Photo of the Week: March 11, 2026

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Don Merritt
CB2014 025
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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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The Rich Fool

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

1Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Jesus has been speaking to His disciples in a sort of an aside in front of a very large crowd when suddenly a man in the crowd shouts out a request: He wants Jesus to tell his brother to cut him in for a piece of his brother’s inheritance. Presumably, their father left his estate to the brother, probably the firstborn of the two… or maybe the more responsible of the two. Jesus isn’t getting involved in their dispute, but tells a parable instead, one that should be quite familiar to us…

A well-to-do farmer has a bumper crop of grain, much more than he can store in his barn. What will he do??

His solution is to tear down his old barn and build a new bigger one so he can store up his harvest and take the next few years off for a big party. That very night, he dies suddenly; who will get his riches?

Here’s the pinch line:

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (12:21)

I’ve heard it said in our time that ‘he who dies with the most toys wins’. But what do they win? Jesus’ point is that if we spend our whole life worried about amassing a great fortune, we will have nothing when we die, for while we could have been working and devoting ourselves to projects with an eternal purpose and reward, we wasted our efforts on something that will do us no eternal good whatever.

A person’s life is very short, blink and it’s about gone. Eternity is forever, so which of these should be a greater priority for us?

How about that? This pretty much what Jesus was telling the disciples in their little chat before the man asked Jesus to help him with his brother.

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Chapter 16 Moves to a Conclusion

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Don Merritt

Looking Forward: Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
    it is attained in the way of righteousness. (16:31)

Living to old age was the mark of a special blessing in the days of Solomon, as relatively few lived long enough to have grey hair. Grey hair then, is attained by righteous living in God’s favor.

Looking Inward: Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city. (16:32)

This gives us an interesting comparison, one that we might not phrase this way today, yet it still makes the point well. It is far better for a person to be patient and have self-control, than to be constantly putting themselves in harm’s way without thinking things through first. I have found that when taking a test, I should always go with my first impulse for an answer and not to question it. But in matters involving confrontation reactions and confrontation, my first impulse is usually wrong.

It is fair to say that I’m a very good test-taker, and usually a guy who has a cool head in a tough situation.

Looking Upward: The lot is cast into the lap,
    but its every decision is from the Lord. (16:33)

As we travel through this life, it is important for us to recognize that ultimately, God is in control of events. It is true that He gave us free will and a long rope, but ultimately, He is in control. Back in Old Testament times, lots would be cast in certain circumstances to determine what God’s will was in that situation, and while we don’t usually cast lots now, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which people then were not. Thus, it’s great practice for us to seek His will in prayer and contemplation on a regular basis and to follow His lead as best we can in every situation.

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Lessons from a Tree

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Don Merritt

Some time back I came upon a scene; this tree grabbed my attention because it was unusual…

The unusual thing about the tree isn’t the scar, but how well it has done in spite of the injury it sustained.  I’m not sure exactly what happened to the tree, my first thought was a lightning strike, but who knows?  It seems likely that whatever happened was storm related in some form…

We all deal with storms in our lives, sometimes literally, other times the storms are of a different sort.  Many of these are caused by our own actions and choices, many are not.  More important than anything else is how we respond to them.

When times are tough, do we let the circumstances keep us down; do we let circumstances defeat us?  When we are hurt by life’s storms will we dwell in our pain or rise again from it?  One of the most difficult lessons in life, at least in my life, was learning that we do have this choice.

Even more important than learning that we have a choice in how we respond to damaging storms in life is learning that we need not try to recover all on our own.  It may sound overly simplistic to some, but we can turn much of this over to our Lord, for His strength is greater than ours. We can rely on Him, we can lean on Him, we can trust in Him.   Living a Christian life is a life of setting self aside and serving the Lord Jesus Christ, and dealing with times of trouble is no different, so it stands to reason that He will sustain us all the more when we put our trust in Him and keep on serving others instead of serving ourselves.

Some may question all of this, but all I can say to them is “Come and see”

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Thoughts for a Saturday

Posted on March 7, 2026 by Don Merritt

The other day I received a comment from Pete left on my post Earthly Kings. It was a great comment that raises so many timely and important questions for those of us in the USA, and they are just as applicable for those of you in other countries as well. I thought it would make for an interesting Saturday topic. Here is Pete’s comment:

Good comments. I had a brief discussion yesterday with a new believer about our responsibility towards governing officials. It’s sometimes difficult to know just how far we are to support earthly governments. Be that as it may, God clearly tells us that governments, good or bad, are appointed by God, and resisting them, resists God (Romans 13:1-2). It’s easy to find fault, and reasons, not to subject oneself to government. After all, they are faulty and, most, are not aligned with God. Yet, we are commanded to pray for our governments (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Do we complain more than we pray? Sometimes we get the government we deserve.

See what I mean? Great comments, great question!

First off, thank you Pete for your comment. Pete’s site is The Bible Blog and I hope you will check it out.

Back in the days when the debate over Obama Care were the talk of the town, my 87 year old mother called and spoke at length of her frustration and irritation about the way the debate was going, or maybe it was just the way it was being presented on Cable News that she watched all day. Then she asked me a question that I really couldn’t duck; it was something like this:

You’ve had lots of experience in Washington, when do we get to the part where Members of Congress discuss what is best for the country?

She was right, I have more experience in Washington than is healthy for anyone, and I am ashamed to admit it now, but when she asked me about that last part, I burst out laughing. I felt terrible about being so rude, and yet I had a really hard time stopping. When I finally settled my laughing, I had to tell her the truth, a truth she was not prepared to handle.

The good of the country- seriously?

The good of the country in Congress is about as important as truth is in Court. Court is not about truth, it is about what you can demonstrate to be true, not what actually is true. In Congress, motivation comes from what they can sell to their constituents, and what keeps the donors contributing to the campaign coffers, because being reelected is priority number 1.

As for presidents? Pretty much the same thing. This conversation was about 15 years ago, and the situation is worse now. Looking at world news, we aren’t the only ones.

I don’t say any of this to be negative, even though it may sound that way at first. What I am saying is that we have a fabulous opportunity here!

When I was growing up, I was taught that the top priorities in life are these: First God, then family and country and baseball. What’s the first one… God? With God, all things are possible. Where we are weak, God is strong. God has no limit of what He can do. Can God turn things around? Yes. Can God bring us better leaders? Yes. Can God change hearts and minds and lead Nations and Peoples from darkness to light? Yes.

Yet God also rewards Nations with the leaders they deserve. Look at the leaders around the world today… What do we see?

Problems.

Still, we have answers to problems. The problems we see are spiritual in nature, and we have those solutions if we choose to use them. First is repentance; each of us (or nearly so) needs to turn away from the distractions of this earthly life, the day-to-day cares of this world, and the things that take us away from our relationships with God and other believers and re-focus our attention on the things and priorities of God. Second, we need to do some serious and bold praying. We need to pray for the leaders of our countries, including not only political and administrative leaders, but cultural and media leaders, that they would turn their attention to the things of God, and that they would lead their Peoples in His ways, and against the urges and priorities of Evil. This is especially true for the leaders you don’t like. We need to live like Ambassadors of Christ and shine His light in the darkness around us, not simply to point fingers of accusation, but to offer a helping and merciful hand to those who are hurting or lost.

More and more people around the world are starting to recognize that the main problems facing humanity today have a spiritual cause. Yes, they are out there, usually being trashed in the press… go figure. We all need to wake up and recognize that we are in a spiritual conflict.

So, let’s pray with confidence and boldness for the day to quickly come, where God’s Will is done on earth, as it is in Heaven… where it is the only will that is done.

Well now, that’s a fine rant for a Saturday. Have a great weekend!

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Parable of the Good Samaritan

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Don Merritt

Luke 10: 25-37

Jesus is confronted by an “expert in the law” who asks what he must to “inherit eternal life”. Jesus, as He often did, answered with a question: “What is written in the law; how do you read it?” Seems like a fair question to ask an expert in the law… The man replied:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (10:27)

Jesus told the man that he has given the right answer and that if he did this, he’d be in great shape. But the expert in the law had tried to challenge Jesus; Jesus had just made it obvious to everyone that the man was trying to snare Him, since he already knew the answer to his own question. Thinking quickly, he asked a follow up question: “Who is my neighbor?”

The response to the question is vintage Jesus; He told a parable…

What follows in 10:30-36 is another very familiar parable, the parable of the “Good Samaritan” As Jesus often did, He follows the parable with another question: Which of the three men in the story were a neighbor to the injured man? The expert said that it was the one who had mercy on the injured man. Jesus’ classic response to another correct answer is priceless: “Go and do likewise”.

So, what should we take away from this story?

First is that it isn’t a good idea to try to trap Jesus; He was pretty quick on His feet. Second, is that we should show mercy to people who need it… which is pretty much everyone at one time or another. Third, it wasn’t the very religious who showed mercy to the man, it was an unclean nasty Samaritan who went out of his way and out of his pocket to help the stricken man who had been left to die by robbers. Finally, we are to put our faith, our love into action to serve those in need, and that we don’t get to heaven by engaging in arguments or rhetorical tricks or word games.

You see dear reader, God doesn’t care so much about how much you know, or your important status, He cares about putting our faith in action and sharing His love with those who need it.

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