Walk in the Light

April 19, 2023

April 19th, 2023

Wednesday – History

Reading – Judges 15-16

Highlight Verse:

“But before long, his hair began to grow back.”
‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can I admit that it was hard to keep today’s study positive?

Samson messed up in so many ways. Read through it and see for yourself. It culminated in his power being taken when his hair was cut. He was taken captive and brutally blinded.

Then comes today’s verse.

It’s a ray of hope in a devastated life.

He had to decide what to do with that hope.

Some would argue that he did the best possible thing by dealing such a crushing blow (pun intended) to the Philistines.

I’m not so sure. What I am sure of is that his motives were selfish. He wanted revenge for the loss of his eyes, not the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

Today, whether or not his decision was right is not what matters.

What does matter is that you know that even when your life has been fully defeated, God can restore your strength.

It’s up to you to decide what to do with that strength.

Choose wisely.

Is there a part of your life where you feel like you need to have your strength restored?
What can you do to help bring back that strength?
April 18, 2023

April 18th, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Genesis 25-26

Highlight Verses:

“Abraham lived for 175 years, and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I am not afraid of death.

That’s true – but…

I wouldn’t mind living a long life like Abraham.

Yes, I know I won’t make it to 175 like he did. But, I’d like to see my grandchildren grow up and I’d like to enjoy a good amount of retirement.

Too bad Abraham didn’t write down his secrets.

Or maybe he did.

We know from Genesis that he traveled (ch 12), wasn’t selfish (13:9), was generous (14:20), was faithful to God (15:6), was blessed by God (17:6), and completely trusted God (22:8-9).

I could go on about how he ate all natural food, worked hard, and acted wisely.

None of these things guarantee a long life. But what good is a long life without the second part – a satisfying life.

It’s true that I am looking forward to eternal life in heaven. But I want to live a satisfying life now.

I can tell you without a doubt that the closer I’ve walked with Jesus, daring to follow His lead, the more satisfying my life has been.

Is your life satisfying?
In what ways can you walk closer to Jesus?
April 17, 2023

April 17th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – John 17

Highlight Verse:

“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What does it mean to be one?

Does it mean that we all agree on everything?

I don’t think Jesus would realistically pray for that.

But it can be said that we all have one Father – God.

We can also be one in purpose – that the world will believe God sent Jesus.

Finally, we can be one in our love for Jesus (v24).

It was that united love and purpose that first brought me to Jesus. How many more can come to this life of faith if we only fulfill the prayer of Jesus here?

Do you believe that you are united with other believers?
What can we do to foster that perfect unity of believers?
April 16, 2023

April 16th, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 46-48

Highlight Verse:

“So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I grew up in California. Minor earthquakes were no big deal. I didn’t really fear them – Until October 17, 1989.

I was in a large meeting room with plate glass windows. At 5:04pm the floor shifted violently. It was immediately clear this was no minor tremor.

There were no tables in the room so I squeezed under a row of chairs. Around me I could hear things falling and breaking.

I was shaken in more ways than one.

I know, first hand, how significant it is to not fear during an earthquake.

Sixty three people passed from this earth as a result of that quake.

I no longer fear passing from this world. Mind you, I want to stick around as long as I can to see my kids and grandkids grow up and to be a positive influence on people. I’d also prefer to not suffer great pain in passing.

But I know where I am going. I may not know much about heaven but I know it will be amazing. I am confident that God will preserve me here on earth for as long as needed to accomplish His purposes.

And, yes, I do believe God can keep me alive for as long as He wants.

One interesting thing about that quake in 1989. It happened at a the height of rush hour, but right at the beginning of a baseball World Series game in which the two local teams were playing. A huge number of people had gone home early. Traffic on the Cypress Viaduct and the Bay Bridge was much lighter than usual – when they collapsed.

I know that God could step into my circumstances at any time. I am also confident that I will go to heaven when it is time.

So let the ground shake. I will not be shaken from my faith.

Do you know the confidence that comes from having total faith in Jesus?
Are you willing to let Him step into your circumstances?
April 15, 2023

April 15th, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Romans 13:1-8

Highlight Verses:

“Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I knew a guy in college who carefully planned to only make enough to owe just a few dollars in taxes just so he could refuse to pay them. He didn’t believe in what the government was doing at the time and that was his way of protesting.

I doubt that he got away with that for long.

Whether he got away with it or not, I think he missed the point.

In fact, I think I missed the point until I lumped this set of verses together like they would have originally been.

When Paul wrote this letter, he didn’t put a paragraph break, nor a section heading between verses 7 and 8.

He went straight from filling your obligation to pay taxes to your obligation to love your neighbor.

I believe he was relating the two ideas.

One way of loving your neighbor is paying your taxes so that you and your neighbor can enjoy the benefits of infrastructure, defense, law enforcement, etc..

If you haven’t yet expressed that way of loving your neighbor, don’t worry, the income tax deadline isn’t until the 18th this year.

If you have, thanks for the fire protection and all that other stuff too.

How does looking at paying taxes as loving your neighbor change your perspective on it?
Have you ever looked at withholding taxes as a means of protest?
What are some better ways to bring about change without violating tax laws?
April 14, 2023

April 14th, 2023

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 43-45

Highlight Verse:

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One word leapt off the page at me – “when.”

Not “if.”

“When.”

Difficult times are not optional for humans.

Sure, some will have more suffering than others.

Many in this world suffer the effects of war, crime, injustice , and illness.

All suffer through emotional traumas, aging, and loss.

