Find a Gift Worth the Journey

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Matthew 2:1-12

Christmas is full of familiar scenes: the manger, the shepherds, and yes, the wise men. Have you wondered why Matthew includes them? They were strangers from afar, following a star and an ancient prophecy. Their travel reminds us that sometimes the greatest gifts come when we are willing to seek. They crossed deserts for one reason: they believed this child was worth the journey. Maybe you have been searching too, for peace, hope, or something more.

It seems odd that of all people, they were the ones who came. Herod, the king, saw Jesus as a threat and tried to get rid of him. The religious leaders? They knew the prophecy, yet they stayed home. But these wise men, outsiders though they were, traveled hundreds of miles to see a child. Not a throne. Not a crown. Just a child. And when their eyes looked upon him, they fell in worship.

Why? Because in all their wisdom, they still had not found what they were looking for. Until now! For the first time, they saw their heart’s deepest desire.

Maybe that is true of you. People chase success, security, even knowledge. But deep down, we are all searching. Christmas tells us the answer will not be found in power or popularity. Rather, you find it in a person. You find it in Jesus.

So allow me to ask a question. How will you respond to him? Like Herod, will you push him away? Like the crowds, will you ignore him? Or, like the wise men, will you worship him, giving him your life?

The greatest gift you can get this Christmas cannot be found under a tree. People for thousands of years have found it in the same place. They found it in their hearts bowing to the King who came to give joy and light and to set them free. In a world where we can be our own worst enemy, he came to break the chains of our sin. In a place where darkness often dominates, he came as the Light. And the joy he gives to all who receive him is the true reason for this season.

He left his home to bring you home. He came down to lift you up to God. He died to give you life. You can find the deepest desire of your heart in worshipping him. But like all good gifts, it will mean nothing unless you truly receive it. This Christmas, will you?

Imagine What Heaven Will Be Like…

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The Bible does not tell us all that we would like to know about heaven (Isaiah 64:4). Heavenly things exceed our capacity to understand. The Bible does, however, give us enough information for us to imagine what it will be like.

In heaven, all sins are forgiven (Micah 7:19). Your biggest blunders. Your greatest mistakes. Those things that cause you terrible shame. All these are forgiven. You will also forgive those who sinned against you (Colossians 3:13). That thought might be difficult to entertain now. But in the presence of the One who forgave you so much, you shall forgive generously. Since everyone in heaven is wonderfully changed, you will find forgiveness much easier. A man who murdered another in this world will see his victim walking down the street. We can imagine this ex-murderer darting into some alley to hide from the one he caused soo much pain. Yet, his victim will hunt him down to embrace him as a friend.

In heaven, you are reunited with loved ones who entered before you (Matthew 8:11; John 14:2–3). We shall not dissolve like a raindrop into a puddle. Our uniqueness will not melt into a pool of light. The true you will remain. Is it not foolish to think that you will know less there than you know now? You will recognize all those friends and family members who went before you. You will also wait with expectancy for those who enter after you.  

In heaven, you rest in security, safety, and ease (Revelation 21:4). Death will be no more. Illness a thing of the past. War obsolete. Aching bodies a phantom memory in your glorious body. You shall run and not weary (Isaiah 35:6). You will not need to stop to catch a breath. You will not worry about muggings, murders, meanness, not to mention earthquakes and hurricanes. All will finally be what you have always known, deep down, things should be.

Best of all, you will see your Savior face to face (1 John 3:2; Revelation 21:3). In this world, you have not plumbed the depths of his love for you. I hope you have thought of his love. I hope those thoughts have brought you to your knees in worship. Yet, to see the love in his eyes might be the one thing in heaven that undoes you. It will set you free as you have never been before. To fully know you are completely loved and delighted in will change you, all for better.

Why can’t we go there now? We are not ready. That will be the marriage feast (Revelation 19:6-10). This life is but the courtship. We need to say yes to the One who woos us. If we say yes, and only then, he will forever take us home with him (Revelation 3:20). He refuses to play the role of a coercive lover (Ephesians 5:25-27). He will not force himself upon anyone. You must receive his gifts of forgiveness and righteousness. Yet, his offer stands. He would love to take you home. Like a lover on one knee – or a cross – he wants to love you like this.

The sacrifice that kills negativity (Leviticus 2)

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Leviticus 2

A critical spirit infects the world we live in. Instead of expressing gratitude, we are prone to grumble and complain. We complain about the school board, politicians, or the way people parent or spend their money. Our inner voice tempts us to think we could do things better in their shoes. The Israelites had an offering to counter such negative attitudes. It was called the Meal Offering (or “Grain Offering”). Continue reading →

No Scheme Can Out-Save God’s Plan

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Genesis 12:10-20

Have you ever bent the truth just a little, just enough to avoid discomfort?

