Tag: mercy

The Narrow Way

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

I know you have heard it, that lie from the pits of hell that Heaven is not hard to get into. You just have to do good, be good and God, because He is good, will take you to Heaven when you die. I have heard this falsehood from friends and family. “What kind of God would send someone to hell?” The reply is that God does not send anyone to hell; they choose to go there because they did not choose to believe in the only way to salvation that God provides, His Son Jesus. Don’t be deceived. God is a God of love and mercy, but He is also the great “I Am,” the God of Justice. He wants to set things right in the world that have been wrong for so long and the only way He can do that is to banish sin. There will be no sin in Heaven and no one can be good enough to earn their way there. No confessions to a priest or last rites will guarantee your way through the narrow gate. Only Jesus! It seems so simple, yet so many are perishing because they choose to keep living in sin and ignorance rather than accept truth and life. Since none of us knows when we will die, we need to live like it may be the next moment or as though Jesus is coming back imminently. God provided a way for us, narrow though it may be. We have to find our way back to Jesus and then stay on that pathway for the rest of our lives. God’s desire is to save all, that no one would spend eternity in hell, but He is a God of justice and He will allow us to go there if that is what we choose. Choose and live wisely…the narrow way leads to life!

May you be blessed with the knowledge of God’s great love for you and may you stay on the narrow path until He calls you home.

Our Clothing

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I have read a lot of commentaries and different Biblical versions about putting on the whole armor of God. But what goes under that armor is also important. Did you know that the Bible tells us how we are to clothe ourselves?

I have read the book of Colossians numerous times, meditating on its verses. But this verse somehow escaped my attention until our Bible study group met on Monday night. I pondered it then and today this same verse was in my daily devotional. God does want us to put on the whole armor of God, but underneath that armor, He wants us clothed with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. If we are clothed in something, that is what people see when they see us, those qualities that make Jesus’s presence evident to others.

The chapter continues with this verse about forgiveness. How can we be clothed with Godly characteristics if we don’t forgive? The answer is that we can’t. It’s like going out in public with a shirt that is ripped down the middle and expecting no one to notice. Lack of forgiveness causes a root of bitterness inside the person who chooses to hold on to it. The person you are not forgiving is either not aware of it or chooses to ignore it. Either way, it doesn’t hurt them as much as the lack of forgiveness hurts you. The very important word in the verse is “as”. A tiny little word that means so much…the same way the Lord forgave you is how you should forgive others. He forgave each of us of everything, so we should do likewise to others. Grudges are not an item of clothing that we should be wearing around our shoulders.

Finally, there is love, the binding agent. I vaguely remember my chemistry class in which we were making a glue-type substance and we were told that one of the elements we were using was the binding agent, so we had to be careful to add it at the proper time. Love has to always be added to all of the other clothing that we are wearing because it is the seam that holds the clothing together on our bodies. Without love, we can’t exhibit the other qualities in any way that creates unity. In this divided world, love is an absolutely necessary quality for Christians to put on daily. You don’t like someone’s politics? Love them anyway. You don’t like someone’s selfish actions? Love them anyway. Someone is rude to you, in traffic or in a store or at work? Love them anyway. Love is the one thing that will draw people to you and to your witness about Christ. Once they see love, they can look at the other “clothing” that you are wearing and examine the gifts of His character that God has put on you. But first they must see love.

Have a beautiful and blessed day in the Lord, making every effort to put on the right clothes before you venture out into His creation.

God Is Watching

On By vickleaIn Scripture, Song2 Comments

Do you remember as a child trying to get your parents’ attention when you thought you were doing some great noteworthy feat? I’m not sure I recall my own childhood, but I do remember my children crying out impatiently, “Look at me, mommy! Look what I can do!” With my attention divided between three children, I could not always look on command and I’m sure sometimes I disappointed one of them during their daring attempts to defy gravity.

The times have not changed, nor have the children’s need for attention. Nowadays, though, it is the grandchildren clamoring for my time. “Look, Nanna! Look at me!” They do cartwheels, ride bikes, jump off sofas and build towers, all with my attention riveted on them for as long as I can manage before another child’s cry diverts me.

As children of the Living God, we also clamor for attention. Speaking personally, I know that I am constantly crying out to our Father to look at me and notice what I am doing. Or, conversely, I petulantly accuse Him of not paying attention and allowing bad things to come along in my life and disrupt its flow. Like a demanding child, I want all of God’s attention all of the time. Today’s Scripture verse addresses this conundrum.

God is omnipresent, everywhere at once, watching everyone. I am struck with awe that the Creator of the Universe watches the wicked and the good. So, I pondered that thought this morning. Why would God want to watch the wicked? Because, my friends, He created them, too. They may be making wrong choices, but He loves them and desires them to straighten up and go on the right path, to choose Jesus as their Savior and to enter into a relationship with Him. We don’t need to cry out to God to watch what we are doing because He is always watching. He sees me when I lose my temper and yell at my husband for something thoughtless I think he has done. He sees me when I grumble and complain about small things that have no real importance and won’t matter later. He even sees me when I quickly send up a prayer for His help and then choose to do my own thing. Because He is always watching, God is always aware of what is going on in my life. There is no “Hide and Seek” game with our Lord. We can’t hide from Him one minute and then demand that He pay attention to us and answer our prayers the next. It boggles my mind that God can watch the entire Universe, with all of its diverse people making all kinds of choices every second, and still have time to listen to prayers, calm fears and heal. God is always watching, always waiting for when we truly need Him and in reverence call on Him to come to our aid.

I’m so thankful that God is always watching and even more so that He watches over the wicked, too. For I was once a sinner and now I am saved by His grace. I pray that many more over whom He is watching will seek Him and His free gift of salvation before it is too late for them.

Be blessed today and remember that God right there, watching and waiting to bless you!

In the Garden by Reba McIntyre and the Isaacs

His Mercy Endures Forever

On By vickleaIn Scripture12 Comments

In my devotionals this week, I read about the word “Selah” that is in the Bible almost one hundred times. The writer of the devotional (entitled “Mornings with Jesus 2021”) said that this word really means to pause, focus and praise. I liked that, along with the suggestion that followed. I set my alarm for three different times during the day and each time my watch alarm went off, I paused what I was doing, focused on Jesus and praised Him for something specific. Simple, yet so profound!

The day that I started my “selah” moments, my husband and I had an appointment to see my ortho back specialist. It was just a routine follow-up, so not a really big deal. However, on the way there, we were in a car accident. We were shaken up but not injured, our car was towed from the scene and we are getting a rental car today. Praise God! We were okay! I had to climb over the seat into the back seat to get out because my door was jammed shut. The police officer and my husband assisted, so I got out okay. The other driver could not have been more concerned or kind. He even called yesterday to check on us and drove to his insurance office to expedite the claim and the rental car. That’s God’s mercy and grace at work, folks! My husband and I are fine except for a little soreness and I think that’s to be expected. I’m just so thankful! Life and its plans change so quickly, but God never changes and we were never out of His loving care.

As an added blessing, I talked to the other driver’s insurance agent and told her our dilemma. We have plans to visit our new grand baby next week and our grandson who graduates from high school the following week. She said to just take the rental car and go…we can worry about getting our car back when we return since it will likely take several weeks to get it back on the road again. God is good! All the time! Never have I ever been so glad to be totally dependent on God’s sovereign power. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone makes it one day without Him!

May the Lord of all grace and mercy bless and be with you today as you seek His face and how to be His ambassador.

Selah=Pause, Focus, Praise

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?