Tag: mental health

November 7, 2025

November 7th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Lamentations 5

Highlight Verses:

“Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had! Or have you utterly rejected us? Are you angry with us still?”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These are the final words of the Lament.

But they are not the last word on God’s relationship with us.

This book has an unfortunate end before the return from exile.

But the return happened.

And later, God Himself came in the form of Jesus.

And Jesus made the sacrifice that gives us the ability to enjoy new life with God.

It may be cliché but the saying “if it’s not good, then it’s not over” applies to every believer’s life.

If we trust in God, He will make a way for us to live fulfilling lives culminating in a heavenly eternity (literally).

Can you relate to the laments in this book?
Do you know the peace and joy of trusting in God?
Do you trust Him to turn your mourning into dancing? (Psalm 30:11)
October 20, 2025

October 20th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 14

Highlight Verse:

“After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As many times as I’ve read this chapter before, I don’t think I ever realized that Jesus was mourning the death of John the Baptist during this time.

After hearing the news of John’s death, Jesus tried to get some time alone.

The crowds and His compassion for them would not allow it.

Once his ministry was completed for that time, He finally got the solitude He craved.

I can only imagine that He dealt with his grief in conversation with the Father in that time alone.

If Jesus had to take time to deal with grief, how much more do we need to take time to deal with the grief and other issues in our lives?

I believe God designed us with that need to work through emotions. I also believe that He is there to help us work through it.

He has perfect compassion and knows how to help us handle life’s rough times.

We need to be willing to start that process by spending time in prayer.

Are you working through issues that God could help you with? Is there something keeping you from spending time in prayer to work through them?
Have you experienced God’s emotional healing power in times of grief? How has He helped you through it?
October 15, 2025

October 15th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 13-14

Highlight Verse:

“So at Absalom’s signal they murdered Amnon. Then the other sons of the king jumped on their mules and fled.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭13‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This one verse raises so many questions.

The first thing that stands out to my slightly warped brain is, “Mules? Why mules? Didn’t they have horses?”

I don’t know the answer to that nor do I really care. The important thing is that they got away.

What next stands out to me is the fact that Absalom was incredibly persuasive. I’m sure his good looks helped, but to get people to kill for you takes a diabolical amount of persuasive power.

Looking back at his life, things look like they started going sideways when Amnon took advantage of his sister.

Instead of seeking justice, he sought revenge.

His revenge against Amnon came quickly but he extended his rage against his father and brothers.

More on that in the coming weeks.

Today we see Absalom’s rage turn pathological. It controlled him to the point that his actions became diabolical in the literal sense of the word.

He let the devil control his thoughts and actions in an attempt to destroy David’s kingdom.

All this started with taking justice into his own hands rather than turning it over to God and the justice system God put into place in Israel.

Terrible things happen. The need for justice can make people do desperate things.

But God is the ultimate judge and will bring justice one way or another.

Have you ever been tempted to take justice into your own hands?
What do you do when you doubt that justice will be served?
How can you help assure that proper justice will be served?
September 27, 2025

September 27th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Proverbs 3

Highlight Verse:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was recently driving in my work van with the adaptive cruise control on.

I love how it adjusts my speed to the traffic ahead of me and still keeps me from going too fast when traffic opens up.

I’m impressed with the practical science that has advanced to the point that it will maintain the distance I set even in stop and go traffic.

But I always cancel it before traffic gets very slow.

Why?

I believe in the science and technology that went into making that system work.

But deep down, I don’t trust it.

In one of those moments of tapping the brake to take it out of cruise, truth hit me.

It’s so easy to believe that truth – that God is in control, and He has good plans for my life.

But how many times have I tapped the brake and taken control.

I’ve done it so often I couldn’t even tell you.

Like tapping out of cruise control, it’s natural to want control when God takes you into risky places.

We crave safety.

But the rewards lie at the end of the risky road.

I still don’t advocate letting our fancy new cars take total control.

But I want to keep my eyes open for times when Jesus wants to take the wheel.

