“He had it all,” as we say, “then lost it all.” Humanly speaking, Saul had everything that people prize in a leader. He was kingly in appearance, a strong military strategist, and popular with the people. He fits a common leadership misconception; namely, that leaders are born, and their charisma wins the approval and following of their people. My how things never seem to change! We often choose our leaders for similar reasons, don’t we?

Our focal passage today demonstrates the actual and contrasting truth. God looks for something different in a leader. Saul was a spiritual rebel and did not adhere to the Lord’s word, so God rejected him as Israel’s leader. We may argue that Saul did not have a predecessor, so how was he to know how a king should conduct himself? But this is not the point here. This is about the heart. Let’s discover the evidence that Saul’s heart was not right and learn from his mistakes.

Every leadership situation has a context, so we do not want to skim past this section of material. The setting and stresses will expose flaws in a leader’s character. All these people and places held moral meaning in Saul’s day, just as they do in our day. The fledgling monarchy faced an immediate need to secure its boundaries. It needed to expel the Philistines from the central part of the country and reclaim what had formerly been a religious center in Geba (13:3; cf. Joshua 21:7; NAC). This would provide the nation with the centralized religious leadership that was lacking. The major “traffic arteries,” as I describe them, had to be secured (13:2). Saul needed to cut off the travel routes the Philistines would surely take to maintain their hold on the nation. He also needed an army, which he “drafted” into service (13:2). 

Every good general not only knows his troop strength and plans for victory, but he also will plan for the counterattack that will likely come. Saul may have underestimated this part of the plan to secure Israel, but there was a more pressing question. How would the king accomplish this goal? Think of your own life and the challenges you face. What are your resources and who provides the counsel for your plans to succeed?

A heart for God and His word. Israel’s religion was based upon revelation from God. This spiritual lesson is a key one to learn. Saul had been given instructions to go down to Gilgal where he was to wait seven days for Samuel to arrive (cf. 1 Samuel 10:8). First, Saul committed the sin of rejecting God’s divine word. Secondly, he took the word of God and added further instructions to it. This moral blunder is as old as the Garden of Eden, and it is a sign that a person's heart/will is opposed to God's leadership (see Genesis 3:3, “neither shall you touch it”). He laid additional requirements upon the Israelite soldiers that went beyond the words God had given in the Torah (cf. 1 Samuel 14:24; NAC). Saul showed quickly that he lacked the required moral character to lead Israel successfully. 

Trust God’s leadership. We very often plot and plan our lives as though we can “see infinitely into the future.” I certainly believe that planning is useful, because it does help us to live and flourish. We steer off course, however, when in our planning we overlook the fact that we are finite and are not able to see every consequence of our plans and subsequent actions (cf. 13:3-4; “the Philistines heard of it” and “had become a stench”). Saul and Israel failed because good looks, a keen mind, and passion for one’s people are not good qualifications to be “God” (cf. 12:25; 13:14). Saul took spiritual matters into his own hands. He blamed his soldiers who were scattering on Samuel, who did not arrive at the set time, and on the Philistines who were assembling at Michmash (13:11). He literally tried to gain the Lord’s favor through his disobedience. In Saul’s case, the penalty was severe: his dynasty would end at his death and God was already seeking a leader whose heart would be obedient (13:14).

Everything I have learned about fighting wasps, I have learned on the internet. I have an ongoing “battle with the bugs” at the Baptist Center’s offices. They are persistent pests, so I applied knowledge gleaned from Google and threw warm soapy water on their hive. It seemed like a good plan, but the problem was I did not anticipate the impact that clean but mad wasps would have on me! I had not contemplated all the possible consequences. It is a simple illustration, but I hope that my incomplete planning demonstrates my human finitude and the need for God’s assistance to live a truly flourishing life. I cannot stress enough the spiritual importance of placing God fully in control of our lives and seeking to obey Him with all our hearts. 

How like Adam was Saul! Both individuals were leaders, and both forfeited enduring legacies because they were willfully disobedient to God’s commands (cf. Genesis 3:1-19). They left God out of the planning and the process. Thankfully, God loves people like Adam and Saul (you and me, too!) and has offered a means by which we may become part of His Son’s enduring legacy (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45-50). Praise God!

1. Notice the progression in Saul’s life. His house of cards was built to fail from the very beginning because God was only secondary to the design. Regardless of where you are in the life-building process, pause today and make a sincere commitment to turn your life and plans entirely over to the eternal God.

2. I believe that successful decisions are made by asking one further question at the end of all the planning: “Then what?” In other words, when we have considered every human possibility and as many consequences as we may conceive, then we should ask, “Then what?” This two-word question opens the mind and heart to consider the eternal implications of our choices. Add this question to your plans today.

3. For Families: For our children and families, a basic application of this passage is that God is God and we are not. God is the one who decides how our lives should unfold, and He has all consequences and next steps firmly in hand.

If you have ordered something lately, maybe for Christmas or a birthday, that contains a booklet of instructions, like something you had to assemble, or perhaps even an appliance manual, bring these to the table and ask your kids to join you. 

Explain to them how you ordered your machine or appliance, and had to crack open the instruction manual in order to make sure you were putting it together, setting it up, and teaching yourself how to use it correctly. You had to read the instructions, step by step. Only a foolish person would think they know everything about all things, so as not to need the instructions. 

Living with God is like that. We live well when we follow His instructions. Everything works best according to a certain plan, and we need our Creator to tell us our life instructions. God’s word helps us learn, as does prayer, and good sound leaders whose hearts belong to God. Encourage your kids to listen to Him rather than trying to live without His guidance! In doing so, they are becoming good leaders.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

What would you wish to write if what you penned were the last words you would ever put to paper? Well, Hannah was not an author, per se, but the last words we ever hear/read from her lips are recorded in 1 Samuel 2, and they speak to this very day! Hannah’s song is 112 words in the Hebrew language and, by comparison, Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address is 272 words. Hers is an “emancipation proclamation” of a soul set free from its overwhelming burden, and it speaks poetically to our hearts in ways that words alone can never do. Let’s ask the Lord to awaken our souls to His message through Hannah’s voice this day.

The monologue by Hannah is often described as a prayer that has been cast as a “poetic hymn” or a Psalm of Thanksgiving, and is believed by scholars to be “among the earliest examples of Israelite poetry” (NAC). The song affirms core elements of Israelite faith: 1) Yahweh is the great judge who “oversees human destinies” and “rewards those who earnestly seek him”; 2) God is the source of “empowerment and victory for those who fear him”; and 3) He is also the “overpowering authority who dispenses fearful judgment” (NAC). Have you ever wondered if there is any justice? Hannah answers our questions with a resounding, “Yes!”

A truly just God. We hear and read much about justice in our day, but this song speaks about a depth of fairness and rectitude that can only emanate from the very nature and actions of a God like ours. God truly elevates those who fear Him even when others may devalue them. This song “foreshadows” God’s dealings with many people we will read about in this book of 1 Samuel, but particularly in the lives of Samuel and David. If ever you’ve reached out in desperate need of a deliverer, only to feel rejected by all others around you, then this prayerful song is for you! God has already reached down into your desperation to provide His rescue (cf. John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

Trust God even when we cannot explain our circumstances. Hannah has been childless and the object of constant ridicule by her rival Peninnah (1:2; 6). This woman was described as Hannah’s rival, or “troubler” (1:6). Hannah’s husband, Elkanah, loved her, but his other wife aggravated and provoked her to anger (TWOT). This was bad enough, but we discover that it was the Lord who had closed her womb. Twice we read that it was God who prevented Hannah from giving birth to a child (1:5-6). This is the same God who had issued the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28; 9:1; 35:11). Are you wondering how this could be? We must remember that the ways of God are not always understood by us in our human frailty. Even so, Hannah presents to us a model of transparent, soaring faith amid extraordinary sadness (1:10). She alone, among women in the Old Testament, is described as going up to the house of the Lord (NAC). Exercising faith like Hannah’s may seem like a big leap for you to make, but God invites you to trust Him like she did.

Delight yourself in God’s goodness and care. We used to sing a song, “Tell it to Jesus.” Hannah had genuine faith because she tells her troubles to God. Her prayer contains the most “recorded utterances” (18) of God’s name by a woman. Hannah uses the sour experience of her life to produce the sweet refrains that have blessed generations of men and women who live lives of quiet desperation. The four first-person references in verses 1-2 express her unbridled delight with the Lord. Rather than trash the name of God, she trusts that He will ultimately bring triumph. Hannah shows us how to praise. She praises God for His holiness (Leviticus 10:3; 11:44; 19:2; 20:26), His uniqueness (cf. Exodus 15:11), and for being a “Rock” (“bedrock”; cf. Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31; NAC). Her rival taunts her but she now boasts in the Lord (2:1; “my mouth is enlarged”). Every woman who has wept tears of sorrow over being childless will immediately understand Hannah’s sheer joy when she discovered that she was pregnant. Yes, it was about the baby, but it was also about so much more. She offers God praise for His deliverance (“salvation”).

Deliverance? Really? Hannah got it, but do we? It was never about her barrenness; instead, it was about the wilderness of life lived with a God who seemed absent!

It’s a simple anecdote, but our back porch is often filled with beautiful plants and flowers of all sorts of colors. Winter, however, plays havoc with this little garden space, and I often look out the window to gaze upon dry and brittle twigs and much dirt. I recall my surprise one year when we discovered that a momma rabbit had tucked away her little newborn babies in one of those dry and empty pots. Living babies where there once was dry barrenness. Of course, my heart swelled with praise to our God, who gives rise to new life amid such bleakness.

Here is the spiritual reminder. My friends, God is never absent from us, even when life appears desolate. Hannah testifies to this truth. Remember our readings in the book of Judges, where the author tells us that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25)? Samuel, the last of the judges, would reverse this pattern in Israel’s history and would lay the groundwork for Israel’s rise to world power under the rule of King David. Behind this phoenix-like rise from faithlessness was a great-souled woman of profound faith named Hannah! Follow her example in your heartache and wait for God’s deliverance.

1. What personal loss has flooded your heart with grief? Write it down and whisper it to the Heavenly Father. Pray for His aid and train your heart to wait for His deliverance. He will answer your prayer.

2. For Families: Your family may have walked through some dark times, when it seemed God was absent. Recall what God did to remind you of His constant presence, and your delight to know of His closeness. Share this time of God’s close presence with your kids at bedtime, when they are closing their eyes to sleep. God answers our prayer, and is attentive to our prayers.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

[Originally published March 27, 2026]

Suffering. What a stark and somber word. In Cost of Discipleship we read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's profound statement: "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." This beloved German Christian pastor literally gave his life in faithfulness to the gospel and the way of Jesus. At dawn, on 9 April 1945, at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, he was stripped, dragged to the execution yard, and hanged. He and many others in history, and many still across the world today, have paid the ultimate price for following Jesus. This is what happened to most of the apostles and early church leaders too, as both historical records and strong traditions reveal.

James, elder brother of John, son of Zebedee, was the first of the twelve to be martyred, killed with a sword by Herod Agrippa I in the year 44 (Acts 12:1-2). James the Younger, son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem for refusing to deny Christ in 62. Eyewitness accounts report that, because he survived the fall, he was then stoned and killed by a blow to the head. He was buried there beside the Temple. 

Simon Peter was crucified upside-down in Rome around 64-65, and Thaddeus (also called Jude, son of James) and Simon the Zealot were recorded as having traveled, preached, and been killed together in 66, although reported locations range from Persia (Iran), to Syria, to Armenia. Matthew (Levi) was killed about 68-70 by the sword in Eduba, Ethiopia, on the orders of King Eglypus (or Hirtacus), where he had gone to preach the Good News. Andrew was killed around 70, tied to an X-shaped cross in Patras, Greece on the orders of Aegeas, the Roman governor, after converting his wife to Christianity.

Thomas Didymus (the twin), took the Gospel to India, as far south as modern-day Chennai on the Malabar Coast, and was speared to death in 72, also while preaching. Philip was crucified in Hieropolis (near modern-day Denizli, Turkey), along with Bartholomew (called Nathanael), in about 80 (Phillip's tomb was discovered in 2011). Finally, John, younger brother to James the Elder and son of Zebedee, Jesus's beloved friend, died peacefully of old age in Ephesus near the end of the first century, around 90 AD, after he was released from Patmos, where he had been exiled for his faith.

These disciples and Bonhoeffer in one sense experienced the reality of what Jesus had said. "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?'" (Mark 8:34-36).

It is true that the call to take up His cross is a call to die. However, Jesus was not just talking about physical death, as in martyrdom, although some are called to die that way. Jesus was also saying that death and resurrection are not only the means of our salvation, but the pattern of our discipleship. In God’s upside-down Kingdom, we die to live, just as we lose to gain, or serve to lead, or humble ourselves to be great. In Galatians, Paul shows how this dying to self actually works in practice. The Spirit is constantly reforming our new lives in God’s new world. He explains that, in the Kingdom, our new lives are now characterized by love, humility and service (Gal.5:13-15).

History has proven, across these almost 2,000 years, that our community life in Christ, our churches, grow stronger when every member dies to self daily and suffers with Christ. We learn each day to be self-emptying, self-giving, self-sacrificing, sustained by and reflecting His love, which governs all. We simply follow the way of Jesus.

It is easier to empty self, to give, to sacrifice - to die daily - if we are confident in resurrection hope. True believers never underestimate the power of seed that falls to the ground and dies (John 12:24-25). We trust that lives laid down in love always bear more fruit than we know. And in such suffering, even as we continue to hope, we learn to embrace the value of daily affliction.

Since the earliest days of the Church, Christians have taken time during the days immediately preceding Easter to worship in a special way. What has come to be called "Tenebrae" is a traditional Holy Week service that uses the gradual extinguishing of light to draw attention to the sufferings of Christ and the resident darkness of the world. Tenebrae means "darkness," or "shadow," and has been found to be a cherished expression of this significant aspect of living the Christ-life. When we attend a Tenebrae service, we are intentionally creating space in which to meditate on and lament the brokenness of the human heart and the groaning of creation. 

In this week, in the darkness before the dawn, before the Hope of Resurrection is celebrated again, we pause to be silent, to sit in the shadows, to reflect, and mourn, and grieve the sufferings of Christ, the world, and those who experience anguish daily. It helps us to come to terms with darkness in human history, and to find beauty, even when it seems sometimes that hope itself is being extinguished. Today we remember and hold close those who have suffered, and still suffer, across our world. We pray over them, and all of us, the Peace and Hope of the Risen Christ, the Light of the world, and eternal Conqueror over death.

-Karen O'Dell Bullock

[Originally published March 27, 2026]

"If you are not suffering now, you will someday" are words that cause me trepidation, because the man who wrote them, Paul David Tripp, lived what I would call a life without photo-shopping. There was no need to edit the flawless image that his life and ministry represented, as many often do on social media posts. He had the perfect family, ministry, and health until the day the latter crumbled, and he collapsed beneath the weight of his own finitude. His boundless energy and a body that functioned properly without medical assistance were replaced with endless pain and suffering. His plight fittingly led him to write a book entitled Suffering. He concludes that volume by sharing that identifying with Christ's sufferings enables one to find blessing and to be a blessing to others.

Can there actually be some benefit and witness to Christ when we suffer? Assuredly, just as evil and suffering exist, they possess and add value to our lives in this Easter season. The great problem of evil and suffering, known as "theodicy," may be summed up in a classic question: How can it be that God is all good and all powerful, yet allow for the existence of evil and suffering?

