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Clarity!

November 6, 2023 by areliablefaith

Thus far I have experienced many more positives from a cancer diagnosis than negatives.  I am feeling fine… okay at 63 I am feeling fine for being 63, but I have no real complaints.  The rallying of family and friends has been inspiring.  The peace which I know to be from the LORD even as we sit in this “bad news, but how bad” phase is simply amazing.  I am experiencing the “peace that passes understanding” that the apostle Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7 and it is wonderful.  But this morning I want to dwell on an aspect of blessing that is perhaps the most edifying, and that is clarity.

Today I am seeing and understanding my life’s purpose in high definition.  The LORD wants me to live in such deep friendship with Him that the joy, peace, and love that He has for me (and for you) spills over.  God has called me to love with His love.  The time I have left, whether it be 3 months or 30 years, is to be spent immersed in this experience of loving God with all my heart, soul, and strength and loving my neighbor as myself.

This past summer as I was sweating it out at the beach lugging way too much stuff from the beach back to our condo, I was pretty uncomfortable.  To battle my discomfort (and maybe a little frustration from lugging too much stuff) I was focusing upon ”reflecting” God’s love.  The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “I want you to radiate my love.”  What?  Not reflect?  As I let that sink in, I realized I was trying to put on a smile.  I was trying to think kinder thoughts even in the midst of frustration.  I was thinking about “doing” the right things to be nice even though I felt anything but nice. 

As I examined the difference between reflecting and radiating I realized in my instance it was the difference between doing and being.  If we consider the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), we get a picture of doing and being.  Martha was busy doing all the things necessary for everyone to be fed and cared for in her home as Jesus was teaching.  Mary was busy sitting at Jesus’ feet listening and learning.  She put the priority on being in Jesus’ presence before doing other things.

Now this is not an indictment of Martha, but it is making the distinction in priorities.  When my life’s priority is to draw close to Jesus, then the remainder of my life falls into place.  This is a daily thing.  This is a moment-by-moment thing.  As I spend focused time on Jesus, the Holy Spirit works this on-going transformation in me that brings about those characteristics that God has purposed for me.  I don’t have to work up the smile.  It just comes without effort.  I don’t have to work so hard to ignore the rude person, but kindness seeps to the surface of my thoughts.  I don’t have to try to be loving.  Love radiates out of me.

These outward manifestations come supernaturally, naturally.  God’s inner working in my soul is making changes in me such that the Holy Spirit has ever increasing sway on how I think and act.  It is less of God’s goodness shining on me and bouncing off and more of God’s goodness doing something miraculous in me that causes His goodness to radiate out of me. 

As I sit on this plane heading across the country, I think back to the mature believers who demonstrated this in my life.  I think of Sandy and Steve, a couple with three young children who took a 23-year-old new believer under their wings and nurtured him.  I think of Larry who encouraged me to go to this retreat and prayed for me to experience God in a deeper way.  I surrendered my life completely to Jesus that weekend.  There are John and Angelique who discipled me in the school of prayer for years as we met in the Prayer Tower in our small town in Tennessee.  I think of my beloved Lisa who put up with (and still puts up with) the person in the process of becoming who God created me to be.  These people and so many more demonstrated God’s love and care in marvelous ways.  And there is my faith community of today – dozens of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who, like me, are in the process of becoming all God has created them to be.

I hope you will join me in this journey.  I believe in God’s sovereignty; therefore, He knows about this cancer battle and has allowed it for His good purpose.  That first wakeful night I felt the Lord give me a few “To Do’s”.  One was to journal this journey in a totally transparent manner and share it with others.  It is my earnest prayer that God meets you where you are and provides exactly what you need – whether it be encouragement, guidance, or perhaps even the first step in your journey of discovery with Him.

Until next time, be blessed my friend and be a blessing!

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Trials | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

Bridges, Dead Ends, and a Woman Worth the Trip

October 19, 2026 by areliablefaith

Matthew 15 and Mark 7

Today we see a familiar theme, along with a story that often confused me before I became a student of the Bible. Let’s dive in and see what Jesus has to teach us.

The familiar theme is Jesus confronting the hypocrisy and religiosity of the Jewish leaders. We also see two different long-distance trips in today’s passages. The first is the religious leaders traveling all the way from Jerusalem to chastise Jesus because His followers weren’t keeping their traditions. The text doesn’t tell us, but I wonder whether they came on a fact-finding mission to “check out this new teacher,” or whether they came specifically to get Jesus and His growing following to behave and follow their rules. Either way, what they got was not what they hoped for. Instead, Jesus clearly articulated God’s perspective on man-made religious rules being wedged between God and man.

Jesus came as the ultimate bridge between fallen humanity and God. Even as He taught about the Kingdom of God (also called the Kingdom of Heaven), He was setting the stage for His own sacrifice, the means by which every person could be made right with God. The religious leaders were building a path that ultimately led to a dead end. There might be some self-satisfaction in following all the rules, but the sin debt we all owe could only be satisfied by a sacrifice… a sacrifice Jesus would soon accomplish.

I want to circle back for a moment to the trip these leaders made. The 80 or so miles from Jerusalem to Galilee was not the simple hour-and-a-half drive we might make today. It was a multi-day journey through areas known for bandits and other ne’er-do-wells, and traveling as a group may have been partly for safety. This mattered to them. Their reputation seemed to be at stake. They were likely also worried about stirring up the Romans. In John, which we read yesterday, a populist movement was already forming that wanted to make Jesus, the powerful, miracle-working rabbi, into the military messiah they had been hoping for.

