Usually, it takes only an occasional reassuring word to lift my day. An encouraging e-mail thanking me for what I’ve written. I don’t get tons of feedback from readers. A good thing? Could be. Keeps me grounded and off my high horse! Anyway, I don’t need ego-boosting backslapping.

I know the Lord wants me to keep at it. ‘Write for me’ was what I heard inaudibly, in the back of my mind, driving across the great state of Texas in early 2014, just weeks after retiring from my last church. Though different from what I had been doing, the Lord had more for me to do. As in what you’re reading right now!

But on rare occasions, my confidence flags and withers. I ask myself, ‘Does anyone really care?. ‘All for nothing?’ Maybe I just thought I’d heard from the Lord. Or was it too much TexMex food eaten at a waterfront restaurant along the Riverwalk in San Antonio? That yummy bean-laden grub can back up on me something fierce.

Here’s a most uplifting verse from the Bible–‘For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation’ (Ps. 149:4). Those words were like a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade on a blistering hot and humid Texas day!

Those few words, easily memorized even by me, tell us that our Lord not only likes us but takes pleasure in knowing us, and having a relationship with you and me. Is that even possible? Really? Truly!

Usually, I don’t like to get technical in these weekly devotionals, sounding scholastic and heady, certainly less than humble, but I’ll break my rule this time. In the original Hebrew language, the phrase ‘takes pleasure’ is a participle, which is a verbal adjective. In English, participles usually have an ‘…ing’ ending. Unpacking this gobbledygook grammar lesson, we uncover that God’s enjoyment of you and me is continuous, and enduring, not just a mere infatuation or a momentary fling, but something that lasts and lasts. Living and lasting. Persevering. Continuing. Persisting. Going on and on.

We’re favored by Him. Well-pleasing to our God. Around the clock, day and night, God is taking pleasure in His own.

What about this being humble bit? It doesn’t mean being some bully’s doormat. Quite the contrary. It involves knocking, asking, and seeking Jesus (check out Luke 11: 9-10). In other words, humility means not thinking that we’re so high and mighty that we can handle anything and everything that comes our way all on our own. No. We need His help. His guidance. His forgiveness. His salvation which comes from believing in Jesus. Not what we can do for God, but what He’s already done for us in Jesus. That’s what humility looks more like.

This short verse should find a home in our hearts and minds this week, to be better prepared with the truth of God’s Word countering nasty things that inevitably find us in a weak moment.

Let’s memorize Psalm 149: 4–‘For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.’

For your encouraging words, Lord Jesus, I thank you. All for your sake. Amen.

I’m not thrilled about this new online ‘My Chart’ medical stuff. You know it? Where you can eyeball results before you check them out with your real-life, in-person doctor. They claim it’s all about full disclosure and immediate access. All of which are of no help to me, a novice with an untrained eye, who can barely pronounce those medical mysteries let alone know what they mean.

A few years back, I had blood work done. Hoping to put off checking out its results until I have a Zoom appointment with the sawbones, the nagging unknown gets the best of me. Something like the bit about fools rushing in? You think? Probably. So, I yield to temptation and see that the results are good. Pleased as punch, I tell my wife and prayer partners the good news. Of course, thanking the Lord for His answered prayers.

You know what’s coming next, don’t you? Zoom time with who I thought was Dr. Feelgood reveals that he’s more like Dr. Kavorkian as the numbers aren’t neutral but heading somewhat in the wrong direction. Yuck! He tells me not to lose any sleep. Yeah, right! Easy for him to say, he’s probably off on some mega-bucks vacation with the financial results of my computer call.

I panic. Tell my wife that I’m checking out of this life. Contact the funeral home. Don’t buy green bananas. Blood pressure reaches a new record high. The Lord? Have I forgotten Him? Maybe. Seems like it.

So, I call a Christian friend to get things off my chest, mostly exhibiting my lack of faith. What a man of unbelief I can easily become. Without any effort at all. Not even lifting a finger.

This friend reminds me that Jesus loves it when we bring our weakness to Him. Our feebleness and fragility allow His strength to comfort and help us. To be the friend that He is and always will be. Maybe we can buy those green bananas after all?

Listen to the Apostle Paul–‘Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. for when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor. 12: 9-10). I keep reading those verses as it takes a while to soak into my hard-shell craw while trying to crowd out my nail-biting fidgets.

Here’s my take from 2 Corinthians 12–Fischer, stop worrying so much. Bring everything to Jesus. Sooner rather than my usual later. Place them at His feet and walk away. Cease grabbing them back. Jesus has a no-backsies policy. No return to sender allowed. Leave it with Him.

I am weak but He is strong. Jesus loves me, this I know. The old song gets it spot on. Maybe it’s time I listened and started believing? You think? That’s a novel idea. Here’s another one–check out ‘His Chart’ instead of ‘My Chart’. Crack open your Bible more often than not. His good news is just that.

Have all my fears miraculously vanished? I wish. You’d believe me if I said they had? You’re too smart for that. However, I’m inching my way toward the one who can handle those headaches and heartaches all the while He’s holding my trembling hands. He doesn’t criticize me or you for being weak and scared. Hardly. He draws even closer, especially then.

Trust Jesus. That’s it?

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being so close to me with all your loving understanding. Amen.

If trouble rears its ugly head at a wedding rehearsal, it’s usually from the bride or groom’s parents. Or some smarty-pants, know-it-all maid of honor, tossing her weight around trying to control what had already been discussed and decided. I dreaded those confrontations but had to step in, be firm, and protect the couple from what could become a disastrous wedding day.

Here in Matthew 25, some bridesmaids kick up their heels. You may know about the marriage customs in Jesus’ day, where the groom prepares a home for his future bride, usually an addition to his father’s house. The bridesmaids help the bride get ready for the big day. When all is ready, the groom sends his groomsmen out to start the procession of the bridesmaids and the bride and her family and friends to a huge, often weeklong, celebration at the groom’s parents’ home. Oy vey! The bill could choke a horse, already.

What the bridesmaids need most of all is some good old-fashioned advanced planning. To be ready for whenever the call comes to start the marriage parade. Be on their toes. Have adequate supplies no matter how long the wait takes.

But here’s the rub. Some grow weary with waiting. Slack off. Become lazy and neglectful. Mr. Sandman arrives before the groomsmen do.

Who knows the cause of the delay? Maybe the groom has changed his mind? Maybe some disaster has struck? Why this infernal foot-dragging? They nod off, worn out, tired as can be with woefully inadequate supplies.

But some bridesmaids have extra lamp oil in case the wait drags on. Others don’t, confident that they’ll have more than enough. And anyway, who cares? They can always beg some oil from those snooty, overly prepared ones. Maybe those organized bridesmaids strike the unglued and topsy-turvy ragtag ones as smug and self-righteous. If they’re such generous do-gooders, they’ll share a little with us, won’t they?–“And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out'” (Matt. 25:8).

But the wise bridesmaids say a resolute ‘no’. No can do! Some things you can’t share. Why not get your own for a change? Be ready as you’re supposed to be. But it’s later than they think. With shops not open at night, they miss out on the groomsmen calling to them to get hopping for the wedding. They’re left out in the dark cold. Too bad, so sad. What did they expect? They’re stuck with regrets and an opportunity that will never come their way again.

Such is faith. It can’t be given away. Nor inherited from some godly grandparents or that loving neighbor who took you to Sunday School. No DNA test to prove your spiritual ancestry and destiny. We don’t need it as we can have a wonderful relationship with Jesus by exercising our faith, turning away from sin and self-reliance, and leaning heavily on Jesus. No one can do that for you. But can’t you?

Nevertheless, we certainly should share our faith. Not shoving it down anyone’s throat. Or hitting them over the head. It’s up to them to respond. To act on what they hear and discover. We are responsible to others by sharing the faith, but we’re not accountable for their decisions.

Unfortunately, many have no idea that Jesus is there for them. Shouldn’t we tell them? He loves them and eagerly desires a personal relationship with each one. A secure place in God’s heart that can never be taken away. Or given back. Who’d want to, anyway?

Lord Jesus, help me to share your Good News with someone this week. For your sake and theirs. Amen.

I loved taking a shortcut to high school. Rushing out the side door of our family home, hot-footing it through a neighbor’s backyard, crisscrossing a nearby park, then bobbing and weaving various roads to the school’s back entrance. Saved a lot of time. Thought myself quite the clever boy! Who doesn’t like a shortcut?

Well, not always. Reading Psalm 136 you note something unique. All twenty-six verses have a refrain saying the same thing. Six words repeated over and over again. In the original Hebrew language, only three words say it all. Here goes in English–‘…for his steadfast love endures forever.’ Traversing the same ground twenty-six times.

Often when I’ve read this psalm, I’ve taken a shortcut. I read each verse’s opening part, skip over that ‘steadfast love’ business, and move quickly to the next verse. Saves a lot of time. I’ve got things to do and places to go. Do you think God minds?

You’re right. I think He does, too. After all, the Lord tells us repeatedly, in no uncertain terms, that He loves us. Eternally, with enduring care, through all the messes we make. And all the stuff that’s thrown at us. And I want to hippity-hop over all the love and care God has for me? Not such a clever boy after all!

For His love is steadfast. Hangs in there when everyone else has headed out our heart’s back door. Jesus is steady as can be. No fickle double-crossing two-timer. Never here today, gone tomorrow. His love is forever. He means it. I may or may not. But He does. Who doesn’t need to hear that over again and again? Just me?

Skip over it? Are you crazy? Wait a minute, it’s me that’s done the skippity-do-dah. Not you. Or have you? Glancing at your Bible for only a minute or two? Letting it gather dust while your smarty-phone remains dust-free? Worrying more than trusting Jesus? Forgetting to pray unless all else fails? Displaying little evidence to convict you of being one of His own? A functioning agnostic?

That sounds a bit harsh, doesn’t it? Well, that can happen when I take a shortcut like I have through Psalm 136. So, stop already. Take a gander at that phrase, those twenty-six times reminding us of His love that endures forever.

No more shortcuts for me while traveling the roads of this psalm. I’ve settled for less when He has much more to give me. And you. After all–‘…his steadfast love endures forever.’ Did I hear an echo?

Thank you, Jesus, for loving me so much. I love you. too. Amen.

In high school, I only had to read Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. Now as an adult, I’ve read and reread all his novels. My favorite? ‘Bleak House’, where I gallop through over 850 pages, hoping the ending doesn’t come too soon.

Within those pages, I ran across this quote from one of the main characters, Esther Summerson. Her friend, Ada, wonders if Esther and Ada’s guardian, the owner of Bleak House, John Jarndice, could ever forgive Ada for some information hidden from both Esther and John. Here’s what Ada asks–‘Esther, will you forgive me? Will my cousin John forgive me?’ ‘My dear’ said I (Esther), ‘to doubt for a moment is to do him a great wrong.’ That’s when Esther’s comment made me grit my teeth coupled with a tinge of sadness.

God forgives me. Jesus went to the Cross to offer His life as a ransom for all my sins…past, present, and future. Each and every one of them. Throughout the Bible, the message of forgiveness is presented and promised. What else can God do?

Then again, what should we do? Hire a skywriter so we don’t forget? Ask God for a definite sign or two? Have some saint pin us down until we say ‘uncle’ admitting we’re forgiven? No. Get off myself for He’s done enough.

In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, God says this–‘…for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’ (Jer. 31: 34). There it is. Believe it or not. This is not Ripley speaking. Rather the Word of God Himself.

To doubt Him and His Word must hurt Him. Wounds and pains Jesus. I don’t usually think of my doubts in those terms. Do you? But maybe we should. Have some consideration for the feelings of others, especially our God. Be careful of what we say. What we think. Words not spoken out loud that cut Him to the quick. Private curses that no one else can hear. Except God.

So, is it time to make nice with God? To take Him at His Word for a change? If so, you’ve got to know your Bible, where you read of His promises. Hear about Jesus and His myriad commitments, all of which He’ll keep. His Word is as good as gold. Even better.

To be honest, I’m not much of a role model. I have fears galore. Catastrophize at the drop of a hat, on pins and needles, coupled with jitters and fidgets. Sometimes, especially on some downer day, I wonder if God even likes me.

See, I have much growing up to do in my life with Jesus. I need more maturing. More beefing up of my trust in God. Settling down and relaxing by Jesus’ side, while blossoming a bit more for my Lord. But here’s what keeps me going–He’s not done with me. Or you. Thank God!

Consider yourself blessed. And forgiven if you have faith in Jesus. Not perfect as we’ll all fall flat on our faces. But then get right back up, looking into His face, and believe Him for He means every word He says. Pin your hopes on the Lord. Last but not least? No. First and foremost.

Lord Jesus, for forgiving me I am so thankful. Bless you. Amen.