Author: Stephanie Wolfe

As I sat behind a mother and her baby at Church this past Sunday morning, I couldn’t help but smile at the way the baby cooed in his mother’s arms. The way he would look up at his Mama and just look so content. It took me back 20+ years when my kids were that little. How quickly time passes, but that feeling of caring for my babies feels like it was yesterday. I long to still provide that calm and quiet for my children. This is the same calm and quiet that God desires for our soul.

Lord, I have given up my pride and turned away from my arrogance. I am not concerned with great matters or with subjects too difficult for me. Instead, I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my heart is quiet within me. Israel, trust in the Lord now and forever!
Psalm 131

Our hope resides in the ability to turn to God with childlike trust. So many times we believe that we can do things on our own. We tackle projects and issues with people without prayer or even considering what God might have planned. But the Psalmist notes here that we can only be content and at peace when we trust in God.

We have a choice to make when we feel we are anxious or out of control. The world is loud and the problems we face are many, we can focus on that or we can remind ourselves about the truth from this Psalm, God is in control and He is in charge. He is in command of our destiny.

God wants a relationship with us. In order for that to happen, it takes us putting down our phone, turning the tv off, sitting quietly and being content in God’s presence. Only when we spend ample time with Him will we experience His peace and contentment.

He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5

I will never forget the shame I felt after hanging up the phone with a lady from a new church I attended. She asked me if I believed in Jesus and did I believe I would go to Heaven. I said Yes and she asked me why I believed this. The first words out of my mouth were, “because I am a good person and I do good things.” The woman immediately followed up with, “well, that is fine, but you only get to Heaven because Jesus died for your sins, not because of anything you do.” I was mortified. I had just graduated from a Christian College, I had spent years in the Church…why wasn’t that my first answer??? As hard as it was to realize that I had answered in the wrong way, it has been one of the greatest lessons and reminders in my life. Jesus died for ME because He Loves Me! Not because of ANYTHING I have done or will do!

This is the message from Titus 3:5. Not because of any good things I did, but He saved me because of His mercy. There is nothing we can do to become righteous. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to transform us. It is our job to ask and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us. It is up to us how much we want to submit to Jesus on a daily basis. It is an everyday decision to draw close to Jesus and allow Him to transform us.

The devil wants nothing more than to make us feel like a failure. Just as I did when I hung up the phone with the lady from the church I visited (my stomach still churns when I reflect on it). I could have easily turned into myself and got wrapped up in my bad answer…BUT…that is where His mercy shines through. It is only because of Jesus that I can mess up and start again. He loves me and You that much! Jesus always has mercy for us and our slip ups. He continually calls us back to Him. We just have to be open and turn back to Him time and time again.

 

Is there something in your life that you are committed to? Maybe it is a form of exercise, eating a certain way, doing a daily Bible study, or spending time with a specific person. To be intentional in areas of our life, it takes a certain level of commitment. I will be the first to admit that I am not very good at following through on commitments. When life gets busy and I get tired I can easily talk myself out of following through. But, I also know people in my life that are very determined and committed to things in their life. It is different for each one of us. But, there is one area that we are called to be fully committed.

“And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”
I Kings 8:61

Above all other commitments in our lives, we are to be fully committed to the Lord our God. This was Solomon’s message and prayer for his people as the temple had just been completed and dedicated to God. His prayer was that the people would know God and His commands, and have hearts that were fully committed to Him at all times.

While all the people were gathered and excited about the temple for God it was probably easy to believe that they would always be committed and excited about following the Lord. It is easy to be committed in the beginning or while surrounded by other like minded people. After time passes and people begin to lose their motivation and excitement, the commitment begins to fade.

This might be the same issue we face. Sunday morning Church may get us excited and light a fire in us to share the love of Jesus with others and we are sure that we will follow through during the week. Then, as the days go on we slowly forget what we were so excited about. So, how do we continue to keep that fire and commitment outside of the Church walls? It is only by a consistency of spending time with God. This is done through prayer, reading God’s Word, praise, and spending time with others who have the same commitment to loving God.

When we fully commit to the Lord, follow his decrees and obey his commands we will receive blessings. Even when life gets hard.

