I live in the Midwest (USA) and have been happily married for over thirty years. My husband and I have two adult children. I very much enjoy studying the Bible in depth, which helps me to grow in my faith in, knowledge of and love for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Word, the Bread of Life. (John 6:35, John 1:1, Rev. 19:11-16, Rom. 10:8-10) We believers are called to be the salt and light of the earth. (Matt. 5:13-16) One way I try to do that is by sharing the treasures that I find in the Bible in the devotionals I write.
Jesus told the church at Laodicea that He is extremely displeased with lukewarm believers and that was what I was for too many years. I attended church, volunteered, donated money and goods and held moral beliefs, but I didn’t read my Bible daily or pray unceasingly. My prayers were mostly about protection of loved ones. I wanted benefits from God more than I wanted God for Himself.
It was very sad, but I didn’t really know it at the time. So my quest is to wake up other lukewarm believers who are like I was, while there’s still time to avoid bitter regret (and no doubt tears) over their lack of love for our Savior. I believe we are in the end times, and we need to encourage each other to be strong and faithful. I enjoy studying the Bible in depth and spend much of my “free” time doing so.
Having sadly wasted far too much of my early Christian life “going through the motions,” I have deep concerns about the state of readiness of the Church for Jesus’ return. As that time draws near, it’s critical that we take the advice of Jesus and the apostles to “wake up” and examine our walk with our Savior. (Rev. 2:20-23, 3:1-6, Rev. 3:14-19, 1Cor. 15:34, 1Thess. 5:5-8, Mark 13:32-37, Rom. 13:11-14, 2Cor. 13:5, 1John 2:28-29)
Now is the time to make changes if something is lacking in the expression of our love for God – to be sure our lamps are filled with oil so that we can be ready for the return of the Bridegroom. (Matt. 25:1-13, Psa. 119:105, 111:10, 18:28, Prov. 23:23, 2Tim. 3:14-17, 2Pet. 3:14-18, 2Cor. 5:14-15). We walk in wisdom (in the light, not in foolishness and darkness like the five foolish virgins – Eph. 5:8-11, 1John 1:6-7, 1Thess. 5:5) when we exercise our freedom in Christ in ways that honor and glorify Him. (2Cor. 3:17, Gal. 4:28-31, 5:1, 13, Acts 13:39, Eph. 2:15, Col. 2:16-23, John 8:35-36, Rom. 7:6, 8:2, 13-14, Gal. 5:18, 6:2, Matt. 7:12, 11:28-30, John 13:34-35, 15:12-17, Jam. 1:25, 2:8, 12, 1Pet. 2:15-16)
We would be wise to keep in mind that “what God is preparing” is for “those who LOVE Him.” (John 14:15-26, John 15:1-21, Eph. 5:1-33, 1Cor. 2:9, 2Tim. 2:19-22) If everyone who claims to believe enters the kingdom of heaven with the inheritance of a firstborn (whether they bear the fruits of the indwelling Spirit or not – Gal. 5:13-18, 19-25, Titus 2:11-15, 3:3-8, John 3:3-8, 14:15-17, Heb. 12:14-17, 22-24, 28-29, 3:5-14, 1Pet. 1:14-19, 2:4-12, 2Cor. 7:1; whether they hold fast to and follow Jesus or not – Matt. 16:24-27, Rom. 8:16-17, Heb. 13:13, 1Pet. 2:21, Phil. 1:27-30, 1John 2:1-6, 3:1-10, 2Tim. 2:19-26, 1Pet. 4:3-5; even if they love the world and its pleasures more than God – 1John 2:15-17, Jam. 4:4-10), then Paul would not have said that he had not yet attained what he sought (but shortly before his death, he expressed confidence that he would receive it.) (Phil. 3:8-21, 2Tim. 4:8, 2Tim. 2:3-7, 1Cor. 11:1, Heb. 13:7-10, 3John 1:11) Paul was not “earning salvation” by obeying His Lord. He was proving the faith in his heart was genuine. (John 15:8, Jam. 1:12, Heb. 6:11-12, Heb. 10:23-39, Heb. 12:1-29, 1Cor. 9:24-10:13, Col. 3:23-25, 1Pet. 1:6-9, 2Pet. 3:11-18, Rev. 3:10-13) He was taking up His cross and obeying the greatest two commands. (Matt. 10:37-39, Mark 12:28-34, Rom. 13:8-14) He was storing ALL of his treasure in heaven, where his heart was. (Matt. 6:19-34, Luke 12:32-48, Phil. 4:12-13, 1Tim. 6:6-12, Heb. 13:5-6)
For steadfast Christians, times are going to get tough as the meanings of “freedom” and “love” are transformed by society to include many behaviors that God has clearly indicated are unacceptable to Him. (2Pet. 2:18-19, Jude 1:3-23, Rom. 12:1-2) We can expect to be pressured to cave in, or if we refuse, to be ridiculed and even vilified, for standing firm for biblical values by those who are being deceived. (2Tim. 3:12-13, Matt. 5:10-12, 10:34-39, Luke 6:26, Rom. 16:18-19, 1Pet. 2:11-12, 3:14-17, 4:13-17, Col. 3:5-10, 1Pet. 1:14-19, 2Thess. 2:9-12) We’re called to speak the truth in love, and we must do BOTH without redefining either. (Eph. 4:15-24, 1Cor. 15:58, Rom. 12:9)
Thanks for meeting me here and allowing me to share my thoughts with you on the application of the Scriptures to the times we live in. I try to post something daily, whether it is a digital scrapbook layout with a Bible verse, a worship song lyrics video, a Bible passage video, a digital graphic with coordinating Bible verses or perhaps some piece of artwork that I’ve made, as well as occasional in-depth articles, in which I cite extensive Scripture references. You can hover over those cites to see the full verse or passage, and click on them to open them in a new tab in your browser. Most articles are available as PDF downloads. (See the link at the top of the page.)