SEPTEMBER 22, 2025

    “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” 

― Mother Teresa

SONG OF SOLOMON 4-5

Eat, friends, and drink;

drink your fill of love. (5:1) 

2 CORINTHIANS 13

11Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

JOURNAL 

Mother Teresa's words echo the heart of God’s command, that peace is not found in isolation but in belonging, in love shared between us.

I remember years ago being in a very dark place. Loneliness weighed heavy on me; it felt as though my struggles were mine alone to carry. Yet in those moments, when I thought my prayers went unanswered, God showed up...sometimes in ways contrary to my expectations. His presence was undeniable, even when His answers weren’t what I thought I wanted. That season was painful, but it revealed something: life is hard for everyone. No one escapes worry, doubt, tears, or the ache of feeling alone. And yet, if we lift our eyes from our own haze of hurt, we realize something profound, we are all God’s children, longing for His embrace, far from home but destined for His arms.

Scripture reminds us of this belonging: “Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love” (Song of Solomon 5:1). This is not only an invitation to love God but to share life’s table with each other. When we truly see our weakness, we are invited into His strength. As Paul wrote, “Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11).

It is in recognizing our own frailty that we discover our connection to the Father and through Him, to His children. Loneliness can transform into a passion to comfort, hurt into a passion to heal, anger into reconciliation, and hatred into love. God can redeem it all in an instant. Sometimes, all it takes is a smile, a kind word, a hug, or a simple note. These small acts become the instruments of His love, reminders that we do indeed belong to one another.

Jesus said it clearly: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35).

When I allow that truth to settle, I find myself overwhelmed with joy, joy that is not bound by my circumstances but anchored in the eternal reality that God’s love binds us together. To be used by Him in that love is a gift that always catches me off guard, filling my heart with peace.

34“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

JOHN 13:34-35

SEPTEMBER 21, 2025

  “When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” 

― C.S. Lewis, On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature

SONG OF SOLOMON 1-3

5Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires. (3:5)

2 CORINTHIANS 12

 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

JOURNAL 

C.S. Lewis admitted that as a boy he hid his love of fairy tales in shame, but as a grown man he read them openly, free from the fear of seeming childish. He said, “When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” That strikes me deeply because so much of my own life has been a tug-of-war between childish immaturity and childlike faith.

I see the evidence in the way I have often forced things that should have been left alone. I have run from battles that needed to be faced. I have lashed out when a calm heart would have been wiser. I have smoothed over conflict when it cried out for confrontation. I have hated when love was needed, and clung to stubbornness when forgiveness was required. These missteps came not from true maturity but from immature fear and anxiety, old patterns formed when I was young.

At Onsite years ago, I learned that these behaviors are often rooted in childhood survival mechanisms. When life grows heavy, I revert back to them instinctively. Yet there is also something profoundly good about the child within us: the wonder of discovery, the purity of love, and the unashamed honesty of our emotions. Scripture reminds us of this balance. In Song of Solomon 3:5, we are cautioned not to arouse love before its time, an echo of how impatience and forcing things can wound us. In contrast, 1 Peter 2:1–3 calls us to crave pure spiritual milk like newborns an invitation to grow, not by rejecting childlikeness, but by maturing through it.

Weakness, difficulty, and struggle have become my unexpected tutors. In them I am forced to tell the truth about myself, to admit sin, to confess failure. And in that raw honesty, I am driven back to God, not as a polished adult trying to prove my worth, but as a child crying out for a parent. Paul’s thorn reminds me that God’s grace is not a crutch but the very place where His power rests: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So, the call is not to erase the child but to redeem him. To let the wonder and purity of that part of me remain, while surrendering the immaturity born of fear. That is the paradox: to grow up in Christ is to become more like a child.

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

1 PETER 2:1-3

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025

   “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

ECCLESIASTES 10-12

4If a ruler’s anger rises against you,

do not leave your post;

calmness can lay great offenses to rest. (10:4)

2 CORINTHIANS 11:16-33

 I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

JOURNAL 

Here Solomon confirms that staying calm and enduring anger is the path to resolution. Also Paul tells of all his sufferings in order to make the point that it is in the suffering that dependence on God is developed. It is in the conflict that strength is born. It is in the conflict that love is proven.

It is tempting to believe that the goal of life is security and pleasure. Yet everything in scripture confirms the opposite. Is this not the reason that we love athletics...they let us see the dilemma of life play out in front of our very eyes. Conflict and opposition are what create passion, excitement, teamwork and a sense of purpose. Working through the inevitable difficulties is the really good stuff. There is no hiding from missed field goals, interceptions, penalties, strikeouts, mistakes, injuries etc. The conflict is there and we watch as the participants deal with it. To engage and play is the only way to get better, it is the only way to really learn.

It is the same in life. Stepping into the fire, into the opportunities for failure and the inevitable difficulties of life is the key to living. It forces me to solve problems, use my talents and deepens my dependence on God and his wisdom.  This life is not about reaching a destination, it's about living all the moments that lead to the ultimate destination. It's about living them with purpose, passion and a sense of humility realizing that to live on this earth as a human is an incredible opportunity and blessing, one that should never be taken for granted.

