Tag: Bible

How’s Your Emmaus Walk Going?

Two disheartened disciples were walking the road to Emmaus when Jesus (the Risen Jesus) joined them. As with Mary at the tomb, they didn’t recognize Jesus at first. It was only until they broke bread with Him. To me, we are all walking our own road to Emmaus. The question is do we recognize Jesus walking alongside us?

I know this sounds like a lot of religious mumbo-jumbo. I don’t mean it to be. We are all on a life journey and Jesus is always alongside us. But, again, the question is do we recognize Him?

Look at anyone and Jesus is there. Don’t make judgements about the person. God created each one of us and He is in us, as is the Son God sent to save us. Yes, it’s hard to see Jesus in some people because they obscure Him by their actions. But He is there, in all of us.

The road is pretty dark these days and getting darker. That’s why it’s so important to recognize Jesus because His light always shines. We just need to recognize Him and always know that He is with us.

Enjoy your walk! And be looking for Jesus at your side!

Would You Know Jesus?

Post Easter, we read the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). They are disheartened by Jesus’ death but when Jesus appears to walk with them they don’t even recognize Him. It’s not until they break bread with Jesus that they see Him for who He is.

The question is, do we recognize Jesus? I’m not talking about walking the road to Emmaus over 2,000 years ago, I’m talking about everyday. Do we see Jesus? We should because when you look at anyone, regardless of who it is, you should see Jesus. Really. I’m not kidding!

This is pretty simple, just like how God intended life to be. God created each one of us, and His DNA is in all of us. That means that God’s only Son, Jesus, is in each one of us. The trick is to look past the outer and look into the inner. That is where we will see Jesus.

Try looking at others in a different way. As you walk your own Emmaus road of life, look for Jesus in others. It’s not hard. And this isn’t religious mumbo-jumbo. It’s life. As God intended. Simple.

Have an awesome rest of the week finding Jesus!

Guard Your Joy!

Guard your joy like life itself. No joy and life becomes bleak. As the world seems to get darker by the day—shootings, war, more bad things—it’s easy to lose your joy. And sometimes just dealing with people can suck away your joy. Add to that the devil always looking to kill your joy and things can get bleak fast.

Jesus said that He came to give us life in abundance (John 10:10), which is joy. A joyful life is an abundant life.

There is no magic here. Guard your joy and don’t let anyone take it away. If you ever feel your joy slipping (or has already slipped) turn to Jesus. Talk to Him about getting back your joy. I know this may sound a bit crazy but it works. Trust me. Been there, done that.

Joy. Guard it like a rare gem. Don’t let anyone take it. Remember that Jesus came to take away all of our sins and to leave us with joy.

Have a joyful rest of the week!

Where Do You Fall?

Jesus said it all too well in the Beatitudes. This wasn’t some pretty speech. This was a checklist of living. In this current era of power and politics, the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) stand out in stark contrast to the world today and our leaders. Read these, think about them, meditate on them, and ask yourself if you are truly living these as a real Christian:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
1Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Have a peaceful week ahead!

Christmas Ever Day in 2026

That’s my New Year’s resolution. Make every day Christmas in 2026! I’m not talking about lights and presents. I’m talking about the birth of the Christ child. I’m talking about Jesus being reborn in me. Not just on Christmas day but every day.

What does this practically mean?

There is so much negativity in the world that I want to surround myself with positivity. That means keeping a positive outlook and shutting out all negative thinking. Not easy but that is my resolution.

Think about the Christmas story. Joseph could have renounced Mary. They could not have made the journey to Bethlehem. Too long, too hard. They could have stayed put there and not fled into Egypt. Negatives all around. But not totally comprehending the magnitude of what was happening, they stayed positive. They had to shut out the negatives.

Try it. Christmas in 2026. Not just on the 25th but every day.

Merry Christmas! And blessings for 2026!

Humility Lost

We live in a world where humility is increasingly lost, especially among so-called “Christians.” Jesus was pretty clear when he said, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Let me tell you, there will be a LOT of people in this world who will be forced humbled because they exalt themselves.

It’s tiring to hear co-called “Christians,” especially politicians, exalt themselves. They are always right, and put themselves up as the paragons of righteousness and virtue. They exalt themselves over and over again. And they judge.

There isn’t a lot of rocket science to this. If you want to be exalted, and into eternity, humble yourself. If you want to humbled, and into eternity, exalt yourself. Simple.

Jesus tells us about the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. Jesus was teaching that true righteousness comes from humble repentance and a plea for mercy, not from self-righteousness and comparing oneself to others. The Pharisee exalted himself whereas the tax collector humbled himself.

Are you the Pharisee or the tax collector?

Enjoy the rest of the week in humility!

Rise of the Anti-Christs

There are more so-called “christians” who profess their love of Jesus Christ but who spew hatred. These are the anti-Christs who are increasing in number and becoming more vocal. Sadly, what they don’t realize is that they are actually followers of the devil, Satan, Lucifer, whatever.

Jesus gave us one very clear commandment. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Jesus wasn’t talking about loving your family, loved ones, friends, and people close to you. He wasn’t talking about being selective in your LOVE. Jesus was talking not just about his apostles loving one another but He was talking to all of us to LOVE each other, regardless of who we or they are.

So, this is as clear as daylight. LOVE and you are a disciple of Jesus. You are a CHRIST-ian. Don’t LOVE and you are not a follower of Jesus. NOT a CHRIST-ian. This is all very simple.

Hate is spewed by the devil that tries to drive a wedge between you and Jesus. It spews hate. So, if you spew hate it’s pretty clear who you follow. At best you are anti the command of Jesus. You are an anti-christian. This is all pretty simple.

And let’s not forget that God the Father commanded us to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) before He gave us HIs Son to demonstrate that LOVE by the sacrifice of His life.

Enjoy your day walking in the Father’s and Son’s command to LOVE!

Commit to the Lord

Here is one of my top 10 “life” Bible verses:

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” Proverbs 16:3

This is so very simple but so profound. Commit to the Lord—your work and, in fact, everything—and your purpose in life will be clear. As I have written many times over, we all have a special, unique purpose in life. In fact, I think that the purpose of life is finding that purpose, our reason for being. But you need to really commit to the Lord to find that purpose. Half commits won’t do it. You have to fully commit!

Spend time with the Lord. Quality time. Quiet time in contemplation. Then, commit. It’s really that simple. There is no mystery, rocket science, or complication to this. Commit to the Lord. It’s that simple.

Enjoy the weekend and, remember, commit!

Who Do You Work For?

God. Another simple answer to a simple question. Each one of us works for God, who we owe our very existence. God put us here with a very unique, special purpose to fulfill. One of the Secrets to Life is understanding that purpose and fulfilling it. Again, simplicity.

I know it’s not easy to know and understand your unique, special purpose in life. It takes time spending quality time with God on a regular basis. You have to LISTEN to Him. He is less than a heart beat away. You have to put in the time and effort. But like everything in life, working at it will pay rewards.

I know I write this all the time but life is meant to be so simple. We humans just so complicate it just like the Israelites who had an 11-day journey to the Promised Land that took them 40 years. We make the easy hard, the short long, and the possible impossible. God made life easy for us on an abundant planet. We are the ones who make it hard.

You work for God. It’s that simple. He gave you a job to do. So, do it! If each one of us did our job this planet of ours would be so different. We would reach for the stars and get to them.

Think about finding your unique, special purpose in life starting this weekend.

Enjoy!

Are You the Good Samaritan?

My guess is that most people know the basic story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. Essentially, several people pass by a beaten, robbed, and wounded man before a Samaritan stops to help the person. What some (most?) don’t really get is that the hurt man was a Jew and the person who finally stopped was a Samaritan. This is pretty striking because Jews and Samaritans didn’t really get along. Jews looked down on Samaritans as religiously impure. And to an extent, Jews despised Samaritans.

So, the real striking point of the story is that a Jewish priest and a Levite (Jew; tribe of Levi) passed by the man paying him no heed. It was someone who basically was not only a stranger but also someone not typically seeing eye-to-eye with Jews who did stop and helped.

In this age of animosity, political differences, deportations, etc., etc. where are the Good Samaritans? Are you one? Would you stop if anyone was lying hurt in the middle of the road? Would you reach out to help any stranger, especially if they didn’t look like you, dress like you, etc., etc.?

This is something to contemplate. Jesus gave us one simple commandment. To love. Anyone. Not just who we really love. He wants us all to be Good Samaritans. It’s that simple. Are you?

Enjoy the week and look out for someone in need to help!