But Jesus was having none of it, neither from the crowds who wanted to make Him an earthly king nor from the religious leaders who wanted Him to conform to their rule book. What He did do was speak clearly to the leaders, then to the people, and then in more detail to His disciples about the Kingdom of God. And then He set out on a multi-day journey of His own.

The story of the Syrophoenician woman always struck me as a little odd. But learning the context, and especially digging into the meaning of the original words, turned odd into beautiful. Here’s what changed and why it matters.

First, notice the similarity, and then the contrast, between the two trips. The religious leaders were likely already irritated at this rogue teacher upstaging them before they ever arrived. They came to correct, and possibly rebuke, Jesus. They left chastised and rebuked themselves. It was NOT a pleasant experience for them. Jesus then promptly left the Jewish region of Galilee and headed north into Gentile territory.

During this period of His ministry, the text frequently mentions Jesus teaching crowds and healing. We don’t see that here. We read about only one encounter: a Gentile woman begging Jesus to deliver her daughter. Jesus traveled into Gentile territory, a place “proper” Jews avoided at all costs, and He engaged with someone who was 1) a Gentile, 2) a woman, and 3) pushy enough to break past the disciples’ protective wall. That sounds like three strikes against her. But Jesus engaged her anyway.

Now comes the part that always made me uncomfortable. He refers to her as a dog. Wow. That seems out of character for the Jesus I know from the rest of the Gospels. The religious leaders wouldn’t have engaged her at all, but where’s the compassionate Jesus? This is where understanding the original language matters. The word Jesus uses refers to a little dog, a household pet, the kind of beloved puppy that lives under the family table. It is NOT the harsh insult it can sound like in English. And don’t forget, Jesus knew exactly what He was going to do. It is very likely that this woman was THE reason Jesus marched His disciples into foreign territory so far from home. This exchange, and the deliverance He gave, had to be critically important, or the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have prompted both Matthew and Mark to record it.

When I read this story and noticed that Jesus promptly left the area, I couldn’t help but think of the demoniac on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus delivered that man and then promptly turned around and headed back to Jewish territory. All the Old Testament prophecies pointed to a Jewish Messiah who would set His people free. In a few places we see that promise expanded to the Gentiles, but the primary audience was the Jews. And that’s exactly what Jesus did. His initial outreach was in Israel, but He also “seeded” His message into the lives of Gentiles, in at least these two places, through deliverance and healing. I can just picture this woman telling her friends about her encounter with Jesus as she points to her now healthy, whole daughter.

Today I am struck by how good the LORD is to reach out to us, no matter how far we might stray. He walks near enough to respond the moment we decide to seek Him. After the resurrection, we’ll see this intimacy with God go to a whole new level, as the Father places His Holy Spirit within each person who repents and surrenders their life to Him. But even before that, He is near… He pursues… He loves… and He gives us every opportunity to turn and become His child. That is a beautiful truth to rest in.

Where in your life might God be making a long trip just to meet you?

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, God, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Priorities, Salvation, Service, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Feed Me Now, or Feed Me Forever

October 18, 2026 by areliablefaith

Reading: John 6

The feeding of the 5,000, plus women and children, is one of the few events recorded in all four Gospels. Yesterday we read about it in the Synoptics. Today John tells the same story and adds a few details of his own. He mentions the boy who brought what he had: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (John 6:9). He also tells us the crowd was so stirred that Jesus had to slip away because “they were about to come and take him by force to make him king” (John 6:15).

Where John really slows down, though, is the day after.

The Crowd Comes Back Hungry

The people Jesus fed look around for Him the next morning. When they realize He has crossed the lake, they follow, and many more from the surrounding area probably join them. They don’t come to worship. They come asking for more: another sign, another miracle, another meal. “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?” (John 6:30).

Jesus sees right through it:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” (John 6:26–27)

This was the point that stayed with me today. The crowd was focused on the temporary, on what lasts only a moment. It might be bread. It might be deliverance from Roman occupation. Either way, it was temporary. Jesus wanted them to look past it to what is eternal, to what truly matters most.

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

When He says, “the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51), He is pointing ahead to the cross. We’ll see that come into focus in His final week, when He takes the Passover meal and turns it into what we know as the Lord’s Supper. For today, though, the issue is the clash between two prayers: feed me now and feed me for eternity.

God’s Timing

I read John 6 first thing this morning. Since it’s Sunday, I didn’t have time to write before church. Looking back, I think that was God’s timing.

After the service a good friend came up to me. Over the last few years I’ve watched his faith grow tremendously. He has asked hard questions and worked through them, and he has held on through difficult seasons.

Today I could see something heavy on him. When it was just the two of us, he told me his wife has just received a very serious diagnosis.

That news has shaken him to his core. I hurt with him. When I think about losing my wife, or one of our children, or someone close to us, I feel the grief starting already.

And yet on this side there is always hope. In His day Jesus did provide the temporary: the bread, the fish, the healing. Even more, He provides the eternal. My friend and his wife know Jesus. Will this be a trial? Yes. Will God heal her on this side? I hope and pray that she gets more time. But even if the Lord chooses not to heal her here, there is an eternity, and it is glorious, waiting beyond the door we call death, in the larger life.

Into the Water

Something else came to me as I prayed for my friend in the hour and a half after I got home.

Not long ago I watched his wife step into the waters of baptism. It wasn’t planned. The Holy Spirit simply moved her, and she came forward just as she was and said yes to Jesus all over again.

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

She went down into the water, into death to self and burial with Christ, and came up joined to His resurrection, shouting hallelujah. It was a glorious thing to see how excited she was.

“But If Not”

When that picture came back to me this afternoon, I immediately thought of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar ordered them to bow to his golden statue. They refused and were sentenced to the fiery furnace. Their answer has stayed with me for years:

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17–18)

That is where my friend and his wife stand. She went under the water and came up again, and her life is now “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Whatever comes her way, whether temptation, hardship, or, as now, a very serious illness, she will love and serve Jesus with everything in her for as long as she has.

My friend will hold on to Jesus too. He will put his trust in Him, and he’ll probably cry in Jesus’ arms more than once. In the end, though, the eternal far outshines the temporary, and that includes this earthly life itself.

“For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Invited Into the Eternal

The invitation is open to all of us. We can put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. We can be born again, as Jesus describes in John 3. “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). The eternal is what we were made for.

For reflection: What “bread that perishes” have you been asking God for lately? What would it look like this week to seek Him for the bread that endures?

Please also join me in praying for my friend and his wife.

Be blessed, my friends, and have a blessed day.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Posted in Bible Study, Church, God, healing, heaven, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Prayers, The Father, Trials, Vision | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Eyes Above the Waves

October 17, 2026 by areliablefaith

Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9

Reading today’s Gospel passages, I felt almost tired. The action is relentless, and the emotional weight comes early. John the Baptist, guilty of nothing but speaking truth to power, loses his life to a scheme hatched by Herodias and carried out through her daughter (Mark 6:17–29).

When Jesus hears the news, Matthew tells us he withdrew by boat to a desolate place by himself (Matthew 14:13). John wasn’t only his cousin. He was the forerunner who prepared the ground for Jesus’ ministry. I’m sure Jesus went to grieve and to be alone with the Father. But he didn’t get that, at least not at first. The crowds saw where he was going and followed him on foot. And when Jesus saw them, he had compassion on them (Matthew 14:14). Grieving, tired, and interrupted, he served anyway. That’s the servant leadership he still calls us to, and 2,000 years later it’s still rare.

The disciples were grieving too

I want to look at the disciples for a moment, because they had also heard the news. John was part of their story. At least a couple of them had followed John before they followed Jesus (John 1:35–40). John and Jesus preached the same message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The handoff from John to Jesus was one of preparation and arrival, but I don’t think that was clear to them yet. Most still pictured a Messiah who would throw off the yoke of Rome. They didn’t yet see that the yoke Jesus came to break was sin, and the debt we owe for our failure to obey God, or that Jesus himself would take the death sentence in our place. What they did know was that John was dead.

And here’s something I hadn’t noticed before. This all happens right after the disciples return from the mission Jesus had sent them on, with authority to proclaim the kingdom and to heal (Mark 6:7–13, 30; Luke 9:1–10). They had seen God’s power at work through them. It must have been exhilarating. They were also exhausted. Jesus had even said, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Then the crowd showed up.

“You give them something to eat”

The teaching lasted all day. The people were hungry and had a long way home. When the disciples suggested sending them away, Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37). They were flustered. Where would they find food, even if they had the money?

The answer was a boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish (John 6:9). It fed 5,000 men, and with women and children, the crowd could easily have been 15,000. This is one of the few miracles recorded in all four Gospels.

Notice what the disciples’ responsibility turned out to be. They didn’t have to produce the food. They had to take what Jesus gave them and put it into the hands of the people. That’s servant leadership too. Fresh off a successful mission, they were still shocked by the scale of what Jesus asked. And he showed them that no need is too big for the power of God.

Headwinds on the lake

Then comes one of my favorite stories in the Bible. Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him across the lake, while he finally goes up the mountain alone to pray (Matthew 14:22–23).

I’ve been to Israel and stood on Mount Arbel, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. From the top you can see the whole lake. Just below it, a valley pass opens toward the Mediterranean, and the wind can funnel through it and whip up that part of the water. It was easy for me to picture Jesus on a mountain on a breezy, moonlit night, looking down and seeing the disciples straining at the oars against the wind (Mark 6:48).

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew they’d be rowing into headwinds, and that in their own strength they wouldn’t make it. He sent them anyway. Then, in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea.

They thought he was a ghost. Maybe that fear was tied to hearing that John had just been killed. They were terrified, and they were spent. They’d come back from a big mission, wanted rest, ministered all day to thousands, watched Jesus feed them, and were now paddling through the night and getting nowhere. And then someone was walking on the water. Jesus said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27).

Peter, and me

Then Peter, only in Matthew’s account, asks Jesus to call him out onto the water. Jesus says, “Come.” As long as Peter keeps his eyes on Jesus, he walks on the water too. But when he sees the wind, he becomes afraid, begins to sink, and cries out, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:28–30). Jesus immediately reaches out and catches him.

Oh my goodness, do I recognize this in my own life. When trials and challenges come, or when too many things crowd in and I look at the things instead of the person of Jesus, that’s when I sink. That’s when my emotions run amok. That’s when I’m less loving to my wife, less thoughtful toward my children, and less kind to the people I meet.

But when I keep my eyes on Jesus, follow what he did and what he said, and let the Holy Spirit help me not just with the task but with my focus, the water isn’t what drowns me. That’s when I’m walking above the waves. That’s when I’m rowing into the wind and actually making headway. That’s when I’m living the servant life Jesus called me to.

