Devotions

confusing times

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2029

Luke 18:28-30

Luk 18:28 And Peter said, “Notice, we have left everything we own to follow you!”
Luk 18:29 Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom
Luk 18:30 who will not receive many times more in this age — and in the age to come, eternal life.”

confusing times

The disciples heard Jesus speak plainly about his coming rejection, suffering, and death. He did not hide it in parables. He did not soften the language. He told them directly what was ahead. And yet, none of them understood. The truth was right in front of them, but it was hidden—not because God was playing games with them, but because their hearts were not ready to receive it. Sometimes the hardest truths are the ones we simply cannot take in, even when they are spoken clearly. The disciples weren’t lacking intelligence; they were lacking emotional and spiritual readiness. They did not want a suffering Messiah, so their minds could not grasp one.

That dynamic is painfully familiar. There are seasons in our lives when our expectations collapse, when the future we imagined evaporates, when the path we thought we were on suddenly disappears. Life continues around us—people go to work, children play, the world spins—but inside we are stunned, disoriented, unable to make sense of anything. We don’t know what to think, what to believe, or what to hope for. We don’t even know what we’re supposed to know.

What comforts me in this passage is not the disciples’ confusion but Jesus’ response to it. He did not abandon them because they didn’t understand. He didn’t scold them for failing to grasp what he had repeated again and again. He walked with them through their confusion. He carried them through the very events they could not comprehend. And on the other side of the resurrection, he opened their minds, restored their hope, and gave them clarity they never could have achieved on their own.

Their confusion did not disqualify them. Their inability to understand did not separate them from his love. Their shock did not push him away. Instead, he stayed with them until understanding dawned.

And he does the same for us. When life blindsides us, when our expectations crumble, when we feel lost inside our own story, he remains. He guides us through the fog. He holds us when we cannot hold ourselves together. He brings us through what we cannot yet understand.

LORD, thank you for being with us when we are so confused we don’t know what to know.

Posted in grace | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

fair trade

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2028

Luke 18:28-30

fair trade

There are days when the weight of ministry settles heavily on the heart—days when the distance from home feels sharper than usual, when familiar voices and familiar places feel painfully far away. I have lived that reality. Even during my years in the Philippines, the loneliness was softened by the presence of my children. Family was always close, even if extended family was not. But now, in this season, the ache can feel deeper, because the work has taken me far from the people who once filled my home with noise and nearness.

The disciples knew something of that ache. When Peter and the others chose to follow Jesus, they left behind homes, families, livelihoods, and rhythms that had shaped their entire lives. They walked away from the familiar to follow a Rabbi who had no permanent address. They must have felt the sting of separation—missing meals, missing milestones, missing the comfort of being known by those who had known them since childhood. Their sacrifice was real, and Jesus never minimized it.

But he did reframe it. He reminded them—and us—that nothing given up for his sake is ever truly lost. The sacrifices are real, but the return is greater. The kingdom has a way of multiplying what we surrender. The family we leave behind is met with a larger family of faith. The homes we walk away from are replaced with open doors and open hearts in places we never expected. The losses we feel most deeply are met with gains we could never have imagined. Jesus does not deny the cost; he simply insists that the benefits outweigh it every time.

And that is the encouragement we need on the days when all we can see is what we’ve left behind. The loneliness is real, but so is the promise. The ache is real, but so is the abundance. The distance is real, but so is the nearness of the One who called us. He sees every sacrifice. He honors every tear. And he repays in ways that only eternity will fully reveal.

LORD, encourage us on those days when we can only see what we have left behind. Remind us of what we have gained.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, ministry, missions | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

surrendering self-dependence

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2027

Luke 18:24-27

Luk 18:24 After Jesus noticed this, he said, “It is so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
Luk 18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Luk 18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”
Luk 18:27 He responded, “What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God.”

surrendering self-dependence

Wealth has a way of shaping the inner life. It solves problems, removes obstacles, opens doors, and cushions us from many of the pressures that others feel daily. Because of that, it quietly trains the heart toward self‑dependence. We begin to trust our resources, our planning, our safety nets. We start to believe that if something goes wrong, we can fix it. And in ordinary life, that often works.

But in the kingdom of God, self‑dependence becomes a liability. Kingdom living is built on God‑dependence—on the deep awareness that everything we truly need comes from him, not from our own strength or supply. Jesus’ words about the rich entering the kingdom are not a condemnation of wealth itself but a diagnosis of the spiritual posture wealth tends to create. Riches whisper, “You’re fine. You’re capable. You’re secure.” The gospel whispers something very different: “You are needy. You are dependent. You are upheld by grace.”

If God has blessed someone with wealth, the invitation is not to feel guilty about it but to recognize its limits. Money can buy comfort, but not peace. It can purchase influence, but not righteousness. It can secure a future on paper, but not eternal life. Wealth can do many things, but it cannot do the one thing that matters most: reconcile a person to God and reshape the heart into Christlikeness.

That is why Jesus says it will take a miracle for the wealthy to enter the kingdom. Not because God is unwilling, but because the human heart must be retrained to trust in something beyond itself. And miracles are exactly what God does. He knows how to loosen the grip of self‑reliance. He knows how to awaken dependence. He knows how to bring a person—rich or poor—to the place where they say, “Lord, I need you more than I need anything else.”

It is possible for God to save the wealthy. It is possible for him to reign in a life surrounded by abundance. It is possible for him to create humility where pride once lived. It is possible for him to teach dependence where self‑confidence once ruled. It is possible because he is the God who does the impossible.

LORD, we surrender our self‑dependence to your sovereignty.

Posted in dependence upon God, money, Uncategorized | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

the sin of self-confidence

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2026

Luke 18:18-23

Luk 18:18 Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luk 18:19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Luk 18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honour your father and mother.'”
Luk 18:21 The man responded, “Yes, I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since I was young.”
Luk 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “OK, There is one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in the sky. Then come, follow me.”
Luk 18:23 But when the man heard this he became deeply grieved, because he was extremely wealthy.

the sin of self-confidence

“One thing you still lack.” Few sentences in Scripture land with such weight. Anyone who sincerely wants to follow Christ can name not just one thing lacking, but dozens—areas where God’s goodness is not yet fully formed in us, places where our character still falls short, habits we wish we could uproot. I feel that deeply. But the rich ruler didn’t. He heard Jesus’ words not as an invitation to grace but as a challenge to complete one more task. His confidence rested squarely in himself—his morality, his record, his checklist. He believed he had done enough.

That is why Jesus’ statement is so haunting. It exposes the foundation beneath a person’s spiritual life. The ruler’s foundation was self‑assurance. He thought he could secure eternal life by adding a few more righteous deeds to his résumé. But Jesus wasn’t pointing out a missing item on a list. He was revealing that the man’s entire approach to God was flawed. He trusted himself, not the mercy of God.

Contrast him with the tax collector earlier in the chapter. That man had no illusions about his spiritual condition. He didn’t stand tall. He didn’t rehearse his virtues. He didn’t compare himself to others. He simply bowed low, beat his chest, and cried out for mercy. And Jesus said that man—broken, honest, repentant—went home justified.

The danger for us is subtle. The more we try to grow in our relationship with God—through prayer, Scripture, service, and generosity—the more tempted we become to admire our own progress. We begin to think our spiritual habits tip the scales in our favor. We start to believe that our faithfulness earns God’s approval. But that is the very mindset Jesus warns against. If our relationship with God becomes a matter of ticking off a few extra boxes, we still don’t understand grace.

The truth is simple and humbling: we lack far more than one thing. And yet Christ supplies everything we need. Our hope is not in our performance but in his mercy. Our confidence is not in our progress but in his grace. The moment we stop trusting ourselves is the moment we become able to receive what only he can give.

LORD, forgive us for the way we try to handle life. Forgive us for putting confidence in ourselves.

Posted in confidence, discernment, discipleship, pride, relationship with God | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

messy maturity

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2025

Luke 18:15-17

Luk 18:15 But they were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw this, they began to object to those who brought them.
Luk 18:16 But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Luk 18:17 I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

messy maturity

The disciples thought they were doing Jesus a favor by managing his schedule. Children, in their minds, were important but not that important. Surely the Messiah had weightier matters to attend to—teaching crowds, confronting Pharisees, healing the sick. Blessing children felt like a task for assistants, not the Lord himself. So they tried to shield him, to filter out what they saw as interruptions.

