Walk in the Light

February 2, 2026

February 2nd, 2026

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Luke 5

Highlight Verse:

“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I withdraw for prayer to my basement most mornings.

Not exactly the wilderness. But at least most distractions go away down there.

I highly recommend withdrawing to a quiet place daily for prayer.

As dear as studying the Bible is to me, if you have to choose between prayer and Bible study, I recommend prayer (but get back to studying the Bible as soon as you can).

As far the getting to the wilderness, for most of us, that’s not very practical every day.

For the last twenty years, I’ve had the privilege of living in Colorado. An hour’s drive can take me to some of the most beautiful pristine wilderness in the world.

Zion National Park

I’ve enjoyed many a prayerful hike in the Rocky Mountains as well as the Blue Ridge Mountains, the rugged wilderness areas of Arizona and the beautiful coasts and mountains of California to name a few of the more memorable places.

My advancing age is beginning to limit the places I can get to, but there are still plenty of inspiring locations within reach.

I admit I don’t get to those kind of places nearly as often as I should but this year should present a few opportunities.

I’ll take advantage of my opportunities if some of you promise to do the same.

What is the most faith inspiring place you have been to?
Where do you go for day-to-day distraction free prayer?
February 1, 2026

February 1st, 2026

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Proverbs 9

Highlight Verse:

“So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When my oldest was 2, she was riding on my shoulders in a mall parking lot when I saw one driver bully another out of a space that was rightly theirs.

As the bully driver walked past me, I couldn’t resist mentioning that the space rightly belonged to the other driver because they had to make an illegal maneuver to get it.

He then proceeded to inform me how much he did not appreciate my opinion with language that would make a sailor blush despite my toddler on my shoulders.

I moved on quickly as I saw no profit in furthering the conversation.

As much as it feels like going against what is right, it is usually best not to correct a fool when you are not directly involved in the situation.

Likewise, when you are dealing with someone who trusts you, it is best to speak up when you see them heading into some foolish action.

When trust has been established, they will usually listen and learn.

Have you ever had your advice or opinion blow back up in your face?
Do you have people you trust to lead you in wisdom?
Do you know who will trust you for advice?
January 31, 2026

January 31st, 2026

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 78:1-8

Highlight Verses:

“So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭78‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This weekend we are going through some of my wife’s parent’s belongings.

Her father passed away a little over a month ago. Her mom over two years earlier.

Her parents lived a simple life, expressing love to their family through words and actions.

Along the way, they taught their children about the Gospel and Jesus.

That legacy lives on through their daughters and grandchildren.

We each have a choice to follow the examples set for us by our parents.

In some cases, they are good examples, leading us along the path of faith.

In other cases, we need to find our own way to Christ.

Whichever way we find our way to a saving faith in Jesus,

it is our responsibility to do all we can to pass it on to the next generation.

It is then up to our children whether to accept it or not.

What are you doing to pass your faith on to the next generation?
Did your parents pass that faith to you? If not, how did you find faith?
Reading – Ezekiel 34-36

January 30th, 2026

Highlight Verses:

““For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭34‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do you have loved ones who have wandered away from the faith? Perhaps you know someone who rejected faith in Jesus from the beginning.

Let these verses encourage you.

God doesn’t just wish that the people He created (everyone) would trust him, He longs for them so much that He pursues them like lost sheep from His flock.

Let’s spend the rest of this devotion time lifting those lost sheep up in prayer, praying that God would not only pursue them but that they would be drawn by that love to seek Him.

If you like, you can share the first names of those who you would like the rest of us to pray for.
Thursday – Letters

January 29th, 2026

Reading – Hebrews 4

Highlight Verse:

“So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.””
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love work. I could sit and watch it for hours.

I quoted that yesterday in the midst of a very busy workday. To be fair, I was following behind our delivery guys who were doing the hard work.

Still, my work kept me hopping all day long and I got home rather tired and longing for rest.

