Author: William Douthwaite

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Through the roof

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Elina Volkova: https://www.pexels.com

Some more “through the bible” thoughts from Mark 2.

“When Jesus saw their faith…” (Mark 2:5).

There is so much going on as Jesus preaches to a crowd crammed into his house in Capernaum. Four men carry a paralyzed man to Jesus, but can’t even get in the door. They take him up on the roof, open up a hole, and let him down to where Jesus is. “And when Jesus saw their faith…” he responds with spiritual and physical healing. The man walks away forgiven!

I’ve heard it said that faith is personal, but it is never private. What does faith look like on the outside? Faithful church attendance? Helping to feed or clothe someone who needs the basics? Going on a mission trip to share the gospel? Financially supporting Christian ministry? Yes to all of the above.

The faith of these five men looks like confidence, persistence, and creativity. No crowd, roof, or disability was going to keep their friend from Jesus. Their efforts reflect Paul’s words, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

Sometimes it seems like those we love are so far away from God. If we could just get them to Jesus, they would get it. But maybe you’re not the one who will do it. Maybe it will be a friend or coworker who will bring them. Pray that the right one will come along who will get them through the roof to Jesus!

Posted in neighborhood

Another one bites the dust

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Many of my neighbors put these reflector sticks in their yards by the edge of the road. They believe these sticks will keep cars and trucks from leaving ruts in their lawn. As you can see by this picture, they don’t work. (The big dog can also attest to that.)

On streets where a new home is being built, neighbors are mortified by the possibility that the subcontractors are going to park on the lawn. Your experience may be different, but I rarely see that happen.

I laugh when I see front yards with nothing but weeds put these sticks out. You’ll spend money on a dozen reflectors, but not a penny on lawn care?

Trucks cannot keep their wheels out of the corner lots like the one above. Is the turn too tight for them? I don’t know. I suspect the drivers don’t care that much.

Your lawn might look a little nicer, but these reflectors look ugly. They stand straight and tall for a day. Then the wind blows, vehicles hit them, and dogs brush by them, leaving them in disarray. The Florida sun makes the plastic brittle, crack, and fall apart, leaving pieces all over the road. Thanks for adding more debris to the already cluttered road.

Posted in Life

He had his priorities straight

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I love to eavesdrop while I’m sitting at Starbucks. I was sitting outside while I waited for the little dog (Winston the Westie) to be groomed and overheard an interesting conversation.

He sat down behind me at an outdoor table, opened up his laptop, and started up a conversation with someone who sounded like his trainer, coach, or mentor.

I chuckled as he explained, “My big win this past week was potty training my daughter. She’s doing well with pee-pees, but we’ve got some work to do with poo-poos.”

This is a man after my own heart. A dad who’s first priority is his daughter. He continued, “I didn’t do the reading. My week was too busy.” I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. I wonder if the other person had as much respect for this guy as I did.

It’s hard to balance a job, parenting, and a relationship (marriage?). No one has time for everything. Sometimes you have to make a choice. I would definitely hire/mentor/train someone who put children and family first.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

A sermon interrupted

Posted on by William Douthwaite
From Gospelimages.com

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Mark 2.

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (Mark 2:2-4)

This unusual sermon interruption brought back memories of some of my interrupted sermons.

  • My sermons usually began about twenty minutes into the worship service. When someone walked in after I started preaching, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Really? Twenty-five minutes late?”
  • Some sermons were interrupted by the arrival of EMTs to care for a worshiper who passed out during the sermon. In those cases, I would stop and lead the congregation in prayer, resuming my sermon once they had left for the emergency room.
  • A malfunctioning fire alarm panel would punctuate my preaching with a series of beeps. It was both annoying and amusing to see folks scrambling around trying to silence the alert.
  • Except for a few Covid-19 Sundays when I was alone in the sanctuary preaching to a video camera, I could count on hearing sneezing, coughing, nose blowing, and candy being unwrapped.
  • My favorite interruption was one I engineered. When my wife was in Haiti providing medical care after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, I had her call me during the sermon so she could report on her experience. That was the only time my phone rang during a sermon.
  • Before online giving, some folks wrote out their offering checks during the sermon. They tried to be quiet, but I could hear them slowly and carefully tearing the check out of the checkbook.
  • On a stormy day, I often had to compete with rumbling thunder and the sound of a downpour on the sanctuary’s metal roof.
  • Babies liked to make their presence known. I love babies and I love babies in worship. Bring it, little one. I’ve got a lot of volume in reserve.

The sound of people tearing a hole in the roof interrupted Jesus’s preaching. The paralyzed man from above encountered the son of God who came from above. Jesus forgives the man and heals his condition, as powerful a message as his preaching that day.

According to my WordPress statistics, this is my 2,000th blog post! I published my first post October 23, 2008.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Are you ready for this?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Anyzoy studio on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Mark 1.

“Prepare the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3).

I have painted my share of inside and outside walls over the years. I can attest to the fact that preparation is at least half of the job.

Let’s say my task is to paint the front bedroom of my home, which measures 12 foot square. I first need to get all the furniture out of the way, and everything off the walls. That includes the curtains, blinds, and hardware that goes along. Next, I have to fill in all those holes in the wall were nails used to be. After they are filled, I sand the spot smooth and spray the area with wall texture.

What’s next? I tape off the baseboards and spread out the drop cloths. Once that’s done, I wipe off the walls and let them dry. I’ll be cutting in all the trim next, so I make sure that I have the right brush along with a few rags. Oh, and of course, I spread out my drop cloths. Because guess what? I’m a little sloppy when I paint. When I’ve got enough paint, rollers and covers, I’m ready to get to work.

Bottom line? I spend much more time preparing to paint a room than I do for the Lord’s arrival.

I hear “Jesus is coming!” from every angle. Songs and sermons say it’s going to happen any minute. History tells me our predictions will be wrong. Scripture says, “Be ready!”

So how do I get ready for a certain event that will happen at a completely unknown moment in time?

I study to get ready for a test. I run lots of miles to get ready to run a marathon. I clean every nook and cranny of my home when we’re expecting guests. I put all my ingredients in small bowls before I begin cooking. I practice my part over and over again before the concert.

What do I do in preparation for the Lord’s arrival?

Most of the time, I do nothing. I pray for his activity, and then I’m surprised when he shows up. I’m shocked when he heals, reconciles enemies, overwhelms demons, and gives new life. Rather than being prepared, I’m surprised by his powerful presence.

Prepare to be surprised. Prepare for the unexpected.

Prepare for grace.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I don’t believe it!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the Bible” thoughts from Matthew 28.

In the aftermath of Jesus’s resurrection, the disciples gather in Galilee, where they see the Lord one more time before his ascension into heaven.

“But some doubted” (Matthew 28:17).

What did they doubt? There’s no denying the resurrection. Jesus is standing right there. It wasn’t the first time they had seen the risen Christ.

Most commentators say that it was more like a, “I don’t believe it” kind of moment when they saw him.

At last weekend’s fall festival, I looked up from our vendor booth and saw a couple I hadn’t seen in twenty years! Together we mouthed, “I don’t believe it!” We didn’t doubt the reality of the moment. This blast from the past wasn’t on our radar.

But this was forty days after that Sunday when they first saw the risen Lord. They hadn’t processed it yet? They were still in shock? Some still thought it was too good to be true?

Maybe their doubts were about the future. Now what? There were lies about the disciples stealing Jesus’s corpse. They may have been safer in Galilee than Jerusalem, but for how long? Nothing was certain. After three amazing years, maybe they should just go back to doing what they did before.

“Could have,” “Should have,” and “Knew I shouldn’t have,” show up in the best and worst moments of life , and everywhere in between. Did you pay too much? Should you have said something? Or kept your mouth shut? Should you have showed up? Or just stayed home? Did you do your best?

Any of us can second-guess ourselves to death. So Jesus’s next words are important: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18). Rather than doubting, over-thinking, or second-guessing, listen to him. He’s got the last word.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Sweet (sleepy) hour of prayer

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Some “through the Bible” thoughts from Matthew 26.

“So, could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:41)

The disciples snooze as Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane. What do you think? Is an hour of prayer a long time or a short time?

I guess it depends. I’ve tried to listen and keep my focus as someone said a long, involved prayer before we sat down to eat a meal. The prayer went far beyond, thanking God for food, and the friends who were gathered, praying for healing, peace, church, and numerous other issues. Those five minutes seemed like a very long time to me.

On the other hand, I remember taking tests that had a one hour time limit. That hour passed by so quickly. I could’ve used a little more time to go back over some of my answer answers.

At the airport, a one hour flight delay seems to take forever. I wander around get some coffee find a snack and still have 15 minutes to wait.

When we’re driving somewhere small voices from the backseat say how long till we get there? There are lots of grounds when I say an hour. Even though I might know where I’m going, I’ll bring the GPS up on the screen so it can tell them how much farther we have to go.

Some people feel the need to include some doctrine statements in their prayers, probably more for the benefit of those listening. We want to make sure that people know what it is that we believe. To me that seems kind of redundant, since God knows what I believe.

In conjunction with a fundraising effort for sanctuary, our church had a 24 hour prayer vigil. People signed up for an hour slot and came to the church to pray, as we suck God‘s blessings not just for a new building, but our church’s ministry. Not many people wanted to be there between three and four in the morning, so that’s the slot that I took. I have to to admit it seemed like a very long hour to me.

I guess that’s because I tend to get to the point. When I’m called upon to pray before a meal or to begin or close a Bible class, I generally say what I can in one breath. I can usually capture the essence of my thoughts in 20 words or less. But that’s just me.

But the same token an hour of prayer doesn’t have to consist of your words. That sweet hour of prayer could also involve reading God’s word, hearing God’s word, thinking about God’s word, and listening. I believe we pay attention to God‘s half of the conversation when we pray. I do find that hour in the morning of reading my Bible, journaling, praying, thinking, and planning my day does go by pretty quickly.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

I have a question for you

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash

Once Jesus goes public by riding a donkey into Jerusalem as the king predicted in the Old Testament, challenges to his authority come from all directions.

  • Pharisees ask, “Should we pay taxes to Caesar? (Matthew 22:17)
  • The Sadducees ask about marriage in heaven (22:28).
  • A lawyer asks, “What’s the greatest commandment in the law?” (22:36)

They weren’t curious, though. They weren’t seeking answers to difficult questions. They were trying to trip up the one who claimed to be the Son of God. They wanted to discredit him, at the very least getting him to incriminate himself.

I’ve heard many say that when they get to heaven, they’ll have lots of questions for Jesus. In this world there’s much we don’t understand about tragedy, conflict, and death. We just want a moment with the one we know is omniscient.

I doubt we’ll have many questions once we get to see Jesus face-to-face. I believe we’ll forget about all that in the awe and joy of being with him. We may see very clearly what we now see dimly. Plus, we’ll remember that Jesus often replied with questions of his own. Or he told a story about farmers, fishermen, birds, and flowers.

In John’s visions of heaven in Revelation, people from every culture don’t gather around the Lamb for a Q & A. They’re there to worship. Maybe there’s something to that old bumper sticker, “Jesus is the answer.”

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

What’s in it for me?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Yorgos Ntrahas on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Matthew 19.

It was a shock to hear Jesus challenge a rich young man to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow. The disciples paid close attention when Jesus spoke of how hard it was to get rich people into his kingdom. Peter responds, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27)

We know exactly where Peter is coming from. We wonder, no more than that, we need to know, “What’s in it for me?” Is it worth it. What’s the return on my investment?

Why should I exercise? Why should I eat healthy? Why should I take the medication? Why should I care about someone else? Why do I have to learn this in school? When will I ever use it?

Of course, we’ve been conditioned to respond this way. If you eat your green beans, you’ll get dessert. After you clean your room, you can play with your friends. You get an allowance, but you’ve got to do your chores each week. If you want a starting spot on the team, you’ve got to show up and practice hard. Those who follow the rules of the road don’t get traffic tickets.

So why follow Jesus? Why trust in him? Why do what he says? What’s the payout?

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (19:28-29)

When most of us read this, we like the idea of eternal life. But we really like the idea of receiving a hundred times what we’ve given up. That’s a 10,000% return on your investment! That’s nothing to sneeze at. Wouldn’t this be a great place to begin a prosperity gospel ministry?

Unfortunately, greed causes us to misinterpret that promise. Jesus also said that life doesn’t consist of an abundance of possessions.

So what is Jesus talking about here? What did he want the disciples to take home with them? Maybe this is his way of saying that the rewards are far beyond anything you could ask or imagine!