Blog

Devotional Reading, April 14, 2025

Matthew 18:6,7

6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. 

I have fought my way through many of the things that have oversimplified the faith and stunted growth in faith and made it too childish for it to make any impact on the thinking of moderns. But in so doing I have also wrestled with answers that were not fully formed and may create difficulties for young believers in their journey. I have not wanted to disturb them with things that seem to conflict with their faith, yet I want them to grow up into a mature and confident faith they can share.  I need to be careful and at the same time discerning about when and where to share these things. 

Devotional Reading, April 11, 2025

Matthew 16:1-3

16 Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.  

The world of the Jews was crashing down around them. Yet they could not see it. They asked for a sign that Jesus was the Messiah. But they didn't need a "sign"; they had is words. He was there to set Israel right and avoid the judgment that was on the near horizon. But they were not able or willing to hear. The king of Ninevah heard and repented. This generation of Israel would not. 

 Our generation is faced with the same future. Judgement. The signs are all around us. Trump is trying to correct some of the failures we have made. But he misses the point: correcting the culture is not enough unless we repent. Without recognizing our own personal failure to live in a way that honors God and obeys his instructions for life will fail. Using laws and force to correct the failure of others is doomed to fail because it does not address the root of the problems - my failure.  Lord, help me see my sin and repent.   

Devotional Reading, April 9, 2025

Matthew 15:24

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

This differs from the feeding of the 5,000. Here Jesus doesn't challenge the disciples to feed the multitude. He simply asked how much they have. Their answer was "not much." They did not remark on how insufficient this was. They knew it was, but they knew Jesus was sufficient. They had learned. Here they were simply presenting their need to the Lord expecting in faith that he would make up what they lacked. And he did. Have I learned that lesson? I think I have to some degree, but it is yet to become automatic. But on the other hand, I have come a long way from declaring that the need is impossible.    

Devotional Reading, April 5, 2025

Matthew 14:30-31

 30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

This is the second lesson/test of the Disciple's' faith in Jesus. The first was that they needed to do what they could with what they had and trust that Jesus would take it from there. The second is that they need to continue to trust him. Both are lessons I need to learn and continue to learn.  Thank you, Lord, for your patience and faithfulness to me. 

Devotional Reading, April 3, 2025

Matthew 13:14,15

‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand,

you will look closely yet will never comprehend.

15 

For the heart of this people has become dull;

they are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ 

There is both a passive aspect and an active response. Hearts are dull: they are not hungry for God or his word. But that is followed up by the decision to shut their eyes. I hear both in the testimonies of many of the skeptics and atheists who used to be Christians I speak with. But the warning is not so much for them as for me. I must not allow my heart to become dull by neglecting God and his word. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 31, 2-25

Matthew 11:4-6

 Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see: 5 The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them 6 —and blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me!” 

I have been working on correlations between history and the early chapters of Genesis. This fits what I have been studying. There is strong reason to see Jesus as the Messiah. He refers to the predictions about him from the OT. It is no coincidence. There were predictions. Jesus did fit. It was evidently enough for John's disciples. It is enough for me.  

Devotional Reading, Mar. 27, 2025

Matthew 9:36-38

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest-ready fields.” 

Just a few verses earlier Jesus had admonished a man who he had healed not to tell people. He didn't want to draw a crowd who were coming to see some miracle performed. Here he responds to a crowd that he knew to be serious. They were not looking for a miracle but for truth and direction. They were wanting to know what life is all about, and they were not finding answers from the teachers of the law or Pharisees. 

That put them in a place where Jesus could speak to them of the kingdom of heaven. In these chaotic times, many are asking the same question. But not getting an answer from those they ask. I wonder if I am answering their question.  If I am not, I am simply playing a flute to entertain them. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 25, 2025

Matthew 7:21-23

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ 

We often read only the part about what these lawbreakers did and miss what they didn't do.  They did all the flashy things, but they did not do the things Jesus tells us are the will of the Father. Those are deeds of kindness, compassion, righteousness and service. See the beatitudes in  chapter 5.  Lord, help me to get the priorities straight and love my neighbor. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 24, 2025

Matthew 6:3,4

3 But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 

In secret. We read the several instructions in Matt. 5 that include this idea of "in secret" and make them into rules for giving and prayer and fasting. But this is deeper than rules. It is about genuineness. It is about being genuinely generous not because it is a rule but because it is who we are. It is about prayer and fasting not because it is a rule but because these flow from the depth of our hearts. So, my prayer is, Lord, make these things real in me, so real that they are not proof of my faith or obedience but the ethos of it. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 23, 2025

Matthew 5:18

18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. 

