Walk in the Light

November 7, 2023

November 6th, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 23

Highlight Verse:

““You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We just had a discussion last night about jury duty.

One of my daughters potentially has jury duty on the day after her birthday. She is not thrilled.

I have served on three juries and was the foreman each time.

How do you get to be foreman? Just mention that you’re willing, and they’ll vote you in immediately.

I have to admit, I actually enjoy jury duty. I love justice and count it a privilege to help find it.

The toughest thing about jury duty is being able to tell when someone is telling the truth or a lie.

There are some really good liars out there. I’m not one of them. There’s not much I can get away with.

You don’t have to be involved with a jury trial in order to help with justice. Sometimes it is meted out in a courtroom.

Sometimes, justice comes in the court of public opinion. Your opinion can influence how people see others.

No matter where our opinions are expressed, we have a responsibility to be honest and fair in our testimonies.

In what kid of situations have you had to share your testimonies?
Have you been able to take part in our justice system?
November 6, 2023

November 6th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 19-20

Highlight Verses:

““Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I strive to not get political or judgmental in these studies.

But Jesus spoke the truth unashamedly.

His words are obvious, so I really need make no further comment. But you know me. Here I go.

“But Richard, you’ve been divorced.”

Yup, it’s true.

I could hide behind the fact that I stayed committed until after my ex was unfaithful. The truth is, I was not a perfect husband, nor have I ever been a perfect man.

No one is.

Therefore, I don’t use Jesus’ words as judgement but as guidance.

There is forgiveness for every sin except that of rejecting that forgiveness.

From yesterday’s reading, we know that God designed us from the beginning. He knows us through and through.

He knows what’s best for us and wants us to follow that design so that we can have the best life. We fall short but that doesn’t mean we can’t make course corrections throughout our life to get closer and closer to that perfect path.

My advice here? Do whatever you can to stay faithful and committed to your spouse.

For those who have gone down the LGBQT path, I won’t judge you, but I will say that path will never offer the true fulfillment that God’s natural plan for marriage provides. No matter what modern society tells you, that is not the way God designed you.

For those who fall on my side of the of these issues, can you accept those who believe differently with love?
For those one the “woke” side, can you be open to the possibility that God truly designed you differently than what woke culture tells you?
November 5, 2023

November 5th, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalm 137-139

Highlight Verse:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I found it slightly amusing that David spends the majority of this Psalm talking about how well God knows him and then says, “search me.”

Wouldn’t God already know him thoroughly enough to know his heart?

That said, I love David’s example of humility before God and the kingdom (this Psalm wasn’t private).

He’s basically saying, “I’m not perfect. Show me my faults and lead me in the right direction.”

I was taught early on to include a time of confession in my prayers.

This takes it a step further by inviting God to point out where we need to confess.

If you want to get into deep theological thought, we must wonder if God knows our faults since He’s already forgiven them and sent that guilt far from us.

Regardless of what God chooses to remember of our faults, I believe He is always willing to guide us along the correct path for our lives.

Are we willing to listen to His direction?
Are we also willing to act on the leading He gives us?
November 4, 2023

November 4th, 2023

Saturday – Open Topic

Reading – Leviticus 19:23-37

Highlight Verse:

““Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.”
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s November again. Many men observe “No Shave November” to bring attention to men’s health issues or because they want an excuse to not shave.

If you’ve seen me personally, you know that I got a jump on November and quit shaving simply because I like the warmth of a beard in the winter.

If you read today’s passage, you find that growing a full beard was as virtuous as making sure your daughter doesn’t become a prostitute.

Whoa!

Why have I been shaving all these years?

Of course, that was one of a long list of rules, many of which still make sense today, but many were specifically aimed at keeping the people of Israel pure in the midst of an idolatrous regional culture.

Untrimmed beards were one of those rules that made more sense at the time. Men in the surrounding cultures would trim their beards in specific shapes to honor certain idols.

Beard trimming and shaving no longer has that cultural significance.

But, in the cold Colorado winters, the thicker the beard, the warmer the face.

What are some other Old Testament rules that no longer make sense in today’s culture?
What are there some rules you could come up with that might help keep a person on the right track today?
November 3, 2023

November 3rd, 2023

Friday – Prophets

Reading – Lamentations 4

Highlight Verse:

“Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children. They have eaten them to survive the siege.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sorry, but I just couldn’t get this verse out of my head.

How desperate do you have to get to eat your own children?

It’s unthinkable!

Apparently, food was not the only thing they lacked. They suffered from a very serious lack of conscience accompanied by a lack of parental protective instincts.

I wouldn’t want to survive if it came down to sacrificing children.

Not a chance!

Yet, Jeremiah points out that even the tenderhearted women did this unspeakable thing.

If our society dissolves to the point of accepting that, we have some serious problems.

And we do.

…Have serious problems, that is.

You may think I’m speaking of the serious lack of morality in our society.

What I am more concerned about is the way we combat that immorality and hatred since that’s what we can control.

When we confront it with hate, we fan the flames causing more people to reject God.

When we confront it with love and compassion,

we quench the flames

as we quench the deep longing for love that so many people have.

What can you specifically do to quench the flames of hatred and immorality in our society?
Do you have hope left for our society?
How do you express that hope?
November 2, 2023

November 2nd, 2023

Thursday – Letters

Reading – 2 Thessalonians 1-3

Highlight Verse:

“Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.”
‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If you listen to all the predictions by “wise” people since I was born, the world would have ended at least a dozen times in my lifetime.

I believe that we are closer to the end times than ever before. I dare say that it could happen tonight. Or it could happen in hundreds of years.

I don’t know.

What I do know is that we should be ready.

Our words and deeds should be motivated by love in order to bring God’s love to the world.

How do you explain the end times to those around you?
Do you think that people are better motivated to accept and trust the Gospel through fear or love?
November 1, 2023

November 1st, 2023

Wednesday – History

Reading – 2 Samuel 17-18

Highlight Verse:

“The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.””
‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭18‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How tempting it was to highlight the fact that Absalom was undone by his huge head of hair.

But I felt more led to speak of a father’s emotions.

I can relate to David.

Okay, I’m no great warrior or king, nor have I committed adultery or murder.

But he was a man of many emotions.

My kids have not always walked in the ways I would like. No, they haven’t stolen half my kingdom, but there are times when I have to pray that their plans not succeed. I want them to seek earnestly after God and sometimes their plans go against that.

At the same time, I love them deeply. I would take a bullet for any of my kids or my wife in a heartbeat.

So, I understand David mourning.

Sure, he could have been a little more discreet about it, but he was a dad.

The takeaway for me here is that emotions are real and complex. While there are times they need to be kept under control, there are also times when they need to be released.

David had deep compassion. That came out as deep sorrow in this case.

Sometimes it must in us as well.

Are you a person of deep emotions?
Do you sometimes express deep sorrow?
Are those emotions channeled into deep passion for action at other times?
October 31, 2023

October 31st, 2023

Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Exodus 21-22

Highlight Verse:

““You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭22‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I admit it. I took the easy verse to highlight.

That said, let’s look at the herd of elephants in the room.

Old Testament laws and rules seem very harsh by today’s standards.

But, when you read them, keep two things in mind –

• These were rules meant to keep the Israelites a strong nation in a world nearly devoid of morals. And…
• They were revolutionary at the time. They granted limited rights to women and slaves. In that day, in that region, that was nearly unheard of.

Back to the highlight verse. Israel had a rather welcoming attitude toward people visiting their land and even joining their nation.

This stemmed from the fact that they were foreigners in a foreign land before coming to the promised land.

I can relate, at least a little.

My Dad’s family came from Spain to Mexico and then from Mexico to the US.

Being half Mexican, half white, I never felt fully a part of either culture. I can understand a little of how the Israelites felt when they settled the promised land.

God defends His people with a rule granting his people citizenship in their own nation.

He also defends the foreigner in the land by granting them some rights.

I believe we would do well to welcome the foreigner with God’s love and respect.

Mind you, I’m not trying to politicize the treatment of foreigners in the land. I think this principle allows for a wide range of immigration policy which I won’t comment on.

But I believe a precedent is set here about how we personally treat individuals and families.

Is it difficult for you to treat certain types of people with respect?
Can you relate to the foreigner in the land?
October 30, 2023

October 30th, 2023

Monday – Gospels

Reading – Matthew 17-18

Highlight Verse:

“Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Once again, Jesus turns His disciples’ notions on their heads.

They were looking for evaluation of their merits to see who the best was. Jesus threw their merit system out the window.

It makes sense too. Think about it. Jesus is the Son of God, one with the Father, the Creator. He came from a position of supreme greatness to that of a little baby in a poor Israeli family. He was familiar with humility.

Humility doesn’t come naturally, at least not to me.

I remember a science fair in high school. I ran into some people checking out some of the displays. I bragged about mine to them. I won second place. Later I found out from my teacher that I would have won first place if I had not bragged to the judges. Oops.

We compete, we excel, and we thrive on the accolades. It comes naturally.

But it seems that life works out better when we approach it with humility.

That’s greatness.

Jesus gave us the ultimate example of that.

So, the way we can be most like Jesus is to be humble.

Do you struggle with humility (like me)?
What ways have you found to remind yourself to act in humility?
October 29, 2023

October 29th, 2023

Sunday – Poetry

Reading – Psalms 134-136

Highlight Verse:

“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭134‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV

I often listen to the Bible. YouVersion has an excellent narrator for the NLT. But when I listen to the Psalms that way, it’s easy to forget that these were songs.

When I read Psalm 134 from my old leather-bound Bible, a song immediately leapt into my mind.

A couple of days ago, I mentioned working at a Christian conference center. I went on to full time staff there for a couple of years and one of the groups that came back every year was Jews for Jesus.

Those guys could sing!

And dance!

Psalms were not a calm poetic reading to them. This Psalm was a vibrant, lively praise song! You could dance to it. It was fun and full of praise.

These Psalms were sung as the people of Israel travelled to Jerusalem for festivals. They weren’t just a way to remind people of the greatness and history of God. They were a celebration of all that God had done for them.

So, as you read these, think of the liveliest praise song you know and double the amount of joy and celebration from it, and you might come close to what the Israelites experienced with these.

Do you celebrate the greatness of God through music?
Have you ever experienced the joy of a Messianic Jewish celebration?

We just had a discussion last night about jury duty.

No matter where our opinions are expressed, we have a responsibility to be honest and fair in our testimonies.

But Jesus spoke the truth unashamedly.

There is forgiveness for every sin except that of rejecting that forgiveness.

He’s basically saying, “I’m not perfect. Show me my faults and lead me in the right direction.”

This takes it a step further by inviting God to point out where we need to confess.

Why have I been shaving all these years?

Beard trimming and shaving no longer has that cultural significance.

It’s unthinkable!

we quench the flames

If you listen to all the predictions by “wise” people since I was born, the world would have ended at least a dozen times in my lifetime.

What I do know is that we should be ready.

But he was a man of many emotions.

David had deep compassion. That came out as deep sorrow in this case.

Sometimes it must in us as well.

That said, let’s look at the herd of elephants in the room.

I can relate, at least a little.

But I believe a precedent is set here about how we personally treat individuals and families.

Once again, Jesus turns His disciples’ notions on their heads.

Humility doesn’t come naturally, at least not to me.

But it seems that life works out better when we approach it with humility.

When I read Psalm 134 from my old leather-bound Bible, a song immediately leapt into my mind.

So, as you read these, think of the liveliest praise song you know and double the amount of joy and celebration from it, and you might come close to what the Israelites experienced with these.