February 15, 2026 -- Matthew 9:37b - 38 -- What should I pray?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:37b-38 ESV
 
We can pray. In fact, we must pray. Not to be miracle-workers. Not to be wonderworkers. We must pray to fulfil our task, which is to teach the word of God to those around us and proclaim His goodness. In our ordinary life, in our routines among co-workers and friends speak about Jesus. Talk about the times you’ve met Him in church. The ways you meet Him in your morning Bible reading and prayer time. Speak about how He has helped you overcome the curse of sin in your own life. How?
 
Many of you know that my friend Jason is engaged in the Canadian Mental Health Challenge. He is going to do 2000 push-ups for charity—raising awareness about the scourge of suicide. (Not 2,000 a day, come on now, but in the span of this month.) If you have talked to him recently, you know all about that. Even if you haven’t spoken to him in weeks, you can’t miss his social media posts. He is doing push-ups at Walmart (he makes sure it is recorded and then he posts it on-line for all to see). At work (and then updates the count of how many push-ups he’s already done). At home in the kitchen. Why mention that? When something is dear to our hearts, we express it and speak of it all the time. Just as Jason can incorporate his push-up challenge into his daily conversations, so we too can insert Jesus into our daily conversations.
 
Jesus is our goal. He is the prize of our lives. He is the healer of mental health crises that plague our world. Most importantly, our greatest need is met in Jesus: He cleanses us from our sin so that we can live in relationship with our Father in heaven. The Father has provided the way for us to escape His curse against our sin. The Father accepted the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, so that, at the cross, all our sins and the punishment measured out against them, were meted out against Jesus. All who believe in Jesus have exchanged their sinfulness for His perfect obedience. We are made new in Christ. It is the greatest, most-worth-telling-everyone-about-it news in the world.
 
Father in heaven, glorious and forever blessed be Your Name. Thank You for the new life You give to all who believe in Jesus. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, Who prompts us to desire Jesus. Holy Spirit, guard us in the way of Jesus. Father in heaven, we confess how lifeless our prayers have been. We ask You, forgive us our prayerlessness and our renew in us the joy of our salvation. Instill in us a holy desire, an urgent fervency, to be men and women of prayer so that those in our circle of influence will see Jesus in us and in all we do. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/vCcGqMHndxo?si=tuGVmGM9dKK5nbkT Worthy Is the Lamb that Was Slain
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 13, 2026 -- Proverbs 2:1, 9-12, 16-17 -- Choose wisdom. It is practical for daily life

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you…
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity and every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech…
So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God…
Proverbs 2:1, 9-12, 16-17 ESV
 
Choose wisdom, because it is your helper in every day, real circumstances. The opening chapters of Proverbs are set up as if a father, a mother, and a wise counselor were speaking with a child who needs to be instructed. A youngster needs so much instruction on the basics of the world, learning to distinguish evil from good. Perhaps even more importantly, what has the appearance of good, but is in fact, wicked or perverse.
 
The man (or woman) who treasures up the commandments of God will understand righteousness and justice. Righteousness has been described as the desire to be holy expressed in daily actions. Righteousness is eminently practical. Armed with a desire for righteousness, a man will set aside anything that might trip him up or block his path in pursuing God. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. You won’t constantly be kicking against the pathways of God but will realize the boundary lines God has established are right, good, and designed to spare you all kinds of heartache.
 
The world around you is coarse, rude, celebrates perverseness. Even the Olympic Games, which are supposed to celebrate competition, honour, and sportsmanship can be degenerate. You can find many news stories of scandals related to cheating, doping, and sexual perversions. Why mention this? The human heart is not naturally pure and good. Unchecked, the heart is devious and crooked. Unless you are aware of the condition of your heart, having been informed by wisdom and guarded by the Holy Spirit in every good path, you will readily succumb to the invitations to hang out with men who have not been taught in wisdom’s ways, and they will lead you in the perverseness of evil.
 
The Christian hears godless scientists proclaim there is no god and the goal of human life is reproduction. So, sex is celebrated in the world. It is everywhere. There is a clear difference between a man or a woman who knows the ways of wisdom being steeped in understanding, and the person who is not. The forbidden woman (the devious man) will enjoy sex with multiple partners. Or take part in sex outside the holy bonds of marriage. It is not the way of God. The Father in heaven has set up holy rules, makes a covenant with His people, teaching them how to live—to break the covenant is to scoop fire into your lap.
I can hear some readers protest. Does that mean, if I am not married, I am not supposed to have sex? Yes, that is exactly what it means. The push-back continues, but I like it. I want it. Yes, but you know there are many things which, if enjoyed without the proper rules and boundaries, will hurt you. (Medication, properly prescribed and taken in the right doses will heal you; taken off-label and addictively, will kill you.)
 
The ways of darkness lead a man (or woman) to continue to push-back, but you expect me to go without sex? Who can do that? Well, Jesus did. He was perfect. He also gives the Holy Spirit so that “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (II Peter 1:3). The very God Who sets these boundaries has provided the power to keep them. The very God Who has set these boundaries has also provided the gift of Jesus Christ, through Whom all our past sins and wicked actions have already been punished. If you have been convicted in your conscience and renewed in your desire for obedience, know that today is a new day. Confess your sin. Repent—turn from your sinful ways and make a new commitment to walk in the ways of righteousness. Find an accountability man (or if you are a woman, another woman) to whom you can confess your sin and seek to be righteous in your living. Stamp out the familiar ways of evil so that you can walk in the way of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path (verse 9).
 
O God, my Father, like Paul I cry out “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing^”. Sin is right there, near me, living in me. I pray, gracious Father, deliver me from this body of death through the great and gracious work of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord. By Your Spirit Who lives in us, renew our zeal for holiness and our help us to walk in true righteousness. Place us in holy community, so that with a dear Christian friend or two, we will walk together with integrity. Amen.
^Romans 7:19 ESV
 
https://youtu.be/k2qbq_zzbRE?si=TGkRJ-2YcWtS1cx7 There is Power in the Blood

 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 12, 2026 -- Proverbs 2:6-8 -- Choosing to be shielded by Jesus

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Proverbs 2:6-8 ESV
 
Choose sound wisdom. Wisdom is the guardian of your mind. It is a God-given gift. Sound wisdom helps you to discern what is fictitious from what is real and true. Many Canadians mourn after the recent, terrible shooting in Tumbler Ridge, BC. The incredible slant of wickedness in our world today is openly revealed in the description of the shooter. He, the biologically male claiming to be transgendered shooter, in the media has been given the pronoun “she”. Politics and lies are interposed upon the grief of the sufferers. Contrast this with the internationally known singer and song-writer Buffy Saint-Marie. She has received massive backlash (2023 to 2025) for presenting herself as a First-Nations woman, while her birth certificate states she was born in Massachusetts to white parents in 1941 (her official biography says she was born in Saskatchewan on the Piapot Cree First Nation Reserve). Why mention this? Well, the current narrative in Canada, the lie people are required to follow, is that a man can pretend to be a woman and follow the fictitious narrative that one’s biological sex as male or female is a construct. Those same folks in authority, exclude a Caucasian woman from claiming an indigenous identity. She has been stripped of various honors. Please explain the difference. (No, please don’t explain. It is part of the package of lies that are currently forced down the throats of Canadians.) It seems pretending can only go so far.
 
