Bibles in the Back Seat
Andrew’s Volkswagen stopped, and the guards walked over. He prayed as he had many times in the past: “God, when You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, please make seeing eyes blind.” The guards searched the car, saying nothing about the Bibles in the luggage. Andrew crossed the border, taking his cargo to those who couldn’t own a Bible.
Andrew van der Bijl, or Brother Andrew, relied on God’s power for the seemingly impossible task God had called him to—taking the Scriptures to countries where Christianity was illegal. “I’m an ordinary guy,” he said, emphasizing his limited education and lack of funds. “What I did, anyone can do.” Today, his organization, Open Doors International, serves persecuted believers in Jesus worldwide.
When Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, faced the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding the temple after the Jews returned from exile, he was discouraged. But God reminded him not to rely on human power or might, but on His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). He encouraged him through a vision given to the prophet Zechariah of lamps supplied with oil from nearby olive trees (vv. 2-3). Just as the lamps could burn because of the continual supply of oil, Zerubbabel and the Israelites could do God’s task by relying on His continuous supply of power.
As we rely on God, may we trust Him and do what He calls us to do.
Instruments for Good
The criminal had been apprehended, and the detective asked the perpetrator why he had brazenly attacked someone with so many witnesses present. The response was startling. “I knew they wouldn’t do anything; people never do.” That comment pictures what is called “guilty knowledge”—choosing to ignore a crime even though you know it is being committed.
The apostle James addressed a similar kind of guilty knowledge, saying, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin” (James 4:17).
Through His great salvation of us, God has designed us to be agents of good in the world. Ephesians 2:10 affirms, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” These good works aren’t the cause of our salvation but rather the result of our hearts being changed God’s Holy Spirit taking up residence in our lives. The Spirit even gives us spiritual gifts to equip us to accomplish those things for which God has recreated us (see 1 Corinthians 12:1–11).
As God’s workmanship, may we yield to His purposes and the empowering of His Spirit so that we can be His instruments for good in a world that desperately needs Him.
Heart of Service
When my “uncle” Emory passed away, the tributes were many and varied. Yet all those honors carried a consistent theme—Emory showed his love for God by serving others. Nowhere was this more exemplified than during his World War II military service, where he served as a corpsman—a medic who went into battle without a weapon. He received high military honors for his bravery, but Emory was most remembered for his compassionate service, both during and after the war.
Emory’s selflessness lived out Paul’s challenge to the Galatians. He wrote, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13). But how? In our brokenness, we’re hardwired to put self first, rather than others, so where does this unnatural selflessness come from?
In Philippians 2:5, Paul offers this encouragement: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Paul describes Christ’s willingness to even experience death on a cross out of His great love for us. Only as His Spirit produces the mind of Christ in us are we set apart and enabled to sacrifice for others—reflecting the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made when He gave Himself for us. May we yield to the Spirit’s work in us.
All the Answers
Dale Earnhardt Jr. describes the awful moment he understood his father was gone. Motor racing legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. had just been killed in a horrific crash at the end of the Daytona 500—a race in which Dale Jr. had also participated. “There’s this noise coming outta me that I can’t re-create,” said the younger Earnhardt. “[It’s] this bellow of shock and sorrow—and fear.” And then the lonely truth: “I’m gonna have to do this by myself.”
“Having Dad was like having a cheat sheet,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “Having Dad was like knowing all the answers.”
Jesus’ disciples had learned to look to Him for all the answers. Now, on the eve of His crucifixion, He assured them He wouldn’t leave them alone. “I will ask the Father,” Jesus said, “and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17).
Jesus extended that comfort to all who would believe in Him. “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching,” He said. “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (v. 23).
Those who choose to follow Christ have within them the Spirit who teaches them “all things” and reminds them of everything Jesus taught (v. 26). We don’t have all the answers, but we have the Spirit of the One who does.
The Message of the Prophets
Before baseball’s 1906 World Series, sportswriter Hugh Fullerton made an astute prediction. He said the Chicago Cubs, who were expected to win, would lose the first and third games and win the second. Oh, and it would rain on the fourth. He was right on each point. Then, in 1919, his analytical skills told him certain players were losing World Series games intentionally. Fullerton suspected they’d been bribed by gamblers. Popular opinion ridiculed him. Again, he was right.
Fullerton was no prophet—just a wise man who studied the evidence. Jeremiah was a real prophet whose prophecies always came true. Wearing an ox yoke, Jeremiah told Judah to surrender to the Babylonians and live (Jeremiah 27:2, 12). The false prophet Hananiah contradicted him and broke the yoke (28:2–4, 10). Jeremiah told him, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you,” and added, “This very year you are going to die” (vv. 15–16). Two months later, Hananiah was dead (v. 17).
