by Catherine McDaugale | Jan 13, 2025 | Christian Living, Life
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV)
The Bible exhorts us to examine our walk with God. So how is your walk going? These questions will help you gauge where you’re at:
- Have you been spending time with Jesus?
- What are you doing during your time with Him?
- Do you regularly talk with Jesus?
- Have you been reading His Word?
- Are you making changes when you learn you should or shouldn’t do something?
- Are you serving others?
- How’s your attitude?
The answers to these questions will help you determine if you’ve been walking by faith with God or mostly doing your own thing.
Yet, another important question will help you assess where you’re at spiritually: Are you doing those things out of love or duty? In other words, are you doing them because you want to or because you feel like you have to?
In a letter to the church of Ephesus, Jesus told them, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4 NKJV). Ouch! That must have been hard for them to hear. If you’re doing things for Jesus out of duty instead of love, Jesus might be saying that to you.
When you love someone, you want to spend time with them. You desire to do things for them. You enjoy the time you spend with them – not dread it.
If that’s you, Jesus gave the church of Ephesus a remedy. And it’s one that you can use too. He told them, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works . . . .” (Revelation 2:5a NKJV). So, if you’ve left your first love, Jesus: remember, repent, and repeat.
1. Remember
Think about how God saved you. Write down your testimony – all of the amazing things God did to bring you to Him. And then praise Him for it. Thank Him for everything He’s done for you.
2. Repent
Acknowledge that you’ve left Jesus – that you’ve been doing things your way and in your strength. Admit that you have been doing things out of a sense of duty instead of love. Ask God to forgive you. He has promised that “[i]f we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NKJV).
3. Repeat
Do the first things you did when you were first saved.
- Meditate on your favorite part of the Bible.
- Thank God for His amazing creation.
- Sing along with your favorite worship song.
- Tell others how God is working in your life.
So, examine yourself to ensure you are walking by faith with God. And if you’re not – remember, repent, and repeat the first works as you return to walking by faith with your first love.
Photo by Ugne Vasyliute on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Mar 25, 2024 | Bible Study
Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! (Luke 24:5–6 (NKJV))
Do you believe in the resurrection? As we quickly approach Resurrection Weekend – the time when we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the grave and overcame death – it’s a good time to do a little self-reflection.
As you do business with the Lord, here’s an excerpt from Day 10 of my book, How to Teach Your Kids about God, on that subject:
* * *
Jesus’ resurrection is a fundamental part of the gospel. Jesus – the Son of God – came down from heaven; was born as a baby; lived a perfect life; died on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins; was buried in a tomb; and three days later, He rose from the grave.
If God hadn’t raised Jesus from the dead, life would be pointless. There would be no promise of eternal life with Him. We would have no hope.
But God did raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus overcame death! Praise God for that!
Not only did God raise Jesus from the dead, but He also gave us evidence of what He did. Many people saw Jesus after the resurrection. There were eyewitnesses. People who had followed Jesus during His ministry – who had watched Him die and be buried – later saw Him alive. They saw Jesus, ate with Him, and touched Him.
- Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and clung to Him (John 20:15–17).
- Thomas touched Jesus’ wounds from the crucifixion – His hands and His side (John 20:27–28).
- The disciples ate with Jesus (John 21:12–13), and saw Jesus eat (Luke 24:41–43).
And Jesus appeared to many people, more than once. He appeared to:
- His disciples when they were gathered together in a room without Thomas (John 20:19–24).
- His disciples – again – when they were gathered together in a room with Thomas (John 20:26–29).
- Two men walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–31).
- His disciples – a third time – by the sea of Galilee (John 21:1–14).
- Over 500 people at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6).
- His disciples – a fourth time – right before and as He ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50–51; Acts 1:4–9).
One of those disciples, John, had been so close to Jesus at the crucifixion that Jesus talked to John before He died and committed His mother, Mary, into John’s care (John 19:25–27).
And Mary Magdalene (to whom Jesus appeared first) was at the crucifixion, watched them take Jesus’ body down from the cross, followed them, and saw them bury Jesus in a tomb (John 19:25, stood by the cross; Matthew 27:57–61, sat opposite the tomb).
And now? Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Jesus is our advocate with God the Father (1 John 2:1). We can only come to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 (NKJV)). Indeed, “[t]here is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 (NLT)).
Because Jesus overcame death, we have the promise of eternal life with Him. And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus has promised He will come again (John 14:3). We can hold on to that promise, knowing He will be faithful to fulfill it.
* * *
So, let’s rejoice in the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. Because He did, our faith isn’t “useless” and our sins have been forgiven (1 Corinthians 15:17 (NLT)). Let’s praise Jesus for what He did for us as we walk by faith with Him.
Photo by Joshua Burdick on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Aug 21, 2023 | Bible Study, Christian Living, Spiritual Growth
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV))
What is faith? In our society, many use the words faith and believe interchangeably. If you believe in something then you have faith in it.
Although the word faith in Hebrews 11:1 can be translated as believe or belief, the way the word is used in that verse has more depth. In that verse, it tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) (emphasis added)).
So, faith has substance. It’s tangible. It’s something you can see. It’s not blind. And it’s not elusive.
I heard an illustration about faith that really made sense to me. And I want to share it with you.
In the 1800s, there was a man who decided to cross over Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Niagara Falls spans from New York to Canada. The tightrope he used was over 1,000 feet long, stretched between the two countries. And the man didn’t have a safety net underneath it.
Thousands of people gathered to watch the man. And on that first attempt, he successfully crossed over the waterfalls on the tightrope while holding a balancing pole.
Over the following years, the man returned to walk that tightrope multiple times. At different times, he crossed it with a sack over his body, depriving him of sight; carrying a table and chair, stopping in the middle to sit down and prop up his legs; somersaulting and doing backflips; walking backward to Canada and returning to the United States pushing a wheelbarrow; and carrying a man on his back.
Now, you could stand in the audience and say, “Yes, I believe that he can do it. I have faith that he’ll make it to the other side without falling.”
But the faith here in Hebrews 11:1 is if you volunteered to get in the wheelbarrow that he was pushing. Or if you agreed to let him carry you on his back as he crossed. By volunteering, your faith has substance. It’s evidence that you believe the man will safely push you in the wheelbarrow or carry you to the other side.
And our faith in God – to be true faith – should have substance too. As James told us,
I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is a God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:18–20 (NKJV))
James goes on to give us an example of someone whose faith had substance. He reminded us that Abraham lived out his faith when he was willing to offer his son, Isaac, on the altar when God asked him to (James 2:21–23).
And the Bible has many examples of people whose faith had substance:
- Noah’s faith had substance when he obeyed God and built an ark, even though it had never rained before (Genesis 6).
- Daniel’s faith had substance when he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” by eating the king’s delicacies and by drinking the king’s wine because he knew God didn’t want him to (Daniel 1:8 (NKJV)).
- Peter’s and John’s faith had substance when they refused to stop telling people about Jesus, even though they had been arrested and were told “not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18–20 (NKJV)).
So, can you point to the substance of your faith? As Paul exhorts us, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)).
Your faith has substance when you rely on God for everything, trusting that He will help you. People can see your faith when you obey God and quit doing something that He wants you to stop doing. Your faith is tangible when you step out in faith to do something that you know God is calling you to do.
Take a moment and make sure your faith has substance. It will be obvious as you purpose in your heart to walk by faith with Him.
Photo by Edward Koorey on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Aug 29, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
God said, “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22 (NKJV))
The other day, I was reading an article about Stanley Jenkins. I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of him. I hadn’t either. Stanley lived from 1884 to 1967. When he died, he left no wife or children. He’s not known as a man who did something incredibly noble. Instead, he’s credited as the inventor of the corn dog. [1]
That’s his legacy – corn dog inventor. A man who obtained a patent for a machine to skewer and deep fry hot dogs dipped in a corn meal mixture.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy a good corn dog from time to time. But after you’re gone, is that all you want to be known for?
It got me thinking, we only have one life. When your time is up, what will people say about you? What will you be known for? Inventing a food dish? Or someone who loved God?
David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He was known as a man who would do God’s will. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful way to be remembered?
It sounds like a high standard. Maybe you’re thinking that’s something you could never live up to. Yet, David wasn’t perfect. He made many mistakes. He not only committed adultery but tried to cover it up by having the woman’s husband killed (2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17). It wasn’t perfection that gave David this legacy. It was his love for God and his faith in Him.
When David heard that Israel was being taunted by one of the Philistine giants named Goliath, (1 Samuel 17:4-11, 23), he asked, “[W]ho is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26 (NKJV)). David knew that Goliath was not just challenging men, but God Himself.
So, when Saul told David that he wouldn’t be able to fight Goliath because he was just a youth, David assured him that the Lord – who delivered him from the lion’s paw and the bear’s paw as he shepherded his father’s flock – would also deliver him from the hand of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:37). David trusted God.
Not only did David openly trust God before all the people, he also expressed his love for God. When the ark of God – the place where God would meet the high priest once a year – was brought up to Jerusalem, “David danced before the Lord with all his might,” leaping and whirling before Him (2 Samuel 6:14-16 (NKJV)).
David gives us a good example to follow. We should aim to be known as women who love God and trust Him.
In your life, are you known as a woman after God’s own heart who will do all His will? Do those around you even know that you’re a Christian? What evidence is there of your love for God?
I’m not suggesting that you do things to call attention to yourself and what you’re doing so people will notice you. Jesus warned us not to be like the Pharisees who loved to “pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men” (Matthew 6:5 (NKJV)).
But if you live your life loving God, being sensitive to His Spirit, and willing to step out in faith to do the things He asks you to do, people will know you love God. As you abide in Jesus by reading the Bible, talking to Him, and worshipping Him, it will be evident that you’ve spent time with Him.
And as you live a life of obedience, your life will bless others. Don’t be afraid to pray with someone He asks you to pray with. Be bold to share with others what God is doing in your life. Make yourself available to serve those around you.
As we do these things, we will become known as women after God’s own heart. So let’s commit our lives to Jesus as we walk by faith with Him.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
[1] Kerry J. Byrne, “Meet the American who invented the ‘clean, wholesome’ corn dog,” Fox News, Jun. 10, 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/meet-american-invented-corn-dog.
by Catherine McDaugale | Aug 15, 2022 | Life, Ministry
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20 (NKJV))
Don’t you love to hear stories about how different couples met? They’re as individual as fingerprints – no two are alike. Some got to know each other in high school and have been married for decades. Others met in an online gaming site, through friends, or even while commuting to work on the bus. There are couples who fell in love at first sight, while others took years for the relationship to develop.
The story of how I met my husband is as distinct as any other. We first saw each other at a McDonalds while we were at lunch in high school. Then we saw each other again at a mutual friend’s house. A few months later, we met at a cast party for a high school play.
We became friends, going on short road trips, eating dinner, hiking, and hanging out. He was always there when I needed him – through good times and bad. As the trust grew, I fell in love. But it would still be a while before I would admit my feelings. And a few years before we would become a couple and get married.
Salvation stories – accounts of how you met your first love, Jesus – are just as unique. God is awesome. He doesn’t work the same way twice. I’m sure that the way I came to know Jesus is very different from the way you met Him. Each one is beautiful, intricate . . . impossible.
But God.
God meets us right where we’re at. He pursues each one of us, desiring for us to see all He has done so we’ll fall in love with Him. When we do, “[w]e love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 (NKJV)).
Jesus is so patient, so kind, so loving. He’s a gentleman. He knocks on the door of your heart and patiently waits to see if you’ll open the door to invite Him in. He doesn’t ever force the door open.
I was thinking about how my love story with my husband parallels my salvation story in certain ways. Like my husband, I saw Jesus a few times before I actually met Him. When I was young child, I saw Jesus during Sunday school classes. Then, as a teenager, I saw Him again at Bible camp one summer. But it would take longer before I met Jesus. I didn’t take the time to meet Him and get to know Him until many years later.
Although I grew up going to different churches, I was unwilling to submit myself to God, to do things His way. Instead, I relied on myself. I had many goals that I wanted to accomplish – things I thought would make me happy. Yet, after I had achieved most of them, I was still miserable, unsatisfied, and empty inside.
During that time, I finally sought God with all my heart for the first time in my life. God promises that when you search for Him with all your heart, you will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13). And I did.
When I finally opened the door of my heart and invited Jesus in, I got to know Him and learned to trust Him. And then I fell in love.
Although my circumstances didn’t change, my perspective on life was suddenly different. I no longer feared death. I felt a deep contentment in His love. Needless to say, my life hasn’t been the same since.
God began changing me from the inside out, one issue at a time. He began by showing me that the music I was listening to and some of the movies I was watching didn’t glorify Him. Not only that, the music and movies weren’t building me up but tearing me down. He showed me the importance of my thought life. And He implanted desires to serve Him and others. The work He’s done in my life has been amazing.
So, how did you meet your first love, Jesus? What’s your salvation story? Take time to record your testimony. Then tell someone how God brought you to Him. Let’s encourage each other by sharing how we met our first love, Jesus, as we walk by faith with Him.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Jul 4, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 (NKJV))
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Apparently, an average person makes about 35,000 choices each day. 35,000. That equates to 2,000 decisions every hour you’re awake and one every two seconds.[1]
Of course, most of those decisions are minor. And you probably don’t think too much about them. Decisions like . . .
Do I really want to get out of bed now? Maybe just five more minutes.
Should I wear a purple shirt or a blue one?
What should I eat for breakfast? I don’t really feel like eating yogurt this morning.
Should I drive five miles per hour over the speed limit? Maybe I should use my cruise control.
You get the idea. But there’s one decision that is more important than any other. It’s the most significant one you’ll ever make. And that’s not an exaggeration. The decision will not only affect your current life but all of eternity.
Have you decided to follow Jesus?
I hope you’ve already chosen to follow Him. If you haven’t, don’t put off making that decision for another day.
Anyway, by waiting, you’ve already decided by default. Jesus said that you’re either with Him or against Him (Matthew 12:30). By choosing not to make the decision, you’ve chosen to not follow Jesus today. By putting it off, you’ve chosen to be against Jesus.
