“Seeing Faith”

March 19, 2024

March 19, 2024

Read Numbers 8, Psalm 78, Mark 2

What are some things that you can’t see with the naked eye, but you know they are there? The wind, microscopic organisms, or maybe even your own brain? We may not be able to see these things, but we know that they are there because we see the effects from them. In Mark 2 we find a story of 4 men who brought a paralytic man to Jesus in a most unusual way.  The house was so packed out they could not get their friend to Jesus for a chance to experience healing, so they made their own way… through the roof. “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on” v. 4. What great faith these four took for the paralytic man to experience healing. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” v. 5. Faith is something meant to be seen, not just something we talk about. Real faith is accompanied by actions and not simply words alone. As James says, “faith without works is dead.”

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Take a Vow”

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

Read Numbers 6, Psalm 76, Colossians 4

What is something that you have made a vow to do? A wedding vow? A vow to never do something that you did in your past? A vow to some conviction that you hold dearly in life? Numbers chapter 6 is the instructions for anyone, man or woman who wishes to become a Nazarite. Samson and Samuel were Nazarites according to the Scriptures and many people believe that John the Baptist was also a Nazarite, even though the Bible doesn’t specifically call him one. John the Baptist’s ascetic lifestyle seems to imply that he was one. Nazarites were to abstain from drinking alcohol, coming into contact with a dead body, and they were not to cut their hair in a specific way.

You might not consider the Nazarite vow for yourself today but is there something in your lifestyle that you set apart as a sign of obedience to the Lord or to show reference or respect for the Lord’s commands. Growing up in a culture that seems to have a “no boundaries” approach to life, Christians can easily be swayed into following all the practices of the world or what is deemed acceptable in culture. The idea of denying ourselves some pleasure or seeking to remain holy for the Lord’s use is a rare task for many today.

Paul gives some wise final instructions in Colossians 4. “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” v. 2-6.

Just like a Nazarite who devotes himself to the Lord, Christians are to devote themselves other spiritual practices like prayer and sharing the gospel. In verse 4 Paul asks for prayer in sharing the gospel, “that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” v. 4. He also challenges the believers to “Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” v. 5. This could mean a variety of specific things but would include how we treat and relate to others. Are we being good salt and light to others around us or… are we pushing anyone away with our attitude or harshness. We should make a vow to have conversations that are seasoned the perfect amount. If you have ever had French fries that were too salty or not salty enough you know what reaction it brings to you. The right balance is the way to go. What else do you see in these three chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.  

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Change Your Clothes”

March 16, 2024

March 16, 2024”

Read Numbers 5, Psalm 75, Colossians 3

Think about a time when you got filthy or dirty. What were you doing? Working on a vehicle? Doing some yard work? Or maybe something that involved children! I remember a time when I was a kid that we had been playing outside in the woods all day and in the creek. We had gotten covered in dirt and mud. When we came back to the house we had to strip down to out skivvies on the back porch before entering the house. We went right to the shower and got cleaned up and put on a new set of clean clothes. My grandmother was a clean freak. Once when my brother and I went out to spend a week with them in Yazoo City, Mississippi we set a record of four showers in one day. If we went outside for five minutes we had to take a shower.

Colossians 3 encourages us as followers of Christ to change our clothes also. “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” vv. 9-10. Paul uses this metaphor to talk about the change a person goes through when they decide to follow Jesus. Since we have “taken off” our old practices and behavior, we “put on” the new that reflects our Savior and Lord. Paul lists out some of the things we should take off, “You must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips” v. 8. As a Christian it’s not just enough to take somethings off, unless we want to resemble the emperor’s new clothes, we must also put on godly traits that reflect Christ. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” vv. 12-14. The last “garment” Paul says to put over everything is “love.” This is what people should see in and “on” us most of all.

What else do you see in these chapters? What questions do you have? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you? Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Demotion”

March 11, 2024

March 11, 2024

Read Leviticus 27, Psalm 70, Philippians 2

So many people love the idea of a promotion. Maybe our talents, skills, or work ethic has paid off for us and we are given a promotion at work, school, or in some other area of life. It could be more money, a better job, a bigger house or some other materialistic resource. Maybe it’s as simple as an upgrade of our phone or some piece of technology that it outdated. What promotion or upgrade have you recently experienced?

Most people do not even think about a downgrade or demotion in life. That idea is foreign to many. A rare few might consider something like that. Maybe they take a different job for less pay to have more time for themselves or family.  Maybe they might move to a different location or change schools to live near family or have the lifestyle they desire. Philippians 2 is just this very idea. Paul explains that Jesus took a big demotion to come to the earth. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” vv. 6-7. It goes even further than Jesus becoming a servant. “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” v. 8. Jesus would be willing to demote himself to the point of dying on the cross for our sins. WHY… Why would Jesus demote himself like that, ultimately giving up his own life. The answer is a deep mystery, but it is also so simply explained in Scripture. Jesus loved us enough to die for us. We may scratch our heads trying to comprehend this love, but we can be thankful for it all the same. We were loved enough for Jesus to leave the spender and majesty of heaven where he was worshiped day and night to come to earth to give his life for us.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“All of You”

March 10, 2024

March 10, 2024

Read Leviticus 26, Psalm 69, Philippians 1

Sometimes we enjoy activities or hobbies individually. Reading, crossword puzzles, or mindlessly playing on our phones. Sometimes we enjoy them with other people. Board games, sports, or family trips to name a few. We all have time in our lives for each type, individually or together. What activities or hobbies do you like to alone and which do you like to join in with others to do?  The church is one part of our faith that we cannot do alone. The church is not a building, it is the people who make up the church.

In Philippians 1 Paul starts his letter off to the church in Philippi with a greeting and thanking them for their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” v. 5. The church had come to Paul’s aid and supplied and supported him in his mission efforts. Even though Paul was in prison, his heart was full of joy for the believers in Philippi whom he was writing to. Four times in six verses Paul used the phrase “all of you” to express his joy and thanksgiving for all the Christians who had partnered with him.

In his letter to the believers in Philippi Paul says “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” v. 6. There are a couple of things to note from this verse. First, it is God who started the work in us, not ourselves, not other Christians. Second, we are not done yet. We are still working on our sanctification and maturity in Christ. The truth is that until we breathe our last here on earth, we will always have room to grow in our walk with God. If we find ourselves being stagnant and not growing in our faith it might be because we have adopted an attitude that we have arrived and know everything we need to know. Nothing could be further from the truth. The other danger is that we could become frustrated with our spiritual growth. We might grow impatient with our struggles and the slow speed that we are walking with the Lord. Do not fall into this trap either. Remember our walk with the Lord is like a marathon and not a 50-yard dash. We must pace ourselves to make the whole race.

What else do you see in these three chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stick out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Imitators”

March 8, 2024

March 8, 2024

Read Leviticus 24, Psalm 67, Ephesians 5

Children will often imitate or mimic each other to get on each other’s nerves. Unconscientiously children will often imitate other adults or an older brother or sister that they admire. As the saying goes, “imitation is the highest form of flattery.” In Ephesians 5 Paul challenges the churches in Ephesus to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” vv. 1-2. The highest form of worship we can give to the Lord is to be an imitator of Jesus. If we truly love the Lord, we will not stop at expressing that in words alone, we will imitate Jesus teachings through our actions.

There are so many people today who want to put together their own version of Jesus that is far from the Jesus of Scripture. They either focus on love and neglect the truth of Jesus teachings, or they do the opposite. Both views are incomplete and are not the real Jesus. We need both love and truth to represent the Savior we claim to imitate. When I was younger, we played a game called “follow the leader.” If Jesus is really our leader, we should make our best effort to follow Him as close as we can. This means letting go of our own will and desires and the ways of the world to follow Christ.

What else do you observe in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“The Church”

March 7, 2024

March 7, 2024

Read Leviticus 23, Psalm 66, Ephesians 4

When I say the word “church” what comes to your mind? A large building with a steeple maybe or do you think first about the people who are called Christians? When the Bible uses the word “church” it never refers to a building.” The church was the group of believers that gathered. Ephesians 4 contains great teaching on the church and what should be like and what they should be busy doing.

The first topic that Paul addresses in Ephesians 4 is unity. He urged the new believers to make every effort to live at peace with one another. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” vv. 3-6. Seven times Paul emphasizes the word “one” when he talks about the church. But we are not just to be one and the same. Clones or copies of each other. The body of Christ is filled with many unique and specific parts. Paul listed five of the occupational gifts that lead the church. “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.” vv. 11-13.

When the church functions like it should in its gifts the church will thrive more than when it is not operating in them. “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” vv. 15-16. If Jesus ever fails to be the head of the church, we need to repent and put Christ back in His rightful place.

The remaining section of Ephesians 4 discusses some practical instructions from Paul on how we can live as the church together. Paul connects the way Christians live with the thoughts they hold.  “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking” v. 15. The bottom line, your thoughts, convictions, and beliefs all have an affect on your actions and behavior. Paul closes with an illustration of taking off clothes and putting new ones one. These clothes are the outer actions of the believers, the outward things seen from a new inward belief. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” vv. 22-24. The last few verses really zoom in on our words and the things we say to one another.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Just One Sentence”

March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024

Read Leviticus 22, Psalm 65, Ephesians 3

If you have been reading my journaling thoughts semi regularly from this year you know I am reading anywhere from 3-4 chapters a day and writing down some of the things that I reflect on after I read the chapters. Most of the time what I write or the amount of what I write directly corelates to the time I have in each day. I often try to write a little something from each chapter, but this is not always the case. I also worry that if I go too long, I will lose whatever audience I may have to start! Three chapters are a lot of material to cover. There is a lot to take in when you or I read three chapters, even shorter ones. Today I want to just focus on one sentence and dwell on that today in my reading. If you are reading the Bible and your focus is to get through it in a year’s time (which is what I am doing this year) you might be tempted to just read to check off the box to knock out your 3.5 chapters a day. You also might be tempted to try and soak everything you can from the chapters you read and that is a lot of thoughts to gather. I want to help you see the “tree” through the “forest” tonight and just simply focus on one verse. You can do this too. Read a day and see what verse or sentence stands out to you most in your daily reading. Don’t feel guilty to try and soak up every drop of God’s Word and then you can get some rest or move to other things. As people, we cannot really drink in the riches of God’s word all at once anyway. It would be like trying to drink from a fire hose. I’m not trying to tell you to back off and read or study less, only to tell you that it doesn’t have to be the same each day or reach a certain level. So here is the sentence that stood out to me most today as I read.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” vv. 20-21

These two verses are a reminder to me about what kind of God I serve. God is capable to handle anything because of who He is. How often do we sell our selves short when we come to God in prayer and ask him for help or strength or to work in a situation we might be facing. It’s his power “that is at work within us.” “At work” meaning that God is in the middle of doing something not yet finished. We should be encouraged that this is not a promise for just the Christians in the first century but also for us today. That’s where the “thought out all generations” comes in.

So… what one verse stood out to you today? Maybe you didn’t read the same chapters I am reading. What verse or sentence stood out to you most? What are your thoughts on it? Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“For He… Has Made the Two One”

March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024

Read Leviticus 21, Psalm 65, Ephesians 2

Our culture loves to divide us. Identity politics like race, economic class, and men and women are just a few of the ways the culture loves to divide us. How are you tempted to divide people? Sometimes I divide people by their various beliefs or by their worldview. We want to understand people and what they think, but we all must be careful not to allow how we divide people to keep us from interacting with them or shutting the door to the gospel with them.

During the first century, early Christians had learned that God was not about division but about unification. No longer did they see the Gentiles as apart from God, they recognized that God brought Salvation to not only the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. Paul wanted to remind the Gentile Christians in Ephesus that while they were once apart from God, and the Jews; they were now one with them as Christians. A big dividing wall for the Jews and Gentiles was Circumcision. “Remember that formally you who are called Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” …remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” vv. 11-12. Paul reminded them that even though they were separate, now they were one. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” v. 13.

The Bible does divide people, but not by skin color, or money, or any other physical trait we might possess. The Bible divides people by their behavior and actions. We are called sheep or goats, we are either children of God or children of the Devil, we are heirs of the kingdom of God or we are headed for eternal separation from God. Paul reminded the Gentiles in Ephesus that they are “fellow citizens of God’s people and members of God’s household” v. 19.

What else do you see here in these three chapters?  What repeated words, or phrases stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

“Protection”

March 4, 2024

March 4, 2024

Read Leviticus 20, Psalm 64, Ephesians 1

People spend a lot of money on things that will keep them safe. They buy guns or other personal protective products. I recently heard a interview with Dr. Jeff Myers from Summit Ministries who went to Israel for a solidarity mission after the October 6 Hamas attacks on Israel. He said every house near the border of Gaza had a safe room, the parents made it their kids’ room so they could go to them in a time of crisis. Other people find security or protection in other things like money or obtaining power. These are some of the ways that people choose to protect themselves. The best protection we can have is from God.

Psalm 64 is a psalm of David. It is a prayer for protection from his enemies. David asks God to “hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers” v. 2. David sees their motives, “They plot injustice and say, We have devised a perfect plan!” v. 6. But then the final verses of this psalm David reminded himself that the wicked will not get away with their plans. God will protect him. “But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down” v. 7. David knows the wicked schemes will only come back on themselves. “He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn” v. 8. We should take comfort in knowing that nothing can happen to us without God’s knowledge and permission. We might seem to be in trouble or to lose, but in the end God will have the victory and if we are his children, we will too.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stick out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Weldon

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »