Walk in the Light

January 18, 2025

January 18th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Philippians 3:12-14

Highlight Verse:

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This has not been a week for focusing. We’ve had things scheduled every night this week.

Partly for that reason, I am borrowing today’s idea from last week’s sermon at church.

(Credit to Orchard Church and Pastor Doug Dameron).

Pastor Doug asked us to prayerfully consider one word to focus on this year.

And, no, I haven’t picked a word yet, but I’ll have some time today to pray and ask God for this year’s focus.

For the moment, let me encourage you to have a good conversation with God.

Let Him guide you to one word to focus on for the rest of the year.

When you find that word, post it in the comments that we may all pray for your success.
January 17, 2025

January 17th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 7-9

Highlight Verse:

“The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

At first this sounds like a declaration of non-conformity.

In a sense that’s true. We certainly shouldn’t conform to the standards of this world.

Rather, it is God’s standards to which we should conform.

Then we need not fear any but God and He will keep us safe.

How much do fear God?
How much do you fear people?
January 16, 2025

January 16th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Romans 3

Highlight Verse:

“For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The little theologian in me squealed with joy when I saw this.

Here’s proof that God made provision for those who sought to worship God in Old Testament times.

While this passage does not give specific criteria for salvation of those who passed before Jesus’ sacrifice, I believe that God could recognize those who trusted Him for their salvation.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus, their sins were forgiven just as ours are.

How do you think God recognized the faith of those from the Old Testament?
What do you think are the differences between people in the Old Testament waiting for the Messiah to come and us waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus?
January 15, 2025

January 15th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – Joshua 7-9

Highlight Verse:

“But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I can’t stand whining.

Apparently, God doesn’t like it either.

To me, verses 10 through 15 read something like, “Quit your whining and do something about it. Find out what went wrong and fix it.”

As I don’t want to do a deep dive into the cultural context here, I won’t comment on the punishment to the one who brought about Israel’s defeat.

Instead, I refer you to almost every leadership training I’ve taken. One common lesson was – if you want to complain about a problem, you better not say anything about it until you have a solution to the problem in mind.

Yes, I know that sometimes people just need to blow off some steam.

But if you want to lead, you need to back up verbal leadership with positive action.

Are you in the middle of a whine worthy situation?
Have you thought of solutions to that situation?
Have you voiced those solutions?
January 14, 2025

January 14th, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Genesis 2-3

Highlight Verse:

“And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God has been covering mankind’s sin since Adam and Eve.

This verse bears witness to the very first animal sacrifice.

The eating of meat came soon afterwards.

So, while the methods shifted, this verse shows how God has been saving us from our sin since the very beginning.

He covered Adam and Eve with the skins from the first sacrifice.

Later, He covered our sin with the sacrifice of His only Son.

What kind of love does it take to make such sacrifices consistently from the beginning of time?
Does the consistency of God’s love inspire you to love Him back?
January 13, 2025

January 13th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – John 2-3

Highlight Verse:

“Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled,”…
‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are so many lessons in these 2 chapters that it was difficult to choose until I noticed one little comment in a commentary at Enduring Word (a study help website I like to use when writing these).

Jesus used what was available.

Jesus could have made wine bottles appear out of thin air or caused a delivery of wine to appear.

But He used what was already there and ready to use.

That funny little first public miracle of Jesus saved the couple’s family from serious embarrassment.

(Which makes me think Jesus’ Mom must have been close with that family to know that the wine was gone so early).

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to have a part in a miracle.

We’ll have to dig a little deeper to see what it takes to be available to be employed by Jesus in His miraculous work. Keep reading here in the coming weeks.

What do you think it means to be available to be used by Jesus?
What will it take for you and I to get there?
January 12, 2025

January 12th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 4-6

Highlight Verse:

“Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This seems like an odd line for a song.

But when you look at the whole Psalm together, you find David singing about how people were talking behind his back, trying to ruin him.

By the end of the Psalm, we hear how God protected him.

In the middle, David advises himself to stay calm, presumably because God has it all under control.

David had good reason to be angry.

Sometimes we do to. (Though sometimes we don’t).

We would do well to take David’s advice and step back, maintain our integrity, and let God take care of it.

Sometimes we fail.