This is one of the most controversial passages on the law in the NT. It should not be. The law has a place in pointing out sin. As long as there remains sin personally and sin in the world, the law has an important role. It has had in  my life.  But obeying the law is not a means of salvation. It is evidence of salvation. Salvation is by God's mercy. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 21, 2025

Matthew 3:4-6

4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey. 5 Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 

What an opportunity Israel missed! Tragic. Within a generation Israel would be reduced to a remnant. Jerusalem and the temple would be gone. A million Jews will have died. Within another generation, those who remained would be exiled and the land God had given them that they might flourish and witness to God's grace and goodness would be given to others. Tragic! 

Nineteen hundred years later, they have not learned the lesson.  And if Revelation says anything about this, it is that the tragedy will continue. The Jews will ally with one who is the enemy of all good and of God himself. But he will be a splintered reed in their hands, and he will become their ultimate enemy. I weep as I see what seems to be these things coming to pass.  I pray for their redemption. 

Devotional Reading. Mar. 20, 2025

Matthew  2:15

In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

It was God's purpose according to Hosea to make Israel an example of grace and a testimony to God among the nations. They failed again and again. But God did  not give up. (Hosea 11:9-11) He instead called his Son to stand in for Israel and fulfill his purpose. And we the billions who follow Jesus and are the witnesses to God he desires are the evidence of God's fulfilled his purpose through Jesus. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 19, 2025

Matthew 1:20,21

20 When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  

How often has the direction of the Lord come over the centuries through angels?  More often than we know. How often has the whole course of history been directed by angels? More often than we know. Lesson: Pay attention. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 17, 2025

Jude 1:14,15

14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all, and to convict every person of all their thoroughly ungodly deeds that they have committed, and of all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  

Though this comes from the book of Enoch, it speaks truth, there is coming a day of judgment. Injustice and sin will be judged. That should be socbering for all of us. But Jude - and Enoch as well - hold up the mercy of God as our hope. The closer to that day, the more this means to me. I praise the Lord for his mercy. 

Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 11, 2025

2nd Corinthians 10:3-5

 For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.   

What are the weapons of Paul's warfare? Are they not the conviction of the Holy Spirit who affirms the right and alerts to the wrong in the hearts attentive to him? I interact with many who are opposed God and preach a belief contrary to the gospel and the truth. They may not be persuaded by what I say, but those who are in tune with God will know if what I say is true or not and, I hope, be strengthened by it. So, I write for them and pray that the Holy Spirit would confirm the truth for them.    

Devotional Reading, Mar. 2, 2025

2nd Corinthians 5:10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.  

It is my honor and joy to serve the Lord. My only regret is that I have not been as faithful to his calling as I should have been. I serve not for a reward, except that of seeing others blessed and following Jesus. Others have done far more. I will rejoice as they are honored at the bema seat. Still, I do not want to lose the Lord's approval. Give me, Lord, the heart and strength to carry on until you call me home or return in glory. 

Devotional Reading, Mar. 1, 2025

2nd Corinthians 4:7-11

7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, 10 always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body. 11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body. 

I look around the church and wonder if we are accomplishing what God sent us to do or if we are just treading water or worse failing. Or seeking power in our culture by taking control and by that means turn the culture to Christian. I forget that the church in the early days advanced not out of strength but out of weakness. It sounds so counter intuitive that we don't believe it. But it is how God works. 

That is hard to see in the history of the church; since the church joined the political powers in Rome, we have seldom lived out the life of Jesus as an institution. Sometimes it has been the opposite. But there have been people who have. As I look more deeply into our history, the gospel has advanced not by power but by  living  people who have in weakness given themselves unnoticed and in weakness. It is not so much in great organizations or large churches, but individuals whose lives and words together make Jesus visible.  May I be such a follower of Jesus. 

Devotional Reading, Feb. 28, 2025

2nd Corinthians 4:3-4

 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 

It is veiled only. The glorious gospel of the Christ is not veiled in the minds and hearts of those who are open to God. The glory lives realigned to the design of God, and the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the hope before us, and most of all the fellowship and friendship with God are wonderfully real to all whose hearts are unveiled. 

