Waiting In Hope

Waiting in Hope

I normally read my Bible app while at lunch.  Occasionally, I will switch it up a bit and scroll through the verses I have saved and made into images.  I find it very calming to meditate on wonderful promises in the Word.  I will often try to memorize some of the verses.  Recently, while scrolling through those images, I noticed a theme:  Waiting in hope.

We have faced some dark days through the last three years with Covid and the restrictions enforced upon us with the pandemic.  We have watched as our freedoms seem to be swiftly slipping away.  It is easy in dark times like these to desire an immediate fix for all of the problems that have risen in the last few years.  However, that isn’t always God’s plan.  He isn’t as concerned about our comfort as He is our character.

Part of building our character is learning to wait on the Lord, fully trusting in what He is doing, even when we cannot understand His ways.  In those moments, it is imperative that we stay grounded in the Word for the storms ahead of us.  As we study His promises, we learn more about His character, which will strengthen us in times of trial and/or persecution.  Let’s take a look at some verses that can help us in troublesome times.

My soul, wait in silence for God alone, For my hope is from Him. Psalm 62:5, NASB

We wait in hope for the Lord.  He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22, NIV

How do we wait in hope when things keep getting worse? To help answer that question, I dug deeper into the Word regarding waiting.

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11, NASB

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And I wait for His word. Psalm 130:5, NASB

Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20, NASB

Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who wait for the Lord. Psalm 31:24, NASB

You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word. Psalm 119:114, NASB

Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14, NASB

Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely. Job 11:18, NASB

But I have trusted in Your faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. Psalm 13:5, NASB

But as for me, I will sing of Your strength; Yes, I will joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the morning, For You have been my refuge and a place of refuge on the day of my distress. Psalm 59:16, NASB

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. Psalm 16:9, NASB

I will bless the Lord who has advised me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. Psalm 16:7, NASB

When I find my mind wondering, allowing fear to raise its ugly head, the best thing I can do is make time for the Word.  The Lord often leads me to exactly what I need to hear for that moment. There are times when I listen to an instrumental playlist that starts with a beautiful, calming, simple song:  Jesus Loves Me.

There are other times I find a verse and read it multiple times, chewing on every Word until my spirit can digest it.

Sometimes I am at a loss for words because my heart is simply overwhelmed.  In those moments, I sit quietly weeping, knowing the Lord sees my tears and understands my groaning.  Those moments make these next verses come alive to me.

Whenever my anxious thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight.  Psalm 94:19, TPT

Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. Psalm 119:143, NASB

My coworkers and I often discuss the legal persecution we see rising up across America.  It can be very scary and intimidating.  In those moments, we need to remember that our trust is in God.  With Him on our side, we don’t need to be afraid.

In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Psalm 56:4, NASB  I saw a paraphrase for this verse that said it so well.  “I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?”  

Lord, may the truths of these verses permeate our minds and our spirits.  Let these truths speak to us even as we sleep.  Help us to remember that You came to give us life more abundantly.  That promise isn’t just true in good times.  It stands fast and firm, even in the hardest of times because You are faithful and true to all of Your promises.  Amen.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Truth and Lies in Perilous Times

Truth and Lies in Perilous Times 

Is it ever ok to lie? I have been wrestling with that thought recently. As I watch the legal persecution of the church, as well as the physical persecution that is happening in other countries, it has me pondering many things.  My coworker and I often have discussions on what is coming, which leads to the question, “What are we to do about it?”  First and foremost, we are to be praying and reading the Word. 

Proverbs is filled with practical and spiritual applications to life.  What I have been wrestling with is the practical, wise, and godly response we must give in the days ahead of us when persecution comes to our front door or our office.

One thing we have been discussing is, “When is it ok to lie?”  Admit it — with what is coming, it would be so easy to lie to save our skin.  But if we seek to honor Christ in all we do, we know that won’t be an option for every choice.  I decided to dig deeper into this topic and want to share what I found, in hopes that it may help you navigate these dark times. 