And before we know it, the Lord gives us the opportunity to lead others into a relationship with him, into discipleship, and into faithful action of their own. Not because we’re strong rowers, but because we keep our eyes on Jesus, follow him, and let our lives be used as his servants.

A question to carry with you today: What wind or wave has your attention right now, and what would it look like to lift your eyes back to Jesus in the middle of it?

Have a blessed day.

Posted in Beautiful Places, Bible Study, God, God Stories, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Priorities, Responsibility, Service, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Trials, Vision, worldview, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Sent From the Feet of Jesus

October 16, 2026 by areliablefaith

Matthew 10

Today’s Gospel reading in Matthew is about Jesus setting apart the twelve. They began as disciples, and in this chapter he sends them out as apostles.

A disciple is a learner, a follower of a rabbi. In his day Jesus was seen as a rabbi, and he had a lot of followers. Estimates are that around 100 to 120 people regularly traveled with him, and the number would swell as he came into different towns. At times like the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain, crowds of many thousands gathered to hear him. Within that larger group were the disciples who followed him closely, and within them were the twelve, the men he chose as his closest followers.

In Matthew 10, Jesus sends those twelve out. “He called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1). They were to carry his message: “Proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay” (10:7–8). Jesus had the authority to give his power to his followers so they could carry out his work.

If a disciple is a learner, an apostle is one who is sent on a mission. Most of this chapter is about what would happen as these men went out: the power they would walk in and the very different responses they would get. Some of Jesus’ warnings are stern. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (10:16). Jesus is honest about how hard it is to be his disciple and to be sent out with his message. He knows it won’t always be well received.

He also gives a very clear instruction: we are not to worry when we are sent on mission in God’s power. “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (10:19–20). Yes, people may have some power over our lives, but God is in control. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father… Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (10:29, 31). He guides our steps and our words. He is the one who heals, delivers, and works miracles. Our role is to take what we have learned as disciples and carry it wherever he sends us.

I love how Paul says that Christ gave leaders to the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). Every Jesus follower is sent on mission. For some, the mission field is mostly the home. A homemaker homeschooling her children and serving on the neighborhood association is on mission. Others are sent far away, like my friends LJ and Danee, who are now in Kenya running an orphanage with some 200 children, many of them rescued from desperate situations.

I’ve had many opportunities to share the love of Jesus with people and to pray with them. What I see now is that my own experiences are part of how God has equipped me. There were times God was with me in hardship, times he rescued me from very difficult situations, and times he simply poured out his Spirit and gave me a reason to laugh. When I share those stories and acknowledge that God was behind them, that is ministry.

When we are placed in a hostile situation and questioned about our faith, telling who Jesus is and what he has done in our lives is the powerful witness God has given us. We may suffer in this life, but eternal life is bigger, greater, and grander. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Whatever we may suffer for being faithful and proclaiming the gospel is nothing compared to what God has in store for “those who love God… who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

So here is what I’m taking from today: all believers are called to be disciples. We sit at Jesus’ feet, read his Word, and let it speak to our hearts. We let it read us. Then, as God gives us opportunities, we recognize that we are on the mission field everywhere we go, carrying his message, his power through prayer, and his life and light.

Where has God already sent you? Who in your everyday path needs to hear what Jesus has done in your life?

Be blessed today.

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Today’s reading was Matthew 10, where Jesus takes the twelve who had been following him as disciples and sends them out as apostles. A disciple is a learner and follower of a rabbi. An apostle is one who is sent on a mission.

Jesus “gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction” (Matthew 10:1). He sent them to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. He had the authority to give his power to his followers.

He was also honest with them. “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (10:16). The message would not always be welcome. But he told them not to be anxious about what to say, “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (10:20). People may have some power over our lives, but God is in control. Not even a sparrow falls apart from our Father.

Paul says leaders were given “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). Every follower of Jesus is sent. For some the mission field is the home and the neighborhood. For my friends LJ and Danny, it’s an orphanage in Kenya caring for some 200 children. For me, it’s often sharing how God has been with me in hard times, rescued me, or simply given me a reason to laugh.

We may suffer in this life for being faithful, but those sufferings “are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

So sit at Jesus’ feet. Let his Word read you. Then recognize you’re on the mission field everywhere you go.

Where has God already sent you? Who in your everyday path needs to hear what Jesus has done in your life?

Be blessed today.

GroupMe

Today’s reading was Matthew 10. Jesus took the twelve who had been following him as disciples, which means learners, and sent them out as apostles, which means ones sent on a mission. He gave them his authority to heal and cast out demons, and he sent them to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Jesus was honest that it would be hard: “I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves” (10:16). But he told them not to worry about what to say, because the Spirit of the Father would speak through them. God is in control, and not even a sparrow falls apart from him.

Every believer is sent. Your mission field might be your home and neighborhood, or it might be an orphanage in Kenya like my friends LJ and Danny. Whatever we suffer for being faithful isn’t worth comparing to the glory ahead (Romans 8:18).

Sit at Jesus’ feet, let his Word read you, and remember you’re on mission everywhere you go. Where has God already sent you? Be blessed today.

Posted in Bible Study, God, healing, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Mission to Kenya, Orphans, Responsibility, Service, The Father, Trials, Vision, worldview, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Who Said, “Let’s Get in the Boat”? Mark 4–5

October 15, 2026 by areliablefaith

Today’s reading is Mark 4 and 5. First, a quick review of who wrote the four Gospels. Matthew and John were two of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector until he met Jesus and his life was turned upside down. John was probably the youngest disciple and was the brother of James. Luke was a physician turned historian, a Gentile convert, and a travel companion of Paul. Mark was most likely John Mark, a disciple of Peter. When I read Mark, I picture an older, wiser Peter preaching to the crowds while Mark takes notes, and then later, around a campfire, Peter telling the same stories from a more personal place.

