06 Feb 2026
We should be relieved to hear that the Lord Himself is able to equip us to live in freedom in Him and to walk daily with Him. It is not an easy thing to do, but we serve a powerful God who is capable of helping us in this task. We may have seen Him doing it for others. Let us have faith that He can do it for us as well. Hebrews 13:20-21.
Chaos and Peace
We can’t forget the one while we experience the other! Chaos and peace. Evil and good. Tragedy and joy. Disaster and success. Despair and hope. Horror and delight. Sorrow and rejoicing. Ugliness and beauty. Suffering and pleasure. Such is life. All at the same time. Life seems to be falling apart! More demands on your time than you can handle, and then even more is demanded. When you think there is nothing else that could possibly go wrong something else goes wrong. Bills are piling up. Tensions are high. At the same time, a phone call calms your spirit. A sermon touches your heart. A chapter in a book or an article seems to have been written with you in mind. The Bible passage you had read hundreds of times, suddenly and even strangely makes good sense. In the midst of chaos, there is peace. Life is going great! The family is healthy. Work is good. Your golf game is better than ever. Your boss complimented you on your work. You child got all A’s. Both cars are running well. Your mail includes a rebate you had forgotten about. At the same time there’s an accident. A phone call in the early morning hours. You are dazed. In the midst of peace, there is chaos. Your ministry is going great! The church is growing. Souls are being saved. Lives are being changed. You know God is doing it and you are delighted to give Him all the glory. You are just enjoying being along for the ride. At the same time, beneath your vision, evil is lurking waiting for the right time to attack. Temptation is stronger than ever and you are feeling weaker than ever. Guilt, fear, negativity, anger, and resentment are eating at you. In the midst of goodness, there is evil. Your ministry is in the pits! Your spiritual life is dry and empty. You are questioning your call. It’s been so long since you felt like you were actually helping anyone that you are now considering leaving your post. You are discouraged and frustrated and tired. At the same time an email arrives thanking you for a kindness you showed someone. A phone call from a friend lifts your spirits. At the end of your class one of your students hangs around to say they are getting a lot out of your class and that they appreciate all the time you spend inpreparation. In the midst of evil, there is goodness. This is life. In the midst of the darkest of hours comes a flickering light to remind you to hang on until morning. In the brightest of days there is a shadow that reminds you to be grateful for the brightness of the day. In the midst of unbearable suffering there is a thought of heaven and a day when all suffering ends. In the midst of indescribable joy there is a song that takes you back to sadder days to remind you that there are those around you in great need. As Jesus prayed in the garden he was battling Satan’s evil temptations at the same time. As He visited the home of a friend who had died, He brought hope of the Resurrection. As He moved among the poor, the oppressed, and the blind, he brought riches, freedom and sight. As He taught his disciples to love, the tempter convinced one to betray him. As He suffered on the cross, He saved us from our sins. As He died, we gained life. We are alive because He died. We have life “to the full” because He became empty. We die to ourselves so that we can live for Him and so that others will follow. This is life. This is the message of the cross. Perhaps one key to life is to accept this reality – to always be aware of it, and not get so caught up in one that we forget the other is present. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. (Philippians 4:12-13) About the author: Tom Norvell is the author of “A Norvell Note” — Thoughts and reflections on God, life, people, and living as a follower of Jesus. He has ministered with followers of Jesus for four decades and loves Jesus, his family, and those seeking Jesus, passionately.
