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2 Thessalonians 3:6-10

26 Aug

6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10

Dear God, it is the second half of verse 9 that caught my eye today: “…we wanted to give you an example to follow.”

There are different ways to give an example. First, I can be a hypocrite and do something for show and then not live that out in my private life. For example, never drink or do drugs in public, making a point of how bad those things are, and then doing it in the privacy of my home where no one knows. The same can be true for cheating on my taxes, delving into pornography, or whatever. Last year, it came out that a prominent Christian leader had been involved in a multi-year affair with another woman. Any moral high ground he had was destroyed. In fact, this makes me think of David and Bathsheba. He took the woman, another man’s wife, got her pregnant, and then killed her husband. But when Nathan confronted him with the story of a man who took another man’s prize sheep David was furious. After this incident, David lost the moral high ground with his family and did not have the credibility to deal with it when his oldest son raped one of his daughters.

The second way is to humbly walk with you and actually live the example 24/7, whether anyone is looking or not. It doesn’t mean one doesn’t have a sinful slip here or there. I’m not saying one has to be perfect. But one can also be transparent and vulnerable about their slips and then even use that as an example for others. But what we hide, Satan uses to get leverage on us. It’s the spot in the bottom of the tent through which the camel can get his nose, and before you know it there is nothing stopping the camel. I’ve seen people try to hide secrets and they absolutely destroy themselves, their relationships, and their effectiveness in life. I heard a pastor one time talk about how he had been sexually abused as a child, and he kept that secret until he was in his late 30s. It affected everything about him as he strove to keep that secret. It was only when he told someone about that secret and then the fallout that had happened in his life as a result that he became free. Now, he can’t tell enough people because he finds they have a secret they need to turn loose of as well.

Father, I got off the subject a little, but as I sit here and work through this, I think one of the keys (beyond legitimately pursuing relationship with you) to living a truly good-example life is to be humble and vulnerable with people around you. If there’s no facade at all, then it’s easier to be authentic, by definition. If I have a facade then I’m not being authentic. Help me to be authentic before you, before my wife, family, and friends, and even, as appropriate, my community. And not for my glory, but so that I can point people to you. So that they might be drawn to you and discover you, worship you, and follow you in a whole new way. So they might find the narrow path and walk it.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 26, 2026 in 2 Thessalonians

 

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Matthew 23:23-26

25 Aug

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

Matthew 23:23-26

Dear God, it feels like there are things that so many people neglect, including me. I think our media (whether liberal or conservative) has taken the place of your voice within our churches. I met a young woman recently who was looking for a church. She wanted one that would be tolerant of LGBTQ+ people. I told her of a couple of local churches that would be more tolerant than others, but then I also recommended a church that I appreciate because it is probably the most diverse church in town regarding age, gender, and race. It happens to be Assemblies of God, but I encouraged her to check it out. One thing I told her was that she won’t agree with everything there, but there is probably no church where she will agree with everything. I don’t agree with everything from any denomination. And that doesn’t make me right and them wrong. I could very well be wrong. So I encouraged her to find a group of believers who worshipped you and then go from there.

Too many of us are more influenced by the news we read from our “trusted” news source than we are by your still small voice, the voices of your ministers on this earth, or even the teachings of Jesus or from the Bible. The news has told us how to feel, so there are some churches that have decided that part of the virtue signaling as to whether or not we are in line with that church’s ideology is whether or not we believe in climate change. Or whether healthcare in our country should be reformed. Really? Those are the things that are non-negotiable? Or we’ve been told that we have to be tolerant of every life style and never say anything judgmental. And while I do believe in what Paul says in Romans 14 about accepting someone who is weak in faith and giving them some latitude to figure out the path that you have for them, I think there is also a role for relationship and you using us in each other’s lives to guide all of us, including me, to the narrow path.

Father, my point in all of this is that the Pharisees Jesus is addressing had lost their vision of what it means to love and serve you and their neighbors. They were so focused on the dos and don’ts that they lost track of the get tos and opportunities to love and serve. Help me to see the get tos and the opportunities to love and serve today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2026 in Matthew

 

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John 1:43-51

24 Aug

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

John 1:43-51

Dear God, I’m going to go a little different way with this pasasge this morning: Nathanael’s prejudice. Jesus calls him “a man of complete integrity” in verse 47, but that doesn’t mean he’s sinless. The first words we get from him are actually really negative. And I’ll just say since Jesus’s earthly father Joseph is one of my favorites, how dare he say anything negative about Joseph! It’s one thing to wonder if the Messiah would come from Nazareth. It’s another thing to wonder if a good man would come from there, and Joseph was a very good man.

It makes me think about the prejudices I’ve grown up with in my life. I was raised in a time when white supremacy was encouraged. But beyond working to overcome those prejudices, I remember having a real distrust of Iranians because I was about nine years old when the Iranian hostage crisis happened. I didn’t understand what was going on. I just knew Iranians had kidnapped a bunch of Americans. Sixteen years later, I was married, my wife was miscarrying our first child in a Houston hospital, and it was an Iranian doctor who helped us. I don’t know how I knew he was Iranian, but somehow I did. I was immediately prejudiced against him. Can anything good come out of Iran? Well, of course it can! What a stupid thing for me to wonder.

Even now, I look around the world: Can anything good come out of Russia? Can anything good come out of Iran? Israel? Palestine? Sometimes, I even wonder about the United States. There are some people who look at the immigrants we have in our country from south of the U.S. border and wonder can anything good come from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Haiti, or Honduras?

Father, I don’t know why it is, but it seems that all humans, even those with impeccable integrity, have a problem with prejudice. I still do. Even in Texas, we look at Californians who have moved here with a suspicious eye. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for ever thinking that I’m better than anyone else in your creation. Even if they are someone who is hostile towards you, they might just be wheat that looks like a weed. They are worthy of my love. They are likely to have something for you to teach me through them. And they might just be another Joseph of Nazareth. Help me to see each person I encounter today with your eyes.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2026 in John

 

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Romans 11:33-36

23 Aug

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:33-36

Dear God, the New Living Translation gives a cross reference for verse 35 to Job 41:11. This is part of your rant to Job (starting in chapter 38, where you have had enough of his self-pity and you tell him to brace himself like a man (Job 38:3). But here’s Job 41:11:

11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.

Thinking about your awesomeness and how unknowable or non-understandable you are, it reminds me of an interview I heard the other day that Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spinder were doing with Sam Witwer. Apparently he was on a set or something where Mr. T and William Shatner were together. Apparently, Mr. Shatner is not a believer in you, Jesus, etc. and so he challenged Mr. T, who is an ordained pastor to convince him into the Christian faith. Here’s a link to the clip I saw:

It’s a thought that has festered with me since I first heard the interview: What would I have said? How would I have met Mr. Shatner’s challenge?

I think the first thing to remember is that, if in that sort of situation, I should immediately pray to you for wisdom. It makes me think of Luke 12:11-12: 11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” So that’s the first answer. Stop and ask you to speak through me. I’ve done that in the past, and I have felt wisdom come out of me that was far beyond what I’ve had thought of on my own.

I think the biggest thing I can think of to make myself seem small isn’t the vastness of space and our insignificance in the universe. It’s what’s happening around me that I have no idea of. There are things in this room that are real that I cannot see, hear, taste, smell, or touch.

  • Different levels of light such as infra-red.
  • Radio signals coming off of my devices (phone, computer, etc.)
  • Static interference from the electrical devices.
  • Sounds beyond my hearing from my computer, the ceiling fan, etc.
  • Radio signals coming into this room from the local radio stations, wifi signals from other homes near me, television signals, short-wave radios, etc.
  • Smells from when I worked out earlier that I cannot smell, but I’m sure my dog can.
  • My own scent.

And those are just some of the things I know are going on, but I cannot sense them. So if there is that much happening beyond my senses that our existing science has taught me exists, how much more is there happening that science hasn’t even discovered yet? It’s very arrogant of Mr. Shatner to just see the interconnected universe as “god” without acknowledging the likelihood that an intelligent designer is behind it all.

As far as Jesus and the miracle of his resurrection, I go back to the same argument I have for believing in the moon landing in 1969: Too many people had to keep the secret and, in the case of Jesus, die for the lie. One or two deluded people might die for a lie, but not many will.

So I start with an intelligent designer, I go to the power of the resurrection as attested to by people who were ultimately killed for their attestation, and then I talk about the personal experience I have with how my life has changed through the grace and mercy Jesus’s resurrection has brought me, and how my life is now an effort to give the Holy Spirit good soil in which you can grow the fruit of your Spirit.

Father, I wasn’t expecting to go there today. And who knows if these words would have impacted Mr. Shatner at all? As Jesus said in Matthew 7, the path is narrow and few will find it. At this point, I have a feeling you’ve presented yourself to Mr. Shatner several times, and he has chosen another path. Father, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy. On Mr. Shatner. On Mr. T. On Mr. Witwer. On me. And on everyone with whom I will come into contact today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 23, 2026 in Romans

 

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Resuscitation vs. Resurrection – Skye Jethani

21 Aug

Dear God, I was spending time with a pastor friend of mine recently, and he told me he recently asked his congregation for sermon topics, and one that came back was, “Do we have to be born again?” Interesting question. Some pastors might respond, “Of course! John 3. Jesus and Nicodemus!” Others would say, “That term has some baggage that we now need to get away from. Let’s talk about it in a different way.” I have a feeling the person who sent in the question is likely in the latter camp. They might see people preaching “born again” as fire and brimstone preachers trying to scare people into heaven by selling them fire insurance.

I thought it was probably a topic that was going to fester with me, but then I heard this extraordinary talk by Skye Jethani of the Holy Post (behind a pay wall, but you can get a one-time free listen). He talked about the difference between “Jesus, save me” and “Jesus, transform me.” He told the story of how the writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace” was saved from a storm at sea early in his life after he shouted into the wind, “God, have mercy on us,” or something like that, but that wasn’t transformation. It was just resuscitation. His life was just prolonged. That boat was a slave trading boat, and he went on capturing humans and selling them to others. It wasn’t until later in his life that he considered himself to have been transformed by you. Skye made the point that Newton’s life only got better after the saving on the boat. He eventually became a captain. But after the transformation and he repented of slave trading and started working to abolish it, his life actually got harder. But that’s when he wrote the words, “I was blind, but now I see.” It wasn’t after being saved in the storm. It was after he was resurrected and born again, a la 1 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is born in Christ he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”

The first question is, “Am I born again?” Not, “Am I resuscitated?” Am I changed and am I continuing to be changed in Jesus? I think I am, but there is a lot of chane that still needs to happen.

The next question is, “While I am on my journey, am I selling change to my friends and those I know? Am I selling born again, or am I just selling resuscitation?”

The person asking the original question was probably relating it to getting into heaven. They were probably similar to the rich young ruler who was asking Jesus, “What must I do to be saved?”

Father, I love you. Thank you for giving me not just a prolonged life, but a new life. I am different now than before I started growing in you. I am grateful. I love you. Help me to keep growing. To press on (Philippians 3:14).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 21, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Acts 18:24-28 (Apollos)

20 Aug

24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.

27 Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed. 28 He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.

Acts 18:24-28

Dear God, I don’t think I’ve appreciated Apollos at all. As I read this story, I would love to know the difference between what he knew before verse 26 and what he knew after. What was the difference? Was it the Holy Spirit? Did he only understand repentance and that Jesus was the Messiah, but did they tell him about Jesus’s actual radical teaching: love your enemies, if you think it you’ve done it, etc.

I can be eloquent when I speak. And I like to teach. But am I like Apollos or am I more like Priscilla and Aquila? How much more education do I need? The answer is, “A lot,” I’m sure.

And then there is this lovely couple, Priscilla and Aquila. The investment they made in Apollos rippled through the rest of the New Testament. Paul references Apollos in 1 Corinthians 3, 4, and 16 as well as in Titus 3–all very positive. In a body with many parts, they played a small part, but it was crucial.

Father, someone asked me to pray with them recently about “how big they were supposed to be.” Someone was calling them to be more than they currently are in a ministry, but she wasn’t sure if that was right. I don’t know what is right for them either. But just like you know exactly how big an oak tree is supposed to be when it is still an acorn, you know who this woman is and what her role is in your world. Show that to her. Reveal it to her. Douse any feelings of shame or inadequacy she might be having. I know they are not of you. Please help her to find just her next step.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 20, 2026 in Acts

 

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“Which translation do you use?”

19 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post podcast this morning, and one of the things they mentioned is a common question they get is around people asking them which biblical commentary is the one they can trust. Or they’ll get asked, “Which translation do you use?” Their take was that people are looking for someone they can trust to just tell them the truth. They want certainty in their beliefs.

It reminds me of the pastor in 2020 who, after having just barely survived Covid, said in an interview that he decided through the experience that we’ve made an idol out of certainty. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we will try to put our certainty in our spouse, children, health, economy, bank account, government, etc. I would add our theology to that as well. We want to be right about everything. That’s why we leave churches when someone disagrees with us. That’s why we try to shame others for their sin while we ignore our own. We have a need to be right.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked a friend that if we were to stand before you after we die and we asked you what percentage of our theology was correct while we were here on earth, what percentage do we think you’d come back with. Frankly, my answer was that I’d be really pleased if you told me I had 20% of it correct, meaning I would not understand, be partially wrong, or completely wrong about 80% of it. The problem is, I just don’t know which 80% is wrong and which 20% is right (assuming I’m as high as 20%).

Father, at the end of the day, I know you are there. I am all in on the Jesus virgin birth, life, death, resurrection, and assumption narrative. I’m all in on his being part of you–begotten, not made. I’m all in on the Holy Spirit. Basically, I’m all in on the Nicene Creed. Everything else is a little squishy for me. Even the specific lines that will help me be “saved.” So my choice is to live today. I am going to worship you. I am going to love others. I’m going to work hard. And I’m going to share my life vulnerably so that others might feel a touch of you through me, and so I might feel a touch of you through them. To you be the glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 19, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Philippians 1:20-24

18 Aug

20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.

Philippians 1:20-24

Dear God, this would be a tough read at a funeral, but perhaps it should be read more. Perhaps, while I would hope it would encourage everyone to wait for natural death and not do anything proactively to bring death, it would be better to plant seeds at funerals in our minds that we shouldn’t be so afraid of death. That we don’t need to do everything we can to live.

When I used to fly a lot 25 years ago for a job I had, I would get a little nervous at takeoff. I would look around at the people as I boarded the plane and think, “These might be the people I die with.” Then, as we would barrel down the runway, I would think, “If this is it, am I ready?” It was weird stuff to be thinking–I think. I don’t know. Maybe others have similar thoughts. But I just imagined closing my eyes for the last time. It was scary.

In my current job, I process a lot of donations that are made in memory of others. I am made aware of multiple people every week who die. It occurred to me several years ago that it really does happen to all of us. None of us get out of this particular life alive. Yes, we might be with you in eternity, but my earthly body’s functions will stop at some point. The whole system will give out, and I’ll be done. I can accept that. If I were to feel a sudden seizing in my heart right now and everything went black, as I died, I think my last thoughts would be of my wife and her care and provision. I think things are set where she will be okay materially. But as far as personal regrets, other than some broken relationships that have yet to mend, I don’t have anything I wish I’d done. No unaccomplished bucket list.

Father, I have a job to do today. I’m going to go to work early to do it. Lots of moving parts. But I don’t wnt to be distracted from living for you. I don’t want to be distracted from being your servant and loving others how you would have me love them. I will give you myself today as best as I can. Use it for your kingdom.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 18, 2026 in Philippians

 

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2 Corinthians 10

17 Aug

10 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives.

3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.

7 Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. 8 I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.

9 I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. 10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” 11 Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.

12 Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!

13 We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. 14 We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.

15 Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. 16 Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. 17 As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

18 When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

2 Corinthians 10

Dear God, I don’t spend too much time just reading Paul’s letters. I wonder why that is. Maybe it’s because he can seem a bit long-winded and, simultaneously, difficult to understand. Today’s passage started with the verses of the Day from Bible Gateway, which were the last two (verses 17 and 18). But I couldn’t get the context of them without going to the beginning of the chapter.

So this chapter of 2 Corinthians is about Paul’s reputation with the people of this church. What caught my attention this morning was something subtle. It was verse 14: 14 We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ. It made me think of what Paul’s first trip must have been like and how much joy there must have been among everyone. The honeymoon period, if you will. They had found life in you through what Paul shared with them. But then the uneven growth pains started getting in the way.

Going back to the “Parable of the Sower,” none of the people Paul is talking to had hearts that were represented by the path. The seed stuck to some extent. But some had hearts that were stony. They heard, accepted, got excited, but never built their root system. It takes work to crush stone into soil, and they didn’t do the work. As soon as things turned hard, they fell away.

Then there was the group that had thorny and weedy hearts. They were still distracted by the cares of the world. They were still pursuing wealth. I think this one is the problem of the modern American church. It feels like we don’t do much to weed our hearts. We also don’t do much to find the stony parts of our hearts and either remove those stones or crush them into soil.

So then Paul and his people here in Corinth had their lives and feelings towards each other and you change over time. Paul continued his own journey of weeding his heart and crushing the stone, but the Corinthians struggled to do so. It reminds me of Jesus saying in Matthew 7 at the end of the “Sermon on the Mount” that the way is narrow and hard and few will find it. I think I’ve found it. Will I continue down it as Paul did, or will I get lazy, stop crushing stone, and let the weeds grow?

Father, the journey here on this earth, while a vapor in biblical and eternity terms, is seemingly long while we are here. At the same time, as I get older, it seems to move faster and faster. But I want to “press on” (Philippians 3:14). I want to “run to finish” (Hebrews 12:1). I want to consider my life worth nothing to me, but complete the work you’ve given me (Acts 20:24). Give me the strength. Give me the serenity. Give me the courage. Give me this wisdom. And, going back to 2 Corinthians 10, help me to deny any glory for myself and reflect it all to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 17, 2026 in 2 Corinthians

 

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Matthew 15:21-28

16 Aug

21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Matthew 15:21-28

Dear God, this was the New Testament reading in church today. The first thing I noticed that I don’t think I have before is that the woman was a Canaanite. It made me think back to Genesis 9:25 when Noah cursed Ham’s youngest son Canaan because of what Ham did to him when he was passed out drunk:

25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brothers.”

It was a few years ago that I noticed how weird it was that Noah took his anger out on Ham by attacking his youngest son with a curse. So not, here we are, thousands and thousands of years later. Is this woman truly a descendant of Canaan or is that just what Jewish people called Gentiles? This is from the New American Standard (1995). The New Living Translation just calls her a Gentile. Maybe that’s why I haven’t noticed it before. Because of all of the kingdoms that had come and gone over the millennia since Noah, I’m assuming there was not real blood line back to Canaan for this woman. I looked it up and I could not really find a definitive answer, so I’m just going to go with the idea that she was not just a Gentile but a racially profiled despised Gentile.

What was Jesus doing here. Was he testing her only or was there any part of him learning in this process? That sounds like heresy to even ask that question. Like I might get struck down. Of course, the teaching would be that he was just testing her faith. As if to say, “Don’t just come here to use me for your daughter. I’m not just a miracle man. I’m someone you need to worship.” And that’s what I’m going with.

Interruption: I just looked it up a little further. In Mark 7, we get the same story. She’s described as a Syrophoenician, a woman from the Syrian coastal region of the Roman Empire (in this case, in Tyre). So she was definitely looked down upon and there was definite prejudice against her. Of course, Jesus wouldn’t have prejudice, but he would want to make sure her heart was pure. He would also want all of the prejudiced people around her to see her heart.

All of this is to say that I work with and am friends with people who are racially profiled every day, and it breaks my heart. I wish I knew what to do. Would that I could shield them with my big, tall, male whiteness! If only I could have them stand behind me all the time and shield them from the racism they experience. I have Hispanic friends who are citizens who experience bigotry on an almost daily basis. We have clients at are clinic who do not feel safe in their own homes, vehicles, or anywhere in the community. What am I to do?

Father, I’m really asking the question. What am I to do? Help me know what to do. Help me know what to do if I encounter racism, cruelty, and injustice directly. Help me to know how to address it abstractly and through advocacy. Help me to use prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering to move this needle on behalf of my friends and neighbors. Grant me the serenity, the courage, and the wisdom.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 16, 2026 in Matthew

 

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