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Archive for the ‘Responsibility’ Category

From a Prison Cell to an Easy Yoke

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Priorities, Responsibility, Service, Spiritual Growth, Trials, Vision, worldview, tagged , , , , , on October 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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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Built on the Rock

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, Church, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Priorities, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, The Father, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today’s devotional is on Matthew 5–7, known as the Sermon on the Mount. I have to admit to feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to glean a key thought from what is arguably the most important sermon ever preached. What began as covenants God made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses in the Old Testament finds its ultimate exposition in Jesus’ talk with a crowd gathered on a Galilean hillside 2,000 years ago. I think I will mostly let Jesus’ words speak for themselves and just speak to how today’s reading struck me.

I’ve read the Sermon on the Mount many, many times. Sometimes I take a piece of it and chew on it for days. Other times, like this morning, I read straight through and simply feel both the weight and the joy in it. What can feel in the Old Testament like a harsh checklist of dos and don’ts, Jesus boils down to the heart.

This morning, it was the final section that stopped me:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24–25, ESV)

The timing is not lost on me. As I write this, a hurricane that came ashore in the middle of the night, 400 to 450 miles from here, is still reaching us. We’re expecting driving rain and 30 to 40 mile-an-hour winds all day long. Storms like this have a way of revealing how well a house is built. Whatever was hidden in the framing and the foundation comes to light when the wind starts to blow.

The same is true of our lives. There are plenty of foundations on offer: success, reputation, comfort, our own good behavior. None of them hold when the storm comes. Jesus himself is the rock. As Paul wrote, “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is what makes us whole and moves us toward the completeness and purposes God designed for us.

What struck me most this morning is how the sermon begins and ends. It opens with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Recognizing that we are spiritually bankrupt without Jesus is where the right foundation begins. And it closes with building on the rock: on Jesus, on what he accomplished in our place at the cross, and on what he continues to do through his Holy Spirit living in us, drawing us close to the Father. That intimacy with God was his plan from the very beginning in the garden.

From there, the building goes on. As we keep reading, applying, and living out his Word, God brings about the spiritual maturity that lets the house stand. Notice that both builders in Jesus’ story heard the same words. The difference was that one of them did what he heard.

What storm in your life right now is revealing what your house is built on, and what would it look like to hear and do Jesus’ words this week?

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Jesus Saw Him

Posted in Beautiful Places, Bible Study, God, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , on October 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Reflections on John 5

Yesterday was a heavy travel day. I read John 5 in the early morning, and then the day got away from me. But the chapter didn’t let go. This morning, in that in-between space where you’re not quite asleep and not quite awake, I found myself back beside the pool of Bethesda, thinking about one man.

Living Next to Hope

John tells us, “One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years” (John 5:5 ESV). Thirty-eight years. That’s longer than many people in that day lived. It’s a whole adult life spent on a mat.

He spent it at Bethesda, a pool surrounded by colonnades and crowded with “a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed” (5:3). The belief was that when the water was stirred, the first one in would be healed. That was the secret, the one thing everyone was waiting for.

So this man lived right next to hope and could never reach it. Every time the water moved, someone faster got there first. I picture people rushing past him, stepping over him, bumping into him on their way to the water, and no one stopping. He was present every single day, and almost no one saw him.

I think, more than anything, he felt unseen. Unnoticed. Unwanted. The things that give us reason to keep going in this world (being known, being needed, being loved) he had very few of. After thirty-eight years, I’m not sure he had much hope left. He just stayed where hope was supposed to be.

When Jesus Saw Him

Then comes one of the most tender lines in John’s Gospel:

“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’” (5:6)

When Jesus saw him. In a crowd of the sick and desperate, Jesus saw this man. More than that, He knew him. He knew how long he’d been lying there. Nobody had to tell Him.

Now look at how the man answers. Jesus asks a yes-or-no question, and the man never says yes:

“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (5:7)

He gives his reason instead. I have no one. Underneath it I hear: No one sees me. No one helps me. No one stops. He’s explaining why the only hope he knows has never worked for him.

Jesus doesn’t argue with him or correct his theology about the water. He simply says, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And “at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked” (5:8–9).

The man had been looking to the pool. Jesus didn’t need the pool. Jesus was the healing.

Missing the Miracle

Then John adds a short phrase that changes everything: “Now that day was the Sabbath” (5:9).

The religious leaders see the man walking and say, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed” (5:10). A man who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years is standing in front of them, and what they see is a mat.

God’s law called His people to keep the Sabbath holy and rest from their work. Over time, though, the religious leaders had built a fence of detailed rules around that command, defining exactly what counted as work and what counted as a forbidden burden. A sleeping mat made their list. Their rule became the law, God was cast as the enforcer, and they were so busy guarding the fence that they missed the God of the Sabbath standing right in front of them.

That was so much of the conflict Jesus ran into. Rules meant to protect God’s command ended up making it harder for people to come to God. It’s a warning worth taking to heart in our own churches: it’s possible to be zealous for our traditions and completely miss what Jesus is doing.

Jesus Found Him Again

I love what happens next: “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you’” (5:14).

The man ended up in the temple, the place of worship. Jesus didn’t heal him and walk away. He found him again. The One who saw him at the pool went looking for him and spoke to him about the rest of his life. It’s a gentle but serious word: You’ve got your feet under you now. Walk in a way that honors God.

Jesus cared about more than his legs. He cared about his whole life.

He Sees You Too

For one forgotten man at Bethesda:

  • Jesus saw him.
  • Jesus approached him.
  • Jesus spoke to him.
  • Jesus healed him.

And the same is true for every one of us. Jesus sees us, even when the crowd rushes past. Jesus knows us, including how long we’ve been waiting. Jesus speaks to us. And Jesus heals us.

The New Testament often uses a single Greek word, sōzō, for both “save” and “heal” (when Jesus tells a woman, “your faith has made you well,” that’s sōzō). The healing of the body and the saving of the soul are not two separate projects for Jesus. He makes whole people whole. He saves us, He heals us, and He brings us home.

Maybe you’ve been lying beside your own pool for a long time, waiting for a hope that never quite reaches you, feeling stepped over and unseen. Hear this: Jesus sees you lying there. He knows how long it’s been. And He’s still asking the question.

Where do you feel unseen right now, and will you let Jesus meet you there?

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At the River: Obedience, Fire, and the Spirit’s EmpoweringReadings: Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

Posted in Beautiful Places, Bible Study, Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Today’s three readings tell the same story from three angles: Jesus coming to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. It’s where His public ministry begins, and it raises questions that have shaped my own walk with God for more than four decades.

The one who prepared the way

John the Baptist had a clear assignment. He preached repentance and baptized those who responded, and the Gospel writers saw him as the fulfillment of what the prophets had foretold. Mark opens his Gospel by joining Malachi and Isaiah together:

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'” (Mark 1:2–3, ESV)

John also fit the mold of Elijah. Malachi had promised, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” (Mal. 4:5), and John’s camel’s hair clothing and leather belt (Mark 1:6) echo Elijah’s own appearance.

So many people wondered whether John himself might be the Messiah. Luke tells us, “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ…” (Luke 3:15). John was clear: he was not. Someone mightier was coming.

When Jesus showed up

Here’s what strikes me. John had spent his ministry pointing toward Jesus, yet when Jesus actually came to the river, John was surprised:

“John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” (Matt. 3:14–15)

Jesus had no sin to repent of. His baptism was not a confession. It was obedience, and the Father’s response was immediate: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

My own story of baptism

Christians have long understood baptism in different ways. In infant baptism (paedobaptism), a child is baptized or christened, committed to God with the trust that He will work in that child’s life. In believer’s baptism (credobaptism), a person who has come to recognize their need for God, repented, and received Jesus as Lord and Savior is baptized as an outward sign of that inward change.

I’ve experienced both. I was baptized as a child. But at age 23, I came to see that I’d been living with one foot in the kingdom of God and the other foot stuck out whenever it suited me. In reality, I was living outside of God’s will for my life. So I surrendered. I told the Lord I would follow Him with all that I was, and I meant everything.

Not immediately, but some time after that, I felt a prompting to be baptized by full immersion at my local church. And I obeyed.

That was 43 years ago. I’m still not sure I can fully describe what happened when I surrendered my life to Jesus. The Holy Spirit entered in a way I had never given Him control before. What I do know is this: baptism was a step of obedience I was called to take, and it was a step of obedience Jesus Himself took.

With the Holy Spirit and fire

John told the crowds what Jesus would come to do:

“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)

Half of that verse always grabs me: fire. Fire cleanses and purifies, burning away what doesn’t belong. Luke goes on to describe the chaff being burned (Luke 3:17).

The other half, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, is something I have experienced personally. I know that’s somewhat controversial in some circles. For me it has meant the Spirit’s empowerment to lead and direct me as I’ve submitted my mind, my will, and even my tongue to the Lord.

There are times when I pray in languages I do not know. It’s still within my control whether I do so, but when I do, I don’t understand the words. I simply know God is moving and that He is praying through me. Paul wrote, “We do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). When God pours His Spirit into us, He works in the spiritual realm in ways that have real impact in the natural one.

Different gifts, one Spirit

I want to be careful not to be misunderstood. Not everyone receives the same gifting. Paul said, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). Not everyone will pray in other languages.

Some people carry a gift and calling for evangelism that I simply don’t have. I’ve tried! But as I understand it, my calling is to be first and foremost a man of prayer, and the gifting I’ve received lines up with that calling.

What is true for all of us is this: as God’s children, we are connected to Him by His Spirit. He equips us, prepares us, and gives us assignments, carried out through both the natural abilities He has given us and the supernatural gifts of His Spirit. Those gifts are part of the package of belonging to Him.

A question to consider

At the Jordan, Jesus chose obedience, and the heavens opened. So let me ask: What step of obedience is God calling you to take today, and are you willing to let His Spirit, and His fire, have full control?

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Good News in Unexpected Voices

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Priorities, Responsibility, The Father, Travel, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , on October 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Reading: Luke 2 and Matthew 1

Today the Gospel’s counter-cultural view of women stood out to me. Jesus’ message was so often aimed at the poor, the overlooked, and the marginalized, and that thread is quietly present from the very first pages of both Luke and Matthew.

Two Women, Two Songs

Yesterday the chief characters were Mary and Elizabeth, two women pregnant in the most unusual of ways: one too old, one never with a husband. And both of them lift their voices to God in rich, Scripture-soaked praise. Elizabeth cries out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42). Mary answers:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.” (Luke 1:46–48)

“He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” (Luke 1:52)

The Women in the Family Tree

Today we read the genealogy of Jesus, and amazingly, there are women in it. Ancient genealogies traced the line through the fathers. Yet Matthew deliberately names four women before Mary, and not the ones you might expect:

“and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar…” (Matthew 1:3)

“and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth…” (Matthew 1:5)

“and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…” (Matthew 1:6)

Tamar, whose story in Genesis 38 is one of deception and scandal. Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute from Jericho. Ruth, a Moabite, from a people Israel was forbidden to welcome into the assembly. Bathsheba, named only as “the wife of Uriah” the Hittite, a reminder of David’s adultery and murder. Gentiles and scandals, written right into the bloodline of the Messiah.

This is a striking departure from the safe, sanitized, male-dominated world that would normally have been the audience for written material. God’s reach is universal. All are welcome. All are invited to enter in.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

An Old Man and a Widow

After 400 years of silence, the Holy Spirit lets two people know that the Messiah has arrived, as a baby. The first is Simeon:

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:25–26)

He takes the child in his arms and says what no one in that Temple expected to hear:

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32)

Then comes Anna:

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36–38)

I have to wonder what everyone else in the Temple was thinking that day. How easy it is to disregard the elderly. How easy to patronize an old widow spouting off what sounds like nonsense about the Messiah. Here was a woman who had somehow survived fifty or sixty years as a widow in a society with no welfare system, and she was ecstatic. The Messiah is here!

As I sit and ponder the scene, I can see the whispers spreading. I can see hope stirred, only to be followed by a letdown when the child and His family disappear back to Nazareth. And yet God was preparing the soil. God was planting seeds. An old man at the end of his life speaking of the inclusion of the Gentiles, easy for faithful Jews to dismiss. A widow, easy to discount because she was a woman. But God didn’t dismiss or discount them. He gave them the Spirit, gave them a prophetic voice, and gave them the responsibility of announcing the arrival of the coming King. And He made sure Luke recorded Anna’s name.

Humble Circumstances Don’t Disqualify

Humble circumstances do not disqualify us. In fact, they are often the exact environment God uses to reveal Himself. The first announcement of Jesus’ birth went to shepherds in a field: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27)

God does not despise our failures:

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

Does He hate sin? Yes. Did He die for the sinner? Yes. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). No one is too far from His love and mercy.

The only ones who miss the fullness of God’s grace are those too proud to respond to His kindness. Those too busy to think about things eternal. Those who can’t be bothered to listen to the humble who are pointing to Jesus.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

A Song in the Terminal

Here is what amazed me this morning. I’m sitting in an airport getting ready for an early flight. The terminal is chaotic, under heavy construction, and seating is limited. I’ve had a hard time concentrating because of a group behind me, friendly banter, but loud. Then suddenly they left. In the brief lull, I could hear the music playing over the loudspeaker, and I was stunned.

It was an instrumental version of “Goodness of God.” Playing in a secular airport, in the Midwest, at the very moment I was pondering how the Good News is so often carried in subtle, unexpected ways.

By an elderly widow. By an old man at the end of his life. By a barren woman pregnant long past childbearing age. By a teenage girl with no husband and a mighty strange story. And through a gospel song drifting over the public address system in an airport in Omaha.

It reminded me of Elijah, who didn’t find God in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in “the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). Sometimes the noise has to clear before we can hear it.

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:13)

We bask in the goodness of God for sure.

For reflection: Who in your life might be an “Anna” or a “Simeon,” someone easy to overlook who may be pointing you to Jesus, and what noise might you need to quiet in order to hear them?

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Unfinished Business

Posted in Bible Study, Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Trials, tagged , , , , , , on September 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This morning my spirit rose as I read of the dedication of the rebuilt wall in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12). Two great choirs processed around the top of the wall, trumpets sounding, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. I could picture it, because I’ve been in rooms like that: thousands of Jesus followers, hands lifted, faces turned upward, rejoicing in the salvation Jesus bought with His blood.

Then the story turns. Nehemiah goes back to the king in Susa, and when he returns he finds the people have already slid. The Levites haven’t been paid and have left for their fields. The Sabbath is a market day. The people have intermarried with the nations around them. An enemy of God’s people has been given a room inside the temple itself. Nehemiah is furious, and he cleans house. Yet the book ends not with triumph but with a prayer: “Remember me, O my God, for good” (Nehemiah 13:31).

It struck me that Ezra and Nehemiah both end this way. Two godly men made bold, faithful attempts to lead the people back to the law, and both saw only partial success. Which is to say, the people could not keep the whole law. And neither can we.

Consider where things stood. The Jews were back in the promised land, but few in number. There was a temple, but when its foundation was laid, the old men who remembered Solomon’s temple wept aloud (Ezra 3:12). It was a shadow of the former glory. And the presence of God, the cloud that filled the first temple so completely the priests couldn’t stand to minister (2 Chronicles 5:14), never came down on this one. Ezekiel had watched the glory depart (Ezekiel 10). Scripture never records it returning to that second temple.

But God had not forgotten His promise. Through the prophet Haggai He had said of this humble house, “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former” (Haggai 2:9). And Malachi, prophesying to these same backsliding people, promised that the Lord they sought would suddenly come to His temple (Malachi 3:1). Then heaven went quiet for four centuries.

And one day, a young couple carried their baby into that temple, and old Simeon took Him in his arms and said, “My eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:30). The glory had returned, not in a cloud, but in flesh. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory” (John 1:14).

That’s why Nehemiah’s story ends unfinished. Walls, reforms, and renewed vows could not fix the human heart. Nehemiah could chase merchants out of the gates, but he could not write the law on anyone’s heart. Only God could do that, and He promised He would (Jeremiah 31:33). The unfinished business of Nehemiah was finished at the cross.

Psalm 126 gives voice to that longing: “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream… Restore our fortunes, O LORD.” It’s a psalm sung by people who had tasted restoration but were still waiting for more. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. The returned exiles sowed in tears. We reap in Christ.

I recognize myself in Nehemiah’s people. I have stood in worship with my heart ablaze and then, a few weeks later, found I had quietly let the Sabbath slip, let other things take the room reserved for God. My reforms don’t hold either. Thank God my hope isn’t in my own wall-building, but in the One who dwells in me by His Spirit and will finish the good work He began (Philippians 1:6).

Where in your life have you been relying on your own reforms and resolutions, when what you really need is the presence of the One who alone can finish the work?

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Choose, Cling, Witness

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, God, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Trials, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , on March 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Joshua 22-24, The progression here is the plan for every believer and follower of Jesus. We are to choose the Lord. This is not a one-time activity. It is a recurring choice we get to make over and over. This is the essence of faith, choosing the Lord and following Him every day until it is the only thing we know to do.

Now choosing Him is easy when life is good. Life isn’t always good. In fact, there are many times when life is hard. It is in hard times when it is essential that we cling tightly to the LORD. When our children were little, a game they loved to play was to sit on my foot and wrap their arms around my leg while I walked. I remember their giggles and squeals as I would walk around asking my wife if she liked my new shoes. If they did not cling tightly though, they would fall off. This picture comes to mind when I think of clinging. There is such a close personal nature to clinging when I think of this. God is a good, good Father who desires that we hold onto Him, hold onto His promises, hold onto His way of living such that the third word comes into play.

The reality is our lives will be a witness to something. The question is what do we bear witness to? Do we just blend in with the world and its brokenness… its misplaced faith… its fears… its corruption? Or do we bear witness to the living God who is at work transforming our lives day by day, well-made choice by well-made choice. As we choose and as we cling, our lives will reflect the love and goodness of God more and more.

Today is Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem to lots of external fanfare, yet He knew what lie before Him. He saw the cross looming on the near horizon. Living in Roman occupied territory, Jesus had certainly seen the gruesome displays of Roman justice, so He had no illusions about what was coming. Yet He chose to obey. He chose to ride into the coming maelstrom. And He did so clinging to the Father, trusting His plan, trusting His heart. And today, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the central point of all history, a glorious witness of God’s love and desire that ALL mankind might choose, cling, and bear witness to Him.

Blessed LORD, we choose you today. We cling to you today. LORD, make our lives a faithful witness to your love and goodness to each and every person we meet today. In Jesus’ Name!

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The Greater Blesses the Lesser

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, God Stories, Responsibility, Service, tagged , , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 46-47, The Greater Blesses the Lesser. When Jacob and his family arrive in Egypt, Joseph brings his father in to meet Pharoah. Pharoah is the king of Egypt, the highest office in the land. While he has elevated Joseph to the highest administrative role in all the land, ultimate authority still rests with Pharoah. Yet when Jacob enters into Pharoah’s presence it is Jacob who blesses Pharoah… twice. From our perspective millennia later, we know that the relationship between Israel and Egypt has been a tumultuous one with slavery, genocide, war and general distrust, but in this case honor and blessing are given. It seems incongruous that Jacob is the one doing the blessing in the context of Israel needing deliverance from the famine and Egypt being the place of that rescue.

But in the bigger picture, God is already at work implementing His amazing act of cosmic deliverance. Through the cruel acts of Israel’s sons, Joseph was sent to Egypt to prepare for the famine. Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams and his wise accumulation of resources prior to the famine saved Egypt and Israel. God was working through Jacob’s family to deliver the Pharoah and his people. And God, who had wrestled with Jacob many years prior, spoke to Jacob at Beersheba, He was directing him to settle in Egypt in preparation for His next cosmic move. We know God’s work through Abraham’s descendants was just getting started but already we see worldly powers recognizing and submitting to God’s blessing through His people.

We are called to continue God’s blessing into the world we live in. We are not called to be uninvolved observers, but rather active participants in God’s redeeming work today. And we do that from the place of staying close to the Father and following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

LORD, you have blessed us richly by drawing us into relationship with you. Teach us and lead us into divine conversations where you bless through our words and actions. May your mercy, grace, truth and love flow from our lives in such a way that others come to know you. Jesus, be lifted up. Jesus, be exalted. Jesus, be glorified in us and through us today.  

