Scripture For The Day

Scripture For The Day  September 30, 2022  "I'm Either Not Enough or Too Much"   ‘Over the years, I’ve had the hardest time figuring out where I belong. I’ll think , This is it ! And the next thing I know, that hostile dog of insecurity starts nipping at my heels again, telling me I’m out of place. I’m either not enough or too much almost everywhere I go… I’m forever searching for a place that fits me like a glove’- Beth Moore from “Chasing Vines”   “I’m either not enough or too much” … It’s like she was reading my mind. It’s a Blessing to have a ‘tribe’. They remain your people through the good, the bad, and the ugly. They’ve been there for your giggles and they stay through your frustrations and less-than-perfect moments. But you won’t find that everywhere. In my SS class this past Sunday, I shared with the students that even Jesus was rejected in His hometown. If people rejected Jesus, who are we to get so upset when people reject us?  The people in his hometown were

Scripture For The Day  September 29th, 2022  "Be Content with Jesus"   Parked in the driveway, sitting in my car, I began to cry. Through broken tears, I shared with my husband on the phone “I feel so defeated”. I told him that if I could see the spiritual realm around me that I believe with all my heart that there would be a major battle going on between the demons and the angels, who watch over me. I was at the point of saying I’m done. Earlier that evening, I had to continually bring my focus back to The Voice of God, because the enemy was attacking me left and right. I was praying nonstop for The LORD to help me focus on Him, and Him alone. I was feeling at my weakest and it took everything within me not to just get up and run away. Waking up in the middle of the night, still down, still defeated, I said, LORD, I think it’s time to stick a fork in me. I’m not sure I want to do this people thing anymore. But True to form, at least His Form, He directs me back to His Word:

Scripture For The Day  September 28th, 2022  "Be Who You Were Created to Be, and Be Kind!"    I just finished a fascinating book called “The Powerful Purpose of Introverts” by Holley Gerth. Fascinating because society tends to negatively label introversion as being weak. But this author through her own experiences and with The Help of The LORD really opened my eyes. We are created by an Awesome God. He is an intricate, detailed-oriented designer with All His Creativity. I have always been stronger than what people assume. Why? Because He created me in the first place and it’s because of Who He IS, not because of who I am. I am not weak or unsociable. Introversion means that I am created differently, introverts are wired differently than extroverts. Our nervous systems handle things differently. Introverts can be overstimulated by their surroundings to the point of having an introvert hangover the next day, feeling like they need to go back to bed and pull the covers over thei

Scripture For The Day   September 27, 2022 "Through The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"  Lying on the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, I began to pray. After the third time of trying to get the IV needle in my vein and blowing out, the nurse asked, “Are you okay?”. “Yes,” I replied. “Just praying for The Lord to help and praying for Him to keep me relaxed”. “Well, it must be working,” she said. “Because you’re very calm, I apologize for having to stick you so many times” I apologized to her for being so much trouble. As she proceeded to try again on the top of my right hand, I cringed. This time she was digging or ‘fishing’ as my hubby calls it and it hurt quite a bit. Slowly and softly, without wanting to, tears began to flow down my cheek. No one noticed because I didn’t make a sound but inside, I was crying “Lord, help me to stay in control of myself” Then I heard the nurse quietly whisper ‘Well, son of biscuit eater’ and I knew the vein had blown again. At this poi

Scripture For The Day   September 23, 2022 "Search Me and Try Me"   “Search me, O God, and know (examine) my heart: try me (test me) and know all my thoughts (and worries). Make sure I’m not going the wrong way, and lead me in the way everlasting” – Psalm 139:23-24  Search my heart, O God. No one is above sin. Our hearts need to be continually examined. It’s too easy to fall into sin. First, a thought. Then words. Then deeds. But it all begins with that thought. I know this world feels so frightening anymore. I mean, we just thought we had it bad a decade ago. We could never have imagined the sin that is now being accepted as okay. I never in my life knew there were so many categories to gender and what you identify with. It’s insane. Some people might think it can’t get any worse. Sadly, it can and will and continues to every day.  And though we are aware of that fact, when we hear something outrageous that is being accepted as ‘normal’ we are shocked again. Sometimes, w

Scripture For The Day   September 22, 2022 "Never Alone"   A Christian speaker once said “all rebellion begins in isolation” Would you agree with that? We recently had a brief period of a type of ‘isolation’. Did you or do you feel rebellious? It does seem like rebellion escalated during that period for various reasons. Cabin fever? Authority issues? Fear? Who knows. Either way, isolation opened a door to uneasiness and boredom which led some people, not all, to make some bad choices. King David had chosen to isolate himself when he decided on his own to not lead his army. He found himself bored and not able to sleep. Without meaning to, a seed of rebellion began to grow within a heart that usually chose to listen to The Voice of God.  That small opening allowed the enemy to step in and put all kinds of ideas into the heart of this once, faithful, shepherd boy, now king. Jesus showed us how important it is to have those times of solitude. Alone, but yet not alone. He would

Scripture For The Day   September 21, 2022 "It Starts With Us"  Children are so much fun.  I’ve always enjoyed working with kids. I’ve often thought I should have finished my education and became a certified teacher because I love to teach. Just one of those regrets in life. But if you think that kids are all innocent and kind and friendly to each other all the time then you really have no experience with children at all. Kids can be cruel to each other. Sometimes it’s because of their home life. Sometimes, it’s just they are spoiled and not taught any differently. Sometimes, they are just pushing boundaries to see what they can get away with. It’s just another developmental stage that needs to be taught and nurtured and it begins at home, not at school. It’s up to us to teach our children/grandchildren to respect others. If left unaddressed then it is highly probable that the child may grow into a selfish and arrogant person.  If you want people to be kind to you, then you

Scripture For The Day  September 16th, 2022  "Let's Make The Right Choices, Today!"   Oh, David, David, David. You were doing so great, for so long!  How quickly the mighty can fall. But as my preacherman says, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you ever imagined.”  It seemed like a good idea at the time but then the consequences can be tragic. We take our eyes off Jesus. King David was getting quite used to getting what he wanted. After all “it’s good to be da king”. Then he went too far.  2 Samuel 11 Spring was the time of battle when the kings went out to war. But this spring was different. David stayed home. His men went, but not David. This was unusual. A leader is supposed to lead. When leaders step out of leading, there will be consequences. While lazing around the palace, David couldn’t sleep. He began to stroll on his rooftop. At that time, rooftops were open courts. Picture this with me

Scripture For The Day   September 14, 2022 Keep On Doing Good  2 Samuel 10 shows us once again how doing what The Lord puts on your heart and exhibiting His Character can still be misconstrued and rejected. Nahash the king of the Ammonites died. His son, Hanun, had to step up and assume the throne. He just lost his father but the people needed a king. David had sympathy for Hanun, although the Ammonites were essentially their enemy. He still had compassion and empathy for Hanun. David knew one of the characteristics of The Lord was compassion. So, he chose to look past their differences and show some kindness as Hanun’s father once showed kindness to him. David sent some servants/ officers to comfort Hanun in whatever way they could. But the Ammonite leaders discouraged Hanun from accepting this gift. They told Hanun that David was trying to spy on them, in order to make war. So Hanun took David’s men and shaved off one-half of their beards. He cut off their clothes at the hips and

Scripture For The Day   September 13 th , 2022  "The Timer is Counting Down"  In 1 John 1, he tells us about the Word that gives life- the One who existed before the world began. He is the Same, yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus existed before time and will continue to exist after time. He has always been. God spoke our world into existence and the clock began but in a sense, it’s more of a timer. I often use a timer for my grandson in order for him to complete different tasks. He works better when he is able to count down how much time he has left. We can’t see the timer of life but every single one of us has a timer, slowly counting down. We don’t know how much time we have left. But I feel such an urgency lately and a tremendous amount of fatigue in feeling like I have wasted so much time.   John tells us that because He was a firsthand witness that He shares with us so that we can be full of the joy of Jesus Christ. He tells us that God is light and in Him, there

Scripture For The Day   September 12 th , 2022 "Growing Pains"  The words “Growing Pains” have been on my heart since last week. It wasn’t until Saturday that it really hit home. After Pee Wee Basketball practice on Saturday and then playing quite a bit outside, our 6-year-old grandson seemed extra tired and was walking a bit slower than usual. I asked him if he would like me to massage his little legs with some lotion. He let out a sigh of relief and said “yes”.    Growing Pains are tough. But the end result is often worth the pain. Then there is a whole other type of growing pain that we don’t hear too much about. When we live for The Lord and seek His Face in all that we do, we will have spiritual growing pains. We will have struggles on our journey with Him. We are not exempt from pain and hurt.  Right now, I not only feel the Seasons changing in the air, but I also feel seasons are changing in my spiritual walk with Him. I feel like The Lord is up to something. I f

Scripture For The Day   September 9, 2022 "Long Live The King"   By now you may have heard that Queen Elizabeth passed away this week. She broke the record of Britain's longest reigning monarch with a 70-year reign. However; she did not break the world reigning record of 72 years. It might not matter to you but I can’t help but think that the people are hurting and feeling the loss. She seemed to be fairly loved. The majority of the people have never known any other monarch. The loss of their Queen must be profound and now someone else will be sitting upon that throne.     Our God also has a Throne. Symbolic or otherwise, His Word speaks to us about the Throne of God. Isaiah had a vision and he said that he could see The LORD ‘High and lifted up, seated on a throne, and the train of His robe was so long that it filled the temple. He is MAGNIFICENT. – Isaiah 6:1 Like other thrones, His Throne is a place of authority and demands respect.  He is all-powerful, all-knowi

Scripture For The Day   September 8 th , 2022 Conviction or Condemnation?   Woke up thinking about the difference between condemnation and conviction. As Christians, we expect our hearts to get convicted. We often have our toes stepped on while listening to preaching and the teaching of God’s Word. That is conviction. It helps identify the wrong in our lives, and I can’t speak for you, but I have wrongs that have to be identified and revealed. But then there is condemnation. Condemnation has no place in a Christian’s heart. It does not encourage us to draw closer to The Lord. If anything, it drives us to give up on ourselves and sometimes on the church.  It makes us feel like we are not good enough.  As Children of God, we are under that beautiful Grace, but not perfect. We are a mess. I need that conviction in order to remind my heart to draw closer to Him.  However; I can be guilty of sin, yet not be sentenced to the judgment that I so deserve because of The Shed Blood of Jesus Chr

Scripture For The Day   September 7, 2022 God Has Left the Building, But Not the Heart Who Am I, O Lord God? When it was all said and done and David was King at last, in a time of peace and intimacy with The Lord, David was humbled by all the blessings in his life. He was overwhelmed by the promises that God had made to him and his family. David made mistakes but his heart belonged to God. And The Lord blessed him for that faithfulness. He continued to seek The Lord and when he messed up, he repented with every bit of his soul. This morning,  I woke up early with some words in my heart that I had to quickly write down. ‘When the world rejects His Holy Word- God has left the building but not the heart.                         When Christian people ignore His Voice- God has left the building but not the heart.                       When the church begins to waste His time- God has left the building but not the heart.                    When schools allow the chaos in- God has left th

Scripture For The Day   September 6, 2022 Help Us, O Lord  Several years ago, I heard a newfound friend say “Is it you God, or is it Memorex?” For you young’uns, there used to be a commercial about a cassette tape called Memorex. They were claiming that their product was so good that you couldn’t tell the difference between someone’s actual Voice or their taped voice. I’m hoping I don’t have to explain what a cassette tape is.  Either way, my friends’ question has stayed with me ever since. Anytime, I get something on my heart I tend to ask that same question. In other words, is it you God or is just me? I want to hear The Voice of Truth over my voice every single time. People with good intentions are still able to make wrong choices. Sometimes, we get ahead of God. We just want to help. But before we jump, we need to be sure that it’s of Him. Because not every noble and great idea comes from God. Sometimes, out of the goodness of our own hearts, we jump in where we should not be. It

Scripture For The Day   September 5, 2022 Woe is Me, If I don't  I can’t believe it’s been 11 years since The LORD first impressed upon my heart to begin writing devotionals. It was then that I began a journey of digging deeper into The Word of God, listening to His Voice, and then sharing what He placed on my heart. I am humbled that He would even choose to use such a mess as me. It’s beyond my comprehension. I’ve learned a lot along the way.  Pray first, seek His Help, Trust His timing and seek His face in everything.  I’ve learned that you can’t just read His Word and think you know all the answers. You have to dig deeper. You have to study the original language. You have to study the culture and customs of the time in order to better understand. Learn who the people were. And even then, there still remain mysteries. Sadly, sometimes people get upset.  Sometimes the messages are tougher than I care for them to be.  I don’t like to upset people. But then my husband asks me “Are

Scripture For The Day   September 1, 2022 "Reverence My Sanctuary"  Trust me when I say that I have literally spent hours on this devotional today,  through study, prayer, questioning, and seeking godly counsel. I have typed, deleted, retyped, and rephrased several times.  It’s never my intention to hurt or to frustrate but there are times that I feel the tugging of The LORD so strong that He will not let it go and I would rather upset man than let The LORD down and deal with His consequences. But when do we say enough is enough? Where do we draw the line? God’s Word is so clear on so many things and a mystery with others. But one thing stays constant. God expects RESPECT. He is a jealous God and He is Worthy of All the Respect that is due Him. It just so happens that yesterday, I had to lay down the law for my grandson. He was pushing the proverbial line that I had drawn out. In a sense, he was nudging it across the room with his toe until he had to face the consequences