October 13, 2025

II Corinthians 4: 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (NIV)

He uses the weakest instruments to accomplish His mightiest works.*

I don’t have any treasure but I do have some important documents that I have stored in a fireproof safe. Because I live in Florida, I placed them in waterproof pouches before I put them in the safe. You can’t be too careful with your valuables.

God is not as cautious as I am. He has chosen the equivalent of a grocery bag in which to store the message of the gospel. We, like jars of clay, are “fragile and unspectacular,”* but he has entrusted us to share the good news of forgiveness and eternal life. God is not concerned about safety or security or weatherproofing. His storage vessel is imperfect, unattractive, and unreliable; and without doubt, if we are effective witnesses, it will be because of his power, not because he has used a flashy messenger. We should not be intimidated because we are weak and unobtrusive. That is why he chose us. 

God glories in using perceived weaknesses for his purpose.*

October 12, 2025

Luke 23: 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (NIV)

Rock bottom creates a solid foundation on which to rebuild a life.*

Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One hurled insults at him; the other dared to ask a really big favor. Was this a humble request from a man who believed that Jesus was more than just another criminal? Or, did he just have nothing to lose? He took no risks, made no sacrifices – no faith required. His life was not going to change. His death would be a relief – or maybe . . . just maybe Jesus offered hope to a hopeless man.

Where are you on the hope continuum? Do you have nothing to lose, making it a no-brainer to say “yes” to Jesus? Are you just hoping that Jesus has something to offer you that’s better than what you have now? Or does following him require you to step out in faith? Are you taking risks, making sacrifices, surrendering all to Jesus? Do you believe that it will all be worth it, not in a hopeful way but in a faithful way?

Someone has said, “This dying man could easily say, ‘I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.’”* Yes, literally he was crucified with Christ. But we are called to be crucified with Christ as well. It's not a call to physical death, but spiritually we no longer live because Christ lives in us. We have nothing else to lose.

Christian faith does not offer us a peaceful way to come to terms with death. No, it offers instead a way to overcome death.*

October 11, 2025

Matthew 5: 44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (NIV)

“When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives along with the command, the love itself.”*

It’s not so hard to say, “Love your enemies,” if you don’t have any enemies. How hard can it be to pray for those who persecute you if you’ve never been persecuted? But Jesus’ audience knew a thing or two about both. They had enemies who had committed atrocities against them. For the entirety of their existence as a nation, they had been persecuted just for being who they were. You can bet Jesus didn’t hear a chorus of amens or receive a standing ovation for his now-famous sermon. As Phillip Yancey wrote: “The Sermon on the Mount did not soothe them; it infuriated them.”*

We may not be stirred to indignation by being told to love our enemies but I’ll bet Jesus introduced some other radical ideas that day that make us uncomfortable. Don’t have any enemies? What about that person who falsely accuses you? Does your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees? Have you ever been angry with your brother or called someone a fool? Are you a worrier? Judgmental? Keep reading (Matthew 5-7) and you’re sure to see something that will make you squirm. Just because his message begins with phrases like, “Blessed are you . . .” doesn’t mean they are feel-good concepts.

Being blessed is not the same as feeling good – or happy, or getting what you want, or not having any problems. Blessed means God is for you, even if your enemies aren’t. Blessed means God will reward you even when your life is a misery. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 12)

Do the Beatitudes sound to me like good news or like a scolding?*

October 10, 2025

I Chronicles 13: 9, 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died before God. (NIV)

Preferring the comfort of his nearness, we have lost the reality of God’s transcendent holiness.*

I have always felt that Uzzah’s punishment was a bit harsh. He was just trying to be helpful, wasn’t he? Turns out, if the Ark of the Covenant had been handled properly, the incident never would have occurred. David, who was overseeing the project of returning the Ark back home to Jerusalem from where it had been abandoned by the Philistines, should have known that the Ark was to be carried – by Levites only – on poles, not by oxcart accompanied by non-Levites. Improper transport of the Ark was a violation of God’s commandment – but touching it was a violation with a penalty. As thrilled as the Israelites were to have the sign of God’s presence restored to them, their sloppiness revealed a lack of concern for God’s honor.*

According to jewishvirtuallibrary.org, the Ark was the only physical manifestation of God on earth. And that is true, it was – until Jesus was born. Jesus said that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father (John 14: 9). No longer do we have to settle for a symbol of God’s presence - through Jesus, and through his Holy Spirit, we now have God’s actual presence among us wherever we go – and his presence doesn’t have to be hauled around on poles by priests. Much more convenient!

But the method of transportation isn’t the only way that Jesus is an improvement over the Ark of the Covenant. As Phillip Yancey observes: “In the Old Testament, Israelites who touched the sacred Ark of the Covenant fell down dead; but people who touched Jesus, the Son of God in flesh, came away healed.”* When we come in contact with Jesus, not only do we not die, we live. 

