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John 1:1-18

25 Dec

In the beginning the Word already existed.The Word was with God,and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him,and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness,and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

John 1:1-18

Dead God, it’s interesting that John’s gospel doesn’t address the incarnation at all and yet it’s the beginning of John that gets read at Christmas services. I hadn’t thought about that much until this year. But I guess it makes sense since Jesus was around way before his birth of Mary. He was in the beginning. The very beginning.

Father, as I close this Christmas 2025, I worship you. I thank you. I offer myself to you. I ask your forgiveness. I receive your forgiveness. And I offer forgiveness to others. I have no rights. Help me to use this life you’ve given me for your purposes and glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 25, 2025 in John

 

Mary, Joseph, and Confusion – A Christmas Eve Prayer

24 Dec

Dear God, as I sat down this Christmas Eve morning to enter this time with you, I struggled with what scriptures to use as my base. Then I started thinking about friends who are struggling right now. I have a friend who just lost her mother-in-law a month ago (I found out yesterday). It was difficult. The family relationships with the woman who died were complicated. There is pain this morning. Maybe even some regrets on the parts of some. It can all be so confusing and overwhelming. I ask that you please be with this friend, her husband who lost his mother, his sister, the grandchildren, and anyone else affected by this loss. Father, in your mercy, hear my prayer.

I have another friend who texted me yesterday about her mother being taken by helicopter to a hospital because of a stroke. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I know that relationships with this woman are similarly complicated as the ones with the woman I just talked about. There has been a lot of pain and hurt between people. No one is innocent. No one is completely guilty. It’s just the pain we cause each other when we are hurt. The old saying: “Hurt people hurt people.” And some awful things have happened. But our human love and sense of loyalty that you put into us–that is part of your nature–is still there drawing us to each other. So I ask that you make this pain count. Don’t let it be wasted. For the woman who is sick, do exactly what you need to be doing in her life. Love her. I know she worships you although I’m not sure she knows what discipleship looks like. But I think there is mercy for that. Heal her relationships with her children, grandchildren, and everyone else around her. Use this pain as an opportunity to heal relationships, draw each person into a deeper relationship with you, and make this family a beacon of light that draws others around them into your presence and relationship with you as well. Father, in your mercy, hear my prayer.

I have a list of friends who are facing challenges. Health challenges. Relationship challenges. End-of-life challenges. Loss of a loved one. Long-term care challenges for their aging spouses or themselves as they age. I know people who are struggling financially. Struggling in their careers. Struggling to make sense of life. Use these, please. Heal. Guide. Provide. Comfort. Strengthen. Support. Father, in your mercy, hear my prayer.

Of course, I have my own pain, sorrow, concerns, needs, etc. For my wife. For my children. For my relatives, friends, work, community service, etc. It can all seem so big, and I can feel so small. Maybe that’s where these two songs are coming in this morning. Confusion with your plan or what to do next isn’t anything new. Sorrow, pain, and hurt aren’t new. Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. They have all existed for a long time. And Mary and Joseph were no strangers to them. Two thousand-ish years ago, they were sitting next to a manger with a tiny baby wondering how this would all work out. And while you sent them affirmations in the form of angel visits, shepherds, and later Simeon and Anna, they were still left to take it all one step at a time. That’s us now. That will be us for as long as this timeline marches on. Wars and rumors of war. The sorrow, pain, hurt, doubt, fear, and anxiety. They will always be with us. But there is something you uniquely add to the equation. Hope. Peace. Somehow, you pierce through the darkness and give us a hope that there is something bigger than all of this. An existence with you that transcends the mess we create here. Help me to embrace this process now. I don’t want to kick against the goads. I just want to flow through this river with you as my guide. Steer me around the rocks so that the boat of my life might be there for the other boats in the water. Thank you for being the one constant. Thank you for being the same God in the Old Testament as the one that Jesus described in the Prodigal Son parable. Thank you for being that God today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 24, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Luke 1:57-66

23 Dec

57 When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. 58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”

61 “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” 62 So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.

Luke 1:57-66

Dear God, the question in verse 66: “What will this child turn out to be?” How long did it follow John? How old was he before people stopped asking it? Or did they never stop and it followed him for the next 30 years until he started doing his thing at the Jordan? I wonder what John was like as a child. I wonder how old he was when his parents died.

But I guess we all look at our children and wonder what they will turn out to be. Of course, we don’t even know what we ourselves will turn out to be. I’m 55, and I don’t even know what I’ll be at 56. I don’t know what the rest of even today hold. I don’t even know what I’ll do for lunch.

But I think with our children we often make the mistake of overlaying our expectations on them (and maybe even their parents). I remember when our daughter was picking her major in college and I saw something different for her. Of course she did what her heart felt led to do.

Father, I confess that I have greatly sinned. In my thoughts and in my words. In what I have done and what I have failed to do. through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I ask blessed Mary, all the angels and the saints, and for my brothers and sisters to pray for me to you. And please give my children they grace the need to have to live out everything you have for them whether it includes me or not.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 23, 2025 in Luke

 

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1 Samuel 1:24-28

22 Dec

When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:24-28

Dear God, I wonder what this day was like for the three-year-old boy Samuel. How did his mother prepare him for this day? Was he scared? Excited? Did she tell him what a miracle baby he was? Did he know how Eli had blessed her and asked that God grant her request? It’s interesting to note that she never told him what was distressing her.

And then from Eli. Was he surprised when Hannah showed up with Samuel and said, “Here he is. He’s yours now”? How did his boys feel about it? How old were they when this three-year-old boy showed up to be raised by Eli and, seemingly, them. We know that in a few years they will be behaving badly and God will curse them and Eli because of their behavior. But here, in this moment, there had to have been a lot of surprise and more than a little distress.

But you use the distress to form us. In this case, you used it to form Samuel. And then, several years later, as Eli’s sons are doing bad things, and Samuel might be tempted to model their behavior, you warned him to not do those things. That they and Eli would pay for them. You were calling Samuel to a different and higher ethic and standard. You were calling him to take his worship of you and his charge before you seriously.

Father, I want to take my worship of you and my charge before you more seriously as well. It’s Christmas week. I want to keep my eyes on you. I want the things of earth to grow strangely dim in the light of your glory and grace. I need your glory in my life. I need your grace. I need to give your grace as well. Help me to do that so that you might be glorified in everything.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 22, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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Matthew 1:18-24

21 Dec

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-24

Dear God, I have two thoughts as I read this story for the umpteenth time this morning. First, like Mary, the angel is keeping Joseph on a need-to-know basis. All Joseph needs to know right now is that it’s okay to take Mary as his wife. He doesn’t need to know about the trials and tribulations of the road ahead. He doesn’t need to know the whole plan.

I went to a funeral yesterday for an 84-year-old woman who had her first date with her husband 70 years ago when they were both 14 years old and lived three houses down from each other in Pittsburg. I like to joke I haven’t had a “first date” since I was 19. Well, I don’t think either of these two ever had more than one “first date.” The 14-year-old dreamers never knew what life would hold for them. They didn’t know that the end of her life would involved Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer. They were on a need-to-know basis, and they didn’t need to know. The same is true for all of us.

The other thought occurred to me during her funeral yesterday. I wonder how many people Gabriel might have appeared to that wasn’t reported. We get Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph (in that order). But were there others? There are a couple I hope got visits just to give Mary and Joseph the support they needed. I hope Mary’s parents got a visit. I hope Gabriel told them they could believe Mary. And I hope Mary’s sister who was with her at the crucifixion got a visit at some point. I would like to think you gave Mary at least one person who was completely supportive and as confused as anyone when Jesus died. I hate to think Mary was standing there at the foot of the cross with a sister who was judging her and her son. I prefer to think she was at least almost as devastated as Mary was when Jesus breathed his last and then as vindicated and joyous as Mary was after the resurrection.

Father, I thank you that you didn’t give me the gift of prophecy. I thank you for ignorance. I thank you for my weakness. I have experienced great provision from you lately. I feel a little guilty about it, but maybe it’s something you want us to have so that we can be good stewards of it to others. So help me to be a good steward in real time so that you are glorified in everything my life stands for and everything I do. For your glory, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, and not mine.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 21, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Luke 1:26-38

20 Dec

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38

Dear God, I’ve read this passage and journaled on this passage so many times that it’s hard for me to look at it in a fresh way. But when I looked at it this morning, I thought of Gabriel and these jobs he was given by you. Now I want to be clear that there is no way I can even pretend to see anything from Gabriel’s perspective. Nor should I be able to. He is an archangel. I am at the bottom of the creation food chain. It’s like my dog understanding how to get to Europe by leaving our home and traveling by plane. She just has no frame of reference for that. And I have no frame of reference for what Gabriel saw and knew at that point.

However, I can observe what I have the benefit of knowing that he left out of his speech to Mary (and Zechariah and Joseph for that matter). In fact, before I go down this road, let me just consider that he was the messenger to all three of them in this. From heaven’s standpoint, this must have been an amazing inflection point in the space/time continuum.

But back to what he left out, he left out the difficult physical circumstances when Mary gave birth. He left out the flight to Egypt, the boys in Bethlehem being murdered, the difficulty in raising a perfect child, the conflict between Jesus and his siblings and hometown, the doubts about his sanity, the brutal death, and the ultimate losing of Jesus to the ascension. This was not an easy path for Mary to walk. It didn’t lead to power and wealth in her earthly life. It didn’t lead to ease. Simeon was the first one to tell her that her soul would be pierced through this child’s life. That he would cause people in Israel to stumble. Gabriel left all of that out here. Why? Because she was on a need-to-know basis, and it would not have blessed her to know that path ahead.

Father, I’m on a need-to-know basis too. Help me stay in the moment. Help me to look for you in the moment. Help me to be at peace. You know what my hopes are. You know the desires of my heart. But I know that my desires and your plans might not overlap, and I am willing to lay my desires at the foot of your cross and say, “Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I just ask for my daily bread and that you will forgive me and help me to forgive others. Please keep me from temptation and give me the strength to walk away from it.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 1:5-25

19 Dec

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

Luke 1:5-25

Dear God, this is the New Testament reading of the day, but I have to admit I stopped reading at verse 7. I just want to sit with Zechariah’s and Elizabeth’s infertility. I listed Zechariah’s name first because it was assumed back then that it was the female’s fault they couldn’t have children, but it could have been Zechariah’s issue. But this reminds me of the disciples, after seeing a man who had been born blind, who had sinned, the man or his parents, to cause the man to be blind. Jesus replied that none of them had sinned, but the blindness was for your glory. (John 9:1-3) Of course, Elizabeth’s soon-to-be child was for your glory too. But they had no way of knowing that.

What if you hadn’t had Elizabeth be barren before John? What if John had had older siblings or younger parents? How might that have impacted or changed his trajectory? I think we can get a look at that with the stories of Mary and his brothers and sisters coming to try to get him after they thought he was going ’round the bend. How much more so would John have had to endure influence from siblings or parents when we was much more provocatively out there than Jesus was?

So Elizabeth had to live in lament because she was barren and judged for it. She had a longing for a child. I’ve seen couples who suffer with infertility, and the stress of it is difficult. They will spend tens of thousands of dollars on infertility treatments. They will read books on ways to enhance the chances of conception. They will cry and lament.

But there are parts of our lives–of my life–that are like that too. There are things I lament. There are things others judge me for. There are people who look at my wife and me and some of our circumstances and wonder how we sinned to end up where we are. And there are times when we ask ourselves the same questions. Which of us sinned so that this happened? Or did both of us sin?

Father, Elizabeth and Zechariah were found faithful when Gabriel showed up to encourage them. I hope that you will find me faithful today. I love you. I worship you. I trust you. I heard someone say recently that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt but certainty. That plays nicely with the idea that we want to make an idol out of certainty. So I will put my faith in you and walk away from the certainty in my life.

I pray and offer this in the name of Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 19, 2025 in Luke

 

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Matthew 1:18-25

18 Dec

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

Dear God, I think Joseph wanted to believe Mary. He wanted it for her sake. He wanted it for his own sake. He didn’t want to be angry. He didn’t want to abandon her. He certainly didn’t want to disgrace her or have her stoned. So when he had this dream, he was totally willing to go with it. I say this because if this dream came to me and I didn’t want to follow it then I’d have done an Ebeneezer Scrooge and blamed the vision on something I ate. But Joseph went with the dreams you sent him.

I’ve said it many times, but as a man, there is no biblical character I admire more than Joseph. The guy is just awesome. Give me someone in history outside of my paternal grandfather I’d like to have dinner with and pepper with questions and get to know him, and it would be Joseph. I trust you’d help me overcome the language barrier when I’m with him. In fact, if it’s possible, I look forward to visiting with him one day in the next life. His character just seems so remarkable. I’d love to know how it developed and who he was as a man.

Father, I guess this is just another day when I say that I want to offer myself to you in a selfless way. I want to be the kind of man who wants to see the best and assume the best in others. I want to want to do the absurd thing not only because it’s what you call me to do but because it fits within my moral code regardless of its absurdity. I want to want to love the sinful and unlovable. Help me to be all these things today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 1:1-17

17 Dec

1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

Matthew 1:1-17

Dear God, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary. The five women Matthew calls out as being part of Jesus’s lineage:

Tamar: Judah’s daughter-in-law who had to pretend to be a prostitute to get him to sleep with her and conceive a child because her husband had died and Judah wouldn’t follow through on his responsibility to have one of his sons marry her.

Rahab: I’m assuming this is the prostitute who hid the spies before Joshua led the Israelites against Jericho (although the lineage doesn’t quite fit with Boaz because of the gap in years, but there seem to be a lot of gaps in years here).

Ruth: The Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem and ended up marrying Boaz. Frankly, the most obviously noble of the women so far, although that’s probably an unfair judgment of Tamar and Rahab.

Bathsheba: Should never have been part of this lineage if David hadn’t sinned so greatly, slept with her, killed her husband, and then married her. It’s interesting that the baby she got pregnant with died and so it was another baby (Solomon) who became part of the lineage when it was the baby Tamar had by tricking Judah who is part of the lineage.

Mary: Probably the youngest of the four. The most innocent. The virgin given an incredible assignment.

So what does this tell me this morning. The first thing I see is that none of these women had things turn out the way they dreamed. Tamar widowed and desperate. Rahab afraid of being killed by the Israelites and betraying her people. Ruth, widowed and having to leave her home. Mary, a dream of a normal life with Joseph. But look what you did with all of these lives. You redeemed mistakes. You loved. You provided. Most of it is so ugly, but that’s what you do. You take the ugly and turn it into something beautiful.

I heard about a young man yesterday morning who is walking a difficult path. He’s 18, still finishing his senior year in high school, but he’s been kicked out of the house by an alcoholic father. My wife and I reached out to the couple helping him to give them some support, but what he needs is so much more. Father, move in his story and redeem it. Redeem it and make the pain count for everyone he touches. For him. For his parents. For the family helping him. For those I cannot see.

Father, there are all kinds of stories that need redeemed. I have a story and pain that needs redeemed. Be with me and help me with this pain. Comfort me and everyone involved. Love others through me. Use this pain and make it count. Help me to lean into this pain and grow from it. Don’t let any of it be wasted. Use the scars from this pain and use them to make us all stronger.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 17, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 21:28-32

16 Dec

28 “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30 Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

31 “Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32 For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

Matthew 21:28-32

Dear God, oh, how I hope I’m counted, from a character standpoint, with the tax collectors and prostitutes who repented. This reiterates to me that it’s not our actions as much as the states of our hearts that drives your compassion for us. For me. If my heart is humble before you and I’m just trying my best to serve you then you have some mercy for me. But if I just try to do it right and then condemn people who don’t live up to my standard then I’m falling so short.

Today, I am going to a funeral for a friend’s husband. Not a close friend, but a good woman who has actually had a tough go of it the last three years. And now she’s lost her best friend. And it was a long, hard death. Help me to know how to be your presence to her today. Help her friends to know how to be there for her. Give her a sense of your presence. Draw her closer to yourself.

Father, I want to be the son that’s not mentioned here. The son who accepts the assignment and then follows through. Is that possible? Does that son exist? I hope so, and I hope it is me. But I am sorry for what I have done and what I have failed to do. It was my fault. It is my fault. It will be my fault. So I ask that you forgive me and show me your path forward.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2025 in Matthew

 

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