Walk in the Light

Cinco De Mayo, 2024

May 5th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Proverbs 28-29

Highlight Verse:

“Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭29‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A “Ring” doorbell video was posted this week showing several police officers chasing someone.

Comments posted afterward mocked the officers with “how many officers does it take” jokes and people ridiculing that town’s police force.

The truth was the man being chased had just beaten his wife and struck an officer as he fled.

I happened to be in a police sargents’ office when I saw the post (fixing a copier). They mentioned that if one officer was chasing the subject, the chances of that subject being injured were much higher. With multiple officers, there was much more control in the situation.

I, along with another person brought that situation to light and the negative comments slowed.

There are those who will always try to stir up unrest.

We can bring calm to situations through reasoned, fair, and non-accusatory input, not inserting ourselves into arguments but by spreading accurate positive information when the situation calls for it.

Have you been able to shed light on a negative situation?
How did it turn out for you?

I should note that as I went to post this, an inflammatory political post followed by an argument came up. Inserting even positive information in that sort of argument is likely just to stir up more argument.

Wisdom must be exercised in choosing when to share.
May 4, 2024

May 4th, 2024

Saturday – Open topic

Reading – Luke 19:1-10

Highlight Verse:

When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I wanted to find a verse about someone who was physically impaired today. It was harder than I thought it would be.

Jesus healed everyone who was “crippled” or blind and who wanted to be healed.

That said, he only healed one of the people gathered at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5). We are left to assume that he was the only one who turned to Jesus for healing. Jesus respected the wishes of those who didn’t want to be healed or who insisted on taking care of themselves.

Zacchaeus, on the other hand, was healthy but short.

He needed the healing of repentance, but Jesus left his unique physical stature as is.

Just within my own little family, there is about a foot difference in height between shortest and tallest, several different hair colors, introverts and outgoing, and a wide variety of interests and talents.

We represent a variety of political views, sometimes completely opposed to each other.

But we are all of one family who love each other unconditionally.

Likewise, God created each human on the planet with unique characteristics.

Each one of us is a masterpiece, different from any of the other 8 billion people out there.

And, like Zacchaeus, God isn’t interested in making us alike.

He wants to make each of us a part of His family.

Like with any family, we may not always agree.

But we can accept each other with the love of Jesus.

What do you do when you have a hard time getting along with a fellow believer?
How would it change things for you if you looked at others through Jesus’ eyes – with a love that is willing to give everything that they might live?

(Oh, and by the way – May the Fourth be with you!)
May 3, 2024

May 3rd, 2024

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Hosea 5-6

Highlight Verse:

“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Religion demands that we follow rules.

God wants us to follow Him.

Religion required Israelites to give sacrifices.

God the Father wants to know us and to be known.

Religion is full of rituals.

While many rituals were born out of relationship, when they are empty,

it is better to have the relationship with God than the empty rituals that are a mere echo of relationship.

The bottom line is God wants a personal relationship with each of His children. Obedience, sacrifice, and rituals should be a result of that relationship, not a desperate attempt to gain that relationship.

It makes me think of when God ran.

When the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) turned toward home, the Father RAN to him and welcomed him back into the family.

Being welcomed into God’s family is as close as turning to Him.

How do you feel about the rituals and rules commonly found in Christianity?
What motivates you when you obey them or ignore them?
May 2, 2024

May 2nd, 2024

Thursday – Letters

Reading – James 4

Highlight Verse:

“So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have heard the latter part of this verse numerous times – usually without the first part.

They go hand in hand.

It is so easy to get prideful and even arrogant when we do all the “right” things.

We can make our lives look so pure and righteous even while we let the sin of pride permeate us.

If we keep God’s perfection in mind, we can better remember to be humble before Him and others.

If we focus on how good we’re being, eventually, we will be humbled.

Have you ever let pride build up to the point that you had to be humbled?
What can we do to remember to stay humble?
May 1, 2024

May 1st, 2024
Wednesday – History

Reading – 1 Chronicles 13-15

Highlight Verse:

“David was angry because the Lord’s anger had burst out against Uzzah. He named that place Perez-uzzah (which means “to burst out against Uzzah”), as it is still called today.”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭13‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Who was David angry at?

God?

Uzzah?

The priests?

Himself?

All of the above?

He was having one of those days.

Everything was going well until – disaster!

While Scripture does not say for sure who David was angry with (himself is my theory), It does say what he did.
- First, he regrouped. He made sure the Ark had a safe place to be while he figured things out.
- Next, he went to God. While this passage doesn’t say how, he obviously sought God’s will. Part of that was to find out the proper way to move the Ark.
- Once he figured out the problem, he went all out to do it right the next time.
- Finally, he went all out in celebration, expressing the joy of doing things God’s way.
What do you do when you find yourself in a pit of anger?
What do you do to move on in a positive direction?
May/ June reading list posted

April 30th, 2024

If you would like the reading list of the next two months, it is now posted here.

The second page of that also has a quick guide to the Walk In The Light Bible Study.

Printable bookmarks are available here.
April 30, 2024

April 30th, 2024

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 1-2

Highlight Verse:

“The total number was 603,550.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭1‬:‭46‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What better way to start a study of the book of Numbers than with a number – specifically, the size of Israel’s army as they travelled through the wilderness.

If you add in the women, children, the elderly, and the Levites, the nation of Israel had about as many people as the city of Philadelphia.

That’s a relatively compact city at 140 square miles or over 90 thousand acres.

Think about that.

A population the size of Philadelphia moved around the wilderness for 40 years.

The pillar of smoke and fire that led them through the wilderness had to have been an amazing site.

But, even without the pillar, it must have been an incredible site to see all those people in one camp, much less to see the camp move.

With that in mind, keep your eyes open as we go through Numbers.

You might be surprised what we find.

Was there anything that stood out to you in today’s reading?
What do you imagine it was like to be in the nation of Israel as they wandered the wilderness?
April 29, 2024

April 29th, 2024

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Luke 18

Highlight Verse:

“Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A survey by the International Bible Society revealed that 83% of Christians come to faith between the ages of 4 and 14.

EIGHTY THREE PERCENT!

This is precisely why I have stayed involved in next-gen ministry for nearly my entire adult life.

The local church I am a part of now does an amazing job at reaching children and adults, but I have seen many that treat next generation ministry as an afterthought.

It breaks my heart when I see children’s church and youth ministries lacking support or volunteers.

Many people I have spoken to seem to think they are unqualified to help.

Unless you can’t pass a background check, you are qualified.

Many, if not most, churches have curriculum that make teaching very easy. Even if you aren’t up to teaching, ministries need people to help teachers during children’s church and student ministry times. Those who prepare curriculum and the classrooms are also important.

If nothing else, prayer is an essential part of any effective ministry.

I’ll climb down of my next-gen soapbox now as long as you promise to at least pray.

Have you had the privilege of being part of a next generation ministry and can share good stories?
What are you willing to do to help reach the next generation?
April 28, 2024

April 28th, 2024

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Proverbs 26-27

Highlight Verse:

“Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭26‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I had my 2-year-old daughter on my shoulders while walking to the car in a mall parking lot when I saw someone take a parking place that someone else had been waiting for.

The catch is, this was on a street with a double yellow line. The person who had been waiting would have had to do an illegal left turn to get the space.

He didn’t care and he ripped into the parker with a string of profanities that I didn’t really want my daughter hearing.

I, being me, proceeded to point out to the profane person that he wasn’t supposed to take that space anyway.

The profanities then started hurling my way until the first guy actually pulled out of the space and the guy made the illegal turn as I hurried to my car.

All the way I was thinking that I should have kept my big mouth shut.

I proved nothing other than the truth of this proverb.

Have you ever proved a proverb true? Share it.
Have you seen any of the other of today’s proverbs proven true?
April 27, 2024

April 26th, 2024

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – 1 Corinthians 12

Highlight Verse:

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I grew up Lutheran. In the church I was in, this chapter would have been glossed over as pertaining only to the times before the Biblical Cannon was closed.

I spent most of my adult life in Pentecostal churches. This chapter was expounded upon in great detail and with great fervor and conviction.

While my beliefs lean more toward the Pentecostal,

I think we sometimes miss the point.

It’s not about the gifts, it’s about the purpose of the gifts.

The gifts along with every other part of the Christian life should be geared toward helping our fellow humans find Jesus and grow in their faith.

Let’s not ignore any of God’s gifts to us no matter how amazing or mundane they may be, and let’s employ them to bring God glory by bringing people to Him.

How have you seen Spiritual gifts bring people closer to God?
Have you had to deal with off balanced (one way or another) teaching about spiritual gifts. How did you deal with that?

A “Ring” doorbell video was posted this week showing several police officers chasing someone.

I, along with another person brought that situation to light and the negative comments slowed.

Wisdom must be exercised in choosing when to share.

He needed the healing of repentance, but Jesus left his unique physical stature as is.

But we are all of one family who love each other unconditionally.

Each one of us is a masterpiece, different from any of the other 8 billion people out there.

But we can accept each other with the love of Jesus.

God wants us to follow Him.

God the Father wants to know us and to be known.

it is better to have the relationship with God than the empty rituals that are a mere echo of relationship.

When the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) turned toward home, the Father RAN to him and welcomed him back into the family.

It is so easy to get prideful and even arrogant when we do all the “right” things.

If we keep God’s perfection in mind, we can better remember to be humble before Him and others.

Who was David angry at?

A population the size of Philadelphia moved around the wilderness for 40 years.

But, even without the pillar, it must have been an incredible site to see all those people in one camp, much less to see the camp move.

You might be surprised what we find.

A survey by the International Bible Society revealed that 83% of Christians come to faith between the ages of 4 and 14.

Many people I have spoken to seem to think they are unqualified to help.

Unless you can’t pass a background check, you are qualified.

If nothing else, prayer is an essential part of any effective ministry.

I proved nothing other than the truth of this proverb.

I think we sometimes miss the point.

Let’s not ignore any of God’s gifts to us no matter how amazing or mundane they may be, and let’s employ them to bring God glory by bringing people to Him.