Books That Helped to Shape Me

By Jill Krueger Wagner

 I am who I am today through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has often used written material to shape me into the image He had in mind when He created me.

These stand out in my memory of those written words that transformed me from an angry, bitter woman into one who relishes life in Christ. First and foremost, the New Testament.   http://bit.ly/4r2Tto6 It was in the New Testament that I first learned that I could never be acceptable to God in my state of pride – in doing things my own way. He showed me, through reading that nobody is good enough to be forgiven on their own (Romans 3:23 & 6:23) – we all must humble ourselves to admit we are all sinners who need a Savior and then submit to His rule of our lives. Oh, the depths of the riches one can find in the Word of God! Strength to survive trials and wisdom beyond human understanding. If you read just 15 minutes a day, you can read the entire thing in 90 days.

Bible studies have taught me so much through the years. The one that stands out from all of them is “Experiencing God.” This is the only study that I have done four times and reaped wisdom each time. https://bit.ly/4a98dw6

A daily devotional is a great way to start the day with a focus on God. I’ve loved many through the years but the one that stands out is “My Utmost for His Glory.”  It was originally written years ago so it has some archaic language – reading an updated one will help to understand.

https://www.christianbook.com/utmost-for-his-highest-updated-edition/oswald-chambers/9781627078757/pd/078757?event=BRSRCQ|PSEN

Andrew Murray’s “Absolute Surrender” is a classic that I am presently rereading. It’s a gem.

https://bit.ly/4qBGPfV

At a time when I had to deal with some very unreasonable people the book “Fool-proofing Your Life” was extremely helpful.   https://bit.ly/3M3KBjf

Since I’ve suffered with the affliction of speaking when I should be silent, “When to Speak Up and When to Shut Up” is one that I often pull out. I keep a copy of the questions to ask before confronting family or friends handy in order to reign in my tendency to “open mouth, insert foot.”  https://bit.ly/4pVo7yS

Because I periodically face the trials of life, I love the little purple book, “The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word.” It’s so nice to have a resource with the index of issues we all often face. Speaking God’s Word out is very helpful to counteract my own negative thinking and the messages I hear in the world.

https://www.christianbook.com/the-secret-power-speaking-gods-word/joyce-meyer/9780446577366/pd/577367?event=BRSRCP|PSEN&ps_exit=PRODUCT|legacy&search_term=The%20secret%20power&Ntt=577367&product_redirect=1

90 Day Challenge

By Jill Krueger Wagner

 I, once again, want to challenge you to take 15 minutes each day to read through the New Testament.

Someone once said that a person’s education is not complete without a thorough knowledge of the Bible. I have found this to be true. The one thing every Christian that I’ve admired had in common was a full knowledge of the Bible. Thus, I continue to say if you just take 15 minutes a day to read all of the New Testament, you will get an understanding of so many things. Among them, how God loves you, how God deals with sin, and how to be pleasing in His sight.

I want to address what happened to me when I first read the Bible.

·         I felt very guilty because I saw how lofty God’s standard is and how I fell woefully short. I went to my minister because I needed relief from the guilt. When I expressed my feelings that I could never measure up to God’s requirements, he slapped his knee and said, “Praise God, you’ve got it!” At my confused look his explained, “Jill, if we could be good enough for God, Jesus would not have had to die to pay for our sins. Since we couldn’t measure up, He came and paid the price to cover all our sins.” I felt like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders and my gratefulness to God increased greatly.

·         I also noticed differences in the Gospels. They told the story with different details, each from a different perspective. I thought, if they all saw the same thing, wouldn’t the details match? It was someone familiar with the law who explained that when people came to court to give testimony about an event there was always variance in the details. If every detail matched there was a belief that there had been collusion and the testimony was disregarded. Different witnesses testifying to different details actually confirm the event not disprove it.

·         When I found what I thought were discrepancies, I contacted someone with more knowledge than I had and found plausible explanations.  

