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1 John 1:5-10

20 Jul

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

1 John 1:5-10

Dear God, I can’t read verse 7 without thinking about dc Talk and their cover of Charlie Peacock’s “In the Light.”

I worked for a Christian music publisher for seven years. As I look back on it now 30 years later and I see the struggles many of the young artists we promoted (who were my age back then) have had since then with their personal lives and faith in you, I cannot help but see the irony of this song. We are so encouraged to not let our real selves be known. Our sins be known. Our struggles be known. Living “in the light” is difficult.

So how do we live in the “light?” It’s right there in verse 9: 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. But we have to confess them. We have to confess them to you. But we also need someone else to confess them to. Catholics would say we need reconciliation through a priest. I wouldn’t go that far, but we need someone. Going back to dc Talk, a couple of the guys have had well-documented struggles. Did they have someone to confess their sins to? We need others. We need accountability and community.

Father, I have a couple of men in my life with whom I can be vulnerable. Thank you for that. Help me to be truly vulnerable with them. I want to live in your light. I will not be like verse 8: 8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. I don’t want to be like verse 10: 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. I want to live out verse 9. Help me to do that with others, and make me the kind of person with whom others can do that as well. Help me to be that safe person who can inspire and help someone grow.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 20, 2026 in 1 John

 

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Matthew 13:24-43

19 Jul

Parable of the Mustard Seed

24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast

33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:

“I will speak to you in parables.
    I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.”

Parable of the Wheat and Weeds Explained

36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

37 Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

Matthew 13:24-43

Dear God, I’m so grateful Jesus gave us this parable of the wheat and the weeds. It low-key explains so much about how you call the church to work. It would have been so easy for this parable to not be there and then for Christians to justify going around and “getting rid of” (whatever that might mean, up to and including death) people who weren’t righteous enough for our standard. For example, the Spanish Inquisition, which ran almost 400 years. But Jesus was clear about this. Tearing out the weeds now while we are on this side of life could destroy us as well. In fact, who’s to say I wouldn’t be on the other side of someon else’s cut line? Who’s to say that I am not holy enough and don’t live up to the standard someone decides to set? What if my life it too weedy?

That’s the part that people (including me) miss when they try to set a standard for others to live up to? What if I am on the wrong side of the cut line I have laid out? I remember years ago when a donor didn’t think they were getting enough preferential treatment from our organization because they gave a certain amount of money each year. They gave about $3,000. I never told them this, but I wondered at the time, “What if your $3,000 isn’t considered to be a large gift here? What if I set the standard for preferential treatment at $5,000?” At the same time, there was a couple who would send $7 as a memorial donation every time a friend would die. It was the sweetest thing. I imagined the wife sitting down and writing her $7 check to mail in. I imagined them balancing the checkbook and seeing they had made two $7 donations that month for $14. How big of a percentage was that? Was that a moderen-day example of the widow’s mite? (Mark 12:41-44)

Father, I still have a lot to learn. I have parts of my life that are weedy. In the grand scheme of your world church and body, I could be so much better and holy. I almost skipped church this morning because I don’t want to go. Then I was lying in bed and I wondered if I wasn’t just incredibly ungrateful for a couple of the amazing things you’ve done for me lately. And that you’ve done for our community? Why am I not wanting to get there and really worship you? Because I’m selfish. Because I’m ungrateful. That’s why. I’m sorry, Father. I’m about to leave now to join my wife and a few hundred other people to worship you. I give you my heart, Father.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 19, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 12:1-21

18 Jul

12 At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them. 2 But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

3 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. 5 And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath? 6 I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! 7 But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ 8 For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)

11 And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.

15 But Jesus knew what they were planning. So he left that area, and many people followed him. He healed all the sick among them, 16 but he warned them not to reveal who he was. 17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him:

18 “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen.
    He is my Beloved, who pleases me.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not fight or shout
    or raise his voice in public.
20 He will not crush the weakest reed
    or put out a flickering candle.
    Finally he will cause justice to be victorious.
21 And his name will be the hope
    of all the world.”

Matthew 12:1-21

Dear God, I’m trying to understand having so much rage toward Jesus that I not only want to kill him but that it causes me to willfully ignore that fact that he just performed an amazing miracle. I want to believe that if I had been there I would have interjected to the Pharisees, “Did you not just see that he healed this man’s hand?!?”

I’ll be frank. Right now, I see national Christian leaders doing things that seem so foolish. I see what Al Mohler has been saying and proposing to Baptists (and the world) about women not just being pastors in the church but having the right to teach a group of people at all and I shake my head. Has he not seen how you have used women throughout history (including biblical history) to teach and lead? I see how church leaders bend over backwards and contort themselves into different positions to justify bad behavior by the politician they favor simply because of the letter (D or R) that is in front of their name (this one is on both sides of the aisle). It feels like Christians have lost the faith that the Sermon on the Mount still counts for today’s age and instead of loving our neighbors as ourselves and working to persuade them to worship the Jesus we know, they are grabbing for power to ensure that the ideals (not Jesus) get forced on everyone. I had lunch with a pastor a couple of years ago, and I complained about gerrymandering, and he countered with, “What that’s what [the other side] does too.” I told him that doesn’t make it the right thing to do.

I heard a man say a few years ago that Jesus used four tools to impact the world around him and four tools only. And that is all he left us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering (PSPS). That’s it. But I see the church now, much like the Pharisees 2,000 years ago, feeling threatened and instead of leaning into Jesus and praying, serving, persuading, and willingly suffering, it is trying to cling to power so that we can impose our will on our neighbors from the top down. Not much love in that.

This passage is from Matthew 12. In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus said:

20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God. 21 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 22 I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.

23 “And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today. 24 I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.”

He spoke truth to them because they hadn’t repented of their sins, but he also let them be. He knew he couldn’t make them repent and follow him. When I fail to get people to really follow after you in discipleship, I’m reminded of the part of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:13-14 when Jesus says, 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Somehow we’ve forgotten this and we think we can force the entire country onto the narrow path when I don’t think they realize they are drifting from the narrow path itself and everything Jesus spends the previous three chapters teaching by trying to do this.

Father, I have a funeral to go to this morning. It’s going to be sad. It’s for a young woman who died much to young and needlessly. I am sorry for her. I am sorry for her family. I haven’t seen her in almost three years. I didn’t know her the last three years, but I know the road was hard for her. I also know that she was never quite the same after her mother’s death maybe six or seven years ago. I pray for mercy over her soul. If Jesus can pray for you to forgive the people crucifying him even when they didn’t ask for the forgiveness, I ask that you will forgive her. She was in pain. I don’t know if that caused her to walk the path she chose or if she willfully rebelled against you. I suspect is was the pain that drove her in a direction. Please have mercy on her. Have mercy on her soul. And help her family to find you, find the narrow path, and make this pain count.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 18, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Isaiah 38:1-8

17 Jul

38 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

7 “‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

Isaiah 38:1-8

Dear God, you know that Hezekiah means a lot to me. I think it was three years ago (4?) that you encouraged me with the story of him from 2 Kings 18-19 when the Assyrians were attacking and you spared him and Jerusalem from defeat. I had a tall task in front of me, though not nearly as dire as his, and you comforted me with his miraculous experience through your power.

Now, I look at him in this story and I see a man about to die. I’m curious as to why you saved him. While I am sure he wept because he didn’t want to die, I notice that he didn’t ask you that he might be healed and live. It seems you just decided to do it. And knowing the rest of the story, he ended up having a son in those 15 years who would grow to be a bad king. I can’t help but wonder why.

But your ways are a mystery to me. I am a fool. I am not even playing two-dimensional checkers compared to your 3-D chess. I’m having a conversation with a potential dentist for our clinic. I’ve been looking for about eight months. About a month ago while I was praying about it I had the thought (from the Holy Spirit?) that perhaps the person you have for our position isn’t ready yet. And now this situation appears to be unfolding in a providential way. Help me to be wise with it today. Help me to discern your will.

Father, I give this day to you. I have some specific jobs I need to do. Help me to do them well. Our graduation from last night ended up getting canceled by the floods in our area. Please be with the men and their families. Help them to continue to seek you without the immediate closure that graduation night usually provides. Help us to reschedule the graduation soon for their sakes.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Proverbs 27:17

16 Jul

17 As iron sharpens iron,
    so a friend sharpens a friend.

Proverbs 27:17

Dear God, this is the verse that Christian Men’s Life Skills uses as their theme for their mission. I thought I would spend some time with it this morning as I get ready to speak at the graduation tonight.

Of course, I always like to take verses in context, so I went and read Proverbs 15-16. It reminded me that there are parts of Proverbs that are more like fortune cookies. One verse is not necessarily linked to another. In this case, and especially since there will be a lot of wives there, I think I will not talk about verses 15-16:

15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
    as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
    or trying to hold something with greased hands.

Yeah, I’m not going there!

So back to verse 17. We need community. I called one of the leaders yesterday who was once a student in the class years ago. I got his advice as to what the families need to hear tonight. What does everyone need to hear tonight. He suggested they need to hear that it’s important for the men to continue on with CMLS through the alumni group. But along those lines, he said that I should probably not call it “alumni group” and just refer to it as a continuation of the class. He also said that the families need to be reminded to positively reinforce when they see good, changed behavior from their man who went through the class. Those were great words, and I am so glad I called him.

And that fits with the verse. Honestly, it kind of works with verses 15 and 16 too. But the idea that we need each other to continue to grow. We need community. Men need not only other men, but their significant others and children as well. As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. These men need each other. They need the leaders of the group. They need their families. And those families need them.

Father, I’ll sit down a little later and crystalize all of this into an outline. Holy Spirit, please guide me. Be in my thoughts. Send people to me for counsel who will advise and speak to me with your words. Give me ears to hear. Give me eyes to see. This is a special opportunity tonight. I want it to be for your glory in the lives of these men AND their families.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 16, 2026 in Proverbs

 

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Make the Pain Count

15 Jul

Dear God, as usual, I need your help. I not only need your help. I want your help. That’s different and, in this case, better. I’ve been asked to give a small talk at the graduation ceremony tomorrow night for the Christian Men’s Life Skills class I’ve been helping with. I’m incredibly honored because some great guys have given these talks in the past three graduations I’ve been to, including one I really admire here in my town. And this talk will be different because I’ll be talking not only to these men as a group of 20 for the last time, but their families will be there too. Keeping in mind that all but one of these men participated in this class because of a felony they were dealing with, I’m sure their families would have a story to tell about each of them too. So what do I say to a group like this? This is where I want your help. Holy Spirit, what would the Father have me say to them?

When I thought about this last night, it made me think about a marketing tool someone taught me to use 30 years ago. Start out by asking four questions:

  • Who am I talking to?
  • What do they think?
  • What do I want them to think?
  • How do I get them to think that?

So what are the answers to those questions? Honestly, I don’t know them all. One idea I have is to call one of the leaders of the class who was a student about three or four years ago because of legal problems he himself had. What does he think the guys in the class and their families need to hear? I have my ideas, but I’ve never been in their situation–thankfully.

The one thing I’ve thought of as I’ve been thinking about this is the idea of “making the pain count.” What the guys and their families have been through was too painful to let it be wasted. Life is full of pain. I’m going to a funeral this weekend of a young woman in her 30s who died tragically last weekend. Yesterday, I found myself praying for her friends and family, asking that if this pain is to be experienced, don’t let it be wasted. Make it count. And that’s what I’m thinking about for these guys and their families. They have an opportunity to make this count. To use it to change their lives.

Holy Spirit, point me to a biblical character I can use tomorrow night who made a huge mistake but he made it count. Right now, I’m thinking of Peter and how he denied Jesus, was ashamed, but then he made the pain count. He used that humility to lead the early church. To break out of the Jewish paradigm and take Jesus to Gentiles. For the Catholic church, he was the first pope. But whatever I might be thinking now, shape me over the next 36 hours. Speak to me. Guide me. I take this honor very seriously. I want to make this opportunity count for everyone there.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 15, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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John 15:1-17

14 Jul

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:1-17

Dear God, I was talking to a group of men last night in the class I was teaching about all of the agricultural metaphors and parables Jesus (you) used. In this case, at the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus was talking about how he is not only the vine and we are the branches, but he mentioned you pruning off the no-fruit-producing branches.

I just thought of something. I don’t know if this parallel works or not. A friend who has a vineyard told me last week that because the late freeze killed so many grapes that had already budded, the vine isn’t putting its energy into grape making so the branches for the grapevines are growing like crazy. They are growing together from six feet apart. One might look at it and think the grapevines are health and strong, but the winemaker looks at them and sees fruitless branches. And now they are growing indiscriminately and out of control. They are unwieldy. So he is having to do a lot of cutting back and pruning. The winemaker knows the vines need to be about producing fruit, not just growing on their own. So I think that is a good metaphor for this parable from Jesus at the beginning of this passage. If we are just out there growing on our own without relationship and pruning from you then we will be consuming energy that is meant for fruit. And you are our winemaker. You know what you need from us for your harvest to be a success. You know what you need from the branch that is my life–just one branch on the whole vine.

Father, help me to be fruitful. Help me to exhibit your love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Help me to this with everyone today. And help me to lead the staff who works with me in my vocational work in a way that is fruit-producing for them and for our patients. I know I need to do better in so many areas. Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2026 in John

 

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Philippians 2:1-11

13 Jul

2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

Dear God, unity, unity, unity. It shows up over and over again. From Jesus. Here from Paul. We find it so hard to stay united because it’s so much easier in the moment to be torn apart from each other. In the moment, it’s so much easier to just walk away and avoid the conflict which only makes the conflict stronger. I suppose it’s one of the ways we end up on the wide path instead of the narrow one. The narrow one includes conflict resolution and working out our faith with fear and trembling. The narrow path requires that we make some specific efforts.

This goes for marriages. Families. Churches. Workplaces. Communities. States. Nations. The World. Everywhere humans are involved. And yet Paul admonishes us to be one through you. One through Jesus. One through the Holy Spirit. Veses 3 and 4 are important here: 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. I heard someone say once that the church is at its worst when it is looking out for its own rights and its at its best when its looking out for the rights of others. That goes for individuals too. If I’m looking out for my own rights then I’ll probably be looking for them at the expense of someone else. But what rights to I have, really? In this world, I am your servant. I gave up those rights when I chose the narrow path.

Father, help me to find that narrow path today. Just because I found it yesterday doesn’t mean I know where it is today. I learned yesterday about a suicide over the weekend of someone I knew. I pray for those who are mourning. I pray for their comfort. I pray that you would help this tremendous pain to count. Draw those who loved her closer to yourself. Don’t let this terrible pain be wasted. For my friends at work. They all have specific needs. Guide and help them. For my friends in general. My wife and I were talking yesterday about how many things there are to pray for. Please meet the needs I neglect in my prayers. And just really quick. I learned about a pregnancy yesterday. I think there have been problematic pregnancies in the past. Whatever the case may be, walk with this woman and her husband. Protect her body. Protect their baby. Holy Spirit, move powerfully in her and through her.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 13, 2026 in Philippians

 

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Isaiah 55:10-11

12 Jul


10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning, I thought about a friend I had lunch with the other day. He’s been through a few tragedies I haven’t faced. Awful tragedies. And we started talking about what what good you would bring from it. Of course, the answer was, “I don’t know.” How can we know.

I’ve had my own pain and tragedies. I have my own sorrows that I carry with me daily. Nothing like his, but still, they are there. And after 17 years of struggle, I can see how they have shaped me. They’ve made me more compassionate. They’ve made me wiser. I’d still rather not have lived throug them, but I don’t know who I would be if I hadn’t.

I think about all of that with this passage because you were intentional about teaching your people, Israel. You teach with your words through your prophets and through scripture. You teach through the pastors who preach. You teach me as I prepare lessons and teach. You teach through your Holy Spirit working in us. Sometimes I misunderstand. Sometimes I get it wrong. All of us do.

Father, much like muscle needs to break down so that it can be built back stronger, and much like seeds must fall to the ground and die before they can bring new life, so must parts of my psyche and emotional makeup be challenged and pressed to get me to the place you need me to be. I’m a better man today than I was last month, last year, and certainly 17 years ago. And while there’s a lot to lament, there is also a lot for which I can be grateful. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 12, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Jeremiah 32

11 Jul

32 The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. 3 King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it. 4 King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. 5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”

6 At that time the Lord sent me a message. He said, 7 “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”

8 Then, just as the Lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the Lord.

9 So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it. 10 I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him. 11 Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase, 12 and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

13 Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, 14 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’ 15 For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

16 Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the Lord:

17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! 18 You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19 You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve. 20 You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt—things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.

21 “You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. 22 You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before—a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.

24 “See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. 25 And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”

26 Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 29 The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. 30 Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord. 31 “From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.

32 “The sins of Israel and Judah—the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets—have stirred up my anger. 33 My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey. 34 They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. 35 They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!

36 “Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. 41 I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

42 “This is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them. 43 Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ 44 Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Jeremiah 32

Dear God, I don’t think I want to know when calamity is coming my way. I want you to chasten me. I want you to convict me and correct me. I want to repent. But I don’t want to know the future. It’s too much for me. But I don’t have to worry about that because you haven’t given me the gift of prophecy.

My wife and I were talking about end-time prophecies today and how people seem to want to know the future so badly. I don’t understand why. There are some who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. There are some who believe in no rapture at all as part of your plan. I have my own thoughts on it after hearing teachings from different people and making my own assessments, but at the end of the day, my assessments are worthless (and probably wrong!). The truth is, no matter what my assessment is, it shouldn’t change how I live today. I don’t have to be smarter than the next person. I don’t have to have a deeper revelation from you that someone else. That’s not what you called me to do at all. You called me to love you and worship you. You called me to love others. You called me to keep myself pure in my pursuit of worshipping you and loving others. You taught me through Jesus that it’s okay if I mourn or even if I’m pour in spirit. You taught me it’s good to be a peacemaker. You taught me it’s good to love my enemies and embrace persecution for your name’s sake and not avoid it. You taught me that hating is as bad as murder and lusting is as bad as adultery. You taught me to not judge and be merciful. You taught me to pray. You taught me to forgive as I have been forgiven. You taught me to not worry, but put my “certainty” only in the fact that I am loved by you. You taught me to build on you and not shifting sand. You taught me that the gate is narrow, the narrow path is hard, and that few will find it. I think I’ve found it. I’m grateful to have found it.

Father, help me today to help others find the narrow path. Help me to introduce them to you, show them how to worship you, show them how to love others. And, in time, teach them everything Jesus taught us. I think about Jeremiah and how he was shouting into the wind with no one wanting to listen because they didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Well, give me ears to hear right now, Father. Holy Spirit, teach me what I need to learn today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2026 in Jeremiah

 

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