Though the Fig Tree

 Though the Fig Tree

August 6, 2026

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV) 

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls-- 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s [feet,] And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

This verse reminds me of the orchestra leader we had back in the early days of Covenant Church of Mobile (or probably Gulf Coast Covenant Church back then). Frank Longeno was a great musician who played trombone and piano and taught me a great deal about worship music. Oftentimes, while we were waiting for practice to begin, Frank would sit at the piano and play “Though the Fig Tree Doesn’t Blossom”. It was one of his favorite tunes and he played it in a folksy, blues, jazz style. I still remember how it was a calming melody that set a laid back atmosphere for the practice session. You just couldn’t help but relax while singing about how all your troubles just didn’t matter. In the end, the only important thing is rejoicing in the Lord. When you think about it, these lyrics are a lot like our modern blues and country music; the crops failed, my dog died and my wife ran off with my truck, but I’m ok and can sing about it! 

The following verse was made famous by the inspirational book, “Hinds Feet in High Places”. That also talked about spending time with the Lord and rejoicing in Him in the midst of your daily struggles. All this reminds us that this life is short and is just a training ground for our eternal life with Jesus in His kingdom. One day, we won’t have to worry about about laboring to earn a living and all the things that can go wrong. In this world, lots of things can threaten our sustenance. Thus, Jesus taught us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread”. In Him, we have sustenance and life, and we can cast all our burdens on Him, and rejoice in the Lord.

 

Bread of Life

 Bread of Life

August 4, 2026

John 6:35 (NKJV) 

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger , and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Matthew 6:11 (NKJV) 

Give us this day our daily bread.

Bread is life. Bread is sustenance. We need to eat every day so that we can live. So then, what are we to make of Jesus’ statement, “I am the bread of life”? Taken literally, this saying was a great offense to the Jews who heard it as it sounded like  canabalism and also was a claim of divinity. Both Interpretations were offensive to their understanding of the law of Moses. But what did Jesus really mean? First of all, it was a claim to divinity as He went on to say that He was sent from heaven:

John 6:38 (NKJV) 

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sentMe.

It was also a proclamation that belief in Him was essential for spiritual life. Only by accepting Jesus as the bread of life can we enter into eternal life:

John 6:40 (NKJV) 

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son andbelieves in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The Jews were thinking in the physical and legal realms, but Jesus was speaking in the spiritual realm. Our physical bodies need to eat bread every day but our spiritual bodies need to abide in Jesus every day to enter into eternal life. Therefore, “give us this day our daily bread”. Give us our portion of Jesus today that we may live in him and with Him forever. 

Do You Want to be Made Well?

 Do You Want to be Made Well?

August 3, 2026

John 5:5-6 (NKJV) 

5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesussaw him lying there, and knew that he already had been [in that condition] a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

 

James 4:2b (NKJV) 

Yet you do not havebecause you do not ask.

John 14:13-14 (NKJV) 

13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified inthe Son. 14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do [it.]

In John 5, we have one of the more unusual statements from Jesus. We would think it obvious that a man, crippled for 38 years, and waiting in a place of healing, would want to be healed. But Jesus first question to him is “Do you want to be made well?” This sounds insensitive, at first, but what is Jesus really asking? Jesus is a gentleman and never overrides our free will. He is ready, willing and able to heal us, but He needs our permission to act. James expands on this by saying that do not have because we do not ask. Jesus is not going to force anything on us, even healing,  without our request and permission. Now who would not want to be healed, you may ask? In praying for healing for people over many years, we have observed that there are a surprising number of people who don’t want to be healed. Especially, when praying for people with addictions, you need to be aware that the person needs to love Jesus more than they love what they are addicted to in order be be healed. That’s a step too far for  people who have defined themselves by their addiction. AA groups even tend to reinforce this idea as everyone in the groups introduces themselves as, “Hello, my name is xxx and I’m an addict.” Jesus can heal anything, but you need to be willing to let go of anything that you love more than Jesus.

There are others, such as the man at the pool, who not only define themselves by their infirmity, but make their living off of it. This man, laying by the pool for 38 years undoubtedly made his living as a beggar. If he was suddenly healed, how would he make his living? In our modern age, we see this with people on disability. When you ask them if they want to be healed, thy may think a bit and then say, “But if I get healed, I’ll lose my check!” It’s sad, but there are many who trust their government check more that they trust Jesus to provided for them.

