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.

I’m enjoying riding my bicycle on our favorite New Jersey seashore town’s 4-mile-long boardwalk when a flock of noisy seagulls flies directly overhead. Obviously, they’ve had a rather ample breakfast and are in need of you-know-what, which lands right on the back of my jacket with a noticeable plop. Great start to my day! Thanks, rude and crude fine feathered friends!

Later that day, my wife and I attend an annual festival celebrating I forget what. Who knows? All I did know was that one of my favorite TV comedians from way back when would be there in person. Soupy Sales! But recently the poor guy has suffered a terrible stroke and obviously is having a hard time with it all.

One of Soupy’s television schticks was a pie in the face. So, we were given pies filled with shaving creme to shove in each other’s faces. Such fun except when the lady next to me, before the okay is given, turns and grinds her pie directly in my left ear and then smooshes it some more.

I hate and fear a clogged ear. Always have. Produces a panic attack. And I had one that day. A big one that my wife helps me get out of by using a hairdryer to melt the shaving stuff while offering to play a card game to calm me down only to beat me unmercifully. That helped! It was one of those days.

But all that silly stuff of mine is nothing, even less than nothing if that’s possible, in comparison with what Jesus experiences on what turns out to be His last day. Think of all that He goes through. As in the failure of His closest friends and followers. He only has twelve. One sells Him for a lowball price, becoming a traitor of the worst kind.

Then Simon Peter, the main apostle, hovering at the outskirts of one of Jesus’ trials, when confronted claims he never knew this man Jesus. Hasn’t a clue who they’re talking about. Feeling cornered, he curses a blue streak with further denials. With friends like this, well, you know.

The rest of those twelve? They high-tail it out of Dodge. Run for their lives. When Jesus needs them the most, they’re not to be found. Oh, yes, the Apostle John and some others mosey on back, hanging out in the shadows, hoping the spotlight ignores them. Only the women stay faithful to their Lord. And they’re only a handful.

The day continues with some unsuspecting pilgrim from North Africa being commandeered to carry Jesus’ cross. Then a thief, a convicted crook, exhibits faith at the very last second. A Roman centurion, a Gentile, who guards Jesus’ crucifixion site, exclaims that this man is much more than that. He’s the Son of God. A few members of the high mucky-muck religious leadership, the Sanhedrin, ask for Jesus’ body so they can bury Him in a nearby tomb.

Quite a day Jesus has. But it becomes a day when all the tables will be turned from death to life. Like no other, it’s a day that ushers in the end of darkness and death. Where light and life will shine forever. It’s the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ! His day for you and me. Shouldn’t that thought make us more grateful to our Lord? Give thanksgiving to Jesus? All week long?

Seagulls, clogged ears, and faithless followers won’t have the last say. Hear what the angel says–‘…Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here…’ (Mark 16: 6).

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my risen Savior forever. Amen.

Did today’s title get your attention? Hope so for I’m revealing all you’ll need to know about the no ifs, ands, or buts, ironclad, and no fine print timing of Jesus’ second coming. Even promising money-back if I’m off by a day or two. Charts and booklets I’m selling at exorbitantly inflated prices with enormous profits for myself. What a guy. All heart…and dough!

Actually, I can’t remember a time when I was drawn to those prognosticators who know all about the how, when, where, and who of end-times predictions. I’m skeptical. Rarely convinced.

Such culmination highbrows have a thing about knowing it all and having the right answers as big-shots who get their jollies through one-upmanship. Neener, neener, neener– I know more than you poor swine out there in the peanut gallery!

So, I’ll stick with what Jesus has to say. He might have a clue or two as to His own second coming. Might He? Duh! The Gospel writer Mark records what Jesus teaches in chapter 13. Basically, it’s four words of good advice. Only four? That’s right. And remember, don’t forget!

First of all, don’t be overcome with fear at the state of this crazy world (v. 6-8). Lots of false messiahs and political magicians will offer cures for society’s ills. Wars and upheavals, even in nature, will be par for the course. There’s really nothing new under the sun. So, get a grip. Hold your Savior’s hands.

Second, don’t let persecution break your trust in Jesus (v. 9-10). The time is coming (and for much of the world, it’s been here for quite a while) when we’ll lose jobs, money, family, friends, and even our lives because of our relationship with Jesus and the teachings of God’s Word in the Bible. You know what I mean. So, don’t give in, Jesus says. This will happen with increasing ferocity before He returns to straighten out everyone and everything once and for all. I can hardly wait.

Third, don’t worry about being tongue-tied when questioned about your faith (v. 11). Be yourself and God’s Holy Spirit will be right there with you, filling your mind and heart with what you want to say. Be kind. Clear and definite. Try not to be intimidated or likewise to hit someone else over the head if they disagree with you. Remember who’s by your side. God’s Helper, the Holy Spirit. Can’t get any better than that!

Finally, hang in there with Jesus. Can get really dicey, even with our families (vs. 12-13), because of Jesus and what the Bible teaches. We know what that’s like and how it feels. Our backs get slammed against the wall. No one seems to care or love us. Only Jesus. Only our Savior. He will. Who needs more than Him?

When is the end coming? I know exactly when and even can guarantee it. When God the Father says so. Jesus will arrive right on time. Not a day or millenia late. It will be something to behold if you are in the family of God. If not? All hell will break loose and the unimaginable will commence. Not for believers. Not ever. That I can guarantee. For Jesus said–‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33).

So, come over and get real close to the Overcomer!

Thank you, Jesus, for your promises of goodness and life to me. Amen.