Joy and Peace

Posted on May 17, 2026 by Don Merritt

In the last few months, I’ve received way too many notifications relating to illnesses, despair and death.  Friends, relatives, associates…

We all have streaks like this when you really pause and think about mortality and suffering, right?

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4

To be “clothed with our heavenly dwelling” is an interesting way to put it, but the meaning is clear enough; to receive the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises is the idea Paul is trying to get across to us.

We look forward to the day when we are in God’s presence and see Him face-to-face, when suffering and death are over with, and to be in the place where joy never ends.  In the meantime, we look forward to that day and take what life brings as those who have a great hope, and the assurance that our hope will not be a vain one, for we know that our God is faithful in all things and keeps His promises.

Because of this assurance, we can press on without fear, without despair, filled with joy and peace.  And since I just said that I think I should add, filled with thanksgiving too.

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One of Those Days

Posted on May 16, 2026 by Don Merritt

Have you ever had a day like this poor brother?  I know I have!

In his case, he wandered too close to a group of playing children and got knocked over, losing his head…  Oh yes, there are days like that!

Think about the picture… our brother who is having a bad day (really bad in fact) is giving us a clue as to how to cope; do you see it?

His gaze is upward, to things that are above!

And notice this: He really does look pretty calm, doesn’t he?  He’s had his worst day in a long time, he’s been knocked down by all that is swirling around him in this life, and yet he is calmly looking heavenward…

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

I wonder what would happen if we lifted our eyes to the things that above before the crisis hit!

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Tough Love

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Don Merritt

Saying 25

If you falter in a time of trouble,
    how small is your strength!
Rescue those being led away to death;
    hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
    Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Proverbs 24:10-12

This is a tough saying to be sure. It is a sort of call to boldness consisting of 3 admonitions. The first of these, in v. 10 is a call to encouragement. When the student of wisdom perceives that a neighbor is faltering in a time of trouble or trial, even just a bit, he should speak up and encourage that neighbor to hang on, to stand tall in the face of trouble, lest God should not stand up for him.

After the warning of v. 10, we come to the second admonition in v. 11: Here, the student of wisdom is admonished to boldly intervene in a situation where his neighbor is in mortal danger, to either intervene physically or by other means, to rescue the threatened neighbor. It would appear that this admonition applies to situations in which a life is at stake.

Verse 12 contains an explanation for us to consider: What would we say to He who “weighs hearts” if we failed to act to rescue our doomed neighbor? Will a small little lie get us out of trouble? If we decide not to notice the situation, would that mean we really didn’t know?

Not a chance.

If we decided that we were too weak to effectuate rescue, might we have called for help? I think we get the point here, and that we can probably all think of one or more famous examples of this situation playing out in history.

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Peaceful Waters

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Don Merritt
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I was walking through the woods once and I came upon this scene…  The woods were cool and fresh in the stillness of the early morning light and I came upon this little stream suddenly.  The babble of the water could be heard along with the singing of the birds and the crickets; I had to stop…

I wondered as I took in the sights and seemed like the Garden of Eden was like this back at the dawn of time.

A person could say that this was the kind of environment that we were intended to inhabit, surrounded by God’s creation in peace and wonder… only perhaps without the gnats! In scenes such as this, God seems nearer somehow, and yet He is always near at hand.  Maybe this apparent nearness is caused by the lack of distractions, I don’t know, maybe it’s just my imagination.

We can be near to God whether we are in the city or the country, whether there is quiet or noise, whether we are relaxed or stressed; it’s a matter of understanding and desire to pull close to Him.  Yet, there are certain situations that are almost automatic…

Wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, why not move near to Him today and give Him thanks and praise for the amazing things He is doing in your life?  Surely your day will be enriched by it.

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Those Who Plot Evil

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Don Merritt

Saying 24

Whoever plots evil
    will be known as a schemer.
The schemes of folly are sin,
    and people detest a mocker.

Proverbs 24:8-9

The evil and wickedness that are in the world stem from the devil, but he works through human beings to bring them about; thus, there are those who devise evil. Such a one shall soon be known, and his persistence in such behavior will give him a reputation. Others may be slow in recognizing worth in an individual or in praising him, but they will not fail to notice his evil and in telling others about it. He will not fool them.

We know that the act of foolishness is sin (2Samuel 24:1O); here we are told that even the thought, whether expressed in action or not, is also sin. By “thoughts” adultery is committed in the heart (Matthew 5:27,28). By “Thoughts” one who hates is guilty of murder before God (1 John 3:15). A “scoffer” is one who not only rejects that which he should believe but who laughs at, makes fun of, that which he should believe and at those who do believe. He is also called a “mocker”, which he is: “In the last days mockers shall come … saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:3). Such will not only lose out with God, but they have already lost out in their lives here on earth.

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Life is an Adventure

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Don Merritt
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Life with Jesus is a journey, and that journey is quite an adventure.  It’s an adventure that travels down a long narrow road through beautiful, lush countryside, past rivers and streams, flat plains, and sometimes even through hot, dry deserts.  We may find ourselves struggling up a long steep mountain slope, wondering if we’ll ever reach the top… When we finally get to the top of the mountain, the view from the top is so fantastic to behold that we might forget all about the climb.

