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Matthew 18:15-17

10 May

15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-17

This is an interesting verse of the day for Mother’s Day. It’s what Bible Gateway gave us, and I’m intrigued to know the decision behind it. Did the person who chose it have some forgiveness issues in their life?

There are a number of adult children right now who are not speaking to their parents. I’m not sure what has happened in this generation that changed things. I suspect that some of the parenting methods that were softer and gentler likely produced less respect for parents. But I am sure there are a number of parents who would welcome their children to follow Jesus’s counsel in verse 15. If an adult child has a problem with their parent, it would be better if they valued the relationship, used their words, and confronted the parent. Give the parent a chance to apologize. Give the parent a chance to explain. And give the parent grace and mercy for being a flawed person who loves them.

Father, I pray for the mothers today who miss their children. And the children who miss their mothers. Perhaps they miss them through death. Perhaps they miss them through physical distance. Perhaps they miss them through estrangement. Whatever the case may be, if there are those who mourn, I pray that you will bless and comfort them. If there are those who are poor in Spirit, I pray that they might know you and your kingdom. And for the children and/or parents who have walked away from relationship because of hurt, I pray for personal healing. Grow them into the men and women you’ve called them to be. Oh, and while I’m here, I know a mom whose son is deployed in the Navy off the coast of Iran. Protect her son. Comfort her. Let this be over soon.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Genesis 4:25

08 May

25 Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 

Genesis 4:25

Dear God, I don’t think we spend enough time with Even and Adam and the impact the Cain and Abel story had on them as individuals and as a couple. Now, I understand that Adam and Eve might be representative of the first people. I’m not going to argue any of that here. I’m going to work with what the author of Genesis gives me–what you give me–and you gave me this story to consider.

Parenting involves a lot of pain and disappointment. I think of the parents I know who are struggling with their adult children. Drug addiction. Suicide. Estrangement. Imprisonment. Mental illness. Drug overdose. And then I think back to when their child was born and them holding that baby. How happy they were. How everyone celebrated. Even in the poorest of circumstances, there is joy. And then life sometimes happens. Parents fail and make mistakes. The child is sometimes exposed to things over which the parents have no control. Then there’s just free will. Personality. Temptations. Illness. Addiction. Life really is this huge gamble, and none of us has any idea of how it will turn out.

In the case of Eve and Adam, their first-born killed their second-born. What kind of pain did this cause? Well, there’s no way I can imagine the pain. We know it was there. We know that there must have been some level at which they blamed themselves. Maybe they blamed each other. But there was pain.

Thankfully, Seth seems to have turned out okay. In fact, it says in the next verse that is was during his lifetime that people began to worship you by name. What an interesting thing to say.

Father, I know there will be a lot of women in pain over the next few days. Fathers too. And then there will be children who are in pain because of a lost mother or a mother that hurt or abandoned them in some way. I know some of these moms. I know some of these children. I pray that you will use all these instances of pain to help us to dig into you. Lean into you for comfort. Take your comfort and carry it to others. Learn how to worship you and love others better.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2026 in Genesis

 

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James 5:1-6

06 May

5 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.

James 5:1-6

Dear God, I came across this passage this morning as I logged into Bible Gateway, and I had a few thoughts.

First, I’m coming off of a fundraising dinner from last night at which there were many wealthy people, and I needed them to donate to our cause. So my initial reaction to this was to be defensive of them: “Hey, they care about people and love their neighbors! Take it easy there, James.” I used to work for a different organization over 20 years ago and depended upon donors, and I remember one of the founding board member resenting wealthy people. She was hostile toward their wealth. I remember try to tell her that without their wealth we wouldn’t be able to do the work we were doing. The same is definitely true now. I appreciate the wealth of the people who were able to give at significant levels last night. I ask you to please help this exchange between our nonprofit and them be a blessing and joy to them that is multiplied many fold over the value of the gift they gave. I ask that it be a conduit to you helping them to work out their faith with fear and trembling. Show me how to be part of your blessing to them.

Second, I had a slightly more horrifying thought: “What if James is talking to me?!?” While I don’t consider myself wealthy, there are any number of people I know who would think of me in that way. And by just about any measure in this world, I am in the upper percentile of wealth. So how do I stand up to James’s admonition here? Am I counting on my money (verse 3)? Does our organization pay the staff fairly (verse 4)? Do we do what we can to bring hope and mercy to your world? Do we glorify you in our work? Do I hold back my personal wealth at the cost of helping those you call me to help?

Father, I have a job to do today. It is to love and minister to those who participated in our event last night. Love them well through me. Give me the vision and enthusiasm to focus on them and your love for them. Use their interactions with us to draw them closer to yourself. Be glorified in all of this. The other job I have to do is to lead our organization in service to our community. Help me to do that well. I want to be better at that. Please lead me to the correct staff that you have to work with us (I’m thinking about three positions I’m trying to figure out right now). Please show me the way.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2026 in James

 

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Hebrews 11:1-6

01 May

11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Hebrews 11:1-6

Dear God, is it faith that has me sitting here at 6:00 in the morning right now? Is that why I’m here? Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I’m here by faith. Maybe at one point in my life when I was little I was leaning a little more on faith, but I don’t think even then. I’ve always know of you. I’ve always been told about you. If anything, maybe there were some years in high school, as I reflected on other myths that had been taught to me by my parents or society, when I wondered if you were real. I read through Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict as an apologetics for your existence and who Jesus was and is. However, as I sit here right now, after almost 40 years of following you as closely as I’ve known how, it doesn’t feel like there is any faith involved at all. I believe because of what I’ve seen and the evidence in my own life and the lives of others. You are there. I know it.

Going back to yesterday’s prayer, I think my failure of imagination comes in the area of really knowing who you are. You’re simply more than my little brain can get my head around. The world you created and how all of this works is more than I can understand. No, believing in you isn’t my problem. Faith isn’t my problem. Talking to others about your existence isn’t even really a problem. My problem is that I know I underestimate who you are and that does you a disservice in how I worship you and how I share you with others.

Father, please help me with my imagination in this area. Give me some kind of glimpse into who you are. And thank you. Thank you for the God I know and thank you for the God I don’t know. The words of Jesus in John 4:23-24 just came to mind: 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. I honestly can’t know all of your truth. I don’t think so anyway. So I guess I need you to teach me how to worship you more with the Holy Spirit. I need to Holy Spirit to envelop me in my worship so that he might help my worship of the Father, Jesus, and that same Holy Spirit be what you need it to be for my good and growth. I’ve said, “Teach me to pray,” in the past. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, teach me to worship.

I pray this in Jesus name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2026 in Hebrews

 

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Ephesians 3:14-4:4

30 Apr

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

Ephesians 3:14-4:4

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Actually Ephesians 4:15 (15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.), but I wanted more context so I kept backing up. As is common, you can’t just quote a sentence or two from Paul and get the context, so I ended up going back to chapter three to find the beginning of the thought. I think starting at 3:14 kind of gets me there even though it starts with a reference to “this.” “This” is referring to Gentiles and Jews worshipping you together and his plan for Jesus to carry out his plan. So with all that setup, I want to spend some time with these verses.

I love the passion of Paul in verse 14. He falls to his knees when he thinks of “this.” There aren’t many times I just fall to my knees in awe of you. I’m sorry, and I feel ashamed to say that, but it’s true. To some extent, I’ve lost my awe of you. Even now, as I sit here, I don’t think I have enough awe of you. I think too much of myself in your presence. I think to much about what I can take from scripture as opposed to what you are teaching me and giving me through scripture and the still, small voice of your Holy Spirit. Is this act of praying to you in this moment an act of worship or just an intellectual exercise of mind?

