You have heard people say how they love this thing or that, like “I love my IPhone,” or “I love my new car.” Of course this is just a figure of speech, but we need to be careful where we place our focus.

John writes in 1 John 3:17-18 “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

The expression, “Love people and use things, not the other way around,” is a good reminder of God’s direction for us.

Dear Lord, we thank you for all the wonderful things we have. Help us remember, however, to put people before things, and show our love in our actions. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

One of the joys of life, and also a challenge of life is dealing with different types of people.

Proverbs 9 has some wisdom for these interactions.

First, Proverbs 9:7-9 says, “Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you Instruct the wise and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous and they will learn even more.”

Then verse 12 says, “If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.”

We need to look at these passages, from both the speaker and listener point of view, making sure we are not the “mocker,” who knows it all and is not open to learn, but are the wise who are open to correction and do not get defensive, because we know we will be the one to benefit.

Most importantly we need to remember Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

Dear Lord, it is you who provide us wisdom for life, good judgment, and understanding of those we encounter. Help us humbly look for wisdom to be better in all we do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you read stories about successful people, athletes, musicians, actors, chefs, Nobel prize winners, business people, etc. and the story writes about how they studied under the same instructor that coached several other great athletes, or the person studied under the same professor as several other famous people.

These successful people are bringing fame and “glory” to their teacher, coach, or mentor as a result of their own success.

In a similar way, Jesus’ tells us in Matthew 5 that we, Christians, are the light of the world. In verse 16 he says, “let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We need to be those people who bring glory to our teacher, Jesus, with our actions.

Dear Lord, thank you for setting the example for us on how to live a humble life serving others with love. Help us live this life and be a light for all to see and bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

It is hard not to be amazed at some of the new technologies that are being developed in our current world. Some of the capabilities we have developed are almost unbelievable. Some modern technologies that amaze me are, the SpaceX booster rockets that return to earth and land automatically, the ability for surgeons to perform complex surgeries through small incisions and perform heart surgeries through blood vessels, the ability to be on the other side of the world, and look at my phone to see a detailed street map with my precise location identified, and many more.

I also like to put these amazing capabilities in proper context with this text from Paul in Romans 11:33 and 36, “33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!…. 36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever!”

God created all this science for us to discover, and use to his Glory.

Dear Lord, help us remember that, as amazing as the technologies we discover are, we are only using what you have created. Let us be in awe of your majesty and omnipotence and give you the glory for what we learn to do with your creation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus meets a man named Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee, one of the smart/educated men of his time, and tells him he must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus replies, “How are these things possible?” Then Jesus says to him John 3:8, ”The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

Jesus then said, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” John 3:10-12

Aren’t we like Nicodemus on many occasions. Though we all know there are many mysteries in our world, we often will reject the things we do not understand. However, it is the things God tells us that we don’t understand that are the critical things to accept. Things like, Grace, Eternal Life, the Holy Spirit’s work in people, how God answers prayer, and the many miracles that occur in our world.

A book I recently read says it like this, “Failure is a blessing when it forces one to depend less upon material forces and more upon spiritual forces.” This made me stop and think that this is how God would have us live. We should depend more on God’s power than the material things we can understand.

Dear Lord, We tend to think that we must know how things work in order to accept them. But you teach us that we must put our trust and faith in something we do not understand, which is your power and love. Help us make this shift. In Jesus’ name. Amen.