Faith and… a Tree

Posted on March 14, 2026 by Don Merritt
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Many have said that the simple things in life are the best.  Simple things don’t cost much, usually aren’t flashy and are seldom mentioned in the newspapers…  Things like devotion to duty, love of family, faith in God and serving others are the kinds of things that make life worth living…

Our Lord taught us that to love Him is to obey His commands (John 14:23) and at first glance this might seem difficult.  The truth is that it isn’t very difficult at all; it only requires simple and uncomplicated faith.  If we have simple faith in believing His teachings, then obeying Him is an easy burden to bear.

Faith is not complicated, it has no ulterior motive, and it isn’t self-promoting; it just boils down to a loving response to His loving act of saving us from death.  Simple faith is uncomplicated because we are relieved of the need to find a way to work it to our advantage or to use it to put others down; instead, simple faith lifts everyone up.

Simple faith is like a tree that grows in the wild.  It doesn’t try to impress anybody; it doesn’t worry about the latest fashions or how to climb over other people on its way up the corporate ladder.  All the tree does is live, grow and do what God intended for it.

Come to think of it, we can learn quite a bit from a tree!

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Parable of the Dishonest Manager

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 16:1-18

Jesus continues with the parables, this time the Parable of the Dishonest Manager. A rich guy received accusations that his asset manager was wasting (or dispersing) his assets. He calls the manager in and tells him he is fired and asks for an explanation. The man, realizing he was losing his job, came up with a plan; he would call in his master’s debtors and discount their balances for immediate payment. This would be good for the master because he would have those accounts paid up immediately. It would be good for the debtors because they would pay a discounted rate and have the debt off their backs, and it would be good for the manager because he will have made new friends, and he is about to be looking for a new job.

I’ve heard preachers call this “dishonest” dealing on the manager’s part, but I must disagree; it is a common business practice that turns bad debt into a win-win. What good is a note receivable to a business person if it isn’t collectable? We have come to call such uncollectables “toxic debt” in recent years, because it’s a loss that looks like a gain. What the manager did was to turn the “bad paper” into the equivalent of cash for the master for the benefit of all concerned, and I have often wondered if he had done so sooner if he might have kept his job. You should note that the master commended him for this… but he was still fired. Might he have been given another chance had he done this sooner?

Wait! Hold on! He needed the Master’s approval to discount those notes, so while that may have been a shrewd business move, he did it behind the master’s back.

Yep, that is a big deal.

Of course, none of this is really the point Jesus was making; He was talking about our hearts to people who were lovers of money.

In 16:8 ff. Jesus is actually saying that the manager’s move was a good one, but for all the wrong reasons. We should use worldly assets shrewdly for the kingdom, money and possessions to make friends so that we might share the light of Christ with them, as opposed to keeping all for ourselves.

You see, it’s a matter of the heart. God has entrusted us with certain things in this life. We are to handle these things for God’s benefit, rather than for our own, yet if we cannot be trusted to this, what will God think of us after all, He is the “master” in this parable.

The Pharisees sneered at this. Jesus pointed out that they might fool most people, but they can never fool God who sees all, including the condition of the heart. He continues in the next few verses with a warning: They will not be able to force their way into the Kingdom by manipulation of the law and indirectly at least, He comes to another area in which the condition of the heart is exposed: Divorce. The system of that day had so manipulated the law concerning divorce that great injustice was being done to many people.

To put it another way, the Pharisees and teachers of the law had enabled wealthy men to abuse their wives and to get away with it by dedicating their assts to the Temple. In an extreme case, a wealthy older man could divorce his wife of many years, get a younger model and dedicate his fortune to the Temple, making everything all neat and proper, and leave both women destitute upon his death, to the profit of the religious establishment.

Ah yes, that was the corruption He was talking about, and there’s another parable right after this one…

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Parental Tranquility

Posted on March 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

To have a fool for a child brings grief;
    there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

The wicked accept bribes in secret
    to pervert the course of justice.

A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

A foolish son brings grief to his father
    and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

Proverbs 17:21-25

These verses can be understood in context by noting the similarity of vv. 21 and 25. Because of this textual feature, we can understand vv. 22-24 as referring to the relationship of parents and children, especially parent pf disappointing children. Perhaps the idea here is that children who are on the edge might find the inspiration they need to come back into line and follow the wisdom of their parents.