Each Gospel shows Jesus’ life, ministry, message, and mission from a slightly different angle. For years after the resurrection, the disciples went about proclaiming the good news. Some of it may have been written down early, but the Gospels as we know them came together roughly 30 to 60 years after the resurrection, with John most likely last, written late in his life in Ephesus. I mention this because several stories appear in more than one Gospel, like the parable of the four soils, and it’s right to give extra weight to what is repeated.

I don’t have time for all the parables today, so I want to focus on a boat trip.

The storm

After a long, hard day of teaching, Jesus is the one who said, “Let us go across to the other side” (Mark 4:35). They set out across the Sea of Galilee in the evening. The first several times I read this, I wondered how anyone could sleep through that kind of rocking. But Jesus was fully God and fully human. He was tired, and he fell asleep on a cushion in the stern.

I’ve been to Israel, and while we were there a storm swept across that lake in a hurry. What amazed me was how quickly it left again. So I can picture this. But for the disciples it was nighttime, water was filling the boat, and it was about to sink. I’m sure they were bailing and rowing and getting nowhere. And Jesus was asleep.

They wake him with, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (4:38). These men had already watched him do miracle after miracle. Mature faith takes time.

Jesus knew what he was doing. All creation was made through him, and when he speaks to the wind, it obeys. He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” and there was a great calm (4:39).

This showed his power, but I think it showed something more: his compassion is real, and his compassion doesn’t keep us from every storm. Go back and ask who said, “Let’s get in the boat.” It was Jesus. He led them into the boat with a storm ahead. And the moment they turned to him, they received an immediate answer.

The other side

They left from the Jewish side of the lake and landed on the Gentile side, in the region of the Decapolis. On the Jewish side, Jesus often told people to keep his miracles quiet. He didn’t go to the Gentile side often, but when he did, it was for specific, God-ordained ministry.

This time it was a man possessed by many demons. When Jesus asked the name, the answer was “Legion, for we are many” (5:9). When the demons were sent into the herd of about 2,000 pigs, the pigs rushed down the steep bank and drowned. I don’t know whether that number says anything about how many demons there were, and Scripture doesn’t say.

What caught my attention this time was the contrast. The storm stopped at one word. Here, Mark tells us Jesus “had been saying” to the spirit, “Come out” (5:8), and there’s an exchange before the demons leave. I hold this loosely, but it makes me wonder whether active resistance to the kingdom of God calls for a different kind of perseverance from us than crying out to Jesus in a trial does. Jesus’ authority was never in question, but the encounter wasn’t a one-word moment.

Encounters with the evil one will come. A large part of Jesus’ ministry was rebuking and casting out demons. He rebuked the Pharisees too, but they didn’t recognize their need and didn’t want deliverance. This man did. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran to him and fell on his knees (5:6). Whatever had a hold on him, part of him wanted to be free of it, and it took an encounter with Jesus for that to happen.

Sent instead of kept

When the man begged to go with Jesus, Jesus said no. Instead he told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you” (5:19). I can see a couple of reasons. On the Jewish side, Jesus knew the resistance building against him would lead to the cross, so he kept things quiet there. That resistance wasn’t present on the Gentile side yet, so he sent this man out as a witness. And though the first disciples all came from Jewish heritage, the kingdom message was for all people. When persecution came, it went out to the whole world, and this man was an early sign of that.

In two chapters, Jesus shows his power over the forces of nature, his power over the forces of the evil one, and his compassion for his frightened disciples and for one tormented man in the Decapolis.

Question for today: Is there a storm in your life right now that you got into by following Jesus, and have you turned to him in it, or are you still bailing and rowing on your own?

Have a blessed day.

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Amending the Soil Matthew 13 & Luke 8

October 14, 2026 by areliablefaith

One of Jesus’ favorite ways to teach was through parables, and Matthew 13 gives us a whole collection of them. The one shared by both Matthew 13 and Luke 8 is the parable of the sower. Having read through the Bible many times, I’ve come to see this as one of those parables we need to step into, ponder, and let roll around for a while.

Jesus first told the parable on its own. His disciples didn’t really get it, so they came and asked Him what it meant (Luke 8:9). And Jesus went deep. Both Matthew and Luke thought it was important enough to give us not just the story, but the explanation too.

What strikes me is how easy it is to sit back, look around, and sort other people into one of the four soils. And it’s telling that of the four places the seed lands, only one produces fruit. Three of them never get there.

But if all we do is evaluate everyone else’s soil, we’ve missed the point. The soil is the condition of the heart, its receptivity to God’s Word being planted. So the real question is about my own heart.

As someone who has surrendered my life to Jesus, I would love to say my heart is always soft and supple. The truth is, as I’ve grown and matured, I’ve realized my heart has shown every one of these soil conditions at different times. There are seasons when the Word lands and I’m simply not open to it. There are times when my soil is shallow.

But the most common one for me is the thorns: “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22, ESV). Luke adds that they are choked “by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Luke 8:14).