Today I occasionally still need forgiveness when I fall short of God’s holy standard. When that happens the first thing I do is confess and quote 1 John 1:9 to myself: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then I remind myself of Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” I’m not perfect but I am forgiven, PRAISE GOD!!!!

Charlie Kirk and Philippians 4:8

By Jill Krueger Wagner

It is my practice when I’m faced with a disturbing situation to apply Philippians 4:8 to whatever is distressing me. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has undone me. He was such a good and godly man and a brave one too. In spite of many death threats, he continued to do what God called him to do. It appears that evil won in this situation but that’s also how it appeared when Jesus hung on the cross. Reality doesn’t always match what our eyes can see.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

TRUE: Charlie died while faithfully fulfilling his purpose.

NOBLE: We mustn’t allow our emotions to drag us into thoughts of vengeance for as Romans 12:18-19 says: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

RIGHT: Pray for his family and those who witnessed his murder.

PURE: Don’t be contaminated by hatred for the assassin but pray for his capture and for God to bring him to repentance.

LOVELY: Charlie’s influence remains online & those who never knew of him are now been able to investigate his thoughts and arguments for truth.

ADMIRABLE: Learn from Charlie’s example how to disagree without being disagreeable

EXCELLENT: To be grateful for Charlie’s witness of Jesus and the truth that the ugliness of his murder can’t overcome the righteous life he lived.

 PRAISEWORTHY: Stand against the evil mindset that seeks to destroy truth with violence

A Stressless Christmas

By Jill Krueger Wagner

As a mom of four living on one income, I learned one of the ways to lessen time and money stress was to stretch out preparation for Christmas. My cue to start preparation was the beginning of the school year.

I would start with stockpiling the baking goods I’d need. Each week I’d buy something extra like flour, sugar, raisins, butter, or Crisco.

I would also look for small items for stockings. We had a budget for those and gifts. Setting that amount with your spouse is important. Back in the day we would spend $100 for each child’s gifts and $25 for stockings. It was a small budget but if I started early and bargain shopped, it would be enough.

Although much attention is focused on gifts, I found that gifts aren’t the thing that make Christmas successful to a child. Ask your kids what they love most about Christmas. They probably will say gifts but dig deeper and you’ll see what they love is time together with family or friends playing games, baking, or caroling.

To avoid last minute stress over a gift you forgot to buy, I suggest a list to use yearly. Here is a prompt so you don’t forget anyone written by my friend Cheryl Adams.

 

What are your goals for Christmas? I have mine on a 3x5 card that is at the front of a notebook I use to help with Christmas preparation. They are:

·         To be done shopping by December 10

·         To spread the true message of Christmas

·         To help those around me enjoy the holidays

·         To maintain a Christlike spirit

 

 

Daddy's Little Girl

By Jill Krueger Wagner

In the fall my thoughts often turn to my dad. His birthday is coming up on September 26.

This morning the songs he sang came to mine. He and I would sing together while I supplied the music by playing our Conn organ. He loved old show tunes and we would sing and sing and sing them. We had a couple of music books full of them but he had his favorites.

To encourage us he would often sing, “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” from Damn Yankees.

https://youtu.be/Ry8CpIg2fvU

Just listening to it again brought wonderful memories of Dad. He had to have heart going into business like he did with a family to support. He wasn’t a quitter even when the situation looked dire, he kept on keeping on and taught us to do the same.

He was an optimistic person, looking on the bright side of things. He was also a born encourager. One sweet memory I have is of us riding in the car and him patting my leg and saying, “You’re a nice girl Jill. I like you.” I felt so loved.

I also remember falling asleep in the car and him picking me up to carry me to bed. Sweet memories.

He had a positive world view, too. He had read the entire New Testament and determined to live like Jesus. He wasn’t a consistent church attender but he tried to always do the right thing and when he failed, he fessed up to the failure.

