God uses many people with troubled pasts to tell his story in the Bible, murderers, prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, and others. This helps us all understand that God doesn’t require us to be “good,” to be saved; He can make us “right” with him no matter where we start. The moment we ask for forgiveness, God grants it. The important thing is that we ask.

Nathan, the prophet, comes to David, the King of Israel, in 2 Samuel 12, and tells David a story illustrating the terrible thing David did by having Bathsheba’s husband killed and taking Bathsheba as his wife. When David realized what a terrible thing he had done, he repents. His words are written in Psalm 51, and may sound familiar to those who attend traditional church services. Verses 10-12, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with your free Spirit.”

The Living Bible writes verse 10, “Create in me a new, clean heart, O god, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.” and verse 12, “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”

We all fail in our resistance to temptation. God knows and is there waiting to forgive us. Let us give up our pride, and confess our faults, ask for God’s forgiveness, so that we can experience the joy that comes with a “clean heart.”

Dear Lord, we are sorry for our failure to follow your will. Forgive us and give us the desire to obey you. Thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I watched the video of a question and answer session about Christianity that occurred shortly after the tragic tsunami in 2004 in Indonesia. That event killed over 230,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, and India. One question and answer caught my attention. The question was, Doesn’t the destruction and tragedy in the world make you question whether there is a God? And the answer was, “If Jesus had said that things would be wonderful and uneventful, I might question his existence, but he did not predict tranquility.”

In Luke 21:25-26 Jesus said, “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”

It is precisely the description, of the events by Jesus in the Bible, that reinforces our faith in its truth.

Dear Lord, the Bible you gave us is an amazing resource for support and confidence of our belief in you. Give us the will to read and study it to strengthen our faith, develop our wisdom, and become more effective in bringing your message to others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

September 11 2001, 25 years ago today, the USA was attacked by by people influenced by the devil.

On many occasions in the Old Testament, the people of Israel were attacked by surrounding enemies, and some of those occasions were predicted by prophets God sent to try to steer the people back to Him.

We don’t know why God allowed the events of September 11 to occur, but we do know how he would have us respond.

Psalm 50:15 says, “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” If we want to know what God would have us do to respond to those who are intent on destroying the USA. The answer is, turn to God and call on him.

Dear Lord, Help us come to you for help when these tragedies and evil occur. You have power over all things. Be with those who mourn the loss of loved ones during this event and the subsequent conflicts, and help us take these things as lessons to put our hope, trust, and reverence on You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

How often we limit ourselves by believing that we cannot do something because we don’t have enough influence, enough education, enough money, enough time, etc. We don’t pursue the dreams in our hearts, or make the contributions in our communities or churches, because we think we need more of something before we can start.

I think one of the lessons of the story of Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000 is the process he took to do something tremendous starting with the limited resources he had. John’s account of the story in John 6:11,12 goes, “Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God, passed them out to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And everyone ate until full! “Now gather the scraps,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” And twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers.”

The simple steps are 1) Believe 2) Start with what you have 3) Thank God for what you have and what he will do 4) Get started.

Dear Lord Help us remember these simple steps you taught us to follow. Help us remember there is no limit to your power, and therefore no limit to what you can do through us. We thank you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Though it sounds so simple, when we are facing difficult, frightful, or uncertain times, remember the words of 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your cares on him, for he cares for you.”

We cannot prevent dealing with difficult circumstances in our lives, but we have a tendency to think that we have to carry the emotional burden too. However, God wants us to give him that burden.

Though things don’t always work out how we would like. When we hand over the concern to God, who loves and cares for us, we can have peace knowing that he is in control.

Remember also Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.”

Dear Lord, Help us trust you and hand over our fears and concerns to you, believing and trusting in you is what you call us to do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.