Tag: new life.

December 16, 2025

December 16th, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 30-31

Highlight Verse:

“Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭30‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This chapter contains formulas for both incense and anointing oil.

I had a pastor friend once who followed the formula for the anointing oil – and it smelled good, very good.

But wait, wasn’t that formula meant to be reserved for the priests and the temple?

Yes. Yes, it was.

And ever since Jesus’ sacrifice, we who have accepted His salvation are the priests and the temple rolled into one.

Just as Jesus’ sacrifice makes us pleasing in God’s sight, the idea of incense is to represent us being a pleasing aroma to God as well.

Just imagine stepping into a friend’s home and getting hit with the aroma of fresh baked bread or cookies. Or maybe for you, it’s stepping onto the patio for the aroma of meat cooking in a smoker.

Either way, it is a wonderful aroma that draws you in closer to its source.

Today, if we wear the incense of salvation and the aroma of anointing,

we will bring delight to God’s heart, not to mention joy to ourselves.

Have you ever been anointed for ministry? Tell us about it?
If not, what ministry would you want to be anointed for?
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?
December 6, 2025

December 6th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Luke 1:26-38

Highlight Verses:

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s where my Lutheran upbringing shows up.

While I’m not that well versed on the liturgical calendar anymore,

I’ve always had a favorite season – Advent.

Granted, when I was a kid growing up in the Lutheran church, I loved the season for the presents, the food, and the time off school.

As an adult, I’m just blown away at the incredible gift that God gave us by sending the Son as a baby to live among us, and to grow up to sacrifice himself that we might live.

As we transition from a season of thanks to a season of anticipation of the arrival of Jesus,

we would do well to thank God for the gift of His Son, our Savior.

It’s not a bad idea to enjoy the presents, food, and vacation time either.

What is the most amazing or interesting aspect of the Advent season for you?
How do you prepare yourself to celebrate the birth of Jesus?
December 1, 2025

December 1st, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 23

Highlight Verse:

““What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The word “hypocrites” occurs 6 times in this chapter. It literally means “actor.”

The teachers of religious law and Pharisees that Jesus dealt with were fakes and they knew it.

They played their parts for fame, importance, and wealth, not because they believed what they taught.

Maybe they started out believing, but the temptation of wealth and fame pulled them out of their faith and into their roles as perpetuators of a shallow legalistic faith.

Today, legalism remains a major factor driving people away from true faith.

I know several people who rejected church when they ran into judgmental attitudes. Some of them went as far as rejecting Jesus.

Worse, I’ve seen some get sucked into legalism to the point that they start driving others away.

Mind you, I am not advocating ignoring sin.

I am advocating bringing people to life through faith. If they have a genuine relationship with Jesus, they will seek to live a more holy life to get closer to Him.

Have you struggled with legalistic people in your life?
Have you struggled against becoming legalistic yourself? What do you do to keep your faith genuine?
November 20, 2025

November 20th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Timothy 3

Highlight Verse:

“These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
‭‭I Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

A pillar moment

is a time when God moved in such a way that the people came away encouraged, empowered, and anointed. In the Old Testament, God had the people erect pillars so they could look and remember the great ways that God changed them.

This word stood out to me because we recently became involved in a new church plant named, you guessed it, Pillar Church.

The mission of our church is to be a place where those pillar moments happen every week.

Regardless of where we attend church, we should go anticipating the movement of God to change our lives.

When we are willing to accept the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives, we not only have those moments at church, but we bring them home. It is then that we get the joy of seeing God move in every part of our lives and the lives of those around us.

Whether that sounds wonderful and too radical, try it.

If you trust God, how bad could it be?

Are you challenged when you attend a church service?
Are you open to taking on those challenges and letting God change you?
October 19, 2025

October 19th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 126-129

Highlight Verse:

“Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭126‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I was a young adult, I ran sound at a major Christian conference center in California. In that capacity I got to sit in on many different conferences put on by a wide variety of groups.

One of my favorites was Jews for Jesus.

Here was this group of believers from a people group that went through the Holocaust just 45 years before. Those who chose to follow Jesus were often shunned by their families.

But their worship was some of the best I have ever seen.

They sang and danced with such joy that none of the other conferences could match.

And they graciously invited me to join in the celebration.

They truly lived out today’s highlight verse.

The Psalms we read today are part of a group of Psalms specifically written for people to sing as they journeyed to Jerusalem for festivals.

Even back then, celebration was built into the culture.

Psalm 126 was written after the exile when Israel was a fraction of the size they were before.

Despite this, or more accurately because of this, they sang and danced with the joy of the redeemed and restored.

Have you been redeemed and restored?
Does the joy in your praise and worship reflect that?
October 13, 2025

October 13th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 13

Highlight Verse:

“Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭55‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The modern version of this could be complacent Christianity.

It’s easy to take Jesus for granted when the culture is saturated by churchy things.

Even in the Bible Belt, it is easy to relegate Jesus to a social activity on Sunday morning.

I once personally knew a healing evangelist who held revivals in the Southeast US and in India.