God is powerfully present in our suffering. One of the three pillars that support a Christian understanding of evil and suffering in the world is God's unsurpassed power. Our suffering does not mean that God He has somehow failed or abandoned us. Indeed, God is actively present in our suffering, building a context for our comfort and spiritual growth. We must keep in mind that knowledge of God's power must never lead us to look away from pain or pretend that suffering has no power to demoralize us. [1]

God is good and unparalleled in His goodness. St. Augustine does not deny the existence of evil, but reminds us that God would not have permitted it to exist unless He could draw good out of it! [2] The happy result of Adam's fall into sin--and subsequently that of all humankind--is God's far greater good, His great redemption in Jesus Christ. The grievous failure of the first creation opened the way for God's extraordinary goodness to shine forth in His grace. Tripp writes, " The theology of suffering in Scripture is never, ever an end in itself, but is designed as a means to an end of real comfort, real direction, real protection, real conviction, and real hope." [3]

Human evil deeds emerge from the exercise of our God-given free agency (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12-21). We must not slip into the false belief, however, that God is unable to overcome evil in humans or creation (cf. John 5:14; 8:11; cf. also Luke 13:1-5)! Then, why does God allow the suffering of Christian leaders, like Paul Tripp and you!? There a a number of motifs throughout Scripture that provide insight into the causes of evil, but the why of evil and suffering often remains a mystery (cf. Luke 13:1-5). The quintessential suffering man, Job of the Old Testament, also never received an answer to the "why?" of his suffering (cf. Job 42:1-6).

Even so, suffering may be used by God like a medicine that purges the body of an illness. It also can be a means by which our conscience is awakened, and our moral fiber is strengthened (James 1:2-5). Suffering, in this way, exposes the delusion of our personal freedom and self-sufficiency. Therefore, we must always remember that God is not overwhelmed by evil and suffering, nor powerless to overcome it.

Attendance on Easter Sunday rose about twenty-five percent throughout much of my pastoral years. Anyone and everyone attended those services. There were lifelong committed believers, nominal Christians, those who were unsaved, and even those who were antagonistic toward Christ. I know this reality to be the case because folks would tell me that the only reason for their attendance was to please a parent, relative, or friend. Such diversity and similarity in one place! You may wonder how this may be so. Pain and suffering are common denominators in every worship gathering. Regardless, all who attend worship, across the spectrum, will be confronted at some point in their lives with the unfathomable and crippling reality of suffering. Easter Christians, who recognize their calling to witness even in their sufferings, are poised to testify to the power of the resurrection through sharing in Christ's sufferings.

Identify with Christ by rejecting sin and self. Paul writes of "sharing his (Christ's) sufferings" and "becoming like him in his death" (Philippians 3:10). His testimony here parallels the passage in Romans 6:1-11. Like Paul, we participate in what Christ did on the cross when we die to sin. Participation in the sufferings of Christ does not mean that we take on some "redemptive suffering" like Christ did, nor does it mean that we will necessarily suffer and die like Jesus did.

The Apostle meant that he identified with Christ's death whenever he suffered (see, for example, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Our situations will likely not be like Paul's, but we all may have the same hope of resurrection power that results from conforming to Jesus' death. [4] We experience this conformity and the resulting resurrection power when we choose death to sin and self daily (see esp. Mark 8:34; cf. Philippians 3:12-16).

Offer our bodies as "living sacrifices." The Christian body is a key place for meeting and serving others, whether it be individually or corporately as the "body of Christ." Obedience to Christ means faithfulness through the trials we face in this world, as well as our obedience to Him in our daily lives. I contend that Paul David Tripp was successful in his strength, which was on full display through his extensive counseling and conference leadership ministry. He is also successful in his weakness and suffering, which the crippling illness has caused. Following Christ will mean that we cannot expect to be excluded from the ills of life! We are to offer Christ the whole of our lives, strengths and weaknesses, come what may.

None of us lead picture-perfect lives, not even on social media! Pain and suffering will assuredly strike at some point and in some way during our pilgrimage here. The sufferings of Christ serve as a practical call for us to endure travail (1 Peter 2:21-25) and stand always as a chief source of confidence and encouragement (1:3). Christ, our example, lays a foundation upon which we are called to build holy lives which, at times, will require us to endure suffering (1 Peter 2:6; 1:13; 4:12-14). So, as Timothy Keller writes, “Christ literally walked in our shoes,” so we may tighten the laces today and carry on, even when we suffer, until He returns.

Larry C. Ashlock

Notes:

1. Thomas C. Oden, Pastoral Theology: Essentials of Ministry, 224.

2. Augustine, Library of Christian Classics, vol. 7, 342ff.

3. Paul David Tripp, Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense (Wheaton, Il: Crossway, 2018), p. 24.

4. Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 135–137.

Never give up the resurrection facts, but also make sure to abide in their truth! I recall a precious woman, who knew in detail the facts about Jesus’ life and death, but she did not believe that He was raised from the grave. She did believe, like so many others in our generation, that Jesus was a good teacher but not a risen Savior and Lord. 

I am in full agreement that facts about Jesus are critical for understanding how God has worked out His salvation for us. Never give up the facts, as I have written above; however, know that the Gospel is not only about facts, but about faith—yours and mine. The propositional truth about Jesus must become the personal truth applied to our lives or we live without hope. I love to ask, “What’s the point?” First Corinthians 15 concludes with the point! “Keep on becoming steadfast, unshaken” (15:58). The simple truth that Jesus was raised from the grave is not an Easter tale, but the eternal truth. We ought to live in this truth every day until He returns.

The nature and meaning of the resurrection provide readers with the clear theme of 1 Corinthians 15. Here is the outline: stating the resurrection platform (15:1-11) and making application (15:12-58). Paul constructs this foundation with a statement of proper Christian belief (15:3-5) and the resurrection appearances (15:6-7). He does this to counter false teaching at Corinth. He adds to these statements his own personal witness to having seen the risen Christ (15:8), then he shares a testimony about his own status and work, possibly to refute the claims of false teachers that he lacked authority (15:9-10; cf. 15:9:1-2; see also 2 Corinthians 10:13; Handbook). Bible teachers see evidence of a very clear and deep summary of Christian beliefs in verses 3-5 and possibly verses 6-7. These are the facts, but we need to live them as truth, or we will miss Paul’s point.

Foundation for assurance of salvation. Several truths rise to the surface in our focal section. First, Paul assumes the belief of the Corinthians in verses 1-2. He demonstrates this by using a Greek construction in verse 2, best translated as, “since you hold fast . . .” In other words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ assures our salvation unless the “supposed faith” we claimed to have was in fact “actually empty and worthless and unenduring” (EBC; ATR). We say, “Once saved always saved,” so is this claim still true? Yes, emphatically, but Paul holds over them the peril of falling prey to any tempting tale that the resurrection did not occur. I cannot recall all the times I have encountered folks that question the facts about Christ’s resurrection, but there have been many. They often look puzzled until I confirm that the resurrection has made all the difference in my daily life. My testimony of assurance nails the truth to their hearts because it becomes current through my life. The resurrection forms the basis for our faith and hope in forgiveness of sin and life eternal and the means of an effective witness. There is more to consider.

Based upon a clear revelation. Paul bases his teaching upon a direct revelation from the Lord. There was no mistaking the fact that he claimed to have received his message from a “living” Savior. He explained this Gospel message using four verbs: died, was buried, has been raised, and appeared. Christ died was stated as a historical fact and a crucial event (ATR), crucial because it was “in behalf of our sins.” The Scriptures teach it: Jesus taught it (Luke 22:37; 24:25), Peter pointed this truth out (Acts 2:25-27; 3:25), and Paul did the same (Acts 13:25ff; 17:3; ATR). Christ was buried, thus placing our sins in the grave. Dead and gone! He has been raised is a perfect passive indicative. This means that He was raised, and is still raised to this minute, and will continue to be so. Permanence! Lazarus was resuscitated in John 11 only to die again, until the resurrection when he will be raised forever. Paul teaches that Jesus was resurrected from the grave never to die again. He is the “first fruits” of this new life that is preached in the Gospel.

You may be asking the same question that was raised in Paul’s day: Is He truly alive? Paul writes, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:12). Let’s see what Paul says! “He appeared” is stated as a historical fact (15:5). We should know the facts. There were multiple resurrection appearances. Take note of the number, the variety of people involved, and the places of resurrection appearances: Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), the two going to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), the eleven disciples (Matthew 28:16; Luke 24:36-49), Simon Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5), the ten apostles (John 20:19-23), the eleven (John 20:26-29), the seven by the sea (John 21:1-14), to over five hundred in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6), and to the apostles in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 15:7b). There is also one to James (1 Corinthians 15:7)(ATR). And Christ appeared to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8). Our trust in the resurrection of Jesus Christ provides essential truth for living with assurance and hope today. Trust Him as your life, guide, and hope for eternity.

A locksmith visited the Baptist Center for Global Concerns’ offices because our keys were not working correctly in some of the doors. I demonstrated the problem firsthand and even shared a bit of my own frustration that even my master key did not work properly. He assured me that I had the right key (fact) but shared what I was lacking (testimony). He used a spray aptly named “Houdini,” and my problem was solved.  

Here is a spiritual reminder. People often know that Jesus is the key to life eternal, but they have never been given a way for that truth to transform their daily lives and hope for eternity. Paul knew the importance of getting the resurrection details accurate, because the entire Christian Gospel depends upon it, BUT he also takes great care to pilot us to eternal security. We do well this Easter to know and apply well the central Christian truth about the resurrection.

1. The simple fact is that simple facts form the foundation upon which our hope rests. Build your faith foundation well upon these and other Bible verses of truth. Use verses from 1 Corinthians 15 to anchor your personal testimony to others who have doubts or who have yet to come to Christ. 
 
2. For Families: Do your children know the facts about Jesus’s resurrection? A great project would be for them to explore the many appearances of Jesus, found in the section above, called “The Point.”

In at least eleven appearances, after He had risen, more than 550 people saw Jesus alive again. Let your kids look up the passages (see above), talk about what they have found, and make a poster, or a chart, detailing who saw Him and what the Bible says happened in each case. This will be a powerful teaching moment, when they discover for themselves, and are able to tell others, what they learned. 

When they have finished their projects, let them take their work to church next Sunday and explain the findings of their research to their Sunday School teachers and pastor. What a marvelous way to move forward into the Easter celebration, armed with the facts about the resurrection!

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

The truism says that the journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. We will quickly recognize that Israel fell into subjection to her enemies, not because the enemies were more powerful, but because the nation, step by step, had distanced itself from the Lord (6:1). This sometimes proves to be the case in our own spiritual lives. It often is not the godless enemy outside our door that overtakes us, but the adversary within our own hearts—willful rebellion! Our focal passage today provides us with an example of how to take the first step back to God when we have wandered far from Him.

Broken covenant. Israel had broken its covenant with the Lord, so God “gave them” into the hand of Midian as His discipline. This seems like a bang-bang statement—they sinned and God immediately punished them—but the reality was that Israel had been lapsing into idolatry for quite some time (cf. Exodus 34:6; God is “slow to anger”). The nation had a thin veneer of Yahwistic worship—the worship of the one true God—but they were thoroughly paganized in their everyday lives (cf. 6:13). We would say that they were “many steps down the road to ruin.” 

Exclusive commitment. Note well that pagan gods were thought to be tolerant of the worship of another deity, but this is never the case with the Lord God. God will not share His rightful role with any other god (cf. Exodus 20:1-5; Deuteronomy 6:10-15). We may even say that the so-called god named “Tolerance” is the Baal of our day. So, where do we first begin to demonstrate mighty faith? It may come as a surprise to you, but the beginning point for commitment resides in our homes!

Start with our family worship. Gideon’s first significant action was taken at home among his own family (6:25). The faithlessness ran deep within his clan because his father, the head of their kinfolk, espoused the Baal cult. His influence had spread throughout the community. The standard had been set by Moses: no altars to Baal and no Asherahs (Exodus 34:12-13; Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 2:2). Asherah was the wife of El and Baal in Ugaritic literature. An “Asherah” was a symbol of the goddess, a sacred tree, or a carved pole set up beside an altar to Baal (EBC). The standard had long since been broken by Gideon’s day. Gideon begins to overcome Midian when he first is overwhelmed by worship of the Lord.

Eliminate any hindrance to our exclusive commitment to God. Gideon takes a prime bullock from his father’s herd, probably one used in pagan worship, and sets out to tear down the pagan Baal altar (6:25). The bull was seven-years old, meaning that it was full grown, and strong enough to tear down such a significant altar. It also meant that the bull was of the highest quality, a prize, and it was worthy of sacrifice to the Lord. Furthermore, he was to chop down the Asherah pole that was typically a carved wooden image with exaggerated sexual features (NAC). Friends, sin is ugly and offensive. I can only imagine the sadness that Gideon must have felt in his soul as he slowly began to recognize the depths to which he and his family had fallen in their rebellion. These verses paint a portrait that help us to sense the dysfunction that sin causes within a family. So, if you are like me, you are ready for the solution. Well, the text already states it in verses 22-23. God visited Gideon (cf. John 1:14!).

We must not overlook the overwhelming significance of the words, “The LORD said to him . . .” God speaks to us in our rebellion and His words are “Peace be to you” and “do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” All of this is to say that God accepts Gideon, who then receives God’s commission. We are beloved children in Christ, and this means that He has accepted us, cleanses us, and commissions us to serve Him with all our beings.

Our family came to know a precious woman of faith. During the time we served as pastor of a church in Midland, she was a girls’ coach at one of the two high schools there. The coach approached our daughter one day and asked her what size shoe she wore. Lauren answered her, then turned to me with a puzzled look. I began to laugh out loud. Lauren wanted to know what I thought to be so funny. I told her something like, “Basketball season is upcoming, and you’ve just been made aware that you are going to be playing on her team.”

Here is a spiritual challenge. In Ashlock speak, “Selection meant fresh direction!” God has chosen you and me, in Christ, to embark on a journey, so we need to begin that walk of faith where it will count for generations to come—our homes (Galatians 2:20)!

1. Cleaning out an attic can be quite a chore. The process is made easier if there is a friend to help. Cleaning out our hearts is also quite a chore but, thankfully, we have a Friend to help us (1 John 2:9). Answer God’s call to holiness (spiritual cleanliness).

2. For Families: Spring cleaning is always a good time to do some assessment of our homes, our families, and our individual lives. Take a walk through your home, looking and listening for anything that serves as a barrier to your families’ devotion to Christ.

Video games, movies, music, books, magazines, habits, attitudes, any number of categories of inspection might present themselves. Ask your children if they know of anything that goes on in your house that does not bring glory to God. Make sure you listen well and do away with those things. Ask God to make your home clean before Him.

Renew your family’s commitment to holiness, and spend the next weeks, leading up to Easter, in a season of reverent anticipation. He is risen! “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

“For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75:6-7). We likely find comfort and calm when the Scriptures speak of God’s mercy and love, but become unsettled where God exercises judgment according to His sovereign will. The account of the commander of the Lord’s army provides us with a glimpse of how the Lord provided Joshua and Israel assurance of His presence and intent to help Israel conquer Jericho and the land of Canaan. This focal passage forms a prelude to the actual conquest of Jericho. I believe it holds important truth for us to consider, too.

The setting

We must not overlook the wider context of the entire chapter, where the emphasis is on holiness—circumcision, observance of the Passover, and the Divine messenger and holy ground. God was about to exercise judgment on Canaan. He chose to do this through His humble, holy people, so they needed to be spiritually equipped for God’s mission. Even though we are likely not leaving our homes to engage in a holy war today, we do well to learn from these encounters about how to serve God as His humble, holy people.

Spiritual readiness. The entire chapter shows us that the main concern facing Israel was to be spiritually prepared for the conflict (cf. Ephesians 6:10-17). Military readiness was not the primary consideration, so God sends His angel to prepare Israel for their immediate future. The heavenly messenger is called a “man,” as is the case with other angelic visitations in the Old Testament (5:13). First, God expects us to give Him our undivided loyalties and our holiness (cf. Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16; NAC). We should notice that the commander of God’s army meets with the commander of Israel’s army, but there is no mistaking who will lead both armies into battle! Secondly, God must be the Leader, or the battle will be lost.