We live in a busy world, and I’m inclined to be a busy person. The result is that God’s Word, and His purpose for my life, can get overlooked or minimized. It becomes one of many things I’m taking in and trying to act on. That’s exactly what Jesus is getting at. Good things can crowd out the best thing, the one thing of ultimate importance: allowing His Word to take root in my heart, to change me from the inside, and to accomplish what He wants through a life surrendered to Him.

I love that the good soil produces “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23). What I read in that is that fruitfulness can grow. When I deal with the bad soil conditions, when I’m quicker to pull up the thorns and briars before they choke things out, and when I do the things that amend the soil and make it deeper and richer, the yield increases.

What are those things? A daily quiet time. Consistent Bible study. Gathering regularly with other believers for fellowship and encouragement. Even writing these devotionals. Each one is a way of amending the soil.

And the hard path? Luke says the seed that fell there “was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it” (Luke 8:5). The answer is not to walk the well-worn way of the world, where the seed gets stepped on and the enemy snatches it away. Instead, be open to the Holy Spirit leading you off the path: to places of quiet, to people in need, and into the seasons of trial, suffering, and challenge, trusting the Lord to be with you through them.

All three unproductive soils can be transformed as we develop the daily habits that draw us closer to the Lord. The work God wants to do in us is a partnership where the Holy Spirit takes the lead. As I release control and give Him room to work in my heart, He transforms me to be more and more like Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

And the more I do, the more fruitful my life becomes. Thirty can become sixty, sixty can become a hundredfold, and the kingdom of God advances. That’s what I’m here for. That’s what you’re here for.

Which soil best describes your heart this season, and what is one habit you could start or recommit to this week to amend it?

Have a blessed day.

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Holy and Near Reading: Luke 11

October 13, 2026 by areliablefaith

Jesus’ ministry has reached the point where He is teaching His disciples in preparation for their going out in ministry. He has performed many miracles, meeting people in the middle of their need, and many have now leaned in to hear His message and follow Him as a gifted teacher. Some are clearly beginning to think of Him as the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. That expectation was especially strong at this point in Israel’s history. The Roman occupation had the people longing for someone who would lead them to deliverance.

So what does Jesus do? He teaches them to pray.

One of the disciples watches Jesus pray and then asks, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1, ESV). Jesus’ example is short. It is concise. And it touches the themes all of us deal with every day. What it doesn’t do is call down fire from heaven to drive out the Romans. (Just a chapter earlier, James and John wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village, and Jesus rebuked them; Luke 9:54–55.) Jesus teaches us to pray in the middle of life, wherever we might be.

Starting From Humility

There is a foundation in the Lord’s Prayer that is absolutely essential: we come to this conversation with our heavenly Father from a place of humility. God is holy. He is uniquely set apart from all of creation. Yet He loves us, desires a relationship with us, and makes Himself present in a real way through prayer.

A “God is my buddy” attitude can easily miss the reality of a holy God stooping to talk with us. He does desire fellowship with us, and He will draw close to us. But pride, and even complacency, can create a distance that is our own making. As James writes, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” and “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:6, 8).

The prayer opens, “Father, hallowed be your name” (Luke 11:2); in Matthew’s version, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). He is above all, completely set apart. His name is holy. The tension between His holiness and purity and our lack of it keeps us properly humble as we come before our loving Creator. And from that place, God draws us close.

“Your Kingdom Come”

Luke records “Your kingdom come” (11:2), and Matthew adds, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). God’s purpose, the establishment and advancement of His kingdom on the earth through the lives of His children, should be ever before us. He wants us to pray for it, and then to live it.

“Give Us Each Day Our Daily Bread”

I can’t read this line without thinking of the children of Israel wandering in the desert for forty years, provided manna from heaven every single day (Exodus 16:4). Gratitude includes recognizing that the gift is only given because there is a Giver. Asking God to provide is never wrong. One of His names in the Old Testament is Jehovah Jireh, “The LORD will provide” (Genesis 22:14).

“Forgive Us Our Sins”

“And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). This line highlights two of our greatest needs: to be forgiven, and to release through forgiveness those who sin against us.

It also circles back to the importance of humility. We will struggle to forgive if we hold too tightly to our hurt, our reputation, what people say, or what people do. Forgiveness doesn’t condone the evil done against us. It means we release our right to hold onto it, and we hand it to the Lord.

“Lead Us Not Into Temptation”

The English wording here can be a little confusing. Scripture is clear that God doesn’t tempt anyone to sin (James 1:13). The essence is this: the world is full of temptations to sin and to drift away from God and His best. We have been given free moral agency, the ability to choose. And in every situation, there is at least one path that leads toward God and away from sin. Paul says it this way: “with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Trials, troubles, and challenges will come. But we have a loving Father who will help us through them and away from sin. We just have to ask, and then follow.

The Gift That Makes Prayer Come Alive

Luke ends the prayer there, but he doesn’t end Jesus’ teaching on prayer. I think we often miss that Jesus’ next words describe an essential element in the power of our prayer. After teaching His disciples to ask, seek, and knock (11:9), He says:

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (11:13)

At this point, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God, had not yet been poured out to live in believers. That came after Jesus’ resurrection, on the day of Pentecost, which Luke records in Acts 2, and it continues today as people surrender their lives to Him.

Jesus points out that the Holy Spirit is God’s gift to His children when they ask. The Holy Spirit is God, and He comes to dwell in us the moment we are saved. There is so much to unpack about God living within us, but it’s enough to say this: our intimacy with the Father grows so much richer as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, pray through us (Romans 8:26), and help us understand God and His ways.

