It can be devastating when we are betrayed or abandoned by others, especially if those who hurt us are counted as friends. How much pain and anguish our Lord must have felt when many of his disciples left him, when Judas Iscariot betrayed him with a kiss, when Peter denied him.

During Passion Week think of how our Lord struggled and bled and died for us. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). Isaiah 53:5 also says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Christ traveled the loneliest of roads, abandoned and betrayed, and He willingly went to the cross. He suffered and died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to the Father. He did it for you. And He did it for me.

Thank God. He is alive! Jesus was victorious over the grave; the reign of darkness is defeated because Christ has risen indeed. Now—and forevermore—we are recipients of His abundant life. By faith we are forgiven, we are accepted, and we are, forever His.

What a blessing to love one another with the love of Christ Jesus. Jesus has made it possible by His blood shed for us. We are forgiven. We are reconciled. We are friends with God as we trust Him to save us by faith in Jesus Christ. And we are friends with one another.

John 15:14 and 17 says, "You are my friends if you do what I command....This is my command: Love one another."

Today I am thanking God for my church family and friends. I am thanking God that He loves each and every person on planet earth and wants to be Savior and best friend to all.



Yesterday afternoon, with thousands of others, we witnessed Dr. Billy Graham’s laying in honor at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. We walked from our apartment to the Capitol to pay our respects to "America’s Pastor" and to his family.

For nearly three hours we waited in a series of lines to enter the Rotunda and view Dr. Graham’s casket, due to the size of the attending crowd and because the family was receiving all those who had come. What tremendous grace the family displayed. They stood & greeted the people filing through the Capitol Rotunda, graciously shaking hands, sharing hugs, and offering their own words of encouragement! It must have been just what their beloved father & grandfather would have wanted—to greet the people and express their appreciation that they had come.

Dr. Graham loved people, most notably the common man. His simple pine casket was made by inmates from a Louisiana prison. He was a humble man—a true lover of Jesus and others. No matter one’s lot in life, skin color, or sins, Dr. Graham loved as Jesus loves and made it his life’s call to preach the Good News to all that Jesus saves.

And as I saw his casket and witnessed his family’s grace in mourning yesterday, I recalled the words Dr. Graham shared about his own passing:

"Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God."

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your faithful servant, a man who embodied the Spirit of Christ and proclaimed the Gospel, the cross of Christ, with integrity and truth. Thank You for the wonderful life and ministry of Dr. Billy Graham that lives on to impact the world for Jesus Christ.

What a joy it is to know Jesus is with us—each and every step of the way, Jesus is here. He is providentially guiding us as we seek Him, as we pray, as we bless and as we love. And just as the famous picture "Footprints in the Sand" depicts, Jesus carries us when we are weary and without strength. He guides us even when we falter and can’t see our way forward.

"Be kind to everyone you meet; you never know the battles they may be facing." This maxim is priceless. It keeps us mindful that others are hurting. It keeps our tendency towards judgmentalism in check. It is humbling. It sounds like Jesus. Our kind words and deeds may be the very balm someone needs to help them heal.

God is love. May we love in Spirit and in truth. May we love God with all that is in us, and love our neighbor as we would want to be loved. Jesus stands ready to help us in the power of His Holy Spirit.

You may have heard the popular adage: "Your attitude determines your altitude." An airplane analogy is sometimes used as an illustration, or the inspiring story of a soaring eagle is shared. We are frequently encouraged to fly high—but not so much to "go low." 

Philippians 2:5-8 tells us, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!"

At Christmastime as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I gratefully acknowledge the fact that our Savior was born to die. Christ came without an ounce of self-exaltation; He came humbly, born in a manger, with one mission: to go to the cross.

Out of obedience and love for the Father, Christ secured our eternal salvation and provided us full life through His death on the cross if we believe. He was born to die, coming in human likeness, humbly taking on the form of a servant, walking this earth in perfect love, sinless, destroying the work of the devil, and for the joy set before Him he endured the cross so that we may live (Hebrews 12:2).

What a priceless gift we have been offered! What unfathomable love. May we follow Your example of humility and love, in Jesus’ Name.

1 John 4:9-10

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

In preparation for building construction, especially in the city, obsolete structures in disrepair are often demolished to make way for the new. Former parking lots are broken up, the asphalt hauled away, and the ground prepared before new construction can begin. 

We see this occurring right now across the street from our apartment complex in downtown DC. For a brief time life has been louder than usual and looks messy as the rocks and debris pile up, but the demolition is necessary for progress to be made and for the new to come. The day is coming when the last trash will be hauled away, all plans will be in place, the ground prepared, the foundation poured, and the building begun.

And such it is in our lives. As God’s Spirit works in us, the old patterns of thinking that do not line up with God’s ways must be demolished. Old "structures" are removed—sometimes it feels like a wrecking ball in our lives and sometimes it is done bit by bit—to make way for the new. Our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2), our stony hearts are made tender (Ezekiel 36:26). It is God’s promise as we yield to Him. 

Our living Lord is building His Church on the solid ground of Christ, where no dilapidated buildings or broken up parking lots exist. All mounds of trash and symptoms of neglect are eradicated. All things become new. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come!

2 Cor. 5:17

In the classic film The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews beautifully sings a song entitled "My Favorite Things." It is a song we can all relate to—from "raindrops on roses" to "whiskers on kittens," "bright copper kettles" to "warm woolen mittens." We all enjoy favorite things. They give us pleasure. They provide us with comfort.

And while the Lord gives us these things to richly enjoy, when it comes to people, in God’s kingdom favoritism has no place. James 2:2-3 says, "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here is a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"

Our natural inclination is to compare, to judge, and maybe to shun those who are unlike us. This may even extend to those who don’t think exactly the way we do, especially in the church. We naturally tend to gravitate towards those who are like us or can benefit us in some way. They are our favorites, of course!

One of the greatest challenges is to love people we might not naturally favor. It can feel uncomfortable. Someone may not look, think, act or vote like you, but we are commanded to love our neighbor as we would want to be loved. Take time to listen. By God’s grace we will.

Lord, help us. We recognize that apart from You we can do nothing. Strengthen us to love and bless others because we are loved and cherished by a God who shows no favoritism. Help us to love others as You do. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that mercy always triumphs over judgment. And thank You for saving a good seat for each one of us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Want to add a comment? Click here to add your voice to the conversation