Welcome One Another

 

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

—Romans 15:7

During the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020 and 2021, many of us had to forego worshipping together in order to maintain social distancing and try to bend the curve of transmission of this dreaded virus. As the “king of social awkwardness,” I did not miss seeing my fellow believers as much as many of you may have missed this weekly experience. But, I am not so selfish that I do not understand the importance of meeting togther for worship. In fact, I am one who champions the absolute necessity of Christians gathering together for worship. Fortunately, the church that I am privileged to attend began meeting for in-person Worship Services as soon as the local government permitted it to do so.

The warmth of fellowship we feel when we meet with other believers is profound. That is exactly the spirit within which the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Rome in the verse at the beginning of this blog post.

“Let me give you a word of advice,” Paul writes. “Welcome one another in the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ has welcomed you into His Kingdom. His gracious, loving, and enthusiastic welcome for you has come about as a way of giving glory to His Father, God. In this same way, when you welcome each other, you do so to bring glory to God.”

We need to keep this admonition always in mind. When we welcome each other with tender hearts and great joy, we bring glory to God. He is our Father, and He delights in the joy of His beloved children. We welcome each other as brothers and sisters, bonded together by the blessed hope that God has given us, through His dearly loved Son, Jesus.

So, when you see one of your fellow believers this day, greet that one warmly. Welcome them in the same way that Christ has welcomed you. If you do, you will bring glory to God. And that, dear ones, is a very, very good thing.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Receive this Blessing

 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—2 Corinthians 13:14

A dear pastor friend of mine, who graduated to heaven many years ago, once told me that the most enjoyable part of a worship service for him as a pastor came when he could pronounce a Benediction over the people at the end of the service. Having told me that, I began to notice the increase in energy and the great joy that I sensed in his voice, as he spoke words of God’s blessing each week.

I have found that this pastor’s words have proven true in my own life. One of the reasons I decided to start this blog, way back at the end of March in 2008, and have continued to write nearly 1,900 blog posts, is that I wanted to do something that would encourage my fellow believers. For the most part, my blog posts have intended to offer encouragement to those who follow the pathway God has laid out before them. So, in a sense, I have wanted my blog posts to speak words of encouragement and blessing into the lives of those who might read these posts.

Blessing others is one of the tasks of obedience God has given us that will please Him and also have a profound effect on others. I do not know a single person for whom the words “Well done!” do not have a significant meaning. We all need encouragement. We all need a blessing. We all need to know that we mean enough to someone else that we can receive a blessing from that one. Notice what the Apostle Paul writes to his fellow believers in the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

These are certainly potent words. And, as we begin a new day, we should take note of what Paul has done and do it for our fellow believers. Just as Paul wrote words of benediction—words of blessing—to his fellow believers, we should write or speak the same.

This day, dear ones, may God fill you with the fullness of His divine presence and encourage you to share His blessing with others.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Me! Me! Me!

 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:3-4

No clear-thinking individual can watch a child grow from infancy into young adulthood without observing the stark reality that each of us has an in-born sin nature that we inherited from our parents, and they from their parents, all the way back to Adam’s original sin. Infants focus totally on themselves. Toddlers focus totally on themselves. Parents have to teach young children to focus on someone other than themselves.

By our very nature, we focus on: “ Me! Me! Me!” We have to learn and then motivate ourselves to think about and focus on others. What a joy exists when we observe someone who has put himself or herself so totally in the background of his or her thinking that he or she seems to have concern only for others.

During this time of worldwide strife, we find outselves surrounded by individuals who have chosen to focus only on the needs of others. All of the individuals who serve us during this tragic time—military men and women, public safety officials, medical professionals, service industry employees, and a host of others—countless numbers of individuals have put aside their own safety and well-being in order to make certain we have what we need to continue living in as much safety as possible.

The Apostle Paul instructed the “Christ’s-ones” gathered in the church at Philippi with the words contained within the Scripture verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post. “Make humility your guide,” Paul declares. “Do not let your own self-interest motivate your actions. Rather, put the needs of others first.”