When I get past my fear, I might just enjoy the ride.

When have you hit the brakes on God’s risky plans for your life?
What rewards have you seen from giving Him control even in the risky parts of your life?
August 20, 2025

August 20th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Samuel 27-28

Highlight Verse:

“One day David said to Achish, “If it is all right with you, we would rather live in one of the country towns instead of here in the royal city.””
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭27‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I want to point to this and say,

“See, David was a good ol’ country boy.”

But, let’s face it, at this stage in his life,

he became the dread pirate David.

He left the royal city so he could deceive Achish into thinking they were on the same team.

This wasn’t the best chapter in David’s life.

Discouragement from being constantly pursued by King Saul had worn him out

to the point of running to the Philistines and resorting to raiding enemy villages while he lived there.

He raided villages to the south of Israel so, when he came back, he could make it look like he had been raiding Israelite villages, strengthening his bond with Achish.

That was a bond that he should never have had in the first place.

He wasn’t making wise decisions.

And this is where I draw my thoughts from today.

When we are discouraged, we are vulnerable.

We might not go raiding enemy villages, but we may turn to the wrong people and try to keep them happy.

That didn’t work so well for David.

How do we deal with that discouragement?

We can surround ourselves with encouragers

– people who radiate wise advice while encouraging us to stay faithful.

Has discouragement ever led you to follow the wrong people?
How did you get through it?
August 16, 2025

August 16th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Romans 12:9-21

Highlight Verse:

“Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have a decent job with one big drawback.

Most days I have to work downtown.

Fortunately, it’s downtown Denver.

From our neighborhood to the north, I can avoid the freeways and stay on less travelled surface roads.

The main reason I do this is because I know that the biggest trigger for anger for me is traffic, especially impatient, reckless drivers.

They stay mostly on the freeways.

Driving the side roads, I don’t get mad.

It’s one way that I can follow today’s Scripture and leave at peace with others.

What do you do to live at peace with one another?
When is it not possible as far as it is up to you?
August 2, 2025

August 2nd, 2025

Saturday – Open topic

Reading – Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35.

Highlight Verses:

““If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The other day, someone pulled across the road directly in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and laid on the horn.

I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut and fingers tucked away.

As the car passed me the driver gave me a look as if to say, “What’s your problem?”

At that point, the thought crossed my mind, “Do I really have to forgive someone who is unrepentant?”

I knew the answer. Forgiving that person, or anyone else who does me wrong in anyway, is essential.

In most cases, it makes no difference to the other person.

It makes all the difference to me.

Unforgiveness would make me a slave to anger. It would close me off from God’s forgiveness.

It’s not even an option in my book.

Have you ever struggled with unforgiveness?
Have you experienced the freedom that comes with forgiving others?
July 28, 2025

July 28th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Mark 15-16

Highlight Verse:

“The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard of the governor’s headquarters (called the Praetorium) and called out the entire regiment.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why would the soldiers call out the whole regiment?

In my first two years of high school, I went to school in a wealthy suburb of San Francisco. (I lived in one of the little duplexes at the bottom of the hill).

There was still a lot of racial tension back in the 1970s and when a fight broke out between a white local student and a black student that was bused in from East Palo Alto, hundreds ran down to the parking lot to watch.

It quickly escalated to a brawl.

I stayed as far away as I could.

It was a tough time to be a minority. My Mexican dad refused to speak Spanish at home for fear that us kids would learn and be discovered to be half Mexican.

The Roman Empire was a tough time and place to be a Hebrew.

The Roman soldiers would have thought it great fun to be given free reign to abuse and insult a Hebrew like Jesus.

They all gathered around to join in the “fun.”

It’s very easy to get caught up in the group mentality even when the group is going off the rails.

I’m sure there were some more levelheaded soldiers in that regiment, but they all gathered to take part in the abuse.

In this same chapter, some of the people who followed Jesus just days before shouted for his crucifixion.

I dare say that if I had been all white, I might have gotten caught up in that racist brawl.