Not all will experience God’s comfort and support.

God does not force himself on anyone.

But for those who trust Him, He will comfort, support, and guide them through the fires and floods of life.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances of life?
Do you trust Jesus to be with you through the struggles?
April 13, 2023

April 13th, 2023

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Romans 15

Highlight Verse:

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I need this verse today!

I might print it out and put it over my desk.

Here’s how these devotions work for me. First thing in the morning, I do the reading for the next day and have a time of prayer, sometimes brief, sometimes longer.

I try to remember chapter throughout the day and pray about what I should write.

Sometimes at lunch, sometimes in the evening, most often late at night, I sit down and write this out, edit, and schedule it to post on Facebook and WITLBible.com for 12:05am Mountain Time.

Tonight, it’s 10:30 by the time I’m writing this. I prayed again and read through the passage while thinking of a certain verse.

It’s been a very busy and exhausting day so I’m already formulating a simple commentary when this verse leapt off the page!

My immediate thought was “I need this.” Then I thought, “Others need this too.”

So here it is.

Do you need a refill of joy, peace, and confident hope like I did today?

Connect to the source. The power of the Holy Spirit will never fail.

Do you have a verse that jumps out to encourage and strengthen you when you are exhausted or weak? Share it here and encourage us as well.
April 12, 2023

April 12th, 2023

Wednesday – History

Reading – Judges 12-14

Highlight Verse:

““I will stay,” the angel of the Lord replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the Lord.)”
‭‭Judges‬ ‭13‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are several incidents in the Bible where angels appear to people. Sometimes they realize they are angels. Sometimes they don’t.

But do they appear today?

I have not knowingly seen an angel.

But, I have heard many stories and seen the impossible results of what some said were angels.

They’ve been protecting angels, guiding angels, even angels that kept a car running for an essential trip.

The stories are way too many to be explained away.

If there’s angels, there’s also demons, though I cannot recall any personal stories about them.

So what? How does that affect us today?

While I think that angel hunting would distract us from our God given purposes, I believe that we should accept that unexplainable help, making sure that we are not led away from God and the Bible by imposters.

Over all, we should live lives of love and faith in God, who provides for us in all sorts of ways.

Do you have any angel stories to share?
Have you had to deal with the opposite- demons?
April 11, 2023

April 11th, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Genesis 24

Highlight Verse:

“One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭24‬:‭63‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Through the wording of this verse, we can assume with some degree of accuracy that walking in the fields and meditating was a common occurrence for Isaac.

That, in itself, does not mean that it is a good idea for us to follow his example.

But then you step back and take a look at the whole chapter.

Isaac is about to get a wife through obviously divine intervention.

Did the walking and meditating have anything to do with that?

Maybe not but

living a lifestyle that leaves room for prayer and contemplation certainly leaves room for God to speak and act.

I admit that this is a lesson that I need to learn.

I do spend time in the Word of God and praying. But it is usually at least somewhat rushed. I need to find the time for regular contemplation.

Perhaps in a field.

Or a trail.

Or where ever I can find a place of peace.

Do you get a regular time of contemplation or meditation without rush or time limitation?
If you do, how have you seen God move in those times?
If not, what steps can you take to create that time?
April 10, 2023

April 10th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – John 16

Highlight Verse:

““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.””
‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I looked up the words “peace” and “trouble” in the original Greek. I found out that those words actually should translate to “peace” and “trouble.”

Yep. I went through all the trouble of finding my Bible dictionary only to find that the translation I used was perfectly accurate. I could have just trusted the translation and gone on with my study.

Which brings me to today’s point.

There will be problems in this world. Some we can avoid. Some find us anyway.

Some we make ourselves.

Even if the problems find us despite our best efforts to hide from them, we have a choice in how to react to them. We can trust ourselves and our talent to get us through them, or, we can trust God.

And we know from this very verse that God’s got it covered.

If we trust God through all the troubles, we find the troubles become learning experiences that God carries us through. If we don’t trust Him, the troubles just grow.

Like me, are you good at making some of your own troubles?
Can you share a time when God has carried you through a time of trouble?
What about a time when your troubles were compounded by not trusting God?

Can I admit that it was hard to keep today’s study positive?

Then comes today’s verse.

What does matter is that you know that even when your life has been fully defeated, God can restore your strength.

Choose wisely.

I wouldn’t mind living a long life like Abraham.

Too bad Abraham didn’t write down his secrets.

I can tell you without a doubt that the closer I’ve walked with Jesus, daring to follow His lead, the more satisfying my life has been.

What does it mean to be one?

We can also be one in purpose – that the world will believe God sent Jesus.

Finally, we can be one in our love for Jesus (v24).

I was shaken in more ways than one.

So let the ground shake. I will not be shaken from my faith.

Whether he got away with it or not, I think he missed the point.

One way of loving your neighbor is paying your taxes so that you and your neighbor can enjoy the benefits of infrastructure, defense, law enforcement, etc..

Not “if.”

“When.”

All suffer through emotional traumas, aging, and loss.

I need this verse today!

My immediate thought was “I need this.” Then I thought, “Others need this too.”

But do they appear today?

The stories are way too many to be explained away.

So what? How does that affect us today?

Over all, we should live lives of love and faith in God, who provides for us in all sorts of ways.

But then you step back and take a look at the whole chapter.

living a lifestyle that leaves room for prayer and contemplation certainly leaves room for God to speak and act.

Some we make ourselves.

And we know from this very verse that God’s got it covered.