The Task Completed

 

“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.”

—1 Corinthians 15:24

Have you ever labored hard and long on a difficult assignment, finally completed the task, and then felt enormous relief that what you set out to accomplish you have finished? Please allow me to explain the point I am trying to make:

I once labored to develop a deeply detailed procedure for the protection of department stores against damage by fire and allied perils. It was an assignment that no one else wanted. There was nothing particularly intriguing about department stores. They were not as “cool” as oil refineries, or pulp and paper manufacturing, or automobile plants, or food processing, or just about any of the hundreds of other types of facilities that the insurance company for which I worked happened to insure.

But, my career had often been like that. I seemed to be assigned the facilities that no one else wanted to serve: department stores, hospitals, colleges and universities, radio and television broadcast facilities, tanneries, glue factories, paint manufacturing, museums, arenas, furniture manufacturing, computer data centers, electronics manufacturers, and so forth.

To further complicate my assignment regarding department stores, the Senior Vice President of Engineering, to whom I reported, had a technique where he would go to the company library and check out key resources that his staff might need to complete their tasks. He did this with the intension of trying to make us work harder and, in his mind, more thoroughly, so that we would have to struggle to complete our assignments. It was a stupid tactic. There’s no other way to describe it. As someone who later in my career became a manager of a relatively large number of people, I learned from this foolishness and devoted myself to making certain that I consistently provided my staff with all of the resources they might need to effectively complete their tasks.

It took me six drafts over the course of 18 months to finally gain approval for my detailed procedure. For reasons I never discovered, the Senior Vice President of Engineering rejected each draft. Ironically, the sixth draft was simply the very first draft resubmitted with a new date and a slightly differently worded introductory paragraph. Of course, I had ten or twelve other projects during this same time frame. But, this was an enormous learning experience for me. I lost all respect for this Senior Vice President. His techniques were roadblocks—and not just for me. When he retired, his replacement, who had also worked for him, changed things dramatically for the better.

Nevertheless, when that procedure for department stores rolled off the presses, I felt as if a great burden had lifted. I had been handed an assignment and I eventually handed it back to the one who had given it to me as a completed task.

While my meager accomplishment was absolutely nothing compared to the divine action of our Great King, the Apostle Paul described the torture, death, and resurrection of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, as it will be seen at the end of history, in startlingly similar terms to the example I have outlined above. Please take note of Paul’s words—speaking of Jesus—as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:24:

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to earth in order to walk in our shoes and become flesh, so that through Him we might become the children of God. Jesus conquered sin, death, and Satan through His birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus ushered in His Kingdom here on earth. We now inhabit that Kingdom because we belong to Him. As His ambassadors, we now testify about Him: who He is and what He has done.

At the end of this age, Jesus will return the Kingdom to the Father. All sin and darkness will be cast into the lake of fire. Only the perfection of Jesus’ holiness will remain. We who belong to Him will be fully transformed into His image. In that day, we will all rejoice.

As we launch out into this new day, let’s not forget that we are part of a pathway through history where Jesus has opened up a way to heaven, the Holy Spirit urges us and helps us along that way, and the Father waits to welcome us. May this reality make our hearts become filled with great joy and carry us through the task before us.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Firstfruits Resurrection

 

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

—1 Corinthians 15:20

As a member of a group, when faced with some new situation, are you the one who steps forward to have the first go at whatever task lies ahead? Or, like me, do you tend to hang back and observe how others tackle the issue, and then develop a strategy based on their success or failure?

There is something very special about those who will put themselves out there and go first. They have the joy of any initial success. And, they can comfort themselves, in any failure, because after all, they took a chance and did it first.

What if the situation was such that no one could ever have possibly tackled the assignment? No one else was worthy. No one else had the necessary power. No one else had the needed persistence. No one else had the grace and perseverance. In such a case, that one would always, and only, become the first, and the last, to take on the challenge. And, just possibly because that one had succeeded, others would be able to follow in those footsteps. That one blunted the roadblocks, created a pathway, opened up the possibilities, and helped guarantee the success of others.

We probably don’t think about the resurrection of our Lord and Savior that way. But, Jesus was, in fact, the only one who could have ever possibly taken on the penalty for the sins of the world. He alone had the strength, the power, the necessary holiness, the sinless perfection, the persistence, and the blessing of His Father. We cannot possibly imagine the pain He felt as the weight of the sins of all humankind fell upon Him.

In His glorious resurrection, Christ opened up a pathway for us to follow in His footsteps. Just as He conquered sin, death, and Satan, so we also will become conquerors. He became the firstfruits of the glorious vine of salvation. We become the fruit of salvation, too, because He led the way. As the Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:20:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

As a new day dawns upon the world once more, let us rejoice that our Savior is risen from the dead. Let us praise Him for the sacrifice He made in our behalf. And, let’s move forward along the pathway that He opened up for us, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit—a pathway that leads us to eternal life with Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Delivered From Eternal Death

 

“Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.”

—Proverbs 10:2

As a child watching cartoons in the early 1950s at the dawn of the age of television, the “good guy” would often be captured by the “bad guy.” In one particular cartoon, a rich man was captured by a bad guy who punctuated his disdain with the words:

“You won’t be able to buy your way outta this!”

And that, my dear ones, is the exact state in which you and I find ourselves when we stand before a holy God, as the terrible, awful, horrible sinners that we are. We are so stained by the sin curse passed down from Adam to our parents and on to us, and by the stain caused by the sins we have committed on our own, that we will never be able to buy our way out of the eternal death that we deserve.

Fortunately, the One who loves us has already paid the price for our sins and redeemed us through His own precious blood. While we cannot save ourselves, we have been saved by the only One who could bear our sins, taking our place on the cross of Calvary. King Solomon put it this way, writing in Proverbs 10:2:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.

The redemption price for our sins was certainly not an ill-gotten treasure. It was a divine plan of the very God whose holiness our sin has offended. He, and He alone, made provision for our salvation through the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of His one and only Son, Jesus.

Today, as a new day begins, let’s celebrate the joy that is ours in Christ. We are redeemed! The price has been paid! We are free from sin, and death, and Satan! Hallelujah!

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God Supplies All Our Needs

 

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

—Philippians 4:19

As you read this blog post, if you sit in a lean-to made out of cardboard, if your stomach is empty and aching because you haven’t eaten in three days, if you have no money to buy food or clothing, if you have lost your family for a variety of reason, if … Then, my insistence that God will supply all our needs may fall on deaf ears, as far as you are personally concerned. When a person has genuine, heart-wrenching needs that remain unfulfilled, then it is difficult to imagine that God is a supplier of needs.

