Just sharing.

[beensetfree]

The Thrill of Temptation

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men [and women] of courage; be strong."1

Years ago Kent Edwards wrote how the tuna fish "were running for the first time in forty-seven years only thirty miles off Cape Cod."2 They were apparently biting furiously so many would-be tuna fishermen in their excitement to catch a large tuna ignored Coast Guard warnings. What they didn't realize was that the problem didn't lie in hooking a tuna but landing it in the boat.

One boat, the Christi Anne, capsized while battling with a large tuna. The same day another boat, Basic Instinct, met with the same fate. And Official Business was swamped when trying to land its catch. The tuna pulled the boat below the surface of the water.

What these fishermen didn't realize was the power of large tuna fish. That's pretty much like what temptation does to us. At first it can seem very exciting and enticing but once we take the bait, we're the ones that get hooked and it can quickly overpower us and pull us under.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be always on guard so that I will avoid the lure of temptation and not get hooked or entrapped by it. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV).
2. Kent Edwards. Cited in Encounter magazine (ACTS Australia), January 2007.

 

[beensetfree]

Life Has an Expiration Date

"It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."1

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."2

"Life Has an Expiration Date" was a statement that I read on somebody else's email but I don't know whom to credit it to. However, it is an excellent reminder that life is short and we only have one life to live and invest.

I would like to again quote one of my many favorite one-liners from William Penn, the 18/19th-century French/American religious leader who said, "I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Penn's words bring to mind one of my good friends who died at age 44 from cancer. I was with Graham shortly before he passed away and asked him how he felt being only 44 and given only a matter of a few months at best to live. One of the unforgettable things he spoke about was how difficult it was for him when some friends who visited him in the hospital rattled on with empty words, or said "the right thing" but without feeling or heart. He was dying and to him their words were empty, meaningless clichés. He wanted to talk about life, death, and being ready to meet God face to face—and issues that mattered.

He also said how angry he was because there were so many things he didn't get done and still wanted to do—but his time was up and he would never get them done. This was one of his big regrets. But his main regret was that he felt he hadn't spent enough time with his kids and family.

Graham's words remind me how temporal life is. None of us has any guarantee of tomorrow, so (not being fanatical about it) we do need to live every day with eternal values in mind.

So, do you have any unfinished business? Any impaired relationships that you can and need to resolve? Anyone you need to let know how much you love them? May I kindly suggest that you do it today! And, above all, do you need to get right with God? This I urge upon you to do today—now.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to remember the words of the poet who said, 'Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last,' and, with Your help, live life to the fullest—with eternal values uppermost in my mind. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

NOTE: To be sure your life is right with God read, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: http://tinyurI.com/8glq9

1. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV).
2. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV).

 

[beensetfree]

Sound Doctrine

The Apostle Paul wrote, "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."1

In the early days of the Christian church Paul was giving instructions to Titus regarding qualifications for church leadership. One requirement was that leaders were to be well established in sound doctrine; that is, in the understanding and teaching of God's Word. Unfortunately, there are some leaders and some churches whose doctrine may be sound, but as Vance Havner put it, sound asleep! Sound awake doctrine is critical because if we are not well grounded in God's truth, we can easily be led astray by persuasive and charming false teachers. As another has said, "If we don't stand for truth, we can fall for anything."

Sound doctrine, as critically important as it is, is not enough in and of itself. It needs to be balanced with love. Without love, doctrine can become deathly legalism or modern day Phariseeism. On the other hand, love without sound doctrine can become, at best, "sloppy agape" and at worst empty humanism. The real church and true Christianity is based on God's truth (sound doctrine) and genuine love. Both are equally important.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to know and understand Your truth but give me a loving heart to live it as well as to learn it. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Titus 1:9 (NIV).

 

[beensetfree]

Verse of the Day​

Psalm 119:50

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Quiet Prayer​

Lord, when the weight of suffering presses down, I look to You. Your promise is not just words on a page but the very thing that keeps me alive in my hardest moments. Help me remember that Your Word holds me even when I feel like I’m falling. Let me find my comfort not in relief that hasn’t come yet, but in the truth that You are here and Your promises are enough.

Devotional Reflection​

There is a difference between distraction and comfort. Distraction shifts your attention away from pain. Comfort meets you in the middle of it and holds you there.

The psalmist does not say, “My comfort in my suffering is that it will end soon.” He does not say, “My comfort is that I understand why this happened.” He says his comfort is God’s promise. And that promise preserves his life.