We live in a confusing world with many distractions that take us away from God and often deny and distort these truths that in Christ are the foundation of life. Our instincts are to run and hide or to fight with the weapons of the world. I find that true of me as much as I see it around me. I remind myself:

1. Align with the design of God for life.

2. Seek and enjoy the present ministry of the Holy Spirit.

3. Dwell on the hope before me. 

4. Enjoy the friendship with God that is mine through Jesus my Lord.  

                                   Unveil my heart so I can see these things anew. 

Devotional Reading, Feb. 24, 2025

2nd Corinthians 2:14-16

14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?  

Am I the sweet aroma of Christ in  every place I go? Paul is talking about the message he brings, of course, but if life does not affirm the message then the message is flat. Paul's life reflected his message. Does mine?  But then I wonder as well if I am speaking or sharing the message of Christ adequately. Even in my apologetic work, am I really speaking of the wonder of Jesus and the life he brings to our lives? I know that speaking of Jesus to most of the skeptics I interact with is the odor of death. But is speaking of Jesus the fragrance of life to those who are being saved? I pray that it is. 

Devotional Reading, Feb. 23, 2025

2nd Corinthians 1: 5

For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you.  

I have often read this section in 2nd Cor. to speak of all suffering, but it is really specific to suffering for Christ and with Christ. Paul is undergoing suffering as a prisoner. The Corinthians were also suffering opposition for their faith in Christ. In America we do not suffer for Christ as they did. But that may change. Our country is going south and becoming less and less friendly to those who are not onboard with Trumpism, and Christians cannot be really. It is antithetical to everything that the Lord calls us to be and do. The divide will only grow wider if we continue on this course. Then if we stand firm in our resolve to follow Jesus, we will suffer under the heavy hand of tyranny. But what is the consolation?

It is the knowledge that we suffer for the Lord, and we suffer together. If persecution comes to the American church, as I believe it will, take comfort in the fact that we who follow Jesus are firm in our faith together. The suffering will drive us to the Lord, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.   

Devotional Reading, Feb. 17, 2025

Philippians 1:29-30

29 For to you it was granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. 

The same conflict? The powers in  the world do not want to be challenged. The gospel is so contrary to the world's ways that it is a threat to them. They fight back with the means they have, which for Paul and many others was imprisonment. 

The world will fight back against us if we live and preach the gospel. That is so much to be expected that it almost becomes a mark of our following Christ.  Did the powers not fight back against him for the same reasons? 

But at the heart of the word "granted" is the word "grace." It is a gracious gift. It is in God's economy a precious gift to suffer for our stand in Christ for justice , truth, goodness, and  mercy. 

Today in America mercy has been devalued. Power is once again on the throne. I pray that we who belong to Christ Jesus may not fold under the threat of power, but may with much energy in the Spirit be more and more merciful, more and more engaged in securing justice for the oppressed, more and more engaged in goodness toward all, more and more firmly established upon the truth. 

Devotional Reading, Feb. 13, 2025

Psalm 126:5-6

5 Those who shed tears as they plant

will shout for joy when they reap the harvest.

6 The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed,

will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain. 

A metaphor of the joy experienced when the work of restoration of the city and temple is done. It may be applied generally to us as we weep in joy in anticipation of the Lord's completion of his salvation work and all the redeemed shall gather before him. I weep today. I long for that completion.   And I pray for the harvest of souls that is continuing.

Devotional Reading, Feb. 12, 2025

Psalm 121:1-6

I look up toward the hills.

From where does my help come?

2 

My help comes from the Lord,

the Creator of heaven and earth.

3 

May he not allow your foot to slip.

May your Protector not sleep.

4 

Look! Israel’s Protector

does not sleep or slumber.

5 

The Lord is your protector;

the Lord is the shade at your right hand.

6 

The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night. 

How I wish, how I pray that Israel would come again to this place of confidence in  the Lord for their safety.  How far they have fallen from  faith in the God who called them and protected them for so many centuries. I weep. I pray. I know that God has a future for them. I long for that future. May it come, Lord Jesus. 

Devotional Reading, Feb. 6, 2025

Hosea 11:10-11

“He will roar like a lion,

and they will follow the Lord;

when he roars,

his children will come trembling from the west.

11 

They will return in fear and trembling

like birds from Egypt,

like doves from Assyria,

and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. 

After all the warnings and the very literal fulfillment of those warnings with the invasion of Assyria, God promises recovery. 2700 years have passed. Israel remains in exile. May it happen in these days, Lord. May your promises to Israel come true.