April 1, 2026

Isaiah 61: 1, 2 (NIV)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners.

God is always about blessing people who bless the poor.*

I have always been in awe – and a little envious – of people who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. My husband decided in high school what career he wanted. He pursued his degrees and went on to be successful in his field. I ended up in a job that would have been exactly what I would have chosen for myself if I had known it existed, so I can’t complain.

Isaiah exudes confidence in the rightness of his path. He knows that the Lord has anointed him to preach good news to the poor; has sent him to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive, and release from darkness for the prisoners. When he goes to work every day, he knows that he is on a mission from God.

In Luke chapter four, we read about Jesus’ return to his hometown of Nazareth. While there, he popped into the synagogue, as he usually did, and he stood up and read this passage from Isaiah. Then he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Luke says that the eyes of everyone were “fastened on him.” What’s he going to do now? they must be thinking. Drum roll, please! Jesus announces, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The ministry that Isaiah was so confident he had been called to perform has now been adopted by Jesus as the agenda for his mission.* Suddenly, I’m seeing Isaiah’s anointed career in a new light. No matter what job we do to put food on the table, all Christians are called to this same purpose. Like Isaiah, like Jesus, we are called to preach the good news. Our ministry is to the poor, the broken-hearted, the oppressed, and the prisoners. And who hasn’t fallen into one or more of those categories in their life? That means we can’t overlook anyone if we aim to fulfill our mission.

May the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord be upon you!

Jesus took the message to the people, and his discipline of proclamation calls for imitation.*

March 31, 2026

Psalm 7: 11 (NIV)

God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.

The Bible teaches that God is loving, forgiving and patient. But God is not a wimp. He is a God of justice and capable of wrath.*

Did you hear it? Did you see it? God expressing his wrath? . . . Neither did I!

Some Bible scholars believe that it is implied that God expresses his wrath with the wicked and so they add that phrase to their version of this passage. Other translations render it as, "God does not express his wrath every day.”

I can’t say which version is accurate but both leave me with questions:

• If God is righteous, how can he not be angry about sin? 
• If God is angry, why would he only be angry with the wicked? Isn’t it possible that his own people might make him mad occasionally? Maybe even more mad than at the wicked.
• If he is angry, why would he skip a day in expressing it? Don’t we sin every day? So it would come as no surprise to learn that he expresses his anger every day.

But . . . according to one source, these translations obscure the “legal background” of the term rendered expresses wrath. It might be better understood, he offers, as passes sentence.* That seems to make more sense in the context of the phrase. As David says, God is a righteous judge. He sits in court every day and passes judgment. Every day, his children are found guilty the same as the wicked, but when he gets to the sentencing phase of our trial, he announces, “Paid in full by the blood of Jesus. You are free to go.” Could he do that if he was mad at us?

Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty.*

March 30, 2026

Matthew 5: 44 (NIV)

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Imagine yourself standing over the corpse of the one you have hated. Will you now be free?*

When Jesus speaks, we usually are asked to abandon our comfort zones and embrace new – and foreign – attitudes. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy are the common and comfortable philosophies of those who have yet to meet Jesus. We who know Jesus are aware that he wants us to be nice to everyone. Right? . . .

I think most American Christians have no clue what Jesus meant in this passage. While some of us may have acquired an enemy or two, very few of us have experienced persecution for our faith. But in other parts of the world, God’s children embody these words every day.

Jesus is expecting more than will ever be asked of the majority of us. Loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors goes way beyond being nice to people who aren’t nice to us. Most of us don’t have enemies who are trying to kill us – they just don’t like us. Compared to the daily abuse endured by our brothers and sisters in other countries, we are merely inconvenienced.

I don’t mean to belittle any mistreatment you have received at the hands of an enemy. Some of you - or your loved ones - have been seriously harmed by evil perpetrated by another. But when you are struggling with forgiveness; when loving your abuser seems impossible; and when praying for him seems hypocritical, remember your fellow Christians in their dire circumstances - not to make you feel better in comparison, but to remind yourself that Jesus was talking to you and to them.

We should be people who love deeply because we are deeply loved, who forgive because we have been forgiven so much, who live peacefully because we have been called to peace.*

March 29, 2026

Genesis 31: 49 (NIV)

“May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.”

God is up close and personal. We don’t have to go in search for God. God is all around us.*

This verse is often quoted as a benediction or a blessing; however, if we look at the context of these words, we find that their speaker may not have had blessing in mind when he uttered them.