But, the truth remains that God does, indeed, supply all our needs. The context of what the Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Philippians applied directly to his own physical needs. He was writing to the Christians at Philippi about the way they had so generously given gifts to help him in his time of significant personal need. After thanking them for their generosity, Paul ends with these words found in Philippians 4:19:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

In other words, Paul is writing to the Philippians with great conviction:

“Just as you have so generously shared with me, so I know God will meet your needs, as well.”

And, of course, Paul was right. He was right regarding the Philippians, and he is right concerning you and me, too.

God will, and does, supply our needs. No doubt our greatest need is the need to be free from the penalty of our sins. God has supplied that need through the birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of His precious Son, Jesus. As His dearly loved children, God has given us new life. He has erased the stain of sin and embraced us as belonging to Himself for all eternity.

In the practical aspects of our human lives, God also supplies our actual needs. Time and again, when we are in genuine need, God comes to our aid with just what we truly need. We may not always recognize His gift. In fact, we may sometimes resist, or even resent, what He sends our way. But, we can be assured that, upon closer examination, we will learn that whatever God sends us is exactly what we need.

As we begin a new day, let us rejoice that God’s love so fills us with hope that we can say, without hesitation:

“Yes! God does, indeed, supply all our needs!”

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Gentle Patience

 

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

—Ephesians 4:2

Sadly, I am not a patient person. Ask anyone who truly knows me. They will attest to my decided lack of patience. And yet, I am often stopped in my tracks by someone who extends patience to me. Patience is, after all, an expression of grace. Please allow me to illustrate my point:

Recently, I encountered a situation on a website I visited that raised my hackles. I felt that the webmaster—whoever he or she happened to be—had done a very sloppy job in presenting information on what I felt was a critically important webpage. So, I reached out to someone I knew in that organization and made my opinion known.

Frankly, as I sometimes do when I’m impatient, I used hyperbole in describing the deficiencies with the website. I ranted. I raved. I poured out my strong opinion using many not-so-kind words.

The response I received knocked me back into my chair. The person wrote back the most patient, kind, even loving, note. He thanked me for my concern. But, in the most gentle possible way, he pointed out the excessiveness of my word choices and the lack of reasonableness in those portions of my complaint where I had gone “over the top.” He explained the reasons why certain choices had been made. All in all, without giving even one inch of ground, he acknowledged me and my complaint in a way that made it impossible for me to feel I had not been heard.

As I stated, he did not yield any ground whatsoever. He defended the choices his webmaster had made. But, he did so in such a patient manner that he truly extended great grace to me. I was taken aback by how effective his response was in diffusing my impatience. His patience became the perfect antidote for my impatience.

The Apostle Paul understood the value in learning how to extend grace at every turn. Notice what he wrote, as recorded in Ephesians 4:2:

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

As we begin a new day, let’s learn from Paul’s admonition. Let’s extend the grace of patience whenever we can, as we walk along the pathway of our lives. Let’s put away impatience and strive to allow the grace of Christ to manifest itself in what we say and what we do.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A New Command

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

—John 13:34

The word “love” has become one of the supercharged words in our currwnt culture. In the English language this word has so many shades of meaning. We may say to someone we admire and appreciate: “I love you.” But, the word doesn’t hold the same meaning that it does when we speak of loving our spouse. When we say we love our children, the word has an even different shade of meaning. When we talk about something we favor—our native country, a car, boat, vacation home, ice cream flavor, movie, television program, restaurant, sporting event—the word “love” takes on yet another even different meaning. The problem comes from having a single word to express a whole list of various emotions.

Over the years, I have shared many times that the New Testament Koine Greek language has four distinct words for love: agape, storge, phileo, and eros. Each word has a very distinctly different meaning. In the English language, all four words are translated “love.” (It is important to note that only agape and phileo actually appear in the Koine Greek text of the New Testament.)

Speaking to His disciples, Jesus gave them this instruction, found in John 13:34:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

In this verse, our Lord uses the New Testament Koine Greek word agape—God-breathed love. This is a love that arises within someone because God has chosen to breathe His divine love into that person. Agape is a totally selfless, totally committed, totally unending love. It survives no matter what may happen. It deepens as time passes. It creates an inseparable bond between the one who loves and the beloved.

As we begin a new day, let’s ask God to give us His God-breathed agape love for our fellow believers. If we do this, we surely will experience a great outpouring of God’s grace in our relationships with each other.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

No Greater Commandment

 

“There is no commandment greater than these.”

—Mark 12:31

The most simply stated, yet hardest to follow, instructions from Jesus are summarized in Mark 12:30-31:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

It is hard for us to truly Love God with the totality of our beings. So many other distractions tend to pull us away from unswerving devotion to Him. The depth of love God expects us to show Him consumes all four of our human modalities: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. It is equally hard for us to truly love our neighbors because we humans simply do not consistently get along with each other very well.

Recently, I received a phone call from a friend asking for my comments regarding a situation my friend described, in his own words, as follows:

I was thinking the other day about someone I have known for a long time. Over the years, I have come to care about this person very much. But lately, this person seems a little irritated with me and acts a bit cold toward me. Of course, it could be my too-active imagination. But, I don’t think it is. I have racked my brain trying to figure out what I may have done to offend this person. I cannot remember anything that I did or said that would have prompted this reaction toward me. I’m sure other people would respond to my observation and just say: “Aw, forget about it!” But, I can’t. If I wasn’t so “chicken,” I would go to this person and try to find out what’s going on in our relationship.

In contrast to my friend’s dilemma, in my own life there are people with whom I do not particularly get along. And, the amazing thing is I strongly suspect that they don’t even know how I feel about them, or care. That’s the odd thing about human relationships: sometimes the people we care about get irritated with us and sometimes other people create irritation within us. So, it is hard—very hard—to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Another situation offers this illustration:

I have some dear friends who lately seem to have a difficult time loving God with all four of their human modalities: heart, soul, mind, and strength—emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical. Things have not worked out in their lives as they expected. They believe they have been uniquely faithful to God. But, they now believe He has failed to hold up His end of the bargain.

These dear ones are, in fact—deep in the core of their beings—angry at God. So, they now live in a way that seems to have created a new god, one who appears quite different than the God they formerly worshipped.

It’s easy for me to think that they should reevaluate the expectations they had of God in the light of Scripture. Of course, it’s easy to criticize from the sidelines when I’m not “walking in their moccasins,” so to speak. I sense the depth of their pain. But, I can’t help but believe they need to reconnect with the true God who loves them.

It is probably a good thing for us to do a spiritual checkup from time to time. Do we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do we love our neighbors as ourselves? Then, we should ask God to help us implement the corrections we need to make in our lives. Why? Because Jesus told us that it is very important for us to follow these two greatest commandments.

Perhaps, as we begin a new day, it would be helpful to make today a day for a spiritual checkup. How about it?

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God: The Wisdom Giver

 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

—James 1:5

Proper decision making requires four very distinct, but necessary, qualities:

• Knowledge
  
  
• Wisdom
  
  
• Understanding
  
  
• Discernment
  
  

The only possible way to make the right decision, except by mere chance, is to employ all four of these qualities, balanced within the context of the four human modalities: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical—or, heart, soul, mind, and strength.

• Knowledge provides all of the factual information needed to make a decision
  
  
• Wisdom takes into consideration the factual information that Knowledge provides and adds into the factual information one’s emotional connections, or feelings, about those facts
  
  
• Understanding considers the effect that the decision will have on the broadest possible context of the situation, or circumstances, involved
  
  
• Discernment adds a spiritual, or supernatural, dimension to the decision-making process—it sees beneath the surface and interprets the motives and true agendas of others involved in, or affected by, the potential decision
  
  

If we fail to employ all four of these qualities, balanced within the context of the four human modalities, we can significantly diminish the “rightness” of the decision we make. That’s why we should always do our best to become as knowledgeable as possible, obtaining all the facts relevant to the potential decision. We should not rely on what we are told second-hand. We should always seek out first sources and rely on multiple sources to validate the facts we collect.

We should study those facts until we see how they all fit together. Then, we need to have wisdom to understand how the facts interconnect with our feelings about the facts. Sometimes, that’s the hardest part of the decision-making process: correlating the facts and our feelings about the facts. That’s likely why the Apostle James wrote these words to the early Christians, as recorded in James 1:5:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

God is the “Wisdom Giver.” He is the one who can best correlate for us the facts and our feelings about the facts. In any, and every, situation, God’s guidance will help us make the best decision that we can make.

Finding God-given wisdom will help give us understanding of the context in which we must make our decision. Finally, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us discernment, so that we will know the motives and agendas of others, and even more clearly know our own motive and agenda.

So, as we begin another new day, let’s do what James suggests. Let’s ask God for wisdom for this day and every day. Let’s ask the One who loves us the most to give us this important quality. He will gladly do so. And, as a result, we can move forward employing all four qualities necessary to make excellent decisions.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

No Harsh Words

 

“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”

—Titus 1:15-16

No one likes to hear someone speak harshly against him or her. Over time, one of the biggest criticisms leveled against we followers of Jesus is that:

“Those folks are just too judgmental.”

In fact, that’s the way our culture encourages people to view “Christ’s-ones”—as judgmental, bigoted, and hateful.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Christians are not inherently judgmental. If we choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we generally extend God’s mercy, grace, and love to all we meet. Why? Because that’s what Jesus would do.

But, what our critics fail to understand when they look at us as Christians is that the message of the Gospel balances two critically important elements.

• On the one hand, we are all sinners. We inherited the sin of Adam and compounded our sinfulness by our own actions.
  
  
• On the other hand, God has so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sins.
  
  

Those two elements are both fundamentally necessary to an understanding of the Gospel.

Yes, when He was here on earth, Jesus extended great love to people who desperately needed it. But, He also spoke out against unrepentant sinful behavior. And, He did not hesitate to point out the dangerous path on which those who chose to sin persisted to live their lives. So, part of the great love of our Savior for sinners is His willingness to speak out against sin.

Obviously, it seems far better if—in following this “love, but don’t fail to call sin, sin” posture of Jesus—we always speak with a gentle firmness, using words bathed in God-breathed love. And, frankly, that’s hard to do consistently. We walk a tightrope in this regard and always must seek to maintain a balance between mercy, grace, and love on the one side, and honesty about sin on the other side.

The Apostle Paul sent Titus to Crete so that Titus could “amend what is defective” in the struggling church on that island. To do so, Paul had to give Titus some clear marching orders, and also make certain Titus knew what to expect, once he arrived at his destination. This prompted Paul to use words that many in our culture today would label as “harsh.” Notice what Paul wrote to Titus, as recorded in Titus 1:15-16:

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

Wow! Startling! But, was Paul wrong to call out the members of the church on Crete for their sinful behavior? No! In fact, Paul’s devotion to the Gospel, and his desire to display Christ-like love, required him to do so.

Of course, in directly addressing the sinners of whom he speaks, Paul would likely use more gentle words laced with kindness and love. But, when sin persisted, Paul would, no doubt, take the same kind of strong stand as the one he took in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

So, what can we do about the charges laid against us by the culture in which we live? I’m not at all certain we can do anything. Speaking to God, His Father, Jesus clearly told us in John 17:14:

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

We cannot do anything that will appease the hatred of the world toward us. But, we can fairly and accurately represent Jesus by making certain we rely on the guidance from the Holy Spirit to assure that we always balance mercy, grace, and love in contrast with an honest declaration against the sinful behavior that permeates our present culture.

Let’s begin this new day by determining to stop pretending sin no longer exists among those around us. No, I’m not urging us to get up on a soapbox in the marketplace and speak harsh words. That would only make us into the clowns that the world would far too easily despise.

But, when faced with the opportunity to gently and tenderly speak words of love in a situation where sin is rampant, let’s choose to state the truth of God’s written Word without fear. In so doing, we become instruments that the Holy Spirit can use to force sinful behavior to come out from the darkness and into the light.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Hand of Peace

 

“Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.”

—Psalm 37:37

Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ should serve as peacemakers whenever possible. As the Holy Spirit nudges us, we should willingly step in to promote peace. And, we must recognize that we promote peace in a variety of ways.

I am heartbroken over some of my fellow believers who have become so strident, even hateful, in their attacks against political forces that do not align with their preconceived ideas of how our nation should be governed. I can’t help thinking about the oppressive government of Rome at the time Jesus walked this earth. The Roman government was far more vile than we can even imagine, especially toward any person who was not a citizen of Rome. And, if you lived in a land that Rome had conquered, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to become a citizen.

At the same time, Jesus spoke of our need to recognize the value of making peace. In Matthew 5:9, Jesus told the crowd gathered around Him:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Some interpret this passage to mean that Christians should never go to war to protect their nation from threatening foreign powers. I personally believe that Jesus was talking about a much more intimate setting than a national threat. After all, He was speaking to people who were politically powerless and were living under the captive hand of Rome.

When Jesus urges peacemaking, I believe He is talking about a daily attitude of extending compassionate peace toward the people who cross our pathway in the normal course of daily life. It is so easy to turn our faces away from those in genuine need, particularly those who foment conflict against us. Whenever we do so, we help rob these ones of the opportunity to experience the peace that we can bring to their lives.

Sometimes peace comes in a quiet word of thoughtful explanation, or in a helping hand, in a gift of a meal, in the provision of a place to live, in an assistance with a legal problem, in a monetary gift to tide someone over, in an advocacy for someone who cannot advocate for himself or herself, and in a dozen other ways in which we can promote peace to flood into someone’s life. Please allow me to share an example:

I once knew of a woman who had lived on the streets for three years. She had lost her home and her family because of her addiction to alcohol. She told me how she had abstained from drinking for all of her early life. Then, in her mid-thirties, at a casual neighborhood party, she took her first drink of an alcoholic beverage. She took that drink mostly so that she wouldn’t stand out from the crowd, or become a target of mockery. That one single drink led her down the path to more and more drinking, until alcohol ruled her life and, subsequently ruined her life. But, she told me that she learned God had a different plan for her life.

One day, a businesswoman passing by in a car on her way to work saw this down-and-out alcoholic woman in her peripheral vision. The woman was living in the corner of a vacant lot. Her only shelter was a stitched together series of corrugated boxes. Suddenly, the businesswoman felt God nudge her to stop. She pulled her car to the curb, got out, and approached the homeless woman.

“Can I help you?” the businesswoman asked.

“Nobody can help me,” the woman replied. “I’m beyond help. Leave me alone.”

“I’d really like to help you. What can I do?”

“Go away! Leave me alone! There’s nothing you can do for me. Can’t you see that?”

Reluctantly, the businesswoman returned to her car. But, the image of that homeless woman would not leave her mind. Over the course of the next few hours that image moved from her mind to her heart. At lunch time, the businesswoman left work, went to a grocery store and bought some food. Then she stopped at a used clothing store and bought a warm coat. Then, she returned to find the homeless woman still sitting in the corner of the vacant lot. The businesswoman approached and said:

“I’ve brought you some food and a warm coat.”

“I don’t want your charity!” the homeless woman shouted. “Leave me alone! Go back to where you came from!”

The businesswoman set down her packages and went away. As she started her car, an enormous grief came over her. Tears streamed down her face. When she finally composed herself and started to drive away, she noticed that the homeless woman was putting on the warm coat. That small act made the businesswoman smile. A bit of hopefulness arose in her heart.

The next day, and the next day, and the next day, week after week, the businesswoman would stop on her way to work and give the homeless woman some food or clothing. The homeless woman stopped yelling at her and they began to have small conversations. Over time, the homeless woman started to tell a little of her story—how she had become enslaved by alcohol and lost everything.

After several months of building a relationship, the businesswoman finally convinced the homeless woman to seek help at a nearby parachurch-sponsored shelter for women. That began a long process of the homeless woman getting sober, and clean, and ready to get a job. The businesswoman acted as her sponsor, eventually helped her find a small apartment, and helped the formerly homeless woman settle into a new job.

After working for just over a year, the two women talked one day about the family the once homeless woman had lost. The businesswoman found an attorney who would help make a reconnection with the lost family. A period of carefully supervised visitation began. A lot of healing of many hurts started to take place.

Today, the formerly homeless woman has a solid job, has developed a relationship with her children, found some equilibrium with her former husband, who had remarried, and has seen her life turn around. Why? Because that businesswoman, a follower of Jesus, extended peace into the life of someone who so desperately needed peace.

It is my sincere belief that, if each of us would set his or her heart toward becoming the kind of peacemaker that Jesus was talking about in His “Sermon on the Mount,” we could change our world—the world immediately around us. If every “Christ’s-one” did that, we could change all of the world.

King David wrote Psalm 37 in response to evildoers, political opponents, and others, that he found inhabiting his world. He writes eloquently about all the various aspects of a righteous response to sin, corruption, and degradation. Among the stanzas of David’s song are these words found in Psalm 37:37:

Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.

As we begin a new day, let’s seek peace in our own lives and in the lives of those whom God brings across our pathway. Let’s become peacemakers by putting away harsh, disruptive words, and by embracing an attitude of trust within us that assures us God remains in control. He has given us specific work to do. And, we must begin to do it for the sake of His great Name.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Come to Me

 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

—Matthew 11:28

Have you ever worked hard on a project for several hours when someone who cares about you comes to you and says:

“Hey! Why don’t you take a few moments to rest? You’ve been working hard all day.”

Those are comforting words and wise ones, too. Sometime we get so involved in the tasks at hand that we forget that all four of our human modalities—emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and physical, or heart, soul, mind, and strength—need to pause and recharge. It’s good to have someone who cares about us enough to remind us that rest is a vital part of effective living.

In our spiritual lives, we are constantly battling the forces of the enemy, Satan. He wants to destroy us, turn us against ourselves, bring us to our knees with weariness and despair. We need to be reminded that it is very appropriate to make certain we pause in our battle long enough to get the rest we need.

Someone who cares about us the most is our Lord and Savior Himself. Jesus extends this invitation to us, as recorded in Matthew 11:28:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

As we launch out into another new day, let’s listen to Jesus and come to Him for the rest we need. Even on a day when we are working on behalf of His Kingdom, Jesus wants us to make certain that we make a determined effort to pause, so that He can restore us to top condition. What a marvelous indication this is of how very much He loves us.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Turn Around Time

 

“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

—Psalm 34:11-14

If you’re traveling along in your car or truck and you miss a turn, how long do you continue to drive forward until you turn around and go back to the place where you got off course? Please allow me to share an example:

One day many years ago, I rode from Hartford, Connecticut, to Rochester, New York, with a business associate—a trip of about seven hours. He was, and is, a fine man. Trained as a chemical engineer, he has a really sharp brain, and he is also a very kind and considerate man.

Along the way of our trip, he decided to get off the interstate highway and take some back roads. He stated that he wanted to have more pleasing scenery than the interstate afforded. We had plenty of time to get to our destination. As a passenger, I did not feel it was appropriate for me to object. So, we were soon cruising along at a much more relaxed pace looking at the central New York State countryside.

We didn’t have a map. But, we both knew the general direction to our destination and felt we would arrive without a problem. Then, suddenly, we encountered a detour. A flash flood the day before had caused the main road to cave in and a construction crew was in the midst of repairs. The detour took us out across the nearby rural landscape. We went over several different back roads.

At one point, I thought I spotted a detour sign that someone had knocked down. It was almost out of sight. It was only by chance that I saw it. As we cruised by, I told my colleague that I thought we had missed a turn. Instead of stopping immediately and driving back to the spot where I had seen the downed sign, he continued onward. I truly believe he thought we would find another road that would takes us back to the main road.

We drove for miles and miles. He made several turns onto various country roads. Finally, we realized we were desperately lost. He stopped, walked up to a nearby house, and asked for directions. After a long conversation, he returned to the car and we continued to drive, making numerous turns along the way.

An hour later, we were back on the main highway. But, in just a couple of miles, we once again came upon the road crew repairing the damaged pavement. We had gone backward in a huge circle and had burned 90 minutes in the process. Off on the same detour, we did so more carefully, came to the downed sign, made the turn, and in just a few minutes were back at the main road, well beyond the repair site. The detour had taken ten minutes this time.

I wonder, in our spiritual lives, how many times we keep going along a wrong pathway when, instead, we should stop, turn around, and go back to the place where we first lost our way and take the better pathway. King David understood the necessity of turning around, when he had taken the wrong path. Notice what he wrote in Psalm 34:11-14:

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

As we begin another new day, let’s determine to seek peace and pursue it. If we find ourselves on the wrong pathway—one that leads us into sin—let’s stop, go back, and determine to stay on the pathway that God has opened up before us. Let’s not become tricked into taking a wrong turn that will lead us away from God’s best for us.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Trust Begets Trust

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

—Proverbs 3:5-6

Some people are naturally trusting. They enter every relationship with a positive attitude and always look for the very best possible outcome. It doesn’t ever occur to them that the persons with whom they have developed relationships might, at some point, prove untrustworthy. Frankly, I envy these open, accepting, and positive-attitude people.

Then, there are people like me. Because of my personal history, dating way back to childhood experiences, and because I am inherently and extremely shy, for all of my adult life I have approached every relationship with suspicion. I expect any new person who crosses my pathway to eventually betray me. It is quite likely that my generally negative attitude toward trust has proven so off-putting to many people that it has created a self-fulfilling prophecy, time after time.

Nevertheless, I have decided to put aside my own predispositions and prejudices and see if I can share with you the importance of trust. If we are going to faithfully and persistently share with other people what God has done, is doing, and will do in our lives, we have to be viewed by those other people as individuals who are worthy of trust. The Prophet Isaiah has made this statement in Isaiah 26:4:

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

In our relationship with God, we must learn to trust Him implicitly and continually. He will never betray our trust. He will never let us down. He will always surround us with His loving care. We can count on Him in every situation.

If we are to become trustworthy—with God’s trustworthiness as our example—where do we begin? By trusting in God we will find that, more and more, we will become worthy of trust ourselves. That’s because trust begets trust. Furthermore, we can and should follow the example of King Solomon, who wrote these words in Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

We begin to learn trustworthiness by depending or leaning on God. He has given us His Holy Spirit to come along beside us and lead us along the pathway that God has opened up before us. If we set aside our own selfish wills and place the entirety of our beings into God’s loving and tender care, we will begin to experience the reality of trusting in Him. Out of that experience, we can develop within us the kind of trust that will prompt those around us to begin to listen to what we have to say and perceive that our words come from hearts that are worthy of trust.

Let’s begin this new day by redoubling our efforts to trust in God and build within us a trust that has as its foundation His trustworthiness. If we do that, we will become more and more effective in our role as ambassadors of the Great King.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Foolish Anger

 

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”

—Ecclesiastes 7:9

Have you ever yelled at the television set in your living room or family room? Are you sure? I’m quite confident that you have. Okay. Maybe you didn’t yell out loud. But, in your spirit, you yelled at the TV. I know that you did. Why do we do that? The people on the TV, who provoke us to anger, can’t hear us. Right? And, by yelling at the TV we are disturbing the other people in our home—not to mention that we may well appear very foolish.

Anger is a powerful emotion. It is one of the emotions that our enemy, Satan, uses to try to knock us off the pathway that God has opened up for our lives. And, right now in our nation, there seems to be plenty to be angry about, especially if you find yourself at one extreme or the other on the political spectrum.

It is very easy for us to forget that, as Christians, we are, first and foremost, citizens of God’s Kingdom. Yes, I know that God is a God of justice. He does want His children to stand up for righteousness. But, I am not at all certain that He condones the use of harsh words in our Facebook posts or Twitter tweets, or Instagram photos, or Pinterest Pins, or Snapchat conversations, or even on our TikTok rants. Even if you feel you are expressing “righteous indignation” on behalf of some person or some group you believe has become disenfranchised, you dare not “fight fire with fire” because that’s not God’s way of mercy, grace, and love. King Solomon, at the end of his life, penned these words of wisdom found in Ecclesiastes 7:9:

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

As we begin a new day, let’s determine to control our anger in a renewed way. Let’s not allow Satan to provoke us to anger about things over which we have no control. We can’t change the mind of some pundit on television. We can’t change the mind of most of the people who read our posts on social media, either.

But, we can exhibit God’s abundant love when we carefully and reasonably share the concerns we have with whatever we observe in our culture or society. We can do so without harming others. Even when we feel that we have been attacked by those who categorize all “Christ’s-ones” as bigots, racists, homophobes, sexists, fascists, magas, progressives, or whatever label is currently in use.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts and minds, we will be able to extend every grace to those who think differently than we do about politics, culture, even church and our fellow Christians. We do not need to be at war with anyone. In a gentle and tender way, we can stand for righteousness without needing to resort to behaviors that mimic the way of the secular world.

As citizens of God’s Kingdom, our residency has been bought with a terrible price—the very blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s enough violence with which Christians should have to deal. Let’s become instruments of God’s peace, even in a world that is going off the rails. Let’s put aside anger and embrace holiness. That will make God, who loves us with His everlasting love, break out with a big smile.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Shield Around Us

 

“But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.”

—Psalm 3:3

In the most recent years, every day I think to myself:

“Can this horrible division in our nation get any worse?”

And, every day I find more and more hostile, divisive, and nasty rhetoric spewing forth from both sides of the political spectrum. This rancor must stop!

As has often been the case in the last forty years, people continue to target Christians and blame them for everything that is happening in our social, political, economic, cultural, and systemic worlds. The criticisms are not fair. But, they are very real, nonetheless. And, sadly, some of the harshest criticisms are coming from the left extreme and right extreme of Christianity itself. Some of the most stinging and hurtful accusations, words that feed the hostility and division, are coming from Christians fighting with each other.

As we believers in Jesus, and His resurrection power, become more and more marginalized, we can rightly feel we have nowhere to turn. But, that is a lie of Satan. When King David found himself under attack from a particularly persistent enemy, David wrote these words of praise to God found in Psalm 3:2-6:

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

In the midst of one of the most hurtful times most of us have ever experienced in our lives, God is able to deliver us. We must remain faithful to the message of Christ, as the embodiment of God’s mercy, grace, and unfailing love. If we do, we will find that God is, indeed, our shield and our deliverer. May we determine, as we begin a new day, to refrain from speaking or writing evil words, and may we refrain from holding on to a condemning spirit. Instead, let’s make certain our words build others up, rather than tear others down.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Sure Response: God is for us!

 

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

—Romans 8:31

In most of our lives, there is enough chaos that it is very easy to become distracted from the things that really matter. All it takes is for some unanticipated problem to arise in our house, apartment, or vehicle—or some peril in the lives of one of our family members—and we lose track of the things on which we should focus our attention.

Maybe one of our children or grandchildren has an accident or illness. Perhaps we receive a bill that is for an amount far greater than we had hoped. Or, we discover that our husband or wife has spent money—even on necessities—but those expenditures have pushed us into a debt far too deep to climb out of easily, especially when we haven’t received a raise in the last five years, or, even worse, we have lost our job many months ago and have no prospect for a new place of employment.

In the midst of the distress that can so very easily plague us, we need to remember that we have a sure response to whatever happens in our lives. The Apostle Paul states this certain response, when he writes to the Christians gathered at Rome, as recorded in Romans 8:31:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

No matter how difficult our circumstances may seem in the moment: God is for us! Let me insist: God is for us! Even if we have fallen into a deep hole and have languished there for many years: God is for us! When trials and difficulties come, when disappointment and discouragement grips our lives, when things don’t seem to be going our way: God is for us!

As we begin another new day, let’s cling to that truth. And, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to lift us upward in response to the sure knowledge that God has our back. He will provide what we need. He will see us through our darkest hour. He will bring us out of darkness and into the light of His great day. Yes! God is for us!

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

God Has Become My Salvation

 

“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

—Exodus 15:2

In the happiest times in our lives, we often express our joy by singing. Even if we don’t think we sing very well, in the privacy of our own home, or our car, or our truck, we burst into song when something brings us overwhelming joy. This is certainly not a new phenomenon.

The Patriarch Moses had just experienced one of the most mind blowing occurrences in his life. In obedience to God’s direction, Moses had marched the children of Israel to the edge of the Red Sea. The Egyptians were in hot pursuit. The only way of escape was to step off into the storm-tossed waters.

God gave Moses specific instructions. As soon as Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, God sent a mighty wind that opened up a pathway on dry land, while the waters stood high above on each side of the pathway. The children of Israel crossed over the Red Sea. As soon as the Egyptians pursued them, God instructed Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea once again. As soon as Moses did this, in obedience to God, the water closed over the pursuing Egyptians and they drowned.

In response to this marvelous act of God’s mercy and grace, Moses sang a song of joy and worship to the Lord. This song included the following, found in Exodus 15:2:

“The Lord is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

Moses didn’t need any other defender—just the all-powerful hand of God—and neither do we need any other defender in the times of distress in our own lives. As we begin a new day, let’s learn to rely on the “Defender of our Souls.” God stands ready to protect us and to save us, from all who would harm us. He is the one who has become our salvation and our defense. Like Moses, the only logical thing for us to do is the praise Him and exalt His holy name. Yes! We can lift our voices in songs of praise to our God.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Message to a Governor

 

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

—Zechariah 4:6

As I write this blog post, I am utterly and absolutely amazed at the turmoil that our last three Presidential elections have caused. Never in my life have I heard such strident and profane exclamations hurled at elected Presidents. As a follower of Jesus, and someone who is a political, social, intellectual, and spiritual Conservative, I am flabbergasted at the rhetoric I am hearing on a daily basis from both sides of the political spectrum.

This is not the first time in history that someone has ascended to a position of power and brought controversy with him to the seat of authority. In ancient Judah, a leader named Zerubbabel was appointed governor of a group of Israelites, who returned to their own land from captivity in Babylon. Zerubbabel had the support of certain factions within the returning peoples. But, he also had an equal and more vocal opposition to the legitimacy of his authority.

The Prophet Zechariah found himself in the most uncomfortable position of having several messages directly from God that he was expected to deliver publicly to Zerubbabel. These messages were not going to make the new leader happy.

Zerubbabel considered himself a savior of the people. But, God had to remind Zerubbabel that, as a human being given a huge task to accomplish—the restoration of the Jews to their rightful land—Zerubbabel would be quite incapable of doing this in his own strength and power. Here is part of the Prophet Zechariah’s words from God, as recorded in Zechariah 4:6:

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

In other words:

“Zerubbabel, it doesn’t really matter that you consider yourself the savior of your people. The fact that you want to make Judah great again may be an honorable goal. But, you do not have the strength nor the power to do this by yourself. You are a mere, puny human being. And, you are a sinful one at that, since all humankind is stained by the sin of Adam and by the sins they commit on their own. Your only hope is to depend fully and completely on God. If you do that, God will be your strength and your power. With God’s divine help, you will than, and only then, be able to accomplish what you desire.”

I wish that more people, even those who claim membership in the Kingdom of God, would understand that without God we can accomplish nothing of eternal value. Let’s not be numbered among the ignorant when it comes to understanding that:

“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Resurrection Power

 

“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

—Philippians 3:10-11

Observing our current political scene, or the activities in most places of work, or, sadly, sometimes even in our homes, it doesn’t take long before we can spot those individuals who have become addicted to power. Power has the ability to enslave someone in the same way that narcotics, or pornography, or a host of dozens of other elements of substance abuse can overtake and control a person’s life.

In fact, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902), an historian and moralist, known more commonly and more simply as “Lord Acton,” expressed the following oft-quoted opinion in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887:

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

But, of course, not all power is bad. As followers of Jesus, we desperately need the empowering of the Holy Spirit in order to live our lives in a manner that moves us ever-forward toward Christian spiritual maturity and greater holiness. We rightfully strive to become more and more like our Savior. That takes a unique brand of God-given power. The Apostle Paul expresses his desire for a continual influx of godly power in these words from Philippians 3:10-11:

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

The greatest expression of power on this earth became visible to all humankind when Jesus overcame death and Satan and rose from the grave. In an act impossible for a mere mortal man, the God-man Jesus overcame it all and, though once dead and in the grave from Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning, our blessed Savior is now fully and completely alive.

Each new day, we need to ask God for that very same resurrection power in our own lives. We need to implore Him to grant us ever more of the Holy Spirit’s divine assistance in helping us become the true disciples we want to—and need to—become. So, let’s not hesitate to ask this day for a great outpouring of resurrection power in our lives.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Pep Talk Time

 

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

—Joshua 10:25

I’m no athlete. In fact, I’m the poster boy for non-athleticism. But, I know barely enough about sports to know that a key moment occurs just before the game begins, when the coach offers the team words of encouragement. The coach will give specific instructions to the team. The coach hopes that these words of challenge and enthusiasm will ring in the ears of the athletes, as they go out to “battle.”

This is what Joshua does when he prepares to lead the soldiers of Israel into battle for the Promised Land. Joshua knows that God has called His chosen ones to take the land as their own. So, Joshua shares these words of encouragement and instruction, as found in Joshua 10:25:

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

Essentially: “No matter what happens in the days ahead,” Joshua intones, “do not let fear bind you, nor fear assail you. Instead, grab ahold of strength and courage. God will defeat our enemies and hand this land He has promised us into our control.”

Each new day presents those of us who follow Christ with a new challenge. Satan desires to fill us with fear and discouragement. Satan wants us to keep silent about what God means to us. But, God wants us to sense His support. He gives us His strength. He dispels our fear. He imbues us with courage. He will defeat our enemy and protect us, as we follow the path He has laid out for us.

God gives the very best pep talk. It’s just what we need to hear. It contains the words that need to ring in our spiritual ears, as we begin yet one more day of serving Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Tasty

 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

—Psalm 34:8

Of all the foods that you eat, which one creates on your palate, and within your mind, the most delicious taste? Is it some entrée? Some dessert? Some appetizer? Or maybe, it’s something you drink?

Just now, as you thought about how to answer my question, your mouth began to water a little bit, didn’t it? Just the imagining of that delightful taste sensation caused you to feel a positive and enjoyable reaction.

My father used to delight in telling other adults how he made the biggest mistake of his life as a dad when he allowed me, at age eleven, to order my first real steak in a restaurant, while we were on vacation in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a T-bone steak that gave me the opportunity to taste both the tenderloin and strip steak, all in one sitting.

Based on my memory of the size of that steak, it likely was actually a Porterhouse cut. But, as with many steak restaurants—so as not to confuse their customers—this steakhouse called it a “T-bone” on the menu. Whatever it should have been called, it was absolutely delicious! From that time forward, I have always preferred steak, and eventually gravitated to filet mignon, as my preferred cut of beef.

There are people, of course, who could not care less about food. My wife is one of those people. She eats because she has to do so. She doesn’t really enjoy eating. In contrast, I do not eat to live, I live to eat!

In writing one of his more famous Psalms, King David expressed his love for God in a way that should relate well to anyone, like me, who has a favorite food. Notice his words, found in Psalm 34:8:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

“Experience the fullness of God on the palate of your life,” declares this man whom God had called to His service as King of God’s chosen people, Israel. “God will fill you full of His mercy, grace, and overwhelming love. He will protect you and keep you. You will be blessed because you have crawled up into his lap and found refuge in His strong Presence.”

Today, we can experience this same delight that King David declares. By tasting of the Lord, enjoying the flavor of our relationship with Him, we can truly find ourselves blessed beyond our ability to comprehend. We will surely find God “tasty”!

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

From Out of His Glorious Riches

 

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…”

—Ephesians 3:16

Have you ever met someone who seemed so unbelievably generous that you could almost not process how generous this person was? In my life, I have met two men who were truly wealthy—what my dad would have called “filthy rich” although there was actually nothing at all “filthy” about these two men’s wealth.

In both cases, these businessmen extended great generosity to others in such a shy and unpretentious manner that I couldn’t help but watch them in amazement. Each man was a multi-millionaire. Each one had earned his riches through very hard work and clever investments. Each man lived in a way that many people would never have known the extent of his wealth.

On occasion after occasion, I observed each of these men reach out with kindness, empathy, compassion, and generosity. They did so without any fanfare. They never called attention to themselves. In fact, they both did everything possible to avoid others knowing what they had done. The only reason I knew was that I had become a close friend to each of them, and I had inside knowledge of their kindnesses.

The God we serve is One who has enormous wealth and power. Out of His storehouse He gives freely to those He loves. The Apostle Paul affirms this when he writes these words found in Ephesians 3:16:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…

Paul’s prayer comes from his knowledge that God has unlimited resources that He will gladly make available to His dearly loved children. That’s why we can begin this new day in confidence, knowing that God will provide the strength and resources we need to serve Him effectively and faithfully.

If we struggle with a lack of resources, let’s devote ourselves to prayer this day. God will hear and answer in ways we cannot comprehend.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Gift of Strength

 

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

—Isaiah 40:29

During my years in junior high school, I had many embarrassing experiences. One of the most troubling events occurred when the huge folding doorway that separated the gymnasium into two equal parts jammed and would not close. For one miserable day, the boy’s gym class had to share the entire open space with the girl’s gym class. While most of the boys absolutely loved the opportunity to show off for the girls, I was mortified.

I had already painfully learned how disliked I was by most girls. Now, I had to be even more exposed to their disdain and ridicule. You see, the boy’s gym class was doing basic calisthenics. In particular, we were doing pull ups on an elevated bar. While most boys could jump up, grab the bar, and proceed to effortlessly pull themselves up a dozen or more times, I was unable to pull myself up even once.

Not content to allow me to hide in the back of the line, the gym teacher, who had already made it very clear on several occasions that he had a strong distaste for anyone like me who was so grossly overweight, insisted that I try over and over and over again to complete a pull up. He punctuated my humiliation by a running commentary, holding me up as an example of what would become of anyone who was lazy, foolish, and addicted to food.

While I excelled in academic pursuits, gym class was my daily time of torture, made all the more so by President John F. Kennedy’s “National Council on Physical Fitness” and the host of initiatives that it had pushed onto the local school systems. The phrase: “God give me strength!” had special meaning for me in those days.

In fact, God provides strength for all four of our human modalities. God is our source of strength: emotional strength, spiritual strength, intellectual strength, and physical strength. The Prophet Isaiah reminded the Southern Kingdom of Judah of this fact, as recorded in Isaiah 40:29:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

As we launch off into another day, let’s remember that all the strength we need is readily available from the God who loves us. We can ask Him to increase our strength and empower us when we need to overcome our own weaknesses. He will gladly supply strength and power from His inexhaustible supply.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

My Loving Enabler, My Mentor, My Friend

 

“I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.”

—Philippians 4:13

“I think I could really learn Microsoft Word ^®, if someone would just show me some of the more useful tips and tricks.”

The person saying that could be almost anyone. To long-time users of personal computers, MS Word seems quite simple. But, to someone just getting his or her feet wet in the art of personal computing, there are so many features, so many tricks, so many undisclosed shortcuts that make working with this software easier, that most people really could use someone to enable them to use MS Word more effectively.

For example, when trying to format text in a way that makes it easier to read, people will do all kinds of work-arounds rather than learn how to properly set tabs and indents. The result is a mashup of confusing formatting that will easily drive another person, who later tries to edit that document, over the edge.

I have been a willing enabler for a number of individuals seeking to learn more about MS Word over the years. And, I am all the happier for having done it, especially when the person I’m helping shares information with me that I must use for some other purpose. It’s easier to help someone learn how to properly format a document in MS Word, than to try to decipher their typical work-around formatting, at a later time.

We all need enablers in our lives to learn the things we need to learn, to accomplish the things we need to accomplish, and to reach the goals we need to reach. I particularly appreciate it when someone knowledgeable sets aside some time to help me.

One of my very dear friends makes explanatory videos for the company where he works. He is a master at creating very useful and educational videos. He freely shares these videos on YouTube, so people who might need help understanding some of the very technical topics for which he is responsible can easily find the information. He is a natural teacher, a natural enabler. Some of the very significant success he has achieved in his chosen field comes from this gift that God has given him to enable others to use the products his company makes in the most efficient and most effective way.

In our spiritual lives, we need an enabler. And, God stands ready to enable us to will and to do the things He wants us to do. In fact, one of the roles that Jesus fills in our lives—through the in-dwelling Holy Spirit—is an enabler of our Christian spiritual formation, and an enabler of our ever-more-effective understanding of how to become an ever-maturing disciple. The Apostle Paul acknowledges this when he writes these words found in Philippians 4:13:

I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

As we begin another new day, let’s recognize that we have no limits in the spiritual realm. God has given us all the strength we need to do what He asks us to do for Him and for His Kingdom. Let’s willingly allow Christ to enable us to activate the strength in and through us that He so lovingly supplies.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Oh! Those Itching Ears!

 

“For the time will come, when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

—2 Timothy 4:3

Most people do not want to hear bad or unpleasant news. That’s why so many of our news outlets, particularly on network broadcast television, have shunned hard news stories in favor of fluffy, feel-good tales that will make the viewing audience smile in a self-satisfied way. “See,” the viewers say to themselves, “things aren’t so bad, after all. We’re really nice people doing good things to make everyone happy.”

Of late, of course, someone has come onto the political stage who so many people fear that they have steeped the news in hostile hyperbole. Please understand, I’m not a fan of politicians. I think it takes a particularly self-aggrandizing personality to seek political office. Oh, I’m sure there may be an occasional exception to that rule. Generally, politicians have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get elected and stay elected. Often, a politician does not put the very best interests of his or her constituents first. Nevertheless, I suspect that the current target of so much negative news is not nearly as bad as many believe, nor as good as others believe.

Even in the pulpit, many pastors today have turned their backs on a whole host of attributes that the Bible uses to help us understand who God is. Instead, they have emphasized God’s love to the near exclusion of all of His other many admirable attributes. While our understanding of God will always appear to us as if we are seeing Him through a dirt-darkened window, the Bible—God’s written Word—does give us the picture of Him that He wants us to have. As He has revealed Himself to us, sometimes who He is makes us feel the sheer terror at His holiness. And, at other times, we literally bask in the warmth of His amazingly deep love for us.

On those rare occasions when a particular pastor does preach a sermon that talks about God’s holiness, God’s hatred of sin, God’s willingness to punish those who will not repent, and other such less than happy subjects, congregation members grumble and complain. They did not get their “happy jolt” from the Worship Service that they expected. They did not feel better about themselves. They may have even sensed the Holy Spirit convicting them of something in their lives that needs correction. And, they don’t want to do what they know they must do, in order to live as obedient subjects of our Great King Jesus.

So, woe to the pastor who presents the full counsel of God on the matter of who God is and how He wants us to live. There is increasingly little room for a broad spectrum of understanding that God is a perfect balance between holiness, judgment, and wrath on the one side, and His great mercy, grace, and love on the other side.

The Apostle Paul gave a warning to his “son-in-the-faith,” Timothy, about this very matter, as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:3:

For the time will come, when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

As we begin a new day, we need to ask ourselves: “Do we have itching ears?” Yes! “Do we want to know God for who He is in all of His complexity?” Or: “Do we want to fashion for ourselves an image of God based on our desire to shut out any of His more scary qualities and focus only on those qualities that make us feel good?” Those are questions worth asking. The answers give a good picture of where we are in our walk with the One who know us the best, and who loves us the most.

God is to be both feared and loved. And, that takes a faith that surpasses a mere feel-good version of who God really is. True faith recognizes that God is beyond our comprehension. True faith also embraces the reality that, in the Bible, we find plenty of evidence for who God is in all of His complexity. And that, dear ones, is a very good thing. As Richard of Chichester wrote: ¹

Day by day, day by day,
O, dear Lord, three things I pray:
to see thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day.

 

______________________

1 Richard of Chichester. “Day By Day, Dear Lord, of Thee Three Things I Pray.” A Hymn now in the Public Domain. The printing of this Hymn and the musical arrangements of this Hymn are often copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal in which the Hymn appears. Citation of Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Blog Post Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}