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2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

16 Aug

14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

“I will live in them
    and walk among them.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
    and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
    and I will welcome you.
18 And I will be your Father,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty.”

7 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Dear God, it can be so hard to journal in chunks of scripture like this and get the full context. Much more so when we just look at one verse. For example, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was just 2 Corinthians 7:1. But since it started with the word “because” I wanted to go back and see what the “because” referred to. And even going back to 6:14 isn’t really far enough because just before that Paul is complaining that they are withholding their love for him. The intimation is that they are more gladly partnering with the unholy than with those who are holy.

That’s when Paul goes into our bodies being temples and then brings it full circle in 7:1 when he says that we need to be about cleansing ourselves and not linking up with the unholy.

Defining the unholy in my current world can be tricky. For example, unholiness exists on any number of planes.

  • There is weird spiritualism unholiness for people who are looking for you in weird ways. I need to be loving but careful in my relationships with them.
  • There are people who are hostile towards you and ready to condemn anyone who believes in you. Again, I need to be your love to those people but also cautious in how much of myself I expose to them.
  • There are those who just blatantly disregard any limits your laws put on us and are totally seeking self and self-pleasure at any given moment. I would argue that they are looking for peace from you and self-medicating because they don’t have it, but they are still people for me to love but certainly not join in their revelry.

Those first three are pretty easy for me to identify. They are easy examples to identify the people and figure out who I will allow into my influential orbit and who I won’t. And I feel good about the people I have in my life. If I am the average of the five people I spend the most time with, I am comfortable with that list.

But there are other areas in my life where figuring out the gate for unholiness getting in is trickier.

  • The reaction videos I watch on YouTube. Young people watching old movies and enjoyed when I was younger or listening to music I grew up with. So yesterday I watched a young woman listen to Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” for the first time. I think this is a great song, but it’s not a holy song. It’s only about the singer hooking up with his girlfriend every chance he got in high school. Am I allowing past unholy memories back into my heart when I hear that song or reward her listening to it with my “click?”
  • The show Ted Lasso could probably be my best example. I think this show is absolutely excellent, but I have a love/frustration relationship with it. Notice I said “frustration” and not “hate” because I simply have a hard time having any negative feelings about this show. My love for it is around the fact that the main character, Ted Lasso, almost always exhibits the purest form of the fruits of the Spirit I’ve ever seen anyone portray in film, literature, or even in life. He’s amazing in that way. He has love, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. And his way of life is infectious and slowly spreads to the other characters in the show over the three seasons of the original run. And the world loves it. I watch reaction videos to it and everyone is enthralled with Ted. “I need this!” they say. By the way. Notice I left one fruit of the Spirit out of my list: peace. Ted doesn’t have peace. It’s his Achilles heel that drives his character development. And that leads me to my frustration with the show. They never show the piece he’s missing is you. It’s an incredibly worldly show. There is no reverence for you. So am I doing a bad thing by watching it multiple times and enjoying the relationships and the characters? Is this the kind of thing Paul was talking about? If Paul were visiting me would he want to watch Ted Lasso with me?

Father, in some ways I am careful about what I expose myself to and in some ways I’m not. I’ll be frank. I’m not sure I am capable of only exposing myself to Christian podcasts, writings, and other sorts of media. It’s too much and it takes me out of a world that I do love. Not as much as you, but I love it. So be with me today, Holy Spirit. Speak with me, guide me, teach me, convict me, and forgive me for my foolishness. I’m sure this prayer is full of foolishness and you are just shaking your head at me even in this moment. Well, I get it. I offer all of me to you, warts, foolishness, and all.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 16, 2025 in 2 Corinthians

 

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Romans 14:6-9

15 Aug

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.

Romans 14:6-9

Dear God, do I honor you enough? For example, I’m not the best about thanking you for my food. I have it in my head to do it when I’m eating with other people. That’s kind of an ingrained habit. Even that, though, isn’t necessarily me being truly grateful for the food. I’ve always had plenty. So much so that I’ve battled my weight since I was 10 years old. No, I’m not really grateful for my food. In fact, there are times when I pray before a meal that I forget to mention the food.

It’s easy to say that I live for you and die for you, but am I honoring you enough in the living? Do I let selfishness dictate how much at risk I’m willing to put what I have? My possessions and my comfort? Oh, how I want to honor you. I want everything I do to honor you. How I worship and pray. How I interact with others. How I do my work. Right down to the little things. How I drive. How I order at a restaurant. How I react when I see a homeless person in need (I’m not good at that one at all–what’s appropriate and what’s not?).

Here’s a good example. I was really proud of something we were able to do with a patient at our clinic this week, and when I told people about it I don’t think I credited you enough for orchestrating what happened or the outcome.