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ROMANS 12:1-2

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025

  “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” 

― Maya Angelou

ECCLESIASTES 7-9

7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (9:7-10)

2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-15

12And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

JOURNAL 

A few years ago I wrote about "Pound the Rock" and what it really means. Reading this in Ecclesiastes is another reminder that I may not have tomorrow and my time on earth is ticking away. Why do I think that I am guaranteed anything other than this moment? I am not, it can all end in a flash and the question is...have I really made the most of this moment? Have I really lived it fully, or have I spent it in regret over yesterday and in worry over tomorrow? Have I spent it comforting myself or protecting myself from the realities of life? If the answer is any of these then...my moment was wasted.

One of the realities of life that is often easy to forget in our Facebook, social media world is that every single human is struggling with something. Most of the time its not obvious but no matter the surface indicator they are hurting and struggling in some way. That's just the nature of being human and being alive. That's why love matters! We all need it and we all crave it and the crazy thing is that when we give it...our world changes for the good. 

Love is an action, love is doing something, not sitting around pondering. Love risks, love bleeds...love does not waste time protecting itself. Love gives and nurtures and is willing to risk rejection and heartache and embarrassment just to connect and give to someone else. Love's goal is simply to give love, not to get. Yet too often my focus is on the end result rather than satisfaction and joy in the doing, in the "swinging of the hammer". God promises us that obedience to him will be worth it. Therefore that is all we need, nothing else...accept God's love and then give it away.

14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

JAMES 2:14-17

SEPTEMBER 18, 2025

   "4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

― 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7

ECCLESIASTES 4-6

10Whoever loves money never has enough;

whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.

This too is meaningless.

11As goods increase,

so do those who consume them.

And what benefit are they to the owners

except to feast their eyes on them? (5:10-11)

2 CORINTHIANS 10

17But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^b18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

JOURNAL 

All of life is about learning to become content with who we are, who God is and coming to terms with what we offer the world. The one thing that we can always give regardless of talent or ability is love. To care for others and give them the love that we receive from God is the greatest blessing in life.

Yet what usually trips me up is when I start doubting God's love, and begin to look to man for validation and affirmation. It is such a losing game. For people can never love the way we NEED them to love. When I start venturing down this path...everything becomes tainted and grey.

I think this is why 1 Corinthians 13 and the description of love is so important. Not only can I look to it and see how miserably I fail to love in this way. But I also can look at it and realize that this kind of love is beyond the human race. It is truly Godly and only in God can we receive and give anything close to this capacity.  I can therefore let other humans off the hook to provide this for me. The tastes we do get with each other are only because God is part of it.  It is only because he is working in and through us.

When I think about Jesus and the fact that he was the most loving, perfect human being to ever live and yet he was betrayed, questioned, spit on and abandoned, how can I ever expect to look to mankind to receive affirmation and validation when mankind failed so miserably in even giving it to Jesus. What I can do though is to seek God and his love and once accepted I can love and can give that love away. In doing so I can then recognize when another person is filled with this love. I can then connect in ways that brings us into the presence and fellowship of God. This is the church and it has nothing to do with a building or an alter or a choir...yet in this the miracle and holiness of God is experienced. It can be found anywhere that two human beings experience and connect in the love and grace of Christ.

20For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

MATTHEW 18

SEPTEMBER 17, 2025

   “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” 

― Edwin Hubbell Chapin

ECCLESIASTES 1-3

9What do workers gain from their toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^a no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. (3:9-13)

2 CORINTHIANS 9

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”^a

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

JOURNAL 

Life apart from God is like chasing after the wind. As Ecclesiastes reminds us, “He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We were not created to find meaning in possessions, achievements, or even in our fleeting years. Houses, jobs, wealth, and even our own bodies are temporary and fragile. Our true hope rests not in what fades but in the eternal kingdom of God, where His love and promises anchor us.

This eternal perspective changes how we live in the present. When we accept and embrace the hope of Christ, we can endure disappointments, frustrations, and trials with a spirit of love and perseverance. We begin to see every person not merely as a temporary organism, but as a spiritual being made for eternity. This is why Paul exhorts us that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Giving of ourselves, whether in love, resources, or time, becomes an act that reverberates beyond this life and into eternity.

And yet, we are not left unprotected in this journey. Paul urges us to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” and to “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit equip us to stand firm in a broken world.

Every act of love, every gift given in faith, every moment we stand for truth, these touch eternity. They are not wasted. They are seeds sown into God’s kingdom, and their fruit will endure forever.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2025

 “Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.” 

― Steve Goodier

PROVERBS 30-31

5“Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. (30:5-6)

2 CORINTHIANS 8

1And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

JOURNAL 

Scripture reminds us that every word of God is flawless and trustworthy (Proverbs 30:5-6). That includes His commands about giving. God doesn’t call us to give out of abundance alone; He calls us to give in a way that costs us something. That is when giving becomes love.

Paul writes of the believers who, even in “extreme poverty,” overflowed with generosity (2 Corinthians 8:2). They gave “beyond their ability” not because it was easy, but because their joy in Christ moved them to see giving as a privilege, not a burden. Their sacrifice was evidence that their hearts were first surrendered to God, and then open to others (2 Corinthians 8:5).

This shows us that true giving isn’t measured by the size of the gift, but by the willingness to let it cut into our comfort. Sacrificial giving demonstrates trust that God will provide, that His shield will protect, and that His Word will stand. If giving never costs us time, convenience, or resources, then perhaps it is not love but charity without heart.

Jesus Himself modeled this perfectly. Love cost Him everything. The cross was not comfortable generosity, it was complete sacrifice. When we give in ways that stretch us, we reflect Him.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-10 that salvation is the free gift of God, not earned by our works. But as those who have received grace, we are God’s handiwork...created to walk in good works He has already prepared for us. Those works will always involve giving of ourselves, because love cannot exist without sacrifice.

 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

EPHESIANS 2:8

SEPTEMBER 15, 2025

  “Life is a long lesson in humility.” 

― J.M. Barrie, The Little Minister

PROVERBS 28-29

13Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,

but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

14Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,

but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. (28:14-14)

2 CORINTHIANS 7

10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

JOURNAL 

Scripture makes it clear that humility is not simply lowering ourselves or appearing meek, it is about being truthful before God and others. Proverbs reminds us that concealing sin only leads to ruin, while confession and honesty open the way for mercy. To tremble before God is not fear in the worldly sense but an awareness of His holiness and our own need for truth. When my heart hardens, I slip into pride, pretending I am fine, but that path only brings trouble.

2 Corinthians states that godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation and freedom from regret. That is the gift of humility, it forces me to face the truth, admit where I’ve fallen, and allow God to reshape me. Worldly sorrow, on the other hand, leaves me stuck in shame and death because it never turns toward God in honesty.

So much of my life I have tried to manage my emotions...fear, anger, disappointment, by burying them. In doing so, I was not being honest with myself, with others, or with God. But humility requires that I bring the truth of what I feel and who I am into the light. Only then can God take my weakness and transform it into strength.

Peter’s words echo this truth: humility is clothing ourselves with honesty before one another and before God. Pride keeps me pretending, but humility allows me to confess, to cast my anxieties on Him, and to trust that He cares. It is not weakness to be truthful about my struggles, it is the very place where God meets me, lifts me, and gives me freedom.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.”^a

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 PETER 5:5-6

SEPTEMBER 14, 2025

  True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging does not require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.

― BRENE' BROWN

PROVERBS 25-27

19As water reflects the face,

so one’s life reflects the heart. (27:19)

2 CORINTHIANS 6

3We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

JOURNAL 

True belonging is not about fitting into every group or carving out a place in the world by changing ourselves. Instead, it is about standing firmly in the truth of who we are in Christ. As Proverbs teaches, just as water reflects the face, so a life reflects the heart. If my heart is aligned with God, then my life will naturally bear the reflection of His presence, regardless of whether I feel I "belong" to any particular circle.

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that life with God is filled with paradoxes: being unknown yet fully known, poor yet making many rich, sorrowful yet rejoicing. These tensions are not failures of faith but the essence of it. They call me to embrace the mystery of living in the world but not being of it. In fact, Jesus himself makes it clear that to gain life we must be willing to lose it, and to follow Him we must carry the cross and surrender even what is most precious.

This surrender, though, is not the erasing of self. Instead, it is the unveiling of who we were truly created to be. God has imprinted His design on every one of us, down to the uniqueness of our DNA. No two people in all of history bear the same exact design, and yet each of us carries the image of God. When I surrender my identity to Christ, I do not lose myself, I discover the self God has intended all along. My passions, gifts, personality, and even my struggles are no longer random fragments but part of a larger story that finds meaning in Him.

Belonging, then, is not secured by human approval or societal labels. It comes from surrendering my life so fully to Christ that He becomes the source of my identity. And in that place, my uniqueness is not diminished but redeemed. I get to live out the life He knit together in me from the beginning, one that cannot be replicated or replaced. As the psalm declares, we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and in Christ, that wonder finds its fullest expression.

This kind of belonging demands cost. Jesus compared it to building a tower or waging a war, requiring careful counting, deep resolve, and willingness to let go of everything else to gain Him. Salt that loses its flavor is useless, and a disciple who clings to self cannot reflect the salt and light of Christ. True belonging, then, is not about gaining a place in the world but about living as one already possessed by God.

And in that surrender...when I no longer seek identity from the world, I discover the paradoxical freedom of the Gospel: I lose everything, yet I gain all. And what I gain is the discovery of my God-given uniqueness...the life I was created to live, fully alive in Him.

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

LUKE 14:25-35