Judgment and Grace A few years ago, the Cleveland Clinic produced a powerful video about empathy. The video shows various people moving about in a hospital setting and places captions above their heads. A husband and wife in the hospital cafeteria looking careworn; “19-year-old son on life support.” An older man in the elevator: “Wife just had a stroke. Wondering how he will take care of her.” The woman next to him: “Recently divorced.” A nurse working with a patient: “Nearing the end of a 12-hour shift.” A woman sitting in a waiting room: “They saw ‘something’ on her mammogram.” A man coming up an escalator: “The tumor was malignant.” The video ends with the words, “If you could stand in someone else’s shoes, hear what they hear, see what they see, feel what they feel, would you treat them differently?” The video makes no claim to be faith-based in any way, but it got me thinking. Even though God, as well as many people throughout my life, have shown me amazing grace, I still judge others far too readily. Maybe you do, too. Whether it’s in traffic or at the store or in a restaurant, in a conversation, watching the news, or just watching people, I’m much more likely to pronounce judgment than I am to grant grace. I seldom say to myself, “I wonder why he/she did that?” I have no idea what life events have made people what they are, what struggles are dogging their steps or what kind of pain, whether physical or emotional, they are dealing with today. Maybe this man’s wife just had a stroke, like the man in the video. Could it be that woman was sexually abused by a close relative for years? Maybe that man has cried out to God over and over for release from an addiction. Perhaps this woman is in the middle of a horrible custody battle. It’s possible that the pain almost kept that middle aged man in bed this morning and he’s struggling with it every day, wondering if he will ever find relief. It’s possible that young lady’s parents and teachers lied to her about her identity and about God throughout her formative years. None of that background information is visible. Should we never judge the rightness or wrongness of someone’s behavior? Hardly. Many have interpreted Matthew 7:1 (“Judge not, lest you be judged.”) to mean that no one should ever be held accountable for their sinful behavior. But that interpretation runs contrary to many other teachings of Jesus and, in my experience, is typically used by people attempting to justify their sin. One of my professors put it this way: “God is the only Judge of the motives of the heart, but you and I are called to be fruit inspectors.” In other words, we can never know what causes people to behave the way they do, especially if they are total strangers to us, but we can certainly discern whether their actions are supported by Scripture. Shall we be the judge and jury of the people we encounter every day? Do we qualify? James 4:12 says, “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?” Who am I to judge and condemn the people I encounter every day? Do I know anything about that rude man who cut me off in traffic and then honked and glared at me like it was my fault? Have I any knowledge of what experiences shaped the life of that angry screaming woman on the television news? How about that woman walking down the sidewalk in rags, or the man berating the barista? In John 7:24, Jesus told His followers, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” Look beyond the appearance and behavior and see the person underneath. Every day I need to consciously work to break that condemning, judgmental spirit that lives inside me. I am going to make every effort, with help from the Holy Spirit, to reserve judgment on the people I see. I’m in no position to know the motives behind their behavior. Though many behaviors are unquestionably wrong by God’s standard, I don’t have the right to condemn that person. I can condemn the sin, but I have no right to judge the sinner. That’s God’s job. If you’re a “judger” like me, I hope you’ll join me. We’re called to grant grace. Just like God does for us.

