Christian

When God Forgives You …

1-minute devotion for Monday, 8/11/25

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:8-12 NIV

I love these verses. We can’t be reminded of this too much!

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

The Blessing of Meekness

Sunday’s Memory Verse for 8/10/25

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

The Greek word for meek is praus. It means: gentle, meek, the positive moral quality of dealing with people kindly, with humility and consideration

Meekness … implies a humble acceptance of one’s lowly position before God. One day they will inherit the earth as they reign with Christ.” ( Jeremiah Study Bible Notes)

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

God Is My Strength

1-minute devotion for 8/7/25

“I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart

    and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:23-26 NIV (emphasis mine)

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Understanding John 15:5: The Vine and the Branches

Sunday’s Memory Verse for 8/3/25

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (emphasis mine) Read full chapter

Commentary: Fruitbearing is not only possible but certain if the branch remains in union with the vine, though uniformity of quantity and quality is not promised. But if the life of Christ permeates a disciple, fruit will be inevitable. Expositor’s Bible Commentary

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

The Lost Sheep: A Lesson in God’s Love

1-minute devotional for Thursday, 7/31/25

“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?  And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.” Matthew 18:12-13 NASB (emphasis mine)

Note: Whenever Jesus said, “Truly I say to you…”, it means THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! I love this verse because I know He rejoiced over me!

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Quote of the Week, 7/30/25

Even though it is not Christmas, this quote from J.I. Packer spoke to my heart today. May it speak to you as well.

“The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor – spending and being spent – to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, trouble, care and concern to do good to others – and not just their own friends – in whatever way there seems need.”
― J.I. Packer, Knowing God

 Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Quote of the Week, 7/23/25

Once people stop believing in God, the problem is not that they will believe in nothing; rather, the problem is that they will believe anything.

C.S. Lewis

These lies come from Satan, the deceiver.

Jesus warned the Pharisees, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (emphasis mine)

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Featured image: Drag Queen show for children in a U.S. public library

Christian

The Days of Noah: A Reflection on Our Times

1-minute devotional for Tuesday, 7/22/25

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39, NIV 1984)

My thoughts: What was it like in the days of Noah? Watch TV.

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Finding Strength in Psalm 18

1-minute devotional for Tuesday, 7/15/25

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:16-19 (emphasis mine) Read full chapter

A song of David when the Lord delivered him from the hand of Saul and all his enemies.

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

Christian

Satan’s Big Lie

When you are dealing with grief, suffering, or pain, Jesus can relate to you in a very personal way. He has experienced it himself. He understands your hurt. Let Him comfort you.

Who is this great Comforter? God calls Him, “my righteous servant“. (Isaiah 53:11)

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” Isaiah 53:3

********************

Did you know that the Lord can set you free in an instant, just like that? That’s what happened to me. After years of believing a lie, I am finally free. What was Satan’s strategy to defeat me?

It was getting me to think that the “one thing” I couldn’t have was what I needed to be happy.

You would think I could have figured that out, but I didn’t, not until the Lord revealed it to me Himself.

After a time of prayer, I’m not sure why, but I decided to look up Charles Stanley on YouTube. I had heard of him, but had never listened to one of his sermons, and someone had mentioned him at my Bible Study the day before.

I picked a sermon called, “Satan’s Strategy to Defeat Us.” Totally unaware of what was about to happen, I listened to the sermon. Have you ever experienced this? In a sermon, the minister says one specific thing and you know God is speaking directly to you. You almost want to slyly glance around and see if everyone is looking at you!

That’s what happened to me that day. Dr. Stanley said that if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired, that’s when you are vulnerable for a Satanic attack. My ears perked up. Then, Dr. Stanley explained that Satan’s strategy was to make you want the one thing you can’t have. I knew God had led me to this sermon. It was no accident.

Remember what happened to Adam and Eve? Satan got them to believe that they needed the one thing they couldn’t have. There was only one thing they couldn’t have: fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. I have a feeling that fruit looked a lot tastier than it actually was. (Is it possible that we magnify that “one thing” and make it bigger and better than it really is?)

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Genesis 3:13)

Satan is still deceiving people with that same lie. He will make you think that to be happy, you need the one thing you can’t have. That is a lie. There is no “one thing” you need to be happy, except the Lord Jesus Christ.

On the same day, I just happened to be on Isaiah 54 in my daily reading plan.

“For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5 NIV

“Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10 NIV

The “one thing” you think you need to be happy could be any number of things: a baby, a spouse, or a home. Fill in the blank. But that is Satan’s strategy to defeat you. Don’t believe it. You are not condemned to a life of sadness, ever!

And, if you hear someone say, “The Lord is all I need”, those words might mean more than you ever imagined. There might be a story that brought her to that realization and now she can say with confidence,

“You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” 

Corrie ten boom, Survivor of Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Read about Corrie’s trust in Jesus during WW II in her famous book, The Hiding Place.

In His Love, Cindy

All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.

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