There is a story from the life of Jesus reported in the Gospel of Luke about two women named Mary and Martha. Luke 10:38-42 tells us of Jesus visiting their home one evening. Martha is “distracted by all the preparations,” while “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet.” Martha comes to Jesus and lodges her complaint, “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

We might expect Jesus to side with Martha, as she serves the Lord and his followers. Instead, he responds with “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary has chosen what is better. She chose to listen to Jesus.

While I love the story, I fear it quickly gets distorted by well-intentioned Christians. As a result, people get asked to serve in a ministry through the Church, and they say, “I just need to spend more time with Jesus like Mary.” This story becomes an excuse to stop serving.

The problem is that most people are not spending more time with Jesus; they are using their time to attend sporting events, go to the lake, or spend time with the family on vacation. That is not the point of the story. The application is that we need to spend more time reading our Bible, specifically the gospels. We need to spend quality time in prayer and stillness before our Savior. The call is for us to enlarge our knowledge of and connection with Jesus.

The narrative is not an excuse to stop serving; rather, it is an instruction to spend more time with Jesus in communion and fellowship than in serving. Our time of worship will fuel our service to him and not negate it.

Jesus wants you to love him first and serve him second. Both parts are necessary, and the order is significant.

The story of Samson and Delilah is told in the Old Testament book of Judges, chapter 16, starting in verse 4.

Samson, who appears to have troubled relationships with women, falls in love with a woman from the Valley of Sorek named Delilah. The Philistines are going to use her to learn the secret of Samson’s strength.

In the story that follows, she asks him directly about the secret and says, “How can you be tied up and subdued?” Her intentions could not be clearer. Samson lies and claims that she needs only to use fresh bow strings. Then, she ties him up to test the story.

Again, she asks, “Tell me how you can be tied.” This time, he weaves a tale about using new ropes. Again, she tries it on him and tests the accuracy. Again, she is unhappy with his deception and says, “Tell me how you can be tied.”

The third time, he tells a lie about weaving his hair into a loom. One more time, she tests his honesty to discover that it does not work.

Finally, it says in verse 16 that “with such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.” Then in verse 17, “So he told her everything.”

At no point in the account do we ever get the impression that Delilah has Samson’s best interest at heart. She never hides her desire to know the secret to his strength. Not once does she ever give any proof that she is reliable or that she will not hurt him. Samson appears to be blind to her intentions even before he loses his eyes.

Here is the question I kept asking as I read through this narrative again: “Why does he stay in a relationship with her?” Maybe it is willful blindness. Perhaps it is arrogance and pride. Maybe he tries to see the best in others. All the while, the truth is that he is in a toxic relationship.

Let me ask you, “Are there any people in your life who do not have your best interest at heart?” There is a good chance they have not even tried to hide it. They keep putting you in situations that test your strength and the limits of your weakness.

Sometimes the best advice for a toxic relationship is to leave it. I know that is hard to hear, but for the sake of your future, walking away will be less painful than the road that lies ahead if you keep going this way. Sometimes the best thing to say to someone is, “Goodbye.”

Intrusive thoughts are defined as unwanted, uninvited, and often disturbing mental images or ideas that pop into the mind unexpectedly. They are like unwelcome guests who pop into your head, loud, persistent, and often discouraging. When they show up uninvited, if we’re not careful, they will try to convince us they belong. But as followers of Christ, we need to remember something crucial: not every thought that enters your mind deserves to stay.

Scripture reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” That means we are not powerless. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to challenge what enters our minds.

Think of your mind like a doorway. Thoughts will knock, but you get to decide which ones come in and sit down. When a thought contradicts God’s truth, don’t entertain it. Replace it. Speak Scripture out loud if you need to. Turn your attention to what is true, honorable, and pure.

Overcoming intrusive thoughts isn’t about achieving a perfectly quiet mind. It’s about learning to recognize truth from lies and choosing, again and again, to anchor yourself in Christ.

And every time you do, you’re winning.

I recently printed a three-part statement in large letters. I had never heard it before, but the preacher of a large Church I follow used it as a sermon illustration.

The statement that is now emblazoned on my wall is attributed to Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf. He was a Moravian Church leader in the late 18th century, and it served as the call to mission work. To be a missionary in a foreign land required humility and sacrifice in the name of Jesus.

The phrase is simply, “Preach the gospel. Die. Be forgotten.”

We are to preach the gospel message of Jesus above all else. There is also the recognition that we do it until we draw our last breath. After that, the goal is for people to remember Jesus and not the person who told them about him. There is no “platform” or “brand” building among the leaders of the Church; instead, the name of Jesus, not our name, will receive the glory.

This has always been my motto of sorts, but this is the first time I have ever heard it articulated this clearly. So I typed it up, set it in bold, printed it, and put it on the wall above my desk.

“Preach the gospel. Die. Be forgotten.” #lifegoals

This is written to the person who is struggling today to keep their head above water for whatever reason. You know who you are.

Please keep treading water. I am praying you will find the strength and energy to keep going today.

And if I am close enough, don’t hesitate to reach out a hand. I would be glad to help in any way that I can.

And if you are not close to me, cry out for help. I am sure someone is more than happy to be there for you. Perhaps there is a community of Jesus nearby, or maybe you are already connected to one, and I am sure someone will help you if you ask.

Some seasons are hard, and you feel like you are drowning. Don’t give up, reach out.

This is a social media post from Old Testament scholar Chad Bird dated April 11. It has one minor edit from me about the group he is leading through the Bible. (The second sentence) The rest is so good that I wanted to share it exactly as written.

Leviticus is full of the gospel. Leviticus 16 is especially rich in this regard.

A central detail in the chapter is the use of two goats. The high priest casts lots over them: one is designated for Yahweh, the other for Azazel.

Azazel is often translated “scapegoat,” a term coined by William Tyndale in 1530, meaning the “escape goat,” the one that carries away sin. However, Azazel is likely a reference to a desert demon.

What happens to the two goats?

The goat for Yahweh is sacrificed, and its blood is brought before the Lord in the inner sanctum to make atonement.

The other goat, the one for Azazel, is kept alive. The high priest lays his hands upon it and confesses over it all the sins of the people. It is then sent away into the wilderness, bearing those sins with it.

Sins are not only atoned for; they are removed. They are returned to the wilderness, to Azazel, cast back into the realm of evil itself. No longer resting upon the people, sins are carried away.

All of this is a ritual sermon that preaches Christ to us.

By his sacrifice, our sins are not only forgiven but taken away. As Hebrews declares, “he has appeared once for all…to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (9:26).

Our sins are no longer upon us. We stand clean. We stand forgiven.

All because of Christ.

I have this continual prayer before God. I ask him to empower me to live the best chapter of my life for him right now.

I don’t want to look back and tell people about all the things I did years or even decades ago.

I don’t want to dream about what I will do one day when I have more time or resources.

Since I do not know how long this life will last, I want to make the most of every season for the glory of God. One day, I will write the final chapter of my story before I stand before my creator. That may be when I am 58, 66, 74, or 81. It really doesn’t matter because I am living for Jesus in the present, not the past or the future.

My life and yours will be eulogized one day, and I pray the people who knew me in those days will have clear evidence of my faith in Jesus through my actions. They will have stories of my work and commitment right up till the very end. Anything less is a waste of the remaining years the Lord has given me.

I was recently asked where I get my blog ideas, or, more explicitly, are all the things I post my own original ideas?

Many of these ideas are my own. I make notes on each idea in a notebook, and I have already filled 2.5 notebooks. These are things I thought of when I was outside walking that I have been feeling lately. Sometimes I notice things in Scripture as I read. Others are responses to questions and conversations that I want to type up for future reference.

Also, some of my posts are ideas I have taken completely from someone else. I hear a line in a sermon or podcast. It is a thought that struck me in an article or a book. It is something I heard another pastor say, and it left an impression on me. I try to give credit if I know the source.

Finally, some ideas are a conglomeration of the two. I grew up attending Church, Sunday school, and youth group. I spent five years in Bible college. I have been in ministry for over 32 years and have spent almost my entire life absorbing Christian thought. Some ideas are from somewhere, but I have no clear idea of where. My thoughts have been shaped by every interaction throughout my life, and I have no idea of their origin.

So are my thoughts on this blog original? It’s hard to say. But wherever they come from, I hope you find one or two of them helpful, and maybe one day you will use the information. It’s okay if you don’t exactly remember the source, either.  

In the Biblical book of Ruth, the primary characters are Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. One lesser-known person is Orpah, Naomi’s other daughter-in-law, who returns to Moab. After the death of her husband and both of her sons, Naomi decides to return home when she hears there is food in Israel. As she departs, her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, are told it is okay for them to return to Moab to find husbands and build a future. At this, Ruth gives a beautiful speech about never leaving her, and Orpah weeps and then leaves.

Rabbinic tradition states that Orpah was not welcome in Moab, so she went to the land of the Philistines. There she remains unmarried but gives birth to six sons. All those boys were killed during the time of King David, with the most famous being Goliath. While there is no Biblical evidence of this, Jewish tradition paints her as a person who rejects God and whose family paid the price.

While it is fascinating to speculate what happened to her, what we are actually told in the story offers its own powerful lesson. Naomi was walking through a dark season with the loss of her immediate family. And when she was at her lowest, seen in her return home without family or financial gain, one of the two closest people in her life abandons her.

There are two things I want you to notice. First, in your darkest hours, people will leave you. It is inevitable. We must build our lives on our faith in God, not on the people closest to us. Second, it would be easy for Naomi to focus on Orpah rather than on Ruth. She could have spent the rest of her life filled with bitterness and hatred toward the person who abandoned her. She could have become pessimistic. Her life could have been shaped more by whoever left than by whoever stayed.

I am sure you have experienced pain in your life and watched people leave you behind. How did that impact you? I am also sure there was someone who stood beside you when all others left. How did you treat them?

Be sure to focus your attention, express your gratitude, and let your attitude be shaped more by the people who stay than by those who leave. Orpah’s story hurts, but Ruth gives life. Thank God for people like that.

If you attended worship with a Church yesterday, I sincerely hope you learned something. It might have been in a Sunday school class, a sermon, a small group, or a conversation. Wherever it occurred, may you have gained knowledge of God and his work in the world.

More than that. I hope you are living differently today because of that knowledge. I pray that you stop doing things outside the Lord’s will and start doing things within his will.

If what you learned on Sunday does not impact Monday, then all you received was a transfer of information and not the transformation that Jesus desires from us.