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Colossians 3:16-17

25 Nov

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:16-17

Dear God, I’ve been reading a biography on Fred Rogers (a.k.a. Mr. Rogers), and the portrait it paints is quite lovely. What a unique man! I mean, really, you just don’t find people like him–even among the most devoted of Christians. I’ve maybe known one personally. His name was Henry Parrish. He was a simple tennis coach from Corpus Christi who exuded your gentleness, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control. Exuded it. That was Fred Rogers too. My Henry probably talked more about his faith publicly than did Mr. Rogers, but Mr. Rogers was also in a much more secular environment than Henry was. I would venture that Henry was maybe more circumspect about his faith when he was teaching in the public school. But you just couldn’t stop your presence from shining through him.

I wonder what the barrier is between the level of faith they reached and where I am. Is it as simple as personality? Were their personalities more suited for that kind of display of your Spirit present in their lives than mine is? Or did they have something deeper with you that I am missing?

I have some challenges in my life. How would they have dealt with them differently than I’m dealing with them? How did Mr. Rogers handle friction among co-workers on the set of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood? I know it had to happen. Did he have a producer who handled things like that, or did he get in there directly and address it? Did he exude so much patience that it just fed the whole place? I’ve heard the phrase, “What would Jesus do?” I can’t even figure out “What would Mr. Rogers do?” I think the answers are very similar.

I guess I can try to think back on times when the disciples got crossways with each other, usually involved around egos and grasping for power. In those times, he would warn them about seeking power. Other times, he seemingly did nothing. You get the feeling reading about Judas and the way the gospels describe him that no one really liked him. They knew he was stealing (John 12:6). Jesus knew Judas was stealing. And yet Jesus seemingly didn’t address it at all. And it festered. Do things sometimes need to fester?

Father, as I go through this day, I want to exude you. I want to exude your fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I want to not use power over anyone, but simply pray, serve, persuade, and sacrifice for those around me. I want the joy I’ve found in you to be their joy too. I want them to experience the act of receiving your forgiveness and then granting it to others. I want them to deal with the log in their own eye before they feel the need to address the speck in their brother’s eye. But all of that starts with me. I have to absolutely be your presence in all of this. Live through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 25, 2025 in Colossians, Uncategorized

 

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Luke 21:1-4

24 Nov

21 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

Luke 21:1-4

Dear God, you know that I’ve talked about this passage a lot in the past. Both privately and publicly through sermons and Sunday school lessons, I’ve used this woman as an example of someone who faithfully worshipped you through her selfless sacrifice and was seemingly never materially rewarded for it this side of death. But her reward was surely to be with you for eternity and to be namelessly remembered through the rest of history.

If I’m honest, I can look at my life and see that I still have some pretty good guardrails around how much of my personal comfort I sacrifice for the sake of others. Do I give? Yes. Do I try to give generously? Yes. Do I volunteer time to serve others? Yes. But there are limits. I give in a planned way. Even the spontaneous giving for tragedies like the floods that impacted our area this last summer was done within the parameters of what my wife and I had set aside for such an emergency. I made sure all of my own needs and even my wants were covered first. I wasn’t giving my mortgage money or my food money.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too hard on myself. Maybe it’s okay to plan just so long as I am remembering that giving is part of the equation. And my wife and I certainly do give. And we volunteer. So we aren’t lost causes in this area. I suppose it’s just that this widow’s story is a challenge to me that, when I think I’ve given enough and I can stop now, I need to challenge that idea. When I start to get prideful in my nobility, I am humbled by the mere knowledge of her existence in the past and how Jesus loved and appreciated her.

Father, I’m just a nobody, but that’s okay. I’m just a guy that might never get noticed by anyone else, but you notice. Okay. That’s not true. A lot of people in our small town notice me and the work that I do. And sometimes I get prideful in that. I guess what I want to do in your sight is the stuff that no one else sees. I want to work, live, love, volunteer, and give as unto you and not as unto them. I want to worship you in my words, thoughts, and deeds. I want to not miss the opportunities to love that I know I miss every day. I want to give my utmost for your highest. Holy Spirit, help me to be that man today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 20:27-40

22 Nov

27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. 29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 30 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. 31 Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”

34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.