The LORD is a shield to those who walk in integrity. The word “integrity” means wholeness. Complete. Not fractured or splintered. When a man or a woman seeks to walk in integrity, that person will be challenged on every side by the agenda of those in power who deny God. Those same people in authority seek to destroy the family structure. Those who abuse power try to force others to celebrate evil as good and good as evil.
 
Beloved in Christ, we need the shield of God to surround us. To guard us from the lies that fly at us from outside of ourselves, but also to protect us from the lies that haunt us within. “Two of the lies Satan uses to keep us afraid are fear and intimidation. Satan will constantly remind you of the ways you have failed so that you will feel discouraged. He mixes the truth of what you have done with the lie that God has become angry with you or has abandoned you.” Overcomers Workbook, page 214 The world, and our peer group, might hurl lies at us. The Devil works overtime to thwart our commitment to follow Jesus. Then our own conscience can rip us apart.
A Christian is not morally better, purer, nor superior to any other person. The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is the shielding of God. The accusations of the Devil (accurate accusations against us based on our sins) were placed upon Jesus at the cross. The righteous anger of God against our sin was poured out on Jesus at the cross. That is precisely why Jesus is a shield for us.

• Jesus shielded us from the wrath of God.

• Jesus shields us from the accusations of Satan made against us because of our sins. The penalty against our sin has been paid in full at the cross of Jesus.

• Jesus will shield us from the weakness of our own flesh by giving to His people the Holy Spirit Who is the guardian of our way.

• The Holy Spirit will redirect us, when we intentionally, rebelliously, and sometimes unintentionally wander from what is holy and true. So we return to the protection of the shield of Jesus.

• The shield of Jesus means Christian men and women are saints, based not on anything they have done, but solely based on the accomplished work of Jesus. He is all our boast.

 
Father in heaven
“When I am tempted to think highly of myself, grant me to see the wily power of my spiritual enemy; help me to stand with wary eye on the watch-tower of faith, and to cling with determined grasp to my humble Lord; if I fall let me hide myself in my Redeemer’s righteousness, and when I escape, may I ascribe all deliverance to Your grace. Keep me humble, meek, lowly.” Amen.
 
Quoted from PRIDE, Valley of Vision. page 161
 
https://youtu.be/0nnkkra4FwY?si=kQFgy4FptN3G5q1W Psalm 150 Praise the LORD
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 11, 2026 -- Proverbs 2:1-5 -- What are you chasing after?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV
 
Choose whom you will serve. Your household, by word and action, show what is most valuable. Some families are setting aside regular schedules and routines to watch the Olympics. Oddly enough, life is not otherwise put on hold to go to church or to attend Bible Studies. Look at the passage, how all the verbs direct the reader to treasure up God’s commands, seek wisdom and understanding like you would treasures.
 
Ask yourself

• how I use and spend my money, does it show a focus on the Kingdom of God, or on my selfish needs?

• how I spend my time, is there a clear goal of learning more about God and His Word, or am I wasting my time in mindless pursuits?

• how am I prioritizing knowing God and spending time with fellow Christians who love Him?

• how does my life show that God my Father is more valuable than silver, that my devotion to Christ is greater than any gold I could ever get, and the Spirit’s insight is precious beyond accounting?

• how do I weep or repent or react when I read such things?

 
Choose this day to treasure knowing God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and to search for God more diligently than any person, thing or circumstance.
 
MERCIFUL LORD,
Pardon all my sin of this day, week, year
all the sins of my life,
sins of early, middle, and advanced years,
of omission and commission,
of morose, peevish and angry tempers,
of life, life and walk,
of hard-heartedness, unbelief, presumption, pride,
of unfaithfulness to the souls of men,
of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ,
of deficiency in outspoken zeal for his glory,
of bringing dishonour upon Your great Name,
of deception, injustice, untruthfulness
in my dealings with others,
of impurity in thought, word and deed,
of covetousness, which is idolatry,
of substance unduly hoarded, improvidently squandered,
not consecrated to Your glory, the great Giver;
sins in private and in the family,
in study and recreation, in the busy haunts of men,
in the study of Your Word and in the neglect of it,
in prayer irreverently offered and coldly withheld,
in time misspent,
in yielding to Satan’s wiles,
in opening my heart to his temptations,
in being unwatchful when I know him nigh,
in quenching the Holy Spirit;
sins against conscience and the restraints of Your Spirit,
against the law of eternal love.
Pardon all my sins, known and unknown,
felt and unfelt,
confessed and not confessed,
remembered or forgotten.
Good Lord, hear; and hearing, forgive.
 
SINS. Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions, page 158
 
https://youtu.be/9zGbdg1YCYY?si=xhAVv7Kxy0uheXRT Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
    and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV

Choose wisdom. Look at the great variety of verbs of seeking, going after, pursuing wisdom. What is the great search all about? It is to find the wisdom of God. It is to seek it like one seeks silver. How does a child know silver (or money) is valuable? He’ll see his parents seeking it out. He’ll hear people he respects talking about it. There will be lectures on how to gather money, invest it, and prepare for retirement. The household will either long for it (because there is never enough) or the household will celebrate and keep what it has. Already at a very young age children are given piggy banks or are encouraged to save. I wonder, is the same effort given to teach children the fear of the LORD and knowledge of the Holy One?

Compare your bible-reading time to the time you spend on your hobbies. Compare your bible reading time to the time you spend watching TV, or movies, or gaming. Compare the time you spend talking with your friends about sports, or fishing, or card-making, or the latest political trends. Now ask yourself, how much time do you spend with them talking about God? About your life in Christ? Your hope for the future in eternity with the Blessed Father? Your life, your actions, your finances show what you really value. Today’s passage is a clear call to return to the ways of God, to invest your efforts, your time and your friendships in knowing God.

MERCIFUL LORD,

February 9, 2026 -- Proverbs 1:28-29 -- The time of choosing Whom you will serve is short

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
Proverbs 1:28-29 ESV
 
Choose whom you will serve, for the days are winding down and then you will no longer have a choice but will be so hardened in your sin that the LORD will confirm your wickedness and will ignore you. The context of our text today is a five-verse narrative where the LORD had poured out His Spirit among His people, but they ignored His counsel. They would have none of His reproof. They experienced troubles and hardship and anguish…but they did not repent. This is repeated in Revelation, where the LORD will send plagues and hardships so that those appointed to repent will repent, and those appointed for death would rather curse God and bite off their own tongues, than submit to Him (Revelation 16:10-11).
 