When our women’s group was studying Genesis, we saw the times where Abraham told Sarah to lie and say she was his sister (partial truth.) Let’s take a look and see the repercussions of those lies. 

10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land. 11 It came about, when he was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” 14 Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.  17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go!” 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. (Genesis 12:10-20, NASB) 

In our women’s study, we were pondering the feelings Sarah might have had when Abraham lied to save his own skin.  He certainly wasn’t concerned about hers! Even so, Abraham obviously didn’t learn anything from this experience because he did it again!

Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent men and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless? 5 Did he himself not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:1-7, NASB) 

We can clearly see that Abraham’s sin didn’t just affect him.  It affected many people!  It even affected Isaac because he did the same thing years later. 

6 So Isaac lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is beautiful.” 8 Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘otherwise I might be killed on account of her.’” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.” (Genesis 26:6-11, NASB) 

Now let’s take a look at some other situations where people lied in the Bible. 

The midwives lied to Pharaoh about the Hebrew women and their babies.  Their lies protected the lives of many Hebrew children. 

“And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” (Exodus 1:19, NKJV) 

Rahab’s lie protected the spies and enabled the Israelites to conquer Jericho. 

3 ”Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.” (Joshua 2:3-7, ESV) 

We see complete opposite things happening from the first set of lies to the second set of lies.  Yet, as I pondered, I was still befuddled.  My moment of clarity came as I thought about history. 

What did people do in the days of the Hitler?  If they were hiding Jews, and Nazi’s came to the door to ask if they had Jews in the house, did they say, “Why yes!  We do!”  No, they lied, in hopes of sparing the Jews the deadly concentration camps.

You may be thinking that the 10 Commandments tell us not to lie.  However, that isn’t exactly what it says.  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  (Exodus 20:16, NASB) There is a difference here.  We must not lie and say something against our neighbor.  That is different than the examples I gave above about people in the Bible lying for the greater good, as well as the ones who lied to protect the Jews.

Another thing I found quite insightful is in Revelation 22:15, where it talks about liars.  “Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”  (NASB, emphasis added) Notice that it says those who love and practice lying.  This means it is a habit or a lifestyle for them.  Those who make lying a lifestyle are speaking Satan’s native language, proving they are of the devil.  (Thank you, Pastor, for sharing this wonderful insight with me.)  For those of us who may find ourselves in a situation where lying is for the greater good, we may still feel a bit of angst in our soul.  That is because we are children of light, and we don’t love the thought of lying, even if it is for the greater good. 

As we navigate these dark and troublesome days, we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.  If lying would dishonor the Lord, then we must speak truth, regardless of the consequences.  If lying would help to protect others, then our actions will honor the Lord because we aren’t seeking to save our own skin.  We are doing it to help protect others. 

Lord, give us great insight and godly wisdom for the coming days.  We cannot navigate these waters without Your abundant help and mercy.  Amen. 

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

The Benefits of the Right Choice

The Benefits of the Right Choice

We come to conclusion of this series from 2 Peter 1 today.  I have to admit — the Lord has really challenged me through this study, showing me some weak places in my own building blocks from 2 Peter 1:5-6.  It has moved to me to deeper prayer time, to many tears, to pondering, and even to asking a close friend to pray for specific prayer needs in relation to this study. He has even challenged me to look at lost people through His eyes, rather than through the depravity of their sinful actions.  I was deeply convicted for some attitudes I had been hiding in my heart. I kept thinking of a quote I recently heard from Spurgeon.  “In order to be winners of souls, we must first become weepers of souls.”

As promised, we are going to look at the great benefits we can reap if we are diligent in adding these building blocks to our lives.  These benefits aren’t easily given to us.  There is a tiny two-letter word that speaks volumes.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Notice the word “if.”  Once these qualities begin to abound in us (existing in abundance and increasing), we won’t be barren (lazy, shunning the labor we ought to perform), or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord.  If that doesn’t motivate you to be more diligent in your spiritual walk, perhaps the warning in verse 9 will.

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

So we have an either/or scenario.  We can endeavor to create solid, strong building blocks that will help us grow spiritually, or we can choose to be one of the shortsighted ones who have forgotten about how we were cleansed from our sins.

