Walk in the Light

April 29, 2026

April 29th, 2026

Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Chronicles 13-15

Highlight Verse:

“So David’s fame spread everywhere, and the Lord caused all the nations to fear David.”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Words like “so” should always have something that lead up to it being there.

In this case, source of the “so” was David’s faithfulness to the Lord’s instructions.

That lead the leaders of the nations around him to fear and respect him.

I am writing this commentary very late at night this time because I just got home from a Josiah Queen concert.

The Fillmore about to be filled.

Through his faithfulness to his calling, including how he puts worship and ministry into his shows, Josiah has built a reputation for being genuine and excellent.

Because of that, the Fillmore was more packed than I have ever seen it.

And the Lord moved people through worship, prayer, and a little preaching.

It wasn’t just a good concert; it was a night of ministry.

Do the math – Faithfulness to God’s calling + consistency = reputation.

How are you working toward an excellent reputation?

What is the next step in that process for you?
April 28, 2026

April 28th, 2026

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Leviticus 26-27

Highlight Verse:

“Then at last the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath years as it lies desolate while you are in exile in the land of your enemies. Then the land will finally rest and enjoy the Sabbaths it missed.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Has God ever forced a vacation on you?

One person in my family had a 15 year “vacation” forced on them (reduced to 7 and a half years for good behavior).

Then there was the time when I worked non-stop for weeks to get ready to move to Colorado only to have a four-day vacation in the middle of the move forced on me by a blown engine.

In the case of the Israelites, God forced them to give the land rest by allowing them to be exiled. They brought it on themselves.

It was far less than ideal. But it was what they needed.

Sometimes God has a way of enforcing a change of pace.

We drive ourselves so hard, thinking it’s what we need to do, then along comes sickness, or job loss, or tragedy and we find out what was truly important and what we could take a break from.

I’ve said before that God gave us commands because He knows what is good for us.

One of those commands is rest.

The Biblical standard for rest is one day in 7.

When you don’t honor that standard, those days of rest tend to come in less appealing ways.

Do you get enough rest?
Do you get too much?
What can you do to get closer to the Biblical standard of rest?
April 27, 2026

April 27th, 2026

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Luke 17

Highlight Verses:

“Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If you’ve been going to church for a while, you have probably heard about faith like a mustard seed and forgiving others over and over.

But did you know those verses were right next to each other?

Jesus knows us.

He knows that sometimes we will mess up over and over.

He also knows that it is tough to forgive those who wrong us over and over.

That’s where the rubber hits the road when it comes to faith.

It’s not so hard to forgive once.

But when it happens over and over, that’s when we need to trust Jesus for the power to continue to forgive.

That’s not easy.

I’ve seen the struggles of a young man with addicted parents and a wife with a cheating husband.

In those specific cases that immediately came to mind, the victims fought to have the extreme faith it takes to forgive.

And they found healing and victory through that faith.

Those relationships were restored to health.

A mustard seed is tiny.

Jesus elsewhere explained that the tiny mustard seed grows into a great bush.

I would add that it brings great flavor.

So, plant that tiny seed of faith in Jesus, water it with prayer, worship, and obedience, and it will blossom into a great faith that will bring a good flavor to your life.

One important side note is that I don’t believe Jesus would want to keep you in harms way. If what you need to forgive is abuse, it is important to seek help that will keep you and those around you safe. The healing and forgiveness in that kind of situation is sped up through removing yourself from the danger.

Are you carrying the burden of unforgiveness?
Do you have the faith to forgive?
Have you looked to Jesus for strength to grow that faith? Over and over?
April 26, 2026

April 26th, 2026

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Proverbs 24-25

Highlight Verses:

“Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket. To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In my sophomore year of college, I applied for a summer job as a camp counselor.

I had worked at that camp the previous summer on the maintenance team. I figured I would have no problem moving up to counselor.

I was wrong.

When I got the rejection letter, I went to the director’s home (I went to college about 15 miles away). I asked him politely what I needed to do to be a counselor the following year.

We sat at his table while he spelled out what he saw in me that needed to change.

It was eye opening.

I got to work on his advice, and I took another summer job at the conference center associated with the camp.

Halfway through our summer staff training week, my boss pulled me into his office and told me to go talk to the camp director.

