Tag: new life.

September 5, 2023

September 5th, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 9

Highlight Verse:

“Please beg the Lord to end this terrifying thunder and hail. We’ve had enough. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭9‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Pharaoh and Moses had an interesting relationship.

You have to ask, “Why didn’t Pharaoh just kill Moses and Aaron?”

Did Pharaoh respect him? Fear him? Fear God?

Maybe it was all of the above.

One thing is certain, by the time the plague of hail came, Pharaoh knew for certain that Moses could stop the plagues with a prayer.

So why did he wait until the worst plague possible to stop going back on his word to let the people go?

Maybe we should ask ourselves the same thing.

We do that thing that God asked us to not do, or we don’t do that thing he asked us to do. Then we repent. We earnestly turn to the right path and swear we’ll never do that again. And then we blow it again. Or we mess up in an entirely different way.

But if we truly trust Jesus, we will make progress.

We may have relapses or discover something else that is wrong with how we live. But we trust Jesus to guide us on the best path and learn with each step.

Pharaoh never really learned his lesson. You’ll read how that turned out for him later.

Do you trust that Jesus will guide you on the best path for you?
Do you act on that trust?
September 1, 2023

September 1st, 2023

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jeremiah 37-39

Highlight Verse:

“Jeremiah was put into a dungeon cell, where he remain for many days.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭37‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Okay! Not exactly a verse that encourages someone to stand for the truth of the Gospel!

That didn’t stop Jeremiah.

He kept telling the truth.

It landed him in jail.

We still have freedom of speech here in the United States. Many are persecuted daily for following Jesus in other parts of the globe.

Even here, some would ban the message of Jesus as unfair.

We can only persevere in the midst of persecution and stand by our message. In the end it will prove true.

Have you ever been the object of persecution?
How have you reacted?
August 17, 2023

August 17th, 2023

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Galatians 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have had days when every little mistake made me feel guilty. I felt like I had to be perfect in order to appease God.

I was doing the same thing that Paul admonished the Galatians for.

We shouldn’t try to be perfect so that we appear to be good Christians. We should trust Jesus for our salvation and do good things out of love and gratitude and because we trust Him to guide us.

And when we mess up, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up and try to do better to appease God.

Instead we should fall back on the trust we have in Him.

So how do you know whether what you do is out of guilt or out of trust?

Guilt knocks you down. Trust builds you up.

Be encouraged today because God is on your side and wants only what’s the best for you.

Then act out of trust, not out of guilt.

Do you act out of trust or out of guilt?
Can you tell the difference?
August 7, 2023

August 7th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is John the Baptist speaking. The way he lived was radically repentant of sin.

If you’re wondering, locusts and wild honey were considered “clean” food.

Does that mean that we all need to live in the wilderness and eat locusts and wild honey.

Umm… NO!

But he did say “repented of your sins and turned to God”. That doesn’t mean we can be perfect. It does mean that we should be living our lives in a way that brings us closer to God and further from sin.

If we do that, people will see it and know that there is something different about us.

If they can’t tell the difference between us and those who are not living for God, we’d better take a closer look at what repentance means.

Can people tell that you are trying to live a life turned toward God?
What do you think repenting of sins should look like?
July 16, 2023

July 15th, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 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

I will confess tonight that the hour is late and my brain is a bit foggy after a very long day.

Like David, I am completely dependent on the Lord tonight.

David recognizes that he has much to learn from God and that the only way to have a pure heart is to seek that pure heart from God.

He is 100% dependent on God and he knows it.

It is so easy to rest on our accomplishments while God is knocking at our door trying to take us to the next level.

The next level is not achieved by the heights of our accomplishments but rather the depths of our dependence on God.

In what ways are you completely dependent or God?
What areas do we fall short of relying completely on God.
July 15, 2023

July 15th, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Genesis 2:21-24

Highlight Verse:

“This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today we have a party.

Our second daughter is engaged so a bunch of friends and family are coming to celebrate with us today.

One of the reasons we celebrate is because this is how it was meant to be from the beginning.

As much as we sometimes don’t want them to grow up, our kids were meant to become adults.

They’re meant to fly from the nest.

They do best when they soar on their own wings.

In most cases, marriage to the right person brings about a new family with a new life of its own.

We have two more kids to go before we complete the transition to the empty nest. While I look forward to the time my wife and I will have together in retirement, I am more excited about seeing our kids launch into their own families.

Of course, the time flies too quickly so we will cherish each of these days we have with them now.

What stage of family life are you in?
What do you look forward to the most when your kids launch into their own lives?
What do you fear the most?
July 8, 2023

July 8th, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Genesis 2:1-3

Highlight Verse:

“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve read this dozens of times and never noticed this.

It’s always been about the rest. God even called the day of rest “holy”.

But here’s what came before the rest…

He FINISHED the work of creation.

I’ll admit, I’m one to start projects and never complete them. The fact that I’ve finished 3 novels is nothing short of miraculous. Mind you, I have at least 5 others started but not completed.

