MARCH 31, 2026

  “Find your authentic voice, become vulnerable, and then put yourself out there.” 

― Meredith Brooks

JUDGES 3-5

   31“Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD;
            But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”
            And the land was undisturbed for forty years. (5:31)

LUKE 7:31-50

31Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“ ‘We played the pipe for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not cry.’

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

JOURNAL

As I reflect on Israel’s cycle of rebellion and rescue, and Jesus confronting the Pharisees, I see something deeper than behavior change. Faithfulness is not performance. It is exposure. And there is something profound happening, not just spiritually, but biologically, when we step into that place.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that vulnerability is not weakness. It is transformation at the deepest level. When I stop performing and actually tell the truth about myself, my fears, my failures, my need, something shifts in my brain. The defenses quiet. The constant scanning for approval settles. It is as if my mind moves from survival into connection. And what is even more remarkable is that this does not just change me. It changes the people around me. When I am real, it gives others permission to be real. When I drop the mask, it disarms theirs. There is a kind of ripple effect where honesty rewires not just my own heart, but the emotional landscape of others.

This is why living for the approval of people is so empty. It keeps me locked in performance mode, constantly managing perception, never actually known. And biologically, that state keeps me guarded, anxious, and disconnected. No amount of applause can calm that. Jesus is pointing to this truth. People cannot be satisfied because performance never creates connection. Only authenticity does.

This is where the tension with the world shows up. The world says earn it, prove it, achieve it. God says bring your failure, confess it, and receive love. One path keeps me striving and guarded. The other invites me to be seen and transformed. And I am starting to see that God’s way is not just morally better, it is how I was designed to function. Facing my fears, my insecurities, my inconsistencies is not punishment. It is the doorway to freedom.

Because when I allow myself to be fully seen and still loved, everything changes. I no longer have to perform for love. I can actually give love. My actions stop being driven by fear and start being an overflow of gratitude. Even my scars and failures take on a different role. They are no longer things to hide, but the very places that create connection, empathy, and strength in me and in others.

This is the way of the cross. It is not about image management, it is about surrender. It requires me to admit my need and trust that I am loved in it. And in doing so, I begin to find my voice. A real one. Not constructed or curated, but honest. I can live in my own skin without comparison or pretending.

And in that place, something powerful happens. The very things I once feared become the bridge to others. My weakness becomes strength. My story becomes an invitation. My life becomes an expression of something far greater than myself.

This is the good news. Not just that I am saved, but that I am transformed. And that transformation, through vulnerability and truth, has the power to change not only me, but the hearts of those around me.

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really know me, you will know^b my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 

JOHN 14:5-7

MARCH 30, 2026

  “Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.”  

~ T.S. Eliot

JUDGES 1-2

20Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua. (2:20-23)

LUKE 7:1-30

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

JOURNAL

I’ve been sitting with the idea that much of the harm in this world is done by people who genuinely believe they are doing what is right. That realization used to frustrate me because I’ve always wanted to believe that if I could just think clearly enough, try hard enough, and stay disciplined enough, I could align my intentions and actions perfectly. But that simply hasn’t been true. What I am beginning to see is that even my best intentions are not pure in the way I want them to be. They are shaped by things I don’t fully see or understand, my past, my fears, my desire for control, my need for approval, and my pride. All of it mixes into what I call good, and yet underneath it there are motives and blind spots I cannot fully untangle on my own.

That realization is humbling in a way I cannot escape. It means I am not as reliable as I thought I was, even at my best. It means that trying to perfect my behavior or purify my motives through effort alone is an exhausting and endless pursuit. I can always look back and find something I missed, something I could have done better, something that was subtly about me instead of others. Humility, then, is not thinking less of myself, but recognizing clearly that even my best is limited. It is understanding that my good is still flawed, and that I do not have the ability to make it fully right on my own.

And strangely, that is where freedom begins. If that is true, then my role is not to perfect myself, but to surrender myself. To offer my actions, both good and bad, to God and trust that He is the only one who can take what is incomplete, imperfect, and even misguided, and use it for something meaningful. It shifts everything. It moves me away from striving to control outcomes or prove my worth and toward simply being present and faithful in this moment. It allows me to release the burden of trying to make everything right and instead trust the One who redeems all things.

It also changes how I see others. If I struggle to act purely even when I want to, then so does everyone else. That does not excuse harm, but it does create compassion. It reminds me that we are all limited, all influenced by things we do not fully understand, and all in need of grace. So where does that leave me? It leaves me in surrender, not passive but honest, offering what I have, knowing it is not enough on its own, and trusting that God is enough. It leaves me grateful that He does not require perfection, but instead works through imperfection. Maybe that is the point all along, not that I become flawless, but that I become dependent, not that my actions become perfect, but that I trust the One who can redeem them, because in the end even my best intentions need a Savior.

8When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9“This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.11The poor you will always have with you,^a but you will not always have me. 12When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

MATTHEW 26:8-13

MARCH 29, 2026

  “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” 

― Martin Luther King Jr.

JOSHUA 23-24

14“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (24:14-15)

LUKE 6:27-49

27“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

JOURNAL

This passage from Joshua is one of those that draws a line in the sand as to what will define the believer.  Then in this chapter of Luke, defines love and how it's way deeper and more difficult than the feel-good ideas of our culture.  

This fly's in the face of everything that we are taught and that we teach our children in regard to living in our culture. This sort of love and this sort of devotion seems like self-sabotage, not love. Although I have read this passage multiple times it still is like cold water in the face...

It is impossible to live this way without Christ.  In our culture...following and loving this way seems as if it would lead to sure destruction.  Yet Jesus tells us clearly in no uncertain terms that this is how we are to love and this is how we are to live.  

How do we do this?  How do I give to those who hate me?  How do I lend and not expect repayment? How do I allow things to be taken and not ask for them? How do I allow someone to hurt me and continually love them in the face of that hurt?  It is impossible without Christ. I think this is where we truly have to live life one day at a time and trust Christ one moment and one circumstance at a time. 

If this is to be my guide then I need to consult God every day, every moment. I don't have time to worry about the future or the past. I truly believe this is the point...getting us to fully surrender. Getting us to abandon any agenda that does not line up with God's direction for our lives. 

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. 

GALATIANS 6:7-10

MARCH 28, 2026

 “Disasters, he proposed, create a "community of sufferers" that allow individuals to experience an immensely reassuring connection to others”

― Sebastian Junger

JOSHUA 21-22

4And now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them, you may return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you across the Jordan. 5But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (22:4-5)

LUKE 6:1-26

 20Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

22Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you

and reject your name as evil,

because of the Son of Man.

23“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

JOURNAL

God gives the Israelites rest...rest from years of struggle and battle and wandering. They now have land and a kingdom in which to live and thrive. Some of the tribes build an altar and the worst is assumed until it is later clarified that it was built to God as a testament of their faith. Jesus names his key disciples and then begins to give a sermon in the midst of multitudes of people who had come out to hear him and be healed. 

Jesus begins the sermon with a paradox.   Jesus begins this sermon by claiming suffering and persecution as the place of greatest blessing. Who in their right mind would ever see suffering as being blessed. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when George makes a commitment to do the complete opposite of every decision he normally would make...his reasoning is that if all his decisions in the past have been wrong, then the opposite of those decisions would be right.

It is obviously not that simple...or is it?  If all selfishness ultimately leads to misery...then the opposite would logically seem to be the answer.  Seek to be a servant, to give more than I receive, to embrace suffering instead of running from it.  Seek to love rather than to be loved.  What does a life dedicated to the opposite of having it all look like...I think it looks a lot like Jesus.

Thinking through these initial words of Jesus really has a way of changing mindset. Many times in life it is hard to see circumstances as blessings. However, I think it's more the fact that when we suffer we need God and in that need we collectively become what God ultimately desires for us. We no longer deal with the pride of controlling our world or seeing ourselves as better than someone else. We are brought together under a common suffering. I also think there is a daily purpose there of putting ourselves in the midst of hard things...accepting them and even pursuing them. That little bit of self-inflicted suffering is called obedience and doing it is what following God is all about.  

Sebastian Junger wrote a book called Tribe. In it he documented cases upon cases of people bonding together during really difficult circumstances. One of the paradoxes was that when they looked back on those times they considered them as some of the most joyous of their lives.  It is comforting to know that God sees, God loves and God will always provide a way for love and joy...we must just be willing to trust and follow. 

27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

 LUKE 14:27

MARCH 27, 2026

 

 “I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being good all the time. That would be hypocrisy.” 

~ Oscar Wilde

JOSHUA 19-20

7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. 9Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.(20:7-9)

LUKE 5:17-39

 27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.29Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

JOURNAL

The Israelites divide up the land between descendants of the 12 tribes and begin establishing rules for governing between the cities. Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) and is criticized for associating with "tax collectors and sinners". 

God is in the business of redemption.  "Perfect people" equal  arrogant, dishonest messes. It is only in the admitting of needing refuge, help and salvation that we ever get the joy found in Christ.  I love that Jesus never mixes words here, in fact he confronts the bearers of shame head on. Jesus sees that one of the greatest enemies to the joy of salvation is the shame heaped upon the people by the Pharisees. Jesus doesn't need their approval or to be in their ring of acceptance.  He goes to where the deepest need is...the rejects and sinners. This is where he hangs out...this is where he spends his time.

Jesus shows time and time again that we don't need to pretend or hide. He knows us, knows our deepest secrets, our worst thoughts, our hidden agendas and that's where he wants to spend his time, that's where he wants to connect first. That is so amazing and so freeing.  This is the beauty and brilliance of Jesus' words...they are far deeper than the initial surface. They go to the heart of every human who reads them. They go to the heart but not just to expose but rather to heal.

27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 

MATTHEW 23:27-28

MARCH 26, 2026

 “Do one thing every day that scares you.” 

~ Elinor Roosevelt

JOSHUA 16-18

3So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? (18:3)

LUKE 5:1-16

8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

JOURNAL

God’s command is clear throughout Scripture. It is to go and to act. From the Israelites stepping into land already promised to them, to Peter dropping his nets and following Jesus, the pattern is the same. Faith is not passive. It is expressed through movement. Peter encounters the power of Jesus and his immediate response is shame and fear. He sees who Jesus is and, in contrast, feels the weight of who he is not. Yet Jesus meets that moment directly and tells him not to be afraid, then calls him forward into purpose.

Yesterday on the golf course I saw something in myself that connects deeply to this. It was almost startling how quickly my mind moved. One bad shot and my thoughts immediately jumped ahead. I began projecting failure into the next swing, the next hole, even the rest of the round. It was not logical. It was automatic. It was as if my mind was trying to protect me by predicting more disappointment before it could happen.

Even when I hit a good shot, there was still tension. Instead of simply receiving it, my mind questioned it. Can I do that again? Was that a fluke? The projection did not stop, it just shifted forms. Whether negative or positive, it was still rooted in doubt and control.

What struck me most is that this was happening in a place where everything was good. I was outside, enjoying the game, with nothing truly at stake. Yet my mind still searched for ways to protect itself through fear and shame. That realization was revealing. These responses are not situational. They are deeply wired. They come from that primitive part of the brain designed for survival. But when left unchecked, those same instincts do not protect me, they sabotage me. They pull me out of the present moment and rob me of both joy and effectiveness.

So during the round I tried something different. Instead of projecting forward, I focused only on the shot in front of me. I approached each one with the intention of making it the best shot of my life. I chose to be composed, focused, and confident. Not because I knew the outcome, but because I could fully give myself to that moment.

The difference was immediate. The game became more enjoyable. There was a freedom in it. I was no longer playing against imagined futures. I was simply present.

This ties directly to what I see in Scripture today. Peter did not have time to project every possible outcome of leaving his nets. He was confronted with a moment. A choice. Stay in what he understood or step into something unknown. Jesus did not remove the uncertainty. He simply said do not be afraid and follow me.

God does not ask me to control outcomes. He asks for obedience in the present moment. He asks me to give my best right now and trust Him with everything else. As simple as that sounds, my mind constantly tries to complicate it by projecting into the future or replaying the past.

Fear and shame have been the two most consistent forces I have battled in life. They are powerful because they feel protective, but in reality they keep me from stepping fully into what I am called to do. The command to not fear is repeated over and over, not because fear will not come, but because it must not be allowed to lead.

The answer is not avoidance or suppression. It is obedience. It is choosing to move forward anyway. It is trusting that God meets me in each step, not in the imagined outcomes my mind creates.

There is a discipline to this. My mind will drift. My emotions will rise. There will be moments where everything in me wants to retreat or control. But those moments are opportunities. They are invitations to return to faith, to return to the present, and to act.

Even when walking through darkness, the promise remains the same. God is with me. My responsibility is not to map the entire path, but to take the next step with courage, focus, and trust.

4Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,^a

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me. 

Psalm 23:4

MARCH 25, 2026

 

“Be steady and well-ordered in your life so that you can be fierce and original in your work.” 

 ~ Gustave Flaubert

JOSHUA 14, 15

10“Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.

LUKE 4:33-44

42At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

JOURNAL

This is such a beautiful picture into the life of Christ. He was the Son of God, the Messiah and yet he never rested in that title, he was disciplined and never content to sit and be worshiped. He had important work to do and he diligently saw to do it.

Work is one of the great blessings of life.  Yet there are so many things in culture that play up the allure of retirement. As if one day when you are no longer "working" life will then be full of joy.  The here and now is where God has me and it is where the opportunity for love, generosity, kindness and passion exist. The reality is that I am where I am. I can either consider it a blessing from God and look at every moment as an opportunity to learn, to serve, to give or to teach.  Or I can long for something I may never get all the while wasting the gift of today.

I believe the key is balance...there should be times of rest. There are also going to be moments of sadness, frustration and heartache. But that is just part of the beauty of life. We can't avoid it and if we extend extreme effort to do so...then we risk numbing our lives in ways that can harm us and those around us. I am where I am this moment today.

 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

COLOSSIANS 3:23-24

MARCH 24, 2026

   “Most people take the limits of their vision to be the limits of the world. A few do not. Join them.” 

- Arthur Schopenhauer

JOSHUA 11-13

18Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time. 19No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to hardend their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.(11:18-20)

LUKE 4:1-32

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^f

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

JOURNAL 

Joshua’s mission is clear and unwavering. He does not negotiate with what stands opposed to God. He removes it completely. There is a decisiveness there that speaks to me, not just outwardly, but inwardly. What kingdoms exist within me that do not belong. What habits, thoughts, or patterns stand in quiet opposition to the life God has called me to live. If my body is truly the dwelling place of His Spirit, then I cannot casually coexist with what diminishes that reality. There is a call to clear it out, to make room for something greater.

Then I see Jesus in Luke, led by the Spirit into the wilderness, fasting, resisting, aligned. And when He returns, He comes back in the power of the Spirit. Not weakened, but refined. Focused. Anchored. And He declares something profound. Today this scripture is fulfilled. Not someday. Not eventually. Today.

Today is where God’s Spirit dwells in me. Today is where obedience matters. Today is where the miracle of my body, my breath, my awareness is actively sustaining me. And today is where I choose how I will respond. Just like Jesus, being filled with the Spirit does not mean the world will respond with constant praise. One moment He is admired, the next He is rejected. That same instability exists in my life. Circumstances shift. Reactions change. But none of that alters what is true. What is true is that God’s Spirit is in me now.

That means this body is not random. It is intentional. It is capable. It is designed to carry out something meaningful. So how I treat it today matters. What I fuel it with, how I move it, how I rest it, how I discipline my thoughts and actions. These are not small details. They are acts of honoring the Spirit within me. They are ways of aligning my life with what God is doing in me right now.

Joshua removed what stood in opposition. Jesus walked in obedience regardless of response. Both point to the same truth. My life is not measured by comfort or approval. It is measured by alignment.

So today becomes sacred. Every interaction is an opportunity to reflect the Spirit’s fruit. Love in how I respond. Peace in how I carry myself. Discipline in what I choose. Kindness, patience, self-control. Not as ideas, but as lived expressions flowing from within. This is what it means to live from the Spirit, not just believe in it.

Today is not ordinary. It is a living moment where God’s presence is active in me. My body is the vessel. My choices are the reflection. And my awareness of this changes how I walk through every second of it.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.       

GALATIANS 5:22-26

MARCH 23, 2026

 

“A great man is always willing to be little.” 

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

JOSHUA 9-10

40So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills,f and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

42And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign. 43Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

LUKE 3

9The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

12Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

JOURNAL

Joshua’s conquest is hard for me to process. Entire cities wiped out, men, women, and children. It feels brutal and unsettling. Then I read John’s words calling people to generosity, honesty, and fairness, and I wonder how both of these can exist under the command of the same God. It has always been something I wrestle with, and I think that is okay. My understanding is not complete, but my trust in God remains. I still believe He is good, that He is love, and that His ways are right even when I cannot fully reconcile them.

I keep coming back to the idea of relationship and perspective. A parent does not interact with a two-year-old the same way they do with a twelve-year-old or an adult child. The parent has not changed, but the relationship has, and the needs of the child are different in each stage. Maybe that helps explain some of what we see. God meets people where they are, within specific moments in history, culture, and maturity. It does not make everything simple, but it gives me a framework to keep trusting even when I do not fully understand.

There is something deeply humbling about the fact that God chose to step into humanity, to meet us in our mess, and to relate to us in a way we can begin to grasp. The image of a father is only a glimpse, but it reminds me that His actions are rooted in something far deeper than what I can see on the surface.

What stands out most to me is Jesus. He did not spend His time promoting Himself. His focus was on others, on their needs, on serving and loving. When He did speak about Himself, He spoke truthfully and without excuse. That is such a clear example for me. Live with a quiet humility. Do not make life about drawing attention to myself. If I have to speak, let it be honest and without justification. Use the moments I have to love people well, to serve, and to bring something good and eternal into the world around me.

It really comes down to this. Be willing to be small. Be honest. Love others. And trust that God is who He says He is, even when I do not have every answer.

6Who, being in very nature^a God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature^b of a servant,being made in human likeness.8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  

Philippians 2:6-8