For instance, once he falsely accused me of something. I have no memory of what it was that he thought I’d done. However, I have a very clear memory of his coming to me when he found out the truth and asking me to forgive him. That takes a strong man to admit his failure to his child.

Another one of his beloved tunes was Louis Armstrong singing, “What a Wonderful World.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqhCQZaH4Vs

These positive songs lift my spirit and remind me of a time one of the boys was down and suggested he listen to some music and he responded that his music only made him feel worse. I was stunned. I thought that was in contrast to my music that lifts me up, the type of music Dad enjoyed.

Dad loved all of us and he showed his girls in a special way. We had “Daddy Dates” before it was a thing. He would take us downtown to see musicals. We were so proud to be seen with him.

Perhaps the most precious memory was of him singing “Daddy’s Little Girl.”

https://youtu.be/jskwqEmJzSE

Daddy, this “little girl” is 76 and she misses you.

A Lesson from King David

By Jill Krueger Wagner

This morning, I read Psalm 101 and I thought, “David obviously wrote this before his sin with Bathsheba.”

In verse 3 he said, “I refuse to look at anything vile or vulgar” but he didn’t look away when he saw Bathsheba taking a bath.

Also, in verse 3, “I hate all who deal crookedly…” yet he dealt very crookedly with Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, orchestrating his death.

Then in verse 6 he says he’ll “search for faithful people to be his companions” – wouldn’t that extend to those serving in his house? Yet someone in his house went to Bathsheba to bring her to David in spite of knowing she was Uriah’s wife.

Finally in verse 7, “I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house and liars will not stay in my presence.” BUT David himself deceived in taking Bathsheba as a wife with their child conceived in adultery after the unjust death of her husband.

Yet this is the man who is called “A man after God’s own heart.” The lesson I gleaned from this is no matter how much I want to do what is right, under some circumstances I, too, could break God’s holy laws. I must beware of emotions that can lead me astray from where I’m supposed to be into a place of temptation. David wasn’t at war with his troops where a king should be and I have to wonder why? But I should learn a lesson from that. Emotions are deceptive but the Word of God “leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Stay faithful, Jill and pray that God places a Nathan in your life if you do go astray. Nathan was the prophet who convicted David of his sin bringing him to repentance. 

Wisdom from Above

What do these words have in common? They are: instructions, laws, commandments, decrees, regulations, word, commands, ways, deeds, and promises. They are all words used multiple times in psalm 119 to describe God’s works and the way to please Him. There are 176 verses broken into 22 sections – one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Over and over again the author spells out the wisdom in following God’s instructions found in His Bible.

Theodore Roosevelt once said “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” I concur!

I’m not an exceptional person BUT I’ve learned so much through studying the Bible that a person might think I am very learned – what I actually am is a person who listens to what the Bible says. I began back in 1974 reading it for the express purpose of checking if a doctrine was really in there.  I started in Genesis and read to Revelation and discovered that the doubted doctrine, although not specifically name in the Bible, is indeed in there.

This is not the way I would recommend for a novice to read the Bible because if you don’t get bogged down in Leviticus, Numbers might do you in. I suggest starting in the New Testament but do, at some point, read the Old – it helps you understand so much of the New.

I read through the Bible many years through a ministry called Bible Pathways. They would send me a booklet with the reading for the month and a checklist where I could chart my progress. For a woman who loves a checklist this was very helpful in keeping me committed.

There are many free reading programs to help someone take on this task and successfully complete it. Google “Free Bible reading programs” to find one that suits you. You don’t need to wait until January! If you start reading today in Matthew and read 15 minutes a day, you can read through the entire New Testament in 90 days. Read with a notebook on hand to jot down and questions that arise. There have been times when I thought I found errors in the book but when I investigated further or asked a Bible scholar, I would see that I was wrong.

I guarantee that if you take my challenge, you will have more knowledge than you ever thought possible!