For the Journey Literature

When I wrote last month’s Month in Review, I made the statement that I was out of 30-Day Devotionals to highlight so there would be something different this month. At the time, I didn’t realize I would finish my latest 30-Day Devotional “From the Writings of Paul” this month. Still, a sneak peek and a highlight in the same month seems like a bit much, so we’ll stick with the something different plan for this month.

Of all my For the Journey offerings, Sunday School literature is where it all started. I love writing the 30-Day Devotionals and Bible Study Guides. VBS, like children’s Sunday School literature, seemed impossible for a long time but turned out to be a lot of fun for me. But, by far the most outside-my-comfort-zone and challenging offering is the podcast. Sometimes I still can’t believe I ever did that. I prefer to think the fact that there are never enough hours in the day is why episodes have become so sporadic, but I’m honest enough to admit the fact that there’s a big part of me still so uncomfortable with even a massively amateur podcast might be a contributing factor.

Still, I learned a lot from my attempts at podcasting and even had quite a bit of fun with some of the episodes, like the one featured in this highlight. Rather than share the audio again, I opted for sharing my script from Episode 6 (originally released in July of 2021) below. I hope you enjoy giving it a read instead of a listen this time if you caught it back in 2021 or enjoy it for the first time if not!

For the Journey Podcast

Episode 6:  When the Journey’s Long

Welcome back to For the Journey Podcast. If you’ve by chance caught every episode, then you may remember that I’ve mentioned this unfinished episode a couple of times.  God kept changing my plans, and His are far better than mine. Plus, it just wasn’t coming together. But…I’m really excited today because this is finally that episode. And, it seems completely appropriate that this episode was a longtime coming because, today, we’re discussing “When the Journey’s Long.”

Not counting a few overnight church trips, my family went on one real, honest-to-goodness, week-long vacation. One. And, I could tell you it’s because my Dad is so not a traveler, which is true. (I’m not much of one either honestly.) I could tell you it’s because cows are hard to leave unattended and summers are busy if you farm. Also true. I could tell you we almost never missed Sundays at our church with Dad being the pastor. That’s true as well. But, I’m pretty sure it might have had something to do with the trip.

We went to Fenton, Michigan, because my Mom had an aunt who lived there. We drove.  In case you weren’t aware, that’s an 18-hour trip both ways. We made said 18-hour trip in a 1995 sea-mist green Mercury Sable that came to be dubbed The Green Machine and at times The Green Monster much later on when my siblings and I all had the pleasure of learning to drive in it. My siblings and I were little. Like—“Are we still in Arkansas? What state are we in? Is it time to eat? Are we there yet? I’m hungry. How much farther? I can’t hold it…”—kind of little. We also took my Mom’s sister, meaning we had a total of six people in a car that would seat six for 18 hours. And, as my Dad put it at my aunt’s funeral, my Mom and her sister had a “Tom and Jerry relationship.” Trapping them in a car together for 18 hours wasn’t exactly ideal… Suffice it to say, the journey was long…so long…

About 45 minutes away from our final destination on the way up there, we made one last stop for gas. As we attempted to leave the gas station, The Green Machine decided to become The Green Monster and started dinging like vehicles do when the keys are in the ignition and the door’s open. The problem was: None of the doors were open. We checked. And then we checked again. We checked the trunk. That wasn’t open either. We couldn’t find a cause for the dinging, nor could we get it to stop. So, we listened to it…for the remaining 45 minutes of the trip, also known as the longest 45 minutes of my childhood.  

We did finally arrive at our destination, and the next time we started the car, the dinging had stopped. Still, the four or five days we spent in Michigan were not nearly enough to make me ready to repeat that trip. And, we took a slightly different route home—not exactly on purpose if you catch my drift. It wasn’t any shorter…

Sometimes, our journey can feel like our trip to Michigan. Sometimes, it feels like it takes forever to get where we’re going. Sometimes, there are unplanned stops and detours. Sometimes, it’s filled with frustrations that make it feel even longer, sort of like that 45 minutes of incessant dinging… Sometimes, it feels like we’re just never going to get where we’re going.

Turning to Scripture, David was anointed to be the next king of Israel because God had rejected Saul at about age 15. He became king of Judah only at age 30 and didn’t become king of all Israel and Judah for another seven years and six months. The journey from shepherd boy to king of Israel was long…  

Still, David stayed the course. And, it wasn’t an easy course. It was a course that included having King Saul flinging javelins at him. It was a course that meant being separated from his family and homeland on the run from Saul. It was a course that included danger at every turn, whether from Saul or from the Philistines or other Israelite enemies. And, I highly doubt David saw all that coming when Samuel anointed him. But, David stayed the course. If you read 1 Samuel, you’ll never find where he told God, “I know you’ve called me to be king of Israel one day and all, but this is getting rough, and I’d rather go back to keeping sheep” or anything to that effect. Day by day, he continued on the journey.  

Likewise, when our journey is long, we have to stay the course. In my life, I was 17 when I knew God’s calling on my life was writing Sunday School literature. The journey from that night to actually doing it was long, and the three years spent at Bible College composed the longest stretch of it. They were fraught with car trouble, homesickness, roommate and church changes, hard goodbyes, a few courses I frankly didn’t care much for, etc., etc. I thought of quitting almost every day and came dangerously close on one occasion, like had the email open about to cancel my appointment with my advisor to decide on courses for the next semester close. But, words cannot express how grateful I am that I stayed the course. The diploma itself means nothing to me. I honestly didn’t look at it close enough to know if my name is spelled right before handing it to my Mom, and I don’t even know where it is. As crazy as this sounds, it was never about getting an education. (I was sick of getting an education by fourth-grade.) For me, it was about whether I really meant it when I gave my life to the Lord? Did I really mean I would follow His directions no matter how I felt about them on my journey through this life? So, it’s knowing I didn’t willfully step out of God’s will for my life when sorely tempted to do so and that He brought me through that phase of my journey that means everything. In your life, whether it’s the journey to fulfilling your calling or the journey out of a particular struggle, stay the course. Walk with God day by day through it no matter how long the journey takes or what it holds.

Perhaps one of the biggest things that stands out to me about David’s journey from shepherd to king is just how much he trusted God’s timing. David knew God would put him on the throne when God wanted him on the throne. On two occasions, David could have killed King Saul and ended his time on the run and seemingly fast-tracked his journey to the throne. He didn’t even have to do it himself. His men were willing. He could keep his hands clean so to speak and just say the word. But, David trusted God’s timing. He walked in righteousness. Even though the journey had been long and would be longer, David trusted God and His timing.  

Impatient creatures that we are, it’s hard for us to do that. But, it’s far better for us to trust God’s timing when the journey stretches long before us than to get ourselves in a mess by trying to take matters into our own hands, by acting without prayerful consideration. That opportunity that may seem like the perfect way to shorten our journey to our desired destination may not be in God’s will. It may be as wrong for us as killing King Saul would have been for David.

During David’s long journey from young shepherd to king, he also grew. God used this long journey to transform him into a king. He, no doubt, grew spiritually. Just check out some of the psalms he wrote in this time. He also became an experienced leader and warrior. His long journey wasn’t without purpose. It was training for what was ahead. Similarly, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the growth that took place during my long Bible College days. Not at all. So, when your journey stretches out long before you, know that there’s a purpose for it, and focus on growth. Grow spiritually. Grow in knowledge. Grow as a person. Grow in patience and endurance. Just grow.

To recap a bit, when your journey, whether that’s your journey through life in general or whether it’s your journey toward achieving a God-given goal, living His call on your life, starting up a new ministry, or whatever it might be, when it seems to stretch on and on and on, when it includes delays, when it takes you in a direction you didn’t see coming that doesn’t prove to be a shortcut, stay the course. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Trust God’s timing. Don’t rush. And, grow. Leave that phase of your journey better and stronger and most importantly closer to God than you were before.

Thanks for listening to what I’m pretty sure has been my longest episode so far. Fitting I guess. Oh, and should you decide to vacation to Michigan, do yourself a favor, fork over the money and fly.  Have a good week, and God bless.

Earlier this week on my For the Journey Facebook page, I promised a sneak peek of my next 30-Day Devotional “From the Writings of Paul.” Writing it was a long and at times frustrating journey, but the end of it was pure joy. I hope to start taking orders next week if all goes as planned. But, in the meantime, Day 26 is included below as a sneak peek. Enjoy and God bless!

Hard Things

“For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?” -Philemon 1:15-16

Philemon 1:1-21

I think, if you’ve been a Christian for any significant length of time, you will agree with the statement: Sometimes being a Christian means doing hard things. That was certainly true for Onesimus, the runaway slave, and for Philemon, the master.

Let’s start with Onesimus. Longing for freedom, Onesimus wronged his master, likely by stealing money to finance his getaway, and fled. No doubt by divine design, he met a man named Paul who both led him to the Lord and knew his master well. Forgiven and made new by God, Onesimus still had to do the hard thing. He still had to go back to his master. And, he had to do so knowing Paul could write him a pretty letter but Philemon could still opt for having him brutally punished or even put to death.

Then, there was Philemon, a man of love and faith to Jesus and to all saints. Though Paul didn’t order him to, he asked Philemon to show love to the slave who wronged him, to give up his right to punish and to receive Onesimus as a brother in Christ. Though it wasn’t an order, it wasn’t a gentle ask either. Paul told Philemon he had confidence that he would do more than he said. Paul believed Philemon would go above and beyond with love, forgiveness, and grace even though he’d been wronged. He believed Philemon would do the hard thing.

It’s not easy to humble ourselves and right a wrong, nor is it easy to show love and extend grace when we’ve been wronged. But, sometimes, being a Christian means doing hard things. After all, Christ certainly did hard things for us.

Do the hard things.

Since September ends today, it’s time for another monthly review. This one will probably be short. My primary focus this month was writing Sunday School lessons for all the age groups I offer. I also did quite a bit of proofreading and editing. Beyond that, I worked a little on my next 30-Day Devotional study. It’s still progressing very slowly, but hopefully, someday I’ll finish it… 

The Monday morning verses for the Facebook page came from Proverbs this month. And, since I’ve been writing adult Sunday School lessons from Esther, the trivia fun focused on two villains who plotted against the king unsuccessfully. The 30-Day Devotional highlight featured “Women of the Bible,” my tenth and most recent one. (Keep scrolling after reading this post if you missed it.) There were also three short devotional posts for the Facebook page this month, and they weren’t all from Mark this time. My favorite was probably “Beauty in a Broken Confession.” (Go check it out if you missed it.) 

That pretty much sums up September. Before I wrap it up, though, I do want to share that this month made me profoundly grateful for the ministry God has given me. Outside of writing and For the Journey, September was filled with varied and big emotions for a lot of reasons. But, the moments with my Bible, paper, and pen were moments of peace, moments of calm, that I desperately needed. And, I’m just grateful for God’s goodness and for His faithfulness to give us what we need. With that, I’m looking forward to what October has in store. Oh, and I’m out of 30-Day Devotionals to highlight, so look for something different next month.

Time for another 30-Day Devotional highlight… And, since my next one is still very much a work in progress, this one will likely be the last highlight for a while. My tenth one “Women of the Bible” was originally released in May of last year. It was a project I started with great reluctance. I knew very clearly that it was the idea the Lord had given me, but I wanted a different one. (I share more of why in the introduction to the study.) Thankfully, when I stepped back a bit from the writing part of the project to proofread the first devotionals, the study caught my passion, and from that point on, I believed in the value of it and was blessed in writing it. Going back and rereading some of the devotionals to select one for this highlight made me even more grateful for an idea that I was less than enthusiastic about in the beginning and for the end result.

As usual, one of the devotionals from the study is included below, and I hope you enjoy!

Looking Back

“But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” -Genesis 19:26

Genesis 19:15-26

In our passage for today, after she and her family were literally brought out of the city by angels holding their hands and after being given the simple instructions to escape and not look back, Lot’s wife just had to turn around. She had to have one more glimpse of the city she’d called home. And, God’s judgment was instant. She became a pillar of salt. That one backwards glance cost her, her life.

Now, here’s the thing. Sodom was a city where the Lord couldn’t even find 10 righteous people. Sodom was a city so desperately wicked that the men of the city wanted to have homosexual relations with the men they didn’t realize were angels who had come to deliver Lot and his family. Sodom was a city so wicked the men of the city didn’t have a problem with Lot’s offering over his two daughters for them to rape. Their problem was that Lot, a stranger among them, was judging them. Sodom was a city so wicked, but for the angels’ intervention, these men would have killed Lot. My point: There was nothing in Sodom worth looking back at–nothing.

Yet, having been granted such mercy from the Lord, having an opportunity to be spared, Lot’s wife looked back. She evidently had liked her life there. She evidently was comfortable surrounded day in and day out by such evil. She evidently didn’t want to leave.

Even if we assign her purer motives, even if we say she looked back because there were those she loved and cared about in the city, she still blatantly disobeyed a direct command from God. He was calling her to leave that life completely and totally behind without a backwards glance, and she did not.

May we never be like Lot’s wife. When God calls us to leave our sins behind in favor of a new life, may we never look back. May we never long for the things we once did or for how things once were. When God delivers us from a bad situation or a place of evil, may we never look back at what’s not worth looking back at. May we never become comfortable with sin and evil. May we never feel at home with wickedness. May we never disregard the Lord’s commands to do as we please.

Sin’s pleasures are temporary. God’s judgment is eternal. We cannot afford to be like Lot’s wife. Looking back carries a high price.

Never look back.

I’m really not sure where August disappeared to, but since it’s the last day of the month, it’s time for another monthly review.

Though not as productive as it should have been, August did include printing orders and writing lessons. I started writing new adult lessons from Esther. And, since both devotional posts for the Facebook page came from Mark again, it’s clear that I’m really enjoying and benefiting from writing from Mark’s gospel. (If you missed those posts, go check out “An Odd No” and “After…”)

While we’re on the topic of Facebook posts, the Monday morning verses this month came from 1 Timothy lessons, and the trivia fun this month came from Ruth, one of my favorite books of the Bible.

The 30-Day Devotional Highlight this month came from “God is Good,” which is probably my favorite one. The specific devotional for the highlight came from the account in John 8 of the woman taken in the act of adultery. (Keep scrolling after you finish reading this review if you missed it.)

The most exciting thing during the month of August was finally releasing my third For the Journey Bible Study Guide. I chose Ephesians for this one. The Bible study guides are my newest For the Journey offering and haven’t been super successful, but I’m extremely passionate about Bible study and its importance and really enjoy writing them. So, at least for now, I plan to continue with them.

I think that covers August. I hope September is a little more productive. Stay tuned to find out!

This month’s 30-Day Devotional highlight comes from my ninth devotional study “God is Good.” I think it’s my favorite. It’s really hard to choose a favorite, but I think it might be mine. I wrote it in less than two months, and it was a life-changing gift from God at a time I desperately needed it. I originally released it in August of 2023, and two years later, I still don’t feel like I’ve turned loose of it. More than any other writing project, this one has stayed with me. It later provided inspiration for a set of adult Sunday School lessons and then more recently for a devotional for church. God used it to change my thinking and help me significantly with some lifelong struggles, so I can’t say enough good things about it and am forever grateful for the impact it’s had on my life.

Without too much difficulty choosing this time around, I went with Day 3 for this highlight, and I hope you enjoy it!

 Guilty

“…And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” -John 8:11

John 8:1-11

The woman in our passage today was clearly guilty. The missing man, who evidently got a free pass from the scribes and Pharisees, was too, but, still, she was guilty–taken in the very act of adultery. And, the Law was clear: She should be stoned.

The scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus, not because they cared about what she’d done, but because she was a pawn in their game of trying to trap Jesus. At first, Jesus ignored them. But, when they wouldn’t let up, in His goodness and grace, Jesus, knowing the crowd wasn’t so cold their consciences couldn’t be pricked by their own sins, said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). 

Not a single stone was thrown that day because the only one there with a right to throw one was the one who wouldn’t, was the one who told her after the crowd left, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus offered her grace and a new beginning.

I’m so grateful God is good even when we deserve to be condemned. Our sin might not be adultery, but we’re all guilty of sin. Thus, all any of us deserve is eternity in Hell for the sins we’ve committed against a perfectly holy God. Yet, in His goodness, He made a way for grace, even though it cost Him much–so much. He made a way for us to experience forgiveness and walk in newness of life. He’s good even when we deserve nothing but His condemnation. How we should ever praise and worship Him for being so good to us when we’re so undeserving!

God is good when we deserve to be condemned.

Even if it was just entirely too hot for this winter person and even if I was a touch sleep deprived for most of it, July was a good month. It was productive in all the things…or at least most of the things. I think I’ve shared before about my overadventurous weekly to-do lists of For the Journey tasks that there’s no possible way I can complete in a week’s time. This month, however, there was actually one week that I did complete all the items with an asterisk out beside them marking them as top priority, and I counted that as a win. 

There were a few orders this month, and they were delivered in fancy new packaging that makes me smile. (Okay, so fancy might not be the right adjective, but it is a serious upgrade from a plastic grocery sack.) 

There were also three short devotional posts for the Facebook page, and even though I really did work on more than just teen lessons from Mark during the month, unintentionally, all of the Facebook posts came from Mark lessons. Speaking of the Facebook page, the Monday morning verses for July came from lessons from 1 Samuel, and the trivia fun focused on one of my favorite Bible characters–Ananias (but not the one who was married to Sapphira). 

July’s 30-Day Devotional highlight came from my eighth 30-day study “From the Master’s Teachings,” and the devotional I selected for the highlight focuses on forgiveness. Keep scrolling after this post to read it if you missed it.

I also made pretty good progress on my next Bible study guide this month. I’m starting to get excited and hope I might have that ready to offer soon. I made significantly less progress but still some progress on my next 30-Day Devotional. It might be ready next July. No, hopefully, it won’t be that long, but we’ll see…

There was also a lot of typing and some proofing and editing, but that pretty much covers July. It was busy, and it went by fast, but it was good. God abundantly blessed me in that, during most of my writing time this month, the words flowed smoothly, and that’s always special. It’s not that there aren’t blessings when I feel like I’m literally having to fight for every single word because there are, but the writing is definitely more fun when I’m not crossing out line after line and crumbling up papers. So, I’m grateful for smooth writing in July and can’t wait to see what August holds.

This month’s devotional highlight comes from my eighth 30-Day Devotional “From the Master’s Teachings,” which was originally released in June of 2023. For this one, I mostly selected passages of scripture containing teaching material from Jesus during His earthly ministry and wrote devotionals from those passages, as you probably gathered from the title of the study. However, I also included some passages where Jesus’ words and interactions with individuals were instructive. And, after not writing an introduction at all for “The Greatest of These,” opting to use 1 Corinthians 13:13 instead, I went back to writing introductions with this devotional and had a lot of fun with the intro for this one.

As usual given my indecisive nature, I struggled with choosing which specific devotional to use for this highlight. I narrowed it down to four and then wound up going with Day 6, which wasn’t even one of the four. But, “Forgiven Much” caught my eye as I was struggling to make a decision, and after rereading it, I thought, “This is the one.” So, I hope you enjoy it.

Forgiven Much

“…O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” -Matthew 18:32-33

Matthew 18:21-35

In today’s passage, Peter comes to Jesus with a question. He wants to know just how many times he has to forgive the brother who sins against him and thinks that seven times seems reasonable enough.  Jesus, however, doesn’t agree. He tells Peter to forgive him 70 times seven, which means to just keep forgiving and not keep count. Jesus then shares a parable to drive home His point.

In the familiar parable, a servant, after being forgiven a debt he couldn’t possibly repay in a lifetime by his lord, throws one of his fellowservants in prison for a far less substantial debt. When the lord of the unforgiving servant hears about this, he punishes the unforgiving servant severely and requires the debt in full.

After sharing the parable, Jesus makes a powerful statement, saying, “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35).

True forgiveness from the heart is not easy. Oh, sure, it’s easy to forgive the person who accidentally bumps into us and apologizes profusely. And, it’s not all that hard to forgive the stranger who’s rude to us and ruins our day because we forget all about it by the next day. Forgiving the person who’s the reason we have trouble trusting people, forgiving the person who left us with painful scars, or forgiving the person we’re just going to have to forgive again for the same thing? Well, that’s an entirely different story…

But, we need to remember that we’re the servant who’s been forgiven much. If we’re saved, our Lord has forgiven us a sin-debt we’d spend eternity in hell for and never pay off. We’ve been forgiven for rebellion and that against our own loving Creator. We’ve been forgiven for repeated sins. We’ve been forgiven for secret sins no one knows about. We’ve been forgiven much–so much. The debts we’re owed are nothing in comparison to the debt we’ve been forgiven. Thus, we should freely forgive from the heart.

Remember you’ve been forgiven much.

Today marks the end of another month. June was not as productive as I would have liked for it to be, but that’s pretty much the case every month. I did, however, revisit a couple of projects that had been shelved lately, making a little progress on my next Bible study guide and 30-Day Devotional study, heavy emphasis on little.

I worked on lessons more than anything else, focusing mostly on adult lessons from 1 Peter. I also finished up a middle school study from Genesis and worked some on lessons for teens from Mark.

I was a bit of a slacker with devotional posts for the For the Journey Facebook page, but there was one early in the month. Go check out “Just Care” if you missed it. Speaking of the For the Journey Facebook page, the Monday morning verses for this month were taken from key verses from adult Sunday School lessons from John, and this month’s trivia fun came from Jesus’ use of an Old Testament example to teach that the Sabbath was made for man and that the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.

Early in the month, I wrote a new blog post for the website titled “The How and Why of Bible Study.” Since Bible study is a topic I’m passionate about, I may have been a little wordy, so it’s sort of long but hopefully worth the read. Check it out if you missed it. June’s 30-Day Devotional highlight was taken from my seventh 30-Day Devotional study “The Greatest of These.” I chose “The Master Serves” for the highlight, which focused on the importance of following our Lord’s example and loving by serving.

That pretty much sums up June. Stay tuned for what July holds!

This month’s devotional highlight comes from my seventh 30-Day Devotional “The Greatest of These.” As a fun fact about this particular one, I’ve written a brief introduction for all of my other 30-Day Devotionals, but I didn’t write one for “The Greatest of These.” I didn’t forget, and I wasn’t just being lazy. I simply couldn’t think of a better introduction than 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” So, that was what I went with for the introduction. After all, that’s the verse that provided the inspiration for the title of the study, and all of 1 Corinthians 13 was influential as I wrote the devotionals.

Once again, I struggled to choose just one devotional to use for this highlight, but I finally settled on the devotional for Day 27 titled “The Master Serves.” I chose it because I needed the reminder not to be too busy or too caught up in my own life and my own problems to fail to look for ways to serve and help others. Jesus gave us such a powerful example of loving by serving, and it’s an example we need to be following.

The Master Serves

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” -John 13:14

John 13:1-17

I want you to try just for a minute to put yourself in the disciples’ shoes in our passage. You left your entire life behind to follow Jesus and have followed Him for over three years now. In that time, you’ve seen Him give sight to the blind, heal the sick, feed multitudes with practically nothing, calm a storm with just a word, raise the dead, and so many other miracles… And, now, He’s girded Himself with a towel and is about to wash your feet. Peter’s initial “No way!” reaction makes perfect sense to me.

This was God in the flesh, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, the all-powerful, all-knowing Son of God, and He was washing feet–even Judas Iscariot’s feet, knowing what was in his heart. Why? Because He loved His own to the end. Because He was still teaching them. They needed this example to follow. They needed to understand that to love is to humbly serve. And, that lesson is as much for us today as it was for them that night.

In our “all about me” world, we need to be different. We need to be washing one another’s feet. We need to be looking for ways to serve others, not for ways they can serve us. We need to stay humble and not view anyone or any task as beneath us. We need to show love by serving.

Love serves.