Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Be Our Lamp (4/16/26)

Yesterday, a severe storm hit Michigan, leaving many without power, and the rest of us concerned about losing ours. We have a generator that usually comes on when we lose power, as our sump pump must keep running so that our basement doesn’t flood. However, it doesn’t power every light in the house and is a less-than-ideal substitute. In the new Jerusalem, we won’t need to worry about power or light or floods! Jesus will be a far better substitute.

Revelation 21:22-27 ²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The beauty of the magnificent new Jerusalem, as described last week, will be accentuated by the glory of God the Father and Jesus the Son. Imagine the streets, walls, and foundations bathed in bright sunlight. It will be even more grand by the pure and perfect light of God’s glory, making the sun and moon unnecessary.

This glorious place is our guaranteed inheritance for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Do you know if your name is written in the book? You can be certain.

Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Those who have believed in God’s salvation through Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, are included with Christ as children of God and heirs of His glorious kingdom. Let’s praise Jesus as our worthy source of salvation, eternal life, and eternal light!

Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Offer Hope this Advent (12/4/25)

As we enter the Advent season, which literally means "coming," we're reminded that this time of year is all about preparing to celebrate Jesus's arrival on earth. Our church is focusing on passages from Isaiah that speak to both Jesus's first coming and His second coming. This week, with Hope as our theme, we reflected on the hope that Jesus's first coming brought, particularly through His death on the cross, which paid the price for our sins.

This hope not only brings forgiveness but also gives us Jesus's righteousness, allowing us to join Him in Heaven for eternity when He returns.

On Sunday evening, as we enjoyed dinner together, we delved deeper into the concept of Jesus's Hope and lit our own Advent candle (part of a wreath my Mom gave us years ago to help us worship). We read passages from Matthew and Isaiah, including:

Isaiah 9:2    The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

As we discussed ways to share the light of Jesus with others and offer them hope, Alexis suggested that we could share the gospel with those around us. In God’s perfect timing, my niece and nephew were having a similar conversation about the gospel with their mom (my sister) on the other side of town. They blurted out that they needed to pray and ask Jesus to come into their lives. So, they made the decision to receive Him as their Lord and Savior!!! We all praised God when we heard the wonderful news!

The kids’ Bible study memory verse for this week was:

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

My niece and nephew’s decision to confess their sins and invite Jesus into their hearts is a powerful reminder of the gift of Hope Jesus offers. They can now look forward to the day when they will be completely purified in Heaven.

Who do you know that needs the Hope of Jesus this Advent Season? Will you pray for opportunities to share Jesus with them?

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – Offering Illumination (9/21/23)

A new lady tried out our John Bible study last week and this week. Her neighbor brought her. The new lady shared yesterday she was excited to do another activity, in addition to golf, with her neighbor. However, she wasn’t excited about doing “homework!” I laughingly said we call it “heart work,” but it can be challenging. She shared several things about her past experiences and how she had been mad at God. She said she is fine with her relationship with Him now, though. She did have several questions for Him still.

After shooting up several arrow prayers for what to say, I encouraged the new lady to at least read that week’s passage so she can be familiar with it when she comes to next week’s small group discussion. I said I knew God loved her and had a plan for her. As we study the book of John, we’ll see John the Baptist struggle with similar questions for Jesus and how Jesus answers them. 

I’m praying she will see Jesus’ illumination of the truth as she reads the Bible! I can’t convince her. Her neighbor can’t convince her. Jesus, the light, can!

John 1:6-9       ⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 

I pray the new lady’s neighbor and the rest of us at Bible study can help witness and testify to Jesus as the Truth. We aren’t the light and don’t do the illuminating, but we can point her to the true light that’s offered her abundant life now and for eternity! 

How does this help take pressure off you, realizing you aren’t the light or the illuminator? We are called to witness and testify to Jesus. He’s the Truth. He’s the Light. He’s the One who illuminates and convinces!

Alice

The Guiding Light

“The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”

Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.”  John 12:34-36 NLT

Last week, I talked a bit about my own fear. There was a great deal of apprehension that went with it, and the days after writing it were a bit nerve racking to say the least.  However, the thing I gained greatest comfort in was God would take me one of two places.  One, He would show how wrong I was, and I would see that I needed to be more aligned with Him.  Or two, He would give me greater courage and strength assured He is as I knew He always was; with me.  Today, the light is on, and my walk is illuminated.  Occasionally, I must confirm the light is not a freight train, but so far, so good.  The thing that drove me toward that belief is quite simply trust.  I keep reading His word and trusting in it, and it reassures me.  I hear Him in a sermon, and feel His presence when I question something that I have prayed on.  When there is no light, I seek it, and it’s always there.  Guiding me.

God always provides us with light to guide us through darkness.  Reading today’s verses, there are three things I am struck by.  First, the perspective of the crowd is an example how people often see their problems through a worldly and not Godly lens.  The crowd was well read and understanding of scripture, but they could see no further than what they read and heard.  They were looking behind at what they knew, but not ahead at what was possible.  How often are we stunting our own growth by limiting ourselves by what we once did rather than asking what through Jesus Christ we can now do?

Second, Jesus talked about trusting “in the light while there is still time.”  At first, one might think the verse is referring to Jesus’s time on earth is coming to an end.  While this is true, one must also note that if we have life on earth, we can become that very child of the light as well.  Think of the man on the cross when Jesus said to him, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43b)  There the man acknowledged he deserved punishment (judgment), and simply asked Jesus to remember him (repentance).  He had only three simple verses in the Bible, and yet, they gave us hope knowing the compassion Christ has for those who have sinned and repented.  How cool is that?

Finally, my focus went to how Jesus went and was hidden from them.  In the subsequent verses, it noted that most still doubted who Jesus was, but there were those who chose to believe in Him.  Those who believed had two things going for them that are important for us to remember today.  First, they fully trusted in Jesus.  This gave them a sense of surety that while He was hidden from them, He was always there.  Second, the light was now shining from within them.  Therefore, they had a sense of where they were going.  Think of their journey as an infinite game.  There was no winning or losing.  They were angling to continue forward with Christ, and thus left their former lives behind them.  They were now ‘children of the light,’ and their focus was on eternity.  Not the moment.  We too must think of our journey of faith as an infinite one.  Our time in this world is but a point along the road.  Our goal is to continue forward not looking back at our old self but instead focusing on our ever-growing relationship with God through Christ.  This not only reveals to us His light but also flips on the light within us for others to follow.

In a world that is filled with darkness, we are indeed shown the light through Jesus Christ.  Yes, there are times where it is difficult to see, and we can at times find ourselves lost in the wilderness.  But if we know Him, we are never alone, and no matter how dark it seems, we know the light is there.  We can walk with purpose knowing that as His child, we will not only find light but also be the light for those around us.  Let us always be knowledgeable of that simple truth.  Are you following His light?  Will you share your light with those closest to you?  My prayer is simple.  Focus on the guiding light of Christ, and trust it to lead us for all eternity.  Amen.

The Guiding Light

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:14-16

Earlier this week, I was emotionally ‘lost.’ I received some distressing news regarding an incident at my daughter’s school, and it left me at a loss for words.  There was a wide range of emotions that I felt unsure which was the correct one.  Ultimately, it got to a point where I just had to fall on my knees and pray to God.  “Why was this happening,” I asked.  How could I see Him amidst all that was going on?  There were lots of questions, and yet, I had no answers.  Ultimately, I just started walking forward trusting in Him, and with each step, I felt God was with me.  With each word I spoke and direction I went, His spirit dwelled in me, and where there was once doubt, a renewed confidence replaced it such that those nearest to me felt the same things.  It was as if He guided me forward, and through His light, it showed His light to those around me.

When we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, He provides us with guidance to walk where others will see Him through us. In today’s verses, Jesus speaks of those who follow Him as the light.  Some might jump to a conclusion asking, “How can I be the light when Jesus is the light of the world?”  They are of course referring to John 8:12a, and would only have gotten half of the story referring to Jesus being the pathway to eternal life.  However, once we were given the gift of grace through Him, we too were given a ‘light.’  This is not only referred to by Jesus here but also in the beginning of Acts saying, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (1:8) The importance of this is very simple.  We are given direct power through the Holy Spirit to not only connect to Christ but also be His representative in the world.  Thus if we trust in Him, our steps are guided by Jesus Christ himself, and those who know Him will see it through our actions, words, and deeds.  This is the light Jesus speaks of, and we should feel empowered filled with the confidence knowing He is with us every step of the way.

God gives us authority to act on His behalf. This does not mean we substitute ourselves for Him (i.e. being His equal, judging others, taking out vengeance, etc.), but instead, we are to be living examples of Him.  The Apostle Paul said, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” (Ephesians 5:8) Thus, let us take this light given to us and let it shine for all those near and dear to us to see.  What is God prompting you to act on?  How can you trust God more to walk by faith?  My prayer is that we trust God to be our guiding light for others to follow that same light.  Amenl

More Than Enough

When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.  For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.  So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.  Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk.  But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.  Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:3-11

My wife and I were on vacation last week, and we had an opportunity to listen to Lakewood Church the week after the floods in Houston.  Although I am not a huge fan of the prosperity gospel, I did choose to listen this past Sunday.  It was great as I listened to a story of one of the pastors whose house had been flooded.  He said something that just shook me at my core.  He said although I have lost everything, I have everything.  I realized at that moment something powerful.  Although there are things that are tough and there are challenges ahead of me, I have nothing to complain about for I indeed have everything.  God has given me so much, who am I to complain?  In fact if someone who has ‘seemingly’ lost everything can rise and say with conviction and confidence, “I have everything,” I must learn to encourage others in all circumstances because I have more than enough.

When we have salvation through Jesus Christ, we do have everything indeed.  In reading the final chapter of Thessalonians, it is a reminder of how we are to live our lives in expectation of Christ’s return.  We do not live in darkness, but instead, we know that there could be calm one day and rain flooding us the next.  No matter what may be happening, we have surety that when we committed our lives to Jesus, we have victory.  That is only half of the story.

The other is to be encouragement to others.  I have heard so many negative stories about floods, politics, and viewpoints that it could drown out everything else two and threefold.  The biggest concern of all of this is that these are Christians who are being negative.  We must not stand for this anymore.  We are the light, and as representatives of Christ, any tendency to jump to conclusions, attack before hearing the full story (ex. Lakewood Church), or lack of showing love and empathy for His children is unacceptable.  He expects better of us.

The greatest encouragement of all comes from understanding the gift of God’s grace.  Jesus died to ensure we will live with Him forever.  How could we not be filled with His love and strength to carry not only ourselves but others?  Let us vow to end the air of negativity and ill will.  Let us show the light to all who may see us being encouragers and wearers of the armor of faith and love.  Where are you failing to assume the best with others?  How can you be more encouraging and less judgmental?  My prayer is that we move forward filled with love and encouragement knowing that even when it seems we have nothing, through Jesus Christ we have more than enough.  Amen.

God's 'Plan A'

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14-16

Monday marked my 50^th birthday.  In taking a moment to pause in reflect, I felt God tugging at me and making me uncomfortable.  I felt pushed to be more daring and willing to challenge my own comfort level.  Here is one area where I felt challenged; doing instead of just praying.  I have heard a lot of people speaking of the world being fallen and that the country needs to repent and turn to God after the many recent deaths of both civilians and police officers.  That on the surface sounds like a wonderful idea, and yes, we should always pray for more God in the world.  However that’s when I stopped to think about it.  Do we sometimes use praying for God to come down as an excuse to not do His work?  Another way of putting this is, do we leave things for God to handle just because it is either too uncomfortable or inconvenient for us to do it?

While God can certainly handle anything, sometimes we need to acknowledge we are Plan A.  I love these words from Jesus because it serves as a rallying cry.  It speaks to empowerment saying that we have God’s power to do His will whenever called on.  We often look at God as the Almighty, The great I Am, and many other terms of respect for His authority.  However we often fail to remember that through the Holy Spirit, God resides right within us.  I am not saying that we ourselves our God.  What I am saying is that we are often called upon to be His vessel, and as such must act to as one of my favorite sermons once said, “Go out and do!”  Thus whenever a situation calls for prayer, we must first pray to God what He wants from us.  It might be to just pray for help, but many times, He wants us to get our hands dirty and help someone.

God has given us so much!  He gives us His grace, love, and protection, but He also gives us power.  There is a saying that sometimes you ask the question, and sometimes, the answer is you.  Today’s verses say that we are His advocates for change and enlightenment in the world.  It is no wonder Jesus ends the book of Matthew saying, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  So let us be that light shining on the hilltop that cannot be hidden!  What do you need to change in your life to accommodate what God is asking of you?  How can you better discern when God wants prayer or commands actions?  My prayer is that we embrace that role of sometimes being His ‘Plan A.’ Amen.

Good at Night

 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.  For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.  I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”  John 12:44-46

An old saying goes that nothing good happens after dark.  This was something my grandmother would say to me as a young child.  As I have grown, it seems there is a lot of truth to that.  Yes, there are evening baseball games and shows and events that entertain us until late in the night.  However, it seems that bad things always happened to me when night fell.  And yet like many others, we all can be drawn to darkness in some form or another.  It is worthy to note that there is indeed good in darkness.  Without darkness, we would not be able to distinguish light.  Also, darkness reveals our deepest fears and brings out our worst character flaws for us to become aware of.  You might say that maybe I’ve lost a screw upstairs for Jesus is ‘the light,’ and what good could possibly come from a world representing darkness?  Why would darkness be positive?

A fallen world gives us a clear indication whether we are truly serving God or not.  Imagine if you will that you are in a dark room by yourself with no light to be found.  Just pitch black.  As you become comfortable in it, you might be able to see something or feel your way around.  You may even start to notice a figure in the room.  However, you will eventually get to the point that you need a light switch, right?  And once we find it, we feel the relief that comes with it.  There are two things to pull from this analogy.  First, we all lived in total darkness until we found Jesus, and with Him, we are able to understand the difference between our lost selves and our reborn in Christ like image.  Furthermore, someone who becomes comfortable living in darkness will not seek Christ.  This leads me to the second point.  Once we are given the light through His Holy Spirit, we become the light in places of darkness.  We are to shine God’s light wherever we go whether it is at church or at the night club for should we shine His light, it becomes the very light others in darkness will run to.

Jesus is always with us.  Knowing this, the appearance of darkness in our life should not be threatening.  It is an opportunity to show our greatest growth.  Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan after fasting for 40 days and nights (Matthew 4:1-11).  Yet, He gained strength from it to further share the Gospel.  One my favorite authors, Dr. Brene Brown, once said, “Who you are in the space where you can’t see in front of you is where courage is born.”  So darkness can either be the precursor of our demise or if positioned from a Godly perspective, further confirmation of the power of the one true living God.  How can you better appreciate being ‘in the dark?’  What must you do to further exhibit God’s light in places of darkness?  My prayer is that instead of dreading, we are courageous enough to see the good in the night.  Amen.