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.
Don’t Make Holy Days Harmful!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, Having lived among you, I know the challenges and temptations of human flesh (Hebrews 4:15). Something that troubles Me, however, is how the devil can get good, decent, God-loving people so worked up over religious rules that they actually turn the Father’s gift of rest into an excuse to beat people up with religious traditions. Your desire to honor Us — Father, Son, and Spirit — is praiseworthy. However, if you distort that desire to honor Us so that you can make yourself look more holy, your desire can become despicably hurtful. Too much of My earthly ministry was spent dealing with critics who did not think I honored the Sabbath. They wasted precious time debating Me and trying to trap Me — time that could have been used blessing people whose needs were largely forgotten and neglected by them and their religious leaders. Sadly, this kind of thing is sometimes true in your own day. Please don’t turn holy days and special buildings into an excuse for neglecting people and bringing harm to those I have made in My image. Verses to Live The Father gave you the concept of Sabbath to bless you, to bless those who work for you, to bless those who work with you, and to bless your neighbors. He wanted to bless you with a respite from your normal activities and commitments. He wanted you to be nourished by time with family and friends who share your faith. He wanted this to be a time for you to be restored by sacred grace — for you to have true shalom. To distort this Sabbath principle into a legalistic set of rules that prevent helping your brother and sister in need or that place unreasonable burdens or restrictions on them actually brings harm and does evil. So take warning from the two events from My life in the verses below. Notice especially My questions in bold below. The answer to those questions is obvious from what I did for the man with the deformed hand! One Sabbath Day, some Pharisees confronted Jesus again. This time, they saw the disciples picking some grain as they walked through the fields. The disciples would de-husk the grain by rubbing the kernels in their hands, and then they would eat it raw. Pharisees: Don’t You know the sacred law says You can’t harvest and mill grain on the Sabbath Day — the day on which all work is forbidden? Why do You think You can ignore the sacred law? Jesus: Speaking of the sacred law, haven’t you ever read about the time when David and his companions were hungry? Don’t you remember how he went into the house of God and took the sacred bread of the presence — which, you may recall, only the priests were lawfully permitted to eat? Remember that he not only ate it, but he also gave it to his companions? Likewise, the Son of Man has authority over the Sabbath. On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught there. In the congregation was a man who had a deformed right hand. The religious scholars and Pharisees watched Jesus; they suspected that He might try to perform a healing on that day, which they would use as evidence to convict Him of Sabbath-breaking. Jesus knew about their plan, and He told the man with the deformed hand to come and stand in front of everyone. The man did so. Then Jesus spoke directly to the religious scholars and Pharisees. Jesus: Here’s a question for you: On the Sabbath Day, is it lawful to do good or to do harm? Is it lawful to save life or to destroy it? He turned His gaze to each of them, one at a time. Then He spoke to the man. Jesus: Stretch your hand out. As the man did, his deformed hand was made normal again. This made the Pharisees and religious scholars furious. They began discussing together what they would do to Jesus. (Luke 6:1-11) Response in Prayer O Father, help me honor You and the gift of sabbath rest that You have given to me. Help me to do good, not harm, on all days — especially on days that I set aside as holy days given especially to family, faith, and fellowship with those who love You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
04 Feb 2026
Walking with the Holy Spirit entails daily surrender. Constantly depending on Him for help and direction. He determines the standards by which we live and empowers us. The desire to live for God continuously will put the desire to sin in check. The Holy Spirit also ministers to us and communicates what God is saying. Galatians 5:24-26.
Whom Shall I Fear?
What are you so worried about? David begins Psalm 27 with these words: “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Those words are worth repeating: “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” Maybe we should read them again, this time out loud! “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” David had his enemies. He had his foes. He had those who would betray and forsake him. He had those who wanted to do him harm. Yet he could say, “Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?” We have our enemies. We have our foes. We have those who have betrayed us, forsaken us, or who are about to. We have those who would do us harm. So we ask, “Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?” David’s response would be, “No one! If the Lord is your light and your salvation and the Lord is the stronghold of your life, then you have nothing to fear. No matter whom the enemy is, no matter what foe you come against, you have no reason to be afraid.” So, why do I fear? Why do I allow myself to get worked-up and whacked-out and worn-down? If “the Lord is my light and my salvation” and if “the Lord is the stronghold of my life,” then what is keeping me from living courageously and confidently and fearlessly? I forget. I forget the promise! “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” I forget that no foe has a chance against my Lord. I forget that there is no enemy who can come close to overcoming the stronghold of the Lord. I forget that God is strong enough, powerful enough, wise enough, loving enough, resourceful enough, and is determined to protect me from anything or anyone that may try to harm me. When life gets dark, I forget that He is my light. When I am in the midst of battle, I forget that He is my salvation. When I feel weak and weary and worn-down, I forget that He is my stronghold. I forget, so I must learn to remind myself that “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” When others are afraid, or discouraged, or weary, or near defeat, I must remember to remind them, “The Lord is your light and your salvation – whom shall you fear? The Lord is the stronghold of your life – of whom shall you be afraid?” So, just in case that description fits you, I remind you, “The Lord is your light and your salvation – whom shall you fear? The Lord is the stronghold of your life – of whom shall you be afraid?” Through His servant, David, God is speaking to us. “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” If I try not to forget that this week, and if I try to remind others this week, and if you will do the same, by the end of the week, maybe we will be able to say what David said at the end of the Psalm, “I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” We have our message. Now, let’s live it. For a powerful promise of God related to this theme and displayed graphically, check out the following Heartlight Scripture graphic:http://www.heartlight.org/powerpoint/2205.html 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.
The ARC of Grace
What does grace really look like in real life? Isolated. Alone. Forbidden. Labeled. Diseased. Terminal. Forsaken. Forgotten. Desperate. For a variety of skin conditions thought to possibly be leprosy, the Torah had clear instructions. These instructions were for the safety of the many – especially the community and the family. For the one with this disease, life was nearly unbearable if a cure wasn’t quickly found and restoration to normal life wasn’t quickly accomplished. Living outside the city gates, wearing clothing (rags of desperation) showing they were diseased and outcast, crying out their warning to others who came nearby, life was barely human (Leviticus 13:1-46). This, then, is the background of our story told by Mark: Jesus: It’s time we went somewhere else – the next village, maybe – so I can tell more people the good news about the kingdom of God. After all, that’s the reason I’m here. So He traveled to the next village and the one after that, throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and casting out unclean spirits. A leper walked right up to Jesus, dropped to his knees, and begged Him for help. Leper: If You want to, You can make me clean. Jesus was powerfully moved. He reached out and actually touched the leper. Jesus: I do want to. Be clean. And at that very moment, the disease left him; the leper was cleansed and made whole once again. Jesus sent him away, but first He warned him strongly. Jesus: Don’t tell anybody how this happened. Just go and show yourself to the priest so that he can certify you’re clean. Perform the ceremony prescribed by Moses as proof of your cleansing, and then you may return home. (Mark 1:37-44 The Voice) Grace is what happens in this story. Grace is what Jesus gives this man. Grace! We talk about it freely. We depend upon it completely. We love to believe we’ve received it. And, I fear much like Jesus’ brother Jude warned (Jude 1:4), we have abused and distorted it frequently. So I wonder, have we taught much about how Jesus shared grace frequently and calls on us to do the same? Over the last few years as I have immersed myself in the story of Jesus in the gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – I’ve noticed a pattern repeating itself in the interactions of Jesus with people he helps. I like to call this the ARC of grace: Acceptance Relationship Community Jesus has a mission to accomplish and he has set out on this mission (Mark 1:35-39). Yet this man with leprosy approaches Jesus as he walks along the road – something the man is forbidden by the Torah to do. What does Jesus do? What does grace look like in this situation? The ARC of grace begins with acceptance. Jesus sees the man, hears his cry, knows from his garments what his desperate condition is and Jesus accepts the man right where he is and as he is. Jesus had every right – maybe even a social obligation – to keep on moving past the man and stick with his mission agenda. Yet the Lord paused and fully accepted the man into his presence and heard his request. Notice that Jesus directly responds to the man’s request: “If you want to, you can make me clean.” “I do want to…” (Mark 1:40-41). Jesus didn’t give the man platitudes. The Lord didn’t avoid the conversation. The Teacher didn’t give him a lesson on the requirements of the Torah. The Son of Man didn’t throw him some money and keep moving on his way, keeping a safe distance. Jesus listened to the man’s request and validated that request with the words and actions of his response. Jesus gave this man afflicted with leprosy grace – the grace of acceptance. Yet the ARC of grace doesn’t end with verbal, social, and physical acceptance. Gracious acceptance leads to relationship – personal relationship. Before Jesus heals the man with his verbal command, Jesus does the most humanizing thing possible in this moment. “Jesus was powerfully moved. He reached out and actually touched the leper” (Mark 1:41). Jesus shares this man’s uncleanness and enters into a deep, personal, relationship of grace. While it is hard for us to imagine the depth of this move from Jesus, I have seen it demonstrated. More than twenty years ago, when AIDS was deeply feared, drugs were just being tried to combat HIV, and the few hospitals that really treated AIDS patients kept them in dedicated wards for AIDS patients. Visitors were few and fear was high. There was a young man in his twenties in the last stages of the disease. The young man had long before expressed deep regret for his IV drug use that led to his infection and turned his life around. He had been reading the Bible again and taking communion each week with one of the men at church who had said this young man desperately needed a visit from church leaders. This young man had lesions all over his frail stick of a body. His breathing, even in the oxygen tent, was heavily labored. Human touch was forbidden. I went there with an elder in my church who was immunosuppressed and should have been the last person to do what he did. Yet as we offered this young man communion and prayer, this elder unzipped the tent, gave this young man the Body and Blood of Jesus, called him brother, placed his hands on this young man’s chest and prayed over him to know that his church family and his Father in heaven loved him. Tears flowed. Grace made sure relationship was experienced. The words of the prayer were powerful, but the young man said that what meant most was that this was the first skin to skin contact he had received from anyone but a nurse in months. This young man lived less than two more