As we begin another new day of life, these words should penetrate our consciousness and motivate us to follow the Apostle”s teaching. Let’s not allow our own selfish wills to set the pathway of our lives. Rather, let’s determine to push ourselves to learn the needs of others and do our best to meet those needs. Whether such action occurs within the boundaries of our own families, or within our own churches, or within our communities, or within whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we will do well to live in such a way.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Children of Light

 

… for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

—Ephesians 5:8-10

If you have chosen to read very many of my nearly 1,900 blog posts, by now you realize that I am generally writing to individuals who, at some point in their lives, sensed the convicting power of the Holy Spirit pushing them to believe in the life-transforming power of God’s precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Said another way, for the most part, I have aimed these blog posts at believing “Christ’s-ones” or Christians. By so doing, I prayerfully hope that my words will encourage Christians in their daily walk along the pathway that God has laid out for them.

The teaching of the Apostle Paul, found in the verses at the beginning of this particular blog post, describes exactly the condition in which each one of us followers of Jesus found ourselves. “At one time,” Paul insists, “you were in darkness.” Truthfully, each one of us entered this world in darkness—the darkness of the sin-curse that we inherited from our parents, and they from their parents. Then, at some point along the pathway of our lives, the Holy Spirit began to speak words of conviction to the depths of our innermost being. Those words of conviction prompted us to recognize that we were trapped in sin—the original sin we inherited, and also the sins we had committed on our own.

The revelation of the Holy Spirit didn’t stop with that conviction. He spoke to our inner beings in such a way that we became fully aware of the great gift that God had given us in the redeeming power of the blood of His Son, Jesus. That sacrifice of Christ on the cruel cross of Calvary became a once-and-for-all covering of our sins with His precious blood. We had previously been condemned before the holiness of God. But now, we were redeemed! God had chosen us to belong to Himself. In fact, as we would soon learn, God had chosen us to belong to Himself before the foundation of the earth.

No human reasoning could explain why God chose us. We were not worthy of His choosing. Nevertheless, God did, indeed, choose us to belong to Himself. Having chose us, He drew us to Himself through the convicting power of His Holy Spirit. Once we began to understand what God had done for us, we became increasingly aware that we belonged to Him. We passed from the darkness of sin into the glorious light of His holiness.

The Apostle Paul proceeds from this revelation—that once we were children of darkness and now we are children of light—to urge us to walk the pathway of our lives as children of light. Paul urges us to live as children of light by discerning which decisions we make and actions we take will please the Lord.

So, the question that each of us must ask ourselves, every moment of every day: “Am I living in such a way that is pleasing to God?” I cannot answer that question for you. I can only answer that question for me.

I can and do encourage both you and me to walk as children of light. In this moment and the next and the next, let’s determine, with help from the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, to live as children of light.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Good Conduct Shows

 

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

—James 3:13

Growing up in the 1950s in a very strict, Fundamentalist Christian environment, I was told that some misguided churches taught that an individual could “earn” his or her way into heaven. Those who taught me insisted that such thinking was gravely in error and that people who believed this were seriously mistaken. In fact, or so I was taught, such individuals are likely not “true” Christians at all.

I was also taught that accepting Christ as my Savior was a decision that I, alone, could make. When I reached Houghton College—now Houghton University—in the fall of 1965, I was shocked to learn that other devoted followers of Jesus believed in Reformed theology, which taught that God had actually chosen them before the foundation of the earth to belong to Himself. It wasn’t really their choice at all. It was God who chose those individuals who belonged to Himself.

At the same time, I learned that those who believed God had chosen them did indeed also believe that God had given them the free-will choice as to whether or not they would follow the pathway God had laid out for them. In other words, while these believers had no personal choice in whether or not they belonged to God, they did very much have a choice as to whether or not they would follow God in loving obedience.

It wasn’t that so-called “free will” had no part in their belief system. It was just that the exercise of their free will came into the equation after they came to the understanding that God had chosen them.

The interesting part of this revelation arose from the fact that Houghton University existed as an institution of higher learning sponsored by the Wesleyan Church (originally called the Wesleyan Methodist Church) and actually embraced the same theological position as the denomination in which I grew up—the Evangelical United Brethern Church, now merged to become the United Methodist Church. This theological position was called the Arminian position of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), as opposed to the Reformed theological position of John Calvin (1509-1564).

