Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 11 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” – Luke 11:9-10

Perhaps some of you recall that in 2019 my word for the year was “seek.” And I still hold this word near and dear to my heart. I have made it my life’s mission to seek God wholeheartedly. And it truly is a lifelong journey. We can never fully grasp all of the Lord on this side of heaven. But we can continue to learn more about Him and grow closer to Him every day.

I often feel like there is more of God that I can get in my life. But I also know that a big piece of why I don’t have more of Him is because of my own roadblocks. I know that in every single day, there is more I can do to seek Him. I can spend more time with Him in prayer. I can spend more time reading my Bible. When I am driving home from work, I can choose to turn off the radio and listen for His voice instead. I can choose to turn off the television and read a devotional instead. There are so many choices we can make in our day to choose Him. And with each choice we make, our hearts will be more tightly tethered to the Lord.

May verses 9-10 remind us to ask for more of God, to seek God, and to knock on God’s door. He will give us Himself, we will find Him, and He will answer the door.

Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Isn’t that beautiful? God will not forsake those who seek Him. What is one thing you can do today to seek the Lord?

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 82 of 100. We are so close!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 10 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

I was hesitant to share on the Martha and Mary story, found in Luke 10:38-42, because I know it’s a story that has been tackled a lot. But when mulling over the different stories shared in Luke 10, this one kept jumping out at me. The truth is that, even though this story has been written about many times, we still need to hear it. And these days, in our society, I feel that we need to hear it even more. And actually, this story resonates with part of the reason why we are doing this study in the first place.

Martha and Mary were sisters, and Jesus was visiting their home on one particular occasion. Martha was running around tending to preparations while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. Martha complained about her sister not helping. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (v 41-42).

What a shame that Martha missed out on time with the Savior because she was “distracted,” as it says in verse 40. But honestly, are we any different? We all have things that pull our attention away from God. Life keeps us busy and we can’t seem to find the time to sit with the Lord. Some days we feel like we don’t even have time to catch our breath.

The past two years have changed us all, in some way. The pandemic has taught us to reevaluate our lives. We have learned more about ourselves and what is most important in life. And hopefully we all came out the other side with a clearer vision.

If you have ever had a garden, then you know the importance of removing weeds from the garden. The weeds will take nutrients away from your other plants. And the plants that you intended to grow will wither because they aren’t getting what they need.

Our lives are not much different. When our time and attention is focused on the wrong areas, the good things in life will wither. Many of us these days are constantly busy and in a hurry. During the pandemic we were forced to slow down. And I hope that we all can hang onto that mindset. When we stay busy, our lives pass us by. Do we miss out on the important things in life because we are too busy?

As Christian scholar Dallas Willard once said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”¹

We each have to decide what the most important things in our own personal lives are, and we have to choose to make those things a priority. May we learn to let go of the things in our lives that suck our time and attention away from the important things. May we learn to make space for the best things in life. The things that will bring us closer to the Lord and the things that will provide our souls with nourishment.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 81 of 100. Write down at least 10 blessings from your day!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

¹ Quote pulled from Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You by John Ortberg

Read Luke 9 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

On one particular day, Jesus was speaking to a large crowd about the kingdom of God. It was getting late and His disciples mentioned that they should send the crowd away, so that they could get something to eat. But Jesus probably stunned them when He said, “You give them something to eat.” (v 13)

Can you picture the disciples faces? Their jaws dropped, as they scratched their heads. They only had five loaves of bread and two fish. How in the world could they feed five thousand men with that?

You know how the story goes. Jesus gave thanks, broke apart the food, and had the disciples distribute it. Everyone in the crowd ate, and there was even twelve baskets of food left over.

This story reminds me that the Lord might ask us to do things that seem impossible, as well. But He will provide the way. We might not be able accomplish it on our own, but we are guaranteed to have His help. He just asks for a willing heart.