So, asking “Do you want to be made well?” Is a fair questions. Jesus promises to do for us whatever we ask in His name, but we need to ask. And we need to trust in Him and His promise of a better life more than we love the life of squalor and pain that we have gotten used to. So ask and believe, and Jesus will heal you.

True Worship

 True Worship

August 2, 2026

John 4:23-24 (NKJV) 

23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship theFather in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 “God [is] Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Revelation 5:11-14 (NKJV) 

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power [Be] to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” 14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

Today is the day to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Light and Exposure

 Light and Exposure

August 1, 2026

John 3:14-21 (NKJV) 

14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Manbe lifted up, 15 “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

The scripture for today is John 3. Everyone knows John 3:16, but how many people read the whole context? It is true that God loves the world, but He is also the light that exposes the darkness. As a photographer, we study light and exposer in order to make a clear image. A good photograph requires adequate light and the proper exposure. But even a dim light and a long exposure can reveal thinks that were hidden from the naked eye. Thus it is with the Word of God; the light that exposes things hidden in darkness.

We see this principle at work in our day. There is much evil and darkness in the world, but when the truth comes out, and light exposes the darkness, the evil deeds of men are exposed. Jesus said that he did not come to condemn the world, but those who don’t believe in Him condemn themselves. Therefore, our prayer for this day is not that we condemn our fellow men, but that the light of truth will expose their evil deeds so that they condemn themselves. Each man has a choice. He can either believe in the light or dwell in the darkness. So we pray that all men will come into the light and be saved, but Lord have mercy on the souls of those who refuse the light and condemn themselves to darkness.

O Give Thanks

 O Give Thanks

July 31, 2026

Psalm 107:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for [He is] good^h2896a! For His mercy^H2617a [endures] forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so,] Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord. His goodness and mercy are far greater than the English words describe. He is goodness and mercy in a way that transcends all that we Think of as good. From the Strongs dictionary, we learn that this word includes concepts of grace, favor, delight and happiness. God is good in more ways than we can comprehend,

And mercy, checed, is likewise rich in meaning. It includes ideas of lovingkindness, mercy and beauty. He loves us far more than we appreciate. As John puts it, “God so loved the world that He gave His only son...” We give thanks to the Lord who loves us so. 

According to the psalmist, our response is to say so. If your heart is happy, let your face know it, and then tell someone of God’s mercy and grace. As the saying goes;

The Lord is good all the time,

And all the time, the Lord is good.

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Strong's Definitions: 

H2617a חֶסֶד  cheçed, kheh'-sed; from H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:—favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

h2896a. טוֹב tob; from 2895; pleasant, agreeable, good:--

beautiful(11), beneficial(1), best(7), better(75), better a good(1), charming*(1), cheerful(3), choice(2), delightful(1), fair(1), favor(1), favorable(3), favorably(3), festive(1), fine(3), fine ones(1), fit(1), generous*(1), glad(1), good(196), good and to those who(1), good is better(1), good man(3), good men(1), good-looking*(1), gracious(1), handsome(3), handsome*(1), happy(1), holiday*(3), intelligent*(1), kind(1), like*(1), man(1), more*(2), one(1), one who(1), one who(1), one who...

The Year of the Lord

 The Year of the Lord

July 30, 2026

Isaiah 61:1-2 (NKJV) 

1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

This is one of the most remarkable prophecies from Isaiah, because it was this exact verse that Jesus read to proclaim the beginning of his earthly ministry. (Luke 4:16-19) of all the prophets, Isaiah saw most clearly the coming of Messiah Jesus. The accuracy of his vision is a proof that the Word of God is true and reliable. 

The other thing about this passage is that it not only outlines the ministry of Jesus, but also describes the ministry that we also have in the world. Jesus bids us to preach the gospel, heal the sick and set the captives free. The ministry of healing the brokenhearted is particularly relevant today as we are surrounded by people damaged by broken relationships and confused by the teaching of the world to the point that they don’t know who they are. Many are even confused about their gender. The world needs Jesus and the ministry of reconciliation. So if you are a Believer in Jesus, it is time to stand up, pick up the scroll, and proclaim “the Lord has anointed me…”