It was rather interesting that I would become exposed to the Reformed tradition while attending an Arminian college. But, that’s what happened, and largely because of the belief on the part of the Bible professors at Houghton University that students needed to understand the full breadth of Evangelical theology.

Having now embraced the Reformed tradition, I have come to understand that such teachings of the Apostle James, as illustrated by the verse at the beginning of this blog post, made sense, in light of the fact that my personal obedience, and the exercise of my free will, would come into play as I allowed my good conduct to show my good works in the meekness of wisdom. God has chosen me to belong to Him. Now, it was my responsibility, out of love and obedience to God, to live in such a way that my good works would testify to His having chosen me.

I have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Arminian theology of Jacobus Arminius and believe that humans need to make a purposeful decision to follow Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I also have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Reformed theology of John Calvin and believe that before the foundation of the earth God chose them to belong to Himself. But, each of these groups of friends also strive now to live in obedience, either to the decision they made to follow Jesus, or to God’s chosing of them.

Each of these dear ones longs to share what Jesus means to them with others. Each of them desires to see other men, women, boys, and girls experience the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them longs to see a great revival sweep across our land and bring profound change to our nation and our world. Each of them believes that good conduct stands as one of the strongest testimonies to the power of the love of God.

Theology has a definite place in helping us try to comprehend what it means to be a child of God. But, in the end, the way we live out our beliefs and show God’s love to others makes all the difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Abiding in God's Love

 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

—1 John 4:16

Many years ago, I had a two-week series of business meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada. I do not place Las Vegas high on my list of places I would most like to visit again. Most of my visits there have overwhelmed me with the noise and so-called glamour of the gaming industry. I do not gamble. Thus, most of the excitement of Las Vegas is totally lost on me. Spending two weeks there offered a unique challenge.

One truly enjoyable benefit of that particular business trip was the Saturday morning drive over to the Hoover Dam. One of my colleagues had arranged a special tour for us that allowed us to explore the very depths of this amazing structure. I can still remember seeing the awesome power of the water that flowed through the hydroelectric generators. It was absolutely amazing to see the huge turbines rotated by the force of the water from Lake Mead flowing from the intake, through the generators, and out of the dam.

As great as the power of that water is, the greatest power in the universe is greater still. And, that greater power is the love of God.

A gospel song-writer, Frederick M. Lehman (1868-1953), penned these words: ¹

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

As we “Christ’s-ones” move through this new day, may the love of God enliven and sustain us to obediently follow the pathway that the Holy Spirit opens up before us. Please listen, as the late George Beverly Shea sings this lovely gospel song:

 

 

 

______________________

1 Lehman, Frederick M. “The Love of God.” This is a gospel song in the Public Domain. This gospel song is also included in various Hymnals that themselves are copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of someone claiming Copyright protection of this material, please note that in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

One Accord and One Mind

 

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

—Philippians 2:1-2

Have you ever thought about the fact that life seems like a series of cascading “ifs”?

• If I receive another government stimulus check, perhaps I can buy that iPad I’ve wanted.
  
  
• If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I hope to be able to go to the beach.
  
  
• If I get a good report from my doctor, I will plan to start walking each morning at the Mall.
  
  
• If my wife asks what I want for dinner, I believe I will ask for steaks on the grill.
  
  
• If I get up early enough tomorrow, I will plan to buy gas for my car on the way to work.
  
  
• If my boss accepts the report I turned in yesterday, I believe I will offer to pay for my friend’s lunch.
  
  
• If my favorite TV program is on tonight, I will pop some popcorn and settle in for a nice evening.
  
  
• And on, and on, and on!
  
  

In our walk of faith, “ifs” play a big role, too. In the verse at the beginning of this blog post, the Apostle Paul relies on a series of “ifs” to encourage the Christians in Philippi:

• “If you find encouragement in Christ …”
  
  
• “If you find any comfort in God’s love …”
  
  
• “If you participate in allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you along the pathway of your life. …”
  
  
• “If you experience affection and sympathy from your fellow believers …”
  
  
• “Then, I urge you to complete the joy I feel for you by having the same love for one another and by being of one mind in the decisions you make.”
  
