October 3, 2026

To the followers of Christ: What better time to bring out John 3:19 than the month that the weirdos and witches come out of hiding? As a precaution, even they can be brought into the light and found not guilty when they trust in Jesus. Here is the verse:

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

This verse isn't just for the people of darkness; some ordinary people, like you and me, relish the things of evil. You know how it is said that the eyes are the light of the soul; well, one time there was a person in my Sunday school class sitting in the same row as me, whose eyes looked as if they were completely dilated, as black as total darkness. Little did I know that this same person was about to create havoc in our church. If my husband hadn't noticed it too, I probably would have thought my mind was playing tricks on me. 

The truth is that to be pardoned of our sins, we only have to trust in Jesus and turn away from the evils of the dark world. He has given us the most precious gift: taking our sins away by paying for them himself, and all it takes is turning our lives over to him and seeking goodness rather than darkness. Here is the thing: once you put your trust completely in his hands, all you will want to do is please him, but you don't have to try; it comes naturally. So if you don't feel a natural pull towards him, you may need to reassess your relationship with him.  

Pictured is the fruit cocktail that I canned yesterday. I thought it was pretty. 

October 2, 2026

To the followers of Christ: A person of the flesh enters their new family by birth. You then become a member of that family and take on its nature, learning from them how to act and communicate with other members. However, to become a member of Christ's family, we must be born of the Spirit. You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without being born of the Spirit. How must we be born of the Spirit? The Spirit is sometimes described as wind, and sometimes as water. You must be born again by first confessing that you believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God, then being baptized, going down into the water as flesh and being raised as a new creation that is now Spirit, born into the kingdom of God. Being born again means that you now have communication with heaven: "But this new birth has its rise from heaven and its tendency to heaven: it is to be born to a divine and heavenly life, a life of communion with God and the upper world, and, in order to this, it is to partake of a divine nature and bear the image of the heavenly." Matthew Henry.

Even though we may think of baptism as a ritual, it was given to us by God for God, and not participating in it feels like rejecting His standards of practice. Many churches require it for membership if you haven't been baptized yet. However, these are my own thoughts on this subject; you don't need a preacher to baptize you, but a member in good standing with "The Church" will suffice. Whatever the case, I believe that baptism is a necessary part of becoming a Christ-follower. 

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

October 1, 2026

To the followers of Christ: When my husband's dad passed away, he had to take over his businesses and keep everything afloat until all the details could be sorted out. Without any legal documents to guide him, it was a daunting task. While we grieved, one of the first things I noticed was the parade of people trying to become friends with my husband: realtors, investors, and other businesspeople; somehow, they knew about his dad's portfolio of investments and property. I was very skeptical of some of them and their intention, and rightly so, because they were smooth talkers who seemed to be seeking a piece of the action. Eventually, he sorted out who were friends and who were foes.

Jesus attended the Passover Feast in Jerusalem and encountered people similar to what my husband encountered with his dad's passing. People of weak character flocked to him, seeking a first glimpse of the Messiah and following him to see his miracles and hear his preaching. However, he didn't commit himself to them because he knew their character. Imagine seeing people's intentions and walking away unscathed; that's what Jesus did during these high holy days. He already knew which ones would betray him and cave to the religious authorities, so he didn't trust their conversion. Jesus' ability to see through people's character was another picture of his divine authority. 

As Christ-followers, we also have a sense of knowing the difference between good and evil, but sometimes you don't see the truth until God is finished with what He is doing. Not finding out until later can make you question your discernment, but remember, it's all part of God's plan, so don't be discouraged; the Holy Spirit will open your eyes when it's the appropriate time.

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. John 2:24-25

September 30, 2026

To the followers of Christ: When you turned your life over to Jesus, did you notice that he brought a whip to drive out the filth within you? Though the story of Jesus cleaning the temple and driving out the people selling sacrifices was physically true, the similarities in our lives are real, too. When you turned to Jesus and accepted him as your Savior, he began refining you; some of us experienced him taking out his whip to clean us up, but others may have experienced a gentler cleaning that took more time. No matter how it happened, it caused some stress. We don’t always understand what is happening; however, eventually we begin to see the process and appreciate the trouble we went through to get to a place where we begin to resemble our Savior and trust him to keep our temple clean. 

How do you keep your temple clean? Confess your sins daily; even if you’re not sure you sinned that day, confess anyway to cover anything you unintentionally did. The Holy Spirit will convict you if it’s something egregious. Keep your temple clean, my friends, because you never want to get to the point that Jesus brings in a scourge to chase out the filth that has built up within you.

And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. John 2:16-17

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. Psalms 69:9

September 29, 2026

To the followers of Christ: Was the wedding at Cana a way for Jesus to show his new disciples that he was the real deal? Imagine their faces when he turned the vessels of water into wine! I’m sure it was quite astonishing. When Mary told Jesus they had run out of wine, he told his mother he wasn’t ready to show the world who he was. Many say calling her “woman” was just the language of the day, but I tend to believe he was being coarse with her because he wasn’t ready for what was coming next. However, like a good son, he did what his mother asked, and the governor of the ceremony said it was the best. So in this story we see Jesus’ humanity as well as his deity, which seem to be at odds with one another, which is a good thing for us to see because it shows that he understands us.

With Jesus as our bridegroom and in charge of the wedding ceremony, this miracle shows he wants only the best for his bride. If you are facing trouble right now, ask yourself if what you’re going through is a way for Jesus to refine you because he only wants what’s best for you. You are the vessel of water he is turning into fine wine. If you view your trouble this way, it may be easier to get through it. 

And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. John 2:10-11

September 28, 2026

To the followers of Christ: Think back to your conversion to Christianity. When did you recognize Jesus to be the Son of God and King? Do you think you got there on your own? Toward the end of the first chapter of John, Jesus calls some of his disciples, and Nathanael is one of them. Before he met Jesus, Phillip told Nathanael that they had found the one written about in the law of Moses and the prophets. However, he mentioned to him that he was Jesus of Nazareth, which threw him off because it was written that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, one of David’s towns. So Nathanael says, “What good could come out of Nazareth?” Then, when Jesus met him, he said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” and said he saw him under the fig tree. Then he recognized him as the Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus opened his eyes to the truth of who he was, but because he told him something he saw in the Spirit, Nathanael believed. Here is what Jesus said:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. John 1:50

Some of us believe because the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truth, but others need to see proof. It doesn’t matter how you were encouraged to turn your life over to Jesus; what matters is that you did. Jesus knew your turning point in advance and directed you to that path. Praise God that you recognized the truth. 

September 27, 2026

To the followers of Christ: One thing I've learned as a Christ-follower is that if someone who isn't a believer shows interest in Jesus, you take a moment to talk with them about him. You don't wait until it is convenient; you give them all the information the Holy Spirit leads you to share and invite them to give their lives to Jesus. You might be a little nervous doing it for the first time, but that's why you let the Holy Spirit guide and direct what you say. You strike while the iron is hot.

When John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God for the second time before two of his disciples, they turned to follow Jesus. The two disciples were Andrew, Peter's brother, and some believe the other was John, the writer of the Gospel of John. When they began following him, Jesus asked, "What seek ye?" which was an invitation. Jesus didn't wait to see if they were serious. They asked where he lived, and he told them to "come and see." They stayed with him, and then the next day Andrew went to find Peter to tell him that they had found the Messiah. As we can see, they immediately went to tell others about Jesus; that's why it is so important not to waste time when others show interest in him, because you never know who they may help bring to follow Jesus.  

As a side note: look how small the Church started as- only Jesus and two new disciples and look how big it is now!

And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. John 1:36-37