Walk in the Light

July 24, 2024

July 24th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Chronicles 19-21

Highlight Verse:

“Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes.””
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭19‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was once yelled at by a customer whose ten-year-old copier had jammed once in the previous month.

The customer was a federal judge.

For a ten-year-old copier, that’s doing very well.

For a federal judge… let’s just say that as he went on yelling inches from my face, I was thinking, “who did you pay to get your position because you sure didn’t earn it this way.”

I bit my tongue, but I had to wonder how he ran his courtroom.

Integrity is something that is very hard to find today.

Nearly everyone seems to have an agenda and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill that agenda.

Honesty and kindness take a back seat to selfishness and personal fulfillment.

Out court system is no exception. After all, it is made up of lawyers which is a profession that is not exactly known for integrity here in the US.

That said, I have known some honest lawyers whose integrity I can vouch for. They have a tough time of it, but

I have seen God bless them for their faithfulness.

What can we do to live a life of integrity in all we do?
How can we encourage others to do the same?
July 23, 2024

July 23rd, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers “In summary, the registered troops of all Israel numbered 601,730.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭26‬:‭51‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Keep in mind, that number is just the troops.

The actual number including women and children was likely more double that.

It was the equivalent of moving a mid-sized city every time they needed to move.

In my opinion, each move was nothing short of miraculous.

The same God who helped guide the Israelites through each move in the wilderness, is willing to help you with your comparatively easy asks.

How have you seen God help you with your difficult tasks?
Are there times when you need to trust Him more in the day-day?
July 22, 2024

July 22nd, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 6

Highlight Verse:

“Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.””
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We go to a rather large church. Not a mega church but there are quite a few people on staff.

We, as a congregation pay them to teach, preach, pray, manage, do accounting, create graphics, lead worship, manage production, etc.

By the time of today’s chapter, the early church had grown larger than our local church.

But the Apostles were taking care of everything.

No wonder there was strife (Verse 1).

They wisely decided to delegate management tasks to other capable people.

People often look at pastors as miraculous beings who can run every aspect of the church. If they mess something up, many will just leave the church and spread the word at how that church has fallen from its mission.

If we attend a large congregation, we need to fully support it so that they can afford to delegate tasks to those who are called to do those tasks.

Whether we attend a large or small congregation, we need to step up and help the pastor(s) with the tasks that we are called to do.

In any case, if we see something not being done right, we need to help rather than just assign blame.

Have you ever considered leaving a church just because people were bad-mouthing it?
Have you ever had to step up and help your church through a difficult time?
July 21, 2024

July 21st, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Song of Solomon 5-6

Highlight Verse:

“Why is your lover better than all others, O woman of rare beauty? What makes your lover so special that we must promise this?”
‭‭Song of Songs‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I must confess, I find Song of Solomon rather awkward to read.

It’s like listening in on a conversation that I really shouldn’t be listening to.

And then there’s these “women of Jerusalem” that are not just listening in but commenting.

Then again…

My middle daughter’s wedding video was just completed. It was beautiful.

That wedding was full of people celebrating the love of two people who obviously belong together.

That’s what the Song of Solomon is.

The women of Jerusalem can celebrate and support the union of this young woman and her shepherd lover.

And the book of Song of Solomon is like a wedding video so that people who came after can celebrate the beauty of that love.

Are there new marriages in social world that you can celebrate and support?
What are you doing to support them?
July 20, 2024

July 20th, 2024

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Matthew 28:16-20

Highlight Verse:

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

On the eve of our church’s biggest outreach of the year, I fully intended to talk about evangelism today.

But then, the verse just after the one I was going to highlight stood out and practically screamed to be noticed.

I don’t want to belittle the ministry of helping people find Jesus.

But far too many churches leave it at that.

I have seen people come to God with enthusiasm and joy only to fall away due to lack of follow-up.

Instead of greeting people at the door or handing out candy at our “At the Movies” outreach, I’ll be in back teaching the 4th and 5th graders.

As I get older and approach retirement age, I see my ministry shifting from teaching next generation to mentoring younger men, in the hopes of helping them follow Jesus more closely and consistently.

In what way(s) are you willing to teach or lead people to follow Jesus?
How are you helping people find Jesus?
July 19, 2024

July 19th, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Amos 9

Highlight Verse:

““In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory.”
‭‭Amos‬ ‭9‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, apparently Amos thought that God was in the house remodeling business.

And he was right.

No matter what condition your spiritual house has gotten in, God is in the business of restoring and making it stronger than ever.

But you have to let Him do His work.