I’m so close to completing the clean up of our back yard in preparation for a gathering next week.

Yet here I am resting.

Okay, tonight I can’t work out there since it’s raining, but you get the point.

We (or at least I) tend to put more emphasis on the resting than the completion.

What would happen if we rested AFTER we completed a project (of reasonable size).

That might be normal for workaholics, but it could be life-changing for procrastinators like me.

What’s your take on this completion concept?
Do you lean more toward overworking or procrastinating?
Where is the balance point?
July 6, 2023

July 6th, 2023

Thursday – letters

Reading – 2 Corinthians 5

Highlight Verse:

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Okay, let’s see a show of hands – of those who know me, how many thought I was going to highlight verse 13.

I thought so.

Yes, 2 Corinthians 5:13 is still my favorite verse but the one that caught my eye today was verse 17. (Besides, I covered v. 13 on April Fools Day).

Today’s highlight verse begs the question “Why would I wait till I die to come alive?” (as quoted from the Switchfoot song, Afterlife )

When I was growing up, faith was an insurance policy guaranteeing eternal life. I have long since come to realize that my

new life began the day I said yes to Jesus!

Every day I try to live it to the fullest doing what I can to bring positive change to those around me.

Some days are better than others but one thing rings true through it all. This ain’t some dead religion I’m living out.

I’m alive through the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

Have you come alive yet?
Do you want that life?
July 3, 2023

July 3rd, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Mark 11-12

Highlight Verse:

“So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The people who had made the error were the Sadducees who didn’t believe in an afterlife.

Jesus used Scripture to prove that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been raised to eternal life. With that, He showed that we too would be raised to eternal life.

It should be noted that the language here made it clear that Jesus was speaking of physical resurrection.

While we won’t be here on this Earth and we will have different bodies from the imperfect ones we have now, it’s clear that

we will have bodies.

It won’t be an eternal life of floating around the ether in spiritual form. We will have physical form with senses and voices.

While there won’t be marriage in heaven, it is spoken of as a wedding feast so I’d say there’s a good chance there will be food.

There are more hints and descriptions of heaven that have been interpreted in a wide variety of ways.

I think we can rest assured that it will be paradise.

That’s the word Jesus himself used to describe it from the cross.

What are you looking forward to in heaven?
What do you think it is going to be like?
June 24, 2023

June 24th, 2023

NOTE: I struggled with this one for over an hour last night and was still not satisfied with it. This morning I realized what was missing so it has been revised.

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Jeremiah 18:1-10

Highlight Verse:

“But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭18‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does God change His mind?

If it were anyone else, you might think so. The reality is, we’re the ones who need reshaping sometimes.

We think we’re bargaining with God when the truth is, he is taking that mis-sharpen lump of clay and turning it into a masterpiece.

I met someone yesterday who was full of it –

Full of joy,

Full of hope,

Full of grace,

Full of the Holy Spirit.

A few years ago his life was like that mis-shaped lump of clay. It was falling apart. The pursuit of pleasure through drugs, alcohol, and carnal pursuits had brought him to a place of complete hopelessness.

He was ready to chuck it all and take his life.

But God intervened.

He allowed God to reshape him. God is still reshaping him into a man who will impact the world for good.

Do feel like a mis-shaped lump of clay with no hope of ever straightening out?
Or perhaps you are a usable vessel but are bothered by your imperfections?

Turn it over to the Master Potter. He will create a masterpiece out of you.

Walk in the Light

Tag: new life.

September 5, 2023

Pharaoh and Moses had an interesting relationship.

Maybe we should ask ourselves the same thing.

But if we truly trust Jesus, we will make progress.

September 1, 2023

Okay! Not exactly a verse that encourages someone to stand for the truth of the Gospel!

August 17, 2023

I was doing the same thing that Paul admonished the Galatians for.

Guilt knocks you down. Trust builds you up.

August 7, 2023

Does that mean that we all need to live in the wilderness and eat locusts and wild honey.

If we do that, people will see it and know that there is something different about us.

July 16, 2023

Like David, I am completely dependent on the Lord tonight.

The next level is not achieved by the heights of our accomplishments but rather the depths of our dependence on God.

July 15, 2023

One of the reasons we celebrate is because this is how it was meant to be from the beginning.

They do best when they soar on their own wings.

July 8, 2023

I’ve read this dozens of times and never noticed this.

He FINISHED the work of creation.

What would happen if we rested AFTER we completed a project (of reasonable size).

July 6, 2023

new life began the day I said yes to Jesus!

I’m alive through the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

July 3, 2023

we will have bodies.

I think we can rest assured that it will be paradise.

June 24, 2023

Does God change His mind?

I met someone yesterday who was full of it –

Full of joy,

Full of hope,

Full of grace,

Full of the Holy Spirit.

But God intervened.

Turn it over to the Master Potter. He will create a masterpiece out of you.