Tag: integrity

December 11, 2025

December 11th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Timothy 6

Highlight Verse:

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Right now, in this country, there is an explosion in the popularity of Christian culture and music, especially among the young.

That’s a very good thing!

But it also sets up the temptation to use that popularity to get wealthy.

The Bible doesn’t say that being wealthy is wrong.

But pretending to be a believer to get wealthy is specifically named in this passage.

“Do not covet” was one of the Ten Commandments.

But now getting people to want more stuff has become an art as well as an industry..

Today’s highlight verse gives us the formula for true wealth.

Godliness + contentment = great wealth.

Sounds like a simple equation.

But it’s not so easy to live out.

How do you get past the materialism inherent with the Christmas season?
How can you tell when someone is just acting Christian to gain wealth?
December 8, 2025

December 8th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 24

Highlight Verses:

““A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The story has been told of a pastor and a taxi driver who died together in a crash. When they got to heaven, The pastor was shown to a comfortable home with a nice view. Just up the hill from his house was a beautiful mansion. The pastor asked St. Peter, “who does that belong to?” Saint Peter replied, “The taxi driver you came here with.” The pastor was incensed. “Why did he get a mansion and I just got this house?” St. Peter’s reply? “While you guys were on earth, his driving scared more people into repenting than you ever preached into salvation.”

I don’t think that’s how heavenly rewards really work but this passage does tell us that there will be rewards.

That’s something to be glad about, assuming we are faithful, sensible servants of God.

Jesus said that He would go prepare a place for us. Some translations say “mansion.”

But I don’t think we’ll be materialistic at all in heaven.

Our reward will go way beyond the materialistic.

I don’t know the exact nature of it but I know it will be amazing.

In the meantime, Some of our rewards come here on Earth.

I believe that as we are faithful to follow the call that God has for us, He rewards us with more effectiveness and the responsibility, joy and fulfillment that comes with it.

What rewards have you seen so far in your life?
What kind of rewards would you like to see in heaven?
November 29, 2025

November 29th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Thursday delayed – Letters

Reading – 1 Timothy 4

Highlight Verse:

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I like lists.

Here’s a good one about how to lead people in Christ by being an example:

• In what you say.
• In how you live.
• In your love.
• In your faith.
• And in your purity.

If you stay faithful to those principles, no one could refute you honestly.

Instead, those who are honestly seeking truth will follow your lead.

How would you best choose to lead?
Have you seen these principles lived out?
November 25, 2025

November 25th, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 26

Highlight Verse:

““Make another curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent. Make it of finely woven linen and embroider it with exquisite designs, using blue, purple, and scarlet thread.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭26‬:‭36‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The theme for today’s reading seems to be to give your best and most beautiful for the house of God.

In fact, passages like this are sometimes cited to encourage people to wear their “Sunday best” clothing to church.

I don’t think this passage applies directly to that, though it’s not a bad idea. Honestly, for me it’s nice blue jeans and a good inspiring T-shirt for church in the hope that it helps newcomers feel more at-ease.

I would say that this passage supports the idea of bringing our best to God and His ministry.

In other words, ministry should not be an afterthought.

We should do whatever we can to lead people to Jesus.

This, of course, should start at home. We should never neglect time with our families.

The problem is that many people neglect ministry, leaving it to “professionals” rather than taking on their own portion of it.

We were meant to be partners in the work of God, not consumers.

We should give our best efforts to bring about the best change in the lives of those around us.

If you do, don’t be surprised at the blessings that will come your way as well.

Are you plugged into ministry at church or in another group?
In what ways have you been blessed as you do your part?
November 15, 2025

November 15th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Philippians 4:10-20

Highlight Verse:

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I am thankful for the same thing as the original pilgrims – God’s provision.

I’ve never been wealthy by American standards.

In fact, I’ve been terribly close to broke on multiple occasions.

But I’ve never gone truly hungry nor have I had to declare bankruptcy.

Every time I’ve wondered how I was going to pay the bills, God has worked things out for me. Sometimes with extra work, sometimes with the generosity of people around me, sometimes with mysterious unexpected provision. Occasionally, a little financial wisdom has come in handy.

While I don’t want to make this about generosity, I must share that the best blessing has been giving consistently even when the budget seems impossible.

God has honored every gift we have given with provision – not always like we expected but always what has worked out the best.

While we are reasonably comfortable now, the lessons I’ve learned throughout my life make me confident that God will provide for the rest of our lives.

In what ways has God brought unexpected provision to you?
Do you trust Him to provide today?
November 6, 2025

November 6th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Timothy 1

Highlight Verse:

“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I would have thought that Paul would have said that his purpose was to evangelize the world or something like that.

But then I read it again and he says that this is the purpose of his instruction.

I get it.

I’ve always been one of those teacher types.

I’ve trained other techs for many years.

I’ve taught children and youth at church since I was a youth myself.

But I have to stay on guard against teaching others so that I feel good about myself.

I’m not saying that people shouldn’t feel good about themselves, but that shouldn’t be the main purpose.

I’ve said before that I do this so that I would be held accountable to study the Bible for myself.

The truth is the main reason I do this daily writing is so that people would come to a better understanding of the relevance of God’s Word and would be empowered to put it into practice in their lives.

In today’s highlight verse, Paul makes it clear to his successor in training, Timothy that he wants to see the love of God in action among the believers.

Like it or not, we are all teachers with what we say or do.

So shouldn’t we do what we do with a purpose in mind?

What is it that you want other to learn from you?
What are the other main purposes in your life?
November 5, 2025

November 5th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 19-20

Highlight Verse:

“One of Joab’s young men shouted to Amasa’s troops, “If you are for Joab and David, come and follow Joab.””
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭20‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We never know his name,

but this young man may have been the biggest factor in David’s complete return to power.