If you wait until tomorrow to decide, you might not get a tomorrow. We are not guaranteed another day. No one knows when their time is up. And if you die before choosing to follow Jesus, it will be too late. The Bible teaches us that “each person is destined to die once and after that comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)).
There is no purgatory. No penalty box where you wait until you’ve done your penance so you can enter into heaven. We don’t come back in another life as someone or something else. This life is your only opportunity to choose. As the saying goes, “You make your choices and then your choices make you.”
So, what’s keeping you from deciding? Maybe you think that you have plenty of time left and you’ll wait to take God seriously when you’re older. Or maybe you’re waiting for a sign – a lightning strike that will prove once and for all that God means what He says in the Bible.
But God has already given us a sign. As Jesus said,
“This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that He was sent by God.” (Luke 11:29-30 (NLT))
When God told Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites, Jonah refused and got on a boat that was going to a place in the opposite direction from where the Ninevites lived (Jonah 1:1-3). God sent a storm that threatened the lives of all who were on that boat (Jonah 1:4). So they tossed Jonah overboard, and the storm ceased (Jonah 1:12, 15).
Jonah descended into the depths of the water where God had prepared a large fish to swallow him (Jonah 1:17). Still, it took three days for Jonah to repent (Jonah 1:17-2:9). When he did, God spoke to the fish, and it expelled him onto dry land (Jonah 2:10).
What happened to Jonah was miraculous. When he finally obeyed God, Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4 (NKJV)). That very short sermon was enough to get the people of Nineveh to believe in God and repent (Jonah 3:5).
Similarly, Jesus’ resurrection was a sign to that generation and every generation since then that Jesus is who He said He is. He is the Son of God. And Jesus is the only way to come to the Father and have eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried in a tomb, and rose again on the third day – just as the scriptures had predicted.
In fact, all of the Old Testament’s prophecies about the coming suffering, servant Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is our sign. So stop looking for another one.
As Steven Curtis Chapman exhorts us in his song, Waiting for Lightning:
But the sign and the word have already been given,
And now it’s by faith, we must look and we must listen.
Instead of waiting for lightning.
A sign that it’s time for a change;
Listening for thunder,
As He quietly whispers your name.
If you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus, do so today. Stop waiting for lightning. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow never does come. By choosing Jesus, you can start walking by faith with Him today.
* Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
[1] Eva M. Krockow, Ph.D., “How Many Decisions Do We Make Each Day?,” Psychology Today, Sep. 27, 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stretching-theory/201809/how-many-decisions-do-we-make-each-day.
by Catherine McDaugale | Jun 6, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.” (Psalm 39:7 (NKJV))
Many of us are waiting for something. Maybe you’re going through a trial that seems like it will never end. Or maybe God has given you a promise that has not yet come to fruition. What should we do while we’re waiting?
In short, we should trust God. And “let patience have its perfect work” (James 1:4 (NKJV)).
Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled may seem like a trial in and of itself. Waiting is hard – especially in our culture. We’re not used to waiting for anything. Instead, we’re used to getting things the way we want them, when we want them.
We have fast food. On-demand movies. Giga-bit internet. People get impatient if they have to wait for more than a few minutes in a drive-through. Some even get irritated and leave (or worse). We stream entertainment at our fingertips whenever we want it. Our internet is now so fast that everything works in an instant, even on our phones.
Gone are the days of patiently cooking your own food. Many don’t remember dial-up internet that binged and bonged for a minute before it even connected. And then it would run so slowly that you could get up and do something else for an hour while you were waiting for something to download. Literally.
So when we’re going through a trial, we want it to end now. Or, better yet, yesterday. We don’t want to wait for a promise; we want it to happen immediately. Right?
Sometimes, God does deliver you out of the trial. It started, you prayed, you trusted, and bam! It seemed like God delivered you out of it instantly.
Other times, God gave you a promise that was fulfilled soon after He gave it to you. You were overjoyed by His blessing. You couldn’t believe how quickly God had worked.
But then there are those times when you’re not sure if God is listening. You wonder if He’s doing anything or if He even remembers the promise He gave you. You cry out, “How long must I wait?”
God’s timing is perfect. We need to wait for Him. In the waiting, God is doing a work in us. He’s using that time to change us.
It’s easy to get our priorities mixed up when we’re in pain. When we’re hurting, our focus can get stuck on the trial or the unfulfilled promise. But that’s not where our attention should be. We need to remember that we’re not waiting for something, but on Someone.
Our eyes need to be on Jesus. Our hope lies in Him and Him alone. Refocus your eyes; change your depth of field. Stop focusing on your struggles and fix your eyes firmly on Jesus. Remember all that He has already done for you. Recall how He brought you up out of the miry clay and set your feet on a rock (Psalm 40:2).
When we wait on God, instead of something else, He will strengthen your heart (Psalm 27:14). And “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)).
God has a plan. And He has a time for that plan to happen. He is working all things together – not just in your life but in the lives of others as well. God is doing a work while you’re waiting. Even though you can’t see it, God is working. He never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:3-4).
Trust Him. Wait on Him. Be patient while He works.
In the meantime, here are three things you can do while you’re waiting:
1. Read the Bible
Take time each day to nourish your spirit. We tend to focus on our physical needs and forget that our spirit has needs too. When was the last time you forgot to eat food? I have heard of some people who say things like, “I was so busy that I forgot to eat.” But for most, our stomachs readily remind us when we need to eat. (And often too frequently. Sigh.)
But it’s easy to get distracted with whatever we’re doing and forget to spend time reading the Bible. Set aside a regular time to be in God’s Word
- getting to know Him better;
- finding out what He likes and what He hates;
- discovering what He wants you to do and what He doesn’t want you to do; and
- learning about the amazing things He has done.
As you draw near to God, He has promised to draw near to you (James 4:8). And, as your relationship with God deepens, you’ll be able to trust Him and be patient in the waiting.
2. Pray
Pour out your heart to God. Tell Him how you’re feeling. He knows what you’re going through is hard. And He will be there to listen to you and walk with you through it.
In the waiting, you may question the truth that God loves you. But that is the truth. Because He cares for you, He wants you to cast all your care on Him (1 Peter 5:7). The word “cast” means to throw. God wants you to throw your worries to Him. When you do, it’s out of your hands and in His. His hands are able to hold all your cares. Let Him help you.
3. Worship
Praise God for what He’s going to do in your life and for the things He’s already done. When you’re feeling down, put on your favorite worship music and sing to Him. As the psalmist encourages us,
“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2 (NKJV))
As you sing praises to God, something awesome happens. When you started singing, your spirit may have felt heavy. You probably didn’t even feel like worshipping God. And it may have been difficult for you to even get the words out of your mouth.
But as you praise Him, as you continue to sing, your spirits are lifted. You feel lighter, calmer – even joyful. Your disposition actually changes while you’re worshipping our beautiful Savior. He is so good to us!
Have you noticed how the psalms often begin with despair and end in hope? The process of taking your cares to the Lord and then praising Him despite your pain results in lifting your spirit. Your circumstances haven’t changed. Yet, your perspective has. You are able to see the size of your problem in light of our great God. Take time to praise Him every day.