God still may not be approached carelessly. Each person must examine his or her life, to be certain that God’s purity is not violated.*

October 9, 2025

Genesis 3: 8-13 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden . . . and they hid from the Lord . . . But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” . . . And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” . . . Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” (NIV)

Unconfessed sin creates a barrier in our relationship with the Lord.*

When God asks you a question, you better believe that he already knows the answer. So why does he ask Adam and Eve these four questions about their little fruit-eating incident? I believe he wanted to challenge them to do a little self-examination.

• Where are you? Do you really think you can hide from me?
• Who told you that you were naked? You know you have sinned. You can’t pretend ignorance.
• Have you eaten from the tree that I told you not to eat from? You have deliberately, defiantly disobeyed me.
• What is this you have done? Do you realize the consequences of your actions?

When we are guilty of deliberate disobedience, sometimes our conscience convicts us of our sin. Other times, our defiance blinds us to the gravity of our actions. It would be so much better to come out of hiding and face God. He knows what you’ve done. Do you?

The problem . . . is not sinning as such, but denying that we have sinned.*

October 8, 2025

Acts 2: 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)

How many Christians seem content with just “dipping a bit” into Jesus! God wants us to be fully immersed in Jesus; not sprinkled, not just a part of us dipped. When a person is immersed in water, you don’t even see the person much anymore - you mostly see the water. When we live as baptized into Christ, you don’t see so much of “me” anymore; you mostly see Jesus.*

Throughout the book of Acts, and elsewhere in the New Testament, we see the gift of the Holy Spirit being bestowed upon people in seemingly random manners. You can research it for yourself and see that of course none of them really was random. God had his reasons in every instance. But Peter’s Pentecost sermon seems to be the only place where we are given the steps necessary to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on demand: Repent, and be baptized.

Why do we need the Holy Spirit? According to Jesus, we need the Holy Spirit to fill Jesus' vacancy. Jesus was leaving the planet physically but he was not abandoning his children. “I will not leave you as orphans,” he said (John 14: 18). We may not fully understand it, but the Holy Spirit is Jesus. Jesus is God. God isn’t three separate entities – there are three separate entities that are God. Don’t overthink it!

The Holy Spirit has lots of duties to perform in the life of the obedient believer. He comforts, teaches, reminds, testifies, intercedes, directs, warns – to name a few. We can’t function as Spirit-filled Christians if we aren’t Spirit-filled. There are those who would argue that God is still in the business of randomly granting the gift of the Holy Spirit to believers but I would have to disagree. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, Peter said, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Don’t overthink it!

The Spirit is not in the fundamental nature of humans but is the supernatural gift of God, to be found in Christians only.*

October 7, 2025

Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

There is only one way for any of us to resolve the tension between the high ideals of the gospel and the grim reality of ourselves: to accept that we will never measure up, but that we do not have to.*

If someone gives you a nicely wrapped gift, what do you do with it? Do you leave it in the package because you know you don’t deserve it? What if you just remove the bow but leave the gift wrap? Is it a useful gift now? And what if you unwrap the gift and say “thank you” for it? Have you now earned that gift? And what good is the gift if you never use it, wear it, or display it?

According to Paul, we may have earned death but eternal life is a gift from God. But we can’t use it if we don’t open it. So how do we open the gift? There’s a handy little five-step plan that some people like to use: hear, believe, confess, repent, be baptized. Of course, there are people who object to parts of this plan, especially the “be baptized” step. They see baptism as “works” and we all know that we can’t work to earn our salvation. I contend that the other four steps are works that we perform, while baptism is something done to us. And not one – or all combined – of those steps makes us worthy of the gift. After completing all of the steps, we still haven’t earned eternal life. We have merely unwrapped the gift.

While each of these steps can be found in scripture as part of the “how to be saved” process, I haven’t found them all together in one place. In most cases, it’s because the persons addressed have already completed one or more of them. They have removed the bow from the package but need to be told to tear off the wrapping paper. You don’t have to tell someone to believe if they’re already a believer. In other instances, while we might not read of the person being told to perform all five steps, we find that later on they actually followed through.

Perhaps we should think of the salvation steps as less of a procedure and more of a natural progression. It’s not a matter of, “I believe, now what do I do?” It is more of an internal matter - a heart matter. If you have heard and truly absorbed the gospel message that you need Jesus, your heart will be compelled to come clean about your sinfulness. You will be sorry for your sins and will want to turn away from that old life. You will not object to the symbolic washing away of your sins, and it will become your life’s mission to walk in obedience to the one who saved you. You have unwrapped your gift and you are free to enjoy it. But you will never deserve it.

