I don’t want to leave my soft, overstuffed recliner. No feeling could surpass this moment of quiet tranquility. I deeply appreciate the gift of reprieve and the respite God allows me during my daily ritual of getting centered and prepared for the day. 

But it would be selfish to remain here. A couple hours in the morning is all I get. There’s a war out there. I have battles to fight. I must make a difference in the world. Christ calls me to “contend earnestly for the faith,” (Jude 3). I’m not clear, in this moment, what it means for me to “fight with everything you have” today or “contend earnestly for the faith,” but whatever else it may mean, I am quite sure it will require me to leave my beloved Lazy Boy.

A couple of millenniums ago a man named John shared his ideas and feelings with friends in several letters. He had many more things to say and, unable to express all his thoughts in writing, John made plans to see them “face to face,” (3rd John 13-14). The anticipation of a reunion with old friends made him feel warm inside. He visualized greeting each one “by name.” They would spend many hours just talking. What joy this brought to John’s heart.

We may subscribe to a system of truth grounded in a personal relationship with a Supreme Being who existed before the beginning of time and within whom dwells the perfect combination of love and truth. Through Him we can actually “love in the truth,” (2nd John 1). 

Before I can even hope to love anyone I must know and subscribe to the truth. I cannot simply love and hope for harmony. Love as an idea or ideal is meaningless. I must truly love; that is “love in the truth,” or my love matters not at all.

This podcast is an overview of week 48 in the Word Traveler Bible reading plan and covers the following chapters in the Old and New Testaments: Ezekiel 33 – 48; 2nd John; 3rd John; Jude; Revelation 1 - 2.

I am daily inundated with spiritual copies of the real thing. Countless nearly perfect duplicates of the original Gospel message compete for my allegiance. Counterfeit options to Biblical truth abound. I am routinely assaulted with reams of meaningless religious facsimiles vying for my full devotion. I mustn’t be fooled. Jesus alone is the real thing.

“This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles,” (1st John 5.20c-21 “The Message”). 

As Christ comes more into focus, God’s plan of salvation emerges and we embrace truth with ever-increasing confidence. Somewhere along the line “we have come to know,” (1st John 4.16). It isn’t clear exactly how or when it happened, but it did happen. There are many things we do not comprehend but, like the blind-from-birth man who encountered Jesus, this “one thing” is certain...

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see,” (John 9.25). 

Every day I wear socks. I open my sock drawer and there they are! It’s magic. I never run out. There’s always enough. Like Elisha and the widow’s oil (2nd Kings 4.1-7) or Jesus and the loaves and fishes (Matthew 15.32-38), they just keep multiplying. The socks are always there… clean, folded, in a variety of colors, and ready to wear.

I wish I got along with everyone and, for the most part, I do. I have great relationships with family, clients, and neighbors. But there are those few who, like ‘flies in the ointment,’ ruin my otherwise flawless compatibility record. These detractors prove I do not qualify for the “World’s Most Congenial Guy” award.

Oddly many of them, like me, are professing believers and active church goers. I don’t get it. When I am around these people I receive no ‘warm fuzzies,’ only ‘cold pricklies.’ Why won’t Jesus wipe away all differences and help us achieve the unity between believers He promised and commanded? Am I doing something wrong, or are they the bad guys? Or, is there an explanation that, for the moment, eludes me?

Only one thing consistently gives me the warm fuzzy feeling; and that is “the original message” of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I “let it sink into my life” I feel better, more confident of His calling and love. When I press into Jesus and the truths of the Bible, I experience the personal benefits of living “deeply in both the Son and the Father.” To “live deeply in what I was taught” when I first met the Lord over fifty years ago brings an inner joy and peace that cannot be shaken, (1st John 2.24, 27d “The Message”).  

Living deeply for Christ is the only response that makes sense of the cold prickly people I know.

Sin. What an ugly, unpopular, dirty little word. Except for many Roman Catholics (who privately discuss their personal sins with a priest on Saturday night) or certain Protestants (who willingly hear of their sins from the pulpit on Sunday morning), people will not tolerate the idea. The concept of “sin” is offensive to progressive thinkers and never used in polite conversation. The very word is nearly unspeakable and banned to the ‘island of forbidden subject matter’ along with other very bad words like “guilt,” “holy,” “Jesus,” and “discipline.”

This podcast is an overview of week 47 in the Word Traveler Bible reading plan and covers the following chapters in the Old and New Testaments: Ezekiel 20 – 32; 1st John 1 - 5.