So, in the waiting, wait on God. Take time to read His Word, pray to Him, and praise Him as you anticipate how He will work. As you do, you will grow closer to God as you wait by faith on Him.
*Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Apr 25, 2022 | Christian Living, Life
“. . . forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV))
When someone has wronged you, forgiveness is likely the last thing on your mind. The pain cuts deep into your heart. Thoughts like, “How could she have said that?” or “How could he have done that to me?” run through your mind. You justify withholding forgiveness because you feel like they don’t deserve it.
Before we talk about why you should forgive, let’s start by defining our terms. Forgiveness means that you release the person’s debt – the debt that was created by the wrong. It does not mean that the person’s words or actions were okay. It’s only a decision to no longer hold that wrong against them.
Moreover, forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation. You can forgive without the relationship being restored. The trust that was lost is not necessarily regained. Depending on the circumstances, that person may still not be a part of your life and may not even know that you’ve forgiven them.
With that in mind, here are three reasons you should forgive:
1. God Told Us To
The main reason we should forgive is because God told us to. As we see from the above verse, God commands us to forgive. It tells us that we “must” forgive (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV)). The word “must” means that it’s mandatory. It’s not optional. We don’t get to decide if we want to forgive. The Bible doesn’t say, “You can think about whether it’s a good idea.”
Because God told us to forgive, we should be obedient to do what He’s asked us to do. Frankly, this should be enough. (Drop mic, exit stage right.) But if you’re still not convinced, there are two more reasons you should forgive.
2. You’ve Been Forgiven Much
Second, you should forgive based on the forgiveness you’ve received from God. Going back to the verse in Colossians, the Bible teaches that you must forgive “even as Christ forgave you” (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV)). When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother, Jesus told him a parable.
In the parable, a king was settling his accounts with his servants and saw that a man owed him 10,000 talents (Matthew 18:23-24). That probably doesn’t mean much to you since we don’t have talents in our monetary system. But at that time, 10,000 talents would equate to payment for 60 million workdays.[1] Yes, million. If you divide that by 365 days in a year, you come up with about 164,383 years. Obviously, it would be impossible to work off that debt.
Because the servant was not able to pay the debt, the king ordered that the man, his wife, his children, and all his possessions be sold (Matthew 18:25). The man fell down before the king and begged him to have patience with him (Matthew 18:26). So, the king “was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27 (NKJV)).
The servant then went to a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (100 days’ wages), “laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying ‘Pay me what you owe!’” (Matthew 18:28 (NKJV)). When his fellow servant begged him to have patience with him, “he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt” (Matthew 18:29-30 (NKJV)).
When the king found out about it, he called the servant and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33 (NKJV)). So the king “delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him” (Matthew 18:34 (NKJV)).
Jesus then said, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matthew 18:35 (NKJV)).
Like the servant in the parable, we have been forgiven much as believers in Jesus. The price of our forgiveness was costly because we have sinned against an all-powerful, almighty God. Jesus had to die to pay that price. He was brutally beaten and hung on a cross. Yet, Jesus willingly died because of His great love for us.
In turn, any infraction against us pales in comparison to our sin against God. Because we have been forgiven much, we should forgive those sins committed against us.
I’m not trying to minimize your pain. That pain is real. The offense may have been great. Your trust was probably violated. Relationships may have been ruined. But any sin against us is like the debt owed to the servant by his fellow servant. And our sin against God is like the debt the servant owed the king – one that we would have never been able to repay.
3. It’s Good For Your Health
Finally, you should forgive because unforgiveness is bad for you. It’s a heavy burden. Until you forgive, that burden is always with you. When you see the person or think about them, whatever they did comes to mind. Your anxiety rises as you dwell on it. You become bitter as you replay it over and over in your mind.
The anxiety you experience has an adverse effect on your body. As the Bible teaches us, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression” (Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)). Of course, medical studies corroborate the Bible’s claim. And I’m sure you’ve experienced anxiety at one time or another in varying degrees. It’s never a good thing. When you forgive, you feel lighter and your anxiety is relieved.
So let’s obey God and forgive those who have wronged us. God knows what is best for us. Let’s always remember how much God has forgiven us. You’ll reap the benefits as you draw closer to God and walk by faith with Him.
[1] Earl D. Radmacher, ed. NKJV Study Bible – Notes. n.p.: Thomas Nelson, 2019. Olive Tree Bible Study App Edition.
by Catherine McDaugale | Mar 28, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry, Spiritual Growth
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV))
Have you noticed that God doesn’t usually give you the whole picture when He asks you to do something? It’s like putting together a puzzle when you don’t have the front of the box. You’re not sure what it’s going to look like when you’re finished. You can’t see how it will turn out.
For example, you may feel God prompting you to text someone a Bible verse but you have no idea why. You may feel uncomfortable because you’re worried what she’ll think. Later, she may tell you that the verse was exactly what she needed at the time. However, when you sent it, you didn’t have that insight.
Or God may give you a vision with just the first step. He shows you what He wants you to accomplish overall but doesn’t give you the details. Until you take that first step, God doesn’t give you the next one. You have no idea how God is going to take you from step one to the vision’s completion. You don’t have the whole picture.
A few years ago, God gave me a vision about writing a book about His faithfulness. I had never written a book before and didn’t have any idea how it could come to completion. God had only given me the first step. He wanted me to write about how He had been faithful to bring me through a difficult time. It wasn’t until I completed that first step that He gave me the next one. As I followed His direction, God guided me step by step, giving me everything I needed as I stepped out in faith to do the next part.
After the book was completed, I could look back and see the whole picture. I could see how God had met me where I was, each step of the way. And that first step – the one that was so hard to take – didn’t even make it into the book. It was necessary to start the process, and God used it for me personally. But the first step was never meant to be part of the book.
Each time God gives us something to do, we really want the whole picture, don’t we? We think it would be helpful to know all the details. We believe that we would be more confident if we knew each step we would need to take, what would happen in response to each step we took, and how God would work in each situation
Yet, if God gave us the whole picture, we wouldn’t be walking by faith with Him. Instead, we would likely move forward on our own.
Moreover, having the whole picture wouldn’t necessarily help. The truth is that we might not be able to handle the whole picture if God gave it to us up front. It might be too overwhelming for us to take it all in.
We see an example of this in Moses’s life. When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He gave Moses many of the details about where He wanted Moses to go, what He wanted Moses to do, who He wanted Moses to talk to, what He wanted Moses to say, and how the people would respond.
- First, God told Moses to go and gather the elders of Israel together, what he should say to the elders, and how the elders would respond (Exodus 3:16-18).
- Second, God told Moses to go to the king of Egypt with the elders, what he should say to the king of Egypt, and that the king of Egypt would not let the Israelites leave (Exodus 3:18-19).
- Finally, God told Moses that He would do the work so that the king of Egypt would let them go and they would leave with the Egyptians’ riches (Exodus 3:20-22).
In short, God gave Moses the whole picture.
