Category Archives: Daily Devotions

Micah Experienced Dark Times, But Took Hope From the Coming New Day

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Many folks would say that we are living in dark times. If you just listen to the nightly news you will be moved to feel both uncertainty and anxiety. The constant reports about Global warfare and “what went wrong today” affects not only how we live but how we react to how we have to live. Depression casts its shadow over normally happy lives, and shadows prevail over sunshine… If you are living in darkness, Micah says you have an advocate, and that you will again be able to rise and shine. Here’s the secret:

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.” (Micah 7:7-9, NIV).

Micah predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, at a time when Jerusalem seemed to have recovered some of their spiritual equilibrium under Hezekiah. After years of darkness under evil rulers, it seemed that God’s glory over Israel was about to shine again in perpetuity. Yet Micah preached that the opposite was going to happen. I’m sure he was criticized and ridiculed, and there were times when it must have seemed as if he was swimming against the current, standing alone in a culture that felt somewhat holy and successful.

How Should We Deal With Difficulty and Stress?

He says two things that are instructive. 1) He says “I wait for God my Savior”. How many times do I get impatient with God? We are the instant gratification generation, and often try to move far ahead of God’s timing or our own preparedness. Abram waited 25 YEARS for God to fulfill his promise of a son. Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s court, and then 40 YEARS as a fugitive before God called him to lead Israel out of slavery. After his conversion, Paul spent at least three YEARS in the desert being prepared for his mission. Over and over the Bible illustrates that God’s timing often requires patience.

2) Micah sees God’s judgment as one hundred per cent just; he acknowledges God not only as his righteous judge, but also as his advocate. He places his fate entirely in God’s hands. Micah allows the light of God to shine into the darkest parts of his heart. It stands to reason that Micah has to tell his defense attorney everything, and he has to confess to all of his crimes. That might be especially awkward when your advocate is also your judge. In God’s courtroom, however, it is the best move to make.

Good for You

Confession is not only good for the soul, it is the key to staying right with God. David committed terrible sins, but stayed intimate with God because of his contrite confession. Micah also has confidence that he has an advocate in God because he confessed.

In the New Testament words of John, it is the same with us: “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And, “if any man sin, he has an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the righteous.” (1 John 1:9, 2:1). You want to hope in the Lord? Confess. Would you like to rise after you have fallen? Confess. Live in the light? Confess. Receive defense from the best advocate ever? You got it. Take a minute this morning to confess humbly before your God. Then watch. Hope. Rise. Shine!

Micah’s Advocate

Micah lived in misery, and sat in darkest night,
Preaching to his enemies without a hope in sight!
And yet, he said with confidence, “The Lord will be my light!”
Micah stood before the court whose judgment he must face,
And yet he said “Lord I confess. Please, Father, plead my case.”
So, when you stand before the bench, like me and all the rest,
Make sure you have an advocate who’s better than the best;
In this case you will have the greatest chance if you’ve confessed,
So, tell the Father you’ve transgressed and get it off your chest!
Even though there may be darkness covering your eyes,
Confess, and let God plead your case, and see His light, and Rise.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

If You See a Judge in the Mirror, It’s Time for a NEW LOOK

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Jesus must have been pretty familiar with Obadiah, since many of his statements about being judgmental resonate pretty strongly with this short prophetic word. (In fact, Jesus seemed pretty familiar with ALL of the Old Testament, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog!) One of the things Obadiah said could be paraphrased like this: Take a hard look in the Mirror: if you see a judge looking back at you, consider this…

Putting the “Bad” in Obadiah

“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” (Obadiah v 15, NIV). Reading through the Minor Prophets is not for the timid. This verse certainly connects with Amos and his dire warnings about the Day of the Lord. If you look through these prophetic books, there are plenty of references to God as a Holy and Righteous Judge.

If you’re not that big on the Old Testament, it is interesting to note that this theme resonates in ALL OF Scripture: Galatians 6:7 says “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Matthew 7:2 says, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Interestingly enough, while all of these verses talk about GOD being the judge, NONE of them mentions how WE are supposed to be the ones who judge.

While the Bible is not real big on karma (See: eastern religions, legalism, causality, and ‘tit for tat’), it is pretty consistent about consequences. And there is the nagging suspicion I have that Jesus meant what he said—that I will be judged, somehow, some way, with the same intolerant standards that I have used to dismiss others.

