“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.” James 3:13 NLT
Prove it!
It’s so simple.
You don’t have to wax profound upon the intricacies of theology.
Just live an honorable life, doing good works with humility.
That will lead more people to the truth of Jesus than all the eloquent teachers combined.
It’s so simple that I will leave it at that today.
Is there someone whose honorable life has inspired you to live more honorably? What are you doing to live honorably?
“The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here!” But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.” 1 Chronicles 11:5 NLT
Jebus was an ideally defensible city. It had high walls around it and difficult terrain leading to it on 3 sides.
Even with Mount Moriah rising above the city, attackers from that direction would be exposed and driven away from the wall.
On top of that, the city had a source of water that would help them survive a siege.
The Jebusites had good reason to be confident in their safety.
But that very confidence caused them to overlook the fatal flaw in their defenses.
Their source of water, the Gihon Spring, allowed an advance party to sneak in and break through the defenses at the gate from the inside.
It is so easy to become overconfident as a believer.
We trust in our accomplishments and successes, even moral successes. That overconfidence leads us to let down our guard, allowing the enemy to infiltrate through areas we thought were good.
I’ve seen it in several pastors and ministry leaders.
They built walls of self-righteousness that hid the cracks that temptation and sin crept into.
By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late and their ministries came tumbling down.
A few, through humility and accountability, have been restored.
Most had their reputations crushed along with much of the positive results of their ministry.
No matter how successful or unfailingly moral we are, we would be wise to stay humble, realizing that we need to keep our guard up even when we are doing well.
Have you ever been blindsided by sin creeping in your life where you didn’t expect it? How did you get through that situation?
“Do not bring shame on my holy name, for I will display my holiness among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy.” Leviticus 22:32 NLT
In chapter 22 alone, the phrase “I am the Lord” appears eight times.
When someone repeats something that many times in that short of a space, they might be trying to say something.
When it is repeated that many times in the Bible, one would be wise to take notice.
In this chapter, it doesn’t take a Bible scholar to figure out that God wants us to notice His holiness.
We are conditioned to think of humility as something to strive for and for us that is true.
Jesus set an example of humility for us when He subjected Himself to authorities even to the point of crucifixion.
But sometimes we tend to forget that upon Jesus’ ascension, God the Father elevated Him to the highest seat in heaven and made Him the name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11).
The truth of God’s holiness is not just an Old Testament thing as in this chapter but was still valid in the New Testament and is still true today.
We tend to emphasize God as a loving Father (which is true) and downplay His absolute holiness and glory.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a close relationship with the Father,
but we need to always keep in mind the absolute respect and reverence that He deserves.
Where do you think the balance between respect and familiarity should land? What do you do to show respect to God?
“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”” Luke 14:11 NLT
The irony of this verse is it seems to suggest that the reason you should be humble is so you can be exalted.
That’s not the point.
Jesus comes out against the narcissist who would elevate themselves above everyone else.
Inevitably, that person will be brought down, if not in this life, certainly in the next.
The falsely humble person who chooses humility to gain recognition may get that recognition in this world, but God, who sees through to the heart, will only recognize true humility in the next life.
The truly humble will not seek recognition of any sort, in this life or the next.
Those are the ones whom God can trust to lead in the next life.
While trust in Jesus and repentance is what opens the door to eternal life, humility will earn the humble a place of honor and trust.
What is your take on humility? Do you think that the truly humble can seek a reward of honor? Or is that reward simply a consequence of humility?
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.” Hebrews 13:8-9 NLT
The denomination I spent most of my adult life in had Hebrews 13:8 posted in every church.
That’s a very good thing.
We should be reminded that the Gospel is unchanging, that Jesus is just as powerful today as 2000 years ago.
But it doesn’t stop there.
In context, the writer of Hebrews is countering a trend to follow a kosher diet to remain in good standing with God.
That was never part of the Gospel.
While that specific issue is not much of a current topic today, the concept remains the same.
Verse 8 goes hand in hand with verse 9.
Culture changes.
The Gospel does not.
While the way we perceive the Gospel may change, the Truth remains – Salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus alone.
No special rules.
Just acknowledge your sin, and trust in Jesus by accepting His sacrifice to pay for that sin.
If you think more is required for salvation, think again.
No special diet, no ceremonies, no priests, just faith.