Religion That Keeps People Out

The final verses of the chapter reveal the growing conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. A Pharisee invites Jesus to dine with him (11:37), though it seems the invitation may have been more about challenging Jesus than understanding Him. Whatever the motive, Jesus rebukes them for setting up man-made hurdles that made it hard for people to approach God: “you load people with burdens hard to bear” (11:46), and “You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering” (11:52).

God as a loving Father was not what the religious leaders promoted. They had built a religious system that made them feel good about themselves, yet left them, and anyone who followed them, outside of grace. Their prayers were rote, offered from a position of pride and supposed privilege. The humility the Lord’s Prayer calls for was far from them.

Simple and Refreshing

The simplicity of Jesus’ prayer is truly refreshing. I’m sure that’s part of what drew so many people to Him. He gave them a picture of a God who is both holy and loving. Through His life and His teaching, He showed that God wants to draw near to His children. All we have to do is ask, from a place of humble faith.

A question to sit with: Which line of this simple prayer have you been rushing past lately, and what might change if you prayed it slowly and humbly today?

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From a Prison Cell to an Easy Yoke

October 12, 2026 by areliablefaith

Matthew 11 · Devotional for Areliablefaith

Matthew 11 opens with John the Baptist in prison. He is there for simply speaking the truth. He spoke the truth to power, and power locked him up. John had called out Herod for taking his brother’s wife, Herodias, and his life is now hanging by a thread.

From that cell, John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus a question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3, ESV).

Some read this as doubt. I don’t believe it was unbelief. John had seen God move too clearly. At the Jordan he saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus and heard the Father speak. John himself testified, “I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). A man who saw that doesn’t simply stop believing.

What I can easily see is discouragement. He may have felt despair and loneliness. Perhaps he even thought that if Jesus is the Messiah, He could come and rescue him. We don’t know exactly. But John seems to be looking for one final assurance as he awaits his fate.

Jesus gives it. He tells John’s disciples to report what they have seen and heard: “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5). These are the very signs Isaiah said the Messiah would bring. In effect, Jesus is telling John, Yes, it’s Me. Hold on.

There’s a lesson here for us. As believers, we are not promised that life will be a cakewalk, all rainbows and joy and happy days. In many ways it’s just the opposite. Following Jesus means standing against the current, standing against the culture, and standing for what is good and right. We stand for God’s kingdom, which runs counter to this world. Sometimes that lands us in our own kind of prison cell, and we need that same assurance.

Greater Still

After John’s disciples leave, Jesus turns to the crowd and honors him: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11).

What on earth? How can the least be greater than the greatest?

I think the answer lies in this: Jesus inaugurates the kingdom of God. John was the last and greatest of the prophets who pointed toward it. Jesus says “all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13). John stood at the doorway, but through Jesus the kingdom is brought to earth. Those of us who live on this side of the cross and resurrection get to step through that door. That isn’t because we are greater people. It’s because of where we stand.

And that kingdom is advancing, even to this day. I’m a member of it, and most likely you are too.

It advances one soft and supple heart at a time, as hearts respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. It advances when God’s people get on their knees, praying and seeking the good of their families and communities. It advances when the Word of God is read and put into practice. Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work and people follow His leading to serve and to love with agape, God’s own love, the kingdom moves forward. Jesus described it this way: it starts as small as a mustard seed and grows until birds nest in its branches (Matthew 13:31–32).

A Yoke That Fits

Jesus closes the chapter with some of the most beautiful words of encouragement in Scripture. I see them as a counterbalance to how the chapter began. It opened with John in prison, discouraged. It ends with this:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

This is truly the secret to life as a follower of Jesus: to take His yoke upon us. We do that by coming to Him and staying with Him, and by seeking to fellowship with Him day by day.

A yoke was the wooden beam that linked two oxen together so they could pull as one. So who is the other one in the yoke with us? It’s the Lord. We are linked to Him. And His yoke fits perfectly. He knows exactly how much we can pull when we’re walking alongside Him.

If I might say it, He does the heavy lifting. He does most of the pulling. And yet He gives us the great privilege of working with Him in advancing His kingdom. He lets us be part of His answer for our families, our friends, our communities, and any place He takes us. Wherever that is, He’s there in the yoke beside us.

Oh, this is glorious to know. Whether we’re standing against the current or sitting in a cell of discouragement like John, we aren’t pulling alone.

Where do you need to stop pulling alone today and step back into the yoke beside Jesus?

Have a blessed day.

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From Outcast to Adopted – Matthew 9; Luke 7

October 11, 2026 by areliablefaith

In today’s readings I was struck by the broad view of Jesus’ ministry. He heals the blind, the mute, the paralyzed, lepers, and even a woman who had suffered with bleeding for twelve years. He delivers people from demons, He raises the dead, He forgives sin, and He preaches good news to the poor. Jesus has neither a narrow band of giftedness nor a target audience to constrain Him. His only limits seem to be time and the means of travel in His day.

The overarching theme for me today is how Jesus reaches out to everyone. In Jesus, the outcast becomes the accepted, and those who respond become adopted into God’s family. The apostle Paul will later pick up this theme of adoption and explain it to a growing Gentile audience in terms they would understand (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:4–7; Ephesians 1:5). In Roman culture, adoption was a deliberate, legal choice that gave the adopted child a full new identity, name, and inheritance in the family.

