I’m sure I overheard my dentist humming that wonderful old hymn ‘Crown Him With Many Crowns’ as I was led into his cubicle, to be parked in a reclining chair with all kinds of lights and gadgets looming overhead and to my side. Yes, to the chair…for yet another expensive dental procedure. One of many over the years. Can’t count that high. Someone has said this– be true to your teeth or they’ll be false to you! I have all my own. Sort of. Amalgams count, don’t they?

However, after all these infernal visits, I have almost no fear of the dentist. Drilled it out of me years ago. Literally. The cavities are plugged along with the old mercury fillings blasted out. Root canal topped up and sealed off. Crowns for more than the monarchs of Europe. The only gaping holes can be found lurking in our checking account.

Let me say that I really like my dentist. He’s a perfectionist with a very kind touch. Won’t let me go until whatever needs doing has been completed and to my satisfaction. I trust him. Hence the fear factor largely evaporates.

Reminds me of Jesus, who urges this–‘Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11: 28-30). Can you think of a more promising and desirable invitation? We, who are weighted down with whatever, find a helper in Jesus. He’ll take our burdens off our shoulders and place them squarely on His own. What we’re welded to, He’ll break us loose from.

And then we’ll find that hanging around with our Lord Jesus is way over the top–loving, forgiving, filling us with life like we’ll find absolutely nowhere else. His promises are as good as gold fillings and even more so.

Read those verses in Matthew 11 again, and see if they don’t put a zip in your step, a spring in your stride, and a smile on your face while putting fears in your rearview mirror. Gaze forward, knowing who leads the way, never leaving you in the lurch. You know who that is, don’t you?

‘Come to me…’ says Jesus. Bonding with our Lord is better than dental cement. Sin’s decay gets drilled away forever. Cuddle up a little closer. Take His hands, and have a seat. Relax. Fear not.

Now admit it, that was nothing like pulling teeth, was it?

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my best friend forever. Amen.

What do you do when you’re up against some real trouble in life? Fight, flee, or bury your head in the sand? My first response is to fret, working myself into a lather over and over again adding insult to injury. Worries get bigger with consequences more disastrous. Maybe this makes me a fighter? Worry won’t let me flee or play make-believe dreaming that nothing rotten has happened. So I wrestle, spar, and poke at whatever is bothering me.

Still, what to do? Often I haven’t a clue. Which direction to turn in. When in a toxic church fight, it was flight that took me far away from this poisonous malignancy. I hadn’t a clue what to do. Prayers were mixed with gut-wrenching jitters coupled with pins-and-needle anxious tremors. Tomorrow looked bleak. The day after only worse. For that’s how it felt.

Biblical Judah’s good king Jehoshaphat faces foreign enemies on all sides. The Bible says that this mighty king was filled with fear (2 Chron. 20: 3). But that’s not all. He comes before his Lord God, seeking help and guidance. Fierce adversaries gang up on Judah.

What to do? Where to turn? The king shows the way–seek help from the Lord God. Pray your heart out. Express your fears to Him. Hold nothing back. Try not to have boomerang prayers where worry circles overhead only to come crashing back on your anxious mind (as I do too often). Here’s what Jehoshaphat prays–‘We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you’ (2 Chron. 20: 12).

When it’s confusion time in the old town tonight, love on your Lord God big time. Jehoshaphat doesn’t know what to do but he knows where to look. Get an eyeful in your Bible. There you’ll gaze upon the beauty of Jesus, and the glory of the Father along with the good counsel of the Holy Spirit. Zero in on your Lord God. And thank Him for whatever help He has in mind for you. Wait on Him. Trust Jesus as best you can, as fallible as we are. Me especially. 

And then watch and see how the Lord acts on your behalf. That’s what to do.

Thank you, Jesus, for all your goodness, warmth, and love for me. Amen.

I try not to take for granted God’s forgiveness of my sins. As if He owes me. I’ve got Him where I want Him. Know God’s weak spot and I run with it taking advantage of His generosity. No, not at all. For I’m wary of sin and its consequences. Of living more for me, I, and myself than for Him.  So, I buck up and confess, asking the Lord to keep me sensitive to my weak spots. Where I slide off His path too easily, keeping me closer by His side. 

What helps me is reading John 13, which tells of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. You’d think it would be the other way around. But it isn’t. Foot washing is a humble act that is performed by a lowly household servant. Here Jesus does the washing, demonstrating that He’s there to help, to cleanse, and to renew those who truly follow Him. Jesus cares so much for His own. For me and you. He’ll stoop to His knees to lift us up, keeping us close by Him.

What happens after that foot-washing ceremony? A sad moment ensues. One that’s been in the works for a while. An apostle, Judas Iscariot, has been quietly troubled by what’s been going on. Maybe he’s disappointed with Jesus and the lack of a violent overthrow of Roman domination. Who knows? We do know that his hand has been in the till. A thief and a traitor, whose conscience becomes numb and dull. But whatever the reasons, he betrays Jesus.

After washing all the apostle’s feet, even Judas’, the moment of treachery commences. This duplicitous apostle dips his morsel of bread and is told by Jesus to leave and do his dirty work. Immediately, the betrayer slithers out entering the long night of darkness.

What grabs me in this story is that Jesus washes Judas’ feet. He’s one of the twelve. He eyeballs Judas, washing his feet. Could this be one last chance to right the wrong he’s planning? With all the rotten things Judas has done and will do, might there be another chance to repent? To confess? To get right with God? But Judas doesn’t budge. Never wavers. Singlemindly hell-bent. 

As long as our hearts haven’t gotten hard as cement, as they had for Judas, there’s an opportunity to come back to Jesus. To be faithful to Him again. To stop ignoring God. To align yourself with Him no matter what, even when family and friends try to push and pull you in ungodly directions. Even then. Especially then. To have our feet washed by the Master, so to speak. For we’re determined never, ever to walk away from Him no matter what. 

How about it?

Thank you, Jesus, for loving and forgiving me. Amen.

It’s futile trying to prove to a skeptic that God is real and active in your life. Few in this so-called ‘settled science’ era will give you an inch with your witness for Jesus. They’ll demand proof positive, which I have little to give. But so what? Neither can they substantiate beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m not in a relationship with God. I throw it back at them. The ball is in their court. 

I remember attending a weekly pastor’s Bible study when a liberal minister bellows a loud poo-pooing at that morning’s reading from the Gospel of John. He’s dogmatic. His way or the highway. He has no time for giving the Bible the final say. He knows best. Truth in the Bible? Not on his watch. 

That’s when I open my mouth (yes, as big as it is, thank you!) and offer an alternative explanation, giving the Bible the benefit of the doubt. What? How dare I? Challenge his truth? Up he jumps, throws his chair against the breakfast table, and marches out in a huff you could feel all the way across town. How dare I question his genius. He never came back. 

I know that God is at work. Not only in my life or where I live, but everywhere. Always has been and always will be. No doubt about that in my mind. Jesus loves me this I know. How do I know? For the Bible tells me so. That’s where. Exactly where. Again, where? The Bible. 

I’ve decided to follow Jesus as it’s laid out for me in God’s Word. Do I understand everything? Not bothered by some doubts and questions? I wish. It’s only human to wonder and have some uneasiness about eternal things this side of heaven. Likewise, do I grasp how electricity works? Or how a plane can fly? Yeah, right! But uncertainty doesn’t hold me back from plugging in this computer or flying off for a brief holiday cruise with family this week. 

Take a gander at Psalm 77: 19. The writer Asaph praises the Lord for all He does in the Exodus event when God liberates His people from slavery in Egypt. Asaph says this–‘Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.’ Notice that last phrase–‘…your footprints were unseen.’ God acts even though I can’t see it directly. Again, no proof positive. So what? Too bad, so sad. I’m learning to live without direct, hands-on verification. Plain and simple, that’s called faith.  

Remember that someday believers will see Jesus face to face (1 Cor. 13: 12). Faith will no longer be needed. All the unexplained will be explained. The unseen will be seen as clear as a bell. Our questions will be clarified. Doubts will disappear. Or maybe it won’t matter in the sweet by-and-by? Who cares anymore about all my questions when I’m gazing lovingly at the face of Jesus in Paradise?

So, don’t worry about proving your faith. That’s an oxymoron, no offense! Trust and obey for there really is no other way that I’ve either tried or heard of. Rely on the only totally reliable One. After all, who needs more when we have Jesus and His Word? I don’t. Do you?

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being real to me. Enlarge my faith and help me to share you with others. In your name. Amen.