Today is my 74th birthday (7-18-25), and it's my 50th year as a believer. If you've been a longtime reader of Bible Love Notes, you know that I take more than one minute on my birthday devotion.
Many of you also know that I’ve had a nomadic life, moving over 40 times. You can read more details about that in last year's birthday post: A Bend in the Road.
Last fall, my husband and I felt led to make one final move. We didn’t move to our “forever home” because we know that’s waiting for us in heaven (Philippians 3:20; 2 Corinthians 5:1). But unless the Lord tells us otherwise, this will be our final home here on earth.
We didn't “retire.” We never want to do that. We want to keep doing ministry until the Lord takes us home.
Because of our age, we made plans to make this last move our least stressful one, hiring things done that we usually do ourselves. But God obviously had different plans and new things to teach us.
We had more damage, delays, disappointments, and disruptions with this move than any other move in our lives: lost and damaged family heirlooms, a dog bite, a bad fall, a minor surgery, acute hearing loss,(1) and next month I'll have a hip replacement.
Many of our Christian friends have also faced increasing challenges in the last few years, and we're learning that these things are part of our training, preparing us for the increasing spiritual challenges in our world.
So on my birthday, I want to encourage you to become aware of the challenges Christians are facing. I can't overemphasize our need to pray, persevere, and prepare for what lies ahead.
If you aren’t studying your Bible daily, it’s critical that you begin. If you don’t have Godly fellowship, please seek it out. If you are not aware of the many challenges we're facing in culture, please become more informed. I recommend you read Live Not By Lies and We Will Not Be Silenced. These books helped my husband and me understand more of what we are facing and how to prepare. (We get no compensation for recommending these books.)
My next book, Lies in Disguise, will be coming out in October. It addresses a subject that has been on my heart for many years: the growing popularity of half-truths that are damaging the church. My prayer is that this book will equip readers to identify and steer clear of these false teachings.
Let's do all that we can to prepare our hearts and minds for the battles we face daily. Let's fight the half-truth propaganda with the sword of the Spirit which is God's Word (Hebrews 4:12).
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
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If you'd like to read my past Birthday devotions, see Gail's Birthday Devotions.
If you haven’t purchased my book Wisdom for Life, I pray that you’ll consider doing it. I believe, among other things, it will help you prepare for what's going on in our world.
(1) My hearing loss was mostly restored. Praise God!
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