fairly sure that He does not appreciate the greed associated with the “this is what I want for Christmas.” If we have Jesus, we actually have all that we need.
I hope that the first day of Advent is one that you can take time to reflect on the arrival of the One who changed your life forever. That’s my goal for today.
The good news keeps coming! Yes, we are weak humans with a finite time on earth. But the good news is that, with Jesus and His resurrection power, we have hope for an eternal future. That is the source of our joy on earth. We don’t have to go around feeling defeated by all of our earthly diseases and pains. We are ultimately victorious, and we need to live like we are victors, with a smile on our face and joy in our hearts.
When you get a raise or a promotion or a new baby arrives, you cannot wait to share the good news with everyone you know and even some strangers you may meet. The really good news that we should be sharing is the new life made possible because of the arrival of Jesus. On this Christmas Eve, take time to share the reason you are joyous and celebrating. Take time to tell others about your hope, your peace and your Savior!
I am easily irritated during stormy weather because we live rurally and our electricity goes out pretty regularly. Sometimes, we are in the dark for hours, sometimes for days. Once, during a tropical storm, we were without power for almost two weeks. I don’t like the dark or the inconvenience of having no power for anything.
Worse than losing electricity is to not be plugged into our power source of life itself.
Through being plugged into the source of our life, strength and hope, we get the benefits of endurance, patience and joy. We don’t have to worry about storms knocking us offline because God is only a prayer away.
God is always right there even when we wander off the path and away from the source of our power. He is ready and willing to help us plug back in, get renewed energy from His Holy Spirit flowing in us and then He enables us to reach out to others and share the power He gives us with them. The current of God is flowing in us, through us and out to others. That’s the kind of power that we never have to worry about losing!
I really enjoy finding prayers within the context of scripture. It’s like God is saying to me, “Pray this one.” So, I do and it always blesses my heart. May your heart be blessed with this prayer and may you indeed be filled with hope.
I pray daily, throughout the day. Some days my prayer is a whisper, a hopeful murmuring to the Lord. Other days, my prayer is intense. Yesterday was a day of intense prayer as our grandson was traveling alone to D.C. to start his new internship there. But his trip was delayed due to car troubles, so he ended up having to travel at night. So, my husband and I prayed that God would work out things with the car and get him there safely. God came through for Isaac as he left about 6 p.m., arrived at 9 and missed a lot of the awful traffic on the beltway. Sigh of relief and praise of thanksgiving that he arrived safely in spite of all of the obstacles. Of course, prayers will continue for him and our other loved one in the days ahead. I must admit that sometimes I am ashamed of how little confidence I have that God will answer my prayers. I pray, wait for an answer and hope that it will come but I am not surprised when the answer is delayed or doesn’t take the form that I thought it would. There is a prayer in scripture that addressed that for me this morning.
Knowing that God is the source of hope helps me to trust in His sovereignty. My confidence is in His answering in His timing and in a way that is best for all concerned. Look at the powerful words in this verse: joy, peace, trust, overflow and confident hope. This is a verse that I need to personalize daily and pray over myself as I come before the Lord and present my thanksgiving and petitions. Today, I pray this prayer for each of my readers, with the confident hope that God will completely fill you with His joy and peace as you trust in Him.
www.bible.com/reading-plans/42932/day/4
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 