37 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:27-40

Dear God, a couple of things stood out to me in this passage.

  1. What an interesting custom/law they had for being responsible to marry your brothers widow if she had not sons. I mean, that what ultimately happened with Ruth and Boaz after her husband’s death, and that turned out to give us David and then Jesus, so it was a valuable custom. But it’s still interesting. At present, I have one son and it looks like he is not going to have children and carry on my name through having children. My last name will stop with my dad and me on my branch. I guess that makes me kind of sad, but is it important? I don’t know. I think one of the important aspects back then was that women had so few options in supporting themselves and owning property. They needed a male husband or son to have agency. It seems messed up, and as I’ve said before, I heard someone describe some of the weird-looking decisions you made in the Old Testament as you constantly having to triage and accommodate bad decisions from you people. After the garden, it was all just making the best of a bad situation. That’s what this sounds like to me.
  2. Right here, Jesus gives us one of the clearest pictures of the afterlife and what happens after death. Are all souls immortal? Is it possible for a soul to die? I’m no theologian, and I know this is a very debatable point. In fact, I heard a Christian who is older than me, wiser than me, and much more spiritually mature and knowledgeable than me say on a podcast this week that “all souls are immortal.” I think she’s wrong about that, but I don’t know. Is there a sorting one day? Yes, Jesus is very clear about that. Will there be pain and suffering by some? Yes, Jesus is clear on that. Will that suffering be for eternity? That is much less clear. Who will make the cut on heaven vs. hell? That’s pretty unclear too. In fact, Jesus went out of his way to say a lot of people will be surprised where the cut line is (Matthew 25:31-46) But in this case, Jesus makes it seem as if there will be some worthy of being raised from the dead and some who won’t be. He also says the post-death lives of the worthy will be unlike anything we experience here. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again.
  3. The entirety of verse 36 is interesting: 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection. I’ve talked with my wife about the ideas of calling angels “Saints.” For example, “St. Michael the Archangel.” The designation of calling an angel a “Saint” seems like a demotion to me. Jesus says that John the Baptist was as great a human as there has been, but he will be less than the least in heaven (Matthew 11:11). So let’s leave angels in their proper places as much greater than us and much greater than “Saints.” And that will always be, into eternity. We will not be great in heaven. I will never be great in heaven. And that’s okay because none of it is about me.
  4. It’s a little vague who complimented Jesus at the end. Was it some of the Sadducees who were impressed with the answer or Pharisees who appreciated Jesus putting the Sadducees in their place? Not sure, but I think we are all good with Jesus when he supports our biases and frustrated when he doesn’t. If it’s the Sadducees complimenting him then I’m at least impressed with their ability to appreciate a good argument. If it’s the Pharisees then they are just behaving like I would expect them to behave.

Father, I think my big take-away from this passage is that I am so small. I am just so small. And I always will be. And that’s okay. I don’t need to be big or great on this side of heaven or the next. My life is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task you have given me: The task of sharing your gospel. Let it be so.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 22, 2025 in Luke, Matthew

 

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What Gives Me Hope?

21 Nov

Dear God, a couple of years ago, Pope Francis was on 60 Minutes, and they asked him, “When you look at the world, what gives you hope?” His answer was somewhat controversial, and I don’t want to pick it apart here. But it made me wonder what my answer would be if someone asked me the same thing. I’m more and more convinced that my answer revolves around the reality of you, Father. You are there. And there’s this hole in us that can only be filled by you. A lot of us will search for things to fill that hole, but those idols will never ultimately do the job. What gives me hope is that there will always be a remnant pointing others back to you, and relationship with you is what life is all about.

I’m thinking of this because I saw a video on YouTube a couple of days ago.

I’ve been watching these two young men “react” to music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s for a few years now. I enjoy them, and they seems to be fine people. But just a couple of days ago the video above released. One of them got baptized. Of course, I watched it immediately. He has quite a story of desperation followed by seeking a path forward and then finding you. He talks about young young men and women you put in his life in Florida who pointed him to you. What gives me hope? You are real, your remnant is here to worship you and love our neighbors, and then we can point others to you. I don’t have to know what any of these people’s politics or morals are. I don’t have to know where they stand on LGBTQ+, abortion, or red/blue politics. I can just rejoice with this young man and his friends/family. He’ll work out his faith with you just as I have over the last 46 years and continue to do. He will have opinions now that you will change over time, just like you continue to do with me. You will teach him. He will grow. And he will worship you and then become part of the remnant that points others to you.