Sin hardens the heart, deadens the mind so that one’s will rises in rebellion against God. It is the original sin-nature that lurks in the heart of every man and woman. Any concession to one’s old way of life instantly encourages faithlessness against God.
 
Isn’t it cruel of God to set an endpoint where people will diligently seek Him and they will not find Him? Not at all. You were made by Him. You were made for Him. When you perversely continue to oppose Him in your words, your choices, your thoughts and your actions, then you have trained yourself in outrage against God for so long that you are too self-congratulatory to see your own vileness. You will call out to God on your terms, as if He owes you anything. He doesn’t owe you anything.
 
The fear of the LORD. Where there is no fear of the LORD, people will sin. They will act as if there will never be an accounting for their life and everything they thought, said and did (and the good deeds they left undone). Those who walk in wisdom’s ways know the LORD is gracious in forgiving sin. The LORD has provided the sacrifice which turns aside His wrath against all the iniquities of the heart, all the lusts of the flesh, and all the sin of one’s life. That sacrifice is Jesus Christ. To ignore God’s gift of grace, Jesus Christ, is to invoke the wrath of God against yourself.
 
The fear of the LORD is pure. When one stands in the pure presence of God through Bible reading and prayer, one’s sin is revealed to be like leeches all over the body, leeches sucking life blood away; gross, vile, and the most appropriate impulse is to want every single one of them to be pulled off. The fear of the LORD is right. It is clean. It is good. It is to read Scripture and begin to understand that He is holy. He is all-together right in all His ways. Just in His judgments. Any lack of conformity to His glory stings the conscience. Such stinging of the conscience is the appropriate warning bell to go to God, the merciful, in confession that turns from the old patterns of sin and is renewed in joy-filled obedience to Him.
 
God, our Father, thank You for the ringing alarms of conscience sounded by the reading of Your Word. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit Who takes the Word and makes it real, living and vital, a beacon of hope. Thank You God, for the wondrous gift of Jesus, in Whom every lecherous sin is pulled off and in Him Who true heart, mind, and soul healing begins. Spirit of God, renew in me a holy fear of the LORD, and a holy hunger for true Christian community where I join with others in mutual accountability against sin and incitement among us of a growing love for God. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/CyHbdqB8kto?si=TVq0oiFvXFNXyyf8 All to Jesus I Surrender
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 8, 2026 -- Proverbs 1:20-22 -- Choose wisdom. Worship the LORD Who gives wisdom

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

20  Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22  “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Pr 1:20–22.
 
Choose this day who you will serve. Will you serve God in wisdom, or will you run with the Devil hating all knowledge? The wisdom found in Proverbs is so direct. There is no middle way, no compromise with sin, nor any provision made for toying with the evil deeds.
 
Wisdom, in the Hebrew language, is plural here. It emphasizes the brilliance and beauty of wisdom. She is a prize. She is the goal. She is the pathway that leads to fellowship with God and blessedness on earth. The world’s clamour seeks to drown her out, but even in the noisy marketplace, wisdom can be found by those who fear the LORD.
 
Fools and scoffers hate knowledge. They will despise wisdom. The more she calls, the greater will be the mocking and vile joking found among fools. A warning is coming at verse 24 and following. The consequence of ignoring wisdom and then mocking the way of the LORD leads to such deep entanglement in sin that one who is trapped in it will finally cry out to the very God he once mocked, but then he will be ignored because he continuously refused the invitation to walk in God’s wisdom.
 
Today is Sunday. Today is the day the LORD has made for His people to heed the call of wisdom. Join with the people of God. Find a Christ-believing, bible-preaching, church where you can confess the ways in which you’ve been foolish and now, while the invitation is offered, regain the right path of wisdom. Now is the day of salvation. If you hear His voice and the warm invitation of wisdom, do not out of laziness or fear neglect to answer. Stir yourself. Join with the people of God. Now is the day to turn to God and find in Him true joy and peace.
 
Father in heaven, great and glorious is Your Name. You are wise and good in all Your ways. Thank You for the gift of wisdom, personified here in the Proverbs, raising her voice in every place and circumstance of life. Thank You that the New Testament shows Jesus Christ to be wise in all His ways, the source of salvation for all who call on Him. Spirit of God, I know how easily I wander. Sometimes it is fear of public ridicule for following You. Sometimes I wander, in crazy curiosity, even as the warning bells sound alarm in my mind. Sometimes I just want to do what I want to do. Forgive me. Let wisdom be a graceful crown to protect my thoughts and a pendant, like a medic alert button, to sound off whenever I need help from brothers or sisters in Christ. This Sunday, renew in me a depth of joy in serving you and wide measure of hope that You will not abandon me to the foolishness of my ways. As I walk in true community with Jesus and with others, let the light of His wisdom be the powerful lighthouse directing my way. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/gYI97zahdfU?si=AZBVDU8P3pCamMOJ How Shall the Young Direct Their Way
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 6, 2026 -- Proverbs 1:8-10 -- Choose not to be enticed

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
9 for they are a graceful garland for your head
    and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
    do not consent.
Proverbs 1:8-10 ESV
 
Choose whom you will serve. As soon as you set your feet on the floor in the morning, at the noon day meal, as the day wears into the evening, constantly renew your vow to listen to and obey the captain of your salvation: Jesus! The first word is “sh’ma” or “hear” which carries the sense to hear and having heard to obey it fully. A devout Jewish man will, every morning and every evening, recite: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one, you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). That simple word “hear” is a deep reminder of his commitment to serving God and Him alone. The echo of that very common word in this passage will remind him of his continual vow.
 
Second, the word entice means that sinners will open the way to sin. It won’t take effort on your part. They’ll have done the work, opened the door, all you have to do is step through it. To entice also carries the sense to seduce. You don’t ever have to look for trouble, you will be seduced into it. Sin will rush out to meet you, arms wide open, instruments of evil (concealed as ‘fun’, or a new exciting pleasure) at the ready. Sometimes it is subtle. Sometimes it is a desire you’ve long held but only secretly, and you can’t believe your good luck in finding this door open…only, take this warning, it is the road that leads to death.
 
What guards you from the allurements of the wicked and invitations of the wicked? It is the instruction of Christian fathers and the teaching of Christian mothers. What you laughed at as “old fashioned” is in fact the guardian designed to protect you from yourself. Your youthful lusts. Your youthful peer group who pressures you, though you in your naiveté can’t imagine your friends would want to hurt you. At best they are just as ignorant to the ways of sin and the strong pull of vileness as you are; at worst, their guilty conscience and foul self-hatred means they want you to feel as bad as they do. The word is true. The godly ones, your earthly parents, or your spiritual fathers and mothers are the ones who sound loud the warning bell.
 
Boxing Day, 2004, Thailand, the beaches suddenly were far more exposed than usual. The on-coming tsunami pulled back a huge trough of water. More of the beach was exposed than ever before. It was inviting. Look. Explore. The wise knew it was ominous. A signal great danger was on its way. The foolish didn’t have the knowledge or teaching to know a tsunami was rushing towards them. So it is with sin. Only the wise, taught Scripture by faithful spiritual fathers or mothers, will recognize how great is the danger that will overtake you if you don’t immediately recognize the danger of the too-good-to-be-true circumstance you find yourself in.  Act accordingly. Flee the danger.
 
A father’s instruction is a graceful garland on the head. It is like an athlete’s crown so that the head is clothed with wisdom for any circumstance. The mother’s teaching is like a pendant, like a medical alert button worn by someone who is weak. You press it because you know how vulnerable you truly are. You press the help button, immediately rescue is on the way.
 
O LORD, Faithful One, thank You for godly fathers and mothers in the faith. Thank You for their wise counsel, their persistence in pointing out Your grace and goodness, and their great allegiance to us, especially during those frequent times we’ve been foolish. I repent of the many times I’ve been deaf to the appeals of those wiser than me and have rushed headlong into sin. I confess I’ve known the good I ought to do and turned away to do exactly the opposite. Thank You for the reconciling blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You for the guardianship of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, that You show me my sins, so that I can confess them. Turn from them. And once again walk the path of wisdom. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/ndZsEDuCVAQ?si=YwgF5ZtmA5ceFIu- Psalm 27 (One Thing)
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 5, 2026 -- Proverbs 1:7 -- What are you choosing?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7 ESV
 
Choose this day whom you will serve! Will you serve the LORD in the holy fear of His Name, or will you, like a fool rushing headlong to hell, despise wisdom and instruction? Let me ask you a question: Who is the Bible written for? The Holy Spirit working through the gifts and personalities of ordinary men, inspired them to record the fully accurate, fully reliable word of God. The Word of God is for the people of God. The Holy Spirit preserved the Word of God through-out all generations. Those who are wise, that is, people who belong to God through the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, willingly and readily receive instruction and learning. Then, believers apply the word of God to their lives. Believers in their living and talking reflect the glory of God and saints are encouraged and sinners are called to repentance. The word of God challenges believers to reconsider their ways. Just because someone seems to walk in Christ, seem one day to be doing well, doesn’t mean he is well. The human heart is deceptive above all things. You can easily fool yourself. You might think you are following God, when in fact, you are pursuing your own comfort, or your own interpretation, or your own will.
 
John Calvin noted that for a believer to truly know God, he must first know himself. His own sinfulness. His raison d’être. A child of God will, in humility and awe, examine himself, or herself in the light of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit will continually sanctify, that is, make holy, the one who believes in God. The design of what you will be is already set out for each one in the plan of God, the work is progressing. You are God’s workmanship, currently under-construction. The more you are conformed to the will and image of God, the more you’ll see your flaws and imperfections. The closer you are to completion in Christ, the more each imperfection will mar your conscience and affect your walk with God. You will become impatient to be more like Jesus.
 

• The fear of the LORD disquiets the soul, keeping it from falsely being content with anything less than being perfect, as God is perfect.

• The fear of the LORD is a holy dedication to our Father. To be so utterly loved by God means one desires to be more like Him. Any sin, any deficiency of conformity to His will, is odious to the believer. The believer knows he is loved by God and wants to fully, perfectly, daily, love Him. So, that believer, discovering something (many things) which needs to be removed so the pathway of greater love for God and truer love for neighbour can be regained, he will gladly chuck it away from himself. “I will run in the way of your commands when you enlarge my heart” Psalm 119:32. Our heart is enlarged, made more roomy for the fullest presence of God, as every sin is cast down and every secret idol exposed and thrown into the latrine.

• The fear of the LORD raises in the believer the awareness of how much sin continually hinders the relationship. A pastoral counselor I know uses this counseling technique with couples who struggle. “Sweetheart, if you could tell me anything about me, knowing that I won’t respond in anger or frustration, but will listen intently and with an open heart and mind, what would you have me know about myself? What am I doing wrong? What is bothering you?” Many folks reading this wince because they are afraid of the litany of wrongs their spouse, who lives seemingly-contentedly with them, might have to recite. Believers know they are sinful. They easily keep a record of wrongs against others. Can cite the evidence of greed, or anger and so on they easily detect in others…though maybe not so easily recognize in themselves. The LORD will, in the quiet of prayer time, in the intimacy of Bible study, show you your wayward heart, your insolence, your pride, your wicked proclivities. He will show it, so you can confess. Confessing and repenting of it, you can walk in deeper fellowship. It is the kindness of God that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).

 
Dear fellow believer, do you know yourself? Does the light of God’s love and the glory He has in store for you jump off Scripture’s page? Do you thirst, like a parched man, dry-throated, long for the living water found in the Word of God? When you drink deeply your soul will be satisfied. Your conscience will be excited, because you will realize it was your own out-of-alignment-with-God desires which caused you to wander into the desert of sin in the first place. You’ll confess it. Desire to stay near the well of Living Water, Jesus Himself.
 
Father in heaven, thank You for the treasure of Your Word. Thank You for the glorious work of Jesus Christ, Who is the radiance of Your glory, the only righteous One, Your appointed Redeemer for our abject neediness. Father in heaven, pour out Your Spirit, so that the Word will be a rich banquet to our starving souls and instruction in knowledge to our minds. We confess, how readily we despise wisdom and chafe against instruction. Quiet our souls. Humble our hearts. Feed us until we realize our complete satisfaction is found in You alone. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/sXgCi5mhRYM?si=LXqa9jNkLwLVc62r Whiter than Snow
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

February 4, 2026 -- Joshua 24:14-15 -- Choose this day whom you will serve

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:14-15 ESV
 
Choose this day whom you will serve. I know that is a line many people use for evangelism, but realize the context here, Joshua is speaking to people who are already believers. Joshua, a strong leader in Israel, once Moses’ right-hand man, is now preparing for his death. He is speaking to the people of Israel who have been rescued from Egypt by the powerful hand of the LORD. Defended from enemies, by the hand of the LORD. Protected in the wilderness from snakes and scorpions, by the hand of the LORD. In their forty years of wilderness wandering before entering the Promised Land, given mana to eat, and water to drink by the hand of the LORD. When the people complained, the LORD gave them meat, quail, this too was from the hand of the LORD. Now the people are in the Promised Land, this is from the hand of the LORD. They have rest from their enemies; this too is from the hand of the LORD.
 
Now Joshua is commanding them, reaffirm your vow to the LORD your God. Choose whom you will serve, because you are a people who spiritually wander. Who get restless looking for the next new thing. Who when facing temptation are ripe and ready to fall into it. You remember your sins, forgetting the vile consequences and the anger of the LORD, and wander off. Choose whom you will serve. You are the LORD’s. You belong to Him. He is your salvation. He is your rescue story. As the recipients of His grace and goodness, awash in His blessings, choose to persist in pushing against the inevitable influences of sin, so that you will stay true to God. They don’t. They sin. The theme of the next book, Judges, is “and every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
 
Dearly loved brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, you have been rescued from the Egypt of your sins. You have been brought to salvation in Jesus Christ, where your past, present and future sins have been nailed to the cross and Jesus was punished in your place. You are therefore free to be sons and daughters of God. Be aware that the pressures of sins and the weight of temptation will rush against you like a flood.

• Your own, old sinful desires rise from within you. Crush them. Choose today to affirm your vows to serve the LORD. The world around you will entice you to wander from God. Rebellion and wickedness are disguised in so that you easily fall and it feels good, and you realize you are serving the gods of this age rather than the LORD Who rescued you, loves you and saves you.

• The gods of this age, evident in tremendous peer pressure to participate in sex, drugs, and rock and roll, fashion and human-centredness are as old as time. These ridiculously vile invitations are presented to you as new and dangerously thrilling. It is the same as it ever was. To turn away from God is death. Remember your vow, you chose to serve God, serve Him now.

• The Devil and his hordes from hell can’t punch God in the face, so, instead, the demonic forces attack the image-bearers of God. That is you. You are made in God’s image. You are created to glorify God as you are restored to true righteousness, true knowledge and true holiness. Ordinary, daily choices, pull you from the commitment to choose God and serve Him only. Sin leads you to be unclean, unable to do right and foolish. Choose to serve God. Remember your vows and walk in His way.

 
I can hear some of you say, “I can’t”. I am too far gone. Let me start by saying there is a twisted pride in that way of thinking. As if you are beyond the grip of God’s grace. It is warped way of justifying your desire to stay locked in your prison of sin, putting the key in the lock on the inside, your side of the prison door. God has declared, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” Romans 3:23-24 ESV. Do you really think your sins are new? Are too hard for God? Get over yourself. Humble yourself. Trust God. Go back to your commitment, as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
 
Our Father in heaven, forever blessed, thank You for the rich salvation You have granted us in Jesus Christ! Spirit of the Living God, reading this text today, I am first of all, ready to feel superior to “those people” who say ‘Yes’ to Jesus in the morning and are sinning like fiends in the afternoon…until the Spirit of God shows me my own propensity to bend this way and that by the slight breeze of temptation. Compassionate Father, forgive my sins by the reconciling blood of Jesus. By the Holy Spirit, strengthen me in my inner being, so that having already chosen to serve You, I will be renewed in holy zeal, and equipped to serve Jesus morning, noon and night. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/A3U0G7OiKJw?si=clVwH0EYkxSzOMM7 And Can It Be?
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 30, 2026 -- Proverbs 30:5 -- Every word of God proves true

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:5 ESV
 
What is God like? He is truth. This is a challenging statement for humans. “Science” proves it is a catchphrase that is often employed to convince people. Yet science is often wrong. I well remember in my open-pod concept grades one to four classroom, when two men explained to all the students the great benefits of plastic bags. They said plastic would replace paper bags in stores. These bags would save the trees. Science is proving to be so helpful to the environment. Yeah, right (sarcasm here). Then it was global warming. Science proves it. Now it is climate change (as if the climate never changed in the past). These same ‘scientists’ will on the one hand speak of ice ages past and now in hushed, worried tones, speak of climate change.
 
How refreshing, how glorious, that every word of God proves true. What He has said, He will do. As you read the Old Testament, you can see the promises of God pile up. His promises to Abraham and Sarah. Proved true. His promises to deliver Israel from Egypt. Proved true. His judgments, should Israel sin and turn aside from the LORD, proved true.
 
Jesus, Who is the embodiment of so many of the Father’s promises in the Old Testament, declared, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6a). Jesus Himself is the evidence that every word of God proves true. Jesus, as He spoke, performed miracles, suffered, died, and rose from the dead, at every step proved the words of God true. As He did all what He did on earth, He proved He is fully human and fully God. He is completely reliable.
 
I love how God’s truthfulness is linked to the fact that He is a shield for His people. When the lies of this world are aimed at you, pummeling against you again and again, the truth of God is your shield. His Spirit, living in you, proves the word of God true and exposes the lies of this world. In fact, when His words prove true in your life, and expose the inconsistencies in your own life and the intermittent obedience you’ve offered Him, His Spirit is a shield against the lies of the Devil. The Devil would whisper to you, “You’ve been so faithless, so often, how could God love you?” The word of God proves true: He Who loved you, will love you to the end!
 
When you are filled with doubts, hold-out the promises of God. Every word of God proves true. He Who loved you from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5); He demonstrated His on-going love through the reconciling blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8); and He proves His love by giving to you the Holy Spirit Who is the deposit guaranteeing your eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). The more you read, the more you realize every word of God proves true.
 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. May our lives and our witness to the truth of Your word bring glory to Your Name and draw in many sons and daughters to glory. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, Who binds us close so that we will overcome our waywardness, our apprehensions, and our defiant inclinations to believe the lies of this world. What immeasurable greatness of power You work in us who believe which transforms us from death to life, which removes doubt and replaces it with confident hope, which removes our spiritual blindness and gives to our eyes the light of life. Amen.
Prayer based on Ephesians 1:3,18-20
 
https://youtu.be/8q3jmXn6HTQ?si=q6Q6jso1UMKK-ss4 Love Divine, All Love Excelling
 

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January 29, 2026 -- Romans 11:33 -- What is God like? He is inscrutable in all His ways. Read on

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Romans 11:33 ESV
 
What is God like? Various preachers and teachers have noted the depths of the emotion conveyed by that simple interjection “oh”! Imagine the joy of a car enthusiast, who casually, minding his own business, walking down the road unexpectedly, sees right there in front of him, parked on the side of the road, a mint-condition Ferrari 250 GTO. He will gasp. He will gulp. He will explain to you there are only like 30 or so ever produced. They were manufactured in the early 1960’s. He will be bursting with information. He might whistle. Words will fail him as he encounters this gem, which he’s seen so many pictures of and imagined one day actually seeing it. He knew it’d be so unlikely to actually see one.
 
What is God like? He is infinitely more valuable than the rarest treasure you’ve been seeking all your life. He is more worthy than any other pursuit your heart might undertake. He is breath-takingly wise and soul-drawingly knowledgeable. What blessedness will fill eternity, where Christians who have served Jesus through-out their earthly life will there, free from the mind-encumbrances of sin so that in possession of all their faculties, will be able to contemplate the wisdom of God, His expansive knowledge, and His judgments and decrees and see how holy He is. How good He is. How right and true all His decisions are.
 
Why is it that Christians do not evangelize with zeal? Because they do not spend nearly enough time contemplating the glories of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Most Christians don’t speak to everyone they meet and gush to everyone at every opportunity about God because all too many have been tamed in their thoughts and bored in their encounters with Him Who fills the universe. Sermons are dull. Bible reading is rushed. Prayers are lifeless exercises. Those who are completing a time of bible reading and prayer are doing a duty. Imagine instead, pausing and worshiping Him Who is wisdom. Surprised by what you read, then breaking out in words blessing Him Who is just in every single thing He does. Can you picture longing just to know a bit more about Him Who is so far beyond all knowledge and understanding? Every tidbit which is added to your understanding enriches your knowledge of Him Who is so perfect, so holy, so good, so true, so exquisite.
 
Think of it—God stoops to our weakness. He makes Himself known. It is such kindness and love He demonstrates to us. We are, even the most brilliant among us, mere kindergarteners in our understanding of anything. How much there is to know, to learn, to discover, and having learned it, to ascribe to God the honour due to Him. If we’d spend a fraction of our time really taking hold of Who He Is, Who He reveals Himself to be, we’d join with Paul in crying out: “Oh. (insert a whistle of wonder and joy) the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”
 
Forgive us, glorious Father, for the rushed practice of our devotions and the hollowness of the prayers we offer. Spirit of the Living God, teach us to pause in our days, to stem the tide of the busy things we do, so that the eyes of faith can rest on Jesus. Jesus, Who is the radiance of the Father’s glory. Teach us, Spirit of God, to fight the pervasive, soul-dumbing effects of our sin, so that we will fight to take hold of the glories of God. As the eyes of faith behold You, let our faith exclaim You, bless You, and declare Your majesty to all and any who would hear. Amen.
https://youtu.be/o-ImfnUqWxg?si=COATfDDa_pCLdFIH All Praise to Him
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved

January 28, 2026 -- Psalm 18:1-3 -- God is my rock

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 ESV
 
What is God like? David describes God as ‘my rock”. Twice in fact. Think how many people say of their partner “she’s my rock” only later to discover she cheated on him. The rock becomes a slope of slippery shale and pebbles. Or, he who has been steadfast, ages, gets sick and dies. Suddenly his spouse has lost her rock. People aren’t designed to be the rock and strength of others.
 
David experienced this firsthand. He’d led out King Saul’s armies. He was the celebrated war hero. King Saul turned on him. The army David had formerly led, now hunted him down. Should the king command it, any soldier would have killed him. The very people who had earlier sung his praises as their deliverer.
 
God is the rock of His people because he is from eternity to eternity. He is faithful. He is true. He is not fickle. God is the rock of His people, smashing down the faithless who attack His own. God is the rock of salvation in Whom I take refuge. He is an impregnable fortress protecting His loved ones.
 
No wonder Paul would write, “for me to live is Christ, to die is gain” Philippians 1:21. No matter how great the storms of life, nor the vastness of the army arrayed against the believer, or the hardship of following Jesus, Jesus is the victor. Anchored on Him the believer has all he needs for life which begins here and stretches out into eternity.
 
No doubt some of you might be wondering, if Jesus really is this strong rock, why am I suffering? Life is good. Life is hard. Life is complicated. Life is infected with sin in every part. People suffer because of their own sins. People suffer because others sin against them. People suffer because the hosts of hell are constantly mounting attacks against them. Doesn’t matter. Jesus is the rock of my salvation. He is the rock of your salvation. In Him the purposes of God for your life will be fulfilled. Living for Jesus, as the Spirit continually empowers you to do so, means your life is permeated with the glory of God. The people around you are right now, looking at you, to see how you live for Jesus in every circumstance of your life. As He is the rock of your life, others, who are storm-tossed and wretched, will approach you, seeking to know the hope you have. They are, in fact, seeking to know Jesus.
 
God our Father, thank You for the rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ. Spirit of God, when my handhold on Jesus is tenuous, or I feel my feet slipping, guard me safe in Jesus. Thank You, Father, for the people You put into my life whose testimony led me to know and love Jesus. Motivate me, Spirit of God, to live out loud for Jesus, so that others will be drawn to God, the rock of salvation. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/gM7gt_cSxjw?si=oa5p5tgtMhX4onWZ Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 27, 2026 -- Psalm 18:1-3 -- What is God like? He is your strength

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

I love you, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 ESV
 
What is God like? David, while he was fleeing from the king who wanted to kill him, was delivered by the gracious hand of the LORD. In praise, David declared the LORD is His strength. Anyone who has engaged in verbal sparring with someone, or has a long-standing argument, knows how draining that is. Such engagements sap one’s strength. For David, it was a mental, spiritual, physical and a leadership battle. It was a battle for godly leadership as the men under his command looked to him. What he did before he became king, and the integrity he displayed (or didn’t have) would be remembered by those men. He acted with integrity. Though he was exhausted and spent.
 
What a beautiful declaration, once he’d been delivered by the LORD, to affirm it is the LORD Who was, is, and ever will be David’s strength. What is God like? He is the One Who revives the energy of the weak. He is the One Who inspires hope in the one whose hope is seeping away. He is the LORD Who works in and through life’s circumstances so that His people learn all hope is in Him alone.
 
Why isn’t the Christian life easier? If my life is anything to go by, I realized that periods of relative ease and comfort can easily become times when I begin to drift from complete reliance on God as my strength. Because things are going well, I can easily fool myself and think I’ve accomplished something, when in fact, a quick look in the rearview mirror of my life would clearly show me it was God. He alone has always been my strength.

We need the strength of our triune God to face temptation and then in Him to gain victory over it. We need the strength of our Father to be sustained in our Christian life. We need the strength of Jesus, Who is ever praying for us. We need the strength of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, so that we lift our eyes from our circumstances, inability, and weakness, and look to Jesus, in Whom in all our joy and strength.
 
O God our Father, we bless You, the strength of Your people. The bible clearly proves You are the strength of Your people. Our own lives declare Your power is matched to our helplessness so that in You alone we can rise above our circumstances. Forgive us for the times we sinfully ascribed to ourselves strength and wisdom and power, when in fact, all our help has always been found in You, and in You alone.
I love You, O LORD, my strength! Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/TxC16duiHvQ?si=vw3E1cE6sdz7eJr_ O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 20, 2026 -- Proverbs 20:12 -- What is God like?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.  Proverbs 20:12 ESV
 
What is God like? He Who formed you in your mother’s womb, is the very gracious Savior Who has given you ears to hear the Gospel and eyes to see His goodness. Unless the LORD opens your ears, everything you hear about God and the truth of Scripture will seem to you like nonsense. Have you heard of ‘bias confirmation’? It is the tendency to pick out ideas, facts and other points of view which support what you already believe. Original sin, that is the sin nature that every person is born with, gives every person a bias against the things of God. The sin nature in a man or a woman will rise to discount or argue against the word of God. It requires the work of the Holy Spirit to completely change a person so that the bias confirmation of wilfulness against God and His goodness is overcome in a person.
 
