February 6, 2026

Numbers 18: 20 (NIV)

The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.”

To benefit from a church’s staff, facilities, and events without praying, giving, and serving is no different from walking out of a store with items for which you haven’t paid.*

Many years ago I was a member of a small congregation in which a few other members decided that they were no longer happy with the preacher. Rather than handle the situation biblically, professionally, or lovingly, these disgruntled “Christians” just stopped giving financially to the church. Soon there was not enough money to pay the poor preacher.

This may not be new or unusual behavior among God’s people. While the physical survival of the Old Testament's “fulltime ministers” depended on how faithful the other Israelites were,* there were many periods in Israel’s history when the Levites (the priestly tribe) lived in a state of poverty.* And in Malachi, chapter three, the prophet had to remind the people to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.” He actually accuses them of robbing God!

We are not under any “legal” obligation to tithe today but there are scriptural principles that point to our duty as church members to provide financially for someone who can be available to “meet the pressing needs of the congregation.”* As ministry professionals, of course our ministers trust God to provide for their needs but as pew-level Christians, we are missing out on God’s blessings if we aren’t giving at least 10% of our income to the Lord’s work. 

• Blessing 1: Being obedient is its own reward. 
• Blessing 2: Blessing others blesses you. 
• Blessing 3: Living on the remaining 90% strengthens your faith in God’s provision.

Aaron and his tribe of priests were assured that God would be their share and their inheritance. As a priesthood of believers, Christians have double the opportunities to benefit from the same promise God made to the Levites: the blessing of his provision and the blessing of being the instrument of his provision.

If American Christians would tithe, we could wipe out poverty and tell the world about Jesus in no time.*

February 5, 2026

Matthew 21: 10 (NIV)

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

Sometimes the best answers to life's most baffling and troubling questions lie not in what God says but in who He is.*

Such excitement! Here comes Jesus riding on a donkey! Why was the crowd making such a fuss over him if they didn’t know who he was? There were lots of tourists in Jerusalem that day and the atmosphere must have resembled New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Everyone was looking for the next party and mass hysteria was inevitable. According to verse 10, “the whole city” asked, “Who is this?” In verse 11, Matthew says that “the crowds answered.” My guess is that the locals provided an answer for the out-of-towners. And who did they say Jesus was? “The prophet from Nazareth.” Did you know that even Islam teaches that Jesus is a prophet?* If someone asked you who Jesus is, would you know more than the crowd in Jerusalem did? Or a Moslem?

Remember when Jesus asked his disciples who did people say he was (Matthew 16: 13)? Their response was to report the rumors that he was a prophet or maybe John the Baptist. So then he asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Not only did Peter get the right answer, it wasn’t something he learned on the street – it was revealed to him by the Father.

What has the Father revealed to you about who Jesus is? “Who is this?” You can’t answer if you don’t know. 

We don’t come to know God by human reason but by divine revelation.

February 4, 2026

Ezekiel 3: 15 (NIV)

I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days – overwhelmed.

You will never be able to do your best work, unless you can sit where the people sit.*

Ezekiel’s ministry was to the Jews in exile in Babylon. He was a priest, called by God to deliver prophetic messages in often bizarre and dramatic fashion. In the instance described in this verse, Ezekiel seems to have randomly stumbled over a band of refugees who had established residence along the banks of a river.  Because his presence there wasn’t as random as it seems, he waited among them for seven days until the Lord spoke to him about his mission.

There is a great deal of speculation about why Ezekiel had to hang out there for a whole week before moving on to the next phase. It could have been due to the customs of that time and place. (Job’s friends sat with him for seven days before anyone spoke.) I tend to believe Ezekiel just needed the time to absorb the conditions of his congregation. Whatever his emotional response to what he saw there, he waited for God to reveal his next move. As Ezekiel’s story unfolds, we see that his message was not well-received.

We must be careful not to read unintended meanings into a passage of scripture but I think we are safe in drawing some conclusions from this one:

1. Sometimes we are called to a ministry of waiting. God’s timing is perfect but we are impatient. 

2. Sometimes we are called to a ministry of empathy. We can’t feel someone’s pain if we’ve never felt his pain! Jesus showed the way by “sitting among us” and “feeling our struggles in a fallen world.”* 

3. Sometimes, though commissioned by God, we are doomed to fail. Like Ezekiel, we may be called to deliver an unpopular message.

Wait for God. Turn your struggles into an instrument of blessing for others. Perform your ministry regardless of its potential for success. God knows what he’s doing.

We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us . . . It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.*

February 3, 2026

I Corinthians 4: 4 (NIV)

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

The only thing that is infallible about what we call conscience is its sentence, “It is right to do right.”*

Years ago I got called for a week of jury duty and was chosen for five cases, all DUIs. I remember one case in particular in which it was clear that the defendant was guilty as charged; the State’s Attorney, however, failed to present a case that proved it. It was very hard for me to declare the accused “not guilty” but the other jurors helped me to understand the difference between “not guilty” and “innocent.”

