Tag: prayer

An Urgent Call

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

Imagine that you are enjoying a relaxing evening at home when your phone disrupts the silence and your good mood. The call comes up as “Unknown” but you are curious about who would be calling after nine at night, so you answer. It’s the hospital calling. Your beloved grandmother has been admitted and is being diagnosed with a probable stroke. The nurse on the other line says that it’s imperative that you come quickly if you want to talk to her because her condition is critical. What do you do? I have to believe that you rush to get ready and go to the hospital as soon as possible. After all, your grandmother is precious to you and you want to see her, tell her you love her, perhaps spend her last minutes on earth with her.

Now, imagine the same scenario but this time it’s Jesus calling you. He tells you about someone, a stranger to you, who really needs to know Him as Savior before He is called home. The Lord tells you exactly where to go and that the need is urgent for you to go quickly. When you protest that you don’t know what to say, the Lord tells you that the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say, but you need to go quickly. Do you think it’s a prank call and hang up, or do you follow the instructions, get ready to go and head to talk to a stranger about Jesus and His gift of salvation?

We all think that we know what we would do, but do we really? Are we answering the call daily to tell someone about the Lord? Every person is just as precious to the Lord as your loved ones are to you. Every. Single. Person.

The stranger to you may be a seeker to the Lord, the person who is unsure to whom to turn to find the answers, but he wants to know who can help him out of the mess he has made of his life. Maybe the person Jesus sends you to is a neighbor, a friend, a coworker or a boss. The need is no less urgent because you know them. How many people do we see every day, assume that they are okay and pass out of their lives and onto our busy routine? My guess is dozens, perhaps more. Which of those people will you share the gospel with?

As I look around at all that is happening in the world, I cannot help but think that Jesus must surely be coming soon. I am not prophesying, and I don’t know when He will come. I do know that we are always supposed to be ready. And one of the ways we get ready is to take as many people with us as we can by sharing the message that Jesus has given us to share. We are called. We have a choice to hang up and continue as though the call never happened or we can answer it and heed what Jesus says to do. The call for reaching out to the lost is an urgent one. Jesus loves…He gave everything. Can you take a few minutes of your time, step out of your comfort zone and share the gospel with someone that the Lord puts on your heart this week?

Prayer from Daily Refresh, 5-04-26, and the inspiration that started this post today

Rescue the Perishing-Hymn

Choose Joy

On By vickleaIn Scripture5 Comments

First of all, I want to share that I believe that there is a huge difference between happiness and joy. I think happiness depends on our circumstances, but joy is a fruit of the Spirit and comes as we lean into Him. Having said that, I want to assure all of my readers that I am not happy about my health issues, but I am still filled with joy because I am leaving all of the problems in God’s hands and He is giving me peace. It’s a daily thing, coming before His altar and presenting my thankfulness and my petitions as well as my frustrations over thin bones, one kidney and a shoulder that is giving me fits. He already knows, doesn’t He?

God’s closeness to me means that in the midst of pain and anxiety, I can still have joy. He has promised me that He will take care of me, and I believe Him.

Circumstances change, but God never does. Thus we can rejoice in His constancy, His faithfulness and His love.

I wish I could honestly say that I am always faith-filled and peaceful, but I am not. There are days when I am angry at the circumstances, doubting God’s love and crying out my rage to Him. But you know what? He is big enough to take it and His response is to fill me with His peace. It’s like He says to me, “Are you done now? Okay. Now, take this peace, calm down and remember that I am right there beside you.” Then His peace puts a shield around me so that the next thing that happens doesn’t knock me over. I am learning to bend with the circumstances of my life, to accept who God made me to be and to have peace and joy knowing that nothing gets to me unless it goes through Him.

So, how do I try to maintain that peace and joy? By memorizing this verse and saying it to myself. Is what I am thinking pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy, true, noble and right? If not, I need to choose to redirect my thoughts. That generally means to change my focus to the Lord and others and not on myself.

This prayer is from the YouVersion Daily Refresh today and it meant a lot to me. God is truly my Anchor in a stormy sea. Whatever I face is not too big for God to handle. I just have to trust in Him and open myself to be filled with His joy. Again, I remind you that I am not always happy, but I am joy-filled.

Amen and amen. In good times, in bad times, in all times, God is always good and deserves all of the glory!

Devoting Yourself

On By vickleaIn Admonition, God’s blessings, prayer, Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

What does the word “devote” mean? According to the American Heritage Dictionary, devote is defined as “To give or apply (one’s time, attention, or self, for example) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person.” Now, read that again slowly and think as you read to what or whom you are devoted.

I am devoted to God, my marriage and my family. How do I know? Because I pursue them daily, making them priorities. I get up early each morning and start my day spending time with God in His Word, praying and asking for insight into what I should share on my blog and into what I need to do to follow Him more closely. You know that the Bible says that where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is. What you devote your time to says a lot about your priorities, doesn’t it?

Today’s scripture verse in the Daily Refresh on the YouVersion App says this:

So, we know that this means to apply your attention and time entirely to prayer. What does that look like? I think it means to focus on praying. What are you watching for? I am watching for God to move in my life as I listen for Him to speak to me. And I am always thankful for a new day that starts with prayer.

Prayer doesn’t have to be a long speech to God about all that He has done and all that you want Him to still do. My prayers are actually very simple. I start by naming a character trait of God that I am particularly thankful for that morning. Then, I confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. Then third part of my prayer is to again thank God for something special that He has done for me. And the next part of my prayer is to ask God for mercy and grace for various family members who have needs. I end my prayer with thanksgiving and praise. I know it sounds complicated, but it really only takes less than ten to fifteen minutes. I don’t look at the time, but I know it isn’t too long. But it is a vital part of my day, to just focus on the Lord and have a conversation with Him. It’s a “good morning” greeting to my Maker. Then, I pray to Him throughout the day as any need or thought that I need His guidance comes up. And I always end my day with prayer, too. The time I spend with God in prayer is all His time, no interruptions or conversations. The phone is on silent and away from me. The books I need to read for that day can wait. The chores can wait. That time is God’s and I try very hard not to be distracted or hurry through my time with Him.

God is always there, waiting for us to notice and to spend time with Him. How important would you feel in someone’s life if they never spent time talking to you and then listening to what you had to say? After a while, that kind of relationship would break down. We need to nourish and cherish our relationship with God as it is the foundation for all of our other relationships to which we are devoted. So, devote yourself to prayer? That is a definite “yes” and a resounding praise for time to spend with the Creator of the Universe who always has time for us.

A Troubled Nation

On By vickleaIn grief, News Notes and Observations, prayer, Scripture8 Comments

We all learned division in elementary school, and we found out that it was hard and sometimes tedious. Our nation is divided along political and religious beliefs. And it’s hard and frightening. The era of civil discourse has ended and we are entering an era of violence against those with whom you disagree. If you don’t believe me, check out Blue Sky, an app for liberals that is calling for murdering Republicans. What did Charlie Kirk do to make someone want to kill him? We don’t know yet because the killer(s) have not been caught yet. But there is plenty of speculation about the assassination being politically motivated. In my opinion, that is probably accurate, but I think that the murder goes beyond that and reveals the heart and soul of America right now.

Years ago, I can’t even remember when it ended, the proper way to respond to those with whom you disagreed was to just walk away, knowing that you had agreed to disagree. You would continue with your opinion and they would continue with theirs. Nowadays, though, the evil minds of a few are vocally calling for violence when the other side does not agree with them. The issues are as numerous as the people who propagate them, but the ones that immediately come to mind are abortion, transgender rights, and illegal immigration. Those of us on the right say abortion is murder, there are only two genders and illegal immigration is, well, illegal, so those who crossed the border illegally should return to their homeland, or at least come across the border the right way. Charlie Kirk was a conservative Christian who would debate anyone about his views, not in a manner of “in your face” and “I know you’re wrong and I will prove it.” No, he reasoned with the people who confronted him and some listened and even changed their beliefs while others were angry that he was expounding on those beliefs. May we be mindful to respect the opinions of others and to disagree with love, not with hatred.

What will be the outcome of yesterday’s murder of a young family man who loved his God, his family and his nation? We don’t know, but we can be certain that things will change. The god of this world is alive and active and dedicated to destroying the truth. As Christians, we need to be ready to stand up for our beliefs and not to back down.

I subscribe to a Substack blog called Coffee and Covid. Here is today’s post that spoke to my heart about what is happening these days and prompted me to write this post.

Coffee and Covid

I will close with a photo and a scripture verse that brought me comfort and peace yesterday.

Charlie’s wife and two small children need our prayers. Our nation needs our prayers. Our leaders need our prayers. And our “enemies” need our prayers. I am comforted by the fact that God is still on His throne and although the enemy might have won this skirmish, the victory belongs to the Lord! Pray for our nation on this anniversary of 9-11. May we never forget the unity at that time and may the memory of all who sacrificed their lives on that day ever keep us true to our faith, our family and our nation.

