May 4, 2025

I Corinthians 6: 9-11 Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (NIV)

Contact with Jesus . . . changes the unclean to clean.*

Is your “signature sin” included on this list? If not, is it worse than, or not as bad as, these? Is Paul addressing an occasional sin or a sinful lifestyle? If you got drunk once, does that make you a drunkard? If you cheated once, does that make you a swindler?

Perhaps we don’t know enough about the gospel if we think any of those questions matter. As Paul proclaims in Romans 3: 23, all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We are sinners. But Paul wasn’t trying to compose an all-inclusive list of iniquities in this passage. It wasn’t his goal to shame his readers. He wanted to remind us of the very good news: Our condition has changed! All those bad things? That’s what we used to be.

Do we still sin? Yes, we do. But we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit. Every time we get our hands dirty, Jesus is there with the antibacterial soap to make us pure again. In the words of another writer, “When we are saved . . . we actually become forgiven persons and live in a state of forgiveness as long as our trust in Jesus remains alive.”*

If you don’t believe his blood is powerful enough to wash you clean, your trust in him is weak – perhaps even dead.

Is it possible that He would so love us as to die for us, give us His likeness, adopt us into His family, seat us in heavenly places, and do many other things then leave it up to us as to whether or not we remain in that position?*

May 3, 2025

Luke 7: 36-50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him . . . a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was . . . at the Pharisee’s house, . . . and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. . . Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (NIV)

When we give out the very things we so desperately need, we often find that what has been given away comes back to us a hundredfold.*

Jesus’ host was not very happy that Jesus was allowing this woman to create a scene. I find it amusing that though the Pharisee’s self-righteous, judgmental remarks were made to himself, Jesus answered him out loud. The Lord proceeds to deliver a lesson on choices and forgiveness, but we overlook the subtext in this passage: By his actions towards the woman, Jesus demonstrated that we can be generous by allowing others to give to us.* The woman at this dinner party wanted to do something for Jesus – and he allowed her to do it. She wanted to bless him but she went away blessed. 

Have you ever wanted to help someone but didn’t know what to do? How often have you said, “If there’s anything I can do, just let me know,” but no one ever let you know? It is hard to be the one who has to ask for help but there is grace in receiving as well as giving. 

When my friend was facing weeks of daily radiation treatments, she asked me to recruit and schedule volunteers to provide transportation for her. I was honored that she asked, and thrilled to be able to actually perform a useful service. She could have sat back and hoped that someone would see her need and fill it but she chose to be gracious in receiving.

Next time you need help, don’t expect your friends to be mind-readers. Be a blessing to them by allowing them to bless you!

If I had it to do all over again, I think I would have asked for help!*

May 2, 2025

Hebrews 11: 39 These were all commended for their faith . . . (NIV)

The faults of humans should not shake your faith in an Almighty God.*

Hebrews eleven is called The Faith Chapter. The people named in this chapter are considered to be members of the Faith Hall of Fame. The writer commends them for their faith and their faithfulness, and it seems that God was pleased with them for the same reasons. While we don’t know everything about these men (and one woman), what we do know about most of them is not all good. For instance: 

· Noah – got drunk and behaved shamefully 

· Abraham – a polygamist and a manipulator 

· Jacob – a cheater and a manipulator 

· Moses – a murderer 

· Rahab – a prostitute 

· Samson – physically strong but weak in character 

· David – adulterer and murderer 

We might be tempted to define these heroes by their worst moments, but they found favor with God because of their faith, not because they were perfect. They serve as reminders of what God sees when he looks at us. One writer expresses it beautifully: It’s wrong to idealize biblical characters or to excuse their faults. . . . But it is just as wrong to fail to recognize the fact that in forgiveness, God faces our sin, deals with it, and sends it to oblivion.*

At the end of our lives, it is our faith that defines us – not our sin.

Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior.*

May 1, 2025

Mark 5: 21-34 . . . a large crowd gathered around him . . . Then one of the synagogue rulers . . . fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come . . . so that she will be healed and live. Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman . . . who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. . . . came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak . . . Immediately her bleeding stopped. . . . Jesus . . . asked, “Who touched my clothes?” . . . Jesus kept looking . . . to see who had done it. . . . He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. . . .” (NIV) 

Interruptions are only divinely interjected opportunities.*

The very day that I wrote this, I experienced an interruption to my plans. Oh, it was nothing like the day Jesus had – he was on his way to do something important and he stopped to do something else important. I was determined to spend the afternoon at my desk, working on this project right here, when I got a call from the office manager at church. Could you come in and answer the phones while we go to staff meeting?  I could have said no. I don’t have any trouble saying no when it needs to be said. But God has been trying to teach me that people come before projects. So, I said yes, took my laptop with me, and got as much work done as if I had stayed home – while also answering the occasional phone call.

As I said, Jesus was on his way to do something important – save the life of a little girl. The woman who touched him – well, she didn’t really interrupt him; he healed her without even having to slow down. But because people are important, Jesus stopped to bless her with the personal touch that is the essence of who he is. And if we are going to be like him, we need to make it the essence of who we are as well.

It isn’t a program but a person that matters.*

April 30, 2025

Mark 3: 14 He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach. (NIV)

God wants our precious time, not our spare time.*

When Jesus called the 12 men who were to become his closest associates, he didn’t hand them an elaborate and intimidating syllabus, a reading list, and a schedule of quizzes, tests, and projects. He called them to be with him. Being with him was for his benefit as well as for theirs. While he was preparing them for their future ministry, they were providing companionship for him. As God, Jesus was purposeful and driven; as a man, he craved moral support from his friends. 

God, too, hungers for human company. I was reminded of this once while I was out for my (sort-of) daily two-mile walk. On this particular morning, it occurred to me that I was wasting 30 minutes a day in random trains of thought to nowhere when I could be praying. So, I began trying to remember all the names on my prayer list as I struggled to formulate coherent requests on their behalf. Not surprisingly, I found it difficult to concentrate and walk at the same time. Then, very clearly, I heard the Lord speak. “Just be with me,” he said. My daily walk has now become a spiritual discipline of awareness of God’s presence. 

God doesn’t need our companionship but he desires it. And being with him is as important a part of our spiritual walk as any of the busyness of serving him. If you think you don’t have time to stop and just be with him, that’s when you most need to stop and be with him.

Service for the Lord is important but it must not keep us from spending time alone with Him.*

April 29, 2025

Hebrews 12: 1 “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles . . .” (NIV)

Every day you live in Christ and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit should see a growing resemblance between your life and Christ.*

I have to confess a silly thing that I do: When I pack before going on a trip by air, I am very conscious of the weight that’s accumulating in my suitcase because when I check my bag, I don't want to find out I have exceeded the 50-pound limit. Now here’s the silly part: once I reach my destination, every time I use my toothpaste or shampoo or lotion, I think, “My suitcase is going to be that much lighter on the return trip.” I’m pretty sure, though, that I have never used enough of my personal products to make a difference in the weight of my luggage!

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to toss away anything that holds us back spiritually, but sometimes my spiritual baggage is shed in tiny little increments rather than all at once. Unlike my suitcase though, my load gradually gets noticeably lighter as I learn more about God’s word and his plan for my life and as I grow closer to him.

What is hindering you? What sin are you entangled with? Are you burdened with guilt? Are you a worrier? Do you feel inadequate because you don’t know the Bible as well as you should? Are you lonely, afraid, or struggling financially? Perhaps you can’t throw it all aside and take off running. Perhaps like me, you will have to spend time in Bible study and prayer and fellowship with people who have “been there,” losing those encumbrances one dab of lotion at a time. You might not notice the difference today, but one dab of lotion at a time will eventually empty the bottle!

God didn’t form us to arrive on the scene perfectly settled and secure. He left space inside us to yearn and reach out – to one another and to him. He gave us room in our souls to grow together.*

April 28, 2025

Matthew 5: 3-12 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, . . . those who mourn, . . . the meek, . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. . . . Blessed are the merciful, . . . the pure in heart, . . . the peacemakers, . . . those who are persecuted because of righteousness . . . Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven . . .” (NIV)

Men can choose what to set their hearts on.*

Jesus saw the crowds and went up on the mountainside and sat down. Matthew doesn’t tell us that Jesus went up there to escape the crowds, but if that was his plan, it didn’t work. His disciples came to him so Jesus began to teach them. What follows is the famous Sermon on the Mount – which probably should have been called something like Life Lessons on the Mountain, or the Mountainside Seminar. 

The opening segment of Jesus’ lecture, the Beatitudes, has been described as “a step-by- step description of how God rebuilds the believer’s heart.”* While I believe in the heart-changing capacity of the message, I don’t see it as a step-by-step procedure. That would mean that we all must start at “poor in spirit” and work our way up to being insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused. And what if we missed a step? We don’t all grow and develop at the same rate and in the same order. 

On the mountainside, Jesus introduced radical new attitudes towards things that happen to us – things that are beyond our control – and challenged us to adopt personal traits that are not valued by the rest of society. He did not say, “Here is a better way to act.” He said, “Here is a better way to be.” He promised rewards for those who embrace this drastic new lifestyle – but those rewards do not meet the world’s standards of value, nor do they satisfy our craving for instant gratification. “Great is your reward in heaven,” is something to look forward to, not something we can enjoy today. 

So why implement these life-changing, heart-altering attitudes? Because we are the light of the world (verse 14), and shining our light before others may lead them to praise our Father in heaven (verse 16). That’s who we are and what we do!

It should ever be the end of the Christian man, not only to promote the glory of God by his works, but to illustrate the glory of God in his character.*