July 4, 2026

Leviticus 18: 1-3 (NIV)

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.’”

If your Christianity doesn’t make you look different, what makes you think your neighbors will notice?*

I have a Filipino friend who told me of how uncomfortable she felt at an event she attended. She had to clarify for me that she felt conspicuous because of her obvious ethnicity amid a crowd of white people. It shocked me to realize how oblivious I was to how it feels to be different. Racially and culturally, I have very seldom found myself to be a minority in the crowd; as a Christian, however, I should be familiar with what it feels like to stand out from the herd.

In these verses in Leviticus, and in many other passages, God reminds his people that they are not to blend in with the people around them. God’s people then and now are to contrast vividly with the rest of the world’s population. Here, he tells them not to do as the Egyptians did in the land they had come from nor as the Canaanites did in the land he had brought them to. We should note that not everything these people did was evil - there was more to them than just their religion - but their societies were permeated with customs and behaviors that no child of God should tolerate. And yet, exposure leads to tolerance and compromise.

In the King James Version, Deuteronomy 14: 2 and 26: 18, Titus 2: 14, and I Peter 2: 9, speak of God’s people as “peculiar.” Newer translations describe us as “belonging to God.” I don’t know if the newer versions are more accurate or if we just don’t like being thought of us peculiar, but I’m thinking we would make a stronger statement in today’s culture if we were a little more comfortable with being looked at as peculiar. Maybe we are true to our faith in the worship service but do we stand out from the world when we’re out in it? Is there anything that distinguishes us from the land of Canaan?

If the Enemy cannot destroy the believers through open conflict, he will dilute them through subtle compromise.*

July 3, 2026

Revelations 7: 17 (NIV)

“. . . And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Without the presence and the comfort of God the sorrows of life would be unbearable.*

There will be no tears in heaven, but we aren’t promised that we won’t have things to cry about before we get there. Happily, God doesn't leave us to wallow in our earthly sorrows - we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to experience his comfort. We are promised a Comforter (John 14: 16). The Holy Spirit, as our Comforter, serves to provide us with the consolation that we would receive from the personal presence of Jesus.*

Paul tells us in II Corinthians 1: 3 and 4, that God is “the Father of compassion, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in trouble.” My family spent four days at my dad’s bedside, waiting for him to die. It was the worst thing I had ever had to endure and yet I never experienced God’s comfort so completely. A few weeks later, I was able to offer some consolation to a friend as her father was dying.

God doesn’t promise that we won’t have reason to cry but he will wipe away our tears. He provides us with hope that no earthly comfort can ever offer.

The same hand that stretched the heavens will touch your cheeks. The same hand that formed the mountains will caress your face. The same hands that curled in agony as the Roman spike cut through will someday cup your face and brush away your tears. Forever.*

July 2, 2026

Revelation 5: 8 (NIV)

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

The prayers of God’s people are as sweet to Him as incense.*

Incense was an important part of worship in the tabernacle. So important that when God gave Moses the recipe, he warned him that concocting a batch for your own pleasure would result in your being “cut off” from your people (Exodus 30: 34-38). The Old Testament is full of references to incense. David’s prayer in Psalm 141: 2 is a poetic picture of its symbolism: “May my prayer be set before you like incense.” Like God’s favorite fragrance, our prayers rise up to Heaven for his pleasure.

Picture a bowl in Heaven. It’s got your name on it. Every time you pray, your prayers go in the bowl. What do those prayers smell like? I have to admit that my whiney selfish prayers probably don’t smell so sweet. What are the ingredients for a sweet-smelling prayer? I believe the formula would include qualities such as humility; faith; affection; fervency.* Since discovering this verse, I have been more intentional in offering prayers of praise and intercession. They smell SO good!

There is an exquisite beauty in this thought that true prayer is fragrance to God. The pleadings and supplications of His people on the earth rise from lowly homes, from sick rooms, from darkened chambers of grief where loved ones kneel beside their dead, from humble sanctuaries, from stately cathedrals, and are wafted up before God as the breath of flowers is wafted to us in summer days, sweet fields and fragrant gardens. And God “smells a sweet savour.” Prayer is perfume to Him.*

July 1, 2026

Revelation 3: 17, 18 (NIV)

“You say, ‘I am rich . . . and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold . . . so you can become rich; and white clothes . . . so you can cover your nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

Self-sufficiency is the fatal danger of a lukewarm state.*

Remember the fable of the Emperor’s New Clothes? Some con men convinced everyone in the kingdom that they could fashion a new wardrobe for the emperor that only the wisest people could see. No one wanted to be thought stupid so everyone pretended to admire the emperor’s outfit as he paraded around town, until some child, too young to be concerned about what others thought, calls out, “But he’s not wearing any clothes!”

Satan, the world’s greatest con man, had convinced the church members at Laodicea that they were rich and didn’t need a thing. “They had evidently mistaken ‘the good life’ for the righteous life.”* God says to them, through his revelation to John: Not only are you not rich, you are pathetic, blind, and naked. They professed to be Christians but in their rampant materialism they failed to notice that they were “out of communion with Christ.”*

The Laodiceans are not the only ones who ever fell for Satan’s scams. Theirs is the condition of all who are trusting in something other than Jesus Christ. But just as “self-sufficient Laodicea”* is called to repentance (verse 19), God also offers us the chance to cover our nakedness, become rich, and to see again. Learn to value the things that God values – such as faith refined by fire; purity; and spiritual discernment.

The appearance of affluence and self-sufficiency can often blind us to deeper spiritual needs.*

June 30, 2026

Revelation 2: 19, 20 (NIV)

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: . . .

On the sin scale, we’re all tied for worst.*

You may have noticed Paul’s fondness for buttering people up before delivering the bad news. We see God employing the same strategy here in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the church in Thyatira. The Lord commends them for their good works and perseverance, as well as for their love and faith. He is especially proud of their improvement. But after all that glowing praise, he delivers a harsh reprimand for the “cancer [that] was gnawing away at the vitals of the congregation.”*

When I read these verses, I ask myself: Is it possible to please God when you are only partially getting it right? And then I have to ask: How could I ask that? Do we ever get it right? And even if we did finally learn to live a life that is totally pleasing to God, it’s too late; we’ve already got all those past sins on our record.

Or do we? According to Romans 3: 22, our righteousness comes through our faith in Jesus Christ, not through how close we come to “getting it right.”

We are under grace, even when we sin.*

June 29, 2026

Luke 22: 42 (NIV)

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Had any of God’s chosen ever understood why the Lord’s answer to a prayer was not exactly as anticipated?*

My friend probably echoed this prayer for a couple of years. Beginning with the discovery of breast cancer, she endured surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Before she could savor a victory, she faced a new crisis – one after another. She was a bright light of faith in the dark world of cancer sufferers and she was surrounded by an army of prayer warriors. But at the end, she knew that the answer to her prayers was “no.” What I am about to say would have provided little comfort in the midst of her misery: 

We can ask God to deliver us from our troubles and we have faith that he is able; but if he denied the request of his beloved Son, how can we expect our cup of suffering to be taken from us? 

So why pray? More to the point: why did Jesus pray? He already knew what the answer would be. He had lived his whole life knowing what to expect and yet he begged to be released from his horrible fate. He knew it had to be done but still he implored his Father to find some other way. What can we learn from our Savior’s anguished cries in the garden that night?

First, we see Jesus submitting to his Father’s will. Before and after his request, he expressed his concession to the Father’s will. Second, we see that Jesus was not hesitant to tell God what he wanted. Even knowing what he knew, and what he knew that God knew, he clearly expressed what he wanted from God for himself. 

And finally, we learn the most important lesson from Jesus’ prayer: the true purpose of prayer. Jesus didn’t pray to get stuff from God. He didn’t pray because God didn’t know what his Son wanted. Jesus prayed because he and the Father needed to spend time together. When we spend time with our loved ones, we talk; and God, a jealous God, wants our undivided attention when we talk to him. He wants to draw us so close to him that we are compelled to spill our guts to him – to purge ourselves of what we want and binge on what he wants. 

From scripture, we can compile lists of what we should pray for, how we should pray, and whose prayers are answered. But we look to the life of Jesus to see that the true purpose of prayer is . . . prayer.

To be a master of the mystery of prayer one must pray, pray continually, pray hourly, pray at all times, pray without ceasing.*

June 28, 2026

I Kings 19: 11-13 (NIV)

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountain apart and shattered the rocks . . . but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. . . . Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

There is little joy to be found in having unrealistic expectations.*

Unrealistic expectations can ruin our dreams and our relationships. In our society, we are bombarded with messages that cause us to think that if we want it bad enough and work hard enough, we deserve whatever it is that we obsess over. The truth is, wanting and hard work aren’t always enough. Luck, talent, opportunity, genetics (Danny Devito was never going to be drafted by the NBA) – many factors are involved in how our lives turn out.

Keeping expectations real is a constant balancing act. Our aspirations aren’t the only area where we have been misled into a fantasy version of reality. Do any of these phrases sound familiar:

    ·         Name it and claim it!

    ·         Health and wealth gospel.

    ·         Pray through.

    ·         I know the plans I have for you . . .

    ·         Just ask Jesus into your heart.

These are just a few expressions that have caused people to look for God in all the wrong places and with unrealistic expectations. They are based on unscriptural principles or taken out of their intended scriptural context. Elijah was sent out on the mountain to look for God in an object lesson for all of us. God was not where Elijah expected him to be – not in the tornado; not in the earthquake; not in the fire. We are in awe of God when confronted by forces of nature but they are not how God usually chooses to speak to us. When he spoke to Elijah, it was in a whisper. In order to hear a whisper, you have to lean in and listen.

God speaks to us through his word but sometimes his Spirit whispers to us in unexpected ways to illuminate what we have read. I have heard his whisper through (of all things) a commercial for feminine hygiene products, and through the delight of a needy person upon receiving two rolls of toilet paper from a food pantry. He has whispered his answer to me when I have voiced my despairing – and, I thought, rhetorical – questions. He has whispered into my mind not what I expected to say but what I needed to say.

Has God ever spoken to you in an unexpected way? Nature testifies of God but we must lean in and listen if we want to hear his voice.

Because we look for the bonfire, we miss the candle. Because we listen for the shout, we miss the whisper.*