Tag: radical call

August 14, 2026

August 14th, 2026

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Micah 1-2

Highlight Verses:

“Look! The Lord is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill.”
‭‭Micah‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The first thing I noticed about Micah was the

uniquely poetic language.

Make no mistake, it is God’s Word.

But I find it fascinating that God chose to work within the styles and circumstances of each prophet to bring His message to us.

The Bible has about 40 writers over 66 books with many different styles and one message – God’s love for us exhibited in many different ways in different contexts.

I should make the disclaimer that this is not a pure exposition of the direct truths of this passage.

Instead, today I simply observe one of God’s truths lived out in the delivery of God’s truth to the people of Israel.

If you need proof of the validity of this point, read about it in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

The point is, God uses our individual styles and situations to bring His Word to people today.

Mind you, He is not using us to add to His Word.

But He can use our stories, our artwork, our music, our hospitality, etc., to bring the principles of His Word to the world around us.

We would do well to seek God’s guidance on the unique ways He can work through each of us.

How do you think God can best use you to bring His Word to the world?
How have you seen Him work through you in the past?
August 10, 2026

August 10th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 8

Highlight Verse:

“But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭8‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Simon had ministry envy.

(Read the verses around today’s Highlight Verse if you haven’t already.)

He was accustomed to being called “The Great One” and having people turn to him for the miraculous.

That doesn’t mean he didn’t believe in Jesus.

But his heart was not fully there yet.

I must admit, I have been envious of those who were successful in ministry before.

Granted, I didn’t try to buy their blessing.

But my situation kept me from finishing Bible college and my ministry stayed on a lay person level.

But that’s okay.

I can look back and honestly say that God has used me in ways I didn’t expect.

He didn’t call me to be the pastor of a big successful church.

He called me to reach people from wherever He plants me.

He has a call for each one of us.

It may not look as flashy as someone else’s call, but we can trust in the fact that God has chosen the best place to use each of us.

There is no need for envy.

Have you ever been envious of how someone else was being used by God?
How has God used you in your unique situations?
August 3, 2026

August 3rd, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 7

Highlight Verse:

“Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭7‬:‭57‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s easy to think that refusing to listen to opposing views is a modern issue.

It is.

But it has been going on for thousands of years.

In Stephen’s case, it resulted in his death.

One could argue that, if Stephen had not preached at his accusers, things may have turned out differently.

I assure you that, at this moment, Stephen is in the same place he would have been if he had lived a longer life on earth.

But would he have lived out his purpose? Would his message have been preserved as it has been? Would Saul have become Paul and had as effective of a ministry if he had not participated in Stephen’s death?

I cannot answer those questions with certainty, but I can say that

Stephen spoke the message the Holy Spirit gave him with a boldness that arose from great faith.

I’m not saying that we should provoke those who oppose us.

In fact, we should always listen to those who oppose us and be sure to reply with the grace of God rather than our own anger.

But we should also always be ready to proclaim what the Holy Spirit gives us to say with boldness that can only come from deep faith.

Do you have the depth of faith that Stephen possessed?
Have you had the opportunity to speak the truth of God in the midst of opposition? How did it turn out?
July 29, 2026

July 29th, 2026

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Chronicles 22-24

“And all the people went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭23‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jehoiada was a wise man.

He was politically savvy too.

He made all the arrangements for 7-year-old Joash to become king in place of Athaliah, who had seized power improperly.

Jehoiada had obviously been making alliances well in advance.

And when he got Joash onto the throne, one of the first things he did was to get rid of one of Israel’s biggest distractions, the temple of Baal.

You could say that it was a terribly violent act, but sometimes standing for the truth requires violence.

I am not calling for the same kind of violence today.

I am calling for a different kind of violence.

If there is something in our lives that is seriously distracting you or I from following Jesus wholeheartedly, we would be wise to remove it.

Such a removal may even seem violent in the midst of it.

But if something is keeping us from God, it would be unwise to keep it around.

I don’t know what that looks like for you.

It could be removing access to a sinful activity from your life. It could be forming a new habit of setting aside an unproductive habit to make time for others and for God.

But if you have something that you know is in the way of your relationship with God, remove it. You won’t be sorry.

What distraction have you had to remove from your life?
What is there that still needs to be removed?
July 14, 2026

July 14th, 2026

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 21-22

Highlight Verse:

“So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Heshbon and its surrounding villages.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love road trips!

