This time of year the front gutter on my house fills with leaves. The leaves are dry, and most tend to blow away. But a few stick and attract more. Over the coming winter I won’t notice. Snow fills the gutters and melts slowly, trickling past the leaves. But when serious rains arrive, the downspout clogs, water pours over the top and begins to ruin the siding. Willful ignorance today leads to problems next summer.

My heart works a lot like my rain gutter. It gathers small distractions, hardly a concern, until the piling on leads to issues.

David understood this issue of the heart. He wrote, Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Years later, the Lord spoke through the prophet Ezekiel of a heart replacement. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

My heart hardens and plugs, then sheds the living waters of the Lord. I need the Holy Spirit to remove the detritus and allow my heart to soften, to once again fear the Lord, keep his laws, and detect his whisper.

Just like I watch my gutter, I gotta watch my heart. The rains are coming and I want to be ready.

Psalm 86 & Ezekiel 36 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Jon Sailer

If Jesus walked among us today, and repeated all his miracles, don’t you think everyone would follow him? Part of me believes that, but I suspect the answer is no.

Some folks literally watched Jesus restore sight to the blind and mend gnarled bones, yet crossed their arms looking for the ruse. Others drank wine poured from water jars, and still refused to nod their head, let alone bow their knee. In the midst of life-restoring miracles a number of people chose to hate Jesus instead of follow him.

Jesus spoke of the situation: If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

Why would today be any different? Self-will is stunning. I get worked up, I take sides, jealously rears her ugly head and I refuse news that sounds too good to be true. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

Haters still hate.

The news of Jesus is too good to be true. Yet there it is, free for all. Check your attitude. Don’t be a hater. Move toward Jesus whether your heart tells you to or not.

John 15 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Andre Hunter

Peace is transitory in our world.

People in Gaza don’t know peace the morning, nor do their neighbors in Israel. Ukrainians still don’t know peace, despite being pushed off the front page. Wars subside in one region of the world only to flare up in another, like heinous geysers spewing destruction.

Jesus spoke to the human heart when he said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Geopolitical realities trouble my heart. But worries and fears closer to home keep me up at night. Some for good reason, and others due only to my imagination. Regardless of the source, Jesus extends relief.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who will teach his ways and remind his followers of what Jesus taught. The Holy Spirit roots the words of Jesus into our psyche. The more we look to the Holy Spirit and trust the words of Jesus, the closer we get to the peace Jesus described.

Lean in. Return again and again to the words of Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance, then open the Scriptures and flood your soul. When I do so, fear subsides and hope emerges.

Look to the Prince of Peace for peace of heart and mind.

John 14 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Falaq Lazuardi

My wife and I walked into a post office to check on a delayed package. After explaining the situation, the clerk typed the tracking number into her computer and awaited the results. Out for delivery. I asked hopefully, does this mean the package will arrive today? The upbeat clerk replied in a chipper voice, Maybe!

In other words, God only knows. Like drawing Moses from the waters, we needed the hand of God to pull the package from the bowels of the postal service. The package arrived three days later.

The Lord took Ezekiel to a vast valley filled with dry bones. God asked him, Son of man, can these bones live? I love Ezekiel’s wise response—Sovereign Lord, you alone know.

Only God knows the answers to the many questions we face in life. Why did I lose that job? Why does my friend suffer? Why do children die in wars? God only knows.

Ezekiel addressed the Lord as Sovereign. The title connotes supreme power and authority. The Creator possesses authority over nature. In front of Ezekiel, God formed the bones into flesh and breathed live into the bodies, creating a vast army.

Our Sovereign works as he wishes. He infuses life into desolate situations and hope into our day to day.

Life often feels like the inner workings of the post office—God only knows what’s going on. But when I think more deeply about that phrase I find hope, because indeed God knows what’s going on.

Ezekiel 37 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Claudio Schwarz