When Your Hero Falls
What do you do when your hero makes a big mistake? He became king at age 16. He ruled for 52 years. And he was a very good king. His name was Uzziah, and we read his story in the Bible, in the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 26. We can read that he was a religious man, trying to do what God wanted. Because of that, God blessed the king with great success, militarily and economically. Everything he did turned out well. Until he got too proud. Then Uzziah decided that his power as king wasn’t great enough, that he wanted the power the priests had as well. When he tried to go against God’s law and make an offering in the temple, God gave Uzziah a terrible disease. The king was immediately removed from public life and died in shame a few years later. Can you imagine how his followers felt the terrible day when someone said, “Did you hear about King Uzziah?” Can you imagine the heartbreak and the disillusionment? Great and powerful King Uzziah was now disgraced and dying King Uzziah. Some of you know the story. You’ve read it in the newspaper: the pastor caught in sexual sin, the church leader found to be embezzling funds, the public figure with a drug problem. Others have lived the story. Someone that you believed in failed in a terrible way. Your role model turned out to have feet of clay. A person you trusted betrayed that trust. What do you do at times like that? What do you do when it’s not a politician, but someone in the church? Do you blame God? Turn your back on religion? Leave the church? We know how one young man reacted back in Uzziah’s day. We read about it in the book of Isaiah, chapter 6: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne” (Isaiah 6:1). I don’t think the timing is coincidental. I think it took Uzziah’s death for Isaiah to really see the Lord, to recognize who the real king was. Who is between you and God? Who are you letting be bigger than God in your life? Who keeps you from really seeing the Lord? When someone fails you, look up. When the church fails you, look up. When Isaiah did, he found a wondrous Lord who would never disappoint. You’ll find the same. If I can help, write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org or join the discussion at www.hopeforlife.org. (Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article. Contact us at info@hopeforlife.org) About the author: Tim Archer is the author of Church Inside Out and leads a seminar by the same name on behalf of Hope For Life, a Herald of Truth ministry.
Breathtaking!
For God so loved us that he came to our world as a child. I slipped into the hospital room quietly. I didn’t want to wake my friend, Tubby, if he was sleeping. He was in the latter stages of cancer. Tubby had lived a rich and full life, living all over the world with his precious wife, Versie. As I entered, he greeted me with a smile. I slipped out of my jacket and into a comfortable chair, then scooted it closer to his bedside. After some small talk, I asked Tubby to tell me about some of the exotic places they had lived. Working for an oil company, they took a lot of the more difficult or distant locations because they never had children. Well, you know, Phil, we’ve lived in a lot of very unique and beautiful places, but after three months of living there, it was simply home. One place we lived in Africa was incredibly beautiful, breathtaking even. The back of our house looked out over the lush jungle with Mount Kilimanjaro rising in the background. But we forgot how beautiful it was until someone would visit and remind us of how breathtaking the world was just outside our back door! Tubby was right, wasn’t he? We grow overly familiar with breathtaking things. Until we reawaken to them through the eyes of someone else, we forget how incredible they are. We can also do this with the story of Jesus. Recently, I began reading through Matthew one chapter at a time. After reading the first two chapters, I felt as if the Holy Spirit thumped me on my noggin to reawaken my heart to the breathtaking reality of God coming to earth in Jesus. Matthew tells us that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the son of David, the son of Abraham, the Son of God, the one who took away the sin of his people, and Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:1, 16-18, 21, 23). Matthew tells us about Jesus’ divine identity as the long-awaited coming of the Jewish Messiah and Savior. We sing songs of praise about Jesus’ greatness. Proper confession of Jesus’ identity is central to the faith necessary for salvation. But does Jesus stir our hearts and take our breath away? While recognizing Jesus’ divine identity is important, the breathtaking reality for me comes in the second chapter of Matthew’s gospel. After Matthew reminds us that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and King of the Jews (Matthew 2:1-4), he drove home the breathtaking reality of Jesus’ vulnerability as Immanuel with one word: “child”! Matthew repeated this simple word for “child” (pais, paidi’on) nine times (Matthew 2:8, 9, 10, 13 [2x], 14, 16, 20 [2x]). The Messiah, the Son of God, Immanuel God incarnate, came to us as a child. Such truth should capture our hearts. The word Matthew chose was a simple word for “child” – not a word of privilege or importance, “just a child.” Of course, there is no such thing as “just a child”! In the eyes of God, who personally created each of us in the womb, we are unique and precious. From conception, God had a plan and purpose for our lives even before our mothers recognized us as a flutter in her womb (Psalm 139:13-16). In Jesus’ day, however, children were not counted among the men at the feeding of the 5,000 or the 4,000 (Matthew 14:21, 15:38). Their testimony and questions were not considered important (Matthew 11:16-17). Jesus rebuked his disciples for forbidding people to bring their children to him to be blessed (Matthew 19:13). In Greek society, a child was not considered a legitimate son or daughter unless they were wanted and named after they were born. Otherwise, they were “exposed” – left to die at the garbage dump or some wild place. The reality of being “just a child” in the ancient world, the world of Jesus, was harsh and fraught with vulnerabilities. Yet God chose to enter our world as such a child! The safety of the Messiah, the Son of God, depended upon a man who adopted Jesus as his son and a handful of stargazers from the East, doing what Israel’s God told them to do. Why? Because Jesus, God with us, came to us as a child in a dangerous world. Breathtaking. For God so loved us that he came into our world as a child. All those titles for Jesus lead us to Immanuel, God with us, the child! For me, there are at least three powerful truths I must carry with me from reawakening to the breathtaking reality that almighty God came to us as a child: Each child is precious because we don’t know God’s plans for him or her (Psalm 139:13-16). No one knew who was in the “baby bump” of Mary except God, and what inkling of the impossible they had in the hearts of Mary and Joseph. We must view each child as a person of value to God. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). Our goal as Jesus’ disciples must not be to be recognized as powerful and important, but to be humble and serve others with our lives as our Lord did: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-4). The Creator of all we know in this vast universe (Colossians 1:15-20), gave up all his status, protection, and power (Philippians
Our Safety Net
Jesus calls us to the future, not to fear. How are you doing on your walk through life? Hopefully you are walking tall and strong! However, if you are like many of us, it’s a daily struggle to keep our eyes focused on the Lord and not on the problems, fears, and struggles that Satan throws at us. A friend, Vicki, wrote these words describing her personal struggle – she compared it to Peter and his attempt to walk on the water to come to Jesus. It made me think of the tightrope I feel myself to be on at the moment. I started out on my middle-age business venture with some trepidation, but lots of hope and faith.Now that I’m 2/3 across the rope, instead of focusing on the platform of safety just ahead of me, all of a sudden, just as Peter did, I see my surroundings. I falter long enough to look down and realize, “I’m 20 feet up in the air with no safety net. The people look like ants. My legs are tired and trembling. My eyes are clouded with tears and sweat. What was I thinking?!”I lost sight of the arms of Jesus waiting for me and the safety net of His love and mercy and grace. James reminded us that we need to admit our dependence on the Lord and his ability to rescue us. James says, “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” (James 4:10 NLT) We have been taught by our culture that we must be self-reliant, tough, able to handle any situation that comes our way, and able to find the power to succeed within ourselves. I do believe that God expects us to plan and to try to do our best, but nowhere in the Scriptures do we find God demanding that we be self-reliant. Just the opposite is true! God wants us and expects us to call upon him! We are to call upon him when we plan. We are to call upon him as we walk down the path of our plan. We are to call upon him with faith so that he can pick us up and guide our feet as we walk our path and as we put our faith in him! He is our safety net, our Savior, and our source of strength. About the author: Russ Lawson is a former missionary to Africa and minister in Ohio. He now works with World Christian Literature Outreach and writes a weekly email devotional, Messages from the Heart. For more information about Russ, click here.
Life Happens!
No one is exempt from life’s challenges. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogantwhen I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(Psalm 73:2-3) Life happens. Really? Life happens? What does that really mean? Life. Happens. Over the years I have witnessed one crisis after another. With crisis comes devastation. Losses of every kind. Brutality. Hatred. Illnesses. Financial turmoil. Marriages that fail. Shootings. Riots. Pain. And, war. Life happens in every nook and cranny of our existence. No one is exempt from life’s challenges. Many ask: Does God care? Is he aware of the horrific happenings in our lives? Does he not hear our cries for help? Will God not provide comfort? Solutions? Help? Grace? We find it tougher to hang on by the second. The strength it takes to grip our rope of hope is beginning to take its toll. The fatigue feels overwhelming. Weariness has set in for the time being. Emptiness has taken its place in the mind. Loneliness is burdensome. Eyes fill with tears. Anger takes the stage. Guilt pulls into the station. Our souls long for calm in our turbulent storms. Conflicts beat their continual rhythm of frustration. Exhaustion sets in as thinking about adversity become increasingly annoying. Is there any hope for the restless mind that’s constantly on a journey of painful memories, sleepless nights, and fear of what will happen next? GRACE, where are you? Please take your place so the soul can rest, memories will not be so daunting, days are not so long, nights can be met with quality sleep, and fears can dissipate into oblivion. Where is that place to rest? When will we be able to catch a breath and catch up with every emotion journeying through our minds? Is there a sanctuary where we can go to be free to express our hurts? Do we have that one friend who will listen – who can be trusted and who is faithful? Asaph was a music director in the big choir of Israel. He was opining over his life (Psalm 73:1-28). He compared the ways of those who lived godlessly with the way he had been living his life. He wondered if he may have lived his life in vain. He said that the wicked are carefree and live a trouble-free life; yet, his life was banged around with trouble and strife. Asaph didn’t stay in his pity party for long. His connection with God helped him grasp the difficulties of life. Asaph’s sanctuary moment with God reminded him that in life, good and bad happens even to the ones who live honorably. He also remembered that while wicked people may possess an abundance of stuff, apparently live carefree lives, and outwardly seem they have it all together, they will face a day of reckoning. God will hold them accountable for living up to his standard. Life really does happen to all of us. It isn’t always good. Bad things happen to people whose lives are honorable in every way. God, however, is always there for us. Jesus promised us that we can come to him anytime we need him and he will provide exactly what we need. Decisions to adjust one’s life based on bad stuff that has happened or is happening can cost one a great deal. The cost may be a job. Marriage. Financial hardship. Friends. And, a plethora of other things. However, when one sets out on a course to change one’s life for the betterment of him/herself, then it is imperative that one is willing to accept the challenges from those who disagree. The key is to allow God to lead and be willing to be patient. Life happens. It isn’t always good. Life happens. It isn’t always bad. Life happens, and it zaps one’s energy. Life happens, and it fills one with joy. Life happens, and it is totally devastating. Life happens and brings unforgettably good experiences. No matter what is happening in life, God is always on the scene. God is always aware. God is always working out the details to get us where we need to be. God is always providing resources. God is always leading us to be renewed, refreshed and revived. Seeing God in the intricacies of life will enable each of us to be better, feel better, and live better. Life happens, but God is always God! My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heartand my portion forever.(Psalm 73:26). About the author: Brian is preaching minister at Central Church in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He is passionate about preaching the grace of God, the Lordship of Jesus and the indwelling Spirit. Most of all, he believes in preaching Jesus and blogging about practical things that will help believers remain under God’s guidance.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 33:4-5
The word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. —Psalm 33:4-5 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God is faithful. We can trust God to keep his promises, and his purposes for us are always for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28-29). How do we know? The sunrise each morning is a reminder that the Father of heaven and earth is at work keeping his universe in working order through Jesus (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). Since it is true in nature, it can be true in the spiritual realm as well. Greet each sunrise as a reminder of God’s faithfulness and that Jesus, who came to earth as Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-18), is holding us, our hopes, our futures, and our world together. My Prayer… O Magnificent and Majestic Creator, I greet today as your gift and a reminder of your faithfulness. Each day the sun rises, I anticipate the day you honor your promise to send your Son back to bring us home to you in the dawning of glory. Please give me a keen sense of your faithful presence today as I await this great day expectantly. I pray this through him, Jesus, the one in whom all your promises find their fulfillment, and every amen is spoken (2 Corinthians 1:20-22). All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Little Things, Big Differences
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, During My ministry on earth, I talked about how important a person’s heart is (Mark 7:1-23 is just one example.). The Jewish religious leaders had made all sorts of rules to be sure the people of God kept themselves ritually clean. Matthew and Mark placed My words about the importance of the heart right before the events you read about today. This sequence can help you see a key point I made with My life. While My earthly ministry was focused primarily on Jews, “the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), I reached out to all kinds of people who were normally considered “unclean” by many of My fellow Jews. Tyre and Sidon were places where old enemies of the Jewish people lived. My very presence there, especially with My ministry to these non-Jews, was very shocking. Then I traveled back to Decapolis or “the area of the Ten Cities,” another largely non-Jewish area on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. I blessed, taught, and healed in this region just as I did in Tyre and Sidon. The focus of My work was once again on people’s hearts. Were they open and receptive? Were they seeking after God? Did they long for grace? My focus was not on race, nationality, or ethnicity. I was willing to help, bless, and be with people many of My fellow Jews considered “unclean”! This background is very important for you to know when you read the following story of the woman from Syrophoenicia. My words are a little distorted by your translations because you can’t hear the subtle nuance of one letter. The little “i” in Greek makes a big difference and turns the word for a dog (kunaron) into the word for a puppy (kunarion) and changes My words from an ugly ethnic slur into an invitation for faith. So often people of different races use slurs to dismiss the value of another person. I used a play on words similar to a racial slur to invite the woman from Syrophoenicia to display both her wit and her faith. She was desperate and wanted help. She came expecting to be called a strange and mangy dog — the way many Jews would have referred to her and she would have referred to them. However, I took the term and softened it to mean puppy or lap dog — something that was often considered a part of the family. She instantly seized on this play on words. Instead of taking offense, she responded showing her heart: “O yes, Jesus, you are right. But in a family, the little puppies eat the crumbs that fall from the table!” She wasn’t just prostrating herself before Me; she came with her heart bowed down to receive My grace and help for her daughter! She got it! I wasn’t pushing her away, but inviting her in close if her faith could see through the fog of racial and cultural separation and suspicion. Thankfully, she did! She displayed incredible faith because she was determined to have My powerful grace change her daughter’s condition. After My resurrection, I sent My disciples to share My message and My grace with every nation of the world and every ethnic group on the planet. But even during My earthly ministry that was primarily for the people of Israel, you can find many non-Jews brought to My table of grace and mercy. All of these people, Jews and non-Jews, had to do something if they were going to follow Me. They had to repent — change their hearts, minds, and behavior about how to live, and believe that I came from the Father to bring them life. So let Me ask you this important question as you read My story today: What would keep you from following Me? A supposed racial slur? A hard command? The challenge to change your cultural views? An unwillingness to leave your racial prejudice behind? As hard as My call to give up yourself and follow Me may seem, realize underneath it lays My great tenderness and love for you. I want you to be like the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman: “whole and healthy”! Verses to Live While each person must surrender his or her heart to Me in faith, I want you to notice two things in the following two events Mark tells in the verses below. First, someone who loves a person in need tries to get that person to Me. Faith becomes the key to unlocking God’s grace in the life of that other person! The woman in this story comes at a great social risk and gets My help for her daughter. In the second event, a group of friends brought a person with deep needs to Me and begged Me to help. Without their urgency and their voice, the man with deep needs would not have had his hurts disclosed and his needs made known. What a wonderful example of a mother with courage and faith! What great friends of determination and faith! Second, notice that the Father’s love, the love that My actions demonstrate, is shared freely with all — man and woman, young and old, Jew and Gentile, regardless of region, culture, or nationality. My love is available for all, but there will be times when you will need to help someone who feels helpless and alone to find her or his way to Me! From there [by the Sea of Galilee] Jesus and His followers traveled to the region of Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast. He hoped to slip unnoticed into a house, but people discovered His presence. Shortly after He arrived, a woman whose daughter was filled with an unclean spirit heard that He was there, so she came directly to Him and prostrated herself at His feet. The woman was not a Jew, but a Syrophoenician (a Greek) by birth. All the same, she came to Jesus and
05 Feb 2026
Walking with God should cause us to live as children of the light which consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. Our lives should please the Lord. Again, the Holy Spirit will help us avoid the fruitless deeds Paul alludes to in verse 11 and 12 of Ephesians 5:8-14 and Galatians 5:19-21. May we reflect godliness and His Spirit minister to us and others around us.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 18:1-2
I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. —Psalm 18:1-2 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We sing it, and we say it in our public prayers: “Father, God, we love you.” But notice the beginning phrase of our verse very carefully. “I love you, O LORD…” Even in public, community worship, we are taught the importance of a personal expression of love to God. When is the last time you told the Creator of the universe, “I love you! I love you, O Lord my strength.” My Prayer… Father in heaven, I love you. I love you because you are more than worthy of my love. I love you because you have first loved me. I love you because you sent your son to be my big brother and friend,* who paid the price for my adoption into your family. I love you because of your faithfulness. I love you because you have permitted me in your grace to love you. In the name of Jesus, my brother and friend, I love you and thank you, and cannot wait to see you face-to-face and tell you, with all of my heart, “I love you!” Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.