Tag: Jesus

What a Wonderful Promise

Jeremiah 29:13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Do you ever find yourself going down a rabbit hole on the internet when you are trying to figure something out? I do this all the time when I am reading the Bible. I think, “I wonder what that means” and away I go digging and searching Google for the meaning. Sometimes the meaning I discover will just give context to what was is happening in the world at that time and sometimes it helps me understand the passage better.

For example, I was reading in Matthew 9 about Jesus going to Matthew’s house to eat dinner. It said, “as Jesus reclined at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.” Okay, stop. Why would they be reclining? You don’t recline to eat. You sit upright. Otherwise, you would make a mess with your food and probably get indigestion.

So away I go, searching the internet to see if I can figure out why the Bible specifically mentions that they were reclining. After a little bit of research, I found out that when the Romans defeated the Greeks in 146 BC, they adopted the Greek style of reclining dining. So, Jesus and his disciples, living in the day of the Roman Empire, ate this way too, in a reclining position rather than sitting down. Interesting. I had no idea.

This shed a new light on the Last Supper too. In Matthew 26:20 it says, “When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.” If they were reclining, then the famous painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is a little off. The Last Supper would have probably looked more like the first picture than the second.

      The Last Supper—Leonardo da Vinci’s c.1490’s

I never know what I’m going to find when I start researching things in the Bible, so it is exciting to me. In the end I always grow from the experience. I gain a better understanding of the Bible and of the world they were living in. It helps me visualize the scene and retain the meaning of the passage better.

So, what about you? When you read the Bible and don’t understand something, do you take time to do a little research? Do you dig a little deeper? Do you spend time looking for God wholeheartedly? In Jeremiah 29:13 it promises that “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”  What a wonderful promise that is. The extra time you take to look for him will not be wasted. He promises that You. Will. Find. Him. I encourage you to spend time in the word today.

Heavenly Father, I know that your word always produces fruit. Guide me to use my time wisely and to search for you wholeheartedly. Open my mind, heart and soul to what you are telling me. Amen.

Any Time. Every Time. All the Time.

Luke 15:20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”

Confession time. I strayed from God. It was a dark time in my life, and I really don’t like thinking or talking about it, but I’ve been led to share it with you. I was in my 30’s, I was married with no kids, but my marriage was falling apart. I was blindsided by that fact. I really had no idea my marriage was in trouble until it was. It wasn’t a gradual thing that I saw coming. From my perspective, one day it was fine the next day it was not. That threw me off balance and I started to doubt my own thinking.

So, I made changes that I thought would help. I did things that I thought would help. I allowed things to happen in my home that I thought would help. I wasn’t forced to do these things. I did them of my own free will. And I was okay with it for a while because I wanted my marriage to work. I stopped going to church because I was ashamed of what I was doing, and I didn’t want God to see my shame. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. Guess what, it didn’t help. Doing the wrong thing never helps a bad situation. Turning away from God is never the answer.

It took a long time for me to come to that realization, years really. When I look back on that time now, I also realize that God was still there with me. He was walking with me through every step of that journey waiting for me to turn back to Him. Honestly, I don’t think I could have made it out of that situation without him. He protected me from trauma and permanent damage that I willingly subjected myself to.

I’m sharing all of this with you because I want you to know that you are not alone if you have strayed from God. I also want you to know that it is okay to come back to God. It might take some time to make the changes in your life that will allow you to feel good again. It might be hard to create or rebuild habits of worship, prayer and getting in the word so that you feel close to God. But this is exactly why God sent Jesus to earth. To teach you about forgiveness and grace. To die for your sins so that you can be redeemed, and your sins wiped clean. God is here, and he is ready for you to come back. Any time. Every time. All the time.

Lord, thank you for welcoming me back into your loving arms. Thank you for opening my eyes to forgiveness and grace. Bless those reading this devotional and lead them back to you too. Amen.

A Sweet Friendship Refreshes the Soul

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Proverbs 17:17 A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

I spent the morning with friends. We talked, we laughed, we ate, and we shared. We planned trips, we gave advice, and we prayed. Proverbs 27:9 says, “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” Friends are amazing. Really a gift from God. I am so blessed with the friends that God has placed in my path today.

I have friends that helped me get through my divorce. I have friends that helped me raise my boys. I have friends that brought me closer to God. I have friends that took me out and showed me how to have fun. Friends should add to your life and should encourage you to be a better person. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

I have also had friends that would find someone to dislike and then they would dislike them with all their heart.  I have had friends that pretended to be my friend but only wanted something from me.  I have had friends that were here for me during a season of prosperity but gone when the going got tough. I even had friends that encouraged me to do things I knew were wrong. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Don’t be fooled by those who says such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

What kind of friends are in your life today? Are they giving you heartfelt counsel and sharpening you to be a better person?  Or are they corrupting your good character? Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Find that friend. That friend that will stick closer than a brother. Pray for that friend. Pray that God will bring that friend to you. Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”

God will help you find good friends because he is an expert! Remember John 15:13…There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.  That is what Jesus did for you. He laid down his life so you can have eternal life with him. So go ahead and ask him for help. He will know what to do.

Lord thank you for my friends. Thank you for laying down your life for me. Help me to be a true friend to those you have put in my life. Amen.

New Year, New Word

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Matthew 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.”

Each year I ask God for a word to meditate on. It always amazes me how he delivers that word to me. This year I was driving home from dropping off my son at school for basketball practice during Christmas break. The word just popped into my head, and I was like, “Wait, what? Is that even possible to get a word while I’m driving?”

I had always been IN the Word, like reading the Bible, studying a devotion, or praying when I received a word before. So, because of this I doubted the word I was given. I finished driving home and went back to work (since I was working from home that week) and didn’t think about it again until that night. 

I am reading the Bible in 365 days on the YouVersion Bible app.  I actually listen to it each night once I am all snuggled down in bed. That night I prayed, “Lord if that is the word you want me to focus on this year, please give me confirmation through these Bible verses tonight.”  The word I received while I was driving was “complete”. The first Bible verse I listened to that night included Acts 15:25-27.  It says:

“So, we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.”

So, within the first minute of diving into the Word, it said my word, complete, and the word confirm. WOW! I paused the recording and went back to read it myself to make sure I heard it correctly and I had! Is that confirmation or what? But then of course doubt crept in. I thought, “Well maybe the word “complete” is in the Bible a lot and maybe it would be impossible for me to read the Bible and not come upon the word “complete”.”

Wrong! I looked it up. I’m reading the NLT version of the Bible and the word “complete” is only used 55 times in that translation of the Bible. The word “confirm” is only used 13 times. They are only used together 1 time in the same chapter of the whole Bible and that is the chapter I was reading that night.

Coincidence? Nope! That was a God thing. So, what am I going to do with my word? I’m going to study it and all 55 verses that use it in the Bible. I’m going to look for opportunities that Jesus leads me into every day to complete things. I’m going to listen to what God is trying to tell me. It’s going to be an adventure and I’m excited about it!

Have you asked God for your word?

Lord, thank you for speaking to us everyday through your word, your creation, and other people around us. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what you are trying to tell us and give us wisdom to use those words to your glory. Amen