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and he will help you.”
Psalm 37:5

“Commit to Him and he will establish your plans.”
Proverbs 16:3

When was the last time you read an entire chapter in your Bible?
When was the last time you memorized an entire chapter of your Bible? Well, if it has been a while since you accomplished either of those 2 questions, today is your day!! You can read an entire chapter and memorize it today!

If you open your Bible and turn to the exact center, you will find Psalm 117. This is the shortest of all Psalms, and the shortest chapter in the entire Bible.

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Praise him, all peoples!
His love for us is strong,
and his faithfulness is eternal.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117:1-2

The beginning of this chapter and the ending of this chapter command us to Praise the Lord! This is what we should do all of our days. But, it is the middle of the chapter that has the best reminder for us.

No matter what we are facing in our day, the Lord’s love and promises for us will never change. His love is strong, faithful and eternal. His love will endure no matter what crisis we are facing. No matter what confusion is ahead of us.

The Lord’s love and faith endures, because Christ endured. He endured death on a cross for you and for me. We can praise the Lord because He endured. Begin and end your day with Praise the Lord, and then remember all throughout the day that no matter what you face, His love for you is strong and His faithfulness towards you is eternal.

 

1 Kings 2, 1 Chronicles 29, Romans 7

Up until the beginning of 2023 I had been a faithful subscriber to a meal delivery service. Every week I would choose 2 meals to make for my family. Tuesday afternoon would bring a box of food and precise instructions for me to follow. I have to admit, the step by step instructions and having every ingredient needed helped me produce a delicious meal for my family. Over the past 5 months as we became empty nesters, I decided that the meal delivery was not necessary as I have more time on my hands and only 2 mouths to feed. What I am surprised at is that I am much better at finding my own recipes and following directions now that I did it faithfully for 3 years. It is amazing when we put the time and effort in, results will follow.

In the book of 1 Kings we read about the end of David’s life. David has named his son, Solomon, as the next King. As David prepares him to take the throne, he has some instructions for his son. Words of wisdom that will be useful when he takes over the kingdom.

Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God; to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgements, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.
I Kings 2:2-3

If I were to send you instructions on how to follow what David is stating here, I would say the following:

1- Be Strong – David truly understood what it would be like for Solomon ruling the kingdom. He knew he had to have a heart to follow God.

2 – Prove yourself a man – Solomon was still a young man. He did not have the experience of fighting battles that David had. He had so much to learn. David wanted his son to be courageous for God.

3 – Keep the charge of the Lord – David wanted Solomon to stay true to what the Lord had called him to do. Being the next king came with a huge responsibility.

4 – Walk in His ways – Israel (just like the world today) had a struggle with following what everyone else was doing and worshipping false gods.

5 – Keep God’s statutes, commandments, judgements, and testimonies – David had already learned these lessons and wanted his son to remember what happened every time Israel turned from God and did their own thing. He also wanted Solomon to remember the testimonies, all the wonderful things God had done for Israel, each time He had provided and protected the nation.

6 – That you may prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go – Of course David wanted his son to prosper. He knew that this would only happen if Solomon walked in obedience to all that God commanded.

What great instructions David gave to Solomon that we can use for ourselves. Just like following directions for a recipe, this is the recipe for our lives. The more we follow the directions the better we get. This does not mean that life will always turn out perfectly, I had and still have many dinners that have flopped, but overall I have fewer and fewer flops. When we follow the instructions of the Lord, blessings will follow.

Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night.
Psalms 1: 2-3

2 Samuel 7-8, 1 Chronicles 17, Psalm 132, Acts 25

Have you ever been wrongly accussed?  I remember when when I worked at a summer camp during college, another counselor and I were accused of something we did not do. We were not treated fairly and I still can feel the emotions of not being heard and believed. Eventually, our boss admitted that he was wrong, but my human tendency is still to hold a grudge against him for treating me so unfairly. During this time I was so caught up in being right, I constantly  tried to prove myself. I had no confidence that at some point the truth would come out and I would vindicated.

As I read through Acts 25, I was amazed and convicted of how Paul remained faithful and confident in his faith. Even after being held in prison for two years without being brought to trial.

Finally, Paul was brought before Festus and says this…

“If I have broken the law and done something for which I deserve the death penalty, I do not ask to escape it. But if there is no truth in the charges they bring against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to the Emperor.”
Acts 25:11

From these words we can see that Paul was willing to be held accountable for his actions and was completely confident that the Lord would be his defender. This is a lesson and deep reminder for us. We can have this same confidence as Paul.

Paul had complete confidence that the Lord would deliver him. He did not try and manipulate the situation and was 100% confident that God would be his defender. This is such reminder for us today.

We are to live with the same boldness and confidence that Paul lived with. How do we live our lives knowing that God is faithful to deliver us from every situation? This confidence comes only from walking intimately with Jesus every single day. Through spending time talking to Him, listening to Him, reading His Word, and spending time with other believers.

May we continue to read these accounts in the Bible and let them build our confidence that God is who He says He is and He will Do what He says He will do.

I Samuel 21-22, I Chronicles 5, Psalm 52, and Acts 15

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.
Psalm 52:8

Here in the Midwest we don’t see many olive trees. People may buy them and keep them as an indoor specialty tree, but we do not have the climate to grow olive gardens in our yards. Olive trees require a Mediterranean like climate to survive. They need a long, hot summer and a cool, not frigid winter. Even in the right climate, an olive tree will only flourish when it receives plenty of direct sunshine and just the right amount of watering.

Isn’t this a picture of our life? We don’t survive well under harsh conditions that continue on and on. David wrote Psalm 52 as he was fleeing from Saul, who had betrayed him. He makes the point in this chapter that those who do not follow God will fail in the end. But, because he was trusting in God and keeping his eyes on Him, he will flourish like an olive tree in God’s house.

So many of us believers today are not flourishing, but struggling from day to day. We have allowed our eyes to be focused on the day to day problems and struggles rather than on God.

Trusting in God does not mean that life will be easy. But when we do put our daily trust in God, we can flourish like a well taken care of olive tree. Like an olive tree that is producing lots of fruit year after year.

Lets not live this life in survival mode, just getting by day to day. We have the choice to put our trust in Jesus every single minute of every single day. By keeping our eyes on Him, we will flourish like the olive tree in the house of God.

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”
Luke 24:38

The disciples had just witnessed Jesus being taken by the Roman guards. They watched as he had been beaten beyond recognition. As Jesus drug the cross through Jerusalem they followed Him helplessly. They stood and waited as Jesus bled out and life left His body on the cross. They saw the guards guarding his tomb. It had been 3 days.

As the disciples were gathering, Jesus appeared to them and asked, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”

How would you respond in this situation? Did they have reason to doubt? I do admit that I probably would have questioned and doubted how Jesus, who I saw hang on that cross till life left His body, could now be standing in front of me.

But Jesus, sits with the disciples and breaks bread. He lets them touch Him. He opens their mind so they could understand the Scripture and what it says.

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:46-47

Because Jesus has not yet returned, we must walk by faith. We have His Word as a lamp for our feet and a light on our path (Psalm 119:105). We are not like the disciples in the fact that they got to dine with Jesus and touch Him, but we know that Jesus can be trusted. We  just experienced Easter and celebrated the fact that He indeed  rose from the dead. When doubts arise, we need only to continue to pour over His Word and renew our minds. Ask the Lord to open your mind so that you can understand the scripture. You might be amazed and what you then read.

For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

God’s timing is perfect. As I read through our chapters for today, Joshua 1-4, Psalm 143, and Luke 14, I couldn’t get one particular chapter out of my mind. Joshua chapter 4. It came flooding back to me…the stones of remembrance. I have previously written a post on this chapter because I believe God has put some major reminders in place for me.  You can read my previous post here…

Remembrance

Today, as I am facing some unknown health challenges, I pulled up this past post, read it and was visually reminded of what God has done for me. Is He a one and done God? Nope. What He has done before He will do again.

I have been asking God for wisdom, peace and encouragement over the last few days. He has provided for me moment by moment, but I have kept seeking and knocking to find something more to hold onto. Low and behold, as I opened my computer and read my old post on Remembrance, it happened. God provided just what I was asking and seeking Him for. My own words of how He worked in my life have come full circle to remind me of how powerful He is and how much He loves me. Never did I dream when I wrote this post in 2018 that it would be the words God gave me to write for this Bible Journal that would come back and encourage me today.