  

Those words of the Apostle Paul apply to us today, as well. We show our thankfulness to God through our obedience to His written Word and to His divine will for our lives. We set aside our own selfish human wills and allow God’s divine and perfect will to prevail in our lives. That is definitely the way to live.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Help Me!

 

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

—Psalm 121:1-2

You’ve all likely seen the television commercial that begins with these words:

“Help me! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Lots of comedians have made much of that scenario. I used to laugh a bit at it, too. Then, I became someone who, if I fall, literally cannot get up on my own.

I can remember the first time it happened. I had decided to attend an evening worship service on the shore of Lake Erie at Presque Isle State Park. I’m not certain that I realized we were actually going to meet on the beach. This was in the summer of 2002. For over a year, I had used two canes in order to walk. I didn’t think about how difficult it might be to walk on sand with two canes.

I arrived at the designated spot. Got out of the car and began to walk across the sand to where the other worshippers had gathered. Just a few steps and down I went. Within seconds I realized I could not get up by myself. Fortunately, a very kind man saw my plight and —because of my extreme obesity, with no little amount of difficulty—he helped lift me back up, so that I could stand alone. If I had been alone, I would still be stuck in the sand.

Since that time, I have fallen only four times in the intervening 24 years. In each case, I have needed help getting back up. I am so concerned about falling, that I take every precaution to guard my steps.

The truth is that, for one reason or another, we all need help at some point in our lives. Whether we need help in our physical lives, we most certainly need help in our spiritual lives. That’s why the verse at the beginning of this blog post is so important.

On this day, as we consider the terrible tragedy 25 years ago in New York City, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, we must understand that the Psalmist declares when he needs help he looks to the one source from which genuine help comes:

… the Lord who made heaven and earth.

This day, let us follow the example of the Psalmist. When we need help in our lives, let us look quickly to the only One who can truly help us. God loves us with His everlasting love. He waits patiently for us to call upon Him. Let’s be quick to do so.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Please, Carry Me!

 

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

—Isaiah 46:3-4

One of the great joys of a little child comes when a mom or dad picks the little one up and carries him or her. Yes, children like the freedom to run wherever they want to run and do whatever they want to do. But, there always comes a time when a child becomes tired, or needs the comfort of his or her parents. At such a time, to have mom or dad gather the little one into loving arms and lift them up into a loving embrace brings such comfort and joy to the child.

It is this kind of joy and comfort that God expresses through the Prophet Isaiah, in the Scripture verses at the beginning of this blog post. The people of Israel have had free reign for quite some time. They have wandered far away from the protection of God’s perfect will for them. It is high time that they returned to God and sought the comfort that only He can give.

Look closely at what God promises Israel in these verses. He reminds them that He is the One who has brought them into being and sustained them all throughout their lives. He now extends to them the truth that He will bear them up, He will carry them and save them. No longer do they need to run about without His divine protection. His love will enfold them and keep them safe from all harm.

What God has promised to the nation of Israel, He has also promised to those whom He has called to Himself and redeemed through the precious blood of His one and only Son, Jesus. God has grafted we “Christ’s-ones” into the vine of Israel. We Gentiles have become one with God’s chosen people, the Jews. (see Romans 11) Just as God enfolds Israel, carries them, and saves them, so He will constantly do the same for you and for me.

One of the reasons why we carefully study the “whole counsel of God” by meditating upon both the Old Testament and the New Testament, stems from the fact that the whole of Scripture applies to us in our walk with God. While God has given a new covenant in the incarnation, life, suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, His promises to Israel apply to us today. And, there is much we can learn from observing how patiently, kindly, and lovingly God has dealt with His first-chosen people.

Let’s determine to seek to have God carry us and save us. And, let’s make certain we do so every moment of every day.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Necessary Qualities

 

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

—Titus 2:2

If we’ve never met, you have a distinct advantage over those who have met me. As you read this blog post, you can take my words at face value without making a mental reference to the person whom you know wrote them. Let me share a secret with those of you who have never met me. Most people do not like me—at least that’s what some very close “friends” have told me in an unguarded moment of truth.

