What began as a promise…

For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Quickly took an ugly turn…

“When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The enemy of our worship is our fat and sassy complacency.

Comforts and satisfactions provided solely through the goodness of God have a tendency to birth in us perversions and abandonments of the very God who provided that sustenance.

“You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Becoming a little too satisfied and a little too comfortable, like an addiction, causes us to lose sight of life balance and thankfulness for the healthy dependencies and relationships we need and enjoy.

The intent of our Christian life is to be sufficient, not necessarily comfortable.

As you prepare to enter a new year, pray for God to provide what you need, not your list of wants.

Christmas is over.

You’re no longer children.
Time to grow up and into thankful men and women with higher and holier aspirations and a humble return to God.

Desire makes slaves out of kings.
-Al Ghazali

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On average, you make around 35,000 choices each day or 13 million choices annually.

With the new year approaching with its 13 million new opportunities, how many of your decisions will choose life?

The most important choice you can make is who will accompany you on this journey we call life.

Who is most capable of leading you on a pathway you can be proud of for the remainder of your days?

Who can you trust for the best advice, the purest morals, the greatest faith in you?

It’s a new year and a good opportunity to make the choice of your lifetime.

Choose Jesus.
Choose life.

He will never leave you nor forsake you. —Deuteronomy 31:6

Nearly an entire pot of coffee in at this point and I’m filled with the cheer of another very early Christmas morning, an overly active bladder, and my mind’s own slideshow of Christmases past.

Each has taken on new meaning.

As a kid, the anticipation was palpable.

As an older adult, Christmas mornings are more reflective with my family and closest friends at the center.

Scattered cross country, I imagine how my kids and grands might begin this day upon awakening from their dreams to the realizing of a whole day of celebration ahead.

I’ll get photo texts and funny videos from Tampa to Seattle and smile along with each one like I’m right there in the moment with them.

We’ll FaceTime high points of today all the way til bedtime again.

Meanwhile I recline in the quiet of my living room with a certain creature stirring in my lap and my eyes on the tree I installed a month ago and will soon box up again until this time next year.

Life is alright.

I have all I want and need to put the merry in my Christmas.

I hope you find the same and celebrate the birth of a savior who loves you desperately and passionately exactly where you are right now.

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭24‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Charity is not just at Christmastime but at all times.

The poor and less fortunate among us will always be.

The holidays motivate an extra measure of charity toward those in hardships.

Charity is an all day, every day, every season command.

Deuteronomy 24 instructs about leaving some unharvested crops in your fields for charitable gleaning year ‘round.

Not just at Christmas.

Christmastime charity should—if anything—be over and above your regular practice of giving the other eleven months a year.

A nation blessed with such abundance is also blessed with an enormous capacity for generosity even on the least of celebrated days.

To give of ourselves at all times good and bad is an exercise of our faith in God as provider both for us as well as for those who cannot yet adequately provide for themselves.

Charity is an all-year, all-season, all-in command.

Make it so.

One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed.
A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.
The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you.
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Advanced AI technology will soon demonstrate the immense power and proliferation of false accusations. Deep fake videos and voices created by bad actors will suffice to persecute the innocent and arouse the ignorant to prosecute and condemn.

That is the truth of our future despite the best efforts of those who may discover otherwise.

Injustices like this are already trending.

The proper procedure provided by God will be cruelly violated without regard.

While this 60 second Bible study may be an unconventional one to post, it’s a grave concern for God’s people to be aware of in these times.

Persecution of good, innocent people has met its technological accomplice.

This time of year is particularly special to me.

The first time I heard of him, I was just 3 or 4 years old.

But by the time I was five, I understood about the gifts he brings and boy, was I excited.

I believed in him for years until some kids my same age said it wasn’t true.

He didn’t exist and he doesn’t give us gifts.

So, of course, I asked my parents.

They weren’t very good at corroborating the story, life moved on, I got older, and I didn’t think much of him for a very long time.

I hit some hard times in my life when I desperately longed for the simple truths of childhood.

What could it hurt?

Since then, I’ve embraced the true meaning of this time of year.

And like when I was a little kid,
I once again have a faith and belief in him, Christ Jesus, and the gifts he gives.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Not every prison has bars.
Some are built with words—polished, persuasive, reasonable-sounding words.

Paul warns us it is possible to be taken captive without realizing it.

No violence. No force. Just ideas that slowly shift our trust—from Christ to self, from revelation to reasoning, from surrender to control.

“Hollow philosophy” is not always loud or aggressive. Often it is gentle. It flatters the intellect. It assures us we are wise, enlightened, progressive, or simply “being realistic.”

Yet beneath the surface, it is empty—because it asks us to build our lives on something or anything other than Christ.

Human tradition tells us what is normal.
Culture tells us what is acceptable.
Spiritual forces whisper what feels empowering.

But Christ tells us what is true.

The danger Paul points out is not thinking deeply—it is thinking apart from Jesus.

Any belief system that does not bow to Christ’s authority, no matter how sophisticated, will eventually place a yoke on our souls. What promises freedom often ends in quiet captivity.

This verse calls us to vigilance, not fear. We are not told to withdraw from the world, but to anchor ourselves in Christ so firmly that no wave of thought can carry us away.

The question is not:
“Does this make sense to me?”
but rather:
“Does this lead me closer to Christ—or subtly away from Him?”

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Give credit where credit is due.

Entitlements are just us grasping for personal meaning and value.

They are the first step at denying God his rightful place in our lives.

Like asking God to take our selfie, pride in our own accomplishments misses the point altogether.

Either all good things originate with God or none of them do.

Cherry picking for our own egos denies the one who allowed the tree to flourish in the first place.

God IS the first place in everything and is the sole source of our prosperity.

Give credit where credit is due.

Went for coffee yesterday.

Eric was there as he is every dark early morning on the overnight shift.

I spent a buck and change and got an earful in return.

It started with my share of delight that I’m spending the holidays with my kids here and earlier with my grandkids in Florida.

He smiled and teared up a little.

I asked him his plans since we’ve been on a first name basis for over a year now.

He has a grown daughter and granddaughter in L.A. he’d like to see but hasn’t in many years.

No bad blood he’s aware of, just her disregard and disinterest in a very lonely dad and grandpa.

He makes attempts to contact at any shred of opportunity, sends cards, gifts and cash on every occasion without acknowledgement.

He is at a loss of what more to do but accept the loneliness despite how desperately he wants to give of himself.

There are lots of Erics out there this time of year while the rest of us are rejoicing and rejoining with loving families.

The most I could do was a warm loaf of my banana blueberry nut bread left for him at the counter with a card that read: “In this world, Eric, we are all family. I enjoy spending a little part of each morning with you over coffee, my friend and brother. Merry Christmas.”

If you want to leave an unforgettable mark on someone’s life this Christmas, opportunities like this are right in front of us to take every day for about a buck and change.

Imagine a small fragment of this world waiting in your hands and seize the opportunity to help them feel connected.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ NIV‬‬

Haters will say this just promotes the wearing of rose-colored glasses. 

Truth is, among all our choices, focusing on the evils in this world will make one sick. Very sick. 

Behavioral and therapeutic evidences prove that outcome over and over. 

It doesn’t mean we should be so naive to think evils don’t exist, but realistic enough to acknowledge that right, pure, good, and lovely circumstances are what propel us forward, build character, growth, and harmony. 

Don’t be a Karen. 

Love yourself enough to know the difference and where negative thinking leads you. 

People notice and gravitate toward hopeful people. 

God loves a cheerful ❤️.