But Jesus saw something entirely different. He saw an opportunity to teach, once again, what life in the kingdom really looks like. He welcomed the children—not because they were innocent or impressive, but because they embodied the posture he wants from every disciple. Children come with open hands, not accomplishments. They come with trust, not credentials. They come with dependence, not self‑sufficiency. And that, Jesus says, is the attitude required to grow into a mature citizen of the kingdom.

Total dependence on Christ is not polished or tidy. It is messy. It means admitting weakness, asking for help, receiving grace, and letting go of the illusion that we can manage our own spiritual lives. It means coming to Jesus not as people who have it together, but as people who need him for everything. The disciples wanted to protect Jesus from the chaos of children, but Jesus wanted to expose them to the truth that the kingdom is built on that very kind of neediness.

Maturity in the kingdom is not about becoming more independent. It is about becoming more dependent—more aware of our need, more willing to trust, more ready to receive. Children do not complicate the kingdom; they reveal it. Their presence exposes our pride, our desire for control, our discomfort with vulnerability. And Jesus uses that discomfort to shape us.

So he calls us to grow, but he does not call us to grow out of dependence. He calls us to grow into it. To embrace the messiness of real faith. To let go of the polished image of spiritual competence. To come to him again and again with the simplicity of a child who knows exactly where help is found.

LORD, mature us, no matter how messy it gets.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, maturity | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

true humility

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post #2024

Luke 18:9-14

Luk 18:9 Jesus also spoke to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. This was his illustration:
Luk 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of these people: violent robbers, unrighteous people, adulterers — or even like this tax collector.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
Luk 18:13 But the tax collector stood far off and would not even look up skyward, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, please show mercy to me, I am a sinner!’
Luk 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home in a right relationship with God rather than the Pharisee. Because everyone who lifts himself up will be levelled off, but he who levels himself off will be lifted up.”

true humility

The tax collector gives us a kind of wisdom that cuts straight through all our religious instincts. He had no résumé to present, no spiritual achievements to highlight, no list of disciplines to impress God with. He stood at a distance, unable to lift his eyes, and simply confessed the truth about himself. And Jesus said that man—broken, honest, repentant—went home right with God.

What makes his example so challenging is that both he and the Pharisee were “churchgoers.” Both prayed. Both believed in God. Both participated in the life of the community. So the lesson cannot be that we avoid spiritual practices in order to stay humble. That would only be pride in disguise—refusing to worship because we want to appear lowly. The tax collector didn’t avoid the temple; he came. He didn’t avoid prayer; he prayed. The issue was not attendance but attitude.

And that is where the struggle lies for us. The more we try to deepen our relationship with God—through prayer, Scripture, service, and generosity—the more subtle the temptation becomes to admire our own progress. We begin to compare. We begin to measure. We begin to congratulate ourselves for being serious, committed, or spiritually mature. Before long, we find ourselves standing where the Pharisee stood, rehearsing our virtues and quietly assuming that God must be pleased with us because we are not like “other people.”

But the tax collector shows us a better way. He teaches us that the heart God receives is the heart that knows its need. Repentance is not self-loathing; it is truth-telling. Humility is not pretending we have nothing to offer; it is acknowledging that nothing we offer could ever earn God’s favor. The moment we stop trying to impress God is the moment we become able to receive grace. And grace—not performance—is what makes a person right with God.

So we keep going to church. We keep praying. We keep serving. But we do it with the posture of the tax collector: aware of our need, grateful for mercy, and unwilling to trust in anything but God’s compassion. That is the path to a right relationship with him.

LORD, in all our attempts to please you, keep us from arrogance.