Apparently, to the vast majority of the people who know me, I come across as arrogant, or angry, or unkind, or standoffish, or … Well, in your imagination, you can formulate your own list of my undesireable qualities. When my very close “friends” first told me this about myself, it surprised me and wounded me deeply. As I have become used to their assessment, I don’t revel in the fact that people don’t like me. But, no matter how hard I try to behave differently, I still always end up being exactly who I am. And, who I am seems, apparently, unacceptable to the vast majority of people who know me.

So, when I read the verse at the beginning of this blog post, I am moved to tears. Apparently these very important and necessary qualities of a normal older man elude me, and this makes me feel ashamed. Nevertheless, I know that these words of the Apostle Paul ring true.

God expects His beloved followers to become mature in their faith in Him. He wants them to grow up and into maturity. As mature believers, God expects older men to display sober minds, self control, a soundness in their faith, a soundness in their love, and a soundness in their steadfastness, and to also display an appropriate dignity.

Perhaps, like me, you find yourself lacking in one, or all, of these important qualities. If so, you likely need to join me in asking God to continue to do a renewed work in our lives that will result in these quallities coming alive within us. That seems like the best thing we can do. Otherwise, we will just keep failing to measure up.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Level Ground

 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

—Psalm 143:10

When we were learning to walk as small children, nothing challenged us more than trying to walk on uneven ground. Eventually, as we gained more confidence and developed a greater sense of balance, we could walk on even the most uneven ground without any difficulty whatsoever.

Imagine my surprise when, at age 54 in 2001, I began to experience difficulty walking on the most simple uneven ground. Admittedly, my extreme obesity played a role in this growing challenge. I also found myself three years into what eventually became a 19-year-long fight against a chronic infection in my right foot. But, the most significant contributor to my increasing inability to walk came from the osteo-arthritis that had begun to afflict my legs, hips, and back. I had seemingly become an “old man” before my time.

Now, 25 years later, I can only walk with the aid of a walker. In 2017, a very skillful surgeon amputated my right leg below the knee, in order to rid my body of that long siege of chronic infection. Even though a very competent, talented, and highly trained prosthetist has fitted me with a prosthetic right leg, with the effect of osteo-arthritis still raging, I cannot keep my balance well enough to walk without a walker. In fact, for travel more than a few dozen feet, particularly when I am out of my home, I use a powered-wheelchair.

Please understand, I am not writing these words to gain sympathy—quite to the contrary. I am very grateful to God that He has seen my through the many physical trials with which I have struggled over the past 28 years. I am also keenly aware that my own difficulties pale in comparison to the health issues that many others face in their own lives. I have written the above paragraphs because I believe they give me particular insight into the words the Psalmist wrote in the verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post.

The Psalmist has issued words of prayer, asking God to teach him the importance and absolute necessity of doing God’s will. And, in order to accomplish that goal—so necessary for proper Christian spiritual formation—the Psalmist asks God to let His good Spirit lead him on level ground. This short prayer contains words that illustrate profound truths.

First of all, God created us because He wanted to have fellowship with a created human being who could love Him and serve Him. His very act of creating us stands as an act of His divine, unfailing, undying love. God-breathed (agape) love flows out from God and into us through the very act of His having created us. The easiest thing for us to do would be for us to love God in return. Yet, the first created human beings chose to ignore God’s simple requirement of not eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil. Their sin errected a barrier that prevented them from properly loving God.

And yet, this sinful act, which has passed down to us through our parents, did not prevent God from continuing to love us. In fact, He loves us so very much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to become a human and to die on the cruel cross of Calvary in order to pay the penalty for our sin. His birth, life, suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension secured for us victory over sin, death, and Satan.

With our sins forgiven, we can now love God through absolute obedience to His perfect will for our lives. But wait! In this world we still bear the curse of sin from Adam. We call this curse our “sin nature.” Even in our forgiven state, we still possess a natural bent toward sin. So, the only way we can walk in obedience to God’s perfect will for us is to receive the help of God’s blessed Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the second part of the verse above. The Psalmist prays:

“Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

In other words, David prays:

“Please allow the Holy Spirit to make the pathway of my life as smooth, straight, and level as possible. Please let the Holy Spirit keep the ground level beneath my feet, so that I will not stumble and fall. Please let the Holy Spirit keep me moving forward on the pathway He has laid out for me, so that I will be able to obediently do God’s perfect will.”

I can no longer physically walk on my own without the help of my walker, even on perfectly level ground. Yet, I can pray this prayer of the Psalmist for my walk of Christian spiritual formation. And, because of my infirmity, I know the very important role level ground plays in successful walking.

I invite you to join me in praying the Psalmist’s prayer:

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Warn Everyone!

 

We proclaim Him [Jesus], warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

—Colossians 1:28

Having spent the last half of my working career in fire protection engineering as a developer of educational materials, and later as the Director of Training for the large Highly Protected Risk insurance company where I worked for 30 years, I became exposed to a great deal of philosophy and psychology related to educational processes for adults. Eventually, we redesigned our entire trainging program, transforming it from a fact-based lecture/demonstration-type program to a certification-based program, with very specific concept-based goals and enabling objectives for each goal.

In learning how to make such a transformation, I spent many hours studying the research on adult learning. I observed how the various concepts of trying to understand how adults learn had shaped various educational methodologies. I saw how typical classroom instruction—such as the type of instruction I experienced in junior high school, high school, and college in the late 1950s through the late 1960s—had changed over the intervening years.

Over time, the lecture/demonstration method was out. Learning in study groups was in. Educational program developers moved from lists of facts that must be memorized and repeated to specific problem-solving activities. At the same time, educational psychologists researched how environmental conditions, personal background, race and gender influences, home life stability, and other factors affected how adults learn.

Someone whose teaching career spanned the early 1950s through the early to middle 1980s would be astonished at how the packaging of educational programming has changed. Whether or not all the changes were truly beneficial is a matter for some debate. Nevertheless, teachers from the so-called “old school” would be lost in today’s goal-based classroom.

The one place where training and education has not changed—at least has not changed as rapidly—is within the church. Yes, many teachers of Christian Education classes use PowerPoint™ as a basis for visual-enhanced learning. But, the underlying educational philosophy of how to teach people about God, His Kingdom, and His written Word have not really changed all that much.

I do realize that some providers of educational materials for the church have attempted to update the educational methodologies on which they base their offerings. But, a close examination of those materials soon reveals that most materials rest on a foundation much more similar to the construction of related materials from the 1950s and 1960s.

Let me hasten to add that I am not intending to criticize either the church or the developer of adult Christian education materials. Rather, I am intending to offer a bit of background to my main assertion of this blog post. I believe that the verse printed at the beginning of this blog post contains a valuable clue as to how God expects those individuals who teach adults to go about the task of sharing His divine truth with the people under their care.

Notice what the Apostle Paul writes to the “Christ’s-ones” gathered at the church in Colosse. Paul’s statement includes the overriding goal:

… that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

So, maturity in the Christian faith becomes a critically important goal for Christian spiritual formation.

Instead of having countless numbers of so-called “baby Christians” running around the church and the world, God shares, through the voice of His Apostle, that He desires mature Christians. Why? One reason we can seem to discern from other passages of Scripture emerges: so that the mature Christians can face the trials that Satan and the world will heap on them in an attempt to destroy their faith and make them wholly ineffective as faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With Christian maturity as the goal, what steps does a teacher employ to motivate the adults listening to his or her teaching? The Apostle Paul gives us an answer when he writes:

We proclaim Jesus, warning everyone with all wisdom.

In considering Paul’s words, how should we respond? Some might say:

“What? Are you suggesting that one teaching adults in the church should warn those under his or her care? And, specifically what should that warning include?”

Yes! I am precisely suggesting that the Apostle Paul urges those reading his words to warn fellow believers. When one warns someone, that warning usually comes in a very direct, very emphatic form of expression. If you plan to step out into on-coming traffic, I may warn you with a shout. I may even try to restrain you from your forward movement. That is exactly the kind of warning that Paul urges those teaching others to give them.

As to what teachers should warn their adult learners, I would answer that the learners need to comprehend and fully understand every positive and every negative teaching of Scripture. Adult Christians who seek to move into full maturity as followers of Christ do not need feel-good pseudo-psychological self-help messages. They need “iron-sharpening-iron” admonitions and testimonies of what God expects of them and how to begin doing exactly what God expects.

I don’t know how you may feel about my analysis. But, I do know that I am more fully convinced, with each passing day, that a distinct kind of deep-love-motivated, fear-of-the-Lord-encapsulated, packed-with-wisdom teaching must begin to find a place in our Evangelical churches. This will become especially true if the world around us continues to slide more deeply into sin.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Guarded Deposits

 

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

—2 Timothy 1:13-14

Have you ever entered your local bank in order to make a deposit or receive a withdrawal? While you were inside the bank, did you notice the bank vault? Even the smallest of branch banks has a vault. Every time I see a bank vault I think about some of the mystery stories I’ve read where criminals go to great lengths to try to breach the vault and steal the contents.

Each bank vault exists to guard the contents, whether money, gold, jewelry, or precious documents housed in safe deposit boxes. The physical design of the vault serves to keep the contents safe from harm.

God has promised His dearly love children that He is the One who guards every aspect of our being that He has entrusted to us at birth. And, insofar as our relationship with Him is concerned, before the foundation of the earth, God has chosen each one that He loves—each one that He will call to Himself through the wooing of the Holy Spirit. No wonder God guards that which He has entrusted to His dear ones.

When we recognize that God literally guards every aspect of our being, including the four critical modalities of our existence—emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical—we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we venture out into this world surrounded by divine protection.

As we begin another new day, let’s rejoice in the knowledge that, in response to the great love and protection that God displays towards us, we can love Him back by following the pathway He lays out before us. Our joy will bubble up to the surface when we live our lives in the center of His perfect will for us.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Master Teacher

 

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.”

—Isaiah 48:17

Teaching is a wonderful profession. It takes a special person with special skills to become a really great teacher. Most of us can identify someone who, during our formative years, contributed a great deal to who we have become because of the skills that individual had as a teacher.

A really great teacher has a number of personal skills that enhance that individual’s knowledge and makes the transfer of information most effective. Such skills include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Patience. A truly great teacher has a high degree of patience, in order to allow the student to stumble around until he or she finds the way through the “jungle” of information that the teacher is trying to convey. This patience allows the teacher to let the student find his or her own way. This patience never tires of answering the same questions over and over again. This patience promotes a sense of security between the teacher and the student that allows learning to take place over an extended period of time.
  
  
• A sense of humor. A truly great teacher takes even the most serious subject and punctuates it with just enough humor to make it palatable to the student. Such humor disarms any tension the student might feel. It creates a learning environment that promotes the free exchange of ideas and gives the student confidence in whatever knowledge he or she is seeking.
  
  
• Relaxed control. A truly great teacher recognizes that it is necessary for him or her to maintain control of the learning environment. Yet, he or she instinctively knows that this control must be meted out in a relaxed and carefully measured manner. This control keeps the learning on track. But, the relaxed way in which the control is extended gives students the freedom to learn in a more comfortable setting.
  
  
• Creativity. A truly great teacher employs creativity in order to find the best way of explaining the information that comprises the learning. Such a teacher knows that a single example will not work for all students. Rather, the teacher knows that he or she must craft examples and illustrations that will engage the student in a manner that matches the learning style of the student.
  
  
• Goal-oriented. A truly great teacher never loses sight of the goals toward which the transfer of knowledge leads. This teacher understands what the end-game is for each learning encounter. He or she understands the goals and, for each goal, the objectives through which a student must travel in order to reach the goals. In addition, the teacher has a clear set of learning strategies that will help the student move through each objective. Said another way, such a teacher understands the complexity of learning because he or she clearly sees the logical pathway that will move the student from ignorance to comprehension.
  
  

In the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post, when God says to His people: “I am the God, who teaches you to profit …” we can clearly see that God is, indeed, the Master Teacher. Whenever God teaches His dearly loved people, He does so intending for that learning experience to bring His people to a place where they can profit from the learning experience. I have seen this happen in my own life.

Many individuals have a far more significant testimony than my own. Most people have had to deal with overwhelming issues in their lives. Tragedy strikes almost every person. These times of great trial can offer enormously important lessons for us to learn. In the midst of trial and sorrow, the testimony of God being the very best teacher a person can have shines through.

As another day begins, let’s remain thankful that God is the Master Teacher. He possesses all of the qualities that the most excellent teacher always has. We are truly thankful that we are the recipients of His instruction. We are the ones whom He teaches us to profit.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

In This Quiet Moment: Teach Me

 

The earth is filled with your love, O Lord; teach me your decrees.

—Psalm 119:64

Imagine that you are all alone and that you are standing on a hillside looking out over a magnificent valley. For just a moment, close your eyes and think about what you might hear and feel. The breeze whispers against your skin. You can hear the rustling of the grass. Perhaps you can hear a bird chirping in the trees. The brook is a ways away, but if you concentrate you can just barely hear the water flowing over the rocks.

Even more than what you hear and feel is what you don’t hear or feel. You do not hear any voices, any vehicles, or any human-made noise. You can’t smell the exhaust fumes of cars and trucks. No one is bumping into you. You don’t have to worry about stepping on some trash on a sidewalk. In place of the rauccousness of life in a city, you only sense an overwhelming sense of peace.

Do you realize that what you feel in this moment is the love of God? That’s right. In such a peaceful setting, you can feel the love of God. Why? Because God’s love inhabits the earth. When we can put aside all of the distractions of life, we can palpably feel the love of God. And, it is in just such a setting that we can ask God to teach us His decrees. We can ask Him to tell us what He wants us to do.

Larry Mayfield has written a song ¹ that captures the essence of the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post. Here are the words:

In this quiet moment,
Jesus speak to me
Fill my heart with thy love divine,
Your power let me see.

Max Mace and “The Heritage Singers” have recorded a lovely arrangement of this song. I invite you to watch and to enjoy this video:

 

 

As we begin this new day, let’s determine to allow God to teach us the way He wants us to go. By spending time reading and meditating on His written Word, the Bible, let’s open up our minds and hearts to His instruction for this day.

 

______________________

1 Mayfield, Larry. “In This Quiet Moment.” Nashville, TN: Word Music Publishers, 1971. Please note that, in each case, whenever a citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such a citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Train Up a Child

 

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

—Proverbs 22:6

Child Psychologists agree that parents must set aside moments out of their busy lives to spend time teaching their children about the most important things in life. By doing so, the investment of the parents will reap untold benefits throughout a child’s life.

This statement remains all the more true when we consider the Christian spiritual formation of our children. Parents play a key role in training up, or teaching, children about God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and about the principles of the Christian faith. Today, there is no excuse for parents not doing everything in their power to teach their children the way of the Christian faith.

This training begins with the parents living out the life of a follower of Jesus right in front of their children. The way they talk, the way they handle problems, the way they act towards each other, the way they relate to other people. In every situation that they encounter in life, the parents have an opportunity to teach their children how to live as followers of Jesus.

Does this training require parents to daily examine their own lives, so they might rid themselves of besetting sins? Of course it does. For every aspect of a parent’s life affects the learning experience of his or her children. It represents an enormous responsibility. But, it is also a great joy.

And, other believing members of a family are not immune from these responsibilities. In many cases, grandparents also play a key role in the spiritual development and Christian spiritual formation of their grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa also live their lives as an open example of how a follower of Jesus chooses to live.

The very fact that the way one follows Jesus is a conscious choice becomes so very important. Children must learn that their lives will become marked by the choices they make. They must understand that in every situation, they will need to choose whether they will follow the way of Jesus, or deny Him by the choice that they make.

The blessing of pouring one’s life into raising children to love God and to love their neighbor is immeasureable. Praise God that He has raised up Christian parents who take up this challenge and give themselves to the task of raising their children in the way that they should go.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}