When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn’t lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shorter route. God thought, If the people have to fight and face war, they will run back to Egypt. So God led the people by the roundabout way of the Reed Sea desert. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt ready for battle. Moses took with him Joseph’s bones just as Joseph had made Israel’s sons promise when he said to them, “When God takes care of you, you must carry my bones out of here with you.” They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. The Lord went in front of them during the day in a column of cloud to guide them and at night in a column of lightning to give them light. This way they could travel during the day and at night. The column of cloud during the day and the column of lightning at night never left its place in front of the people.

Consider:

One of the GPS apps I carry on my phone promises to get you there faster than any other app. Most of the time, I just settle on the run of the mill GPS which comes with my phone, but every once in a while I’m in a hurry and want to get to my destination as soon as physically possible. That’s when I fire up my special, “break glass in case of emergency” map which doesn’t pay attention to how “easy” the route might be but simply gives you the shortest route between two lines.

This means occassionally you might find yourself trying to cross four lines of traffic to get to the other alley on the other side of the road. From time to time it takes you through sketchy neighborhoods which inspire you to drive even faster. Every once in awhile, you have to make a u-turn and go back the way you came because the shortcut turned into a dead end.

On my trip back here from visiting my grandmother up north, I usually take a stretch of 1-81 which may have more accidents per square mile than any other stretch of road in america*. It also has the most tractor-trailers, which means when a back-up happens the road is shut-down for hours.

One memorable time driving south from back home, my adventure GPS took us up on the Blue Ridge parkway, where it took us up and over, down and around, through parts of Virginia I’d never seen. I often went 10 miles without seeing another car and lost access to internet to play music or podcasts, so I pulled up an old audio book on the History of the American Civil War which seemed to be the only thing actually downloaded to my phone.

It was incredibly strange as we kept passing the sites mentioned in the book. The author would talk about Cold Harbor and, oops, there it went. The book talked about the farms the soldiers raided and barns they slept in on the march through the mountains as they went to march on Richmond. It was surreal and grounding at the same time, this wonderful marriage of the story I was told and the sites I was seeing.

And none of that would have been possible without the re-routing of my GPS.

Sometimes God takes us the “long way” because we aren’t yet ready for the destination or there are unanticipated traffic jams along the way. The detour isn’t a delay; it’s but a rerouting, inviting us to explore the new scenery around us and consider it with awe and wonder in our heart, instead of complaining about the extra mileage on our car.

*Not a scientific data point

Respond:

When was the last time God told you to “recalculate” and take another direction? What did you learn along the way which you might never have experienced otherwise?

Pray:

God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

____________

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Consider:

When Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit, his life seemed to collapse in that very moment. Betrayed by family, abandoned without rescue, and eventually sold into slavery, Joseph’s journey looked nothing like the dream God had given him or any expectation he may have had for himself.

At first glance, this passage feels like a story of cruelty and family drama. But underneath what seemed to be a terrible outcome for Joseph is the deeper truth: God is at work in the pits and valleys as well as in the mountaintop experiences…sometimes it seems to be in the pit that we stop long enough to truly notice and take note of God’s work.

Joseph had the dreams in hand, but didn’t have the understanding of how to make the dreams work for others rather than live endlessly on the favor and status he already enjoyed. Favor alone was not enough. The pit stripped Joseph of control, status, and certainty. There was no status that could rescue him in this experience. All he had left was God.

That is often where surrender begins, in the lowest places where we have no other resources left. It quite often takes a stripping down of all our self-reliance to realize God at work in our world. In seasons of comfort, we lean on our abilities, our plans, and our confidence. But in the valley, we discover how fragile those things really are. The detour becomes the place where noticing, listening to and relying on God is no longer theoretical — it becomes necessary.

The breaking of self-reliance often becomes the birthplace of spiritual maturity. When we recognize where our own abilities end, we can truly look to where God’s work is taking shape.

The pit did not destroy Joseph. It humbled him, refined him, and positioned him for what was ahead. May we find the refining nature of God in the pits and valleys of our lives, not just on the mountaintop!

Respond:

What would it look like to surrender your self-reliance today? Think about how much you rely on your own thoughts, your own skills, your own ability to “make things happen” or “get your way” in order to move through your day…what would it look like/feel like to let go of that for just a day?

Pray:

God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”

Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them. They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem—a sabbath day’s journey away. When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James, Alphaeus’ son; Simon the zealot; and Judas, James’ son— all were united in their devotion to prayer, along with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Consider:

There are few places more frustrating than the shoulder of a highway. As cars zoom past at eighty miles an hour, you sit there, hazards blinking, watching your schedule disintegrate in real-time. Whether it’s a sudden flat tire, an overheated engine, or a flashing blue light in your rearview mirror, being forced to pull over is an aggressive interruption. It signals an immediate halt to your progress, leaving you stranded while the rest of the world keeps moving.

In life, we experience spiritual shoulders all the time. You are cruising along, hitting your milestones, and executing your five-year plan perfectly. Then, out of nowhere, comes the forced stop. A sudden medical diagnosis, a corporate layoff, a broken relationship, or a season of inexplicable closed doors. Suddenly, you are sidelined. You watch your peers zoom past you in their careers, marriages, and personal achievements, while you feel stuck on the gravel, hazard lights flashing, wondering why your momentum was so abruptly stolen.

Our natural reaction to the shoulder is anxiety and frustration. We view it as lost time. But in the kingdom of God, the shoulder is never a waste of time; it is a place of realignment.

Human beings are obsessed with speed, but God is invested in strategy. We want the shortest distance between two points, but God sees the entire map. When He forces us to pull over, it is often because our current trajectory or timing is misaligned with His master plan. We think we are just late; God knows He is protecting us from a multi-car pileup five miles down the road that we couldn’t possibly see coming.

Consider the life of Moses, who spent forty years on the backside of the desert—a massive, decades-long detour on the shoulder of life—before he was ready to lead Israel. Consider Joseph, sidelined in an Egyptian prison, or even the Apostle Paul, whose global missionary journeys were repeatedly halted by the Holy Spirit. In every case, the forced pause was not a denial of their destiny, but a strategic setup.

When God pulls you over, it is an invitation to shift your focus from the speed of your life to the source of your life. It is a grace that detaches your worth from your productivity. On the shoulder, you are forced to realize that you cannot control the road, but you can trust the One who built it. He uses the quiet, frustrating stillness of the sideline to check your spiritual engine, realign your character, and fuel you with a perspective that prosperity could never teach you.

If you find yourself on the shoulder today, take a deep breath. You haven’t been abandoned; you have been positioned. God’s timing is never late, and it is never accidental. He is preparing you for the road ahead, ensuring that when it is finally time to merge back into traffic, you are running on God’s power, completely aligned with a strategy that is infinitely greater than your own.

Respond:

Waiting can be frustrating, but when was the last time you chose to wait? We can actually learn to wait. You can put yourself in situations when the answer eludes you, at least for the moment. The next time you’re tempted to rush ahead to find out how a movie or novel turns out, slow yourself down and force yourself to focus on the situation as it unfolds. Maybe you’ll find a newfound appreciation for a style of writing or directing that otherwise you wouldn’t have noticed.

Pray:

God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Some people said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and pray frequently. The disciples of the Pharisees do the same, but your disciples are always eating and drinking.”

Jesus replied, “You can’t make the wedding guests fast while the groom is with them, can you? The days will come when the groom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.”

Then he told them a parable. “No one tears a patch from a new garment to patch an old garment. Otherwise, the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t match the old garment. Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the wineskins, the wine would spill, and the wineskins would be ruined. Instead, new wine must be put into new wineskins. No one who drinks a well-aged wine wants new wine, but says, ‘The well-aged wine is better.’”

Consider:

Imagine in your head a giant sequoia tree. These massive trees are so big, roads have been cut through the middle of them, wide enough those cars can pass through with room to spare. This giant redwood tree lives hundreds of years, becoming so strong it can withstand almost anything which comes its way.

But it’s size and sturdiness is not the most important or miraculous part of the tree. No. What is the most miraculous about this tree is that at its absolute center—the heartwood—is the original sapling. That sapling is still there, physically present in the middle of the trunk, not transformed or changed, but in it’s original form. The sapling from which the tree grew is preserved forever, right at its heart.

However, as amazing and wonderous as that sapling may be, it existed in a world where a single heavy snowstorm or a hungry deer could have ended its life. It lived in a state of constant survival and shaded future, unable to reach towards the sun nor withstand the winds which shook its roots. It needed to surrounded itself with the protaction and growth of the giant tree in order to survive.

The New Self of the tree is the towering bark and the massive branches that now touch the clouds. The sapling still provides the core and sits at the heart of this wonderous trunk, but it couldn’t possibly support the weight of the massive limbs or the complexity of the ecosystem the tree now sustains. The sapling was designed to survive; the tree is designed to endure.

And so it is with us over time. We are made like this tree with a core which is valued, essential, and true. The core parts of what make us who we are, the person God made us to be, always remains at the center of our identity. But over time, God helps us grow wider, stronger, tougher. God makes it so we are more able, more capable of kindness, caring, and love. The heart of us stays the same, while the rest of us grows more into who God created us to be.

The old version of you cannot contain the new work God is doing. We can’t go back to who we were then because we’ve been structurally changed; the old containers of our lives would literally burst under the weight of current grace. Growth and change are important because they make us more able to rely on and stand strong with God.

Respond:

When was the last time you checked in with your inner sapling? Instead of seeing “failures” or limitations as the end of the story, how could you use God’s creativity to help you find possibilities in this new surrounding?

Pray:

Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Consider:

There is a specific, hollow ache that comes when we realize the “home” we long for no longer exists. We aren’t just talking about a physical address or a childhood bedroom; we are talking about a season of life, a relationship that has fractured beyond repair, or a version of ourselves that has been permanently altered by grief. We look back, hoping to find a door, but the house we look towards is no longer there.

The Israelites understood this displacement with a visceral intensity. When they were dragged into exile in Babylon, their identity was shattered. Everything that represented God’s presence—the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, the very soil of the Promised Land—was gone. Their initial impulse was to hold their breath, to refuse to unpack their bags, and to wait for a quick reversal of fortune. They wanted to go back.

But God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, offered a message that felt like a betrayal: You aren’t going back yet.

In Jeremiah 29, God famously tells them to “build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”

The “impossibility of return” is not a punishment; it is often God’s way of clearing the ground for a new type of growth. When we are forced into a “Babylon”—a situation we didn’t choose and cannot escape—our natural instinct is to survive on the fumes of nostalgia. We waste our energy trying to reconstruct a past that God has already closed the door on.

God uses the finality of our loss to force our eyes forward. When you cannot go back, you are finally free to look at the soil beneath your current feet, to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you” (Jeremiah 29:7). This is a radical call to emotional and spiritual investment in a place you never wanted to be.

To “plant a garden” in your Babylon means:

* Accepting Reality: Acknowledging that the old home is gone.

* Investing Anyway: Pouring your love, your work, and your prayers into your current, imperfect circumstances.

* Trusting the Planter: Believing that God is a “master gardener” who can make life spring from the most hostile environments.

The Israelites thought “home” was a building in Jerusalem. God used the exile to show them that “home” was God’s presence within them. When the external structures of our lives collapse, we are forced to find the unshakable Kingdom of God that resides within.

Respond:

Consider today if you find yourself in a place where you cannot go back. What would it look like to look forward, not in despair but as an invitation to a new kind of fruitfulness. So today, stop staring at the locked gates of the past and pick up your shovel to plant your garden.

Pray:

Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

So Elijah departed from there and found Elisha, Shaphat’s son. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him. Elisha was with the twelfth yoke. Elijah met up with him and threw his coat on him. Elisha immediately left the oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and my mother,” Elisha said, “then I will follow you.”

Elijah replied, “Go! I’m not holding you back!” Elisha turned back from following Elijah, took the pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. Then with equipment from the oxen, Elisha boiled the meat, gave it to the people, and they ate it. Then he got up, followed Elijah, and served him.

Consider:

My children are obsessed with the American Gladiators. I’ll admit to starting this obsession because obviously everything from my childhood was perfect and amazing and all the kids stuff now is terrible and awful. You know, typical old people reasoning.

In the original series there was not a lot of safety equipment. They had foam helmets, elbow/knee pads, and mouth guards with not a lot else. They’d launch themselves off bridges and crash into the gladiators waiting on the other side wearing only a lycra tank top and shorts. It took a special kind of person to wrestle someone twice your size in skin-tight biker shorts.

The modern version doesn’t allow for any of that kind of risk. The gladiators and contest are heavily padded. The games have a giant safety net underneath them, making it impossible to fall very far or very fast (though the editing makes it look like a tremendous and very rapid descent). The harnesses and wires are doubled so if one fails another is still there. The only thing they haven’t seemed to lock down is their shoes. Their sneakers always seem to be falling off.

This safety-conscious behavior makes sense from a liability stand point, but it does fundamentally change the game. The contestants are physically stronger, but more cautious. The gladiators are bigger and more athletic, but limited by the equipment and rules which hold them back. The perceived risk is higher, but the actual risk is lower. It changes the fundamentals so everyone is more cautious, more hesitant, just a little bit slower and unwilling to try risky things.

It mirrors our safety obsessed culture. Despite crime rates - and teenage pregnancy rates - going down over time, we are more scared than we’ve ever been. It’s still incredibly unlikely you will personally be the victim of random acts of violence, but the world would tell you there is a tragedy waiting to happen to you around every corner.

And it’s bled over into our relationships and personal decision making. It is wiser - and safer - we think to stay on the well worn paths which we’ve always known. If I eat boiled chicken and broccoli every night for dinner, then I won’t gain weight. It’s certainly safer than risky than fresh cooked authentic Guatemalan food from the truck outside Home Depot.

But we miss out on so much when we are afraid to risk. Elijah asked Elisha to risk everything he knew, the safety of his family home, and the certainty of the life he’d led to this point in order to follow God’s calling on his life.

Our reasonable and safety conscious response would be to stay behind the oxen, digging the same old ruts we dug last year, planting the same seed we’d grown for generations.

Elisha does the exact opposite. He not only drops his plow, he burns it for fuel. He not only stops his oxen from working, but cooks them and eats them. There is no safety net for him now, no place for him to return, no home for him to lay down his head if everything goes south. (I’m guessing on that last bit, but if you were his parents and he’d burned your cars before hitting the road, would you welcome him back?)

God’s calling doesn’t come with any guarantees or safety nets, aside from the one God promises to provide. God often asks us to move away from our stockpiles and well-worn paths onto a scarier, but more fulfilling, path following God’s directions.

It’s oftentimes scary, the place where God is leading you.. But scary isn’t bad or wrong or a misdirection. Sometimes being scared is the point, because it asks us not to lean on our own abilities or storage solutions. Our safety oriented nature always asks for a safety net, but God never promises us safety as the world sees it.

Which doesn’t mean God doesn’t help you be safe. God just provides a different kind of safety gear.

Respond:

What safety net are you holding onto which God might ask you to let Go? Are you more safety conscious when it comes to God, or more willing to risk? How might you move from one side to the other?

Pray:

God of the journey - we want to be the captain of our own ships, setting our course and dictating each step of our lives. Help us to find joy in the adventure and peace in the unexpected. When we look back on the path of our lives, remind us of the many places the road turned in a different direction than we’d planned and show us the growth we experienced along the way. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Consider:

The book of Exodus begins with God hearing the cries of the Israelites. The Israelites arrived in Egypt 400 years before under different circumstances. At that time, they were under the protection and favor of Egypt’s second-in-command leader, Joseph, the son of Jacob. However, things changed over time, and the nation who was once a friendly guest had become a threat, and the gracious hosts became slave masters with increasing demands and cruelty. It was under duress that the Israelites called out to God to be rescued.

God answers the cries of the Israelites but has a much greater plan for them. God’s plan is not just to rescue them, but to bless them with a Promised Land, a land of abundant milk and honey.

The way to the Promised Land is difficult and uncertain, not at all like the life they had in Egypt. Sure, it was difficult, but it was predictable.

Often, we find ourselves in the rut of the mundane, but we would rather complain and comply than take the risk of answering God’s call to something unknown. We seem to forget the immensity of God’s goodness, our faith falters when obstacles get in the way, and we fail to obey God’s call to abundant living.

The late Presbyterian Pastor, Tim Keller, tells the story of his son’s struggle with disobedience. In this memory, his son claimed if his dad would just explain thoroughly why his dad was asking him to do something, then he would gladly obey. Tim explains that this really isn’t obedience but agreement.

In the scripture, the Israelites are hesitant to continue obeying God’s call to the Promised Land when the going gets tough. But the thing about obedience is God may not give us full visibility of our promised future. That’s why obedience requires faith. When things got difficult, the Israelites looked back to Egypt with a faulty lens, instead of looking forward in faith to God’s promise of something good beyond their imagination.

How often do we find ourselves in similar circumstances? God will call us to take that next step of faith, and we need to trust in his goodness. Problems and struggles in our walk of faith call us to look forward and not backwards – to look up and not down.

Respond:

Is God calling you to something beyond your line of sight? Are you feeling discouraged by the bumps along that road? Look up! Lift up your eyes, as the psalmist says in Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Pray:

Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

The people marched out from their tents to cross over the Jordan. The priests carrying the covenant chest were in front of the people. When the priests who were carrying the chest came to the Jordan, their feet touched the edge of the water. The Jordan had overflowed its banks completely, the way it does during the entire harvest season. But at that moment the water of the Jordan coming downstream stood still. It rose up as a single heap very far off, just below Adam, which is the city next to Zarethan. The water going down to the desert sea (that is, the Dead Sea) was cut off completely. The people crossed opposite Jericho. So the priests carrying the Lord’s covenant chest stood firmly on dry land in the middle of the Jordan. Meanwhile, all Israel crossed over on dry land, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Consider:

I love watching history documentaries. I don’t focus on any one time period or area - I more pick the documentaries based on the hosts and if I find them interesting to listen to (or fall asleep to which is what usually happens!) On listening to a wide variety of historians and experts, there is one thing I’ve learned about historians; they hate a counterfactual argument.

Counterfactuals are those arguments that begin with something like “What if someone had killed baby Hitler. Would we still have WW2?” The reason they hate these arguments is you can’t ever know for sure, so it’s mostly just conjecture and guessing, which is the other thing I’ve learned historians don’t like. History is - I’ve been told - about facts. I’m not sure that’s entirely true, but that is a different discussion for another day!

The other thing I’ve learned along the way is there is always an inevitable point of no return. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard historians argue about the turning point of the American Civil War, though they all seem to agree it wasn’t the battle of Gettysburg. No matter where they place this historical turning point, historians agree in all conflicts and major moments in history, there is a point at which the shift in momentum makes it almost inevitable that only one outcome is possible. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the only possibility remaining is he would become Emperor of Rome. There is no turning back.

I’m also amazed at the number of historical turning points that are water based.

How often do we avoid moments of decisions because it feels like a point of no return? We try to push them or ignore those hard choices for as long as possible because, we think, if we don’t make the choice we still have options. In reality, those hard choices are likely already made for us by the momentum of events and the passage of time. Hard words build up until the only choice left is to end the relationship. The medicine stops working after years of treatment. You age and eventually the doctor starts saying things like “Well… there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just getting older.” These Rubicon moments happen long before we are willing to acknowledge they have happened.

There is good news in the midst of the river, however. When the Israelites took the courageous first step into the river they must cross in order to get to the Promised Land, God stilled the waters. With each step they took, the water parted and gave way, eventually leading to dry land for them to cross. And, when they got to the other side of the crossing, the river closed behind them, leaving their past on the other side. Their only choice was to move forward towards their final destination.

When we reach our own rubicons, and the events of life push us into the river, God does not let the waters come over our heads to drown us. Instead, as we move with courage into God’s future, it will be through still waters and dry land. The journey is still hard, the path not straight, the choice to keep stepping forward is a brave and faithful one, but the water will not consume you. And when you get to the other side of the river, there will be people waiting for you to help you on the inevitable and unavoidable next steps of your journey.

Respond:

What is building up in your life right now that feels difficult or overwhelming? Where do you find yourself on the river banks, being forced to make the decision to step into the water? Have you entered the river already? When you find yourself in these moments of decision - remember the path has already been laid for you and the only choice is how you will move forward into it.

Pray:

God of the journey - we want to be the captain of our own ships, setting our course and dictating each step of our lives. Help us to find joy in the adventure and peace in the unexpected. When we look back on the path of our lives, remind us of the many places the road turned in a different direction than we’d planned and show us the growth we experienced along the way. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

This is why I kneel before the Father. Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God.

Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.

Consider:

As a child, one of my parent’s favorite Sunday activities was to intentionally get lost. We’d all pile in our silver Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon (which later became a Pontiac Grand-Am Mini-van), fighting over who got sit in the backwards facing seat. This was always a bad move, because riding backwards in a moving vehicles in West Virginia virtually guaranteed you’d get car sick.

On the way to getting lost, we’d pick up a family bucket and sides from KFC. Dad would randomly decide to make a turn down and interesting looking back road and we’d drive until it looked like a good place to stop and have a picnic - an inevitable cold chicken picnic.

As a kid I thought these drives were incredibly boring. We did eventually end up with CD walkmans so we could at least listen to our own music instead of my parents “Old People” 70s rock. We read a lot of books or cross-stitched. I loved the logic puzzle books and crossword puzzles. Often, we’d end up just looking out the window at the scenery while my brother told increasingly bad Dad jokes. He was an old man when he was born.

These journeys through unexpected places taught me two things. First, I never get lost. I may be momentarily turned around, but I can almost assuredly get you back to some recognizable point along the journey which will lead you back home (a lot of it has to do with the position of the sun in the sky). Second, I learned that the unexpected destination is often the one which leads to the best views and places of rest. We saw parts of West Virginia only seen by the weary travelers willing to take a dirt road in a minivan over the crest of the mountain to see what’s next.

When we look back on this journey with God, we can often see the places of greatest learning, deepest growth, and best views were the destination unplanned and unexpected. When we arrive at the place we always intended to be, we often feel let down, the result never quite as fulfilling as we expected. If, instead, we let God lead us where God plans for us to go, the end result is often terrifying, but exhilarating. We find ourselves in the midst of that “lostness” and we become more secure in God’s direction each time we take the unexpected turn down a promising dirt road.

I know my life would be very different if I had only stuck to the roads on the map I’d plotted. (For one thing, I’d be standing backstage in a broadway theater rolling my eyes at actors right now!) But it would be nowhere near as fulfilling. So much would have been lost had I stuck to my own plan, instead of following God’s turn-by-turn navigation.

Respond:

Christian Hope is built on the repeated telling of stories where God has shown up in the darkest hours throughout history. The stories we read from the Old and New Testaments are meant to help us find our grounding in God..

What is one time where God led you somewhere unexpected? What was that journey like? Where did you end up? What did you discover along the way?

Pray:

God of the journey - we want to be the captain of our own ships, setting our course and dictating each step of our lives. Help us to find joy in the adventure and peace in the unexpected. When we look back on the path of our lives, remind us of the many places the road turned in a different direction than we’d planned and show us the growth we experienced along the way. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

Consider:

I’ve read Exodus cover to cover and nowhere in that book does God promise a quick travel to the promised land. There’s lots of discussion about what the promised land will be like, a guarantee of God’s protection along the way, and some expectations for who and how the Israelites will be on the journey, but nowhere does God put an Expectant Time of Arrival.

Why are the Israelites so upset when they find themselves wondering in the wilderness? I think this is a case of mis-matched expectations. None of the Israelite’s escaping capativity thought to pull their cell phones out of their pockets and see how long the route would take - which in and of itself would only work if they stayed on the straight route directly from Egypt to the Levant where they would land. After their first reroute through the Reed Sea, the Hebrew people kept circling and rerouting around land closures for 40 years. It was the opposite of a direct path.

They couldn’t take the direct path, but the Israelites weren’t ready for the promised land. Instead of looking forward with hope to the place God had planned for them, the people complained. Instead of being grateful for the consistent provision of food and water, they asked for some pizza in place of the manna. Instead of following the one simple rule to worship the one God who had delivered them from Egypt, they pretty quickly set about making new ones.

The Israelites weren’t ready, so God planned a reroute to give them time to adjust their attitudes and expectations. I don’t entirely know if God finally decided they were ready or just sort of said “they are as good as they ever will be”, but eventually they did end up exactly where God had planned for them to go all along.

Respond:

Is there somewhere you have been hoping to go or a place from which you want to escape, but you haven’t yet found the path to get there?

Consider today whether your expectations and God’s are the same? Is it possible God is placing you on a different route so your heart and mind can be prepared for the eventual arrival? What would it look like to embrace the pause instead of trying to rush along the path to this uncertain destination?

Pray:

Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing near the Nile.

So Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed clothes, and appeared before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but no one could interpret it. Then I heard that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, no one is as intelligent and wise as you are. You will be in charge of my kingdom, and all my people will obey your command. Only as the enthroned king will I be greater than you.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Know this: I’ve given you authority over the entire land of Egypt.”

Consider:

I don’t know what Joseph’s brother’s plans were when they threw him down a well. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess they didn’t actually have a plan beyond getting rid of their annoying little brother as if they were throwing away a pebble in the shoe. But insofar as they had a plan, it didn’t end up becoming Pharaoh’s right hand man and the most powerful man in Egypt.

I’m sure there were points in this story where Joseph wasn’t particularly sure where on God’s map he was either. Finding yourself in the bottom of a well, then sold into slavery, then in prison doesn’t feel like you’re headed to the x marks the spot of the buried treasure. I’d imagine Joseph found himself lost in the desert and considered himself abandoned and forgotten.

Except God knew exactly where Joseph was on the map. Joseph’s GPS may have been broken, but God had an eagle eye view of the path and could see where each step Joseph took would take him.

I took the youth group to a corn maze once. This may have been the hardest maze ever constructed because one of the youth advisors in my group was a Green Beret and couldn’t figure out where we were. At one point we stumbled into the middle of the maze, to find a man, standing on a bridge, watching us as we moved about the maze. He was there, it seems, to make sure nobody got too lost or ended up too frustrated and afraid to move forward. He stood on the bridge watching, waiting, ready to offer help when it was needed.

God is like that man on the bridge for us. Not directing every step or placing obstacles in our way or mixing up the paths, but watching, waiting, seeing our progress through this maze of life and ready to offer help when we need it. We may feel lost, but God knows exactly where we are on the map.

Respond:

Christian Hope is built on the repeated telling of stories where God has shown up in the darkest hours throughout history. The stories we read from the Old and New Testaments are meant to help us find and shore up our anchor in the midst of storms.

Where do you feel lost today? Is there a particularly difficult part of your map which has you turned around, frustrated, or confused? Imagine God standing on the bridge, ready to point in the right direction. Where do you think God would be pointing you today?

Pray:

Watching God, we are lost. Not all the time, not everyday, but some days we find ourselves in a maze without a clear sense of where to go next. Help us to find the next step. Remind us to look towards the bridge where you stand waiting and watching. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Consider:

One of my favorite stories in all of inventing history is the discovery and creation of the post-it note. In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was trying to develop a super-strong adhesive for the aerospace industry. At high speeds and excessive heat the existing glues melted and things fell apart, which is not what you want to have happen as you are leaving the atmosphere. He was tasked with creating a glue strong enough to withstand both the heat and pressure of space travel, along with the vibration that comes with sitting on top of a rocket.

Dr. Silver utterly failed. He did end up creating an adhesive, but it was the exact opposite of what he had expected. Instead of being stronger than existing adhesives, he created a “low-tack” one which adhesive stuck to surfaces but could be easily peeled off without leaving a residue. It was, by industrial standards, a complete failure because it didn’t produce the result they were expecting.

Which is when God steps in. Years later, a colleague realized it was the perfect solution for a bookmark that wouldn’t fall out of his hymnal when he went to the next song. And so, the Post-it Note was born—a multi-billion dollar “accident” found in thousands of hymnals every sunday.

When we plot and plan out our path towards a predictable and expected outcome, we feel in control and centered in the future we are sure God has planned for us - because surely God’s plan matches ours, right? When the unexpected come or the path takes a turn away from our route into the future, it causes us uncertainty, bewilderment, and often a deep ache and confusion.

Human foresight is often limited by what we want to see, but God’s vision is broader, wider, and deeper than ours, so what if we saw those closed doors as an opportunity instead of a failure? Maybe we didn’t end up where we expected but when we find ourselves in a spot which is unexpected with scenery we don’t recognize, we can find ways to view them as opportunities and not failures.

Respond:

When was the last time you invented a sticky note? Instead of seeing “failures” or limitations as the end of the story, how could you use God’s creativity to help you find possibilities in this new surrounding?

Pray:

Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, John’s brother, killed with a sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover. 5 While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.

Consider:

When pressure rises—whether in our own lives or in the world around us—it’s easy to withdraw, to become self-protective, or to assume nothing will really change, especially if it’s a big problem that makes us feel small and alone. As easy as it would have been for the early church to fall apart amid the level of pressure it was under, the community of the early church chose a different path: they leaned toward one another and toward God.

Christian hope is not an individual feeling; it’s a shared practice; it’s not a noun, it’s an action verb! And shared hope softens us. It makes us more patient with difficult people, more generous with our time, and more willing to step into the needs of our city. It also gives weight to our words. When we speak about hope, it isn’t theoretical—it’s something people can see embodied in how we show up for one another.

The church doesn’t respond to fear by scattering into private despair. They gather. They pray. They carry Peter’s burden together. Their hope isn’t rooted in circumstances (which are grim), but in God’s character and power. And importantly, that hope expresses itself communally—it moves outward, binding them to one another.

That has real implications for how we live now.

When our hope is truly rooted in our faith, it reshapes how we treat our neighbors. We’re less guarded, less transactional. We don’t just ask, “What do I get?” but “What can I give?” because our security isn’t at stake, therefore generosity feels a whole lot easier to engage with. Like the early church, we begin to carry one another—through prayer, encouragement, practical help. Hope makes us present and unafraid of “running out” of anything.

In a cynical world, arguments alone rarely persuade. But a community that refuses to give up on each other, that keeps showing up, that prays when things look impossible, that gives hope a strength that can’t be diminished!

Respond:

Who are you carrying in prayer right now? Where have you drifted into isolated faith instead of shared hope? And how might your daily interactions—at home, at work, in our neighborhoods—look different if we believed our hope was secure in Christ? Take a moment to “inventory” your hope today, and see where it may have room to expand outward with a little faith bump!

Pray:

Thank You that our hope is not fragile or fleeting, but anchored in You. In moments when fear or discouragement try to isolate us, draw us back into community. Teach us to carry one another faithfully—to pray with urgency, to love with consistency, and to show up when it matters most.

We trust You with what feels uncertain, and we place our hope in Your unchanging faithfulness.Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietlyfor the salvation of the Lord.

Consider:

I think the hardest part of any interaction with the medical field is the space between when you start to feel bad and when someone gives you a diagnosis. I’m normally a pretty patient person - except in a doctor’s office waiting room. It’s not that I don’t understand all the things happening behind closed doors, the way the Assistants and Staff scurry about preparing the room and the provider, reviewing the chart, and familiarizing yourself with the details of the coming interaction. I get all that.

But I feel bad.

So I’m grumpy and short-tempered and impatient and snarly. It’s not much different when I’m waiting with my sick kids, because while they are the ones feeling bad, I feel bad because I can’t make them feel better, so now add the frustration and impotence of not having my private store of appropriate medical supplies.

I took one of my kids to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for a cough and fever which wouldn’t go away. And though there wasn’t currently a sore throat because of the prevalence of strep throat, the provider thought it best to run a PCR strep test which takes 30 minutes. And while I’m all for caution - It’s hard to wait on a test that’s just going to say negative or no result.

We can often feel the same way with God in the space between. There is often a time between when the crisis comes and when the next steps of the process can begin. We find ourselves waiting on God in the waiting room of life for what feels like forever. What we can’t see is the scurrying behind the curtain, the reviewing of the chart, and the preparing of a room for you in God’s office.

When we can’t see what God is doing next, we often feel grumpy and short-tempered and impatient and snarly. Those reactions aren’t sinful or wrong - they are normal and human.