Father, this is a good reminder to do everything I do in honor of you. I’m about to talk with a friend on the phone. Help me to honor you in it. I’m going to meet some men and move some heavy, awkward furniture for work. Help me to honor you in how I do that. I’m going to write thank you letters. Help me to honor you in those letters. I’m going to meet a friend for lunch and do them a favor. Help me to honor you in that time. I’ll spend the evening with my wife. Help me to thank you for her and honor you for how you bless me through her. I want to have you in my every breath today and be grateful for each breath. Help me to be mindful of that.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 15, 2025 in Romans

 

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“The Reason for the Church” Brad Edwards

14 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to this week’s Holy Post podcast yesterday and I came across this quote from the man the were interviewing at the end of the show, Brad Edwards. He was talking about his book The Reason for the Church. Here’s the quote that caught my ear: “Our neighbors, and even Christians in a lot of ways, but especially our neighbors are open to the idea that God exists and even that they might need Jesus, but they are closed to the idea that the church is beautiful or good for anyone.”

I think this caught my ear for a few reasons. First, I have a friend who is dedicated in his love for you, but his wife is having to force him to find a church. He is absolutely not interested.

For my part, I tell people all of the time that I don’t like going to church. I never have. Not since I was a kid. But that also goes along with the idea that I often get tired of sitting in any kind of theater, presentation-style setting. Whether it is a movie, live theater, or church, my wife notes that its a special and incredibly engaging show that will keep me from checking my watch. I do go to church, but it’s more out of a sense of self-discipline in knowing that it is good for me to be in community of other believers, and my presence there might, just might, be good for them as well.

I know a lot of people who profess love for you who are not in church. Their reasons vary. I guess my point is that I know plenty of Christians who do not want to go to church. Any Christian who finds themselves not wanting to go to church is in good company.

Forgetting about non-Christians for a moment, why is it that Christians choose not to go?

  • Effort: It’s inconvenient to go.
  • Boredom: It can be boring.
  • Judgment: People can be afraid to be known and then judged for not being the right kind of Christian or for having sinned.

There are other reasons, but those three are a good start. And the modern church has tried to address them. And here, when I say, “they” I mean some have done different things. They‘ve made virtual services available for those who don’t want to leave home. They‘ve added instruments to the band, lights, and dynamic preaching to help entertain the audience. And they‘ve emphasized come as you are and a judgment-free zone. And some of these changes have been good. I’m not criticizing. I’m just noting.

But it makes me wonder why going to church is important. Why do we, as Christians, need church? Why is this a sacrament you have ordained? What’s in it for us? What’s our why?

  • Community: At a basic level, we need community. We need each other. Whether we are parents needing community with other parents while we try to raise our children, businesses who need to be with others to learn from them and be better at what we do and not feel all alone, concerned citizens who need to come alongside others to get problems solved, etc. Being around other people makes us better. Iron sharpens iron. Problems solved by teams almost always come out with a better solution than the problem solved by an individual.
  • Worship: We need to gather with other Christians to worship you. It strengthens us to worship with others. It helps us focus. The odds are slim that I will sit for an hour in my home and sing to you, pray to you, and listen to good teaching about you. I need the 1.) accountability of community and 2.) the sharpening of being around others. I need other Christians to point out my bad theology and correct me. I need to be known by others. I’m drifting back into my first point. I guess for this one I’m saying that I will die a slow spiritual death if I try to just live out my faith on my own. I heard the analogy of coals on a fire one time. When you start a fire you pile the coals together. Their combined effort burns hotter and helps the fire last longer. But coals that are spread and left to burn by themselves do not produce as much heat and die out faster. I need to worship you with others to keep my private worship alive.
  • Structure: If we are going to gather with other Christians, there are ways to do it. We could just get some other Christians to come to our houses, and that can be good for a Bible study, but in some ways it’s the blind leading the blind. We need the educated, principled leader to guide us. You need some amount of infrastructure and bureaucracy to make it work. Even with a small men’s group I’m in right now, we are collecting money and someone needs to track it. We need someone responsible for our teaching. We need accountability. The leadership needs accountability.

Father, my point is that I do think being involved in a church is important, and as I grew up Baptist but have worshipped with Catholics the last 14 years, I can say that the style of worship really doesn’t matter. I think Eugene Peterson once said that if you are looking for a church start by going outside your home and walking to the first one you see. That might be a little simplistic and one has to be care, to some extent about the church’s orthodoxy and theology, but for the most part we should be able to worship with just about any other believers. It’s more about what I am willing to put into it than what I will take from it. My growth comes through my participation. Help me to be a contributing member to your church so that my life might be an offering to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 14, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Ephesians 2:8-10

13 Aug

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Dear God, I have to say it feels good to just take Bible Gateway’s verse of the day and just start praying. I don’t have any Sunday school classes I’m preparing for. I don’t have any CMLS Bible studies I’m teaching. I’m not working through Psalm 119 anymore. This morning, I’m just here to take a piece of scripture and hang with it and with you.

I will say, however, that since I did the thing on the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 it made me think of this letter differently this morning. I am now reading it through the lens of what John wrote to them from you. They did lots of good things but they lost their first love. They didn’t love you enough and they didn’t love others. Now, this was probably written several years before John’s Revelation, but were the seeds there? Or was this the time when they still both had their first love and they were doing all the good things? Just interesting to consider when I read Paul’s words this morning.

As for this passage, the message to me this morning is, “Be careful not to take credit for anything.” And I think taking credit for things is how we lose our first love. How we lose our appreciation and love for you. I can keep doing the good works, but if I start taking credit for them myself then I can get to a point where I forget that you are the author. You are the provider. You are the one who blesses the fruit and multiplies it. I am a vessel. And I can try to be a motorboat that powers itself, but I will eventually run out of gas. The only renewable energy to move my vessel is if I ride your current or allow my sails to be pushed by your wind.

Father, I have a lot happening in my professional world right now, and I need your provision. I need to replace an employee. Please guide me to the person you have for our patients and for us as a staff and volunteers. That person is out there. Please bring them to us. I have other issues as work I need to address. Help me to do it well and lovingly. We need different types of resources. Please guide us into them. Help us, Father. Help me. And I pledge to you to stay before you in prayer and do my best to give you the glory for everything. Oh, how I love you, Father.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 13, 2025 in Ephesians

 

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Psalm 119:145-152 (Qoph)

09 Aug

Qoph

145 I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord!
    I will obey your decrees.
146 I cry out to you; rescue me,
    that I may obey your laws.
147 I rise early, before the sun is up;
    I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.
148 I stay awake through the night,
    thinking about your promise.
149 In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry;
    let me be revived by following your regulations.
150 Lawless people are coming to attack me;
    they live far from your instructions.
151 But you are near, O Lord,
    and all your commands are true.
152 I have known from my earliest days
    that your laws will last forever.

Psalm 119:145-152

Dear God, with this day, I have four days left in Psalm 119. I have to say, I’m ready to be done. Mainly because the sense I get from the psalmist is that they just aren’t at peace. He seems so wrapped around the axle. Maybe I’m wrong and I’ve completely misread him, his life, his intentions, and even his theology. But I just find myself wanting to sit with him and encouraging him to relax and know the Jesus I know. And the Jesus I know didn’t get rid of the law. In fact, he raised the standard. But he made love for you and others and then compassion, forgiveness, and mercy the foundation for everything. In fact, he chastises the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2 for doing everything that looks right but then losing their first love. This guy loves you. I don’t doubt that. But there is certainly more to worshipping you than doing everything right.

With that said, let’s look at today’s Qoph section:

  • 145 I pray with all my heart; answer me, Lord! I will obey your decrees. – See, he loves you. He prays with all of his heart. I have no doubt he loves you. And that is wonderful to see. In fact, he probably prays more fervently than I do. Do I pray with all my heart? That might actually be convicting this morning. I pray earnestly. I pray thoughtfully. I pray intentionally. But I’m not sure I do it with all my heart. I think I have to be in a more desperate mode to pray with all my heart.
  • 146 I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your laws. – If I’m ever asking to be rescued, I think it is so I can worship you and continue being salt and light in the world for you. That seems like a more appropriate reason to ask for rescue than just so I can obey your laws. I don’t think you created us to obey your laws. You created us for relationship and then gave us laws through which we could live an effective life in relationship with you. Oh, how I’m hope I’m not just typing heresy here.
  • 147 I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. – I have an early meeting this Saturday morning, but here I am up a little early so I would have time to do this. The sun will be up later, but right now I need you. In fact, we are doing something important for work today. This is probably a good opportunity to express my need for you. We need your guidance. We need your vision. We need to see the man/woman calling to us that needs us and figure out how to reach them in your name. Help us to know what that need is and how to reach it.
  • 148 I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise. – It’s important to remember what you promised and what you didn’t promise. My wife and I visited with a friend last night who told us about a conversation he had with a woman about the recent floods in Kerrville. She attributed it to you basically smiting the area and those who suffered. He was shocked at her perspective. I would counter that your earth is in motion, and it’s not a safe earth. It has natural disasters. It has man-made disasters. It has man-made horrors. And I believe that sometimes you choose to intervene and rescue us from them, but there is no way for me to figure out the rhyme or reason to them this side of life. But you will always comfort those who mourn. You will save your people from the second death. Those are the promises. Expecting anything beyond that, on my part, is wishful, selfish thinking (in my opinion).
  • 149 In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your regulations. – Revive me. When I’m down and weary, revive me. When I drift from you, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, revive me. Please, give me exactly what I need to accomplish what you have for me to do.
  • 150 Lawless people are coming to attack me; they live far from your instructions. – Help me to share you with those who attack me. Help me to be your messenger to them. Give me words to speak. Give me mercy for them (something I often lack). And they would probably tell you I live far from your instructions. Help me to see any truth in their attacks on me.
  • 151 But you are near, O Lord, and all your commands are true. – This makes me think of an old Christian song by a group from the 90s called Rachel Rachel, “You are Always There.” Chorus: “You are always there holding me closely. In your tender arms the wonder of your love falls on me.” Thank you for this verse being true. It doesn’t have to be, but it is. You are faithful. You are true. You are always there.
  • 152 I have known from my earliest days that your laws will last forever. – I can’t quite say my earliest days, but I have certainly known you from a young age, and I am grateful I learned to follow you before I did too much damage to myself. When I think of some different directions my life could have gone when I was a child and where those roads could have led, it is sobering. Who knows where I would be if I hadn’t been in an environment where I could find you.

