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.*

March 25, 2026

Numbers 12: 1-6 (NIV)

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses . . . At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you.” . . . Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud . . . and summoned Aaron and Miriam. . . .he said, “Listen to my words.”

People do not look for solutions to personal conflicts when they have not yet repented of their sins.*

I have attended my share of conflict resolution seminars. I have even facilitated a few. There is a wealth of information out there – some of it helpful – for those who wish to solve their interpersonal relationship problems. In dealing with Moses and his squabbling siblings, God demonstrates how a mediator can be a positive force in resolving conflicts between brothers and sisters.

Certainly, God enjoys advantages that a human mediator does not: he doesn’t have to wait to be invited to be the peacemaker; and when he says, “Listen to my words,” we have to listen. But if you are a friend to both parties, could you be brave enough to volunteer to facilitate reconciliation between fellow Christians? If you wait for your services to be requested by one of the parties, the other side will not trust you to be the voice of reason. Perhaps you do not feel qualified for the task. Could you at least be friend enough to call them together and suggest that they seek the services of a professional mediator? Be prepared with the contact information of someone you can recommend to them. Offer to pray with them.

If you find yourself in the peacemaker hotseat, keep in mind the steps God took with Miriam, Aaron, and Moses:

1. He dealt with them at once. He did not give the bad feelings time to fester and gain power. 
2. He called all the parties together. No one was allowed to talk about the others behind their backs. 
3. He did not give them time to express their feelings.* God already knew the facts, where a human mediator would have to learn them by allowing everyone to tell his story – but dwelling on feelings wastes time that could be spent looking for solutions. Work at getting to the problem-solving stage and the feelings will start to heal.

In 2 Corinthians, chapter five, Paul writes about our ministry of reconciliation. How can our brothers and sisters be reconciled to God when they are harboring resentment against each other? How can we fulfill our ministry if we continue to tell ourselves, “It’s not my problem”?

God smiles when we make relationships right. Right relationships with man equal a right relationship with God.*

March 24, 2026

Job 4: 6 (NIV)

“Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?”

Human suffering is not easy to explain.  Don’t always try.*

Job’s friends meant well. They rushed to be with him during his time of need. They tried to cheer him up – but like most of us, they were somewhat socially inept. We don’t know what to say in times of trouble but we very badly want to make things better for the sufferer. As if saying stupid things is really going to help!

If you read all of Eliphaz’s attempts to encourage Job, you will see that he was a proponent of the “reap what you sow” school of thought. He is convinced that Job’s misery is his own fault somehow – and if he's the one who broke it, then he should be able to fix it. If only Job were pious enough, he wouldn’t be doubting himself; if he were blameless, he wouldn’t be despairing.

As Christians, we walk a fine line between encouragement and false hope in our efforts to comfort a friend who is hurting. Yes, we must speak the truth in love – but do we know all the truth? Eliphaz had no idea that God and Satan were behind Job’s problems, but he had trouble admitting that he didn’t know everything. We encourage by listening and by offering biblical solutions, not by trying so hard to think of the right thing to say that we tune out the Spirit’s voice. At this stage of Job's crisis, Why this has happened is not the important question. "What are you going to do about it?" is.

The book of Job . . . teaches us the danger of speaking from an incomplete theology, of trying to analyze God's workings with only a narrow understanding of how he works, and what are the causes behind his actions in human life.*

March 23, 2026

II Samuel 12: 7 (NIV)

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

Avoiding confrontation is not love. It’s either apathy because I don’t care enough to do what Jesus says or it’s fear because I’m more afraid of facing you than obeying Jesus.*

“Silence is golden,” is good to remember on those occasions when keeping your mouth shut is the wisest move to make. But sometimes, silence is yellow. Things that need to be brought to light are left unsaid because we are too cowardly to face the consequences. We don’t want to make anyone mad, or hurt their feelings, or lose our job – or be executed.

Nathan was a prophet who is mentioned throughout the story of David’s reign and even on into that of Solomon, David’s son and successor.  (“As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet?” II Chronicles 9: 29) It was Nathan’s God-given responsibility to rebuke King David for his despicable behavior – adultery and murder – and to deliver the message of God’s judgment. Was Nathan terrified? We shouldn’t think less of him if he was, for as someone has observed, “The odds . . . were a million to one that Nathan would have lost his head if he had confronted any other monarch with a charge of wickedness like that he skillfully leveled against the king of Israel.”*

We don’t have the benefit of receiving a direct order from God to help us determine when silence is golden and when it is yellow, but we have two advantages over Nathan: we don’t have the fear of death looming over us as a consequence of our words; and he did not have the Holy Spirit’s presence to give him discernment. 

Are you faced with such a dilemma? Does it seem that you have been chosen to deliver a message like Nathan’s? It’s not just the risk of hurt feelings or anger that makes us hesitate – there’s always the chance that we will be accused of being judgmental or that we are wrong or even that it’s not our place to speak up. Whatever is holding you back, earnestly seek God’s will and his assurance. Assess the situation; ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen if I speak up? What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t?” If one of those answers involves eternal consequences, I believe you have your answer.

A rebuke is more effective when the person delivering it truly cares about the well-being of others and isn’t just out to win the argument.*

March 22, 2026

Hebrews 10: 1, 14  (NIV)

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. . . . [B]y one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Sacrifices could offer temporary solutions, but only God could offer the eternal one.*

Suppose you have a credit card with an astronomical credit limit and you have maxed it out. Every month you make the minimum payment which, of course, gets you nowhere closer to paying it off. As a matter of fact, your creditors have decided to raise your limit so you can add still more charges to your debt. Along comes a wealthy and generous benefactor who pays off the entire amount. Now you are debt-free. You go through a “honeymoon phase” of gratitude for this kind person but it’s not long before you start charging again. Dare you appeal to your savior to come to your rescue again, month after month?

The credit card company is God. The debt is our sin; the minimum payment is the yearly sacrifices offered for sin under the law. The blood of the animals was never sufficient to pay off the entire debt – it just held the creditor at bay. The benefactor who paid your debt? That would be Jesus. By one sacrifice he has fully paid our debt and his blood is sufficient to cover it forever.

Yes, we can appeal to our Savior to rescue us again – and again.

Because of his death, no more sacrifice was needed. None better could be offered.*

March 21, 2026

Ephesians 6: 12 (NIV)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

When we pray, unseen things happen in the spiritual realm.*

Have you ever participated in a séance? I hope not. No doubt you have seen a movie or television show that featured someone trying to contact a dead loved one. I do not believe that dead people come back and communicate with us, but I do believe 1) that Satan is a deceiver and he can trick us into believing any lie that we wish to believe; and 2) there is a spirit world – an “alternate universe” – that we can’t see but which is heavily involved in our lives. It has all the ingredients for a good sci-fi flick – but it’s neither science nor fiction and it is too serious to be entertaining.

Paul paints a vivid picture of the “dark side” of the spirit world. We are at war with evil, invisible forces, but we are not unarmed. Spiritual warfare requires spiritual weapons. At our disposal are the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness (verse 14). Our feet are outfitted with boots that are made for marching, thanks to the gospel of peace (verse 15). Thus armored, we lift up the shield of faith which deflects the flaming arrows aimed at us by Satan (verse 16). With the helmet of salvation on our head and the sword of the Spirit in our hand (verse 17), all that’s left for us to do is to pray. Pray in the Spirit, on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests; be alert and keep on praying for all the saints (verse 18).

In other words, it does no good to be armed to the teeth if your weapons have no ammunition! Prayer is the ammo that unleashes the only power capable of overcoming the spiritual forces of evil.

Prayer is the first and last action of a spiritual life.*