Gleanings From The Word

Tag: daily devotional

  • Busy Beaver – another helper

    Busy Beaver – another helper

    Beaver

    One summer in my late teens, I worked for an oilfield service  company. I was a grunt laborer and traveled into the field doing whatever necessary and unpleasant work needed to be done.



    For a while, we had a beaver problem. Beavers are one way God uses His animals to mold and shape His creation. Their system of dam building can transform an area incredibly over time.



    This particular beaver had decided to dam a culvert on a small creek, causing the road to flood. I’d get out of the truck, don hip waders, and pull the dam apart. In a day or two, the busy beaver would have it rebuilt. Various crews tore the dam down on multiple occasions.


     


    The company I worked for even brought someone in to dynamite the dam and the beaver’s lodge. Even that didn’t work. The determined rodent started to rebuild. In the end, they called a trapper in and removed the beaver from the area.



    Sometimes, we can be like that very determined rodent. We slave away at things, only to have them fail. Then we do it all over again and wonder why it doesn’t work.



    Author Rita Brown once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”It’s a profound quote often falsely attributed to Albert Einstein and others.



    We try to live and serve under our own direction and power rather than relying on the leading of the Spirit. It’s a form of insanity.



    Only God’s plans are infallible. Only God’s ways will lead us to the right place. We need the Spirit.



    We were given the Spirit as a helper.



    And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. John 14:16



    …the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26



    Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27


    But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8


    All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 1 Corinthians 12:11


    As believers, we have choices. We can work feverishly but in futility. Or we can trust the Spirit to lead and trust the Lord to produce fruit.


    I pray we are all a little less like that beaver and a lot more like Jesus.


    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)


    Be blessed, 


    Kevin



    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 


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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word. 



    Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”


    Small Steps, Big Kingdom: What Beavers Teach Us About How God Grows His Church
  • Beautiful Roses

    Beautiful Roses

    A prolific bloom of roses

    These blooms are on a miniature rose bush in our backyard. It was given to us as a gift by visiting friends some years ago. We eventually moved it outside. 

    It has been moved several times, and almost died at least twice, but it keeps on growing and blooming. It is a hardy plant.

    When I took the photo yesterday, my mind wandered back many years, to a time when I was working in a bank. 

    I walked into the florist to pick up some flowers as a gift. As I stood paying for my purchase, I noticed some roses tossed into the trash can.

    I inquired about them and was informed that they had been damaged in shipping, with the outer petals frozen. They looked fine to me, and I persuaded the florist to give them to me.

    I took the roses to my office, placed them in a vase, and set them in the sunny window. They opened over the course of the next few days. The outer petals turned black, but the rest of each rose was beautiful and fragrant.

    To me, the dark outer petals framed the beautiful inner beauty of the roses. I don’t recall ever seeing roses that beautiful before or since.

    That is how the Lord sometimes sees us. We have been damaged on the outside through circumstance or bad choices, and the world seems ready to discard us.

    He rescues us and places us in a warm and safe spot. We bloom under His care. Our past imperfections provide a beautiful frame to show off our newly revealed beauty.

    His love, forgiveness, and acceptance let us bloom to our best. We slowly open and become more and more like Him.

     Paul alludes to this idea as he speaks of our becoming like Christ and God’s promise to finish His work in us.

    I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:3-11 ESV

    Until next time, may the Love of Jesus fill you with joy and allow you to blossom and become all God has created you to be.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    What’s your favorite book of the Bible?
    A Lesson From the Lilies – no need to worry
  • The Walking Dead

    The Walking Dead

    zombies

    Our society is fascinated with the idea of zombies, the so-called  “walking dead”. Your local bookstore probably has all kinds of zombie stories. Numerous television shows and movies feature battles against the living dead as a central theme.

    I believe that the walking dead are all around us, but they aren’t anything like the media portrays them. These people seem perfectly normal, even happy in many ways. Their faces are not grotesque masks, and their body parts are not falling off. These dead are ordinary in every way.

    All people are dead in their sin and trespass. All of us start as walking dead and continue unless God releases us.

    “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 ESV

    Our sin destines us for eternal living torment. Unless we are born again of the Spirit, we never truly experience living.

    “Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:4-7 ESV

    It is no exaggeration to say that the vast majority of people you see around you daily are dead in their sins. They are the walking dead.

    The dead cannot seek God. The dead cannot choose God. We must take the gospel to them and allow the Spirit to do the work of bringing them back from among the vast hordes of the dead.

    The cure for the actual walking dead isn’t to shoot or stab them in the head. It is to bring Jesus to them.

    Many Christians are hesitant to share the truth of Jesus. It is often fear that holds us back. Fear of rejection or of messing up the message, and more, can inhibit us. Yet, our message is the only hope these people have. All other ways leave them on the path of destruction.

    How significant is the need? Next time you’re out and about, take a look around. Most people you encounter are walking dead in their sin and have no way to rescue themselves.

    Unlike the zombies of fiction, these people cannot bring you into their realm. They cannot undo the work of Christ. We might stumble over them for a while, but we are secure in Christ, so there is no reason to fear them.

    Death has no hold on the believer; it has lost its sting. We will physically die, but our future is a berth in glory. The devil may accuse us, and our stumbles mark us as guilty, but the righteousness of Christ Himself redeems us.

    I urge you to look around with open eyes to see how big the harvest field truly is. Then, may you share the truth of freedom and life.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Are you truly alive
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • Treasure of trash? The cross of Christ.

    Treasure of trash? The cross of Christ.

    Canada Gosse nest with eggs
    Canada Goose nest

    I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday rather than more  than twenty years ago. Genni, the Wonder Dog, and I walked around the lake. 

    Up ahead of us, three boys, the eldest perhaps aged ten and the other two maybe eight and six, were busy at the lakeshore. As we drew closer, they came to “pet the dog” and show us the great treasure they had found.

    Two goose eggs that they had fished out of the lake were in a Ziploc bag. Although they were covered in weeds and algae, they were nonetheless intact.

    “They still have the yolks in them,” said the oldest. “They probably got drownded.”

    “We’re taking them home to keep,” said the middle one.

    The eldest pointed to the middle boy with pride and said, “He gets the award for being the most disgusting human being alive. He reached into the muck and weeds and got them for us.”

    We spoke for a couple more minutes, and then they carried on their way. I saw them later sharing the news of their great treasure with another couple out walking their dog.

    I suspect the boy’s mother will be less than thrilled with the treasure the boys bring home, especially if it ends up in a drawer somewhere for a week or two, and they discover it by the smell.

    Such is life. One person’s treasure is another person’s trash.

    It is that way with the Gospel. Those of us who have found Christ are called to tell others about it. It is the most wonderful news in the world. It is worth more than all the gold and diamonds in the world. Everyone can be free of the penalty of his or her sin. God loves us enough to have died for us. We can have eternal life.

    To some, though, that treasure is simply foolishness.

    For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 

    Each person must make up their own mind whether the gospel is a treasure worth dying for or foolish words. Do not be discouraged by those who reject the message. That is between them and God. Continue to share the treasure with all who will listen.

    Until next time, may you share the truth of Jesus Christ with many.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    You Were Designed For a Godly Purpose
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • Childlike, not childish, faith.

    Childlike, not childish, faith.

    a stack of wooden cigar boxes

    Some years ago, my friend John gave me some old  wooden cigar boxes. Neither of us is a smoker, but he had managed to collect quite a few of the little boxes over the years. Like me, he enjoys storing his treasures in small wooden boxes or tins of various types. The treasures can be anything from pencils and pens to nuts and bolts. I have always enjoyed boxes and containers of “stuff.” 

    I have one tin filled with such treasures as pocket knives, a bear claw, some arrowheads, a penknife that belonged to my grandfather, and a couple of inexpensive pocket watches. Still another holds USB memory sticks. I like to think of them as childlike treasures not childish.

    I even have a few of those hollowed-out books that are really boxes sitting on my various bookshelves. They, too, hold “irreplaceable treasures.” Things like fossil shark’s teeth, shiny rocks, a compass that belonged to my grandfather, a letter opener made from a deer antler, and some of his World War II memorabilia. Nothing that would be of any value to anyone else but irreplaceable to me.

    If you have been reading for any length of time, you will know that I also enjoy thrift stores, garage sales, and old-style small-town hardware shops.

    I’ve panned for gold, scoured abandoned farmsteads for collectible “stuff,” and picked more than my share of interesting rocks and minerals in my travels. 

    I have never found anything that could be considered a great treasure or have substantial monetary value. It is the hunt for the unusual that I enjoy. I suppose that’s my childlike sense of wonder coming out. Some might say childish, but I prefer childlike. 

    Believers are called to be childlike. 

    “…calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4

    Like children, only in the sense that we learn to trust our Father, as a young child trusts their parents. We are not called to set aside our intellect or reason, but we are called to be humble and trust.  Childlike not childish.

    There is another reason Jesus called us to be little children. Children have little to bring to the table.

    In the days of Jesus, children were amongst the lowest class of citizens. They had no rights, no power, and no wealth. That is hard for us to believe when today, children seem to be a privileged class. We place great value on them. The pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme, from highly marginalized to being worshipped.

    Amongst other things, Jesus was making the point that the gospel was for marginalized people, not just the wealthy or middle class. It is for the sick, the poor, the addicted, the lonely, the undesirables, the unlovable, and in general, those we might feel uncomfortable sitting next to in a church service. 

