There is an age, maybe 4 or 5 years old, where children seem to be just amazed about everything. When someone captures their attention, they will listen intently, with respect, to learn all they can. They believe what they are being taught and ask questions out of curiosity not suspicion. It is truly amazing to watch.

In Mark 10:14,15, Jesus tells the disciples , “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

We need to approach our Christian faith in this way. With humble curiosity, and a desire to learn and accept.

Dear Lord, help us let our guard down, and come to you with the faith of a child. Help us believe your teaching and promises with curiosity not suspicion. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an expression first recorded several hundred years ago that goes, “There but for the grace of God go I.” This expression was used when seeing someone who’s mistakes or bad behaviors resulted in punishment or terrible consequences. In modern language, it would be like saying, “If not for the grace of God, that could be me.” It was used when looking at someone we would normally be inclined to judge, like the panhandler, drunk driver, or shoplifter.

James says in James 4:11-12, “Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?”

So when that thought comes to mind tempting us to judge or condemn someone, we should remember, “but for the grace of God, it could be me.”

Dear Lord, Thank you for your saving grace and mercy. Help us remember that it is you working in us that allows us to believe and be saved, not anything to do with our abilities. by your grace we go. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the US Military, soldiers are deployed, sent away to different places, for various lengths of time. The military makes a distinction between the types of deployments and moves. There are acronyms for each type. TDY means Temporary Duty; the soldier is deployed for a few days to a few months, PCS means Permanent Change of Station.

On a TDY, the soldier maintains his or her affiliation to the home unit, wearing the insignia on his or her uniform of the home unit. In contrast, during a PCS the soldier has a new “home unit” and becomes part of the new organization.

I use this illustration, because as Christians, we are TDY here on earth, on a “temporary assignment.” Our home unit is with God. In John 15:19 Jesus tells his disciples, “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world;” and in John 17:14 Jesus is praying for his disciples, he asks God to protect them and says, “for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” Just like soldiers on TDY, we are away from home, but we represent our home unit; our behavior and performance reflect either positively or negatively on our home unit, Christ and other Christians. As the song goes, “I am but a stranger here, heaven is my home.”

Dear Lord, be with us while we are on this temporary assignment. Help us bring glory to you while we are here. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

One of the necessities of life is making decisions with incomplete and imperfect information. “Do I buy the non-refundable airline tickets for the trip 6 months from now?” “Do I take the new job, or stay where I am?” “What curriculum should I choose?” “What college should I choose?” The problem with making these decisions is that we fear that we might learn something along the way that would have changed our decision.

Paul writes about this as it applies to our Christian life in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

We may not have the complete picture in order to make the perfect decision every time, but God does. Paul finishes this, well known, text in verse 13 with, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” So if we put our faith and hope in God’s guidance and live in love for him and our neighbor, he will be there for us, and guide us on our journey through life.

Dear Lord, you know everything, our every thought, our secret hopes and dreams, and you have plans for each of us. Help us remember to trust your guidance to make decisions and take actions boldly, knowing that if we do things in obedience to you with love for others, you will protect and support us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I like to read Proverbs. It is full of life lessons and guidance. Many of the passages refer to being “Righteous.” For example,…the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous…the Lord delivers them from their troubles…the righteous will inherit the land….the mouths of the righteous utter wisdom….

So what is meant by “the Righteous?” In worldly terms, righteous means “good conduct” or “virtuous”

In the Bible, the apostle Paul clarifies God’s meaning of “righteous” in Romans 1:17 “For in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. As it is written “the righteous will live by faith”. NIV

The answer to the question “What is meant by righteous?” is, We are righteous by faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ who saved us. Faith in this Gospel is what makes us righteous, not our good behavior or virtue.

Dear Lord, Thank you that we know that we are righteous, right with You, through our faith in Your gift of Salvation. Help us live by faith to do Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.