Dr. Charles Stanley put it this way, “The Lord will never command us to do something without also providing whatever is required to obey Him.“

Is God asking you to do something that seems scary, difficult, or even unfeasible? Have you completely dismissed whatever it is, because it seems so far out of reach? Maybe it’s something big, or maybe it’s something not so big in the grand scheme of things. Day in and day out we will all have different things we have to face that we feel inadequate to handle. But we don’t have to face any of it alone. As children of God, we have the Lord with us through it all. So place your trust in Him as you face each situation.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 80 of 100. Keep up the good work!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 8 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” – Luke 8:16

This verse is a great reminder of how we should live each day of our lives. We live in a dark world that seems to get darker every day. Over the past couple of years, we have seen so much rioting, hate, and fear. As children of God and believers in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. We do not have to succumb to the negativity in this world. Instead, we have the power to spread light.

Picture a single candle with its flame glowing. We can use the wick on that candle to light another candle. Then we can use those two candles to light two more candles. Now we have four candles, flames glowing. We can continue to multiply light to those around us in a similar way. We can be a positive influence on those around us. And hopefully, in turn, those people will also positively influence others.

I love the prayer by St. Francis of Assisi. It is a beautiful reminder of how we can spread light to those we encounter today and every day.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
—St. Francis of Assisi

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 79 of 100. I hope you have been enjoying the challenge!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 7 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

When I was reading Luke 7, I found a key theme among the verses. That theme is Faith. In verses 1-10 we see the great faith of the Centurion who knew that all Jesus had to do was say the word and the Centurion’s servant would be healed. In verses 11-17, Jesus’ act of raising someone from the dead likely caused the witnesses faith to grow. In verses 36-50 we also see the sinful woman whose faith saved her.

We can see throughout this chapter how important faith is. Our faith should be the center or our lives. We shouldn’t try to work faith into our lives. Everything we do in life should revolve around our faith.

Even the story of John the Baptist questioning Jesus, found in verses 18-35 touches on faith. But it might seem a little odd to us that John the Baptist’s faith seems to waver here. Everything we already know about this man screams of his great faith. So why did he question Jesus at this point? Well, at this time John was in prison. Things in his life and environment were bleak. It can be easy for our faith to falter when it is not properly fed. So this shows us the importance of feeding our faith, no matter what we are going through in our lives. If we don’t feed it, it will deteriorate. Whatever we feed in our hearts will grow. We can feed our faith or we can feed our doubt. We have a choice.

But there is something else I want to point out about this story. John questioned Jesus, and Jesus reassured John. When our faith does waver, there are times when we will recognize that our faith is not what it ought to be. And we might realize we want to have more faith and less doubt. During these times, we can reach out to the Lord and tell Him how we are feeling. We can ask Him to help strengthen our faith and He will be there every time to encourage us and restore us. Remember that Jesus walked this earth and understands everything we are going through. He is caring and compassionate and will see you through your doubts, if you reach out to Him.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 78 of 100. We are getting there! I hope you will find much to be thankful for today!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 6 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

It was tough for me to pick what to talk about in this chapter because there were a number of passages that I loved.

Verses 27-31 speak about loving your enemies. The words in these verses can be hard to swallow from a human perspective.

And verses 43-45 talk about the fact that we are recognized by our fruit, telling us that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Ouch. That can be very humbling. In the Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, Dr. Stanley wrote, “Your speech says a lot about you. Is your conversation tainted by complaining and cursing? Or is it characterized by praise for the Lord and sound wisdom? This shows what is stored in your heart, and if it is negative, you should reevaluate what you’ve been focusing on. Set your heart on God because then good, helpful speech will flow from you.”

And this leads to where I intended to go with this post. Another verse from Luke 6 that spoke to me was verse 12: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

The secret to being able to walk out the things that Jesus mentions in this chapter (loving your enemies and having a heart and mouth overflowing with good things) is our relationship with the Lord. I love how Jesus spent time with God quietly. We see often in the gospels where it says that Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to pray. And the words I shared above from Dr. Stanley agree, as he encouraged us to set our hearts on God.

I do want to point out that the next three verses (13-16) we see that Jesus chose His twelve disciples immediately after this night in prayer. So in this case, He was making a big decision. And we too should turn to the Lord when we are facing a big decision. The Holy Spirit will guide us, if we take the time to listen.