As Paul confesses here, a clear conscience is not a sure sign of innocence or lack of guilt. The Jiminy Cricket in our head can be ignored until he no longer bothers to speak to us. Our conscience can only convict us if we are aware that what we are doing is wrong. As someone has observed, the conscience is more reliable when it condemns than when it acquits.* You don’t want to ignore those twinges that are telling you that you are wrong but the absence of a twinge is not a sure indication of a thumbs-up. In other words, the conscience is not an infallible guide.*

A conscience that is truly clear is one that recognizes the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. We will never be innocent again but the jury finds us “not guilty.”

Those who sin are pretty sure, sooner or later, to turn king's evidence against themselves.*

February 2, 2026

Acts 2: 37 (NIV)

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Our preaching is pointless unless we work our way . . . toward the truth that makes all the difference:  Jesus died for all and was raised again.*

Peter had to be pumped at the response to his sermon. Three-thousand converts in one day is nothing less than phenomenal. Can you imagine the high-fives at the staff meeting on Monday morning? 

Well, not to burst Peter and company’s bubbles, but verse 41 adds another dimension to the story: “Those who accepted . . . were baptized, and about three-thousand were added to their number that day.” Those three-thousand accepted - but how many decided not to?

When you hear the gospel, you are at a crossroads. From that moment, you are making a decision to accept or reject Jesus. As someone has said, “Not to accept is to reject.”* What is your response to the gospel? Get your Bible and read Peter’s entire sermon. Be one of those who ask, “What shall we do?” Choose to respond as those 3,000 did to Peter’s instructions, “Repent and be baptized . . . in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2: 38)

Remember: not to accept is to reject.

Sinners are viewed as responsible beings who could receive or reject the conversion message.*

February 1, 2026

Matthew 7: 12 (NIV)

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Often the act derives all its consequence and utility from the manner in which it is performed.*

It’s really hard to know what other people want. They don’t always want the same things I want. I want people to be honest with me, even if it hurts; others would rather be lied to. Some people like to be fussed over when they’re sick; I want to be left alone (as much as possible!). We can’t know what is best for another person and Jesus didn’t tell us to try to guess what other people want. He said, plain and simple, to do to them what we would like done to us.

Jesus’ illustrations leading up to this command involved giving to someone what he asked for. We go through life in a snit because our expectations (“needs”) are not being met by our spouses, employers, employees, children, friends, and church leaders; however, if we wish to be treated a certain way but have not expressed our wishes, the best we can hope for is that the other person treats us the way he wants to be treated. If I want to be treated the way I want to be treated, I’d better let someone know what I want!

I really don’t think Jesus meant to cause all this confusion. Just as with any scriptural application, we need to look at more than just a verse standing alone. What other “rules” did Jesus implement? Rule #1: love God. Rule #2: love others. When we follow these rules, our compliance is found not so much in what we do as in the attitude that accompanies our actions. If we love God and love others, following the Golden Rule becomes a matter of proactively seeking to meet the needs of others. Whether or not you are able to guess what I want you to do for me, attitudes such as kindness and respect are always welcome. And these are the same attitudes I should have toward you if you have guessed wrong!

Let’s stop calling this the “Golden Rule” and start calling it "Rule #3."

Being considerate of the feelings and needs of others by exhibiting gentleness shows you are responding to the Spirit of God.*

January 31, 2026

Deuteronomy 28: 65-67  (NIV)

Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” – because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.

The wicked have everything to dread.*

In these verses, the Israelites are being warned of the dire consequences of offending God. They know their punishment is coming and they know they deserve it. They are overcome with dread and guilt.

Dread is an interesting state of mind. When a dreaded event is on the horizon, time moves at an accelerated rate. When you are in the midst of the much-dreaded experience, time stands still. When you just know something awful is about to happen but you don’t know when or where, it robs every moment of its joy. We begin almost to look forward to the hateful thing just so we can get through it and move on with life.

Have you ever been so miserable that in the morning you couldn’t wait until the day was over but the night was so horrible that you longed for it to be morning again? Were these awful feelings ever the result of a guilty conscience? A guilty conscience is not such a bad thing – it means we are still conscious of our sinfulness. But, beware of two dangers involved with the conscience:

1) Ignoring it until it no longer functions properly – as Christians, the Holy Spirit is the voice of our conscience. In I Thessalonians 5: 19, we are warned not to “put out the Spirit’s fire.”

2) Becoming addicted to a burden of guilt – some people seem to have become so used to having guilt as their constant companion that they wouldn’t feel normal without it.

We, too, can count on dire – eternal – consequences for our sin if we aren’t covered by the blood of Jesus. When we surrender to Jesus, we are delivered from the dread of punishment, relieved of our guilt, and presented with abundant life. It’s our choice . . .

You are one decision away from joy.*