This is not vague hope. It is not wishful thinking. It is something solid. The psalmist clings to what God has spoken, and in doing so, he finds something that sustains him even when everything else feels unstable.

You may be in a season where suffering feels very close. Maybe it is physical pain, emotional exhaustion, or grief that will not let you go. Maybe you have prayed for relief and it has not come. Maybe you have tried to be strong, and you are simply tired.


This verse does not promise that suffering will disappear today. But it does promise that God’s Word can hold you in it. His promise is not just future comfort. It is present sustenance. It preserves your life right now, not just later.

Think of someone holding their breath underwater. They are not yet on the surface, but they know air exists. They know they will reach it. That knowledge keeps them from panicking. It does not remove the water, but it steadies them.

God’s promise works like that. It does not always remove the suffering immediately, but it gives you something to hold onto while you are still in it. It reminds you that this is not the end. It whispers that you are not abandoned. It keeps your soul from collapsing under the weight.

When you feel like you cannot take another day, God’s Word meets you there. When you feel forgotten, His promises remind you that He sees. When you feel weak, Scripture becomes the strength you do not have on your own.


This is why we return to the Bible in hard seasons. Not because it magically fixes everything, but because it preserves us. It keeps our hearts tethered to truth when everything else feels like it is slipping away.

You do not need to manufacture your own strength today. You do not need to force yourself to feel better. You just need to let God’s Word hold you. That is enough.

Today’s Practice​

Write Psalm 119:50 on a card or in your phone. When the suffering feels heavy today, read it aloud. Let it be the thing that holds you steady, even if nothing else changes yet.

 

[beensetfree]

Verse of the Day​

Hebrews 7:13

For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.

This verse sits in the middle of a profound shift. The writer of Hebrews is explaining how Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, not Levi. Under the old covenant, priests came from one specific lineage. But Jesus did not. He belonged to a different tribe entirely, and that mattered deeply.


What looks like a genealogical detail is actually a declaration about how God works. He was doing something new. Something that did not fit the old structure. Something that required a different kind of priest and a better covenant.

Quiet Prayer​

Lord, help me trust You when You are doing something I do not yet recognize. Teach me to see Your hand in transitions that feel unfamiliar or outside the patterns I have known. Give me faith to believe that what You are establishing is better than what I am leaving behind. Let me rest in Your authority, not my understanding. Amen.

Devotional Reflection​

Change in God’s plan is not random. It is purposeful. When God shifts structures, introduces new seasons, or works outside the lines we expected, it is because He is establishing something more complete. That is what Hebrews 7 is explaining. The old priesthood had its place, but it could not bring perfection. It pointed forward. Jesus fulfilled what it could only foreshadow.

You may be in a season where God is moving you into something unfamiliar. Maybe the patterns that once worked no longer fit. Maybe the roles you held, the rhythms you trusted, or the systems you relied on are shifting beneath you. It can feel disorienting. You might wonder if you missed something or if God is removing what mattered most.


But God does not remove what is good unless He is giving something better. Jesus did not come from the priestly tribe because the old system was bad. He came from another tribe because the old system was incomplete. It had run its course. God was inaugurating a new covenant, one built on grace, permanence, and direct access to Him through His Son.

This is how God often works in our lives. He does not always build on what was. Sometimes He builds something entirely new. He calls you into a chapter that does not resemble the last one. He asks you to trust Him in a role that feels outside your training. He shifts the structure so you learn to depend on Him rather than the system.

That does not mean the past was wasted. It means it was preparation. Just as the Levitical priesthood prepared the way for Christ, your previous season prepared you for this one. But you are not meant to stay there. You are being called forward into what God is doing now.

Transition requires trust. It requires letting go of what felt secure and stepping into what God is establishing. You may not understand why He is leading this way. You may not see how the pieces will come together. But if God is the one leading, you can trust that He knows what He is building.


Jesus belonged to another tribe. That was not a mistake. It was the plan. And because He came from Judah, not Levi, He fulfilled prophecy, established a better priesthood, and opened the way for you to come boldly to the throne of grace. What seemed like an irregularity was actually the heart of God’s redemptive work.

If you are in a new chapter, consider that God may be doing something similar in your life. He is not confined to old patterns. He is not limited by past structures. He is making a way where there was not one before, and He is inviting you to walk it with Him.

Today’s Practice​

Take a few quiet moments today and write down one area of your life where God seems to be doing something new or unfamiliar. Ask Him to help you trust His timing and His plan, even when it does not look like what you expected. Thank Him for being faithful in transition and for preparing you for what is ahead.