Standing on God’s side. It comes as no surprise to me that Joshua wants to know if the man who stands before him with a drawn sword is a friend or foe. The sword is a sign of war and judgment, so Joshua would naturally be curious as to the man’s intent. What may have been surprising to Joshua is that Israel was preparing for battle, yet this person sneaks up on them (5:13; “behold”; NAC; EBC). He asks the obvious question as to whether the man could be counted on to stand with Israel in the upcoming conflict. It also should not surprise us that the question should never be, “Is God on our side?” We should ask whether we are on His side. The messenger does not answer Joshua’s question directly, but he states that he is the commander of the Lord’s army. This means that he was subordinate to the King, the Lord Himself. God was to be in command of this battle. As Francis Chan says, “God, interrupt whatever we are doing so that we can join You in what You’re doing.”

Fighting from our knees. Bible scholars are divided on whether the commander refers to Israel as his army (cf. Exodus 12:41; 1 Samuel 17:45) or to the realm of the heavenlies and God’s hosts there. The Lord of Hosts is used 250 times in the Old Testament. It makes sense, considering all that transpires in Joshua 6, that the reference is to God’s heavenly hosts (NAC). This was a divine being on a divine mission, and once Joshua recognized this man’s authority, he prostrates himself on the ground and worshiped.

Joshua teaches us how we may be victorious over insurmountable obstacles and trials. First, he humbles himself before the Lord’s messenger (cf. Matthew 5:3). He bows before the man with a sword, indicating that he knew what he was up against. It has always been somewhat humorous to me that frail and finite humans emblazon t-shirts with the words, “No Fear.” Yet, when it comes to serving the Lord, our t-shirts need to have stamped upon them, “Fear Him.” Joshua places himself in a position of subjection (cf. Ephesians 5:21). Secondly, Joshua, who had just been made great in the eyes of Israel (chapter 4:14), now shows that he remains God’s servant (5:14, “servant”). Joshua learned, as Moses had learned before him (Exodus 3:15), that the best way to stand tall before the people he leads is to bow low before the Lord.

One of my childhood superheroes was Superman. I eagerly anticipated watching a show about him each Saturday on television. Trouble would arrive, and the mild-mannered newsman, Clark Kent, would step inside a phone booth and soon emerge as the “Man of Steel.” Superman would save the day and protect “truth, justice, and the American way.” It comes to mind now that the humble newsman was also the self-effacing superhero. They were one and the same. 

Here is a spiritual reminder. Joshua the warrior leader was preeminently the servant leader because of his complete trust in God. God delivered Joshua and Israel through holiness, not haughtiness. “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4). Lesson learned.

1. We sing, “Holiness is what I long for; holiness is what I need.” Notice that holiness is a result of total loyalty and dedication of oneself to the Lord (Joshua 5:9). What attitudes and actions will you give to God to change in order to be useful to Him?

2. For Families: Here is the worship song mentioned above. Offer this song as your family’s breakfast prayer each morning this next week. Share with your family that God is seeking followers who will humbly bow their hearts and will to His each day. Then pray together that God will make of you a holy household, like Joshua’s. He said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:15).

Follow this link to hear the song and sing along with the lyrics: Holiness is What I Long For.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

The rubric called “muscle memory” means we can reproduce a particular movement without using conscious thought. Frequent repetition makes this effort possible. Allow me to coin a phrase: moral memory. It means that we learn to respond to those around us like God has demonstrated with us. We must always keep God’s goodness to us in mind, and it is to be evident in how we treat those who are the weakest members of our communities. God provides Israel with practical ways of practicing justice in community. We also will notice quickly that God expects His people to respect the dignity of all humankind. Let’s learn from this passage today some ways we may demonstrate love for our neighbors.

Meet the need before you see it. Perfectionism, as I term it, should not be a goal during harvest time! The Israelites were to take “care not to pick the fields, orchards or vineyards clean,” but they were to leave some of the harvest behind that might have been overlooked (24:19). The Moabite Ruth comes immediately to mind, because the point was to provide a benefit for the alien, orphan, and widow (Ruth 2:2). This was not a handout; instead, it demonstrates a “beneficent” act directed toward those who were less fortunate. 

Respect the dignity of each human life. On one side of a coin the recipient was able to salvage his or her honor and the landowner, on the other side of the coin, was prevented from arrogant control of the less fortunate. Boaz went beyond the minimal requirement in helping the widow Ruth. He actually commanded the reapers to leave more than leftovers (2:15-16). A worthy goal in our own “Christian” nation should be to deliver the weakest from social and economic bondage.

Remove obstacles to meeting daily needs. Positive steps toward helping folks out of their dire circumstances begins by taking note of a core economic principle. Do not deprive a person of that which is necessary to earn a living. Work is a foundational good, enabling a person to maintain his or her dignity and to provide for the well-being of the family. Being able to work is a core goal for every person. We may ask ourselves if our attitudes or business practices deprive others of their rightful “basic life sustenance” (cf. 24:6). A millstone was the tool that helped people to grind the grain that fed their families. The “millstone” in our society is obviously meaningful employment. For example, how well does the Body of Christ provide training and assistance to those who need new job-skills in order to thrive in our economy?

Providing fair wages. Let’s set aside, for a moment, the minimum wage debates we read about in our culture. In Ancient Israel, wages were to be paid at the end of the day because a worker would be expected to cover his expenses (24:15). There was no “welfare state,” as we have come to know in our culture. If one did not work in those days, he or she would not eat. If you were not paid in our current culture, you would not eat either! To deny a person his or her wages would justify a cry for deliverance to be lifted to the Lord. In our passage today (Deut. 24:13), we have the example of an employer who was not providing the poor person with the money he or she needed to survive (24:15).

Moral need. 15.18 million households in the United States are headed by women. Nearly thirty percent of those households fall beneath the poverty level. Did you know that mothers with full-time jobs are paid just 73.5 cents for every dollar that is paid to fathers? The subsequent lack of good wage earnings, shelter, and food on the table is not only a gender issue, but a justice issue.

Those who know me will understand that I am not driving home a political point. Instead, I am diving deeply to a Christian application about care, based upon God’s own goodness shown toward us. The fact stated above illustrates the moral principle Moses makes in Deuteronomy 22. Contemporary single mothers and their children often go to sleep without food several nights each week because the main wage-earner does not make enough to provide for shelter and sustenance. A just God challenges our moral blindness to these types of need. Rather than wring our hands, a “love your neighbor as yourself” people will use their hands to address the need.

Moral memory. My family has been blessed in ways that go beyond description. We realize there are those who have never had the benefit of a strong family system, adequate housing, affordable and working transportation, education, financial backing, and recommendations for well-paying jobs. Here is one of several ways we seek to practice God’s goodness. It is our joy to provide support for a pregnancy center in our city. They recently sponsored a drive where supporters were encouraged to fill a plastic baby bottle with coins to help meet some of the support needs of pregnant women who often face severe housing, food, job, and transportation challenges. Shawna and I filled the bottle with a sizable donation when we paused and “moral memory” of God’s goodness came to our minds! We wrote a check that demonstrated our desire to give like God has given to us.

1. Jot down ways you express your gratitude for God’s help in your times of weakness and despair. Always live thankfully.

2. Write down the ways you seek to allay the hurts of the helpless. Perhaps it is an offering given, which is good, or a volunteer role at a crisis center. This, too, is good. Ask God to help you think of more ways that your gratitude (#1 above) may become a lifestyle of helping the helpless.

3. For Families: We can surely continue this application above to our own families and respond together to needs we know exist. Contact the community liaison of your Independent School District to see what needs there are among students and families, staff persons, like bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and janitors, or even teachers. Many of the latter groups are single parents and raising children. Your family could drop off groceries, or give grocery store gifts cards to help folks with food needs.

You could always volunteer with local ministries, serve in food distribution, transport elderly people to doctor office visits, help single moms with car repairs, or vote to pay a few dollars in taxes to build a community day-care center. All of these small things add up, both to practicing justice in your city and in building “moral muscle memory” in the lives of your children. It is good to use our hands to help others in the name of Jesus.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

All along the timeline of history we read the sorrowful chapters of the mistreatment of children. From the Greco-Roman practices of abortion, infanticide, and leaving newborn babies outside city walls to die, to the labor and sexual abuses of little ones and teens throughout the ages, to child abandonment by parents and families, the ongoing saga is complex and soul-scarring. America is no exception.

Prior to 1700, among First Peoples and Colonists, like their neighbors in England and on the Continent of Europe, orphaned children were generally taken in by relatives or neighbors. The first private orphanage in America was opened in 1729 in Natchez, Mississippi, founded by French nuns after a massacre of settlers there. The next was the Charleston Orphan House (1790-1951), in South Carolina, the first public institution of its kind in the nation. Generally, orphanages were rare until the 1830s–1850s, when urbanization and health epidemics (cholera, typhoid, and yellow fever) led to a need for homes for growing numbers of children whose parents had died or could no longer care for them, particularly in the large cities.

For example, in 1850 in New York City alone, the general population rose to 515,000, with half of this number as newly-arrived foreign-born residents. This year, upwards of  30,000 abused, abandoned, and orphaned children lived in the slums and on the streets, known by the policemen as "street rats." The only options available to such children at the time were begging, petty thievery, prostitution, and gang membership, or commitment to jails or work-houses. Their plight was hopeless. 

About this time, in October of 1849, a young seminary student in New York City rowed across the East River to preach. Charles Loring Brace (1826-1890) had been charged to speak to terminally ill young women who resided at a charity hospital on Blackwell’s Island, a two-mile strip of land nestled between Manhattan and Queens. Now known as Roosevelt Island, it once housed “undesirables” in institutions, including a "lunatic asylum," two "almshouses" (for folks without any financial resources), a charity hospital with a children’s ward, and a penitentiary. Brace knew many of the women he preached to were dying from venereal diseases contracted after they were driven into prostitution and shunned by society. Weeping as he spoke of Jesus’ love, Brace visited others on the island after his sermon and ministered to them as well.

This visit and others like it deeply affected Brace, inspiring him to dedicate his ministry to helping New York City’s most vulnerable. A Yale and Union Theological Seminary graduate, he left his parish ministry at Five Points Mission, aware of the impoverished lives of children all around him, and concentrated his life toward improving their living conditions and futures. In 1853, Brace established the Children's Aid Society, backed by several prominent Christian businessmen. He was twenty-seven years old. 

The next year, the Society opened the first of its "newsboys' lodging-houses," providing basic room and board to homeless children who hawked newspapers on the streets. Other children lived in "Misery Row," a crime and poverty-ridden area around Tenth Avenue that was seen as a "fever nest," where diseases spread easily. Brace believed that children needed more than institutions that merely fed the poor and provided handouts. He believed the best way to deal with crime and poverty was to prevent it.

Brace focused on finding jobs and training for destitute children so they could help themselves. His initial efforts in social reform included free kindergartens, free dental clinics, job placement, training programs, reading rooms, and lodging houses for boys.
 
Brace believed that moving homeless children from their street environments and overcrowded city institutions and placing them with "morally upright" farm families was key to providing the children with good lives. He wrote that having strong Christian families was the answer to all ills related to children. His view was that work, education, and a strong family life could help them develop into self-reliant citizens.

Realizing also the practical need for workers in the developing Western and Midwestern states, he proposed sending homeless children to those communities to provide the older ones with work and all of them with families to care for them. "In every American community, especially in a western one, there are many spare places at the table of life," Brace wrote. "They have enough for themselves and the stranger too."
 
After a year spent testing his idea by dispatching children individually to farms in nearby Connecticut, Pennsylvania and rural New York, the Children's Aid Society launched its first large-scale expedition to the Midwest in September of 1854. The arrangements for placing homeless children varied. Some children were "pre-ordered" by couples who would send a request for their desired child to one of the institutions participating in the placements. After a suitably-fitting child was found, the child was sent via train to their new family for adoption.

More commonly, groups of 5-30 children of various ages, from infants to teenagers, would travel with an adult agent escort along a pre-scheduled route of towns and communities to be placed in foster home situations. Railroads and charities would provide discount fares, new clothes, Bibles, and other items for the children's journeys, and Brace raised money for the program through his writings and speeches. The Orphan Train Movement had begun.

Brace's plan largely depended upon the goodwill of the foster communities. It was considered more beneficial and good for the homeless children to secure a source of food and shelter in the countryside with families, than to leave them living homeless on city streets. As part of his placement programs, an estimated 200,000 American children traveled west by rail in search of new homes during the time-span of the Orphan Trains (1854-1929). Overall, Brace's relocation program was largely deemed successful. A 1910 survey concluded that 87 percent of the children sent to country homes had "done well," while 8 percent had returned to New York, and the other 5 percent had either died, disappeared or had been arrested.
Over time, child care reform developed further and Orphan Trains gave way to foster villages and family preventive care.

Brace's Children's Aid Society was the first to begin the following ministries to children, all of  which are commonplace today: the first industrial schools, the first parent-teacher associations, the first free school lunch programs, the first free dental clinics for children, the first day schools for physically and mentally challenged children, the first kindergarten in the United States, the first foster homes, the first “fresh air” vacations, in which urban children visit host families in the country for the summer, and toy drives for children during the holidays.

Today, the Children's Aid non-profit still serves more than 50,000 children and their families annually, with a budget of more than $100 million, forty-five citywide sites, and 1,200 full-time employees. Children's Aid is one of America's oldest and largest children's nonprofits. 

This month we both recognize and sorrow for the children, past and present, who have been victims of injustice, abuse, neglect, and violence. And we also honor those souls, like Charles Brace, whose deep wells of Christ-like compassion, compel them to give their lives in ministry to the least, and most vulnerable, among us.

-Karen O'Dell Bullock

[Originally published Feb. 27, 2026]

The idiom, "tip of the iceberg," describes a small, visible part of a much larger, hidden problem. Only ten percent of an iceberg's total mass is typically visible above water. These enormous chunks of ice, sometimes nearly fifty miles in length, have always posed a problem to ships, but the disastrous sinking of the Titanic in 1912 likely gave the phrase its momentum. It has been used in countless ways. For example, I believe that we too often see only the "tip of the iceberg" when considering the moral horror of child abuse and exploitation. Child abduction, trafficking, and exploitation by total strangers, while capturing media headlines, represents a small portion of a much deeper icy evil hidden behind the doorways of our homes!

Most child protection workers define a child simply as “every human being below the age of 18 years.” Keep in mind that laws intended to protect children from harms, like labor abuse and sex trafficking, use varying meanings to define a "child." It is important to know the differences, but an overall definition helps to center the focus on key areas where children become exploited.

Trafficking occurs when a person or group moves a child from one place to another (within a country or across a border) into a situation where he or she is exploited. Laws against trafficking enable federal, state, and municipal governments to pursue and prosecute offenders, but they cannot address the seminal source of the problem. The sobering fact is that a key problem, and a root cause of child abuse and exploitation, resides inside the home.

A common misconception is that strangers with bad intentions are the largest number of perpetrators who force children into exploitation, abuse, and trafficking situations. However, less than five percent of child abductions are "snatch and grab" incidents. Ninety percent of children are victimized by someone they know and trust. Perpetrators of harm against children may include family members, friends, romantic partners, and employers. Forty-four to sixty percent of exploitation cases in the United States are facilitated directly by family members and/or caregivers. We should keep in mind that one-third of reported abuse cases are peer-to-peer, which is sexually harmful behavior between children involving an aggressive child against a non-aggressive child. Sibling sexual abuse represents twenty-five to fifty percent of reported cases. 

Countless instances of sexual abuse go unreported. The home provides a hidden place where child abuse may go undetected for years on end. Familial trafficking, an especially egregious form of child abuse and exploitation, is in fact very often generational. Initial mistreatment often begins with children at four years of age. Recruitment into various types of child trafficking, whether for abusive labor or sexual practices, typically begins at age thirteen. Children are susceptible to such abuse because their views of morality and ethics are shaped by adults, especially before the age of eight! Significant moral concerns, therefore, permeate this crisis.

Violations of life's sanctity and human dignity. Child trafficking and exploitation deeply violate several core moral values. God intends for the home to be the place where a child's moral development is nurtured, not neglected or misguided (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Ephesians 6:1-4). Children are to be raised in a home environment where they learn of their inherent dignity as humans fashioned in God's image. Therefore, child abuse in any form is a grave sin against the sanctity and dignity of a child’s life. The value God places upon human life forms a bedrock foundation for the intrinsic worth of a child (Genesis 1:27-28; Psalm 127:3; Matthew 19:14). Children are not a commodity for barter or sale; instead, they are created to fulfill a God-given purpose in His world. 

Human rights abuses. Secondly, children have a fundamental human right to protection from exploitation--especially inside the home (Matthew 18:5-6; Ephesians 6:4). While the issues of rights is quite complex and requires a corresponding consideration of responsibilities, children are possessors of specific legal and moral rights. Parents should avail themselves of every opportunity for their own personal advancement, but as human beings themselves, children also have a claim to moral rights, such as liberty, safety, health, education, and opportunity. 

Thirdly, the value of justice also applies to child abuse and exploitation. Children deserve an equitable opportunity to experience basic human goods like life, health, family, education, and a pursuit of chosen life goals (Deuteronomy 10:18; 24:17; Psalm 10:14, 18; Isaiah 1:17; Luke 18:15-17, i.e., Christ’s personal blessing and eternal life). Child trafficking and exploitation strikes a crippling blow and negatively impacts all of these essential life goods. Gratefully, there are important steps forward for Christian families.

Insure a safe home environment. A first building block requires making the home a "safe house." My own public school years were often fraught with ongoing, tense racial divide and frequent episodes of school violence. Those were deeply traumatic years for me, but I always knew that my home was a haven where I would be met with love and would experience protection. Tragically, not all homes, including Christian domiciles, are safe harbors for our children. Personally, Christians will work to build and sustain safe homes and communities (Ephesians 5:21; 6:1-4). They will reject child exploitation in any form, whether it originates within the family or outside the home (e.g. harmful child labor, viewing internet child porn, and sex tourism). Christians should strive to demonstrate Christlike total care for one of life’s most precious gifts—children (Matthew 19:14-15).

Focus on creating healthy families. A second building block includes a focus on healthy parenting skills. Christians have rightly become highly focused on sexual abuse in churches and communities. Training courses to aid with recognizing and eradicating forms of child abuse are abundant, which is good. However, a critical need inside the home is equipping parents to be godly influences with their children. Studies have long demonstrated that broken people very often become abusive parents. The cycle of abuse that began with them too often is passed to the following generations. Churches should work to end the generational cycle of abuse.

A sustained commitment to building strong homes. A third building block requires sustained commitment. Secular culture has awakened from the isolationism that leads to this moral shipwreck. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the destructive iceberg that is child exploitation. There are excellent community-based social programs that target families, women, and children. Churches should also be at the forefront of providing safe pathways around the evil forces that cause family breakdown. Sustained efforts at lifelong Christian family moral development ought to be at the forefront of every church ministry.

More than fifteen hundred people died aboard the Titanic, including fifty-three to sixty-one children. The youngest child to perish was 19-months old. It would be a gross understatement to write that poor judgment led to that tragedy. Blame was assigned to the ship's captain, in large part, because of a lack of preparation for such danger. Similarly, a lack of proper readiness causes many Christians and churches to miss the deeply rooted cause of child abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. They know of the widespread geographic, governmental, social, ethnic, and religious boundaries, but miss the underlying deadly cause that begins in evil hearts. We should know that even the home is not always safe! Christians should be diligent in creating sure safeguards against this social evil. We will begin to achieve his goal, in part, by creating and implementing ongoing ministries that strengthen the home.

Larry C. Ashlock

“Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of the mind with His truth, the purifying of the imagination of His beauty, the opening of the heart to His love, the surrender of the will to His purpose” (William Temple). Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942-1944, indeed encapsulates the heart of worship. Hardly anyone would think of Deuteronomy 4 as a devotional passage, but this is the case! In fact, the chapter has been called a “miniature sermon on the covenant and laws,” and, while it may seem at first glance not to be a great first choice for worshiping, it will open our eyes to true adoration! 

The chapter may be viewed as a whole, or it may be broken into various portions: putting God’s Law into practice (vv. 1-14); warning not to worship idols (15-31); and the uniqueness of God’s people (32-40). It is the latter portion of the chapter that catches my eye and heart and will be our focus today.

This remembrance has become a vital part of my own pilgrimage, especially when I face what may seem to be insurmountable heartbreaks. God calls us to remember His past goodness and deliverance. He does not want Israel (or us) to stop at this point. He next calls us to search over the entire earth and see if there is anywhere that such greatness has been encountered elsewhere. It is the depth of this type of inward reflection, based upon careful outward observation of God’s reach into our world, that so much modern worship lacks. This thought begs a question: Who is our God?

Faithful to His covenant love. Talk about loyalty to us, our God has been and remains ever loyal to His people. He invites Israel in this chapter to look back and remember His appearance at Sinai (4:33, 36), the exodus from Egypt (4:34, 37), and the conquest of Canaan (4:38). He then asks, “Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?” No one has ever heard of another mankind-conceived god attempting to do such things for humanity. This theological truth is important because it demonstrates one of the many ways God is unique and separate from all false gods. Israel would many times show disregard for such love, but Jesus’s coming to earth demonstrates that God always shows regard for His covenant mercy. We will learn more about this characteristic below. Even for all this care, Israel (we, too) showed a lack of genuine commitment. You are no doubt thinking that you did not want this sort of reminder to start the day! True, but let’s double back and read our focal verse.

Pours out His mercy. The text also tells us that God is merciful. This means that this God, who is described as being a “jealous” God and “consuming fire” (4:24), is also compassionate and tenderhearted. There have been many attempts to translate the idea: “heart,” “liver,” and bowels.” What is the point here? God wants us to know that His mercy is a superior love, rooted in a deep natural bond. Elsewhere this word is used of a mother’s love toward her nursing baby (Isaiah 49:15) and a father’s love (Psalm 103:13). When this word is used of God it means two things: the strong tie God has with those whom He calls His children (Psalm 103: 13), and a reflection of His unconditioned choice (grace!). God is gracious and merciful to whomever He chooses (Exodus 33:19). The wonder of it all is that God has chosen you and me! Let this awareness of God soak deeply into your soul each day. God has you in His heart, plans, and view.

I recall a time in my life when I began to set an inner “me alarm” that sounded whenever I stepped into a worship service. I began to look for any and every way I might be tempted to make that experience about “me.” Do you have a similar inner alert? Too often every creature comfort is offered to me when I enter churches—warm beverages, comfortable seating, high-energy music, colorful lighting, and even a feel-good message. However, true worship means that we enter God’s presence. Wow! This awareness sure changes things!

Here is a spiritual thought. Truly, from what Moses writes here, how could we ever escape God? He is ever before us and around us in all we see. Our first cry in worship, as Isaiah writes, should be “Woe is me!” (Isaiah 6:1-8). This view of God causes us to recognize that our wickedness does not mix with His holiness. The music, the prayers, and the communication of the Word of God should be structured to remind us that we have been made the recipients of God’s “unfailing mercy.” We offer our brokenness to Him, allow that “consuming fire” to burn off the impurities within our hearts, then fall into the embrace of our loving Father, whose everlasting mercies are supplied freely.

1. God invites us to see His grandeur today. Use portions of this chapter to thank God for ways He has shown you His mercy in your past and in the present.

2. For Families: Take time to sit with your children and scroll through various photos of their life histories. Talk to them about the ways that God made their births possible, healed their bodies from bumps and bruises and illnesses. Speak about God’s presence and care as you remember together your family travels. Help them to see that God is to be worshiped in all we are and do throughout our lives. Discuss ways family members can show God their love and loyalty to Him. Then pray together as a family and thank God for being Lord over your family history, your present, and your future.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

Jesus came to seek and to save suffering humanity. The familiar narrative of the Gerasene demoniac reminds us that Jesus has authority and power over debilitating mental illnesses (cf. Lk 8:26-39). He also demonstrated His control over nature (Luke 8:22) and crippling physical illnesses (Luke 8:43:48), as well as power over death itself (Luke 8:40-42, 49-56). The point was to show that He indeed is Lord over all creation. We must note this key truth because much that we encounter in our lives—sophisticated meteorology, biotechnologies, and pharmacology—have thoroughly distanced many sincere Christians from the power and intimacy that Christ provides in our trials.

You have inherent worth. Spring is but a few short weeks away, and people will soon begin to till their gardens to prepare for planting. Let’s rework the soil of this passage a bit, turning it over and examining it from a different perspective. There are several moral implications. Demon possession, one form of what we term mental illness, had thoroughly isolated this man from any meaningful social and spiritual contact. We know it was demon possession because the account clarifies this for us (5:8). Even so, we do well to learn from Jesus’ response when He was confronted by this person (5:2). The very fact that Jesus responded directly to the man indicates the value of his human life (5:9). The technical term when applied to life’s sanctity is “intrinsic” value. You are inherently valuable to God!

You cannot lose this inborn worth. This man’s imbalance had a wicked and violent streak attached to it (5:3-4). We need not “Google” far to discover that the same holds true for violent offenders in our culture, some of whom suffer from mental illnesses. Our nation has been thrown into grief in recent years by the violence that some mentally-imbalanced individuals have inflicted upon innocents. Hopefully, we all know that there are also untold numbers of people who suffer from some mental illness who are not violent. God loved that man despite his torment.

God makes the broken person whole. This man, however, was tormented by so many demons that he was called “Legion.” (A Roman legion was comprised of 10 cohorts equaling 5000 soldiers.) He had become uncontrollable, and he took up residence in the tombs where people in that era believed demons lived (NAC). Nevertheless, the Lord who could call down ten thousand angels to His defense sought to bring wellness and wholeness to this hurting man’s life. Wellness included returning him to his community with a testimony of God’s healing. I certainly do not want to oversimplify the point, because evil often inflicts its destructive effects on individuals, entire families, and whole communities. Our nation has looked frantically in recent years for some place to point the finger of blame in the aftermath of school, mall, and other mass shootings. Sadly, we too often overlook the ultimate evil that resides in the minds and hearts and actions of humankind. It is this type of soul-illness that Christ came to heal.

“Legion” was a name that had been given to the man, meaning he was a no-name man in a where-on-earth-is-it place. Jesus, the disciples, and the local townsfolk all knew geographically where they were, but Bible scholars have had some difficulty determining where this healing miracle took place (5:1). In fact, we only know each person in Mark 5 by his or her condition: demon possession (5:1-20), chronic hemorrhaging (5:25-34), and acute life-claiming illness (5:21-24, 35-43). Jesus, however, knew them as persons worthy of healing and peace. All of these miracles foreshadow the Gentile mission to come. We have directly benefited from the love God pours out on us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

In years past, I made lunch-time pastoral visits to a business that hired people with a wide variety of disabilities. Some of my most precious moments were spent at those meals. The people opened their hearts and lives and offered their friendship to me. Looking back, I never thought to identify them by their disabilities, but by their God-given possibilities. 

Here is a spiritual thought. You may never have a similar opportunity to dine in such a place, but each day you have the occasion to enhance the worth of people inside your home! First, we made and kept a commitment in our home never to address a person in ways that diminished their self-worth. Words like “stupid,” “idiot,” and “dumb” were not permitted when we spoke to one another. We used proper names and words of blessing in our family, because we knew that human dignity is often wrapped up in how we address one another. Jesus calls each of us to himself and does so by our name to demonstrate our value. 

Secondly, each name we use to address another human life is a dignity-builder and provides an awareness that life has significance. There is entirely too much destructive name-calling in our culture today! Christians do well to look at people and call them by their names, thus showing them that they have value. Our ministry to culture is to give witness to Jesus’ heart and actions. He came to seek and to save those who are lost. No amount of evil or sickness or even life-threatening circumstances changes the fact that God sees people as both infinitely precious and wanted. By way of application, our world’s people long to know that we care for them as Jesus did.

1. Ponder the meaning of your name and the circumstances by which you acquired it. Then, ponder the meaning of your name in Christ, “beloved,” and the circumstances by which you acquired it! Praise Him for your value in Him.

2. Gaze, as Christ did, upon the world that presses upon you each day. Who do you see reaching out and longing for someone to “see” him or her? Look upon that life through the eyes of Christ. Seek to be His hands and heart of ministry to that person.

3. For Families: This is an important passage about our identity in Christ. In our homes, we can apply the point of this devotional by setting guidelines against name-calling or dignity-robbing words or trash-talk, just like the example above.

In fact, the whole family can join in to decide, in this same spirit of valuing what God sees as “Beloved,” about how we will treat one another. Come together to decide how best to recognize and respect each other’s God-given worth. 

Make three declarations that each of you will not do. (They may read something like, “I will not use derogatory words against my family members.”) Then decide upon three declarations that you will do. (These may be something like, “I will respect and honor my family members by speaking to them with kindness and courtesy.”) There are many ways to do this. When you are all agreed, write these guidelines on a poster-board and tape it to a prominent wall until the new change of attitude and conversation becomes a habit.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

“I argue that the Jesus of the Gospels is essentially a myth,” wrote Alvar Ellegård, a Swedish author on religion and science.[1] There have been those, like Ellegård, who for well over a century have claimed that there was some sort of Christ myth that grew among Jesus’ earthly followers. There were no real miracles, there was no resurrection, and there was certainly nothing divine about Jesus of Nazareth. This interpretation of the “historical Jesus” is really nothing new. In fact, this is why the gospels are so appealing to me! They offer us the reason why the good news about Jesus is so effective and will help us to be both assured of our faith and winsome in our witness.

The gospels state openly the very doubts that contemporary scholars often raise. Many of the Jewish leaders doubted. The Romans certainly did not believe that Jesus was divine. Even fellow Jews doubted that Jesus was anything more than a good teacher. We see traces of the same view about Jesus in the words Luke records in verse 22. News of of the Christianity “sect” had reached all the way to Rome by the time Paul arrived (cf. “sect”: our word, “heresy”)! Nevertheless, let’s seek to understand what it really was that hindered the Roman Jews from believing in Jesus Christ.

Politics. Sometimes people distance themselves from the Good News because it is politically expedient. The Jewish leaders that came to meet with Paul soon after his arrival did not want to get involved. They indicated that they had not received any letters from the authorities in Jerusalem. They had not heard anything—officially or unofficially—against him from any Jew who had traveled there from Judea (28:21). Even so, Christianity had been known in Rome for some time (see 2:10). History records that the Jews in that city around the late 40s AD had been so divided over Christianity that the Emperor Claudius had banished them to stop the riots there (see 18:2). It seems possible that the Jews, who had only been allowed to return to the city in 54 AD, did not want to risk expulsion again (61 AD)! Even so, the Gospel continued to advance because politics cannot stop it.

Disinterest. The Jews in Rome (and many people today) were dispassionate about what they heard. They simply thought they did not need it. The Good News was not spiritually appealing to them. They wanted to have as little as possible to do with Paul and Christianity. There have been moments in my life where I shared the Gospel with someone, and they determined not to receive it. It was as though I was offering that person a glass of ice water on a frosty winter day. They refused to listen, so the Gospel continued to advance to others who were interested to hear.

Spiritual disbelief. Paul had arranged a meeting with the Jews, and they returned to his quarters on the appointed day. He spent the entire day not only proclaiming the Gospel, but seeking to persuade his listeners to receive it into their hearts (cf. 13:17-41). This day must have been filled with impassioned debate. Some were convinced, but others “would not believe” (28:24).