Posted in church, humility, pride, relationship with God | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

the widow’s secret weapon

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2023

Luke 18:1-8

Luk 18:1 Then Jesus told them a story to illustrate to them the fact that they should always pray and never be overwhelmed.
Luk 18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was this judge who neither feared God nor cared about people.
Luk 18:3 But there was this widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’
Luk 18:4 For a while he refused, but later on he said to himself, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people,
Luk 18:5 yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will grant her justice, or in the end she will wear me out by her perpetual visits.'”
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what that unrighteous judge is saying!
Luk 18:7 Won’t God grant justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them just to maintain control?
Luk 18:8 I tell you, he will give them justice quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find this kind of faithfulness present in the land?”

the widow’s secret weapon

She had no status, no influence, no money to sway the judge, and nothing he personally valued. By every earthly measure, she was powerless. Yet she received justice. Not because she discovered a loophole, not because she impressed the court, and not because the judge suddenly grew a conscience. She prevailed because she kept coming. Her persistence was her strength. Her faithfulness was her gift. She refused to give up, and in the end even an unjust judge yielded to her steady, unrelenting plea.

Jesus lifts up this woman not because she had power, but because she had endurance. He is looking for people who dare to be faithful over the long haul—people who keep praying, keep trusting, keep returning to him even when the wait feels endless. We do not need spiritual brilliance, emotional intensity, or some special advantage. We do not need to manipulate God or prove ourselves worthy. What he desires is simple, steady faithfulness: the kind that keeps showing up.

This is the edge Jesus honors. Not eloquence. Not strength. Not influence. Faithfulness. The willingness to come again and again, believing that the God who hears is also the God who acts. The widow’s persistence did not change the judge’s character, but our persistence rests on a very different foundation. We come to a Father who is just, compassionate, attentive, and eager to respond. If an unjust judge can be moved by persistence, how much more will a righteous God respond to the cries of his people.

So we keep praying—not because God is reluctant, but because we are dependent. Not because he needs convincing, but because we need reminding that he alone is our help. Every return to prayer is an act of faith. Every repeated request is a declaration that we trust his timing, his wisdom, and his heart.

And so we come again today, like the widow—persistent, hopeful, confident not in ourselves but in the One who hears.

LORD, here we are again—coming to you for justice. Heal our broken land. Restore our families. Revive our churches. Heal our hearts. We come to you because only you can give us what we need.

Posted in commitment, faithfulness, prayer | Tagged Luke 18 | Leave a comment

dead bodies waiting

Posted on May 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2022

Luke 17:32-37

Luk 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife!
Luk 17:33 Whoever seeks to protect his soul will lose it, but whoever loses it will preserve it.
Luk 17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
Luk 17:35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
Luk 17:37 Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, that is where the vultures will gather.”

dead bodies waiting

Lot’s wife stands as a mirror to the human heart. She found it impossible to leave her familiar world behind, even as it collapsed around her. The city was burning, judgment was falling, and yet her heart still leaned backward. That single glance revealed a deep truth: sin can wound us, enslave us, and poison our lives, and still we hesitate to let it go. We linger in Sodom long after Sodom has proven it cannot give life.

Jesus uses her story to expose that same tendency in us. Even when we know the damage sin has done, even when we feel its weight, something in us wants to cling to the old patterns, the old comforts, the old illusions. But Jesus’ call is urgent: escape while you can. Do not look back. Do not let your heart remain in the place God is rescuing you from.

This passage is often read as a coded reference to a secret rapture, but Jesus’ emphasis is not secrecy—it is suddenness. The point is not that believers will quietly disappear but that judgment will arrive swiftly, universally, and unmistakably. Just as the flood came upon the whole earth, just as fire fell on all of Sodom, so the final judgment will encompass the entire world. Humanity resists God’s kingdom, clings to its own ways, and lives unaware of the danger. In Jesus’ stark imagery, we are like bodies lying in the open, unaware that the vultures are already circling.

But the warning is not meant to paralyze us. It is meant to awaken us. God’s word calls us to flee the spiritual Sodom within us—to turn from the sins that are killing us and run toward the mercy that can save us. The urgency is real, but so is the invitation. Judgment is coming, but so is rescue. The door of the ark is still open. The path out of Sodom is still clear. The Savior still calls.

The question is whether we will linger or leave.

LORD, we hear you calling. Protect us from the coming destruction.

