Tag: struggle

August 8, 2026

August 8th, 2026

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 34

Highlight Verse:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

One of the drawbacks to getting older is outliving friends.

We lost another this week.

Julian Pierce was a good friend in high school.

When I saw him a few years ago, we hung out for hours with a couple other friends after a class reunion. It was like no time had passed.

He was still a super nice guy who was easy to get along with.

I am saddened at the loss of yet another friend.

My heart goes out to those who were closest to him.

Loss is always hard.

Julian knew that from the loss of his wife some years ago.

We have all experienced loss on one level or another.

It is easy to blame our losses on God.

Why didn’t He intervene?

That is a question that I could go into detail about but for now let me bring what today’s highlight verse tells us.

When we suffer from loss, He is right there with compassion.

If we allow Him, He will comfort us like no other could.

Sometimes He even uses us or others to bring that comfort.

If you are broken-hearted, please allow the Holy Spirit to bring healing and comfort.

When have you felt the Lord’s comfort?
When have you seen God use you or others to bring His comfort?
August 7, 2026

August 7th, 2026

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Jonah 3-4

Highlight Verse:

“This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.”
‭‭Jonah‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you like it when your plans are changed unexpectedly?

Neither do I.

But if my plans changed because a whole bunch of people got rescued, I’d like to think I would handle it better than Jonah did.

But sometimes we don’t grasp the effects of change.

What may seem like hardship to us can pave the way for relief or even salvation for others.

It brings to mind when I was moving to Colorado and my van’s engine blew.

That brought both financial and time stress into my life, but it provided much needed work to the mechanic who replaced the engine.

I remember being stressed but amazed at how God provided the mechanic, the engine, the money, and much needed rest for me while I waited for it to be fixed.

Image credit ChatGPT (They almost got it right except for the Dodge grill and the model year was off by one. And how did I get facing the wrong direction?)

Yesterday, I heard someone quote Ephesians 4:13 (‘I can do all things through Christ…”) in context.

It was refreshing to not here someone using that verse to say that we can be successful and healthy.

In context, Paul wrote that to say that he can make it through hardships with Christ’s help.

Jonah could have used some of that attitude.

So can we.

When was the last time that your plans were drastically changed?
How did you react?
Have you ever had to suffer that others could be rescued?
August 5, 2026

August 5th, 2026

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Chronicles 25-27

Highlight Verse:

“Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about all that silver I paid to hire the army of Israel?” The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this!””
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever made a bad investment?

Amaziah did when he hired the wrong soldiers.

It’s a terrible feeling when you have to write-off a bunch of money with no return on the investment. That’s especially true when you can’t really afford it.

Sometimes we put a bunch of money toward something only to realize that thing was not honoring to God.

It could be a hobby or skill that distracts us from following after God.

Or buying something that robs your time with God or your family.

I’m sure you could come up with your own list.

I still remember my social psychology professor telling us about the time he bought a canoe. For a while after that purchase, he spent as much time as he could canoeing just so he could justify the expense in his mind.

If we have invested in something, we have a psychological tendency to want to get the most out of our investments. For that reason, we will spend more time and money to get the most out of it.

But if that investment is in something that does not honor God, we would be wise to cut our losses and move on.

If today’s passage is true (and it is), God will honor our decisions with blessings greater than what we gave up.

I’m not saying he will dump money in our laps (though sometimes He does).

But the blessings of God bring great joy both now and eternally.

Is there something you’ve put a lot of money and/or time into that is distracting you from God? What would it take to walk away from that?
Have you ever had God greatly bless you for taking a financial hit to follow Him more closely?
August 1, 2026

August 1st, 2026

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Ephesians 3

Highlight Verse:

“So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I wanted to highlight Paul’s suffering, reminding us of those who suffer for the Gospel even today. That’s important to remember but that’s not what stood out to me.

Then I thought I might write about the newfound equality between Jews and Gentiles. But something else stood out beyond that as well.

It was Paul’s attitude.

Here in America, we tend to whine and complain when things don’t go our way.

I’m not accusing anyone since I’m the same way.

I’m just aspiring to be like Paul.

He’s sitting in jail.

His freedom is restricted and the conditions are horrible.

So how does he react?

He considers it a privilege to suffer for Christ and a reason to rejoice.

And then he goes about writing letters that will impact the world for many generations.

Think about that.

What most people would think of as a hardship, Paul turns into an opportunity.

If not for his imprisonment, many of his letters would not have been written.

So, the next time you or I experience some hardship or pain, perhaps

we need to be looking for the opportunity that hardship affords us.

Have you ever been able to turn a hardship into an opportunity?
Do you have suggestions for how we can turn tough times into something God can use?
July 30, 2026

July 30th, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Revelation 1

Highlight Verse:

“God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have to be honest – Revelation used to be one of my least favorite books of the Bible.

It can be very difficult to understand.

And then there are those who claim to understand it perfectly and make up a specific timeline for the end of the world, usually using those predictions to manipulate people to follow them and donate.

After reading it many times, I still cannot claim to fully understand everything in Revelation.

But there are many principles and guidelines in Revelation that will help build our faith and equip us to be more effective for the Gospel.

It’s a wild ride so hang on and let’s see what we can learn along the way.

What is your favorite part of the Book of Revelation?
Are there parts that scare you? Inspire you?
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 23, 2026

July 23rd, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Jude

Highlight Verses:

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What is translated “Jude” here is actually the same name as Judas. It is shortened in translation to remove confusion.

