Love the Lord

 Love the Lord

March 31, 2026

Mark 12:28-31

28 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answeredthem well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31 The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Yesterday we talked about trusting the Lord. You cannot trust without love. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he quickly quoted the command to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. When we love the Lord totally, it is easy to trust. The second part is more difficult. We can love the Lord because we know He loves us back, but what about our neighbor? He can be difficult and contentious but we are to love anyway. 

The golden rule states that we are to do to others what we would wish to be done to ourselves. It is said that only Judaism and Christianity have this rule. All other religions, at best, only command to love your brother, but to hate your enemy. Certainly Islam falls into this category as they decree charity be done to fellow Muslims, but they teach that all infidels deserve slavery or  death. Certainly Jesus taught a better way! 

So our job today is to love the Lord with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourself. “There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Trust in God

 Trust in God

March 30,2026

Proverbs 3:5-10 (NKJV) 

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In allyour ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

We are in the midst of an extended Bible study at church, and one of the key lessons is to trust in God. Proverbs 3 is a key verse for that point. You cannot state the blessings of trusting in the Lord any more plainly than is expressed in this proverb. Guidance, wisdom, health, honor and prosperity, are among those blessings, but all rely on trusting in the Lord with your whole heart and not on your own understanding. That is harder to do than it sounds since we are conditioned from youth to think logically, solve problems, and trust in reason and logic. But the way of peace is contrary to that. Not that we are not to reason logically, but we are to put our final trust in the Lord, even when it seems to go against good sense. The Lord knows better than we do all that will transpire and what unforeseen consequences might occur if we rely on reason alone. So know that the Lord is Good, He loves you, and has a plan and purpose for your life, and knows better than you the exact steps you should take. So let Him direct your paths and do not be wise in your own eyes.

Measure My Days

 Measure My Days

March 28, 2026

Psalm 39:4-7 (NKJV) 

4 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what [is] the measure of my days, [That] Imay know how frail I [am.] 5 Indeed, You have made my days [as] handbreadths, And my age [is] as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state [is] but vapor. 

Selah

 6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up [riches,] And does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope [is] in You.

When we are young, we think we are going to live forever. But when we get to the Biblical four score and ten and approach eighty, we begin to contemplate the end and take a measure of our days.

Psalm 90:10 (NKJV) 

The days of our lives [are] seventy years; And if by reason of strength [they are] eightyyears, Yet their boast [is] only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

They say that growing old is not for the faint of heart. Things slow down and aches and pains appear out of nowhere. What once was but a second thought now requires some effort and planning. Even wrapping presents on the floor requires a plan on how you’re going to get up again! So what is our attitude to be as we contemplate our days?

As the psalmist says, “My hope is in You.” The Lord has a plan for our days. When we look back, we see the many marvelous things He has done. So we have faith that there is a purpose and a plan for our remaining days. It would be good to end our days like Moses. When the Lord told him that he was done, he sang a song  (Dt 32-33), blessed the people, and went up on the mountain and died. It would be good to go out with a song on my lips, May it be so. And if you have read this far, may you be blessed with the knowledge of the plan and purpose that the Lord has for your life. For all of your days, even the ones in the closing chapter.

God is at Work

 God is at Work

March 24, 2026

Philippians 2:13

13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure

Do you ever look at all that is going on around you and wonder whether God is at work or not? The world can get crazy and sometimes it’s hard to cope. It was no different in the first century. The Apostle Paul goes on to say how we should act in difficult times.

Philippians 2:14-16

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

“Without grumbling or disputing”, now there is the rub!  We love to grumble and complain about all the injustice that we perceive in our world. “It’s not fair!” Is a common refrain, and advertising is always promising something better because “you deserve it”. But the Word says that this is a “crooked and perverse generation”, and 2000 years has not improved on that assessment. 

So how do we act? Paul says to recognize that God is at work and that his will for us is good. Walking is such a way as to demonstrate His love and faithfulness will show His light to the world. So hold fast to the word of life and do all to the glory of God for He is at work in you.

Walk by the Spirit

 Walk by the Spirit

March 20, 2026

Romans 8:4-5

4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

Joshua 5:13-15

13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

My daily reading plan has me in Joshua. There are many examples there of walking in the Spirit but it starts in chapter 5 where Joshua encounters a man. Joshua didn’t know what to make of this so he asked him “Are you with us of for our adversaries?” But the reply was quite clear, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” Joshua did the wise thing and bowed down and accepted instruction from the Lord. This is the first principle of walking in the Spirit, that is to hear the voice of the Lord and commit to obey everything that He says.

The first two battles that Joshua faced as they entered the land illustrated the wisdom of following the Lord’s commands and the folly of following your own vision. In the first battle, the Lord gives Joshua a plan for conquering Jericho which is vary unusual, but they follow the plan exactly and the city walk fell on the seventh day when they marched, shouted and blew the trumpets. It was a clear and miraculous victory.

The second battle didn’t go as well. When they approached the city of AI, the spys said that the city appeared to them to be small and weak, so they should only send a small army against it. This plan, derived what what they could see with their own eyes, was disastrous. They didn’t inquire of the Lord and more seriously, they didn’t purge the sin from their midst and they were soundly defeated. However, when Joshua inquired of the Lord, he was given a plan to expose the one who had been disobedient and given a new plan to take the city.