Are there any traditions or new ideas that you have felt were essential to salvation? Are there any popular new ideas that you see as a threat to the message of salvation? Please explain.
“These were the sons of David, not including his sons born to his concubines. Their sister was named Tamar.” 1 Chronicles 3:9 NLT
Every family tree has some interesting branches.
My own grandmother was a servant in my grandfather’s parents’ household when they ran off to America together.
In the Bible there were many interesting characters and incidents.
Did you know that two of them were named Tamar?
They are both mentioned in today’s reading.
One was the widowed daughter-in-law of Judah.
Then there was David’s daughter who was a victim of her half brother Amnon.
I had to wonder if there was any significance to the name “Tamar.” Nope.
I looked it up. It means “date palm.”
While it was not a common name, it was not completely uncommon.
Its variants can still be found throughout the western world (Tamara, Tammy, etc.).
Then I wondered how similar their stories were.
Both were victims, but of very different wrongs.
David’s daughter lived out her life in presumed righteousness in another brother’s household.
Judah’s daughter-in-law fought back in a rather questionable way, tricking Judah into fathering her twin sons.
One of Tamar’s twins was an ancestor to King David and eventually Jesus.
God took that crazy messed up situation and turned it around for good.
He does that.
A lot.
Just look up the stories of Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba and many others.
If your family tree has some cracked branches or you feel like you are a sagging branch on your family tree, know that God has a habit of repairing branches, even grafting them into His own branch.
Will you let him repair your branches?
What is your favorite story of redemption in the Bible? What is your story of redemption?
Reading – 2 Kings 21-25 (sorry it’s so long – I’ll try to fix it next time through).
Highlight Verse:
“So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the New Quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, the keeper of the Temple wardrobe.” 2 Kings 22:14 NLT
They consulted who?
How did they know her?
Most of the information in chapters 22 and 23 are about Josiah, who sounded like a pretty awesome king.
It’s a safe guess that prophets were rare in the days after Manasseh, who sounded like horrible king.
When Josiah asked this team to inquire of the Lord, they may have seen her as their best source.
And it sounds like she knew the Lord’s heart for the situation. The word she gave was right on target.
This is the point where you ask, “Why should we care about Huldah?”
This is the only time her name occurs in the Bible (not counting the repeat of this same story in Chronicles).
But her prophecy had a big impact on King Josiah’s reign.
It can even be inferred that this prophecy helped make the exile short and the return successful.
All because she was faithful to stay true to the Lord and spoke His Word boldly.
Most of us will never be well known. But that does not mean that we cannot have a big impact.
Like Huldah, we need to stay faithful and true to God’s Word.
When called upon, we need to speak God’s Word boldly without compromise.
There’s no limit to what God can do with His Word through those who are faithful.
Have you been called upon to deliver God’s Word? Were you prepared through faithfulness? Are you prepared now?
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.” Proverbs 17:3 NLT
And sometimes the Lord uses fire to test the heart.
The photo today is of last night’s beautiful sunset in North Platte, NE.
Unfortunately, it was beautiful because of major wildfires in Nebraska.
Already over half a million acres have burnt. Fortunately, the fires are in sparsely populated areas, but they are spreading quickly, and winds are expected to be very high today.
When people are faced with disaster, that is when true character comes out.
Some will do whatever it takes to protect themselves and assure their own survival.
Others will protect their loved ones at all costs.
Finally, a third group will help as many people as they can with the resources that they have.
I have not been in a major disaster, but the minor ones have mostly fallen in the second category. I definitely check on my own first.
But when the situation allows, I will turn to help others once my family is taken care of.
Case in point was a music festival years ago on a farm in western New Jersey. The remnants of a hurricane blew through that day, but the show went on (at least for those who braved the elements).
When they finally called it quits halfway through the afternoon, many cars were stuck in the muddy fields.
I joined a group of people pushing cars out of the mud.
When I finally got home, I discovered how completely covered in mud I was.
But I looked back at realized that was one of the best times I have had at a concert.
Now if they could just get some of that rain on the fires in Nebraska!
How do you react in the aftermath of disaster? What have been some of your experiences?
Note: if you are reading this in the middle of March 2026, please pray that the fires in Nebraska and elsewhere are quickly extinguished and that victims experience love in the form of people living out their faith by helping.
Walk in the Light 