There were two main points of disbelief, according to Luke. First, Paul had tried to prove the stubbornness of Israel from the Scriptures on the ground that Isaiah had foretold of the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah (see Isaiah 6:9-10). Isaiah addresses three organs of perception—the eyes, ears, and heart. He described people who merely take in sensory perceptions, but do not appropriate them (NAC). Secondly, Paul insisted that their hard hearts had led God to offer His grace to the Gentiles, where it would find a positive response. The pattern of taking the Gospel to the Jew first then to the Gentiles had been followed from Jerusalem all the way to Rome (Romans 1:16; Acts 13:46-52). Any God-fearing, orthodox Jew would cringe when the name Gentile was mentioned. They rejected utterly the thought of such a thing as a partnership with pagans. All the miracles in the world would never convince them to join hearts and lives with any outsider. So, they too would not listen, yet despite them, the Gospel advanced to the whole world.

A hospice chaplain shared the story of a man who had shown no interest in Christ throughout his entire family life. He was nearing death, so two of his children invited a chaplain to visit him. They were concerned with his soul! He was offended when the chaplain entered the room, but the tension was eliminated when the two men agreed to simply become friends. In time, it was discovered that the reason the dying man had rejected faith was because at age 19 he had brought a black man to visit his white congregation’s church service. The pastor and his own family had told him how offensive it was to do such a thing! Do you see the problem? It was not the black man who caused any harm, but the dark hearts of Christians in that church who wounded this man for a lifetime. So, he rejected the Gospel, based upon the false application of its truth. The truth is that God loves the entire world and has demonstrated it by sending His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16-17). This Gospel about a risen Savior still changes the world.

Here is the spiritual point. The Gospel became real to that man when the black chaplain, all those years later, befriended him. One thing is certain: the dying man had tried to stop the Gospel at his heart, but its advance could not be stopped. It will never cease until the end of the age! Why is this so? It is so because it is the power of God for salvation unto everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). The Gospel is “God at work.” Believe, then live this truth in your life today.

1. How would God characterize your life? As doubting His word? As rejecting His truth? Invite Him to become real to your life today. Trust me, He will answer that prayer!

2. This begs a question for the church today. What is it that we are doing to “market” the Gospel that “muddies” the message? The Good News is designed to advance (cf. Romans 1:16; “power”), so we simply need not hinder it. Equip believers in the Gospel basics—speak and live the Christ-life.  

3. For Families: We can use Isaiah’s three ways of responding to God to help our children share their faith. The “eyes, ears, and heart” must be involved when people make the decision to give their lives to Jesus and follow Him. Some people will not. Some people do not. And some people have been already seeking to know Him.

One at a time, provide your kids with bandanas to keep them from seeing, and ear plugs to keep them from hearing. Now ask them to stand in front of you. Speak softly to them about how much you love them and ask them to give you a hug. If they do not respond, tap them on the shoulder and say the same thing again. Make sure you tell them how much you love them.

Now remove the blindfold and the ear plugs and stand them in front of you again, and repeat what you said. Ask them for a big hug! When all of your kids have experienced what it feels like to not see or hear or be able to express their heart, share with them about folks who need to know about Christ. Only God can open their eyes to see Him, and open their ears to hear His Good News Gospel. Only God can change hearts of stone into hearts that want to love Him back. Your kids can pray for their friends, teachers, and neighbors, and introduce them to Jesus.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

1. Ellegård, Jesus: One Hundred Years Before Christ.

Sometimes the Lord permits us to see “just over the hilltop” to know our future. A growing chain of circumstances seems to be challenging the contemporary church to recognize and understand more clearly how to live faithfully in challenging times. We know the Spirit “blows where He wills” (John 3:8), which means we may not always know immediately the direction our lives are headed. However, we may always trust the Heavenly Father’s heart and guidance through His Spirit (Exodus 34:6-7; John 14:15-16, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever”).

Luke records a narrative account describing when Paul receives notice from the Holy Spirit of what awaits him when he returns to Jerusalem (Acts 21:7-14). The concerned disciples who gathered around Paul received news of that which the Apostle had always known about his life and ministry from the time of Christ’s call (cf. Acts 9:16). He had already encountered severe hardship (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), and now he would face the likelihood of further severe persecution, even death. Nevertheless, he was prepared for this eventuality. The “elephant in the room,” so to speak, was the fact that he was headed toward Jerusalem by the Spirit’s call, even while the Spirit was warning him that “in every city” he would face hardships and the likelihood of imprisonment (cf. Acts 20:22-23)!

How to recognize and follow the Spirit’s leading

Know the mission. The Spirit oversees the Gospel mission, so we are to stay on mission. Yet, on the surface, there seems to be a mix-up in the divine communication here. The Spirit compels Paul to go to Jerusalem where the Spirit warns Paul that will likely face severe persecution. Is this like some silent movie western, where the bad cowboys tie Paul to a conveyor belt that slowly pulls him toward a giant whirring saw blade? No. There are truly no contradictory purposes here. God had a plan for leading him to Jerusalem—the plan was to advance the Gospel. In Ashlock speak, “We are to follow God’s current, not redirect it.”

Accept the challenges. We tell people today that God has a plan for their lives, which is true, but we do not tell them the whole story. We make the Christian life seem like a trip to the ice cream shop, where the only disappointment will be that they are out of Double Dutch Chocolate. Pastor Max Lucado says, “God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.”
 
Trust God’s control in and through the circumstances. Furthermore, the warnings by the Spirit were intended to let Paul know that God was in control of whatever he faced (cf. NAC). The Spirit says the same thing to you and me today. God is in control, even when we cannot see it, so let’s follow Him. The Spirit will guide us into God’s truth (John 14:25-26). Paul would eventually take the Gospel to Rome, which was his own heart’s desire (cf. 19:21; Romans 1:9ff). The road to Rome, however, would be a difficult one where he would ultimately lose his earthly life, but gain his eternal one (see Luke 17:33; 2 Timothy 4:6-8). It was worth it to Paul, and I am writing to tell you that following God through every circumstance of your life remains worth it today. Corrie ten Boom, a Nazi Holocaust survivor, once said, “Let God’s promises shine on your problems.”

Do you remember the old MacGyver TV series? The main character was a genius (of course) who could pretty much solve any problem that he and his team faced with a simple Swiss Army knife. I’ve watched him defuse time bombs at the last second, survive a hail of gunfire, avert terrible disease, and withstand all sorts of bumps and bruises. He always reappeared, good as new, for the next episode. MacGyver, plus knife, despite various severe trials, always equaled a happy ending.

Here is the spiritual point of the devotional. Let’s listen to the truth about happy endings. They are not the result of your wits and a pocketknife. The title to the devotional raises a question. My hope is that you will trust the Spirit’s edge because it always cuts straight according to God’s design. Missionary Hudson Taylor once said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.” Do we see “Who” is the true “genius” in overcoming trials? It is God! We are called to follow His plans exactly. Live this truth today.

1. The time-tested truth, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” remains valid today. Write down the places and purposes that are creating doubts about your life’s plan. Ask God to make clear the way and, until He does, follow Him with the eyes of faith (Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 11:1).

2. Hardship need not create a hard heart toward God. Ask God to remove all upset with Him about the direction He is leading you. Then ask His Spirit to provide comfort and strength in your trial.

3. For Families: Ask your children to play a game that will help drive home the point of this passage for your family. God called Paul for His purposes, and Paul followed, even when he did not know the future.

Bring a bandana and invite your whole family to have a seat in the living room. Put the chairs in a large circle. Now ask for a volunteer to be blindfolded. After the person is blindfolded, give the instructions. The blindfolded person is to sit on the floor with their head down. They are not allowed to peek to see what happens next. The object of the game is for the blindfolded person to guess each family member by touch or sound or smell, but not by sight.

As soon as the person is seated on the floor, everyone else in the family quietly exchanges places, so that no one is seated in the same place as before. No one is to make a peep. Then, snap your fingers to let the blindfolded person know they can get up and begin. They are allowed to find their family members, feel of their faces, etc., and try to guess who it is. If they do guess correctly, then they have scored a point. They move to the next person and try to guess his or her identity, and so on, all around the circle. When finished, let other people try.

Then share with your family that this game is like our lives. We live each day, not seeing in advance what the next day will bring. But we can trust God, even though we cannot see His hand sometimes, because we trust His heart. He will never leave us. He will always love and guide us.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

[Originally published January 28, 2026]

In the year 1797, a tiny baby girl was born in a small cabin about ninety-five miles north of New York City in the town of Esopus, a small hilly settlement called Swartekill. Isabella was the daughter of James and Elizabeth Bomefree, who were brought from Ghana and Guinea by slave traders and sold to Col. Johannes Hardenbergh. Her first prayers were in Dutch, asking God about her dozen siblings, all of whom had been sold into enslavement. She never received a formal education, but learned the scriptures from the oral recitations and story-telling of the older members of her enslaved community.

Growing up as the property of another human, Bella (as she was called) knew harsh conditions. She was forced into labor at just five years old and at nine, was separated from her parents and sold. By the time of her final sale at thirteen, three owners later, she had suffered unspeakable indignities. When Bella was eighteen, she fell in love with Robert, an enslaved man from a neighboring farm. Their love ended tragically when Robert’s owner had him murdered. Later, with another enslaved man, Bella had a son, Peter, and her daughters, Diana, Elizabeth, and Sophia. 

In 1827, a piece of New York legislation set July 4 as the date when all remaining enslaved people in New York would be freed, but Bella's owner said he would refuse to abide by the law. So, after much agony of spirit and prayer, she left her three older children with a trusted friend, took baby Sophia, and escaped in 1826, a full year before the deadline. Soon after, Bella found refuge with Quakers Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, an abolitionist family in New Paltz, New York, who purchased her freedom for twenty dollars. To mark this new chapter, she changed her last name to Isabella Van Wagenen. 

Here Bella was able to breathe, to pray, to learn, and at last found a new relationship with Christ. With the support of the Van Wagenens, she successfully sued for the return of her five-year-old son, Peter. Shortly after her escape, her former enslaver had illegally sold Peter to traders who took him to Alabama, despite emancipation laws requiring him to remain in New York until he turned twenty-eight. Determined to fight this injustice, one that echoed the pain she and her siblings had endured, Bella demanded that local law enforcement intervene. After a year-long legal battle, a judge of the Ulster County Courthouse ruled in her favor, making her the first Black woman to sue a White man and win.

In 1829, Bella and her son moved to New York City, where she worked as a housekeeper for Elijah Pierson, a preacher. Three years later, she left to work for another preacher, Robert Matthews. During these years and the next decade, she participated in the religious revivals sweeping the state, becoming a charismatic speaker and finding God to be real and powerful in her life. She formed connections with Black community leaders and became active in abolition, women’s rights, and pacifism. In 1843 she sensed a call from God to travel the countryside and proclaim His truth, so she took a new name - Sojourner Truth.

She toured the country over the next number of years, often wearing a sash reading, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” She supported herself through the sale of her autobiography, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a work which she wrote and dictated to her friend Olive Gilbert in 1850. With a quick wit and an intensely engaging personality, Sojourner became a popular speaker. She met Elizabeth Cady Stanton and, thereafter, added the cause of women’s rights to her lectures, delivering her famed “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at a convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851.

At the invitation of Quaker friends in 1857, Truth moved to their village of Harmonia, Michigan, on the outskirts of Battle Creek. Although she continued to travel widely, Battle Creek would now be home to Truth, her children, and grandchildren. During the Civil War, she worked tirelessly to ensure that troops of color were treated fairly, even assembling care packages for them. She became friends with William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, speaking publicly about the evils of slavery, solidifying her role as a powerful advocate for social justice. She met with President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C. and, in 1865, sued and won a judgment against a streetcar company that led to the desegregation of such conveyances. After the war, she also served as a counselor to newly-freed slaves in Virginia, helping to provide them with skills needed to achieve self-sufficiency.

In the late 1860s, Truth advocated for land grants for freed Black Americans. She also met President Ulysses S. Grant and worked on his re-election campaign. In 1872, she attempted to vote in the presidential election, but was turned away, for women could not yet vote. Despite her declining health, Truth continued her advocacy efforts and spent her final years in Michigan. She died at her home on November 26, 1883 at the age of eighty-six, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, where her tombstone still stands tall today.

Many libraries, statues and busts, monuments, plazas, and schools are named after this woman named "Truth." This month, we honor the truth-tellers who, because of their trust in the God of truth, risk all to work against evil. We are better in our day because Truth lived and spoke with such courage in hers.

-Karen O'Dell Bullock

[Originally published January 28, 2026]

Mark Twain once quipped, "When in doubt tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astound your friends." Sadly, countless people today do not follow his simple words of wisdom because we live in a culture of lies. Fraudulent financial schemes, a proliferation of internet scams, the fixing of sports games by athletes, and political scandals exemplify this fact. We seek for truth, trust, and truth-telling, but find instead falsity, distrust, and lies. The current cultural malaise of falsehood begs a question: What ought Christians to be and do to infuse culture with truth, trust, and truth telling?

"Truth" means “the character of being, or disposition to be, true to a person, principle, or cause.” Synonyms include faithfulness, loyalty, and steadfast allegiance. The concept has become quite woolly in meaning because its antonyms, such as lying, deceitfulness, or evasion, have been replaced with less disapproving creations such as “white lies” and “black lies." In our current culture, judgments about such lies are based upon the context of a lie and who is affected.

On the one hand, we tell a white lie when we falsely claim that someone looks “great” in a dress, avoid attending a party by claiming we are “under the weather,” or hide the truth about a surprise. Such lies have become justifiable because they spare another person’s feelings, avoid embarrassment, or even ensure that a party or present remains a secret. I recall one of my children telling the white lie that no cookies had been consumed before supper when the evidence was plainly obvious in her teeth! We chuckled a bit, but knew how quickly "innocent" lies can lead to deadly falsehood. A black lie, on the other hand, causes harm or is told to avoid the consequences of and responsibility for what we have done. Such untruths, for example, involve defrauding investors of savings or falsifying expense reports. One wonders what reasons there are for the erosion of truth and truth telling.

Shifting winds. Governments withhold the truth at times to achieve political objectives or protect national interests. Recent killings by Federal officials in Minnesota have elicited widespread accusations of government coverups. Doctors will, at times, hold back the full truth from some patients to spare them undue suffering. Some people claim, in these cases, that those who possess special knowledge and power, because of their positions, are obliged to tell the entire truth. Furthermore, sometimes a desire within medicine to maximize desired “good” consequences for the many leads to a withholding of the full truth from a patient(s) (cf. Tuskegee syphilis experiments). The shifting winds of telling lies in order to "maximize desired goods or lessen perceived bads" can lead to hurtful consequences.

Cultural whims. Even truth-seekers, at times, conceal a portion of the truth to honor a specific rule (e.g. hiding Jews from Nazi murderers). Such real circumstances elicit divergent responses to the challenge of concealment, such as: absolute truth must be always spoken; concealment is permissible in extreme cases only; and concealment is permissible when major and minor rules conflict. Indeed, as all these levels and degrees of falsehood suggest, judgments about truth and truth-telling often shift on cultural whims. Our culture no longer distinguishes clearly between “true” and “false,” or “absolute” and “relative.” Nevertheless, the search for truth is important. A closer ethical examination of truth, trust, and truth-telling, then, is warranted.

The case of Ananias's and Saphira's phoniness in Acts 5 demonstrates how the lack of integrity threatens the spiritual health and witness of the early church (Acts 5:1-11). The couple “pretended to give all” but they were only giving in part. They, in effect, had lied to the Holy Spirit (5:8). Luke’s account shows us that they loved fame and the praise of men more than they loved the Lord. Therefore, their sin was misrepresenting the truth before the Spirit, and the penalty was severe. While some may believe the penalty of death was too extreme, the church was in its infancy and integrity was essential to gain the acceptance of the populace (i.e. for an effective witness; cf. Acts 1:8; see consecration below). Consider the implications of a recent Barna Research survey where 33% of Christians were found to believe that it is morally acceptable to lie to protect personal interests. [1] Such leaven can have disastrous long-term effects on church unity and community witness, if Christians are not careful.

