Tag: witness

Paul’s Belief in Strength

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, testimony1 Comment

Strength in Every Season

Philippians 4:13 is a popular Bible verse that you may have seen posted on signs, social media, stickers, or cars. Maybe you’ve heard someone recite this verse before a sporting event or while trying to accomplish a difficult task.

Unfortunately, this verse is often misunderstood. This verse is not saying that we can accomplish whatever we want. Paul isn’t talking about winning a sports game or having the courage to do something daring.

Instead, Paul is actually talking about his time in prison. He is referencing the power of God that was with him during this difficult time of ministry.

In Philippians 4:12 he talks about the power he has to live content in every situation in life. He learned how to live with abundance and with nothing. He learned to live with very little food and resources, and also with a lot of food and resources.

Paul found that regardless of his circumstances, God continued to supply him with the power to do the work of God. He never lacked the strength and resources to tell others about the good news of Jesus—even while he was stuck in a prison.

Paul could live in every season of life and accomplish all that God asked of him through the strength that God gave him.

So, instead of God giving us strength to do anything we want, He gives us the strength we need to endure various circumstances and accomplish the mission that He has given us. This means that you will never lack any resource to live a growing and godly life, or to share the good news of Jesus with others.

If you’re in a season of abundance or a season of lack, remember that God is the one who gives you the strength to endure every season. If you find yourself in a difficult situation, ask God to supply you with the strength that only He can give.

My Thoughts

I think I am like most people when I honestly admit that I have used this verse incorrectly, thinking it means only that God will give me the strength to finish a job or to face a challenge. Well, it does kind of mean that. But this devotional today opened my eyes to the fact that the real thing God wants us strengthened to do is His will. And what is His will? We are to fulfill the Great Commission to “go and tell.” As an introverted person, I have to depend on God’s strength to even approach the cashier’s station, much less talk to them about the Lord. God is showing me daily that He does not expect more of me than I can give, but He does have expectations for which He will give me strength to carry out. I don’t have to stand in front of a group of people and share my testimony, but I can pronounce a blessing on the clerk who helps me in the store and I can ask the waitress if she needs prayer for anything. Both of these may seem simple to you, but for me they are a lot since I prefer to avoid people rather than speak to anyone that I don’t know well. I am the one who used to spend a lot of time in the bathroom during social functions and came out only if I knew my husband would be ready to leave soon. I have missed so many opportunities to tell others about my faith and how they can have the same relationship with the Lord because I was depending on my own strength and boldness. I am so thankful to know that it’s not my strength but God’s and He will give me the words and the boldness when I need it.

I am not saying that I will change overnight. I know that I won’t. After all, I have spent over seventy years withdrawing from the world and only coming out when I needed to. But I will say that God is working on me and when I am out on errands, He is prodding me more to speak out and to speak up. Have you claimed the promise in this verse today? What does it mean to you?

Telling Is Important

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/20

The faith we have is meant to be shared with the next generation. They need to hear about how we came to believe in the Lord Jesus and all that He has done for us during our lifetimes. It isn’t enough that they see our lives, although that should be a good witness to them. They also need to hear the stories. I think I have told all of my children and grandchildren my testimony but since my memory is faulty, it will not hurt to tell them again. It is in the telling that I am reminded to God’s goodness to me just as I am telling others about all that He has done. Just as the stones were set up by Israel when they crossed the Jordan River, I have memories from all of the churches we attended and what I learned there. I have Bibles marked with verses from various sermons by various pastors and notes that I have taken over the years, both in my Bible and in notebooks. You may not think so, but your children and grandchildren need the evidence of your faith shown to them so that when times get hard for them, they can look back and remember to keep the evidence of God’s working in them and their own faith. God does everything for a reason; we often don’t understand it at the time, or ever here on earth, but God has a plan and a purpose and He knows what He is doing. I needed to remind myself of that today as our oldest grandson is facing a tremendous medical burden. Please pray for him and for his family. I don’t know what God is doing here, but I know that He is control and can take care of cancer and all of its ill effects just as He took care of me when I had a stroke. God is good…always and in all ways, even when we don’t understand.

Consecration: Turning Away and Turning Toward

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/18

This devotional presents one of the simplest and easily understood explanation of consecration that I think I have ever read. We have to turn away from the things of the world and turn towards God. The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, started out right, wholeheartedly devoted to God. He built the temple and dedicated it to the Lord in a long prayer asking for God to dwell there and bless His people. But as he aged, Solomon’s heart was turned towards the wives that he had married from other nations, the very thing that God had warned him not to do. In turning away from God, Solomon turned to the world, worshipping the false gods of Moab among others. As a result, God took the kingdom away from Solomon and Israel was divided between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. What great blessings could have continued for generations if only Solomon had kept his first love for God and not for his foreign wives! We will never know the outcome of that scenario because it didn’t happen that way. Solomon had consecrated his life to serving the Lord, asking only for wisdom to rule well. Then he turned AWAY from God and toward the world and his own ego destroyed his kingdom. How many times have we felt the pull of the world, the entertainment that others seem to get so much pleasure from, the language that others use freely and seem to be accepted because of their irreverence, the riches and success that the world clamors for? We feel the pull, but if we are turned away from the world and toward God, these things cannot capture our hearts and souls. They may capture our attention, hopefully only briefly, but not enough to entice us away from our commitment to God. Each time we feel a tug to turn towards the world, we must remember that leads to destruction, not to life. Only God offers life eternally. Thus, our consecration to Him must be wholehearted, sincere and with a complete knowledge that the choices we make today may affect our eternal destiny and the witness we show others affects the way they turn, either towards God or away. Solomon’s choices led to the destruction on a united nation; choices matter. God desires us to turn towards Him but He will not force us to do so. It is our free will choice, and therein lies the problem. We are a sinful people saved by grace, a fact that we must remember every day, especially when we are faced with the choice to turn towards the world instead of towards God.

Pass It On

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Remember the game we played as children that was called “pass it on.” Someone would tell a secret of some sort (usually foolish things that were not really secrets at all), and say, “Pass it on.” Then we would see how many different people we could tell. The age of technology has given way to a new way to play the game. We are still doing the same thing, but our message reaches a larger audience in a shorter amount to time.

As Christians, each of us is tasked with the mission to “pass it on” and the greatest mission field that we have is first to our own families.

Our lives are the testimony we live before our family members, especially the youngest ones who listen and watch everything the adults say and do. We may not be aware that is happening, but believe me, it is! A case in point is that I am currently in MD watching my youngest grandson. His older sisters spend a lot of time with their other grandmother because she lives nearby, and one of her favorite phrases is OMG. I don’t use that phrase at all and told the girls that it was wrong to say it because you were saying God’s name without any purpose, like a swear word. They still use it because it has become a habit, and I cringe each time they do, but when they see my disappointed face, they change the wording to, “Oh, my goodness” which is what I suggested they do. Children hear and mimic. I have been singing Christian songs with the little one and one of his favorites is “I’m In the Lord’s Army.” I have been here a few weeks now and when he wants me to sing the song while he does the motions, he comes to me and starts “marching.” It is very cute, but it also shows how attentive children are to what we say and do. It is up to us to plant seeds of righteousness rather than seeds of worldliness and rebellion.

I am old now, and the wisdom that I have comes directly from God. So does the witness that I demonstrate to my grandchildren. When I disappear to the basement bedroom weekly to attend church virtually, they know that Nanna is going to church and they hear me singing the worship songs along with the congregation. Sometimes, the curiosity of the older two leads them to come downstairs and listen with me. My desire is for them to attend church again as they did before the pandemic, but I am not sure that will happen. In the meantime, I am going to be the best witness I can and sow as many seeds as I can into their young and fertile hearts.

May each of you be blessed with the knowledge that someone is watching and God has given you a ministry right where you are. So, pass it on!

The Steps We Take

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

Wherever we walk, there is someone looking at us and perhaps following in our footsteps. Jesus followed His Father in Heaven and His guidance in the steps He took on earth, leading Him ultimately to the cross. It’s hard to fathom, but Jesus was born to die for us. His destiny was established from the beginning of the world because God always had a plan to save mankind. Thus, His steps were ordered. So should ours be and we should always be fully cognizant of the fact that others are watching. Some scoffers watch and are gleeful when we fall. Some of the faithful are watching, praying for us to make it to the end and giving them the hope that they, too, can end this life in victory. Whatever steps we take should lead us closer to our Heavenly Father and should leave no doubt in the minds of others about our dedication to the Lord. Thus, we leave a good witness in the path behind us and forge a witness of faith for others to follow.

Note that the author of this verse is Job. The same Job who lost everything and sat in a pile of ashes afterwards, but he never lost sight of the One in whom he had complete faith. He can say that he never turned aside. It’s like setting your compass for a particular destination and following it to the end. Our one true compass who always leads in the right way is God and when we are following Him, we don’t have to worry about getting lost along the way during all of the hazards that life throws at us.

Have a blessed day and may your feet tread steadfastly in the path that God has established for you, without hesitation or wavering, but with full confidence that God goes before you.