This morning, as I opened one of the curtains in the house, a beautiful full moon caught my eye just before it dropped behind a grove of trees as it was setting. A clear, dark sky is spectacular to view anyway; I really enjoy gazing at the stars. But this view was utterly breathtaking as the moon had a bright halo around it this morning. So, that made me think of a few Bible verses to share with you this morning. Just a little reminder of how great God is and how beautiful His creations are. I hope you enjoy these. image courtesy of Aron Visuals via Unsplash From Genesis 1:16 - 18 NLT: God made two great lights - the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. Psalm 8:3 - 9 NLT: When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place...

On the third day, Jesus rose from His grave (Luke 24:6). We call this day Easter. He died on a cross and a few days later, he was alive once more - resurrected. How grateful I am for that, because that means I, too, will rise from my grave to live with Jesus and God once my life here is over. We must also remember the beauty in that promise He made to bring us to live with Him (John 14:1-4). But that isn't all. image courtesy of Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash Before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:27 that He would return with the angels one day and repay each of us for what we have done - good for good, bad for bad. So, the Rapture and Judgment Day are coming. This means we will get to see Jesus ourselves. And Jesus adds more details in Matthew 24 about that day of Rapture when he will return for those of us who have lived for Him. He tells us to be prepared. He tells us how bad the world will look just before He comes back. If you watch the news at all, you ...

Good morning my sisters in Christ. I hope you're having a lovely day as you read or listen to this post. If you're listening, please click on the linked text in this post to read other related posts on my site.  Continuing with the New Year, let's talk about learning some new practices or habits. Luke 10:27 states, "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind." And, "Love your neighbor as yourself." In order to be able to do this, we must practice being like Christ. This means that we set aside time with God each day to learn how to be like His Beloved Son - just as a pianist sets aside time to practice her music each day. The more we practice, the better we get at loving God, Jesus, and others the way we should. What does this practice look like? First of all, thank God for another day upon awakening. He has given us the gift of life, and we should be grateful for that. Intentionally breathe ...

God gives us so much. Life itself is a gift . Today we'll discuss those subtle reminders of this gift from God. And there are gifts within this gift. For example, last weekend, my friend, Vicki emailed this TikTok link to me about the beautiful  meaning of YHWH . So, I wanted to share that here today. The gentleman in the video explains that YHWH are aspirated (breathed) consonants. YH is the sound we make when we inhale and WH the sound when we exhale. The video is under 2 minutes long, and it is very much worth watching/listening to. The name of God is on our lips every time we breathe. What a beautiful thought. I have a short back story I would like to tell you about breathing. A couple of weeks after my brother passed away in 2022, God told me to breathe and concentrate on those breaths, that each breath was a gift. My brother was on pure oxygen for nearly a month, fighting for his life. All of us were praying that his collapsed lung would heal. But the Covid would not go away,...

I've had this song by Jamie Grace in my head for a few days now, so I thought that today would be a great day to share it with you. Watching her sing this song makes you feel great, but hearing the words is extremely uplifting.  Psalm 118:24 NLT states: This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Life was never meant for us to spend it in misery. Trust me when I say that misery is not something to envy or accomplish. So many people make this a daily endeavor - to be worse off than anyone else they know. I was on that road for so long, because the world around me taught me to be that way. But praise Jesus, I found a new path! Now, every morning, (1) I thank God as soon as I'm awake. (2) I take in deep breaths and (3) drink a few ounces of water - reminding myself of the life sustaining value both have. And (4) I read a devotion or 2 and (5) meditate, for a few minutes, on the precious Word God has taught me about life. All are gifts from God. Often, l...

In my personal devotional reading on Monday from Faith's Checkbook written by Reverend Charles H. Spurgeon and God Calling written by two anonymous sisters, the two devotions went well together. So, I wanted to share that with you in this morning's post.  In Reverend Spurgeon's entry, he discusses how much we need to be tested in order to fulfill God's will and to be able to praise Him for what He has done for us during those times of affliction. My favorite quotes from this devotion is, "We may, before many hours are past, be just as happy as now we are sorrowful," and, "He that sends the clouds can as easily clear the skies." The verse he is using for this devotion is, from Nahum 1:12 KJV  - "Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more." In other words,  happiness suddenly replaces our sorrows without any efforts on our part. And once that happiness settles in, we can see how God was able to help us grow from that sorrowful...

