Walk in the Light

February 7, 2025

February 7th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 16-18

Highlight Verses:

“Only a few of its people will be left, like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest. Only two or three remain in the highest branches, four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel. Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A once vital church in Prescott, Arizona was down to just over a dozen devoted members.

Everyone told them to cash it in. Move on.

Everyone except God.

They sought the counsel of a group that helps revive churches. They made some radical changes that made them relevant to the local culture and generations while remaining faithful to God’s Word.

I started attending Prescott Heights when they had around a hundred people. By the time I moved away a couple years later, they were around 400 people.

I don’t know if their growth continued but I know from their website, they are still around and making a difference in their community.

Sometimes our ministries get off-target and suffer diminishment.

Sometimes our own effectiveness wanes as we wander from the calling or devotion that first brought us progress.

When we find ourselves losing influence, feeling at the end of our hope, God can restore.

If we are open to the direction of the Holy Spirit, He can restore our first love. He can restore our effectiveness. He can restore His ministry through us.

How have you coped with times of low effectiveness?
How has wise advice helped you get out of low times?
February 6, 2025

February 6th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Romans 6

Highlight Verse:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I once had a pastor who asked me what I thought would happen if a person died while sinning. He was of the opinion that the person would forfeit heaven because they were sinning at that moment.

I strongly disagreed with him.

The word for wages in today’s reading means – wages.

In other words, something earned through labor.

One does not get their wages as they work but, in that time, at the end of each work day.

Gifts are received when they are given.

I am NOT advocating sinning throughout the day and repenting at the end before the wages come.

When a person sins, they distance themselves from God.

The more they sin and the more serious the sin, the further they remove themselves from God’s guidance and grace.

They still have God’s mercy until they reject it.

The problem comes with the fact that repeated sins set one up to be disposed to rejecting God’s mercy, which is essentially choosing death.

Conversely, the less one sins, the more they will listen to God and the closer they will walk with God. That person, having lived in the joyous presence of God, would be highly unlikely to reject His mercy.

No human is perfect. We all have our moments of sin.

The key to the best life is to walk as closely as possible to the God of all mercy and grace. The God of life!

How close is your walk with God?
How do you keep yourself walking in the right direction?
February 5, 2025

February 5th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – Joshua 16-18

Highlight Verse:

“As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua commanded them, “Go and explore the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots here in the presence of the Lord at Shiloh.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭18‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If I were there, I would be on that team of explorers.

I’ve always liked to explore.

My childhood included ever widening explorations on my bike, followed by wider still treks in my car.

The fact that these guys got to be the first Israelites to see the promised land as they occupied it brings up a tinge of envy in me.

It may not be a spiritual gift but that heart of exploration is a necessary gift for a nation, especially as they move and expand.

That same gift with its out of the box thinking is needed as churches seek to grow.

As the body of Christ grows, what is your roll in that expansion?
Are you a leader, an explorer, or a follower?
What do you do as a part of that roll?
February 4, 2025

February 4th, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Genesis 7-8

Highlight Verse:

“A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭7‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Did you ever notice that Noah didn’t shut the door on the ark. Yahweh, the Lord did.

I’ve read commentaries saying this symbolized the fact that only the Lord could open or shut the door on salvation.

Personally, I just think that it needed to be shut and sealed from the outside and God wasn’t willing to sacrifice any of Noah’s family to be left behind to shut the door.

I could be wrong. But I know that God wanted to save Noah and his family. By extension, that means you and me too as we all descended from Noah.

God has us covered.

How has God stepped in to protect you?
What has He sealed you from?
February 3, 2025

February 3rd, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – John 6

Highlight Verse:

“Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Andrew is not a leading character in the Gospels. But he spoke up more than once.

The first time we see him speaking up is in John chapter 1 when he tells his brother Simon about Jesus. Simon became Peter, who later took the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire.

Here Andrew speaks faith into the situation, even though his faith appears to be limited.

Jesus acts on Andrew’s suggestion and brings about one of His greatest miracles, the feeding of the five thousand.

For someone who is not in the limelight, on stage or on the frontlines, it is easy to feel unimportant.

For that person, imagine what would the world be like if Andrew had not told his brother Peter about Jesus. Think about the hole that would have been left in the story of Jesus if Andrew had not told Jesus about the loaves and fishes.

Words of faith from supporting people make all the difference in the world.

To whom have you told the exciting news of the Messiah?
What situations have you spoke faith into?
February 2, 2025

February 2nd, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 13-16

Highlight Verse:

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why is it that people often think that following Jesus is boring.

Even among Christians, sin is considered to be “fun”.

But what is fun about damaged relationships from sexual sin, weakened bodies from drug and alcohol abuse, or injury or death from violence or driving impaired?

Just as importantly, there is great joy and pleasure from life in a loving marriage and a caring family. And there is great fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy in helping others.

Even the very act of singing praise and worship to God bring pleasure.

So the next time you get FOMO (fear of missing out) when your buddies invite you to the bar or that attractive person flirts with you,

remember there is so much more joy and pleasure in sticking to the directions God has given you.

What do you do to protect yourself from temptation?
What gives you the most pleasure in following Jesus? (For me it is teaching youth).
February 1, 2025

February 1st, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Psalm 148

Highlight Verse:

“Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭148‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A few days ago, I was cleaning my “man cave” and I ran across some photos from the week in 1977 that marked the definitive beginning of my faith.

One photo in particular reminded me of the night that my fellow campers and I spent sleeping in a ball field under the stars during the Perseid meteor shower.