Joab and Abishai had already left in pursuit of the rebellious Sheba.

They apparently didn’t even think of the confusion Amasa’s body would cause.

Our anonymous young hero saw the problem.

He could have said, “Not my problem,” and moved on.

He could have asked an officer what to do.

But to him it was obvious. Those recruited by Amasa would obviously be confused by his corpse on the trail, so he took it upon himself to do the dirty work of moving and covering the body.

While we never learn his name, his deeds will always be remembered.

That’s the ideal that Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:3-4).

If we want rewards in heaven for our good deeds, we shouldn’t brag about them here on Earth.

Without mentioning names, what good deeds have you seen done around you?
What are ways that we can remain anonymous while performing good deeds?
October 27, 2025

October 27th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 15-16

Highlight Verse:

“Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s easy to look at the disciples and judge them for being dense.

But every now and then, I’ll read a passage or hear a sermon, and something dislodges in my brain, revealing truth I didn’t understand before.

The disciples were with Jesus in person, and they didn’t grasp everything He taught them.

I have the advantage of 2000 years of commentaries and teachers expounding on God’s Word.

But, let’s face it, all that can make it even more difficult to understand.

I’ve said before that I know there will be ideas I hold that will be corrected when I arrive in heaven.

That should not be an excuse to stop learning while I’m still here on Earth.

I need to recognize that there is still much for me to learn and be open to the Holy Spirit chipping away the blocks in my mind that keep me from understanding.

If I am open to the work of the Holy Spirit teaching me, I will understand God better and be able to share about Him more.

Have you ever read a passage or listened to a sermon and stopped listening because you were sure you already had a complete understanding of that subject?
Do you think God could teach you more if you stayed open to what the Holy Spirit has to say to you?
What has the Holy Spirit had to correct in your theology in the past?
October 22, 2025

October 22nd, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 15-16

Highlight Verse:

“Then Absalom would say, “You’ve really got a strong case here! It’s too bad the king doesn’t have anyone to hear it.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I used to be more into politics.

I once backed a candidate who was very honest (a rare bird indeed).

He had some great ideas and would have had a very positive impact on our state as Lieutenant Governor.

His opponent had more money and flooded the state with lies and exaggerations.

Our candidate stayed honest and polite.

Election Day wasn’t that pleasant for us that year.

Absalom reminds me of the opponents of our candidate.

You gotta admit he was intelligent.

But he used that intelligence and persuasive power to win enough support to take over the kingdom through deception.

But the lies were empty, and his intelligence didn’t translate well to running a country.

In the end…, well, let’s save that for another day.

Let’s just say it’s far better to stay honest and to align yourself with honest people.

That doesn’t mean that honest people don’t have tough times. But, in the end, integrity will win out.

When has honesty and integrity helped you succeed?
When have you seen the dishonest come to shame?
October 18, 2025

October 18th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – 2 Peter 1:3-11

Highlight Verses:

“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The car guy in me is peaking out.

I thought of the following story as traffic flew around me the other day.

I wasn’t always a careful driver.

When I was in college, I had this little Opel 1900 wagon.

It wasn’t powerful but it handled well.

I was coming out of Santa Cruz on Highway 9, a very curvy narrow road.

A Mazda RX7 (sports car) was going very slowly ahead of me and let me pass. They then proceeded to follow right on my tail matching my speed as I enjoyed the twisty road.

I pushed that little wagon to it’s limits as we doubled the speed limit through the curves.

Toward the end of the curvy section, there was a turn out for slower vehicles. I knew the Mazda had far more power, so I pulled into the slow lane.

The other driver decided to pull around me before I was clear of the lane.

When they hit leaves and pine needles in the center of the road, they lost traction.

The next thing I knew, they had slid off the road and had stopped with the front peeking over the embankment and the wheels turned toward each other.

They were okay and I gave them a ride into town. I learned a lesson in recklessness that day. The lesson was far more expensive for them.

In the 41 years since then I’ve slowed down quite a bit but there are still times when I have to learn a lesson.

I pray that my eyes are open to the lessons I still need to learn. It’d be nice if those lessons weren’t too expensive either.

What was the most expensive lesson in patience that you had to learn?
Have the lessons gotten easier or harder as you get older?

Tag: integrity

But pretending to be a believer to get wealthy is specifically named in this passage.

But now getting people to want more stuff has become an art as well as an industry..

Godliness + contentment = great wealth.

I don’t think that’s how heavenly rewards really work but this passage does tell us that there will be rewards.

In the meantime, Some of our rewards come here on Earth.

I like lists.

If you stay faithful to those principles, no one could refute you honestly.

The theme for today’s reading seems to be to give your best and most beautiful for the house of God.

I would say that this passage supports the idea of bringing our best to God and His ministry.

We were meant to be partners in the work of God, not consumers.

Today I am thankful for the same thing as the original pilgrims – God’s provision.

God has honored every gift we have given with provision – not always like we expected but always what has worked out the best.

I get it.

But I have to stay on guard against teaching others so that I feel good about myself.

So shouldn’t we do what we do with a purpose in mind?

We never know his name,

Our anonymous young hero saw the problem.

That’s the ideal that Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:3-4).

It’s easy to look at the disciples and judge them for being dense.

That should not be an excuse to stop learning while I’m still here on Earth.

If I am open to the work of the Holy Spirit teaching me, I will understand God better and be able to share about Him more.

Election Day wasn’t that pleasant for us that year.

But the lies were empty, and his intelligence didn’t translate well to running a country.

Let’s just say it’s far better to stay honest and to align yourself with honest people.

The car guy in me is peaking out.

When they hit leaves and pine needles in the center of the road, they lost traction.

I pray that my eyes are open to the lessons I still need to learn. It’d be nice if those lessons weren’t too expensive either.