October 14, 2025

Psalm 42: 11 Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (NIV)

True hope goes beyond wanting God to change things according to our preferences.*

When bad things happen, it’s normal to be sad. You can tell yourself that things will get better – and usually they do. But sometimes they don’t. And nothing is more depressing than hopelessness. In this verse, the psalmist offers a cure for depression: put your hope in God. What is he hoping that God will do? Fix his problems? There’s no promise of that. Turn his sadness into praise? Yes. How can that be? Isn’t it unreasonable to expect that we should be able to praise God even in our darkest hour? Not if we put our hope in him as Savior and God.

Seven years ago, my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It was inoperable, chemotherapy didn’t work, and immunotherapy didn't seem to slow down the growth of the cancer that had spread to his liver. One year in, his oncologist was surprised that my husband was still alive, he was puzzled as to why he was not in pain, and he was astonished by our reaction every time he delivered more bad news. Yes, we wanted healing – for the cancer to go away. I wanted my husband to be healthy and able to enjoy our grandchildren, to be active in church and the community again, and to be able to travel like we used to. Instead, he died two years after being told he would only live six to twelve months. 

But we hoped in the Lord. It was more than hope for good health. It was hope that God had a plan, that we could bring him glory through our troubles, that we would be able to stand before the throne of God and know that it was worth it.  This hope is not wishful thinking.

It may be a mystery to those who place their hope in riches or medicine or wishes, but I claim the promise that Paul wrote about in Philippians chapter four: the peace of God which transcends all understanding. That is how my hope turns into praise.

In every case, suffering offers an opportunity for us to display God’s work.*

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.*