Facing Evaluations
How can I survive this with my fear of layoffs? It takes a lot of courage, to put things in God’s hands,To give ourselves completely, our lives, our hopes, our plans.To follow where God leads us and make His will our own.But all it takes is foolishness, to go the way alone! (Betsey Kline, “Trusting God”) Many of you have been or will be evaluated by someone. You feel anxious. You work to prepare a report that accurately reflects what you do. On the day of the meeting you pay more attention to the way you dress in order to look professional. You may even practice saying several of your statements out loud. For most, your fears were greatly exaggerated. The evaluation went well. For a few, your fears were accurate and there are disappointments to be faced and dealt with. Being evaluated can be a genuinely frightening experience. I know because I am evaluated regularly. My supervisor is kind and gracious but she has high expectations for me and the churches I serve. But truthfully, the real evaluation doesn’t come at work. The real evaluation comes within our relationship and our service to God. All of us answer to God. How are we doing? Paul wrote a letter to a young minister named Timothy and in the midst of the letter provided evaluation standards to be measured by: If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them (1 Timothy 4:6-13 nlt). Paul gives Timothy nine standards worthy of evaluation: Explain these things to the brothers and sisters. Be a worthy servant of Christ who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas. Train yourself to be godly. Work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God. Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. I don’t know about you but measured by those standards, I definitely come up short. Here is the lesson though. Paul did not write to point out our shortcomings. Paul illustrated the standards we are to strive for and to point out, we are not alone in our journey. God is with us in the midst successes, failures, good evaluations and not so good evaluations. A few years ago, I copied the following poem: It takes a lot of courage, to put things in God’s hands,To give ourselves completely, our lives, our hopes, our plans.To follow where God leads us and make His will our own.But all it takes is foolishness, to go the way alone! You already demonstrate great courage by putting your life in God’s hands. In so many ways, you give yourself completely: your life, your hopes, your plans. Good evaluation or bad, you are called to follow where God leads and make His will your own. Finally … You are not foolish because you are never, ever alone. There are many who love you, pray for you and support you. There are others who are greatly impacted by your life and ministry. There are more in the future who will be impacted by you. Finally, God called you, continues to strengthen and encourage you, and always walks with you. To give ourselves completely, our lives, our hopes, our plans. To follow where God leads us and make His will our own. But all it takes is foolishness, to go the way alone! After writing this, I confess to still feeling anxious about evaluations. After knowing God’s standards, feeling God’s grace and receiving God’s promise to always be walking beside me, I am no longer afraid. About the author: Larry Davies is a used-car salesman turned preacher. He serves at Timberlake UMC, and is the author of several books and the online devotional site Sowing Seeds of Faith.
Live Simply
How simply can you live? Thanks to Elaine St. James for writing this: “Living fully doesn’t mean having it all and going everywhere and doing everything and being all things to all people. Many of us are beginning to see that too much is too much; it gets in the way of being able to enjoy the things we do want in our lives and to simply be who we are.” Achieving a level of inner simplicity makes it possible to choose intelligently the things that are meaningful in our lives. And they contribute to our peace of mind if they ultimately mean that we do fewer things and have less stuff. But that decision will not come so much from self-denial, but from wisdom that comes from taking the time to figure out what is important to us, and letting all the rest go. The message today: learn to live simply with peace. Yet true religion with contentment is great wealth. After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NLT) About the author: Dr. Faulkner was the very first person of note and influence who shared his content with us at HEARTLIGHT.org beginning in 1996. Paul Faulkner taught on the Abilene Christian University campus full-time for 35 years. He was honored in 1982 as the university’s Teacher of the Year. He has written several books and was a much sought-after speaker and seminar leader along with his Marriage Enrichment partner, Dr. Carl Brecheen. Dr. Faulkner mentored many ministers and church leaders, shared his loving homespun humor and wisdom through many channels, and endeared himself to thousands. Our dear friend and mentor went to be with the Lord in 2022, but his legacy lives on in the lives of those he touched and made better.
