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Faithful Sounding

  Listen to today’s devotional John 11:45-53 Sometimes, I wonder if knowing what to say about God makes it easier to avoid actually listening to God. In other words, I can find a Bible verse and know the church lingo to make something sound faithful. But sounding faithful and being faithful can be two different things. Two very different things. Just listen again to Caiaphas. After Jesus raised Lazarus, the religious leaders recognized that people were believing in him. They worry because they fear Rome’s response. In their discussion, Caiaphas offers what sounds like practical advice to them. He says that one man should die so the nation can live. That pretty much sums up our faith, but he means Jesus needs to go for good. More is happening in those words than Caiaphas understands. Jesus will die for the people. His death will gather God’s scattered children together. Caiaphas says the right thing. But imagine asking him what he actually means. I know I've prayed something like, “...
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Pardon and Peace

  Listen to today’s devotional Psalm 119:49-56 My Sunday School class recently read and reflected on Psalm 1. In some way, I think about that psalm almost every day. Since my first email account back in the late 1900s, I’ve signed off my messages with “Stay blessed.” The blessing I have in mind comes from that psalm, and it is a life rooted in God’s wisdom. Psalm 119 gives us another glimpse of that life. The psalmist finds hope in God’s promise and comfort in distress. God’s word gives him life. That made me think of John 6, where the disciples tell Jesus, "Only you have the words of life.” Then that brought an old hymn to mind: “Wonderful Words of Life.” My attention honed in on one line of that song: “offer pardon and peace to all.” As I read the hymn, God's word offers pardon and peace to all. But I also wonder, as we learn God's wisdom of life, doesn't that mean we offer pardon and peace to all as well? Wouldn’t learning God’s ways mean learning to offer forgivene...
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Rejected, Yet Precious

  Listen to today’s devotional Rejected, Yet Precious October 5, 2026 1 Peter 2:4-8 I've got a lot of stuff in my house that wouldn't impress you. Things you wouldn't buy at my garage sale. Old photos, things my kids have made, and, as you might know, a lot of CDs. Someone else may glance at these things and not think twice about them. But good luck trying to convince me to throw any of it away. There's something precious about the things themselves and what they mean to me. First Peter describes Jesus as a living stone, "rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight." Today, I'm reflecting on that word "yet." Jesus was rejected, yet precious. People dismissed him, yet God chose him. Those realities existed together. But Jesus did not have to wait for everyone to change their minds before he mattered to God. Let me offer a bit of encouragement and say the same thing about you. Jesus knows what rejection feels like. He knows the p...
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What I Thought She Thought

  Listen to today’s devotional Matthew 13:24-30 Years ago, when Gloria and I were first married, we started visiting a church. One Sunday, I sat beside a woman whose purse was between her and me on the pew. Partway through the service, I watched her discreetly move it to her other side. Believe it or not, that was the last time we went to that church. I remember feeling that she had taken one look at me and decided everything she needed to know. Instead of being angry about it, I've learned to use that memory to reflect on how often I’ve done that. Jesus tells a story about wheat growing alongside weeds. The servants see the weeds and immediately want to pull them up. The farmer says no because, in their hurry, they might take out the wheat, too. Of course, he sees what they see, but he also sees the harm their quick solution could cause. I understand the servants. When something is wrong, I want to do something about it now. When I watch the news or worry about someone I love, I s...
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A Prayer in the Wind

  Listen to today’s devotional A Prayer in the Wind October 1, 2026 Matthew 14:22-33 Fear is a storyteller, but it isn’t always a truthful one. Give it one bad possibility, and it will fill in the rest. Once, Jesus told his disciples to cross the lake. So, they got into a boat and went. As they were going, the wind rose against them. During their struggle, sometime before the morning, they saw someone walking toward them on the water. It was Jesus. But their fear took one look at him and called him a ghost. They eventually recognize Jesus, and Peter asks him to call him out onto the water with him. So, Jesus did. And Peter walked on water toward Jesus. We tend to remember what happened next. Peter noticed the wind and began to sink. But before he sank, remember that he walked on water first. As he started to sink, he cried, “Lord, save me!” Jesus reached out and caught him. Before that, Peter and the others had cried out because they thought Jesus was a ghost. Now Peter was afraid ...
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Fortune Cookies and Faith

  Listen to today’s devotional Fortune Cookies & Faith September 30, 2026 Luke 6:20-26 I don’t think I’ve ever finished a fortune cookie. Normally, I crack it open, pull out the little paper, eat half, and leave the rest on the plate. I’m there for the fortune, not the cookie. Lately, though, even the fortunes have been disappointing. After three plates of shrimp fried rice, I don’t need a tiny piece of paper telling me to exercise more. Sometimes, I think we want Jesus’ words to work like that little slip of paper. Something pleasant to read before we get on with our day. So, when Jesus says, “Blessed are you,” in Luke 6, we like that. But let's remember that he’s looking at people who are poor, hungry, grieving, and pushed aside. People who have heard plenty of reasons they aren't blessed. Jesus looks them in the eye and says they are. Imagine hearing that when the world has been telling you otherwise. But Jesus doesn't stop with the encouraging stuff. He then says, “...
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Before You Forget

  Listen to today’s devotional Before You Forget September 29, 2026 James 5:13-16 I can't count the times someone has said to me, “Please keep me in your prayers.” Early on, I had to learn to focus myself so I would mean it when I said, "I will." Of course, I was going to pray for them. But then we finished talking. My phone rang. I remembered something else I needed to do. By evening, I couldn't quite remember what I promised to pray about. I thought about this while looking at a church prayer list. We're pretty good at lists, for sure. We collect names, print them, email them, and add new names on Sunday morning. That can be a beautiful way to remember people. But a prayer list can also just be a list. James tells the church to “Pray for one another.” He expects us to bring our lives before God together. As much as we might want to do that, I wonder if sometimes we hesitate because we think prayer needs to sound a certain way. We have to learn the right words, h...
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