It’s Thursday night. You’re halfway through dinner when a text buzzes in: “Can you help Saturday?” You sigh. You don’t want to go. So, you and your spouse craft a reply: “So sorry, we’ve got commitments.” You actually have no commitments. The reply is smooth. Polite. No drama. But across the table, your 10-year-old heard every word. The discomfort. The collaboration. The carefully worded excuse. And your child’s learning, not just how to decline a request, but how to make deceit feel normal.

Multiply that by thousands of households, week after week, and what do we get? A society where truth becomes negotiable. Integrity optional. Why not be honest, and trust God to work out the relationship?

Genesis 12:10-20 recounts a more severe trail than a text message for help, Abram (later Abraham) faces a famine and is forced to seek refuge in Egypt. Fearing for his life, he tells his wife, Sarai, to pose as his sister. It’s a clever half-truth meant to protect them. But it backfires. Pharaoh takes Sarai into his harem, and Abram is powerless to stop it. His scheme works too well! He gains wealth but loses his wife and jeopardizes God’s promise. If Sarai becomes another man’s husband, how will she give birth to the son of promise (compare Genesis 12:1-3).

Have you ever eaten a stolen apple? It never tastes as sweet as you thought it would. You eat it in secret, and it sours in your stomach. But an apple handed to you by your father, picked with love, tastes sweet. You eat it out in the open, in the field.

Fear often drives us to schemes. But God calls us to faith, to trust in God. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and is righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

The good news? God doesn’t abandon us in our foolishness. He miraculously rescued Abram and Sarai, not because they were clever but because He is gracious. He saves their marriage and protects his promise.

God still rescues today, most significantly through his Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17).

If you’ve been hiding behind a small deceit, or letting fear drive your choices, bring it into the light. Call it what it is. Repent. Trust that God’s ways are better than your own (Isaiah 55:9). He won’t let you down. He keeps His promises.

No scheme of ours can ever out-save God’s gracious plan.

Make every second count

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James 4:13-17

We all have the same allotment: 1,440 minutes each day. The question is not whether to plan but whether our planning acknowledges the One who gives time. James 4:13–17 rebukes the arrogance of making confident plans as if tomorrow were fully ours.

James contrasts sensible planning with presumptuous certainty. He does not ban planning or making wise financial decisions. Rather, he condemns the posture that treats future days as guaranteed and plans without acknowledging God’s sovereignty. The early Christian ethic echoes Jesus in Gethsemane, who freely submitted his own will to his Father’s.

True wisdom recognizes this. None of us can control what tomorrow will bring. We do not even know how long we’ll live. The need to adapt to changing circumstances is a given. However, James calls us not merely to adapt but submit our plans to God’s sovereign purposes.

The gospel makes time a trust that is not ultimately ours. Christ’s willing submission to his Father’s will, choosing the cross for our redemption, reframes our plans. Most of us would have avoided the place of our arrest that would lead to death like the flue. But Jesus knew it was for our benefit. However much his flesh may have wanted to avoid the bodily pain, he submitted to that act that forgives our sins, makes us new, and glorifies the Father. Jesus died to call a people to be transformed, so that they would ache, plead for, and long for God’s will be done in their lives and the world. To have a people who would say, “I’d rather have a penny to my name while doing God’s will than to have millions of dollars without God in my life.” Do you – do I – have that aching pleading for God’s will to be done in our lives?

When we believe in the gospel, we stop hoarding minutes for self-glorification and begin returning them to the Lord with gratitude. Time becomes the arena of discipleship. Prayer, worship, family presence, and acts of mercy become the currency of a life focused on God’s glory.

Look at your calendar. Are you missing events that should be there in place of others? Do you have the big rocks – the things you know God wants you doing – in the middle of the stream, so the other things flow around them?

Pray, Lord, may the minutes of my life tic with the pulses of your will. May the seconds I squander be reclaimed by your mercy. May the hours I plan beat in rhythm with your sovereignty. May the days I chase pulse with your eternal purpose. May my calendar be filled up with your will.

When we plan humbly, live sacrificially, and seek with all our hearts God’s perfect will, our calendars become maps of gospel glory rather than monuments that will one day inevitably crumble. Make every second count.

Learning From Lives That Point to Christ – Deep Roots, Part 6

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Philippians 4:1-9

We end this six-part miniseries on Philippians 4:1-9, with one final piece of practical encouragement. The Apostle Paul turns our attention to something deeply practical: follow worthy examples. The believers in Philippi had learned from Paul, not just through his teaching but through his life. What kind of life was he living? Not one of self-promotion or comfort. He writes from prison, not to complain, but to rejoice: “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). His concern isn’t his own safety; it’s that others might hear and grow in grace.

