God sent the Holy Spirit to guide and remind us.

Thank you LORD for giving us the Holy Spirit, who is now always with us, teaching us and guiding us and reminding us to follow all your teachings.   Lord, help me to seek You for the answers I need. Help me trust You completely and find real peace in You.  Help me LORD to stay away from temptations and sins. Thank you LORD. 

Text:  John 14: 15-26  NIV   

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 

17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 

20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 

21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  

24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Dale Earnhardt Jr. describes the awful moment he understood his father was gone. Motor racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. had just been killed in a horrific crash at the end of the Daytona 500—a race in which Dale Jr. had also participated. “There’s this noise coming outta me that I can’t re-create,” said the younger Earnhardt. “[It’s] this bellow of shock and sorrow—and fear.” And then the lonely truth: “I’m gonna have to do this by myself.”

“Having Dad was like having a cheat sheet,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “Having Dad was like knowing all the answers.”

Jesus’ disciples had learned to look to Him for all the answers. Now, on the eve of His crucifixion, He assured them He wouldn’t leave them alone. “I will ask the Father,” Jesus said, “and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17).

Jesus extended that comfort to all who would believe in Him. “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching,” He said. “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (v. 23).

Those who choose to follow Christ have within them the Spirit who teaches them “all things” and reminds them of everything Jesus taught (v. 26). We don’t have all the answers, but we have the Spirit of the One who does.  By Tim Gustafson 

COMMENTARY:  The verse immediately prior to John 14:15–26 is often misunderstood. Jesus said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (v. 14). This “asking” must be properly understood. Christ promised the Holy Spirit would “help you and be with you forever” (v. 16) and would “teach you all things” (v. 26). The apostle Paul said, “The Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:27). When we pray in the Spirit, we ask not out of selfishness but according to “the will of God.”  by Tim Gustafson

FROM ME: Thank you LORD for giving us the Holy Spirit, who is now always with us, teaching us and guiding us and reminding us to follow all your teachings.   Lord, help me to seek You for the answers I need. Help me trust You completely and find real peace in You.  Help me LORD to stay away from temptations and sins. Thank you LORD.

Posted December 30, 2023

We should not conform to the pattern of this world.

Lord, please make me more like Jesus each day. Help me LORD to avoid sin. Help me to transform my mind, by the renewing of my mind.  Help me to not conform to the pattern of this world.  Thank you LORD. 

Text:  Romans 12: 1-2  NIV

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  

2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

In 2014, biologists captured a pair of orange pygmy seahorses in the Philippines. They took the marine creatures, along with a section of the orange coral sea fan they called home, to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Scientists wanted to know if the pygmy seahorses were born to match the color of their parents or their environment. When the pygmy seahorses gave birth to dull brown babies, scientists placed a purple coral sea fan into the tank. The babies, whose parents were orange, changed their color to match the purple sea fan. Due to their fragility by nature, their survival depends on their God-given ability to blend into their environment.  

Blending-in is a useful defense mechanism in nature. However, God invites all people to receive salvation and stand out in the world by how we live. The apostle Paul urges believers in Jesus to honor God in every aspect of our lives, to worship Him by offering our bodies as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). Due to our fragility as human beings affected by sin, our spiritual health as believers depends on the Holy Spirit “renewing” our minds and empowering us to avoid conforming to “the pattern of this world” that rejects God and glorifies sin (v. 2).

Blending into this world means living in opposition to the Scriptures. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can look and love just like Jesus!