Romans 10:17 teaches that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. It is critical for the people of God to share with the people around them their thankfulness for the saving work of Jesus. Such testimonies are used by the Holy Spirit to break the power of sin and the attendant bias confirmation against the Living God. The LORD in His great mercy, and steadfast love, works through your verbal testimony to bring others to Himself.
 
The Christian who lives for God in daily life gives off many non-verbal cues that his life is dedicated to the glory of God. This too witnesses to the mercy, kindness and love of God. People, by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, will see that you are utterly different from the people around you. You are God’s. You live for God in your public life and in your private life. That is compelling.
 
What is God like? He takes ordinary, sin-biased persons, and transforms them through His Word. He reconciles people to Himself by the cleansing blood of Jesus. He approaches others through your witness and testimony. Even your weaknesses, stumbling back into old patterns of sin, are used by God the Compassionate. Every time you confess your sin, proving your humility and your gratitude to the LORD of heaven and earth, Who rescued you and will complete His work of salvation in you, others see something wonderful. Those who know you well can see it is not the Christian who is amazing, but it is God the all-glorious Who is bringing new life into sinners who could not save themselves. They will see the persistent goodness of God which will not stop until you are perfected in in the image of God.
 
When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me,
by showing me
that in myself I am a dying condemned wretch,
but that in Christ I am reconciled, made alive and satisfied;
that I am feeble and unable to do any good,
but that in him I can do all things;
that what I now have in Christ is mind in part,
but shortly I shall have it perfectly in heaven. Amen.
Excerpt from: “Humiliation” Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions
 
https://youtu.be/7n145-J8ejg?si=cb1IXocUrRfUp123 Amazing Grace
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 19, 2026 -- Romans 5:8 -- What is God like? He shows His love

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

…but God show his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 ESV
 
What is God like? He is fully aware of your great need for salvation. He Who is omniscient, that is, He knows everything past, present, and future. Nothing you say or do can add to His knowledge. The God of all knowledge is never surprised by an event, a sin, nor a victory. Why is that important to know about God?

• He knows your failure and He sent Christ to save you.

• He knows when you’re backsliding into former sins. He has given the Spirit to lift you from it.

• He Who started this saving work in you will perfect it in you.

• He knows you are inclined to run, to sin, and He is rebuilding you from the inside out so that you will be His, wholly His and holy His.

• He has set you in community with fellow believers so that you can fight your sin and its temptations.

• He has placed in you the fear of the LORD—it is the fear of the LORD that drives out your fear of men so that you can serve God and Him alone.

• He loves you. It is the before-the-foundation-of-the-world decree of God to save you through Jesus Christ. The Father has set His love upon you. He Who has made this decision, has the power to make it happen and the tenderness to walk in relationship with you when things are disastrous and when things are going well.

 
Father in heaven, it is a great truth of the Bible that You love Your children. You love them, knowing the worst about them. You love them, redeeming them to yourself in Christ. You love them bringing the power of Your Spirit into the life of every believer so that sin is defeated, lusts are conquered, and new life takes hold. You love Your people transforming them so that the old nature is put to death and in Christ the new nature rises, matures, and brings to You the glory due Your Name. Spirit of the Living God, through the reconciling work of Jesus, assist me to root out every wayward impulse and wicked desire. Spirit of the Living God teach me to love the Bible so that through its instruction I may know, and therefore ever more fully love, the Father in heaven. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/FSHe-kibZDg?si=yl-9S0rbWSAXVJnM Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 18, 2026 -- Psalm 145:21 -- What is God like? He Is Holy.

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 145:21 ESV
 
What is God like? He is holy. That is another attribute that is difficult for most people to really grab hold of and understand. The holiness of the LORD means that He is so pure, so perfect, so good in all His ways that He is beyond our comprehension. To be holy means that He is set apart. He is in a category all by Himself. His actions are all together just and good and true and perfect and glorious.
 
Louis Berkhof noted that the holiness of God is positional, that is He is absolutely distinct from His creatures. There is no comparison. When the angels of God, who stand in His holy presence, reveal themselves to men, terrify those men because those angels have some of the reflected majestic holiness of God about them.
 
If the LORD had not chosen to reveal Himself in His Word, human minds could not comprehend Him. People are so used to the filth, the rottenness and the darkness of sin that the incredible glorious light of His holiness terrifies.
 
If the LORD had not chosen to break down every stubborn resistance and throw down all sins and reconcile men to Himself through the precious blood of Jesus, merely standing in His presence would cause any man, like Isaiah in his vision of Isaiah 6, to cry out: “I am doomed! I am disintegrating!” It is the infinite weight of His holiness, His perfections, His majesty that would crush a sinful person.
 
Note that is it not until the very end of Psalm 145, which has been replete with the attributes of God, that the final, almost summary attribute of God is named: holiness. It is almost as if all the other characteristics, attributes and explanations of what He is like must first be digested so that by informed faith one can touch the outermost edges of beginning to comprehend His holiness.
 
I will extol You, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever!
O Living, loving God, Who alone lives in unapproachable light, thank You for drawing us to Yourself through the glorious work of Jesus Christ. Thank You for the work of Your Holy Spirit Who applies the reconciling work of Jesus into every part of our lives so that we are suited to meet with You in prayer, worship, and adoration. As Your people gather in the North and the South, the East and the West, let our minds and souls, and our voices blend together with theirs in praising You and all flesh join to bless Your Holy Name forever. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/zzM9P_Gqw-s?si=draSj6UGDcwClkwW Holy, Holy, Holy
 

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January 16, 2026 -- Psalm 145:17 -- What is God like? He is kind

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
Psalm 145:17 ESV
 
What is God like? Obviously this psalm is packed to overflowing with answers which instruct the careful reader. Today the focus is on the kindness of your God and King. Many people misunderstand that word “kindness”. Thinking kindness is so shapeless and bland. In Romans 2:4 you read: “that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance”. Though He has all power with the right to command obedience coupled with the power to destroy people who are rebellious, wayward, self-centred and toying with sin, He does not.

• His kindness is revealed in the fact that Jesus Christ became fully human so that man to man you can have fellowship with God.

• His kindness is revealed in the fact that the Spirit of God binds you to the Father, like those toddlers you see at the Mall whose wrist has a band with a cord that is linked to the wrist of mom. You can go so far, but no farther. It is kind protection.