When God was finished, we see that Moses was still stuck on step one. Moses asked God, “But suppose they [the elders] will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (Exodus 4:1 (NKJV)).
God had just told Moses how the elders of the Israelites would react. God told Moses that they would believe him – that they would “heed” his voice (Exodus 3:18 (NKJV)). But Moses was focused on himself and his own abilities. It’s like he shut down after that first direction. Maybe he began thinking about it, trying to figure out how it would all work.
Did Moses even hear the rest of what God told him in that moment? We don’t know. But it must have been overwhelming to hear about it all.
How often are we like Moses? We also get stuck on the first step. Instead of trusting God and stepping out in obedience, we get anxious. We ask ourselves, “How could I do that?” Or we worry about what people will think. For that reason, it would be easy for us to get overwhelmed if God gave us more than that first step.
Rather than focusing on our own abilities – or lack thereof – we need to trust God. God is able to help us with everything He wants us to do. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)).
So stop waiting for that step-by-step plan. Don’t worry about whether God’s given you the whole picture. Step out in faith when God gives you that very first step. Trust Him and see the amazing things that He will do.
*Photo by Benjamin Zanatta on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Mar 14, 2022 | Bible Study, Christian Living
“Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20 (NKJV))
Moses saw the afterglow of God’s glory. The disciples caught a glimpse of it. We can reflect it. And one day we will see it for ourselves. So let’s learn what the Bible teaches us about the glory of God.
What is God’s Glory?
In the book of Revelation, we get a glimpse into the heavenly realm where God is being worshipped. The 24 elders fall down before His throne and say,
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)).
The Greek word for glory is doxa, which means dignity, praise, and worship. It speaks of the splendor and brightness of God’s majesty. As we see from this verse, God deserves all the glory – all our worship and praise – because He is the One who created all things. It is only by His will that we even exist.
The Bible also teaches us that God will not give His glory away. The prophet Isaiah reports that God told him,
“I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV)).
The Hebrew word for glory in Isaiah is kabod, which means splendor, honor, and reverence. We already know from the verse in Revelation why God deserves all the glory. And here, we see that God will not give that glory to another. Of course, that makes sense. It would be dishonest for God to tell us to worship and praise something or someone else. He alone is our great Creator and Sustainer.
God’s Glory can be Seen
God’s glory is not just the subject of our praise. It can be experienced. It can be seen. The Bible shows us different ways that God’s glory has been manifested physically. And in the future, we will see it for ourselves.
Let’s start with one of my favorite examples. Moses experienced God’s glory firsthand. He spent time with God on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 34:28). On one of those days, Moses said to God, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18 (NKJV)).
God answered, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20 (NKJV)). But in God’s graciousness, He told Moses,
“Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:21-23 (NKJV)).
The Hebrew word for “back” means not only someone’s physical back but also “afterward” or “hereafter.” Commentators suggest that the word in this verse refers to the afterglow of God’s glory. God passed by Moses, and Moses got to experience the afterglow of His glory.
Later, when Moses went back down the mountain to the Israelites, his face shone and the people were “afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30 (NKJV)). Moses literally reflected the glory of God.
We see another example when the angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The “angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” so that the shepherds were “greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9 (NKJV)). The shepherds were able to see a manifestation of God’s glory as the angel told them that the Messiah had been born that day. We can only imagine what that must have been like.
And Peter, James, and John caught a glimpse of God’s glory when Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2 (NKJV)). Mark tells us that “His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:3 (NKJV)). The Greek word for transfigured is metamorphoo, which means to change into another form. Jesus’ appearance was changed and became resplendent with divine brightness.
When Jesus came to dwell with us, He set aside His majesty and glory. But on that day, Peter, James, and John were able to momentarily experience Jesus’ glory. Peter was so befuddled that he said something foolish about making tabernacles on the mountain (Mark 9:5). And the Bible tells us he did so “because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid” (Mark 9:6 (NKJV)). I’m sure if I had witnessed the same thing, I would have said something foolish as well.
Finally, God promises that we will get to experience His glory one day. In the new Jerusalem, the city will not need the sun or the moon to shine in it “for the glory of God” will illuminate it (Revelation 21:23 (NKJV)). What an amazing time that will be!
We can Reflect God’s Glory
So what can we learn from all of this? Although we cannot fully grasp the extent of God’s glory, we do know that we can reflect it as we walk by faith with Him. We won’t glow like Moses did. But when we spend time with Jesus, people can tell. When the religious Jewish leaders “saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled” and “realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 (NKJV)).
Let’s spend time abiding in Jesus – reading His word, praying to Him, worshipping Him, and obeying Him when He asks us to step out in faith to do something. If we do, people will see it. They will know that we have been with Jesus because we will be reflecting His glory.
* Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Feb 24, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 (NKJV))
One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. In it, the main character gets stuck in a sort of time loop and lives the same day over and over. Essentially, time stands still.
He starts off confused. But then he progresses through different stages, using each “new” day to do whatever he wants without any consequences. Some days are filled with frivolity, while others are used to learn new things. After he understands the needed lesson, the clock finally moves on to the next day.
Wouldn’t that be great? Wouldn’t you love it if time stood still so you were able to have all the time you needed without worrying about the consequences?
But it doesn’t work like that. Ever. Time marches on, second by second at an unchanging, rhythmic pace. Time stops for no one.
If you waste a day binge-watching your favorite tv show on Netflix or some other streaming service, you won’t get those hours back. When you wake up the next day, it won’t be the same day again. Once a day has passed, it’s gone for good.
We all get one life. Each of our lives are allocated a certain number of days. In the Bible, the psalmist asks God to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)). We don’t know exactly how much time we will have. But our days are numbered. This life won’t last forever.
When we realize how short our time is, we will use the time we have wisely. In the time that we have, God has fashioned days for us (Psalm 139:16). We can choose to follow God’s plan for our lives. Or we can squander the time He has given us on things that don’t really matter.
As it’s been said, only what is done for Christ will last. When a person comes to the end of her life, she doesn’t look back and say, “I wish I had watched more movies.” Rather, the regrets are that she didn’t spend more time with family, didn’t do something she knew God wanted her to do, or didn’t live her life in a godly way.
Don’t misunderstand me. When you die as a believer in Jesus, you won’t be judged for your sins because Jesus already paid the price for them (John 5:24). God has cast your sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), and He has promised to remember them no more (Jeremiah 31:34). Praise God for that!
Yet, you will be judged for what you did with the time and the talents that God has given you. The Bible tells us,
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
At the end, our works will be tested by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13). The things you did for yourself will be burned up. But the things you did for the Lord with the right motive will be rewarded.
Jesus told us the parable of the talents. A talent was a unit of measurement used to weigh a coin. Likely, at the time Jesus taught this parable, a talent would have been equal to a year’s wage.
In the parable, a man who was going to travel to a “far country” gives his servants different amounts of talents according to each one’s ability (Matthew 25:14-15 (NKJV)). The man gave one servant five talents, another two talents, and another one talent (Matthew 25:15).
While their master was away, the servants with five and two talents each traded them and doubled the money (Matthew 25:16-17). “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:18 (NKJV)).
When their master returned, the servants who had been given five and two talents, told their master how they had doubled what he had given them (Matthew 25:19-20, 22). In response, their master told each one, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23 (NKJV)).
But the servant who had hidden the one talent made excuses, accusing his master of being “a hard man” (Matthew 25:24-25 (NKJV)). In response, his master took the talent from him and gave it to the servant who had ten talents (Matthew 25:28).
Just as the master in the parable gave talents to his servants to invest for him while he was away, Jesus has given each one of us different abilities to use for His glory while He is away preparing a place for us. When we refuse to use them for any reason or are lazy, we sin.
So let’s be time sensitive because time stops for no one. Let’s commit to walking by faith with God, making the most of the time He has given us. Let it be our desire to one day hear our heavenly Father tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
by Catherine McDaugale | Dec 30, 2021 | Christian Living, Spiritual Growth
As we get ready to start the new year, let’s look at an example of someone who walked by faith with God. The Bible tells us twice that “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24 (NKJV)). What does that mean? In Hebrews, we get more insight into Enoch’s walk with God.
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5 (NKJV))
Although we are not given the details, we know from this verse that Enoch pleased God. And how did Enoch please Him? Enoch pleased God because he walked by faith.
The next verse in Hebrews teaches us about faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV))
So, to walk by faith with God you must
- come to God;
- believe that He is God – that He is who He said He is, the way He has revealed Himself to us in the Bible; and
- believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Diligent means that you seek God in a steady, earnest, and energetic way. It’s a daily desire to find out more about God and draw closer to Him.
If you come to God, truly believing that He is God and that He will reward you if you diligently seek Him, you’ll share your life with Him and trust Him with everything. When you are trusting God, you live the way He wants you to live. And you do the things He wants you to do. You want to please Him. You do things God’s way because He knows what is best for you.
You can learn about what God wants you to do by reading the Bible. The Bible is “inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)). The Bible tells us what God loves, what God hates, and how God wants us to live.
After you learn about the things God wants you to do, you must actually do them. To walk with God, you must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 (NKJV)). In other words, you don’t just listen to the Bible, you do what it tells you to do.
As you move forward, you’ll talk to God about what is going on in your life and look to Him for direction. You’ll walk alongside Him at the pace He sets for you. You’ll go where He goes, turn when He turns, slow down when He walks more slowly, and stop when He stops.
We need to examine our walk with God because we don’t always do that. Paul exhorted us to examine ourselves “as to whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)). We must focus on our walk with God because we can stray if we’re not paying attention. You may not even notice that you are no longer walking with Him.
Let’s look at it in a different way. Think about going for a walk with a friend. Generally, when you’ve planned to walk with a friend, you’re excited about spending time with her. As you walk, you talk about what is going on in your life. You keep in step with each other, walking at the same pace. Her nonverbal cues tell you when she’s going to turn a corner instead of going straight.
But what if you started to ignore her? Instead of paying attention to your friend, you begin thinking about the things you need to do or a problem you have. Before you know it, you start walking in a different direction. Further down the road, you look up, and you’re no longer with her.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Yet, our walk with God can be like that. One moment, we’re excited about spending time with Him. We’re sharing everything with Him. We tell Him the things we are thinking about and the problems we are having. We trust Him with our dreams. We ask Him for help, for wisdom. We seek His guidance as we walk in step with Him.
Then one day, you look up and realize that you’re no longer walking with God. You’ve started walking on your own path, at your own pace. You’re making decisions without consulting Him. You feel alone. You’re tired and weary.
What happened? You took your focus off God. God didn’t leave you; you left Him.
It doesn’t happen all at once. Typically, a person doesn’t wake up one morning and make a decision to stop walking with God. Instead, you start slowly drifting away from Him. Maybe you got up late and didn’t have time to read your Bible. You got busy so you didn’t pray. You didn’t talk to God throughout your day. Then one day becomes two. Before you know it, a whole week or month has passed.
We need to make a decision to walk by faith with God like Enoch did. It’s a choice we make – whether to get our direction from God each step of the way as we abide in Him or whether we do our own thing, in our own way.
Each day, we decide how we will walk. I hope you will join me in being like Enoch. Let’s diligently seek Him and be known as women who walk by faith with God.
by Catherine McDaugale | Oct 16, 2021 | Christian Living, Spiritual Growth
Walking by faith doesn’t mean closing your eyes or sticking your head in the ground, so you don’t know what’s going on around you. Instead, it’s a choice to focus on God. It’s a decision to continue doing things God’s way and trusting Him for the outcome, despite what’s happening in your life.
I’ve heard people say that Christians need to take a blind leap of faith to trust God. The insinuation is that you need to leave behind all reason and follow God solely based on emotion and a lack of thought.
But that isn’t true. God has given us the Bible. In those pages, God has revealed Himself to us. He tells us what He likes, what He hates, where we came from, where we are going, and much more.
As we consider the things we read in the Bible, God invites us,
Come now, and let us reason together. (Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV))
And Jesus told us to “count the cost” before deciding to follow Him (Luke 14:27-30 (NKJV)). Jesus warned us that it wouldn’t be easy. God wants us to ask questions about who He is and why we should follow Him.
It’s only after we decide to follow Jesus that God instructs us to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)). Still, the direction is not to close our eyes. Instead, the Bible tells us that we should be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)). The Greek word for “looking” means to turn our eyes away from other things and fix them on Jesus.
It’s like a horse walking with blinders on. The purpose of the blinders is not so the horse can’t see at all – the blinders don’t go over the horse’s eyes. The blinders are placed on the outer sides of the horse’s eyes to keep the horse focused on the road in front of him. The blinders keep the horse from getting distracted by the things around him. In a similar way, when we walk by faith and not by sight, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.
We can get distracted by the things that are going on around us – things we have no control over.
- Every day, the news informs us about people who are killed, storms, wars, disease, and many other horrible things. Our thoughts can be consumed by those awful things.
- We can become divided over social issues. It’s easy to get caught up in arguments about whether everyone should or shouldn’t be vaccinated, the effectiveness of wearing masks, and how the government should or shouldn’t be handling the pandemic.
When we get sidetracked by these things, we are derailed from God’s plans for our lives.
Don’t misunderstand me. You shouldn’t ignore the things that need to be taken care of in your life. It is important to care for your family and be a good steward of the things that God has entrusted to you. God has placed people into your life for a reason. He wants you to love those people, help them with their needs, and tell them about Him.
Yet, first and foremost, we need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We need to spend time with Him, reading the Bible, praying to Him, and worshipping Him. As Jesus taught us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 (NKJV)).
We are unable to care for the people in our lives the way God wants us to without first being empowered by Jesus. Jesus gives us the strength we need, gives us direction, tells us which way to go, and tells us the things we should do. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we’re not distracted by the things going on around us.
There’s a beautiful hymn written by Helen Howarth Lemmel that encompasses this very idea. The refrain of the hymn encourages us,
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
So, keep your eyes wide open as you follow Jesus. Turn your eyes upon Him. Spend time with your Savior. Take in all that He wants you to see.
by Catherine McDaugale | Oct 2, 2021 | Bible Study, Life, Thoughts
Have you read about Jacob, Leah, and Rachel in the Bible? Each time I read about them, I tend to look at it from Jacob’s perspective – a love story with obstacles placed in the path of the hero. But the other day, God showed me Leah’s point of view. Before we turn to Leah, let’s remind ourselves what happened to Jacob.
In obedience to his parent’s request, Jacob traveled to their relatives’ country to find a wife (Genesis 28:1-2, 5; 29:1, 4-5). When Jacob saw Rachel, he fell in love (Genesis 29:9-11, 18). Jacob agreed to work for Rachel’s father, Laban, for seven years so he could marry Rachel (Genesis 29:18). The years seemed only a few days because of his love for her (Genesis 29:20).
At the end of the seven years, it was time for the wedding (Genesis 29:21). The day had finally come for Jacob to marry the woman he loved. But on the wedding night, Laban had Leah (Rachel’s older sister) go into the wedding tent (Genesis 29:23). The following morning, Jacob realized that he had actually married Leah (Genesis 29:25).
How could Jacob have married Leah, thinking she was Rachel? Commentaries explain that the traditional wedding attire included a veil that would have entirely concealed Leah’s features. The veil, along with the alcohol that would have been consumed during the wedding feast, would make it possible for Jacob to unknowingly marry Leah.
Jacob was upset. And rightfully so. Laban had tricked him into marrying Leah because it was customary for the elder daughter to be married first (Genesis 29:26). Yet, Laban also agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel if Jacob worked for him another seven years (Genesis 29:27). Eventually, Jacob also married Rachel (Genesis 29:28-30).
So that’s Jacob’s point of view – he received the short end of the stick from Laban. He ended up marrying a woman he never intended to marry, a woman he didn’t love.
But now let’s look at it from Leah’s viewpoint.
First, we know that Leah was not beautiful like her younger sister. The Bible tells us that her eyes were “delicate” (Genesis 29:17 (NKJV)). That either means she couldn’t see well or she had blue eyes instead of the more accepted brown eyes of her culture. Although that may not seem like a big thing, the contrasting description of Rachel as “beautiful of form and appearance” shows us that Leah was not attractive like her sister (Genesis 29:17 (NKJV)).
Second, we know that she watched Jacob pursue her sister. Jacob was attracted to Rachel, not Leah.
Third, her father had her sneak into the marriage tent to deceive Jacob into marrying her. How do you think she felt knowing her father thought the only way a man would marry her was to be tricked into doing so?
Finally, the Bible tells us that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Genesis 29:30). Leah was married to a man who didn’t love her. That, in and of itself, would be difficult. But the situation was compounded by the fact that her husband was also married to another woman that he did love. And that other woman was her sister.
But God saw that Leah was unloved. (Genesis 29:31). So, God “opened her womb; but Rachel was barren” (Genesis 29:31 (NKJV)).
Given Rachel’s barrenness, it appears that Leah tried to get Jacob to love her by bearing him children.
- When Leah had Jacob’s first son, she named him Reuben, which means, “Look a son” (Genesis 29:32). And Leah said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:32 (NKJV)).
- Then Leah bore Jacob a second son and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also” (Genesis 29:33 (NKJV)). So she named him Simeon, which means heard (Genesis 29:33).
- Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a third son (Genesis 29:34). Leah said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Genesis 29:34 (NKJV)). She called him Levi, which means “joined to.”
For several years, Leah tried to earn Jacob’s love by bearing him children. You can feel her pain – always feeling second rate to her sister, married to a man who didn’t love her, trying to win her husband’s love, and wanting to feel loved.
Then something changed. Maybe Leah finally realized she was looking to the wrong one for love. We don’t know what caused Leah’s heart change. But she stopped focusing on what she didn’t have and started looking at what God had already given her.
So when Leah had her fourth son, she said, “Now I will praise the LORD” and named him Judah, which means praise (Genesis 29:35 (NKJV)). She learned to praise God – not for her circumstances but in her circumstances.
Maybe you feel like Leah – plain, overlooked, and unloved. No matter what your circumstances are or how invisible you feel, the truth is that God sees you. And God loves you. God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for your sins so you can have a relationship with Him (John 3:16).
God has not overlooked you. Just as God saw Leah, God sees you. And when you come to Him, like Leah did, praise will flow out of your heart.
by Catherine McDaugale | Sep 1, 2021 | Bible Study, Ministry
The Bible gives us many examples of faith, some so amazing that it’s hard for me to wrap my head around them. One of those was Abraham. When God told Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you,” Abraham “departed as the Lord had spoken to him” (Genesis 12:1, 4 (NKJV)).
Did you notice that God didn’t tell Abraham where he was going? Instead, God told him that He would show him, meaning God would show him at some later point in time. Yet, Abraham immediately obeyed. He packed up his household and left. Abraham didn’t ask a bunch of questions and drag his heels. He trusted God and did what God told him to do.
Noah is another radical example of faith in God. One day, seemingly out of the blue, God tells Noah that He is going to destroy every living thing on the earth with a flood (Genesis 6:13, 17). And God instructed Noah to build an ark that would hold Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives, and two of every kind of every living thing (Genesis 6:14-16, 18-19).
Could you imagine? One day, you wake up and start taking care of the things you need to do that day. Then God tells you that He is going to destroy every living thing with a flood.
What would you do if that happened to you? I would likely have questioned God. I would have wanted to know more of the details.
How will the flood happen?
When will it happen?
Will I have plenty of time to build the ark?
Where am I supposed to get all of that wood?
Do I really need to put pitch on the inside and the outside?
Wouldn’t it be sufficient just to put the pitch on the outside?
Would three decks really be enough to hold everything?
But the Bible doesn’t tell us that Noah questioned God. Instead, after God finished telling him how to build the ark, the Bible tells us that Noah did “according to all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22 (NKJV)). Noah was obedient to do what God told him to do.
Later, after the ark had been built, God tells Noah to go into the ark with his family because “after seven more days” He would cause it to rain on the earth (Genesis 7:4 (NKJV)) We know that Noah obeyed God because in the very next verse the Bible tells us that “Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him” (Genesis 7:5 (NKJV)).
What would you do in that situation? I know what I would do. I would ask why I needed to go into the ark when there were still seven more days before the rain was going to start.
But Noah had great faith. He immediately obeyed God. We should also respond with immediate obedience when God tells us to do something. We shouldn’t procrastinate, questioning God, before we finally decide to do what God wants us to do.
What if Noah had waited to go into the ark? What if he thought, “I could wait a few days and still go in five days before the rain starts, that would be plenty of time.” We don’t know what would have happened because the Bible doesn’t tell us.
Maybe something would have prevented Noah and his family from going into the ark if they had waited. Maybe nothing would have happened. Either way, the fact that Noah immediately obeyed God shows us that Noah had faith. He believed God and did what God told him to do because he trusted that God knew the best way to do what needed to be done.
And Noah’s faith pleased God. Noah is named in the revered “Hall of Faith.” The Bible tells us,
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV))
Let’s be like Abraham and Noah, trusting God with our lives.
What is God calling you to do? Maybe He’s calling you to serve at your church. Or maybe He’s asked you to pray for or encourage someone.
Maybe you’ve questioned God about what He’s called you to do. You may think you’re not good enough. Or you may be worried how the person would react if you asked to pray for her.
Don’t worry about whether you are good enough or what other people may think. God will equip you to do what He’s called you to do. And we should be more concerned about disobeying God than how other people may respond to us.
When you hear God speaking to you, telling you to do something, step out in faith. Instead of questioning God, be obedient. Do what God has asked you to do. Let your life be a radical demonstration of faith that will encourage others to walk by faith with God.
by Catherine McDaugale | Jul 1, 2021 | Ministry, Spiritual Growth
Remember when you were first learning to ride a bicycle? I do. My dad put an extra set of wheels on my bike that extended off the back wheel to give it more stability. With the training wheels on, I could sit on the bike without balancing and get used to pedaling and moving forward without worrying about falling over.
After I got used to riding my bike with the training wheels, the day came when he took them off. Instead of the extra wheels, my dad held onto the back of the bike’s seat, giving me a little more stability as I learned to balance. Before long, I had learned how to balance and could ride my bike without thinking about it. It had become second nature to me.
In a similar way, when God calls us to do His work, He doesn’t push us into it when we’re not ready. God is gracious to us. Like the training wheels on my bike, He helps us to get used to whatever He’s called us to do before we go solo. The methods God uses will vary in each one of our lives. We are all different, and God tailors the help He gives us to our unique personalities and abilities.
We see an example of God’s use of training wheels in the life of Moses. When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt, Moses wasn’t quick to agree. Instead, he came up with several excuses about why he should not be the one to lead them. Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11 (NKJV)). In response, God told Moses that He would be with Moses and gave him a sign that He had sent him (Exodus 3:12).
Even with God’s assurance, Moses still didn’t agree to go, saying, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (Exodus 4:1 (NKJV)). God then gave Moses three miraculous signs to do before the Israelites so they would believe him (Exodus 4:2-9).
Yet, Moses came up with a third excuse. Moses said, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10 (NKJV)). “So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?’” (Exodus 4:11 (NKJV)). God then told Moses that He would be with his mouth and teach him what to say (Exodus 4:12).
Still, instead of submitting in obedience, Moses told God, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send” (Exodus 4:13 (NKJV)). In other words, “Thank you very much, but please send someone else. I don’t want to do it.”
God, being so gracious to Moses, then tells Moses that his brother Aaron, who could “speak well,” could be his spokesman (Exodus 4:14-16 (NKJV)). God instructed Moses, “Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do” (Exodus 4:15 (NKJV)).
Finally, Moses obeyed God. As we read, we see the progression as Moses gets comfortable doing the work that God called him to do.
- Moses begins by relying on the “training wheels” that God gave him. When Moses met Aaron, he told Aaron “all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him” (Exodus 4:28 (NKJV)). Moses and Aaron gathered together the elders of the children of Israel, and Aaron spoke “all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses” and did the signs in their sight (Exodus 4:29-30 (NKJV)). “So the people believed” (Exodus 4:31 (NKJV)).
- Later, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they told Pharaoh what God had told them to say (Exodus 5:1, 3).
- Soon, we see Moses himself speaking to the Israelites and to Pharaoh (Exodus 6:9; 8:9, 26).
Despite this rocky start, Moses made it into the revered “Hall of Faith” and is remembered for the work that God did through him (Hebrews 11:24-28).
Just as God helped Moses, He will give you the “training wheels” you need to get started when you obediently step out in faith to do what God has called you to do. So when God gives you direction, step out in faith. Often God will not give you the next step or tell you where you are going until you obey and take that first step.
by Catherine McDaugale | Jun 1, 2021 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. (Psalm 127:1 (NKJV))
The Hebrew word for vain in this verse means useless, empty, worthless. When you are building your house – your family – it must be built by God. If it’s not built by God your labor is useless, empty, worthless.
Jesus told us what happens when we labor in vain.
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV))
Unfortunately, I can attest to the truth of these verses. I didn’t come to the Lord until later in life, when my son was 15 years old. Before I started following Jesus, I got married, and we had our son. And I began building our house on the principles of this world. I read many, many books on parenting. We took parenting classes. I applied the principles I learned in the books and the classes. I even applied things I had learned from watching television shows that depicted a family life I admired.
I was told, and believed, that a woman could have it all, could do it all. I could have my career, rear my child, make money, and build a household. I could be everywhere and do everything. I could file motions with the court in the morning, help my son with his homework late in the afternoon, make dinner for our family, and bake cookies in the evening. I was assured that it was okay to put my child in the care of others during the daytime, so I could pursue my career and give my son a better life.
Brick by brick, we assembled our house on various worldly principles. We encouraged our son to modify his behavior through rewards and incentives. We imposed consistent rules, limiting television and video games. We provided our son with opportunities to experience different activities, so he could find something he enjoyed. We traveled. We placed an emphasis on our son’s education. We ate dinner as a family. We ensured that we knew where our son was at all times.
Many of those principles are good things in and of themselves. The problem was the foundation. Instead of a solid foundation, I was building right on the ground that was there. I didn’t first ensure the principles were built on the Rock of Jesus.
When I submitted my life to Jesus, I added to the bricks rather than starting a new structure. I added to the house that was already there. Sure, my personal foundation was now strong. Jesus became my foundation, and I was building a new life brick by brick as I learned new Biblical principles. But I didn’t start building anew when it came to our family.
Instead, I simply added to the bricks; I added new rules. Now it was a rule that we all go to church together on a Sunday. I tried to get my son involved with the other teens at our church. We began to pray before we ate family meals. I started reading my Bible some and went to a few Bible studies. I started listening to Christian music part of the time. But the bricks were placed on top of what was already there.
I didn’t address my son’s heart. I don’t think I understood that I needed to. I didn’t explain to him the change that Jesus had made in my life. I didn’t tell him why we were doing some things differently. I thought he would understand solely by observation. Besides, we were the parents, and he was the child. It wasn’t a matter of explaining our actions.
Then one day, without warning, a storm came, and the house fell.
And great was its fall.
Because of my spiritual immaturity at that point, I went back to the world for answers when the house fell. I read every parenting book I could find and talked to a counselor. Nothing made sense. Nothing explained what had happened. I sifted through the rubble for a long time, trying to salvage bits and pieces until the Lord showed me it needed to be cleared away and rebuilt on Him.
Then, as we turned to Jesus, God started rebuilding our house. Slowly, God helped us to clear the rubble. He helped us to lay a sure foundation. My husband and I started building on that foundation, on the truths that Jesus had taught us. The house was rebuilt with the assistance of our loving, faithful God. Our marriage is now stronger than it has ever been because it is built on the solid foundation of Jesus. Since we’ve rebuilt our house, we’ve had other storms come our way. But our new house has endured them all. Praise God, because He is faithful!
What is your house built on? If it is not built on Jesus, the Rock, it’s never too late to rebuild. But you must make a choice to build your house on Him. If you don’t choose to build your house on Jesus and His teachings, the choice will be made for you.
Choose this day whom you will serve. “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 (NKJV)).