Today I am thankful for this Bible Journal. Believe me, there are many days I write and wonder “Why am I doing this”? I have spoken with other writers and I know we all experience the same thoughts. It is hard to know if any of my writings really make a difference. It takes hours to write one post. I have written more than 150 Bible Journals. That means I have spent more than 300 hours learning and applying the Word of God. 300 hours is 1.79 weeks. Wow. Small things and small obediences add up.

Proverbs 25:11 says, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken at the right time.” I believe that this also applies to words written. My written words 4 years ago in remembrance of what God did are now a powerful reminder to me that God heals and rescues us in our time of need.

God wants us to REMEMBER what He has done. The Bible is the source of all that God has done. He wants us to create reminders. Reminders so that when hard times come (and they do and will) we have a visual reminder of what He has done in the past.

Instead, be faithful to the Lord, as you have been till now.
Joshua 23:8

God reminds us throughout His Word of how He has helped His people in the past, and He also promises that He will continue to help them in the future. God knows we need reminders when we face various challenges in life. These reminders give us something to hold on to. The stones in Joshua 4 gave the people a visual reminder of what God had done for them.

Then Joshua called the twelve men he had chosen, and he told them, “Go into the Jordan ahead of the Covenant Box of the Lord your God. Each one of you take a stone on your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel. These stones will remind the people of what the Lord has done. In the future, when your children ask what these stones mean to you, you will tell them that the water of the Jordan stopped flowing when the Lord’s Covenant Box crossed the river. These stones will always remind the people of Israel of what happened here.”
Joshua 4:4-7

When storms of life come, what do you turn to give you strength? God’s Word is full of reminders and promises of His power and majesty. Writing down what God has done for you in the past gives you a great reminder of what He can and will do for you in the future. What He has done before He will do again. Be faithful, stay the course. Cling to the promise that He is always faithful and that He will always be there to carry you through.

I remember with great anticipation returning to my hometown after being away at college for a few months. The excitement to be with family and friends, wondering if they would see any change or growth in me. I had become more independent while away and been exposed to new ways of thinking, would anyone notice? I felt both apprehension and anticipation on the trek home.

In Luke 4:16-30, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. I am sure he experienced some of those same emotions. While he had been away he had been baptized by John and received the Holy spirit. He had also spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. I’m sure he was excited to go back to his home and see his family and friends. He had been ministering in Galilee and everything was going well for him. In Luke 4:15 we read that “He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.” I am sure everyone was eager to see him and hear him preach when he returned home.

On the Sabbath day in his home town of Nazareth, Jesus went to the synagogue to pray. He was handed the scroll of Isaiah, he unrolled it and began to read…

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
Luke 4:18-19

Jesus was quoting this from Isaiah 61:1-2. After reading the scroll, he rolled it back up and handed it back to the attendant. Then he said,
“The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day.”
Luke 4:21

The crowd listening to Jesus was amazed. They knew him as Joseph’s son and had worked as a carpenter. How could he be saying these things? They questioned what they heard and who he claimed to be. How could this ordinary boy claim those things? The people were skeptical. Instead of easing their doubts, Jesus challenges them. The peoples skepticism and confusion soon turns to anger.

The Nazareth people were offended when Jesus told them that God loves Israel, but He also loves the rest of the world. The people were deeply enraged that God would have mercy on people who they did not like or agree with. It made them furious.

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue where furious. Jumping up, the mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
Luke 4:28-30

The people were not willing to hear that God wanted to love and save all people. Jesus was there to speak the truth, not just to gain a following. Miraculously, Jesus passes through the crowd and goes on his way.

Jesus did not get the hometown welcome that he initially might have desired. But, more importantly he did not care about the popularity and thoughts that the people had about him. He cared what God thought about him.

Jesus experienced rejection. He knows the feeling. He goes on in His life to experience rejection to the point of death. But He did this so that we may have life. We get to ask for His forgiveness for when we have rejected Him and He forgives us.