December 16, 2025

II Timothy 3: 16, 17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

In looking for deeper and spiritual lessons, one must be guarded against a fanciful and far-fetched application.*

I have a friend who believes I am being seditious when I say that not every word of the Bible applies to every person at all times. She gasped when I said that the Proverbs were not all true all the time. Case in point: Proverbs 26: 4 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly . . .” while the next verse totally contradicts it: “Answer a fool according to his folly . . .” We don’t have to go to the Bible to find contradictory words of wisdom. How about, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” versus “out of sight, out of mind.” Are not both statements true for some people some of the time?

In spite of our differing viewpoints, my friend and I agree on one thing: all Scripture is God-breathed. It is the inspired word of God, contradictions and all. It is also useful – as Paul says to Timothy: for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. But let’s just look at “useful” in general, with our two verses in Proverbs as examples. The first verse, which tells us not to answer the fool according to his folly, also tells us what could happen if we do answer him: we might become like the fool. When the next verse says that we should answer a fool according to his folly, it goes on to warn of the danger if we don’t: the fool will become wise in his own eyes. Here’s the thing: the inspired writer of Proverbs knew that all fools are not created equal. When it comes to properly addressing a fool (or anyone), we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us discernment.

And that is the key to the proper application of all Scripture. It is a multipurpose tool – Paul lists some of its many uses – and we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us discernment so that we might achieve the ultimate goal of all Scripture: to thoroughly equip us for every good work.

Please understand: I am not saying that a passage of Scripture can mean different things to different people. The meaning and the purpose don’t change with each reader. But how it applies to each of our lives - how it speaks to our hearts - is a personal matter between us and the Holy Spirit – and the Holy Spirit will never tell us that a passage means something it was never intended to mean.*

The Spirit can help us understand, remember, or apply certain passages in a surprising way.*

December 15, 2025

Ecclesiastes 12: 1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.” (NIV)

If I can’t see God’s blessings in my life, I might be looking for the wrong things.*

We’ve heard it said that youth is wasted on the young. The saying has an element of truth, as sayings usually do. When we are young, we don’t know to savor the moments. As someone (I don’t know who) poignantly reminds us: “At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time and nobody knew it.” When my boys were little, our bed-time routine was for the three of us to sit in the rocking chair while I read to them, or we sang, or we chatted about whatever came to mind. I tried to savor those moments as they were happening but I wish I could have known which night was the last time it was ever going to happen.

I don’t know the solution to the ignorance of our youth, but it’s never too late to start appreciating our Creator and his blessings. The writer of Ecclesiastes (assumed to be Solomon) has a gloomy outlook on middle age and beyond. Trouble does come but it doesn’t have to rob us of all our joy. Our years and maturity should at least have taught us that much – if we have faith in God’s promises. Because joy is more than pleasure, and the lack of trouble is no guarantee of joy.

As the days of trouble come and the years go by, learn to find the joy of the Lord. Paul’s prayer in Romans 15: 13 provides us with a roadmap to joyful living: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Pleasure? Who needs it?

Joy is a result of a life lived in him.*

December 14, 2025

John 14: 2, 3 “In my Father’s house are many rooms . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am.” (NIV)

Because we . . . fret over time, we figure God does, too.*

Our almighty and awesome God was able to create the universe in six days. From the smallest organism to the largest celestial object, he got it done in six days. I believe he could have done it in an instant but he chose – for his own reasons – to perform the act of creation in an orderly process. 

With that having been said, we have to wonder at the wonders of heaven if it is taking him more than 2,000 years to get it ready for us! 

Of course, time is not a thing in eternity. If we take Peter’s words literally (“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” II Peter 3: 8), then he’s only been working on our place in heaven for a couple of days. But the amount of time spent in preparation is not the most important message in this passage. Jesus’ words offer us comfort in (at least) two ways: 

1. If he’s going to all the trouble to prepare the place – whether for two days or for 2,000 years – he’s certainly going to come and get us when it’s ready. Our room reservations are confirmed by his blood. 

2. He is coming to take us to be with him. Being with us is his number one priority. He didn’t die so that we could do something (and doom us to failure!), but so that we could be with him. 

So, while he is making preparations to be with us for eternity, what are we doing to prepare ourselves for it? How much time do we spend with him now? Is it time well-spent – or is it an obligation? If the minutes that we give to Jesus now are not joyful ones, how will we endure eternity in his presence? If we don’t find joy in his presence here, will our room reservation be canceled? Not a happy thought!

