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Throwing Stones

Daily Reading

John 7-8

Daily Thought

A woman committing adultery was caught by the religious leaders and brought before Jesus. How they caught her and where was the man would be interesting questions, but Jesus did not ask. Instead, they challenged Jesus, “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (John 8:5). Would the one who claimed to be the Son of God execute God’s justice? Jesus bent down and began writing in the dirt. Many have guessed at what he wrote, but it does not matter. He simply took his time and unnerved the accusers, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). The Judge rendered his judgment, and one by one, the prosecution walked away. 

Only one person standing there could throw a stone, but he did not. Jesus freed the sinful woman (for she indeed was guilty) from her accusers. Now he would free her from her sin. “Has no one condemned you?” Jesus asked. She shook her head no. “Neither do I,” said the one who could have, “now stop sinning” (John 8:10-11). 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). The scribes and Pharisees, accusing the woman, were slaves to sin themselves (none picked up a stone). A religion consumed only with sin seeks only to condemn, an effort, I suppose, to make oneself better by comparison. But the One without sin seeks to set you free, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

Daily Prayer

Father of grace and mercy, I have given You every reason to condemn me and cast me away. By Your mercy, you do not give me what I deserve, but You paid the penalty for me. By Your grace, you give me what I do not deserve and call me righteous and holy, a saint.

May I learn from Your grace and mercy and do the same in this world. May I be one who does not condemn, but restores. May I be one who gives grace and shows love to others, no matter what they deserve. May I love my friends and my enemies, my neighbor as myself.

Amen

Daily Question

What have you done that Jesus would condemn?

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Do You Believe?

Daily Reading

John 5-6

Daily Thought

In the 1850’s, tightrope walker Charles Blondin crossed Niagara Falls several times on a rope two-inches thick and 1,000 feet long. On his first attempt, the bets were against him, but as he succeeded, and succeeded again and again, the crowds grew and the crowds believed. Everybody loves a good show, but when Blondin asked the crowd if any would ride on his back while he crossed, there were no takers. Belief only goes so far.

Rumor of Jesus coming to town brought people out of their homes “and a large crowd was following him because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick” (John 6:2). Everybody loves a good show. The crowd was expectant and Jesus did not disappoint. A boy with five loaves of bread and two fish provided all Jesus needed to feed the thousands. From this small basket of loaves and fish, Jesus kept pulling out more and more, passing them to the crowds until all had plenty, with leftovers. Now they were following him, “not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (John 6:26).

Then Jesus told them of a better bread, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Jesus said he is bread from heaven, claiming God as his Father. The crowd disagreed, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” (John 6:42). The crowds had first followed because they were curious, then because Jesus was interesting, and finally because he filled their stomachs, but were any prepared to put their life in his hands? Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever,” and he invited them to, basically, ride on his back. “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him” (John 6:66). 

No one truly believed in Charles Blondin, not enough to put their life in his hands, but his manager, Harry Colcord, did. Colcord climbed aboard and Blondin gave his manager these instructions, “Look up, Harry, you are no longer Colcord, you are Blondin. If I sway, sway with me. Until I clear this place be a part of me, mind, body, and soul.”

It is easy to believe until it’s not, and then you find out if you truly believe. Jesus asked the twelve who remained, his faithful followers, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter shook his head for all of them, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” ~Galatians 2:20

Mind, body, and soul.

Daily Prayer

My Lord and God, Author of Life. Everything about why I am here, You are the answer. I love You and promise to follow You. I know it will be hard because Your truth is difficult. People want to do things their own way, and You demand that we follow You to find full and everlasting life.

I choose to stand for You, to stand with You, God. Thank You for standing with me because, really, I am not that strong (You knew that already.) But, in the power of Your Spirit by the authority of Your Son, I will stand for Your truth and live a life fully committed to You.

Amen

Daily Question

How much of yourself are you willing to give to Jesus?

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Nick at Night

Daily Reading

John 3-4

Daily Thought

John, the writer of this gospel, makes much of darkness and light, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). All people love. What matters is what you love, for in this you determine who you are. Nicodemus “came to Jesus by night” because he was part of the darkness, “a man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews (John 2:1). Here stood Nicodemus at night, and from the darkness, he approached the light. 

Nicodemus began with a mixture of flattery and curiosity, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Before he asked his question, Jesus cut him off and answered, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Still dark, and Nicodemus said so, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). Jesus continued, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). That did not help. Nicodemus still could not see. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). That made no sense whatsoever to Nicodemus, but he kept listening. Dawn was approaching and he kept listening. 

Then Jesus said it, that most famous of all Bible verses, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And the light began to shine.

We meet Nicodemus again, twice. Once when the Pharisees gathered to condemn Jesus. Nicodemus argued, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51). Like he had done. And finally, at the cross, when “Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight,” to bury his Savior and King. He did not know yet a resurrected Jesus, but it was daytime now, and Nicodemus walked in the light.

Daily Prayer

God, there is so much evidence of You. Everywhere I look screams of Your wonder and majesty. How can I doubt? How can I walk away? How can I chase other gods? You are the Creator, the Everlasting God. In You I am done searching. You are my God.

Thank You for turning on the light. I can see again. I now know why I am here and what is ahead for me. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God. What fear I in this world when I know the King and the King knows me?

Amen

Daily Question

How did God turn on the light in your life?

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Very Good

Daily Reading

John 1-2

Daily Thought

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” ~John 1:1

Thus, John opens the curtain of his Gospel echoing the first words of the Bible, “In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1), because Jesus was there at the beginning because Jesus is God. Jesus, with his Father and Spirit, holy Trinity, spoke our world into existence and, with each creative Word, declared, “It is good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). It continued to be good until God created man, and it was “not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), and woman was formed and there came a wedding. and with that, a celebration. “It was very good” (Genesis 1:31), the grand finale of Creation.

It is no surprise, then, a wedding is the scene of the first miracle. “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee” (John 2:1), but “the wine ran out, and the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine’” (John 2:3), to which Jesus responded, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? (John 2:4). 

It has everything to do with Jesus. 

In Creation, God filled the earth with “every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9), enough for every one to feast, but now there is not enough and it is not good and must be made good again. So Jesus took six water jars, “each holding twenty or thirty gallons” (John 2:6), and turned water into wine, and “the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now’” (John 2:9-10). 

It was very good.

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. ~John 2:11

This is Jesus, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Our lesson is learned from his mother, who, when the wine ran out, turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). 

Daily Prayer

King of kings and Lord of lords, Maker of the heavens and earth, the First and the Last, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. You have made all things and in You all things hold together.

What a wonderful world made by a Wonderful Maker, but we no longer knew You. The wine ran out, and then You became flesh, human, one of us. Creator took the form of creation, so we could know You and it will be very good again.

Amen

Daily Question

Where do you find the goodness of God in creation?

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Open Your Eyes

Daily Reading

Luke 23-24

Daily Thought

The good news of God’s Kingdom is “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (Corinthians 15:3-5), and among the first to see him were two disciples walking away from Jerusalem, away from the revolution that never materialized the way they thought it would, away from God’s Kingdom come. They thought. 

They walked towards a little village called Emmaus. The gifted, compassionate, compelling King of kings was put down by the rulers of Israel and crucified by Rome. Now, three days later, there was rumor of his rising, but how could that be true? They were dejected and disheartened, wondering if good would ever win in this world.

Then “Jesus himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15), but they were blind to a dead man risen in glory, so they did not recognize him. So Jesus opened the Scriptures to open their eyes. Perhaps he began in the beginning, in Genesis, when God cursed the serpent, “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15), explaining that the cross that bruised the heel of the Son dealt a deathly blow to Satan. Certainly, he spoke of the first Passover in Egypt, when Jewish slaves painted lamb’s blood on their door frames, and God said “when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you” (Genesis 12:13). He read to them from the Psalms, “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!” (Psalm 22:16-19); and from the prophets, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Page after page, the Old explained the New, and the disciples’ eyes were opened and they saw their Savior, and they believed, “The Lord has risen indeed” (Luke 24:34). Good has triumphed because the King is alive, and they turned around and hustled back to Jerusalem, to the disciples, to the coming church, to the revolution.

Daily Prayer

My God and Savior, You took my sins to Your grave, received the wrath I deserved, and rose to give me hope of a future in God’s Kingdom. Death need no longer be the end of hope, but only a pitstop into eternity. You give me confidence, the power to live well and right, to follow You no matter, to stand with those who call You King.

When I couldn’t see You at work in this world, in my life, you opened the Scriptures and it opened my eyes, showing me truth and grace, causing me to repent, to turn around, and join the revolution of grace which triumphs over evil and ushers in an eternal Kingdom of peace and righteousness. Shape me into a fit citizen of Your Kingdom.

Amen

Daily Question

When have you seen God turn what looked like defeat into victory?

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The Silence of God

Daily Reading

Job 32-34

Daily Thought

Elihu, a young man, waited until his elders and Job were done talking, then he had something to say, “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion’” (Job 42:9-10). He comes off as a typical young know-it-all: he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, yet he thinks he’s got it figured out. It would be easy to write him off. 

That would be a mistake. What if he is right?

Job’s three older friends had God figured out. Job was suffering, therefore, Job had sinned. God will answer when Job repents. It’s a formula God always answers. It may be “yes” or “no” or “not yet” (another formula with three options). Isn’t that how God works? 

But what if God doesn’t answer?

This was Job’s dilemma and Job’s demand, “Oh, that I had one to hear me! Let the Almighty answer me! (Job 31:35). Ultimately, this was Job’s sin, not something he had done (as Job’s three friends claimed), but something he was doing, something he was demanding of God. Elihu called him out on it, “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14). To know God is to trust him, so stop questioning God. Worship him, for “God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (Job 34:12).

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me. ~Job 38:1-3

It is not that God does not answer, but that he does not answer to you (or me). In God’s silence, he seeks our trust. We answer to him.

Daily Prayer

Sovereign God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Your ways are good, right, and just. They are also loving. You are, at the same time, my Loving Father and my Righteous Judge. Why would I want to live in a world not ruled by righteousness? And yet, I do. 

Your Word seems foreign to this world, because this world would rather rule itself, and the results are not good. I can serve the kingdom of man or the Kingdom of God, but not both. The choice is clear, and I choose to be ruled by righteousness. I will follow You.

Amen

Daily Question

Does your faith grow or weaken when God is silent?

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Rest

Daily Reading

Job 29-31

Daily Thought

Job ignored his friends and laid out his final appeal before God: my life was good, really good (Job 29). Now it’s really bad (Job 30). What did I do wrong? (Job 31). At least sixteen times Job suggests a sin and begins, “If I have,” by which he means he hasn’t. Job is, indeed, a righteous man.

If “the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28), Job was intentional in turning away: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). It was not that his eyes would stop seeing–that would be impossible–but that they would never stop moving. The first look is free, it cannot be stopped. It is the second look that costs you. Job’s eyes would not fix their gaze on what they should not.

Job had, at last, presented his case before God, and he was done; “the words of Job are ended” (Job 31:40). In judicial jargon, he rested.

“The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” ~Isaiah 32:17

It is called shalom, this place of peace where Job had arrived. The turmoil swirled around him still, yet he is secure in the hands of God, as he had always been.

Daily Prayer

Father in heaven, You are holy, You are good. Your kingdom is righteous. I long to live forever in a righteous kingdom, a kingdom where peace reigns, but may it begin now with me. May I find peace in a messy world by trusting in You. 

Help me guard my eyes, God, that they will not linger on temptation. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, may I fix my gaze on such as these and delight in goodness. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, in my life, right now, as it is in heaven. 

Amen

Daily Question

What intentional habits do you practice to keep yourself from sinning? 

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Where Is Wisdom?

Daily Reading

Job 24-28

Daily Thought

Job challenges his friends, “Where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12). Certainly not among you three is at least half the answer. The friends have knowledge, but knowledge is not wisdom, and often the more a fool knows, the greater a fool he is. Knowledge is indiscriminate, wild and promiscuous, flirting with whomever fancies it; but what of wisdom? That is Job’s question.