Judas was a common name at the time of Jesus. There was Judas Iscariot, the traitor. Then there was another one of the twelve named Judas also known as Thaddeus.

This Jude was neither of these. This was the half-brother of Jesus, though modesty kept him from claiming this. He only mentioned being brother to another half-brother of Jesus – James.

What he does claim with authority is knowledge of true faith versus a selfish, sinful imitation of faith.

He warns us all of the danger of these claims. This imitation of the faith would say that the mercy of Christ gives us the freedom to run wild into all sorts of carnal behavior.

The reality is that the mercy of Christ protects us from sin, both from the eternal penalties and the dissipation that comes from surrendering to sin.

Of course, none of us is perfectly sinless in this life. But through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to overthrow the grip that sin has on our lives.

True faith exercises that power.

Have you met someone who claims their faith gives them the “freedom” to do whatever pleases them?
How do you respond to them?
July 20, 2026

July 20th, 2026

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 5

Highlight Verse:

“The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭5‬:‭41‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Joy flourishes regardless of how crazy your situation may be.

What a ride Peter and the apostles must had been going through.

Through their preaching, people were healed, many found forgiveness, and Jerusalem was changing.

Then they were arrested again and thrown in jail.

But an angel set them free.

But Peter and the apostles with him were arrested again.

This time they ended up flogged for preaching about Jesus.

And that is when the went home rejoicing.

How deep of a faith and radical of a joy did that take?

The joy not only overcame the pain, but it thrived because of it.

Now, I think they would have been quite joyful without the pain.

But the pain confirmed the strength of their faith.

I would like to think that they received healing for their injuries too, though I can only guess that happened.

Have you ever had a situation where you were joyful despite pain?
What about because of your pain?
July 17, 2026

July 17th, 2026

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Amos 9

Highlight Verse:

““Even if they dig down to the place of the dead, I will reach down and pull them up. Even if they climb up into the heavens, I will bring them down.”
‭‭Amos‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I gave up running from God a long time ago.

He always finds me.

Why would anyone want to run away from God anyway?

Well, there’s shame, and pride, fear, and maybe even a little selfishness.

People have all sorts of reasons to run from God.

We’ve all tried to run at times, if only just a little.

And we were all wrong.

It is only in God’s presence that all shame is erased through the sacrifice of Jesus.

The only one worthy of pride is God.

If we have respectful fear of God, all other fears can fade.

And in His presence is complete satisfaction with every godly need and want met.

So, if you are trying to run from God, turn around. He’s right there.

Give up the run and take that one step back to Him.

Have you ever tried to run away from God?
How far did you get?
How close was He when you turned around?
July 16, 2026

July 16th, 2026
Thursday – Letters

Reading – 3 John

Highlight Verse:

“Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.”
‭‭3 John‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The three letters by John have an interesting progression.

1 John is a general letter to all believers.

2 John is likely written to one specific church.

3 John is apparently written to an individual, though this individual was a leader in his church.

Much of this letter is written to counteract Diotrephes, who was leading people astray claiming that John and the other apostles were wrong.

Over my life I have seen many people like Diotrephes.

Somehow, they think that God has given them special insight to show them the “true” meaning of Scriptures.

They then bad mouth anyone who disagrees with them.

How can you tell if they are right or wrong?
- When they exclude every other point of view.
- When they use their exclusive viewpoint as a basis for asking for money.
- When they talk more about how others are wrong than about the gospel.
Christianity today has many Diotrephes type characters.

The self-centeredness, greed, and sinfulness of certain “Christian” leaders has driven many people away from the truth of the Gospel.

Today’s highlight verse tells us how to deal with the Diotrephes in our lives.

Don’t let them influence you.

Follow the truth in the Word of God.

When someone stands against that truth, don’t let them influence you.

I would take it a step further and say the best way is to become a beacon of truth that would outshine the lies of those who twist the truth.

Have you been influenced by the lies of those who twist scripture to their own benefit?
How did you discern between truth and lies?
How do you deal with the lies?

Tag: struggle

One of the drawbacks to getting older is outliving friends.

Loss is always hard.

If you are broken-hearted, please allow the Holy Spirit to bring healing and comfort.

Do you like it when your plans are changed unexpectedly?

What may seem like hardship to us can pave the way for relief or even salvation for others.

Jonah could have used some of that attitude.

So can we.

Have you ever made a bad investment?

But if that investment is in something that does not honor God, we would be wise to cut our losses and move on.

But the blessings of God bring great joy both now and eternally.

It was Paul’s attitude.

I’m just aspiring to be like Paul.

we need to be looking for the opportunity that hardship affords us.

I have to be honest – Revelation used to be one of my least favorite books of the Bible.

But there are many principles and guidelines in Revelation that will help build our faith and equip us to be more effective for the Gospel.

It’s a wild ride so hang on and let’s see what we can learn along the way.

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.

What he does claim with authority is knowledge of true faith versus a selfish, sinful imitation of faith.

The reality is that the mercy of Christ protects us from sin, both from the eternal penalties and the dissipation that comes from surrendering to sin.

True faith exercises that power.

What a ride Peter and the apostles must had been going through.

How deep of a faith and radical of a joy did that take?

But the pain confirmed the strength of their faith.

He always finds me.

People have all sorts of reasons to run from God.

Give up the run and take that one step back to Him.

Christianity today has many Diotrephes type characters.

Don’t let them influence you.

I would take it a step further and say the best way is to become a beacon of truth that would outshine the lies of those who twist the truth.