Then I sat down to write this, and this part of today’s reading jumped out at me.

The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I was convinced that the rest in this chapter had little to do with the rest I longed for.

I wanted physical and mental rest.

This rest has more to do with peace than inactivity.

We no longer have to strive to make up for past wrongs because Jesus paid the price to cover all of them.

We no longer have to fear that our good deeds might not outweigh our sins.

Instead, we can do those good deeds in joy and faith, resting in the knowledge that our salvation is already covered by Jesus.

That is true rest.

I am not saying we should ignore physical rest. That is not just good for us but commanded by God.

But the rest that awaits us goes way beyond the physical.

And heaven holds this kind of rest for eternity.

How do you envision the rest we will have in heaven?
Are you enjoying the spiritual rest of salvation by faith today?
If not, what is stopping you from entering that rest?
Wednesday – History

January 28th, 2026

Reading – 1 Kings 20-22

Highlight Verse:

“Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.”
‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭22‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s almost amusing how different the account of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, is here compared to Chronicles.

Here it’s like “Jehoshaphat was good, not the best, but good.”

And the account is overshadowed by the story of Ahab of Israel and terrible things he did.

Chronicles extols Jehoshaphat as an awesome king and goes on and on about his good works.

Why the difference?

The books of Samuel and Kings were written during the exile. As such, they emphasized why the people of Judah and Israel were exiled. They spent far more time emphasizing the shortfalls that led to the exile than on the good things done by the kings.

Chronicles was written after the exile to encourage people to a deeper faith as the Israelites found themselves entering a time of revival.

The differences do not represent errors in facts but different perspectives and emphasis.

For this reason, if you want to learn from the actions of a particular king such as Jehoshaphat,

it is best to read both accounts of his life, remembering the perspectives of each writer.

Of the kings we’ve read about so far, which one interests you the most?
Why?
Tuesday – Pentateuch

January 27th, 2026

Reading – Leviticus

“But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Apparently, God likes barbecue!

Okay, that’s not what this passage is really about, but if you are a meat eater, think about that aroma.

When my work territory used to include the town of Louisville, CO, I loved doing calls in that little downtown area in the afternoon. There is a barbecue restaurant there that smokes all its meat in big smokers behind the restaurant. On days when there is little or no wind, the few square blocks of that little downtown fill with a heavenly aroma.

Think of that aroma or some other you love, fresh bread, or cookies, a quality coffee first thing in the morning, you name it.

That pleasant feeling you get when you get carried away with that fragrance, that’s what our repentance feels like to God.

That’s how much He enjoys being able to spend time with us because we have allowed Jesus to make us clean.

What is your favorite aroma?

How do you smell today?

Have you accepted that fragrance of grace from Jesus?
Monday – Gospels

January 26th, 2026

Reading – Luke 4

Highlight Verses:

“Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Did you know that the devil knows the Bible?

He knows it very well; well enough to twist it to his own purposes.

Frankly, he knows it better than I do.

If that’s true, how do we protect ourselves from his twisted lies?

One thing you may have noticed at the beginning of the chapter was that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.

If you trust Jesus for your life, you have the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is important to continue to invite the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you including through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

With the gift of discernment, you will be able to tell when Scripture is being applied correctly and when it is being twisted.

Still, there are times when even the Spirit filled, well studied believer can be fooled into believing an inappropriate twist of Scripture.

To guard against that, especially when I study for these posts, I turn to other seasoned believers.

The most convenient sources I’ve found for that are in online commentaries. My favorite is Enduring Word dot com, but there are several others and it is good to check multiple sources. There are many printed Bible commentaries available as well.

There have been multiple times when those commentaries have helped make the meanings of some passages more clear to me. A time or two, they have corrected my inaccurate understandings.

