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.*

December 9, 2025

Luke 15: 3-7 Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine . . . and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? . . . Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that . . . there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (NIV)

Almost everything we do has a self-centered element. We potentially gain glory from it.*

A scholarly friend started a little firestorm with a Facebook post about worship. His premise was that we needed fewer songs with I and me, and more with we and us. The music people among his friends list had much to say in response, and any controversial comments were expressed respectfully. I didn’t disagree with anything anyone said – but this parable kept going through my mind so I took off on my own train of thought.

Through this parable, Jesus tells us something about the Shepherd and his love for the individual sheep - the I and me. Corporate worship should be about us worshipping God, and better songs might help that along. But here’s the thing: No matter how prepared I am on Sunday morning to make my worship about HIM, and no matter how profound the song service or the sermon, I get blessed. God still turns my efforts around and makes it about ME. In fact, I think God is opposed to allowing me to give him more than he gives me.

When one sheep repents, the Shepherd rejoices as if it is his only sheep. When I worship him along with my church family, he accepts my praise as if mine is the only voice he hears. But don’t worry – he feels the same way about you. Let us praise him together and increase the blessings – for him and for each other.

A powerful dynamic occurs in the spirit realm when we worship God together that can’t happen any other way.*

December 8, 2025

Exodus 8: 28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.” (NIV)

If we aspire to get a person to change his mind about anything, we have a responsibility to understand at least where he has come from or what has made him what he is.*

From the moment that Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden, the world has been a mess. Is it worse today – or does it seem worse because societies no longer live in isolation? Does it matter? Our mission is the same: go into our godless and depraved world and share the Good News. So what does that have to do with Moses and Pharaoh? What can we learn from this episode in history?

Moses had the interesting and challenging task of negotiating with the leader of a pagan nation. In any such exchange, the involved parties should look for some common ground. It may not be obvious, but Moses and Pharaoh did have a foundation to build upon. While the Egyptians, like other pagan cultures, did not believe in the one true God, their instinct to worship something led them to invent gods. With that mindset, they had no trouble accepting the concept of a higher power. “Pray for me,” Pharaoh said. He may not have worshipped God, but at least he was willing to acknowledge the possibility of God and his power.

Our witness to lost individuals is easier if we can find that common ground. If they believe in God, or if they only acknowledge the existence of a higher power, we have a starting point. If the person believes that we are all alone in the universe, we may have to dig deeper – into their in-born need to worship. If we are going to move them beyond their foundational point to Pharaoh’s “pray for me” moment, however, our personal story must speak of God’s power in our lives. While Moses had plagues to demonstrate it for him, our faithful, Spirit-led walk can quietly witness to what God can accomplish in any surrendered soul.

The power of the message resides heavily in the experience and life (and personal testimony) of the messenger.*

December 7, 2025

Ephesians 1: 18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (NIV)

Jesus knew well the shallow effect of miracles . . . they attracted crowds, yes, but rarely encouraged long-term faithfulness. He was bringing a hard message of obedience and sacrifice, not a sideshow for gawkers and sensation-seekers.*

What comes to mind when you think about Christ’s great power? Are you reminded of his dominion over nature? Do you recall his authority over food and drink? What about his ability to heal birth defects and cure incurable diseases? Are these the best examples of his “incomparably great power”?

One writer has observed, “Whenever Paul thought about Christ’s power, he always thought about the resurrection.”* I can’t vouch for what went on in the mind of the apostle, but it sounds like it should be true – of Paul and of us. Jesus didn’t come to earth to calm storms or provide picnic food or even to heal the sick. He came to save us. And he didn’t do that with circus tricks but by overcoming death.

In today’s passage, we see that Paul prayed for his readers to recognize the power of Christ and what it means to them (us) personally. He would have us to know the hope that through Christ's power over death we are able to participate in the “riches of his glorious inheritance.” Miracles have their place, but victory over death trumps them all.

Does it matter that Jesus rose from the dead? Nothing matters more.*

December 6, 2025

Genesis 3: 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NIV)

I am learning to view sins not as an arbitrary list of rules drawn up by a cranky Judge, but rather as a list of dangers that must be avoided at all costs—for our own sakes.*

Bible colleges back in the 1970s had lots of rules for their students. At my school, there was a “forbidden stairway” that ran between the boys’ section of the dorm and the girls’ section. Our rooms all opened to the outside but this stairway was enclosed, thus making it just a little too private for the comfort of the administration whose goal was to protect its co-eds from temptation. The thing is, there was nothing evil about that particular set of stairs, and going up and down them was not a sin – until there was a rule against it.

The same might be said about the special tree in the Garden of Eden. There was nothing evil about eating fruit from any other tree in the garden (Genesis 2: 16), but one particular tree was forbidden. When God made the rule, eating that fruit became a sin. Activities which are not sinful in themselves become wrong when laws are imposed or when performed outside of biblical parameters for appropriate behavior. Driving fast is not against God’s law but it becomes a sin when you break man’s laws against it. Sex is blessed by God in marriage but is a sin in any other setting. Did you grow up being told it was wrong to run in the “church house”? Well, it is if there’s a rule against it!

We live in a world of rules and laws. Man-made laws formulated for my protection might inconvenience you, and some rules arise from unworthy motives, but when God says, “Don’t eat the fruit from that tree,” he is not being arbitrary or capricious. God’s laws are for the good of all . . . no matter what Satan might whisper in your ear.

In an orderly society, it’s essential to limit some liberties for the common good.*

December 8, 2019

December 5, 2025

I Corinthians 9: 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (NIV)

Human beings undergo goal-directed suffering quite willingly, as athletes and pregnant women can attest.*

Sports analogies are usually lost on me, but this one I get – in theory. If you want to be the best athlete in your sport of choice, you have to work at it. No pain, no gain, they say. And the very determined put themselves through some pretty grueling workouts – torture in my opinion. But they do it because they believe it’s worth it.

So why is it that we are so opposed to a little pain for the sake of spiritual gain? Why do we blame God for life’s hurts when what we’re facing is nothing but an intense training program designed to help us be the strongest and longest lasting in our field? If an athlete is willing to suffer for his sport, why aren’t we willing to suffer for the sake of our faith?

Did I imply that God causes our character-building suffering? I didn’t mean to. He allows suffering, and he uses it for our good, but the fact is, life is just painful. As Phillip Yancey writes: “We can safely say that God can bring good out of evil; we cannot say that God brings about the evil in hopes of producing good.”* 

We suffer because of our poor choices; we suffer because of the poor choices of others; we suffer because of sin in the world. But why waste it? Allow God to strengthen you through your adversity. Don’t suffer for nothing. Be a winner. Get a trophy that lasts forever!

We idolize comfort, and we are in danger of thinking pain to be worse than sin.*