We’ve touched on this before, but all people are created in the image of God. We are given the immense dignity of being real agents in this world, with a will and the ability to make free choices. The first family chose to exercise that will contrary to God’s explicit instruction, and sin entered the world. But God had a plan, even from before the beginning, to rescue humanity after the fall. The promised seed of Genesis 3:15 was Jesus. In today’s readings we see Jesus displaying power that belongs to God alone. The miracles are one proof that He was the promised Messiah and Savior. His message, first proclaimed in the synagogues throughout the cities and villages, was the good news of God’s kingdom come to earth (Matthew 9:35).

You would think this message would be joyfully received by all, but we already see early signs of conflict. Jesus operated outside the established religious hierarchy. He showed no interest in military revolt, even healing the servant of a Roman centurion. And He didn’t favor the already-favored. All of this began to generate opposition. As His ministry grows and the time of His ultimate sacrifice draws near, we will see Jesus directly confront those who made it hard for people to come to Him. But today we see Him reaching multitudes with great compassion, great love, and powerful acts of healing and mercy.

He reaches the outcast. Matthew, a tax collector, and Matthew’s friends, likely men like him, looked down on for siding with the Roman occupiers (Matthew 9:9–13). The woman with the issue of blood, who for twelve years had been considered unclean, cut off from public worship and from the community of God’s people (Matthew 9:20–22). The Roman centurion, who cared enough for his servant to seek out a Jewish rabbi and ask for healing. He belonged to a people hated by the majority, yet he came seeking help from the One he believed God had empowered to heal (Luke 7:1–10).

In our final story we read about a “sinful” woman coming to Jesus (Luke 7:36–50). Many scholars think this means she was a prostitute, someone who sold her body to survive. I prefer the term sinful woman, because every one of us is either a sinful woman or a sinful man in need of the forgiveness and cleansing that only God, only Jesus, can provide. And that is exactly what He gives her. Jesus accepts her, and He accepts her worship. He even points it out to Simon, the Pharisee who looks down his nose at her. Here Jesus makes a critical comparison, one worthy of deep prayer and reflection, because it is something every person will ultimately face:

What will you do with Jesus?

There is a right answer. When we know it, we move from outcast to accepted, from accepted to forgiven, and from forgiven to adopted. That is our blessed hope and our greatest joy.

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From Seeing to Worship

October 10, 2026 by areliablefaith

It’s been a full week. A week of travel, of teaching and work, and also of time with family, beautiful places, and a lot of pictures. Today the outside is gray, windy, and rainy. There isn’t much to do outdoors. So I’m sitting beside my wife, resting in God’s grace and thinking back over the week. As I do, my mind keeps returning to one idea: the path things travel from our eyes, into our minds, and down into our hearts.

The Heart Behind the Eyes

By heart, I don’t mean the muscle that pumps blood. I mean the center of our being, the place where our true self lives. Scripture treats the heart that way, as the seat of what we think, love, and choose.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” — Proverbs 4:23 (ESV)

What reaches the heart usually comes in first through the eyes. Jesus made that point with startling force in the Sermon on the Mount:

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” — Matthew 5:29 (ESV)

He was using hyperbole, of course. The truth underneath it is real, though. What we let into our minds through our eyes affects us and changes us. A little later in the same sermon He said it another way:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” — Matthew 6:22–23 (ESV)

So what is the path from the eye to the heart? As I’ve reflected on it, I see a progression.

Recognition and Awareness

It begins with recognition. We see something and recognize it for what it is: beauty, value, worth. Recognition is the door. Nothing gets to the heart without first passing through it.

Close behind recognition comes awareness. Here we start weighing and judging what we’re taking in. Is this good? Is this true? Is this worth holding onto? Paul gives us a filter for exactly this moment:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

Appreciation and Gratitude

Once we are aware of what is good, appreciation follows quickly. These are the things that register in us as lovely and valuable, the things we like.

This week gave me plenty to appreciate. Driving through Canada, the fall foliage was stunning, and the deep blue of Lake Superior stopped me in my tracks. But the smiles, the laughter, and the kind words we shared while gathered with family in Gaylord, Michigan were just as beautiful. So was a visit to Boyne Mountain. And then many hours of travel where my friend Red and I talked about the Lord and the life lessons He has taught us along the way.

From appreciation, it isn’t a big step to gratitude. Once we value something, we become thankful that we were able to see it, perceive it, and enjoy it at all. And this week, gratitude was flowing.

Where Gratitude Leads

Gratitude is a platform. From it, we can go one more step, if we recognize the One who is the source of every good thing.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” — James 1:17 (ESV)

That last step is not automatic. Paul describes people who saw God’s handiwork in creation and still stopped short:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” — Romans 1:21 (ESV)

They had recognition but no gratitude, and so no worship. Their path ended in darkness instead of light. That’s Jesus’ warning about the eye, seen from the other side.

When we do recognize the Giver behind the gift, gratitude becomes worship. Worship is the highest level of recognition. It flows through appreciation and gratitude and turns back to the One who made the beauty, who made the people we spend time with, who made the ones who add value to our lives and make life worth living.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” — Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” — Psalm 100:4 (ESV)

Thanksgiving is the gate, and praise is the court. Gratitude walks us right up to worship.

A Gray Day, a Grateful Heart

I find it fitting that I’m writing this on a day with no blue sky and no bright leaves outside my window. The beauty of this week doesn’t depend on today’s weather. I can look back over it, recognize it, appreciate it, and give thanks. And as I do, I’m moved to worship.

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” — Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

That includes the gray, rainy ones.

Looking back over your own week, what beauty did you recognize? And did it make it all the way from your eyes to your heart, through gratitude, and into worship of the One who gave it?

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