Lamentations reminds us while we are waiting to remember God’s steadfast love for us. While we may feel as if God is silent, that doesn’t mean God is absent. Sometimes, God is just sitting quietly with us in the next chair, holding our hand while the testing machines whirl. More often, God is working for our future, preparing a path for us, and making sure there are water stations along the way. Sometimes, God is preparing a place for us in his house. All of those are holy waitings, but not empty or unused. They are important and precious times of rest, before we begin what is next.

Respond:

Christian Hope is built on the repeated telling of stories where God has shown up in the darkest hours throughout history. The stories we read from the Old and New Testaments are meant to help us find and shore up our anchor in the midst of storms.

Is there something for which you are waiting or somewhere you find yourself in between? What kind of waiting are you doing? Take a moment and imagine God working away in the background. What kind of work do you imagine God doing to prepare for you?

Pray:

Redeeming God, we are not very good at the in-between moments of waiting. Remind us while we feel static and frozen, you are not and give us an extra dose of patience when ours is found wanting. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Consider:

You know, I have found myself more than twice (a lot more) thinking “if I can just do this thing” or “if this moment would just end…” I would be willing to bet I’ve spent a good portion of my life wishing away time, waiting for something external to change, and hoping that something other than my own faith or understanding would shift in order to improve my circumstances. After all, the easy work is assuming everything that is wrong is external, and everything that can be done about it is outside of my control, right?

At first glance, Paul’s advice in this scripture clashes with how we naturally think about hardship. It definitely doesn’t jive with the concept of general secular optimism… the idea that if we wait it out, circumstances will improve. It sounds like: “Things will probably work out,” or “This won’t last forever.” That mindset isn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s fragile when it is the only thing that we hang our hopes on; because when things get worse instead of better, or do last longer than expected, optimism collapses because it was built on conditional expectations, not solid faith.

Paul , in this passage, is pointing us toward something sturdier: biblical hope.

When optimism says, “Things will get better if I wait it out,” real Hope says, “God is faithful, no matter what happens next.” Even if the situation doesn’t change, hope hangs in and the spirit of the individual sustains itself through faith in God’s steadiness.

Why does this vocabulary and perspective shift matter? Because biblical hope doesn’t depend on circumstances aligning with our preferences. It depends on the unchanging nature of God. When circumstances are good, Hope is steady. When circumstances fall apart, Hope is still steady.

That’s the dividing line.

Secular optimism rises and falls with headlines, diagnoses, bank accounts, and relationships. Biblical hope remains because God remains.

So the question isn’t: “Will things get better?”

The deeper question is: “Is God still who He has revealed Himself to be?”

Our response, held in Hope, can confidently be yes.

Respond:

Where in your life are you relying on things improving rather than trusting in who God is? What would it look like to shift from optimism about outcomes to confidence in God’s character?

Pray:

God, teach me to anchor my hope not in changing circumstances but in Your unchanging nature. When life is uncertain, remind me that You are not. Form in me the kind of endurance and character that leads to a hope that cannot be shaken. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point,on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

Even their children remember their altars and Asherah polesbeside the spreading trees and on the high hills.

My mountain in the land and your wealth and all your treasuresI will give away as plunder, together with your high places, because of sin throughout your country.

Through your own fault you will lose the inheritance I gave you.I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know,for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Consider:

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve met with someone at the end of a job (or career) who’s said something like: I gave 60 hours a week to this company for 24 years and all I got was a goodbye party and a cake. They won’t even notice I’m gone in two months. On a similar vein, my husband had a manager at Walgreens who was fond of telling employees they were all replaceable. They could work or not work - the store was going to be open the next day either way. The manager saw it as a way to encourage employees to work harder, but I’m not sure if it didn’t have the exact opposite effect, because it forced them to put the job into perspective.

How often do we put our trust in things like our work ethics, the ethics of the company we work for, the number in our bank account or size of our 401(k), or the words of a politician or celebrity only to be let down in the end when the reality of human sin takes effect. All the things of earth are like grass, the prophet Isaiah says - and why would put our trust in impermanent, temporary things which don’t have the power to stay any longer than the wind which blows them away?

These are all “false hopes” we often lean on: bank accounts, career titles, relationships, or political shifts. We so often misplace our trust in the tangible things just beyond our finger tips, putting misplaced reliance on that which came from dust and will return to dust.

The words of this prophecy in Jeremiah might seem harsh and difficult to hear, but it names an often unspoken truth which was as real in Jeremiah’s time as it is in ours. Human hearts will fail us because they are held within someone who is fallible and as sin-filled as ours. This doesn’t mean no one is trustworthy - there are lots of people who do their very best to live honorable and courageous lives. But the farther away someone is from our everyday, the less hope we should entrust to them.

Instead, hope must be found in the renewing stream of the one source which never runs dry or lets us down from fatigue, corruption, or greed. When we anchor our hope in God, we find ourselves able to view those who would claim our loyalty with a bit of remove, remembering always they are more likely to disappoint than to save.

The shift from “false hope” to “true hope” isn’t about becoming a lazy employee or a cynical citizen; it’s about right-sizing these things in our hearts and placing them in their proper place

To be like the tree in Jeremiah, we have to grow downward before we grow outward. If our roots are deep in the “renewing stream” of God’s grace, we can handle a dry season at work or a disappointment in politics.

When we stop asking our jobs or our bank accounts to give us a sense of ultimate worth—something they were never designed to provide—we actually become better at those jobs. We work with a sense of “remove,” as the devotion says. We can be diligent without being desperate, and loyal without being lost.

Respond:

Christian Hope is built on the repeated telling of stories where God has shown up in the darkest hours throughout history. The stories we read from the Old and New Testaments are meant to help us find and shore up our anchor in the midst of storms.

Where have you unintentionally outsourced your peace of mind to a person or system that doesn’t actually have your best interests in mind? How might reclaiming that hope and placing it back in the “renewing stream” change your outlook this week?

Pray:

Claiming God, We often confuse loyalty with security. Remind us when we begin to believe our value is tied to a title or a label that can be deleted from a spreadsheet in a single afternoon, our peace of mind will always be fragile. Help us instead to root our identities in your love for us and our identity as children of God.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Heaven! Pay attention and I will speak; Earth! Listen to the words of my mouth.

My teaching will fall like raindrops; my speech will settle like dew— like gentle rains on grass, like spring showers on all that is green— because I proclaim the Lord’s name: Give praise to our God!

The rock: his acts are perfection! No doubt about it: all his ways are right!He’s the faithful God, never deceiving; altogether righteous and true is he.But children who weren’t his own sinned against him with their defects; they are a twisted and perverse generation.

Is this how you thank the Lord, you stupid, senseless people?Isn’t he your father, your creator? Didn’t he make you and establish you?

Remember the days long past; consider the years long gone. Ask your father, he will tell you about it; ask your elders, they will give you the details:

When God Most High divided up the nations— when he divided up humankind— he decided the people’s boundaries based on the number of the gods.

Surely the Lord’s property was his people; Jacob was his part of the inheritance. God found Israel in a wild land— in a howling desert wasteland— he protected him, cared for him, watched over him with his very own eye.

Consider:

In 1905, the philosopher George Santayana published a book which is, as many philosophy books can be, very long and very tedious. However, there is a nugget which emerged from that book which has been shared and reshared for years -

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.".

We’ve heard similar quotes in many forms over the years - Edmund Burke said those “will not look forward to posterity who don’t not look back to their ancestors”. Mark Twan is apocraphyly quoted as saying “History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme.”

But Santayana’s quote is the which has had the most impact, including being quoted by Winston Churchill during one of his war speeches in parliament during WW2.

While he may want to claim complete credit for the sentiment, the truth is this nugget of eternal truth echoes through time at least back to Deuteronomy 32. If we are to look forward to a meaningful and secure future, we must be a student of the past. Past doesn’t mean just our own memory of “how things used to be”, but a deep and serious retelling of the stories, triumphs, failures, and values through out all of world history.

Our ancient ancestors carried great wisdom and truth which we miss out on in our modern assumption that progress makes us better and smarter. While Galileo didn’t have a smart phone, he was able to calculate - by hand - the location of several planets we where only able to confirm hundreds of years later with very powerful telescopes. And contrary to popular narratives, they knew the world was round.

In our great quest for what’s next, I wonder if we take the time to mine the resources of what has been. Chances are whatever obstacles face you on the path of life, someone (maybe you) has faced them before. We were not the first - or only - person to find yourself in a pandemic (remember the Spanish Flu of 1914 or the Black Death in the 1400s?) - and we had the advantage of knowing what caused it. We are not the first to deal with fights in the Middle East over shipping lanes (Remember the Phoenicians?), or the only ones dealing with national identity and political tensions (Remember, Remember the Fifth of November?)

We would do well to look back and remember the past, because that is how we move forward into the future. It’s not an overcoming or an erasing of what has been, but a building from it. We should remember.

Respond:

What story does your history tell you about your future? Take a few minutes to consciously identify a struggle, choice, or obstacle you are facing. Then, maybe take a quick Google to see all the history, the stories which walk alongside yours. What could you learn from their pasts which will help shape your future?

Pray:

Ancient God, we are so thankful your wisdom passes our own understanding. Help us to tap into our roots when our limbs grow weak or tired, so we will know that the story of what has been can shape the story of what will be. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Consider:

When we first started buying children’s furniture, it was in the wild west days where children’s furniture had started being made out of really light, cheap wood or wood-equivalents, but before they started coming with attachment anchors we supposedly secured them to the wall. (I say supposedly because one time we did actually secure them to the wall and it just ripped out when my son climbed on it. Studs are not always aligned with where you want to put your furniture.)

In those bad old days, it was not totally unusual to see videos of children climbing on top of all manner of furniture - dressers, changing tables, nightstands and bookcases - only to be followed by the whole kit and caboodle tipping over leading to often tragic results. Way before then in the really bad old days, I broke my toe trying to turn on my mother’s pull-know TV set which had been placed on a changing table.

Anchors are important, if only because they root us into the ground. This Psalm was written during a tumultuous time in the life of Israel, where wars of conquest were being attempted around Israel’s borders, often requiring the king and all his horses to venture out onto the front line of battle. When the troops are deployed, the towns from which they came would feel emptier, more desolate, and were likely without their strongest and most capable citizens. You can almost hear the crying out - Where is my hope? Who can I hold on to? Where can I find rest?

The Christian Discipline of hope is so important not because it’s a pie in the sky wish or dream, but because it anchors us into the ground which does not move. When the earth trembles and the sky falls, the anchor keeps up upright in the midst of the gale.

But - and here’s the tricky part - the anchor has to be screwed into the furniture before the kid decides to climb on it. Hope is not something we can pull up on a chain and then let splash into the ocean. We must develop it and build it, remembering and retelling our experiences with God, before the storm comes in order for the anchor of hope to hold when the great weight of trial and tribulation comes.

Respond:

Christian Hope is built on the repeated telling of stories where God has shown up in the darkest hours throughout history. The stories we read from the Old and New Testaments are meant to help us find and shore up our anchor in the midst of storms.

What stories do you have to tell? Look back on times in your life where you have had an obstacle to overcome? What did you learn from those experiences which you could bring forward into the future? Start of a collection of stories and times where God showed up which you can refer to in the moments where you feel unable to look towards the future with hope.

Pray:

Ancient God, we are so thankful your wisdom passes our own understanding. Help us to tap into our roots when our limbs grow weak or tired, so we will know that the story of what has been can shape the story of what will be. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; he keeps me alive.He guides me in proper paths for the sake of his good name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me.Your rod and your staff— they protect me.

You set a table for me right in front of my enemies.You bathe my head in oil; my cup is so full it spills over!Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.

Consider:

We live in a culture obsessed with the “arrival.” We post the photo of the mountain peak, the graduation cap, or the keys to the new house. We treat the space between where we are and where we want to be as a hurdle to be cleared or a nuisance to be endured. However, spiritual life rarely operates in straight lines or instant results. In the kingdom of God, the process isn’t just the path to the prize—the process is the prize.

Perhaps no passage of Scripture illustrates this better than Psalm 23. While we often read it at funerals as a final destination of peace, it is actually a rugged travelogue of a life lived in motion.

The Psalm begins not with a throne room, but with a pasture: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” A shepherd’s entire job is movement. Sheep cannot stay in one place indefinitely; they would overgraze the land and starve. To thrive, they must move.

When David writes about “green pastures” and “still waters,” he isn’t describing a permanent resort. He is describing the pit stops. These are moments of grace designed to nourish us for the next leg of the trip. If we become too obsessed with the “destination” of perfect comfort, we miss the voice of the Shepherd who is already whispering, “It’s time to move again.”

The heart of the journey’s value is found in verse 4:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Notice the word through. The valley isn’t the destination, but it is the place where the deepest intimacy is forged. You don’t need a guide on a sunlit highway; you need a guide in the shadows. We often pray for God to teleport us to the mountaintop, but God knows that we don’t grow on the peaks—we grow in the valleys. The “destination” mindset makes us resent the hard seasons, but the “journey” mindset realizes that the Shepherd is closer in the dark than He ever felt in the light.

Even when David mentions the “table” prepared for him, it is set “in the presence of my enemies.” This isn’t a quiet dining room at the end of a war; it’s a feast in the middle of the battlefield. God offers us joy and refueling while the journey is still difficult.

The Psalm ends with a destination: “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” But look at what follows David until he gets there: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” If you are waiting for everything to be “settled” before you start enjoying your life with God, you will be waiting forever. The journey isn’t the obstacle to your relationship with the Divine; it is the laboratory where that relationship is tested, refined, and made real.

Respond:

The Shepherd isn’t just waiting for you at the finish line—He is walking beside you in the dust. Embrace the pace He has set. The destination is secure, so you are finally free to focus on the walk.

Take five minute walk. Take a breath and look to your left and right as you walk, with no hurry, no rush, no plans. Just walk.

Where are you trying to rush to today?

Pray:

Ancient God, help us to be bold when there is a path currently in front of us that looks appealing but feels "uncertain" or "unmapped". Show us the very first step we can take down that path this week, even if we don't know where it ends. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Consider:

This portion of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a shift in tone and focus from what came before. He has been working to explain the mystery of Christ and his own inability to comprehend it, let alone teach it to others well. This particular passage shifts from explanation and rallying cry for continued faith, to a reminder that his suffering is not in vain, and finally a pretty excited and bold prayer for his community.

Paul suggests that the church isn’t just a gathering of people; it is a signal to the entire universe. By living in a community that transcends old divisions or hardships, we move our focus from argument or blame and have the ability to truly commit to love and justice that moves forward, not backward. If we as a beloved community do that, we provide a testimony to God’s love that has a profound and lasting ripple effect!

To achieve forward motion and focus on God’s will, Paul prays for an inner change (change of heart) rather than a change in circumstances. He asks for us to be “rooted and grounded in love.” Like a tree with deep roots or a building with a solid foundation, our stability doesn’t come from our own willpower, but from being anchored in the soil of Divine Love.

Paul uses a beautiful, almost mathematical metaphor to describe the scale of God’s grace, which covers:

* The Breadth: Reaching out to every corner of humanity.

* The Length: Extending through all of time.

* The Height: Reaching the peak of our potential.

* The Depth: Descending into our deepest pains and shadows.

NOTHING is too far away from God’s grace to be touched by it. Nothing.

And so, the prayer concludes with one of the most famous benedictions in the Bible…"To God be the glory, forever and ever.” It serves as a reminder that anytime we lose sight of the anchor point, God’s glory, we must find our way back and regain our focus. When we point to something other than the glory of God in our justice seeking, in our efforts to love our neighbors AND our enemies, in our efforts to kingdom build, we miss the point. Paul’s prayer almost shouts to us the love, the expectation, and the joy that glorifying God in all we do can bring.

Pray:

Gracious God, may we be rooted so deeply in Your love that we become a living sign of Your wisdom. Strengthen our inner beings, expand our capacity to understand the vastness of Your grace, and remind us that Your power is at work within us—even when we feel small. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

The Lord proclaims: When Babylon’s seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. I will be present for you, declares the Lord, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the Lord.

Consider:

In my Bible, this chapter of Jeremiah is entitled “disturbing hope”. Disturbing hope feels contradictory. Isn’t hope supposed to make you feel better? Doesn’t hope bring with it joy and possibility?

This idea of hope as a net positive runs up against the reality of those times where hope feels cruel instead of kind. We often mistake hope for optimism—a sunny disposition that things will naturally improve. But optimism is based on circumstances, whereas hope is based on a Promise. In the Book of Jeremiah, hope is “disturbing” because it usually arrives only after the false comforts we’ve built for ourselves have been torn down.

Hope is disturbing because it demands the death of our current “maps.” We want a hope that guarantees we won’t get hurt or lost. But biblical hope often looks you in the eye while you are standing in the middle of a disaster and says, “This is not the end, but it will be different than you planned.” It is cruel to our ego because it forces us to admit we aren’t in control. It disturbs our peace because it calls us out of the house without backup snacks or a clear destination.

If we are clinging to a hope that is merely “wishing for the best,” you are essentially huddling together for warmth while the house is on fire. Disturbing hope is the voice tells you to run into the night because there is a better inheritance waiting, to move away from the destructive fire and towards the relative safety of the outside. It is “disturbing” because it requires movement.

True hope is an active, gritty thing. It’s the “courageous act” because it often requires us to wait in the “uncertainty of the destination” while God works on our character. It doesn’t make us “feel better” by removing the storm; it makes us better by giving us the strength to walk through it.

When we stop trying to “pre-plan” our way out of suffering, hope stops being a burden and starts being a bridge. We are set free to act boldly not because the path is easy, but because the One who called us is faithful. Hope reminds us while we might lose something precious in the motion, but we will never lose the One who is leading the way.

Respond:

Does the idea of this kind of “disturbing hope” feel more like a weight or a relief to you right now?

If hope feels like a burden, sit for a moment in that tension and try to identify the root reason underneath that feeling of burden or despair.

If hope feels like relief, how can you embrace the uncertainty of the outcome which may come with this sense of freedom and release?

Pray:

Ancient God, help us to be bold when there is a path currently in front of us that looks appealing but feels "uncertain" or "unmapped". Show us the very first step we can take down that path this week, even if we don't know where it ends. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, doesn’t welcome us. Because of this, if I come, I will bring up what he has done—making unjustified and wicked accusations against us. And as if that were not enough, he not only refuses to welcome the brothers and sisters but stops those who want to do so and even throws them out of the church! Dear friend, don’t imitate what is bad but what is good. Whoever practices what is good belongs to God. Whoever practices what is bad has not seen God.

Consider:

There is an old adage in social psychology that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. While this is often discussed in terms of productivity or professional success, it carries a much deeper spiritual weight. Our journey—the path our heart takes, the rhythm of our character, and the direction of our faith—is profoundly defined by the company we keep.

In this passage from 3rd John, the author reminds us the people who are around us on our journey are incredibly important, an echo of the words found in proverbs that “Iron Shapes Iron, just as one man shapes another.” This isn’t just a metaphor for improvement; it is an acknowledgment of our inherent design. We were not created to be islands. We are porous creatures, constantly absorbing the attitudes, language, and spiritual postures of those in our inner circle. If those closest to us carry a spirit of gratitude, we find ourselves noticing the sunlight through the trees. If they carry a spirit of cynicism, even the brightest days begin to look gray.

Consider the “Inner Five” as the architects of your daily environment. They are the ones who hear your unpolished thoughts and witness your quietest struggles. Because of this proximity, they hold the power to either reinforce your highest callings or feed your deepest insecurities. When your circle is composed of people who pursue truth, practice kindness, and walk with integrity, your own journey toward those virtues becomes a shared momentum rather than an uphill climb.

However, defining our journey through others is not just about what we receive, but about the collective direction in which we are moving. Are the five people closest to you looking toward the same horizon? When one person stumbles, the strength of the other four determines how quickly they rise. A journey is rarely defined by a single heroic leap; it is defined by the consistent, daily influence of the voices that whisper in our ears and the hands that hold ours.

Respond:

Take a moment to reflect on your current circle. Do they challenge you to be the best version of yourself? Do they offer grace when you fail and accountability when you drift? Our journey is too long and too difficult to walk with those who do not cherish the destination. Choose your companions with intention, for they are more than just friends—they are the mirrors in which you see your future self.

Pray:

Ancient God, help us to be bold when there is a path currently in front of us that looks appealing but feels "uncertain" or "unmapped". Show us the very first step we can take down that path this week, even if we don't know where it ends. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Dear friend, you act faithfully in whatever you do for our brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers. They spoke highly of your love in front of the church. You all would do well to provide for their journey in a way that honors God, because they left on their journey for the sake of Jesus Christ without accepting any support from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to help people like this so that we can be coworkers with the truth.

Consider:

In the era I call PK - Pre-Kids - my husband and I loved to take a day to go hiking - but we were not what you would call “pre-planners”. Often, I’d just pick a spot on the map, we’d drive there, then we’d take whatever path looked appealing at the time. For a little while Post-Kids, we tried to do the same things - just pick whatever path appealed and it mostly worked out fine, until the one time we picked a path which crossed a fairly rapid river and, while everyone else made it across ok, I fell and dropped my daughter’s favorite stuffy - the one she carried everywhere and I had promised to protect. It was a disaster. We started looking ahead to make sure any path we picked didn’t have any streams to cross.

When was the last time you set out on a path uncertain of the destination? In a world where maps are at your fingertips, we no longer step out into the world unaware or unprepared for what happens along the way. We almost never step out the door without a destination in mind.

However, this is contrary to the action our ancestors took when building the early church and initially spreading the good news of the gospel. “They left on their journey for the sake of Jesus Christ without accepting any support from the Gentiles”. I don’t leave my house without back up water and a snack in case I get hungry.

What would it look like if we learned to live a little more boldly when it comes to acts of faith? Are we afraid of what might happen if we “mess up”?

Living into grace and the freedom God provides us isn’t so we have extra time to watch TV. Instead, we are set free in our to act courageously because we do not have to worry about our future. When we say “God is in control”, that isn’t so we don’t have responsibility, it’s so we can step out our spiritual front door and go down the path God makes for us - even and especially when we don’t know the destination.

Respond:

Take a few moments to consider the "disaster" of dropping a prized possession. What specific "failure" or "mess up" are you most afraid would happen if you followed a path without a clear map?

Then ask, how likely is this to happen to me? What is the one next step I can take towards the unknown which leaves me short of encountering this biggest fear?

Pray:

Ancient God, help us to be bold when there is a path currently in front of us that looks appealing but feels "uncertain" or "unmapped". Show us the very first step we can take down that path this week, even if we don't know where it ends. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!

Consider:

As the parent of a pre-teen girl, this verse speaks to me in a deep and fundamental way. Why is it middle school girls feel the need to rip each other apart?

Of course, I look around our world and notice it is not only preteen girls who want to rip each other apart. It seems many people in our world enjoy nothing more than tearing each other apart. Whether it’s judgement of the crual but silent variety - at least I don’t do that! we think - or the more insidious anonymous comments and insults from behind our screens we seem to revel in separating ourselves from the “other”. Often times we are most cruel to the people nearest by.

I’ve grown dispondent over the ways we use descriptors and adjectives to demean and belittle each other. There’s nothing worse than being a Duke Blue Devil (or conversely a Tar Heel). Our family (semi-jokingly) boos Michigan whenever we hear the word. That’s somewhat innocuous and fun as long as it doesn’t go too far.

But of course, it goes too far all the time. There’s nothing worse in some people’s eyes than being a liberal. In others, all Republicans are fascists. That doesn’t even go into the casual throwing around of racial and ethnic stereotypes my Middle School Teacher husband has had to stop in his classroom. But - they say - that’s how we talk at home.

And where has this gotten us to? We are more dividied than ever and more isolated than ever. Loneliness is an epidemic, and love is a dirty word.

What would it look like if we really sought to live as Paul commands us to in this passage. What if we followed the advice “not to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love”? We’d find ourselves in a much different world.

As followers of Christ, we can be the ones to boldly proclaim that we love our neighbors, no matter what. We can lead the conversation around acceptance and mutual forebearance and we can choose not to use our identity markers as weapons, but joyful expressions of God’s diverse world.

What might our world, our church, our lives look like then?

Respond:

It can be tempting to separate ourselves into camps or silos, looking out for our own interests first. Where do you see God calling you to bridge a divide instead of building one?

Consider one step you can take today to put down your sticks and pick up an invitation instead.

Pray:

God of light, help me to see myself as you see me, a child of the light. Lift the veil from my view which limits how well I can see myself or others, so that I may more fully bask in your glory. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:

Christ has set us free for freedom. Therefore, stand firm and don’t submit to the bondage of slavery again.

Look, I, Paul, am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, having Christ won’t help you. Again I swear to every man who has himself circumcised that he is required to do the whole Law. You people who are trying to be made righteous by the Law have been estranged from Christ. You have fallen away from grace! We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness through the Spirit by faith. Being circumcised or not being circumcised doesn’t matter in Christ Jesus, but faith working through love does matter.

You were running well—who stopped you from obeying the truth? This line of reasoning doesn’t come from the one who calls you. A little yeast works through the whole lump of dough. I’m convinced about you in the Lord that you won’t think any other way. But the one who is confusing you will pay the penalty, whoever that may be. Brothers and sisters, if I’m still preaching circumcision, why am I still being harassed? In that case, the offense of the cross would be canceled. I wish that the ones who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!

Consider:

Paul gets really upset at what he considers artifical rules or structures which, in his opinion, prevent people from experiencing the fullness of God’s freedom. They say there is no Zealot like a convert, and Paul is no exception to that rule. Pre-conversion on the Road to Damascus Paul was all about the rules and was often the first to stone someone who didn’t follow them to the letter. Post-conversion, he goes 100% in the other direction - not wanting any rules at all, creating situation by situation structures and systems for each church’s bespoke needs.

That - as they say - is no way to build a railroad. As the church grew it started to lay down universal rules and structures across all the different places and spaces which were part of this new movement. Creeds and Confessions popped up defining exactly what you were allowed to believe and think - and those were taken so seriously people were at one point burned at the stake for heresies like wanting to own their own Bible in a language they could read and understand.

There has always been a tension between the structure of the institution and the freedom Christ (and St. Paul) proclaim to be ours in God. While we say we want unlimited freedom, the truth is, most of us need some boundaries and structures in order to feel safe and secure. We want a parent to lay down rules for us, to the point where most people struggle in their 20s to figure out how to recreate those rules for themselves. We feel uncertain and unsafe when there are not clear expectations.

The freedom of God’s grace doesn’t always feel like freedom. Sometimes we hear the words “God loves you just as you are” and think, “Yeah - but how do I know we are doing the right thing? How do we know God loves us if there isn’t a checklist of expectations?”

The challenge for most of us is to actually hear the good news of the gospel - God gives us freedom and love in equal measure, not conditioned by how well we follow the Ten Commandments. Which is the good news because most of us would fail that test.

Maybe the biggest test of faith is how well we can follow the rules, but whether or not we can own God’s love wholly and completely without linking it to our behavior or the thoughts and beliefs in our head. It’s hard work because it is not only counter-cultural, it goes against 3000 years of training. But the freedom to act out of gratitude instead of obligation is a gift we all deserve to open.

Respond:

How do you find yourself limiting God’s grace on your life? We often try to set up rules, ones which allow us to cast judgement on ourselves and others so we know if we (or they) are “in” or “out”. If God’s grace is the defining factor of your value, how would your attitude towards yourself change?

Pray:

God of light, help me to see myself as you see me, a child of the light. Lift the veil from my view which limits how well I can see myself or others, so that I may more fully bask in your glory. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

So, since we have such a hope, we act with great confidence. We aren’t like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites couldn’t watch the end of what was fading away. But their minds were closed. Right up to the present day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. The veil is not removed because it is taken away by Christ. Even today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Consider:

There is a lot of historical debate about the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament - even centering around the question of whether Old Testament and New Testament are the right names by which we should refer to these stories! A full outlay of those debates is beyond the scope of this devotion (and is probably exceedingly boring and confusing!), but it is important to recognize the question at its heart. If Jesus came and created a new covenant for all people, how should we look at and understand the Old Testament. Opinions vary from “not at all important” to “vital and really important and you should do everything it says to do.”

This is one of those few occasions where picking the middle answer is probably right.

Paul here talks about the light which shown over the Hebrew people on Mt. Sinai, the one which illuminated their relationship with God as being law based. This is the “veil” he talks about Moses wearing. Paul understood the law as serving an important, but faded purpose, because it helped reveal who God was in relationship to the chosen people while also defining what their responsibilities were to God.

After Jesus, this veil was no longer needed, because now the Spirit gives the light which defines who are we are as God’s chosen people. It was no longer the law which gave us identity, but Jesus’ claim on our lives.

We so often chose the limits, the guardrails, of the law because grace leaves us uncertain. Who are we if we don’t have clear boundary lines over who is in and out? Grace leaves us feeling so … uncertain.

Jesus’ light shines on us without filter. This allows the gift of seeing our identity and value through that lens - the one of unconditional love and grace. Our value is not assigned by how well we follow the rules, but how fully we can see God loves us. So let the love of God shine on you, unfiltered and free.

Respond:

How do you find yourself limiting God’s grace on your life? We often try to set up rules, ones which allow us to cast judgement on ourselves and others so we know if we (or they) are “in” or “out”. If God’s grace is the defining factor of your value, how would your attitude towards yourself change?

Pray:

God of light, help me to see myself as you see me, a child of the light. Lift the veil from my view which limits how well I can see myself or others, so that I may more fully bask in your glory. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Then Moses had Israel leave the Reed Sea and go out into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert and found no water. When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink Marah’s water because it was bitter. That’s why it was called Marah. The people complained against Moses, “What will we drink?” Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

The Lord made a regulation and a ruling there, and there he tested them. The Lord said, “If you are careful to obey the Lord your God, do what God thinks is right, pay attention to his commandments, and keep all of his regulations, then I won’t bring on you any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.

Consider:

Our journey often begins with a song of victory - we seem so certain of the destination and confident we will reach it with no issues or obstacles. In Exodus 15, the Israelites have just witnessed a miracle at the Red Sea. They are ready to conquer the wilderness and claim their destiny. But only three days later, the singing stops. They reach Marah, find the water bitter, and their ambition turns into grumbling.

This movement from the Red Sea to the bitter waters of Marah reveals a fundamental truth: Ambition without endurance is merely a temporary burst of adrenaline.

In verse 22, Moses leads the people into the Desert of Shur. For three days, they find no water. When they finally do find a spring, it is undrinkable. These are the inevitable setbacks that meet any pursuit, but which seem so surprising when we encounter them.

We often expect a linear path from the beginning promise to the promised land. We expect our “fire” to carry us through. However, the fulfillment of a goal depends less on the speed of the start and more on the source of the endurance.

When Moses cries out, God shows him a piece of wood. When Moses throws it into the water, the water becomes sweet.

God did not perform a new miracle by falling rain from the sky, instead pointing Moses to something already growing nearby. Obstacles along our journey often blind us to the resources right in front of us. We are so focused on the horizon we miss the “tree”—the mentor, the small adjustment, or the shift in perspective—that can turn a bitter situation into a sweet opportunity.

If the Israelites had let their frustration at Marah cause them to turn back, they never would have reached the abundance of Elim. This is the “stewardship” of our journey. True success is not just about survival; it is about reaching a place where there is enough “water” and “shade” for everyone you are leading.

Respond:

Are you currently at the Red Sea (celebrating), at Marah (facing bitterness), or at Elim (enjoying abundance)?

Each part of the journey reminds us to look for the gift of endurance - and to rely on the resources already around us. What resources do you have available to you which would help you take the next step in your journey?

Pray:

Leading God,

We often begin our journeys with joy and celebration, so certain of its success. Help us to see obstacles not as a stopping point or reason for bitterness, but as a step along the path. Show us the water lying just underneath the obstacles which will help us find our next step towards the oasis you’ve promised. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Be quiet before me, coastlands. Let the nations renew their strength. Let them approach and speak. Let’s draw near for a judgment.

Who has awakened one from the east and has authority to summon him to serve— giving him nations, conquering kings, making them like dust with his sword, like scattered straw with his bow?He pursues them and passes untouched, needing no path for his feet.Who has acted and who has done this, calling upon generation after generation since the beginning? I, the Lord, was first, and I will be the last!

The coastlands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near and arrive.Each helps the other, each saying to the other, “Take courage!”The craftsman encourages the metalworker; the one who smoothes with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “That’s good,” and strengthening it with nails so it won’t move.

But you, Israel my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham, whom I love,you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant; I chose you and didn’t reject you”:

Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.

Consider:

As a child, I was in the “gifted and talented” program - they call it something else these days. A specialist came to my school and administered the equivalent of an IQ test. I remember puzzles to be solved, blocks to be sorted, and patterns to be recognized - all logic problems which were supposed to identify someone as “academically gifted.” My parents got a report which they never let me see (I found it years later when helping them to pack up for a move) because - I was told - they thought I would use the number at the top to make my brother feel bad.

I’m very thankful for the opportunities that testing opened for me and while this may sound like a humble brag - it’s really not. Because while I got the label and the extra classes (and expectations), what I remember the most was how much I wished I was more like my brother. More easily social, more confident, more athletic, more studious. It’s sort of like your hair - you always want the gift you can’t have.

Isaiah reminds us every person’s unique ability is important and essential. If every person had the same gift, our society would collapse. While our culture seems to lift up some talents as MORE valuable than others (when was the last time they had a red carpet for Nurse of the Year?) God doesn’t see it that way. After all, God is the one who gave it to you.

We are all gifted and talented and what God wants most of all is for us to use our abilities to the best of our abilities. God doesn’t want you to be me, God wants you to be the best version of yourself you can be - and that should be celebrated. Isaiah reminds us - Each helps the other, each saying to the other, “That’s good.”

Respond:

We often celebrate loud gifts like public speaking or leadership, but the quiet ones are equally important. Isaiah invites us to see those small, hidden gifts as important and valuable for God’s community.

Identify one person in your life who has a “hidden” gift and acknowledge it to them today. Sometimes, we only see the value of our own gifts when we see them reflected in the appreciation of others.

Similarly, what is one gift you’ve recently discovered you possess that you haven’t yet shared with your community?

Pray:

Divine Author, we thank you for the unique talents placed within our care. Teach us to cherish these gifts, not as possessions to hoard, but as seeds to sow. May we use our hands to build, our minds to solve, and our hearts to heal, enriching the world together. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture:Romans 8:26-30

In the same way, the Spirit comes to help our weakness. We don’t know what we should pray, but the Spirit himself pleads our case with unexpressed groans. The one who searches hearts knows how the Spirit thinks, because he pleads for the saints, consistent with God’s will. We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. We know this because God knew them in advance, and he decided in advance that they would be conformed to the image of his Son. That way his Son would be the first of many brothers and sisters. Those who God decided in advance would be conformed to his Son, he also called. Those whom he called, he also made righteous. Those whom he made righteous, he also glorified.

Consider:

My sister is a Respiratory Therapist. She works for the overnight, weekend shift at her hospital, both for the pay differential and the lack of doctors milling about during the overnight shift. She likes the work and it fits her down to the ground - it’s quiet and consistent, requires calmness and a certain level of remove during times of stress or heightened emotions, and let’s her be available during the school week for her kids. Everything about it is perfect. For her.

In the earlier years of her career, my brother-in-law and parents, to some extent, kept pushing her to go to medical school. She never expressed any desire to be a doctor, not even as a child playing with her barbies. (Her plan then was to be a doctor’s wife and go shopping a lot). After that ship didn’t sail, they switched to getting her to get her Master’s degree so she could be the supervising RT on shift. That’s didn’t fly either.

The not so subtle message what that she was supposed to want to be a doctor. That there was something wrong with her for being satisified right where she was.

Wouldn’t you rather be in charge and, you know, make more money? And truly, she wouldn’t. If she did what the people who were pressuring her wanted her to do, she’d be miserable. And eventually they saw that too.

There is often a gap between what we are “supposed” to want or be and what we are actually called to do.

We overreach when we feel we must “earn” our place or “prove” our value through constant upward mobility. Verses 29 and 30 argue that the “calling” and “glorification” are already set in motion - and that our value is not found in our bank account or titles at work. Our value rests in God, who has a vision for who you were meant to be.

This verse suggests our purpose isn’t something you have to reach for with desperate hands; it is something you walk into with steady feet, because it suits us, it fits with the gifts we were given by the God who made us good.

Respond:

Sometimes we find ourselves doing something which makes us miserable. Life doesn’t always give us the choice to do what we want to do, but we also shouldn’t find ourselves being disconnected from our purpose.

When is a time you have found yourself trying to live up to the spoken or unspoken expectations of others? How would you decide if those expectations were right for you or unrealistic “supposed to”s?

Pray:

Gifting God,

Help us to remember you made us with specific gifts and specific purposes. Help us to see clearly past the pressures other people may put on us towards the future you have planned for us. We want to use our gifts for your glory. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Consider:

Ambition is double-edged sword. We are supposed to be ambitious enough to motivate us to get out of the house in the morning and go get a job. If a child is talented or shows academic gifts, their ambition is “supposed” to make us want to climb the corporate ladder, becoming the youngest CEO in the history of our 300 year old company. And it’s opposite, “that kid lacks ambition” is used to demean or degrade someone, as if the only gift someone can offer is their desire to achieve.

This is a very individualistic view of our abilities - the idea being the only way to use those blessings is to personally succeed.

But what if we looked at sharing our God-given gifts and talents from a different point of view - as stewarding those gifts for the blessing of our community? What if we understood God didn’t give us those talents for our own glorification, but for the betterment of our community? To be truly ambitious is to recognize one's talents not as personal possessions, but as resources held in trust for the benefit of the community; when we view our growth as stewardship, our success becomes a shared victory.

Jesus is able to resist all those temptations in this particular passage not just because he has superhuman strength and moral clarity - it’s because he understood his responsibility not as an individual one, but a community one. He could have taken advantage of any one of the offers laid before him - I’m guessing after days in the desert he was pretty hungry - without compromising his status as “Son of God”. But that exact identity is what enabled him to say no.

Jesus knew his gifts weren’t to be used simply for his own glory, but for the benefit of his entire community. He understood his personal growth - and achievement - only held meaning if it is done with and for his community.

Ambition isn’t a dirty word if it’s put in its proper place - whatever blessing comes from our personal success is more fulfilling and meaningful if it’s a shared celebration.

Respond:

It’s easy to focus on the what (the title, the salary, the degree) of an accomplishment, but this devotion challenges us to dig into the impact of those goals and achievements. Take a minute to consider a current personal goal or a personal achievement from the past.

With this goal or achievement in mind, consider if (when) you achieved this, who is the first person (outside of yourself) who benefits? How?

What is one specific skill or resource you will gain (or did) through this ambition that you didn’t have before to offer others?

Pray:

Gifting God,

May my personal fire light a shared path. Grant me the strength to climb, not for the height, but for the view it offers to help others. Let my success be a harvest for the hungry and my growth a shelter for the weary. May I lead with love and gratitude. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 15: 18-21

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.

Consider:

In this passage, Jesus speaks honestly to His disciples. He tells them that the world may reject them, misunderstand them, or even persecute them—not because they are doing wrong, but because they belong to Him and in this time and place, that came with a cost and a very real sense of uncertainty. It wasn’t the “tradition” of the religious past, it wasn’t the will of the current political leaders. It was radical, it was risky, and it meant taking some very real steps away from things that were comfortable.

Believing in Christ can often be billed or packaged in very appealing wrapping: trust Him, follow Him, love others. A “one and done” type of commitment that gives you the golden ticket to heaven. Yet living out that faith can be difficult. Choosing honesty when others cheat, showing kindness when others mock, or standing firm in your beliefs when people around you disagree can feel lonely. Sometimes faith can put us at odds with the values of the world.

But Jesus reminds us of something important: when we face rejection because of Him, we are walking the same road He walked first. The resistance we experience is not a sign that we are failing. Standing on faithful ground means walking the path of support for the weak, the vulnerable, those on the margins. And that is never as simple as it may sound. It can put us at odds with popular culture, but it is what faith looks like when it walks.

Persecution does not always look dramatic. Sometimes it appears as quiet ridicule, social pressure, or being left out because of your convictions. Yet even in those moments, we aren’t alone. The God who created us, called us good, and commanded us to love one another as God loved us walks with us, each step of the faithful way.

Faith isn’t proven when everything is easy. It grows when we choose to remain faithful even when it costs us something.

Respond:

Where in your life is it difficult to live out your faith right now? Think of one thing that could use your energy to support a little more fervently. What is one thing that feels complicated but right that you can turn your attention to now as an act of faith?

Pray:

Lord, following You isn’t always easy. When I face uncertainty, disagreement, or challenge, give me courage to remain faithful. Help me seek YOUR will over my own, especially when it isn’t simple or small. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

It was the Preparation Day and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, especially since that Sabbath was an important day. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of those crucified broken and the bodies taken down. Therefore, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who were crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so they didn’t break his legs. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. The one who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he speaks the truth, and he has testified so that you also can believe. These things happened to fulfill the scripture, They won’t break any of his bones. And another scripture says, They will look at him whom they have pierced.

After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all. Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.

Consider:

Nicodemus is such an interesting through character in this story. We are introduced to him at the beginning as a sort of Jesus Curious - not ready or willing to stake anything of meaning based on the rumors he heard, but curious enough to seek out the person who might have the answer he needed.

Nicodemus goes away that first night disappointed, dejected, and alone. He got answers, but they weren’t the ones he wanted to hear. In fact, he didn’t even understand most of them.

Still, he keeps popping up in Jesus’ story, little glimpses of a different kind of witness - one who isn’t so sure about this Jesus thing, but can’t quite seem to let it go. While he never quite “got it” on an intellectual level, never showed up at one of the disciple revivals, or was named as one of the 12 most important followers of Jesus, he was the one who shows up with the spices and oil needed to prepare Jesus for death.

Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t always mean we are able to say the right words or can quote Thomas Aquinas and cite 140 different Bible verses from memory. In fact, sometimes being a follower of Jesus looks distinctly like the opposite of those things. We can show up for God and be curious at the same time.

Certainty is not the definition of faith. Doubts and questions, sometimes, are. Just ask Nicodemus.

Respond:

What questions do you have about God?

Make two lists - first, the list should be things about which you are absolutely certain. (God is love might be an example.) Then, make a list of all the questions you have about God.

Which one is longer?

Looking at your questions list, put a line through the questions about which there is no answer. Then, circle the questions you’d like answers to - and add next to them where you might find them. Finally, look at the questions which remain. Like Nicodemus, those may just be the questions which you become comfortable with holding in tension with the certainities you already named. And that’s a perfectly faithful response.

Pray:

Dear God, help me be comfortable with the questions of my heart. Help me to continue to be curious and open to your leading. Remind me that showing up is often the greatest act of faith. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and his sandals, and divided them into four shares, one for each soldier. His shirt was seamless, woven as one piece from the top to the bottom. They said to each other, “Let’s not tear it. Let’s cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the scripture,

They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. That’s what the soldiers did.

Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

After this, knowing that everything was already completed, in order to fulfill the scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was nearby, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed.” Bowing his head, he gave up his life.

Consider:

I’ve become a little bit consumed by Jesus’ last words in this passage - “It is completed.”

I’ve had the privilege and honor of being at many bedsides while a person has begun the transition to the next life, and none of them have talked about their impending death list as if it’s a task on the end of a list. But that is almost exactly how Jesus seems to be approaching the end of his life on the cross. There is a list of tasks to accomplish before he goes, and he checks them off one by one. When he is finished, he checks the last box and preceeds to die.

Which all seems a bit silly to me.

So, what if Jesus meant something else, something entirely different?

One of the phrases we use at funerals is that a person’s baptism has been completed in their death. The idea is the new life which was begun in that ancient water ritual has now reached it’s logical and only conclusion, our death. It’s this apparent ending which is actually in and of itself a new beginning with Jesus.

Jesus’ purpose on this earth was to bring light and life to the world. From the beginning of his ministry he knew how it would end, the only path which he knew he could take led to death. And here, he shows us what it looks like to finish a full and fulfilling life.

The Task is over, the battle won. The future has now begun - because Jesus finished his task list and, satisified, let it go.

Respond:

Here is a reflection activity which will help you explore what truly matters by examining the legacy you wish to leave:

* Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted

* Close your eyes and take three deep breaths

* Imagine you’re at the end of a long, fulfilled life

* Open your journal and respond to these prompts:

* What would you want people to say about how you lived?

* What differences would you have made in others’ lives?

* What achievements would bring you the most pride?

* What regrets would you want to avoid?

Pray:

Dear God, help me to see and find the purpose you have for me during the remaining days of me life. Help me, on those last days, be able to look back on the life I led with purpose, clarity, and peace. On the day when our baptism is complete, may it be because we did all you put before us to do. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 17:14-19

I gave your word to them and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. I’m not asking that you take them out of this world but that you keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. Make them holy in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. I made myself holy on their behalf so that they also would be made holy in the truth.

Consider:

One of the hardest parts of parenting, for me, is I know things my children do not yet know. That little baby is born without any knowledge or expectations - or experiences - to shape its life yet, but you as a parent know all of the milestones which are before them. Maybe other parents didn’t look at their baby and then worry about their teenage years - but I wouldn’t be surprised if so much of our parental worry isn’t actually anticipating the heartbreak we know is to come.

What I pray for them most of all is not an escape from the hard experiences of life which shape them, but that they will be able to face them with strength of heart and solid character which will allow them to come out whole on the other side.

When Jesus prays, he doesn’t ask for God to make their path straight or easy. In fact, he explicitly says he prays God doesn’t remove them from the cares and concerns of the world. Instead his prayer is for us to come out the otherside of those hard times with our hearts and mind whole, more able to trust God to lead us through them.

Our lives on this earth are precious and bumpy. Jesus’ prayer for us is not to avoid those bumps, but to go over them or through them or under them, knowing the promise of life which comes after the potholes.

Respond:

Look back on a time when the world seemed extra challenging or difficult for you to navigate. What was your prayer during that time? Maybe write down an example of something you would have asked God during that time.

Now, consider re-writing the prayer in light of Jesus’ prayer for you - not to avoid the time of trial, but to go through it with God’s help. How might your prayer look or sound different?

Pray:

Lord, help me trust You when Your plans feel confusing or painful. Teach me to believe you will help me go over the mountaintop to the other side, heart and soul intact, trusting even more in your favor. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

I have said these things to you so that you won’t fall away. They will expel you from the synagogue. The time is coming when those who kill you will think that they are doing a service to God. They will do these things because they don’t know the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.

“I didn’t say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to the one who sent me. None of you ask me, ‘Where are you going?’ Yet because I have said these things to you, you are filled with sorrow. I assure you that it is better for you that I go away. If I don’t go away, the Companion won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Consider:

In this passage, Christ is preparing the disciples for something they never wanted to experience: His departure. For them, His physical presence meant safety, clarity, and direction. The thought of losing Him filled them with grief.

Jesus acknowledges this grief and sense of loss. He has led the disciples through and around and into an entirely new theological era and mindset. He isn’t blind to the very human reaction of losing a friend, a mentor, a teacher right at the time it feels he is needed most.

But then He says something surprising: “It is for your good that I am going away.”

How could His leaving possibly be good?

Jesus explains that His departure would make way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which opened up the door of this new faith to everyone. While Jesus had been physically present with them, the Spirit would come to dwell within believers everywhere. Instead of God walking beside a few disciples in one place, the full expanse of God’s love would take up a place in the hearts of all who follow Christ, not just a few lucky enough to SEE Jesus.

Sometimes God’s work in our lives also feels like loss. A season ends, a door closes, or something familiar is taken away. Like the disciples, we may only see the absence. But God often uses those moments to bring about something deeper that we could not experience otherwise, and it will serve us well to keep watch for the unexpected thing.

Respond:

Think on a time where you experienced a sense of loss over something. Are there things you see now that you could not see then about how God was guiding you toward something new? Have you experienced a loss or change that actually strengthened your faith rather than weaken it? Think on that experience for a moment today.

Pray:

Lord, help me trust You when Your plans feel confusing or painful. Teach me to believe that even in what feels like loss, You are working for good. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

Consider:

On the stairwell of my house growing up was an faded picture in a ornate gilt frame. In it was a picture of a man we called “faded 50’s Jesus” - it was the back side of Jesus’ head with long flowing brown locks, neatly trimmed beard, with a long, floor length tunic and sash. He’s sitting on a rock overlooking the city, hands folded in prayer.

As kids we made a lot of fun of Mom’s honestly kind of tacky portrait hanging in the middle of the stairwell. Every once in a while we’d bump into it going down the stairs and Jesus would sway back and forth precariously, a little bit of a roller coaster ride for the Holy One to enjoy. We hoped it added a little spice to his day.

Looking back on that picture as an adult, I still think it’s kind of tacky. However, I also think it is a powerful image because in it Jesus is not doing anything but looking over the world and praying. There’s no preaching, feeding or healing, just prayer. Prayer long and abiding, constant for the beloved children of God.

I wonder if we don’t give prayer a little bit of a short shrift. I wonder if we don’t think of prayer as too idle, not “accomplishing” anything, not productive enough to focus on.

And yet, in this last prayer of his earthly life, Jesus promises to do nothing but pray. Nothing but watch over his disciples. Nothing but sit and look over the city.

Maybe prayer should be moved up the spiritual discipline food chain, because if Jesus is content to do it for the rest of time on our behalf, we can spend a few moments each day looking over the city with him.

Respond:

What does prayer look like for you? If you haven’t found a sustainable prayer life, try a different method. Maybe sitting and talking to God doesn’t work for you, but taking a walk and talking to God does. Maybe walking doesn’t work, but painting does.

Try on a few different styles of contemplation and see if you can find the one that “fits” your life and attitude the best, so you can create and sustain a meaningful prayer life.

Pray:

Lord, help me to pray. That’s it. Just help me to see and remember how important prayer is for the shaping and guiding of my life and to see time spent with you as important, valuable, and essential to our daily life. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

His disciples said, “See! Now you speak plainly; you aren’t using figures of speech. Now we know that you know everything and you don’t need anyone to ask you. Because of this we believe you have come from God.”

Jesus replied, “Now you believe? Look! A time is coming—and is here!—when each of you will be scattered to your own homes and you will leave me alone. I’m not really alone, for the Father is with me. I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.”

Consider:

I once worked with a Pastor who was obsessed with the euphemisms we use when someone dies. You know, the ones like “Passed Away” or “Went to be with Jesus”. He understood why people use them - it’s polite and kind and gentle, we think - so we say things like “they’ve gone to a better place” or “Went home to be with Jesus.” And by obsessed, I mean he kept a list of the ones he considered most outrageous to which he added every time he ran across a new one in an obituary. It wasn’t unusual to find him in his office, holding a newspaper, yelling, “They died. Why don’t they just say that they died?”

We do try to soften the impact of hard times in loved ones lives by talking around it or avoiding it altogether. When someone is very sick or has died, we get paralyzed by our fear of saying the wrong thing or hurting someone’s very tender heart. That impulse comes from a place of kindness and compassion, but in trying to make it easier for them (and us) it adds a layer of shame over what it is already a difficult truth.

The actual effect of this clouded language is to actually make things worse. Adding a veil over the often painful truth doesn’t make it less, but instead adds to awkwardness and uncertainty. What people most often want is the kindness of acknowledging the truth of their circumstances.

The disciples here are actually relieved Jesus finally told them what was to come in plain, understandable language. Jesus had spent a lot of time trying to soften the blow and make it easier for them to face the uncertain future by speaking in metaphors and allusions. It only made them more confused.

When Jesus tells them the truth straight out it actually brings relief and peace. We always do better with the plain truth, spoken in kindness and love.

Respond:

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle.

* Left Column (The Veil): Write down 3–5 euphemisms or “soft” phrases you’ve used recently—or had used on you—regarding a difficult situation (death, job loss, illness, or even a personal failure).

* Right Column (The Plain Truth): Beside each one, write the “plain truth” version in the simplest, kindest language possible.

Look at your Right Column. Take a deep breath and read those “Plain Truth” statements out loud. Notice your physical reaction.

* Does it feel heavier, or do you feel a slight release of tension?

* Does the “Plain Truth” give you a clearer starting point for prayer or action than the “Veil” did?

* Reflect: Why does the plain truth feel like relief (as it did for the disciples) rather than a burden?

Pray:

Lord of Truth,

Forgive me for hiding behind soft words because I am afraid of the weight of the reality. My “kindness” is often just my own discomfort in disguise.

Give me the courage of the plain truth. Help me to stop softening the blow in ways that leave others feeling isolated. Grant me the relief the disciples felt: the peace of hearing things as they truly are.

I thank You that You meet me in the unvarnished reality of my life, not in the euphemisms I use to cover it up.

Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 16:23-28

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Consider:

In two different sections of the gospel of John, Jesus talk about the change which will come in the relationship between humanity and God. You see, forever and ever, the people needed a mediator, some person or event or ritual to give them access to God. No one could speak to God unless it was in the form of a burning bush, or voice from the clouds, or in one of the more memorable promises in scripture, through the mouth of a talking donkey.

Here talks about his ability to remove that barrier between us and God. Prayer is open for everyone.

Many American Chrstians have been told a different story from this passage then the one Jesus likely intended - primarily that the “gifts” God will give you - if you just ask him - are monetary. You see preachers on the television telling you if you donate $10 more dollars to their ministry then surely God will bless you with a car or big house or large burly truck. Other times you see “faith healers” who are exploiting the deepest wishes of the sick and infirm telling them if they just believed more - in the form of monetary donations of course - this person can make them well.

If you asked Jesus what he thought about those televangelists, the first thing he would say is probably “huh? What’s a tv?”. Then, he’d shake his head and reply - “you humans, missing the point again.”

Jesus’s promised blessings are never material items, never more of what you wished you had, or something designed to give you wealth or fame. Instead, God’s blessings come in deeper and richer forms. A restored relationship with a friends. More meaningful connections at church. A more fulfilling career - and blessings which carry farther and wider than a shiny new truck.

So you can ask God for both the little things and the big things - then wait for the unexpected blessings which come in surprising and more meaningful ways than you might expect!

Respond:

How do you count your blessings? The old song from Holiday Inn reminds us that “when we are tired, we should count our blessings instead of sheep.” That way the last thing we remember is the blessings of our day and not all the complaints.

So - tonight when you lay down in bed, try making a list of all the little - and big - ways God has blessed you in the last few days. I bet you fall asleep counting those blessings.

Pray:

Lord, help me remember all the ways you offer blessings. Remind me of the little and suprising ways you show up when I ask - and all the ways you have sent those splashes of colors my way this day. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 16:17-22

Some of Jesus’ disciples said to each other, “What does he mean: ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’ and ‘Because I’m going to the Father’? What does he mean by ‘soon’? We don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said, “Are you trying to find out from each other what I meant when I said, ‘Soon you won’t see me, and soon after that you will see me’? I assure you that you will cry and lament, and the world will be happy. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers her distress because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. In the same way, you have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and you will be overjoyed. No one takes away your joy.

Consider:

I’d like to take issue with my friend Jesus here in this situation because he’s doing a little bit of what some women call “Mansplaining”. He makes an outrageous claim about childbirth - namely that women forget the pain of childbirth because after the child is born she now has a baby which helps her to forget the pain. Which just goes to show you Jesus never sat in a room full of mothers while the children are in another room. Those mothers are swapping birthing stories - including the number of hours of labor - with the same gusto as someone who climbed the cliff of Normandy. They don’t forget the pain - it’s just that the baby is worth it. (And it’s also true that the adrenaline and endorphins of actual childbirth do make you feel less pain right after the birth, but talk to a mother about the days and weeks after and I promise you’ll hear a different story!)

There is deeper truth embedded in that reflection - which, of course there is because it’s Jesus. And that truth is this - we can do hard things. We can climb mountains and birth babies and run into burning buildings. Human beings are remarkably robust and courageous. We are so strong and so capable and so able to endure pain and suffering.

But sometimes we forget that endurance and resilience we’ve developed in the past because, for whatever reason, the hard things we’ve done before seem much smaller in the rear view mirror. I actually once had a veteran tell me that during World War II he survived on grass - literally eating grass from actual fields where they were walking - in the same tone he’d told me about buying shoes that morning. We forget how amazing and strong we are and all the obstacles we’ve overcome to reach this point.

You can do wonderful things. In fact, God is already doing something wonderful in you. Sometimes we just forget how strong and courageous we can truly be.

Respond:

Sit down for a minute and make a list of all the hard things you’ve overcome in the last month. Maybe make it two. Or maybe it’s the last year or in your whole life, whatever time period makes sense to you.

Then, next to each item, make a note of one act of bravery or courage you did in the course of that hard thing. Did you keep your mouth shut when your boss was being a jerk? Write it down!

Then take a minute and notice how many amazing thing you were able to do. Instead of diminishing it or making it smaller than it was, give yourself a moment of credit to remember how awesome you are - and how hard that obstacle was to overcome! Celebrate your success.

Pray:

God, I know you are amazing and awesome, but sometimes I doubt that I am able to do the hard things or can overcome the difficult spots in the road ahead. Help me to remember all the times and places you’ve helped me be courageous in the past, not as wounds but as badges which celebrate how far I’ve come on this journey. Remind me of my strength. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

When he comes, he will show the world it was wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment. He will show the world it was wrong about sin because they don’t believe in me. He will show the world it was wrong about righteousness because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore. He will show the world it was wrong about judgment because this world’s ruler stands condemned.

I have much more to say to you, but you can’t handle it now.

Consider:

The publishing industry has a saying - “If it bleeds, it leads” - which basically means people like bad news. In more modern methods of publishing, like this very platform on which you are engaging with this devotion, they’ve even invented a new idea called “a/b testing”, which allows you to post the same material with two different headlines. And guess which headlines usually wins? The one that is most outrageous, most complicated, most painful or terrifying. The old “If it bleeds, it leads” still applies in the age of YouTube it seems.

And, if we are honest, the articles we tend to click on are the ones with the most outrageous headlines. “Local boy saves puppy” just doesn’t seem to draw the same amount of attention as it’s opposite.

But, while we love bad news when it’s happening to other people when the bad news is coming our direction, we tend to close our eyes and block our ears. We enter into a state of denial and shock, trying to avoid the bad news all together. But try as we might to ignore it, the bad news doesn’t actually go away. In fact, trying to avoid it makes it worse.

Jesus has been trying to get the disciples to hear bad news for about 6 chapters at this point and you can see him growing more and more frustrated. First, the disciples deny it’s coming, then they try to convince Jesus he’s wrong, then they get despondent at which point Jesus tries to smooth it over by saying, “Here’s why is won’t be so bad - someone else will come and help you!”

We can’t avoid hard things by pretending they aren’t happening. The bravest and most courageous act in most circumstances is to just step up and face the news, whether or not it’s easy to hear. Once we’ve made that courageous step, the helper does almost always show up - in the form of a friend to support you, the appearance of an inner resolve, or calm, courageous acceptance.

Respond:

What news have you been trying to avoid? Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and, when you feel ready, allow yourself to own the truth of your circumstances. Let it deep into your heart and mind, identifying the feelings which come with it - without judging them or dismissing them. When you are ready, open your eyes. What do you notice about your body, your heart, and your mind?

Repeat this process whenever you start to feel overwhelmed and notice how your mind and heart change over time. Maybe it will help you feel more calm and centered, or it will light a fire for change, or it will allow you to face the future with confidence.

Pray:

God, help me be brave and courageous. When the headlines are printed about my day and the circumstances of my life, help me click on both the happy ones and the hard ones. Allow me to develop the centered, secure heart which can face each story with openness and willingness to see the helper come. I know you will send one. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

If I had not come and spoken to them,they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Consider:

Our culture teaches us asking for help is a last ditch effort - the moment of last resort when you’ve exhausted both yourself and all your possible options. Asking for help means you’ve given up trying - to fix the problem, to heal the situation, to fix the gap in you that makes it impossible for you to just do it yourself.

I run into the situation from time to time when it comes to opening jars in my kitchen. Last night, as I was making our weekly pizza, I went to open the pizza sauce jar. Try as I might, the jar lid would. not. open. Though my husband was sitting a mere 5 feet away and would have been able to pop it open in a few seconds, I stubbornly struggled and wrenched on this lid. Then, I pulled out the old standby trick - hitting the rim of the jar lid with a spoon. It breaks the seal, making it easier to open. Eventually my daughter looked at me and said “Do you want me to get Dad and see if he can open it?”

Every “I am woman hear my roar” bone in my body literally exploded at all at once.

But my stubborness had only made it much harder to open the lid, because now not only was it not open, but the jar lid was bent making it much harder to grip. And, despite all my maneuvering, the sauce was still stubbornly inside of the jar. If I had relented and asked for help from the beginning when I couldn’t open it the first time, we’d have had pizza much earlier.

It’s ok to ask for help. It’s also ok to make someone else take help - as Jesus does in this picture. When our own stubbornness gets in the way, we could also acccept help from a friend who steps in a brings us a casserole, instead of saying “no, it’s ok. I can stop at the store” as our mind frantically whirls through our calendar.

I think we all have a lot to learn on both ends of this spectrum. But it begins when we stop making “help” a four-letter word.

Respond:

When was the last time you accepted help without guilt, shame, or self—judgement?

It’s time to practice. Reach out to someone you trust and ask for help with one small item or task in your life - even if you don’t reallly think you need it! Growing a muscle takes time and consistency, so start small and see what happens!

Pray:

God, I so often start off my prayers with the words “help me.” But I wonder how ready I am to actually recieve the help you offer? Open my heart and remove the shame, guilt, and judgement I feel when I admit I can’t do everything. Set aside my pride and allow me to be thankful for the gift of friends who will show up when I am vulnerable enough to ask them. Amen.

Scripture: John 15:12-17

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

Consider:

Remember that book which came out … gosh … maybe 30 years ago - Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten? (I think that was the title?). The premise of the book was simple - the basics of what we need to know to live a fulfilled, happy life we learn in the sandbox and on the carpet circle during Kindergarten. Share with your friends, be kind, pay attention to the teacher. Don’t talk when it is not your turn.

This commandment - Love one another as I have loved you - is one we all learned in the equivalent of Church Kindergarten. It’s the first thing we teach our kids. Jesus loves me this I know - so I should love my neighbor as myself.

It’s always amazed me the ways we adults can create loopholes in what is a very straightforward commandment. We apply all this qualifying adjectives. Well, we say, I don’t have to love that person because they are a jerk. Or - the “hard love” equivalent - I’ll love that person when they learn to pull their own weight and lift themselves up by their own bootstraps. Or “Cruel to be kind” style of love where we shame and demean people so they will shape up and fly right. We put all these caveats and conditions on love so we don’t have to change our own point of view or sacrifice anything for the sake of those we deem unlovable.

There are no loopholes in Jesus’s commandment. Love is the center, the root of his story. There is no version of authentic Christianity that isn’t grounded in the purpose of bearing fruit by planting love - not the hard kind or the conditional kind, but the kind of love that requires sacrifice because it’s asks something from us to give it.

No qualifying adjectives to change it or shape love into something more comfortable.

There are no loopholes. No exceptions.

Respond:

Where do you put conditions on your love? Is there a person in your life to whom you find it particularly difficult to show God’s love?

What would need to change in your own attitude to offer them the kind of love Jesus offers to you?

I invite you to sit for a minute or two in that uncomfortable space between the knowing and the offering, naming the gap between your feelings and actions towards this person.

Then - don’t do anything. Don’t make a phone call or send a note. Just live for a few days in the tension to see what ideas might pop up for you. When you feel ready, then you can decide how to move forward with love and purpose.

Pray:

Lord, I confess the conditions I place on my love and the gaps where my heart remains closed. As I sit in this uncomfortable tension, transform my attitude to mirror Your grace. Remind me love has boundaries but not strings. Help me see others through Your eyes until I am ready. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Consider:

I was listening to a podcast last night as I got ready for bed. In the podcast, there were three generations of sports reporters, one from the 90s, one who rose up during the 00’s, and one who is getting his feet on the ground in the last few years. The oldest one was reminiscing about meeting his sports writing heroes - the guys who covered Ali vs. Foreman or the epic New York Jets win in Super Bowl III. These men were heroes in his eyes, the men he wanted to be when he started working.

The second podcaster said - I know this will make you uncomfortable, but you are that guy for us. We looked up to you the way you looked up to those guys. You were the person we wanted to grow up to be.

I could audibly hear how uncomfortable that made the oldest writer. You could physically hear this discomfort in the silence. This man could wax poeticallly about the men he looked up to, could not to accept similar words of praise. It was too much for him to handle.

How are you at accepting words of love or affection? Jesus promises here to love you always, all the time. From birth to death and into the life everlasting, Jesus’ words of love echo throughout your life time.

My guess is that brings you more discomfort than comfort. It makes you more uneasy than fulfilled. We are not very good at accepting words of love or affirmation.

But what if those words are true? What would happen if we let them sink into our hearts and our souls? I bet we’d find they give us strength and courage to face the day.

So, hear those words to you - and sit with them. Jesus loves you.

Jesus loves you.

Respond:

Think back on the last time someone showed you words of affirmation or affection. How did you respond? Did you hear them as true, or dismiss them because it made you uncomfortable or too vulnerable?

Write down three ways someone has shown you love in your recent memory. Then, allow those words to sink into your heart and muscles and bones. How does it feel? Do they feel true?

Because they are. Let them become the lens through which you see yourself.

Pray:

Dear God, we have heard the words, “Jesus loves me” so many times, yet we let the narrative of shame and guilt cloud our vision. Help us to hear those words as true. Let them sink into our heart and our bones to become the way we see ourselves today and everyday. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Jesus answered, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the word of the Father who sent me.

“I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid. You have heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than me. I have told you before it happens so that when it happens you will believe.

Consider:

I’m in the season of parenting where a little peace and quiet sounds like an amazing gift. I don’t want to say my kids are loud, but… my kids are loud. They’ve inherited their parents ability to project voices at will without the mediating influence of years of being told to be quiet. Our house is a very noisy place.

At this point in Jesus’ story, the world had gotten pretty noisy. There had been attempts to stone (primarily) Jesus and his disciples (by-proxy) because of their insistence that the God of Israel was in charge of the world and not the Caesar who was god in Rome. Their words directly challenged the empire in which they lived and threatened the security of their roman colony. Both sets of leaders were interested in keeping his voice down.

So, everyone in this story is tired, hungry, in hiding, and stressed about their future. What had seemed like a fun lark with friends during the wedding at Cana had become a life-threatening situation.

Jesus’ promise of peace probably sounded both amazing and ridiculous. Peace? What Peace? the disciples might have thought. There is no peace here. There are literally men with stones waiting across the river. What do you mean peace?

God’s spirit of comfort and peace doesn’t promise to take away the stress and hard circumstances of life. It doesn’t all of the sudden make everything ok. Your pipes will still break from years of use. You’ll get a flat tire on the way to the doctor’s appointment. You’ll find yourself at the recieving end of scary medical situations. Peace doesn’t mean the hard stuff goes away.

Instead God’s peace is the ability to face those circumstances with bravery, courage, and the reminder you are not walking through these situations alone. Peace comes from your community, the ones hearing God’s voice along side of you. God’s peace means accepting circumstances beyond your control with grace and not despair. God’s peace isn’t the absence of noise, but the ability to see beyond it to a time of calm, and, hopefully, a quieter house.

Respond:

What is a circumstance in your life where you could a dose of God’s courageous peace? Think about the places in your day where there seems to be a lot of static, voices, and competing items asking for your attention?

Then, identify the one in which bravery, courage, and grace are most needed - the one where God’s peace will help you face those circumstances. How might you find peace in the midst of that storm?

Pray:

Lord, in midst of the static in my overwhelming schedule and the competing voices of expectation, I need Your courageous peace. When anxiety blurs my vision, steady my heart. Grant me the bravery to choose stillness and the grace to act with clarity. In the storm, be my anchor and my strength. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 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.”

Consider:

Jesus has just told the disciples that as he leaves, he will be replaced by…the Spirit. I can imagine that the folks hearing this were both confused and not particularly comforted. They were losing a living, breathing and very visible teacher to be replaced with the Spirit of truth? I know I for one would have questioned this as a fair trade…

But if there is anything I’ve learned from Jesus, it is that he always comes through, and I always underestimate the power of what is coming next. And so, let’s lean into this passage.

It is incredibly easy to feel isolated in today’s world. Even surrounded by people or connected by technology, a deep sense of loneliness can sometimes creep in. When Jesus spoke the words in John 14 to His disciples, they were facing a terrifying reality: their leader, teacher, and friend was about to leave them. They felt like they were being abandoned.

But Jesus immediately steps into their anxiety, before they can truly speak it, with a promise of continued presence and support. It may not have the same look, but it will be the definitive guide moving forward. As God the Creator sent Jesus the redeemer to set things aright, God also will send the Sustainer Spirit to continue to guide the forward motion of the faith.

Jesus describes the interconnected relationship between Father and Son: and this new element, the Spirit, will ensure that connection continues to be evident to the disciples.

Finally, Jesus bridges the gap between feeling loved and living out that love. In verse 21, He explains that keeping His commands isn’t about rigid rule-following; it is the natural, flowing response of a heart that believes. And once again we are reminded of the whole point: love.

Respond:

For today, intentionally invite the Spirit’s guidance in 2-3 of your daily decisions—through prayer, reflection, and attentiveness. Instead of asking, “What do I want?” begin asking, “Spirit, where are you leading?” A simple practice in small decisions can help guide you toward seeking the Spirit on larger decisions later!

Pray:

Lord, thank You for the promise that I am never left alone. In moments of loneliness or doubt, remind me of Your constant presence. Help me to rest in the reality that You are in me, and give me the grace to live into your love through my love for others. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 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.

Consider:

I love Philip, he feels so VERY real to me… “just show us God, and that’s it, that will be enough to believe.” Just show me and I’ll believe… no amount of miracle working, no amount of teaching will actually breed belief in some folks… they have to SEE the real thing. No more, no less. And in classic fashion, Jesus gives what is needed, not necessarily what is wanted. Philip wanted a vision. Jesus offered a relationship.

All too often I think we get in our own way of doing the work of God because we’ve become too busy looking for “signs” of God. We shouldn’t need a dramatic display of God — we have Jesus and example after example of God’s presence through him.

When we long for clarity, Jesus says, Look at Me.

If we get right down to it, Jesus has been very specific. The directive is simple…keep my commands. The command is simple to remember but difficult to achieve…love one another.

So will we continue to ask things of God like Philip asked? Will we keep looking for those “signs” we need to prove something, or will we take Jesus seriously and know we’ve got all we need to get about the work of really loving one another as God loves us?

Respond:

Take a few minutes today to actively love a neighbor. Perhaps it looks like cookies to someone who might live alone. Maybe it’s a phone call to a family member you haven’t spoken with in a while. Maybe it looks like simply being intentional to make eye contact and smile at people everywhere you go today. Be active in the command to love neighbor, and at the end of the day, take stock of whether or not you saw more “signs” of God in those moments.

Pray:

God help us to see signs of you all around us, everyday. For you are, indeed, in and of and through everything. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

After he said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples and crossed over to the other side of the Kidron Valley. He and his disciples entered a garden there. Judas, his betrayer, also knew the place because Jesus often gathered there with his disciples. Judas brought a company of soldiers and some guards from the chief priests and Pharisees. They came there carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus knew everything that was to happen to him, so he went out and asked, “Who are you looking for?”

They answered, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

He said to them, “I Am.” (Judas, his betrayer, was standing with them.) When he said, “I Am,” they shrank back and fell to the ground. He asked them again, “Who are you looking for?”

They said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”

Jesus answered, “I told you, ‘I Am.’ If you are looking for me, then let these people go.” This was so that the word he had spoken might be fulfilled: “I didn’t lose anyone of those whom you gave me.”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword away! Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Consider:

By this point in the story, the events which are about to unfold are inevitable. Nothing any of the characters do can meaningfully change what happens next - so it might be wise for the people in this story to get on board with the train as it moves forward. Avoiding or trying to stop any of these events will only make the process worse for everyone involved.

Peter lops of a guys ear in his attempt to avoid the pain which is to come. Other disciples fall asleep or run away. Judas tries to stop it all by appealing to an outside authority. The only person in the story who seems to accept what is to come is the person for whom those events will cause the most pain!

Our own ability to control the events of our future are usually as limited as the options available to Peter, Judas, James, and Jesus. The moments and choices of today were set in to motion long in our past and, because we aren’t outside of time as God is, we can not fully know or anticipate the consequences of those choices. All we can do is make the best of the information we have before us.

One thing is for sure, avoiding the pain and loss and hard choices which come next is not only not possible - it always, always makes things worse for everyone going through the storm. And, avoidance often makes the story about us - it shifts the focus away from the person actually standing in the rain and onto our own struggles or difficulties standing inside looking out the window at the thunder and lightening.

When the time comes, the bravest choice is often the hardest - to step out of the way and let the person who is about to experience this pain show us how best to walk through it with them.

Respond:

We can practice this skill of being a “non-anxious presence.” .

Think of one small task you have been putting off. It could be making a phone call, replying to a message, or organizing a small part of your home. Set a timer for five minutes. Tell yourself you only need to work on it for this short time. Take action. Once you begin, you may find it easier to keep going. When you are finished, reflect: How did it feel? Was it as difficult as you imagined? What can you do next time?

Pray:

Lord, grant me the courage to face what I fear. When I retreat into the shadows of avoidance, remind me that your light is there to guide my steps. Replace my hesitation with strength, that I may find peace not by running away, but by walking through. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Consider:

In John 17:1–5, we are invited into a sacred moment. What strikes me most about this passage is the clarity with which Jesus speaks. So often, I feel as if I’m stumbling through a call from God, not knowing if I’m following God’s agenda or my own…Jesus has no confusion in His voice. No hesitation. Instead, there is real clarity.

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus often said, “My hour has not yet come.” But now He says, “The hour has come.” Jesus’ understanding in this moment is profound- the cross is not a tragedy interrupting the mission — it is the mission. The suffering ahead is not accidental; it is purposeful. He sees the cross as the moment when God’s glory will shine most brightly.

Jesus speaks of the authority given to Him to give eternal life. He defines eternal life not merely as endless existence or as a “prize” for doing the right thing, but as relationship:

The whole point of His life was to bring people into knowing God and God’s loving purpose for all of God’s children. Every miracle, every teaching, every confrontation, every step toward Jerusalem was aimed at this: restoring relationship between God and humanity. God created the most intimate way to partner with God’s creation; becoming one of them. The goal of it all is to restore relationship, to bridge the gap between where humanity stands and where humanity can be.

What must it feel like to have such clarity of purpose? Such full assurance of a path, enough to walk into the end of life knowing that your purpose has been fulfilled. May we all seek to listen closely enough to God to walk confidently into the future, knowing our purpose points directly to the One who created us and called us good.

Respond:

Take a moment today to sit still and QUIET…find a place where you can have 5 undisturbed minutes. Sit with your thoughts, your worries, your lists, and pay attention. What feels like the thing, the purpose, that tugs the most at you right now? Is it something that feels like it points to God or God’s purpose for you? Is it something that furthers the love and justice of kingdom building? Is it something that ignites creativity and inspiration, or does it drain your energy? Just take note today of where your focus and clarity lies in the things occupying your brain. And if you walk away feeling drained or disappointed, perhaps make a plan to shift one intention and see how that sits with you tomorrow…

Pray:

Give us clarity, God, on those things with which we are to focus our time, attention, and purpose… Amen.

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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Consider:

True gardeners use the act of pruning to redirect and encourage growth…pruning is not intended to be seen as a punishment to the plant in the world of flora and fauna, it is indeed the opposite. It is intended to bring the plant into full and abundant life. Shears in the hands of a caring and observant gardener can bring about glorious results.

We often view “pruning,” when talking about people, with a bit of trepidation. In our lives, pruning feels like loss—a closed door, an ended relationship, or a dream that didn’t take flight. However, John 15 invites us to see pruning not as a punishment, but as an act of God’s goodness and grace.

Jesus identifies God as the Vinedresser. In a vineyard, the vinedresser is the one with the vision. He isn’t hacking away at random; he is looking at the branch not for what it is now, but for what it has the potential to become. When God prunes us, He is removing the “suckers”—those small, green shoots that look like growth but actually drain the life-force of the branch without ever producing fruit. Pruning happens (and needs to happen) when our energy and focus fall to the things that aren’t the fruit of God’s call to us. Pruning takes away hateful feelings and old habits that don’t create new and good fruit of the Spirit.

If the Vinedresser didn’t care about the branch, He would leave it alone to become a tangled, unproductive mess. God prunes because God believes we are capable of producing something beautiful and nourishing for the world!

Respond:

What is something you can notice today that is a “sucker” of your time, your energy, your spirit? What is one thing you can notice that pulls from your focus on God’s good work and the joy of creation? How can it be pruned to take away less of your energy and focus?

Pray:

God of love, we know you are ever lovingly pruning us to be who you created us to be. Help us be open to the trimming as an act of love rather than loss, and guide us to grow toward you. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. You know the way to the place I’m going.”

Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.”

Consider:

In the midst of the hardest, most difficult point in Jesus’ life, he found himself doing what he always did - offering comfort and hope to the disciples who were both confused and scared.

As adults, we sometimes find ourselves in the position of pushing down our own fears, hurts, and worries in order to bolster or support someone who is not equipped to wrestle with the emotional burden which unfolding events force upon them. Whether its death, unexpected loss, broken relationships, or high levels of stress - we grown-ups have found all kinds of ways to mask or hide pain. The root of most of our destructive behavior is this kind of pain avoidance - which ironically leads to even more pain and destruction and loss.

Instead, Jesus here models a healtheir way to help others who are in stressful or harmful circumstances. This verse isn't a dismissive "don't worry, be happy" sentiment. Jesus has just told his friends he is leaving, and he has predicted Peter’s denial. The "trouble" is real. However, Jesus offers a shift in focus—not from the problem to a solution, but from the problem to a purpose.

Their fears are not dismissed, but instead turned towards the person of Jesus, recentering them in the truth momentarily forgotten - Jesus offers comfort and peace in the midst of the very real storm.

We too are invited to look at the character of Jesus. If we want to know what God is doing in our mess, we look at how Jesus treated the messy people around Him.

We may not see the “Father’s house” clearly yet, but we see the One who is building it. Faith, then, is the quiet confidence that even when we don’t know the way, we are known by the one who is the Way.

Respond:

How do you respond to stress? Whenever you begin to feel overwhelmed or pushing stress away, practice being aware in the present moment. Do these five steps:

Notice five things that you can see.

Notice four things that you can feel.

Notice three things that you can hear.

Notice two things that you can smell.

Notice one thing that you can taste.

This exercise helps to ground you in the present, so you don’t avoid hard feelings but can address them in a healthier way.

Pray:

God of Time and Truth, sometimes my mind is racing and the fog is thick. I confess I’ve tried to control what I cannot see. Calm the "check-engine light" of my body and quiet my anxious heart. Remind me that even when I lose the way, I am held by the Way. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Consider:

I’ve shown you how to love one another, so go and do it. Jesus’ most powerful words (to me). Jesus notes that he has lived this life constantly showing HOW to love as God loves, HOW to extend the arm of grace, HOW to be in community with one another. The teacher has taught, the students have learned, and now the time of transition from learning it to living it must take place.

And like so many of us, Peter seems to get stuck on the wrong point. Rather than hearing the command to go out and love, Peter only hears Jesus say “you can’t go with me.” Like a child to a parent, Peter focuses in on the “can’t” rather than the message of sending, so much so that he swears he will lay down his life for Jesus…to which Jesus says “no you won’t.” Man I can feel the sting of that moment for Peter.

But sometimes the stinging truth is the one that needs to be heard the most. This is the moment when Jesus knows his time is short, and so GETTING this message to stick is of the utmost importance. And even worse than the lack of understanding of the importance of the message, Jesus has to let Peter know that he will not only NOT lay down his life, he will in fact deny knowing Jesus at all!

It gives me pause; how often do I vehemently “take up a cause” about something I feel is important, and yet, when it becomes really important to speak up, I can’t seem to find that loud and clear voice. I wonder about how many times I’ve missed the point of God’s message entirely because I was too busy blustering about something I thought would be “the cause” to get loud over. How often have I missed God’s loving call to follow because I became busy building my own causes? May we seek to remember that the “hills we choose to die on” are perhaps not the ones God is looking for at all… God calls us to slow and steady, persistent and gentle, ever present love for one another. That’s it.

Respond:

Is there something you’ve been really fired up about recently? Are you taking to social media regularly to rail against something? I challenge you today: Take a pause from “the cause” and sit with someone who fills you up spiritually…take a moment to send a card or call a friend, or take a walk with a pet. Do the gentle act of daily love and see how you feel after.

Pray:

Loving Lord, we are constantly urged to love AND live loudly…teach us how to love well, live with soft but strong voices that always speak to You, and lives that point in Your direction. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Consider:

The scene in the Upper Room is often painted with the soft glow of candlelight and stained-glass reverence, but John 13:21-30 captures a moment of raw, vibrating tension. Jesus is “troubled in spirit.” This isn’t a stoic, detached version of Jesus; this is a human being facing the sting of impending betrayal from one of his friends.

This passage is more than a story of a “bad guy” doing a “bad thing.” Instead, it invites us to look at the complex dynamics of the relationships—the place where radical inclusion meets the messy reality of human fallibility.

Jesus’ distress (the Greek reads more like anxious or agitated) reminds us love is not a passive or easy sentiment. To love with a commitment to justice and wholeness is to be vulnerable.

The “trouble” Jesus feels is the cost of an open-door policy. When we commit to building communities that welcome everyone—the marginalized, the seeker, and even the ones we disagree with—we move out of the safety of echo chambers and into the danger zone of being hurt.

The most striking moment is when Jesus dips the bread and hands it to Judas. In Middle Eastern culture, sharing a morsel of food was a gesture of special honor and intimacy. Even as the “Satan entered into him,” Jesus offered a gesture of kinship.

This challenges our modern “cancel culture” instincts. While we must maintain boundaries for safety and accountability, Jesus demonstrates a love that refuses to dehumanize the other. He doesn’t scream, point fingers, or call for a mob. He identifies the betrayal, then feeds the betrayer. He honors Judas’s agency, even when that agency leads to destruction.

There is a gap between the knowing and the offering. Jesus knew. Judas acted. The rest of the disciples sat in confusion. We often find ourselves in that same middle ground—knowing that love is required of us, yet feeling the weight of the “night” closing in.

Faith isn’t about having a perfect heart; it’s about staying at the table even when the spirit is troubled. It’s about recognizing we are all, at different times, the beloved disciple leaning on Jesus and the one tempted to walk out into the dark.

Respond:

Imagine yourself at a table with the person you find difficult to love. In your mind’s eye, see yourself passing them something simple—a glass of water, a piece of bread, a salt shaker.

Notice your internal resistance to this small act of service. What does that resistance say about your boundaries versus your desire to remain “kind”? Is there a way to offer a “morsel” of humanity to them without sacrificing your own safety?

Pray:

God, thank You for the grace of the waiting room. As I hold this tension, keep my heart open and my spirit tethered to Yours. Give me the courage to move not out of obligation, but from a place of deep, intentional love when the time is right. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Consider:

I LOVE when people like me…I love being noticed for good things, I love when it feels like I’m part of keeping the peace. It feels comfortable, it doesn’t have edges or risks. It works.

But we aren’t called to stay in the comfortable spaces, are we? I’m struck by this passage to see that the desire to stay in the good graces of friends and neighbors has overpowered people for millennia. Here is Jesus, standing before folks, and those who really do believe, who really do see him and recognize his divinity stay small and quiet because “what will the neighbors think if I say something?” “How will this affect my reputation?” You have two distinct groups in this passage…the group who doesn’t believe even though they’ve seen plenty of evidence, and the group who believes but is more worried about keeping up appearances than proclaiming the Good News they actually understand.

I can admit to waffling between those groups over the course of my life…feeling like my questions were greater than any answer and so my belief wavered, and then believing but worrying about the “look” of my faith to the people I sat at table with who were injured by the church or done with faith in general. And so I can feel Jesus’ sharp words ringing in my ears as much as anyone’s… “I have come to the world as a light” HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE ME?

So today I ask myself and you-where are we purposefully turning our eyes away from the Light of Christ, because the easy thing is to just continue along doing what we’ve always done? Where are we not using our voices to speak up because we are concerned that it might offend or turn off a friend or “make us look bad”? It’s never been said that following Jesus is easy. Our challenge today is to weigh the cost and determine what we love more…our faith or our comfort?

Respond:

A question for today: Do I spend more time seeking other’s approval than I do truly listening to and then living into God’s word? If the answer is yes, take a few minutes not judge, but be curious about why that pull toward human approval gets so much of your headspace and thought. Is there something you’re wanting to speak up about but haven’t yet because it feels risky to your reputation perhaps? Or it stands in contrast to the opinions of friends? The first step toward living into the Light is recognizing those things that keep us in the dark a little too long…

Pray:

Gracious God, keep my heart soft toward You. Guard me from valuing human approval over Your truth. Help me walk boldly in Your light and respond quickly when You speak. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Consider:

There is so much about this passage I do not understand. But perhaps not understanding isn’t so unique to me…the disciples, the ones who LIVED with Jesus all throughout his ministry also didn’t understand. That, perhaps, makes me feel just a bit better about my confusion.

So this whole idea of death brings life and life brings death is perhaps the most confusing to me… Until I take a moment and really zoom in on the seed. A seed must be buried before it can multiply. Jesus is speaking of His coming death—but He is also describing the path of every disciple. When we cling tightly to our own plans, comfort, and control, we remain very “sterile” or unable to grow, lacking the elements that create an environment to thrive in faith… But when we surrender our harsh opinions and hang-ups and holding onto things and plant ourselves in the fertile soil of God’s love, when we receive the Light of Christ’s teachings and guidance, fruit begins to grow. What fruit, you might ask? Well, to name a few: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Respond:

How often is Christ’s light shining in our lives, yet we hesitate to “plant ourselves” in that light because we’re afraid of what we might have to let go of?

Walking in the light means trusting that the light leads somewhere good.

So today, take a moment to think of one place where you’ve avoided a nudge to speak up, or do something, or even just be aware of God’s work to be done around you. How might you find that Light of Christ to grow into today?

Pray:

God of light, we know that you offer us, time and time again, opportunities to walk in the light you provide, and yet we seem to seek out darkness all too often…the darkness of greed, or jealously, or hate or fear. Darkness feels easier sometimes than the work it takes to follow the Light that is you to truly bear the fruit of the Spirit. Help us do the hard work of not just walking in the Light, but actively looking for it, and growing toward it, everyday. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 12:12-19

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Consider:

The saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”, which is a comforting idea - that while we may not understand what is going on while we are in the midst of an event, we hope that more understanding might come in the future. It is often so difficult to understand what is happening while we are in the midst of the events, but when we look back, we often better understand the circumstances and impacts of any one decision we made or event of our lives.

Except… Is that always true? Do we understand everything that happens to us better in retrospect or is not also true that our hindsight is often just as clouded as our foresight. How many times have we looked back on an event and felt just as confused and conflicted as we did the first time it happened?

The gospel of John likes to insert the phrase - “his disciples did not understand all this” which makes me wonder if they ever gained understanding or if there might always have been some confusion which shaded their understanding of events even when days, weeks, and years had passed.

Faith is not based on clear-eyed understanding because we will always find ourselves a bit confused with God’s actions in our lives. There may be times we see and understand completely clearly, but most often we see God through a fog. As Saint Paul put it, we “see through a mirror darkly”. We cannot hope for 20/20 vision when it comes to God.

Respond:

Think of a specific event from your past—maybe from a year ago, or even a decade—that still feels “blurry” or unresolved. Instead of trying to force a lesson out of it or find the “silver lining,” answer these three questions:

* What is the specific “fog” or confusion I am still carrying regarding this event?

* How does it feel to admit that I might never fully understand why it happened?

* In what ways can I see God’s presence in the midst of that event, even if the purpose of the event remains hidden?

Pray:

Divine Mystery,

I confess that I prefer clarity over trust. I want to see the road ahead and the path behind with perfect vision, yet I often find myself standing in the clouds. Thank you for the reminder that even Your disciples were confused, and that I don’t need to understand You to be loved by You.

Grant me the grace to be okay with the “dark mirror.” When my hindsight is just as cloudy as my foresight, help me to stop squinting for answers and instead reach out for Your hand. If 20/20 vision isn’t possible, let Your presence be enough. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

Consider:

So much is happening in this passage; everyone named in this passage does, in fact, have a different assumption of Jesus, a different take on what’s happening, and a different agenda for what happens next. I find it really interesting that we have several different perspectives happening at the same time, in the same house, at the same dinner…Mary is being abundant and lavish with her love of Christ, Judas is already on the downward spiral of betrayal and is berating others, Martha is cooking away, perhaps caught in that “doing” cycle again? Lazarus hanging out with the man who just resurrected him (probably still wrapping his head around that!) and the priests are making a death plot.

Not unlike the family Thanksgiving table? It may sound ridiculous, but really, let’s think about how many agendas fill a room at any given time…this scene is probably more similar than we care to admit to ourselves!

So what are we to take from all of this? Who are we in this story? Perhaps a little bit of everyone? I’d love to consider myself Mary in this moment…giving all the best I have to the Lord sitting before me, being fully invested in knowing how precious this moment it. But if I’m being honest, my stinginess might look more like Judas’s reprimand, or my need to please might look like Martha in the kitchen, or my fear of the “other” might even take the shape of a plotting priest every once in a while.

Here’s the thing I know…we will never get it “right” all the time when we are sitting at table with Jesus. We will very likely miss the point entirely, miss seeing the Jesus right in front of us, but our job is to try. Try to be Mary, who showed up fully ready to worship with all she had…try to be the one who sees what is about to happen to Jesus and treasure the moment enough to pour out our very best, rather than worrying about if there will be enough later. The challenge is looking for Jesus at each table we feast, in each room we enter, at each shelter we serve or baseball game we watch or political conversation we engage in. Do we even look when it feels hard? If we don’t, we’re probably missing Jesus all over the place.

Respond:

What is the “alabaster jar” in your life? What costly thing—time, reputation, comfort, resources—might Jesus be inviting you to pour out in love? Where are the hard places to go and actively look for Jesus? Name one today, and actively make a plan to seek out Jesus the next time you’re there.

Pray:

God, we know you are all over the place, constantly bumping into us in the simple, complex, joyful and hard experiences of life. Help us see you each time, so that we may be extravagant in our love for you, through our love for your creation and your children. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 11:45-57

Therefore many of the Jewish people who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Consider:

Our need for self-protection is very strong. In fact, we have no greater natural drive and motivator than to stay alive - even in very harsh and difficult circumstances.

Just think about those post-apocalyptic movies where Keanu Reeves (or Brad Pitt or whomever you’d like to picture!) are wondering across the desert, ashes smeared on their cheeks, searching for food/shelter/water/enemies to destroy. We love those movies - and I think that’s because we admire their ability to make it through the wastelands and survive at all costs.

Maybe, then, we can slow down on our judgement of the Pharisees in this story. We’ve been taught to hate the Pharisees for trying to destroy the innocent, peace loving followers of God, and for being the ones to “kill Jesus”. But in John’s story, it’s clear the Pharisees motivation is self-protection.

Which doesn’t make it right, just makes it more understandable.

After all, isn’t that what motivates us most of the time? We don’t try new things because we are protecting ourselves from the blow to our ego failure provides. We insulate ourselves from different ideas and opinions to avoid the painful work of changing our minds. We stockpile cans of soup for the day when the stores close forever so we won’t go hungry.

Our sin causes us to look towards our own self-protection first. Maybe the reason we dislike the Pharisees so much is because we understand them and, in our heart of hearts, don’t necessarily disagree.

Respond:

Ask yourself: “If I did this and no one—not the recipient, not my peers, and not social media—ever found out I was responsible, would I still do it with the same level of effort?” If your enthusiasm drops when the “credit” is removed, your primary driver is likely self-interest instead of generosity.

When you are making a choice, consider: Am I doing this for the outcome or for the identity of being the person who does these things?

Pray:

In the quiet where no eyes watch, I search my heart. If my hands serve and no voice speaks my name, let that be enough. Strip away the hunger for praise and the mask of virtue. May I love for the sake of love, finding joy in the hidden seed. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 10:31-42

Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Consider:

I don’t know how you would respond when a crowd of people are throwing stones at you, but I’m fairly certain my response would not be within 10 miles of how Jesus responds in this passage. My rule is if someone has weapon, maybe stop saying the things that are making them angry and run away.

Jesus on the other hand seems to revel in making it worse for himself. Instead of taking the threat to stone him as a warning sign, he doubles and triples down on the claims which make the people so angry.

The central tenet of the Jewish tradition is known as the Shema - Dueteronomy 6:5 - “The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” With a heavy emphasis on both Our God, and One. Jesus would have been rased in this tradition and held those words close to his heart. Yet here he finds himself both poking the religious authorities right in the most squishy parts of their hearts and answering in ways designed to make them even more confused.

We often find ourselves in the midst of difficult conversations where our core beliefs rub against the deeply held ideas of another. More and more often, it is getting hard to distinguish between the ideas central to our identity - and thereby very painful when challenged - and those where there is room to disagree. Are there any ideas where it’s ok to let others have a different opinion? Depending on who you listen to, it may not seem as if there is.

When we discover we are in the midst of hard, painful conversations I don’t think we should follow the examples of the people in this story - not even Jesus. Neither party is seeking to actually help one another understand their point of view, and neither is particularly interested in hearing with open hearts to the truth the other speaks. The only attempts at conversation is to throw stones and poke each other in the eye. Is it any wonder he has to run away?

The next time you find yourself in a disagreement, maybe look at your hands. Are you more concerned about throwing the next stone than hearing someone else’s opinion?

Respond:

The next time you find yourself in a difficult conversation, practice some active listening. When the other person shares something hard, let them finish their thought. Instead of offering an opinion or a “Me too!” story, identify the last 2 or 3 keywords they said. Repeat those 2-3 words back to them in the form of a question, then wait patiently for them to respond. See how that shapes your conversation for the better!

Pray:

May my ears be open and my ego quiet. Grant me the patience to hold my words until I truly understand another’s heart. Let me listen not for an opening to speak, but for the truth behind the breath, honoring every voice with my full and silent presence. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Consider:

I am guessing we have all had one of those moments when, despite our best efforts, those we are communicating with just don’t HEAR us or SEE what we are doing…am I right? It feels like we’ve offered a million ways to notice what is going on, but to no avail (ahem…putting clothes on the stairs with the eternal optimism that SOMEONE will carry them up, or saying how much you love flowers hoping your spouse will someday buy them for you.)

These are of course trivial examples, but it hits at what I believe Jesus must have felt in this passage. He is walking in the temple when He is confronted with a demand: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” The question sounds sincere, but Jesus names the deeper issue—they are not listening, nor have they apparently been paying close attention!

Jesus doesn’t offer new proof. He doesn’t throw out a miracle to stop their questions for good. He points to trust. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Faith here isn’t about absolute and obvious certainty: it’s about recognition even without it. The sheep don’t follow because everything is clear, but because the voice is familiar and trusted.

Then come some of the most tender words in Scripture: “I give them eternal life… no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Jesus speaks to a connection that outweighs fear, doubt, threat, opposition or confusion. He speaks to trust, real and true trust.

This passage shifts the focus from proving who Jesus is to trusting who He says He is. The promise is not a life free of questions, but a life of belonging and love, if only we can believe without asking again and again for “one more bit of proof.”

In a world that requires proof to believe, may we remember that God has, is, and always will be present and with us, even when we cannot seem to see.

Respond:

Take some time today to think on the following ways to engage with this passage:

Stay rooted in relationship, not argumentsThe crowd wants a clear verbal proof of who Jesus is; Jesus points instead to relationship and action. A response is prioritizing knowing Christ over winning debates about Christ. In a world that wants to rage over everything, what does KNOWING Christ really look like?

It may look like:

Embody gentleness and confidence togetherJesus is calm, steady, and unthreatened here. We live this out by holding convictions without aggression—being firm in faith while gentle with people.

Pray:

Gracious God, we struggle sometimes seeing that which is always in front of us…help us remember that trusting in your love requires our faith, not Your proof. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Consider:

Have you ever heard the phrase “the church is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints”? This sentence comes to mind when I read this passage. The religious leaders of the time are complaining that Jesus is sitting with “those folks,” and they are not being particularly quiet about it.

So perhaps the story of the lost sheep doesn’t seem to be just a simple illustration of reclaiming what’s lost; it’s a response to criticism.

We usually read this passage and see ourselves as the lost sheep, or we see the “point” of the story being the finding of the lost. We’ve wandered; God comes after us. That’s true, and it’s good news. But how about another angle as well?

What if the question isn’t only “Am I the lost one?” but also “Which group am I standing with right now?” What happens if we flip our participation in this story to the other side?

The ninety-nine are safe, counted, and close. Yet they’re not the focus of the celebration. The shepherd’s joy erupts over the one who wandered off. Jesus is gently exposing how easy it is to value order, belonging, and being “right” more than restoration and joy.

Reading this passage differently means letting it challenge the opinions and hang ups we may harbor, just like the religious leaders. Do we rejoice when the lost are found—even when it disrupts our comfort or our sense of fairness, or shows grace to those we don’t see as worthy of it?

Jesus ends with joy, not judgment. Heaven celebrates recovery, not record-keeping. We are to strive to do the same…drop our tally sheets and rejoice with God in all the joys of those being found in the loving presence of our Creator.

Respond:

Think of one “sheep” you may struggle to celebrate if he/she became lost and was celebrated when found…it can be VERY difficult to read this story with that person in the seat of God’s mercy and joy, but that is perhaps what God asks us to do. Not to endorse things we know aren’t right, not to agree with everyone, but to see that ALL are worthy of searching and recovery by God’s love.

Pray:

Gracious God, we know this story from the lost sheep’s perspective, but today we ask that you offer us eyes to see where we are too comfortable in our own fields and free us from a narrow vision that allows an “in” and an “out” group for your seeking and finding love.

Amen.

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These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: Luke 12:22-34

Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Consider:

God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit had a bunch of other options for how to reconcile humanity back to the Holy, to restore open, healthy, loving relationship between humans and the God who sought them out over and over again. There were other options.

God had tried several optons. First, God picked a particular person, Noah, who was righteous, only for Noah to immediately go wonky upon leaving the ark. (Maybe 40 days locked in with two of every available animal was too much!) Then he picked a family in Abraham, only for his descendents to pretty quickly hedge their bets with other gods. Ok, God thought. I’ll try again. This time with a whole nation, and we’ll have rules and expectations and a whole system of religion to keep them on track.

We all know how that turned out.

So then God sent some prophets to sort out those chosen people and see if they could bring the people back on side.

That didn’t work either.

So, God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit decided to do something drastic - to become human, to enter into and make holy the human experience. I wonder if they thought maybe the problem had always been that God didn’t really understand humans and that’s why it this relationship had never worked.

Which gives us the most powerful verse in the whole Bible - “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”

Jesus was a volunteer. God had other options.

But Jesus volunteered.

Respond:

Take a few seconds or a minute in silence and let the verse “No one takes me life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” rest in your mind. What part of this verse hits you most deeply today? Why do you think that verse is so meaningful?

Pray:

Divine Pursuer, thank You for moving beyond laws and prophets to meet us in the flesh. When every other plan faltered, You didn’t walk away; You stepped in. Thank You, Jesus, for being the Volunteer who chose us when You had every other option. May your sacrifice finally heal our hearts.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

When Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Consider:

There’s a saying “Don’t yell fire in a crowded theater”, because there’s a worry everyone will panic and more people will get hurt than if you didn’t shout a potentially catastrophic phrase into the void.

I’ve recently learned this is a potentially dubious understanding of the actual rule, and modern legal scholars question it’s legal standing and purpose anyway. (The original law was later ruled an act of censorship and overturned). I’m not a legal scholar, so maybe look for that discussion elsewhere.

I do, however, happen to be an expert in fire safety in a theater, having sat through an entire semester of research, teaching, and learning about best practices to keep people safe in large crowds. (You’d never guess how often I use that bit of arcane knowledge in my daily life!)

In that theater safety class, I learned all about the fires which were actually happening in crowded theaters about the time this phrase entered our cultural lexicon - and it turns out the problem in those fires wasn’t people panicking and stampeding the doors - the problem was trying to get people to take the cry of fire seriously in the first place. They’d paid for this show and they were staying - right up to the point where the smoke started surrounding their seats. The panic wasn’t from talking about the fire, it was from ignoring it until the evidence filled their lungs and nostrils before they decided to act.

How often do we wait until something can’t be avoided before we try to act? This comes from our fear - our fear and worry that we won’t be up to the task, our fear and worry about the effects on our relationships, our fear and worry we’ll have risked for nothing.

But that fear causes to miss out on actually doing the good thing and the right thing at the moment when it could be avoided, changed, or improved. Instead of dealing with a small, manageable fire, we wait for the inferno to engulf us before we try to put it out. And that’s where the panic sets in.

Remember God cares about the small things as much as the big things. When we let our fear paralyze us, we forget God is there to help us tackle those small and the big, the simple and the complex. But, here’s the key, God can help us a lot more when it’s a spark and not a flame. Don’t let your fear feed the fire and don’t wait to ask for help.

Respond:

What is one "giant" fear in your life right now that, when held up against the light of God, is actually just a shadow?

Pray:

Father, I’ll be honest—I’ve been letting my “what-ifs” get way out of hand. Help me take a breath and look at the birds and the flowers. If You’ve got them covered, I know You’ve got me too. Instead of spinning my wheels trying to control things I can’t, help me just trust You and focus on what matters today.

Thanks for actually caring about the small stuff.

Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Consider:

You spend 1/3 of your life sleeping. 1/8 of your day is spent either eating or preparing to and cleaning up after eating. If you are working or going to school, 1/3 of your day is spent working or learning. Only 5% of our day is spent on entertainment or hobbies - and how many of those hours do we spend mindlessly scrolling?

In fact, Research at Duke University suggests roughly 40% to 45% of our daily behavior is governed by routine and habit rather than conscious decision-making.

So why do we look for God in the unexpected places?

This story of the Transfiguration is central to Matthew’s gospel story - in fact it’s literally right in the middle. There is Jesus before and Jesus after. No other story changed the path of the narrative quite like this moment on the mountain.

But it also skews our own perception of God. We expect to see God in some miraculous shoot of light on a day we’ve hiked up a mountain in the dark. If a few dead celebrities could show up that would be super helpful, because then we would know for sure it was God and not bad Chinese food.

The truth is for most of us we will never encounter God on a mountaintop, or hear the voice from the clouds, or see our own faces start to shimmer with enlightenment.

When we begin to own the truth of this kind of miraculous appearance in our own lives as unlikely - possible, but unlikely - it actually opens up our ability to see God in the ordinary and every day.

The Transfiguration is 1.2% of the Gospel of Matthew. Most of Jesus’ story is in the ordinary, routine acts of eating, sleeping, and walking. God is found most often in the 45% of our day which is completely, boringly routine.

Respond:

As you go through today doing the boring and ordinary tasks of the everyday, have your eyes open to see how God is in the midst of those things which you take for granted. At the end of the day, make a list of 5 specific ways God was present when you did the routines of your life.

Pray:

Lord, steady my heart within the ordinary. Open my eyes to Your quiet presence hidden in the rhythm of the mundane. In every chore, commute, and habitual task, let me sense Your grace. Grant me clarity tonight to name five specific ways You were moving in the life I often overlook. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Consider:

This verse may be amogst the most misunderstood verses in the Bible - right next to the one in Philippians which says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Or that other one from Paul’s letters (I can’t remember which one at the moment) that says “God will not give you more than you can handle.”

Context in the Bible is so important, because if you take a verse out of its context you can make it mean almost anything you want. On its own, Jesus’ claim “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” can be interpreted to mean nothing bad will ever happen to you and if it does it’s because you did something wrong.

But, if you read the verse in the context of its chapter, the meaning completely changes. Turns out, this verse isn’t about the circumstances of your life at all. In fact - you are not even mentioned any where in this chapter. This is about a discussion between Jesus and the Religious Establishment. Jesus is challenging them because, he claims, they don’t know what the Bible actually says… in other words, they don’t have the “light of God” which allows them to see the deeper meaning and the truth found in their own scriptures and beliefs. It’s their minds in darkness - not their lives.

We can and do read the Bible to try and understand our lives, but it should be with the awareness and knowledge that the Bible isn’t about us

It’s about God.

And humans have been in the dark about the true nature of God since the Garden of Eden, maybe even before then. But we do catch glimpses of God every day. The light does shine in the darkness. Maybe we are just confused about it sometimes.

Respond:

What is the “idea” you have about God which you think might be the most wrong or What is something someone else taught you about God which now you know is wrong?

Sit a moment with that idea and ask yourself why do you think this wrong interpretation is so appealing? Next - consider, if the opposite were to be true, what would that be saying about God?

Pray:

Divine Love, forgive my tendency to trade your vastness for a God made in my image—small, transactional, and concrete. I repent of believing your grace must be earned. Guide me into the freedom of your boundless, unfettered heart. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 6:16-21

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Consider:

I signed up for one of those couch to 5k programs a few years ago. I was very excited about the possibilities of starting a running discipline because everyone I have ever known who actually runs on a regular basis talks about how much they enjoy running. I strapped my shoes on the first day, ready to go on my first run ever - outside of soccer training.

When I got home, my husband was very confused about why I was so out of breath and sweaty so I explained - through huffs and puffs - I was training for a 5k. He said, “You realize that is 3 miles, right?”

That was my last day of running. 3 miles sounded a lot farther than 5k.

So much of our fear, worries, and overwhelm is a result of our perspective. Some people have a chemical condition which causes anxiety, but for others it’s just a low-level hum created by our perspective and experiences of the world.

If Jesus had walked out on the water in the middle of a bright sunny day 6 inches from the shore, my guess is the disciples would have yawned and continued moving about their day. It also would have been pretty easy for the men on the boat to dismiss this miracle as simply stepping on stones or skipping along the top of the water, optical illusion of the light.

Instead, the disciples saw Jesus coming in the middle of the night, on top of a stormy, violent sea, three miles from shore. This perspective completely changed how they understood Jesus’ actions. There was no denying this miraculous act - though Peter tried pretty hard - because there was only one explanation. It had to be a miracle.

Respond:

Today, I invite you to consider the window through which you see the world. Maybe, if you feel comfortable, draw a picture and label it. What kind of decals are obscuring your view? Is there any stained glass, either pretty and purposeful or through years of use? What about broken bits? How does your window through which you see the world alter your perspective?

Pray:

God, help me recognize where on the sea I find myself floating today. My window through which I see the world is not clean or free from imperfections, so I ask you to help me recognize the places where I can patch them up and those parts of my worldview which are unchangeable. Give me the grace to know the difference. Amen.

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.

Scripture: John 6:1-15

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

Consider:

My kids went quite thoroughly through the “question” phase of adolescent development. They’d ask all the normal questions like “why is the sky blue?” and “How do birds fly?” - the normal curiosity of a three year old.

As they got older, the questions have gotten harder… but they haven’t stop asking them. And when I don’t know the answer to something - or when I realize I’m not old enough to have this conversation - I’ve defaulted to saying, “Why do you ask such hard questions?”

Them: “Mom, what’s for dinner?”

Me: “I don’t know…. why do you ask such hard questions?”

That response is second only to the response I give when I want to avoid the question all together.

Them: “Mom, where do babies come from?”

Me: “I don’t know… Ask your father.”

Which is why I’m a little fascinated by Jesus’ extremely unhelpful response to the crowd of people coming towards them. He seems to panic a little bit when he sees the 5,000 families coming his direction, only to realize they are going to expect food from him. So he shoves the responsibility over onto to Philip. “Uh, Philip - What are you going to feed these people?”

I’ve got several questions, but the central one seems to be - Why is Philip responsible for feeding all these people?

Andrew catches on that they should be panicking and steals lunch from a kid and offers that - with no expectations it will do anything to feed the crowd. He just wants to look busy and appear to be solving the problem (that I still don’t think was a problem).

Have you ever found yourself asking Jesus why solving a particular problem was your responsibility? World hunger, peace, chronic homelessness, you name it and it seems like the ultimate responsibility for fixing those things lies with God. And yet, God keeps turning right back around and saying, “What are you going to do?”

God has given the church responsibility for “fixing” these problems. God opens the door (or the window) and points us in the right direction, but ultimately it is our responsibility to put our boots on the ground and do the work of making lunch for 3,000 people.

But maybe, don’t steal a kid’s lunch to do it.

Respond:

Today, I invite you to consider the ONE problem God has asked you to have a hand in solving. Then make a list or do some research to discover how you can start (or continue) to work towards the task God has given you to do.

Pray:

Lord, lead me to the specific work You have prepared for my hands. Grant me clarity to see the one problem I am called to help solve, and the courage to begin. As I research and plan, align my heart with Your purpose to serve others with love and persistence. Amen.

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By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

“I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Consider:

In John 5:30–47, Jesus speaks plainly about authority and witness. The religious leaders of the time seem to take the testimony of the prophets only occasionally… Jesus notes that word has come from God’s own voice (through Moses), John the Baptist, and Jesus’ works, and the Scriptures themselves, and all point to who Jesus is.

There is no lack of evidence here to be sure…there is, however, a lack of openness to receiving this evidence as truth. Jesus tells the religious leaders that they study the Scriptures diligently, but for what? They miss the very One to whom the Scriptures point. Knowledge, or feeling the authority of being knowledgeable, has replaced relationship. Their need to “know” has dulled their ability to recognize God standing in front of them.

Jesus exposes a deeper issue: they seek approval from one another rather than the glory that comes from God. Their hearts are oriented toward human validation, not divine truth. Are ours? Sadly, I can answer yes to that question more than I care to mention…

This passage invites us to examine where we look for authority and affirmation. Do we read scripture to be transformed again and again? Or are we reading merely to say we did, or worse, for a weapon with which to bite back on those things that make us uncomfortable? Do we listen for God’s voice, or only for voices that confirm what we already believe?

Respond:

Today, choose one decision or situation where you normally seek human approval, certainty, or control—and instead pause to seek God’s voice first. For example:

Practice letting go of the need to be right, praised, or affirmed—and choosing faithfulness instead… this will look different for each person, and only you can know what shifts for you to move from validation to faithful response!

Pray:

Faithful God, quiet the voices that compete for our attention. May our knowledge of you lead us to love, and our belief in you lead us to faithful action. Amen.

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Consider:

It’s a miracle! A man had his life returned to him, he stood up and walked after 38 years! And yet…the religious leaders of the day took no time to point out all the fault in the situation: The man had picked up his mat on the sabbath, Jesus had worked this miracle on the sabbath, and Jesus had equated himself to God by calling God father. The tally marks were checked- and to the religious leadership, they all pointed toward condemnation.

Jesus heals; Jesus does the impossible. What was once a symbol of this man’s limitation (his mat that he carries) becomes a testimony of God’s power. Yet instead of rejoicing, the religious leaders focus on the broken rule of the moment.

This passage confronts us with two responses to Jesus: one that clings to tradition and control, and another that rises in faith and celebrates restoration of life. The question we must ask ourselves is this…which response might we have when faced with a similar “miracle” or choice. Do we cling to order, to the rules and regulations of man? Or do we look for, see and celebrate miracles all around us, in all of God’s children?

Jesus shows that God’s work is not bound by schedules or systems. The Sabbath was meant to bring life, not to restrict it. May we not restrict God’s work in the world by missing the miracle being too focused on the “rule breaking” moment.

Respond:

This week, intentionally notice and affirm restoration rather than regulation.Choose one moment where you would normally default to correction, judgment, or “how it should be done,” and instead name and celebrate the life, growth, or healing you see.

That could look like:

* Affirming someone’s progress rather than pointing out what’s still imperfect

* Choosing compassion over policy when someone needs grace

* Letting go of a rule or expectation that keeps you from loving someone fully

Pray:

Lord, open our eyes to see Your miracles instead of our measurements.Free us from clinging to rules when You are offering restoration.Teach us to celebrate life, healing, and freedom wherever You bring them.When Your work disrupts our comfort or challenges our traditions,give us hearts that choose faith over fear and grace over control.May we never miss Your movement by focusing on the rule of the moment.Amen.

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Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Consider:

Before we dig into this scripture, let’s acknowledge together that it is a super complicated parable with a bunch of different very important theological ideas.

Wait.

No.

Actually, it’s a super simple parable which we’ve twisted and turned and contorted so as to make as many loopholes as possible because we don’t really like the message it tells us and what the parable asks us to do.

The parable pretty clearly lays out two central ideas in Jesus’ ministry - first, the hatred of waste and a call to responsible uses of our resources and second, the idea that you can’t both serve God and serve something else. You can’t have two number one priorities or nothing is a priority. You can’t love God and money or God and food or God and rules. You have to pick. God comes first or something else comes first.

So why do spend all this effort trying to make loopholes? It’s because trying to figure out the line between using a tool, like money, and loving it as a means to itself is complicated. Our society celebrates people with lots of money, as if to say whatever else they do is ok as long as they are also very, very rich. And we need money to do things like buy food and a nice, safe reliable car. Using the tool and loving the tool can often be a messy proposition.

We fall off that tightrope many days.

Money in and of itself isn’t bad or evil, it’s a tool. But it’s presence, whether a lot or a little, does have a way of revealing to us our inner most heart and the true colors of our character. It’s not the amount that matters, but how and what we do with it that counts.

As Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

Respond:

What do your money habits reveal about your character? Take a no judgment look through your spending for the last month. What do you prioritize with your dollars and what does that reveal about what’s most important to you? If you notice something which sits uneasily with you, make a plan for how you will spend differently in the coming weeks.

Pray:

Lord, help me see my money through Your eyes. I surrender my habits to You without shame, seeking only Your truth. Where my spending reflects my ego or fear, grant me the wisdom to pivot. Align my treasure with Your heart, so my resources honor what truly matters. Amen.

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After the two days he left for Galilee. (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.) When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, for they also had been there.

Consider:

In John 4:43–45, Jesus turns toward home, and travels to Galilee. When He arrives, the Galileans welcome Him, as his reputation has preceded him…folks have SEEN with their own eyes the miracles Jesus has performed, and so they greet him with welcome! This welcome, however, seems a bit conditional…they are not welcoming because they truly understand who He is, but because they’ve seen His miracles in Jerusalem. It’s a “seeing is believing” sort of moment.

This moment invites us to examine why we welcome Jesus. Is it for what He can do for us, or for who He truly is?

Tough questions to ask of ourselves when we read passages like this and have to look at our own faith:

* Have we become too familiar with Jesus to truly honor Him? Is the name simply something we know we are “supposed” to say as the answer to all questions- and we want to say the right thing or look “correct” in the eyes of the church or society? Or do we really believe, even though we haven’t “seen for ourselves,”?

The Galileans were open, but their faith was shallow—based on eyewitness accounts rather than faith and trust in the Word made flesh. Samaritans, on the other hand, believed because of Jesus’ words. Ironically, those who were “farther” culturally saw more clearly than those closest to Him.

Deep faith goes beyond excitement in the moment and irrefutable evidence—it trusts Jesus even when there are no signs, no crowds, and no miracles in sight.

Respond:

Today, take a moment to be honest in your thinking around your faith…ask yourself why you follow Jesus. Is it mainly because that is what folks around you do? Or because you were brought up to do so? Or because you just “do’? Does faith look different when you choose to believe in the message of Jesus when there’s nothing to “gain”? No social acceptance, no accolades, no miracles…Just real, honest faith.

Pray:

Lord, help me to welcome You not just to check a box, but because I truly understand who You are. Give me a faith that listens, trusts, and honors You—even in the ordinary. Amen

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Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Consider:

Be honest with yourself - how much do you really try after something gets hard? 5 more minutes, 10? And how hard does it have to be before you give up doing it all together?

I’ve watched my husband play any number of video games over the years, including ones like Galaga which are impossible to win because the levels just get increasingly harder every time you pass the previous level until the screen is so full of the little aliens you are supposed to be shooting that it makes it almost impossible for you to not instantly die.

I’ve watched him play these games for many years and I’ve noticed there is a self-imposed limit to the number of times he is willing to try to pass a level before he gives up and makes himself a snack. There’s no set number, it just seems to be a “whenever this level starts to make me so frustrated that I want to break the controller” gauge which is variable and unpredictable and dependent on several external factors which may or may not have anything to do with the game itself.

One of the most amazing parts of Jesus’ witness is his perseverance. From beginning to end of the Bible, God has any number of opportunities to give up on the chosen people and start over. God did, in fact, hit the reset button just once, but ever since then it’s been a constant battle with the human’s created in God’s image. I wouldn’t blame God for giving up and making a snack.

Instead, God chooses to continue in relationship with us. How willing are we to persevere in our relationship with God? Do we let a small obstacles, one measly cartoon alien derail us or does it take a harder challenge to unseat you? I know God doesn’t give up on us, but how willing are we to give up on God?

Respond:

Take a moment to reflect on a time in your life where you had to hit the reset button in your life with God. What caused that moment of starting over? How did your faith look when you come out the other side of that struggle time? Do you need to restart fresh? Wherever you are with God in this moment, remind yourself God didn’t abandon you. Write the message “God is always with me” somewhere you’ll see it to help you remember.

Pray:

Lord, thank You for the grace to hit reset. Even when I struggle or drift, You never leave. If I need a fresh start today, I embrace it, knowing You are near. Write the truth “God is always with me” on my heart. Help me remember You never let go. Amen.

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Consider:

One time, I visited a church member’s mother in the hospital. She’d been on a ventilator for many hours and had been in poor health before then, so the outcome for her recovery was bleak. I didn’t know her as she didn’t attend the church, but I knew her children, who were very kind, salt of the earth people who worked blue-collar jobs, one at a preschool, one at the local cardboard factory. (If you ordered pizza lately, he probably made your box).

Everything about a hospital at 3am is surreal. It’s dark and hushed, everybody instinctively speaks in whispers but no one is sleeping. (No one sleeps in the hospital).

The doctor had been in to talk with the family about next steps for her, including how much longer they wanted to support her on the ventilator. This was very distinctly not my decision to make - and it turns out it wasn’t any one in the room’s decsion to make either. In fact, the decision rested with the oldest brother, who was in Buffalo.

Which is how I found myself on the phone at 3:30am in North Carolina talking to a stranger about his mother, who was also a stranger. He wanted to know - Could I promise she would go to heaven when she died?

The real answer is no. I don’t have any control over who lives and who dies or what happens after death. I can’t give you a roadmap or any kind of concrete promises, because the Bible only says two concrete things about what happens after we die: 1. There will be a resurrection of the dead on the last day. 2. It’s all up to Jesus anyway.

So the short, real answer is, no. I don’t know if you are going to heaven or not - that’s up to God. God is completely in charge of the transition from this life into life eternal, so I can’t honestly tell you yes or no to that existential question of “Am I going to heaven?”

But I didn’t say any of that to the son. To the son I said, “Yes. God is with her now and into the life everlasting.” Because you know what else the Bible says? “When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

So whatever happens after that transition from this life to the next, I know we aren’t alone and that the God who has walked with his every day of our life so far isn’t going to abandon us at the last to journey into the next stage all on our own.

Respond:

In the "surreal" environment of a hospital at 3:00 AM, the author chose to offer a promise of God’s presence rather than a theological explanation. When you are supporting someone in crisis, how do you discern when to offer "answers" and when to simply offer "presence"?

Pray:

Gracious God, when I stand in the "surreal" 3:00 AM moments of others' lives, grant me the wisdom to silence my own explanations. Help me carry the weight of presence with grace, offering comfort over complexity. May my words reflect your steady hand, assuring the brokenhearted that they never walk alone. Amen.

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Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ Then the father divided his estate between them. Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living.

“When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country and he began to be in need. He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death! I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one of your hired hands.” ’ So he got up and went to his father.

“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his older son was in the field. Coming in from the field, he approached the house and heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The servant replied, ‘Your brother has arrived, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he received his son back safe and sound.’ Then the older son was furious and didn’t want to enter in, but his father came out and begged him. He answered his father, ‘Look, I’ve served you all these years, and I never disobeyed your instruction. Yet you’ve never given me as much as a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returned, after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ Then his father said, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.’”

Consider:

Ah…. the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This story finds itself amongst the rare group of stories which is so embedded in the popular culture it has become an entity in it and of itself. And of course, everyone knows what the story is about, right? A selfish boy goes off and has a good time, then runs home when he doesn’t have any more money, only to find a resentful brother and a grateful father. You can always go home again.

With a story this familiar, the meaning is in the details. Like the small detail of the son choosing to slop pigs and then eat what’s left over. The slopping of pigs in and of itself isn’t an issue - Jewish people in ancient Palestine kept pigs to sell and feed the Romans who had no problem eating pork. It isn’t the violation of religious laws we are supposed to notice, but how low this man had sunk, and how much lower he had to go before he was willing to admit he was wrong and ask for forgiveness.

We can be awfully stubborn when it comes to admitting fault and asking for forgiveness. In fact, most of us would rather do anything else (like eat some crow) before humiliating ourselves by admitting we are in fact, human.

Humans make bad choices and go wrong directions and act from selfish impulses and unclear motivations and meanings all the time. It shouldn’t be so hard for us to admit we are fallible just like every other human out there in the world, especially when the person to whom we are confessing is a generous, loving, and ready-to-forgive parent.

Respond:

Take a moment to reflect on where you fell short of your expectations for yourself or God’s expectations for you. How did you mess up yesterday? Make a list of two or three times where you owe someone else, or God, an apology, then make a concrete plan of how you will say the dreaded words, “I’m Sorry” to someone else.

Pray:

Merciful God, I lay down my pride and name my failures. I fell short in my words and missed the mark of Your love. Give me the humility to offer a sincere "I’m sorry" to those I hurt. Heal the distance created by my mistakes and restore my heart. Amen.

27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

Many Samaritans Believe

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Consider:

We all love a good bit of gossip, don’t we? We may act like we don’t believe all that we hear, but when a story is fantastic and perhaps mildly believable, we often take the bait. I feel like it must have felt like juicy gossip as word of Jesus spread…but like any gossip, truth has to be “seen” to be believed.

So the Samaritan woman of this passage, once wary and marginalized, becomes an untrained but powerful witness to this gossip of Jesus’ knowledge and teaching. She doesn’t present a polished argument, however, she simply says, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did”. That sounds like a pretty tall tale, but interesting nonetheless. Her testimony is enough for many in her town to intrigued just enough to go see for themselves. This reminds us that God often uses ordinary people and imperfect, if not slightly wild, stories to draw others to hearing more about God.

*****As the Samaritans encounter Jesus personally, their faith deepens. They move from believing because of her testimony to believing because they have heard Him themselves (v. 42). Jesus points His disciples to this moment as a glimpse of the harvest: hearts already prepared, fields already ripe. The work of God is not always loud or immediate, but it is fruitful when truth is shared and received.

This passage invites us to trust both the power of our witness and the work of Christ beyond us. We are called to speak what we know of Him, and to trust that many may come to believe—not because we are impressive, but because Jesus is present and speaking.

Respond:

Pray:

To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

“‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance;we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.

Consider:

I think since the beginning of time, generations have baffled one another. “Those kids and their music.” “I don’t understand why Grandma can’t just use the phone, it’s so easy.” “Why are all the kids saying 6-7 all the sudden.”

Though it has been explained to me the 6-7 meme is sooooo 2025. Thank the Lord above in heaven.

From this day through to the end of time, parents will be confused by their children and children will be confused by their adults. Such is how it was and so it will always be.

But what if, instead of using it as a reason to distrust or if revile each other, we learned to appreciate those differences? The truth is, generations and the people in them are really nebulous concepts (Why is someone born in 1980 Gen X, while a person born in 1982 a Millennial? Are their lives that different?)

Aside from the loose definition of what makes up generations, it is true our viewpoint of the world and its culture is greatly shaped by the defining events of each person’s lives. My children have never known a world without internet. My growing up was shaped dramatically by 9-11. My parents lived through Vietnam. Their parents experienced the Great Depression and World War II. We can’t ignore how those life changing moments shape the way each generation experiences the world.

If we are shaped more by what happens to us than any other factor, our core remains the same throughout it. Our shared humanity is the same no matter if we grew up with an Ipad in our hand or remember when the first radio came out.

Let’s maybe offer each some compassion and lead with curiosity and see what happens next.

Respond:

Find someone in a dramatically different generation than you. Find out from them the what they consider to be the defining events of their life so far? What happened in the world around them to shape their worldview? Then, consider what you could learn from those stories about how to see the world through another person’s eyes.

Pray:

God, help me to remember there is more that unites us than divides us. We are, at the core, all beloved children of God who are shaped by our life and the events of the world around us. Help us to lead with compassion and curiosity instead of blame and fear. Amen.

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Consider:

The crowd in Luke 3 is buzzing with expectation. People are wondering if John the Baptist might be the Messiah. He could be called the original influencer… he has momentum, he has an audience eager to follow him. He has everything he needs to take the moment to get even more famous…and stay safe.

But John doesn’t take the easy way, he takes the way that follows God. He tells the truth—even when it is dangerous. He points away from himself and toward the One who is coming after him. And he speaks boldly to Herod, calling out sin in the highest places of power. Luke records the result plainly: “And Herod… locked John up in prison.”

This passage reminds us of a truth we often prefer to overlook: faithfulness to God does not guarantee ease nor does it promise comfort.

John understood the assignment. He was not the Messiah; he was the witness. His job was to prepare the way, not to keep his own life comfortable and conflict free. He didn’t stay comfortable in his popularity or sidestep that which needed to be said in order to stay cool with those in charge.

We may not face prison for our faith, but we do face real costs:

* Speaking truth may cost us the “approval” of some of those around us.

* Living with integrity may cost us opportunities we thought were good ones.

* Refusing to compromise may cost us comfort, especially when our faith requires us to get up and act.

Luke wants us to see that the kingdom of God advances through people willing to take the sometimes uncomfortable, confrontational path of truth and light. It’s not the road to easy street, but it is the road on which the Good News travels.

Respond:

Take 5 minutes today, by yourself, to HONESTLY think on the following questions:

* Where might God be calling you to faithfulness that feels risky?

* Are there ways you soften the truth to avoid consequences?

Just for today, think on these 2 questions…don’t necessarily take any action, yet. If these questions give you pause, take time in the coming week to make small changes to the way you express/live into your faith that perhaps applies a little “John the Baptist Boldness” to your love…see where it takes you!

Pray:

God of the simple and the difficult, help me to walk in Your Light, even when it’s uncomfortable. Give me courage to follow You with integrity and faith, knowing that Your truth leads to life. Transform my fear into love and action, and help me embrace the uncomfortable moments with bravery and joy. Amen.

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Consider:

It’s fascinating to me the way we assign responsibility in our culture. Something good happens to us? That’s because I am awesome and the good thing happening is 100% of my own initiative and skills and gifts.

Bad thing happen? We blame someone else, usually God. Somehow we completely absolve ourselves of any responsibility for this downturn. Or, we feel guilty for not being able to avoid it in the first place and, what’s worse, the first tool we pull out of our bag on when something bad happens to someone else is shame.

Good thing - pride and glory. Bad thing - shame and guilt and blame. It seems like a simple equation.

But what would happen if we flipped that script? If we gave God all the credit for the good in our lives? The Bible certainly seems to tell us of a God who wants nothing but good things for us, a God who created human beings for the purpose of companionship and relationship, one who gave them a garden full of good things to eat and warm enough temperatures to make clothing optional.

The root of evil, on the other hand, is sin, sin which causes the world to be broken and full of hurt, disease, famines, and war. So if you want to blame anyone for the extra long lines at the grocery store, blame Adam and Eve (and the serpent too.)

When we learn to shift our view point on responsibility, it’s helps us to reframe the events of our lives and frees us up from carrying the weight of guilt, shame, and blame because it relocates our experiences from being so me centered towards remembering the role and desires of the God we worship. The one who promises to heal and bring sight and set the captives free.

Respond:

Think over the events of the last day. Maybe major events happened or maybe it was a normal, easy day with nothing major to remember (we write these in advance, so if a major world event has happened you’ll have to talk to future Liz.) Either way, remembering your day, how many times did you thank God for the good things which came your way?

Today, try to find one more way than yesterday to give thanks for the small, and maybe big, things God shows you.

Pray:

Lord, as I look back, I see moments where I forgot to say "Thank You." Whether yesterday was quiet or chaotic, Your hand was there. Open my eyes today. Help me find one more reason to praise You—spotting Your love in both the simple details and the major victories. Amen.

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Consider:

Jesus is asking John’s followers what they actually saw and heard in the wilderness…they had seen John, they had heard John, but had they actually listened and absorbed John’s message? Jesus argues no…not yet, at least.

Prophets often work this way. They stand right in front of us, speaking clearly, while their meaning slips past us.

Jesus reminds the crowd that John was not a celebrity nor was he just another man in weird clothes eating bugs... John was a prophet, THE prophet sent to prepare humanity for Jesus. The people knew the Scriptures, but this passage suggests that they may have missed the moment when those Scriptures came to life in front of them through John’s teaching.

Prophets can help us notice what we have learned to overlook. They name realities we have grown used to. They connect God’s promises from the past to God’s activity in the present.

Jesus says, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” All too often we only recognize prophetic voices in hindsight. There is a reason we have the catch phrase “hindsight is 20/20”. After the wilderness, after the suffering, after the change, we realize that God was calling us to notice something important. God consistently invites us to look with fresh vision at things we once were blinded to. May we always have new eyes to see and new ears to hear the Good News as it comes to us, again and again.

Respond:

A challenge for this day: Practice Deep Listening

Make it a practice today (or if you’re really feeling bold, all week) to intentionally listen—without defensiveness—to voices you might usually dismiss: Family with whom you disagree, a mentor, a critic…Listen to HEAR, not to respond. Prophetic insight often comes through unexpected people.

Pray:

God of truth, open my eyes to see what I have missed. Help me listen deeply to the voices that call me back to You again and again. Give me ears to hear and a heart ready to respond. Amen.

All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives.

Consider:

The scandal at the beginning of this story is central to understanding the parable. The Pharisees and legal experts represent here the religioius establishment and the government officials respectively. The power of both institutions rested on a strict social, moral, and legal heirarchy with rules and structures and punishments for those who didn’t comply. You were either in or out, criminal or respectable, sinner or redeemed. There was no in-between and, for these officials, loosening those rules and structures would, in their minds, lead to collapse.

On the other hand, Jesus was welcoming both folks to sit at the same table. The officials may be grumbling, but in order for them to talk with Jesus they have to physically be present at the table. This was not the days when you could post anonymously hate and criticism, then tag someone into it. No, if you were going to critique and mock, you had to do it in person.

The officials couldn’t understand how someone who claimed to be holy would think he could sit down at table with sinners and not get up dirty, while missing the fact they themselves were sitting at the same table!

It’s true that hypocrisy is one of the central and most common side effects of sin. We are really good at pointing out how other people are wrong or corrupt or “evil”, without owning up to the fact we are sitting at the same table. No, maybe you haven’t done the specific thing that another person has done, but you are currently sitting at table with sinners, just as Jesus has done.

That doesn’t mean “well he did it so I can do it too” is an acceptable mindset or course of action. It does mean we should be careful about who we think Jesus would exclude or include and what barriers there are to the table of grace. Jesus’s ultimate goal is for all 100 sheep to be in the folds together, with not even one lost sheep missing from the fold.

Respond:

Take some time to consider who you may be consciously or unconsciously excluding from your table. Do you sit with the same people every week at church? Do you talk to people with different opinions or life experiences from you?

Make a choice today how you can include one more sheep in your own flock, one which might make the conversation around your table more rich, deep, and reflective of God’s table.

Pray:

Lord of the Table, open my eyes to those I overlook. Move me beyond my comfortable circles to welcome a new voice—someone with a different story. Grant me the courage to include one more sheep today, that our fellowship might become richer, deeper, and truly reflective of Your love. Amen.

The one who comes from above is above all things. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all things. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever accepts his testimony confirms that God is true. The one whom God sent speaks God’s words because God gives the Spirit generously. The Father loves the Son and gives everything into his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever doesn’t believe in the Son won’t see life, but the angry judgment of God remains on them.”

Consider:

When they train lifeguards, there is a saying: “Throw, don’t go.”

What’s it mean? Just like it sounds, it means that if you see someone who needs help in the water, don’t jump in after them! Find something that can float, like a life ring or a noodle, and throw it to them.

Using a flotation device to throw to a person who is drowning is important because it provides a safe way to rescue them without putting yourself at risk. When someone is drowning, they may be in a state of panic and desperation, which can lead them to grab onto anything within reach, including another person. If you jump in to help them, there is a risk that they may grab onto you, dragging you under the water and putting both of you in danger. Additionally, when someone is panicking, they may not be able to follow instructions, making it harder to help them.

Jesus obviously did not take lifeguard training. He did not throw an object or a flotation device and keep himself out of the water. But instead, he jumped right into the middle of the water to save us from drowning.

This is what Presbyterians mean when we talk about how God is the one who saves us, because we can’t save ourselves. In older terms, this was known as “Total Depravity”, and essentially means when we are lost in the whirlwind of our own sin, or lost in a night of darkness, or stuck in a snowbank of frozen faith, we are not able to get ourselves out.

But God, in the form of Jesus the Son, threw us a lifeline. Humans had tried for years to save themselves through an ever growing list of rules and practices to help us resist our sinful hearts, but Jesus offered a different kind of flotation device - the unconditional and irresistible grace unleashed when he came to earth as both human and divine. Jesus, the ultimate lifeguard, didn’t stay above the storm, but jumped right into it, grace in his hands, the only method through which we can be lifted out of the waters onto the dry land of God’s salvation.

Respond:

Take five minutes with a journal or a note on your phone. Write down one specific area of your life where you feel you are currently “drowning” or stuck. Look at what you wrote. Say out loud: “I cannot save myself from this.” Instead of making a plan to “try harder” tomorrow, name one person or service which can help you find a way out of the water.

Prayer:

God, I am tired of treading water in this situation. I have run out of my own strength. I am grabbing the lifeline. I accept that I cannot fix this, and I invite Your grace to carry me to shore. I am letting You be the Lifeguard. Amen.

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

Consider:

In John 3:22–30, John the Baptist faces a moment that I believe we all struggle with from time to time… fame vs faithfulness. His disciples are troubled—Jesus is baptizing, and “everyone is going to Him.” This is a very human response to a very human feeling…doing the work and not getting credit for it!! From a human perspective, John’s influence is fading after all the hard work he has done to set the stage for Jesus. But John sees clearly what others miss: this is exactly how it is supposed to be.

John remembers his place as a PART of the larger plan in God’s work. He was never the destination or the end goal. His role was assigned by God, and he refuses to cling to it beyond its purpose. John shows a depth of faithfulness and understanding that we should all work toward…doing the will of God whether we are recognized for it or not.

John also understands his responsibility to Jesus. Faithfulness does not mean competing with Christ for attention—it means gladly stepping aside so Christ can be fully revealed. That is why John can say with joy, not regret: “He must become greater; I must become less.”

This passage invites us to examine our own calling and our understanding of what faith looks like for us. We, too, are part of a chain—receivers of grace and witnesses to Christ. Our success is not measured by how visible we are, but by how clearly Jesus is seen through us.

Respond:

A concrete way to live out our call to serve faithfully, not necessarily visibly, is to intentionally serve where recognition is unlikely, while resisting the need to claim credit. Here are a couple of ways to try:

Celebrate others’ success without comparisonWhen someone else is affirmed, promoted, or praised for kingdom work, verbally thank God for them. John rejoiced that people were going to Jesus, even when it meant his own role was fading.

Practice “quiet obedience”Do at least one act of service each week that you intentionally do not share with others (including on social media). Let God be the only witness. This trains the heart to seek God’s approval rather than human applause.

Pray:

Lord, help us remember that our lives are meant to point to You. Teach us humility enough to understand that our job is to live our lives in such a way that You cannot be missed. May our faithfulness make Your voice louder in this world. Amen.

Lord God of heavenly forces!— don’t let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me.God of Israel!— don’t let those who seek you be disgraced because of me.

I am insulted because of you. Shame covers my face.I have become a stranger to my own brothers, an immigrant to my mother’s children.Because passion for your house has consumed me, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!

I wept while I fasted— even for that I was insulted.When I wore funeral clothes, people made fun of me.Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me; drunkards made up rude songs.

But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord, at just the right time.God, in your great and faithful love, answer me with your certain salvation!Save me from the mud! Don’t let me drown! Let me be saved from those who hate me and from these watery depths!

Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters! Don’t let the abyss swallow me up! Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!

Consider:

At some point in my adulthood, my mother decided we were going to start praying in public. When we sat down to eat, she told us all to bow our heads and proceeded to have a some what long and awkward prayer. From time to time, this meant very confused wait staff trying to figure out how to do their jobs and deliver drinks or food while our heads were bowed. It was horrific and embarrassing and probably the right thing to do.

I don’t know what all of the sudden inspired her to start these meal time public prayers because it wasn’t something we did when I was I a child. I guess she decided I was old enough that my embarrassment wouldn’t kill me, or maybe she just understood prayer was possibly the easiest and least risky sign of public faith, so we should probably start doing it.

Either way, it is sometimes true making choices to live our faith in public can bring lots of strong reactions from other people, especially other Christians who feel judged or criticized for holding different beliefs or who choose not to talk about them in public.

Being honest about what we believe can lead to conflict. We cannot control other’s opinions or reactions, but we can show what grace, curiosity, and love of neighbor looks like when we do disagree. It’s possible that if we are brave enough to engage in conversation with other people who hold different opinions or thoughts, we might actually grow in our own faith, expanding what we think might be possible.

Respond:

he next time you find yourself in a conversation where a difference of opinion arises, try to use the “Tell Me More” technique:

* Resist the Rebuttal: When you feel your body tense up to defend your position or make you feel shame, take one deep breath.

* Ask an Open Question: Instead of explaining why they are wrong, say: “That’s a different perspective than I have. Can you tell me more about how you came to believe that?”

* Listen for the “Why”: Look for the experience or story behind their opinion. You don’t have to agree with their conclusion to honor their journey and eliminate the shame or judgement which might have come.

Pray:

God, give me a brave heart and a quiet tongue. When I disagree with my neighbor, replace my defensiveness with a holy curiosity. Help me see conflict not as a wall, but as a doorway to deeper understanding. May Your grace be the bridge that helps us both grow. Amen.

This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice and do what is right,for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.2 Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”

4 For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters;I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him,to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Consider:

Don’t we all love a reward? A prize? Don’t we all love to be seen as doing the right thing and recognized for it? Being noticed and rewarded for doing what is right feels good!

In Isaiah 56, God calls God’s people to “maintain justice and do what is right”..it’s a command, an expectation for God’s people. Before any mention of blessing or reward, the Lord speaks of discipline—a deliberate choice to live by God’s law (which as we know is not the law of the land most times). Spiritual discipline is not presented as a burden, but as a pathway to experiencing God’s promised reward.

The passage specifically highlights those who might have experienced being excluded from society—foreigners and eunuchs— and God promises them “a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters” if they hold fast. This shows that reward is not based on status, background, or position, but on faithful devotion to God. God sees the quiet disciplines of worship, obedience, and commitment, and God honors them.

Ultimately, the reward of spiritual discipline is nearness to God. When we choose discipline—seeking God daily, living justly, honoring God with our lives through service and love to others—we are rewarded not only with future blessing, but with present joy and deeper communion with God.

Respond:

Think on one way God might be calling you into deeper spiritual discipline right now (hint…it is often the thing we don’t really want to do because it challenges us). Is it having a hard conversation with someone, face to face, that you’ve been avoiding? Is it spending some time talking to and learning about a group that you don’t agree with? Is it simply spending 5 minutes each day quietly walking and talking HONESTLY with God? Pick one thing to do today that challenges or heightens your sense of spiritual discipline… be brave!!

Pray:

Lord, help me to walk in discipline and faithfulness, trusting that You see my devotion and will share with me Your presence and joy. Amen.

I didn’t see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The city doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

Consider:

I tried to explain to my children how a dial-up, rotary style phone worked and they were utterly flabbergasted. Later on that day, we were watching an old television show, and they had very real questions about why the characters were running to the kitchen during the commercial break. “Can’t they just pause it?” they wondered.

The imagery of the book of Revelation can feel similarly dense and unfamiliar, so we have to do a little digging into history in order to understand it. Ancient Cities only had one entrance with gates which could be shut at night for protection. In order to walk at night, they needed lamps to see - and their oil could be precious, so they only traveled by daylight or in a particularly bright moonlight. Nights were scary and impenetrable for most.

This perspective helps us to see hope at the center of this promised future. There will one day be a time and a world where cities will be able to leave their gates open because the light of God will be so bright, fear of the dark will not be necessary. One day, there won’t be a temple for one religious group, but God will be the temple which welcomes all. One day, all the kings of the earth will follow God’s light instead of their own whims and desires.

One day.

For know, it’s just a hope, a beacon in the distance for us to walk towards. The promise doesn’t come today.

One day.

Respond:

Turn all the lights off and find a dark spot in your house in which to sit. What do you notice about the dark? What do you notice about how you feel or how your body reacts to the loss of light? Now, turn on a flashlight or light a small candle. How did your feelings change when you had this small light on which to focus? Try this breath prayer: Inhale: In the shadows... Exhale: ...You are my light. Continue the prayer for as long as feels right for you.

Notice the changes and consider how you can incorporate the feeling of that small light into your every day.

Pray:

God, as I sit in this stillness, I feel how heavy the darkness can be. Thank You for the small, steady light that breaks through the shadows. When life feels overwhelming or dim, help me carry this flicker of peace within me. Let Your light guide my very next step. Amen.

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6\ and who have fallen[c] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Consider:

Can you remember your earliest Sunday school teacher? How about the lesson you learned? I’m guessing it was something very basic…God loves you. We begin our faith journey with the most basic (but I would argue most important) knowledge base. But the writer of Hebrews reminds us that if we are following God’s call, we don’t get to stay there. The writer urges believers to “leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity,” but this call assumes something important: you must first have a beginning.

Our journey toward becoming more like God starts with foundational truths—faith, hope and love to name a few. These are not shallow or disposable lessons; they are the soil in which mature faith grows. Skipping the basics doesn’t make us advanced—it makes us unstable.

Paired with the expectation that the foundation is key comes the secondary warning…If we stop moving forward, if we stop learning and growing and assume we know all we need to know, our hearts can grow dull and unresponsive. God invites us to keep walking, keep learning, and keep responding. Growth requires perseverance and lifelong learning.

We all want to be considered mature (I think). But in order to be truly mature, we must do the learning and living and growing that comes with a journey…our faith journey. And that journey toward becoming more like God is lifelong. Start where you are, stay rooted in the basics, and keep moving forward. With patience and endurance, the seeds of faith will bear fruit.

Respond:

Set aside a few minutes today to revisit one “basic” truth you learned early on (e.g., “God is Love” or “Love your neighbor”). Ask yourself: “Where is this hardest for me to believe or practice right now?” Maturity often grows in the places where the basics feel the most difficult.

Pray:

Lord, thank You for the simple truths that started my journey. Don’t let me settle for a dusty faith; give me the hunger to grow. Open my mind as I revisit what I know, and help me apply these old lessons in new, mature ways. Keep me moving forward. Amen.

I raise my eyes to you— you who rule heaven.

Just as the eyes of servants attend to their masters’ hand, just as the eyes of a female servant attend to her mistress’ hand— that’s how our eyes attend to the Lord our God until he has mercy on us.

Have mercy on us, Lord! Have mercy because we’ve had more than enough shame.

We’ve had more than enough mockery from the self-confident, more than enough shame from the proud.

Reflection:

When I walk, I look down out the ground, always wary of an unanticipated object which might lead me to trip - or that I might trip over my own two feet. In and of itself, this is not a bad habit, but it does occasionally lead to me running into doorframes, catching clothes on drawer pulls, or not seeing people as they walk by. And - ridiculously - I always blame the doorframe, as if it jumped out into my path - instead of acknowledging the fault lies with my own eyesight. Turns out when your eyes are on your own feet, it’s hard to see the world around you.

This happens with God, too. We get so used to looking at God in a particular way we can’t see all the other ways we might be able to experience God. When our eyes are trained on the solid ground underneath of us, we miss parts of God’s story which might be just to the right of our shoulder. And when, every once in a while, we run into the doorframe of our limited understanding, we blame the frame instead of asking if maybe we had been looking in the wrong spots all along.

Cast up your eyes a bit from your own life experiences or frames of reference and you might be able to see God’s grace and mercy in unexpected places.

Response:

Spend a little time today naming the frameworks through which you see the world. Where are your eyes cast? Don’t judge yourself or criticize your habits or assumptions, but simply name them so you can be aware of where your eyes are cast as you walk through your day.

Prayer:

God, I’m so used to watching my own feet, trying not to trip. Forgive me for blaming the world when I’m the one looking down. Lift my chin up today. Help me stop over-focusing on my own path so I can finally see Your grace waiting just around the corner. Amen.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!” declares the Lord.

Consider:

In Jeremiah, God delivers a rather hard message for the people (and the message isn’t any easier for us to swallow today if we’re being honest.) Change your heart, not just your habits…

The people believed that simply being in God’s house guaranteed God’s favor. They worshipped, prayed, and declared, “This is the temple of the Lord,” but as soon as they said amen and left, injustice, oppression, and disobedience continued unchecked. After all, the easy part is saying the words…but God doesn’t seem interested in our words alone.

God’s message is loud and clear, to the point God SPELLS IT OUT for folks: 1. deal with each other justly, 2. do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and 3. do not shed innocent blood in this place, 4. do not follow other gods to your own harm. There is no mincing of words here.

God makes it clear: True devotion requires transformation. God’s presence is not meant to excuse our behavior but to reshape it.

This passage reminds us that responding to God’s call always involves change. We cannot claim God’s call on our lives while still clinging to habits, attitudes, or actions that contradict that call. Our faith must move from the sanctuary into daily living, from words into actions.

God’s call is an invitation to both see differently and do differently, if we are truly willing to risk real faith.

Respond:

Our world has so many opportunities to feel overwhelmed, too small to help, etc. And yet our call is clear…action is necessary when following God’s call. BUT action doesn’t have to be huge or earth shaking, it just needs to come from a call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. Find ONE actionable moment today to do God’s will…is it checking in on a neighbor who isn’t always friendly? Is it calling your representative on an issue that has weighed on your mind? Is it picking up trash you find on your daily walk? One thing today, that’s a great place to start…

Pray:

Lord, help us not to hide behind religious appearances. Give us hearts willing to change, lives that reflect Your justice and love, and the courage to obey Your call fully. Amen.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Consider:

This psalm opens with a bold declaration: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Nothing? Really? I can rattle off at least 10 things today I wish I had more of…

But David does not make this claim because life is easy or because he has everything he ever desired, he makes it because he has realized that God’s very nature is that of abundance. A shepherd does not merely keep sheep alive—he ensures they are fed, rested, protected, and guided. When the Lord shepherds us, lack is not our defining story. The problem is, however, WHAT is it we are seeking in abundance?

Scarcity thinking tells us there is never enough: not enough time, not enough resources for both me AND my neighbor to live well, not enough love for me to share with those I don’t understand, or with whom I don’t agree…

Scarcity thinking builds from the base emotion of fear. It hits at the very thing that can help us survive, but can also paralyze us in any sort of forward motion. It’s the thing that drives most poor decisions in life, I would venture to claim. Psalm 23 calls us to a different posture—trust. When we believe abundance is part of who God is, we stop living defensively and start living confidently. We dare to trust God is providing the next step in our path, and we dare to live out our calling to love our neighbor more openly and honestly.

The psalm ends with assurance: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” God’s abundance is not momentary—it is consistent. When we let go of scarcity-driven fear and trust our Shepherd, we discover that we are not chasing provision; goodness is chasing us. After all, when God’s goodness and love guide us along the way, we have an awful lot of abundance to share, do we not?

Respond:

Name out loud one thing you have a scarcity mentality around (ex… not enough food your kids WANT to eat in the pantry, not enough in your 401K to travel overseas when you retire, not enough left on that gift card to buy the really GOOD pair of jeans.) Keep it small and simple for now. Take note of how it feels to say that thing out loud…does it lessen the sense of fear around it? Does it make it less daunting to say it aloud? Now that you’ve said it out loud, say the following prayer:

Pray:

Lord, help me release a scarcity mindset and trust Your abundant nature. Teach me to rest in Your provision, even when circumstances suggest lack. I choose to believe You are enough, and that in You, my cup overflows. Amen.

On this mountain, the Lord of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples a rich feast, a feast of choice wines, of select foods rich in flavor, of choice wines well refined.

He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples, the shroud enshrouding all nations.

He will swallow up death forever.The Lord God will wipe tears from every face; he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.

They will say on that day,“Look! This is our God, for whom we have waited— and he has saved us!This is the Lord, for whom we have waited; let’s be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”

Consider:

There are few things we are more afraid of than death. Things like public speaking and heights usually top the list of most common fear and phobias, but I think that’s because answering “death” to a survey question about your greatest fear feels too vulnerable and honest to tell an anonymous text message at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Most of what makes us afraid of death is not knowing what happens on the other side of it. Many cultures have constructed myths and stories around the details of the after-life, but the Bible doesn’t construct a clear picture or lay out a precise road map. So often in God’s story, the next step of life is spoken of in metaphors and inferences and we are left with questions too deep for words. We know what we are supposed to believe, but so often it’s hard to believe what we’ve been taught. Wouldn’t it be nice if God would have told the writers exactly what we could expect?

When the Bible does talk about death, it always sounds like this text from Isaiah. “God will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe tears from every face, for the Lord has spoken.”

The passage doesn’t tell us what to expect at the beginning of death, but it does tell us what will happen at the end. Death will be no more, grief will end, pain will be gone, the bodily corruptions which taint our earthly existence - all of it will be gone. It will be swallowed because the Lord has spoken.

Even in death there is hope. Even when all seems lost, we can look forward to the day it will be found. Even when it appears all has ended, it hasn’t, because the Lord God has not had the final word.

When it seems so hard to believe in something good coming out of something so hard and painful, we pause to remember the one - one day, on God’s holy mountain, there is a feast waiting for us to eat. And at that table there are no tears, but there are abundant desserts.

Death doesn’t win. Possibilities, hope, the future words of God do.

Respond:

Take a few minutes to consider some of the worries you hold in your heart today. What are the moments of loss, fear, or pain which are wrapped up into those worries? Name two or three out loud, or write them down on a piece of paper. Return to your list later in the day and make a second column next to them, this time listing all the possibilities which are still to be found in the worry, fear, or hurt. What can you see brewing underneath the surface? What word has God yet to speak?

Pray:

God, we are afraid of the unknown and would much rather have a road map then a jigsaw puzzle. Help us to look past the appearance of finality and hold onto the future hope you promise us. Amen.

After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,for true and just are his judgments.He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God, all you his servants,you who fear him, both great and small!”

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Consider:

What a wild passage…John describes how he hears a great multitude in heaven rejoicing. Can you imagine actually HEARING heaven rejoice? Must be some party!

Even more exciting than the idea of a party in heaven is the fact that these are not strangers or angels or unknown beings, these are the saints that have gone before. Though unseen, they are very much alive, worshiping, celebrating God’s justice, not far away and disconnected from earthly things but actively witnessing and celebrating God’s kingdom come.

Death feels so final, so disconnecting to our human sensibilities. This scene reminds us that death does not, in fact, sever our connection with those who have died. Our very real and human understanding of “out of sight, out of mind” runs completely counter to God’s word of eternal connection.

They are not disconnected from us; rather, they are with God continuing the call to do justice and love kindness and walk humbly, and this multitude explodes in celebration when witnessing the triumph of God’s kingdom realized on earth.

When we miss those we cannot see, the language in Revelation 19 gives us a new vision... One day, the celebration they are already part of will include us fully. Until then, every act of worship and stand for justice and move toward building God’s kingdom rather than earthly empires is a strong reminder: in Christ, love is not lost, relationships are not erased, and connection is never broken, it just takes our hearts to “see” what our very human eyes cannot.

Respond:

Hearing sounds of joy in the middle of a busy day can feel impossible…hearing anything other than the noise of busyness is something that can require practice. So today, take 2 minutes and step outside (wherever you are…if you are in a loud spot, great, you have an extra fun challenge). Close your eyes and listen. What sounds do you hear? Can you hear sounds that are joyful? Sounds that are reassuring? Sounds that are peaceful? Making a practice to listen for the GOOD sounds of life may attune our ears a bit to hear the heavenly celebrations of our loved ones just a bit more.

Pray:

God, we know you never leave us, and yet when our loved ones pass to your eternal care, we can’t help but think they are gone forever from us. Whisper words of holy celebration to us, so that we may continue to feel the connection of love and light that comes from you through our loved ones. Amen.

God makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.

They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.

The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

Consider:

My husband is a seventh grade science teacher, which means he is somewhat of an expert on the water cycle. He throws around words like “transpiration” and “cumulo-nimbus cloud strucutres” on a fairly regular basis, mostly to impress our kids with the multi-syllable words. It’s all very “cool” and very “science-y” and all pretty much makes me roll my eyes and try to steer the conversation back to normal, more fun, topics.

Our modern understanding of the mechanics of the water cycle hides some of its wonderment. The Psalmist writes in awe and amazement at the way water bubbles up from the ground, filling rocky ravines dry from years of drought. The Psalmist finds it almost unbelievable how the rain falls from the clouds, “God’s upper chambers”, quenching the thirst of the dry land until it is satisfied. Even the trees are well watered and the cows fattened on lush grass all because of the water cycle. The author seems surprised and amazed.

So often, we forget to be thankful for the many gifts we have from God - maybe because they have become so ordinary. Coloring in the stages of the water cycle in our boring middle school science class has eliminated for many of us the wonder we once had as children who splashed in muddy puddles every time it rained. What would happen if we stopped over-thinking and over-analyzing the world in order to just celebrate it?

The way the sun comes up each day is both routine and wonderful. The wind blowing through the trees is both common and beautiful. The grass under our feet is both ubiquitous and comforting. If we can approach each day, and each other, with wonderment, maybe we can also learn not to take each other for granted. Maybe we can learn to give thanks for God’s amazing work, setting the water cycle into motion. Maybe we can see the possibilities in the every day.

Respond:

When you go outside today, take a look at the area around you, the everyday things you take for granted. Pick one of those common sights and take a moment to give thanks to God, naming something you appreciate or admire about that item. See how many times you can notice the amazing in the mundane, learning to have eyes to see what can be underneath of the what is.

Pray:

God, we do not always appreciate your amazing work, because it has become so common for us to see and hear, touch and taste. Help us to remember with the amazement of a child the miraculousness of each ordinary day. Amen.

Listen:

Psalm 119:105-106, 108, 111

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.

Accept, LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.

Consider:

What a familiar Psalm this is to so many of us! How comforting to think that God’s word guides our steps at every turn, like a lamp that illuminates a path we are to walk on!

BUT, if I’m being honest, the shadows of guilt, of fear, of uncertainty, of mistrust, of so many other things cloud my ability to see where the path is lit for me to walk…I find myself yelling at God about NOT showing me the “right” way, when in fact I’ve shifted my focus to the dark places rather than the light. Because the dark places are scary, I don’t want the dark places to sneak up on me…

Isn’t the whole point of this passage, however, that the dark places CANNOT overtake us if we stay focused on the light that God provides? The joy of our hearts is, perhaps, the constant reminder from scripture that again and again and again God meets the dark with Light that will not fade or go away. We just have to keep on remembering to look for it, especially when the dark spots seem to be the closest.

Respond:

“I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.”- Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp during WWII

Take a few moments to say the following breath prayer:

Inhale: Where there is darkness

Exhale: You, God, bring light.

Over the next week or so if you are able, take time to walk the prayer labyrinth at the church…be intentional with your steps as you move through a guided space, remembering that even when the shadows of life are present, God’s light will provide a path forward.

Pray:

God we know you guide our steps, but the dark places still seem to pop into our view as we try to follow Your path. Help us remember.

Listen:

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

Consider:

Because of God entering the world in the light of Jesus, we are offered a new way to live, a new identity, a new way to move about the world. Because of this new identity, we are called to walk as children of light. But what does that mean?

It means we are no longer allowed to be shaped by our ignorance, or choose hate over love, or let fear be the final word. We are called to live by God’s rules, which are lived out in Jesus.

To follow God’s light means letting God’s presence shape our actions, our attitudes, and our choices even when (and perhaps especially when) those choices aren’t easy or popular. We are called to intentionally choose actions and attitudes that please the Lord (think faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love).

In short, following God’s light isn’t just about belief—it’s about embodying that light in everyday life, so that our words, deeds, and character radiate God’s light to the world’s dark places.

Respond:

Today, find a quiet moment to sit in a dark or shadowed space. Light a single candle or turn on a small flashlight. Notice how the light takes over the darkness, even if it is a small light. Sit in that space for a few moments, simply noticing how the light covers space in the room. Remember that you are created to be light in dark places of the world, and know that your power lies in shining intentionally, not in shining the brightest. You have light to give, no matter how small it feels!

Pray:

God of light, we know that living as children of light means choosing our actions by Your will, not our fears or selfishness. Help us be aware of and intentional about how we move through the world so that our light reflects Yours, always. Amen.

Listen:

John 12:35-36

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Consider:

Jesus says, “Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you… Put your trust in the light while you have it.” Following God is not necessarily about knowing where the path will lead us; it is about trusting the God who tells us again and again and again “do not be afraid.” The people listening to Jesus did not fully understand what was coming next, yet He called them to walk anyway—to keep moving in faith while the light was still before them. It seems easy to follow Jesus when you can see, hear and even touch him! What about following when we cannot see, when the world throws a million different distractions in the way?

Trust is often learned in motion. We would prefer certainty, clarity, and a full map of the future, but Jesus invites us instead to trust His light for the next step. Darkness represents fear, confusion, and control slipping from our hands. When we hesitate because we want all the answers, we risk standing still while the light is already guiding us forward.

To follow God, then, means choosing trust over fear. As we walk in the light of Christ—listening to His words and acting on them—we gradually become “children of light.” Trust grows not because everything makes sense, but because we discover that God is faithful with every step we take. Then we do the work of truly being those children of light by sharing the light and lighting the path for others along the way!

Respond:

Where is God asking you to walk forward in trust, even without full clarity?

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know our steps are often unsure, as we struggle to trust that which we can’t see or quantify…help our faith in You guide our steps along the way, and help us be bold in the journey on which You lead us. Amen.

Listen:

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Consider:

“I (almost) always come limping into Advent, desperate for light, but almost too tired to look for it. Then I remember, the Light came looking for me, and that’s the whole point.”

-Annie B Jones

We hear it time and again…God is our light. And yet, aren’t there times when it just feels dark in our world? We can’t seem to find the light we need, we don’t have the energy to go searching for this light we hear about, or perhaps we just don’t care enough in the moment to even try. The good news is this: God comes to us, God stays with us, God’s light seeks us out. There isn’t a journey we need to take in order to find it. We just need to look up.

That Light may come in the form of a friend asking just the right question at the right time. It may be a moment of peace that came at the exact right time. It may be a good night’s sleep when it’s needed the most. The Light comes looking for us in the most extraordinary and mundane ways. We just have to look up from time to time in order to notice it!

Respond:

Take 10 minutes today to do something that gives you rest (a nap, a walk outside, a 10 minute listen to quiet music). As you spend time in those moments of rest, pay attention to how you feel…perhaps a little warmer, a little lighter, a little more “cozy.” Is that the Light finding you?

Pray:

God of light and life, we spend so much time chasing things we believe will fill us, and forget that You never leave, never require our searching, we only need to look up to find you. Help us keep our eyes on your light and the many ways it shines in the everyday joys of life. Amen.

Listen:

Isaiah 2:3-5

Many nations will go and say,

“Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the house of Jacob’s God

so that he may teach us his ways

and we may walk in God’s paths.”

Instruction will come from Zion;

the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.

God will judge between the nations,

and settle disputes of mighty nations.

Then they will beat their swords into iron plows

and their spears into pruning tools.

Nation will not take up sword against nation;

they will no longer learn how to make war.

Come, house of Jacob,

let’s walk by the Lord’s light.

Consider:

Isaiah paints a picture of people from every nation streaming toward the mountain of the Lord. This picture includes nations upon nations coming to the mountain to follow God’s light. God’s light is not just something to admire; it’s something to follow. And following God’s light does not look like following the flashy lights of the latest craze on social media, or the latest rage in the news outlets.

God’s light reveals God’s path. It shows us where to place our steps, how to shape our decisions, and what kind of people we are called to become. Isaiah says, “He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” So learning isn’t the end unto itself; once we learn, we must LIVE into that Light.

In a world full of noise, fear, and competing voices, God’s light cuts through the darkness. But choosing God’s path means turning away from other paths—paths of selfishness, bitterness, pride, vanity, or violence. Isaiah describes weapons being turned into tools of growth, and nations exchanging conflict for peace. That transformation only happens when people accept God’s ways above their own.

Then comes the invitation in verse 5: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” It’s not a command weighed down with pressure—it’s an invitation filled with hope. God’s light leads us toward peace, wisdom, and purpose. But we must choose to step into it daily.

Respond:

Find a short nature walk, a new path you haven’t explored before (even if it’s just a new way to get from point A to point B in your house!). Take time to walk it, noticing how it feels to trust the path despite the fact that its new or different. Talk with God as you move, telling God your worries, your fears, and your trepidations of your faith journey as you take this short physical journey.

Pray:

Lord, thank Your light that guides and guides us on a path to you. Teach us Your ways, and give us the courage to walk in Your path even when it is difficult or unfamiliar. Help us turn from anything that pulls us into darkness, and lead us in the peace and wisdom of Your light. Amen.

Listen:

Luke 2:15-18

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them.

Consider:

After the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds were left with a choice. They could stay in the fields where it was familiar… or they could step out in faith and go to see what God had done. Their response was immediate! I don’t know that I would have jumped in with the same faith as the shepherds, especially after seeing something as jarring as a sky full of angels!

But they didn’t delay, they didn’t create excuses like “let’s wait for a better time.” When God spoke, they moved.

And not surprisingly, they found exactly what God had said they would find…perhaps not the expected “packaging” of a king or savior, but nonetheless, it was just what God had promised.

Seeing Jesus for themselves changed them. They didn’t keep the experience quiet. Even though they were not religious leaders or intellectuals, they didn’t allow fear or imposter syndrome stop them from doing exactly what they were supposed to do…spread the GOOD NEWS!

The first spreaders of the gospel were simple shepherds whose hearts were transformed by the presence of Christ.

God often uses ordinary people with willing hearts to spread extraordinary news. It doesn’t take a religious degree, or wisdom with age, or any other credential to experience and tell the good news of the gospel. It takes noticing, paying attention, and then sharing. Something we can ALL do.

Respond:

Make a habit to notice something good at least three times over the day today…write it down, make note of it in your brain, whatever works for you. Then at the end of the day, share those “noticings” with someone else. See how it feels to share the good of the day with another person, and notice how your good spreads as it is shared, much like God’s love spreads when we offer it out of ourselves and into the world!

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know that your Word is living, breathing, ever changing as we encounter it at different times and in different places. Help us never stop reading your Word with expectation and hope of new surprises of your love for us. Amen.

Luke 2:15–18

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them.

Consider:

After the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds were left with a choice. They could stay in the fields where it was familiar… or they could step out in faith and go to see what God had done. Their response was immediate! I don’t know that I would have jumped in with the same faith as the shepherds, especially after seeing something as jarring as a sky full of angels! But they didn’t delay, they didn’t create excuses like “let’s wait for a better time.” When God spoke, they moved.

And not surprisingly, they found exactly what God had said they would find…perhaps not the expected “packaging” of a king or savior, but nonetheless it was just what God had promised.

Seeing Jesus for themselves changed them. They didn’t keep the experience quiet. Even though they were not religious leaders or intellectuals, they didn’t allow fear or imposter syndrome stop them from doing exactly what they were supposed to do…spread the GOOD NEWS!

The first spreaders of the gospel were simple shepherds whose hearts were transformed by the presence of Christ.

God often uses ordinary people with willing hearts to spread extraordinary news. It doesn’t take a religious degree, or wisdom with age, or any other credential to experience and tell the good news of the gospel. It takes noticing, paying attention, and then sharing. Something we can ALL do.

Respond:

Make a habit to notice something good at least 3 times over the day today…write it down, make note of it in your brain, whatever works for you. Then at the end of the day, share those “noticings” with someone else. See how it feels to share the good of the day with another person, and notice how your good spreads as it is shared, much like God’s love spreads when we offer it out of ourselves and into the world!

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know that your Word is living, breathing, ever changing as we encounter it at different times and in different places. Help us never stop reading your Word with expectation and hope of new surprises of your love for us. Amen.

Listen:

Luke 2:8-11

Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.

The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.”

Consider:

This very short passage has very big good news: the first announcement of Jesus’ birth did not go to kings, priests, or the powerful. It came to shepherds—ordinary, overlooked people doing ordinary, overlooked work.

While they were simply “keeping watch over their flock,” heaven broke into their night. God met them right where they were, not in a temple or palace, but in an open field.

The message is personal and specific to those receiving it: YOUR savior is born. Born for you, here for you. No station in life created this for you, it is simply the outpouring of God’s love…

God’s love became human for everyone, for the important, for the humble, the weary, the unnoticed, the hated, the loved, everyone.

The shepherds didn’t find Jesus by changing their situation; they found Him because God showed up…just as we don’t need to change ourselves for God to show up for us…God has, and does, again and again.

Respond:

Perhaps you feel like what you do on a daily basis isn’t “world changing.” BUT if we take note of this story of the shepherds, it is quite often in the ordinary that extraordinary things begin. As David Lamotte says “You are changing the world whether you like it or not.” Make note this week of the little things you do to be a world changer…showing up for a friend who needs a kind set of listening ears; donating food or money to a local food ministry; working in the Giving Garden at WFPC; holding the door and offering a smile to the person entering a store behind you. The ordinary items that send positive ripples into the world can add up quickly to become extraordinary!

Pray:

God of all people, thank you for showing yourself to us in such a real way. May we continue to see you, to know you, and to share your holy love with all those we meet. Amen.

Listen:

Luke 2:4-7

Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Consider:

This portion of the Christmas story is one we have heard possibly more times than we can count. When a story becomes this familiar to us, it can be easy to simply recite, or read without absorbing.

When this happens we have to slow down and intentionally ask ourselves - what did I notice today that has never popped into my mind before? We have to intentionally separate the Bible’s story from the Hallmark one because, and this may be controversial, the Bible’s story is usually better!

So today I’ve noticed a detail which I didn’t notice before. First, it doesn’t say anything about an inn or innkeeper, but simply mentions there wasn’t a place for them in the guestroom. Does this mean Joseph and Mary returned to Bethlehem so they could have their baby near family? And if so, how does that change the story for me?

In this case, it means Mary and Joseph chose the manger. It wasn’t a place of last resort or the last open space in Bethlehem, but a loving part of their ancestral family home. Jesus wasn’t born unwanted and unnoticed, but into a loving, large family which made space for him where there wasn’t any before.

And so, I remember, God makes space for us in this large and loving family, space which we may have never had before. We aren’t cast into the darkness, unloved and unwanted, but welcomed into a space made for caring and nurturing the weak and vulnerable.

Those details are important and so we must make space to find them in our hearts.

Respond:

What new thing about the story of Jesus’ birth surprised you today, or felt different in this reading? Focus each day, while reading the story of Jesus’ birth, to find one NEW thing, one new perspective, one new phrase that stands out to you here and now.

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know that your Word is living, breathing, ever changing as we encounter it at different times and in different places. Help us never stop reading your Word with expectation and hope of new surprises of your love for us. Amen.

Listen:

Matthew 1:20-23

As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:

Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,

And they will call him, Immanuel.

Consider:

Joseph was caught in a seriously confusing moment. Everything he thought he knew about Mary and his future had evaporated in a matter of minutes. Yet in the middle of his anxiety, God speaks:

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid…” (v. 20)

God doesn’t wait for Joseph to figure things out; God steps into Joseph’s moment of fear and directly addresses it. Joseph doesn’t even have much time to see the crisis before him before God interjects words of calm and reassurance.

Joseph’s world was shaking, but God was near and quick to remind him of that. And the same is true for us. The very name Immanuel means “God with us.” I’m not sure God could have gotten any plainer in God’s message of presence than this! Every time we feel overwhelmed by something that feels bigger than what we can manage, God is whispering “don’t be afraid…I’ve got this with you!”

Respond:

Fear is very real, and cannot be wished away…but fear can be managed, put into perspective, and calmed. Take 5 minutes today to name three fears you are currently experiencing/holding onto (little, big, it doesn’t matter, just be honest about them). Try naming each fear aloud on an inhale, and on the exhale, say “I am not afraid because I am not alone.” Over the course of the day, say it 2-3 more times…as we practice noticing and naming our fears, we can also practice remembering that we never go it alone.

Pray:

Loving Lord, sometimes what we fear the most is our own ability to manage what is before us. Just as you did with Joseph, remind us of your presence and calm us with your words of hope. Amen.

Listen:

Luke 1:26-29, 31

When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. When the angel came to her, he said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” She was confused by these words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

“Look! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”

Consider:

This short passage can pack quite a punch if we consider the “ask” of Mary from a human feelings perspective. Confusion feels like an understatement for what Mary must have felt…of course she wants to do God’s will but that includes WHAT? Wanting to do God’s will comes with a big risk for Mary! Wanting to do what is right and what is asked of her came paired with a heavy dose of “Are you kidding me?”, I suspect…

This type of tension is something we all experience in our walk with God:

We want God’s attention, God’s “favor” but not always the disruption that comes with it. The leap of faith that is required to get past the very human feelings of uncertainty and fear feels too big sometimes. God’s calling may lead us into unfamiliar places, unexpected responsibilities, or plans we never imagined for ourselves.

But our FAITH and our HOPE are the very things that generate in us the sense of courage to trust God’s path and do those things which sometimes push us into uncomfortable new territory. We never go it alone.

Respond:

What requires bravery and a leap of faith for you today? Where might you need to find courageous faith like Mary? On this Christmas day, take a moment to read this piece of God’s story with eyes on the calling that invites us into the uncomfortable but Holy spaces God calls!

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know that your Word is living, breathing, ever changing as we encounter it at different times and in different places. When Your calling unsettles us, remind us of Your presence. Help us respond like Mary—with trust that You will accomplish what You promise. Fill our fear with faith and our uncertainty with Your peace. Amen.

Listen:

Proverbs 3:21-26

My son, don’t let them slip from your eyes;

hold on to sound judgment and discretion.

They will be life for your whole being,

and an ornament for your neck.

Then you will walk safely on your path,

and your foot won’t stumble.

If you lie down, you won’t be terrified.

When you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.

Don’t fear sudden terror

or the ruin that comes to the wicked.

The Lord will be your confidence;

he will guard your feet from being snared.

Consider:

Emily Dickenson wrote a poem about hope that captured enough attention to become a poem most of us probably studied in school. It reads:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

I will admit that I didn’t find much use for this poem as a teenager. But now, reading it in the context of the Hope we are searching for this Advent, I am finding some power and uplift in the metaphor…this little feathery, fragile Hope has the audacity to sing its song in every possible environment, in every possible condition without requiring compensation or reparation from anyone. That’s bravery! And, I believe, that’s the type of solidarity that only comes from a hope that is built on God’s trustworthiness. The Proverbs passage asks us to maintain sound judgement in the midst of any sort of tumult, which is also a big ask. It is much easier to jump on the “crazy” train of the latest rage clip, the most recent wild rhetoric, the family member’s overstimulated opinions or our own wild and judgemental assumptions of others, rather than to stay on the steady path of knowing that God is in and among all things. But if tiny little Hope can carry a tune in a hurricane, can we not put into practice the bravery it requires of us to stay sure footed in the Hope of God’s presence?

Respond:

Kate Bowler notes: “I am rich because I lit the candle even when I wasn’t sure I believed in light.” Take 5 minutes today and light a candle (or use a flashlight, whatever you have handy). Sit in the light of that candle and remember how brave it is to show up for yourself and others in this world. Take a moment to be proud of being present in moments that were hard. Say the prayer below once you’ve taken a moment of time to remember just how brave you are, and how not alone you will always be.

Pray:

Loving Lord, we know you are ever present, ever vigilant, ever working. Yet we find ourselves drawn toward the chaos of fear, where our feet always fail us. Guide our steps, brave God, along the path of your assuredness, especially in those moments where our confidence falters. Give us good rest in your Hope. Amen.

Listen:

Hebrews 11:1-3

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Consider:

I recently watched my 12 year old son get very excited about the possibility of snow…not once, not twice, but three times in one week. He is old enough to know that snow in NC is a bit of a rarity, and when we get excited about a 30% chance we will more than likely feel the sting of disappointment. But that didn’t deter him from holding onto that eternal hope, that sense of joyful excitement in the “but maybe this time it will.”

We can learn a lot about hope in things unseen if we look to our children. Their perseverance and stubborn hopefulness in that which can’t be seen and validated is inspiring…the hope for snow in the south, the joyful anticipation of an upcoming birthday and the excitement it holds, the tireless hope for that new movie to finally be available on TV…in most children, hope springs eternal!

I understand that these things seem easy to hope for, and that the big stuff of life is much more difficult to muster a sense of assurance around. But remember, hope in anything, little or big, requires the same thing: faith. Faith is the thing that allows hope to exist. Faith is the thing that reminds us that God is indeed working in the world, and faith steadys our vision to see the bits and pieces of assurance of God’s work. Maybe your faith in God’s good work allowed you to see the outstretched arm of a friend offering love and help. Maybe your faith spurred you to make contact with someone who had weighed heavily on your mind recently. Faith is the string that connects us all to hope, and with that, God’s work in the world becomes more and more visible, because we are looking for it!

Respond:

Making a daily, intentional practice of speaking faith and hope into being is not proof of a weakness of faith, it is a sign of a faith that perseveres!

So, practice the following breath prayer at least 3-4 times in the coming day.

Inhale: God, so many things seem uncertain or unseen.

Exhale: But I have faith that you are at work in everything.

Pray:

Lord, strengthen my hope in You. When I cannot see what You are doing, help me trust that You are at work. Give me perseverance to keep moving forward, knowing I am never alone. Amen.

Listen:

Isaiah 26:1-4

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;

God makes salvation

its walls and ramparts.

Open the gates

that the righteous nation may enter,

the nation that keeps faith.

You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

Consider:

When you Google the definition of stability, you get this: “the property of a body that causes it, when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion, to develop forces or moments that restore the original condition.” What? Constantly balancing all motions/all forces so that one single state of being can be maintained? That sounds impossible…and so I continued reading definitions.

Another simpler definition of stability is “the strength to stand or endure.”

We all find ourselves in places that are out of balance in life, perhaps from a diagnosis that was unexpected, a loss that shakes us to the core, or an expectation placed upon us that we cannot possibly achieve. On our own, with our own sensibilities and our own clouded lens of looking at the world, stability seems almost impossible most of the time, does it not? So our task is to broaden our view, and shore up our understanding of where our enduring strength and stability comes from.

In this Isaiah passage, we get a picture of a secure city—strong walls, firm foundations, gates open to those who have faith and trust in God’s unmovable nature. It’s a reminder that true stability doesn’t come from circumstances, resources, or our own strength. Stability is not the absence of storms, but the presence of a steady God in the midst of the storms. When our focal point is the foundation of a loving, unbreakable God, we hopefully find a sense of peace that circumstances cannot shake. Hope and trust in God doesn’t just clear our eyes; it stabilizes our steps in all the journeys of life.

Respond:

Take a moment to try to stand on one foot, or walk a thin line, or balance a book on your head…something that requires some stability in your body in order to accomplish. After trying it with no assistance, find something (or someone) to help steady your hand, your steps, your balance (maybe holding the book with two fingers on your head, balancing on one foot with a hand resting on a chair, etc.). This assistance doesn’t negate your ability to do the activity… it simply assists you in your journey. It allows you to feel more secure, more stable, more ready to succeed at the task. God is that sense of balance, that stability in the moments of life that throw us off completely. God is there, ready to offer a steady hand, a reassuring balance point for holding steady.

Pray:

Stay with us, God, in the grit and grind of life…stay close enough that your hope radiates into our very beings, that we may feel it, be warmed by it, and may build strength enough from it to warm others. Amen.

Listen:

Psalm 31:21-24

Praise be to the Lord,

for he showed me the wonders of his love

when I was in a city under siege.

In my alarm I said,

“I am cut off from your sight!”

Yet you heard my cry for mercy

when I called to you for help.

Love the Lord, all his faithful people!

The Lord preserves those who are true to him,

but the proud he pays back in full.

Be strong and take heart,

all you who hope in the Lord.

Consider:

Hope is sometimes a hard thing to catch hold of…especially when we are in the grips of the very human experience of LIFE! Hope feels like a fancy word we use to avoid talking about “real” stuff… but so many examples of scripture, as the Psalm above, point to that concept of HOPE being the very thing that offers courage and fortitude, even when seemingly “under siege.”

So what does that hope look like? What grit must our hope have to withstand the throws of life and human messiness all around us? Rachel Held Evans said “God invites us to take the risk of love.” I believe God also invites us to risk hoping…hope that we are not alone, even when it feels like it, hope that we are more than the sum of any failures we are counting, hope that we can see, feel, taste, touch, and smell the infinite love that a God who created us good has for each of us. From the beginning of human history, examples abound of faith, in hope, lifting people above and beyond the circumstance of a moment. (Perhaps google a few quotes of faith from those experiencing the Holocaust, or those in spaces of war). THAT is a hope only God can provide. And it is the very thing that will save us, again and again and again.

Respond:

Take a moment to list three things you struggle to see as hopeful in this moment/season of your life. Be honest with yourself as you assess those things you’ve carried without much hope of change, or pardon, or relief. Now, choose one, just one, to focus on finding space for hope today. How might you see the space for hope in this situation? What conversation might you have with God to express some of the fears around that situation which will open up some room for the courage to let hope grow?

Pray:

Stay with us, God, in the grit and grind of life…stay close enough that your hope radiates into our very beings, that we may feel it, be warmed by it, and may build strength enough from it to warm others. Amen.

Listen:

Psalm 42: 1-2, 4-8

Just like a deer that craves streams of water,

my whole being craves you, God.

My whole being thirsts for God, for the living God.

When will I come and see God’s face?

But I remember these things as I bare my soul:

how I made my way to the mighty one’s abode,[a]

to God’s own house,

with joyous shouts and thanksgiving songs—

a huge crowd celebrating the festival!

Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed?

Why are you so upset inside?

Hope in God!

Because I will again give him thanks,

my saving presence and my God.

My whole being is depressed.

That’s why I remember you

from the land of Jordan and Hermon,

from Mount Mizar.

Deep called to deep at the noise of your waterfalls;

all your massive waves surged over me.

By day the Lord commands his faithful love;

by night his song is with me—

a prayer to the God of my life.

Consider:

Many of us probably know the first two verses of this scripture from singing it… the deer in search of water, which is essential to life, is compared to how our very souls feel when searching for God’s presence in our lives, especially in those seasons of discouragement or loss or deep grief. This longing is not a sign of weakness, however, but in fact, it’s evidence that our hope is still alive. A thirsty soul is a hopeful soul!

In verses 4–8, the writer of this psalm struggles with the depths of grief, yet repeatedly reminds himself:

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Put your hope in God…”

Grief can feel overpowering. Sorrow has a way of building a narrative within our hearts that tells us we will never feel good again. The grip of those feelings can hold on tight. But practicing Hope as an active response can become just as powerful. Hope is not a fleeting emotion; it is an anchor—steady, firm, and holding us in place even when waves of life’s biggest struggles crash against us. An anchor doesn’t remove the storm; it holds you steady through it. Hope in God does the same. When our thoughts drift into fear, hope pulls us back. When sorrow rises, hope reminds us that we are never alone.

Respond:

Have you ever hoped for something so hard that nothing could stop you from dreaming, imagining, hoping for that thing (a gift as a child, a team win in college football, a trip to somewhere amazing)? Think back to how STRONGLY you held onto that hope, refusing to give it up because it meant something to you…what would it look like to put that level of gusto into the hope for the things unseen, unknown, and faith filled? Try a little gusto hoping today, see how you feel!

Pray:

Hopeful God, we are so grateful you do not grow weary…help us actively wait, even in our exhaustion, for that joy that is your presence in this world through Jesus. Amen.

Listen:

Isaiah 40:27-31

Why do you say, Jacob,

and declare, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord,

my God ignores my predicament”?

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the creator of the ends of the earth.

He doesn’t grow tired or weary.

His understanding is beyond human reach,

giving power to the tired

and reviving the exhausted.

Youths will become tired and weary,

young men will certainly stumble;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength;

they will fly up on wings like eagles;

they will run and not be tired;

they will walk and not be weary.

Consider:

Life can be exhausting…like REALLY exhausting. In the midst of long trials or crushing spiritual fatigue, we naturally ask, “Does God see me? Does God even care about my struggle?” This is a real and honest feeling we all have at times…and in these moments, it may feel difficult to turn to scripture and find relief, but the passage above actually hits at just that emotion.

In this passage, these very questions have been asked. (It would seem since the beginning of time, we have fallen into the thinking that God has forgotten us.) God’s response? Classic…a series of rhetorical questions, essentially saying, “Have you forgotten the fundamental truths you’ve been taught?” Three truths always remain: 1. God is eternal: no beginning, no end, no moment of absence in our lives. 2. God never grows weary: our exhaustion does not transfer to the God who is always there with us. 3. God’s wisdom is infinite: God doesn’t get muddled or confused as we do…God’s understanding has staying power.

Sometimes when it’s hard to hope, knowing there is a cheerleader who WON’T GIVE UP ON US gives that needed boost. That’s God…with God we will find the way to “run and not be tired.” What a gift!

Respond:

Individual: Waiting isn’t always a passive act…it is engaging in the action of hope if we look to waiting as the scripture explains. Take a moment to center yourself, feel grounded in the space you occupy in that moment, and practice “active waiting.” What is something, in that moment, you feel the action of hope for? What might you actively look toward to feel the sense of hope grow?

As a family: Do the centering activity above, but as a family, name one thing that has made you tired in the last week…then name one way you can shift the focus of that exhaustion toward active waiting and hope!

Pray:

Hopeful God, we are so grateful you do not grow weary…help us actively wait, even in our exhaustion, for that joy that is your presence in this world through Jesus. Amen.

Listen:

Hebrews 6:17-19

17 When God wanted to further demonstrate to the heirs of the promise that his purpose doesn’t change, he guaranteed it with a solemn pledge. 18 So these are two things that don’t change, because it’s impossible for God to lie. He did this so that we, who have taken refuge in him, can be encouraged to grasp the hope that is lying in front of us. 19 This hope, which is a safe and secure anchor for our whole being, enters the sanctuary behind the curtain.

Consider:

It is sometimes pretty hard to trust, isn’t it? The world doesn’t feel very trustworthy, and with the barrage of social media and the endless cycle of news (real or not), our hope and our trust have quite possibly been eroded more than we care to admit! So what is there to put our hope in? The answer seems simple…God! The writer of Hebrews writes of two unchangeable things: God’s purpose and God’s truth. It goes against the very nature of God for God to lie or for God’s purpose for us to change.

Our hope, therefore, is rooted in the fact that God cannot break God’s word. It is a strong encouragement, isn’t it, to know our security is tied to the absolute reliability of the Almighty.

The difficulty comes in our very human lens of seeing the world around us. We sometimes miss the many examples of God’s constant presence and unshakable trustworthiness. We see a marred image of God in the failings of ourselves or others, and often struggle to move past the frail vision of a broken humanity to see that God is still, and always will be, at work! But hope…that thing which won’t die in the face of fear, or distrust, or in the reality that we are not perfect. Hope is that thing that continues to reflect God’s character to us. Hope is the very thing that reminds us God is there!

When the waves of life crash against you, remember that your hope is not a fragile human emotion.. It is guaranteed by a God whose character is unshakable, unchanging, and bent toward love, every time.

Respond:

Individual: Make a short list of the hopes you are holding, right now, in your life that remind you to maintain that trust in the ever present God even in the midst of the “storms” of life. Take a moment to be thankful for the unwavering hope that comes from knowing God is always always present!

As a family: Write down 3 ways you’ve seen God “anchor” your family over the last year…perhaps it was in a person who helped during a difficult time, perhaps it was scripture that you went back to time and again. Take a moment to be thankful for the unwavering hope that comes from knowing God is always always present!

Pray:

Steadfast God, we cannot know what storms will hit us in our lives, but we are so grateful that our hope can lie in knowing you will never change in your love for us.

Amen.

Listen:

Romans 15:9-13

Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles,

and I will sing praises to your name.

And again, it says, Rejoice, Gentiles, with his people.

And again,

Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and all the people should sing his praises.

And again, Isaiah says,

There will be a root of Jesse,

who will also rise to rule the Gentiles.

The Gentiles will place their hope in him.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Consider:

Just prior to these verses in Romans, Paul begins describing God’s hope for the world — what, in Paul’s estimation, is God’s purpose for us human beings in the world and will we ever get there? What are we supposed to do now that Jesus has come to earth and changed everything?

Paul’s writing is never simple or as clear as we would like it to be in order to construct whole theologies off its back, but there are themes which recur over and over again in his writing. There are two important reminders in these verses for us today: First, God’s ultimate desire for humanity is to restore unity to the broken peoples on earth, and it’s our jobs as believers to go and do the work to make that happen. Second, you will never be able to accomplish that goal on your own.

Seems contradictory doesn’t it? Go out and do this job which you will never complete knowing that the world in all its brokenness will actively work against it. Who could blame you for going back to bed and reading a book instead?

Hope is God-powered and so is reconciliation. If we can dream, as Martin Luther King, Jr did, of a time when people will be accepted for the who God sees them to be and not what the world tells them they are, that dream is made possible because of God’s act of mercy and compassion that night in Bethlehem.

We only lose hope and energy for these acts of kindness and togetherness when we think it’s entirely dependent on our energy and ability. The one who is coming is faithful and merciful. Jesus comes to restore unity to the broken people on earth. He just asks us to jump on the train with him — and what could fill us with more excitement and hope than that!

Respond:

The devotion reminds us that our job is to work for unity, but the success of that work depends on God’s power, not our own exhaustion. Try this three-step process to “jump on the train” without carrying the weight of the engine:

* Identify the Gap: Think of one relationship in your life where there is tension, distance, or a lack of unity. It could be a coworker, a family member, or a neighbor you disagree with.

* Shift the Burden: Before you do anything, take a moment to consciously release the outcome. Acknowledge that you cannot “fix” this person or fully heal the situation on your own. You can even whisper: “God, this is Your work. I’m just jumping on Your train.”

* Make One Small Move: Perform one small, low-stakes act of kindness or connection toward that person today.

* Send a text wishing them a good week.

* Offer a genuine compliment.

* Drop off a small treat or card.

* Simply offer a warm smile if you see them.

The Goal: Do not try to resolve the entire conflict or “save” the relationship today. Just make one gesture that says, “I see you, and I am for you,” and trust God to handle the rest.

Pray:

God,

I confess that I often try to be the engine instead of just the passenger. I feel the weight of this broken situation, and I am tired of thinking I have to fix it all in my own strength.

Right now, I am shifting the burden of the outcome back to You.

Restoring unity is Your purpose and Your power, not mine. I will take this one small step of kindness today, but I leave the results entirely in Your hands.

Thank You for carrying the load so I can just enjoy the ride with You.

Amen

Listen:

Lamentations 3:21-23

The memory of my suffering and homelessness is bitterness and poison.

I can’t help but remember and am depressed.

I call all this to mind—therefore, I will wait.

Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!

They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

I think: The Lord is my portion! Therefore, I’ll wait for him.

Consider:

Lamentations is not one of the most popular books in the Bible. In fact, I don’t have any resources or books on my shelves about the book of Lamentations. I had to borrow one from the library in order to write this devotion.

It’s unpopular because who wants to listen to someone complain for five chapters, especially in ancient Hebraic poetry? Except by giving it less than it’s due, we miss an important and honest witness to our faith.

This 2500 years old poem is bumpy and inconsistent. It veers wildly from despondency to hope and back again. Its grammar is uneven and the meter unpredictable. Yet, this isn’t an accident of translation, but a purposeful style, reminding us when we face hard times, we can easily lose our balance, stumble, or collapse. Grief, despair, and stress cause us to lose our footing in more ways than one - and that is totally normal!

Which is why this book is so important. It’s an honest reflection of what it feels like to experience pain, stress, and loss. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once commented that “suffering is precisely the consciousness of contradiction.” In other words, part of what makes this stuff so hard is because it leaves us feeling unmoored from the solid ground on which we used to stand.

Lamentations is a book which is non-judgemental. It doesn’t tell you how to feel about God or tell you what you “ought” to be doing. Instead, it reflects what we really are like - confused, uncertain, angry, and in denial. And this feels contradictory to what we “should” be.

This verse gives you permission to stop “should”ing yourself and just allow yourself to be where you are today. This is a freedom and gift which recenters us. Lamenting is a holy act.

Respond:

Think about a current feeling, situation, or loss that leaves you feeling “unmoored” or contradictory. This could be an area of stress, grief, or confusion where what you think you should feel clashes with what you actually feel. On a piece of paper or in a note on your phone, write a short, honest lament. Do not filter it. Allow your writing to be “bumpy and inconsistent,” just like the poem described. Do not try to find a solution or a “should.” Just state the raw feelings—the confusion, the anger, the pain, or the uncertainty—and the contradiction you are experiencing. After you’ve finished, simply read what you wrote, acknowledging that this honest expression of your current state is a “holy act” and a form of recentering, giving yourself permission to stop worrying about the contradiction between what you feel and what you think you should be feeling.

Pray:

Dear God,

Thanks for the reminder that it’s okay to be a mess. Seriously.

Sometimes I feel like I have to have it all together, and I’m tired of “should-ing” myself. Life gets bumpy and things feel contradictory, and I lose my balance.

Help me lean into the honesty of how I actually feel today—confused, hopeful, angry, whatever it is. Give me permission to just be where I am right now.

I want my lamenting to be a holy act.

Amen.

Listen:

Romans 5:3-5

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Consider:

It’s easy to feel faithful and hopeful when life is smooth. The real test, the true refining process, comes when we are walking through hardship—when the path is unclear, the burdens are heavy, and discouragement is a constant companion. In these moments, we often try to force hope, chanting optimistic phrases while our hearts feel hollow.

But scripture teaches us a more profound truth: hope is formed, not forced.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-4, “...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Notice the order. Hope isn’t the starting line; it’s the beautiful, enduring product of a process. Our suffering isn’t wasted; it’s the environment in which our spiritual muscle—endurance—is built. This endurance refines our character, making us stronger, more compassionate, and more reliant on God.

God doesn’t send the suffering, but God can use the suffering to help reveal inner truths about ourselves and to clarify parts of our faith which may have been hidden before.

When you are in the middle of a trial, don’t worry about summoning an artificial feeling of hope. It’s ok to recognize the work which is happening in your heart. Instead, focus on the immediate, concrete action of staying faithful right where you are.

It’s ok even if your prayers are just raw whispers of frustration or pain. Maybe it’s continuing to do the next right thing, even if it’s small. Remind yourself to hold onto the core belief that God is good and God’s promises are true, even when they seem delayed.

It’s those moments of practice which help us grow stronger, more certain in our footing, and are the ones where we look backward into the past and remember the lessons we learned from the journey.

Respond:

What hardship are you enduring right now? How can you release the need to feel hopeful and instead focus on taking one small step of faithfulness today? Take one concrete action which reflects a way God has been with you in the past.

Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth that hope is formed. When hardship comes, help me stop forcing optimism. Instead, grant me endurance and the strength to stay faithful in the process. Refine my character, so the genuine, resilient hope You promise can be deeply formed within me. Amen.

Listen:

Psalm 131

My heart is not proud, Lord,

my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.

But I have calmed and quieted myself,

I am like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord

both now and forevermore.

Consider:

The height of media glory these days is the hot take. A hot take is a quick, in the moment take on an item of pop culture. And, with the rise of apps like Twitter and TikTok, the faster and more outlandish the response, the more responses and attention you seem to get.

It would be easy to imagine this phenomenon is confined to the kookier part of the internet, but it’s not. Hot take culture has infiltrated all corners of our world with immediate, extreme, and intense statements given primacy over thoughtful but time-delayed pieces. We seem to prefer quick, but wrong, information over slow, but more accurate, news.

All this fascination with speed leads to a culture of frenetic energy and anxious obsessions with what’s next. Just because we can do things faster doesn’t mean we should.

This Psalm asks us to resist this pull towards busyness and jam-packed weekly schedules in favor of a rested, studied calm. It turns out that slower, but consistent, is actually a much healthier and more productive way to go about life.

Calming and quieting ourselves is a central part of a healthy human existence - and it’s a faithful one. While God constantly speaks to our hearts, it is much harder to hear it when we don’t take the time to center and calm ourselves.

It’s an active choice to resist the lure and temptation of the quick and dirty in favor of the calm and reasoned life. The choice is the holiest one. So slow down. Check the news once a day. Take one item off your schedule. Spend five minutes in silence.

It’s ok to rest, be calm, and be at peace.

Respond:

Before you do anything else today, spend five minutes doing nothing. Don’t do a chore or even write anything down. Set a timer, walk to a window and just notice what you see. When the timer goes off, take inventory. How do you feel? Is it different from normal? More relaxed and focused, or distracted and frantic? Maybe try it again later in the day.

Pray:

Dear God, everything feels fast today. Please remind me to slow down my pace and my breathing. Help me be truly present in this exact moment, not rushed by the future. Quiet the noise in my head. Grant me the inner peace and calm I need right now. Amen.

Listen:

Romans 8:18-25

I consider our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Consider:

There is a difference between “hope” and Christian Hope. In our society we use the word hope to mean something like “I wish” or “wouldn’t it be nice if” — which all simply means we don’t really think it will happen because we only have so much control over the outcome and if we can’t make it happen, we don’t really trust it will happen. Once the possibility is out of our hands, we no longer believe it’s really possible.

Christian Hope is different because it isn’t based on a wish or a hope, but the eternal nature of God. It is nestled not in human hands or subjected to the whims and whirls of the broken creation, but instead carried forward by God into the future.

There are all kinds of reasons for us not to fully trust in that future. The messages of death and decay are more pervasive, more consistent, more believable than a distant promise we don’t feel like we can hold.

Romans remind us while suffering may be a part of life, Jesus’ death has redeemed that suffering, making it a part of God’s story too. And Jesus’ story doesn’t end in death, but in the resurrection. We not have seen the resurrection with our own eyes, but we have heard the stories, we have seen its impact, and we know how it shaped our lives. The resurrection is a bold claim of possibility and a reminder God can overcome even death itself.

Christian Hope looks past these temporary moments of pain to see into the future God has promised. It moves past the worries of today to become part of the ancient story. Christian Hope slips into the stream which flows into the future promises of God.

Respond:

Before you go to sleep tonight, write down one specific positive thing you are genuinely looking forward to accomplishing or experiencing tomorrow. This small act helps your focus toward a future possibility, anchoring your thoughts in anticipation and constructive planning rather than worry. Make a plan, maybe a few steps, to turn that hope into a reality which can be seen and felt.

Pray:

God of Light, thanks for the good stuff in my life, past and present. Help me remember those joyful times today. I’m choosing one bright memory now to tuck away. Please use it to remind me later that tough times don’t last. Keep hope strong in my heart, believing not in what can be seen today, but in what you promise for tomorrow. Amen.

Listen:

Jeremiah 3:6-14

During the rule of King Josiah, the Lord said to me: Have you noticed what unfaithful Israel has done? She’s gone about looking for lovers on top of every high hill and under every lush tree. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me, but she didn’t. Her disloyal sister Judah saw this. She also saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away with divorce papers because of all her acts of unfaithfulness; yet disloyal sister Judah was not afraid but kept on playing the prostitute. She didn’t think twice about corrupting the land and committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet even after all this, disloyal sister Judah didn’t return to me with all her heart but only insincerely, declares the Lord. Then the Lord said to me: Unfaithful Israel is less guilty than disloyal Judah.

Go proclaim these words to the north and say:

Return, unfaithful Israel,

declares the Lord.

I won’t reject you,

for I’m faithful,

declares the Lord;

I won’t stay angry forever.

Only acknowledge your wrongdoing:

how you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

and given yourself to strangers

under every lush tree

and haven’t obeyed me,

declares the Lord.

Return, rebellious children,

declares the Lord,

for I’m your husband.

I’ll gather you—

one from a city and two from a tribe—

and bring you back to Zion.

Consider:

I’ve watched my fair share of “end of the world” apocalypse movies. Whether the cataclysm is brought by zombies, aliens, disease or war, the hero of the movie is a fighter, a scrappy plumber or electrician or navy pilot who overcomes unimaginable odds to survive in the wrecked landscape. And maybe you’ve had a conversation with friends about how you’d survive such an event (and whether you’d even want to).

What’s always fascinated me about those movies is how surprised people seem to be when the inevitable destruction comes. You saw the news reports - they told you aliens were coming! What did you think was going to happen?

We protect ourselves from despair and heartbreak with the perfectly reasonable plan of ignoring it. Denial is a part of our emotional arsenal for a reason - It protects us from being overwhelmed by the possibility of all the terrible things which could maybe happen.

One of those inevitable life truths is bad things will happen to us. The world, the creation, the humans who live in it, we are all broken. The result of that brokenness is destruction. We can pretend it won’t happen, or at least won’t happen to us. But the hard truth is that hard times are part of our life cycle.

And believe it or not, that inevitability is part of the good news of God’s word to us. Hard times are a certainty, but goodness is also an inevitable part of life. When we are in the valleys of life, we can remember the mountaintops of the past as a guidepost for the future. The valley is not forever. We know it, because we look back and remember.

Respond:

Look back and remember your past. What times can you remember which have brought you joy and celebration? Write down or tell a friend about one of your favorite memories, then put it somewhere special where you can find it next time a down time comes.

Pray:

God of Light,

I ask for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit now, as I look back at my past.

Please help me clearly recall the times of great joy and celebration You have given me. Lead me to choose one favorite memory—a powerful reminder of Your goodness and faithfulness.

Give me the clarity to write it down and the wisdom to place this reminder somewhere special, so it can be a source of hope and light the next time I face a difficult season.

Thank You for the gift of these memories. Amen.

Listen:

Jonah 2:2-6

He said:

“In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,

and you listened to my cry.

You hurled me into the depths,

into the very heart of the seas,

and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers

swept over me.

I said, ‘I have been banished

from your sight;

yet I will look again

toward your holy temple.’

The engulfing waters threatened me,[a]

the deep surrounded me;

seaweed was wrapped around my head.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;

the earth beneath barred me in forever.

But you, Lord my God,

brought my life up from the pit.

Consider:

I’ve always struggled with the idea of Jonah and the Whale. Not the scientific reality of the possibility of a human being surviving in the belly of a whale for any length of time. What worried me instead was how cold and wet Jonah must have been. I realize a whale is probably pretty warm inside, but the mental picture has always been of a man with a blanket and trying to light a small fire inside the whale.

It sounds a little bit ridiculous when you think about the story this way, doesn’t it? After all, the story is about Jonah running away from God and being put into a very wet and smelly time out so he could learn his lesson. And, it is a very apt metaphor for the feeling we have of isolation when we feel like we are stuck, alone, in an ever-darkening pit.

We are not alone. Though there are stages of life where we are the only ones who can make a decision, who can put one foot in front of the other, who can decide how to cope with the cave which surrounds us, we are never as alone as we feel.

Jonah proclaims “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.” God always answers our cries for help. One of the best parts of being in a church community is there is always someone there to walk alongside us. There are always people who have walked this path before us. Someone else who has had to sign those papers or argue with the insurance company. Someone else who is transitioning into an empty next. There are always people who can put us in the right direction when we are ready to call out. I’ve lost track of the number of times someone has said, “wait — I know a guy.” And then off I go again.

You are not alone. You only have to stay huddled in the corner with a blanket as long as you need to in order to take the first step out of the mouth of the cave. And if you just need someone to sit with you by the fire, that person is there too. Just ask for help.

Respond:

The devotion emphasizes reaching out for help, but often the first step out of isolation is connecting with others by giving support. This shifts focus from your isolation to shared humanity. Find one small, manageable way to serve or connect with your community that requires minimal emotional risk but offers maximum presence. Sign up for a simple, one-time volunteer opportunity (like bringing a meal to someone who is sick, helping set up chairs at church, or calling an elderly relative/church member who might be lonely). This action puts you directly alongside others, proving you are not alone.

Pray:

God, thank you for reminding me that I am never alone.

When I feel stuck in the dark “cave,” give me the courage to open my mouth and call out—to you and to my community. Help me find that “I know a guy” person and give me the humility to accept the hand that reaches out to me. Strengthen my spirit to both ask for help and to offer support. Amen.

Listen:

Job 19:21-27

Pity me. Pity me. You’re my friends.

God’s hand has truly struck me.

Why do you pursue me like God does,

always hungry for my flesh?

Oh, that my words were written down,

inscribed on a scroll

with an iron instrument and lead,

forever engraved on stone.

But I know that my redeemer is alive

and afterward he’ll rise upon the dust.

After my skin has been torn apart this way—

then from my flesh I’ll see God,

whom I’ll see myself—

my eyes see, and not a stranger’s.

I am utterly dejected.

Consider:

Job is throwing himself a pity party. He’s invited all of his friends over for the day, then ripped his clothes, started weeping and screaming, and then sat down in ashes, which is the ancient equivalent of one of those tiktok videos of people crying when something bad happens on their favorite TV show. He was miserable and he wanted everyone to know and to bear witness to his pain and loss. It was a grade-A pity party.

Except Job had every reason to feel sad and lost, to grieve the very real tragedies which had entered his life. When he asked for help, his friends only made it worse, telling him the events which had befallen him were all his fault. His friends told him he deserved God’s punishment and, coincidentally, he was also responsible for the fact nothing had gotten better. “If you’d just stop sitting around feeling sorry for yourself,” they seem to say, “maybe you wouldn’t be so miserable.”

Job hit rock bottom. His present life was a complete disaster. There was no good news on the horizon, no reason for him to hope.

Except he knew something his friends didn’t know. God wasn’t punishing him — he hadn’t done anything to deserve this pain and he couldn’t do anything about making it go away faster.

When life feels overwhelming and the grief or anger holds us down, or when overwhelm feels insurmountable and we are covered in ashes, Job shows it’s ok to feel a little sorry for ourselves. And, it’s the holy act of self-pity which leads us to the truth of our circumstance. Yes — everything is bad right now.

And that is all you need to say in order for hope to leak in around the edges. This is the truth — and now that I’ve owned and acknowledged the truth I am ready to look up and take a shower so the ashes wash away.

Respond:

What one thing are you worried about today?

Name it aloud. Maybe write it down so you can see it and make it more concrete. Worries and pain are much smaller when they have a name. Maybe revisit it a few times today and ask yourself, “How do I feel about this right now? How long will this last? How much of my life is affected by its outcome?”

Then, at the end of today, throw it away so hope can creep in tomorrow.

Pray:

Hey God,

Thanks for letting me just be honest with You. I’m feeling (name your feeling: frustrated, tired, worried, etc.) and sometimes I don’t even know why. Help me be honest about what’s going on in my heart, even the messy stuff. Give me peace right now and help me move forward.

Amen.

Listen:

Psalm 13:1-2, 5-6

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing the Lord’s praise,

for he has been good to me.

Consider:

The book of Psalms gives us unfiltered access to the heart of King David—a shepherd, a warrior, and a king—who was also a man deeply acquainted with fear, persecution, and personal failure. What makes the Psalms so profoundly moving and relatable is not the polished piety, but the sheer, raw honesty of his despair.

David does not hesitate to shout his darkest thoughts to the heavens. He asks, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). He feels abandoned, surrounded by enemies, his bones out of joint, and his strength dried up (Psalm 22). These psalms of lament give us permission to feel the full weight of our circumstances and to bring our pain, frustration, and even anger directly to God.

Yet, nearly every one of these desperate cries contains a profound pivot point. It is the moment David chooses to stop looking at his circumstances and starts looking at his God of love and promise. Even when he cannot feel God’s presence, he chooses to remember God’s character.

Consider Psalm 42, which begins with the soul panting for God like a deer for water. After sinking into deep questions (”Why have you forgotten me?”), David pivots and commands his own spirit: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5).

This pattern—Lament, Remember, Trust—is the blueprint for our faith. David models that trust is not the absence of despair, but the conscious, willed decision to anchor our hope in the unwavering faithfulness of God, even when the immediate storm rages. He teaches us that we can lay down our darkest fears knowing the final word belongs to the God of salvation, ending every despairing prayer with a declaration of future praise.

Respond:

Write your own “pivot” as David did in the Psalms. First, write out one honest lament—your specific worry or “How long, O Lord?” question. Immediately following this, write down three unchanging attributes of God you know to be true, regardless of your feelings today. Ask yourself, how do these attributes of God help me reshape how I approach the issue I lament?

Pray:

Lord, when my worries feel overwhelming, I bring my honest lament to you. I choose to remember your unchanging nature: you are faithful, powerful, and good. Help me pivot my gaze from my despair to your truth. Anchor my soul in your character so I may hope and find my song of praise again. Amen.

Listen:

1 Kings 19:1-9

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how he had killed all Baal’s prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if by this time tomorrow I haven’t made your life like the life of one of them.”

Elijah was terrified. He got up and ran for his life. He arrived at Beer-sheba in Judah and left his assistant there. He himself went farther on into the desert a day’s journey. He finally sat down under a solitary broom bush. He longed for his own death: “It’s more than enough, Lord! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” He lay down and slept under the solitary broom bush.

Then suddenly a messenger tapped him and said to him, “Get up! Eat something!” Elijah opened his eyes and saw flatbread baked on glowing coals and a jar of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then went back to sleep. The Lord’s messenger returned a second time and tapped him. “Get up!” the messenger said. “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.” Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

Consider:

I think Snickers made the most honest advertisement in recent years. You know the ones, where various people are embodied by angry celebrities being incredibly angry only for one of their friends to offer them a Snickers, followed by the previously angry person turning into their totally chill friend. It even added a word to our vocabulary - hangry.

There is a deep truth hidden behind the glossy finish of the commercial. We are not ourselves when we are overwhelmed by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Grief, loss, fear, worry, the never ending task lists, and all those holiday responsibilities weigh on our shoulders until we aren’t so much enjoying ourselves and this festive season as marching from one responsibility to another. Shouldn’t this season of joy be joyful?

Elijah found himself in some hot water, and so ran as far away as possible in the other direction, only to discover the desert was much better. He was tired, hungry, cold, and tired of putting one foot in front of the other. God’s prescription? Eat some food, drink some water, take a nap. In other words, it’s ok to take a break.

When we find ourselves feeling more anger than joy, more pain than anticipation, more dread the hope, it is time to take a break. Eat some of those cookies you’ve baked. It is ok to skip the holiday party to take a nap. Taking a break for ourselves is also holy.

Respond:

Identify one task or responsibility that is causing you stress or draining your joy. If possible, your first choice should be to delegate the task to someone else or postpone it until the New Year. If the task absolutely must be done, schedule a 15-minute “Holy Pause” immediately before you begin it, using this time to eat a snack, drink water, or simply rest without screens. Recognize taking care of your current self is part of your holy responsibility, and note how this pause affects your energy and attitude toward the task.

Pray:

Lord, when I feel overwhelmed help me embrace the Holy Pause. Give me the wisdom to delegate what I can and the discipline to rest before I begin. May I see this act of self-care not as weakness, but as a sacred choice that restores my joy and strength for your work. Amen.

Listen:

1 Samuel 1:9-20

One time, after eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah got up and presented herself before the Lord. (Now Eli the priest was sitting in the chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.) Hannah was very upset and couldn’t stop crying as she prayed to the Lord. Then she made this promise: “Lord of heavenly forces, just look at your servant’s pain and remember me! Don’t forget your servant! Give her a boy! Then I’ll give him to the Lord for his entire life. No razor will ever touch his head.”

As she kept praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah was praying in her heart; her lips were moving, but her voice was silent, so Eli thought she was drunk.

“How long will you act like a drunk? Sober up!” Eli told her.

“No sir!” Hannah replied. “I’m just a very sad woman. I haven’t had any wine or beer but have been pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think your servant is some good-for-nothing woman. This whole time I’ve been praying out of my great worry and trouble!”

Eli responded, “Then go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you’ve asked from him.”

“Please think well of me, your servant,” Hannah said. Then the woman went on her way, ate some food, and wasn’t sad any longer.

Consider:

The story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 offers a profound lesson on authentic prayer. We meet her at a moment of deep, personal anguish: “Hannah was very upset and couldn’t stop crying as she prayed to the Lord.” Her prayer wasn’t a rehearsed petition; it was the raw, unrestrained outpouring of a broken soul. She wept so fiercely and silently that Eli the priest mistook her for a drunkard.

This awkward encounter highlights a crucial truth: God isn’t looking for polished language or perfect performance. He desires honesty. When confronted, Hannah didn’t apologize for her intensity. She simply declared, “I haven’t had any wine or beer but have been pouring out my heart to the Lord.” She gave God her great worry and trouble—the unfiltered contents of her wounded heart.

This is the power of the God of Love, stripping away the face we wear in the world. When we pour out our hearts, we step into the presence of a God who sees, remembers, and cares.

The immediate result of this honesty was not the fulfillment of her vow, but peace. The text says, “Then the woman went on her way, ate some food, and wasn’t sad any longer.” Hannah found relief before the promise was fulfilled, secured by the simple act of laying her sorrow at the Lord’s feet. When you feel overwhelmed, remember Hannah’s example. Bring your tears, your worry, and your raw, unedited heart to the Lord. He is waiting to receive it and exchange your sorrow for peace.

Respond:

Today, commit to a “Raw Prayer.” Find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Don’t start with formal addressing or polished phrases. Begin immediately by naming the heaviest burden on your heart right now, using blunt, honest language. Don’t worry about being grateful or even faithful during this time. Tell God exactly what you are worried about, what you are frustrated by, or where you feel forgotten. If you are angry, say you are angry. If you feel hopeless, tell God that. Conclude the prayer by saying, “Lord, I have poured out my heart to you. I choose to trust that you see and remember my pain.”

Pray:

Lord, I bring my true, unedited heart to you right now. I feel the weight of what it carries. I confess my frustration, my worry, and the parts of my life where I feel completely stuck. Thank you for not needing me to be strong or polished. I trust that you see me, you remember me, and you will exchange my burdens for your lasting peace. Amen.

Listen:

2 Samuel 12:15-23

The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne for David, and he became very sick. David begged God for the boy. He fasted and spent the night sleeping on the ground. The senior servants of his house approached] him to lift him up off the ground, but he refused, and he wouldn’t eat with them either.

On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child had died. “David wouldn’t listen to us when we talked to him while the child was still alive,” they said. “How can we tell him the child has died? He’ll do something terrible!”

But when David saw his servants whispering, he realized the child had died.

“Is the child dead?” David asked his servants.

“Yes,” they said, “he is dead.”

Then David rose from the ground, bathed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He entered the Lord’s house and bowed down. Then he entered his own house. He requested food, which was brought to him, and he ate.

“Why are you acting this way?” his servants asked. “When the child was alive, you fasted and cried and kept watch, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat food!”

David replied, “While the child was alive I fasted and wept because I thought, Who knows? The Lord may have mercy on me and let the child live. But he is dead now. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? No. I am going where he is, but he won’t come back to me.”

Consider:

Finality can be unbearable, but it can also be a blessing. As much as we don’t want to wait, we really don’t want to wait when the answer is uncertain. When hope lives in our hearts, when healing is a possibility or for the potential turn-around remains in the backs of our minds, “What might be” can turn into a double-edged sword of both uplifting lightness and heavy handed dread. Standing by the side and waiting is hardest when the diagnosis is maybe. Somehow, no is easier to take.

David finds himself by the bedside of a beloved child in an age where monitors didn’t hum or beep, temperatures were taken with the back of a hand, and doctors were more wish casters than professionals with training which could help. So waiting by the bed is a time of cruel hope. Maybe he’d get better like he had so many times before. Maybe this is the fever which finally takes him. I wonder what David would have done for some fever-reducing medication and a cold compress?

This is called anticipatory grief. It’s those times when you start feeling sad and preparing for the loss of someone you love who is very sick or when you know a big change or separation is coming soon. It’s the pain we feel before the dreaded moment comes.

And, as David witnesses, this kind of grief can be a gift because when you can then meet the inevitable loss with something more like peace and thankfulness the time of pain has ended. It doesn’t make the change any easier, it just shifts it to different parts of our hearts. And when that time of transition comes, we are more settled then we might have been.

Uncertainty, even when there’s hope, is painful. When the resolution comes, then we find our promised place of peace.

Respond:

Make the possibilities swirling around in your heart more concrete. First, write down all the possible futures which you can envision. Then, identify the most likely outcome. Finally, quickly list three specific aspects of those future narratives that are now impossible. Fold and set that list aside to physically symbolize releasing yourself from that lost path.

Pray:

God of Certainty, we ache in the cruel space of anticipatory grief, where hope and dread cut like a double-edged sword. It is the “maybe” weighing us down, the uncertainty which steals our peace more fiercely than a final “no.”

We pray for strength as we stand vigil by the bedside of possibility. Like David, we long for relief from the painful anticipation.

When the time of transition comes, grant us the blessing of knowing it is over, and the only way forward is through. Help us find not ease, but a quiet peace and thankfulness the long time of cruel hope has ended. Settle our hearts, Lord, so we may meet the inevitable with grounded grace. Amen.

Listen:

Job 29:1-6; 42:4-5a, 11

Job took up his subject again:

Oh, that life was like it used to be,

like days when God watched over me;

when his lamp shone on my head,

I walked by his light in the dark;

when I was in my prime;

when God’s counsel was in my tent;

when the Almighty was with me,

my children around me;

when my steps were washed with cream and a rock poured out pools of oil for me.

You said, “Listen and I will speak; I will question you and you will inform me.” My ears had heard about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

All his brothers, sisters, and acquaintances came to him and ate food with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him concerning all the disaster the Lord had brought on him.

Consider:

Silence.

It’s the silence.

When I sit down with folks who are grieving - or anticipating grief which is to come - it’s always the silence which worries them most. You’d think it would be the big events their loved one will miss out on. All the graduations and dance recitals, the weddings and birthdays, all those events which make up our lives.

But it turns out those are the moments which bring the most pain. Some bittersweet smiles and a pang of loss, sure. That’s pretty normal on the big days. But the moments which cause real pain, which bring grief most to the front, which makes it alive a real and present again? It’s always the little ones.

It’s always the small moments which had become routine. When you wake up and the pillow next to you is cold. When you make just enough coffee for one. When you watch a TV show, but don’t have anyone to point out how the team could have called a different play, who patiently nods and listens then returns to their book.

It’s those moments where grief is the most real. In Job’s story, every moment brought flashes of grief and loss and pain. So he turns to God and asks for relief, some respite from his loneliness, a break in the silence.

In response, God sends over Job’s friends with a casserole and some really warm, crusty bread. They can’t take the pain away entirely, but they can for those moments and hours break the silence. It doesn’t take any training or expertise. Just the presence of a friend so the loneliness floats away for a time, where you can remember what it is to be part of a whole.

And for that moment, the silence doesn’t win. It is sent away for the night and the comfort of companionship is welcomed in. It only takes a phone call and a friend.

Respond:

Who can you call today? Maybe it’s a friend in need of comfort or you asking for someone else’s time, but make a connection with someone else. Be brave and make the call. You’ll feel better after it’s done!

Pray:

Holy God, Source of all Comfort, we acknowledge the profound weight of grief felt not just in grand events, but in the small, empty routines of daily life.

We lift up those whose mornings are now marked by a cold pillow, whose hands pour just one cup of coffee, and whose evenings lack the familiar presence of a loved one. It is in these moments—the silent, routine ones— loneliness threatens to become absolute.

We thank You for the truth found in Your response to Job: companionship is a sanctuary. We pray for the friends and compassionate souls You send—the ones who arrive not with perfect wisdom, but with simple, warm offerings like bread and a willingness to sit.

Give us the grace to be those friends. May we have the humility to know we cannot erase the pain, but the courage to show up. Help us break the terrible power of the silence with our simple presence, reminding the grieving they are part of a whole.

Where silence screams, let our love offer hope. May our companionship provide the necessary respite until the dawn. Amen.

Listen:

Exodus 19:7-11

So Moses came down, called together the people’s elders, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. The people all responded with one voice: “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” Moses reported to the Lord what the people said.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m about to come to you in a thick cloud in order that the people will hear me talking with you so that they will always trust you.”

Moses told the Lord what the people said, and the Lord said to Moses: “Go to the people and take today and tomorrow to make them holy. Have them wash their clothes. Be ready for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai for all the people to see.”

Consider:

Preparing is an essential part of active waiting…God is not particularly veiled in this passage about what God asks Moses to tell the people to do in preparation for God’s coming. There are very specific preparations to be made in the period between God speaking to Moses and God appearing to the people.

What moments have you experienced when waiting involved active preparation? Did the time of waiting feel more meaningful to you because the waiting had some activity to it? During this time of Advent waiting, what ACTIVE waiting and preparation activities can you engage in to practice the discipline of being aware all through the waiting? (Hint hint…this daily devotion is a sure fire example of one way). Action can look very still…it can very simply be a sense of awareness that in the time of waiting, things move along still.

Respond:

Individual: Breath Prayers are an excellent way to do a quick centering/awareness check in the busyness of any day. It only involves a simple phrase on the inhale, and a simple responsive phrase on the exhale. Simple as it seems, it can usher in a sense of presence, awareness, and preparation for the waiting in most any situation. Give it a try!

Family: As a family, make a daily plan for the next 5 days…what is something you can do (keep it simple) each day to maintain the joy of ACTIVE waiting on Christmas, be it through reading an extra bit of scripture each night, bake cookies for different neighbors/friends/folks who need extra love. What active waiting/preparing can you do for your hearts to be more ready to receive the joyful gift of Christmas day when it comes? (doing for others is ALWAYS a good option!)

Pray:

God of stillness and activity, be present in both for us, so that we may see the holy in each. Guide us toward the joy of actively waiting for what’s next as we seek your will. Amen.

Listen:

Isaiah 40:3-7, 9-11

A voice is crying out: “Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God!

Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be flattened. Uneven ground will become level, and rough terrain a valley plain.

The Lord’s glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together; the Lord’s mouth has commanded it.”

Go up on a high mountain, messenger Zion! Raise your voice and shout, messenger Jerusalem! Raise it; don’t be afraid; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Here is the Lord God, coming with strength, with a triumphant arm, bringing his reward with him and his payment before him.

Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock; he will gather lambs in his arms and lift them onto his lap. He will gently guide the nursing ewes.

Consider:

As the song goes, the waiting is the hardest part. Whether it’s waiting for the good news of new life (and the months of anticipation which come along with it) or waiting for the diagnosis which means obstacles to come, it’s the waiting which is the hardest part. The long drive to the office. The time sitting in hard chairs, which promises comfort but doesn’t provide it. The watching for tell-tale signs on the doctor’s face so you can just, for the love of God, have an answer already! We can handle whatever answer is to come, whatever steps we have to take, but the waiting, the wondering, that is agonizing and paralyzing.

Judging by the honking cars behind me at a stop light, the last thing we want to do is wait.

Isaiah promised the exiles and outcasts of Israel a new, more hopeful future. This promise told of a time when God’s would be fully in control, the path easy, the way straight, and all creation at peace. For those trying to make the best of life in Babylon, this promise was refreshing and life-giving.

But then, Isaiah drops the bad news. This time you have been looking towards? This future which lies ahead of you? You can’t have it. Not yet. This time will come in the lives of your children or your children’s children. Maybe not even until many generations have come and passed away. Here is the future you want - and the God who fulfills all promises has told you it will come - but you can’t have it. Not yet.

Not yet.

And so we wait. Maybe the task for us in waiting is to acknowledge that it just stinks. It’s the worst. Maybe today we just acknowledge that we don’t like this waiting thing very much. We don’t want to be patient. We don’t want to live with this nervous ball in the pit of our stomachs. We want the future we were promised, and we want it now.

But today, we wait. And maybe, just for today, we are honest about how little we want to wait.

Respond:

Set a timer for five minutes. During this time, actively engage in a single, small, physical task you can complete right now, like cleaning one kitchen counter, folding a single sweater, or organizing one drawer. The goal is to create a small, tangible win to counteract the paralyzed feeling of waiting. When the timer goes off, stop and return to the waiting, having anchored yourself in immediate, manageable reality.

Pray:

God of Time, we come to You confessing the agony of the waiting. It is harder than the answer itself. We hate the nervous knot in our stomachs, the paralyzing uncertainty, and the persistent “Not Yet” denying us our promised future.

Forgive our impatience; we do not want to be patient.

Grant us the grace to simply be honest today. Let us acknowledge how much this waiting stinks. And in that honesty, anchor us. Help us take the next single step, trusting that even in this unwelcome pause, You hold the straight path. Sustain us, Lord, as we wait.

Amen.

Listen:

Matthew 25:1-13

At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Now five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps but didn’t bring oil for them. But the wise ones took their lamps and also brought containers of oil.

“When the groom was late in coming, they all became drowsy and went to sleep. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the groom! Come out to meet him.’

“Then all those bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. But the foolish bridesmaids said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have gone out.’

“But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘No, because if we share with you, there won’t be enough for our lamps and yours. We have a better idea. You go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were gone to buy oil, the groom came. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding. Then the door was shut.

“Later the other bridesmaids came and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us.’

“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore, keep alert, because you don’t know the day or the hour.

Consider:

Waiting is hard…so often we don’t really want to have to wait, we don’t actually prepare for the wait, do we? The whole concept of “hurry up and wait” is a cliche because none of us actually want to do the waiting. In a world of 20 second tik tok reels and instant gratification shipping in 2 days or less, we can’t find a way to still ourselves, fully prepare ourselves for a waiting time. At the very least we show up with less patience, less awareness, less fortitude that is generally required in “waiting well.” (we show up with not enough oil for our lamps!!) So, what does wise waiting look like What preparations can you make when you know you’re entering a period of unanswered waiting? What might it look like to show up fully prepared for the waiting? Remember, sometimes the waiting results in something bigger, more powerful, more meaningful that we ever imagined! To use another cliche…sometimes, it’s worth the wait!

Respond:

Individual: Do you remember how exciting the week before your birthday used to be? Or perhaps Christmas? Think back to a time when the excitement of what was to come was something joyful! Or perhaps, do you remember having to wait on that flu shot that you REALLY didn’t want to get? Think on the excitement, or perhaps anxiety, of that waiting, and think about how you would encourage courage, or calm, to that once upon a time child while waiting for that next thing. What would you say to your young self? How might those words apply today?

Family: Talk about a time when you had to wait for something big…a trip, a gift, a party, something that felt BIG in your family world. How did the waiting change the experience itself (if at all?) What things did you do to practice patience or stay calm during the wait? Was the waiting worth the end result?

Pray:

God, we feel tugged to slow down and hurry up at the same time. Waiting without knowing what’s next feels impossible. Give us pause enough to breathe in the calmness of a moment spent waiting, and the excitement of knowing that your gifts are “worth the wait.”

Amen

Listen:

Exodus 14:17-22

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”

After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Consider:

Waiting…who wants to do that? Particularly waiting while also anticipating something! We do not live in a culture where waiting on something, bad OR good, is celebrated. We want the answer/the solution/the excitement now, or yesterday, and we want to know EXACTLY how things are going to go before we can settle into any sort of waiting pattern. Waiting. Is. Hard.

But guess what? The bible is filled with example after example of people waiting (sometimes faithfully, a lot of times, with some complaint involved). At every turn, God provides context to the waiting, help in the waiting, and ways of faithful response while in the waiting period.

What type of “waiting” do you see/sense in today’s scripture? What clues (obvious or not) does God provide of God’s presence in this moment for the Israelites?

Respond:

Is there something you’ve been waiting on recently? How have you found yourself waiting? (anxiously? calmly? angrily? joyfully?) Have you felt God’s presence in your waiting at any point? Take a moment (or 5) today to sit with your feelings around waiting, and see where God just might be offering you a “pillar” of guidance.

Pray:

God, we know that waiting is hard because we want the answers. We want to KNOW. We want a guarantee of success. We want to see how it turns out before we begin.

Help us to wait with patience, but also with a readiness that when the waiting period ends, we may go.

Join us. Sit with us. Be with us in the waiting. Amen.