Father, help me to carry that hope into my day. I didn’t sleep well last night. Maybe I was still bothered by something that happened at work yesterday. Maybe I was overwhelmed by what’s on my plate going forward. But all I can do today is what I can do. So help me to simply worship you, love others, and be hopeful that you are real and you will be there when we are desperate and seeking a path forward.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 21, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Luke 19:41-42

20 Nov

41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.

Luke 19:41-42

Dear God, I’ve taken these two verses out of context because I want to sit with this this morning, but they are part of the Triumphal Entry story:

28 After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. 29 As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. 30 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. 37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
    Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. 46 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

47 After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. 48 But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

Jesus longed that the people understood the way to peace. So what is the way to peace? Reading The Communicator’s Commentary: Luke by Bruce Larson, I saw that “the donkey was a symbol of peace in those days. Horses were symbols of military might. Conquering generals came on horses. An ambassador coming on a peaceful mission rode on a donkey. Jesus was an ambassador of peace from the Ultimate Kingdom.”

I found myself wondering an impossible question to answer when I read this passage this morning: What if they had understood and gotten it right that day? What if the Pharisees embraced him and asked what they must do to repent? What if the people ignored Roman rule, the Israelites embraced Jesus as your son/the Messiah, and then took reconciliation with you to the Gentiles? What if everyone cheering and jeering Jesus that day embraced who he was and then started worshipping you with every thing they have and loved their neighbors as themselves? What if?

Of course, it didn’t happen that way. But is there a lesson for your faithful remnant now? As I see Christians striving for political power and influence, I can’t help but wonder if they aren’t making the same mistake the crowds made that day. In my opinion, they are. They do not “understand the way to peace.” Are they embracing reconciliation with you through Jesus? Sure. Are they taking that to the world and ungodly? They probably think so. But I think they see the more expedient path of doing it through power and control, and not the slow, deliberate path of loving one person at a time.

Father, I am reminded of the thing I heard once from John Dickson, that Jesus used (and gave to us to use) four tools, and four tools only, to impact the world around us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. I don’t pray enough for people. I could probably serve more. My persuasion abilities on the ungodly are weak. And, well, let’s face it, I don’t suffer much. Show me what that means. Show me what it means to worship you through the deliberate acts of worshipping you, but also through the acts of Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 19:11-27

19 Nov

11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

17 “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

19 “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

22 “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

25 “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

Luke 19:11-27

Dear God, I learned just a few years ago that Jesus is actually comparing his own kingdom (your kingdom) to the new young King Herod. The local crowd would have known how young King Herod went to Rome to request his father’s throne after he died and how locals went to implore Rome to not give it to him. And how he killed the locals who spoke out against him when he got back. So it was an interesting move for Jesus to say, “Yeah, I’m not too dissimilar than Herod.” It’s weird for me to even type those words.

It makes me think of the line I happen to vaguely remember from The Chronicles of Narnia describing Aslan when Lucy asks if he’s safe: “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.” Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Mr. Tumnus also says, “He’s wild, you know. Not a tame lion.” (Copied from Sally Clarkson’s blog) Jesus will not fit into the box I want him to fit into, and that’s a good thing. There is nothing in life that is safe. It’s not meant to be. And Jesus can’t be just a pushover God who gives everything and demands nothing. That doesn’t work. That’s the kind of God I’d love to have. But it makes no sense to have a God like that. It makes no sense for you to be that way. I’m impressed that Jesus made it clear through this parable that kings have a natural responsibility to demand things. They can be good and still not be safe.

Father, help me to completely embrace the idea of the hard things you call me to. You have called me to be accountable and a steward over resources in my personal and professional lives. Help me to do that well. I don’t know to what extent I should be good but not safe. I’m not a king, but I am in a position of leadership. And I tend to steer into safe–perhaps too much. Help me to find that line. This is a challenging word for me this morning. It’s probably something I need to stew on the rest of the day. Am I being the steward you need me to be over the resources you’ve given me, and am I too preoccupied with being safe for those who work under me? Explicitly guide me in this for your glory’s sake and for the sake of your kingdom coming and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 19:1-10

18 Nov

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

Dear God, I had some thoughts as I read this passage this morning.

First, they have a newly-healed blind man in tow. He is part of the entourage as Jesus entered Jericho. Did he go to Zacchaeus’s house too?

Second, putting this in political terms, there were red (or blue) people following Jesus into Jericho and then they saw him express interest in a blue (or red) person. How dare he? Doesn’t Jesus know that guy’s awful? He steals and cheats!

Third, Jesus was about the repentance of each heart. In this case, his mere presence convicted Zacchaeus about his wrongdoing. And Jesus blessed his repentance: “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If I am to be Christlike, there are certain things I must do. First, I must search my own heart and repent. For my selfishness. For my judgment of others. Second, I need to love others regardless of who they are or what they do. And third, I need to offer your salvation to those around me. Jesus’s reconciliation between us and you, Father.

Father, it’s a big day for my place of work today. I pray that I might be more about loving others than worrying about my own needs. I trust you will take care of me and the needs I have. My prayer is that I (and the place I work) will be a blessing to everyone who comes into contact with us, whether they be a client, volunteer, employee, vendor, donor, or even a potential employee. Help my heart to be focused on you and focused on others. Then I’ll just trust you to do what needs done.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 18:35-43

17 Nov

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene[f] was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Luke 18:35-43

Dear God, I’ve read this story many times over the years (decades), but for some reason I am honing in on the man’s cry, “Have mercy (pity) on me.” I was in that mode a couple of weeks ago. I really needed some intervention and healing. Not even necessarily my own healing, but in people I know. I was desperate. I was getting other people involved. I was getting others to pray. I was praying. I even fasted for a period of time. I was desperate. And yet, my desperation was probably nothing like that of this many who was living a marginalized life 2,000 years ago in a society that probably didn’t do much to accommodate him and help him live an actualized life, but probably either blamed him or his parents for his condition (John 9:2 – 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”) Was the mercy he cried for just healing, or was he looking for forgiveness of his sins too? Did he blame himself or his own parents for his condition?

Oh, that’s an interesting thought. Had this man’s blindness come between him and his parents? Was he born blind? I would think that, for their society, if someone was born blind then you couldn’t blame the baby for the sin so the blame would naturally fall on the parents. Did he blame his parents too?

Father, once again, mercy comes in and cuts out all the knots in the fishing lines of our lives. I need your mercy. I need the mercy of others in my life. There are people who hold things against me. I need mercy from them. And I need to give mercy. Help me to know what to ask when you or someone else stops and asks me, “What do you want me to do for you?” I want you to heal me. Heal me from my self-inflicted wounds and the wounds done to me by others. Heal me. Love me. And pass all of that through me so that you might give others love and mercy through my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2025 in Luke

 

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John 7:1-5 (And James’s Epistle)

16 Nov

7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

John 7:1-5

Dear God, what would it have been like to be Jesus’s little brother? Let’s say Jesus was perfect (which he was). On paper, one would think that Jesus would have been a great big brother. Always kind. Always helpful. Not teasing them or being mean. But I think anyone who things about it and has experience as a sibling knows that it would be annoying to have such a great brother that is above reproach in every way. It can be hard to come face to face with our own sin when we are in such proximity to perfection.

Then there is James after the resurrection. He came around. Was he the only one? Was this a relief to Mary. But I can’t help but notice that James is the only one who seemingly digs in on “works” when it comes to his message. In fact, I want to look at an outline of James’s letter and consider it while informed by the idea of James’s journey from Jesus tormenter to Jesus worshipper.

