April 3, 2026

Luke 8: 38, 39 (NIV)

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

The first principle of discipleship is this: We are set apart for the purpose of doing whatever Christ commands.*

A formerly demon-possessed man has a dramatic testimony, one that would add pizzazz to any evangelistic team. He begs to be allowed to go with Jesus, but Jesus refused to take him. Why wouldn’t Jesus want to include this man in his roadshow?

In my former career, we often had to plan and execute big projects. When it came to assigning the right personnel for each task of the operation, my assistant did a masterful job. She knew the strengths and skills of each staff member so she was able to use each person where he or she could shine and make us all look good.

Jesus knows our strengths and where we can use them for the best benefit of the Kingdom. We should also note that we don’t all have the same mission field. As in any major project, there are big jobs and small tasks that have to be done in order to accomplish our goal. Some of us may have to travel to another state or a foreign country to fulfill our part of the mission, but for most of us, our assignment is to “return home and tell how much God has done for you.”

What has God done for you? Are you ready to tell your story?

If you find what you do each day seems to have no link to any higher purpose, you probably want to rethink what you’re doing.*

April 2, 2026

Matthew 9: 36 (NIV)

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus was merciful to people regardless of who they were, what they’d done, or whether they liked him.*

Love is something you do. Jesus demonstrated love over and over. He told us how to love and what love looks like. Paul wrote about love in First Corinthians chapter 13 and gave us some insights not only on what love is, but what love isn’t. Not one word about feelings. This is good for me because I’m all about the doing and not so much about the feeling.

But if love is something you do, then compassion is its feeling twin. Jesus loved but he also felt. He looked at the crowds that followed him and he didn’t just see their selfishness, their lives all messed up because of their own bad choices, their lack of purpose. He felt their pain and their hopelessness. We might say that his heart broke for them, but the Jews considered the bowels to be the “seat of sympathy and the tender passions”* so they might say that Jesus felt for them in his gut. Pity is a shallow, anemic emotion compared to what Jesus feels.

When Jesus looks out over the crowd, he isn’t overwhelmed by the volume of desperation he sees - he feels compassion for each hurting soul on an individual basis. He knows their stories and their excuses; he knows what it takes to make them whole again.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the size of the suffering crowd? Do what Jesus did – have compassion on them, one soul at a time. Learn each person's story and help them write a happy ending to their story by showing them Jesus.

We often think we could lay down our life in a dramatic way to show our love for others. But God often calls us to lay down our lives little by little - in small coins instead of one large payment - but it is laying down our lives nonetheless.*

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.*