June 25, 2026

Joshua 2: 4-6 (NIV)

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. . . . I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”

(Read the whole story in Joshua chapter 2.)

God always nourishes what is right.*

Many years ago, I was with my boss for a conference at a fancy resort. We were getting ready to attend an evening event for which the suggested attire was “resort casual.” My boss, an attractive lady in her fifties, came out wearing some white shorts that, in my opinion, were inappropriate for the occasion. Before I could decide if I should speak up, she said, “Connie, you are the most honest person I know; so tell me, are these shorts too short?” I very tactfully replied, “Well, since you asked, I believe you might be more comfortable if you wore something else.”

Speaking the truth can be risky but Rahab and the spies faced more than just the possibility of offending someone or the danger of losing their job. Their lives were on the line. Did Rahab have to lie? Is there any record of God giving his approval for the commission of a sin if it’s for a good cause?

I would like to excuse Rahab because of the danger and because, as one surrounded by a pagan culture, she didn’t know any better. I have tried to imagine scenarios in which she didn’t lie and in which there was still a happy ending for the spies. Pointless. The Bible reports the story the way it happened without offering excuses or justification. It is not the only time in history (or even in the Bible) that God’s will has been accomplished by imperfect people with good intentions and flawed methods. But if he can use us in our sinfulness, how much more glory could we bring to him if our good intentions were accompanied by a divine strategy?

I won’t pretend to know what it’s like to choose truth when my life is being threatened, but God has promised never to forsake us.  Let’s claim that promise. Let us be found faithful whether the risk is great or small.

He sent out his disciples to do the work of ministry despite their imperfect understandings, their spiritual immaturity, and their deeply flawed character.*

June 24, 2026

Genesis 17: 18 (NIV)

And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”

[read Genesis chapters 15-17 for the background story]

Prayer puts one in touch with a planet.*

Abraham, in his attempt to give God a hand in accomplishing his will, unleashed a conflict upon the ancient world that has raged throughout history. Abraham could not know the generational repercussions of his actions, but he did come to regret what happened to his firstborn son, Ishmael. He prayed for Ishmael to live under God’s blessing, the same as any parent would wish for his child. Muslims believe that Ishmael is an ancestor of Muhammad, and that God promised Muhammad that he, too, would establish a great nation.*

Today, the news is full of accounts of horrifying acts done in the name of Allah, the version of God that Muslims worship. I don’t claim to know enough about the religion to say with certainty that it is or is not a religion of peace, but clearly many who claim to follow the teachings of the Koran (or whatever the acceptable spelling is!) are not peaceful people. (History reveals that many have committed atrocities in the name of Christ, as well – but that’s another story!)

What can we do? We can start where Abraham did – we can pray that “Ishmael” might live under God’s blessing. Just like every other sinner, Muslims need the Savior. We can pray for workers who are willing to go into a field that is ripe and ready for harvesting – in every part of the world! If you find it difficult to pray for a bloody terrorist, picture Saul before he became the Apostle Paul. Even now, a Muslim who is actively persecuting Christians may be on the brink of a conversion experience, igniting an evangelistic fire among the Islamic world . . . if only someone is willing to confront him with the gospel.

We live in a scary world. But Christians have the ultimate WMT – weapon of mass transformation: the Holy Spirit. Open your instruction manual and learn how to operate the Spirit’s power to overcome the world.

The Gospel army must move upon the nations. The Lord seeks universal empire, and sends forth his armies to conquer the world. Every church and every disciple must understand that they have marching orders.*

June 23, 2026

I Corinthians 5: 1-3 (NIV)

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you . . . And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of our fellowship the man who did this? . . . I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

Many who claim Christ live in ignorance of or in rebellion against God’s Word, misunderstanding grace and casting a poor reflection on the Christian life.*

Paul’s words in this verse remind us that sexual sin is not new. What I find interesting is that he accuses the Corinthians of being proud of the sexual immorality they have allowed among them. Were they proud of themselves because they weren’t judgmental? Did they see themselves as modern-thinkers because of their tolerance? Did they accept sexual sin as just an alternate life-style? 

When I learned that my friend, a member of my church, was living with her fiancé, having set a wedding date sometime in the near future, was it my place to confront her? Should I have gone to the elders when I learned of her situation? Am I looking for excuses for myself for having done nothing? To be honest, I am relieved that I didn't say anything to anyone - it's all ancient history now . . . but does that make it right?

Paul had no such qualms. We may be willing to tolerate blatant sin in the congregation, afraid to offend the offender, but not Paul. We may fear accusations of being judgmental but Paul makes it clear that he has already passed judgment. Paul is authorized to administer church discipline and he is bold in performing his duty. Shouldn’t the elders in my church – and yours – be so audacious? Shouldn't church members be more proactive in holding each other accountable?

Continued unrepentant sin should never be tolerated in the body of Christ.*

June 22, 2026

Romans 6: 22 (NIV)

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

He rules whether or not we admit it.*

We Americans tend to have a negative reaction to the idea of being slaves to anyone or anything. We are free! We are similar to the Jews who got so indignant at Jesus’ suggestion that the truth would set them free: “We have never been slaves of anyone!” (John 8: 33 and 34) (Never mind that they were slaves in Egypt, Babylon, and even at that moment in the Promised Land under Roman rule.)

Paul uses slavery as an analogy to contrast our old life with our new life in Christ (see Romans 6: 6). In human terms, a slave has no control over his choices but spiritually, we are free to choose our master: impurity and ever-increasing wickedness; or righteousness leading to holiness (Romans 6: 19).

While we sort through our feelings about slavery, we overlook the real point: the Lordship of Jesus. In Matthew 28: 18, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That makes him Lord of Everything. And when we choose to be his slaves, suddenly the analogy changes and we become his children – heirs who, if we choose to share in his suffering, may also share in his glory (Romans 8: 17).

As His children, we have family privileges, assume family responsibilities, and dwell in family affection.*

June 21, 2026

Genesis 12: 2 (NIV)

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

God delights in making somebodies into nobodies so he can make the nobodies into the somebodies he had in mind.*

I never longed for motherhood, but since June 8, 1987, I am overwhelmed by the honor of being Will and Jake’s mom. I am humbled that God entrusted me with the awesome responsibility of their physical welfare and their spiritual development. They have brought me nothing but joy (keeping in mind that James said to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds!) and I have to ask myself, “Why me?”

So, we ask ourselves, "Why Abraham?" As someone else has observed, “Theoretically, God could have established his covenant with anyone.”* Was Abraham the only man in the world who met the qualifications to be the father of a great nation? Had God already offered the job to someone else who turned him down? All we know for sure is that God chose Abraham because he chose to choose Abraham. His selection may appear to be random but nature proves and scripture confirms that God is orderly and never purposeless.

God may not have chosen you or me to be famous historical figures, but he has chosen us to be his children. Abraham, though handpicked by God to receive the blessing, could have chosen to decline the honor. We must decide, too, whether we will accept the call to his family. We are part of God’s plan (Ephesians 1: 11) but we are included only through our connection with Jesus Christ. We are wise to follow Abraham’s example of obedience but we must never forget that it was for his faith that he was deemed as righteous.

We aren’t all special.  There was one Moses and millions of followers, one Mary and a country full of unremarkable Jewish girls.*

June 20, 2026

Acts 5: 41 (NIV)

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

Something supernatural happens when Christians are so submitted to God’s will and his Spirit that they are willing to endure persecution – and even death – for his name’s sake.*

Can’t you just see the apostles – those formerly timid followers of Jesus – leaving their audience with the Sanhedrin, high-fiving and fist-bumping as they went? Their observers must have found it puzzling that these men would be so exuberant after having just been flogged for preaching the gospel.

We know that we, too, should “count it all joy,” but could we? Perhaps our faith is strong enough to defy those who persecute us. And we know we would never bow down to idols or deny Jesus; but just how happy would we be to suffer for our faith? I confess that I get whiney when I am merely inconvenienced!

What makes these men different from you and me? Turn back a page to Acts chapter four and read about Peter and John’s appearance before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legal authorities, who badly wanted to penalize them for preaching the gospel but who were paralyzed by their fear of public opinion. When Peter and John’s “people” heard their story, they “raised their voices together in prayer to God.” (4: 24) Did they ask God to deliver them from those who were conspiring against them? Did they ask him to strike down their enemies? No. They said, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” (4: 29) And after they prayed, the room was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God boldly (4: 31).

Do you wish to be transformed from a timid follower of Jesus to a bold proclaimer of the gospel? Pray this same prayer for boldness. Pray that the Spirit will shake your house and fill you up and enable you to speak boldly. Then you can count yourself among those who rejoice when they have been found worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name!

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.*

June 19, 2026

I John 4: 18 (NIV)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I
f it were a question of our own love, then every honest Christian would be continually in fear if he thought that his final acceptance depended on his own inward perfection in love.*

In First Corinthians, chapter 13, Paul defines love by listing examples of what love is and what love is not. When John writes about “perfect” love, is he adding another dimension to love? Or might we conclude that there is no such thing as “imperfect love”? We call it love but if it is selfish, jealous, neglectful, or abusive, is it really love?

In verse 16, John states that God is love. If we substitute God for love in our passage, it looks like this: There is no fear in God. But perfect God drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in God. Now we start to understand what John is trying to tell us. We know that if we are in God, we have no reason to fear punishment because God is – well . . . love.

The world doesn’t fear God's punishment. But just because a person doesn’t feel fearful doesn’t mean he has nothing to fear. So while John’s words offer comfort and relief for believers, those outside of God’s perfect love have an eternity to dread. If only they knew . . . Maybe someone should tell them . . .

The enemy of fear is love; the way to put off fear, then, is to put on love.*