By Xochitl Dixon

Commentary:  Paul wrote the book of Romans to believers in Jesus at Rome (Romans 1:7) to show that all human beings are sinners in need of salvation (chs. 1–3), what God did to save us, and how we can have a right relationship with Him (chs. 4–11). After explaining the theological foundations of the gospel (chs. 1–11), the apostle instructed believers in Christ how to live in a right relationship with God (chs. 12–16). The last four chapters provide a pattern of discipleship, teaching believers how to respond to God’s mercy and grace (12:1–2), how to use spiritual gifts (vv. 3–8), and how to relate to different people in the church and society (12:9–16:27). Though Jesus died to save us, God doesn’t demand that we die for Him. Rather, we’re to live for Him in His perfect will (12:1–2), in humility (v. 3), and in unity (vv. 4–8).   by K. T. Sim

From me:  Lord, please make me more like Jesus each day. Help me LORD to avoid sin. Help me to transform my mind, by the renewing of my mind.  Help me to not conform to the pattern of this world.  Thank you LORD. 

Posted December 29, 2023

Jesus is the Light of this world.

Lord, You said :  "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In your light, we can now see clearly the various stumbling blocks, sin, and blind spots in our lives and in our paths.  Help us to see these stubling blocks, allow us to remove such darkness from our lives as You shines your light into our hearts and on our paths.   Help me to identify my sins, weaknesses, and unconfessed sins.  Give me the light of your illumination and conviction.  That you LORD that you show us the way and allow us to see the light of day.   

Text:  John 1: 1-14  NIV

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

2 He was with God in the beginning. 

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 

7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 

8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 

11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 

13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHTS:

“Go to the light!” That’s what my husband advised as we struggled to find our way out of a big city hospital on a recent Sunday afternoon. We’d visited a friend, and when we exited an elevator, we couldn’t find anyone during weekend hours to point us to the front doors—and the brilliant Colorado sunlight. Roaming around half-lit hallways, we finally encountered a man who saw our confusion. “These hallways all look the same,” he said. “But the exit’s this way.” With his directions, we found the exit doors—leading, indeed, to the bright sunlight.

Jesus invited confused, lost unbelievers to follow Him out of their spiritual darkness. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In His light, we can see stumbling blocks, sin, and blind spots, allowing Him to remove such darkness from our lives as He shines His light into our hearts and on our path. Like the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness, Christ’s light brings us God’s presence, protection, and guidance.

As John explained, Jesus is “the true light” (John 1:9) and “the darkness has not overcome it” (v. 5). Instead of wandering through life, we can seek Him for direction as He lights the way.

By Patricia Raybon

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

John declares, “In the beginning was the Word” (1:1), which immediately establishes a 

connection to Genesis 1:1. The apostle tells us this creator of the world is also our very life and light (John 1:4), and in verse 14, he plainly identifies this Word as Jesus. John will return to this theme in his first letter when he says of Christ: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes . . . and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). John recorded what he directly observed. His writings are a firsthand account of God in the flesh.

BY Tim Gustafson

FROM ME:  Lord, You said that you said: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In your light, we can now see clearly the various stumbling blocks, sin, and blind spots in our lives and in our paths.  Please remove such darkness from our lives as You shines your light into our hearts and on our paths. Help me to identify my sins, weaknesses, and unconfessed sins.  Give me the light of your illumination and conviction.  That you LORD that you show us the way and allow us to see the light of day.   

Posted December 23, 2023

God has bestowed every spiritual blessings on us.

Thank you LORD for the many spiritual blessings that You have given me.  I am so unworthy of them.  I am a sinner. But in your love and mercy, You pardoned me, and gave me a new life, I was reborn, redeemed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for the price of my freedom. I thank You so much, dear Lord.  Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me and always walking by my side. You’ve given me more than I could have imagined. I love being known and loved by You and sharing You with others.  I worship You, O Lord. 

Text:  Ephesians 1:3-14  New International Version 

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ 

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. 

In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 

8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,

9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 

10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 

12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 

13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 

14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHTS: 

“Christianity is not for me. It’s boring. One of my values I hold on to is adventure. That’s life to me,” a young woman told me. It saddened me that she hadn’t yet learned the incredible joy and excitement that comes with following Jesus—an adventure like no other. I excitedly shared with her about Jesus and how real life is found in Him.

Mere words are inadequate to describe the adventure of knowing and walking with Jesus, God’s Son. But in Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul gives us a small but powerful glimpse of life with Him. God gives us spiritual blessings directly from heaven (v. 3), holiness and blamelessness in God’s eyes (v. 4), and adoption as His own into the King’s royal family (v. 5).  

He blesses us with the lavish gift of His forgiveness and grace (vv. 7–8), understanding of the mystery of His will (v. 9), and a new purpose of living “for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). The Holy Spirit comes to live in us to empower and lead us (v. 13), and He guarantees eternity in God’s presence forever (v. 14).

When Jesus Christ enters our life, we discover that getting to know Him more and following Him closely is the greatest of adventures. Seek Him now and every day for real life.

By Anne Cetas

Commentary:  Paul delivers Ephesians 1:3–14 in the form of a doxology—or praise—to God. Paul, a Jew, writes to gentile believers in Jesus, assuring them of their adoption (v. 5) into an unparalleled inheritance. When he says, “we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ” (v. 12), he’s speaking of the first believers, who were Jewish. Yet he’s quick to include “you,” that is, the gentiles, who also believed (v. 13). And he gives us great hope: we’re “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13–14).

by Tim Gustafson

From me: 

Thank you LORD for the many spiritual blessings that You have given me.  I am so unworthy of them.  I am a sinner. But in your love and mercy, You pardoned me, and gave me a new life, I was reborn, redeemed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for the price of my freedom. I thank You so much, dear Lord.  Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me and always walking by my side. You’ve given me more than I could have imagined. I love being known and loved by You and sharing You with others.  I worship You, O Lord. 

Posted December 9, 2023

Do not rely on objects or idols or statues.

LORD, thank you for reminding me that I should not trust in objects or idols or statues or amulets or money or any material thing, for blessings or protection.  But only rely on your presence and help for protection and blessings and grace. Loving Father, forgive me when I’m tempted to put my faith in anything but You.  Help me LORD to always rely on You alone. 

Text:  1 Samuel 4:1-11   New International Version

1 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. 

2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. 

3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 

6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 

7 the Philistines were afraid. “A god has[a] come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. 

8 We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 

9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 

11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Too late, Tom felt the chilling “click” beneath his combat boots. Instinctively, he bounded away in an adrenaline-fueled leap. The deadly device hidden underground didn’t detonate. Later, the explosive ordnance disposal team unearthed eighty pounds of high explosives from the spot. Tom wore those boots until they fell apart. “My lucky boots,” he calls them.

Tom may have clung to those boots simply to commemorate his close call. But people are often tempted to consider objects “lucky” or to even give them the more spiritual label “blessed.” Danger arrives when we credit an object—even a symbol—as a source of God’s blessing.

The Israelites learned this the hard way. The Philistine army had just routed them in battle. As Israel reviewed the debacle, someone thought of taking the “ark of the Lord’s covenant” into a rematch (1 Samuel 4:3). That seemed like a good idea (vv. 6–9). After all, the ark of the covenant was a holy object.

But the Israelites had the wrong perspective. By itself, the ark couldn’t bring them anything. Putting their faith in an object instead of in the presence of the one true God, the Israelites suffered an even worse defeat, and the enemy captured the ark (vv. 10–11).

Mementos that remind us to pray or to thank God for His goodness are fine. But they’re never the source of blessing. That is God—and God alone.

By Tim Gustafson

Commentary:  It’s not surprising the Philistines didn’t know much about God. But it is surprising that the Israelites also demonstrated little knowledge of Him (1 Samuel 4:1–11). The Philistines had heard of God’s greatness but misunderstood it. 

They recalled the plagues He used to free Israel from Egypt more than three hundred years earlier but remembered them as taking place in the wilderness, not in Egypt, and attributed God’s power to “mighty gods” (v. 8). Israel mistakenly thought the ark’s presence meant the presence of God Himself (v. 3). They were seeking military success instead of seeking the One who brings that success.

by Tim Gustafson

From me:  LORD, thank you for reminding me that I should not trust in objects or idols or statues or amulets or money or any material thing, for blessings or protection.  But only rely on your presence and help for protection and blessings and grace. Loving Father, forgive me when I’m tempted to put my faith in anything but You.  Help me LORD to always rely on You alone. 

Posted December 4, 2023

The Lord Jesus said we should love our enemies

Thank you LORD for reminding me that I should love, and be kind to my "enemies", those who have hurt me, or has done bad things against me.  I need to share the love of God, the gospel to them. Help me LORD to pray for even the difficult people in my orbit.  Please give me Your heart of grace and compassion to pray for them, for You love them.  Help me LORD to deepen my prayer life.

Text:  Luke 6:27-31   New International Version

Love for Enemies  

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 

29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 

30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

For years, John had been somewhat of an irritant at church. He was bad-tempered, demanding, and often rude. He complained constantly about not being “served” well, and about volunteers and staff not doing their job. He was, honestly, hard to love.

So when I heard that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, I found it difficult to pray for him. Memories of his harsh words and unpleasant character filled my mind. But remembering Jesus’ call to love, I was drawn to say a simple prayer for John each day. A few days later, I found myself beginning to think a bit less often about his unlikeable qualities. He must be really hurting, I thought. Perhaps he’s feeling really lost now.

Prayer, I realize, opens ourselves, our feelings, and our relationships with others to God, allowing Him to enter and bring His perspective into it all. The act of submitting our will and feelings to Him in prayer allows the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, slowly but surely. No wonder Jesus’ call to love our enemies is bound up tightly with a call to prayer: “Pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28).

I have to admit, I still struggle to think well of John. But with the Spirit’s help, I’m learning to see him through God’s eyes and heart—as a person to be forgiven and loved. 

By Leslie Koh

Commentary:   The challenging commands that Jesus gives in Luke 6:27–31 are clear: we’re to love, bless, and do good to others. By reading further, however, we see the rationale for these exhortations: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  

Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (vv. 35–36). When followers of Jesus “flip the script” on hate, abuse, and selfishness, they demonstrate their kinship to their heavenly Father whose care is shared without discrimination. Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:1–2 carry the same sentiment: “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

From me:  Thank you LORD for reminding me that I should love, and be kind to my "enemies", those who have hurt me, or has done bad things against me.  I need to share the love of God, the gospel to them. Help me LORD to pray for even the difficult people in my orbit.  Please give me Your heart of grace and compassion to pray for them, for You love them.  Help me LORD to deepen my prayer life.

Posted December 2, 2023

God has given us victory

Thank you LORD that You have gone ahead of me and have fought and won my battles for me.  You have paved the road to victory.  LORD, I praise and honor You for the victory that You have given us.  You’re stronger than my enemies, dear God. I lift up Your name in faith today.

Text:   2 Chronicles 20:15-22  New International Version

15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.  

16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 

17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 

19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 

21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”  

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHTS

At some military camps across Europe during World War II, an unusual type of supply was air-dropped for homesick soldiers—upright pianos. They were specially manufactured to contain only 10 percent of the normal amount of metal, and they received special water-resistant glue and anti-insect treatments. The pianos were rugged and simple but provided hours of spirit-lifting entertainment for soldiers who gathered around to sing familiar songs of home.

Singing—especially songs of praise—is one way that believers in Jesus can find peace in the battle too. King Jehoshaphat found this to be true when he faced vast invading armies (2 Chronicles 20). Terrified, the king called all the people together for prayer and fasting (vv. 3–4). In response, God told him to lead out soldiers to meet the enemy, promising that they’d “not have to fight this battle” (v. 17). Jehoshaphat believed God and acted in faith. He appointed singers to go ahead of the soldiers and sing praise to God for the victory they believed they would see (v. 21). And as their music began, He miraculously defeated their enemies and saved His people (v. 22). 

Victory doesn’t always come when and how we want it to. But we can always proclaim Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death that’s already been won for us. We can choose to rest in a spirit of worship even in the middle of a war zone.

By Karen Pimpo

Commentary:   To “stand before the Lord” is a Scriptural expression for waiting in God’s presence (see Leviticus 9:5–6; Deuteronomy 4:10–14). In 2 Chronicles 20, the word stand is a significant theme. Jehoshaphat “stood up in . . . the temple of the Lord” to pray (v. 5), saying “we will stand in your presence . . . and you will hear us and save us” (v. 9). Then all the people of Judah “stood . . . before the Lord” (v. 13). In response, God encouraged them to “stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord [would] give [them]” (v. 17).

BY Monica La Rose

From me:  Thank you LORD that You have gone ahead of me and have fought and won my battles for me.  You have paved the road to victory.  LORD, I praise and honor You for the victory that You have given us.  You’re stronger than my enemies, dear God. I lift up Your name in faith today.

Posted December 1, 2023

LORD, help me to stay away from sin.

LORD, please help me to be discerning, to see the deception and the false stories and traps laid down by the devil.  Help me to stay away from sin.  Please deliver me, Jesus, from the devil’s deception. LORD, give me grace to live for You. I worship you O LORD.  Help me to obey you today (especially your command that I should love my neighbor as myself). 

Text:   Genesis 3:1-10  New International Version

The Fall

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 

5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

“The baby birds will fly tomorrow!” My wife, Cari, was elated about the progress a family of wrens was making in a hanging basket on our front porch. She’d watched them daily, taking pictures as the mother brought food to the nest.

Cari got up early the next morning to look in on them. She moved some of the greenery aside covering the nest but instead of seeing baby birds, the narrow eyes of a serpent met hers. The snake had scaled a vertical wall, slithered into the nest, and devoured them all.

Cari was heartbroken and angry. I was out of town, so she called a friend to remove the snake. But the damage was done.

Scripture tells of another serpent who left destruction in his path. The serpent in the garden of Eden deceived Eve about the tree God had warned her against eating from: “You will not certainly die,” he lied, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5).

Sin and death entered the world as a result of Eve and Adam’s disobedience to God, and the deception wrought by “that ancient serpent, who is the devil” continues (Revelation 20:2). But Jesus came “to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8), and through Him we’re restored to relationship with God. One day, He’ll make “everything new” (Revelation 21:5).

By James Banks  

Commentary:  Jesus’ beloved disciple John recognized in the serpent’s temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1–7) the fundamental temptations all people face. He wrote that “everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes from the . . . world” (1 John 2:16). His words echo Eve’s thoughts as she looked at the tree: it was good for food, pleased the eye, and would make one wise like God (Genesis 3:6). We all face the same kinds of temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). Instead of giving in, however, the Spirit will help us to stand firm in the faith (Galatians 5:16; 1 Peter 5:8–9).

by Jed Ostoich

From me:  LORD, please help me to be discerning, to see the deception and the false stories and traps laid down by the devil.  Help me to stay away from sin.  Please deliver me, Jesus, from the devil’s deception. LORD, give me grace to live for You. I worship you O LORD.  Help me to obey you today (especially your command that I should love my neighbor as myself). 

Posted Nov 29, 2023

God made us His children

Thank you LORD that You gave us the right and privilege to become your children. We are so dirty, unclean and unworthy to be your children, but because of your great love for us, you showered us your love by allowing us to become your children.  It is awesome.  Thank you LORD. 

Text:  1 John 3:1-3  New International Version 

1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 

3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

ODB:   After Sherman Smith recruited Deland McCullough to play American football for Miami University, he grew to love him and became the father Deland never had. Deland had great admiration for Sherman and aimed to become the man he was. Decades later, when Deland tracked down his birth mom, she shocked him with the news, “Your father’s name is Sherman Smith.” Yes, that Sherman Smith. Coach Smith was stunned to learn he had a son, and Deland was stunned that his father figure was literally his father!

The next time they met, Sherman hugged Deland and said, “My son.” Deland had never heard that from a father. He knew Sherman “was saying it from a place of ‘I’m proud. This is my son,’ ” and he was overwhelmed. 

We too should be overwhelmed by the perfect love of our heavenly Father. John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). We’re as dumbfounded as Deland, who didn’t dare think someone like Sherman could be his dad. Is it really true? John insists, yes, “that is what we are!” (v. 1).

If you believe in Jesus, His Father is also your dad. You may feel orphaned, alone in the world. But the truth is, you have a Father—the only perfect One—and He’s proud to call you His child.   By Mike Wittmer

Commentary:  The gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation were all written by John, who called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 21:20).  

As one of the Twelve, he was part of Christ’s inner circle, which included his brother James and Peter. They witnessed Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8) and the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:49–56). And they were nearby in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–38).

Christ’s love motivated John and is a central theme of his writings. We see this clearly stated in 1 John: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (3:1) and “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us” (v. 16). The magnitude of God’s love and how we’re called to love in response is a key theme of 1 John 4:7–21.

by  Alyson Kieda

From me:  Thank you LORD that You gave us the right and privilege to become your children. We are so dirty, unclean and unworthy to be your children, but because of your great love for us, you showered us your love by allowing us to become your children.  It is awesome.  Thank you LORD. 

Posted November 27, 2023

God rescues us from the muddy marshes of life

Thank you LORD that you rescued and pulled me out of the muddy marsh of life.  Thank you for delivering me from that “muddy marsh” (in 2020) when I was almost crushed.  When I’m stuck in the mud, I’ll wait patiently for You, my loving God.  Thank you LORD. 

Text:   Psalm 40 - NIV 

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.  

1   I waited patiently for the Lord;

    he turned to me and heard my cry.

2   He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

    out of the mud and mire;

    he set my feet on a rock

    and gave me a firm place to stand.

3   He put a new song in my mouth,

    a hymn of praise to our God.

    Many will see and fear the Lord

    and put their trust in him.

4   Blessed is the one

    who trusts in the Lord,

    who does not look to the proud,

    to those who turn aside to false gods.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

A compassionate volunteer was called a “guardian angel” for his heroic efforts. Jake Manna was installing solar panels at a job site when he joined an urgent search to find a missing five-year-old girl. While neighbors searched their garages and yards, Manna took a path that led him into a nearby wooded area where he spotted the girl waist-deep in a marsh. He waded carefully into the sticky mud to pull her out of her predicament and return her, damp but unharmed, to her grateful mother. 

Like that little girl, David also experienced deliverance. The singer “waited patiently” for God to respond to his heartfelt cries for mercy (Psalm 40:1). And He did. God leaned in, paid close attention to his cry for help and responded by rescuing him from the “mud and mire” of his circumstances (v. 2)—providing sure footing for David’s life. The past rescues from the muddy marsh of life reinforced his desire to sing songs of praise, to make God his trust in future circumstances and to share his story with others (vv. 3–4).

When we find ourselves in life challenges such as financial difficulties, marital turmoil, and feelings of inadequacy, let’s cry out to God and patiently wait for Him to respond (v. 1). He’s there, ready to help us in our time of need and give us a firm place to stand.

By Marvin Williams

Commentary:  Psalm 40 is identified as a psalm of David, but we aren’t given any other information regarding the events that prompted him to write it.  

Some scholars, however, find messianic significance in verses 6–9 because the songwriter expresses his commitment to do God’s will—seemingly at all costs. Jesus made similar statements in the gospel of John: “My food . . . is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (4:34); and “the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (8:29). Our Savior’s commitment in these verses seems to echo the words of David in Psalm 40:6–9.

by Bill Crowder

From me:  Thank you LORD that you rescued and pulled me out of the muddy marsh of life.  Thank you for delivering me from that “muddy marsh” (in 2020) when I was almost crushed.  When I’m stuck in the mud, I’ll wait patiently for You, my loving God.  Thank you LORD. 

Posted November 25, 2023

Counting the cost of being a disciple

 Dear Father in Heaven, please help me choose Your Son over everything this world has to offer.  Help me to always prioritize Him over other things. Help me to become a faithful disciple.   Praise the LORD. 

Text:  Luke 14: 25 - 33  NIV 

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT: 

ODB:   Ronit came from a religious but non-Christian family. Their discussions about spiritual matters were dry and academic. “I kept praying all the prayers,” she said, “but I wasn’t hearing [from God].”

      She began to study the Bible. Slowly, steadily, she inched toward faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Ronit describes the defining moment: “I heard a clear voice in my heart saying, ‘You’ve heard enough. You’ve seen enough. It’s time to just believe.’ ” But Ronit faced a problem: her father. “My dad responded as if Mount Vesuvius erupted,” she recalls.

        When Jesus walked this earth, crowds followed Him (Luke 14:25). We don’t know exactly what they were looking for, but He was looking for disciples. And that comes with a cost. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple,” Jesus said (v. 26). He told a story about building a tower. “Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost . . . ?” He asked (v. 28). Jesus’ point wasn’t that we’re to literally hate family; rather, it’s that we must choose Him over everything else. He said, “You who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (v. 33).

       Ronit loves her family deeply, yet she concluded, “Whatever the cost, I figured it’s worth it.” What might you need to give up to follow Jesus as He guides you?

By Tim Gustafson

Commentary:   We can miss the strength of Jesus’ words and the shock the crowd would have felt when Christ said, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).   

You only carried a cross for one reason—to be crucified on it—and that was the most terrifying death imaginable. As you read these words, imagine the crowd physically recoiling in horror at the thought that somehow following Jesus would be required to bear a personal cross. This is at least the second time Luke has recorded Christ using this disturbing imagery (see 9:23). These words are understood in the context of Jesus Himself bearing a literal Roman cross.  by Bill Crowder

From me:   Dear Father in Heaven, please help me choose Your Son over everything this world has to offer.  Help me to always prioritize Him over other things. Help me to become a faithful disciple. 

Praise the LORD. 

Jesus is the true light of this world

Thank you LORD that You are the Light.  You came to this world, to make us see the true light.  To give us eternal life. You called us out of spiritual darkness.  Thank you LORD. I worship You and praise your holy name. 

Text:  John 1: 1- 14  NIV 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

2 He was with God in the beginning.  

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 

7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 

8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 

11  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 

12  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 

13  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

“Go to the light!” That’s what my husband advised as we struggled to find our way out of a big city hospital on a recent Sunday afternoon. We’d visited a friend, and when we exited an elevator, we couldn’t find anyone during weekend hours to point us to the front doors—and the brilliant Colorado sunlight. Roaming around half-lit hallways, we finally encountered a man who saw our confusion. “These hallways all look the same,” he said. “But the exit’s this way.” With his directions, we found the exit doors—leading, indeed, to the bright sunlight.

           Jesus invited confused, lost unbelievers to follow Him out of their spiritual darkness. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). In His light, we can see stumbling blocks, sin, and blind spots, allowing Him to remove such darkness from our lives as He shines His light into our hearts and on our path. Like the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness, Christ’s light brings us God’s presence, protection, and guidance.

As John explained, Jesus is “the true light” (John 1:9) and “the darkness has not overcome it” (v. 5). Instead of wandering through life, we can seek Him for direction as He lights the way.  By Patricia Raybon  

Commentary:  John declares, “In the beginning was the Word” (1:1), which immediately establishes a connection to Genesis 1:1. The apostle tells us this creator of the world is also our very life and light (John 1:4), and in verse 14, he plainly identifies this Word as Jesus. John will return to this theme in his first letter when he says of Christ: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes . . . and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). John recorded what he directly observed. His writings are a firsthand account of God in the flesh.   By Tim Gustafson

From me:  Thank you LORD that You are the Light.  You came to this world, to make us see the true ligt.  To give us eternal life. You called us out of spiritual darkness.  Thank you LORD. I worship You and praise your holy name.