Posted in destruction in hell, judgment, second coming | Tagged Luke 17 | Leave a comment

time to stay steady

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post #2021

Luke 17:28-31

Luk 17:28 In the same way, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building;
Luk 17:29 but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Luk 17:31 On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his property in the house, must not come down to take them away, and in the same way the person in the field must not turn back.

time to stay steady

Lot’s wife appears in Jesus’ teaching as more than a historical footnote; she becomes a living warning. She had been given a clear command: flee the city, do not look back, do not cling to what God is leaving behind. Yet in the moment of crisis, her heart turned toward Sodom. Her backward glance revealed more than curiosity. It exposed attachment. She could not fully release the life she was being rescued from, and in that moment she was frozen—literally and spiritually—caught between deliverance and desire.

Jesus brings her story into his teaching about his return because the same danger remains for his disciples. He had already told them that there would be a long stretch of waiting before his second coming. During that time, life would continue with its ordinary rhythms—work, relationships, responsibilities, joys, and sorrows. In the midst of all that normalcy, the temptation would be to settle in, to anchor themselves to the comforts and securities of this world, to let their hearts drift toward the very things they had once been rescued from.

So Jesus warns them: do not look back. Do not let your affections become entangled with the world in such a way that his return feels like an interruption rather than a homecoming. When the sky splits open and the Son of Man appears, the only ones ready to welcome him will be those whose hearts have remained steady, whose loyalties have not shifted, whose hope has not been diluted by lesser loves.

Lot’s wife teaches us that spiritual danger does not always come in dramatic rebellion. Sometimes it comes in a single glance—an inward turning of the heart toward what God has called us to leave behind. Jesus calls his disciples to a long obedience, a sustained commitment, a posture of readiness that endures through the years of waiting. Faithfulness is not proven in a moment but in a lifetime of choosing him again and again.

Her story is sobering, but it is also clarifying. It reminds us that the Christian life is not merely about fleeing judgment but about moving toward the One who saves. Our eyes belong on him, not on the world we have left.

LORD, show us how to remain unswervingly committed to you.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, second coming | Tagged Luke 17 | Leave a comment

the only sign

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post #2020

Luke 17:26-27

Luk 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, that is how it will be in the days of the Son of Man also.
Luk 17:27 People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage — right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

the only sign

The Pharisees wanted a sign—some dramatic indicator that the kingdom Jesus spoke of was truly arriving. They expected something unmistakable: political upheaval, cosmic disturbances, visible shifts in power. But Jesus pointed them to a far older pattern, one they should have recognized from the days of Noah. That generation did not receive spectacular warnings either. There were no ominous clouds gathering, no tremors in the earth, no escalating violence that signaled the flood’s approach. Life went on as usual—eating, drinking, marrying, building—right up until the first drops of rain began to fall.

Their only sign was a man. Noah stood before them for a century, preaching righteousness, calling for repentance, urging them to take God’s warning seriously. For one hundred years, God waited patiently, giving every opportunity for people to respond. But in the end, only Noah and his family entered the ark. The rest of the world dismissed the messenger and ignored the message.

Jesus draws a straight line from Noah’s day to his own. The Pharisees wanted a sign of the kingdom, but the sign was already standing in front of them—Jesus himself, proclaiming the arrival of God’s reign. And now, in our age, the pattern continues. The sign of the coming Savior is not found in dramatic cosmic events or sensational predictions. It is found in a preaching church. The people of God, proclaiming the gospel, calling the world to repentance, announcing the return of Christ—this is the sign God has chosen.

Just as Noah’s voice echoed through his generation, the church’s voice echoes through ours. We are the heralds of righteousness, the living reminder that history is moving toward a decisive moment. Our message is not speculation but invitation. Not fearmongering but hope. Not hidden knowledge but the plain announcement that the King who came once will come again.

The question is not whether the world will receive more signs. The question is whether it will listen to the one sign God has already given.

LORD, make us a sign that people listen to, before it is too late.

Posted in faithfulness, second coming, witness | Tagged Luke 17 | Leave a comment

Devotions

confusing times

confusing times

fair trade

fair trade

surrendering self-dependence

surrendering self-dependence

the sin of self-confidence

the sin of self-confidence

messy maturity

messy maturity

true humility

true humility

the widow’s secret weapon

the widow’s secret weapon

dead bodies waiting

dead bodies waiting

time to stay steady

time to stay steady

the only sign

the only sign

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