August 4, 2025

Luke 1: 30-33 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (NIV)

In order to have peace in the present, we must have confidence in the future.*

This angel could have begun his monologue with, “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. Which do you want first?” So, for the bad news, Mary: “You are going to be an unwed mother.” Under normal circumstances, he might as well have said, “Your life is ruined.” But these were not normal circumstances – and that was the good news. This baby – unplanned and hard to explain – was going to make it up to her by saving the world.

My pregnancy was not announced to me by an angel, and I was married, but it still was not the best news I had ever received. I was never very good with kids and my marriage was dysfunctional. Then I found out I was having twins . . . The months of my pregnancy and the first year of my boys’ lives were full of some very dark days and nights, but God never left me to face them alone. Not once did I doubt his presence. Never did I wonder if it was going to be worth it because being chosen to be Jake and Will’s mom was the best thing that has ever happened to me.

My bad news/good news scenario, like Mary’s, was typical of how God works in our lives. In order to reap the blessings in the future, we must endure the trials of the present. Are you in the midst of a crisis? Is your life ruined? Hang on to God’s promises; cling to his presence as his will for your life unfolds. It will be worth it – for eternity. Just ask Mary!

May we see Him in our circumstances. Then others will see Him in our lives.*

August 3, 2025

Malachi 3: 10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse . . .” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (NIV)

How can God say no to something He has promised?*

On the game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” the contestants choose Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3, in hopes of winning a big prize – a new car, a luxury vacation, lots of cash. Pick the wrong door and they win something of lesser – or no – value. Tithing is like a modified version of the show. Instead of three doors, there’s only one. Instead of prizes of little value, you are guaranteed to win something of great worth. The only risk is that you don’t know exactly what that prize will be.

Are we so afraid of the unknown that we aren’t willing to choose the one and only door behind which the prize is hidden? If God has promised to “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won’t have room enough for it,” why would anyone not get out their checkbook and start tithing? There’s room for a little mystery when it comes to God’s blessings. Pick Door #Only and be prepared for a big surprise.

Christians who tithe demonstrate their trust in God to provide for their needs . . ., believing that 90 percent of their income with God’s blessing is greater than 100 percent without it.*

August 2, 2025

Matthew 11: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (NIV)

Strange paradox! that a man already weary and overloaded must take a new weight upon him, in order to be eased and find rest!*

Jesus’ words often require us to abandon our common sense and learn to look at things in an uncommon way. Here he begins by lulling us with his talk of rest for the weary – but in his very next breath, he says, “Take my yoke upon you . . .” (verse 29) That doesn’t sound restful! Perhaps we don’t quite understand what Jesus means by “rest.” As Oswald Chambers wrote: “He is not saying, ‘I will put you to bed, hold your hand, and sing you to sleep.’”*

As we continue to read in verses 29 and 30, we see that Jesus defines his rest a little more precisely – “you will find rest for your souls,” he says. He’s not talking about a 15-minute break every morning and afternoon. The rest that Jesus promises is something we can experience even as we continue our work. We might look at the pleasures the world has to offer and think that it’s a better deal, but when we put on his yoke – when he becomes our master – we learn that his yoke – his job requirements – are easy, and his burden is light. Because he shares our load and carries our cross.

It may not be a power nap, but Jesus’ rest is refreshing and invigorating – from the inside out.

Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances . . . but on your relationship to God.*

August 1, 2025

I Chronicles 28: 9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.” (NIV)

It is possible for us to do the right action from a wrong motive, but this does not please God.*

I do it. So do you. We do the right thing but with a stinking attitude. Maybe we’re sly enough that no one would guess that our heart is not in the task. My words of wisdom: Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.

But now, listen to David’s words to his son Solomon – who went on to become world-famous for his wisdom. David provides his son - and us - with the how and the why of engaging our heart and mind in our service to the Lord. You want to serve with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind? Acknowledge God. Remind yourself that he is the reason you want to make the right choices. It is our love for him that compels us to serve others, go the extra mile, do the boring stuff.

Acknowledge God because . . . the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. He knows how you struggle to do the right thing with the right attitude. Acknowledge him as Lord of your heart. Confess your bad attitude and surrender it to him.