I ran the half mile down to the camp.

The director told me of a counselor who decided he couldn’t handle the responsibility. Because of our conversation and the changes he saw in me, I was the first person he thought of to fill the position.

That was the most fulfilling (and exhausting) summer of my life.

I ended up working full-time for that conference center for the first few years of my career.

If I had just gotten mad and rejected that employer, I would have missed out on that summer and the following years.

But that director gave me wise advice at the right time and I listened.

Have you heeded timely advice and experienced great results?
Have you ignored advice and reaped the consequences?
Share your stories!
April 25, 2026

April 25th, 2026
Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Philippians 2:12-18

Highlight Verse:

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Confession time – I stole this idea from our church small group this week.

And you thought I was going to confess that I like to complain and argue.

You wouldn’t be wrong.

The Teams chat at work is full of the shortfalls of our dispatch software or customer errors or traffic or weather. I could go on.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the complaining. I’d be lying if I tried to say that I didn’t complain some too.

I do my best to stay positive, but it’s so easy to find stuff to complain about.

Someone in small group last night had an excellent idea.

When you find yourself complaining, turn it into thanksgiving.
- Does the house have problems? Be thankful you have shelter?
- Does an accident ahead have traffic tied up? Be thankful you are not in the accident and pray for the healing of anyone injured.
- Bills piling up? Be thankful for God’s provision and pray for wisdom and blessings to help you get them paid.
- Feeling the aches and pains of age or sickness? Thank God for the gift of each breath.
When you keep a positive attitude, people will be drawn to you like a magnet.

When they find out that attitude is founded in your faith, they will want to know more about it.

You will shine like a bright light in a dark world.

What have you been complaining about and how can you turn that into thanksgiving?
April 24, 2026

April 24th, 2026

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Hosea 3-4

Highlight Verses:

“Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Did I mention that Hosea is – umm – unique?

Notice that verse 1 uses the present tense.

She was actively committing adultery.

Given the fact that he had to buy her back, it appears that she managed to get herself bound into slavery.

Make no mistake – she got herself into this situation.

But now she was trapped.

She needed help to get out of the situation.

We humans blow it regularly.

We get ourselves trapped into addiction or debts of various types.

We cannot get out on our own.

We need help.

God is ready and willing.

So are many of His followers.

Just ask!

Have you been trapped in any type of slavery (like addiction, etc)?
How did you get out?
If you are trapped now, what’s keeping you from seeking help to get free?
April 23, 2026

April 23rd, 2026

Thursday – Letters

Reading – James 3

Highlight Verse:

“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”
‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Prove it!

It’s so simple.

You don’t have to wax profound upon the intricacies of theology.

Just live an honorable life, doing good works with humility.

That will lead more people to the truth of Jesus than all the eloquent teachers combined.

It’s so simple that I will leave it at that today.

Is there someone whose honorable life has inspired you to live more honorably?
What are you doing to live honorably?
April 22, 2026

April 22nd, 2026

Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Chronicles 10-12

Highlight Verse:

“The people of Jebus taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here!” But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭11‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jebus was an ideally defensible city. It had high walls around it and difficult terrain leading to it on 3 sides.

Even with Mount Moriah rising above the city, attackers from that direction would be exposed and driven away from the wall.

On top of that, the city had a source of water that would help them survive a siege.

The Jebusites had good reason to be confident in their safety.

But that very confidence caused them to overlook the fatal flaw in their defenses.

Their source of water, the Gihon Spring, allowed an advance party to sneak in and break through the defenses at the gate from the inside.

It is so easy to become overconfident as a believer.

We trust in our accomplishments and successes, even moral successes. That overconfidence leads us to let down our guard, allowing the enemy to infiltrate through areas we thought were good.

I’ve seen it in several pastors and ministry leaders.

They built walls of self-righteousness that hid the cracks that temptation and sin crept into.

By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late and their ministries came tumbling down.

A few, through humility and accountability, have been restored.

Most had their reputations crushed along with much of the positive results of their ministry.

No matter how successful or unfailingly moral we are, we would be wise to stay humble, realizing that we need to keep our guard up even when we are doing well.