• His kindness is revealed in the fact that He does not treat you as your sins deserve (Psalm 103:10-14); instead, your grotesque and vile sins are punished on the Person of Jesus and instead of punishment you are given the righteousness of Christ. Because of His suffering, you are eligible to receive the love and kindness of God.

• His kindness is revealed in the fact any man or woman who is a new creation in Jesus Christ is given the fruit of the Spirit, kindness (Galatians 5:22). This attribute of God is implanted deep into the soul and character of the believer so that you become a credible witness to the kindness of God. Your demeanor changes so that others are drawn to the work of God which is so evident in your life.

• The kindness of Jesus was further, powerfully, demonstrated at the cross, where John the beloved disciple was standing there and Jesus’ mother was there, without any of her other children or relatives and Jesus said, “Woman, behold your son!” To John he said “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26-27). Though crucifixion puts such pressure on the lungs that speaking is difficult, and Jesus’ agony is unspeakable, as a faithful Son, Jesus acts with kindness toward His mother, ensuring she’d be cared for. As the eldest son in that society it was His duty to care for her (though earlier in His ministry, thinking He was acting crazy she wanted to take Him home—Mark 3:21, 31-35).

• The kindness of God is revealed in His persistence and patience in extending His love toward you, though you have often refused Him. He will win you to Himself. Or, that lifetime of kindness extended toward you and refused, will testify against you at the judgment seat.

 
I will extol You, my God and King,
and bless Your Name forever.
Every day I will bless You
and praise Your Name forever and ever.1
Thank You, faithful Father, for Your kindness which always, tenderly, invites me to turn from my waywardness and find in You grace and mercy to help me every hour of every day. Amen.
1Psalm 145:1,2
 
https://youtu.be/21A7GLtGgDs?si=3u9suqiOB88HcOdg I Will Wait for You
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 14, 2026 -- Psalm 145:18-19 -- What is God like? He is near

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The LORD is near to all who call on him
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 145:18-19 ESV
 
One of the most dramatic letters I’ve ever received came to me from a man I’ll call “Don”. We’d met at a drug and alcohol recovery centre. He was rather proud, hard, and flippant about the ministry I was engaged in. One week I showed up as usual to teach and I was told Don had been picked up by police. A few weeks later, unexpectedly, I saw him in prison. He was alone in a soundproof room with windows; a room used for inmates to receive calls for their court proceedings. He was alone. Anxious. Broken. He saw me and we both recognized each other instantly. He was so happy to see a familiar face in such a hard place that instinctively he put up his hand to the window, and I raised mine to equal height and pressed it to the glass as well. The guard moved me along as there was a class I needed to teach. I lost track of him after that.
 
Then, out of the blue, many months later, I receive a letter. Don wrote to say he was in the SHU (Special Holding Unit, segregation). He was so broken. So lonely. So isolated. He contemplated calling out to the devil; instead, an urgent prompt made him call out to Jesus instead. The time at the recovery centre had introduced him to Jesus. The exposure to believers had given to him an unexpected life-line available to him at his darkest hour. He grabbed it. God did exactly what He promised, He was near to Don and begin the process of healing his soul. Then through the imprisonment, and two and a half years thereafter, worked in and through his circumstances; Don is now free from addiction, walking in obedience to Jesus, and his life is a testimony to the truth that God does not ignore those who call out to Him. To be sure he still has challenges, having been in prison and finding work afterwards, well that is very hard. He is grateful for all God has done and is doing.
 
Your life and your burdens are your own. Whatever they are, be assured that the LORD will hear you when you cry out. Don’s story is his own. Your life and your struggles are your own and are uniquely designed so that you will cry out to the One Who has already designed your rescue in Jesus Christ and has the Spirit at the ready to bring into your life the fullness of hope and life and healing that is available through Jesus.
 
Lord Jesus, thank You for the help You have given to Don. Continue Your healing work in every area of his life so that through his testimony many others will come to Jesus.
Kind Father, hear us when we call to You. Sometimes it seems the rescue is for others, but not for me. Do as You promise here in this psalm, hear, answer, and save. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/p70l3YCVmrY?si=ilf7jXNWAWxMnF-X Hear My Prayer
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.

January 13, 2026 -- Psalm 145:15-16 -- God provides

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Psalm 145:15-16 ESV
 
What is God like you may ask—the psalm-writer David continues to fill out the wonderful picture of Who He Is. Today we focus on that fact that He satisfies the desire of every living thing. He provides for all His creatures. Think of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, the Lord’s Prayer, which has the line “Give us this day our daily bread”. It seems strange. We have (most of us) plenty of food in our cupboards; we have money in the bank and yet Jesus taught His faithful followers to petition God in this way. Psalm 145, along with many other texts, is the Old Testament background Jesus knew when He taught “give us this day our daily bread.’
 
How is it that God “opens His hand”, that is, provides for you?

• The work you have, and the ability to do it is given to you from the hand of God.

• The timing of abundance in your life, or of lean times is evidence of God giving this to you in “due season”. His timing is meant to teach you to look to Him.

• Where do you live? Is it prison or a palace, a recovery centre or a three-bedroom home? The Bible teaches none of that is accidental. The LORD both opens and closes His hand. Interesting isn’t it, how need can drive a person to pray? God is bringing you to the point of prayer, so you realize your dependence on Him in every area of your life.

 
What a glorious truth is contained in the next line “You satisfy the desire of every living thing”. Sin is never satisfied. Our wicked desires are a constant craving. The proverbs speak of fire that never says enough, or a drought-stricken land that cries for water after a brief shower which isn’t nearly enough. Many readers who struggle with addiction know their bodies, ravished as they are by the poison of the addiction, never willingly say “enough”.
 
What is it to be satiated in God? He is the Good, true Father our souls long for. He is patient. He is infinite in majesty, glory, holiness, love, justice so that knowing Him is a life-long adventure. He is the rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). You were made for Him, to know Him, submit to Him, be loved by Him and love Him in return. In Christ Jesus your sins, which blocked your knowledge of God, your attitude towards Him and dominated your will, are all forgiven. God reconciled you to Himself through Jesus so that all who believe in Jesus are set free from slavery to sin and addiction. The Spirit of God then retrains your desires so that living to bring glory to God the Father and doing this based on the finished work of Jesus is the mission worthy of all your strength for your whole life.
 
Faithful Father, thank You for the persistent love You have shown Your people through-out history, and the greatest evidence of it ever, which is demonstrated in Jesus. By Your Holy Spirit tear out of me all false concepts I have of You, and all those blinding sins which would have me falter in my allegiance to You. As Your Word teaches me Who You really are, let me meditate on You, delight in You, learn even more so that a Holy Spirit zeal sweeps through me and being utterly content in You, I am fueled to serve You heart, hand and soul. Amen.
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.