Last month I managed to explore nine states and four national parks in one road trip.

It was great.

But it was also good to get home.

I’ve lived in Colorado for 20 years now.

Sounds pretty stable, but I wasn’t always that way.

In my younger years, I moved several times across several states.

There were several reasons for that – some good, some not so good.

In hind sight, I would say that only two of those places were right where God had called me.

As for the Israelites, it would seem good for them to settle in a territory they had just conquered.

Only one problem – it wasn’t the promised land.

This area became the territory of the tribes of Gad and Rueben after they begged to be able to stay there when the rest of Israel crossed into the promised land.

Compared to the fertile land west of the Jordan River, this area was arid and difficult to live off of.

Sometimes we do the same thing as those two tribes.

God has a calling for each and every person.

It may not be easy to see, but if we persevere in prayer and faith, the pieces will fall into place.

Sometimes, along the journey to our calling, our “promised land,” we find the comfortable to be “good enough.”

When we settle for good enough, we miss out on God’s best.

It is not always easy to tell the difference, but with God’s best, you will not have to compromise your values, your faith, your morals, or God’s calling on your life.

It’s a lesson I should have learned long ago.

Have you ever found yourself settling for “good enough” instead of God’s best?
How did you recognize when you were compromising?
July 13, 2026

July 13th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 4

Highlight Verse:

“Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Are those names familiar?

This was the same group that Jesus was brought before. (John 18)

The last time Peter was here, he denied Jesus three times.

If you read the whole chapter, you know that Peter reacted differently this time. Even though he and John were the ones in the hot seat this time and he must have suspected that his life was on the line, there was no trace of the fear that once stopped Peter cold.

What happened?

Two things.

In John 21, Jesus restored his relationship with Peter after breakfast on the beach. When Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus, Jesus challenged him with a leadership role (“feed my sheep”).

Then, in Acts 2, Peter and the rest of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

I know there are differing views on the way the Holy Spirit works today but one thing that cannot be denied is the Holy Spirit supplies boldness when it is needed to deliver the good news of Jesus.

Peter experienced that boldness here.

If you let Him, the same Holy Spirit can give you power to spread the good news too.

Have you experienced the power of the Holy Spirit working through you?
In what way would you want to experience that power today?
June 15, 2026

June 15th, 2026

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Luke 24

Highlight Verse:

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have questions.

Why was it just the women who went to the tomb to take care of Jesus’ body?
What were their expectations?
Why did the angels sound so harsh (at least the way I read it) to the women?

I can only answer that final question with any degree of certainty.

Jesus had already said that he would come back to life. (Mark 8:31, etc.) The angels expected the women to believe that.

If they had taken Jesus at His word, they would not have prepared the spices for embalming.

Instead, they would have stayed at the tomb anticipating Jesus’ resurrection.

How many times do we follow our traditions when we should be taking Jesus’ at His word.

We observe rules out of fear instead of love.
We worry instead of trusting Jesus’ promises.
We judge instead of forgiving.

We trust a God who is risen and brings life.

Let’s not set Him aside in a little box labeled “only on Sundays.”

Have you ever found yourself trusting in tradition instead of Jesus?
How do you tell the difference between tradition and true faith?
June 7, 2026

June 7th, 2026

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Ecclesiastes 3-4

Highlight Verses:

“So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Some consider Ecclesiastes to be rather hedonistic, emphasizing pleasure over eternity.

I don’t know about you, but

I don’t see anywhere in this book where it says to go out and sin because there are no consequences.

I also don’t see anywhere in the Bible where it tells us to have a miserable life.

Today’s highlight verses have nothing to do with sinning. Instead, they tell us to be happy and enjoy the gifts God has given.

These gifts include:

Food.
Employment to be able to afford the food.
Water and other beverages to drink.
And the very life that makes enjoyment possible.

The world around us has pushed the lie that you have to have sin to enjoy life.

Sin is like a greedy lender that lets you buy something you want right now but takes away the opportunity to buy stuff later because of the high cost of interest.

Sin may offer temporary pleasure now, but it steals pleasure and joy later.

Life lived in joyous relationship with God brings daily joy and pleasure in everything you do.

What brings you the most enjoyment in this life (remember to keep this family friendly)?
Have you ever had a time when your joy was robbed by the consequences of sin?
Did you get that joy back? How?
May 26, 2026

May 26th, 2026

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 7-8

Highlight Verse:

““Now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Want a little peek at how I write these? (It’s coming anyway).