A Christian worldview. Truth is essential for a Christian way of life—a worldview (2 Timothy 2:18; James 5:19; John 14:6). It cannot guide the life of a person unless it is formed within him or her (John 8:31-32; 17:3). Hence a life of truth and truthfulness emerges only from the transformation of a new creation in righteousness and holiness (John 17:3, 17; 2 Corinthians 4:6). The person who lives his or her faith in Jesus continues in obedience to the truth in thought, word, and action (Ephesians 5:9; 3 John 4). 

The practice of justice. Secondly, when lies prevail, the foundations of equity (justice) are destroyed (cf. Isaiah 59:4, 14, 15). Lying is sinful and the consequences affect all of us. Abuses of justice and trust occur when parents overlook their responsibility to model truth and truth-telling before their children. Businesses violate trust and practice injustice when they accumulate vast power and influence by corruption or for purposes of self-interest alone. Governments abuse the public trust and foster injustice by broadcasting lies and/or withholding information that is critical to the well-being of its citizens. Church leaders cultivate distrust and injustice when they refuse to address that which is morally uncomfortable (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Be trustworthy in character. Truth and truthfulness bear ethical implications for Christian character and action. God is truth, cannot lie, and all truth derives its sanctity from Him; therefore, all falsehood is wrong because it contradicts His nature (Psalm 111:7-8; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 16:18). Since we are fashioned in the image of the God of truth, truthfulness in our character is imperative (John 18:37). Conversely, untruth is the fruit of sinful character (Genesis 37: 31-35, envy that led to treachery and deception; Matthew 26: 49; Mark 14:45). 

Practice truth-telling in all relationships. Secondly, since God is truth, then His words and deeds are “faithful” and demonstrate “faithfulness” (Genesis 9:16; 15:18). In direct conflict with the truth is Satan, the “father of lies” (John 8:44). The serpent lies to Adam and Eve by directly assailing God’s very veracity (Genesis 3:5, “You shall not surely die”). The end of such lies is darkness and death (Revelation 21:8, 27; 22: 15). Therefore, God’s fundamental commandment about truth forbids lying (Exodus 20:16; 23:7; Zechariah 8:16-17; Ephesians 4:25). Jesus instructed his disciples to simply say “yes,” and “no,” to demonstrate their veracity (Matthew 5:37). Christians put aside all forms of lies—from deceit to flattery, (Psalm 57:4, 64:3; Jeremiah 9:8) both individually and in community (Ephesians 4:15). Living in the truth, then, is refusing to dip into falsehood in any area of life.

Larry C. Ashlock

Notes:

1. Barna/CRC: "Americans’ Views of Moral Truth ‘Contradictory, Unbiblical.’" May 15, 2025.

There is much about our current worship that is rushed and shallow. We need to enter our places of worship prepared in heart to encounter our holy God. We need to follow the labyrinth! Labyrinths have been used for centuries to aid worshipers with eliminating distractions in prayer and devotion and drawing closer to God. 

The psalmist provides us with a labyrinth of sorts to guide us to proper worship. The Lord said to Israel, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14), which was a great comfort to a pilgrim people. Psalm 15 reminds us today that we are still pilgrims who are seeking God’s presence and that there are specific worship admission requirements.

A casual examination of the psalm shows that it opens with a question and ends with a promise. This has led some Bible scholars to classify it as a wisdom psalm, while others view it in liturgical fashion (see EBC; Handbook). I believe it shows evidence of both and provides us with important instructions in pure worship. The pilgrims ask who can enter the Temple, and the priests answer them in the verses that follow with ten necessary moral qualifications (vv. 2-5b). In a narrow sense, it may be seen as instructing pilgrims in God’s requirements for them, yet if we take a broader view of the psalm, it may teach us what God expects of all who desire to live in His presence (EBC).

Meet God in His tabernacle (cf. John 1:14). It appears that the congregants are standing outside the gate of the Temple when they ask their question (15:1). They are seeking lodging, and they refer to the Temple as “your tent,” which suggests the Tabernacle. It had been God’s lodging place for the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings (see Exodus 40). To “dwell” suggests permanence and we may even state the question as “Who is empowered?” or “Whom do you allow?” (Handbook). Let’s turn the key on the Temple gate to see what is required of our contemporary worship.

Possess the right character. “Who” appears throughout the psalm, and one may be led to think that the psalmist is in search of this person’s identity. The kind of person who enjoys God’s fellowship is in view here. The priests respond with conditions that are both moral and spiritual, but not ritual and ceremonial. In other words, entrance into God’s presence really does depend upon who I am in my heart and not only what I appear to be outwardly. Notwithstanding the contemporary “accept me as I am” worship mantra, words and deeds are critically important when we describe “who” may enter God’s presence (2-5b).

Commit fully to follow God’s way. True worshipers must be “walking perfectly” and “practicing justice.” Note well the participial forms (habitual practice; EBC)! This person follows a straight path (Proverbs 3:6), by obeying the commands of God in everything (“blameless”). Next, the person “speaks truth from the heart,” meaning that he or she is sincere and reliable and trustworthy (Handbook). The true worshiper is also one who avoids slandering his neighbor. I get the idea of a whisperer in secret, or even a person who is a talebearer. How on earth could I wrong a comrade in this way and expect to present myself as right before God? If God counts a person as reprobate, the true worshiper will “despise in his eyes” the same person (v. 4). In other words, the person who seeks God’s presence does not associate with the wicked and vile. Even if it hurts, this worshiper will keep his or her word (v. 4c). He gives his word before God, then he keeps it! This person also will lend to another and refuses to take back more than he gave (v. 5a). Finally, the just worshiper will not take a bribe against an innocent person. In other words, he or she will not testify falsely at the trial of an innocent person (v. 5b).

I believe one of the most defeating forms of media are television commercials and social media posts that lead consumers to believe that extreme weight loss or Adonis-like body toning can occur in the matter of a few weeks. I clicked on an ad several weeks ago for a particular exercise workout. My social media accounts since then have been inundated with ads that beckon me to try a workout for thirty days with a guarantee that I will emerge sleek and muscular! Friends, “It ain’t gonna happen that way!” 

Here is a spiritual thought. The psalmist concludes by sharing that God’s true worshipers will always have a seat in God’s Temple (“sit firmly”)! The valid test for worship is not a quick spiritual exercise for an hour on Sundays; instead, it is proven daily in our lifestyles.

1. True worshipers worship the Lord with their entire beings. Note the qualities above and ask the Lord over the course of the coming months to give you instructions in areas where you are lacking.

2. Many of our churches today require little in the way of covenant commitment from worshipers. Everything from theater-styled seating, lighting and acoustics, and even refreshments ensure attendees will experience comfort for fear that they may not return. Ask yourself some serious questions about your place of worship: Who is the true audience in biblical worship? When was the last time I saw God in attendance? What has kept Him away?

3. For Families: We might help our children understand what true worship should be by borrowing an illustration from Søren Aabye Kierkegaard.

Ask your kids to bring their favorite stuffed animals to the living room floor, and ask them if they want to play church. Tell them there is a way lots of people worship every Sunday, and a way God wants us to worship.

Arrange the animals where several are the congregation, two or three are the pastor and musicians, and one is God. First, show them how many churches arrange worship, and ask if your church does it like this: The pastor and musicians are on stage as the actors, there are many people in the congregation, and God is behind the stage, whispering to the pastor and musicians/worship leaders. Ask your children, is this like going to the movies? Who is the audience? If the audience is the people in the congregation seats, then they are observing the actors on stage, like a movie audience.

Now show them what this devotional passage teaches us. God wants us to worship in this way (and re-set your animals as you speak): The pastor and the worship leaders are behind the scenes, whispering to the congregation, who is on stage, to worship God with pure hearts. Who is the audience? God! He is the only one. We should be worshiping God because He alone is worthy of our worship.

See if your children understand the difference between the two ways. Gently challenge your kids to make their hearts pure before God every day, and to worship God alone, all day, wherever they are.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

Nothing stops quicker the bread of church life from rising than a lack of the Spirit. Acts chapter 5 presents us with evidence that the controlling presence in the daily life of the church must be the Holy Spirit. This permeating authority of the Spirit, in fact, gives rise to Christian moral influence, and must be guarded carefully. Many of our churches have bad dough, and they do not know why. Luke presents us with a case study where the Spirit life was challenged. Then Luke shows us how to live in the Spirit in our church communities.

The chapter opens with great force when “phoniness” is exposed on the part of Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-11). Ironically, their names, respectively, meant, “God is gracious,” and “beautiful.” They “pretended to give all” but they were only giving in part. In effect, they had lied to the Holy Spirit (5:8). Luke’s account shows us that they loved fame and the praise of men more than they loved the Lord. Sound familiar? Therefore, their sin was misrepresenting the truth before the Spirit, and the penalty was severe. 

Some may think the penalty of death was too extreme, but the church was in its infancy and integrity was essential to gain the acceptance of the populace (i.e. for an effective witness; cf. Acts 1:8; see consecration below). We think today that our churches are not influencing our communities because our branding is flawed. However, there is a much deeper reason. The truth is, our culture does not notice us because the Spirit-branding is absent from our lives. Sadly, many do not know He is missing, nor do they know how He is to be found. Luke presents us with several ways to both locate and live our community life fully in the Spirit.

Show genuine respect for the Lord. We have taken into our hands a snapshot of the early church and how it handled controversy. All the elements that Luke records in 2:43-47 surface regularly in the life of the healthy church—even in church trials like Acts 5. The Spirit created unity among the believers that was evident, despite the internal upset caused by two of its members. The core value was the principle of truth, trust, and truth-telling, which are always a characteristic of God. The church knew that loss of the Spirit’s impact was more costly than the loss of a donation. As a result, the whole congregation lived beneath the covering of “fear” (respect) for the Lord, rather than any fear that they might lose face (5:5, 11). 

Give as the Spirit guides. The Spirit prompted love that was exhibited in giving. Even though Ananias and Sapphira had misrepresented their giving, nevertheless they, and all the others, were giving freely “to each as any had need.” Brotherly harmony was obvious because the Spirit-motivated sale of homes and properties and donations toward the common good was palpable (cf. 4:34). The Spirit led the church to live consecrated lifestyles, where the people showed their spirituality in all the ways they conducted their business (5:9; “test the Spirit”).

Whenever we see events occur in the early church, we must also recognize that it was the Spirit who was kneading these elements of healthy ministry into the bread of life to feed a hungry world. This bears repeating: The Holy Spirit kneads the dough of every healthy church ministry into the bread of life to feed a hungry world!

The Spirit will not serve moldy bread! For some odd reason this analogy brings back memories of my single life, where I would buy a loaf of bread, fail to seal it well, and return later to find that it had grown moldy. I would twist my face, turn to the trash can, and throw it out. It was no longer fit for consumption. 

Here is the spiritual point. Bad bread makes for bad witness, but churches miss the true crisis if they are only concerned with the potential negative impact this will make on their communities. Luke reminds us that it’s all about the Bread-Starter! “No Spirit” means our witness lacks the right starter and our bread won’t rise. Got Spirit?

1. We told our daughter, when she was growing up in our home, that it is the inward adornment of the Spirit that made her beautiful (cf. 1 Peter 3:3). Many of you do the same for your own children. Sadly, we too often fail to apply the same truth to our corporate church life. Hypocrisy often grows like mold on the bread of our witness. Model the Spirit-led life. Write down ways that you may exhibit the Spirit-life personally, in your Bible Study group, and in the full life of your church.

2. For Families: Truth-telling is a foundational goal of child-rearing, isn’t it? Trust-building, instilling integrity, forming a character reflecting truth, honor and respect for God, His Word, and biblical values – all of these are what we long to do well as we train our children.

Our kids learn more from watching and listening to us live our lives than they do from our “preaching” or scolding them. This devotional is a challenge to us – parents most of all – to be vigilant in our devotion to Christ. Let us be persons without guile, so that our children may have a clear picture of how to live purely. Let us raise families who love the Lord with their whole hearts! 

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

“The believer essentially becomes one who hopes . . . His future depends utterly and entirely on the outcome of the risen Lord’s course, for he has staked his future on the future of Christ” (HCBC, Jürgen Moltmann). Luke 19:45-21:4, which encompasses our focal passage, provides us with a view of the final confrontations Jesus had in His earthly ministry. Jesus’ rule will be radically different, and I suppose there is no better way to determine where a person stands on this claim than to see in what and where he or she invests money—a god of this temporal age (Matthew 6:19-24, esp. v. 24).

Jesus demonstrates that true wealth is not so much about the sound of clanging coins in an offering box, but the sounding call of God that echoes throughout one’s life. Let’s invite Him to confront us wherever we need it today!

Our context here includes a condemnation of hypocritical scribes (20:45-47) and praise for a poverty-stricken widow’s simple, giving spirit (21:1-4). Hers was a sacrificial faith. We would say, on this side of the cross, that hers was a resurrection faith, because it embodied the type of sacrifice Jesus made on the cross—all in—so that His life would abide in all (Galatians 2:20). Supreme value for her was placed upon that which the temporal could never touch, and Jesus commends her right priorities (21:3). Jesus’ words stunned the disciples whose values had yet to be radically changed. The resurrection would be the catalyst for their total commitment. Do you wonder why this little narrative is in Luke’s gospel? I do!

One wonders what it was that Jesus saw or heard that led to this statement at this critical juncture in His last days before being arrested. Could it have been how the rich folks gave their offerings? Perhaps they skipped the coins into the box like a ten-year-old would skip rocks across a lake. The Greek word is a participle and can have the meaning of hurling or letting something fall. They certainly offered their gifts and prayers for show (20:47). However, I think Jesus focused on them here because this was a way to demonstrate publicly what they had shown themselves to be privately in their confrontation with Him (20:45ff.). Let that soak in. We often prize the size of the gift rather than the intent in the giver’s heart. This moment was the object lesson, and it must have had its full impact on the disciples later, for Luke records the event.

The woman’s gift surely led the disciples to think, “What on earth is two lepta good for?” Do you see their evaluative (ethics) judgment? Their way of seeing the world, based upon material things, exposed their lack of awareness of a Kingdom of God worldview. They measured her worth based upon the size of the gift. These were the smallest coins in use and worth only a fraction of a day’s wage. When they (or we) think like that, then an earthly economy has rolled over our minds like a cool and dense fog. It’s hard to spark a flame of eternal glory inside a damp brain (cf. Acts 2:3)! Jesus shines the light of glory on her when He noted that her extreme poverty was evident in the extraordinary nature of her gift (Matthew 5:3; note, poverty is both physical and spiritual). She gave to whom she had placed her hope!

Please allow me to open a leaf from my own life’s journal. I recall a time in my life where I wanted more than anything to honor the Lord by becoming a professional athlete because, as I thought, folks would listen more closely to the witness of a star football or baseball player. Of course, as I think back on that period of my life, I could not run fast, throw far, or at times hit something the size of a beach ball. Well, it appears that I have digressed. Nevertheless, I will never forget sitting in the locker room before a football game and, as I leaned over to pull my socks up and tuck them inside my game pants, it became plain to me that I was all in with my plans for God’s call, but not yet for Him in all my plans. Football would end eventually, but He and His Kingdom would never end. I chose that night, even though there were twists and turns ahead, to pursue the call that would last for all eternity.

Let me see. How may I apply this to all our lives? We all are to live as a dirt-poor woman who gives and serves forward toward the One in whom we’ve placed our hope! Is every act of our daily lives given (and giving) toward our resurrection hope? May it be so!

1. Onto what plot of land—earthly or eternal—have you staked your claim? One sure way to determine what or who you cannot live without is to imagine what pains you the most to give up. Temporal sphere? Eternity? Now, invite the Lord to step in an audit your level of sacrifice, and I am not referring only to financial sacrifice. Check the value of your coming inheritance (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5). 

2. For Families: The story of the widow’s offering is one all ages find fascinating. I sometimes wish I could have been there, too, to see her and watch Jesus speak about her and the crowd’s reactions.

Click the link below and watch the story with your children. Then ask them to imagine what the lady looked like. Was she young or old? Short or tall? Fresh-faced or careworn? What kind of clothes did she wear? Where did she live, and did she have enough to eat and pay her bills? 

Let your children answer these questions and see if they have questions of their own. Then ask your kids to dress up and act out the story while you video it. Explain that Jesus loved her, and said her faithfulness and hope in Christ was a model we all should follow. It pleases Jesus for us to give all that we have, ourselves most of all. Click here to let your children view the story: The Widow and her Gift to God.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

Real life, according to Jesus, is life lived in relationship with Him. His words in this passage appear at first glance to be as cold as sub-freezing temperatures in winter. I know phrases like “after he has killed” and “cast you into hell” do not seem to inspire closeness to God, but Jesus also states that the Heavenly Father values us! Frankly, Jesus tells us how to know the warmth of a daily relationship with Him. Let’s seek guidance for our daily relationship with Jesus.

This section in the Gospel of Luke follows the preceding section (cf. 12:1) and includes all that follows through chapter 13:21. Jesus shares His “kingdom ethics” with this throng of eager listeners. He was a clear and dynamic speaker, and the effect of His words and ministry had drawn thousands of people who clamored to get near Him. A contagion fueled by word of mouth created an electric atmosphere. He took the opportunity to present to them a cluster of teachings under the rubric of something like, “The Kingdom Disciple’s Life” (cf. Luke 4:16-19; Isaiah 61).

Your behavior matters to Jesus. There have been many cries in our own contemporary culture for more laws to keep people in line. The timeworn phrase is “You cannot legislate morality,” which, in fact, I heard a few days ago on a news story! Jesus knew that His kingdom was built upon transformed hearts. People were given the ability to respond willingly to His leadership. 
 
Be wary of false leaders. Unlike the corrupt leaders and false teaching at that time, the Kingdom of God life provided a major moral corrective because it really mattered to Jesus how citizens conducted themselves. If we think the hashtag movement in recent years has exposed hypocrisy in every stratum of society, it does not even begin to compare with the exposure and condemnation that will come to false religious leaders (12:2). Their false teaching—so popular at the time—would be revealed and fully known and discredited (cf. 11:39, 44; NAC; PC). Jesus states that their “hypocrisy, greed, and wickedness” would be put on full display (12:3). There must not be any fence-straddling in the Christ life. “If [i.e., “Since”] God is sovereign and cares for creation, fear and trust him” (HCBC). 
 
Be entirely committed to Him. He warns His followers to be discerning about teachers and teaching by using an analogy about the rise and spread of leaven (cf. 12:1b). Bread was a major staple in their world, so they understood clearly His meaning. Keep in mind the message was not just for the mind, but also for the heart. He was calling people to become total disciples. We say today that He expects our commitment to be “all in.” We’ve all heard this message a thousand times in our churches and “life” groups (quote marks intended because that is what they are supposed to be!), and it often falls on deaf ears. What causes me to bolt to attention is His use of the words “friends” and “fear” together (12:4-5, 7). How does this mix?

Jesus uses the word “friend” both here and in John 15:13-15 to refer to His disciples. This is a clue to these folks that the preceding words about judgment were not for them, but were for the Pharisees instead. I’m sure there was a collective sigh of relief heard throughout the crowd, but reality soon set in. Those gathered likely thought, “OK, so we are friends, but who or what are we to fear?” Jesus knows and states the cost of serious “followership” (Matthew 5:11-12). He instructs His disciples not to fear those who can bring a believer’s physical existence to an end (cf. 11:47, the prophets, and 11:49, the church).

We do not know if Theophilus (see Luke 1) and the church were encountering persecution when they received this gospel account, but we do know Christ’s words provided assurance in testing times. Persecutors will never be able to touch a disciple’s ultimate destiny. Look again at my opening sentence to this devotional. Real life is the Christ life, and no outside power can touch this existence (Romans 8:35-39; Galatians 2:20). Therefore, genuine kingdom disciples live with their heads and hearts focused fully on God.

Who would know us better, in most cases, than a momma or a daddy? There have been times in my life, though rare, when I behaved in such a way that one or both parents paused and took notice. This was not a warm, fuzzy “took notice.” One of them might say something like, “Son, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you better straighten up and fly right.” I wasn’t a pilot, nor the son of a pilot, but I got the message. In other words, I feared (respected) their requirement for right behavior because it was in keeping with our family name.

Jesus teaches us that God knows every minute detail about every aspect of His creation (birds and pennies), so know this about Him: He knows you and cares for you. So, live with bold transparency before Him, and you will have complete confidence and peace, both now and in the coming life.

1. Look at your full being in the mirror sometime today. Ask yourself, “Who truly am I?” Determine to demonstrate your respect for Christ by living “all in.” Write on a sheet of paper the three guidelines from above: your behavior matters, be wary of false teachers, and practice total commitment. Ask God to pinpoint areas for improvement in each of the areas. 
 
2. For Families: With the view of living the Christ-life “all in,” ask your younger kids to spend a few moments at the kitchen table. Provide blank typing paper, magic markers, an assortment of pictures of gingerbread people, and actual gingerbread-shaped cookie cutters. Your big kids might like to join you, too.
 
Ask your kids to study the pictures and cookie cutters and imagine themselves as a gingerbread boy or girl. How might they look? Now ask them to choose a cookie cutter and trace around it with a magic marker, and then draw themselves as a gingerbread person. Give the kids a good length of time to embellish their likenesses.
 
Now share about how God is looking for people who will give all of themselves to Him. What we do matters to God. Invite your children to put a secret mark on their gingerbread person where they have the most trouble giving that part to God. Is it their heart that is selfish? Is it their mind that thinks angry thoughts? Is it their mouth that speaks ugly things to others, or their hands that push or hit? 
 
Wherever they are having trouble, ask them to make a secret mark, and then bow their head and ask God to change that part of themselves. Invite them to tell God that they want to live “all in”—every part obeying God and pleasing Him. Then have them cut out the gingerbread person and place it in their Bible, so that each evening during prayer and bed time, they can remember and give every part of themselves to God anew. God knows and cares for them.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

A horrific tragedy occurred early New Year’s morning in Switzerland. Forty people, as of this writing, were killed in a deadly fire. Dozens of others were injured in the conflagration, some critically. News reports have begun to surface in recent days of families and friends who are understandably swamped by shock and grief. In a moment, in the blink of an eye, it seemed as though their entire lives were swept away by this calamity. 

I recall a music staple of many Christian camp meetings when I was a teen. We sang with great enthusiasm the song, “I’ll Fly Away,” with the words, “Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away. To a land on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.” I understand the joy of departing this life and stepping into eternity with the Lord, but what about those who remain? I hardly believe that the families and friends of those Swiss Alpine victims felt like it was a “glad morning,” so what do we do when we are inundated by wave after wave of sorrow? Truly, some of you have awakened to grievous loss and rugged crosses to bear, and that song seems strangely out of touch with reality. It need not be so for us! Our focal passage today will help us to face life’s tragedies with triumphant hope.

A synagogue ruler named Jairus, who was responsible for arranging the synagogue for meetings, and probably leading the council of synagogue elders, had a 12-year-old daughter who was deathly ill (Luke 8:40-42). He arranged synagogue activities, but this father could not schedule his daughter’s healing. So, he was overcome with worry. One Bible scholar sees evidence of his distraught state because Jesus had just returned from “pig and demon” country, yet Jairus did not question whether Jesus was kosher (HNTC). The child’s illness had eclipsed all other temporal realities. Nothing else matters when your helpless little one is sick to the point of death! We may see here just how two-thirds of the world lives every single day. There were no “medical marvels” or technological gizmos then that could restore that little girl to health. For Jairus, it was Jesus or death! This is the point Luke makes to his readers. Jesus has power over sickness and the grave because He is God.

Pause to examine your own spiritual readiness for tragedy. The synagogue ruler humbles himself, even though he is a ruler (8:41; “falling at Jesus’ feet”). He jettisons any pride he may hold in his heart and throws himself down at Jesus’ feet (see Matthew 5:3). His precious one-and-only daughter was just reaching marriageable age and had her whole life before her. Yet, this daddy saw that she and her future were being torn away. Therefore, he believed in Jesus’ ability to work a transformation. Many of you will know that I have spent much of my ministry working with those who face these types of illnesses. Their families and I felt the same way about their loved ones. We trusted Jesus with every bit of our belief. Even so, some lived, while many died (see 8:49). We know and believe in a resurrection to come (see John 11:23-24), but we are grievously disappointed when restoration does not immediately occur (cf. 8:49). It’s hard to fly away when you are free falling into death’s dark abyss. You may be thinking, “Please, get us out of this downer today.” Well, I cannot, but Jesus will!

Trust Jesus, the author of life, come what may. Most Bible scholars do not believe that Luke was connecting Jairus’ name, which means “God will awaken,” to the ultimate miracle of awakening this child from the dead. We may, however, make the spiritual connection that Jesus was about to open the eyes of those who would believe to see His Divine authority over sickness and the grave (cf. 8:25; “Who then is this?”). Luke wants us to place our full faith in this Savior who sustains us even when circumstances cannot be controlled. Most of us will know this truth, but how do we come to this type of faith? Jesus’ actions at that child’s bedside literally tore open a hole in this temporal sphere and allowed those gathered to see what all eternity knows—that He is not the resuscitator, but the Resurrection! We may die, but we must be raised ultimately from the grave (read and believe, 1 Corinthians 15:53-58)! The scene in that little girl’s room is our promise that we, whose faith is placed in Christ, will indeed “Fly away!”

I was visiting with my 94-year-old mother on one occasion, and the subject of storms came up. She told me of the hurricanes that struck our hometown of Houston when she was a little girl, but there was no advance warning system at that time to help people prepare. I asked her what they did when the cyclones arrived. She said they did the best they could to secure the house and survive the storm. My mother also told me about the Sunday church service where she, a nine-year-old girl, trusted Jesus as her Savior and Lord. I sincerely believe that her total preparation has enabled her to live with joy through all the tempests of life. Whether it is a natural or human calamity, securing our spiritual houses and weathering the storms is made possible by our attachment to Christ. Yes, on some glad morning we will fly away to Jesus, but in the meantime, we cling to Him in the wind and rain of life’s storms.

Here are some reminders about “Who” Jesus is and how we can respond.

First, Jesus shows us that He cares for human lives. Little girls, like grown women, were not considered to be valuable in Jesus’ day. He changed that reality for the better.

Secondly, we are finite, so we will certainly face circumstances beyond our control. Tragedy so often broadsides us, like it did that day in Jairus’ life, at the crossroads of life and death. The lesson to be learned is that we are not invincible. We all need help that enables us to transcend our physical and spiritual frailties. Daily life begs a life-altering decision. Make certain your trust is placed in Christ.

Thirdly, make the right decision. Jairus’ crisis transcended the administration of the synagogue. His daughter was dying and that was the business to which he must attend. Luke shows us that Jairus made a choice that both saw the little girl restored to life and brought eternal life to all who would believe (Luke 8:50). He sought out Jesus, who was able to heal his daughter and who had come into the world to heal sinners and give them everlasting life. Luke wants us to run to the Savior even when hope runs dry, because He is our Help.

1. I know many of you who read this devotional each day. In many cases, I know the deep path of sorrow you must walk. I do not simply pen a devotional for all of you. I pray over you and your families by name to know Christ’s peace.* 

What sorrow(s) do you bear today? Believe me, it/they cannot be too large for the Savior to bear. Throw yourself at His feet this day and pour out your heart to Him. He cares.

2. For Families: As your kids gear up to go back to school, this is a good time for a check up to see about what they are feeling. Are they afraid? Do they worry? Are there other children or situations in their classes about whom or which they are concerned?
 
This is a time to gather the children and hold them close, to pray over them, to encourage them to pour out their concerns to the One who specializes in helping us! This is who God is. Your home can be the safe place for your children, and even their friends, to unload their burdens and share their troubled hearts. You can take their sorrows together to God, and then watch to see how He answers your prayers.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

*The Baptist Center for Global Concerns’ mission statement is to offer Christ’s peace to every human life with whom we come into contact. This devotional ministry is one way that we share the peace. We also have a ministry which we call CenterPrayer. If you have prayer needs, simply send them to us by email (baptistcenter4gc@att.net).

Jesus’ temptation encounter illustrates that it is not a sin to be tempted. Many believers, however, have not considered the benefit of temptation for their growth in Christ-likeness. Benefit? Temptation, indeed, reminds us not to live independently of God. It spurs us to remain attached closely to the Heavenly Father’s will. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil, so there is an important lesson to be learned from this encounter. Let’s learn today how to deal with temptation.

The account will show us that the Savior wins out over temptation and the devil because He was “full of the Spirit.” Jesus has just experienced a “mountain-top” spiritual moment at His baptism, and now He will face a “valley-floor” spiritual event in the wilderness. Both events, His baptism and His wilderness temptation, were the result of “the Spirit’s having come upon him” (NAC; see 3:22). Notice also that God initiates all these events! We must keep in mind today that both the mountains and the valleys are parts of the whole in the Christian life. In fact, as we read through Luke, we will see several more instances where Jesus experienced wonderful ministry victories and encountered temptations as He was fulfilling God’s purpose. So, temptation will be a part of the Christian life. What are we to do with it?

Jesus is worthy of our fullest devotion. Luke qualitatively describes Jesus’ life. He does not write that Jesus was “filled” with the Spirit (temporary), but he pens that Jesus was “full of the Spirit”—as in, the Spirit was not going away. Therefore, theologically, God was moving in fullness through the life of Jesus. Christ Jesus was fully human and fully divine. Bottom line? Jesus is God in flesh, so we may follow Him without hesitancy because we have been given a Divine guide for our earthly pilgrimage (John 1:14). Why? Robert Stein writes, “Jesus’ victory over the devil thus resulted not simply because of his knowledge and use of the Scriptures (as in Matthew) but also because he was ‘full of the Spirit’” (NAC, 149). Too many times, we know the word of God but fail to withstand temptations because we lack the indwelling guidance of the Spirit.

Follow the Spirit’s lead. Luke also states, “Jesus was being led about,” meaning He was guided by the Spirit from here to there in the wilderness. This was something like a cruise ship buffet of temptation—tables of testing piled high and inviting. I’m glad that it was Him and not me, because this encounter with temptation lasted forty days. He was under constant bombardment by the devil throughout this time (“Being tempted”; cf. Hebrews 4:15). The devil tested Him with evil intent in mind. Indeed, the devil’s mantra was “Stop the mission before it ever begins!” Jesus’ praise response, however, was “Wherever He leads I’ll go.” He would not allow the devil to pull Him off the Divine mission-track into a winner-takes-all, wilderness throw-down (cf. Matthew 4:10). Luke has shown us that Jesus is “the Leader” and we may have full confidence in following Him.

The kitchen island in our home stands in the middle of everything that happens in that place. The gas stove top, double ovens, spice cabinet, pantry, refrigerator, and pots, pans, and dishes are all within easy reach. Oh! An abundance of goodies is placed there throughout the holidays. The island is filled with every sort of “temptation by sweetness” that one can imagine. I know this to be true because the annual temptation to overindulge in those treats has often been too much to resist! In fact, it is not too much of an exaggeration to state that I have metaphorically lived and died on that island several times! Truly, that fixture is not going away, nor are all our loving friends who give us treats each Christmas. What did I choose to do?

The phrase, “No man is an island,” led me to choose a healthier approach to the annual temptations presented to me. I added another influence, the voice of a physician, to my decision-making. Overindulgence in certain foods and sweets at my age had begun to adversely impact my health, so I chose to listen to and follow her counsel. Her encouraging guidance helped me to navigate the buffet of food and sweet temptations. 

