Month: October 2020

Today’s Scripture…

Hebrews 13:14-15

14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Thoughts…

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the colors, smells, and cool weather. Watching the leaves fall reminds me everything here on Earth must change. Not even people are meant to remain the same. 

We continue to grow, physically and spiritually. We should never stop striving for more that God has to offer. Seeking to get closer to Him is our goal. Hearing us cry out to Him for help and praising Him for all that He does for us is His greatest joy. Neither of those things can happen without our willingness to change.

So, when you look at the leaves changing colors and beginning to fall, think of how the trees are reminding you to praise God for change. Without it, we would never grow.

Prayer…

 Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved

Today’s Scripture…

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Thoughts…

In the Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow desperately wanted a brain. In the book, crows had told him how stupid he was and the Scarecrow believed them. When the Wizard filled his straw head with pins and needles to prove how sharp he was the Scarecrow felt smart again.. In the movie the Wizard gives him a diploma. In either case, the Scarecrow had the brain all along. It was easy to see that because it was his ideas that got them all to Oz.

The fruits of the spirit are like Scarecrow’s brain. We always have them with us. We decide how we will react to what is going on around us. We choose to use our tools that God has given us.  No one can take them away from us. That is what is meant by “against such there is no law.” 

Circumstances can swirl around us making us feel like we can’t find our way to Oz. But truly no witch or wizard that ever was or will be can take the fruits of the spirit away from us.

Prayer…

 Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved

Today’s Scripture…

Galatians 5:13-15

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Thoughts…

“If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (v. 15). Can anyone say ‘Social Media’? Seriously, nothing can turn a bunch of perfectly nice, sane adults into bullies quicker than putting out your opinion on social media. It seems no one can figure out how to politely agree to disagree.

Believe me, I am in no way saying you are not entitled to have your own opinion. I am also not saying you must agree with me for me to like you. I am saying, we all need to learn to love each other in spite of our differences. Can you imagine how quickly racial, religious, and political tension would go away, if we could learn to love our neighbor.

This world is a cornucopia of differences. It always has been and it always will be. The sooner we all learn to love each other, the more beautifully we will all fit together.

Prayer…

Today’s Scripture…

Colossians 3:15-17

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Thoughts…

In 1989 a youth minister in, Michigan came up with the acronym WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) and designed friendship bracelets for her youth to wear as a reminder to make moral decisions. It quickly took the world by storm. It has taken on so many other forms by substituting other names.

Colossians 3:17 truly embodies this idea of stopping and considering exactly what do you think Jesus would do if He were in my shoes. You see you are an ambassador for Christ. People are watching to see how you handle situations. The last part of the verse tells you exactly how you are to handle any and all situations. You do it with thanksgiving. Why? When you take the time to thank God it puts your focus exactly where it needs to be, on Him! No matter what is going on good, bad, or indifferent, God is right beside you. He will walk you through it and bless you every step of the way.

So, everyone is still walking around asking what would Jesus do? You my friend can now answer them. Thank God!

Prayer…

 Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved

Today’s Scripture…

Colossians 3:12-14

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Thoughts…

It is so hard to forgive someone who has not admitted they were wrong. It is so hard to forgive someone who has not asked for forgiveness. However, that is exactly what God tells us to do. Why? Because it makes us feel better. It allows us to let go and move on with our lives instead of being trapped in the past.

Let’s try a farming analogy here. Imagine your inner self was a stall. Now, that cow, pig, or horse is everyone around you. They pile a bunch of (insert your preferred word here) into your life. You can wait for them to come and clean it up, or you can get in there and muck that stahl and put down fresh straw. Let me tell you, if you choose to wait it out, your life is going to be filled with nothing but, nasty stuff. However, if you choose to clean it up , you will be ready to handle another day with a fresh new start. Yes, it will get yucky again, but at least it doesn’t keep piling up on you until you are buried under and can’t see any joy in your life at all.

Prayer…

Today’s Scripture…

Romans 12:1-3

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Thoughts…

A full moon is beautiful. A harvest moon is even prettier in my opinion. That huge red ball in the sky showing off all the crevices on the moon. It is breath taking. However beautiful the moon is, it is nothing without the sun. When we look at the moon we are really seeing the sun’s reflection.

We are a lot like that moon. You can try to be the perfect little Christian and do everything right all the time. However, without the Son, we are nothing. We have to have the Son shine through us. It is really the Son’s light that is leading others to God. We hold no power of our own.

So today, your job is to decide just how much of the Son’s light are you going to let reflect off you. Personally, I am hoping the Son’s so bright they gotta wear shades!

Prayer…

 Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved

Today’s Scripture…

Matthew 6:33-34

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thoughts

I am not a big fan of spiders. I have an arrangement with a couple that like to build webs on my porch. The deal is they don’t come in the house and I let them catch all the insects they want on the top corner of my rai by the roof. So far, the have held up their part of the treaty…lol!

The one thing I do admire about the spider is how it doesn’t give up or throw a fit when the wind blows its web apart. It just starts again. It doesn’t sit there and worry about all the “what if’s”. It just keeps on moving.

If we keep our eye focused on God, we are less likely to start worrying about all the problems around us. We don’t get wrapped up in the web of “what about tomorrow’s”. Seriously, tomorrow really does have its web of issues. Let’s finish today’s first!

Prayer…

Today’s Scripture…

Proverbs 3:5-8

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Thoughts…

Contrary to common belief, bats are not blind. As a matter of fact, depending on the circumstance they actually prefer using their sight over echolocation. Generally, they rely on the echolocation when they hunt at night. Certain bats actually don’t rely on their sight alone and combine the two for accuracy, even during the daytime (livescience.com).

God told us not to rely on our own eyes. You see, our perception of what is going on can be faulty. The only way for us to truly see our way through life is relying on God, using His guidance to navigate us through any situations. He already sees all the possible objects in our vicinity. He is just waiting for us to call out to Him. He will return to us the proper place for us to spread our wings and fly.

Prayer…

Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved

Today’s Scripture…

Philippians 4:6-9

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thoughts…

Have you ever taken a good look at a spiderweb? It is really hard to figure out where it starts and where it ends. Each part is delicately woven and dependent on the other sections. When these sections are intact they can hold the full weight of the spider. Break any section and it all tears apart and the spider falls.

The peace of God is very similar to that web. If we are concentrating on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy we are entwining peace within our life. Each section holds our spirit together and we can withstand Satans dirty tricks. But look away, even for a second, and your focus sees the perils all around and the web begins to unravel leaving us anxious.

The good thing is we can immediately turn to God with prayer and petition and before we can even utter amen, He reweaves that web. It is not just good as new, it is even better beyond our understanding.

Prayer…

Today’s Scripture…

Romans 5:1-5

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Thoughts…

I love apple picking season. Apple picking means my

favorite treat-caramel apples. There are so many steps between planting that seed and biting into that yummy goodness. It comes one time a year, but oh so worth it. All I have to do is wait.

I know this is a simple way of saying good things are worth the wait. Truly that is what these verses are talking about, perseverance. God provides many great things for us faith and grace. These are the tools he provides for us so we can persevere through our sufferings. These things are what make us who we are today. Our scars create in us memories of survival. These memories create a hope. This hope is forged stronger everyday. It goes full circle because this hop-e helps us persevere the next day and the next and the next, which in turn creates more hope.

This process is much like my beloved caramel apple. I must eat the apple, to get the seeds, to plant the seeds, to grow more apples for more yummy caramel apples. Hmmm…I guess I will just have persevere through😉

Prayers…

 Copyright © 2020 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved