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Archive for the ‘worldview’ 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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From Seeing to Worship

Posted in Beautiful Places, God Stories, Travel, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , on October 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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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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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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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A Minor Prophet with a Major Punch: Finishing the Old Testament in Malachi

Posted in Bible Study, God, Jesus Christ, Priorities, worldview, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

This morning, over coffee, I read Malachi and finished the Old Testament for 2026. There’s something fitting about ending the year’s journey through Israel’s story with this book. It’s the last prophetic word before centuries of silence, and it leaves us leaning forward, waiting for what God will do next.

How I Used to Read Malachi

For most of my life I’ve read Malachi through two lenses.

The first is the tithe. Malachi is blunt: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me” (Malachi 3:8). The people were holding back from God, and He challenges them to bring the full tithe into the storehouse and put Him to the test, to see if He will not open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing until there is no more need (3:10). Our tendency to shortchange God and His promise to bless faithfulness have always stood out to me.

The second is the ending. Malachi prepares us for John the Baptist, the messenger who would prepare the way (3:1), the Elijah who would come before the great day of the Lord (4:5–6). The Old Testament closes by pointing ahead.

Both of those are true and important. But this time, reading Malachi as a whole, I saw much more in these four short chapters.

A Minor Prophet with a Major Punch

Malachi is classified as a minor prophet, but he delivers a major punch. Point by point, he exposes how hollow religious practice falls short of what God has called His people to.

The book opens with God saying, “I have loved you.” The people answer, “How have you loved us?” (1:2). That pattern repeats throughout the book. God speaks of His love, His calling, how He set them apart and blessed them, and the people push back with questions and excuses. They offer blemished sacrifices. The priests grow careless. They grow weary of worship and even say, “It is vain to serve God” (3:14).

They were doing religion, but they weren’t getting it.

Duty or Relationship?

I think getting it is where we cross from religious duty into relationship with God.

Religious duty is, sadly, the main way people approach God. It’s why the world has so many religions: each is a human attempt to build a road to God. Even people who recognize that there must be an intelligent designer behind creation often set up their own process for acknowledging Him and reaching Him.

But God has already made the way. That’s what Malachi keeps pressing toward. God calls His people to repent and to trust Him with everything. The tithe is part of that trust. Obedience to the law is part of that trust. But the heart of it is a turning of the whole person toward God.

That’s the same message Jesus proclaims when He steps onto the scene: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Malachi sets the table, and Jesus picks up the call.

The Book of Remembrance

The part that moved me most today is Malachi 3:16–17. In the middle of a people arguing with God, there is a remnant whose hearts are soft and tender toward Him. They grieve over the evil around them. They talk with one another about the Lord. And God hears.

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. ‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession.'” (Malachi 3:16–17)

Throughout the Old Testament there are long lists of names: priests and Levites serving in the temple, families returning from exile, genealogies that most of us are tempted to skim. It’s remarkable that all those names were recorded. And here Malachi shows us why. God keeps a record. He knows His people.

Let’s drill into that. He knows us intimately. He loves us as individuals, and He relates to us as people He loves. We are His treasured possession.

What an astounding thought. The Creator of the universe, the One who cast the stars into place, who designed the atom and how protons, neutrons, and electrons hold together to form all matter, knows you. Not just humanity in general. You. And He loves you enough that He sent His Son to die for you, and He recorded that saving plan across the pages of Scripture, beginning long before Bethlehem.

I’m blown away by that.

The Sun of Righteousness

Malachi’s last chapter includes one of my favorite promises:

“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” (Malachi 4:2)

The word is sun, S-U-N. But every time I read it, I hear S-O-N. I can’t help it, because that’s who the entire Old Testament has been looking toward. Every sacrifice, every prophet, every promise, every list of names has been leaning forward to Jesus.

Looking Ahead

After Malachi come roughly 400 years without a recorded prophetic word before Jesus arrives. A lot happened in those years, and maybe that’s a conversation for another day. For today, I want to sit with how Malachi closes the Old Testament: summing up Israel’s long story of God’s faithfulness and His people’s struggle, and pointing straight toward God’s great climactic act of sending His Son.

God isn’t looking for hollow religious performance. He’s looking for tender hearts that turn to Him, trust Him, and know they are known.

So here’s my question for you: Are you approaching God out of duty, trying to build your own road to Him, or have you stepped into the relationship He’s already made possible through Jesus?

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

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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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Christophany

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Trials, worldview, tagged , , , on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 22-24, So many deep and rich nuggets embedded in today’s stories. What stood out was the moment when Abraham raised the knife over his son, his only son Isaac, and The Angel of the LORD stayed his hand. Scholars tell us that this phrase “the angel of the LORD” is much more than a messenger angel. They say this is a Christophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ in human form.

Understanding this I can’t help but think about the Son of God, who will one day hang on a cross as a sacrifice, in this day interceding for Isaac. What He did for Isaac, He will one day do for all humanity. But instead of a ram caught in a thicket it will be Him willingly offering Himself at the behest of His heavenly Father. 

Holy Lord, you did for us what we could not do for ourselves. You are the Holy Lamb of God and we worship you!

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God Speaks

Posted in Bible Study, God, Jesus Christ, job, The Father, worldview, tagged , , , , , , on January 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 38-39, God Speaks. When we see the word Lord in all capital letters, “LORD”, we are seeing the personal name of God. So, the LORD shows up, and the story finally gains the one true, authoritative voice in what has been a rather tumultuous conversation. Instead of starting with answers though, the LORD immediately begins asking questions. God does not need to defend Himself, nor does He really need to explain His actions. His ways are so much higher than ours, and He works within the context of the entire universe, that He does not owe us any explanation. And we probably wouldn’t understand the complexities if He did. What He does do is ask questions to help Job and his friends grasp who He is and this great gap between their limited knowledge and wisdom against God’s greatness as Architect, Creator, and Sustainer of all that is.

I also noticed that God peppering them with questions was what He does when He comes to earth in the flesh some 2000+ years later. Jesus seldom just answered questions with direct answers. He answered questions with questions. In the Gospels Jesus was asked about 180 questions while He is recorded as asking over 300 questions. I realize this is very purposeful. For the LORD, it is much more important for us to internalize who He is and allow it to move us toward a deep relationship with Him than it is for us to just gain knowledge. He doesn’t need us to memorize the answers to the test, He wants us to know Him, to trust Him, to allow Him to give us the answers we need at the right time. And some of our questions will simply disappear in comparison to knowing Him. And with today’s encounter, I think Job, and us, are well on the path to learning that.

LORD, we acknowledge our limited understanding and perspective. You are God and we are not. We are so thankful that it does not matter how much we know, so long as we know and trust you. We have questions and you are okay with that so long as we trust you will give us what we need when we need it. And you do and you will. In this we confidently rest. You are our Architect, our Creator, our Sustainer, and Lord. To you we give all praise, honor, and glory today and forever. Amen.

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Turning the Corner

Posted in Bible Study, God, job, Orphans, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, Trials, worldview, tagged , , , , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 29-31, Turning the Corner. Our time in Job thus far has been bookended by accounts of Job’s righteousness. In chapter 1 God speaks of Job’s righteousness so we know Job is truly a good and righteous person. In chapter 31 Job goes on to list all the things that he does that are good and right. Job’s righteousness is impressive and puts me in my place by comparison. Which, when I think about it, is possibly a good thing for both Job and me. It is good for Job because it uncovers an area of his life, pride and entitlement, that are NOT character traits that endear us to God. It is good for me because I still have a way to go to even measure up to Job’s righteousness AND I can receive the warning from Job’s pride. It is the slippery slope that comes when our reputation supersedes our relationship with the Father.

But everything is about to change. Job’s three friends have run out of steam. Their accusations and false help have not stuck. And Job’s heart is laid bare with all of his goodness peeled back to reveal an area of need. God loves Job just like He loves us. What seemingly started as a dare between God and Satan has become a tool God uses to reveal to Job his need that he would never have seen without his suffering AND the interactions with his friends. And God will use this to bless not just Job, but his friends too. I am excited to see where God takes us in the coming days.

Father, you love us too much to let us remain stuck. In Isaiah you call out righteousness laid over pride as filthy rags. You desire that we act right towards others, but you desire that to spring forth from our ever-growing relationship with you. So, we bend our knees and lay all our ambitions and motivations before you now. You know them already. We ask that you help us to see ourselves rightly and live surrendered. We offer ourselves to you that you might transform us. We are your children and our desire is to live as faithful men and women of God. Be glorified, our Lord and our God!

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