My Thoughts and Reflections

“A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”  - Proverbs 22:9 (NIV1984) As we near the season of Advent, we have already heard the calls of selfishness and greed to indulge in Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday sales in an annual attempt to get that great deal or save a few dollars here and there. We will also begin to hear the opposite call from many churches and non-profit organizations. We will hear the call for generosity and an attitude of giving to those who are living much more difficult lives than ourselves. In this proverb, we are told that a person is blessed for their generosity. I believe that we can all testify to the notion that our economic woes, the number of people living in poverty and on food stamps, and the general attitude of selfishness that pervades our culture are directly related to a lack of generosity and the prevalence of greed. Today, on the Family Life Network radio station , they ran their daily cont...

  “I thank my God always for you, because of God’s grace that was given to you in Christ Jesus.  That is, you were made rich through him in everything: in all your communication and every kind of knowledge.”  - 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 (CEB) What are you thankful to God for?  What is it that causes you to be thankful today?  We are in that season of Thanksgiving again and we get to share with each other what we are thankful for!  Paul’s source of joy was his faith in Jesus Christ.  He believed that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection paid the penalty for his sins and that he was promised eternal life with Christ.  In this passage, he explains to the Corinthians that he is thankful for them as well.  Why?  Because they too have experienced the same thing that Paul experienced; an enrichment through Christ in everything! Have you experienced this enrichment in everything through Christ?  Has your life been changed because of your...

“For the word of the L ORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.  The L ORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”  - Psalm 33:4-5 (NIV) Have you noticed how it seems that our world is full of people that can never seem to tell it to you straight?  We live in a world full of liars, cheaters, two-faced people, injustice, and evil.  Does anyone tell the truth anymore?  Does anyone care about the lack of justice around the world?  Who can you rely on anymore in this messed up world?   The writer of this psalm tells us that, “the word of the L ORD is right and true.”  How refreshing it is to know that we still have one who is full of the truth and who speaks what is right!  God’s words never fail and he speaks only the truth.  We never have to worry about whether or not God’s word is reliable because we know that he only speaks the truth. The psalmist continues and tells us that God is ...

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”  – Joshua 24:15 (NIV) All throughout the Old Testament, God’s people, Israel, struggled with their commitment to the LORD their God.  They wavered back and forth between different foreign deities, bowing down to idols made of wood, stone, gold, and silver.  They worshiped the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments and the Law of God.  They also served it in Bethel and Dan after they split into two different countries! Today, we live in a world that is more full of different gods than in any other age of human history!  Not only do we serve different gods with proper names such as Buddha, Allah, Shiva, Brahma,  and V...

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the L ORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  - Micah 6:8 (NIV) As Christians, we often tout the Bible as God’s handbook on life, but all too often find ourselves at a loss as to where the sections that show us how to live are.  All throughout the Old Testament, God’s people relied on the Law (the first five books of the Bible, also known as Torah) to know how God wanted them to live.  This was a great gift from God to show them how he intended them to be holy people and to show them that they did not measure up to God’s standards for holiness.   The problem, however, was that they often got caught up in the intricate details and ignored the true priorities that God had for their lives.  They thought that the most important thing to do was to make sure that their sacrifices at the temple were done properly and they also made sure that they s...

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”  – Psalm 62:1 (NIV) We live in the busiest era of human history.  It is an age where people get frustrated, stressed, and cranky when a website fails to load in under 15 seconds and when the email app on our mobile devices crashes right before our composed email is completed and sent!  We live in a time when text messages, instant messages, and video chats replace real face-to-face conversations and we think the drive through at the bank will save us time!  When is our time for rest?  Where do we find rest?  Sometimes, it seems hopeless for us to find rest in the business of our lives.  After all, who has the time to rest? In this psalm, David proclaims that it is in God where his rest is found.  When you sit down to think about it, where else does your rest come from?  Wasn't it God who created an entire day just for us to rest?  Rest is a God-given act...

“Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.  Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”  – Isaiah 56:1-2 (NIV 1984) Are we still advocates of justice and doing what is right today?  Are we modeling what honoring the Sabbath looks like?  Are we keeping our hands from doing evil?  We live in a world that makes doing justice and what is right difficult because it champions injustice and a “do whatever feels good” attitude.  We live in a world today where the Sabbath is not honored (Saturday, Sunday, another day; take your pick!), where people do not keep their hands from doing evil and where justice is an old fashioned notion that many people believe means equal and “fair” treatment for all! Isaiah’s call to do what is right came more than 2500 years ago and still rings tru...

“I, even I, am the   Lord ,   and apart from me there is no savior.  I have revealed and saved and proclaimed - I, and not some foreign god among you.  You are my witnesses," declares the   Lord , “that I am God.  Yes, and from ancient days   I am he.  No one can deliver out of my hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?"  - Isaiah 43:11-13 (NIV) In the world today, we find ourselves bombarded by religious claims from all sources.  Other religions claim to have the truth or a truth.  Atheists claim that there is no God.  We may be tempted to allow ourselves to ponder the validity of our own God during some darker days in our lives.  In these tough times and even in the best of times, we always can use a reminder of just how powerful of a God we serve!  Look at the emphasis that God places at the beginning of this passage, “I, even I, am the Lord.”  This is the same as a little child attempting to ...

“Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me.  Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven.  In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you.”  – Matthew 5:11-12 (CEB) When was the last time you were insulted or harassed because of your faith in Christ?  Was it yesterday?  Last week?  Or was it so long ago that you can’t remember when?  The prophets first, then Jesus, and then the apostles, demonstrated what living a Godly life in this world full of darkness will lead to.  It leads to insults, harassment, and persecution.  Ultimately, however, it leads to great rewards in heaven. Jesus ultimately was put to death because his message of the coming Kingdom was offensive to the Jewish leaders.  Likewise, the apostles faced beatings, jail time, torture, and death all for the “criminal offense” of preaching t...

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised.”  – Hebrews 10:35-36 (NLT) On what or in whom are we placing our trust?  As Christians, our trust can be confidently placed in the Lord.  Why can we have this hope?  We can have this hope because not only is scripture littered with promises about God’s faithfulness and reliability, but there are countless witnesses over the course of world history who could give testimony to this truth.  However, it isn’t always easy to trust in God and to rely on his provision for our lives physically, mentally, and spiritually.  When our confidence in God waivers, we open ourselves to placing our trust in things or people who do not have the ability to follow through for us!  What reward is the writer talking abou...

“Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children.  Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.”  – Ephesians 5:1-2a (CEB) Who or what are you patterning your life after?  Are you living your life in a way that is mirroring God’s example for us, or are you living your life in a way that is not congruent with God’s example?  God’s example for how he desires us to live is Jesus Christ.  Jesus lived his life by following what he called the greatest commandment, “ You must love the Lord with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind ” (Matthew 22:37, CEB).  He also lived by the second most important commandment, “ You must love your neighbor as you love yourself ” (Matthew 22:39, CEB).  Our Father in heaven has set an example for us to follow.  Just as little children learn how to talk and behave by observing their parents, we are expected to learn how to live and act b...

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  – Isaiah 46:4 (NIV) What an amazing set of promises from the God of the universe!  He is the creator of all things and is in perfect control of such an amazing expanse of space, that we cannot even begin to comprehend its size and magnitude!  Yet, he reminds us, here in Isaiah, that he not only made us, but he continues to carry, sustain, and rescue us throughout our lives to the very end.  I like how Eugene Peterson puts it in his translation of this verse in “The Message,” “I’ll be there bearing you when you’re old and gray.  I’ve done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back, saving you.”  God has already carried us, sustained us, and rescued us up to this very point in our lives and he promises that he will keep on doing it!  God is running on a perfect record, a ...

“Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you.  Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.””  – Matthew 28:18-20 (CEB) It has been a common misconception in the church today that evangelism is meant to be left for the “professionals,” i.e., pastors, missionaries, and professional evangelists.  What a sad misconception!  This command recorded at the end of Matthew’s gospel is Jesus’ last command to his disciples.  At that time, those who were present at Jesus' ascension were the church.  Therefore, Christ’s command wasn’t just for those who are in church ministry, but for the entire church!  Did you notice Jesus saying to, “go and make disciples?”  He isn’t just intere...

"I always put the LORD in front of me; I will not stumble because he is on my right side."  - Psalm  16:8 (CEB) A popular memory verse in my church growing up was Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (NIV1984).  Our verse for the week is a similar recognition of the truth of God's guidance in our lives.  As long as we put God first in our lives, we cannot fail and we will not stumble and fall because he will be right there at our side to keep us on the "straight and narrow."   How good is it to know that it is impossible to fail in life when we place God at the front of our lives?  I believe that it is great news!  However, d o not be deceived into thinking that this is a promise for an easy life or for a life absent of roadblocks, failures, and sin, but it is a promise that we can take hold of when we take the daily initiative to place Christ at the forefront of our lives.  This is why it is so import...

‎"Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock." —Isaiah 26:4 (NRSV) What have you put your trust in recently? Have you placed your trust in your job? Your home? Your money? Your family? Your friends? Your things? What one of these things provides the assurance, the blessing, and the peace of mind that trusting in God does? Isaiah tells us where we need to place our trust; in the LORD GOD who is an everlasting rock! Earlier in Israel's history, Samuel placed a stone in a field following a military victory in order to remind Israel that it was the LORD who helped us to this very point! That stone was named "Ebenezer," the "stone of help." Later, Jesus refers to himself as the rejected stone that became the cornerstone. "As God's household, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20, CEB).  How good it is to know t...

“Instead, we are God's accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.”  - Ephesians 2:10 (CEB) Our salvation is not a result of anything we have accomplished. Our salvation is God's accomplishment. It was accomplished because of God's love and by Jesus' willingness to die on the cross for our sins. Because we have accepted the free gift of salvation, we also accepted the change in our lives that salvation brings. Jeremiah reminded his listeners that God has a good plan for our lives and Paul reemphasizes this reminder. God has planned good things for our lives and good things for us to accomplish in our new lives as Christians. This new way of life, though not always easy, is the surefire way of living a life of joy. Our joy comes from knowing that we are honoring our father in heaven and showing him gratitude for the great mercy that he has bestowed on us, the fact that we ...

The sum of your word is truth; and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever. - Psalm 119:160 (NRSV) In today's world, we are used to lies and falsehoods on a daily basis. We hear those on the radio, TV, and even in our own correspondences each day! Even close friends and family members do not tell the truth one hundred percent of the time! How sad is that? Even though others may fail, we have a God whose word is truth and whose word lasts forever! Isn't it good to know that we have a God whose word never contains a falsehood? The full sum of God's word is truth. That means that there is nothing in any part of his word that is false. God's Word, the Bible, is God's number one way of communicating his thoughts to us. It is his way of showing his will and his truth! It is so good to know that we do have a reliable and unwavering source for truth in a day and age when truth is defined on an individual basis. Praise God for his Word and d...