Tuesdays and Thursdays starting tomorrow at 6am Central (US).
This week we will identify every use of the term “Born Again” in both the Old and New Testaments, as well as places it’s almost said. Then, we will study the exact meaning of the original Greek terms to figure out what Jesus intended to convey in John 3 when He spoke with Nicodemus. Don’t be surprised if there’s more than first meets the eye.
See you then!
You, Lord, are my lamp;
the Lord turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop;
with my God I can scale a wall.
“As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
2 Samuel 2229-31
There is a holy wonder in the way God meets us in the dark.
Not always with thunder.
Not always with spectacle.
But with a lamp.
A small, steady flame
cupped in sovereign hands,
bright enough for the next step,
and the next.
David sang these words after battles, betrayals, wilderness years, and weary nights. He knew caves and conflict. He knew what it was to feel surrounded. And yet he speaks not first of armies or victory—but of light.
“You, Lord, are my lamp.”
What wonder—that the Maker of galaxies
would bend low enough
to illumine the path beneath my trembling feet.
He does not merely give light.
He is light for us.
When shadows stretch long across our circumstances—
uncertainty, grief, unanswered questions—
He does not recoil from our darkness.
He enters it.
And suddenly, what felt impenetrable
becomes navigable.
“With your help I can advance against a troop.”
What audacity. What holy astonishment.
The one who could not outrun Saul
now outruns armies.
The shepherd boy who once hid in fields
now scales fortified walls.
Not because David became mighty—
but because he discovered the wonder
of walking with the Mighty One.
Faith does not deny the wall.
It marvels at the God who lifts us over it.
And then this quiet crescendo:
“As for God, his way is perfect.”
Perfect—even when perplexing.
Flawless—even when unfolding slowly.
Shielding—even when the battle rages.
There is deep wonder here:
that the God whose ways are beyond tracing
is also a refuge close enough to enter.
We do not stand outside His protection,
admiring it from afar.
We step inside.
We hide ourselves in Him.
And somehow—
in ways both fierce and tender—
His perfection becomes our covering.
Today, whatever darkness presses near,
pause long enough to notice the flame.
It may not flood the horizon.
It may not reveal the entire map.
But it is enough.
Enough to take the next step.
Enough to face what rises before you.
Enough to awaken wonder again.
For the Lord is still lighting darkness.
Still strengthening the weak.
Still perfect in all His ways.
And that—
is reason to stand in awe.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “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 will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Matthew 16:24-26
At first glance, this passage may seem heavy—filled with sacrifice and surrender. Yet at its heart, it is an invitation to faithfulness that leads not to loss, but to life.
Jesus does not hide the cost of discipleship. Faithfulness is not always easy or comfortable. To deny ourselves means placing God’s will above our own desires. To take up our cross means choosing obedience even when it requires courage, perseverance, and trust. Yet this call is not meant to discourage us—it is meant to free us. When we loosen our grip on control, reputation, or worldly success, we open our hands to receive something far greater: the life Christ promises.
There is hope in knowing that nothing offered to God in faithfulness is ever wasted. The world tells us to protect ourselves, to chase status, to gain everything we can. But Jesus gently reminds us that even if we “gain the whole world,” it cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the soul. True life is not found in accumulation but in alignment with Him. Faithfulness may look like daily, unseen acts of obedience—choosing kindness, forgiveness, integrity, and trust. These choices shape a life anchored in eternity.
To follow Christ is to walk a path where loss becomes gain and surrender becomes strength. The cross we carry is never carried alone. The One who calls us to faithfulness walks beside us, empowering and sustaining us. His resurrection assures us that sacrifice is never the final word—life is.
So we take heart. Faithfulness is not about perfection but persistence. It is about saying “yes” to Jesus again and again, trusting that in giving our lives to Him, we will truly find them. In this promise, we discover hope—steady, enduring, and full of joy.
“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.”Psalm 19:1–2
Step outside and look up.
Before a sermon is preached, before a song is sung, before a single word of Scripture is read aloud, creation is already proclaiming the greatness of God. The heavens are not silent. The skies are not empty. They are declaring, proclaiming, pouring forth speech about the majesty of their Creator.
From blazing sunrises to star-filled nights, creation testifies to God’s glory.
Psalm 19 tells us that “day after day” and “night after night” creation reveals knowledge. This is not a one-time announcement. It is continuous. Relentless. Victorious.
Every sunrise is a declaration: God reigns.
Every sunset whispers: He is faithful.
Every star shining in the darkness proclaims: Light always overcomes.
The world around us is not random. It is crafted. Designed. Sustained by the powerful hand of God. The same God who set galaxies in motion is the One who walks with us through our daily battles.
Creation itself is evidence that God is not defeated, distant, or disengaged. He is glorious, active, and sovereign.
Sometimes life makes us feel overwhelmed or insignificant. Yet when we look at the vast heavens, we are reminded of two powerful truths:
The glory displayed in the skies is not meant to intimidate us — it is meant to assure us. The One who commands the stars also commands our circumstances. The One who paints the skies each morning is more than able to bring beauty out of our trials.
If He can sustain the universe, He can sustain you.
The heavens declare His glory automatically. But we have a choice. We can join the chorus.
When we live in faith, we declare His glory.
When we stand firm in trials, we proclaim His greatness.
When we walk in obedience, we reflect the work of His hands.
Creation shouts. Let our lives echo that victory.
Today, lift your eyes. Let the sky remind you that God is powerful, present, and victorious. His glory is not hidden — it surrounds you. And the same glory that fills the heavens is at work in you.
The heavens declare it.
Let your heart believe it.
Let your life proclaim it.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
There are verses that speak, and there are verses that sing. This one sings.
It rises like dawn over the soul, soft at first— a pale shimmer on the horizon— and then suddenly, gloriously, the whole sky is burning with newness.
In Christ, Paul says, something happens that is not merely moral, not merely emotional, not merely aspirational. It is creation— the same Voice that once called galaxies into being now speaks over a human heart and says, “Let there be light.”
And there is.
We stand in wonder before this miracle. How could the old truly pass away? How could the tangled histories, the worn-out patterns, the shadows that cling so stubbornly simply lose their claim?
Yet this is the marvel of grace: Christ does not patch the old fabric. He weaves something entirely new. He does not polish the ruins. He builds a new house where the ruins once stood. He does not resuscitate the old self. He resurrects a new one.
And so we walk through our days with a quiet astonishment— that beneath the ordinary rhythms, beneath the familiar struggles, beneath the slow and sometimes halting growth, there is a new creation pulsing with divine life.
The Spirit whispers, “Behold.” Not glance, not nod politely, but behold— gaze long enough to see the miracle that God has already begun in you.
Wonder is the right response. Not striving. Not self-suspicion. Not fear that the newness might fade. But wonder— the kind that opens the heart to the ongoing work of the One who makes all things new.
Today, let your soul pause. Let it breathe. Let it marvel.
You are in Christ. You are His workmanship. You are a new creation. And the new has come.
I mentioned the other day that I’m working on a fairly major blog upgrade, and that I’d keep you all in the loop. Much to my amazement, there actually seemed to be a little bit of interest in the subject. So, I’ll share the beginning of my adventure and see where we go from there.
I started blogging back in 2011, and essentially, I started it as a writing exercise just for me. The idea was that I wanted to get my little brain back to the point where I could write something immediately when prompted like I used to do when I had my first job out of college starting in 1981.
As far as blogging goes, I knew exactly… Nothing.
I got back into the writing part, not very good writing, but I could do it, and then, for no reason that I know of, people started following my blog. It was only a few at first, but over time, I got better at it and more followed. I was curious and learned a little about blogging by reading the WordPress help pages, more followed, and it occurred to me that this little exercise had some real ministry potential.
Time went on, my blog grew, but was never huge or anything like that, yet I knew that it was making an impact, primarily from contacts readers made privately from all over the world.
Wow – Amazing!
Time flew by, I was away from regular blogging for a while taking care of my 95-year-old mother, and then the pandemic and WP changed everything when I wasn’t looking, my wife and I moved from Iowa to Florida to “retirement” (whatever that really is) and I blogged a little and used this as a platform for ministry activities I was involved in. During this period, I had a growing discomfort about my blog, and how I was neglecting it. I finally got to the point where I made a commitment to make this blog my top priority. At about the same time, we realized that due to some unfortunate circumstances that I’ll skip for now, we would return to Iowa after 5 years away.
That was last summer.
Since then, I’ve tried some things and done a fair amount of research about blogs and blogging. It hasn’t gone as smoothly as I might like, but there isn’t much I can do about that except trust that God will show me a way to overcome the obstacles in my path. You see, I have no doubts concerning the reason for all of this; God still has some work for me to do. This is true even though I am not as bright as I used to be and am a functional illiterate at this point because of my delightfully bad vision. Yes, despite all this, God has a job for me, and even though I am weak, He is strong, and He will provide all the things I lack to get His job accomplished.
In this, I fully expect that I have embarked on the best and most exciting adventure of my life, and make no mistakes, I’ve had some pretty good ones already.