Do We Get A Pass?

I have heard a lot of Christians say, “well, of course, God won’t judge ME, because I am covered by grace.” And yes, I believe we are ultimately and irrevocably covered by grace. But I also think that I will stand before God among the great and small (way back there in the “small” section), and I will be humbled by how I lived; that I will be ashamed of what I did (and didn’t do); and that I will see how short-sighted and ignorant my judgments were. Things will look differently to me then than they do now.

I feel very certain that when “That Day” comes, I will experience judgment and understand the true cost of sin. I will feel the weight of my own selfishness and pettiness, and my sins will be evident before God. (And maybe everybody!)

Yes, I am confident that I will look at my Savior and behold the majesty of God’s grace, and yes I am confident in my salvation. But we Christians tend to see the cross as our escape, and see judgment as an “either-or” situation. Both Jesus and Paul said that followers of Christ would not experience condemnation; I’m not sure either one said we would not experience judgment.

Immunity doesn’t Authorize Impunity

Perhaps, with a whole eternity available for God to work in us and on us, there could be a “both-and” possibility in which ALL of these verses are true… I’m probably treading on thin theological ice to suggest such a thing, but we know that 1) all men will stand before God in judgment, (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:12) and that 2) believers will face their own specific judgment before the Bema seat (I Corinthians 3).

Nowhere are we told that believers are exempt from or immune to judgment, yet I know I often live as if I can make all the mistakes I want, or be as mediocre as I please and it doesn’t hurt anything. OR, I subtly (or blatantly) pronounce judgment on others, particularly if they are liberal or conservative, divorced, or gay, or tattooed, or different from me. Perhaps you do the same thing?

If so, read Matthew 7:1-2 again. It says what Obadiah says. In any case, it would probably improve our behavior if all of us Christians lived as if we would indeed reap what we sow, and be judged exactly the way we have judged others. If I read my Bible correctly, we will be.

Here Comes the Judge!

Judging is an easy thing; we do it every day.
As Christians, we judge “sinners” for the things they do and say.
We can call out public sins, or stuff that no one sees,
Sounding in our righteousness like modern Pharisees.
Jesus knew the evil and the wickedness of men,
But said he only came to save us, rather than condemn.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged” is something that he said,
While Obadiah said, your deeds will fall upon your head!

So please be careful how you judge, and what you say and do,
Since every judgment that you make will also cover you.
Jesus made a statement: from its terms he never budged;
Remember that he said, “Judge not, lest you yourselves be judged.”

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

How Smug Should We Feel About the Coming Judgement?

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(Quick Note: Before we get into judgement, for those of you following along since Easter on Linked In or WordPress, in the last thirty days, we have covered the first thirty Books of the Bible. We started after Easter in Genesis and have been reading day by day straight through into the Minor Prophets. In another month or so we will have covered devotional thoughts from all 66 books of the Bible…)

A Pretty Straightforward Message

Here’s day Thirty-one: If you are pretty secure about what you believe, you may feel a little smug sometimes. (Thank goodness I know the Lord, but it’s too bad about all those other folks!) As Christians, we often gravitate to an “insider-outsider” paradigm, happy to be safe within the “circle of trust”.

Amos warned against feeling too smug or taking anything for granted: “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.” (Amos 5:18-19, NIV).

I worry sometimes about us Christians… Wrapped in the cloak of grace, we feel immune from God’s judgment. We get puffed up sometimes, feeling secure enough in our salvation to condemn those with more obvious sins. We live in nice houses and dress up and go to church while there are needy and hungry people in our cities. Some Christians can easily see how much others need to repent while we feel inwardly proud of our own spirituality. We may not blatantly mistreat sinners, but we sure don’t tolerate them and we feel secretly glad that it isn’t us.

Don’t Assume


We pick and choose Scripture, ignoring Christ’s admonition that we should not judge others, lest we ourselves be held to the same standard of hypocritical self-righteousness. We think we are ready for the day of the Lord, but Amos says that may be presumptuous at best. Revelation 20:12 tells us that the dead will all stand before the throne to be judged according to their works. As a Christian, I believe that I am saved from the eternal penalty of sin; but nowhere in the Bible do I read that I am exempt from standing before God and giving account. Neither are you.