The captain of the Lord’s host has the plan for victory, but we must commit to listen and obey to execute that plan and see the victory. How often do we follow our own vision and do what seems right, but it ends in disaster? Walking in the Spirit means listening to the voice of the Lord and stepping out to do all that He commands us to do. That is the way to victory.

Spiritual Wisdom

 Spiritual Wisdom

March17, 2026

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 (NKJV) 

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but whichthe Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know [them,] because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is [rightly] judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

“Foolishness”. We can look around today and see lots and lots of teaching by natural men, that is rational men, and the Lord says that it is foolishness. True wisdom comes from the Spirit of God but cannot be discerned by the rational mind. The world today is in dire need of true wisdom.  Paul goes on in chapter 3 to talk about sectarianism in the church. Divisions between people continue to be a source of foolishness among the people. There are many teaching things today with the intent of dividing the populace. There are all sorts of reasons to be pro-Trump or anti-Trump; to be pro-Israel or anti-Israel; to be for the police to against the police, etc. It’s the devil’s strategy to divide people it is the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that seeks to bring unity. We desperately need that unity today. The forces of evil are readily apparent all around and so the people of God need to be unified in order to oppose evil and advocate for the good. But with all the sectarianism in the church today, we can’t even all agree on what is the good! Lord, teach us your ways and give us the mind of Christ that we can have true wisdom and unity to bring the word of the gospel to the nations.

He Will Rejoice over You

 He Will Rejoice

March 16, 2026

Deuteronomy 30:8-10 (NKJV) 

8 “And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 “The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, [and] if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Do you know that the Father God loves you and rejoices over you? Today’s scripture is from the Old Testament, so relates this to obeying the law, but the principle is the same in the New Covenant. The Lord God loves the people that He has chosen and rejoices over them. That is, He rejoices over you. That is sometimes hard for us to comprehend, especially if we are going through hard times or are in relationships that don’t express that kind of love. It is unfortunate that many don’t have an earthly father that demonstrate this kind of fatherly love. I was fortunate to have a good father that loved me and taught me many valuable lessons about life. But regardless of the kind of earthly father you have, the Lord God, creator of the universe, is your loving Father. He loves you, has a plan for you, and rejoices over you. That is cause for rejoicing and praising the Lord.

Fruit of the Spirit

 Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told [you] in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:22-26 (NKJV) 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those [who are] Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Today’s scripture doesn’t need much commentary. It’s pretty evident to the casual observer which spirit is working in someone. Given enough time, the works of the flesh will manifest, and likewise the fruit of the Spirit. Someone can say wonderful and pleasing words, but when you look at their life, you will see the controlling spirit of their existence. So observe carefully, especially in this political season. Words are cheap but living in the Spirit is costly, so look at the fruit in their life to see what is in their heart. Be wise, be discerning, and walk in the Spirit.

 

O Foolish Galatians

 O Foolish Galatians

March 12,2026

Galatians 3:1-3 (NKJV) 

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, beforewhose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

If the Apostle Paul were to visit one of our contemporary churches in America, what do you think he would say? Would he say, “O foolish Americans”? The Galatians were struggling with disputes over the law and grace, which arose from difference between the Greek and Jewish believers. Paul called them foolish for wanting to return to old ways of doing things. What do we Americans do and believe that Paul would call foolish? I hesitate to start a list for fear that it would be a very long document! 

Paul’s answer was to return to the simple truth that he had taught them and to listen to the Holy Spirit. I think that advice still holds today. We need to return to the simple truths in the Bible and in our American founding documents. The words of Jesus and the apostles are still available to us in the Bible. It’s only our foolishness that leads us to think that we have progressed to a better way of living. The human spirit is still full of foolishness, just as in Paul’s day, but the Spirit of God is available to lead us into all truth, if we but listen.

Hear, O Israel

 Hear, O Israel

March 7, 2026

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NKJV) 

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD [is] one! 5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And thesewords which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

When I was in graduate school, I lived in the Jewish neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Every house there had a little box on the door post, a mezuzah, which contained a tiny scroll with this verse on it. They literally wrote this verse on the doorposts of their houses. Also, the more Orthodox Jews would strap a box to their forehead as well; phylacteries, containing Hebrew Scriptures. So even modern Jews take this verse literally to remember the Lord every time they pass through their doorway.

Jesus also affirmed that this is the most important commandment.

Mark 12:29-32 (NKJV)

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel;The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment. 31 And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

So, even though we as Christians don’t have mezuzahs and phylacteries, we should still remember the Lord our God and love Him with all of our heart, should and mind. And love our neighbor as ourself.

Purim

 Purim

March 2, 2026

The Jewish feast of Purim starts at sundown today. This is a celebration of the story of Queen Esther, whose courage resulted in deliverance from the evil plot of Haman, a high official in the Media Persian empire, to wipe out the Jews. How interesting that in this same season we are in conflict with a ruler in Persia who has vowed to not only wipe out the Jews, but also the Americans. Let us take a lesson from the courage of Esther to stand up to evil.

Esther 4:13-14

13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’spalace can escape any more than all the Jews. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

‘For such a time as this”. May we also rise in our own time to oppose evil and protect our own people. War is never a desired outcome, but is sometimes necessary to protect our country. So remember Purim, and the courage of Queen Esther, and the faithfulness of God to raise up a deliverer to protect His people. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and protection of the people and soldiers of the USA.

Esther 9:23-28

23 Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had writtento them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. 25 But when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. And because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually. 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants.