On behalf of my three brothers, four daughters in law, 9 grandchildren, and our 5 dogs, Happy Birthday to my mother! You are an amazing example of faith, beauty, joy, confidence, grace and love!

The engineer inside me, is routinely trying to figure out the how and why about everything. This is the mindset in many people who wonder, “If God exists, why doesn’t he just show himself and everyone would believe?” Interesting, the Bible describes how God started that way. He was right there with Adam and Eve and they still disobeyed. He was right there physically with the Israelites when He led them out of Egypt, and they disobeyed and worshiped idols. And during Jesus’ life, He did miracles, fulfilled prophecies, and most people didn’t believe. Is it reasonable to think that it would be any different today if God made an appearance?

What God really wants from us is for us to submit our lives to Him in faith. Matthew 11:25 says, “And Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise, and for revealing it to little children. Yes, Father, for it pleased you to do it this way!” NLT

When we submit without understanding, like a child who trusts without knowing, we are where God wants us to be.

Dear Lord, strengthen us to have child-like faith in you, and bless my mother who is such an incredible blessing to her family. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

How would you act at the DMV if the person at the counter was your best friend? How would you act if the slow driver in the parking lot was your mother? How would you treat the waiter or waitress if it was your niece or nephew?

John writes in 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

The way we treat people is one way Christians are to be different from others. Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Dear Lord, Our selfishness often gets in the way of our love for others. Help us find the joy that comes from showing our love for one another. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have to admit that I have strong opinions about some controversial topics and have been known to end up in extended debates about these topics with no likelihood of coming to agreement.

There are a number of controversial subjects facing us today and tempting us toward arguments.

Paul writes precisely about this in 2 Timothy 2:23-26 “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Dear Lord, Help us (me) strive to be the kind and thoughtful servant you desire. Help us know when to avoid discussions that will only devolve to quarrels, and when we do engage give us the ability to gently instruct with your truth for the benefit of those to whom we are speaking. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

As we grow in our faith it becomes easy to start building our pride in what a good person we are. Beware! The devil uses this good thing, our good deeds, and tempts us to turn it into pride in our selves or judgment of those not “as good as we are.”

Paul says in Romans 3:20 “therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works” verse 23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” So no matter how “good” we are, it doesn’t make us any better to God. Faith in Jesus, who saved us, is the only thing that makes a difference.

I like to look at it as a sequence of 1) apologize (repent) for ourselves 2) accept the forgiveness and Salvation from Jesus 3) Do good as a response to the love from God.

Our righteousness doesn’t come from being good, it comes from being forgiven.

Dear Lord, we are sorry for doing wrong. We know that without your forgiveness we are doomed. Thank you for seeing us as righteous because of Jesus our Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Matthew Chapter 4 and Luke Chapter 4 record the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. There are many things we can learn from this account, and I would like to point out a few.

First, Matthew 4:1 says, “Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted there.” Sometimes even when we are doing the right thing and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will be brought to a situation where we will be tested. I believe we experience challenges and tests in our lives for one of two reasons, either we bring it on ourselves by making bad choices, or God is testing us to make us better.

Second, the account lists three specific temptations, hunger, protection, and power. In each of these temptations Jesus resists the temptation with scripture as his weapon. For instance, Matthew 4:10, Jesus saaid, “Away from me Satan, for the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The more scripture we know and remember, the more ammunition we will have to resist our temptations.

Third, after Jesus resisted the temptations, the devil went away. Matthew 4:11 writes, “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.” If we resist, with God’s help we can over-come all temptation. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

Dear Lord, We know that all temptations can be overcome if we rely on you. Help us build up our ability to resist temptation with knowledge of your word and trust in your power to overcome any temptation we may experience. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.