May 31, 2026

Acts 8: 6, 8, 26-35 (NIV)

When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. . . . So there was great joy in that city. . . . Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch . . . Then Philip . . . told him the good news about Jesus.

Christ doesn’t just save sinners generally, he saves specific sinners individually.*

It’s thrilling to hear reports and see videos of large numbers of people being baptized. We rejoice when more souls are saved. But most often, the lost are won to the Lord one soul at a time. Case in point: Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. 

Philip was holding a successful revival meeting in Samaria when an angel appeared with orders: go south! As far as we know, Philip wasn’t told why he was being relocated and there is no indication that he even asked. He just went. As another writer expressed it: “He left a place where he was able to tell hundreds of people about Christ to walk along a road where he would encounter hardly anyone.”* But he did encounter someone - someone who was seeking, so God sent Philip to preach to him. 

God cares about individuals. One lost sheep is as precious as the hundred safely tucked away in the barn. Be willing, as Philip was, to be God’s messenger to the lost. Don’t be discouraged when the audience is small. We might ask ourselves: was Philip more productive when he was baptizing crowds or when he converted the “lone Ethiopian on the desert road?”* One soul at a time can soon become a multitude. 

Does someone you love need Jesus? Pray that God will send a messenger like Philip to preach to them. And pray that their hearts will be receptive to the good news.

Someone may suggest that those we may save are only like a drop in the ocean. But every drop is a soul.*

May 30, 2026

Mark 10: 51 (NIV)

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

Some Christians are burdened by an unexpressed fear that it may be wrong to want anything.*

For most of my life, I have been asking God for the wrong things. I find myself reluctant to express my true desires to God because . . . well, I know that he’s going to give me what’s best so it must not matter what I want. And I’m thinking that might be the wrong attitude!

Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him. I believe Jesus wanted the man to be specific. Would Jesus have granted his request if he had asked for anything other than healing? Who knows. But what if the man had been cautious – even timid – in his request? Perhaps asked for a new cane, a service dog, money . . . How silly would that have been when Jesus had the power to make him able to see!

I say, if you want something, ask for it. Ask for it according to God’s will. Wait expectantly for God to give you what you asked for - or something better. I believe that if you are thankful for what you get, you won’t regret what you didn’t get. As your faith matures, I predict that your asking will mature, too. 

I look forward to the day when I always want what God wants. And then when he asks, “What do you want me to do for you,” I won’t hesitate to tell him.

The more we thank, the more we see to be thankful for.*

May 29, 2026

Isaiah 6: 8 (NIV)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

How can God use me, exactly as I am right now?*

God speaks to me in various ways. Most often, his Spirit speaks to me through the Bible - a magical book that holds messages for me to find just when I need them. Sometimes God uses my preacher or the author of a book to communicate with me. Occasionally, he speaks directly to my mind. Whatever method he uses, I confirm that the message is from God by holding it up to the light of his word.

What if I heard God’s voice with my ears? What if he said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Would I go? Would I think, “Oh, he doesn’t mean me”? How would I know he was talking to me?

Well, just because my ears didn’t hear him ask, “Whom shall I send?” doesn’t mean he’s not talking to me. “Go” was Jesus’ final message to all of us. He wasn’t hinting around for a few volunteers. Our response, as his disciples should be, “Here I am. Where do you want me to go?” If we are tuned in to his voice – as his sheep are expected to be – we can know where he wants us to go, whether it is to our family in our own home or to the other side of the planet. As I said, God speaks to us through his word and through his people, so pay attention!

Where the world’s deep hunger meets your deep gladness is where God calls you.*

May 28, 2026

Mark 8: 27-29 (NIV)

. . .  he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Jesus’ disciples called him “Lord,” but he didn’t hesitate to call them “friends.”*

If someone asked me, “Who is Mark Durbin?” I would say, “He is my husband.” His mother would say, “He is my son.” Someone at church might say, “He is my Sunday School teacher.” When identifying someone, we usually begin with who they are to us. But underneath the basic question is another implied question: “Do you believe there really is a Mark Durbin?” If you don’t believe he exists, you won’t care what he means to me.

Jesus’ disciples believed in God. They believed in Jesus the person. But they didn’t understand Jesus’ relationship to God and they certainly struggled with grasping what he might mean to them. Can you relate to them? You believe in God. You even believe in Jesus. Probably most of you believe he is the Son of God. You know who other people say he is. But who is he to you? Can you claim a relationship with him? Is he your Savior? Lord? Friend?

Stop and listen to Jesus as he asks you, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” Does your answer involve what you have heard others say about him, or do you have a defining relationship with him?

We need to know Jesus the person, not just the plan.*

May 27, 2026

Psalm 46: 10 (NIV)

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

If we don’t spend time “with him,” how can we know his heart?

When my boys were little guys, our mornings were hectic. Hurrying was not a concept they understood. Getting them dressed, fed, and out the door was exhausting for this working mom who had to get herself dressed and fed, and who is neither a morning person nor a hurrier. There were a few mornings, though – well, maybe two or three - when we somehow had an extra moment before we had to leave for work and preschool. So we sat together on the couch and breathed. We were free to speak what was on our minds or just to sit quietly and enjoy being together. I cherish the memory of those few precious moments and I think my boys remember them fondly, too.

I have recently begun implementing a similar routine with God. We don’t exactly sit on the couch together but the results are the same.  In my journal, I write, “Be still.” Then I try to quiet my mind. The challenge for me is that a quiet mind usually leads to a sleeping mind but it is worth the effort to stay awake. After a time of stillness, I add, “You are God,” and continue writing what has been revealed to me in the stillness. I have never been more aware of God’s presence than in those moments. Sometimes he reveals things about himself; sometimes we just “sit on the couch” and enjoy the quietness. As with any spiritual discipline, it improves with practice.

If you are looking for a way to turbo-charge your devotional time with God, adding this discipline to your Bible study is a good place to start. Allow him to speak to you through his word then sit quietly in his presence, acknowledging who he is and what he does. You won’t be disappointed!

When the Lord is present, you are not alone.*

May 26, 2026

John 16: 2 (NIV)

“A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”

How blind we can become! The cataracts of self-interest and self-satisfaction must be removed. We must see life in the clear, clean light of truth – God’s truth.*

Jesus’ prediction was fulfilled vividly in the life of Saul. Before his conversion (and name-change), Saul was a terrorist who believed that he was doing the will of God by persecuting Christians. Acts 8: 3 gives a chilling description of his fervor: “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” And in Acts 9: 1, we learn that he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” Read on in Acts chapter 9 for Saul’s dramatic conversion from persecutor to preacher.

No amount of sincerity could make up for the wrongness of Saul’s actions. We can’t excuse bad behavior with a shrug and an “Oh, he means well.” When Jesus hijacked Saul on the road to Damascus, he didn’t minimize his sin; he told Saul what he was doing wrong and what to do about it. And, to his credit, Saul didn’t argue. (You might say he saw the light!) He did as Jesus instructed him – and he prayed until the Lord revealed the next phase of his plan.

Have you ever learned that you were sincerely wrong? How hard was it to let go of your wrong beliefs and behavior? Are you sure that what you believe today could withstand the blinding light of the Truth? Perhaps you are holding on to bad doctrine because it is what you were taught as a child. Maybe it’s what your family still believes and you are reluctant to separate yourself from them. Saul could have referred to his Jewish heritage and refused to obey the voice of Jesus – but he recognized Jesus’ authority over the law and tradition, and chose to let go of his sincerely wrong beliefs. Do you need to make that choice, too?

Every individual carries within him a set of convictions born of past experience and the influence of other personalities. He is apt to consider his opinions sacrosanct and rationalize principle out of them.*

May 25, 2026

John 4: 24 (NIV)

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

We all have two choices in life: to be surprised by the absurdity of the universe or to be surprised by the meaningfulness of the universe.*

Part of my job as a mom was to help my children understand the difference between fantasy and reality. There is no such thing as ghosts, Santa Claus, or animals that chat with humans. Did I confuse them, then, when I also taught them about God who is invisible, who is everywhere, and actually is a ghost?

It defies logic. We don’t believe in magic so why believe in the supernatural? And yet . . . when we trace nature back to its very beginning, we are left with two choices for how we got here – and both of them are unbelievable. So I choose to believe that God is spirit and that all things were created by him.

Once we have acknowledged God as creator, we find ourselves again at the crossroads of choice. Ignoring him is an option that many have chosen. I choose to worship him in spirit and in truth. What will your choice be?

Atheists are the greatest fools in nature; for they see there is a world that could not make itself, and yet they will not own there is a God that made it.*