Honest Reflections

2 minute read.

God gives Jesus authority.

As a child, I never understood who Jesus was.  I knew we had to celebrate certain holidays and attend church each Sunday.  Like other kids my age, I made the felt figures that depicted different Bible characters.  I assumed everyone followed Jesus because that’s what you did.  But I never understood who Jesus was until I was an adult.

Only when I was at rock bottom in my life did I begin to understand who Jesus is.  At that point, I began to understand sin like never before.  As I looked around at the pieces of my life, I realized I’m the one who made the decisions that led me to such a low place.  Instead of following Jesus, I followed my sinful nature.

In the pit of sin, I realized who Jesus was.  Son of God, His life made a relationship with God possible for me.  Every one of my sinful ways, Jesus bore upon Himself.  When I could not bear to look at myself, Jesus did.  With love in His eyes, He helped me out of the pit I created.

Jesus is our defender.

Years ago, in a church service in Delaware, I saw one of the best portrayals of how Jesus operates in our lives.  Presenting the message were the youth from the church.  My friend’s stepdaughter was part of the production as the defendant, a.k.a. sinner.  Dressed in a black robe, the judge (God) sat at the front of the courtroom.  When the lawyer(Jesus) stepped between my friend’s daughter and the Judge, her sin was no longer visible to God.   Jesus stands between God and us, hiding our sin.  God doesn’t see our sin because of Jesus.  To Him, we are perfection.

Jesus is your defender.  God can’t see your sin because of Jesus.  In Him, you are white as snow.  Your iniquities separated from you as far as the East is from the West.  Let Jesus bond you to God today.

Lord, thank You for Jesus.  Forgive us our sins, make us white as snow.  In You, we find new life today—one free from our past sins, full of Your promise for our future.  Let us live in the hope of Jesus today and always.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Have you asked Jesus into your life yet?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 21 GW; Luke 19 GW

Better view, better interaction.

Zaccheus was too short to see Jesus over the crowds.  Living in a world that didn’t include drones, his options were limited.  To get a better view, he ran ahead and climbed a tree.  From Zaccheus’s vantage point, he could see Jesus.  And Jesus noticed.

When Jesus approached the tree, He looked up and said:

“Zaccheus, come down!  I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5 GW)

Jesus noticed Zaccheus’s efforts to see him.  He also notices yours.  When you make an effort to seek Jesus better by expanding your vision, God notices.  God sees everything.  Every action you make to see Jesus more clearly is recognized.  And just like Zaccheus, Jesus will meet you right where you are.

Make every effort to see Jesus.

Zaccheus heard about Jesus and wanted to know more about him.  Whatever stories he listened to piqued his interest enough to go the extra mile to learn more about Jesus.  Climbing a tree was worth the effort when Jesus invited himself over for dinner.  Any scrapes and bruises Zaccheus experienced climbing up and down the tree were worth it.

Seeking Jesus might cause some bruises.  You may have to scrape your way through difficult situations to get a better view.  When we pass through storms, they will draw us closer to Jesus and give us a vision we couldn’t have any other way.

One way you can learn more about Jesus requires little effort.  Schedule time in your day to read the Bible.  You don’t have to climb trees; just open God’s word.  Spending 10-15 minutes of your day in the Scriptures will draw you closer to Jesus in ways you can’t imagine until you do it.

Jesus will notice your efforts.  You will draw closer to Him.  Jesus wants to come to dinner.  Open the door and let Him into your home.

Lord, thank You for introducing us to Zacheus and his persistency.  Forgive us the times we’ve given up seeking Jesus because the climb was too hard.  Help us today go the extra effort.  As we open Your word and read it, draw closer to us.  Give us insight into Your message.  Help us open the door for Jesus.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How can you make time for Jesus today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 19-20 GW; Luke 18 GW

Persistent prayer pays off.

Today’s parable is about a widow who needed justice.  She repeatedly went to the local judge and asked for help, but he ignored her.  Eventually, he got tired of her begging:

“For a while the judge refused to do anything. But then he thought, ‘This widow really annoys me. Although I don’t fear God or respect people,  I’ll have to give her justice. Otherwise, she’ll keep coming to me until she wears me out.’ ” (Luke 18:4-5 GW)

Jesus points out that if a dishonest judge will give justice to a persistent woman, how much quicker will God give justice to His people? (Luke 18:6 GW).  

When you’re facing an injustice, choose persistent prayer as your response.  Jesus makes this guarantee:

“I can guarantee that he will give them justice quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8 GW)

Believe God will.

God will bring justice in His time.  Jesus is asking, do you have the faith to believe God will bring justice?

Do you genuinely believe in God?

Scripture is full of God’s promises to rescue us from our trials and tribulations.  Jesus tells us He’s overcome the world, we’re to take heart (John 16:33 GW).  But in reality, we doubt He has.

The judge finally responded to get rid of an annoyance. God responds because He loves you.  Persistent prayer reminds us Who is truly in control. Prayer changes us, not God.  Releasing our troubles to God frees us from their hold.  

Sometimes, we need to chat continually with God to find His peace amid the storm.  Faith is trusting God will act in due time.  We must believe, God will act quickly.  

Remember, God’s definition of quickly isn’t ours.  Keep praying.  God will act.

Lord, thank You for Your swift justice.  Forgive us for trying to put You on our timeline.  As we pray persistently today, let Your peace fall upon us as we faithfully wait for You to act.  We know that in all things, You will bring justice when needed.  Help us believe today that You’re listening.  Encourage us in our walk as we pray continually to You.  In all things, the glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What are you praying persistently about today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 17-18 GW; Luke 17 GW

Questioning faith is common.

Life situations will happen that cause you to doubt.  Wavering in your faith is normal.  Everyone does; if they say they don’t, you may want to question their integrity.  Everyone has thought or uttered the words, “God, what are you doing?” Jesus says we will have situations in our lives that will cause us to lose faith.  But God always comes through.  Somehow, someway, God shows up. 

On the other hand, if you’re what causes someone to lose faith, not cool.  Jesus was most likely referring to the Jewish leaders, called Pharisees. These religious leaders concerned themselves with keeping the law more than listening to Jesus.  As a result, they caused people to question their faith.

Unfortunately, Pharisees still exist.  If you talk to people about church, you will find out quickly; most people have a horror story.  Something happened; members handled a situation poorly, people got hurt.  As a result, they question their faith.  Sadly, I’ve experienced this myself from people who loved Jesus.

Imperfect people love Jesus.

If we weren’t imperfect, we wouldn’t need Jesus.  God’s love for us, warts, and all are what draw us to Him.  When we confess our sins and submit to Him, we’re admitting our imperfections.  Every morning, as we start a new day, we begin again—the sins of the past day forgiven as we confess them to God and each other.

If you’ve caused someone to stumble in their faith, confess it to God.  Then seek forgiveness from whoever you wronged.  Admit your failure to represent Jesus well, then ask for grace.  Instead of causing someone to falter, you’ll help them to grow.  And you’ll grow too!

Situations and people will make you question your faith.  Ask God the hard questions, He’ll answer. If you’ve made someone stumble in their walk with God, own it. Faith is fluid, changing every day as we grow closer to our Creator.

Lord, thank You for loving imperfect people like us.  Forgive us if we’ve caused someone to stray.  Show us the error of our ways and help us to repair the damage.  As we submit to You, let our faith grow.  Today, allow us to draw people to You by our words and actions.  In You, we can do all things.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Have you caused someone to stumble in their walk with the Lord?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 16 GW; Luke 16 GW; Psalms 62 GW

Trust is incremental.

The first time I was allowed to drive a car alone, I went from my house to the high school, picking up a friend along the way.  Living in Northwestern PA, we had snow in the winter.  Not understanding how the front-wheel-drive worked, I spun the tires.  Unfortunately for me, I thought something was wrong with the car.  As soon as I reached my friend’s house, I called home to report the incident.  Thankfully, my brother explained what was happening; and my parents trust in me grew because I handled the situation well.

Small deposits of trust over time create a trustworthy bank account.

After that first trip, I had many short trips.  Running errands for my Mom became my favorite thing to do because I got the car.  When my Mom allowed me to drive from Pennsylvania to Virginia alone, I knew she trusted me.  Why?  Because she kept allowing me more and more freedom with the car. Over time, incrementally, I gained her trust.  

Complete divine tasks.

Just like my mother gave me more freedom as I proved myself trustworthy, God does the same.  God assigns us divine tasks, acts of love towards others that have kingdom impact.  Divine tasks are prompts from the Holy Spirit that you can’t ignore.

For instance, the other day, God brought a friend to mind who is going through a difficult time.  Almost immediately, I felt the desire to brighten her day.  After thinking about what would make her smile, I decided to take her fresh-cut flowers to brighten her desk.  A divine task that I fulfilled showing God my trustworthiness to follow through.

Whatever divine task God is prompting you to complete, do it.  The more assignments you complete, the more God will give you to do.  Tiny acts of trust grow.

Lord, thank You for giving us divine tasks to complete.  Forgive us the times we ignore them or don’t do them well.  Help us today listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.  When You give us a task, help us complete it quickly.  Let our small acts of obedience allow us to receive more jobs.  As we align our hearts with Yours, let us reflect Your love to the world.  IJNIP.  Amen

Question for reflection

What divine task has the Lord given you lately?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 14-15 GW; Luke 15 GW

Jesus partied with sinners.

Tax collectors and sinners were in Jesus’s audience.  Jesus welcomed them with open arms.  From short Zacheus (Luke 19:1-10 NIV) to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11 NIV), and everyone in-between, Jesus hung with them all.  

“Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Luke 5:31 NIV)

Every one of us struggles with sin.  We are the sick who need the doctor; His name is Jesus. 

Son of God, His credentials are flawless. 

Jesus knew His mission, to bring healing to those who need it.  Grace and forgiveness are His salves that make us whole again.  As we allow Jesus to cleanse our hearts, we become new.  Our sins washed away, our futures full of hope.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” Zig Ziglar

Becoming more like Jesus means hanging with sinners.  One of the most impactful sermons of my life happened in Sharptown, Maryland. Pastor Steve Willing talked about running into an old friend at an event.  Whatever he attended was in a hotel.  While walking past the hotel lounge, he noticed the gentleman sitting in the bar.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity to connect with his friend, he went and sat at the bar with him.

Sharptown is a small community with few secrets.  People talk about what they see.  In case they didn’t notice, Pastor Willing told them.  They witnessed a man of the Lord loving one of God’s children where he found him, in a bar.

Over twenty years have passed since I heard that sermon, but its impact on my life has never left me.

Jesus loved sinners, wherever they were.  He sat at the table with them and called them friends.  We’re to do the same.

Praise Jesus; You love sinners because I’m one of them.  Forgive us, Lord, for our sins; help us to forgive ourselves.  Guide and direct us as we move through our days.  Let Your light shine through us as we the bar as he walked past ingle with other sinners here on earth.  Give us grace and mercy for everyone we meet.  Help us love them well for You.  Bless our efforts as we become more like You.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Who is God placing in Your life to love?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 12-13 GW; Luke 14 GW

Self accolades precede humbling.

Jesus is talking about guests at a banquet who choose places of honor to sit.  Instead of sitting in the reserved section, sit in the cheap seats.  This way, if someone more prestigious than you is coming, you don’t take their spot.  On the other hand, if you are an honored guest, the host will move you to the proper seat and everyone will witness the promotion to a better position.  (Luke 14:7-11 GW)  

Pride, laziness, and the desire for honor are in direct contrast to what we need to follow Jesus—chasing after Jesus requires humility, servanthood, and commitment.  We aren’t to honor ourselves; we’re to glorify God.  If God desires for us to take a different seat at the table, He’ll let us know.  Until then, we’re to sit humbly and wait.

Ultimately, Jesus is telling us we have to choose.  Our choice is simple:  Jesus or not.  We either believe Jesus and do as He says, or we don’t.  The decision is yours; God doesn’t give room for indecisiveness.

Yes or no.

Close-ended questions are those that have a one-word answer: yes or no.  In between doesn’t exist when it comes to Jesus.  You either say “Yes” to Jesus, or you say “No.” every time you say no, God grieves.  

When we choose to honor ourselves, God will humble us. If you have ever attended a party and taken the wrong seat, you know what Jesus means.  Public humiliation comes when the host asks us to move to a lesser spot. 

When faced with a daily choice to honor yourself or Jesus, say “Yes!” to Jesus.  Don’t sit in a place not meant for you.  Humble yourself before God.  Take a seat of humility today.  Allow God to change your position if it’s His desire

Lord, thank You for reminding us of what happens when we place ourselves in a position not meant for us.  Forgive us for those times when we have tried to honor ourselves.  Help us to live humbly today.  When faced with deciding what seat to take, let us take the least, not the greatest.  As we strive to follow You, bless our efforts.  Help us learn from our failures, and in all things, honor You.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What seat are you taking today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 11 GW; Luke 13 GW

God’s kingdom grows.

When you place the small pellets of yeast into a floury mixture, it will make the dough rise.  Growing up, any time I saw the giant metal pan sitting in the corner with a clean tea towel across it, I knew fresh bread was in our future.  Mixing the right ingredients and baking until crispy golden on top produces a melt-in-your-mouth experience like nothing else.  

Jesus is referring to a Galilean homemaker in this scripture.  He’s saying the labor she does in making the bread is enough to feed more than 100 people.  Jesus is using this metaphor to describe the kingdom of heaven. 

God takes our small actions of love and multiplies them for the kingdom.  Each time we step out of ourselves and love another, we’re doing kingdom work.  Your efforts are not in vain, even if you don’t see the outcome here on earth.  One day in heaven, someone you never met will thank you for helping them find Jesus.

Small actions have far-reaching effects.

Just like the yeast causes the dough to rise, your actions can change someone’s life.  One thing I’ve learned, you never know the impact you are having.  Sometimes, God will give you glimpses.  But most of the time, we don’t have a clue.

What we can do is trust God with our efforts.  As long as our hearts are pure and motive clean, God will take our humble offerings and turn them into life-change.  Just like the yeast takes time to rise, change occurs slowly.  Day-by-day, as we follow Jesus, we become a new creation.  Our past is left behind, our future filled with God’s purpose for us.  A mission that takes a lifetime to complete.

Don’t underestimate the small actions of love.  No matter how tiny the seed, God will multiply your efforts.  His kingdom will continue to grow.

Lord, thank You for helping us grow closer to You through the parables Jesus told.  Forgive us for underestimating our tiny offerings.  Help us today knead yeast into the dough of life, one act of love at a time.  Let our efforts grow Your kingdom as we share Your goodness with others.  In You, we have life to the fullest.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What small act of love changed your life?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 10 GW; Psalms 125 GW; Luke 12 GW

Riches don’t measure wealth.

Today’s scripture is the ending sentence in an interesting parable.  A rich man spends all his time making money.  Finally, he decides he has enough and can stop working (Luke 12:16-19 NIV). God gave him this message: 

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! I will demand your life from you tonight! Now who will get what you’ve accumulated?’ (Luke 12:20 GW)

No matter how much the rich man had, it was never enough.  He felt the need for more.  Material things won’t fill the void only God can fill.  God created us for a relationship with Him and others.  Our first priority in life is loving God, our second loving others.  Anything that comes before those two things is stealing life from us.  In today’s parable, the man’s wealth got in the way of his relationship with God, which means his relationship with others as well.

Redefine your assets.

Typically assets mean cash, real estate, and equipment.  Running a business means managing whatever possessions you have.  People aren’t possessions, but they are resources.  Our most significant assets are the people God places in our lives.  

Managing the people in your life means loving each of them like Jesus.  We can only do that with God’s help.  Asking God to see people through His eyes will change your perspective.  You’ll find wealth in the relationships you create.

Money is something you can always make.  Today in America, businesses are desperate for workers.  People are not replaceable.  When you lose someone, you don’t get them back, not until you meet in heaven.

Don’t make the same mistake the rich man did; make God and people your priority.  Don’t waste time on riches that won’t last.

Lord, we love Your parables.  Thank You for the lesson You teach us through them.  Forgive us for the times we’ve placed riches before a relationship.  Help us always put You first in our lives as we seek to love people for You.  As we draw closer to You, let us experience true wealth in You.  All glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Have you found wealth in Jesus?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 9 GW; Luke 11 GW

God answers all prayers.

Today’s verse is one of the most well-known.  Having a God you can ask for anything you want is something we all desire.  But that doesn’t mean God will give us our request. However, you will receive an answer.  

Over my lifetime, I’ve heard many sermons on God’s answers, which fall into three categories: yes, no, and wait.  Never have I listened to a message where God gives me everything I desire.  As you grow closer to Christ, your desires become what Christ’s desires, what you ask for changes as you become more mature in your faith.

When I first started following Jesus, I was 12 years old.  My prayer requests sounded something like this, “Lord, please let my parents say yes to me staying at Lori’s house.”  But now, forty years later, my morning prayer is this, “Lord, let me produce good fruit today.”  My prayers changed as I developed my relationship with God.  His desires become mine the more I align my heart with God’s.

Keep becoming new.

Every day as we walk with God, we become a new person.  Old ways slip away as we begin to understand God’s heart.  God’s love is for everyone.  Jesus died for the world; no one is left out.  When we ask God to help us see the people around us through His eyes, our vision will change.  Our hearts will soften in unexpected ways.

As you grow closer to God, watch as your prayer life changes.  Your conversations with God will become more intimate as you trust Him more.  When you ask for your heart’s desire, you’ll find it’s whatever God’s heart desire is.

Lord, thank You for always being with us; not a moment of our life goes by that You’re not present.  Forgive us for doubting You and Your love for us.  As we begin a new day, help us become more like Christ.  Help us to see the people in our lives through Your eyes.  Give us a heart full of love for all we see.  Whoever crosses our path, help us love them well for You.  In all things, the glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How have your prayers changed since you started following Jesus?