Matthew 4:17 WEB tells us, "From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, 'Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'  In other words, Jesus was telling people to turn from their sins and towards God because Heaven - or God in this case - is near. Matthew used the word Heaven in place of God, because as a Jew, he would have been taught to not speak the name of God.  John the Baptist, who used these words in his ministry to introduce the world to the Messiah, had just been thrown into prison at this point. And Jesus was delighted with these words , so He used them Himself when He started His own ministry in Galilee. Jesus, as God, was near. And He remains near in our hearts and as the Holy Spirit Who lives inside us Believers and Followers of Christ. Image courtesy of Zulmaury Saavedra via Unsplash As Christians, we have been called to mimic Jesus. So, when we tell people that Christ will return soon to take us to live in Heaven with him, we can use similar words ...

When Jesus started His ministry, He chose 12 men to fully train as His representatives. He had a massive following, including several men and women, outside of the 12 disciples of which 11 became apostles that we hear the most about. He knew His time remaining on the earth would be short and He needed people who would spread the Good News once He was gone. And from there, others would continue the work as Christians. This has been going on for over 2,000 years.   The people Jesus chose to spread His message were simple people who were open to Him and His teachings. They included fishermen, a cheating tax collector, a rebel, and a doubter. At the time, women were not allowed to be part of the men's church. But Jesus changed that. He encouraged women to be part of His congregation. One of the women was Mary, called Magdalene, whom Jesus cast out 7 demons and was the first person Jesus spoke to when He was resurrected after His crucifixion. He told her to go tell his brothers (t...

People are hurting all around the world. The hungry, people living in war-torn regions, those who are caught up in human trafficking, and people who feel unloved for any reason are just a few examples of hurting people. How can you shine brightly for these people in need?  To begin, you can say a prayer for them. Then ask God to lead your heart to find out if He wants you to do more. Can you donate time, food, clothes, or money? Your name may never be known to these people, but they will be forever grateful to you for your help - and to God for sending that help through your efforts. From that point, these hurting people will know God's love . Because God works through us to get to these people who are experiencing these hardships. God shines through us. And His love through us  and in us is the beginning of leading others to Him. Daniel 12:3 NLT says: "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars for...

 After Saul (Paul) was converted from Judaism, in which he was a trained priest, to Christianity on the road to Damascus, he spent a few years learning how to be a better person for God's new work in Christ. After God prepared him, Paul started preaching the Good News to people in different cities. One of those cities was Corinth in Greece. When Paul needed to correct - or praise - some teachings of the churches that were established in these cities but couldn't get back to them right away, he would write them letters. One of these letters (often called epistles) is called I Corinthians in the Holy Bible.  The message I want to bring to your attention today is what Paul was telling this church about love. He told them in verse 16:14 to, " Do everything with love. " (NLT) The NKJV read as, " Let all that you do be done with love. " What a difference we could make in the world if we could all follow this beautiful advice.  In the same Book of I Corinthians 13:...

"The Lord has promised wonderful blessings." Numbers 10:29 NLT God is still with us today just as He was in the days the Holy Bible was written. He never promised life would be easy. If life were easy, we wouldn't call on Him for help. If life were easy, we would be less thankful. If life were easy, we wouldn't know how to be humble.  Our heavenly Father has promised to bless us abundantly. We can recognize our blessings in our good health, the meals we have every day, friends and family who love us and care for us. We have been blessed to have a Savior who provided a way, through the cross, for us to speak to God every day, who prays on our behalf every day, who pleas our case to our Father every day, who made it possible for us to enter heaven by simply believing in Him and having faith that we are saved.  Image courtesy of Sixteen Miles Out via Unsplash When we allow the Spirit to take control of our minds, body, and soul, we understand these blessings. Just becaus...

Revelation 3:7 tells us that the One who is Holy and True (Jesus) opens what no one can close and that what he closes no one can open. My NLT study Bible says that the open door means that salvation is assured, and the closed door means judgment is certain. There is no going back once that door is closed. So, please go through that open door of salvation while there's still time. Image courtesy of  Cristina Gottardi via Unsplash The door will be open only for a while longer. Once that door is closed either by your earthly death or until the Holy Spirit stops calling you, it cannot be opened again. God has promised all of us a spiritual resurrection after death on this earth. He is inviting all of us to live with him in heaven where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more disappointments. To ignore His invitation means your soul will live on in the fiery pits of hell with continuous sorrow, pain, tears, disappointments, and regrets.  The devil is lyi...

As I say in my book, Women Making Time for God , we should spend some quality time with our Lord and Savior each day. Most of us will spend time talking to God almost constantly, but I mean that good, quality time of reading Scripture or something that reminds us of God's love for us. I prefer mornings for my personal devotions, because that seems to set a good mindset for the remainder of the day. Our family Bible study/devotions happen after dinner dishes are washed. So, whatever time of day works best for you is fine. Five to ten minutes is all you need for your clear revelation .  You can read a few verses from your favorite Bible - King James Version, New King James Version, NLT, WEB, Amplified Bible, etc. If you have a study Bible, read the notes that go along with your devotional reading to help you with the meditation afterwards. Yes, I said meditation - as God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so t...

"Do good to all people" is a message from Galatians 6:10. God wants us to be kind to people and to pray kind things for people - even if we aren't particularly fond of them. From your kindness, perhaps they will be kind to someone, and that person will be kind to someone, and so on. Image courtesy of Mei-Ling Miro via Unsplash From a personal standpoint, I know that some people won't accept our kindness. For example, there was a cashier who used to work at our local grocery store who simply didn't want to be kind; nor would she accept kindness offered by most people. Finally, after a couple of years of trying, the kindest thing I could do for both of us was to simply avoid going through her line. I still prayed for good things to happen to her, because she was obviously a very miserable person. Shortly after that, though, she stopped working there. I don't know if that was her decision or a management decision. But she still crosses my mind from time to time, ...

There is a season for everything under the sun. King Solomon, in  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8  KJV, beautifully explains these seasons of life. What a lovely revelation for today . Ecclesiastes 3:25 sums up the whole chapter nicely with:  "So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die." Image courtesy of Riviera Pearls via Unsplash. In 1965, the Byrds sang about these seasons in their song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" I have provided the video below for you to enjoy. This is a great way to remember these verses that have such a deep and powerful message. The song went from number 80 on the charts on October 23, 1965 to number 1 on December 4, 1965 - just a little over a month! I didn't understand the turn, turn, turn part until recently. I think their message is to get people to "turn" from sin and to God. I hope you enjoy the seasons message. Sta...

 From Isaiah 43:4 You are precious and honored, and I love you. ~ God Image courtesy of Belinda Fewings via Unsplash Take a moment to let this soak in. Repeat this to yourself several times today. We are precious to our Heavenly Father. He honors us. He loves us. What God  revealed  to Isaiah hundreds of years ago is still meant for each of us today. For this reason, we should show our love to God by showing him he is precious to us and honored by us. And the best way to do this is to make others we meet throughout our day to feel precious and honored. Have a blessed day, Patricia

In Revelation 1:8, it is written, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and Greek would have been the language that John and much of his audience would have spoken. However, the use of these two letters easily interprets to others as the first and the last regardless of the language. And although, God is three entities, they are all ONE God, meaning we must obey them all. To deny even one means eternity in hell. So, if God is eternal, so are the other two Divinities who are his equal counterparts. Image courtesy of Wikipedia To back this claim, Genesis 1:26 NLT tells us, "Then God said, ' Let us make human beings in our image , to be like us .'" This was the beginning of earth time, before Jesus left his place in heaven, to be born as a human, to show us how the Word must be in...

As I start to share some Scripture from the Book of Revelation, I want you to know what I've read from scholars and teachers. They say not to try to understand all of what you read in this book. Mostly, what you're supposed to get from the book is that you will be blessed; God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love you; the end can come at any moment, so you need to be prepared (saved and living a Christlike life by being kind, helping others, teaching others about Christ, loving your neighbor as yourself, etc.); eternity will follow this life on earth so how you live now will determine where you live after this life - the comforts of  heaven where there is no more dying, illness, or disappointments or the tortures of hell where there will be gnashing of teeth, never-ending thirst, the hottest flames that neither consume nor can be extinguished.  So, I'm going to pick out just the simplest but powerful passages that I understand and share those with you. Indeed, it is a blessin...

On the next stop of our revelation journey , I want to introduce the 10 Commandments and the 8 Beatitudes.  In Exodus 20:1-17 NLT, God gave Moses 10 commandments to help guide the Israelites who God had recently helped escape Egypt. They were removed from God for hundreds of years because of their slavery in Egypt. But God wanted to tell them 10 things that would help them be acceptable to him in order to receive the land he had promised them through Abraham hundreds of years before they wound up in Egypt. Afterwards, when the people would come to Moses to help them solve disagreements, God helped him come up with other "laws" so that fair justice could be practiced. But it is these 10 Commandments that hang in our own judicial systems in the United States. People try to have these removed from our halls of justice, because they don't believe religion should be mixed with the state. Read the NLT version of these commandments below. God delivered these commandments to Mose...

The first revelation I want to talk about is judging others. The reason I have chosen to reveal this to you first is because most of us are guilty of this harmful act. Wrongful judgment of others can lead to a powerful and possibly damning judgment for us when we face God on judgment day. Judgment isn't just about a mindset we have about others, but it also includes gossiping about others - and vice versa. You would be wise to stop any gossip if you hear it as well.  God's Word gives us lots of advice about right and wrong living, as I mentioned in my post on Friday, June 17, 2022. And I will likely repeat that many more times as I continue these posts. For instance, in Matthew 7:1-3 NLT, Jesus warns, "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?" Image courte...