That’s probably quite enough for today, if you are still reading, I thank you. If you are interested in more posts like this, please drop me a comment. With that, thanks again for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 34:1-3 (ESV)
Praise is not merely an action—it is a posture. It is the soul standing tall even when the body feels weak. It is the heart lifting its eyes when circumstances press low. It is the quiet, stubborn insistence that God is worthy, not because life is easy, but because He is faithful.
To boast in the Lord is to breathe differently. It is to let your confidence rest not in your strength, not in your wisdom, not in your ability to hold everything together— but in the God who holds you. The humble hear this kind of praise and find courage rising in their own bones. Your worship becomes a shelter for others, a testimony that whispers, “He is enough. He is near. He is good.”
Praise is personal, but it is never meant to be private. It longs for company. It invites others into the wonder. It says, “Come see what I have seen. Come taste what I have tasted. Come stand in the light that has found me.”
When we magnify the Lord, we do not make Him bigger— we simply see Him more clearly. And when we exalt His name together, our voices braid into a single anthem that rises higher than any one of us could lift alone.
A Closing Thought
Let today be a day of continual praise— not because everything is perfect, but because God is present. Let your mouth carry His goodness, your heart rest in His strength, and your life invite others into the joy of exalting His name.
Praise is the song that steadies the soul. Let it rise in you again.
I am pleased to announce that my new series Born Agan A New Creation will begin Tuesday, June 16, at 6:00 am Central Time and run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am very excited about this series as it will discuss foundational topics that are often taken for granted, but that are crucial to our very Hope as Christians.
Please be on the lookout next week, I’m hoping to have you with us on this important Adventure!
See you there,
Don
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25–26
In the shadow of Lazarus’s tomb, surrounded by grief and human limitation, Jesus made one of the most powerful declarations in Scripture: “I am the resurrection and the life.” He did not merely promise resurrection—He declared that resurrection is found in Him.
Martha was facing the heartbreak of loss. Her hope was fixed on a distant future—“I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But Jesus shifted her focus from an event to a Person. Victory was not just coming someday; victory was standing right in front of her.
This is the heart of our faith: Christ Himself is our victory.
Because He is the resurrection, death does not have the final word. Because He is the life, despair does not get the last say. Even when circumstances seem sealed behind a stone, Jesus calls life out of what appears lifeless.
The world defines victory as success, comfort, or visible triumph; Christ defines victory as unshakable life—eternal life that begins the moment we believe. It is a life that survives hardship, outlasts suffering, and overcomes even the grave.
When Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?” He is not asking for theological agreement alone. He is asking for trust. Do we believe that He is enough in our grief? Enough in our waiting? Enough in our battles?
Our victory is not in avoiding death, pain, or struggle. Our victory is in belonging to the One who conquered them all.
The empty tomb proves it.
The risen Christ guarantees it.
Our faith receives it.
In Him, we do not fight for victory, we live from it.
Yesterday saw my last post on Proverbs; I set out to finish the book this time, unlike 11 years ago when I didn’t make it to the end. I’m sorry to say that even though It’s done, I am not happy with the outcome.
In trying to get through, I tried several different formats and styles to cover those long stretches of proverbs and sayings, each of which stands alone, without a continuing narrative. It has groupings of similar themes, but no clear and precise narrative which makes it difficult for an expository approach. So in short, I really didn’t get it figured out… until the last few chapters.
I think I turned the corner after the 30 sayings ended in Chapter 24. It’s my intention to redo the Proverbs study, but not to serialize it again; that would be a bit much. Instead, it will be a reflective study of the book available for download in an inclusive pdf file for anyone interested. It will take some time to do; I’ll let you know when it’s available.
Other Projects Planned
I am currently working on two studies that will be serialized on this blog, and then made available as complete studies for download, possibly with Bible study guides for those who host small groups or lead Bible Studies. The first one will be called “Born Again a New Creation”. This one will look at the entire concept of being Born Again in a deep dive format that goes to the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The second is an in-depth study of the Nephilim from Genesis 6. So far, my research is following threads and strings in directions I hadn’t anticipated; this one will be a most exciting adventure. I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop as these move forward.
Finally, I’ve been doing a great deal of research into blogs and blogging lately. You’d think that after almost 15 years of doing this that I would know a little something about blogs, but I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve come to the conclusion that I haven’t a clue; everything has changed since I started this, and I haven’t kept up!
I’m looking to fix that in the weeks and months ahead, and of course, I’ll be keeping you all in that loop as well.
Finally, I want to thank each and every one of my dear readers for your support of this site. Every visit, every bit of feedback mean a great deal to me, and you should know that I greatly appreciate your visits, likes, comments and subscriptions; you mean more to me than you will ever know.
Thank you and may God continue to bless each of you.
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