V. 21: The behavior of one’s children can greatly affect his own future happiness or sorrow (v. 25; Prov. 1O:l; 19:13). Think of the sorrow that Cain brought to Adam and Eve by killing Abel, that Absalom brought to his father David.

V. 22: Those who have cheerful hearts and bright outlooks upon life have a physical blessing of health that others do not know. On the other hand, nothing has such a direct tendency to ruin health and waste out life as grief, anxiety, fretfulness, bad tempers. (See also: Prov. 12:25; 15:13,15)

V. 23: If it is a wicked man that accepts a bribe to pervert justice, then it must also be wicked to offer such a bribe.

V. 24: The contrast between the fool and the one with understanding in this verse is that the fool’s eyes are a long way off, but the wise man sees wisdom right where he is. The fool misses the opportunities at hand and is always supposing that somewhere else, something else, is really better. As he gazes far off looking for the elusive better opportunity, the wise man snaps up the one right under the fool’s nose.

V. 25: V. 21 spoke of the sorrow that ti fool brings to his father. This verse speaks of the grief and bitterness he brings to both his parents. It is a tragedy when a son brings “grief” instead of joy to his father, and when he brings “bitterness” instead of satisfaction to his mother. But children must be reared and trained, not merely begotten and born. Similar passages: Prov. 1O:l; 15:20; 19:13.

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The Keys to Tranquility

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
    when they are not able to understand it?

A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
    and puts up security for a neighbor.

Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
    whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
    one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

Proverbs 17:16-20

Most people would like to live a tranquil existence, even carefree if possible. Solomon has given us five verses here in chapter 17, which present some keys to finding tranquility. Looking at the first one, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if we desire a tranquil life, we probably shouldn’t hang around with fools; especially fools with money− they will bring nothing but trouble.

In the next verse, good friends and family make the best companions. Verse 18 gives us insight into what is and is not smart in business matters. Next, we see the connection between quarrelling and sin, and advertising our wealth, in this case, by building a “high gate”. If you need a gate, there is really no point in building a target. Finally, in verse 20 we see the result of allowing ourselves to be corrupted by the world around us. I think it’s fair to say that this usually happens slowly, bit by bit, until we lose track of how far we have strayed from right and wrong. A corrupted heart ruins our good judgment and dirties our mouths and things start to go wrong.

More importantly, corruption pulls us away from God, and that never brings about a good result.

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Parable of the Prodigal Son

Posted on March 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 15:11-32

Jesus tells a third parable to the Pharisees and teachers of the law; this one is so familiar to us that I need not recount the details. Of course, we know that the younger son who had taken his inheritance early went out and squandered it on wild living. He ended up broke and in very bad circumstances, and then having come to his senses, had gone home to beg his father for a job as a servant, believing that he was no longer fit to be called a son. His father rejoiced upon seeing him and threw a great party to celebrate his return, causing his older brother to harbor serious resentment; their father explained:

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (15:31-32)

Such is God’s attitude when a sinner repents, as we all know.  Now, picture in your mind the vilest, the most unattractive, the least deserving kind of person you can imagine; yes, the one you would least want to be seen with− that is the person we are talking about here.

When that person repents, God is in the mood to throw a party!

With this in mind, why do we not always share His enthusiasm?

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Photo of the Week: March 11, 2026

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Don Merritt
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The Parable of the Lost Coin

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 15:8-10

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This short parable is part of Jesus disputing with the Pharisee and teachers of the Law over His willingness to sit down and eat with tax collectors and sinners…

Jesus quickly moved on to the next parable, this time of a woman who loses one of her ten coins. She drops everything and searches the house until she finds it, and then tells her friends of her joy at having it back. Once again, He tells them that that it is just like this kind of joy in heaven when a sinner repents, for just as that coin was of great importance to the woman, it is that important to the angels of heaven. I would imagine that the Pharisees and teachers of the law might identify with this one, being rather well-to-do; imagine searching the house for ten percent of your net worth that has gone missing!

If this would get their attention, it just might serve as a revelation to them about the value that God places on each person, even those who are “tax collectors and sinners”. As we know, this term describes people the Pharisees didn’t much care for. Yet it was more visceral than just not caring for or enjoying their company for the Pharisees wouldn’t even want to be seen with such people because they were considered so ultra-nasty socially.

Oh yes, such people were so ultra-nasty that you would be damaged even being seen around them.