Here is a spiritual reminder. Life with its temptations is not going away until Jesus returns. We know that just as our Savior was tempted on this island called “earth,” His followers will be tempted too. We may complete the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation,” with “Deliver us from evil,” knowing that we are living in this time when God has not yet finally eradicated evil in this world. He will do so, but not yet. In this in-between time, our path to ultimate victory has been blazed by the Savior. This Christian life is not about a test of the will with the devil, but a release of one’s will to the Heavenly Father each day. Therein is the victory.

1. Pause and write down the significant places in your Christian life where you have failed in temptation encounters. Look again at the way Jesus overcame His temptation experiences. The breakdown will likely be in some reluctance on your part to yield your will to the Heavenly Father. Do so today.

Make your prayer today, “Lord, if it is Your will, then lead me not into temptation; but if evil does come my way, then may Your Spirit deliver me from it.” Pause at the end of the day and journal the ways God answered this prayer.

2. For Families: Mom and Dad, this is a great lesson for our kids, too, isn’t it? As you hone your own temptation-resisting skills by releasing your will to God several times each day, share with your kids how God is helping you to avoid temptations.

Visit with your children at supper. Ask them to go around the table and share what is their greatest temptation. Lying? Stealing candy from the jar? Letting someone else get into trouble when it was not their fault? There could be many temptations your kids face each day. 

Discuss the best ways to respond: knowing temptation is something every Christian battles, watching what Jesus did, and surrendering ourselves to God. Pray together regularly for strength and victory as God grows your family members in this matter of overcoming personal temptation.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

“Surely there can be no greater joy than saving souls,” said Lottie Moon (1840-1912), the missionary to China. Southern Baptists will recognize her name instantly because of the Christmas Offering that bears her name; however, we all too often know nothing about what she said! She firmly believed God said, “Go,” meaning that we should go to the nations. He is not only a saving God, but He sends as well. Let’s explore this characteristic of God in our focal passage today.

Psalm 117 has been classified as the fifth of the Egyptian Hallel psalms (cf. 113-118). It is the shortest psalm, as we may we deduce, since it has only two verses. The theme of the hymn is praise directed to God because of His love for all peoples. The Apostle Paul quotes the psalm in Romans 15:11 as it refers to the Gentiles (cf. also Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8). Our world seems so bitterly divided along political, racial, socioeconomic, and educational lines, but we see in this psalm that we are invited to be counted among God’s own. Ponder this truth for a moment. You are loved!

Turn to the God who loves you (117:1). This song provides us with a bit of a different perspective when it calls for praise. It is, in fact, quite a reach in my mind, because the call to praise is issued to the Gentiles! This summons usually is directed to the covenant community who are to offer their adulation to their covenant God. “Praise the Lord, all nations!” We have been invited inside the circle, and the unifying element is not social equity, but spiritual unity that erupts into praise. We are so often possessed with the notion that people will not come to our churches unless we make them comfortable. The psalmist believes that the invitation to become a part of God’s family will suffice! 

Receive the love He offers to you (117:2a). There is something winsome about the way this God treats His people and this is what the psalmist believes will be the X-factor that captures their interest. God simply loves without fail and there is no end to His love for His family. The psalmist characterizes this love as constant by using the Hebrew word hesed. The word was for generations translated “mercy,” but it has a broader meaning, scholars have discovered (Handbook). The term conveys the idea of loyalty to covenant obligations or “constancy.” In an age where contracts are meaningless and often broken, this devotion signals a reason to remain faithful to God. He stays loyal to His salvation covenant. 

Find comfort in His constancy (117:2b). God is faithful (cf. Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 36:5). The root of this word means “certainty” (cf. Hebrews 11:1). God supports His people, like a father who wraps His strong arms around a helpless child. My family has experienced ups and downs through the years, like so many of you. One of my great comforts has been the abiding presence of God as support in all we have faced. He is like a pillar, literally holding up our lives (cf. 2 Kings 18:16). Such commitment on the part of God glues my being to Him. This idea of support would be a major attraction to me, if I were outside and looking in, as through a window, upon the family of faith.

Place your faith in Him. How may the nations arrive at such confidence in this God who loves? They are called to place their faith in Him. It is through “faith” that assurance bubbles up from within. Trusting God despite one’s circumstances is made possible by the certainty that faith offers. Genuine praise emerges from within the wellspring of faith. The psalmist sets the record straight, even though many who are outside of the Christian faith believe that God wants to punish them. God pursues them to bring them into His family! Praise the Lord!

Isn’t it wonderful that little acts of kindness are what remind us of God’s pursuit of us in love? I recently encountered a man who responded to God’s invitation to turn to Him and follow Him in faith. He shared a testimony of times he had strayed off the path of what is good and right, but he longed to step into God’s house. He had felt God’s invitation to join His forever family. 

Here is the spiritual point. God knocks at world’s door each day. He is pursuing a relationship that will never end. He wants us in His house, and He has plenty of room for more (Psalm 23:6; John 14:1-3). The sheer wonder of a God who pursues the world of humanity should call forth praise from our lips this day.

1. The response of Christians to this passage includes our prayers for the nations to respond to God’s love and our gifts to help people go and tell the nations of this love. 

2. We live in an extraordinary time where the world seems poised to bomb one another into submission—both in word and deed. Many within the body of Christ have become captivated by this worldly spirit. However, the Church’s further moral response should be a readiness to provide blessing. Long for God to conquer the nations with His love.

3. For Families: This is a wonderful season of the year where our children and grandchildren often travel with parents to various holiday locations. For example, take some time at the ski lodge, or airport, or travel-breakfast buffet to people-watch! Ask your children quietly to observe carefully and then remark upon similarities and differences in all the people they see. When they conclude their observations, take time to point out what God sees in each of those people. Make sure to say that He “sees a life that He loves.” Talk about ways your family may show the love of God to the nations.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

“To learn strong faith is to endure great trials,” says George Mueller. The Apostle Peter knew the meaning of such Christian resolve as he wrote a letter to the churches in Asia Minor. He has been called the “Apostle of Hope” because he directs the focus of persecuted believers away from their severe trials toward a promised future deliverance. Peter knew about suffering for Christ. He had endured the type of harassment and suffering these Christians were weathering, so he provides a testimony packed with success (cf. Acts 15:17-42, esp. v. 40; 12:1-19). Let’s find encouragement to walk faithfully in Christ today, with our sights set on our future hope in Him.

It is believed that the missive was penned in the early 60s AD during the Neronian persecution in Rome. Scholars think it had reached the outlying provinces, like Asia Minor. Some passages, such as 1 Peter 2:13-17, may suggest that Christian oppression was not yet so severe that Christians had to choose between obedience to God and obedience to the government. Peter’s main message to the persecuted believers in Asia Minor was to trust the Lord, live in obedience to Him, and fix your hope on God’s ultimate deliverance. These circumstances are somewhat similar in nature to ours today, and they offer familiar ground upon which we can also stand.

Let me put this theme into perspective. These Christ followers were true faith pioneers because they did not have all that we have to support them. There was no Bill of Rights or Constitution to ensure certain freedoms of speech and religion. There were no guaranteed basic human rights to protect one’s person and property. They did not have a denomination, or even a network of churches, to provide social identity and political influence! Let’s seek to make a contemporary application of this theme to our lives today by examining the social and political contexts of the letter.  

Christ is our model of endurance. Peter’s encouragement was to model their lifestyles after a suffering-servant Savior who had died on the cross and was raised from the grave (2:21-25; 3:18). Christ’s sacrificial example was their encouragement. So, rather than flee persecution, they were taught how to endure it patiently with the promise of end-times deliverance. 

We hear frequent outcries of religious persecution from Christians in our American culture. Whether it is in the form of opposition to Christian cake-making or personal Christian conviction regarding marriage licensing, these forms of opposition have some parallels to the types of maltreatment that Peter addresses in his letter. He mentions suffering quite often in five short chapters, and we may draw encouragement from his words (1:6-7; 2:21-25; 3:13-17; 4:12-19; & 5:10; HCBC). 

See the greater purpose in your hardship. We know that suffering is purposeful in Christ (3:14; 4:14). We are encouraged to weather it patiently (2:21; 3:9) and with joy, despite the hardships we face (4:13). Christ provides them with an example of how to overcome suffering and how to behave while experiencing it (2:21-25)! We should also keep in mind that there may be a requirement from God to endure it for reasons we may not know immediately (4:19). So, from what source is our hope derived?

Feed your daily life with Christian hope. We have this hope embedded within our hearts following our “new birth” (i.e. salvation; 1:3). The result is a daily “living hope,” because Jesus has been raised by the Father (Titus 2:13). This is no fleeting hope, however. Peter likens it to an inheritance that can never “perish, spoil, or fade” (1:4). And Peter writes that it is “garrisoned” in heaven. There is no way that anyone evil, or any form of the same, can gain access to the fortress and rip it from the Father’s grasp. That is mighty secure, if you ask me! So, Peter says to us today, as he did to those believers in his day, to stand firmly in this hope. George Mueller also said, “I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.” That is a good testimony to follow!

Harassment from non-Christians followed me throughout my school years. Many of you may well testify to the same in your own personal experience. I learned that clinging to Christ helped me to face the calumny that often was thrown my way. I also recall that some of the very people who had mocked and ostracized me were the ones who later came privately to me to find the source of my resolve and hope (4:4). I was able to share with them the source of my strength and hope in Christ. The words of Tomas Fuller challenge us to see the future hope through the lens of our current troubles. He said: “That which is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.” Find hope in your hardship today.

1. Write down some of the personal experiences you are facing with opposition to your faith in Christ. Ask Christ specifically to mold His example of faith in suffering to your life. 

2. We cannot pray #1 above without knowing that this could mean the heat of opposition will flare up around you (cf. “fiery trial” in 4:12). Should this experience occur, then be prepared to thank God now for His mercies to come and for His ultimate deliverance. Recognize that others will be watching you, so pray now that the witness to your hope in Christ will bring glory to Him.

3. For Families: We have been reading about, and practicing, how to remain steadfast and faithful, even joyful, when suffering or walking through trials. We can explain this to our children, but to really learn this principle, they will need to live and experience God’s presence and help on their own. Just like we have to do quite often.
 
As you share with them these devotionals, let them experiment. Offer to let them taste something that is bitter at the first bite, but becomes sweet as they savor it. The most common example of a candy that is bitter and then sweet is dark chocolate, especially when it is high in cocoa content. The initial taste is often slightly bitter, followed by a wave of sweetness as the sugar in the chocolate melts on the tongue. Licorice candy is another example. 
 
Let your kids sample a bite as they hear about this important truth from Peter’s letter. Sometimes we have hard times, kind of bitter, but when we trust in God and are obedient to Him, we will know the sweetness of His care for us through every step.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock

[Originally published November 26, 2025]

Old Hong Kong has long been an intriguing place. The Kowloon District, a peninsula north of the island, is a site originally built on earlier military fortifications, including a fort in 1810 and a military outpost from the Song dynasty. After the first Opium War with Britain, the Chinese constructed a wall in 1847 around a 6.5 acre plot to create a garrison town and military outpost for the Qing dynasty. Remaining under Chinese control, the settlement housed administrative offices of the district until 1899, when the Chinese troops and officials abandoned the Walled City, as it was called, leaving the area without any governance or police protection. The feared Chinese Triad gangs then moved in, bringing crimes and illegal activities that flourished: illegal construction, opium production and trafficking, prostitution, unlicensed dentistry and medical clinics, and a place to purchase dog meat to sell in the markets.
 
By the century's turn, this lawless enclave had become the most densely populated area on earth, housing close to 40,000 people. The buildings were so close together that little or no sunlight reached the ground floor, leaving a dark, damp maze of narrow paths. Electrical wires hung precariously above walkways and through windows and doorways, and open sewer ran in the gutters. The misery of its inhabitants was overwhelming.

In 1944 Jaqueline Bryony Lucy Pullinger and her twin sister Gillian were was born in Croydon, a large town in South London, into a devout Christian family. From girlhood, she wanted to be a missionary when she grew up. She was musically gifted and, after high school, earned her degree from the Royal College of Music in oboe-performance. She was poised for a career with a professional orchestra. But Jackie kept sensing the tug of God upon her life toward missions. In 1967, she sought advice from a minister in Shoreditch, Pastor Richard Tomson, who prayed with her and suggested she go to Hong Kong. She was twenty-one years old and had $100 in Hong Kong dollars in her hand.

When Jackie stepped off the boat, she knew no one, had no place to live, and no mission agency to support her. But she did have a powerful God who had called her to serve Him. She made her way to the poorest part of Hong Kong, the Walled City of Kowloon, and was appalled at what she found there. As she picked her way among the century-old filthy alleys, the stench of open drains, the sights of drug peddlers, and the sounds of hopelessness broke her heart. The darkness seemed impenetrable. How could one young woman become light among such suffering? Jackie sensed the Lord quieting her heart. She was to touch one person at a time, and to share His love with each one. So she obeyed.

Jackie found a job as a music teacher at a primary school within the Walled City. As she walked to and from work every day, she saw homeless street sleepers, trafficked girls of all ages, drug addicts and dealers, and gangs with their leaders. They were watching her too. She knew God's love was desperately needed, so she started a small youth club. At first, a few men came and the gangs destroyed the club. But some of the men came back. They gave their lives to Jesus and began to share His love with others. Then girls came to find Christ. A Triad gang leader, Ah Ping, was transformed when he trusted Jesus as Savior, and he soon became a leader of the youth group.

Jackie would slip quietly beside those who were sleeping on the streets, or in drugged stupors, or soliciting prostitution, and only whisper a few simple words in Cantonese, ‘Jesus loves you.’ That truth changed lives. So many who lived in the Walled City believed no one cared for them, having been rejected or abandoned by their families. She used to say, “If they could not understand the words about Jesus, then we Christians were to show them what He was like by the way we lived.” And as she spoke of Jesus Christ, brutal gangs were converted, prostitutes retired from their trade, and heroin junkies found new power that freed them from the bondage of drug addiction.

After a number of years, Jackie's positive work inside the Walled City came to the attention of the Hong Kong government which, in grateful response, donated land for her next project. She opened the St. Stephens Society, a ministry that began to operate schools, medical clinics, and two rehabilitation homes; one for men, and the other for women. Each person had a story of redemption and were now leaving the drugs, prostitution, and other illegal activity. More than 200 new believers, once enslaved, were now free in Jesus, lifting their voices with gratitude and power. A church community was born, one that in turn planted other churches in the Philippines and many other countries. These were churches known for reaching people trapped in addiction and crime, and for bringing freedom through the transforming love of Christ.

So many of the residents were aided by Christian businessmen, helping the church provide retraining and employment for those rescued from trafficking. Small manufacturing work came first, piece-rate jobs for the men and women in the houses, helping them take first steps toward stability and dignity. Today, that business employs more than 500 people in Kowloon, Hong Kong; Cebu, Philippines; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Nairobi, Kenya. Its workforce is made up of former victims of trafficking who are now professionally trained video editors serving the real estate media market. What started with small hourly wage jobs has grown into an enterprise that provides dignity, livelihood, and hope for hundreds of families.

Meanwhile, twenty-seven years after Jackie arrived in Hong Kong, the crumbling six-acre slum neared its end. The Walled City was torn down in 1993 and replaced by the sprawling greens of the beautiful Kowloon Walled City Park. Today, in that very space that once was such a wretched squalor of human suffering and captivity, the light of Christ’s love has overwhelmed the darkness and become a place of beauty and freedom and hope. 

And Jackie? Today, she still lives in Hong Kong at 81 years old, continuing her work. In 2007, she chronicled her journey in her book, Chasing the Dragon. This month, we celebrate the redeeming work of God in Christ, and the privilege of joining God in "reconciling the world" to Himself. We stand in honor of grace-bearers, like Jackie Pullinger, who live their gratitude by the words of Matthew 10:39: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

-Karen O'Dell Bullock