What kind of spiritual remodeling work has God done for you in the past?
What would you like to see Him restore in the future?
July 18, 2024

July 18th, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 3 John

Highlight Verse:

“Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.”
‭‭3 John‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There was an unfortunate phrase among pastors that I heard when I was in Bible College.

“We’re just one funeral away from a revival.”

One person who, through the force of years attending and financial support, would gain enough clout to keep a church from fulfilling it’s mission.

That sounds like what Diotrephes was to that unnamed local church.

John writes to his faithful friend Gaius to try to stop the spread of that evil before he could get there to put an end to it.

It may be 2000 years later, but people are still people. Those like Diotrophes are still out there sowing dissension and evil in the church.

Even if we are not in a position to stop that person,

each of us can help stop the spread of lies.

Even though such gossip is tempting to believe,

John would tell us to not let that person influence us.

According to John, how can you tell if someone is being faithful or evil when talking against another?
How can we stop that type of evil from spreading?
July 17, 2024

July 17th, 2024

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Chronicles 16-18

Highlight Verse:

“Then the fear of the Lord fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Did all the surrounding kingdoms fear Jehoshaphat because he had a mighty army?

That might have had a little to do with it.

I think it had more to do with the fact that

he was faithful to God and the surrounding nations knew that God was protecting him.

He even went so far as to send teachers of God’s word out across the nation to teach everyone about God and His Word.

The people saw his strong leadership guided by God and and

they loved him for it.

That loyalty is a big part of why he had such a mighty army.

Each of us is a leader to someone.

We can lead them to the Lord or be a stumbling block that would drive people away from the Lord.

How do your actions lead the people around you?
Would you be pleased if the people around you did the things you do?
July 16, 2024

July 16th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 23-24

Highlight Verse:

“Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to one more place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there.””
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭23‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

By that definition, King Balak was certainly insane. Three times he tried to get Balaam to curse Israel and three times he failed.

But then, how often do we do the same thing.

We treat people badly expecting them to change.

We entertain temptation expecting to be able to resist it this time.

We expect to lose weight even though we eat out all the time.

We’ve all got something we are a little “insane” about. Most of us have several things.

Maybe it’s time to actually do something different.

Where is your insane spot?
What can you do differently to regain your sanity?
July 15, 2024

July 15th, 2024

Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 5

Highlight Verse:

“The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭5‬:‭41‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let’s be clear, the apostles were just flogged.

Flogged!

Not slapped on the wrist with a fine or a warning.

Beaten with a whip.

There is nothing in the description about the severity of the flogging. Given the fact that they carried on as before tells me that it wasn’t debilitating.

But, if anything approaching that were to happen today,

we’d be suing for damages,

not to mention blasting it all over social media to get people riled up against a government that would do such a thing.

Instead, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy of suffering for Jesus, and then went right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Messiah.

Here’s my take on that.

No matter what they came up against, they stayed on target and kept spreading the word about Jesus.

All during this time, the Church continued to grow despite, or maybe because of the oppression from the religious leaders and government.

I don’t know about you but I can get distracted by the political climate.

When Christian opinions are blocked by the government or the media establishment, it really gets my hackles up.

Despite that, I need to always remember to stay on mission to help people to find and follow Jesus.

What is your mission?
Are there things that can distract you from that mission?

Integrity is something that is very hard to find today.

Honesty and kindness take a back seat to selfishness and personal fulfillment.

I have seen God bless them for their faithfulness.

In my opinion, each move was nothing short of miraculous.

The same God who helped guide the Israelites through each move in the wilderness, is willing to help you with your comparatively easy asks.

But the Apostles were taking care of everything.

No wonder there was strife (Verse 1).

In any case, if we see something not being done right, we need to help rather than just assign blame.

I must confess, I find Song of Solomon rather awkward to read.

Then again…

That’s what the Song of Solomon is.

And the book of Song of Solomon is like a wedding video so that people who came after can celebrate the beauty of that love.

I have seen people come to God with enthusiasm and joy only to fall away due to lack of follow-up.

And he was right.

But you have to let Him do His work.

“We’re just one funeral away from a revival.”

each of us can help stop the spread of lies.

John would tell us to not let that person influence us.

he was faithful to God and the surrounding nations knew that God was protecting him.

they loved him for it.

Each of us is a leader to someone.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

We’ve all got something we are a little “insane” about. Most of us have several things.

Maybe it’s time to actually do something different.

Flogged!

we’d be suing for damages,

Despite that, I need to always remember to stay on mission to help people to find and follow Jesus.