Next, we find another admonition from Peter.

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8-11, NKJV)

To make our calling and election sure is to have one that is stable, fast, and firm.  It won’t be swayed by the dictates of the world.  If (there’s that two-letter word again), we do these things, we will never stumble.  The Interlinear Bible describes stumble as to err, make a mistake, sin, fall into misery, or to become wretched.  But I skipped over a word — it’s not just that we won’t stumble.  It says that we will never stumble!  What an amazing thought as we continue to face such ever-changing and challenging situations in our world!

I have watched legal persecution arising in our nation over the last several months, growing larger in scale and intensity.  After studying this text and pondering on it, I couldn’t help but think of the story in Daniel where the three young, Hebrew men stood firm in their faith.  They declared to that wicked king how their God could deliver them from the king’s hand, but even if He didn’t, they would not bow to the statue.

I want to be able to stand firm and secure so that when my own “but even if He doesn’t” moment comes, I honor the Lord instead of caving to the culture.  How about you?  

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Giving All Diligence

Giving All Diligence

We are continuing in our journey to find truths in 2 Peter 1 that will help us navigate through a chaotic and compromised culture.  I will liken this lesson to stepping stones or building blocks, as one builds upon another.  But first, let’s recap what we read last time, just for context.

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4, NKJV)

Now we come to the building blocks.

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  (2 Peter 1:5-7, NKJV)

Again, we see that these building blocks will take effort — giving all diligence.  This means with haste and earnestness.  We must be serious in our efforts.

Next come the things we are to add:  Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.  In looking at this list in light of the disturbing things we see transpiring in our world, I noticed something.  Love is last.  Why?  It is speaking of agape love — that sacrificial love that comes only from the Lord.  We can’t truly love like that until we have mastered the other virtues.  So let’s take a look at each one for further insight.  All of these descriptions came from the Interlinear Bible.

Faith — This is our first and basic building block.  To have agape love, we must have a deep faith in Jesus as our Savior.  

Virtue — This refers to moral excellence, modesty, and purity.  In a world filled with very vocal depraved people, we must be diligent to keep our spirits pure.  Once we have faith, virtue will flow as we are changed from glory to glory into the image of Christ.

Knowledge — The deeper knowledge of Christ, of things which are lawful and unlawful for Christians, and moral wisdom that is seen in upright living.  The more we intently read the Word, the more knowledge we will have.  That knowledge should help us with the next characteristic.

Self-control — This is where one masters his desires and passions, especially his sensual appetites.  As the Lord reveals His Word to us, shining it into those hidden places in our hearts, it will develop self control.  We will begin to have more self control in our passions, our words, and our actions.

Perseverance — This is the characteristic of one who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith.  He has a patient endurance even in the greatest trials and sufferings.  As self control builds in our lives, it will help develop perseverance during times of testing and persecution.  We will remember how the Lord has worked in our lives, and it will give us the faith to persevere under pressure.

Godliness — This is reverence and respect. Once we learn to persevere under trials, others can’t help but notice a godliness that will radiate through us.  Our words and actions will reflect those of our Lord.  We will speak the truth in love.  We won’t act out in fleshly anger, but will respond with godliness.

Brotherly kindness — In the New Testament, this is the love where Christians cherish one another as brethren.  This brotherly kindness only comes as we have learned to crucify our flesh, esteeming others in higher regard than we do ourselves. (Philippians 2:1-4)

Love — Brotherly love, affection, good will, agape.  As we use these spiritual building blocks, being diligent to allow the Lord to work them into our lives, we will be able to respond to our accusers and persecutors with love.  We will see them as lost sheep who need our Shepherd.

The results that will come from the above are simply amazing!  But you will have to wait until next time for us to dig into them!