As I said before, doing the right thing is always the right thing to do – but how much better it is to take David’s advice. Serving God with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind is not duty. It is joy.

If service is done with any degree of reticence or halfheartedness, it will be a chore instead of a joy.*

July 31, 2025

Jonah 1: 15, 17 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard . . . But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah . . . (NIV)

The trouble with running away is that you must always take yourself with you.*

A few years after graduating from Bible college, I met up with a young man from my class who was just beginning his first preaching ministry. He didn’t go into detail, but I gathered that since graduation he had been running from God. He said something along the lines of: you’ll never be happy until you’re doing what God wants you to. He seemed relieved that he finally had God off his back!

Of course, this is not true of everyone – because not everyone cares about God’s will for their lives. Did Jonah care? I think he did – that’s why he ran. Could God have found someone else to preach to Nineveh? Surely. But he wanted Jonah to do it so he pursued Jonah until Jonah made the right choice. We don’t know how many chances he might have given Jonah – or what he might have arranged if the fish thing didn’t work out – but I don’t believe Jonah was running from God so much as he was running from what God wanted him to do.

Aren’t we like that? We tell God that we will do what he wants us to do and go where he wants us to go – and then we give him a list of acceptable assignments. Like Jonah, we don’t trust God. We don’t trust him to have our best interests at heart. We don’t trust him to equip us for the job. We don’t trust him to keep his promise that he will never forsake us.

Are you running from God’s will for your life? Are you stubbornly refusing to acknowledge a change you need to make or a purpose he wants you to fulfill? Your wake-up call probably won’t come in the form of a big fish but it would be wise to stop running now before you have to find out!

Don’t go to God with options and expect him to choose one of your preferences.*

July 30, 2025

Luke 5: 5  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (NIV)

True faith is actively obedient.*

I am not a fisherman . . . fisherwoman . . . whatever. I once spent hours (or maybe time just stood still) on the banks of a canal, trying to catch fish. I was using the same kind of equipment and bait as the family next to me and they were catching fish. Just a few feet away from them stood I, catching nothing. If Jesus had come along and said, “Get your pole and your bait and go around to the other side of that fisherfamily,” what would I have said? What would I have done?

We aren’t told if Peter obeyed Jesus just to humor him or out of his faith in Jesus’ power over fish. What we do know is this: Peter did what Jesus told him to because Jesus told him to. Did it make sense? It doesn’t to me and I doubt if it did to Peter. But Peter demonstrated the kind of faith we should all be looking to grow into. It was all well and good for Peter to declare, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (Matthew 16: 16) but throwing his nets over the other side of the boat proved his faith in Jesus as Lord in a way that a good confession never could.

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Good. Blessed are you because this wasn’t revealed to you by man, but by the Father in heaven. But better: prove it. Do what he says because he says so, even if it doesn’t make sense. 

Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all.*

July 29, 2025

Revelation 2: 10 Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (NIV)

Being faithful to God often comes at considerable cost.*

How long will you pursue a goal? Four years of college for a degree? More for a masters or a doctorate? How about working your way up the ladder at your job – how long before you give up on that promotion? Found the girl of your dreams but turns out you’re not in her dreams? When is it time to move on? We all have different thresholds for crossing over from hope to hopelessness. No one else can tell you when you’ve had enough.

When it comes to attaining the crown of life, are you ready to be faithful until death? Actually, in this message delivered to the church in Smyrna, John is referring not so much to faithfulness over a long period of time as he is to keeping the faith even under the direst of circumstances. In the earlier part of this verse, he warns of suffering to come, thanks to Satan’s efforts. In the case of the Smyrniots (I had to do some research to find that word!), the predicted suffering was inevitable. For us, it is a possibility. We might not have to suffer to the point of death in the cause of Christ because the devil has other weapons in his arsenal. The good life can be as much a challenge to our faithfulness as persecution. As James reminds us, we are dragged away and enticed by our own evil desire (James 1: 14).

So, are you goal-oriented? Will you be faithful until you die? Can you be faithful when it is a matter of life and death? How strong is your faith in the face of hardship? Inconvenience? Is the crown of life worth it to you?

Be faithful today and then do it again tomorrow.*