Focusing on the wonderful sacrificial death of Christ just naturally causes us to examine our own hearts, our sinfulness, our unworthiness, and our need for deeper commitment to the One who died for us.*

October 6, 2025

Matthew 19: 25 When the disciples heard this, they were astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (NIV)

Timeworn clichés are not enough. Stubborn opinions may be wrong. . . Truth is not determined by a majority vote.*

Jesus has just shattered the disciples’ long-held beliefs about who was worthy of heaven. If the rich man couldn’t earn his salvation, what hope was there for them? Jesus must have taken their breath away when he replied, “With man this is impossible.” And if we stopped reading there, we too should be breathless – and hopeless. But Jesus continued, “But with God all things are possible.”

Perhaps the disciples were too stunned to ask the next logical question: What do we have to do to be saved? The answer to that question might prove inconclusive if we: 1) have preconceived ideas; and, 2) take scripture out of context. So let’s start with some beliefs that we can all agree on:

· The only way to the Father is through Jesus. (John 14: 6) 

· There is no other name by which we can be saved. (Acts 4: 12) 

· Salvation is a gift, not payment for good behavior. (Romans 6: 23) 

· We are saved by grace, through faith, not by works. (Ephesians 2: 8, 9)

I grew up being taught the “Plan of Salvation” in five easy steps: Hear, believe, confess, repent, be baptized. But in my research, I don’t find any scripture that lists all five components together. Here are some samples of what the Bible says about how to be saved:

· Mark 16: 16 – believe and be baptized and you’ll be saved; don’t believe, you’re condemned. 

· Matthew 10: 22 and 24: 13; Mark 13: 13 – stand firm to the end and you’ll be saved. 

· Acts 2: 21 – everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 

· Acts 2: 38 – repent and be baptized for forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit. 

· Acts 16: 31 – believe and you will be saved. 

· Romans 10: 9-13 – confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved.

From this point on, you’re going to have to do some research of your own. Look up these passages (and any others that deal with the subject) and observe the context: Who was speaking/writing? Who was his audience? How much did the audience know about Jesus and salvation before the words were spoken/written? What did the listeners/readers do after they received the message? What should you do to be saved? (While you’re looking for answers, see if you can find anything that says that all you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart and you will be saved.) And I will venture to add one more step: seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and you will be saved – if you choose to obey what he reveals.

Salvation is not a one-time occurrence but a lifelong process.*

October 5, 2025

Mark 10: 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (NIV)

When Jesus came he was really man and really God.*

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was made human in every way (2: 17). The big-picture reason was so that he could make atonement for our sins, but, just a little less importantly, it was so that he could relate to us and we could relate to him. Nevertheless . . . his divinity made him unique, especially when it came to individual confrontations with people. He knew their hearts and their motives. What a challenge it must have been for him to answer the question that a person actually asked rather than to address the subtext behind the question.

So, this man flings himself at Jesus’ feet and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life. I suppose if this happened to me, I would start right in on the plan of salvation – but Jesus knew things that I wouldn’t. Number one: he knew the man was rich. Number two: Jesus knew the guy wasn’t going to do what he told him to do. So Jesus employs one of his standard tactics: answering a question with a question. I don’t know the motivation behind it – was it just a way to stall? Or to put the other person on the defensive? Or did he truly want the man to answer the question?

In the end, the man went away sad, but Jesus used the opportunity to teach his disciples something that we should all know: There is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. It is a gift from God, impossible to earn. But, Jesus told them, all things are possible with God. Eternal life is ours because Jesus became like us “in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2: 17). That’s what Jesus did so that we can inherit eternal life.

We have to realize that we cannot earn . . . anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it.*

October 4, 2025

Luke 7: 40-43 Jesus answered him, “. . . Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. (NIV)

Every heart is contaminated and capable of horrendous wickedness.*

I suppose, if someone was keeping score, they would find that I have less to be forgiven for than say, Ted Bundy, or Adolph Hitler, or a sex-trafficker. I am far from sinless but by society’s standards, well, I haven’t hurt anybody. So, according to this story, I just might not love the Father as much as the penitent child molester does.

But, do I detect a hint of irony in the parable? Because as I understand it, no one is keeping score. Everyone’s slate is wiped clean when we are washed in the blood. The score: 0-0. 

There is still one small problem that we forgiven souls have to deal with: a clean slate does not erase the memories of the bad things we’ve done. The person with the most sins to be forgiven has the most potential to carry around a burden of guilt and shame. I, on the other hand, with my squeaky-clean past, have the most potential to be self-righteous. And judgmental.

We tend to give weight to sins that cause the most mayhem in the world, but God might not use the same measure. What I do know about his standards is this: God looks on the heart. Once he takes a look at mine, it could turn out that I am that person who has been forgiven the most. Only he knows!

Anyone with a window into my heart would know that sometimes my purity was all about appearances.*