Traveling Mercies

On By vickleaIn God’s blessings, praise, promises, Scripture5 Comments

This year has been one of a great deal of travel for me and my family members. Our grandson went to Japan while our granddaughter went to Ireland and then on a cruise around the Greek Isles. Our son went on a business trip to Germany. The trips my husband and I made this year were not as distant, but there were a lot of them. Starting with four graduations in May, we stayed on the road for almost three weeks that month. It seemed that we barely got home when we packed the car again and headed to Myrtle Beach, SC, to see my brother and his family who had flown in from Colorado. Returning from that trip, we spent a few weeks at home, then headed out to Maryland to see our son and his family. And this past weekend was our last trip of the summer. We went to Williamsburg to the Great Wolf Lodge to spend the weekend with our other son and his family. I would not trade any of those hours in the car for anything since my husband and I both got so much pleasure from seeing our children and grandchildren.

One of the things that I purposed to do this year is memorize more scripture verses. One of those became like my mantra for the year.

There was a lot of going out and coming in this year for ourselves and our children and grandchildren. They are still on the move, with one in college at Liberty, one actively seeing employment and one employed and traveling for work. This Psalm has been on my lips as a prayer for us and for our family members as they travel. The promise of traveling mercies is real. Harry and I put a lot of miles on these old bodies this year, and God was with us the whole way, just as He promised. Did unexpected things happen while we traveled? Of course, but nothing that God could not help us handle. When God promises, you can count on His acting on your behalf!

How about you? Did you go anywhere special? Did you pray before, during and after your trip for the traveling mercies that God provides?

Tired of Doing Good?

On By vickleaIn Admonition, prayer, Scripture4 Comments

It is very easy for me to get up and right away declare that I am tired. Sometimes, it’s because I didn’t sleep long enough, and other times it is because I didn’t sleep well enough. But that is not the tired I am talking about today. Today I want to address the walking away from those who have needs that we can do something about because we are just too self-centered to want to step out of our comfort zone and lend a hand. God’s word tells us not to get “weary in doing good.” For me, I find myself weary of helping others when I don’t feel appreciated. But that is not what the verse says. It doesn’t say to stop doing good if you don’t feel appreciated and no one thanks you. I remember the ten lepers whom Jesus healed and only one came back to thank Him. What if the Lord had said, “That’s it! I’m done. I did all of this and one…only one thanked me. It’s just not worth it!” But He didn’t. Jesus continued to reach out and touch and change lives all the way until the end of His ministry. In fact, even on the cross, He reached out to the thieves on either side of Him. Always selfless and ready to sacrifice. He is our model for doing good and how long we should keep doing it. We may never see people change or show gratitude towards us or to the Lord, but we have to keep doing because the harvest is coming one day, even if we don’t see it.

A prayer from the YouVersion today. I hope you will join me in saying this prayer wholeheartedly, mean it and look forward to ways to be like Jesus so that others see Him in you.

Ready to Fight

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture3 Comments

At any given moment, we may be expected to defend our faith to others. I have generally found that when someone is asking me a question about my faith, it is not usually because of their genuine curiosity, but rather in order to mock or deride my beliefs. Nevertheless, God wants us prepared because we never know whose heart and lives may be touched by our answer.

One thing that keeps returning to my mind as I go out into the world each day (and I consider the whole world a battleground these days) is that the victory is God’s, not mine. I am a tool in His hands, not the only tool He uses and probably not the best one, but a tool, if I am only willing.

When Joshua was getting ready to go into Jericho and defeat it for the Lord, He met up with a spiritual being.

The commander of the army of the Lord is right there with Joshua. He would not have noticed him if he had not looked up. He didn’t immediately recognize him as friend or foe, but once the man identified himself, Joshua bowed in reverence and asked for the message that God had for him. How often have we faced insurmountable odds or people who present themselves as enemies and we forget to look up and recognize that the commander of God’s army is right beside us? We never go into battle alone!

God is the One who fights for us and He is the One who brings victory. We are expected to show up for battle, ready, with the sword of His spirit as our stalwart weapon. But we can know in advance that God goes with us, before us, beside us and behind us. He fights the battle as we, in obedience, go into a world that is increasingly anti-Christian. We don’t need to fear what the enemy can do to us; rather, we need to be praying for the souls of those we encounter because God will not always be mocked before He takes final action against them.