    Christ had remarkable compassion for the misfits of the day. They had nothing to bring but faith.

    In reality, you and I are misfits as well. We bring nothing but faith, and that is a gift from God. We are broken sinners who offer nothing special to God. It is by His grace that we are saved, not by our merit.

    We have no right to have churches filled with one ethnic group or one social class. That distorts the gospel and sends the message that you don’t belong if you are not like us.

    Churches are not meant to be filled with smug, self-righteous, perfect, homogeneous people. They are designed to be filled with people who know that they are broken and bring nothing. We are to be like the children of Jesus’ day.

    We are saved by the mercy of Christ. I pray He gives us eyes to see others as He sees them and that we make time for the marginalized, the children, the misfits.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Childlike faith – not childish

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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

    Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living
  • There Is No Fruit of the Spirit without Holy Spirit

    There Is No Fruit of the Spirit without Holy Spirit

    puffball mushrooms

    Ah, the humble mushroom. There are approximately  20,000 classified varieties, with more being catalogued all the time. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. These colorful and often strange-looking organisms have been used in cooking and traditional medicine for millennia.

    This morning’s pic is a puffball mushroom, one of several varieties. Actually, that isn’t quite accurate. This is the fruit of a puffball mushroom.

    The puffy bodies of mushrooms that we are familiar with are only a small part of the mushroom. The larger portion of the fungus is its extensive mycelium, hidden beneath the earth or other substrates.

    The mycelium can be massive. According to one source, “The largest known living organism on earth is a fungus – an underground mycelial mat of the honey fungus in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, covering an incredible 2,385 acres.”

    If there is no mycelium, there is no mushroom fruit.

    The same holds true in the spiritual realm. If there is no Holy Spirit at work in us, there can never be fruit of the Spirit.

    For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:11-14

    The Holy Spirit allows us to discern things of the Spirit. It gives us the seed to grow spiritually. We nurture those seeds through spiritual disciplines such as reading Scripture, prayer, worship, serving, fasting, confession of sin, and more.

    All the spiritual disciplines in the world cannot grow the fruit of the Spirit if we don’t have Him. People of many faiths practice spiritual disciplines, in truth, often putting Christians to shame with their devotion and faithfulness. Yet, in the end, their efforts will prove fruitless because they don’t have Him. 

    Are you seeing the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Certainly, fruit is seasonal, and some fruit takes longer to mature than others, but if there is none, there is a problem.

    You may need to stop and ensure you are right with the Lord. Then you need to nurture what He has provided. 

    My prayer is that you become increasingly conformed into the image of Jesus and bear a vast harvest of the fruit of the Spirit. May your life reflect Him well.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    __________________________________________ 

    Fruit of the Spirit
    Every Member Is Necessary — 1 Corinthians 12
  • Fences – Barriers to love

    Fences – Barriers to love

    moss covered split rail fence

    The remnants of old split rail fences can be found in many of the  local area parks. The cedar rails are rot-resistant, and the fences are relatively easy to construct, making them ideal for many uses.

    There’s an old country saying: “Good fences make good neighbors.” It’s been found in writing as early as the 1640s, but it likely far outdates them. The saying implies that boundaries, both physical and otherwise, are good. There is truth in that, but boundaries are often abused.

    We like to categorize people. It helps us know who is who. We do it by gender, culture, politics, age, skin color, and so much more. It’s even done within the church. We sort by theology, baptism style, denomination, worship style, what seminary the pastor attended, and more.

    It becomes problematic when we start to see categories rather than people. We can begin to focus on the differences rather than the commonalities. Rather than a tool to help facilitate understanding and dialogue, we begin to exclude based on what fence our neighbor lives behind.

    It’s an easy trap to fall into, particularly when dealing with contentious issues within the church. I can easily fall into the trap of seeing people as one of “them” rather than individuals. I find myself doing that I must repent of as sin and seek reconciliation if need be.

    The fact that someone comes from a different denominational background or differs on non-essential theological issues doesn’t make them our enemies. If their faith is in Christ per the gospel, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

    Like blood families, Christian families can have differences and struggles. It’s a fact of life and an opportunity to give and receive forgiveness, grace, and love.

    Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:9-11

    Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:15

    We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21

    Let’s use our fences to understand, but let us also remember to love.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    __________________________________________ 

    Changed From the Inside – Good News
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • An Impossible Task

    An Impossible Task

    The Easter season is over for another year. In Jesus’ day, it was  still a time of intense instruction for the original disciples. They would spend their next few weeks being tutored and instructed by Jesus, and He would appear to many people, confirming his death and resurrection.

    It would all come to a head when Jesus gathered His disciples on a mountaintop and gave them the Great Commission to evangelize the world. 

    Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

    It was a seemingly impossible task. How could a few followers who just weeks before had been hiding for their lives take such a message to an entire world? Of course, they couldn’t, although they got well into Europe, Asia, and Africa, most giving up their lives in the process.

    It was an ongoing commission taken up by every successive generation of believers, and continues today. Every believer has been tasked with sharing the gospel and making disciples. You and I are included in this group of “every believer.”

    Not all of us are evangelists or pastors, but we all have a story, a “testimony” of how Jesus changed our lives. Each of us has been given a unique circle of influence to reach.

    We don’t all have to travel to strange and foreign lands to be “missionaries.”  There are plenty of people around us who don’t yet know Him. We can serve from wherever we are.

    Do you remember your joy at discovering Jesus? You can help bring that joy to others.

    We can share our stories, pray, and love the people in our circle. It can be uncomfortable to do at times and may lead to some rejection, but the results and rewards are eternal.

    Are you unsure where to start or how to do it? Pray for the Lord to give you opportunities and courage and to put receptive hearts in your path. It’s impossible on our own, but He empowers us, dwells in us and goes before us.

    Our efforts don’t have to be perfect and polished. We don’t have to know everything or have the answers to every question and objection. It is the Spirit who does the work of opening hearts.

    Our job is to be faithful with what knowledge and gifts the Lord has given us.

    I pray you learn to be bold for the Lord.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word
    Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Can I Get a Witness? – Share your story
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • Passion Week – Maundy Thursday

    Passion Week – Maundy Thursday

    foot washing

    It’s Maundy Thursday today. We commemorate the events of  Jesus’ final day before His crucifixion.

    Our Lord demonstrated servant leadership by washing His disciples’ feet, a job reserved for the lowest of servants or slaves. They ate a Passover meal together, retired to the Garden for prayer, and he was betrayed sometime in the early morning of Friday. 

    Those events were followed by his mock trial, false conviction, torture, humiliation, and death on the cross, being buried in a borrowed tomb, and raised from the dead victorious.

    So what makes today “Maundy?” The word is derived from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment. On that final day, Jesus left His followers, and by extension, you and me, with two commandments, one implicit and the other explicit.

    When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13:12-17

    The second instruction, or command, is far more explicit. Jesus implements the ordinance of communion.

    And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:17-20

    We are to take the bread and cup to remember what He has done, will do, and is doing for us. The Maundy Thursday “celebration and communion” service has largely been lost in the evangelical community. The church community is poorer for that.

    Take some time today to remember in preparation for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. As we remember His sacrifice, may we remember to love one another as He loved us.

    There will be no Gleanings until Tuesday, April 22. See you then. Happy Easter, my dear friends.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Why does it matter? The Season of Lent


    Triumphal Entry – Fickle People
    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear
  • Triumphal Entry – Fickle People

    Triumphal Entry – Fickle People

    Yesterday was Palm Sunday, a remembrance of Jesus’ entry into  Jerusalem just before he was crucified. It must have been an incredible sight. It’s an event recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 11, Mark 11, Luke 19, John 12)

    When you look at the four accounts, you begin to recognize how significant an event it was. We can see prophecy fulfilled, Jesus treated as king, and more.

    Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21:8-11

    The crowds welcome Jesus as king, a slap in the face to their Roman conquerors. Yet, in less than a week, the crowds will turn on Him. Some of the people present for His entry will be crying out for His death by crucifixion.

    Jesus didn’t change in those few short days. The crowd grew disenchanted with Him, and His religious leader enemies wanted to be rid of Him forever.

    Even Jesus couldn’t please everyone. People are fickle. Today’s friend may be tomorrow’s enemy. The road from hero to zero can be short.

    Yet, we’ve all done it. At some point, we’ve hidden or denied our faith to please others. We kept quiet when we should have spoken up so that others wouldn’t reject us or ridicule us.

    It’s something the Bible addresses in a number of places.

    For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

    But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4

    The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25

    When confronted by those situation where we might feel like holding back, we can ask the Lord for strength. We might still be rejected or mocked, but in the eternal scheme of things pleasing God is far more important.

    The Spirit can give us courage. He can encourage us when we are feeling abandoned by friends.

    Jesus knew that pain intimately. He forgives us when we stumble but is glorified when we proclaim Him and act in His name.

    We’re unlikely to face death for our faith next week (although that is still a reality in many parts of the world and may come back in our lifetimes). 

    Let’s lift our brothers and sisters up in prayer that they may have the courage to stand for Jesus. May we all have the ability to stand when tempted to hide our faith.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Read the Word. Read the Word. Read the Word.

    Looking for a church?

    Some thoughts on finding a good church

    Find a good church

    Live in Abbotsford? There are many good churches. This is where I attend.