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John 15:1-17

14 Jul

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

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

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

John 15:1-17

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

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

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

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 14, 2026 in John

 

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Philippians 2:1-11

13 Jul

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

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

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

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

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

Philippians 2:1-11

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

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

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

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 13, 2026 in Philippians

 

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Isaiah 55:10-11

12 Jul


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

Isaiah 55:10-11

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

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

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

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

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 12, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Jeremiah 32

11 Jul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremiah 32

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

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

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

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2026 in Jeremiah

 

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Philippians 1:3-6

10 Jul

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:3-6

Dear God, I wish I was better about praying for others. I think about other people all of the time. Can we count that as praying for them? Probably not. I was thinking about this young man I’m mentoring yesterday. I need to write him a letter today. I know he’s been at camp this week. I also know his mother was arrested for at least the fourth time in less than a year recently. His poor (figuratively and literally) grandmother is trying to raise him and his sister. Such instability. He needs you more than he needs me, but I am one of the instruments you’ve put in his life. I should pray for him more. Maybe I should do more materially as well.

I’m having lunch with a man today who is either currently going through a divorce or is recently divorced. I’ll learn more in a few hours. But I haven’t prayed for him like I should. I guess this is a recurring theme for me. I just don’t do intercessory prayer as a priority. My wife is great at it. She will pray for others all of the time. Is this a spiritual gift I don’t have or an imperative that I am lacking?

Father, you know the people who are in my mind this morning. Of course, my wife and children and their significant others (and their children). All of the students and teachers in Christian Men’s Life Skills. My coworkers and volunteers. My siblings and their significant others and their children. My close male friends and their families. My parents. Then there are the political leaders in my community, the state, the country, and the world. There is your church and the Christians in the world who are suffering. The suffering of those at home. Perhaps the reason I’m not better at this is that once I start on this path of praying for others, the path is endless. The road is narrow and hard, but it brings life. Help me to walk this road more narrowly and better.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2026 in Philippians

 

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Hosea 10:1-12

08 Jul

10 How prosperous Israel is—
    a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit.
But the richer the people get,
    the more pagan altars they build.
The more bountiful their harvests,
    the more beautiful their sacred pillars.
2 The hearts of the people are fickle;
    they are guilty and must be punished.
The Lord will break down their altars
    and smash their sacred pillars.
3 Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we didn’t fear the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us anyway?”
4 They spout empty words
    and make covenants they don’t intend to keep.
So injustice springs up among them
    like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field.

5 The people of Samaria tremble in fear
    for their calf idol at Beth-aven,
    and they mourn for it.
Though its priests rejoice over it,
    its glory will be stripped away.
6 This idol will be carted away to Assyria,
    a gift to the great king there.
Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed,
    because its people have trusted in this idol.
7 Samaria and its king will be cut off;
    they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave.
8 And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble.
    Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars.
They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!”
    and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”

9 The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah,
    there has been only sin and more sin!
You have made no progress whatsoever.
    Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked?
10 Now whenever it fits my plan,
    I will attack you, too.
I will call out the armies of the nations
    to punish you for your multiplied sins.

11 “Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain—
    an easy job she loves.
    But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plow
    and Israel to break up the hard ground.
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’

Hosea 10:1-12

Dear God, it is easy to take this passage from Hosea and think of it on a national level. Whether it’s our own country. Whether it’s the modern Israel. How have we let our impressive possessions and accomplishments tear our hearts away from you? That’s the easy thing for me to consider. How have all the people I share this country with done this awful thing?

But here’s the harder question: How have I done it? At the place I work, we are expanding our facility. You were gracious and led us to donors who helped us raise all the money. We have donations to help us run our operations. You have even brought us providers, although the search continues for a couple of people we need to help us. On a personal level, my wife and I are not wealthy (by American standards), but we are solidly middle-class. I can get sloppy in my prayer to you, humility before you, worship of you, and gratitude towards you. My eyes see so little. What they see is success. The see affirmation for me by this world. What I’m doing is working. That’s what they see. But I think the Holy Spirit is telling me this morning that if I find myself with resources it’s so that I can offer them to you to do what you want done. At work, we have a responsibility to make sure we are doing everything we can do. Personally, my wife and I need to be offering you the same. You’ve given us a lot of resources. How can we keep the soil of our hearts plowed and weeded before you so that you can plant seeds that will find good soil and produce great fruit for your glory?

