Walk in the Light

November 24, 2025

November 24th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 22

Highlight Verse:

“No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭46‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I’m thankful that Jesus answers every time I ask Him questions (usually through His Word).

Today’s verse is a good reminder of the importance of context.

Jesus had just refuted the ill-intended questions of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

After that, people stopped try to trap Him with trick questions.

He never stopped taking questions and teaching His disciples.

He is still teaching us today.

Sometimes understanding Jesus’ teachings can be intimidating. Like the Pharisees and Sadducees, we fear that Jesus might have to change the way we think about things.

In fact, He might turn our lives upside-down.

Because of that, we may shy away from digging deeper into His teaching.

If only the Sadducees and Pharisees had realized the truth found in Jesus, they might have found life and joy.

If only we would embrace all of Jesus’ teaching, we might make our joy complete!

Are there parts of the Gospel that you shy away from for fear they might change your life?
How would your life be different if you accepted all of Jesus’ teachings?
November 23, 2025

November 23rd, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 144-146

Highlight Verse:

“But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭146‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sometimes answers are simple.

You want joy? Put your hope in God.

Of course, a simple answer is not always easy to live out.

Sometimes hope is hard to find.

Sometimes life is so easy that hope seems unnecessary.

But I guarantee that if you keep your eyes on Jesus through the good and the bad and everything in between, your joy will overflow to the point that you can’t contain it. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

What tends to distract you from the hope and joy of God?
Have you experienced that joy in the midst of a horrible time? Tell us about it.
November 22, 2025

November 22nd, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Proverbs 15

Highlight Verse:

“The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭15‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I’m thankful that God is always watching out for me.

Santa is not a popular character in our home. The whole idea of some fat old guy in a red suit watching you when you’re sleeping is just a little disturbing.

It’s also a little bit disturbing to think of the fact that all our smart phones and smart speakers are also listening to us all the time.

I’d be bothered by it until I remember that if anyone is listening to me all day, they’re going to be awfully bored.

God is not a stalker or spy. But He is interested in every moment of our lives.

When I was young, I pictured Him as an old judge looking for me to mess up so He could throw the book at me.

God’s primary relationship with us is not a judge but a caring Father. When He looks at His children, it is with eyes of love. He sees our highest potential and every facet of our character.

We may fall short but, when we put on the sacrifice of Jesus, He sees only our best.

If we are willing to follow His leading, He will help us become the best versions of ourselves.

Along the way, He is willing to protect and guide us as we learn the difficult lessons on the path that leads to our best selves.

Are you willing to allow Him to guide you through all the lessons, even the tough ones?
What is the most recent lesson He has brought you through?
November 21, 2025

November 21st, 2025

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Ezekiel 4-6

Highlight Verses:

“Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.” “All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.””
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Oh joy! Ezekiel gets to cook his food over burning cow pies.

It’s better than the alternative.

In case you thought Jeremiah was negative, read on.

Ezekiel relates the punishment of Israel in graphic details – even more graphic than his camp fuel.

Unlike the people of Israel, he was committed to obeying what God told him to do.

What God told Ezekiel to say and do was rather extreme. But he was faithful to God’s words.

While those words were rather extreme, they did a good job of illustrating the need for a savior.

Israel had been extreme in its rejection of God, so God was being extreme in His rejection of them.

Extreme enough for them to repent.
Extreme enough for God to send a Savior.

How does the extreme nature of these prophecies strike you?
What do you think it was like for Ezekiel?
November 20, 2025

November 20th, 2025

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 1 Timothy 3

Highlight Verse:

“These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
‭‭I Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

A pillar moment

is a time when God moved in such a way that the people came away encouraged, empowered, and anointed. In the Old Testament, God had the people erect pillars so they could look and remember the great ways that God changed them.

This word stood out to me because we recently became involved in a new church plant named, you guessed it, Pillar Church.

The mission of our church is to be a place where those pillar moments happen every week.

Regardless of where we attend church, we should go anticipating the movement of God to change our lives.

When we are willing to accept the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives, we not only have those moments at church, but we bring them home. It is then that we get the joy of seeing God move in every part of our lives and the lives of those around us.

Whether that sounds wonderful and too radical, try it.

If you trust God, how bad could it be?

Are you challenged when you attend a church service?
Are you open to taking on those challenges and letting God change you?
November 19, 2025

November 19th, 2025

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 23-24

Highlight Verse:

““Take it, my Lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar.”
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭24‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This passage raises two glaring questions for me.

Who is Araunah and why did he act so generously toward David?

The passage points out that he was a Jebusite.

In other words, he was a resident of Jebus, the city on that site before Jerusalem came.

So, he was one of the people who were conquered by the Israelites when they took over the city a couple decades prior. He was a Canaanite.

He was not only allowed to stay but was treated with respect by King David.

Why was he generous?

Some would say it was out of fear of King David. In fact, that was my first impression.

Then I realized that he knew the importance of the sacrifices that needed to be made at his threshing floor.

He was a true believer in God.

He was willing to give whatever was needed to please God.

We all know the story of David saying that he wouldn’t sacrifice that which cost him nothing.

It was his wrongdoing. It had to be his sacrifice to correct it.

Araunah understood and accepted David’s payment.

What is the takeaway from this passage?

I believe Araunah would teach us the importance of sacrificial faith even in the face of great loss.

He would also teach us to be sensitive to the needs of others, even when they are unusual.

Have you ever been faced with the decision to give sacrificially?
Did you go through with it, or did God provide another way?
November 18, 2025

November 18th, 2025

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 24-25

Highlight Verse:

“Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭24‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I’m thankful modern worship.

Frankly, this verse gave me nightmares as a child.

But in a world where animal sacrifice was a common practice, it would not have seemed nearly as disgusting.

I imagine it would have been at least a little disturbing.

By disturbing, I mean it got people’s attention. It illustrated their need for forgiveness and highlighted the seriousness of sin.

Of course, it also foretold the sacrifice Jesus would make at the cross.

Now that the sacrifice is complete once and for all, the need for animal blood is over and our worship can concentrate accepting his sacrifice and on thanking and praising God for who He is and all He has done.

Is there a part of Old Testament worship that was disturbing to you?
What is your favorite part of worship today?
November 17, 2025

November 17th, 2025

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 21

Highlight Verse:

“Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I’m thankful for holy anger.

You could call it righteous indignation.

I’m not talking about the kind the indignation that keeps people hanging on to empty traditions.

I’m also not calling all traditions empty.

I am talking about the holy anger that Luther used against the corrupt practices of the church of his day.

That same kind of anger banished slavery.

Later, Luther’s namesake, Martin Luther King, Jr. brought it to bear against racial discrimination.

Jesus’ anger was not based on selfish desires but on true devotion to the Father that could not bear to see people using God to profit instead of truly worship.

While none of us have the direct authority that Jesus had in overturning the tables, we do have the responsibility to bring to light the injustices and corruption that we come across.

I write this not to sow division in the church. Instead,

I hope to help us find the best way to accomplish the purpose of bringing people to encounter and follow Jesus.

If we are doing things that drive people away from finding Jesus, that’s when I get angry.

What have you seen believers do that drives people away?
What can we do to correct those things?
November 16, 2025

November 16th, 2025

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 140-143

Highlight Verses:

“O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent, those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭140‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT

Today I’m thankful for protection against evil.

‬‬I like to find the good in people.

That doesn’t always work.

Consider this – at one point, fully a third of the world’s population was guilty of murder.

Of course there were only 3 people on Earth, but that’s because Cain murdered Abel.

Not a very auspicious beginning.

Sure, the murder rate is nowhere that high anymore, but the honest truth is, we all have a tendency toward evil.

Many mask that evil behind masks of relativism (I’m not as bad as them) or tolerance (I was made this way so you’re no better than me).

The only true way to defeat evil is through the sacrifice of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are all drawn toward evil, but the sacrifice of Jesus rescued us from that evil.

The Holy Spirit supplies power that makes overcoming evil possible.

What do you do to avoid evil people?
How have you seen God protect you from evil?
November 15, 2025

November 15th, 2025

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Philippians 4:10-20

Highlight Verse:

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Today I am thankful for the same thing as the original pilgrims – God’s provision.

I’ve never been wealthy by American standards.

In fact, I’ve been terribly close to broke on multiple occasions.

But I’ve never gone truly hungry nor have I had to declare bankruptcy.

Every time I’ve wondered how I was going to pay the bills, God has worked things out for me. Sometimes with extra work, sometimes with the generosity of people around me, sometimes with mysterious unexpected provision. Occasionally, a little financial wisdom has come in handy.

While I don’t want to make this about generosity, I must share that the best blessing has been giving consistently even when the budget seems impossible.

God has honored every gift we have given with provision – not always like we expected but always what has worked out the best.

While we are reasonably comfortable now, the lessons I’ve learned throughout my life make me confident that God will provide for the rest of our lives.

In what ways has God brought unexpected provision to you?
Do you trust Him to provide today?

Today I’m thankful that Jesus answers every time I ask Him questions (usually through His Word).

He is still teaching us today.

If only we would embrace all of Jesus’ teaching, we might make our joy complete!

You want joy? Put your hope in God.

Today I’m thankful that God is always watching out for me.

God is not a stalker or spy. But He is interested in every moment of our lives.

If we are willing to follow His leading, He will help us become the best versions of ourselves.

In case you thought Jeremiah was negative, read on.

While those words were rather extreme, they did a good job of illustrating the need for a savior.

Extreme enough for them to repent.Extreme enough for God to send a Savior.

A pillar moment

Regardless of where we attend church, we should go anticipating the movement of God to change our lives.

Whether that sounds wonderful and too radical, try it.

Who is Araunah and why did he act so generously toward David?

He was willing to give whatever was needed to please God.

Today I’m thankful modern worship.

Today I’m thankful for holy anger.

I am talking about the holy anger that Luther used against the corrupt practices of the church of his day.

I hope to help us find the best way to accomplish the purpose of bringing people to encounter and follow Jesus.

If we are doing things that drive people away from finding Jesus, that’s when I get angry.

Today I’m thankful for protection against evil.

Consider this – at one point, fully a third of the world’s population was guilty of murder.

The only true way to defeat evil is through the sacrifice of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit supplies power that makes overcoming evil possible.

Today I am thankful for the same thing as the original pilgrims – God’s provision.

God has honored every gift we have given with provision – not always like we expected but always what has worked out the best.

Extreme enough for them to repent.
Extreme enough for God to send a Savior.