Have you ever been blindsided by sin creeping in your life where you didn’t expect it?
How did you get through that situation?
April 21, 2026

April 21st, 2026
Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Leviticus 24-25

Highlight Verses:

“The Lord said to Moses, “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭24‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I struggled with choosing a verse today, not because I couldn’t think of what to say about them, but because I had too much to say.

The Year of Jubilee and the Sabbath Years have much wisdom to apply to our lives today and I encourage you to look deeper into them.

But what stood out to me today was olive oil.

Not Popeye’s girlfriend but the oil from pressed olives.

Why would God be specific about what type of fuel to burn?

I decided to look into olive oil.
- When used as a fuel, it burns very cleanly, especially when refined and purified.
- When used in food, it was the healthiest type of oil available in that region.
- It can be made to burn for a long time.
- The purer it is, the brighter and cleaner it burns.
- – This serves as a metaphor to encourage pure living.
- – As purifying the oil takes greater effort, it symbolizes the effort required to purify one’s life.
- In practical terms, there was an abundance of olive trees in that region.
What does that mean for us?
- Purity takes great effort.
- That effort is worth it, giving off brighter, cleaner light to the world around us.
- The source for purity is abundant if we just take the time to find it.
- And in practical terms, God loves us enough to provide what is most healthy for us.
So, use that olive oil.

More importantly, seek purity.

It may be out of the scope of this verse but in the greater context of Scripture, you should understand that purity comes through trusting Jesus. It takes faith, but the work has already been done on the cross.

There is more to explore on this topic, but we will leave that for another day.

How do you seek purity in your life?
How has purity help you shine the light of the Gospel more brightly?
April 20, 2026

April 20th, 2026

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Luke 16

Highlight Verse:

““If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I find it interesting that Jesus teaches this right after telling the parable of the “dishonest” steward.

Today’s highlight verse can certainly stand on its own.

But in context, it helps to dig a little deeper.

The steward was in charge of a rich man’s finances. In that position, he had the authority to manage those finances as he saw fit.

That included reducing what the rich man’s debtors owed him.

Jesus does not specify what the steward did to get fired but it wasn’t the debt reduction. Instead, the rich man complemented the steward on that.

It is apparent that the steward was not fired immediately or he would not have been able to reduce the debts. As steward, he had the right to adjust those debts.

Finally, the steward made no attempt to hide the debt adjustments, so he was not dishonest in that way.

Instead, he is complimented as being shrewd.

We are stewards of all the earthly goods and finances that come our way.

No matter how hard we worked for them, all our earthly treasures ultimately belong to God.

We should be handling them with that in mind, investing wisely and using wealth strategically to promote God’s will here on earth.

Our faithfulness and honesty here will lead to greater opportunity both here and in eternity.

Do you treat your wealth as yours alone or as God’s property that you have been trusted to steward?
How does your perspective on wealth change what you do with it?

That lead the leaders of the nations around him to fear and respect him.

Do the math – Faithfulness to God’s calling + consistency = reputation.

Has God ever forced a vacation on you?

Sometimes God has a way of enforcing a change of pace.

When you don’t honor that standard, those days of rest tend to come in less appealing ways.

But did you know those verses were right next to each other?

And they found healing and victory through that faith.

So, plant that tiny seed of faith in Jesus, water it with prayer, worship, and obedience, and it will blossom into a great faith that will bring a good flavor to your life.

I was wrong.

It was eye opening.

And you thought I was going to confess that I like to complain and argue.

When you find yourself complaining, turn it into thanksgiving.

You will shine like a bright light in a dark world.

Notice that verse 1 uses the present tense.

We cannot get out on our own.

Just ask!

It’s so simple.

Just live an honorable life, doing good works with humility.

That will lead more people to the truth of Jesus than all the eloquent teachers combined.

But that very confidence caused them to overlook the fatal flaw in their defenses.

It is so easy to become overconfident as a believer.

No matter how successful or unfailingly moral we are, we would be wise to stay humble, realizing that we need to keep our guard up even when we are doing well.

But what stood out to me today was olive oil.

I decided to look into olive oil.

More importantly, seek purity.

But in context, it helps to dig a little deeper.

We are stewards of all the earthly goods and finances that come our way.

Our faithfulness and honesty here will lead to greater opportunity both here and in eternity.