June 22, 2026

Romans 6: 22 (NIV)

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

He rules whether or not we admit it.*

We Americans tend to have a negative reaction to the idea of being slaves to anyone or anything. We are free! We are similar to the Jews who got so indignant at Jesus’ suggestion that the truth would set them free: “We have never been slaves of anyone!” (John 8: 33 and 34) (Never mind that they were slaves in Egypt, Babylon, and even at that moment in the Promised Land under Roman rule.)

Paul uses slavery as an analogy to contrast our old life with our new life in Christ (see Romans 6: 6). In human terms, a slave has no control over his choices but spiritually, we are free to choose our master: impurity and ever-increasing wickedness; or righteousness leading to holiness (Romans 6: 19).

While we sort through our feelings about slavery, we overlook the real point: the Lordship of Jesus. In Matthew 28: 18, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That makes him Lord of Everything. And when we choose to be his slaves, suddenly the analogy changes and we become his children – heirs who, if we choose to share in his suffering, may also share in his glory (Romans 8: 17).

As His children, we have family privileges, assume family responsibilities, and dwell in family affection.*

June 21, 2026

Genesis 12: 2 (NIV)

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

God delights in making somebodies into nobodies so he can make the nobodies into the somebodies he had in mind.*

I never longed for motherhood, but since June 8, 1987, I am overwhelmed by the honor of being Will and Jake’s mom. I am humbled that God entrusted me with the awesome responsibility of their physical welfare and their spiritual development. They have brought me nothing but joy (keeping in mind that James said to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds!) and I have to ask myself, “Why me?”

So, we ask ourselves, "Why Abraham?" As someone else has observed, “Theoretically, God could have established his covenant with anyone.”* Was Abraham the only man in the world who met the qualifications to be the father of a great nation? Had God already offered the job to someone else who turned him down? All we know for sure is that God chose Abraham because he chose to choose Abraham. His selection may appear to be random but nature proves and scripture confirms that God is orderly and never purposeless.

God may not have chosen you or me to be famous historical figures, but he has chosen us to be his children. Abraham, though handpicked by God to receive the blessing, could have chosen to decline the honor. We must decide, too, whether we will accept the call to his family. We are part of God’s plan (Ephesians 1: 11) but we are included only through our connection with Jesus Christ. We are wise to follow Abraham’s example of obedience but we must never forget that it was for his faith that he was deemed as righteous.

We aren’t all special.  There was one Moses and millions of followers, one Mary and a country full of unremarkable Jewish girls.*

June 20, 2026

Acts 5: 41 (NIV)

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

Something supernatural happens when Christians are so submitted to God’s will and his Spirit that they are willing to endure persecution – and even death – for his name’s sake.*

Can’t you just see the apostles – those formerly timid followers of Jesus – leaving their audience with the Sanhedrin, high-fiving and fist-bumping as they went? Their observers must have found it puzzling that these men would be so exuberant after having just been flogged for preaching the gospel.

We know that we, too, should “count it all joy,” but could we? Perhaps our faith is strong enough to defy those who persecute us. And we know we would never bow down to idols or deny Jesus; but just how happy would we be to suffer for our faith? I confess that I get whiney when I am merely inconvenienced!

What makes these men different from you and me? Turn back a page to Acts chapter four and read about Peter and John’s appearance before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legal authorities, who badly wanted to penalize them for preaching the gospel but who were paralyzed by their fear of public opinion. When Peter and John’s “people” heard their story, they “raised their voices together in prayer to God.” (4: 24) Did they ask God to deliver them from those who were conspiring against them? Did they ask him to strike down their enemies? No. They said, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.” (4: 29) And after they prayed, the room was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God boldly (4: 31).

Do you wish to be transformed from a timid follower of Jesus to a bold proclaimer of the gospel? Pray this same prayer for boldness. Pray that the Spirit will shake your house and fill you up and enable you to speak boldly. Then you can count yourself among those who rejoice when they have been found worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name!

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men and women. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.*

June 19, 2026

I John 4: 18 (NIV)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I
f it were a question of our own love, then every honest Christian would be continually in fear if he thought that his final acceptance depended on his own inward perfection in love.*

In First Corinthians, chapter 13, Paul defines love by listing examples of what love is and what love is not. When John writes about “perfect” love, is he adding another dimension to love? Or might we conclude that there is no such thing as “imperfect love”? We call it love but if it is selfish, jealous, neglectful, or abusive, is it really love?

In verse 16, John states that God is love. If we substitute God for love in our passage, it looks like this: There is no fear in God. But perfect God drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in God. Now we start to understand what John is trying to tell us. We know that if we are in God, we have no reason to fear punishment because God is – well . . . love.