Sometimes David failed.

That’s why he wrote this Psalm to remind himself and us that God has it under control.

How do you react when people bad mouth you?
Have you ever stepped back and let God take care of it?
January 11, 2025

January 11th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Isaiah 40:26-31

Highlight Verse:

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This time of year, it’s dark when I leave for work. By the time I get home it’s getting dark again.

The older I get, the more the cold Colorado weather makes me ache.

If you haven’t guessed by now, winter is not my favorite season.

I love the longer days and warmer temperatures of spring and summer and the colors of fall.

In winter, I want to push the fast forward button.

Today’s verse in most translations begins with “they that wait upon the Lord.”

While the NLT might more accurately convey the meaning of the text,

I love the imagery of waiting as trusting.

So, instead of hibernating until spring, I’ll trust God to see me through the winter.

And if you see an eagle fly by, you might want to take a look and see if I’m up there with it.

Are you affected by the seasons?
How do you get through the tougher seasons?
What does soaring like eagles look like for you?
January 10, 2025

January 10th, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 4-6

Highlight Verse:

“Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve seen and met many missionaries.

Their stories are inspiring.

The things God does through them are amazing.

I’ve even imagined what it would be like if I were in their shoes.

Have I ever said “here I am, send me” when they invite people to join them?

Nope.

God hasn’t called me to that ministry.

But He has called me.

And I’ve said yes to what He has asked me to do. Sometimes reluctantly, but I eventually say yes.

God has a calling on each of his people. Sometimes it’s missions. Sometimes it’s local ministry. Sometimes it’s in areas some wouldn’t consider to be a calling.

Whatever it is, if it’s truly from God, by all means, just say yes already.

What have you been called to do?
Are you doing it?
January 9, 2025

January 9th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – Romans 2

Highlight Verse:

“You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I drive my company van at work, I try to stay very close to the speed limit.

It’s very easy to be judgmental of those who fly around me.

But the truth is, my van has a unit that sends reports about my driving to my boss once a week.

My biggest motivation is to not be called out at work for speeding too much.

Even driving our personal vehicles, the biggest reason I watch my speed is to not get a ticket.

What if I obeyed the speed limit because I care about those around me and respect those who set the limits?

That may not be a perfect comparison, but what if we avoided sin not because we’re afraid to get caught

but because we realize how sin hurts others, and we respect and love the God who gave us the Commandments.

That would put our focus on how we could best live to please God rather than how others fall short.

What is your take?
What motivates you to avoid sin?

Pastor Doug asked us to prayerfully consider one word to focus on this year.

Let Him guide you to one word to focus on for the rest of the year.

Then we need not fear any but God and He will keep us safe.

The little theologian in me squealed with joy when I saw this.

Here’s proof that God made provision for those who sought to worship God in Old Testament times.

Through the sacrifice of Jesus, their sins were forgiven just as ours are.

I can’t stand whining.

To me, verses 10 through 15 read something like, “Quit your whining and do something about it. Find out what went wrong and fix it.”

But if you want to lead, you need to back up verbal leadership with positive action.

God has been covering mankind’s sin since Adam and Eve.

So, while the methods shifted, this verse shows how God has been saving us from our sin since the very beginning.

Jesus used what was available.

But He used what was already there and ready to use.

That funny little first public miracle of Jesus saved the couple’s family from serious embarrassment.

I don’t know about you, but I’d love to have a part in a miracle.

This seems like an odd line for a song.

By the end of the Psalm, we hear how God protected him.

We would do well to take David’s advice and step back, maintain our integrity, and let God take care of it.

That’s why he wrote this Psalm to remind himself and us that God has it under control.

If you haven’t guessed by now, winter is not my favorite season.

I love the imagery of waiting as trusting.

So, instead of hibernating until spring, I’ll trust God to see me through the winter.

I’ve seen and met many missionaries.

God has a calling on each of his people. Sometimes it’s missions. Sometimes it’s local ministry. Sometimes it’s in areas some wouldn’t consider to be a calling.

It’s very easy to be judgmental of those who fly around me.

What if I obeyed the speed limit because I care about those around me and respect those who set the limits?

but because we realize how sin hurts others, and we respect and love the God who gave us the Commandments.