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.

There were so many games I loved playing as a kid when I lived on Undercliff Road in Millburn, New Jersey. A middle-class neighborhood that had lots of youngsters who also eagerly played outdoor games. 

Across the street were a couple of brothers who I mainly lost to at many, many games of Monopoly. But I loved having my Black Racer at work building houses and hotels only to be wiped out in bankruptcy. Oy vey, already!

At another neighbor’s house, I learned to play Bridge. Always terrible at that card game, especially when I poked and prodded more fun out of bidding and trumping than working a necessary winning competition. Why was I such an unpopular partner? Hmm!

Not-It, Hop-Scotch, and Hide-and-Seek always busied our good-weather days. Yes, I hid; and yes, they sought me; and yes, I was found. Sorry to disappoint you! I have great memories growing up in that neighborhood. 

If you dare to read through 2 Chronicles chapters 14-16, you’ll discover something amazing about our Lord. Nine times in those three chapters it mentions seeking God and finding Him. He’s not hiding. He’s there to be found if sought. There’s the catch. You must seek Him. 

The word ‘seek’ in biblical Hebrew means to repeatedly study and read about. To discuss, consult, and inquire. But there’s more–put what you’ve found into action. Not just study for study’s sake, but be a dynamic disciple of Jesus. Not a know-it-all, but someone displaying follow-through. Be AOK–an Action-Oriented Kind. 

Here are a few examples from 2 Chronicles. ’If you seek him, he will be found by you’ (2 Chr. 15: 2). ’…but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them’ (2 Chr. 15: 4). ’And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers…’ (2 Chr. 15: 12). That’s only chapter 15. There’s more in the next two. Check them out. 

What’s my point? That amazement I referenced earlier? Something about God that you could write home about. That’s off the chart. Well, here goes. The Lord offers His help to you and me. The care and love of God Almighty. To His own. His hands outstretched toward us. That’s almost too much to comprehend when you think about it. Way over the top. Too good to be true? Not on your life. After all, that’s His promise. And He means it.

What’s my usual reaction when up against something rough and tough? As if stumped, with my head in the clouds, I rely on my own little grey cells. I’ll figure it out. Leave it to me. Mr. Wisenheimer has his hands on the throttle. 

And then, when all else fails, I begin to pray, when it seems like last and somewhat least. Begging God’s help. But at least now I’m seeking Him. Does He dust me off His shoes, so to speak? Snub me? Tit for tat? He could. Maybe He should. Has every right. Yet thankfully, He doesn’t. For when we seek Him, He’s there to be found. For He means it. 

I know His heart is for me to come to Him with whatever as soon as possible. No holds barred. Could He make it any plainer? 

Seek Him. Throw out the dragnet in His direction. Have a seat at His table. Draw your chair up next to Jesus. But don’t bargain with God or hassle and haggle with Him. This is no Middle Eastern marketplace. When you seek Him, leave His answers, what God decides, squarely in His hands. That’s the hard part for me. And I mean it. 

My goal this week? To quickly seek my Lord Jesus. I’ll not stop there. I’ll continue for the weeks and months ahead. Wait a moment. Take the next seven days first of all, and then we’ll see how long-lasting my resolve becomes. No bets, please. After all, let’s see how you’ll do. If you mean it. 

Lord Jesus, thank you for always being there for me. Amen.

Life gets complicated. I’m thinking of all the digital formats we must navigate. Passwords I’m required to change at the most inconvenient time. Apps to download. Artificial intelligence competes with my own feeble smarts. Who wins? Don’t tell me. I know! So we yearn (that’s an old word, but a good one) for simpler days. Less tangled and convoluted. Where you could actually get away from work and the phone. Such idyllic times disappear.

When it comes to your relationship with the Lord make it as easy as pie, like a lovely stroll in the park, and a bit of child’s play. Keep it simple. As in most of our prayers to the Lord. 

2 Chronicles remains one of the least-read books in the Bible. Prove me wrong. Check it out. Gems can be found close to the surface. Like here in chapters 5 and 7, where we’re in the midst of a great celebration.

Solomon’s Temple to God is dedicated. This place of worship is where people experience God’s closeness. As the Ark of the Covenant is carried in, God’s people shout out these words–‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever’ (2 Chr. 5: 13). Then God’s Temple becomes filled with His glory and majesty!

Later Solomon offers his own prayer of dedication (ch. 6). When everyone gathered senses the Lord’s presence, they bow down, worshipping God and giving thanks saying–‘For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever’ (2 Chr. 7: 3). Note how their raptured praise is so simply put. No bells and whistles. Nix excessive verbiage. Making what could have been a long story short and right on the money.

I think that lots of my prayers need to be less complicated. More childlike. After all, my Lord Jesus is simply good. Think of all the blessings that have come to you and me. Let’s remember them. We could go on all day. Shouldn’t we? We can but will we? Yet keep it simple–God is good. His steady love endures through thick and thin, no matter what. Forever. Again–‘For He is good.’

In addition, I want to thank Jesus for not trading me in on a better disciple. He could have, you know. I’m not such a hot-shot spiritual giant by any stretch of anyone’s imagination. He could do better. Much better. But He stays with me. And you. Again–‘His steadfast love endures forever’.

Such amazing promises. Simple and reliable. Something money can’t buy nor ever be stolen. Why? It’s Jesus’ good and loving gift to you and me. Have you received what His hands offer to you?

Jesus, I love you, and thank you for all your goodness and loving faithfulness. Amen.

The third church I pastored had over 600 members. Ministry was moving along swimmingly for me. With a bigger and better calling on the horizon. Or was it?

Not so. In a flash, it all came tumbling down. I was a cousin to Humpty Dumpty. Finished. Kaput. Or was I?

Seventeen years later, while enjoying a financial planning career, I met with a group from a church just around the corner, down the street from the one I left years ago. This one had only eighteen members of what had been a vibrant church. In its denomination’s eyes, they’re taking their last gasps of breath as they’re told that it’s time to sell and move on. Too little, too late. The gig’s up. Or was it?

Yet they want me to be their pastor. Me? And was it bothersome that the mighty me, I, and myself had fallen? Am I being relegated to some prodigal pastor’s far country? That my beefed-up dreams had evaporated? Or had they?

In the Old Testament book of Haggai, the people of Israel return to the promised land after a dismal and disappointing exile, only to find their Temple in rack and ruin. Then the Lord tells them to remodel. Yet, as if in a stupor, they gaze sadly at something little in their eyes. Nothing like what some remember. Little of the grandeur that they’d heard about from their elders. Haggai 1: 7-9–“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little.'”  

How about you? Is there something in your life that seems little, puny, and inconsequential? Not what you’d hoped for? Or dreamed of? Why not let the Lord make of it whatever He wants. Let Him decide the importance. Success is determined by His standards. Place it In His hands. Why not?

That’s what I decided to do. After being asked to lead this little group of God’s people and before my first Sunday, I gathered a few friends to pray with me for the Lord to do whatever He wanted. We walked every hall. Entered every room. Praying all the time. No holds barred. I want His dreams and not mine. For a change. Will it be? This time?

Someone said this–‘Little things are little things. Faithfulness in little things is a big thing.’ Twenty-four years later, that church family is still letting their light shine for Jesus. A younger man has been faithfully serving the Lord as I’ve moved along to write, well, what you’ve just been reading. And guess what? No ‘For Sale’ signs in front of that church anywhere to be seen! Pretty awesome, isn’t it?

And you? Is it time to let go, as best that any of us can, and let God do what He does best? With your life? Leaving the results in His hands? Why not? 

Lord Jesus, have your way in my life. I trust you and love you. Amen.

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions as I’m too sloppy about keeping them. Years ago, I resolved to nix them once and for all. That’s one I’ve kept!

But when it comes to God’s resolutions, His promises, don’t worry, He’ll keep each and every one of them. Positively guaranteed. How about me? Maybe. Maybe not. Better to trust in Jesus than the bloke writing these weekly devotionals. I’ll do my best which often turns out to be so-so, maybe fair to middling on good days.

In the front of the Torrey-Gray Auditorium at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where I studied for my undergraduate college degree, this saying is posted–‘JESUS NEVER FAILS’. A warning to hit the books and get decent grades or else? After all, Jesus never fails as the sign says. I didn’t flunk any of the classes I took in those far-off days, but I’ve failed in many other ways.  

But as the sign says, it’s Jesus that doesn’t fail. Check out the Old Testament book of Zechariah chapter 10 beginning at verse 6. God is speaking. Better listen up. He has something important to say. From verse 6 to the end of the chapter, the Lord keeps repeating this phrase–‘I will…I will…I will…I will…’ Count them. Eight times. What gives?

God wants us to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when He wills something, it happens. No fudging or twisting words to make Him sound better than He is. No political spin doctor covering up broken promises. What God says, He will do. ’I will…’

When I was trudging through various medical issues, with accompanying anxiety and fears, I held onto one verse for dear life. Isaiah 26: 3–‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.’ I repeated this promise over and over again using the King James Version’s thee’s and thou’s. They’re more comforting to this old goat! 

His promise, found in that one verse, drew Him closer and closer by my side. Holding my hand, reassuring me that He’d never, ever leave me. And He didn’t and hasn’t just as He promised. 

This week find a Bible promise for yourself. They’re everywhere in God’s Word. After you unearth one, memorize it. Roll it around in your mind. All week long. Then notice something. God draws closer to you as you pull up your chair right next to Him. 

Now, that’s the company to keep. He’s given you His Word. Promises, promises. 

Have a Happy New Year!

Lord Jesus, I need you every hour. Your promises to lean on every day. Thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I love wearing my New York Yankees T-shirt that proudly displays all the years of their 27 World Series baseball championships. Some share my joy. A pittance, sad to say. Their sour grapes blab and squeal blatant scorn at this deservedly most-winning team in US sports history. I empathize with woebegone fans of lesser teams! That’s quite big of me, isn’t it? Still, I can hear their boos and hisses. Oh, the trouble caused by advertising my favorite team with uber braggadocio. Better watch my step. And back.

Micah 6: 8–‘He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’? And Zechariah 7: 9-10–“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.'”

These verses nudge us to live godly lives without advertising our good deeds, avoiding beating a drum roll for batting a thousand in God’s good deed league. I can talk the talk but will I land my feet solidly on His pavement? Doing what I know I should? Not being willy-nilly about living for Jesus. Really following Him. For a change of pace.

Am I the only one who feels like I live far below the standard set by Jesus? I’ve put ‘God is Great’ and ‘Jesus is Lord’ signs framing our car license plates. Does that make any difference? I catch myself driving more like the devil than who I say I follow, receiving a C- grade on good days! Still passing but only by the skin of my teeth. 

I’m resolving this new year to be who Jesus wants me to be. Being kind. More considerate and patient (which I want to happen right NOW!). Less the same old me. More like Him. 

This is my prayer to the only One who can give me the resolve and the follow-through to make this year more about Jesus than you-know-who. Your prayer also? Would love the company. Especially someone to pick me up when I fall flat on my face!

Happy 2024!

Thank you, Jesus, for always standing with me. Amen.

Our God is the God of second chances. He’s not done with us if we’re still breathing. We’ll have more opportunities to serve Him even when we’ve run out of gas or crashed by the side of the road. I’ve been there. May yet again. No guarantees that you’ll escape trials and tribulations. As Jesus said–‘In the world you will have tribulation’ (John 16: 33). Not ‘might have’ but ‘will have’. Yikes!

A tough one for me happened decades ago, when I voluntarily left a pastorate, leaving lots of angry people both for and against me. The vast majority were supportive but a few were, oy veh, filled with ire, to put it mildly. To a handful, I was persona non grata. Not a title I aspired to. Pain was palpable, both with those in my favor and those boiling tar ready for feathering me on my way out of Dodge.

I knew in my heart that the only church that would ever want me as pastor was in some little town in Nowheresville Podunk. A desperate berg filled with those who never ask questions, who could care less. Any such place out there? I didn’t bother looking. I was done. Finished. Caput.

Ever felt that way? Had it up to here? Totally fed up?  If so, here’s a word from God in Zechariah 1: 17–‘Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts. My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’ Four times that little word shows up in this one verse. ‘Again’…and ‘again’. Then ‘again’…and once more ‘again’.

That takes a load off my mind for the Lord is not done with us as long as we seek His direction in our lives. When I admit that I mess up, owning up to wanting my way with my timing in my whatever, then watch what can happen. Simply put, God wants a more humble me. His daily special? Humble pie. Grab a piece and join me, won’t you? 

Years later, I was enjoying a financial planning career with a large investment firm, when a client contacted me to see if I could preach in her church for two Sundays. That’s all they need. Two Sundays. No more, no less. Preach this week and again the next. Again–there’s that word.

Fourteen years later, I retire from that 2-week stint and hand over the church keys to a young man who’ll be a super pastor for their future. For fourteen years, I’ve been there again and again and again and again. All in the same town where I was nearly tarred and feathered. 

Now I genuinely want to see what the Lord will do. Instead of singing ‘Going My Way’, I make a melody of Jesus’ musical notes with His rhythm and His lyrics producing overtones of God’s will with Jesus as lead singer.

I’m grateful that He took me out of the bone pile. Made me useful in His service. If Jesus does that for me, think about what He’ll do for you. By all means, let Him. Stop being so down in the mouth. Get up. Stand up. Hold your head up high. In His direction for a change. Move aside and see what He will do.

Interested? Surprises await. Again and again. With Christmas day just around the corner, isn’t it surprising that God sent His Son to give new life to His fallen people? Second chances all wrapped up in a Babe found nestled safe and secure in a manger in a cave in Bethlehem of all places. God’s second chances. Let’s celebrate that fact this coming week. 

Merry Christmas!

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for always being there for me. For your sake. Amen.

How many times do we skate through life without giving a thought to much of anything? Habits form. We go through the motions. Drive to the store not even aware of what route we’ve taken or what we need to buy. That’s me, sad to admit. Yes, telling the same old stories. Repeating worn-out, stale jokes. Stuck in the mud without a clue. But what if that changes? Pull myself out of this rut with help from what I discover in Haggai Chapter 1? Where? Yes, Haggai!

This rarely-read Old Testament prophet uses a certain phrase a few times in that first chapter. I’ve highlighted it in my Bible. Haggai tells us that these words are from on high–‘Thus says the Lord of hosts…’ (Haggai 1: 5, 7). Sounds like we better listen up, doesn’t it? From God’s mouth to our ears.

But what specifically should we pay attention to?  That we’re to ‘consider your ways’. ‘Your’ refers to you and me. In the biblical Hebrew language, that phrase literally means–‘put your heart on your roads’. Read that again. ‘Consider your ways’=’Put your heart on your roads’.

I think I get it. Whatever I do for the Lord, put my whole heart into it. Be passionate about my relationship with Jesus Christ. Stop going through the motions. Quit play-acting. No phony baloney. Be the real McCoy. For a change. ‘Put your heart on your roads.’

Don’t you know when you’re heart isn’t in something? Of course, you do. When I was fourteen years into serving my last church, which originally was to be for two months, I found myself feeling grouchy, bugged, and a bit of a sourpuss. Some people get on my nerves who least deserve it. I’m visiting church families less and less. Like a grinding chore rather than doing handstands to get to church, so to speak.

Guess what? You’re right. My heart wasn’t in it. So, I refused to draw a paycheck to make money from serving God’s people. It was time to move along. Best of all, the Lord had a new man in mind to continue His ministry with His people in that place. And he’s still doing a super job. God too!

After I retired, an idea came to mind. We were traveling across the state of Texas on one of our seven cross-country drives when I had a strange thought, like a quiet voice within, saying ‘Start writing for me’. Do what for who? ‘Start writing for me.’

That’s how this weekly devotional and two published books get launched. With a heartfelt idea on a highway. I know who was calling out to me. And what I was to do. Sort of. When the details get worked out, after my wife figures out how to computerize it all, the excitement begins and keeps me at the computer keyboard, happy as a lark, day after day.

Ten years later, I’m still following my heart on this roadway, willingly and joyfully! Never making a red penny. Actually setting me back a shekel or two. Good!

How about you? Something God wants you to put your heart into as you travel life’s highways? If you’re not sure, ask Him. Wait on Him. Don’t be surprised when His answer comes. And then go with Jesus on any highway He leads you on. Put your whole heart in gear. Not reverse. Forward!

Lord Jesus, may you always be the passion of my heart and the direction of my life. For your sake. Amen.

Yes, of clay. Simple products of earthen material. Clay, molded and fired into jars and lamps. I have one. It’s a lamp from Jerusalem of Jesus’ time. It’s tiny. I can hold it in the palm of my hand. There’s only room for a small amount of precious oil, which will give sufficient evening light for a diminutive Israeli home. My clay oil lamp is fragile and could easily be broken.

Like me. And you. Yes, we’re built strong by the Lord. Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139: 14). Yet any kind of curve ball such as divorce, financial collapse, cancer, you name it can flatten us out, reminding us how vulnerable we are. At any moment, the rug can be pulled out from under us.

I know. It’s happened to me and made me weary and leary. Looking over my shoulder more than I’d like to. Seeing who or what sort of double-trouble gains ground on me. Will God allow something fierce to terrorize me? Again? No guarantees that I know of. Terrible things can happen to God’s good people. Faithful followers who get blindsided by tragedy of the worst kind. You know what I mean.

Reading 2 Corinthians 4: 7-12, I’m encouraged by what the Apostle Paul writes. He talks about a treasure that we’ve been given. Verse 6 tells us about this precious find–it’s knowing the glory of God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which is something no money can buy. Salvation is given to God’s own. Our Christmas gift from God Almighty.

And it comes by faith alone. No backbreaking work is required to achieve it. No balance sheet with more in our favor than not. Only a seeking, believing heart that means business with God. Asking for what He’s so willing to give us. Salvation. Forgiveness. A faithful life worth living. And much, much more. All of the above can never be snatched away for His own. Never still means never.

Where is this treasure? In us. We become a new person. Hardhearted, vengeful, unforgiving emotions become tender and loving. Our goals in life shift us to a new track. Not all at once but we’re heading in God’s direction. Yes, even for broken, beat-up, weak, and fragile folk like present company included. You and me! We’re in…with Jesus!

Sounds odd, but we’re just the kind of people that the Lord loves to put to work for Himself. Those humbled by tough times. Jars and lamps made of delicate clay who know how little we have to offer Him. Yet, more to the point, how much more He wants to give us and do through us. Let Jesus fill you with His oil, the tiny and fragile vessels that we are, to do all we’re designed to do for the Potter.

Get busy for Him. Relax. Fear not. Enjoy Him. Always praise and thank the source of all our blessings. Too tough to do? Are you kidding? This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Little or not, let’s do it together.

Thank you, Jesus, for a life worth living. Amen.