As we go along, we might see something off to the side of the road; we might leave the road to go and check it out and we might even tarry there for quite a long time.  Then we look up and see that our travelling party is way far off in the distance, and we must get ourselves back on the path and hurry to catch up. When we get back with the group, we are glad to get there, because when we travel on our life’s journey with Jesus, we are walking in the very presence of God.

As our adventure continues, we will meet other people along the way.  People along the side of the narrow road will ask us about our adventure, and when we tell them some will think we are crazy, others might say we’re stupid for the effort, but there will always be those who want to know more about the adventure; some of those will decide to join us in our walk with Jesus.

As we continue, those new adventurers will ask us more questions, and we will take them under our wing and teach them all about Jesus.  One day, they will speak to the people we meet on the side of the road, and more new ones will join us.  As time goes on our travelling party will grow larger and larger as we share our story about travelling through life with Jesus Christ…

The farther down that narrow road that we go with Jesus, the less we will worry about distractions on either side.  Why would we care about those things when we are travelling through our adventure in the presence of God?

The day will eventually come when we are just about to reach our ultimate destination.  We will come to one last river…  When Jesus takes us across that last hurdle, we will have a room in the household of God Himself. I would imagine that as we stretch out on our bed there to rest from our long and exciting adventure through this life, we will think back on those we met along the narrow road who joined with us. We will be filled with joy beyond measure because we did our part to help them become His disciples and join the adventure.  I doubt we will ever waste a single moment thinking about the roadside distractions that we left behind.

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Photo of the Week: May 13, 2026

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Don Merritt
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Space, Aliens and State Secrets

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

To begin with, I never thought that I would live to see the day when I am posting about UFO stuff. It isn’t that I’m shocked by it, it’s just that the UFO business isn’t really the kind of things I write about. In fact, I usually avoid the whole genre of strange, unusual or conspiratorial. Yet with that said, I might be more open to those subjects than one might guess. I nearly always strive to keep an open mind, but if you are asserting something like this, you had better be able to back it up with actual evidence, and not opinions that are based on opinions.

Since President Trump has caused a release of material about UFOs, the conversation has really picked up on the subject, and in some Christian circles, it takes a more serious tone that it might elsewhere. The other day, I even listened to a news report that government officials have been reaching out to Christian leaders advising them on what they should say on the subject, and that one has my attention. I don’t say this because I’m afraid that there might be truth in UFO claims, let’s be clear on that point. My concern is this: It might be a good idea for officials to give major religious leaders a heads up on what could be coming out; a factual and accurate heads up is a good thing… but that is as far as it goes. Beyond that, I highly doubt that government officials are qualified to conduct a theological analysis of the subject, in fact, I kind of doubt that most clerics are qualified for that, and that analysis is what the people will need help and guidance on.

Over recent decades there has been concern in government circles about the way that the general public might react if they suddenly learned that we are not alone in the universe; that is the reason that has often been given for secrecy about UFOs. Some have speculated that people of faith would totally freak if that came out because it would “prove” that their faith is false. I can’t help pointing out here, that such a thought must come from a non-Christian because a Christian should be fully aware that the Bible does not say that we are God’s only creation or that the earth is the only inhabited planet; those are the assumptions of people and groups, not statements or claims from Scripture.

I understand that more material will be released soon, and we’ll see what it contains; maybe there will be hard proof, maybe not. Either way, God is still in control of the universe, and we are still co-heirs with Christ to everything.

Who knows? Maybe we will learn that God’s Creation is even more amazing than we ever knew before.

If you have thoughts on this one way or another, please feel free to share them in the comments!

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The Next Move

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Don Merritt

Here we are at the chess board, looking intently at the pieces on the board and trying to plot our next move… but this is no game−  it’s life.

Each of us has life moves to make; each of us needs a strategy and a plan…

Some people go see their financial advisor to make their plan.  Others speak with their public relations team or their marketing guru.

Paul had a different idea:

 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Philippians 3:14-16

In context (3:1 ff.) he was talking about the ultimate attainment of eternal life in Christ, saying that he hadn’t yet attained it since he’s still living in the physical body.  Then he slipped in that last little line: “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”

What have we already attained?

We have attained relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  We have attained an inheritance of eternal life, and we are His servants on this earth.  As such, it seems that Paul is saying that we need to live accordingly, not trusting in the physical aspect of life but in recognition of the spiritual significance of our relationship with Christ.  Thus, things like financial or business advice might have their place, but it isn’t in planning “life.”  Life is not about the image that we attempt to project to others, it is about the reality of the way we live and behave.

What’s our next move?

To follow Jesus!

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Advice for Fools Everywhere

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Don Merritt

Saying 23

Wisdom is too high for fools;
    in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Proverbs 24:7

A fool does not have wisdom, or he would not be a fool, for the two are considered opposites (Proverbs 11:29; 14:16; 17:24; 29:11). The “gate” was the place of official and legal business where wise men presided (Prov. 31:23). Because he does not have wisdom, the fool will not be one of the elders of his city. Obviously, we do things differently today, to our shame.

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