When I look at verse 16, do I look to you to empower me with inner strength from your Spirit? I love the image of you, Jesus, making your homein my heart and my “roots growing down into God’s love and keep[ing me] strong.” I hope I’m doing that. If I truly understand how wide, long, high, and deep your love is, then I will be in awe of you.

Skipping ahead to chapter 4, this is where I really wanted to go. I didn’t expect to feel so much from the end of chapter three there, but you’ve given me a lot to think about. What struck me when I first read these verses this morning was Ephesians 4:2: Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. I was listening to an interview with a man this morning who has been through a spiritual journey with you. He started out as a worshipper. He was a celebrity who embraced you and the Evangelical Church embraced him. But as time went on, the rejected him because of some of his social justice opinions. When he realized they were so at odds on some of these areas and he was convinced they were wrong about them, he started to question what else they might be wrong about. That was the beginning of a transformation of his faith. When asked about where he is now, he said he’s more comfortable with “nuance” than he was before. He understands there are some gray areas where we don’t have to agree to worship you.

That’s what I thought of when I read Ephesians 4:2-3: 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. Satan’s Plan A is to divide us. It’s a great plan because it really plays into our insecurities. It plays into my insecurity and self-pity. It plays into all of our insecurity and self-pity. When I’m not willing to forgive someone, it’s usually because I’m hanging onto my rights and not thinking about what your best is for that other person–maybe at my expense.

Father, help me to love with nuance. Help me to allow for others’ faults as they will hopefully allow for mine. Refine me. Help me to really see you as you are–as much as I humanly can. I don’t know that I’ll ever fully grasp how in awe of you I should be, but I know my roots can grow deeper into you. Help them to grow deeper into you. I love you and I thank you for loving me.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2026 in Ephesians

 

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Job 19:21-27

29 Apr


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Job 19:21-27

Dear God, I am reminded in this passage why I had such a hard time with Job the first time I read it and tried to journal through it. One simply cannot read Job in snippets. It must be ingested as a whole book. The verse for today was just verse 25:“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. That verse makes Job sound like he’s worshipping you in what he’s saying, but he’s actually complaining in this whole section. How could you have turned on him. He admits that you live and that he will see you for himself one day after he has died, but until then he’s going to complain about you punishing him for wrongs he thinks he didn’t do.

But I do want to sit in this moment of frustration (and sin) with Job. You’ll let him know in chapter 38 just what you think of his complaints. But for the moment, he’s frustrated. And I’ll admit, I’m in probably my most frustrating stage of work right now. I’m looking for some answers with staffing, and I’m not finding them. I need your help. I need your guidance. I need you to bring the right people to us to help us help our patients. I need you to give me ideas, insights, and wisdom. I need you to make my path straight. I’m not complaining. I’m not saying that I’m suffering. And I’m grateful for what you’ve done for us to help us plug the gaps. But you know we are struggling right now to really reach our potential because of staffing, and I need you to guide us all.

There have been times in the past when I felt really let down by you, but you brought me through those times, and you were more gentle with me then than you were with Job starting in chapter 38. You sent me a former preacher who simply told me, “It’s hard when we are disappointed with God.” I was disappointed with you, but my expectations were misinformed.

Father, as I sit here now, I think about friends who have lost children to death. Friends who are widowed and lost their spouses too young. Friends who have lost family members to estrangement. The pain in my own life. And I don’t blame you for any of those, including allowing them to happen in the first place. This is life. It is our life. All you’ve told us is that you will walk with us. So walk with me today, as you walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Speak to me. Comfort me. Provide for me. And help me to worship you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2026 in Job

 

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Philippians 2:1-11

28 Apr

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.

Dear God, I was watching a video this morning on sibling rivalries in music. It included The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, The Bee Gees, Donnie & Marie, Janet and Michael Jackson, etc. Relationships were complicated. Being the youngest of three, I can see where I’ve spent my life with my siblings fighting for a little respect. Even though the three of us are past middle age, I’ll always be the youngest.

I’m talking about this because of this first paragraph. It’s just talking about people getting along. And the more people you get together the more than can be a challenge. I have a fairly large group of people I work with now, and there are all kinds of opportunities for rivalries, frustrations, hurt feelings, and bitterness. And some of the anger and frustration is legitimate. I’m not saying it’s not. There’s a place for anger. But is it being productive or destructive?

Verses five through eight above are using Jesus as an example, but it’s verses 1-4 that Paul uses to admonish the Philippians and encourage them to be what they need to be for God and for each other:

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.

Father, I’ve said this before, but when I find myself being unforgiving or bitter, one of the best things I can do is remind myself just how much I’ve been forgiven of. How much you’ve had to forgive from me. As we have a staff meeting this morning, I pray for your Holy Spirit to be among us, teach us mercy, help us to see each other beyond the veneer of work, and join our hearts together in helping our patients. In our hearts, Lord, be glorified. And I pray for family relationships as well. Help us, Father, to be one. Starting with my marriage, moving to our children and their significant others, and then to the rest of our siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, etc. Help us to be whole, and bring healing to individuals and us as a whole.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 28, 2026 in Philippians

 

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Troubled Times

24 Apr

“These are troubled times. The world is full of strife and heartache. Men and women everywhere seek peace of mind and heart, and wish desperately that they as individuals could do something toward lifting the heavy blanket of gloom and fear that opposes mankind.”

David Dunn in the introduction of Try Giving Yourself Away. Published in 1947

Dear God, there’s a little backstory as to how I started reading this book, but I’m on vacation, and I opened this book last night. It was gifted to my father in 1964, and he recently re-gifted it to me for my birthday with a lovely note telling me the story about how he came to get it and what it meant to him.

I was amused by the second paragraph of the introduction I quoted above. I thought, “Hold it! Wait! I thought 1947 was a time we were all trying to get back to. Wasn’t America great then? If we could get back there, isn’t that where my “happy heart” will be (I’m looking at you Madame Blueberry!)? I was so amused I sent it to 11 friends and family. My dad replied, “The way we won WWII with Hiroshima was a schizophrenic ‘Joy! We won!’ and ‘Doomsday!'” Hmm. Maybe 1947 wasn’t the peaceful nirvana I’ve been told it was. Maybe people in the moment weren’t looking around and saying, “This is the best!” Maybe they looked back at the 1920s, pre-Great Depression, and thought, “That’s when we were great!” And then the people in the 1920s looked back at 1900 and thought, “Things are so crazy and gluttonous now. Drinking is out of control. We need prohibition. If only we could get back to a time before the Great War. Times were simpler then.”

Of course, I’m saying all of this from the perspective of a white man in America. If I had been a person of color in any of those past times…well, let’s just say things weren’t that great back then.

So where does that leave me this morning? Still amused. Amused at our own foolishness. I referenced Madame Blueberry earlier. It’s a great little cartoon by VeggieTales that my wife and I still joke about nearly 30 years after its release. It has a character who is constantly looking for a “happy heart.” At one point, she goes to “Stuff-Mart” to see if she can buy a happy heart there. Where is a happy heart that will bring her the peace she’s looking for? Eventually, she learns from Junior Asparagus that “a thankful heart is a happy heart.” That’s largely true.

I think about Jesus’s parable of the sower often. The four different types of soil: the path, rocks, thorny, and good soil. The thorns are what I battle. Jesus describes the thorns as pursuit of wealth and the cares of this world. I don’t so much pursue wealth, but I don’t ignore it either. But I do allow the cares of this world–these troubled times–to affect me and bring me down. And they choke out your Holy Spirit in my life. In my heart. They choke out the fruit that the Spirit grows in me.

Father, Dunn says that the secret to happiness is giving yourself away. And I think he’s on the right track, to a certain extent. But from what I can tell three chapters in, he is thinking of giving myself away as a cause and not an effect. He thinks that I can just choose to give myself away. I would counter that the peace of giving myself away starts with the cause of worshipping you, putting my faith in you, and laying down my idols. What are some of my idols? A stable U.S. economy. A powerful U.S. military that will keep me “safe.” A corruption-free government. A government that is compassionate and kind–not cruel and mean. Children who live up to all my expectations. A wife who lives up to all my expectations. Enough money in my bank account. The ability to buy what I want whenever I want. You know, the stuff Jesus said was the thorns: the pursuit of wealth and the cares of this world. So help me to lay down all of those idols today. You are my one and only God. I will do my best to have no other gods before you. And I will try to love everyone around me as myself.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Romans 14:1-13

23 Apr

14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
    and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”

12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

Romans 14:1-13

Dear God, sometimes it seems like Paul is all over the map. I like this passage, but how does it square with 1 Corinthians 5:12?

12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 

It’s a lot of fun to judge other people. I was talking with a friend about another person I know recently about gossiping, and I told her that if you want to get in good with this person all you have to do is sit and “dish” with them about other people. Then they will be your fast friend. But that friendship will be thin because that person will be “dishing” about you sometime soon.

What I like about Romans here is that it reminds me that all sin is equal and capable of separating me from you without Jesus’s mercy, so when I get wrapped around the axle about someone else’s sin I’ve probably forgotten just how much I’ve been forgiven for. How much you still forgive me for each day. I add to my sin list every day, but the good news for me is that you cannot see it through Jesus’s blood.

Father, I want to look at verse 13 here and ask that you please help me to live in a way that builds others up and does not cause them to fall. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be for your kingdom and your glory. I’m about to start a couple of days of vacation. I need this break. Please restore me. Lead me beside still waters. Help me to lie down in green pastures. Prepare me to return to the world on Monday in a way that will bring you glory, honor, and help your kingdom and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Be with my wife and me over the next four days. Help us to be completely united and bless each of us through the other.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2026 in Romans

 

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Romans 1:13-20

22 Apr

13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 1:13-20

Dear God, I heard someone say this morning that when you take a piece of scripture out of context then you are likely using it as a pretext to justify whatever you believe. I would say, at a minimum, there’s a danger of doing that, although sometimes, with the way our Bibles are organized, it can be easy to make that mistake. For example, the verse of the day today on Bible Gateway was Romans 1:20. But Romans 1:20 starts with the world “For.” So it is expounding on smoething else. Then you back up and see verse 18 starts with “But.” Go back, and verse 16 starts with “For.” You have to go all the way back to verse 13 until you get to a point where Paul is starting his thought. He wants to go to the Romans to tell them about the Good News. He is not ashamed of the Good news about Christ. The Good News tells us how to be right in your sight. God [you] show your anger against sinful, wicked people. We have not excuse for not knowing you because we can clearly see your invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature through your creation. If I’d just have done verse 20 then I’d have missed all of that context.

So here I am to walk a life that is right in your sight through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. That means I get to sit here and worship you this morning with a repentant and humble heart, understanding just how much you’ve forgive me for and be grateful for your forgiveness. Then I get to think about and care about my family and friends. Pray for them that their lives will be ordered by you and that they will be healed from their pain. That my friends struggling with their adult children will be comforted and their children will be healed from addictions or other wounds they carry. That they will be safe from domestic violence. That they will feel your face shine upon them. That if they are mourning they will be comforted. If they are poor in spirit, they will be lifted up by you. If they are merciful then they will feel and receive your mercy. If they are humble they will see you. I pray that for all of my friends and family.

Father, as for me on this day, I am speaking to a group of graduating seniors tonight who are in the National Honor Society. Their parents will be there as well. I think you’ve given me a word for them. I pray that you will be in that word, bless that word, and plant seeds tonight, even though the wisdom in the words I share will be limited. But let the words find good soil. Let them grow. Prepare their hearts to hear you today. To hear you through me. Give them something to hold onto. Give them you to hold onto.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2026 in Romans

 

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