We need to be diligent to follow Jesus even when the crowd goes a different way.

For those who are the victims of abuse, Jesus can truly understand what it is like to be abused.

His heart goes out to all those who have suffered abuse and discrimination.

Just like He healed bodies, He can heal your heart.

Have you ever gotten caught up in a bad group mentality? How did you break free from that?
How has Jesus healed your abused heart?
July 20, 2025

July 20th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalm 86-88

Highlight Verse:

“Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭86‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David knew what he was talking about here.

He’s been called a “man after God’s own heart.”

But even David had to ask God to give him purity of heart.

Some versions say, “unite my heart.”

David realized that his heart was divided between his selfish desires and dedication to God.

If we are honest, I think we can all say that about our hearts.

It’s likely that our hearts won’t be completely pure until we reach heaven.

In the meantime, we weed out that which divides our hearts.

But just like my yard, the weeds come back.

The gardens of our hearts need constant attention.

May we daily pray, “Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.”

And follow that up with actually removing that which divides our hearts.

Have you made a habit of daily asking for purity of heart?
If you have been doing that daily, how has it changed your life?
April 23, 2025

April 22nd, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – Judges 17-19

Highlight Verse:

“so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night. That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin.”
‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If you read this whole chapter, you know it’s messed up in so many ways.

It starts with a Levite in an unofficial marriage.

When the concubine gets mad at the Levite and goes home, he doesn’t go after her for 4 months.

When he does bring her back, he stops for the night at an Israelite town in Benjamin’s territory.

You’d think that would be a smart move but not this town. As we see in the highlight verses, the only person to help them is an older field laborer from Ephraim, which happens to be where the Levite is from.

The people of Gibeah are so bad, I won’t dare repeat what they did here.

Why did they act like that?

They lived in a time when there was no good leadership in Israel.

Without proper guidance, the people of Gibeah gave into their basest desires to the expense of everyone who wasn’t one of them.

I am certain there were people there who could have made good leaders. They just did not step up to lead.

As a result, sin was allowed to thrive, and God was dishonored. Ultimately, Benjamin was nearly wiped out as a result.

Has God called you to be a leader or an encourager to leaders?
What are you doing about it?

Tag: mental health

These are the final words of the Lament.

But they are not the last word on God’s relationship with us.

It may be cliché but the saying “if it’s not good, then it’s not over” applies to every believer’s life.

After hearing the news of John’s death, Jesus tried to get some time alone.

If Jesus had to take time to deal with grief, how much more do we need to take time to deal with the grief and other issues in our lives?

We need to be willing to start that process by spending time in prayer.

This one verse raises so many questions.

Instead of seeking justice, he sought revenge.

But God is the ultimate judge and will bring justice one way or another.

But deep down, I don’t trust it.

But how many times have I tapped the brake and taken control.

But the rewards lie at the end of the risky road.

“See, David was a good ol’ country boy.”

he became the dread pirate David.

Discouragement from being constantly pursued by King Saul had worn him out

When we are discouraged, we are vulnerable.

We can surround ourselves with encouragers

The main reason I do this is because I know that the biggest trigger for anger for me is traffic, especially impatient, reckless drivers.

It’s one way that I can follow today’s Scripture and leave at peace with others.

At that point, the thought crossed my mind, “Do I really have to forgive someone who is unrepentant?”

It makes all the difference to me.

Unforgiveness would make me a slave to anger. It would close me off from God’s forgiveness.

Why would the soldiers call out the whole regiment?

It’s very easy to get caught up in the group mentality even when the group is going off the rails.

We need to be diligent to follow Jesus even when the crowd goes a different way.

His heart goes out to all those who have suffered abuse and discrimination.

But even David had to ask God to give him purity of heart.

In the meantime, we weed out that which divides our hearts.

May we daily pray, “Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.”

If you read this whole chapter, you know it’s messed up in so many ways.

The people of Gibeah are so bad, I won’t dare repeat what they did here.

I am certain there were people there who could have made good leaders. They just did not step up to lead.