How do you check your understanding of Scripture?
What twists of Scripture have you believed in the past and since had to correct that belief?
Sunday – Poetry

January 25th, 2026

Reading – Proverbs 8

Highlight Verses:

“I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I heard long ago that the chance of the world evolving as it is without any creative input is about the same as a tornado blowing through a junk yard and assembling a perfectly formed 747 airliner.

This week I found out where that quote came from – and I was shocked.

It was a line spoken by Ian Malcolm in the Michael Crichton book The Lost World (sequel to Jurassic Park).

I was shocked because that book series embraced the concept of evolution and that character was an atheist.

Even Crichton recognized through the rantings of his atheist character that this world could not have come about without creative input.

He had a different explanation that made no sense to me.

What does make sense to me is what we learned in today’s reading, that wisdom was created before the rest of creation.

The Creator employed that wisdom to craft a world that is amazing in its diversity and functionality.

The complexity of the Earth’s ecosystem is beyond human comprehension. Scientific studies have barely scratched the surface of how each species of plant and animal depends on all the others.

If God’s wisdom was enough to design the universe, with all its intricacies, it is enough to guide us through our lives in this world.

What is the most amazing part of creation to you?
Is there anything that would make you doubt that the world was created by God?

(Reminder: this is a safe place where we can disagree respectfully. You do not have to agree with me to comment, and we can have a polite conversation to understand each other even if we disagree).
Saturday – Open Topic

January 24th, 2026

Reading – Isaiah 58

Highlight Verses:

““No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

We just completed a 3 day fast at our church. I know another denomination that calls its members to a 21 day fast at the beginning of each year.

You might ask, “Why?”

I’ve always heard that fasting helps you to regain your focus on God. Removing distractions, whether they be food, social media, TV, or whatever distracts you can lead you to a closer relationship with God.

In the Bible, we also see fasting used to make our prayers more effective, especially in times of great need.

These are both great reasons to fast. But way back in Isaiah’s time, he suggested another reason (or reasons).

According to Isaiah, people of that time were fasting to show off. They fasted to make them look more pious.

All the while, they kept up with their cruel, ungodly attitudes and habits.

I love Isaiah’s suggestion that fasting should be used to share your resources and compassion with others.

Try it.

Try taking what you save from not buying food or skipping that Starbucks stop and invest that money into sponsoring a child or supporting a homeless shelter.

That will not only make a difference in a needy person’s life, but it might just change your life too.

What are some good charities to support to follow this Scripture?
What can you fast from that will save money that you can then give?

I highly recommend withdrawing to a quiet place daily for prayer.

I’ll take advantage of my opportunities if some of you promise to do the same.

As much as it feels like going against what is right, it is usually best not to correct a fool when you are not directly involved in the situation.

When trust has been established, they will usually listen and learn.

Along the way, they taught their children about the Gospel and Jesus.

We each have a choice to follow the examples set for us by our parents.

it is our responsibility to do all we can to pass it on to the next generation.

Let these verses encourage you.

I love work. I could sit and watch it for hours.

This rest has more to do with peace than inactivity.

That is true rest.

Why the difference?

The differences do not represent errors in facts but different perspectives and emphasis.

it is best to read both accounts of his life, remembering the perspectives of each writer.

Apparently, God likes barbecue!

Think of that aroma or some other you love, fresh bread, or cookies, a quality coffee first thing in the morning, you name it.

That’s how much He enjoys being able to spend time with us because we have allowed Jesus to make us clean.

Did you know that the devil knows the Bible?

With the gift of discernment, you will be able to tell when Scripture is being applied correctly and when it is being twisted.

To guard against that, especially when I study for these posts, I turn to other seasoned believers.

The Creator employed that wisdom to craft a world that is amazing in its diversity and functionality.

If God’s wisdom was enough to design the universe, with all its intricacies, it is enough to guide us through our lives in this world.

You might ask, “Why?”

These are both great reasons to fast. But way back in Isaiah’s time, he suggested another reason (or reasons).

That will not only make a difference in a needy person’s life, but it might just change your life too.