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God’s Sovereignty and Changed Lives

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, God Stories, Responsibility, The Father, Trials, tagged , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 43-45, God’s Sovereignty and Changed Lives. This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, particularly what this demonstrates about God’s overarching sovereignty and how He changes lives for the good. Joseph says more than once that what his brothers meant for evil, God meant for good. His riches to rags to riches story did an amazing work in his life. I cannot imagine that He could easily see an outcome this good as he served his master Potipher or while he sat in prison. We get a sense that he had a hopeful perspective simply from the fact that his actions stood out even in these dark places such that he was elevated to leading roles. But nothing but the dreams God had given him could have prepared him for the dramatic turn of events that placed his brothers squarely under his control. Yet, after making his brothers squirm for a relatively short period, Joseph rescues them. Forgiveness and rescue by the one who had been wronged. A foreshadowing of Jesus.

But we see a similar transformation in Judah. In Genesis 38 Judah is shown to be less than honorable. And in Genesis 37:26, it was Judah who suggested that they get rid of Joseph and make a profit from him by selling him as a slave. Yet 22 years later, it is Judah who offers himself as a substitute for his little brother, Benjamin. He is willing to face slavery or possibly even death in the place of another. Did guilt and remorse drive him to this? I’m sure they played a part. The real point is that his heart had changed and instead of putting himself first, he was more concerned for the welfare of his father and brother. A drastic change of heart indeed. Judah’s willingness to suffer in the place of another is yet another foreshadowing of the One who offered to suffer in our place on a cross many years later.

Father, whether we experience a dramatic turnaround like Joseph or we simply enjoy your presence in calmer ways, the reality is you are in control and you are at work changing us to be like you. We want this, Lord. Help us to desire it so deeply that the old manner of thinking and living dies away and the new life of living for you and for others becomes totally natural. Blessed be the Name of the LORD who loves us into new life.

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The LORD Was With Him

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, Trials, tagged , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 38-40, The LORD Was With Him. It would have been easy for Joseph to give up and throw the towel in at numerous points along the way. In yesterday’s reading his brothers first sought to kill him but were turned away at the last minute by the oldest brother, Reuben, and they sold him into slavery instead. Today we see him serving as a slave for a decade before he is lied about and thrown into prison. He had taken the high moral ground with his master’s wife only to have her turn on him when he wouldn’t have sex with her. Talk about being punished for doing the right thing. And then in prison, he interprets the dreams of two of the king’s servants only to have them forget him when they have a chance to put in a good word for him. (I guess we can give the baker a pass since the interpretation he got coming true wasn’t exactly memorable in a positive way!)

Jacob / Israel, Joseph’s father, had a number of occasions through the years where the LORD spoke to him to direct his steps. We don’t get that kind of insight into Joseph. Scripture doesn’t describe God speaking to him in the same way. What we do see is the phrase “the LORD was with him” four times in today’s reading and then we see both natural and supernatural gifting that sets Joseph apart from others. Joseph’s actions are primarily on the up and up. We don’t see the deception and manipulation that characterized his father’s life as a young man. Instead, he is the recipient of “harm” because of deception and manipulation. What is beautiful to see, and a character trait to emulate, is that he did not stop trusting in the LORD who was with him. Even in the “unfair” situations he kept finding himself, he continued to rely on the LORD who was with him. And in the readings thus far, God has already used him to bless others. I can’t wait to see what the LORD does next with this kind of faith.

LORD, Joseph’s faith is impressive. I can only imagine the times he was mistreated and the temptation to despair. Yet you remained with him and he continued to put his trust in you. I can picture the head jailer remembering Joseph’s comments about you leading him to bring the cupbearer and baker to Joseph so that you could provide the interpretation of their dreams. LORD, help us to have such faith. A faith that endures adversity.  A faith that paints a picture of you because of how we live and the words we speak. And may others be blessed in coming to know you because we freely shared the LORD who is with us.

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