The Beauty and Wonder of God’s Creation Contrary to what you may have heard, God created this world and all that is in it. Genesis 1:1 couldn’t possibly be more clear. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Nehemiah 9:6 says, “You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them. And the heavenly host bows down before You.” And in Psalm 33:6, the psalmist sings, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” God’s creation is astonishing. In many places, it beggars description. Just think about what it must have been like before the Fall when everything was just as God originally created it; before sin entered the world and the long slide of corruption began? I have experienced just a small portion of creation’s amazing beauty. I have gazed at Mt. Rainier from its Springtime meadows and I have partaken of the splendor of the Tetons in autumn. The thunder of countless waterfalls around the country still resonates inside me. I have watched the sun set over Haystack Rock on the Oregon coast and enjoyed the rainbow of Grand Prismatic Spring. I have driven through the wonder of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. The towering cliffs of Yosemite Valley left me speechless, as did the vast curtain of stars over the Paradise Valley here in Montana. I was inspired by the view of Atlantic waves crashing on the rocks on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. I have experienced the sunset’s glow on Delicate Arch in southeastern Utah. The view of Zion Canyon from Angels Landing took my breath away. I’ll never forget the glorious sunset from the island of Santorini, Greece. I have been terrified by the awesome power of a thunderstorm high in the Washington Cascades and I have gasped in awe at several of the most incredible vistas Glacier National Park has to offer. I have enjoyed the intimacy of the Black Hills from the summit of Black Elk Peak and I have watched enthralled as clouds scudded above the magnificent chasm of the Grand Canyon. And yet, there is so much more I haven’t seen or experienced. I encourage you to take a moment to think back over your life and remember those powerful experiences you have had in God’s creation. Maybe it was admiring the delicate structure of a wildflower, or maybe it was drinking in the view from the summit of Mt. Everest. Where were you and what happened? What did you see, hear, smell, touch and feel? How did God work in your soul as a result of the experience? Thank Him for this world He has given us, as well as His personal dealings with you. And that brings me to my final point. Every time I experience the majesty of God’s creation and marvel at His works, I’m reminded of one of the most astonishing realities known to man. God, who created all this world around us, as well as our sun and our solar system and yes, the entire universe, knows my name. And He knows your name. In fact, He knew us before He created the universe. Paul writes, in Ephesians 1:4, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” And in II Timothy 1:9, Paul writes, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” My finite mind can’t comprehend that; how the Creator of the universe could know me personally. And equally as mind-boggling, if not more so is that, knowing me and all of my sin and rebellion against Him, He loves me and gave His only Son to die in my place! Almost unbelievable. But He asks me to believe it. And if I do, and if you do, we receive eternal life into the bargain! What a God, what a Father. Let’s thank Him for His love for us and for the creation He has given to us to enjoy.

Where Are They Going? Every day driving I’m surrounded by people Where are they going? To work, an appointment, the grocery store, out to eat, to the doctor, To run an errand, buy a gift, home, to pick up a child from school I’ve considered following a random car, just to see Where they are going Every day living Surrounded by infinite souls Where are they going? Does it even cross my mind? What have they done with Jesus? Son of God killed in my place, alive again my Savior? Or quotable dead guy, like Charles Dickens only maybe more important A friend of mine died Sunday night, more of an acquaintance really Ashamed to say I don’t know where he went I have my suspicions We talked off and on for years The subject of eternal destination never came up Does he now wonder what I was playing at? I don’t know, don’t really want to Surrounded by aimless, heartless, mindless I hear Jesus say, “The fields are white for harvest” Unless I step out I know where they’re going

Lion and Bear Moments I recently heard a radio pastor say that we should never forget our “lion and bear” moments. That got my attention. He was referring to the story of David and Goliath in I Samuel 17. David stands before Saul, having just volunteered to take the fight to the giant. King Saul looks at David’s size and youth and asks him how he thinks he can possibly defeat a seasoned warrior who also happens to be almost ten feet tall! Here is David’s response: “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God…The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” I Samuel 17:34-37 (NASB) You know the rest of the story. Saul agreed, David slung, Goliath died and Israel won a great victory that day (and hopefully every soldier in the army learned a valuable lesson about letting God do the fighting). In our lives, “lion and bear” moments are the victories God has allowed us to achieve throughout our Christian walk. Don’t forget them and don’t downplay them. If you’re like me, you tend to remember, often in excruciatingly detailed Technicolor, your failures. That is not how God wants you to live. In Psalm 103:12, David the giant-killer, but also the adulterer and murderer, writes, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (NASB) God knows all our failures and loves us despite them. Instead, focus on those spiritual triumphs. Some might be worthy of an entire chapter in your biography, but most fly under the radar - standing firm against temptation, serving the Body of Christ even in the most behind-the-scenes way, planting the seeds of the gospel with a friend or coworker even when you’re petrified with fear, showing kindness to someone who didn’t deserve it, praying, shutting your mouth when it needed shutting or opening it when it needed opening, loving the unlovable, speaking the truth in love, spending time listening to God through His Word, forgiving, rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn, contributing your time or your money or your expertise to the cause of Christ. I could go on and on! When you are discouraged and feel like you are failing God at every turn, ask Him to encourage you by bringing to your mind the “lion and bear” moments in your life, even the ones you might consider minor. The purpose is not to pat yourself on the back or to build your ego, but to praise God for them and to allow Him to remind you how, even in your weakness, He makes victory possible in your life by His grace, mercy and faithfulness to you.