“I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days” (Job 27:6). Job is resolute in his devotion to God, but (as Job points out) the wicked “live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power” (Job 21:7); and they seem to get away with it (read Job 24). Why then turn from evil? And, thus, where is the benefit in wisdom?

It is in suffering Job uncovers God’s wisdom, the place of understanding, “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty: If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword” (Job 27:13-14). The length of life on earth is of no consequence to a Holy God. Justice will have its say in the end, “for what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life” (Job 27:8). The number of years lived in time are of no matter, for the wicked to live long and grow mighty is only to increase evil and the Judge of eternity is righteous.

Stripped of all he has, Job discovered all he needs, “and it is not found in the land of the living” (Job 28:13), in all or anything life offers. Wisdom is found in devotion to the righteous and eternal Holy God of heaven.  

“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
     and to turn away from evil is understanding.” ~Job 28:28

Daily Prayer

To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now and forever, may I live a life devoted to and delighting in You. Everything else is a gift, and You are the giver of all that is good and worthwhile. I will seek You because You are God and You are true and You are good. It’s the wise thing to do.

I want to know You more to know You better. I see the wonder of Your ways in the world. You created the heavens and oceans, the gardens and grandeur, and all that breathes. There is this marvelous world, beyond our corruption, looking forward to redemption and restoration, freed from evil, filled with wisdom, for Your glory and our pleasure throughout eternity. Beyond my dreams, what more could I hope for?

Amen

Daily Question

Can you be evil and successful?

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Excuse Me

Daily Reading

Job 21-23

Daily Thought

“But, wait a minute,” we say. “You don’t understand, it’s different for me. These economic times,” or “If you grew up in my family.” “We are going to get married anyway.” “My husband doesn’t listen to me.” They may be true; they are all excuses. We use excuses to say, “I should be excused!”

Job’s business went bankrupt, yet Job said of God, “My feet have closely followed his steps.” His life savings disappeared overnight, and Job “kept to his way without turning aside.” A tragedy took the lives of his sons and daughters, and still, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips.” Job’s body was ravaged with sores and boils–“I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:11-12).

His wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Job had excuses, mint-condition excuses, but he left them unused. He said, “I’d rather have integrity.” Excuses or integrity, to hold one you must let go the other. “In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).

Daily Prayer

Dear God, You are faithful and good. Your ways are right and true. My faith in You is justified over and over. All things work together for good. Not most things, but all; not always at first, but always at last. If I love You, if I follow You, I participate in what is good. When I stray, it is to my loss. Why do I look around? God, may I keep my eyes on Jesus, on Your Word, on Your truth.

Thank You, wonderful Savior, for Your path of righteousness. Thank You for Your mercy when I step off the path, and Your grace which brings me back to You. I love.

Amen

Daily Question

What are your best excuses for sin?

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Two Fires

Daily Reading

Job 17-20

Daily Thought

T.S. Eliot wrote,

The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre-
To be redeemed from fire by fire.

Two kinds of fire. One consuming. We name it “despair.” This fire burns out into emptiness. Another fire purifies. This is “hope.” This fire burns on, it burns eternal. We have a memory of eternity. God put it in our hearts, but it was buried deep by sin. It is a hope now hidden. We live today in the tangible moment, consumed in pleasure and power and passion. But moments don’t last.

These are the two fires: one momentary, consuming. The other eternal, unseen.

Job discovered that hope is a gift found in suffering. Wrestling with despair, he suddenly explodes, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth!!” (Job 19:25). He had opened the gift. In the middle of a fire that was consuming him, he found the fire that saves.

T.S. Eliot’s epitaph, his own words, “In my beginning is my end. …In my end is my beginning.” Apart from Jesus, all of life points at an ending. A bad one, actually. Despair. Open the gift of salvation, the end is no longer ominous, but the beginning of eternity. “My redeemer lives! I know it!!”

Daily Prayer

My Father, my Creator, my Sustainer, my Ever-Present Help in Time of Trouble, my Joy, my Life, my Passion, my Love. May the desire for you consume me.

I seek first your kingdom, your way of life, your righteousness. I have confidence that everything else is best placed in your hands.

Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, my Savior, my Hope.

Amen

Daily Question

If you know you will live in eternity, how does that change the way you live today?