Father, I’m sorry I take so much for granted. I’m an ignorant fool. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m grateful to you. I’m grateful to be called your child. I have such a small role to play in this world, but if just one thing I do, word I speak, or dollar I spend can be exactly what you need it to be then I will rejoice that you want me and that you made my life count.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 8, 2026 in Hosea

 

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The Gospel

06 Jul

Dear God, this evening, I will be presenting the Gospel to a group of men. Help me. I want you to speak through me. I want you to draw them to yourself through me. I don’t want to scare them. I don’t want to threaten them. I want to invite them. I want to show them who you really are and what you mean to me. Why I’m here nearly every morning praying to you. Why I pray to you througout the day. Why I listen to Christian teaching. Why I read Christian things. Why I have Christian friends. I’m not here because I’m afraid of hell. I’m here because I love you. I’m here because I worship you. I’m here because I need this relationship with you today. You make me better. You grow your fruit in me. That’s what I want to offer these men tonight.

I still love this one interview that Andy Stanley did with John Dickson on how Christians have poorly played the music of a faith you authored for us through Jesus 2,000 years ago. What makes us misunderstand what Jesus taught us? I think it’s grasping for idols. Power to mask our uncertainty. If we think it will be more beneficial in the short-term then we will go for it.

The one I think about is the Crusades. What were they trying to prove? Where did they find that in Jesus’s teaching?

Father, maybe I’m wrong about all of this, but I go back to another thing that Mr. Dickson said in this interview. At least I think it was Mr. Dickson in this interview. Anyway, someone told Andy one time that you gave us four tools to use to impact our world: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. Help me to embrace those tools and those tools only today, tonight, and tomorrow as I tell the world–and these 24 men tonight–about the narrow path and your love.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 6, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Isaiah 12:4

05 Jul

4 In that wonderful day you will sing:
    “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
    Let them know how mighty he is!

Isaiah 12:4

Dear God, when I first read this verse this morning (the verse of the day from Bible Gateway) my thought was, “What day?” What’s Isaiah referring to. Is it some day when Israel is returned to glory? I’ll admit I was a little cynical about “that wonderful day” Isaiah talks about.

Then I backed up to chapter 11 to see what the day was that Isaiah was describing, and I found that he was describing a day that I materially benefit from. The day of Jesus (Isaiah 11:1-5):

11 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—
    yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
    He will not judge by appearance
    nor make a decision based on hearsay.
4 He will give justice to the poor
    and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
    and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.
5 He will wear righteousness like a belt
    and truth like an undergarment.

May I just say now, “Thank the Lord! Praise His Name! I will tell the nations how might you are and the things you have done. Let all the earth praise your name!”

The stump that was taken to the ground still had life, and it gave us a shoot. It gave more than Israel a shoot. It gave one to the whole world. It gave one to me.

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection was quite remarkable. He taught us so much. He showed us so much. The history the men of the time recorded for us to have, even to this day, is really beyond belief. He was so special that even those who cannot bring themselves to believe in the resurrection want to follow his teaching and example.

Father, I don’t want to lose my awe and wonder about who Jesus is (he is part of who you are–God, man, alive today) and just how much I’ve been forgiven of. I’m presenting a Gospel message to the men in Christian Men’s Life Skills tomorrow night, but I’m also very distracted by the other lesson I’m supposed to teach afterwards. Wow. You just gave me an idea as I typed those words. Thank you. I think that will help. Tomorrow night, I’m supposed to teach a Bible study explaining the Gospel and inviting those in the room who are not already following you to follow you. Then I’m supposed to teach about applying for jobs. The idea you gave me just now is to switch the order so that we talk about the applications first and then we do the Bible study so they will be able to marinate in the Bible lesson and the seeds of it won’t be taken away by the birds like the seed that fell on the path. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 5, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Matthew 20:1-16

03 Jul

20 “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.

3 “At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. 4 So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. 5 So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.

6 “At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’

7 “They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’

“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’

8 “That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. 9 When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. 10 When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. 11 When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, 12 ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’

13 “He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? 14 Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. 15 Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’

16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Matthew 20:1-16

Dear God, it’s interesting that the theme of my series teaching Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, and David to the Christian Men’s Life Skills class over the last eight weeks has been the danger of self-pity. I’ve tried to teach them that we are all at our worst when we are claiming our rights and feeling sorry for ourselves. I’ve been that way often (I’m still sometimes that way) when I get upset about how different people treat me. “How dare they?!?” “I deserve better!” But do I? Do I have a right to the rights I’m claiming, or am I allowing my self-perceived rights to distract me from loving and worshipping you and caring about and loving them? If I start to make an idol out of my rights with my self-pity then that’s the top of the slippery slope into selfishness.

I thought of this story this morning because I am supposed to be teaching the guys about work ethic over the last two weeks of the class. This next week will be mostly about applying for a job, interviewing, explaining their legal past, etc. But at some point we are going to be talking about working as unto you. So I’ll explore these passages a little bit. For me, while this story is mainly about those coming into your Kingdom at the end of their lives getting the same reward as those that come to you early in their life, it is also about this idea of dying to yourself. The other one that comes to mind is Colossians 3:23 which talks about working as unto you. Again, am I in it for me or for my love and worship of you?

Father, as I enter this day, help me to work as unto you. Help me to love as unto you. Help me to die to myself. Help me to sacrifice my selfishness and rights to the cross and take up your cross and follow you. Jesus didn’t show us his own rights while he was here. He showed us selflessness. Help me to live that way today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 3, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Amos 7:10-17

02 Jul

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. 11 He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”

12 Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! 13 Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”

14 But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ 16 Now then, listen to this message from the Lord:

“You say,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
    Stop preaching against my people.’
17 But this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
    and your sons and daughters will be killed.
Your land will be divided up,
    and you yourself will die in a foreign land.
And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile,
    far from their homeland.’”

Amos 7:10-17

Dear God, how do I make sure I’m more Amos and not Amaziah? What was Amaziah’s path for discerning your voice? Or did he even have one. We know Amos was a legitimate prophet and Amaziah wasn’t. But we have the benefit of hindsight. How do we figure out if we are right or wrong in the moment?

I think about this thing the Southern Baptist Convention is considering this year regarding women as pastors. They’ve adopted an amendment that can be ratified at their annual convention in 2027 that will prohibit women from serving in a lot of areas. There are people on both sides of this debate, and both have compelling arguments. Personally, I don’t have to make an argument on this one way or another. I have my opinions, but I have the luxury of keeping my opinions on this to myself. Another one is the LGTBQ+ issue in the church. Many opinions on many sides. What to do?

What I appreciate is sensitivity to you in prayer, and I admire that my wife really has it. I have it sometimes, but not at the rich depths she does. She felt compelled to pray for my coworkers this morning, and then when she got home from her walk I told her about a situation that has come up with one of my employees overnight. That’s when you revealed to her why you had compelled her to pray. She would make a good Amos. Not that she prophesies, but she makes room to hear you.

Father, help me to make some room to hear you. I normally listen to things–podcasts, YouTube videos, music. I rarely allow for silence. That’s probably a mistake. It’s most assuredly a mistake. So help me to be comfortable in silence, to hear your voice in the stillness, and to know how to discern between your leadings and the corrupt desires of my own heart. I want to hear you. I want to know you deeply. I need to allow for more silence if I’m to accomplish that. And I do pray for my employee and also for the mother of a young man who died yesterday. My employee has a difficult path. Give them your peace. Help them to shed any pretense and simply be at peace in you and then share that peace with others. For the mother, please find her and comfort her. Guide her. Love her. Raise up people around her who will strongly support her. She mourns. Let her be comforted.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 2, 2026 in Amos

 

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