My Divine Notes

Isaiah 1:18-20 - The Message Come. Sit down. Let's argue this out." This is God's Message: "If your sins are blood-red, they'll be snow-white. If they're red like crimson, they'll be like wool. If you'll willingly obey, you'll feast like kings. But if you're willful and stubborn, you'll die like dogs." That's right. God says so. It’s hard to say I’m sorry when I don’t acknowledge my sins. Perhaps it’s pride that stops many of us from asking for forgiveness from those we offend or hurt. The longer we stay away or keep from making amends, the further away we get from God. When we get away from God, we make excuses, we take further steps into the pit and then we excuse and tolerate our sins and the sins of others. Very soon, sin isn’t sin; it’s just the way the world operates. The sin/guilt cycle begins - we stop reading the Bible, praying or having a close relationship with the Lord. The enemy clouds ...

July 9, 2011 Proverbs 23:29-35 (GW) 29 Who has trouble? Who has misery? Who has quarrels? Who has a complaint? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 Those who drink glass after glass of wine and mix it with everything. 31 Do not look at wine because it is red, because it sparkles in the cup, because it goes down smoothly. 32 Later it bites like a snake and strikes like a poisonous snake. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mouth will say embarrassing things. 34 You will be like someone lying down in the middle of the sea or like someone lying down on top of a ship's mast, saying, 35 “They strike me, but I feel no pain. They beat me, but I'm not aware of it. Whenever I wake up, I'm going to look for another drink.” I cannot imagine drinking a giant alcoholic beverage and then stumbling out of a restaurant -> aided by a walker. I witnessed an elderly person do that recently and it got me to thinking of my experience. If you’ve ever had...

July 8, 2011 2 Peter 3:17 (GW)   Dear friends, you already know these things. So be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of people who have no principles. Then you won't fall from your firm position. I rarely watch television anymore, but I stumbled on a show that I watched two nights in a row, and I realized that I can’t go along with popular culture anymore. I recall never batting an eye at the sex, drugs, alcohol and unhealthy behaviors that Hollywood and the media bring into our homes through the television, radio, movies, videos and other emerging technologies. But last night, I was jolted when a grandmotherly woman told a younger woman that she should live with her boyfriend, so they can decide if they are compatible marriage partners. This woman (who was the young man’s mother) went on to say that it’s the twenty-first century and that the young woman should not be old-fashioned!    Before God took the veil off my eyes, I would never have blinke...

Divine Note #58 – Written on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010, posted Oct. 18, 2010 God knows, so tell him Hebrews 13:13 Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell the truth. I tweeted  (@BlancaV) this Scripture a few days ago and it really surprised me. But it shouldn’t. God knows what we are up to even if we don’t admit what we’re doing. How many times do we fall into situations that are questionable and yet we don’t talk to God because we’ve decided to go ahead and fall into sin? It is so easy to justify things that we want to do or say. We’re especially vulnerable when the enemy attacks our strongholds. I can name many things but you probably get the picture. Anytime you find your prayer life lacking, short or not on your priority list, stop and think about what is going on. Don’t justify things in your mind. Talk things out with a trusted friend, your pastor and especially God. Tell God everything that’s in your heart and mind. Let God ...

March 6, 2010 Are you tied securely to the vine? John 15:5 (NLT) “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Lately my life has been a flurry of activity between my work, family, personal and ministry commitments. I maintain my scheduled time with God, but I have been allowing distractions to take me away from spending intimate quality time really listening and being honest with him. When I allow distractions (fill in the blank) to consume my mind, it opens me up to temptations that I cannot afford to succumb to. When I’m distracted, I will not talk out loud about whatever is in my heart, instead I just “think” about things. When I think about things, I tend to justify my feelings. You get the picture. It all comes back to haunt me and it impacts the intimate relationship I have with the Savior of my Soul. The enemy and my old habits take over and I find myself unable to move p...

Divine Note #26 – June 29, 2009 Let God meet all your needs Therefore, don’t be like them. For your father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8 It was hard to ignore a very popular entertainer’s very sad death this week. I followed the news mostly through social media and then I turned the TV on late in the evening and was touched with comments made by a popular author. He talked about how the entertainer dealt unsuccessfully with unmet needs as a result of sad things that happened in his life. It was eye-opening for me because God has been talking to my heart about how to deal with unmet needs through Dr. Charles Stanley’s sermons all week. In previous notes, I’ve discussed how we deny issues, so we try to avoid the consequences by riding the merry-go-round of strongholds until we hit the bottom. As in the parable of the lost son, many times our deep level of misery is of our own making (Luke 15:13). God has placed in all of us have a need to belong, ...