How can a man be prepared for an eternal heaven who finds the worship of God on earth irksome and tedious?*

December 13, 2025

Ezekiel 36: 22 “. . . ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake . . . that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name . . .’” (NIV)

The glory of humanity is that we are at the same time nothing and everything.*

Through his prophet, Ezekiel, God makes some promises to the Israelites – but first, he makes it clear to them that the good things that are about to happen have no connection to any good thing that they have done. No, they will merely be the “channel” through which God will accomplish his goal: to return the glory of his name among the nations. They will be blessed for the Lord’s sake, not for their own. 

In our desire – and struggle – to glorify God in our lives, have we drifted into believing that God can’t be glorified without our help? The truth is, the glory we manage to bring to God is a frail and feeble thing compared to what God can do for himself. For his own sake, he can glorify himself. Creation itself is proof of that. His every move in the history of Israel speaks loudly of his glory – sometimes for their sake, but always for his own. Yet, as weakly as our glory shines, he wants it. For his sake and for ours. And he is worthy.

God has been pleased therein to twist interests with us, so that in seeking his glory we really and effectually seek our own true interests.*

December 12, 2025

Matthew 20: 1-15 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others . . . in the marketplace . . . He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ . . . He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others . . . He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner . . . said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. . . they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ But he answered . . . ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. . . Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ (NIV)

I must hold to revealed truth, but also allow God to be greater than my understanding of him.*

It troubles me that there are Christians who have a different interpretation than I do about what the Bible says about how to be saved. If I’m right, then they are wrong and they are lost. And if that is the case, how is it that they can claim to love Jesus and have a relationship with him? Who is answering their prayers? What is the source of their joy? In whom have they placed their faith? And, how does this parable help answer my concerns?

In Jesus’ story, the workers who were hired first were told how much they were going to get paid for the day, and they accepted the terms. I know what God has revealed to me about my salvation and about my responsibility to share that gospel to others. I accept his terms. The first workers grumbled because all the subsequent hires received the same wages that they did. Do I have the right to grumble if it turns out that I will be sharing eternity with souls who interpreted scripture differently than I?

This parable doesn't provide answers to my questions. It only points out this: it is not my problem to solve. I know what my responsibility is and I will be held accountable if I fail to meet the terms. God owns the vineyard and he has the right to do what he wants with it. Should I be envious because he is generous? No. I accept the terms of salvation as spelled out to me. Very generous terms, I might add.

No man has the right to question or resent the outpouring of God's love in saving . . .  any man, from sin and destruction.*

December 11, 2025

Mark 2: 3-6 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man . . . they made an opening in the roof above Jesus . . . and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (NIV) 

I have seen people get upset about things that don’t seem to bother the Lord at all, while nonchalantly shrugging their shoulders over matters the Lord considers crucially important.*

In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey makes a wry and astute observation about the teachers of the law who were in Jesus’ audience that day: “In typical fashion, the religious experts started arguing about Jesus' right to forgive sins, all the while ignoring the disabled man lying in the debris.”* Whether Jesus could or couldn’t forgive sins, it made no difference to what they witnessed there in that house: miraculous healing.

This story reminds me of the words of Tony Campolo, another author and speaker: “While you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. . . most of you don't give a ****. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said **** than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”* I don’t know if Mr. Campolo’s stats are accurate but his commentary on our priorities is spot-on. Just like the teachers of the law who judged Jesus, we obsess over the least important things and leave the most important lying in the debris.

Notice that I said least important, not unimportant. The teachers of the law were not wrong to be concerned about blasphemy, and Mr. Campolo’s audience should have been shocked by his use of a “bad word.” But Jesus demonstrated in every miracle and every sermon that meeting humanity’s physical and emotional needs is the doorway to meeting their spiritual needs. The man in the story needed to be healed and forgiven. While we might argue that forgiveness is more important than healing, Jesus seemed to give them equal weight, as it was only through meeting physical needs that he was able to show the compassion that should be the hallmark of every one of his followers.

He said no to the important in order to say yes to the vital. He said no to a good opportunity in order to say yes to a better opportunity.*

December 10, 2025

Deuteronomy 23: 14 For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. (NIV)

His holiness demands our holiness.*

I do not find camping fun. The Israelites probably didn’t either, but camping wasn’t a recreational activity for them - their camp was their home. God roamed their home to protect them and to deliver them from their enemies. No home security company could compete with that! 

I like the idea of God’s presence in my home, protecting and delivering. But wait! Is my home holy enough for God’s security system? When he walks around, what does he see? Do I honor him with my possessions? What kind of “indecent” things might he find? I came home one time and found something “indecent” that had been brought into my house by someone else. I can tell you that it made me want to flee my own house – and my holiness does not compare to God’s. How horrified he must be when he encounters unholiness in us – in our homes and in our lives.

Let us be aware of any unholiness that might have seeped into our lives. Let us determine that our camp will remain holy so that God will not turn away from us.

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how “pure” you are but awareness of your impurity.*