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Partaking of the Divine Nature

Lessons From 2 Peter

Partaking of the Divine Nature

As I watch what is transpiring in our compromised culture, I often find myself greatly disturbed.  When I see people jailed for disorderly conduct just because they try to speak truth to the “alphabet” people, it makes me mad.  When I see a lady jailed for silently praying outside an abortion clinic, it angers me.  When I see companies caving to the demands of depraved people, that also incites a feeling of anger.  What about those who have lost their jobs simply because they refused to pick a pronoun?  That one hits much closer to home with what is transpiring at my own job.

Scripture admonishes us not to sin in our anger. (Ephesians 4:26)  I find myself asking the Lord what are we to do when we feel this kind of anger?  After all, if I was in one of the above scenarios, would I be able to hold it together and not sin against those who were coming against me?  That question has caused me to dig deeply into the Word, seeking answers to help me for when that day comes. Notice that I didn’t say IF that day comes.  That is because the persecution of Christians is rapidly advancing.  Even now, we are beginning to see legal persecution hit many Christians.

I have been studying 2 Peter 1 and found something to help us in navigating the stormy, deep waters of a compromised culture.  First, let’s look at what the Word says:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4, NKJV)

Now let’s pick apart what was said by using the Interlinear Bible.

Knowledge means precise and correct knowledge.  It gives the impression of an attitude of acquiring that knowledge with haste and earnestness —   actively seeking for it.  Proverbs 2 speaks of it like one who is seeking precious treasures.

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…

Many people would stop here, as if it is a declaration or magical incantation.  But let’s look at it in context.  We don’t possess all things that pertain to life and godliness without the rest of the sentence:  through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Obviously, there is work involved for us to gain “all things pertaining to life and godliness.”  We must have knowledge of God, and we only obtain it through studying the Word of God.  When we put forth that effort, we find the great and precious promises that help us to partake of His divine nature. His divine nature will help us to respond in a godly manner the days ahead when the persecution becomes vast and wide.

If we find ourselves losing a job because we refuse to pick a pronoun, instead of responding with anger and hate, we can declare, “God made them male and female period.  My job is not my provider.  Jehovah God is my provider.”

I have just hit the tip of the iceberg in this study.  We have much more to learn to help us in the days ahead!  I will pause for now to allow us all to ponder on these truths before moving on to the section.

Lord, let these truths come alive in us so that when we face our own times of persecution, we can partake of Your divine nature to help us in our time of need.  Amen.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller

Serpents and Doves

Serpents and Doves

Jesus told the disciples He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  He admonished them to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.  (Matthew 10:16)

I understand the dove part.  They are gentle, and gentleness is one characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit.  Being gentle is also part of walking in godly wisdom. (James 4:17)

But what about the serpent part?  When I think of snakes, I think of the ones that will bite a poisonous bite.  Obviously, that isn’t what Jesus meant when He said be wise as a serpent.  We are never to use our wisdom to “bite” others with poison that flows from our lips.  We are to be salt and light. (Matthew 5:13)

The Interlinear Bible describes a serpent as being an emblem of cunning and wisdom.  To be cunning can mean we are street-smart, wise, keen, sharp, slick, and smooth, just to name a few.  This gives a clearer picture of how we can be wise as a serpent in our compromised culture.  We must be wise to what is going on in our world, but we must be careful not to use the wisdom of the world to help us.  James describes the wisdom of this world as having bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, both of which he described as being earthly and devilish.  Instead, we must use the wisdom from above that is peaceable, pure, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and without hypocrisy.  (James 3:14-17)

I pondered more on how a serpent/snake operates.  When they are in danger, they have an innate ability to slither away from that danger.  It reminded me of something that happened to Jesus.

In Luke 4, He was in the synagogue, where He read the scripture from Isaiah 53 and stated, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (NASB)  The people who had just been admiring Him, turned on Him with rage and vengeance.  They took Him to a crest on a hill, intending to throw Him off the cliff.  “But He passed through their midst and went on His way.” (Luke 4:30, NASB)

Just as Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way, I believe there are times coming where He will do the same for us.  He will give us the wisdom and ability to “slither” through a crowd who hates us, and allow us to go safely on our way.  That is just one more way we can be wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove.

© 2023, Stacy R. Miller