I remember being in awe of God’s creation that night.

We also spent a lot of time that week learning about the Bible.

My eyes were opened to some of the truth of God’s Word.

As influential as those two factors were, neither of them convinced me to commit to a life of faith in Jesus.

What did?

It was the love that I saw through the counselors and staff of that Christian camp.

If faith in God could make people put love into action like these people did, that was something I wanted a part of.

While my life has been far from perfect, I have never departed the life of faith that began in the middle of August, 1977.

Pointing out God’s amazing creation is certainly a good thing. Bringing the truth of God’s Word to people is applaudable.

But all of that is worth nothing if we do not bring God’s love to the world through everything we do.

How have you seen God’s love in action?
How did that affect your faith?
January 31, 2025

January 31st, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 13-15

Highlight Verse:

“Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived— the time for the Almighty to destroy.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭13‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Does it trouble you to read about God being angry?

It used to trouble me.

Then I became a dad.

Let’s just say, if anyone messes with my kids, they better be prepared to deal with me too.

Babylon messed with God’s kids. So did the other nations mentioned in today’s reading.

And I understand God’s anger.

God didn’t just protect the nation of Israel. He orchestrated all of history so that His Son could come and pay the penalty for our sin.

That’s some seriously fierce Fatherly love!

If you have kids, what would you do to protect them?
Can you understand the things God did to protect His children?
January 30, 2025

January 30th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Romans 5

Highlight Verse:

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In case you ever wondered what my religious background is, here you go:

I was raised Lutheran, went to a tiny United Methodist church with a charismatic bent in my last 2 years of high school. In college, I started out with a fundamentalist EV Free church and then found the Foursquare Church (modern Pentecostal) which I stayed in most of my adult life (including a year and a half of Bible college).

Along the way, I’ve been a part of a couple of really good non-denominational congregations including the one we have been members of for the last five years.

I also ran sound for a Christian conference center in California for a few years.

I have seen many interpretations of the role and manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

My interpretation leans toward the Pentecostal side but I think we Pentecostals sometimes focus too much on the miraculous role of the Holy Spirit and ignore what I consider to be a more important role of the Holy Spirit – to fill our hearts with His love.

Yes, it is through the Holy Spirit that we can grasp how amazing God’s love for us is.

But, when I think of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts with his love, I get a visual of His love filling a heart shaped bucket to overflowing.

In other words, it is through the Holy Spirit that we can overflow with God’s love.

If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, we won’t be able to keep from spreading God’s love to all those around us.

In what ways has the Holy Spirit overflowed through you to reach others?
How would you like to see the Holy Spirit work through you?
January 29, 2025

January 29th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – Joshua 13-15

Highlight Verse:
(Caleb speaking)

“So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A week before I got married, my best man thought it’d would be a great idea to go white water rafting for the bachelor party.

My friends and I had a choice whether to do the beginner run or the intermediate. The guides told us the intermediate would be a lot more work but a lot more fun. So, of course, we chose it.

It was fun.

A lot of fun.

Until that one section where they told us this was the one section where we didn’t want to fall out.

To make a long story short, by our wedding day, my bruises were large and black.

But I have a great story to tell.

If you were to ask Caleb why he chose an area where he would have to defeat giants if think he would say it was because he could, at least with God’s help.

What makes us guys choose the tougher path?

He might also say that anything worth having is worth fighting for.

Caleb and his clan would treasure their land.

If you are facing great difficulty, remember that you don’t fight alone. If it is the right goal, God will help you win the battle.

And you will treasure that victory.

Are you facing a seemingly insurmountable goal?
Have you checked in with God to see if it is something for which He will fight?
Do you trust God to fight for you?

Everyone except God.

Sometimes our ministries get off-target and suffer diminishment.

When we find ourselves losing influence, feeling at the end of our hope, God can restore.

I strongly disagreed with him.

When a person sins, they distance themselves from God.

The key to the best life is to walk as closely as possible to the God of all mercy and grace. The God of life!

The fact that these guys got to be the first Israelites to see the promised land as they occupied it brings up a tinge of envy in me.

That same gift with its out of the box thinking is needed as churches seek to grow.

Did you ever notice that Noah didn’t shut the door on the ark. Yahweh, the Lord did.

God has us covered.

Andrew is not a leading character in the Gospels. But he spoke up more than once.

For someone who is not in the limelight, on stage or on the frontlines, it is easy to feel unimportant.

Words of faith from supporting people make all the difference in the world.

Why is it that people often think that following Jesus is boring.

Just as importantly, there is great joy and pleasure from life in a loving marriage and a caring family. And there is great fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy in helping others.

remember there is so much more joy and pleasure in sticking to the directions God has given you.

I remember being in awe of God’s creation that night.

My eyes were opened to some of the truth of God’s Word.

If faith in God could make people put love into action like these people did, that was something I wanted a part of.

But all of that is worth nothing if we do not bring God’s love to the world through everything we do.

Does it trouble you to read about God being angry?

Then I became a dad.

And I understand God’s anger.

That’s some seriously fierce Fatherly love!

I have seen many interpretations of the role and manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

If we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, we won’t be able to keep from spreading God’s love to all those around us.

A lot of fun.

If you were to ask Caleb why he chose an area where he would have to defeat giants if think he would say it was because he could, at least with God’s help.

If you are facing great difficulty, remember that you don’t fight alone. If it is the right goal, God will help you win the battle.