The world doesn’t fear God's punishment. But just because a person doesn’t feel fearful doesn’t mean he has nothing to fear. So while John’s words offer comfort and relief for believers, those outside of God’s perfect love have an eternity to dread. If only they knew . . . Maybe someone should tell them . . .

The enemy of fear is love; the way to put off fear, then, is to put on love.*

June 18, 2026

II Timothy 2: 8, 9 (NIV)

This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained.

How trivial and selfish my concerns are compared to those of people who seem to have stepped right out of the pages of the NewTestament.*

Thanks to Facebook posts from “Voices of the Martyrs,” I am often reminded to pray for the persecuted church around the world. I read of Christians who are beaten; imprisoned; forced to watch as loved ones are tortured. But not all persecution involves brutality - there are many nations where religious freedom is limited or nonexistent. These brothers and sisters manage to stand firm in their faith in spite of being deprived of a complete Bible in their own language (if they are even able to read at all!), and the freedom to gather with fellow believers. How do they do it? Access to the word of God and fellowship with other believers are so essential to my spiritual growth, how would I manage without them?

Paul answers my questions with one statement: God’s word is not chained. God’s word is not limited to paper and ink or biblegateway.com.  Its power cannot be defused by laws. Incomplete knowledge does not deter the Holy Spirit. The gospel is not confined by prison bars.

Pray with me for the persecuted church. Be mindful daily of the absolute luxury you have to pick up a Bible and read it. Take advantage of your many opportunities for sweet fellowship. Pray that the Lord will send workers where the gospel is needed most. Prepare yourself to be one of those workers.

I can pray that Lord of Heaven can so alter the affairs of earth that His spokesman will have special opportunity to speak for Him.*

June 17, 2026

Ephesians 5: 28,29  (NIV)

In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.

True Christian love involves the submission of one’s desires and even one’s needs for the good of the person loved.*

Throughout history (and in many cultures today), couples didn’t meet, then fall in love, and then get married. When Paul says that husbands must love their wives, he doesn’t make exceptions for those who didn’t get to choose the women they married, so there is no loophole either for those who claim they just don’t love each other anymore.

In our culture, we can’t imagine wanting to marry someone we aren’t “in love with.” We forget that marriage is a legal contract between two parties. I suppose that we could make feelings part of the vows, therefore making “falling out of love” grounds for dissolution, but Christian marriages are held to a higher standard. Earlier in this chapter, wives are instructed to submit to their husbands as if to the Lord (a whole 'nother topic of discussion!) but here, Paul makes it clear what Christ’s definition of love is and that husbands are required to love their wives like that – no matter how they feel about it.

I am not proposing that love as defined by Christ will save all marriages. As in any legal agreement, there are terms and conditions that are binding on both parties. One person’s failure to comply can nullify the contract. But in any relationship between Christians, a third party is involved: Christ.* Love like his puts self last and transforms our expectations and priorities. And such love is required of all of us, not just husbands and wives.

In Christ, our relationship with each other is suddenly more intimate than any human relationship has ever been!*

June 16, 2026

John 2: 1-11 (NIV)

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. . . . and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine . . . This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee . . . [Read the entire passage]

Yahweh is constantly overseeing human affairs.*

Many – make that most – times, my prayers are shallow and selfish. I am aware of BIG needs in the world – lost souls, persecuted Christians, dying children, man’s inhumanity to man – but my world is small. Even when I pray for other people, they are usually the people in my world. As I grow in Christ and learn to delight in him, the desires of my heart become less frivolous and more in harmony with his will. But as my relationship with the Lord becomes more intimate, the more aware I am that he cares about what I care about – even in my small world.

Jesus demonstrates that he is interested in more than just the big picture by performing, as his first miracle, a favor for his mother. As Max Lucado writes, he “used his premiere miracle on a social miscue.”* Was there any eternal significance to saving his host from embarrassment? John says it was the first of his miraculous signs, that through it he revealed his glory, and that his disciples put their faith in him. As to his purpose in performing this particular miracle at this particular venue, we aren’t told; the facts in evidence, however, tell us two important things about Jesus:

• He chose to act on his own schedule for his own reasons.
• His interest in human affairs is not limited to weighty matters, but his involvement has eternal significance.

Invite Jesus into your life. I can’t promise that he will be the life of the party but he promises to give you life to the full (John 10: 10). Let him handle the details and the heavy lifting.

While he chided the religious elite of his day, he listened deeply and intently to the cries and the pleas of the common folk. They mattered to him. Their personal suffering provided the context for the gospel.*