There will be signs given on earth that the Day of the Lord is coming. When it happens, it should not surprise anyone who knows the Scriptures, but how many people really understand that? Jesus speaks of the birth pains preceding his return, saying there will be wars, earthquakes and famines— “because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.” (Mark 13:19). Recent events have people wondering a bit, but I believe that the Covid-19 pandemic is merely a warm-up, a reminder that the day is coming.

Judgment Day

The Day of the Lord will be preceded by conflict and anguish, by upheaval and disaster, and it will usher in the judgment of all men, great and small. Joel called it “great and dreadful”.
Amos says that some who outwardly express the desire for Christ to return may be blind to how unprepared they really are for such an event. Their assumptions about security may be mistaken, and they may find that the earthly identity and possessions that made them feel immune from judgment are really an illusion.

Amos challenges our smug assumptions and false security by asking, “Why do you long for the day of the Lord?” He makes me think that I better have my heart ready for that Day, because my place in it may be way different than I assume. I am often ready to judge others, as if I myself were somehow above that possibility… When we feel self-righteous, we piously call for God to judge the wicked. What Amos is really saying is, “Be careful what you wish for…”

That Day

The whole idea of Judgment Day should make us think again;
We’ll stand before the Lord, and He will judge the souls of men.
Every man will face His judgment, whether great or small,
And, as we stand before His throne, the Lord will judge us all.

Many of us think that we don’t have to be committed,
That if we just acknowledge Him, then we will be acquitted;
And yet we live with petty sins, we judge the other guys,
We live in Satan’s kingdom, and we listen to his lies,
Assuming we are safe, while feeling pretty smug and wise,
Praying Jesus would come soon. Well, try this on for size:
For many folks, the Judgment Day will be a big surprise!

Fear the Lord! extend His Grace and Love to every man,
And take as many folks to heaven with you as you can.
It is not your job to judge the people, or to smite them;
Tell them all about God’s kingdom: Love them, and invite them.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF

Locusts Eat and Ravage Every Growing Thing in Their Path

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I remember seeing an old movie about some settlers on the prairie who were attacked by a swarm of locusts. The insects literally darkened the sky like a cloud and brought darkness and fear everywhere they went. These clouds of millions of bugs literally consumed all of the crops in their path. These kinds of swarms of Locusts came sweeping through Biblical lands from time to time, eating crops, consuming future food supplies and leaving devastation in their wake…

Why Judgment?

Here in the 30th book of the Bible, Joel compares the judgment day of the Lord to such an event, a time of fear and devastation. “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity…Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…“ (Joel 2:11-13; 21; 25, NIV)

Since you and I have probably never been swarmed over by millions of locusts, it’s instructive for us to consider what does indeed bring destruction into our lives, and what causes pain, loss, and devastation. It’s also what connects us irrevocably to God’s judgment. which the Minor Prophets are so good at pointing out. We live in a fallen, broken world, and we are subject to the Lord’s judgment because of sin. Our self-will and disobedience bring the locusts destruction into our lives even though (as Joel points out) our Father’s desire is to be gracious and compassionate.

Not so Minor

The “Minor” prophets delivered messages that warned about the impending Day of the Lord, a day of judgment and calamity brought about by the unfaithfulness of Israel. God’s intent to allow judgment to fall on Israel is a major theme in the Minor Prophets. Israel is warned that if they keep following little gods, they will indeed encounter justice at the hands of the Living God.

There is, however another theme that stands out like a beautiful flower growing alone on a rough mountain ledge: restoration. God sends the warnings repeatedly to call Israel back to Himself. We have the benefit of hindsight, and yes, Israel left God; they experienced the total devastation akin to locusts eating all of their crops. At the risk of trivializing calamity,  the warnings God gave are actually more significant than the real tragedies that befell Israel.

Truth and Consequences

God’s consistent message was: Sin has consequences, and if you choose to live in sin, you will experience devastation and death. Stay with me, and you’ll be safe and protected. Return to me in genuine, heart-felt repentance, and you will know nothing but grace and compassion. If you don’t choose the locusts of sin, you’ll have my blessing instead!
Two thoughts occur to me here: we all have a tendency to “rend our garments but not our hearts.” First, acting like a Christian for others to see is not the same thing as being yielded and sold out to God. (I know this from years of experience). Remember that He looks upon our hearts, not just our outward behavior.

Second, when we turn to our Father with genuine humility, God will restore us. In Old Testament times, people who felt compelled to repent made a public display of it, tearing their clothes and laying prostrate on the street. Joel tells us to turn to the Lord, to rend our hearts and not just our garments. He says that God intends to make us whole, and to rebuild what our sinful choices have torn down, what the locusts of sin have destroyed. (I also claim this is true, based on years of experience.)

After all that Job went through, after all of the devastation and loss, when he turned back to God, his life was restored. Job 42:10 says “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” His repentance resulted in restoration and revival. It didn’t undo all of the damage that had been done, but it did give Job restoration and a fresh start. So, rend your heart instead of your garments! If you are acting like a Christian but harboring locusts, clean house!

After Locusts, Restoration

Farmers labored every day to earn a living from their fields,
Applying muscle, toil and sweat to try to get the greatest yields.
And then the cloud appeared– you couldn’t even do the math–
As locusts by the millions brought destruction in their path.
They ate the crops, the flowers, and they even ate the grass;
They only thought of selfish appetite when they would pass.

Well, sin is just like that. It only thinks of selfish things,
And doesn’t even care about the destruction that it brings;
It comes into your life and can destroy your peace of mind,
Without regard to all the pain and death it leaves behind…
God said, “Turn to me with all your heart, and not for show–
And I will give you grace, and let compassion overflow.”

If sin has hurt and knocked you down, don’t think that you are beaten
For God says he’ll repay you for the lost years that were eaten!
If you can turn away from sin, and simply trust the Lord,
You may just be surprised to see the things that He restored.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Victory May Not Be the Only Thing That Makes You Victorious

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This amazing story in Daniel illustrates vividly that temporal outcomes are not everything. It’s one of those made-for-VBS stories that resonates with the courage and faith of Israelites who had been taken prisoner and carried off when Babylon conquered Israel in 586 BC. While they were captive in Babylon, three of Daniel’s friends were condemned to death. The King pronounced their sentence, and everyone in the royal court was certain the men were doomed to a fiery death. As the three surveyed the situation, however, they declared that you can be Victorious, Whether in Victory or Defeat…

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18, NIV).

The Ultimate Test

Daniel’s three friends were put to the test. Since they refused to bow down to a golden idol, the king decreed that they were going to be thrown into a fiery furnace. This was their response, and it is the essence of true faith: “We believe God will deliver us, and we’ll stake our lives on Him, but even if he doesn’t deliver us from the fire, it’s ok. We still won’t bow down to any idol or give our worship to anyone less than God.”

I think their response is fascinating because it provides the key to living a victorious life. We often want our faith validated by the results we desire. If I ask for protection, but something bad still happens, then God failed to be victorious! He didn’t do what I asked Him to do!

Perhaps then, I might reason, God is not worthy of my faith. If I ask for healing, and don’t get it, then I could say He failed to provide a miracle. I could see it as God’s failure to take care of me, and be angry because I assume that I know more about appropriate outcomes than He does. If I had cancer, and went into remission, is that a miracle? If it comes back, is that God’s fault?

Just what is it that makes me victorious? Perhaps it is not victory in human terms. Maybe the miracle is God’s abiding presence, or peace within the valley of the shadow itself… Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego staked their lives on God; either He would deliver them from the fire, or He would deliver them by letting them be consumed in the fire. It certainly looks easy on paper, removed from the consequences, but to these men in that moment it was all or nothing, wasn’t it?

Victory Through Defeat?

Either outcome was the Lord’s, and their faith was justified regardless of circumstances. They were willing to stake their lives on their faith, and were confident that they would proceed in victory however things turned out. If they lived, they lived BY faith. If they died, they would die IN faith. The Apostle Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) He also said, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

Next time we pray for a selfish outcome, perhaps instead we should ask God for the courage to believe him regardless of what the outcome might be. Find that place in your heart and you will be victorious in every circumstance. I think you’ll find true worship as well.

Victory in Defeat

Does victory only happen when we triumph, or are glorious?
Or should we redefine just what it means to be victorious?
The God we serve can save us from the devil’s fiery furnace,
But even if He doesn’t, and our circumstances burn us,
We can find His peace, and still be comforted by this:
We are victorious not by winning, but because we’re HIS.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Ezekiel’s Audience Listened But Failed to Hear. Don’t Be Like Them

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“He who has Ears to Hear” was a phrase Jesus used many times. He often said that to his disciples (who followed him), or in the presence of religious leaders (who didn’t). Usually it applied to people who heard his sermons but didn’t once think about applying them. They physically heard his words with their ears, but they never took them into their hearts. What was heard in the spiritual world failed to be applied in the secular one. Amazing how much it still applies today.

Ezekiel said, “Here’s your Problem, Right Here…”

“As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. (Ezekiel 33:30-32 NIV).

Ezekiel’s sermons were well-crafted, like compellingly beautiful love songs sung beautifully and played with virtuosity. It must have been obvious to those who came to hear him that they were listening to the Word of God, skillfully presented to confront them and teach them with the truth. If he preached today, Ezekiel would be in a mega-church and would be heard by thousands.

There’s Hearing, and then There’s Hearing

Ezekiel was well-known, a prophet who had a long career bringing God’s Word to the people. His vivid description of Israel’s sin, betrayal, and impending judgment apparently made for good theatre, and he was the talk of the town for a while. People spoke about his sermons around the neighborhood, in the thoroughfares, and in the marketplace. He preached to packed houses, drawing big crowds who came to hear the messages. But his audience only gave his sermons lip service, and people failed to apply the prophet’s word to their lives.

Can you imagine something like that? People who spoke glowingly of love but were really only concerned with greed and material things? A congregation who put on a good front but actually left church unmoved and unchanged? People who dressed up to go hear a message from God but didn’t really apply it? Churchgoers who acted one way on Sunday, and differently Monday? It must have been a problem men struggled with for a long time, because even in the New Testament, James 1:22 says, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Well, the good news is, Ezekiel and James lived a long time ago! I’m sure glad that kind of stuff never happens anymore…

Doers Not Hearers

We go to church, and we can’t wait
To hear a sermon that is great;
We worship, since that’s why we came
And walk back out the door, the same…
You can go to church and pray,
But it should change you every day;
So let me make this crystal clear:
If you have ears to hear, then hear!
If God’s word’s heard, and then applied,
You cannot stay the same inside.
If there’s a message that you’ve heard,
Then be a doer of the word.
Following Christ is more than talk:
So hear the word, and walk the walk.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Hope, Like the Sun, Arises Even From the Darkest Night

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Every week, it seems, brings new challenges and new problems. From minor inconveniences to life-changing events, having problems is one of the things we can count on in this world… Thank goodness there’s something else we can count on as well:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV).

Lamentations is a book full of just that; it expresses grief and mourning over the fact that Israel has been conquered and destroyed. As 1:12 plaintively asks, “Is there any sorrow like my sorrow?” 1:20 says, ““See, O Lord, that I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious.”

Heartbreak or Hope?

Lamentations is filled with images of grief and pain. The citizens of Jerusalem have been devastated by the Babylonians, and there is ruin and destruction all around them. This Book of the Bible is written by real people who have experienced the horrors of war. The Book of Lamentations is a lament over the fact that their men have been decimated and their women have been violated. Grief is pervasive and overwhelming.

Yet in the midst of the violation and devastation, this song is sung: the Lord’s compassions never fail! They are new every morning. From the depths of sorrow comes a ray of hope: God is compassionate in the midst of sorrow. Webster’s defines compassion as  consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. One of the great differences between the God of the Bible and other ‘little g’ gods is compassion. Only this God –revealed in the Bible– became a man, shared our sorrows, and experienced our grief and pain. He knows where you are because He has been there. He understands loneliness, heartache, being misunderstood, and even the pain of death. And here’s the thing: He understands our pain or loss, not from some cosmic vantage point, but as one who desires to alleviate it.

A Sliver of Hope May Be Enough

While there is no guarantee that all pain will cease, Lamentations promises that if you turn to Him, He will care about you and offer comfort in the midst of it. A ray of hope may not seem like much when you are hurting, but if you are covered in overwhelming darkness, it can be the only thing worth holding on to. Words and platitudes (or blogs) don’t really solve our problems, but seeking the Lord offers you supernatural peace and hope. The struggle is real. So is God.

Today is a new day, and you have made it through the darkness to another dawn. Winston Churchill famously said, “When you are going through hell, keep going.” While I admire Churchill’s persistence and indomitable spirit, the writer of Lamentations might say, “When you are consumed by darkness, move to the light.” In the darkest of pits, we have the opportunity to discover the comfort in God’s inextinguishable light. King David wept over the consequences of his sin (including the death of his infant son). He was overwhelmed by darkness and tragedy, but ultimately, he proclaimed in Psalm 73:26, “my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Perhaps you have been through hard times, or have been discouraged by the darkest of times. It is a new day, and you are here. Look up! Remember that God’s compassion and faithfulness are unfailing, and He is extending them to YOU. The world may have mistreated you, and circumstances may be difficult. But the fact that you are still here offers hope even if you’ve been knocked down. When we are down, we can still reach up. In John 16:31, Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Today is a new day, full of hope. Seize it! Proclaim God’s faithfulness and participate in His compassion!

New Day, New Hope

Even in the darkest night, there is a coming dawn–
A rising hope that sends its light to tell us, “Carry on!”
No matter what our circumstance, no matter what we do,
The gathering light reminds us of the God who makes things new.
In troubles, we discover what the Lord’s great love entails;
Find solace in His comfort: His compassion never fails.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Hide and Seek Can Be Fun! (Just Don’t Seek the Wrong Thing)

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When my Grandchildren come over we love to play “hide and seek”. (The ones under 5 years old are not always super hard to find, by the way.) There is something delightful about having someone looking for you, isn’t there? There’s a sense of anticipation during the search, and there are screams of laughter when someone gets found. We may think that seeking someone is just a childish game, but there is really way more to it than that.

If you haven’t noticed yet, in our devotional series since Easter we have been doing our devotional reading through the Bible, starting in Genesis and going forward through every book. Yesterday we talked about Isaiah. (If you stick with us the next 40 days or so, you’ll be able to say you’ve read in every Book of the Bible!) Here on Day 25, we find ourselves in Jeremiah, and we’re looking at a fairly popular verse: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV).

He Wept for a Reason

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet, and he preached in a time of upheaval and conflict. He didn’t sugar-coat the word of God, and he didn’t just tell people what they wanted to hear. Jeremiah was judged harshly by his audience. He was thrown into a muddy pit and ridiculed by all who passed by. He lived in difficult times and predicted some terrible things ahead for Israel. In 1:14, he said, “calamity shall break forth on all the inhabitants of the land.” In 4:7, he predicted, “The lion has come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place to make your land desolate.” His harsh sermons were intended to call people to repent and avoid judgement, but apparently people rejected his message instead.

If you read all the way through Jeremiah, you might understand why his congregations wanted to throw him in a pit! His preaching was full of doom, gloom and disaster. Jeremiah 4:18 says, “How bitter [your punishment] is! It pierces the heart!” But in the midst of his dire warnings about the coming judgment, there is this fairly well-known comforting promise in 29:11, which speaks of hope and restoration. I have seen this verse quoted many times, and in fact we put it on the wall above the door to our garage, so we see it every time we go out.

A Light in the Darkest Night

It is one of my favorites because it reveals the nurturing side of the Lord’s character, the one that focuses on love and redemption. God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Just don’t forget to add verses 12 and 13. “12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (The Italics for emphasis are mine).

Everybody claims verse 11; not everybody bases their answer on the rest of the equation. God’s promise is extended to those who call on Him and pray to Him. We are promised we will find God if we seek him with our WHOLE heart. This thought is echoed in Hebrews 11:6, which says that God is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

Have you ever been half-hearted with God? Not feeling as close to God as you’d like? Seek Him. Call upon His name. Pray earnestly to the Lord. Don’t be half-hearted in your search. And what, pray tell, does he say will happen if you seek Him with your whole heart? You will find Him: BOOM!

Jeremiah 29:11 And More

Ever feel that’s God’s not real, or He is far away?
Does it seem your words don’t matter, sometimes, when you pray?
God says, “I have plans for you, and I will help you cope;
If you seek me, you will find that I’m the God of hope!
If you want to find me, here’s the way to make a start:
Come to me in faith, and look for me with all your heart!
You’ll discover all my love, for I have plans for you:
Plans to give you hope today, and for your future, too.”

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Is God Not Who You Expected? Perhaps You Should Change Your Expectations

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Expectations play a large role in our contentment and happiness. We can literally set ourselves up for failure or success, happiness or discontent, just based on our expectations. Have you ever met someone who did not turn out to be who you expected, and you were disappointed? Have you met someone who surprised you by exceeding your expectations? It’s a pleasant surprise, isn’t it?

When you look at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, there were people who saw him on both sides of potential expectations. His own siblings thought he might be crazy. The disciples Like James and John saw him as a way up and out. They knew he was powerful, but they weren’t really sure where that power was headed. The Pharisees saw him as an outsider, and they wanted to get rid of him. The Roman leaders didn’t know what to make of him.

The Heart of Expectations

Expectations may color our thinking, but they really don’t change the reality behind them. Things may not be what you expect, but they are definitely what they are. What if Jesus was not who you expected him to be? And what if the wages of sin really are death? Does that give you a free pass from the penalty of your iniquities? Isaiah said that the Messiah wasn’t a triumphant king but a suffering sacrifice. He also compared us to sheep who insist on going our own way, regardless of the consequences:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV).

A Matter of Perspective?

I’ve wondered many times why my Jewish friends don’t see Jesus the same way I do. He was Jewish, and he came as Messiah, yet he was not who they expected. In a way, I totally understand, because we are all immersed in our own reality, and sometimes it’s impossible to see around our own perspective. At the time, under Roman occupation, the Jewish Leaders looked for revolutionary deliverance, and were hoping for political independence and freedom.

Yet Jesus was not who they expected: he never got political, and didn’t seem to give a fig about overthrowing Rome.(Kind of ironic when you consider that Christianity played such a big role in ending the domination of the Roman empire…)

I’m sure the Jewish zealots who followed him were disappointed that he came as a suffering servant rather than as an earthly king. Apparently Jesus, who came to set up a spiritual kingdom through his suffering, did not meet their Messianic expectations, and they rejected the notion that he could be the One.

Missed it by That Much

I once heard Bill Dial preach a really good sermon speculating that perhaps Judas betrayed Christ only to force his hand and start the revolution he thought was ultimately coming… He expected Jesus to rise up in power, not to be tried like a criminal. When that happened, Judas was devastated by the way things turned out because he expected a King instead of the cross. He missed Jesus’ true purpose as expressed here in Isaiah, and ended up hanging himself in grief and remorse.

Question: do we ever miss who God really is because we are hoping for something different? Is God’s response ever different than you expected? “Lord, bless me financially and I’ll believe you are real.” “Lord, heal me and I’ll know it’s you.” Are we ever sitting in a cave like Elijah, expecting to see God in the whirlwind? Can we be so wrapped up in our own presuppositions about who we’d LIKE Jesus to be that we miss who he IS? You know what they say about ASSUME… (When we do it, “it makes an ass out of u and me”).

He is Who He Is

When the Lord called himself, “I AM”, he was referring to the fact that He is in the moment. He is now. He is what we need. But perhaps He was also referring to the fact that He is who He is, not who we expect Him to be… We are not the shapers of God’s identity, but we are the creation to whom He reveals himself. I cannot define God, because He defines himself.

So don’t put God in a box—expect to find Him in unexpected ways and places… And while you’re at it, set aside your assumptions about church. Enter church as a suffering servant rather than as a sanctified saint. Stop being judgmental about the judgmental. Look at the man who was pierced for our transgressions. For my money, he was the Messiah who came to deliver not just Israel from occupation, but all of us from enemy territory. But don’t take my word for it; get to know Jesus. Then decide for yourself.

Rumination on Expectation

In a world of independent rights, here’s a disturbing thought:
God is always WHO HE IS, whether you like it or not.
What if He turns out to be much more than you expected?
When we reach the Judgment Day, will you be unprotected?
What if, in the Kingdom, we are standing there like fools,
Just wishing we had got to know the king of Kings, who rules?
Perhaps you don’t believe in God; But what if He’s really there?
What’s his personality? And should you even care?
If you have never talked to God before, consider this:
It might be good to get to know him just the way He is.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Sex and its Designer: Fifty Shades of GOD

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Most folks feel the Bible can be pretty Puritanical when it comes to sex. Does God hate sex? Or did He just have different intentions about its purpose? Is it possible that sex has been misappropriated by broken people with selfish or incomplete agendas? What does the Bible say about sex?

“I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.” (Song of Solomon 7:10, NIV)

Wait. The Bible Has Something Good to Say About Sex?

In the Bible there are many warnings about indiscriminate sex, and prohibitions against all kinds of sexual activity. In our world today, there are those who call such values outdated, Puritanical, repressive, and even hateful. So why is there a book smack dab in the middle of the Bible that rejoices in sex, that celebrates intimacy between a man and a woman, and that sets Biblical prudishness back 3,000 years? Have you read the Song of Solomon lately? It’s a racy dialog between two lovers, whose intimacy is anticipated, sung about by friends, and broadcast across the pages of the Bible for all the world to read wherever Bibles are sold.

From the way these lovers rejoice in blessed carnality, the way they adore each other’s bodies and feast among each other’s lilies, one might actually get the idea that the Creator actually also created SEX! And that it can be guilt free, pleasurable, and downright HOT. There seems to be only one catch: it was designed to function best in a relationship between a husband and wife.

Lots of Choices

People have been having other kinds of sex (and seemingly getting away with it) ever since man left the garden to live in a fallen world. Noah’s generation was licentious and wild. Lot’s neighborhood was downright depraved. If you look around today’s world, we are encouraged to have more kinds of sex than ever before. Our current generation has ramped things up by adding transgender, which blurs lines to suggest even more sexual possibilities. In our “modern” world, sex can be had in just about every way imaginable. A partial list includes premarital, extramarital, same gender, swinging, wild, experimental, prostituted, BDSM, who-knows-what online, and all kinds of casual, temporary sexual activity.

All of these, we are told, provide pleasure and possible fulfillment. I’m sure that, to some degree, they do. And yet, somehow, there is a lot of hit and miss in those promises. Apart from temporary, transient pleasure, casual sex has a lot of downside. Those activities can result in low self-esteem, “the walk of shame”, humiliation, VD, or the abortion clinic, where the pleasure seems far away and the residue of lust seems lonely and incomplete. Every one of the hook-ups on “Friends” had results they never covered in the script. (And those are just the results from consensual activities. As the “Me, Too” movement illustrated, there are lots of tragic non-consensual possibilities in our “modern” sexual world…)

Not the Whole Story?

Folks who have engaged in even just the consensual pursuits often end up feeling used, broken-hearted, lonely, bitter, and empty. Guys try to make a clean getaway while girls wonder, “What’s wrong with me?” What if we asked the world to say, “Me too” if they’ve experienced that? We see couples on TV hooking up on almost every show we watch, and we hear about the promised thrills a lot—but not so much about the failed relationships, broken hearts, and the emptiness of the morning after…

Great sex, according to the Bible, is hottest when two lovers belong to each other. It has intimacy based on the fact that it represents the union between us and our creator; it has spiritual depth because it represents not only carnality and passion but caring and compassion.

The Song of Solomon says that God wants lovers to have great sex— just not cheap, selfish, abusive, or temporary sex. You’d think the creator might know some secrets about the creation. I bet if you asked Him about kissing, He’d tell. He’d probably even write a little something down about it, and it would have way more than 50 shades. Read the manual, and you’ll know a lot more about how to drive the car…

Fifty Shades of God

Doesn’t God hate sex? The Bible tells us not to do it,
Doesn’t God prohibit sex and all that there is to it?
I’ve heard, when sex is talked about, that God is just tyrannical,
And that the Bible’s stance on it is somewhat Puritanical…
And yet the Song of Solomon presents two smitten lovers
Who obviously enjoy themselves while underneath the covers!
It celebrates their intimacy in waves of carnal pleasure,
And God says that their love should be expressed in fullest measure!

They feast among the lilies, and they frolic in the glades,
Enjoying Godly intimacy in more than Fifty Shades!
When sex is blessed by God, it seems that nothing is forbidden;
When love unites the lovers, God says nothing must be hidden!
There is some ancient wisdom on it: go and take a look;
Just check with your Creator. After all, He wrote the book.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread