Father in heaven, we thank you for the freedom you have given us through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, and the application of such to our lives by the Spirit's working.

But we confess today that we often live like slaves.
Instead of living like you delight in us, we avoid you in shame and guilt.
Instead of receiving your favor as a gift, we try to earn it with our efforts.
Instead of accepting your freedom, we prefer our chains.
Instead of pursuing your purposes, we cling to our short-sighted agendas.

Forgive us.
Embrace us.
Cleanse us.
Heal us.

We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

O my Savior, help me.


I am slow to learn, prone to forget, and weak to climb;

I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights;

I am pained by my graceless heart,

my prayerless days,

my poverty of love,

my sloth in the heavenly race,

my sullied conscience,

my wasted hours,

my unspent opportunities.


I am blind while the light shines around me:

take the scales from my eyes,

grind to dust my heart of unbelief.

Make it my highest joy to study you,

meditate on you,

gaze on you,

sit like Mary at your feet,

lean like John on your breast,

appeal like Peter to your love,

count like Paul all things but dung.


I believe, help my unbelief. Amen

Imagine sitting in your favorite chair with a cup of hot coffee fixed just the way you like it. The aroma of your best candle is quickly filling the room as the noisy distractions of the world take their exit. Maybe you have some soft, subtle instrumental music playing in the background adding to the already calm ambiance provided by the fireplace across the room. Are you there or somewhere similar in your mind? Good.

Now imagine your Bible in your lap. You’ve prepared the time and the place to sit down and devote yourself to God’s Word. There’s only one problem. Your mind won’t focus. It’s more concerned with the crackling in the fireplace than the context of the passage. You want to think deeply about God’s Word, but your mind seems to be running deep into the woods just outside your house. So, you take a sip of coffee and think, “Let’s do this.” Around 10-15 minutes later you decide to stop fighting all the distracting thoughts and follow one of them which leads out of your favorite chair and into the hustle of the day.

If you’ve ever tried to sit down and read your Bible then you’ve probably experienced something like this before. “Is there something wrong with me? What did I do wrong? Should I change coffee creamer?” We start asking ourselves all kinds of questions to figure this out. What if the “magic” isn’t in the chair or the creamer, but in the motive of why you’re there? Our “why” will always determine our “what.”

Let’s examine that for a moment. Ask yourself honestly why you created that space and sat in that chair on that particular morning (or evening). Fight against the answer you think you’re supposed to give and be honest with yourself. Were you avoiding something or someone in your house? Was it just routine? Was the coffee your main motivation? Did you want the ability to say and show on Instagram that you had a “quiet time” for the day? Here’s the not so big secret. If any of those were your “why” then you accomplished exactly “what” you wanted to accomplish. You got alone. Your drank coffee. Instagram now has a photo with #quiettime.

Here’s the other not so big secret…you want more. You want the coffee to get cold because your heart is burning hot while reading God’s Word. You want the colors outside to pale in comparison to the vibrant truth being illustrated in Christ’s teaching. You want to shift uncomfortably in your chair because the Holy Spirit is highlighting areas of your life that need correction. You want to forget the facade of social media because you’ve encountered the genuine life of Jesus Christ through His Word. You REALLY want more.

If you’re still with me then maybe you’ve nodded your head a couple of times and are waiting for me to tell you the secret to achieving what I’ve just described. Shortcuts and secrets to success in our devotion to Christ are not available. There is, however, a starting point.

The starting line is NOT a reading plan or a study method. Those are helpful tools we will consider in the months ahead, but they are not the starting blocks for the marathon through God’s Word. The starting point is the posture of your heart. In a recent episode of Day by Day produced by Lifeword Media, Tim Nix encouraged Christians to start their time of devotion with this simple prayer: Jesus, I need to hear from You.

There it is. Our time in God’s word finds real traction when our motivation is to hear from our Lord and Savior. The example of this in Scripture is Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha was busy getting things prepared (Luke 10:38-42). Martha was doing a lot of good things, but Mary had chosen the best thing. What was it? She positioned herself at the feet of her King to hear what He had to say.

There’s nothing wrong with a comfy chair, hot coffee, or a cozy fire. Good candles and nice lighting can be helpful also. Those are good things, but none of them are the best thing. If those are why you have a quiet time, then you will consistently get what you want. However, like Martha, you will be continually frustrated. Trading the best for less is always frustrating.

Jesus, I need to hear from you.

Start there. And, if you want another “not so big secret,” stay there.

Recently the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) called the performance of Lake Hamilton High’s Marching Band unconstitutional since its performance was, “showing favoritism towards or coercing belief or participation in religion.”(1) The performance in question was entitled “Revival” and included banners of crosses, fiery images and signs that said, “Sinners Beware.” According to the Lake Hamilton School District Director of Communications and Public Relations, the program drew inspiration from the great depression era. (2)

At the heart of this ongoing controversy in America, oftentimes referred to as the separation of church and state, is a collision of worldview. Even embedded within the name of the FFRF is a mistaken notion. You cannot have freedom or separation from religion, at all. Religion is a “set of beliefs regarding the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe…often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” (3) True it is that “religion” is most oftentimes associated with those who believe in God. However, those who do not believe in God are just as religious. They live their lives according to a set of beliefs that stem from their understanding to the cause, nature, and purpose of the world.

The idea that an educational institution could somehow be neutral when it comes to the cause, nature, and purpose of the world is naive. Schools are to teach, Science and Math, English and History, all of which are deeply influenced by what one believes as to the cause, nature, and purpose of the world. One simply cannot avoid these consequences. There is no neutrality in any realm of life. It matters in every part of life whether you are a believer in God, or anti-God.

Let’s take the topic at hand, performances of marching bands and the songs they play. Many marching bands are known for playing pop songs. Believe it or not, pop songs have messages that are based on either a God-ward worldview or a god-less one. Each of them are religious. Each of them are teaching a certain way to view the nature and purpose of the world, and of humanity. For instance, if a band decided to play the song, “So Much for Stardust,” by the group Fall Out Boy, would anyone object on religious grounds, or on the basis of the songs message influencing or showing favoritism towards one particular religion? I doubt it, even though the song promotes a nihilistic philosophy (everything is meaningless, including life). There really is no neutrality.

What’s the point of all of this? The point is to understand that you are constantly being asked to believe someone’s religion. You cannot escape it, not even in school. So you have to ask yourself, “Will I allow a secular worldview be the primary messengers to me, my children, my family? Am I mature enough, are my children mature enough, to fend off attempts at their heart and soul? Will I actively engage in the shaping of their heart and soul towards a God-ward, Christ-centered, gospel saturated direction, or will I let the ever-cascading tides of pop culture crash upon the shore of their heart with no protection?”

1 https://www.fox16.com/news/local-news/lake-hamilton-responds-to-call-for-an-end-of-christian-themed-band-performances/ accessed on 12.12.23
2 Ibid.
3 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/religion accessed on 12.12.23

On Tuesday, December 5, several college presidents from “elite" universities met at the White House to discuss steps being taken to address the rise in antisemitism on college campuses. In what seemed to be a straight forward question of if calling for the genocide of the Jewish people violated their college’s code of conduct, the presidents delivered not-so-straight answers. They seemed to dance around the question using lawyer language and the need to discern the context of the particular situation in which the genocide was being demanded.

Genocide is the intentional extermination of a particular group of people. So the gist of the question that was posed to the college presidents was, “If students on your campus were publicly calling for the deliberate extermination of the Jews, could you, as an administration, take disciplinary action against those calling for the genocide?” This is a straight-forward, yes or no question, that deserves a straight-forward, yes or no answer. But that type of answer was not given by any of the college presidents.

I know the need for the carefully parsed word that is given in public. Nuance and qualifications are meant to clarify, guard, and sharpen answers. But no qualification is needed when the question is, “Should a college administration be able to bring discipline on students, student groups, who publicly call for the elimination of a whole race of people?” The answer is always, “Yes.”