We need examples like this. People whose lives, like Paul’s, show us what it means to seek and follow Christ. Not perfect people, but faithful ones. If you don’t have someone like that in your life, ask the Lord to lead you to a mentor, a believer who has traveled a little further down the road than you. Their successes will inspire you, and their failures will teach you. The Christian life is not meant to be walked alone.

This passage, began with, “stand firm thus in the Lord.” Not in your own strength, not in your circumstances, but in the Lord’s perfect purposes for His beloved.

Years ago, when my wife and I lived on the rocky coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts, we often visited Halibut Point State Park. Large granite boulders stood against the crashing waves. Sometimes the waves rose so high they swallowed the rocks from view. If you didn’t know better, you’d think those waves could shatter them. But they never did. Generation after generation, those rocks endured.

We live in a time when the waves feel overwhelming. Markets shake. Nations tremble. Families fracture. Yet, there is a foundation that cannot be moved. Do you have a rock to stand on, one that won’t crumble under the crashing waves? If you do, are you standing on it? Stand firm in the Lord.

What will this look like in practice? Fractured relationships will mend, joy in the Lord will be evident even when circumstances seem dire, thoughts will be caught up in what’s worthy of our head space, and Christ-like examples will guide us.

What’s Worth Your Head Space? Deep Roots, Part 5

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Philippians 4:1-9

Before Paul offers any practical help for anxiety or fractured relationships, he anchors everything with one call: “Stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1). Last time we explored the practical discipline of reasonableness; now we turn to the battlefield of the mind

In a world overflowing with noise, the Apostle Paul offers a gentle but firm invitation: think about what is worthy of your thinking. The Greek word he uses in Philippians 4:8 carries the sense of accounting, stacking up what is praiseworthy, noble, pure, and lovely. It’s not just about positive thinking; it’s about intentional thinking. What we dwell on shapes who we become.

So count what’s true. Not the half-truths or fear-driven headlines, but the enduring truths of God’s Word. Count what’s noble, worthy of respect and admiration. Count what’s pure, untainted by hidden agendas. Count what’s lovely, beauty that stirs the soul such as a child’s hug, a lake shimmering in sunlight, a melody that lifts the heart, Jesus’ life laid down at the cross for yours.

And count what’s praiseworthy in others. When was the last time you encouraged a fellow believer by saying, “I just love the way I see the Lord at work in you when…”? In a culture quick to critique and slow to affirm, Christians are called to be discerning, not cynical but Spirit-led. Not every news story deserves your attention. Not every social media post needs your engagement. Not every demand is yours to meet. Make your thoughts captive to Christ.

This isn’t easy. That’s why Paul reminds us earlier in his letter: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you…” (Phil. 2:12–13). We’re not left to do this alone. God is at work in us, shaping our desires and strengthening our resolve. But we do have a part to play.

Pray daily. Read Scripture. Mend broken relationships. Seek help when needed. Be reasonable. Take your requests to God. And above of this, focus your thoughts on what is worthy. Let your mind dwell where Christ reigns, and your outlook on life will follow.

In a world that clamors for your attention, choose what’s worth your head space. Choose what’s true, beautiful, and eternal. In two words: choose Christ.

Reasonableness in an Unreasonable World: Deep Roots Part 4

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Philippians 4:1-9

Before the Apostle Paul, in Philippians, 4 offered any practical steps for navigating anxiety, fractured relationships, or spiritual weariness, he began with a call that anchors all of life: “Stand firm in the Lord.” Only then does he guide his readers into the practices that sustain a Christ-centered life. Last time we explored the practice of joy, now we look at the practice of reasonableness.

Paul urges believers to “let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” The Greek word here is rich and means not insisting on every right due to you, while bearing patiently with those who wrong you.

Mr. Rogers once illustrated this beautifully. In the Land of Make Believe, Lady Elaine was furious that her water hadn’t been restored. A worker gently responded, “I bet you are tired of waiting. Come see how close we are.” Lady Elaine softened. “You’re a reasonable person,” she said. “Well,” the worker replied, “you’ve got a reasonable gripe.”

We all have moments when we feel justified in our frustration: when someone cuts us off, ignores us, or fails us. But the Christian has a deeper well to draw from. We serve a God who bore our sin without demanding His rights. Because of Christ, we can respond with grace.

This doesn’t mean we suppress our needs. Paul continues, “Make your requests known to God.” The gospel doesn’t just offer techniques. It offers a relationship. Prayer isn’t behavior modification; it’s reorientation. It’s where we ask, “Has something taken the throne of my heart where Christ belongs?”

In prayer, we often discover that our anxiety stems from insisting things go our own way. And even when others truly are the source of our pain, we can rest in the unshakable truth that the Lord is more than reasonable with us. That peace transcends understanding.

When friends fix their stand on Jesus, fractured relationships can heal. Conflicts that once seemed impossible to resolve find resolution. The church becomes whole. And friends, as one song writer sang, “remain friends forever when the Lord’s the Lord of them.”

Joy That Surpasses Circumstance: Deep Roots, Part 3

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Phillipians 4:1-9

Before offering practical techniques in Phillipians 4:1-9, the Apostle Paul urged his hearers to stand firm in the Lord. Now Paul will turn to what we might call practical techniques, by first commending his hearers to rejoice.

In a world that often equates happiness with comfort, success, or favorable circumstances, the Apostle Paul offers a radically different vision: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” This isn’t a suggestion, but a command. And it’s not rooted in naive optimism or denial of hardship. Paul writes these words not from a sunlit garden but a dank prison cell, chained for proclaiming the gospel. Yet his letter to the Philippians drips with joy, a word mentioned no fewer than sixteen times in just four short chapters.

This joy isn’t circumstantial. It’s relational. It flows not from what Paul has, but from who he knows. The Christianity we encounter in the New Testament is vibrant, radiant, and deeply rooted in Christ. It’s not the slow march of moral obligation, but the joyful dance of grace. When people meet Jesus in Scripture, they don’t become dour; they rejoice. Not because their problems vanish, but because they’ve met the One who walks with them through every storm.

Have you ever reconnected with an old friend and felt like no time had passed? That deep sense of belonging, of being known and loved? That’s the kind of joy Jesus offers, only deeper and ever constant. He’s not a distant deity with a packed calendar. He’s a present Savior, a faithful counselor, a friend who lifts burdens we cannot carry. He took our sin and sorrow and bore it to the cross, putting it to death so we could live free (Colossians 2:14).

Free from the exhausting chase for success. Free from the need to be accepted by everyone. Free from the illusion that life must go our way. We’re free to simply be loved, known, and secure in Christ. That’s where genuine joy lives.

So if your days feel heavy, if the clouds gather, remember Paul’s words. Rejoice, not because life is easy, but because Jesus is near. Joy isn’t a fleeting emotion. It’s a settled state of being, anchored in a relationship with the One who never fails.

Radiate that kind of joy. Not with plastic smiles or forced cheerfulness, but the deep, unshakable gladness that comes from knowing Jesus. That’s the kind of joy our world needs. And it’s ours in Christ.

Deep Roots – Part 2

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Philippians 4:1-9

Last time, we pictured an old oak tree – scarred but steadfast – standing firm through every storm. In Philippians 4:1-9, the Apostle Paul urges believers to do the same: to root their lives in something enduring: the gospel. “Stand firm in the Lord,” he writes, reminding us that conviction, not techniques, is what roots us when the winds of life blow.

Now Paul turns from principle to practice. In a surprising move, he names two women – Euodia and Syntyche – who’ve had a falling out. These weren’t strangers. They had once labored side by side in gospel ministry, likely as close friends. But something – perhaps a disagreement over how to carry out the work – has driven a wedge between them. And Paul, in a letter meant to be read aloud to the whole church, calls them to reconciliation.

He calls them out not because they’re bad nor because he’s angry. But because he loves them. He knows their names are written in the Book of Life. He knows their relationship matters.

How often do we see this play out in our own lives? A friendship falters. A family member becomes distant. A disagreement over politics, parenting, or priorities turns into a silent standoff. Maybe you’re in one right now. Maybe you’ve said – or thought – “I’ll never talk to them again.”

Paul doesn’t offer a truce or a compromise. He offers something deeper: “Agree in the Lord.” That doesn’t mean ignoring differences. It means remembering what matters most. It means returning to the shared foundation of Christ, where convictions concerning Christ outweigh personal opinions.

Christ himself modeled this. Though He was God, He didn’t demand His own way. He humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, and invited others to follow. He didn’t force unity. He fostered it through sacrificial love.

So, dear reader, if you’re stewing over someone’s opinion or nursing a grudge, consider this: Christ gave up His right to remain in heaven and came down to bring us together. Can we not do the same?

Let Christ be the center that holds everything else in place. Let the gospel be the soil where reconciliation grows. And let today be the day you take a step toward healing. Agree in the Lord. The oak still stands. So can you.