But God loves them anyway and does not want even one to perish.

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Disruptions of Tranquility

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Don Merritt

Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
    the messenger of death will be sent against them.

Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
    than a fool bent on folly.

Evil will never leave the house
    of one who pays back evil for good.

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
    so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
    the Lord detests them both.

Proverbs 17:11-15

11 The “rebellion” here under consideration was anarchy against the existing government. With the monarchical form of government of those days, this was common and accounted for many assassinations. When any such rebellion was detected, the rebellion was immediately put down (“a messenger of death shall be sent against him”).

12 The fierceness of a bear who has lost her young (“whelps”) is also referred to in I1 Sam. 17:8 and Hos. 13:8. One who is unfortunate enough to come along to become involved in some fool’s folly may suffer all the way from embarrassment to being murdered.

13 It is contrary to nature (an extreme wrong) to reward evil for good. It is bad enough not to receive thanks from those helped, but it is even worse for the blessed to repay evil to the giver of good. When this occurs, the promise is that “evil” will abide upon such a one and his house. Instances of repaying good with evil: I Sam. 25:21; Psa. 109:4,5; Jer. 18:20.

14 AS soon as the smallest breach is made in the dike or dam, the water begins to press from all parts towards the breach; the resistance becomes too great to be successfully opposed, so the dikes and all are speedily swept away. Such is the beginning of contentions, quarrels, lawsuits, etc.

15 In God’s books the wicked are to be condemned and the righteous commended (Matt. 25:34-36; 41-43 and many, many others). In addition, Prov. 17:26 has this to say: If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right. Cf. EX 23:7; Prov. 24:24; IS 5:20.

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The Barren Fig Tree

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Don Merritt

The scene hasn’t changed from that of Chapter 12; the disciples are still there, and so is the crowd, when someone brings news of a massacre of Galileans in Jerusalem. This is the only historical account of this particular massacre, although Josephus the historian records others of a similar nature at the hands of Pilate. Jesus uses this news to further illustrate the point He has been trying to make to the crowd…

Those unfortunates who were killed by the Romans recently were not guiltier than anyone else although they had obviously come to Pilate’s attention for some reason. Nor were the unfortunate victims of the disaster that had taken place when the tower of Siloam had collapsed killing some eighteen bystanders; they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It sounds as though Jesus was having difficulty finding His well known compassion, doesn’t it?

Yet, as I said just above, He was trying to teach the people; He explains with a parable…

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (13:6-9)

Remember now the last passage, 12:54-59: The people need to understand that time is running out for them to repent, just as time is running out for that fig tree. Everything has been given to that tree; it should be producing fruit; what is its problem? Patience has already been given, along with the blessing of its provision by its owner. Yes, time is running out for that tree.

Just as time was running out for the Jews to repent and follow Jesus… Isn’t it interesting that the owner had been waiting on that tree for three years already?

Three years. When Jesus uttered these words, His ministry had been going for three years.

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The Pursuit of Tranquility

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Don Merritt

Chapter 17 has a theme which is that there is an ambiguity to human actions; we seek one thing and often get another instead. With that in mind, the first 10 verses show an ambiguity in our pursuit of tranquility.

Right off, we this in action in the first three verses:

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
    than a house full of feasting, with strife.

A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
    but the Lord tests the heart.

The idea of having only a dry crust to eat is intended to illustrate poverty. Yet in this case, poverty is coupled with peace and contrasted with wealth and problems. We all know that problems afflict people of all economic circumstances, but wealthy people, in addition to having the same basic dangers and the poor, have levels of trouble far and above those of the poor. Wealth does not bring happiness or peace.

In verse 2. We have a prudent servant, who has no expectations in life beyond a paycheck on Friday, to put this into modern terms. The servant has the boss’ disgraceful son under control, something the boss couldn’t do, and as a result may well find himself in the boss’ will, so grateful is that boss. In fact, this was the custom back in Solomon’s time.

In verse 3, there is a metaphor in play. The crucible and the furnace are tools used to refine silver and gold ore into their pure states, burning off all impurities. The human heart is purified in that way; God does the testing.

As you continue reading the remaining verses (17:4-10) you can easily see this ambiguity continuing to play out, and as you consider the verses, it isn’t difficult to see how all of this plays out in modern life, where a person intends one thing, and ends up with another in life.

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