But seeking God should be a daily habit, no matter what we are facing. Spending time in the Bible, praying, and sitting in His presence are vital to our walk and well-being. Then we will have the power of the Holy Spirit flowing inside of us. Then we will be able to follow the words of Jesus. We will be able to love our enemies, we will display good fruit to those around us, and the words of our mouths will be a reflection of a pure heart.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 77 of 100. Don’t forget to record your blessings today!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 5 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

I love the story found in Luke 5:17-26.  Long story short, a paralyzed man and his friends came to see Jesus one day. But the place was so crowded they couldn’t get in. The man’s friends “went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” (v. 19) And Jesus healed the paralyzed man that day.

“There are two things I want to point out in this story. First of all, this story is just one of numerous examples of how Jesus helped others. Jesus didn’t tell the paralyzed man that He was too busy to help him that day. He didn’t tell him that He was in the middle of teaching. He didn’t tell him to come back another day. Jesus always made those around Him a priority. Jesus was selfless and loving, always. When He walked the earth, Jesus looked out for others. He helped anyone He could, He healed all those who were sick, and He spread love everywhere He went. Jesus should be our role model and who we try to be more like in our earthly walk.

I also want to point out the friends of the paralyzed man. The place was too crowded for them to bring the man through the door. So they climbed on top of the roof to lower the man down! This just blows me away. How many people do you know who would do that? Most people today would just say something like, “Sorry, man, we can’t get in. We tried. Today is not your day. Maybe some other time.” But these men decided to do whatever it would take to help their friend and they didn’t allow anything to stop them.

This story really makes me reflect on my own behaviors. Would I be that tenacious to help a friend in need? Would I do whatever it took? I hope that we all would. Imagine how beautiful the world would be if we all remembered that we were working for the kingdom of God, if we all served the Lord with our whole heart, if we all were kind to those around us, and if we all spread the love of Jesus. I think we would see miracles take place.”¹

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 76 of 100. Keep going! You’re doing great!

© Bridget A. Thomas. ¹Excerpt from Giving God Your Whole Heart by Bridget A. Thomas.

Read Luke 4 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

When reading about the way the devil tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, I love how Jesus always came back with an answer. And not just any answer, but He used Scripture every time. This reminds me that studying the Bible helps us when we face battles in life.

“The truth is that we live in a fallen world, and as Christians we are going to see adversity. Much of it, I believe, comes from Satan. He is our enemy whose desire is to bring us down, which means we have to be prepared. When a young person joins the army, he goes through training. In the beginning he has to go through boot camp, which gets him into shape quickly. Even when boot camp is over, he doesn’t cease to keep his body fit. He doesn’t stop his target practice. He has to stay sharp and ready in case of battle. The same is true for Christians. We have to be ready every single day. Our enemy doesn’t stop. He doesn’t take a nap, and he doesn’t declare peace. So we too need to be on guard at all times, and the Bible is our weapon. Hebrews 4:12 says, ‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’ This verse shows us how powerful the Bible is. When we are faced with any adversity, we can use Bible verses as our armor. This is precisely what Jesus did when the devil tried to tempt Him, in Luke 4:1-13.”¹

In this passage of Scripture, we see how Jesus stood on the truth found in the Word of God. And we can do the same. When we are facing a difficulty, we can use the truth found in the Bible as our defense. But I encourage you to start reading the Bible on a daily basis now. Don’t wait until you are in trouble. When you make reading the Bible a consistent and solid habit in your life, you are allowing the Word of God to flow through your heart and soul. Then you will be strong and ready for battle when you need to be.

The Bible is a precious gift that the Lord has given us. It is our guidebook and our love letter. We have so much to gain from reading it. And when we are consistent, it is amazing how we draw closer to God and find a new sense of peace in our lives.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 75 of 100. You are three quarters of the way there. I hope you have seen how gratitude is helping improve your outlook!

© Bridget A. Thomas. ¹ Excerpt from Giving God Your Whole Heart by Bridget A. Thomas.

Read Luke 3 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” – Luke 3:21-22 NIV

There is something that we tend to forget, as children of God. In our day to day lives, we forget that we are already loved. We forget that we are already redeemed. We forget that we are already forgiven. We tend to subconsciously work for our salvation. We work to please God. Yes, it is true that our actions should be done for God’s glory. But we do them out of love, not to gain His approval. We already have His approval. Once we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we cannot become move loved than we already are.