What is going on in America when the supposedly most educated people, leading the elite universities, have this much trouble discerning between what is right and wrong, moral and immoral? Some have said that perhaps the presidents of the college were wanting to leave some room in being able to defend one of America’s most precious rights, the right to free speech.  But surely these presidents know that not all speech is protected speech, such as language that leads to imminent, lawless action. Let me suggest one possible thread of an answer to what is surely a multi-dimensional answer to question posed at the top of this paragraph.

Two types of institutions exist— those that thrive by shaping people according to the principles and values instilled in the institution, or those that seek to thrive by being influenced by the people coming to their institution. Sometimes leaders are not certain how a yes or no response would be received by the constituents of their particular institutions, so they run to the land of obscurity, hoping to buy time until they can come up with the right answer that would satisfy all parties involved. Often times when leaders do this, they vacation in this land until polls can be run in order to tell them what to think. We don’t need these types of institutions. Yet, sadly, this seems to be the majority of what we have. These types of institutions tend to be swayed by a money compass instead of a moral one.

I write this to ask you to consider yourself. Would you rather belong to and support institutions that are principled along the path of biblical truth, or would you rather belong to and support institutions that will cave to your desires and demands? In the Christian worldview, personal desires and demands are so very often carrying the disease of sin, and need to be ferreted out by the community of faith, aka, the biblical church. When the church builds out and creates tangential institutions, such as schools, businesses, and non-profits, these institutions must run on principles, not shaped by prevailing public opinion, but shaped by biblical truth, in order to help build men and women into the image of Christ.

For those of us in leadership roles of institutions as the church, Christian schools, Christian non-profits, businesses run by Christians, etc, we must ask the question, “Are we willing to lose people in order to uphold biblical convictions? Are we stalwart enough to be abandoned by the world?”

When it comes to the two types of institutions, one will succeed and the other will erode. I think Jesus said something about the rains coming and the winds blowing and the floods rising, and that the house on the sand going “splat,” (or maybe that was my children’s church teacher who said that part.) When your consistent approach to making decisions is sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing, then you are on shifting sand my friends. Let’s continue to build on the rock of Christ.

Trips are fun, but often daunting. Going 100 miles isn’t that bad, but add a “0” to that number and it’s a whole new kind of journey. Our daily lives are often lived on repeat. We call this routine. Nothing wrong with it, in fact most people enjoy it. Yet, among the routine of each day, there are undoubtedly big thoughts we acknowledge in our headspace and then quickly dismiss.

Here are some of those thoughts:

• “I should spend uninterrupted time with God on the daily.”
• “My spouse and I really need to talk about…”
• “I really need to talk with my 8 year old, 10 year old, teenager about…”
• “I’ve been struggling and need help with...”
• “I need to start this, stop that, talk with him, speak with her.”

All of these and more most likely pass through our minds more often than we’d like to admit. They rarely fit into our “routine” so we stuff them into the junk drawer of our minds. We dismiss them with the thought, “Not today. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend.” Even Baptists know how that dance goes.

Conversations and actions of this caliber aren’t like a trip to Piggly Wiggly or Walmart. They feel more like a mission trip to Kazakhstan. They aren’t going to happen nonchalantly or get accomplished quickly. THAT conversation probably needs to be a series of intentional conversations that happen over time. Just like a 1000 mile trip will take more than one day of planning.

Chinese sage Laotze once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step.” God’s grace enables us to take difficult journeys and energizes us for each step.

While our lives may be filled with routine, it's also true our lives are filled with steps. For the Christian, our steps can be grace filled and grace fueled. This means each conversation, every car ride, and all the normal nights at home can be intentional and powerful moments by the grace of our all-sufficient Savior.

When writing about his own weakness, the Apostle Paul made this comment,

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

We are weak. He is strong. The steps we take each day will feel like plodding through mud if we walk in our own strength. The intentional, purposeful, and fulfilling steps we all desire find traction when we surrender to the Lordship of Christ and His all-sufficient power. His grace is sufficient for every step you take.  The joy of the Christian is rooted in the reality that we walk with the One who is full of grace and truth, Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, what step will you take today?