Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

We have an advocate

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from 1 John 2.

“If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Over the years I’ve written many letters of recommendation for youth seeking admission to college or applying for financial aid. Most of the time, I knew them well, having taught them and gotten them involved in various church ministries. I enjoyed advocating for each one, anticipating their future success.

A few times I had to be honest and admit I didn’t know them very well. I did my best to write positively about them and their future potential.

I think it’s interesting that one of the roles the bible assigns to Jesus is advocate or mediator. But he doesn’t advocate for those who are upstanding citizens of heaven. If we fail, if we blow it, if we give in to temptation, if we do terrible things – if we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.”

Who would you ask to write a letter of reference to God for admission to heaven? Isn’t that what we hear at funerals. Actually, that’s what you always hear at funerals. The deceased was the nicest person you could ever meet, unselfishly willing to do anything for anyone in need. Most of those in attendance know better, but dare not tell the truth. Grief is hard enough without recounting past hurts, regrets, and grudges.

Jesus is the one you want as an advocate. He doesn’t sugar coat your life. He simply assumes your guilt and shame and lets you wear his righteousness, which secures your admission to eternal life. You aren’t the nicest person he’s ever met, but he loves you so much he doesn’t hesitate to go to bat for you.

Posted in dogs

The Truth About Marrow Bones: Dogs Love Them, Prices Skyrocket

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My dogs wonder, “Why don’t you buy marrow bones for us anymore?”

“Have you seen the prices?”

Marrow bones used to be scraps from the butcher. Now they are high demand and therefore high-priced products. Bone broth is a trendy nutritional staple now.

The price of beef is up. So every part of the cow is more expensive.

Some people blame COVID. People stayed home and learned to cook, so the demand for meat went up.

Some blame a higher minimum wage. The money to pay stock clerks at the grocery has to come from somewhere.

But the dogs love these things. Somehow, they can extract the marrow from the middle of a slice of bone. It’s good for them, too. Chewing these bones scrapes some of the plaque and tartar off their teeth, delaying a dental cleaning.

When I give the dogs a bone, they are focused. One hundred percent of their attention and energy is devoted to scraping every speck of marrow from that slice of cow bone. They are obsessed with that one inch slide of bone.

Okay, so I guess it’s worth it. I love my dogs, and they love bones. A win-win?

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A few supplements for a life of faith

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

“Whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:9).

I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old. My fourth grade teacher alerted my parents when she noticed I squinted to see the chalkboard. A few weeks later I was wearing black-framed glasses for distance. As I matured, I needed increasingly stronger prescriptions for glasses and then for contact lenses.

When Peter writes about a nearsighted faith, he attributes it to a lack of the qualities he mentions in verses five through seven: virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (1:5-7).

This is a departure from the usual, “All you need to do is believe.” Which is true. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can add to that.

However, Peter encourages his audience to supplement their faith with these qualities because we’re living in a world corrupted by sin that distracts us from God. Our sinful desires can easily shove God aside. These spiritual supplements help us see how our faith shapes every part of our lives and relationships.

Perhaps it’s like receiving the gift of a new bike. It’s yours. It’s beautiful. You adjust the seat and the handlebars to fit your body. You learn how to shift smoothly, keep a steady cadence, get in and out of the toe clips, adjust the brakes, check tire inflation, negotiate traffic, dress for different weather, and take off down a hill without ever touching the brakes. You don’t have to do any of those things, but it’s more fun riding when you do!

God knows you’ll really enjoy taking your faith for a spin!

Posted in neighbor, neighborhood

Do you smell that smell?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

I exclaimed, “Wow, do you smell that?” As the big dog and I rounded the corner on an pre-dawn Sunday walk, an amazing aroma filled the air.

Someone must have been frying bacon on a cast iron grill. The incredible smell filled the air around us for at least a hundred feet of our walk. I thought, “I need to get to know these neighbors!”

My joy quickly evaporated as we turned another corner and slammed into the obnoxious smell of someone lighting up their first cigarette of the day. That must be a powerful addiction to have to light up before sunrise.

We pass another house where someone likes to start their day with a cigar. I don’t mind that smell so much. It just surprises me when the breeze blows that smoke across a yard that early in the morning.

The other early morning aroma I enjoy comes when someone has been smoking brisket or a pork butt all night. What better than the smell of wood, seasoning, and cooked meat filling the air?

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The colors of grace

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the bible” thoughts from 1 Peter 4.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

I love Peter’s description of God’s grace like the color chip display at a paint store. The variety of hues never fails to amaze me. Grace might look like love, but it can also show up as hospitality, stories of God’s power, or helping others. It’s like everyone has their own individual grace language or seasoning.

I believe it’s much easier to state what grace is rather than describe what it looks like. Grace is God’s gift of salvation for us through the redemptive suffering and death of his son Jesus on the cross. That is an unchanging, historical image of God’s grace. But putting on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27) will look a little different on each one of us.

Sometimes it sounds like a bold, confident prayer. Other times, it will be a simple song sung by a child. Sometimes it tastes like lunch with a dear friend. It could be the reassuring words of a doctor. Or even just laughter that makes you chuckle, too.

Since I really don’t deserve anything good from God, every blessing is an expression of grace. God uses people to deliver that grace, just as he used his own son to bring us life.

The other day I was walking the big dog when an Amazon truck pulled over for a delivery. A young man hopped out with a package while an older woman (his mom?) stayed behind the wheel. He exclaimed, “Is that a Great Dane? Is she friendly?”

“Yes. Too friendly. She wants to be friends with everyone.”

As he scratched behind her ears, he mentioned, “My grandmother had a Great Dane, a harlequin.” With a truck full of deliveries, he couldn’t stay long.

But around the block, the same truck stopped in front of another house, and he got a bunch of kisses from the dog. In her own way, the dog brought back sweet memories of an important person in his life.

Sometimes grace looks like a guy walking his dog down the street.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

On the contrary, bless

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on pexels

Some “through the bible” thoughts from 1 Peter 2 and 3.

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing (1 Peter 3:9).

That’s an amazing admonition for Christians scattered around Asia trying to be faithful in a hostile world. Our world is the same. We war with words on social media. We angrily exchange insults with strangers in stores. It’s so easy to contrive in my head what I would say to someone if I had the chance. Who doesn’t want to give someone a piece of our mind? Our behavior is nothing like that of the one we claim to follow.

When [Christ] was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).

So when we’re ready to retaliate, how do we, “on the contrary, bless”? How will my words encourage, build up, or bless someone?

  • James gives some good initial advice: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). Pause. Don’t respond immediately. Whatever you’re feeling in the moment will change in a few minutes. Wait until anger subsides before you consider a response.
  • Ask questions. Why is someone so upset? Why have they reviled you in the first place? Some speak from fear. Or they are expressing their own hurt. Or they don’t realize how their words have offended you. Perhaps you misunderstood what they said or meant to say. Open a door and ask, “Why did you say that?”
  • Maybe you had it coming. Maybe you need to apologize. Asking forgiveness defuses conflict and brings grace to the table.
  • Ask, “What can I do?” or “How can I help?” You don’t have to add to the problem. You can bring something positive to the moment.
  • When Jesus was reviled on the cross, he prayed. Bringing God into the mix is a game changer. You don’t have to conjure up a blessing. He’s the source of every good thing.

How will you bless someone today?

Posted in neighbor, neighborhood

Nothing but white

Posted on by William Douthwaite

This is the latest episode in the saga of a neighbor with unusual house projects. So far, he’s torn out his lawn, installed yard lights, modified his yard lights, and made it very clear he doesn’t want to be disturbed.

He has decided to paint his house. He’s painting his house white. All of it. Walls, trim, and shutters. Everything.

I have nothing against the color white. White walls with contrasting trim could be attractive. White trim against darker walls is eye-catching. One hundred percent white? Sorry, that just doesn’t work for me.

Do you think he’s priming it in preparation for a few color? That would make sense. But I doubt it.

I haven’t actually seen my neighbor working on this project. And it looks like he’s using a brush rather than a roller, so this is going to take some time.

I’ll keep you up to date.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Hearts of stone

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Toni Reed on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Hebrews 3 and 4.

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:8,15; 4:7). The writer quotes Psalm 95 three times. He really wanted to get this point across.

Hardened hearts rebelled and disobeyed. Even after all he had done for them, God’s people refused to trust him.

When are we most likely to harden our hearts? Is it when God tells us something we don’t want to hear? Or commands something we don’t want to do? Or promises something that sounds too good to be true?

Or is it too late? Is that simply the way we are? In Ezekiel 36, God promises to replace idolatrous hearts of stone with Spirit-filled hearts of flesh. The bible says we’re stone-cold dead in sin until God makes us alive in Christ.

A better question is how does God soften my heart? How does he get me to listen and trust him? How does God get me to obey?

Well, for one thing, he gives us each other. “Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13).

He gives us his son, Jesus Christ, a gift from before the creation of the world (4:3). He dies with our sin and hardened hearts, so we can have his eternally living, beating heart.

I might be hard-headed, stiff-necked, and stubborn. But he knows how to touch my heart with mercy and grace. That’s not only heart-changing. It’s life-changing.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

You can count on him

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Frank OConnor on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Hebrews 10.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

The writer here refers to “confidence,” “full assurance,” and “without wavering.”

That would be a great place to be, wouldn’t it? Any one of those would be a good place to be, wouldn’t it?

Confidence is elusive. I probably could have done better. Full assurance would mean an absence of doubt. But who doesn’t have lots of questions? On any given day our faith can feel either strong or weak. Who doesn’t waver when the highs and lows of life hit hard?

The key to all that is in the last phrase: “He who promised is faithful” (10:23). God doesn’t change, waver, drift, waffle, yo-yo, flip-flop, or vacillate. He keeps his promises. He does what he says. His word is truth. He is trustworthy. He is the only source of confidence, assurance, and unwavering hope.

Old Faithful (pictured above) used to erupt every 60-70 minutes. Earthquakes have changed that interval to anywhere from 35 to 100 minutes. The geyser isn’t as faithful as it used to be.

My car faithfully starts up every morning. Until it doesn’t and I have to install a new battery. My AC faithfully keeps the house at a comfortable temperature. Until it doesn’t, and I have to call for service. My Amazon orders faithfully arrive within two days. Unless they don’t because of supply chain or shipping delays.

So it can be hard to grasp God’s perfect record of faithfulness. But after some investigation, he always does what he says. He fuels unique confidence, assurance, and unwavering hope.