Christian, Jews

Are You Wondering What Will Happen?

1-minute devotion for Thursday, 1/8/26

God said, “I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.” Isaiah 46:10

Commentary: God is in control. His Word reveals what is to come, and He intervenes to accomplish His plan. Are you wondering what has happened to our world? Read Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation, and you’ll be off to a great start!

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

The Power of God’s Grace in Our Weaknesses

1-minute devotion for Monday, 1-5-25

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (emphasis mine)

🎶 New Song: GOD’S GRACE, lyrics by Cindy

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Would You Like To Count The Stars? You Had Better Get Started!

By Pastor and Missionary Jim Thomson

Have you ever been overwhelmed when reading the Bible? Overwhelmed in a good way, that is.

In a glorious way.

It hasn’t been that long ago when I was reading in Psalm 147 when I paused to think about this verse:

“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names” (Psalm 147:4).1

When I asked myself how long would it take a person to count all of the stars in the universe if he were to do so at a rate of one per second, I knew I would have to have some help. So, I asked AI. It came up with 317 trillion years. It would actually be longer than that because although a person can say “Ten” in one second, it would take much longer to say, “Three hundred million, twenty-two thousand, four hundred and thirty-six, for example. If we would want to be further astonished, we could then ask how long it would take God to name them. Certainly, that would take even longer. However, we’re asking the wrong questions. He does not dwell in this thing we call time.

I had just been absolutely overwhelmed. The Lord God Almighty is even more wondrous than I had previously thought.

I think David was of the same opinion, because in the next verse he wrote,

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5).

How can one say anything but “Amen” to that after reading verse four?

If we keep looking through this psalm we will find that we may get a bit dizzy as we read about the wonders of the Lord God Almighty. For example, He makes it rain and the grass grow.

“He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills” (verse 8).

He makes it snow.

“He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes” (verse16).

Then He melts the snow.

“He sends out his word and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow” (verse 18).

So, not only does the Lord count the stars and name them, but He also controls the weather. Please note that He does this by speaking, which is the way He created everything which is what we read in the first chapter of Genesis.

He feeds the birds and the animals.

“He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry” (Psalm 147: 9).

I hadn’t previously thought much about the truth that the Lord actually gives food to all the beasts and birds. He directs them to the prey or the seeds or whatever else it is that beasts and birds eat. As I am writing this, there is a squirrel outside our sliding glass door that goes around during the day, finding the morsels he had hidden earlier in the season. I know that some will say that this rodent “has the ability” to remember where they all are. Right. A squirrel’s brain weighs about 0.21 ounces.2 I am quite sure that we, with our big brains, couldn’t remember like the squirrel does, the spots where we had stashed over the course of a few months unless we made a map at the time. But I didn’t notice that the squirrel was writing anything down. And I know that even Christians may say, “God doesn’t do that.” Well, David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote that He does.

We can end our look at Psalm 147 with the first three verses of Psalm 145.

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”

He is our great God and King. We will bless and praise His name forever and ever. Hopefully, we will bless Him every day. The LORD is great, and His greatness is unsearchable.

Yes. Unsearchable.

Amen. Bless His name.

1All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (2016). Crossway Bibles

2https://scienceinsights.org/how-big-is-a-squirrel-brain-size-ratio-and-function/

Gif courtesy Tumblr.

………

I found this post by pastor and missionary Jim Thomson so intriguing that I had to share it with you! You can find his blog HERE

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Trusting God’s Plan

Quote of the Week for 12/31/25

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NASB

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

A Time of Great Delusion

2-minute devotion for Tuesday, 12/30/25

To understand what is happening in our world today, we must be students of the Bible because if we aren’t, we will be at great risk of being deceived by our enemy, Satan. Everything we hear or read must pass the litmus test of God’s Word.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1

Paul is talking about Christians in this verse!

Our culture is at odds with the teachings of the Bible, and Christians are not immune to deception. The only safeguard against deception is to know the TRUTH. God’s Word IS TRUTH. Discernment comes to those who love and diligently study God’s Word.

Few churches are speaking out against the evils of our time, such as antisemitism, transgender ideology, sexual perversion, and abortion. These evils are not new. They have been in the works for a long time.

Antisemitism around the world has increased dramatically. And pressure to support anti-Christian ideologies is alarmingly strong. The Church must speak the Truth. It is vitally important!

Americans don’t live in a culture with a Judeo-Christian worldview anymore. Will we compromise or stand for the Truth? Consider the words of Jesus,

 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:9) (Emphasis mine)

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (Emphasis mine)

I don’t know about you, but I want to be free and I want others to be free, too.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Children’s Ministry is More Important Than You Think

3-minute devotion for Sunday, 12/28/25

“Whoever receives and welcomes one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not [only] Me, but Him who sent Me.” Mark 9:37 AMP

There may be children in your church who will accept Jesus as their Savior because they went to Sunday School and had a teacher who told them about Jesus. Many times, I have taught children in Sunday School whose parents did not attend church.

It takes a lot of caring Christians to properly support the children who come to your church. I’ve been praying for God to send more Sunday School teachers and nursery workers. There never seems to be enough. Do you find this to be true in your local church?

When I consider the words of Jesus, I am amazed that we don’t have enough workers. After all, it is a privilege to serve the Lord in this way, and it honors God. To welcome a little child is to welcome Jesus and the Father.

There is another reason Children’s Ministry is so important. Consider this,

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:13-15 (emphasis mine)

Children are important to God. We must take care of them and teach them about our Lord.

There is almost always an opportunity to serve in Children’s Ministry.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:10

I met Jesus when I was only 6 years old. I am so grateful for the Sunday School teachers who taught me about Him. And I am thankful for those who serve our Lord in this way today.

Is God calling you to serve in this vitally important ministry?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Who Unwrapped All the Presents?!

My mom used to decorate for Christmas with lots of elegantly wrapped empty boxes tied with the most exquisite bows. She would carefully store them in her basement after the holidays for the next year.

When my son was a little boy, he had a friend who lived next door to my parents. We called him “Little Greg”. Even though he is now a lawyer in his 40s, I still think of him as “Little Greg”. His mom and my sister were good friends, and they used to take the boys to all the fun places in the city.

One day, when my son and Little Greg were playing in my mom’s basement. They had been quiet for a long time, so my mom went down to check on them. What she saw shocked her!

Wrapping paper and bows covered the floor! The boys had unwrapped all the “fake” Christmas packages, looking for toys!

This is one of our favorite family stories that never gets old. No matter how many times it’s told, this story always makes us laugh. My son, Zack, and his friend Little Greg were looking for presents, but all they got were empty boxes! They were looking for gifts in all the wrong places.

This Christmas, let us seek the real gift of Christmas, Jesus our Savior and Lord. There are lots of beautifully wrapped packages that are really just empty boxes. But Jesus is the real gift of Christmas. Merry Christmas and God bless you all!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NIV Read full chapter

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

The Waiting Season

Devotion for Friday, 12/26/25

The following deeply insightful post is about waiting on God. If you are in a season of waiting for God to answer your prayer, this post will encourage you and provide understanding.

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Holiday Blues?

2-minute devotion for Thursday, 12/25/25

Do the holidays trigger thoughts about what should have been instead of what is? Are you feeling lonely? The strange thing about depression is that it seems to take your mind captive. You may think you can’t stop the downward spiral.

The next thing you know, you’re driving to the grocery store to buy food for the holidays, and tears begin to well up in your eyes. You hate it. You don’t want to be sad!

I know all about it because I experienced this one day.

I prayed. I asked the Lord to help me.

Just a few minutes later, my daughter called. (You should know, she loves to cook. I mean really cook, like they do on TV Cooking Shows. I, on the other hand, look for the easiest and quickest recipe possible.)

Christina: “Mom, would you get me a butternut squash while you’re at the store?”

Me: “Do you mean like a real vegetable butternut squash?” (I’m thinking, does that come in a package?)

Christina: (starts laughing hilariously) “Yes! A real vegetable butternut squash!!”

We both cracked up and had a good belly laugh! It felt so good to laugh!

Guess what? My mood completely changed right then

I learned a valuable yet simple lesson about holiday blues.

  1. Always go to the Lord in prayer.
  2. Find a way to laugh!

A book could be written on this subject, and I know that, but this is what happened to me. Sometimes a person needs a word of encouragement, not the whole book.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving . . . Psalm 25:1-2

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Find a way to laugh a little today!

(I hesitated to post this message again because I have posted it several times in the past, but every time it has been posted, many readers say, “I needed this today.” Christmas can be hard for many reasons. Let us pray for and encourage one another.)

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

The Magnitude of God’s Grace.

Quote of the Week for 12/24/25

God desires that His children not only receive His grace but understand why it is precious. Through the Son, believers learn to value mercy because they see what it cost…
In Christ’s submission to the Father’s will, the depth of divine mercy is revealed. The Father’s justice and compassion meet perfectly in the cross. In that sacred union, the believer learns both the seriousness of sin and the magnitude of grace.”

bruce cooper, reasoned cases for christ

See Bruce’s excellent post, Knowing the Father Through the Son: The Door That Never Closes HERE.

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.