A couple years ago, I put together a spreadsheet that attempted to get us through the Bible in two years reading 6 days a week.

Early each morning I read through the next day’s reading and pray that the Lord would point out to me a verse or two to highlight and grant some insight into it.

Then I wait until the evening to revisit it.

Each evening, I again pray for a verse and for insight.

I often consult commentaries for the insight of others.

This evening, the above verse stood out to me.

My mind immediately went to how those in ministry need to be set apart and anointed for the ministry set before then.

One of the commentaries I consulted agreed with that idea.

I started to write.

My fingers rebelled.

Something wasn’t right about that.

Then I realized.

We are all called to ministry.

Yes, people are called to be pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. And they should be anointed for their callings.

But we should never forget that we who have trusted Jesus are all cleansed and consecrated by His sacrifice on the cross.

The work of ministry is no longer just for the Levites, or professional ministers.

It is for the entire body of Christ.

If we have been cleansed by Jesus, He has called us to represent Him.

It is through people like you and I that others find and follow Jesus.

What is your role in the ministry?
How have you been consecrated for that role?
May 21, 2026

May 21st, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Peter 3-5

Highlight Verses:

“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This passage reminds me of the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.

Throughout the 1920’s and 30’s she and her family became well known for their quality work and generosity.

By their faith in Jesus, they knew that all were created equal and that God loved even the poorest people around them.

In the 40’s their generosity extended to helping Jews escape the Nazi occupied Netherlands.

Her family shop and home were eventually raided, and all 30 of them arrested.

Her father died after 10 days in custody.

Months later, her sister got sick and died at a work camp.

The watchmaker, Corrie ten Boom was released on a clerical error shortly before the rest of the women from that camp were sent to the gas chambers.

Throughout her life, Corrie ten Boom acted sacrificially to God and to those in need around her.

Even in the Nazi prison, she and her sister led many women to Jesus before they went to their deaths.

After the war, she was given opportunities to share about her experiences to all who would listen.

She eventually told her story in a book which was made into a movie (The Hiding Place).

Millions have been touched by her life because she was willing to put God first even when it meant suffering.

I pray that I could have such a selfless attitude.

What bold opportunities for self sacrifice have been placed before you?
Are you willing to suffer, if need be, to step into those opportunities?
Do you know anyone that has truly lived this out?

Tag: radical call

uniquely poetic language.

The point is, God uses our individual styles and situations to bring His Word to people today.

We would do well to seek God’s guidance on the unique ways He can work through each of us.

Simon had ministry envy.

I must admit, I have been envious of those who were successful in ministry before.

He has a call for each one of us.

In Stephen’s case, it resulted in his death.

Stephen spoke the message the Holy Spirit gave him with a boldness that arose from great faith.

But we should also always be ready to proclaim what the Holy Spirit gives us to say with boldness that can only come from deep faith.

And when he got Joash onto the throne, one of the first things he did was to get rid of one of Israel’s biggest distractions, the temple of Baal.

Such a removal may even seem violent in the midst of it.

But if you have something that you know is in the way of your relationship with God, remove it. You won’t be sorry.

Sounds pretty stable, but I wasn’t always that way.

Only one problem – it wasn’t the promised land.

It is not always easy to tell the difference, but with God’s best, you will not have to compromise your values, your faith, your morals, or God’s calling on your life.

The last time Peter was here, he denied Jesus three times.

Then, in Acts 2, Peter and the rest of the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you let Him, the same Holy Spirit can give you power to spread the good news too.

I have questions.

Jesus had already said that he would come back to life. (Mark 8:31, etc.) The angels expected the women to believe that.

Let’s not set Him aside in a little box labeled “only on Sundays.”

I don’t see anywhere in this book where it says to go out and sin because there are no consequences.

The world around us has pushed the lie that you have to have sin to enjoy life.

Life lived in joyous relationship with God brings daily joy and pleasure in everything you do.

I started to write.

The work of ministry is no longer just for the Levites, or professional ministers.

It is through people like you and I that others find and follow Jesus.

This passage reminds me of the first female licensed watchmaker in the Netherlands.

In the 40’s their generosity extended to helping Jews escape the Nazi occupied Netherlands.

Throughout her life, Corrie ten Boom acted sacrificially to God and to those in need around her.

Millions have been touched by her life because she was willing to put God first even when it meant suffering.