Author: Dave Dishman (Page 11 of 390)

I’m fresh from an eye exam (I’ve been wearing glasses since college so this is nothing new). The doctor showed me blurry marks on the wall that magically transformed into letters of the alphabet when the correct lens was placed in front of my eyes. Astounding clarity emerged with the proper equipment to help my eyes focus.

Peter helped young believers scattered through parts of the Middle East find the focal points of their faith. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Those who follow Jesus experience clarity as we move towards a hope that neither rots or fades. The ability to love one another emerges, not merely in surface ways, but with depth of empathy and care.

This renewal comes through the unleashed word of God. Living and active, his words take root and bring change. Indeed, Peter continues with a quote from Isaiah: All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Any turn to the Lord involves a change in lenses. A believer appeals to the Lord for salvation. Love for others grows and commitment to truth blossoms. God, His word, and the people around us. These things last forever, and form the focal points of our faith.

1 Peter 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Quincy Follweiler

Hank Williams, the renowned country music singer, wrote and performed the classic tune Your Cheatin’ Heart. One verse goes:

Your cheatin’ heart will pine someday
And crave the love you threw away
The time will come when you’ll be blue
Your cheatin’ heart will tell on you

The prophet Jeremiah expressed a similar sentiment: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Then Jeremiah shared this declaration from God: I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.

I’m not sure if Jeremiah had a girlfriend in mind when he wrote about the treachery of the human heart, but we all recognize the sentiment. Our hearts betray us. Purity eludes us. Realizing the Lord ferrets around in the depths of my heart only makes matters worse. As old Hank crooned, your cheatin’ heart will tell on you.

Thankfully, the one who searches is also the one who heals. Jeremiah begged, Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

There’s no hiding my cheatin’ heart. But if I turn in humility and need, the Lord will return the love I threw away.

Jeremiah 17 in Through the Bible in 2024

I find wonderful promises in the Bible about approaching God. But the condition of my heart often obscures the view. James wrote about this problem:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I embrace the first line—come near to God and he will come near to you—without considering the requisite accounting of my attitudes and actions. Drawing near to God involves a serious look at my sin. Not merely a nod, but fully facing both my active rebellion and passive resistance to his ways.

The Lord is never far from any of us, but only the humble experience his presence. When I lasso my straying heart, humble myself and ask for forgiveness, then I create conditions conducive for the Lord to draw near.

James 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Amin Hamid

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

The Bible says that if any of us lacks wisdom we should ask God who gives generously. But how do I know if God answers?

The evidence emerges in the ways godly wisdom presents in my life. The Holy Spirit’s work surfaces humility, thoughtfulness towards others, compassion and empathy. Wisdom from God leads me to do to others as I would have done to me.

Envy, running over people to get ahead, hypocrisy and pride mark this world’s wisdom. Look out for number one, get all the attention you can, drink in entertainment and enjoy yourself. But James calls such attitudes earthly, unspiritual—even demonic. They lead to disorder, dysfunction and corrupt practices.

Pray for wisdom. Trust the Lord to answer in his time, then watch for the good ways wisdom from God presents in your life.

James 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Ahmed Zayan