Short version: Jacob has fled from his father-in-law, Laban. Laban catches up with him, expresses concern about his daughters (Jacob’s wives) and his grandchildren. They come to an understanding, build a monument they christened “Mizpah” which means “watchtower,” and Laban says, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me . . .” followed by words to this effect: if you mistreat my daughters, I may not be there to see it but God will be watching you!

Do we forget that God sees all, even if no one else does? Do we need a Mizpah to remind us of proper behavior? We can purchase Mizpah tokens – rings, coins, pendants – that promote the blessing connotations of this verse. Perhaps instead we could wear our Mizpah jewelry to remind us, when we are tempted to sin, that God is watching us! A Mizpah could also serve as a reminder that God sees the good that we do even if no one else does. After all, it is for his glory that we serve, not for our own.

Even when we feel we aren’t seen by anyone else, He takes pleasure in the beauty of our lives.*

March 28, 2026

III John 2 (NIV)

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Prayer is never a waste of time.*

Years ago, I was a member of a weekly Bible study class that spent a lot of time at the beginning of each meeting sharing prayer requests. As you might guess, a lot of cancer and surgery patients were among those added to the list. I believe in the power of prayer - but one week, four out of five people on the prayer list had died. I'm not sure if I was joking when I spoke up and said I didn't want to be added to the list if I got sick.

Throughout the New Testament, we are admonished to pray for one another - though not always are we told specifically what to pray for. Someone pointed out to me one time that praying for sick people to get well could be tantamount to "praying the saints out of heaven," but John’s greeting here sets a precedent for prayers regarding another's health.

While many invalids have been effective servants of the Lord, there are a lot of jobs to be done for the sake of the Kingdom that can’t be performed by someone whose health is delicate, leaving the ailing one feeling less valuable. But I believe that when John adds the request “that all may go well with you,” he is referring to our outlook on our circumstances more than the circumstances themselves. And we certainly can’t go wrong if, like John, we pray for all to be well with the souls, not just the health, of those we love. So, if I could go back in time to that Bible study group, I would tell them, “Go ahead. Put me on your list.”

A Christian gets the opportunity to show how life with God brings greater joy and peace than life without him, regardless of the circumstances.*

March 27, 2026

II Samuel 23: 1, 2 (NIV)

These are the last words of David: “The Oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel’s singer of songs. The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”

David lived all of his life with a deep awareness of God’s presence*

After all the grand and public failures, at the end, David was able to look back on his life without regrets. He could have lain on his deathbed wallowing in the shame of his past – adultery, murder, deceit, neglecting his family – but because of what God had done in his life, David’s life ended on a noble note.

What can we learn from David’s swan song? First, while David may have been the rock star of his day, he knew where his greatness came from and openly acknowledged God as that source. Read again his litany of accomplishments in these verses and see where he actually brags about what he has done. . . It’s not there, is it? Exalted by the Most High; anointed by God; the Spirit spoke through him.

The second lesson we reap from these words of David is found in what David doesn’t mention here: he was a man after God’s heart. He loved the Lord, and most of his life was lived for God’s glory. All that exalting and anointing would not have happened if David’s heart wasn’t surrendered to God. Even at David’s worst moments, God knew where he stood with David.

Acknowledge God as the source of every good thing in your life. Love him for his provision. Love him for his presence in the midst of every bad thing that happens in your life. Love him for knowing your heart and loving you anyway. Love him because he loved you first. The more you love him, the more you will love him.

If God has absorbed the penalty and pain of our deficiencies and sinfulness, we can let go of our regrets and guilt.*

March 26, 2026

Philippians 1: 12 (NIV)

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

When God steps in, the ordinary events of life take on extraordinary significance.*

Paul was writing from prison where his cheery words weren’t just a positive spin for his readers. His incarceration was a witness to the entire palace guard and encouraged his fellow Christians to speak more boldly. 

We might believe that good things can result from the bad things that happen to us, but wouldn’t it be nice if we actually got to see the results? When the outcome is not so immediate, we must hold on to our faith, relying on God to accomplish his purpose - in his time.

It is interesting that when we think of the events that shape us and help serve the gospel, we tend to zero in on the bad things. Reflect on your life, though, and perhaps you will realize that the positive may have had more impact than you assumed. I was changed by the betrayal of a friend; a broken heart; a failed marriage - but I was blessed with a firm foundation that prepared me to overcome and rise above and carry on. Without a solid Christian background and all its advantages, my moments of truth would not have been so shiny.

Whatever influences have been the strongest in your life, it is time to ask God, “Now what?” How can you leverage the failures and victories, challenges and opportunities, of your past? It is time to stop being the passive victim of “it happened” and move on to actively advancing the gospel.

We see the world from the perspective of the things we learn.*