Tag: bible verse

Posted in Moments and Musings

Refilling The Glass

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Bishop’s Wife. There’s a scene – my mom’s favorite – where Cary Grant’s character, Dudley, counsels Professor Wutheridge (played by Monty Woolley). They’re drinking wine and Wutheridge goes to refill Dudley’s glass (and his own) only to find it already full. During the scene, we see Dudley waive his finger in the background using his angel abilities to refill not only their glasses but the bottle as well.

I was thinking about this on my morning walk with Percy as I saying my ‘good mornings’ to God. (I don’t have super wordy prayers with God anymore unless I’m led by the Spirit. But I do like to have real conversations with Him during the day.) So there I was, walking and thinking about how this is a brand new day and a lovely morning when suddenly, a quote from Anne of Green Gables popped into my head-

“Tomorrow is fresh, with no mistakes in it.” ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

And I felt a sense of relief and peace. If you’re a Failed Perfectionist, like I am, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. It’s refreshing to learn you get a horde of brand new chances each morning. After all, we probably fell asleep the previous night after using some distraction to keep our brains from highlighting for us all the ways we failed. So waking up to a brand new day feeling like the white board has been wiped clean is pretty important. Then this verse popped into my brain from Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22-23 (ESV):

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

God’s mercy is new every morning. Every morning, there is a fresh batch of undeserved favor available. Without fail.

For someone who is serially hard on herself, I decided to let this run around my brain for a while. I felt the Holy Spirit showing me that, just like Dudley refilled Prof. Wutheridge’s glass over and over, God’s mercy and grace is replenished for us continually. Grace, favor, mercy, love – they never run out. Every time we use a supply of any of these, God instantly refills. And He never waits for morning to do it, either.

I know this might sound simple and contrite to some but God knows me and He knows how I think. I feel like He gives me these examples so my very process-driven brain can fully grasp what his Word is saying is to me. He knows I’m a visual learner and need things to be drilled down for me. He’s aware that lack of understand leads to frustration which leads to giving up.

He knows us perfectionists so well!

Think about this as you go into your weekend. Think about this as you wake up tomorrow morning. There’s brand new, shiny, unused mercy ready for you and it is more than enough for your day. It will never run out. It will never grow stale. You will never reach the bottom of the glass or the bottle. They will always be refilled.

He is a God of more than enough.

Posted in Moments and Musings

Doubting Thomas

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Our story begins in John 20: 24-27 NLT

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

I remember as a child reading these verses in school and thinking how bad Thomas was for not believing. Actually, that’s how it was taught to me. The nuns would stand over us with their pointer sticks telling us not to be anything like “Doubting Thomas” or else…..

So, I judged Thomas, just as I was taught to do, for his imperfections. I boasted within myself saying, “I wouldn’t have acted like that. I’d have been better. Done better. Acted better.” I spent years sitting on my self-righteous throne, tarnished crown on my head wondering if we’ll meet Thomas in Heaven someday.

But I wasn’t there over 2000 years ago. I didn’t see the one I called Teacher and Messiah die a violent and cruel death. I don’t know what it’s like to walk away from that experience filled with fear and doubt, possibly running and hiding for my life. I don’t know the confusion of seeing him alive only 8 days later.  

I’ve been studying this recently and found myself focusing more on Jesus’ reaction to Thomas’s doubts. Jesus didn’t judge Thomas. He wasn’t mad. He wasn’t disappointed. He wasn’t discouraged. Others in that room might have. And I sure did for a very long time.

Jesus didn’t. He loved him. And I imagine Jesus knew Thomas would give him the side-eye treatment. It was no surprise to Him so He was prepared. He responded as a only a Savior would – excited for Thomas to believe and wanting him to know beyond all knowing, deep in his heart of hearts, that Jesus was real and He was alive. 

So, unlike how I was taught, when Jesus tells Thomas to feel his hands, feet and side, it wasn’t an admonishment; it was an invitation. Full of love. Full of forgiveness. Full of faith enough to cover Thomas’s unbelief. 

I believe Jesus was so full of joy that He welcomed showing Himself to Thomas. And He was thrilled when Thomas accepted His invitation and believed. 

What a wonderful, loving, faithful Savior we have!

Photo by Jackson David via Unsplash

Posted in Moments and Musings

Everything is New

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Cor 5:17

Can I make a confession? This is a verse I have often discarded as “well, that’s great but I’ve been born again for a while now so…..this only applies to new Christians”.

However, today I was looking for verses that deal with starting a new season and this popped up in my search. I was about to swipe left on it when the Spirit stopped me and said, “wait! This IS for you. I’m doing something new in you right now. And five minutes from now, I’ll still be doing something new. And tomorrow, I’ll still be doing something new.”

Isn’t that just THE BEST news ever?

Lately, I feel like everything wrong with me has been highlighted, underlines and bolded in my brain. It’s a cruel voice circling around and around saying:

You’re not good enough.

You’re not pretty enough.

You’re too old.

You’re too dumb.

You’re not like everyone else.

You’re too fat.

You’re a failure.

This is quickly followed up by another voice, full of condemnation that says, “and what’s worse, you know better but you don’t read the Word enough, don’t pray enough and so God isn’t/can’t use you.” . And before long, if you listen enough to these voices, you stop believe the encouragement being spoken into your life every day by people who love you and know better.

It’s no secret that the devil lies. It’s no secret he wants you to feel isolated, depressed and lonely. It’s no secret that he uses comparison to accomplish all of this. HOWEVER, it’s also no secret that God has overcome evil. It’s no secret that our Heavenly Father knows when we’re feeling low and unloved and worthless. It’s no secret that He’s a very present help in a time of need and He uses His people to remind us who we are in Him.

I’ve spent a lifetime battling being a perfectionist and a lifetime failing at being perfect. (Imagine that!) Very recently, during a walk with my dog, God shouted to me to stop being so hard on myself. He already died for me. He already approves of me. He already loves me and nothing can stop that. Furthermore, He’s not done with me. And until Jesus comes, He never will be. And all I need to do is accept and receive. Easier said than done somedays but, like billions of other people on this planet, I’m a work in progress.

So why write this blog? And why does this verse suddenly mean so much?

Because Jesus. Plain and simple. The old is gone and the new is here because of Jesus. I used to look at this verse in a very linear way – as a one and done type of thing. You’re born again and BOOM, you’re new….end scene. Figure it out. Read your Bible. Pray….lather, rinse, repeat.

In Revelations 21:5. Jesus said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The word behold means “to see or observe especially something remarkable” (Oxford Dictionary). The word making is “the process of producing something” but more importantly, it’s an action word in the verse.

So let’s answer my above questions –

Why write this blog? Because I know I’m not the only one experiencing this. I know there are others, like me, who are wanting something new so desperately we can taste it but our perfectionist, process-driven brains are frustrated because there is no such thing as a one-size fits all perfect process and it haunts us. Jesus died once for all but we are not a one size fits all species. Thankfully, God is not a one size fits all God.

Why this verse? Because it’s critical for us to know the old things are gone and the new things are here. It’s a process that happens over and over again. God is the King of removing the old and making the new. We need help daily to remove the old and refill with something new.

Jesus is the new. He’s here. Now. And He is enough.

Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash

Posted in Moments and Musings

Steeped in God

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 NLT

Back in the days of being married with littles running around, we went through a season of being so very broke. Our furniture consisted of an old, worn out blue rocking chair, a scratched and faded coffee table we got from a second-hand shop and a sofa-bed couch that looked like it had been transported right from the year 1970. I was a young, stay-at-home mom with two babies and a husband I never saw due to his work schedule. Money was non-existent and so, it seemed, was the dream of ever getting anything new. 

One day, while reading my Bible, this verse fell out. To be honest, I didn’t jump on this right away. No, God had to take his time with me, like always. But what he started planting in my heart was, “You can take this literally. You can believe my word just as it is.” 

Not long after, a close friend of mine invited me over to her beautiful house to show me some new furniture she and her husband bought. A beautiful couch with recliners on each end. A loveseat to match, also reclining. A matching coffee table and two tall bookshelves finished off the collection. As I admired it and congratulated her, God said, “Take me at my word. Believe me. Seek me first and I will give you everything you need.” 

So when I got home that night, I told God nothing else matters but him. I want him more than I want new furniture. I laid this dream of mine at his feet and told him that I want this but I want him more. I want him first. 

Two days later I received a call from this same friend. She was so excited as her mother-in-law just gifted her with the furniture set of her dreams. I was confused. She’d just bought a beautiful set! I wondered what she would do with what she already had. Then she told me she and her husband had decided to give us – not sell us – but give us their set they’d just bought. 

That was God moving to perform his word!

Where there’s a promise, there’s a performance! 

I love The Message version of this verse best.  

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Steep your life in God’s word. If you think about it, to steep something is to keep it in water, completely covered until you get the best flavor out of it. Steeping yourself in God’s word means the same thing. 

You are literally keeping yourself completely covered while God refines you and pulls out the very best version of you. AS YOU STEEP YOURSELF – not after. During. Which means you only need to take the first step. 

Is what you’re waiting on God for standing in between you and God? Have you made it more important than him? It’s ok to say yes – we’ve all done it. Can I pray with you now?

“Heavenly Father, we thank you for all things. But the biggest thing we thank you for is your Word and the precious blood of Jesus. We’re so very thankful you chose to love us so much that you gave to us first. You gave us the very best Heaven had to offer and all you ask in return is that we seek you first. Where we have failed to keep you first, Father, we ask for forgiveness and thank you for your perfect mercy. We make a new commitment now to seek you first! Redirect us, Holy Spirit! We seek after you and your truth, your ideas, your provisions, and your ways, knowing no part of seeking after you will result in failure. We put you first, Father, because we love you so much. In Jesus name, Amen!”