“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?
““As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”” Daniel 12:13 NLT
Daniel has just been handed all these prophecies about future wars, success and failure and suffering.
And what is Daniel told to do with these prophecies?
Seal the prophecies and go your way.
I’d be like, “Then why did you tell me all this stuff?”
Obviously, the prophecies did not remain a secret forever.
I dare say that some of them have yet to be fulfilled.
They have and continue to prove God is all knowing and not bound by time.
Many have endeavored to explain each of these prophecies with historical events.
I honestly don’t know much about that.
In fact, I get to the end and see that “go your way” phrase and realize, the details of the prophecies do not matter to me personally.
What matters is that I walk in the way that God has called me.
I have a part to play in this historical spiritual battle.
While it is important that I understand the whole battle well enough to do my part well, I do not need to know every detail of every battle.
You might have noticed that the word calling is not used in this command for Daniel to go his way.
But look at Daniel. If ever there was a person with a clear calling and unswerving obedience to that calling, it was Daniel.
Daniel’s way was to walk in the calling God had for him.
If we lay hold of that same command, going your way does not me following the whims of your earthly desires.
It means to walk in the path that God has specially laid out for you.
What does “go your way” mean in the context of your life? How are you following that command?
“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?
“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.
“So fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and burned them up, and they died there before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘I will display my holiness through those who come near me. I will display my glory before all the people.’” And Aaron was silent.” Leviticus 10:2-3 NLT
Ouch!
I don’t know if I would be silent if I were Aaron. He just lost his two eldest sons.
Here’s a couple of things to think about.
The Bible does not say how old Nadab and Abihu were when this happened, but we know that Moses was more than 80 years old. Aaron was three years older. Chances are very good that Nadab and Abihu were at least middle aged.
They were not that new at being priests. Granted, the tabernacle and the sacrificial system were fairly new, but they were counted among the 70 elders, and they were well trained in their duties.
They knew better than to disrespect God by ignoring His instructions.
Their actions could have led many thousands to go astray if God had not dealt with them.
Yes, their fate seems quite harsh.
While we don’t usually see that kind of punishment handed out these days, we know that God is still passionate about protecting His people from that which would lead them astray.
Those of us who have leadership roles should be extremely diligent to lead with integrity, devotion, and Biblical accuracy.
How do you check to be sure that when you lead, you stay on target with your message? Have you ever seen church leaders who lead people to follow after something or someone besides God? What became of them?
“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts of the Apostles 20:24 NLT
At first glance, you might feel pity for Paul.
He says his life is worth nothing if he doesn’t do the work God set out for him.
Then you realize that he did fulfill that assignment and then some.
Nearly every Christian today can trace their spiritual heritage to Paul.
He had a heavy responsibility, but he stepped into it and God supplied the ability and opportunities and the work of the Holy Spirit to fulfill it.
Not too many of us are called to spread the Gospel to the known civilized world.
Wait, that’s not quite true.
We are ALL called to spread the Gospel to the entire world.
We each have our part in that calling.
Some preach to the masses, some make friends and share the love of Jesus, some produce content to influence people toward Jesus, some support the work in various ways.
If you feel like your life is useless, let me assure you that, if you join in the calling to Spread the Gospel, there is great purpose in every breath you take.
Do you know your current part in spreading the Gospel? What can you do today to help spread the Gospel to the World?
“So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.” Ezekiel 37:7 NLT
The Valley of Dry Bones remained dead until Ezekiel spoke.
Of course, it was God who brought life into those bones, but He chose to work through Ezekiel.
It may sound like faith to say that God doesn’t need me to accomplish His will on Earth.
The problem with that is it IS God’s will to accomplish His purposes on Earth through us.
His plans include all His people.
Our participation doesn’t make it easier for Him to do His will. I dare say it is harder to work through us than it would be to do it Himself.
But, when we do His will, it changes us.
We would not be complete without the Holy Spirit working through us. We would miss out on a whole level of life if we didn’t let His life work through us.
If you feel like you aren’t qualified to do God’s work, let God qualify you as you do it.
If you feel like it would take too much out of you to step up and do God’s work, know that He will supply more than you can imagine to replace what you give.
If you feel burnt out from doing God’s work, maybe He will want you to focus on training and leading others to do His work.
While God certainly wants us to practice the Biblical concept of Sabbath rest, that concept involves resting and communing with God to empower us to move forward.
Are you willing to speak to the “Valley of Dry Bones” that God places before you? How has God rewarded you for doing His work?
“All the seaport rulers will step down from their thrones and take off their royal robes and beautiful clothing. They will sit on the ground trembling with horror at your destruction.” Ezekiel 26:16 NLT
Everyone along the coast thought Tyre was an idyllic port. They looked to it as their model. It was the best of the best.
Until it wasn’t.
Its downfall?
Pride and arrogance.
They laughed at the defeat of Israel and Judah, while thinking nothing like that could happen to them.
Until it did.
Like Tyre, I believe the USA is the best place to live in the world.
But I must not let my patriotic pride keep me and this country from being humble before God.
If we laugh at the fate of others while we ignore God, it doesn’t matter how secure we seem, God is stronger and He will reign “Here on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
So, let’s be patriotic, but let’s also remember Who created the entire world and that we are nothing without God.
Have you ever put your devotion to your country before your devotion to God? How did that work out for you? Where do you think the balance of pride should be in regard to devotion to God versus devotion to country?
“I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.” Philemon 1:12 NLT
There are times that I’ve read this and wondered, “What are you doing, Paul? Why send a slave back to his master?”
Certainly, those who ran the Underground Railway during days of slavery in the US were doing the right thing.
Today it is certainly right to do whatever possible to stop human trafficking.
So, why did Paul return a slave to his master?
I’m sure a big part of it was that he knew both Philemon and Onesimus and expected them to act more like brothers in Christ than slave and master.
Would he have sent Onesimus back if that weren’t true?
I suspect not.
While slavery was legal in the Roman Empire at that time, that didn’t make it right.
Paul openly disobeyed the law in various places by preaching. He ended up in prison and eventually executed for his obedience to God’s law rather than society’s law.
If Philemon had been a tyrannical master, I’m sure Paul would have protected Onesimus.
What do you think? Should Paul have returned Onesimus? Should he have taken a stand against slavery? Explain.
Walk in the Light 