Combating the Darkness  For a lot of people, the weeks after Christmas are difficult. In Montana, it’s usually cold and mostly snowy and always dark late into the morning and dark early in the afternoon. Visiting family has gone home and the warm feelings generated by the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are but pleasant memories. Those living without God often struggle mightily in post-holiday winter. But even those enjoying a close relationship with God can have difficulty with encroaching darkness at times. I admit that January is my least favorite month, for all the reasons I mentioned above. The psalmist was clearly struggling when he wrote in Psalm 42:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me (NASB)?” He repeated the phrase later, in verse 11. And yet again in the next Psalm, 43, verse 5. Contrary to what many believe, we do have an Enemy, and part of his plan is to rob us of the hope and joy of our salvation and thus make us ineffective witnesses of God’s glory and love. Don’t let him do that. Read the sentence that comes next in Psalm 42:5: “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.” And the sentences that follow 42:11 and 43:5 are identical: “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God.” Or, as Eugene Peterson paraphrases it in The Message, “Fix my eyes on God – soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God.” As those who have put our faith in Jesus, we have hope that all will someday be made right. Righteousness will overcome evil and eternal light will overcome the darkness (Revelation 20-22). That “puts a smile on my face.” Several practical ways to combat the winter blues come to mind immediately. First, spend more time with God. Reading the Word, especially the Psalms, is refreshment to a weary soul. Let God’s Word flood those dry, thirsty parts of you. And talk to God; even consider writing about your struggles. Don’t hold back your feelings. He will never turn away honest confusion, anger or frustration. He’ll bring peace to your spirit. Many of the Psalms begin with the psalmist singing the blues, pouring his heart and hurt out to God, working through his pain and grief, and the unfairness and struggles of life. Along the way, perhaps by allowing him to hear his own words, God brings him back around to a better understanding of His character. And by the end of many of those Psalms, the psalmist is reveling in worship and praise of his Creator God. Also, get enough rest and good food. I lived alone for almost fourteen years between my divorce and remarriage and tended to stay up too late. I also ate a lot of food that wasn’t very good for me. Contrary to popular bachelor belief, mac and cheese is not a food group. Finally, do your best to have something on your calendar every day. Maybe it’s meeting with someone for coffee, reading an uplifting book, exercising, listening to or playing music, or volunteering. You need to have a reason to get up in the morning! And be encouraged. “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him!” The darkness, both literal and spiritual, will pass!

TREASURE  Remember the old pirate movies, like Treasure Island, where they would find an old-fashioned treasure chest, break it open and find jewels and gold, all glittering in the light of their torches? There’s a passage in the Bible that reveals treasure far more valuable than gold and jewels. It’s Ephesians 1:2-14 and it reminds us of the treasure heaped upon every Believer. It’s as if the apostle Paul is reaching into God’s treasure chest and taking out the valuables one by one and describing them to his readers. But instead of, “Here’s a gem-studded dagger of gold,” he says this (which I have edited extensively): “God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him; He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself; He freely bestowed on us His grace; in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins; He lavished His grace upon us; He made known to us the mystery of His will; we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose; we were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who was given as a pledge of our inheritance.” If that passage of Scripture doesn’t light your fire, your wood’s wet! The treasures in the physical chest, the treasures we spend so much time and energy pursuing, are easily destroyed by moth and rust (Matt. 6:19). But the treasures Paul describes; the ones God provides to us, His children, are of eternal value. Read the full text of Ephesians 1:2-14 in the version of your choice and be encouraged. You are a child of the King and He has lavished upon you unfathomable riches!

The Gift – Part 2 Last week, I wrote about God’s “indescribable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15). God came down among us, His creation, as one of us, Jesus, lived a perfect life and died the death that every one of us deserved, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” What is our response to the greatest gift we’ve ever been offered? Take a moment and think of the gift you most want, the most incredible, desirable gift in the world, and picture it wrapped and placed under your Christmas tree. If it’s not tangible, use your imagination to picture it gift-wrapped beautifully and nestled under the branches. Your name dangles from the package, embossed on a beautiful tag, and on Christmas morning, the giver is excited to see you open it. You’ve been in that position, haven’t you, giving gifts to your children or grandchildren? In our scenario, however, you decide you don’t want it, so you leave it there, unopened. Is it still yours? Yes. Do you receive any benefit at all from it? No. And that is where so many millions miss the point every single Christmas. This is the time of year when we celebrate the greatest gift of all time – the gift of Jesus and the salvation and eternal life He offers. And many of us have taken that offered gift. We have unwrapped it and we have thanked God for it and it has fundamentally changed our lives. But so many, even as they are unwrapping their wonderful gifts from family and friends throughout this season, are leaving the indescribable gift unopened under the tree. Maybe that’s you. You enjoy Christmas every year, and everyone assumes you’re a Christian because you say the right words and sing the right songs. But you’ve neglected God’s gift to you. Every year you put it back in the basement or attic after Christmas, and there it sits, waiting to be received. God gave the gift of salvation through His Son to everyone who has ever lived, but only those who have accepted the gift from Him, only those have the benefit of the gift, a personal relationship with Jesus, and eternal life. Have you accepted the gift? It’s right there; your name is on it. In Acts 16:31, Paul told the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” In John 3:16b Jesus told Nicodemus, “Whoever believes in Him [Jesus] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Simply believe. Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” and in Romans 10:9, he writes “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not complicated. Simply believe. No checklist for salvation exists. There are no hoops to jump through, no prerequisites to meet, no minimum achievement test scores to attain, no behavioral standards to live up to, no background checks to pass and no flowery prayers to recite. Simply believe and you will be saved. I pray that if you haven’t, you will. Don’t leave that personalized, incredible, indescribable gift wrapped under the tree again this year. And if you do receive it, please let me know so I can celebrate with you!

The Gift – Part 1 December 25, 2025 It’s here! All the anticipation has led up to this day. Merry Christmas! Gift-giving is a big part of our Christmas traditions. When I was thirteen or fourteen, I really wanted that electronic hand-held football game for Christmas; the one that had little red pips on the screen and did a lot of beeping. I never got that gift, even after several years of asking. I was so disappointed. About fifteen years ago, I bought one for myself from a catalog of vintage toys. I was so disappointed! When my wife was pregnant with our first child, we gave both of our sets of parents a pair of white, knit baby booties, with some clever little poem, hinting at what would soon fill those booties. We got exactly the excited reactions we hoped for. We all have stories of memorable Christmas gifts, the bad as well as the good; the vacuum cleaner your husband gave you, or the crocheting lessons your wife gave you. I’m reminded of several fictional characters who were given amazing gifts. The Grinch was given the gift of realizing that “Christmas doesn’t come from a store, that Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” And whatever that “more” was, caused his heart to grow three sizes (I’ve always thought it interesting that Dr. Seuss, in that book, never did explain what the true meaning of Christmas really is). Ebenezer Scrooge received the opportunity to look at his life from the outside, and he was given a second chance to make a positive impact on the people in his life and the world around him. Finally, George Bailey’s gift – an amazing chance to see how terrible the world would have been minus the impact of his life well-lived. Those were all great gifts, but let’s shift gears now to talk about the greatest gift ever given. Second Corinthians 9:15 says, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” Before the beginning of time, God knew that His creation would rebel, and that rebellion would generate a tragic separation between God and His creation. But the Plan was already in place. God would come down among His creation as one of them, live a perfect life and die the death that every one of us deserved, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” What an indescribable gift! But let’s take a moment to try to describe it, however inadequately. It was the most mind-boggling gift in the history of the world. When God became a man, he was 100% man, but still 100% God. Our minds can’t process that concept. Aren’t you glad there are so many things surrounding God that we can’t comprehend? This was also the most sacrificial gift of all time. Jesus was the required perfect sacrifice for sin, and He went to an excruciating death on the cross. It was the most loving gift ever given as well. God looked across the ages, saw you and said, “He’s worth it. I love him. She’s worth it. I love her. I’m going to provide a way for them to be with Me forever.” Finally, this gift was the most influential event in the history of the world. The time of the giving of this gift is the commonly-used dividing line between B.C. and A.D. (at least among those who love God). All of human history rotates on the hub of this gift. Today, enjoy the giving and the receiving, especially if there are children involved. But don’t forget the free and indescribable gift God gave you!

The Hebrew word for God, “El,” is found all over the Bible in the names of people and places, often flying under our radar. Before you look down and continue reading, take a moment and see how many you can list on your own.