NO GREATER JOY!

 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

 

NO GREATER JOY!

 

3 John 4

4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

 

As a father, grandfather, and pastor, I know the joy that John knew. He refers to himself in verse one as the elder which has a dual meaning. One refers to his position because the word in the Greek is presbuteros and means Sanhedrist or presbyter. It refers to the joy of a pastor when his flock walks in truth. The other meaning is simply “old.” I now own both distinctions so I know the thrill when my children walk in truth whether they be from my loins or my labor.

 

The word walk is the Greek peripateo which means “to tread all around or to walk at large” and the idea is that this person displays a consistent lifestyle. In this case that lifestyle is “in truth.”

 

Can your father or your pastor say this of you? When you “tread all around” do you present a consistent Christian lifestyle?

 

Ps 26:1-3

26 Judge me, O Lord ; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord ; therefore I shall not slide.

2 Examine me, O Lord , and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

 

Lord, when I “tread all around” may others see me walking consistently in the truth. AMEN

 

INFLUENCE!

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

 

INFLUENCE!

 

Matt 5:13-16

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Salt in those days was impure and mixed with vegetable or mineral substances. Rock salt! When subjected to wind, rain, and sun the salt would lose its saltiness. All that would be left was gravel that was good only for paving pathways. Only the salt that remained “close to the rock” remained salty! (Source: The Land and the Book, vol.ii.pp.43,44)

 

Salt is not food. It only influences the flavor of the food. Salt is also a preservative. That is why Jesus likened His followers to salt. We make the bitter and tasteless world more palatable. For those who will listen, we also invite them into a relationship with God that will preserve them from damnation. We are here to influence others for good.

 

Our government is full of unelected people whose only job is to influence those who make laws and policies. The total number of registered lobbyists in Washington, D.C. is 10,400 and their spending has topped $1.66 Billion – with a “B”. (Source: OpenSecrets.org) Appropriate conclusions can be drawn from this.

 

Unlike the professionals who influence government, believers are to influence others for good. Having received God’s mercy, we then share His mercy with others. We seek to keep our hearts pure that God might be seen in our lives today. We become peacemakers in a troubled world and channels for God's mercy, purity, and peace.

 

Col 4:6

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

 

Lord, let me lobby and influence others for good today. AMEN

 

IT IS HARD TO DRIVE A NAIL ONCE BENT

 

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

A Classic

 

IT IS HARD TO DRIVE A NAIL ONCE BENT

 

Eccl 1:15

15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.

 

Eccl 7:13-14

13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?

14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

 

This proverb urges man to be in submission to the providence of God. We often decide that God has made things crooked and we then engage in the task of making the circumstances straight. We want the circumstances to fit our notion of what should be right. We preachers do this all the time thinking that to be our calling. It is a Messiah complex that often frustrates us when crooked people can’t be made straight by our efforts. Some things and some people can’t be made straight simply by wanting them to be.

 

We are left with two courses of action regarding the workings of God. These are listed in verse fourteen. First, in the day of prosperity when everything seems straight to us, be joyful and thank God that there are no uncomfortable twists and turns in the circumstances of your life. In the day of adversity consider that there is nothing certain in this life. The word “consider” means to study thoroughly or to meditate to fully and properly understand but we can’t fully understand why God does what He does. He has His own plans and purposes. In the absence of understanding He are to trust in His nature, wisdom and goodness.

 

It is hard to drive a nail once bent. There will always be a weakness that keeps it from piercing true. Some things once done can’t be undone and crooked people can be made straight by God alone.

 

Luke 13:11-13

11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

 

Jesus, Master Carpenter, make straight the crookedness in my loved ones and make straight the crookedness in me. AMEN