His meetings in the US might have 50 to a hundred people attend and a handful of healings. It was rare that unbelievers attended, much less found Jesus.

In India, thousands flocked to the meetings and hundred were healed and saved.

You might not agree with the tactics of a healing evangelist (I had a hard time dealing with his style), but you can’t deny how much more God moved in areas where Jesus wasn’t a household word.

While we strive for Christian values to be restored in America (a worthy cause), we should also strive for people to truly trust Jesus as a life changing savior, not just a cultural icon.

Our faith should lead to life changing commitment, not just cultural conformity.

If someone threatened your life unless you renounced Jesus, how would you react?
How can we help others move from cultural acceptance to trust in Jesus?
October 9, 2025

October 9th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Colossians 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

That’s easier said then done.

God gave us a lot of good things on this earth.
• Family
• Friends
• Beauty
• Food
• Natural Wonders

There’s a lot for which we can be thankful – a lot that we get attached to.

I first heard it put into perspective by the late Keith Green.

He said that if this world with all its wonders took six days to create, and Jesus has been preparing heaven for us for 2000 years so far,

“Hey man, this is living in a garbage can compared to what’s going on up there.”

(Intro to I Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven – Keith Green).

So, the most amazing site we see here on earth will seem mundane compared to what we find in heaven!

Besides people, what is the most beautiful site you have ever seen?
What are you looking forward to the most in heaven?

For me, it would have to be a coastal sunset – I never get tired of them.
As for Heaven, being a curious person, I look forward to having questions answered, but I have a feeling that I will be so overwhelmed by the place that I won’t recall a single question.
September 23, 2025

September 23rd, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 12

Highlight Verse:

“But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I remember hearing these stories as a child and thinking how gross it must have been to have blood on your doorposts.

I look back now and realize that, even then, God was setting His plan for salvation in motion.

Just as the Israelites were spared the plague of the firstborn deaths by demonstrating their faith through the blood on their doorposts,

so we are granted eternal life when we accept the blood of Jesus.

Some would say that we must display our acceptance of that sacrifice through participating in communion.

The New Testament makes it plain that Jesus sacrifice must be accepted, but that is all.

As a result of accepting God’s new deal for us, we would certainly want to take communion, but that is not a prerequisite for salvation.

So, while this historical event foreshadows the new covenant, Jesus’ sacrifice completes it.

Have you ever felt like you had to complete the sacraments or meet other standards before you could get eternal life?
How has God’s gift of eternal life altered your view of sacraments and laws?
September 8, 2025

September 8th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 8

Highlight Verse:

“Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus, but they begged him to go away and leave them alone.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does reading about demons make you uncomfortable.

Perhaps you think that exorcisms are a thing of the past and demons aren’t something that show up anymore.

Maybe that’s what the people of this town were thinking.

Jesus showing up and kicking some demonic tail had to have made them very uncomfortable.

Jesus not only stirred up their status quo but shed light on the evil in their midst.

That ruffled their feathers so much they asked Him to leave. And He did.

We naturally want to go along with our lives not facing the things that bring shame or responsibility to the forefront.

We want to stay in our comfortable “good enough” lives. Jesus will allow that.

He will leave us alone.

If we welcome Jesus, He will bring to the light those things that only He can remove from our lives.

And He will deliver us.

Will you welcome Jesus or shun Him?
Have you seen the demonic at work in today’s world? Did you let Jesus deal with it?

Tag: new life.

I had a pastor friend once who followed the formula for the anointing oil – and it smelled good, very good.

Either way, it is a wonderful aroma that draws you in closer to its source.

we will bring delight to God’s heart, not to mention joy to ourselves.

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’ve always had a favorite season – Advent.

we would do well to thank God for the gift of His Son, our Savior.

The word “hypocrites” occurs 6 times in this chapter. It literally means “actor.”

Today, legalism remains a major factor driving people away from true faith.

I am advocating bringing people to life through faith. If they have a genuine relationship with Jesus, they will seek to live a more holy life to get closer to Him.

A pillar moment

Regardless of where we attend church, we should go anticipating the movement of God to change our lives.

Whether that sounds wonderful and too radical, try it.

One of my favorites was Jews for Jesus.

They sang and danced with such joy that none of the other conferences could match.

Despite this, or more accurately because of this, they sang and danced with the joy of the redeemed and restored.

The modern version of this could be complacent Christianity.

It’s easy to take Jesus for granted when the culture is saturated by churchy things.

Our faith should lead to life changing commitment, not just cultural conformity.

That’s easier said then done.

There’s a lot for which we can be thankful – a lot that we get attached to.

“Hey man, this is living in a garbage can compared to what’s going on up there.”

I remember hearing these stories as a child and thinking how gross it must have been to have blood on your doorposts.

so we are granted eternal life when we accept the blood of Jesus.

So, while this historical event foreshadows the new covenant, Jesus’ sacrifice completes it.

Does reading about demons make you uncomfortable.

He will leave us alone.

And He will deliver us.