A couple of years ago, pastor Louie Giglio released an exceptional book called Not Forsaken. It is an eye opening book, that helps us to see our relationship with our Heavenly Father in a new light. Around the time when he released this book, the morning show on my local radio station had him on the air (The Morning Cruise on the Joy FM). You can hear one of the clips here. It was two years ago, but something that Louie Giglio said stuck with me:

I think so many people are living FOR something, instead of living FROM something. When Jesus was baptized the Father didn’t say, “This is my beloved Son and we’ll see how He does. This is my beloved Son, and you know what? We’re gonna give Him three years.” He said, “This is my Son, in Him I am well pleased.” He hadn’t walked on water, He hadn’t fed five thousand, He had not raised the dead, nor healed the sick, or died for our sins. What had He done? Oh, He was a Loved Son. That’s who He was. So Jesus moves out into this public ministry FROM acceptance and FROM the blessing, not FOR acceptance and FOR the blessing. And so many people are confused about who they are. And they’re floundering looking FOR the acceptance, looking FOR the blessing. When God wants them to know they already HAVE the acceptance and they already HAVE the blessing. And that’s where they live FROM now, as they move out to do and be the people he’s created them to be. – Louie Giglio

How amazing it is to know that we are fully loved and fully accepted. I pray we can keep this in mind today and everyday. Let our words and actions be for God’s honor and glory. But let us remember that we are not working for approval. We already have it. Thanks to Jesus. God loves us beyond measure. It is not something we earned. His love is a precious gift that we received, as His children.

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 74 of 100. We are getting close to the finish line!

© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas

Read Luke 2 in your Bible. Or you can also read it here.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. – Luke 2:6-7

Mary was not married, yet she found herself expecting a baby. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, felt blindsided and betrayed. He wanted to end the engagement. Mary was nearing her due date when there was a census being held. This meant they had to travel to Bethlehem, as that is where Joseph’s family line came from. Imagine Mary traveling on a donkey with a round belly. When they arrived, they were told there was no room at the inn, no place to lay their heads. They had to make due elsewhere. And this is where Mary had her baby. Not in the comfort and familiarity of her own home.

With all these obstacles, did Mary and Joseph wonder if God had deserted them? If this baby was from God, wouldn’t all their plans work out perfectly? Was God still there? Or did He forget about them? Was He going to let them figure this all out on their own?

Many things in this story appeared to be going “wrong.” There were many unexpected moments and events that occurred. Things were a bit unorthodox and messy. Perhaps some of us would have felt frustrated, or maybe even angry, if we had to face these issues. Yet out of this unusual and messy scenario came a Savior. A small baby named Jesus was born. The Messiah. The Prince of Peace. Emmanuel. God with us. In time, He would save us from our sins. Out of an unusual and messy situation came the perfect Lamb of God.

When I think about all the inconveniences that occurred around the first Christmas, it gives me peace. Why? Because our lives can be very messy too. There are many things in our lives that appear to be wrong or unconventional on the surface. We face many issues, big and small, day after day. There are a lot of things that come our way which we would rather not face, if we had a choice. At times we might get irritated with life. We might wonder if God forgot about us. We might think He deserted us. But just like with the events that occurred over 2,000 years ago, we can rest assured knowing that God is in control. God is working all things out for good. God is still on the throne.

If you are walking in His will and if you are seeking Him with all your heart, you can have peace when life hands you difficulties. God will be by your side, just like He was by Mary and Joseph’s sides. He is there, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Peace can be yours in any situation when you place your life in the Lord’s hands. Christmas is one day out of the year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. But on the remaining 364 days in the year, we still have Jesus, we can still worship our Savior, and we can still have peace

If you are also participating in the Gratitude Challenge, today is day 73 of 100. Continue to write down ten things you are thankful for each day!

© Bridget A. Thomas. Originally posted on Christians Read entitled Peace on Earth by Bridget A. Thomas on December 12, 2019.