Month: May 2026

Categories
Uncategorized

A Wakeup Call for Us All

“Hilkiah the priest has given me a book”1—so reported Judah’s secretary Shaphan to his king, Josiah. It was an understatement for the ages.

With the temple under repair, the king had sent his secretary to Hilkiah, the high priest, with instructions to fund the workers for their materials. Task accomplished, Hilkiah raised a new topic, telling Shaphan, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.”2 What?!? He found the book of the Law? He found it in the house of the Lord? How long had God’s people been without God’s Law? Who chucked it into storage in the first place? And how far had they strayed without it? We have a clue, for when Shaphan, in turn, read the book of the Law to the king, Josiah “tore his clothes”3 and commanded Hilkiah, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book.”4 The Law was there all along with truth, wisdom, guidance and power, yet the people strayed without it. How far? Plenty far.

We read this amusing account from the distance of place and time, yet it remains relevant. For while the Law of the old covenant resided in the man-made temple, the Spirit under the new covenant lives in God’s new temple—us, the church. God through Ezekiel foretold the day when “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”5 Forever faithful, God has sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us through faith. It is vital that we know this, yet clear we sometimes do not. Paul’s wakeup call to the Corinthian church alerts us still today: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”6 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”7 and “Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?”8 One message, three times, in two letters—it must be important: Through faith in Christ, the Spirit dwells in in us, His temple.

We live in God and He in us.9 And of His living, breathing dwelling place, He says, “the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.”10 Then may it not be relegated to storage and neglected there, but may it spring forth from us at the Spirit’s urging.

Father, thank you for choosing to live in us. Grace your people, your dwelling place, to hear your Spirit’s voice and obey in His power. Be glorified in your church. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 2 Kings 22:10 ESV
2 2 Kings 22:8 ESV
3 2 Kings 22:11 ESV
4 2 Kings 22:13 ESV
5 Ezekiel 36:27 ESV
6 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
7 1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
8 2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV
9 1 John 4:13
10 Romans 10:8 NIV

Categories
Uncategorized

Our Treasure in Trust

Think about it for a moment: Which of your possessions do you cherish the most? Personally, I have four: a keyring screwdriver that once was my dad’s, a picture of my mother, a sleeve of golf balls given to me by my then eleven-year-old son, and a just-for-fun card from my wife. Oh, and a queen-sized quilt Peggy handstitched. (So, make that five.) The quilt aside, the cumulative monetary value of all these things collectively would not likely exceed $25, but I treasure them more highly than anything else I own, for they speak love in ways my heart well receives.

Overlooked on my list, however—and perhaps yours, as well—is an intangible gift more valuable than anything our senses could perceive: namely, our faith. The apostle Paul tells us faith is “the gift of God,”1 and his contemporary Peter declared faith to be “of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire.”2 “Without faith it is impossible to please God,”3 declares the writer of Hebrews, and conversely, the humble faith of a Roman soldier left the Son of God amazed.4 (Think about that for a moment.) With faith as small as a mustard seed we can move mountains5 and uproot trees.6 It is through faith that we are declared righteous,7 and it is by faith that the righteous live.8

How vital, such faith! Who can measure its worth? It is our “yes” to God, so precious to Him. Then I must ask myself, is my “belief” in God merely the acceptance of His realness—mental assent from the “safety” of interpersonal distance—or do I follow my belief daily into a loving, trusting, and receiving relationship with the “I AM”?9 Is my faith merely “wishing upward,” or is it the complete entrustment of my life and everything in it to the love, wisdom, and power of the eternal God? Does my trust in God’s willingness to act accompany my belief in His ability to do so? It must.

So, this is where I find myself these days: called to trust entirely in the ability and character of God and, thereupon, to the complete entrustment of my wellbeing to Him. Peter calls us to “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”10 Now doesn’t “cast” suggest complete riddance, a tossing off of our cares from us to God who can handle them? And His “care”—doesn’t this speak the character from which God acts and in which we may trust?

God sees more than we see, knows more than we do, loves us more than we love ourselves, and cares for us better than we know how. Then may we speak our love for Him in the way His heart well receives, through the treasure of trust.

Lord God, thank you for the precious gift of faith. May we, in turn, entrust our all to you. Be pleased with your trusting people. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Ephesians 2:8 NIV
2 1 Peter 1:7 NIV
3 Hebrews 11:6 NIV
4 Matthew 8:10 NIV
5 Matthew 17:20
6 Luke 17:6
7 Genesis 15:6
8 Habakkuk 2:4
9 Exodus 3:14
10 1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Categories
Uncategorized

The Tug

“I was in prison and you came to me.” ~ Matthew 25:36 ESV

“An inner tug,” is the best way I could describe my inclination toward the incarcerated. By worldly standards, I was always a “stay out of trouble” kind of guy, and my friends were of similar ilk. Still, there was this ongoing tug toward those behind bars—the marginalized, scorned, or forgotten—a call I resisted until one day in 2009 a friend invited me to serve on a Kairos Prison Ministry weekend. I said “yes” then and have been saying “yes” ever since. Over the years, I’ve heard many Kairos volunteers describe their calling the exact same way, an inner tug. Maybe you’ve felt it, too, but like me, been reluctant to heed the call. So, today let’s look beyond the tug toward the imprisoned and glimpse the other side of “yes.”

Kairos is a sacrificial ministry. For a Weekend, each volunteer is responsible for: 1) raising financial contributions; 2) securing 100+ dozen home baked cookies for prisoners and staff; 3) writing a letter to each of the 42 Weekend prisoner participants; 4) preparing for the Weekend through 30+ hours of formation meetings; and 5) gathering for a 3½ day Weekend inside the prison. It’s a lot. Yet the volunteers keep coming back, reupping for another Kairos Weekend. What could possibly be worth such effort?

The answer: hope for the hopeless behind bars—forgiveness of sins, eternal life in Christ, inner freedom, restored relationships, and pure joy. Kingdom fruit sprouting in the unlikeliest of soils. Don’t take my word for it; listen to these inmates from a recent Kairos Weekend.

“For twelve years I didn’t speak to my son. I wouldn’t allow him on my property. When I came to prison, he was texting me from day one but I wouldn’t call him back. Last night, I called my son and asked him to forgive me, and now we’re talking.”

“A father is supposed to teach his child. I had to come to prison to ‘get’ this, but my life is no longer just me—it’s my kids, my family and others. I now have peace and peace of mind and I can give peace to them.”

“I have been angry all my life. I was bullied throughout school and tried to kill myself multiple times. I don’t like people, but I learned this weekend it is possible to have a family and trust other people.”

“It was tough growing up. My dad made me feel I didn’t have any value. . . I grew up not trusting anyone. But the [Kairos team] saturated us in love—like you saturate chicken in spices. They made us feel good. Now I want to saturate others. It makes you want to make others feel that love.”

If you have felt the Spirit’s tug toward prison ministry, but not known how to pursue it, please visit Kairos Prison Ministries International at: https://kairosprisonministry.org/volunteer-opportunities/

“Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them . . .” ~ Hebrews: 13:3 ESV

Father, please grace me to hear your call and obey your tug to wherever and however you would have me serve you and others in your name today. In Christ I pray. Amen.