  • Trials & Temptations (Testing of Faith and Source of Temptation):
    • Consider it joy to be persecuted for Jesus. He was seeing a lot of persecution. And this was certainly Paul’s message as well. It was towards the beginning of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
    • Regarding temptation, don’t think it’s you who is tempting me. Did James blame Jesus when he was younger and couldn’t live up to the example Jesus set?
  • Listening & Doing:
    • Quick to listen and slow to speak and be angry. Were these things James struggled with before the crucifixion and resurrection? Did he wish he had listened to Jesus more. Did he regret his anger and judgment of Jesus?
    • And be real. Do. Do what you tell us to do. What Jesus explicitly said to do. How much anger and rebellion did James carry around in his heart before the resurrection? I’ll bet he had a lot of self-righteous attitude as a result of being Jesus’s little brother.
  • No Favoritism:
    • Did his parents show favoritism? More likely, this is probably something he saw in Jesus. Jesus broke all the molds of traditional favoritism. Whether he liked it or not, he absorbed those lessons from Jesus even though he probably rebelled against them and resented them before the resurrection.
  • Faith & Works:
    • I wonder if he was thinking of himself pre-resurrection. Did he claim faith in you and then realize later that his faith was empty because he was also consumed with contempt for Jesus? Did he realize that the works are part of developing us. Before this section, in 2:8, he says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” It’s possible he grew up trying to justify himself through his own practice of worship and theology and rejected the idea of serving because he saw Jesus serving. But then he realized that it’s the serving that gets us out of ourselves and brings us into a more complete version of you who designed us to be. My works aren’t for others to experience or see. They are for me.
  • Taming the Tongue:
    • How much had he struggled to tame his own tongue in the early years of his life? Even in this story from John 7 above, was is James who was goading Jesus? And how much did James ridicule Jesus to his parents, siblings, and others? Yeah, I’ll bet this admonition from James came from his own battle in this area.
  • Two Kinds of Wisdom:
    • I get the feeling James was talking about his younger self when he said, “But if you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heave but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and ever evil practice.” Yeah, I think James is going through some self-reflection and speaking from a position of experience and overcoming here.
  • Submit Yourselves to God:
    • More self-reflection from James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” How many quarrels did James try to start with Jesus? How much of his own selfishness did he have to come to terms with and repent of? How convicted was he of his wrong motives.
  • Warning to Rich Oppressors and Patience in Suffering:
    • This is probably some stuff he learned from Jesus that stuck. And while I’m on suffering, this reminds me of something I heard a couple of years ago that I thought of again just yesterday. Jesus gave used for himself and gave us four tools, and four tools only, to impact the world around us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. I think this idea is consistent with the contents of what James is teaching here.
  • Prayer of Faith:
    • James saw Jesus’s power, and he came to believe that it was available to us to through repentance, prayer, and service.

Father, I’ve come to appreciate James in a whole new way today. I’ve thought about the author who wrote these things and put them in the context of his life experience. How have I never done that before. I wonder if I should do that with some of the other epistles from the New Testament. Peter. John. Paul. Jude. How did their live experiences, both good and bad, affect their ministry? I think I might have found my next series. Be with me and teach me through all of this.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2025 in James, John

 

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Luke 17:20-37

14 Nov

20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

Luke 17:20-37

Dear God, Luke had choices about which of the Jesus stories to share. I wonder why he chose this one. Was it simply because Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection as part of it? I always find “last day(s)” and “Jesus’s second coming” stories interesting because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them. All I know to do is to be faithful.

I just had a thought. What would it be like if there were no mentions of Jesus coming again, a new earth, or even us going to meet Jesus in the clouds when he returns? If the New Testament was totally vacant of all of these stories, would there be any real accountability before you. Does just the knowledge that the master will return, we will meet face-to-face in some fashion, and we will be judged tether us to your reality in a way we wouldn’t be otherwise? I don’t enjoy thinking about this, but does the fact that basic knowledge of it is a piece of my foundation give my faith a strength I wouldn’t have if it were gone?

Father, I get to be faithful to you today. It’s a “get to” and not a “have to.” I get to worship you. I get to love others. I get to work. Help me, Lord, today. Help me to love the people who will come into my path. Help me to work as unto you. Help me to keep myself pure. Holy Spirit, guide me, comfort me, teach me, love through me, and show me how to have extreme mercy for wrongs done to me because you have given me so much mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2025 in Luke

 

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