Today’s Verse – Psalm 59:16
I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. —Psalm 59:16 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… So many things in our lives can be stolen away by natural disasters, aging, greedy people, addictive appetites, our own laziness, many distractions, and untimely death. These subtle temptations lead me to believe the evil one could be appropriately called “The Thief of Always.”* God, however, is immovable, and what he offers us is unstealable! We can invest ourselves in him and know our futures are secure in his care. God is our fortress and our refuge. We can run to our Father in heaven, find his grace and protection from the evil one, and build our lives on his solid promises and find that our future is secure with Jesus (Colossians 3:1-4). * This name is borrowed from Clive Barker’s dark fantasy tale of that same title, a classic tale of temptation, consequences, and the battle for one’s soul. My Prayer… O Great Rock of my salvation, thank you for being unchangeable and faithful. Thank you for being the source of my security, the assurance of a future in days of chaos and change. Thank you for being God. You are my God, and in you I place my life, my hopes, my dreams, my value, and my future. So, dear Father, I conclude with the prayer of your servant David as my heart’s desire: May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). In the name of Jesus. 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.
Let Me Decide!
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Disciple, Satan uses a very effective form of temptation on many of you who are My followers. He gets you to avoid looking at your own personal weaknesses and tempts you to focus on other people’s faults. Before long, you find others you don’t think measure up and aren’t as fruitful as you think they should be. You can grow angry because you are discouraged by those who claim to follow Me and yet live showing no loyalty to Me at all in their lifestyles. You are frustrated because unbelievers point to the hypocrites in My churches and use them to bolster their claim that Christianity doesn’t really matter. There can be times when you wish someone would just run out all the “fake followers” so there wouldn’t be so much spiritual drag on your worship, mission, and influence. Please remember that I warned you in several of My parables that many would claim to be My followers while their lives revealed something very different. Some among you are new disciples and don’t fully know My way and need time to mature. Others are weak and succumb to temptation easily, but they truly love Me and need help to grow stronger and have someone walk alongside them. Even some hypocrites have good hearts; they just haven’t surrendered all of that heart to My lordship and need to be challenged to love Me with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Please hear the two-part warning in the parable below. First, My church, My people, My spiritual family on earth does not exist in a vacuum. Satan and his demonic forces wage war against Me, My people, and My church. My enemy plants fake believers in the middle of true believers. He does so to drag you down and discourage you so that he can diminish your spiritual passion. The evil one longs to give ammunition to your critics and discourage those trying to decide whether or not to follow Me. Don’t let this situation discourage you. Instead, use this knowledge to help those who are not faithfully following Me to come to full faith in Me and to follow Me as their Lord and Savior. Second, you should not try to decide who is a true disciple and who is a fake disciple. It’s My job to expose what is false and what is genuine. Please don’t destroy My church by ripping up someone who is precious to Me. Let Me handle discerning between good fruit and bad fruit. Most of this I will do at the end of time. I will do this with My angels — the heavenly messengers. In the meantime, let’s work together on you. Let’s be honest about where you are in your spiritual journey. Are you fully following Me? Do you struggle being a new disciple? Do you have periods when you are weak? Do you catch yourself being hypocritical in what you say you believe and what you actually live? Do you find yourself being cynical about the faithfulness of other believers? Whatever is holding you back, please, let’s work on it together as we journey through the New Testament this year! Remember, I long to help you “shine like the sun in the Father’s Kingdom”! Verses to Live In this parable, faithful disciples are described as “good seeds,” and the unfaithful are “weeds.” You — and everyone else — get to decide what you will be — weeds or seeds. As you undoubtedly know, the initial decision to be faithful frequently is not enough. Most people need frequent recommitment and the help and encouragement of others. Don’t automatically categorize others who are not completely faithful to Me as being among the “weeds.” Rather, you may be able to provide just the help and encouragement that they need, while at the same time being careful not to become one of the weeds yourself. Jesus told them another parable. Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like this: Once there was a farmer who sowed good seeds in his field. While the farmer’s workers were sleeping, his enemy crept into the field and sowed weeds among all the wheat seeds. Then he snuck away again. Eventually the crops grew — wheat, but also weeds. So the farmer’s workers said to him, “Sir, why didn’t you sow good seeds in your field? Where did these weeds come from?” “My enemy must have done this,” replied the farmer. “Should we go pull up all the weeds?” asked his workers. “No,” said the farmer. “It’s too risky. As you pull up the weeds, you would probably pull up some wheat as well. We’ll let them both grow until harvest time. I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and only then to harvest the wheat and bring it to my barn. … Then Jesus left the crowds and returned to … [the] house. His disciples followed Him. Disciples: Explain to us the story You told about the weeds. Jesus: The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds— who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned — well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. And the righteous will