The New Testament tells us, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets . . . , but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and through the Scriptures and guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s truth still instructs us today.
Accepting Guidance
The air smelled of leather and oats as we stood in the barn where my friend Michelle was teaching my daughter to ride a horse. Michelle’s white pony opened its mouth as she demonstrated how to place the metal bit behind its teeth. As she pulled the bridle over its ears, Michelle explained that the bit was important because it allowed the rider to slow the horse and steer it to the left or right.
A horse’s bit, like the human tongue, is small but important. Both have great influence over something big and powerful—for the bit, it’s the horse. For the tongue, it’s our words (James 3:3, 5).
Our words can run in different directions. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings” (v. 9). Unfortunately, the Bible warns that it’s very hard to control our speech because words spring from our hearts (Luke 6:45). Thankfully, God’s Spirit, Who indwells every believer, constantly helps us grow in patience, goodness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). As we cooperate with the Spirit, our hearts change and so do our words. Profanity turns to praise. Lying gives way to the power of truth. Criticism transforms into encouragement.
Taming the tongue isn’t just about training ourselves to say the right things at the right time. It’s about accepting the Holy Spirit’s guidance, as a horse responds to a bit, so that our words generate the kindness and encouragement our world needs.
The BLESSED Mask
As the mask mandate requirements during the pandemic loosened, I struggled to remember to keep a mask handy for where they were still required—like my daughter’s school. One day when I needed a mask, I found just one in my car: the one I avoided wearing because it had “BLESSED” written across the front.
I prefer to wear masks without messages, and I believe that the word on the mask I found is overused. But I had no choice, so I reluctantly put the mask on. And when I nearly showed my annoyance with a new receptionist at the school, I caught myself partly because of the word on my mask. I didn’t want to look like a hypocrite, walking around with “BLESSED” scrawled across my mouth while showing impatience to a person trying to figure out a complicated system.
Though the letters on my mask reminded me of my witness for Christ, the words of Scripture in my heart should be a true reminder to be patient with others. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “You are a letter from Christ, . . . written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3). The Holy Spirit who “gives life” (v. 6), can help us live out “love, joy, peace” and, yes, “patience” (Galatians 5:22). We are truly blessed by His presence within us!
Drenched by the Spirit
Author Scot McKnight shares how when he was in high school, he had what he calls a “Spirit-drenched experience.” While at a camp, the speaker challenged him to enthrone Christ in his life by surrendering to the Spirit. Later, he sat under a tree and prayed, “Father, forgive me of my sins. And Holy Spirit, come inside and fill me.” Something mighty happened, he said. “From that moment my life has been completely different. Not perfect, but different.” He suddenly had the desire to read the Bible, pray, meet with other believers in Jesus, and serve God.
Before the risen Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His friends: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). They would “receive power” to become His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (v. 8). God gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who believes in Jesus. This first happened at Pentecost (see Acts 2); today it occurs whenever someone trusts in Christ.
God’s Spirit also continues to fill those who believe in Jesus throughout our lives. We too, with the help of the Spirit, bear the fruit of changed character and desires (Galatians 5:22–23). Let’s praise and thank God for comforting us, convicting us, partnering with us, and loving us.
What’s My Purpose?
“I felt so useless,” Harold said. “Widowed and retired, kids busy with their own families, spending quiet afternoons watching shadows on the wall.” He’d often tell his daughter, “I’m old and have lived a full life. I have no purpose anymore. God can take me any time.”
One afternoon, however, a conversation changed Harold’s mind. “My neighbor had some problems with his kids, so I prayed for him,” Harold said. “Later, I shared the gospel with him. That’s how I realized I still have a purpose! As long as there are people who haven’t heard of Jesus, I must tell them about the Savior.”
When Harold responded to an everyday, ordinary encounter by sharing his faith, his neighbor’s life was changed. In 2 Timothy 1, the apostle Paul mentions two women who’d likewise been used by God to change another person’s life: the life of Paul’s young coworker, Timothy. Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice, his mother, had a “sincere faith” which they’d passed on to him (v. 5). Through everyday events in an ordinary household, young Timothy learned a genuine faith that was to shape his growth into a faithful disciple of Jesus and, eventually, his ministry as leader of the church at Ephesus.
No matter what our age, background, or circumstances, we have a purpose—to tell others about Jesus.