Father, I am about to go into this board retreat for our nonprofit. Be with us. Be among us. Do it all for your glory and our growth in you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:129-136 (Pe)

07 Aug

Pe

129 Your laws are wonderful.
    No wonder I obey them!
130 The teaching of your word gives light,
    so even the simple can understand.
131 I pant with expectation,
    longing for your commands.
132 Come and show me your mercy,
    as you do for all who love your name.
133 Guide my steps by your word,
    so I will not be overcome by evil.
134 Ransom me from the oppression of evil people;
    then I can obey your commandments.
135 Look upon me with love;
    teach me your decrees.
136 Rivers of tears gush from my eyes
    because people disobey your instructions.

Psalm 119:129-136

Dear God, I am at a point at work where I actually need to toughen up when it comes to “law.” Things have gotten a little loose over the summer in a couple of areas, and it’s time for me to have to tighten things up. And I am not a good tightener. But it has to be done. I’m just thinking about it here because of the laws you have for us. We get loose with them too. We drift. We assume you’re looking the other way. All the while, we are grieving you and we are grieving your Spirit. How do you correct us? What is the most constructive way for me to correct the staff this morning? With that said, let’s see what I might be able to get out of today’s verses.

  • 129 Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them! – They really are wonderful. I really do need them. They really are good for me. Thank you for your love as exhibited through them. If you didn’t have them for us how would we know you care?
  • 130 The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. – The line about the “simple” seems a little mean, but the point is taken. The more I know from you the more I know of you. And as a simple man, the more I can understand. Help me to learn your word and help me to know how to teach your word when given the opportunity.
  • 131 I pant with expectation, longing for your commands. – There are some days I long for your commands and some days I don’t. This morning, frankly, I’m distracted by what I mentioned earlier. But I do get excited about learning from you sometimes. Help those moments to be longer and longer and more frequent.
  • 132 Come and show me your mercy, as you do for all who love your name. – Ah, your mercy. I long to receive it and I need to give it. And that goes for all kinds of people. Your mercy, Father, is what allows the world to move forward. The mercy you give us and the mercy we give to each other. Even the mercy we give to you when we are angry with you and then accept that your ways are not our ways. But thank you for showing me your mercy and teaching me to show it to others.
  • 133 Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. – I just want to walk in and be in your light. Let your word be a lamp unto my feet and light upon my path.
  • 134 Ransom me from the oppression of evil people; then I can obey your commandments. – I can always obey your commands, whether I’m captive or not. Even if I am oppressed by evil people, give me your freedom of soul through my loyalty, devotion, and obedience to you.
  • 135 Look upon me with love; teach me your decrees. – Oh, I know you already look on me with love. And you are ready to teach me whenever I am ready to learn. Help me to be ready to learn, and thank you for looking upon me with love.
  • 136 Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions. – Does my heart break for those who don’t know you? Not enough. Help me to really care for those who don’t know you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:113-120 (Samekh)

05 Aug

Samekh

113 I hate those with divided loyalties,
    but I love your instructions.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
    your word is my source of hope.
115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
    for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
116 Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!
    Do not let my hope be crushed.
117 Sustain me, and I will be rescued;
    then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
118 But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees.
    They are only fooling themselves.
119 You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum;
    no wonder I love to obey your laws!
120 I tremble in fear of you;
    I stand in awe of your regulations.

Psalm 119:113-120

Dear God, it feels like today he is drawing that line between himself (as righteous) and others he sees as unrighteous. My initial gut response was to look at this and criticize him for not having more mercy towards the others. I’m just most of those he deems as “evil-minded” or as having “divided loyalties” don’t wake up feeling like they are evil-minded or have divided loyalties. If they are lost, they probably don’t realize it. Don’t they need his love and not his condemnation?

But then I have two more thoughts. First, maybe I need to see these things either in myself or the people around me and address it. Would the psalmist consider me to have divided loyalties? Would I live up to his standard? Do any extent, would he be right about me if he thought that? Second, this is before Jesus revealed your nature to us in human form. Before he explicitly came and taught us. And Jesus did two interesting things. He raised the bar on sin so that even this psalmist would realize he doesn’t measure up (he uses the word “hate” in verse 113 to describe his feelings towards some people, which Jesus called out in the Sermon on the Mount). We have to be careful about calling on you to draw a line and smite people on one side of it because we never know where we might be in relation to that line. The other thing Jesus did, however, was offer this unbelievable grace that met us where we are and then told us to sin no more.

That was a long into for this passage. Let me look and see where there might be verse by verse.

  • 113 I hate those with divided loyalties, but I love your instructions. – Is there a part of me that needs to delineate and recognize others I need to at least be wary around? Is there a role you have for me to play in their lives to call them to yourself? Are there areas where my own loyalties are divided and I don’t realize it? Holy Spirit, work with me on this, I pray.
  • 114 You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. – How do I use you as my refuge and my shield? I think it is mainly resting in the knowledge that you are my God but my life is simply to serve you between now and my first death which will be followed by a second life that will know no death. What can man do to me? Help me to be above reproach on everything.
  • 115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people, for I intend to obey the commands of my God. – I’m fortunate in that I don’t feel like there is anyone in my life who is trying to get me to not obey your commands. I mean, there are some people in the community who wish I would do some things I consider to be contrary to Jesus, and they want me to do them in your name, but they aren’t a regular part of my life.
  • 116 Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed. – I don’t know how the psalmist would define “living,” but I suspect our definitions are different. You are my God. My life is at your disposal. Show me how to live it today. My only hope is in you.
  • 117 Sustain me, and I will be rescued; then I will meditate continually on your decrees. – This, I can get behind–mostly. I don’t know what he means by rescued, but just being emotionally and spiritually sustained by you is enough. I don’t need to be physically sustained by you. I love that I am. I am grateful for the amazing things in my life. I am grateful for your love and provision. I am grateful for you. I guess I’m just trying to say that that’s not why I’m here. That’s not what I expect of you. But I am grateful for what I have. I really am.
  • 118 But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees. They are only fooling themselves. – When I think of putting names to those I consider to have strayed from your decrees, I know that if I were to tell them that they would be shocked and completely reject the idea they have strayed. In fact, they would probably think I have strayed. Maybe we are all fooling ourselves. Show me if I am fooling myself, Holy Spirit.
  • 119 You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum; no wonder I love to obey your laws! – Do you? Is this how you work? I think we all get skimmed off the earth about int he same way. Maybe we are all wicked. And I don’t know who is subject to the second death and who is not. I don’t know where the cut line is on that, but I know I hope my heart is what you’re looking for because I do love you.
  • 120 I tremble in fear of you; I stand in awe of your regulations. – Father, you are God. You have laid out a way of living that is so amazing. I am sorry so many of us, including me at times, reject it for our own selfishness. The irony is that allowing our selfishness to abandon your regulations is actually not in our self-interest. We are such fools! I am such a fool!

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 5, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Revelation 2

03 Aug

The Message to the Church in Ephesus

2 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. 3 You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. 6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

The Message to the Church in Smyrna

8 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive:

9 “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life.

11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

The Message to the Church in Pergamum

12 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword:

13 “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city.

14 “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. 16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.

The Message to the Church in Thyatira

18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:

19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come. 26 To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end,

To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.

28 They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!

29 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Revelation 2

Dear God, I’ll be teaching a Sunday school lesson at a local church this morning on these letters. Frankly, studying them closely has been a good reminder to me that you don’t just look the other way at our sin. You bring us to yourself. You call us to yourself. You offer forgiveness. But then you still command us to go and sin no more. You tell us, “You have heard it said…, but I say…,” raising the bar to a level that is uncomfortable for even the most self-righteous person. So this morning we will talk about not loving you enough, not loving others enough, and making compromises with sin. We will talk about how doing all of the right things and even being faithful in the midst of persecution is a problem if our hearts are still not discerning and allowing you to examine us for sin we’ve allowed to infiltrate our lives. Sin I’ve allowed to infiltrate my life.

So here is my lesson for this morning that you and I worked on yesterday (at least I hope you were part of it–I think you were):

The Set-Up

  • John was on Patmos in exile for preaching about Jesus.
  • Jesus appears to him and identifies himself.
  • Jesus tells him to write everything he sees down and send it to the 7 churches in Asia

The Church at Ephesus

About the city itself:

  • Important trade city.
  • Beautiful city with many temples
    • Temple to Artemis, one of seven wonders of ancient world
      • Artemis was goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity
    • Also had amphitheater that held 45,000
  • Visited by Paul, Timoth, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos.
    • Some traditions say Apostle John lived there in old age.

How does Jesus describe the Ephesians:

  • The Good
    • Hard working
      • What kind of work is Jesus referring to?
    • Patient endurance
      • What were they patiently enduring?
    • Rejection of evil people
      • What would an evil person look like for them to reject?
      • What would rejection look like?
    • Discerning who is a false apostle and rejecting
      • How do you identify a false apostle (Christian)?
    • Patiently suffering for Jesus
      • What do you think their suffering looked like?
  • The Bad
    • Don’t love (agape) God/Jesus/Holy Spirit like they used to?
      • Agape, Eros, Phileo, & Storge
        • Agape (ἀγάπη): This refers to unconditional, selfless love, often associated with divine love or charity. 
        • ·         Eros (ἔρως): This describes passionate, romantic love, often involving physical attraction and desire. 
        • ·         Philia (φιλία): This denotes the love between friends, characterized by affection, loyalty, and shared experiences. 
        • Storge (στοργή): This refers to the love between family members, particularly between parents and children, highlighting natural affection and bond. 
      • What does agape love for God look like in this case?
    • Don’t love (agape) each other like they used to?
      • What does agape love for each other mean or look like in this case?

How do you think “The Bad” happened?

  • How does one or a collective group lose their agape love for God and others?
  • What does it look like when a person or group of people look like the church in Ephesus?
    • Quoting Earl Palmer: In this way the love of God had become for the Ephesians a theoretical starting fact, one of the sentences on the menu, but not the very daily bread by which they were even alive in the first place and through which they would continue to stay alive. This was a spiritual illness that haunted Ephesus, and until this letter arrived, it was an illness of which they were probably unaware.
  • Selfishness creeps in: It seems like when selfishness creeps in we just don’t have the capacity to love God and love those around us like we should, or even at all. We start getting concerned about our rights. Then we eventually start to fight for ourselves instead of for others. We stop sacrificing for others and start to expect others to sacrifice for us.
  • What other areas of our lives does this pattern of losing our agape for others play out?
    • How do we keep that from happening?

Hope for repentance:

  • Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.
    • “Victorious” is repentance.

The Church at Smyrna

About the city itself:

  • Wealthy city 40 miles north of Ephesus
  • Temples to different Greek and Roman gods, including Zeus and the “goddess of Rome.”

How does Jesus describe the church in Smyrna:

  • The Good
    • They faithfully suffer through persecution and poverty
      • Their poverty might be, at least partially, due to persecution
      • Poverty can be especially difficult in a wealthy environment
      • They might be persecuted because of denouncing worship of other gods or the emperor in Rome
  • The Bad
    • None

Jesus’s encouragement to them

  • Not much material hope for this present world
    • No promises of wealth
    • No promises of physically surviving
  • Promise of not being harmed by the “second death.”
    • Acknowledges the existence of Satan (verse 9) and/or the devil (verse 10)
    • Satan/devil does not have ultimate power.

Hope for repentance:

  • Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
  • Earl Palmer: As a Christian I am able to face up to tragedy as tragedy and not artificially to assume the stnce that it has somehow not really happened. It means that there are bad experiences and events that happen to us and because of us. These events are negative and harmful. They are like jagged rocks that scar the landscape of our life’s journey. But the discovery we make in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that they very landscape uon which the angry outcroppings stand is surrounded by a larger grace and will so that life can go on. The field will grow see and bear healthy crops because the power of God’s gift of life is greater than the deadening effects of either human sin or cosmic evil. This is the reason we do not lose hope; this is also the reason we are enabled to call a jagged rock a jagged rock. “I will give you the crown of life (verse 10).”

Rebuking the cultism of fear:

  • We do not need the world’s power to stand up to dangers of this age.
  • Jesus gave us four tools and four tools only to impact the world around us:
    • Prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering.

The Church at Pergamum (Pergamos)

About the city itself:

  • 45 miles north of Smyrna
  • Was the Roman capital for the area (133 B.C.) (throne of Satan acknowledges its role as capital for the region)
  • Center of emperor worship in the Roman world.
  • Many impressive temples to Asklepios, Zeus, Athena, Nikephoids, Dionysus, and others.

How does Jesus describe the church at Pergamum:

  • The Good
    • Faithful in the face of persecution
      • Antipas martyred
    • Do not deny being followers of Jesus
  • The Bad
    • Eat food sacrificed to idols
      • 1 Corinthians 8:4-13
    • Sexual immorality
      • What do we make of the “sexual immorality” Jesus refers to here?

How do you think “The Bad” happened?

  • Allowed outside influence.
  • Gave into the temptation of something they already wanted.

Hope for repentance:

  • Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.
    • How do we examine our own hearts and discern what sins we have allowed into our lives?
    • The manna is the good food we need as opposed to the junk food we have selfishly pursued
    • Earl Palmer: The white stone was a symbol in the Roman world used in legal trials, academic grading systems, and at athletic games…The point is dramatically symbolized for the Christians at Pergamum. Their drift into sinfulness does not need to be the last word for either themselves or for others. In spite of the harm that has happened, there can be healing—a new identity to fulfill the identity distorted by sin; healthy food from God who knows of the human need to be fed and healed, and made whole.

The Church at Thyatira

About the city itself:

  • 30 miles inland (east) of Pergamum.
  • Outpost to protect the trade road between Pergamum and Sardis.
  • More trade guilds than any other Asian city (Sir William Ramsey).
    • In the biblical context, a trade guild was a group of individuals practicing the same craft or profession, organized for mutual protection, social, and religious benefits. These guilds were less like modern labor unions and more like fraternal orders, focused on regulating trade, ensuring quality, and providing social support for their members. 
    • Big temptation to give into religious views of trade guild in order to be able to commercially participate and survive.

How does Jesus describe the church at Thyatira

  • The Good
    • Love
    • Faith
    • Service
    • Patient endurance
  • The Bad
    • Focused around one person and her influence: Jezebel
      • She is leading the people in the same type of sins described for Pergamum
        • Sexual sin
        • Eating food offered to idols.

How do you think “The Bad” happened?

  • Why did some follow Jezebel
    • Gave into the temptation of something they already wanted.
  • Who are people who have the opportunity to be Jezebels in our lives?

Explicit promises for both good and bad groups

  • Jezebel and her followers
    • Great suffering for Jezebel and those who follow her
    • Jezebel’s children will die
    • Each will get what they deserve
  • Those who repent and/or remain faithful and do not follow Jezebel
    • No further suffering will happen beyond what they have already endured.
    • They will get authority over all the nations

This one closes differently than the first three letters.

  • Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.

Father, I want this to be a time of real self-examination and repentance. I’ll do the other three letters next week, and then we will see how to tie it all together. For right now, however, I just want us to sit with these four churches and the Holy Spirit and ask that our hearts be examined. Convict us where we need to be convicted. Comfort us where we need to be comforted. Teach us through your Holy Spirit and through each other.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2025 in Revelation

 

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Psalm 119:89-96 (Lamedh)

01 Aug

Lamedh

89 Your eternal word, O Lord,
    stands firm in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation,
    as enduring as the earth you created.
91 Your regulations remain true to this day,
    for everything serves your plans.
92 If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy,
    I would have died in my misery.
93 I will never forget your commandments,
    for by them you give me life.
94 I am yours; rescue me!
    For I have worked hard at obeying your commandments.
95 Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me,
    I will quietly keep my mind on your laws.
96 Even perfection has its limits,
    but your commands have no limit.

Psalm 119:89-96

Dear God, this psalmist is working so hard for your approval. He is working so hard for your protection. I just want to give him a hug and tell him about your love for him. I want to tell him about grace and mercy. I want to tell him the story about the rich young ruler and how Jesus loved him. If he had been a contemporary of Paul’s and read some of his epistles, how would this psalm have been different?

I’m not saying we don’t need to be mindful of your commands. We do! But it’s like I heard someone say about the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount one time. They said we don’t get your favor by obeying what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. We obey what Jesus taught by worshipping and loving you and receiving your mercy and grace.

I also heard someone recently talk about how we need mercy because of the fall, but grace is something you were giving to Adam and Eve even before the fall. You grace us with your presence and your love. That is just something that happens because you love us so much. What a lovely thought.

With that said, let’s look at the Lamedh section of Psalm 119.

  • 89 Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. – While everything around me might look confusing or crazy, nothing on your side of reality is in doubt. This is a great a deep verse. There is a depth of truth to is that is awesome. We were listening to the Bible Project Podcast yesterday, and the teacher was talking about John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, and all sorts of other gospel characters misunderstanding why John and Jesus had come. They thought it was time for redemption from Rome, not from their sin. None of us have much clue what is going on in real time. But you, O Lord, and your eternal word stand firm in heaven.
  • 90 Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. – As I said earlier, your love for us is remarkable. Not only mercy. Not only grace. But then when we are bad to you, you are still faithful to us. Amazing. Humbling. Awesome.
  • 91 Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans. – There are some days when I simply cannot see how everything serves your plans. Again, I have no more perspective than Zechariah or Peter had in their time. Probably much less. Okay, definitely much less. So it can be hard for me to see everything serving your plans, but I can at least appreciate how you can take everything and redeem it for your glory. As for what your plan is for the world or in all of this, I simply have no idea.
  • 92 If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery. – Death even in living. I’ve seen some who are like that. Help me to be a source of your life to those around me.
  • 93 I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life. – My life comes through you. These prayer times aren’t my only touchpoint with following you, but they are an important part of it. And I didn’t particularly want to do this prayer journal this morning. But I know it’s part of my foundation that I need to 1.) connect to you and 2.) learn from you. Your commandments give me life.
  • 94 I am yours; rescue me! For I have worked hard at obeying your commandments. – I am going to reject the second half of this verse. I have no justification for you to rescue me or love me except that you chose to offer it to me through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling after Jesus’s ascension. But I will gladly label myself as yours. Rescue me, Father.
  • 95 Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me, I will quietly keep my mind on your laws. – One of the things Satan would love is for me to get distracted from you by the hate or selfishness in my heart. I talked with a friend recently who had a lapse in his addiction. I told him that the times I find myself being most tempted by sin are the times when I am feeling sorry for myself. My selfishness. My rights. That includes the right to defend myself to others. But I reject that and pledge to keep my mind on you and your laws.
  • 96 Even perfection has its limits, but your commands have no limit. – What an interesting verse. Your limits are beyond my limits. I am limited. You are limitless. So I humbly bring myself to you and ask for your mercy.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 1, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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Psalm 119:57-64 (Heth)

28 Jul

Heth

57 Lord, you are mine!
    I promise to obey your words!
58 With all my heart I want your blessings.
    Be merciful as you promised.
59 I pondered the direction of my life,
    and I turned to follow your laws.
60 I will hurry, without delay,
    to obey your commands.
61 Evil people try to drag me into sin,
    but I am firmly anchored to your instructions.
62 I rise at midnight to thank you
    for your just regulations.
63 I am a friend to anyone who fears you—
    anyone who obeys your commandments.
64 O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth;
    teach me your decrees.

Psalm 119:57-64

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning, my first thought was of Samuel and Saul and Samuel telling Saul that obeying you is better than sacrificing to you. Now, in that case, I think Samuel was really making a point because he knew that a sacrifice was in order, but it wasn’t the time for the sacrifice. No, obedience would have been better for Saul.

So when I read this passage this morning, I thought of obeying and how important it is. Your mercy is, unfortunately, necessary because there are too many times I do not obey, but that doesn’t mean I should strive for obedience. And it’s even for my good.

My wife and I were talking over breakfast about how neither of us when through a “party phase” in high school or college. Part of mine was because my dad was a recovering alcoholic and I thought it was best not to drink, but I also didn’t want to break the rules. That was part of my survival mechanism in high school. And, frankly, it didn’t really appeal to me. But I can say that obeying those rules and not getting drunk with my friends was advantageous. I don’t think any of us look back on the great time we had in high school hanging out together without alcohol with any regrets. I’m grateful for it.

With all of that said, let’s make our way through “Heth” and see what’s what.

  • 57 Lord, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! – What a wonderful expression of love. “You are mine!” Oh, thank you that you are mine. My wife and I have this joke from the movie Groundhog Day when one character won a date with another character at a charity auction and when they are still together the next day, the person who was auctioned off asks the bidder why they are still there. She replies, “I bought you. I own you.” This is said lovingly as a joke. It’s very sweet. My wife and I use that line on each other often. Well, you really did buy me, and I have sold myself gladly over to you. And now I am yours and you are mine.
  • 58 With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. – The definition of blessings is interesting. I think it’s important to realize that the blessings I want are not material. The blessing I want is your love, your grace and mercy, and your use of me and my little life in any way you see fit.
  • 59 I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. – I really like this verse. This might be my favorite line of this whole psalm so far. It will preach. I like the idea of deeply considering and evaluating my life and then embracing you and your laws. Yes! I’m in. I made that decision a long time ago, but the zeal and fervor of it ebbs and flows here and there. I pray for more flow than ebb.
  • 60 I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. – Yes. Without delay. Not, “I’ll start tomorrow.” Now!
  • 61 Evil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to your instructions. – I’m trying to think of the sin that tempts me the most. Probably self-pity. Thinking I have rights to things that I don’t really have and then deciding I need to fight for those rights. I think of Saul feeling sorry for himself instead of embracing whatever your plan is. Help me to stay anchored to you and everything you continue to teach me.
  • 62 I rise at midnight to thank you for your just regulations. – My first thought here was, “Well, let’s not go crazy here.” I like being asleep at midnight. But I do need to just thank you more often. I was reminded of that in a sermon I listened to yesterday. I need to be more intentional about thanking you.
  • 63 I am a friend to anyone who fears you—anyone who obeys your commandments. – I’ve found myself being more skeptical of self-professed Christians lately. But when I find someone I believe genuinely worships you and submits themselves to your instruction and correction then I am all in with them.
  • 64 O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees. – With that said, I still have a lot to learn about submitting myself to you and your correction and instruction. Teach me today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 28, 2025 in Psalm 119, Psalms

 

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