Our “horses” are ready when we have prayed, hidden God’s Word in our hearts and received the command from our Commander-in-Chief to “go.” His Word goes with us, His victory is assured. After all, the Lord’s army surrounds us, if we will only open our eyes to see.

Happy Inauguration Day!

On By vickleaIn Admonition, prayer, Quotation and Citations, Scripture1 Comment

My prayer is for the healing of our nation as we turn back to God. We need to look forward and not back, forgiving as the Lord forgave, and pray for our new leaders. The new President may not be the one you wanted in office, but he is the one that God allowed to be there, so the commandment is to pray for those who lead us. It doesn’t say to pray for those you like and agree with…pray for the leaders.

I spent the last four years praying for President Biden even though he was not my choice. I believe God had a purpose in allowing him to be in office. And since I don’t have God’s mind, I cannot tell you what that was. But I prayed, sometimes begrudgingly and sometimes half-heartedly, but I prayed.

Today is a new day and a new administration. I hope that you will join me in praying for President Trump and his family, for Vice President Vance and his family. May all they do be for the good of the nation and the people that God loves.

Spread Peace

On By vickleaIn Christmas, Holidays, promises, Scripture, YouVersion App8 Comments

From the YouVersion Bible App Devotional, “Advent, Day 8”

Peace Helps Us Belong

The holiday season is special for a number of reasons. For many, it’s an opportunity to gather with family and loved ones to celebrate Christmas together. It’s a season for belonging. 

At the same time, we all have those family members or friends who put us on edge, even just a little bit. If we’re not careful, our differences and tensions bring division and crush unity. 

However, there is a source of deep, unbreakable peace. As followers of Jesus, we are part of the family of God. We have a kind of belonging that cannot be taken from us by others because it was given to us by God. 

When we remember the ultimate family we’re in, we’re able to empathize with the people around us—even the ones who sometimes rub us the wrong way. 

Peace is a state of wholeness, calm, and renewal between us, God, and others. So when we experience peace, it has the power to fight division and bring wholeness to all of our relationships. 

From the very beginning of the Bible, we see how God works with and through people to lead everyone to be at peace with one another. One example of this is the story of a shepherd named Abraham. 

In Genesis 12, we see God promising blessings to, and through, Abraham. 

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 NIV (emphasis added) 

Still, like nearly everyone in the Bible, Abraham had moments of conflict with his family and with others around him. But these moments didn’t disqualify him from God’s promises or God’s family. 

It was from Abraham’s family line that Jesus, our ultimate Peacemaker, would be born. Through Jesus, we’re able to be made whole and complete in our relationship with God. 

And in Revelation 14:6, we learn that this good news and invitation to God’s family is a free gift offered to everyone—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 

Today, we can have peace because we belong to God’s family. 

Pause and Pray:

God, thank You for Your love for humanity. You have always been gracious to me, even when I didn’t deserve it. Thank You for blessing all people, including me, through Your one and only Son, Jesus. Please give me Your peace that surpasses all understanding. In Jesus’ name, amen.

My Thoughts

I don’t know about you readers out there in the blogosphere, but I do know that I have not been feeling much peace this week. I have felt anxious about decorating (and I really only put out a few things and decorate the tree). I am even now anxious about completing my shopping. Why do I wait until December to shop? Well, that’s when I have the money all saved to do it and I anticipate the first of December every year. But then, I have to wait for people to give me ideas about what to buy and then when I choose things, I find out that they will be shipped later than Christmas. It just seems that one thing after another blocks my good intentions and the result is anything but peace.

When I read the definition of peace in today’s devotional, I read it again…and again. I highlighted it in red above just in case you need to read it multiple times, too. I am made whole by God. I can feel peace even during turmoil because He gives me His peace. And every day is a new day to establish better and renewed relationships between me and God and others. I don’t have to wait for my sister to give me “permission” to call her. I can call at any time and just express love and concern for her. Peace is a hard thing for me in this season of busyness, but I am finding if I just sit quietly for a little while I can get more accomplished than if I frantically try to do everything in a short period of time.

It is a real consolation to me that I am a part of God’s family and that I can share things here with my brothers and sisters online, knowing that you will not judge me but will pray for me and perhaps even identify with some of the same issues that I have. God sent His Son in order to adopt us into His family, a family that doesn’t judge but rather offers love and acceptance.

Today is a day of rest for me. I didn’t sleep late, but I do get to go to church and fellowship with others as I learn more about God. Then, after church, I can rest and not work on lists of things to do. In that I find peace.