13.October.2026
An all-inclusive departure from “normal” That title may have made you stop and say, “Wait a minute, what?!” That’s okay. I meant for it to cause you to think. When I say not sacred, I do not mean not holy, because everything we do for the Lord is holy service.
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Colossians 3:23
The fact that we start is not the sacred point. The fact that we continue, that’s what becomes sacred. Anyone can start. It’s those who finish that get the prize.
What is not sacred is the method, the form, and the way we happened to begin. A method is a place to start, not something to be protected, and the moment we treat it as untouchable we have turned a doorway into a wall. Paul understood that better than almost anyone.
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
Notice that the word men is in italics in the King James, which tells us the translators added it, so Paul was really saying all things to all. What stands out to me most is the last phrase, that I might save some. Paul knew not everyone would come, and he did not let that stop him from reaching the ones who would. Human nature says that if we cannot have all of them, why bother with any, but we are not God. We are responsible for going and for loving, and the increase belongs to Him. Paul adjusted his approach for the person in front of him and never once changed the message.
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
He was an example for those who choose to believe, and the example was simple: follow me as I follow Him.
Which brings us to the starting point. Many people read what we have been talking about and might think, I do not know how to do any of that. If that is you, there is no guilt in it, and no condemnation either.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what little bit you can do today, and then do it as you go. Which by the way, is exactly how Jesus and the disciples lived it. It becomes part of an ordinary day and not only a separate event on the calendar. You do not have to know everything, because people only know what we know, and they know it by what comes out of our mouths. So teach what you do know. A dear friend of mine, Kate Metsch, who is no longer with us, used to say that each of us should do our little bits of good everywhere we go. She believed that in doing so, we all make everything a little bit better. Her birthday was earlier this month and I thought of her, so I wanted her to have the credit.
I once heard the testimony of a young man overseas who gave his life to Jesus wholeheartedly at an outdoor crusade. I do not remember who told it or where I read it, but it impacted me. The very next day he went out and did what he had heard, and he brought more people back with him that night, and the night after that, and again and again. He did not have a Bible degree, and he did not need anyone to give him a special touch. He knew that the Holy Spirit lived on the inside of him and he really knew it. It struck me, I think, because here in America we are so intimidated by the opinions of others, and I am no stranger to that.
I also believe many people in our churches have said yes to Jesus without truly understanding what they were saying yes to. I know, because I was one of them for many years. That young man simply said yes, meant all of it, received Him, followed Him, made Him Lord, and then obeyed what he heard.
There are a thousand tangents believers can go down, and our job is not to argue every one of them. We major in the majors and minor in the minors, and we do not have to debate other believers over every side road. If they want a debate, they will find someone, and it does not have to be us. There are things worth standing firm on, and we will look at that more tomorrow.
This relationship with God is serious business, because people’s eternity is at stake, and until that is firmly settled on the inside of us, something else will keep driving us.
So what is our motive? We have to love people more than we care about our reputation, or what someone might say behind our backs, or what they think of us in the grocery store. There is a little natural food store I go into, and many of the people there have been burned by traditional church. They did not see a true spiritual life based upon really believing. Instead, they witnessed and experienced traditions and rules. Yes, there are standards we hold, and they are high, but they come from a place of surrender and not from a have-to. The last choice we make of free will is to surrender fully to the Lordship of Jesus, and after that the Holy Spirit does the work in us and through us.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30
Easy does not mean costless. Most of us in America have no idea what real persecution is like, but Corrie ten Boom did. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, she and her family hid Jews in their home in Haarlem. For that she was arrested and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she suffered terribly and where her sister Betsie died. Years later, in 1947, a former guard from that camp came to her after a church service in Munich and asked her to forgive him. By her own account she could not, at first. She wrestled with it, and as I read her story, I’m imagining she knew she did not want her mind to win. She chose to honor God above everything else and held out her hand, and her heart followed. It was the Holy Spirit who gave her the ability to do that, and her part was to move.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
That is how it so often goes. We move, and He gives us the ability to follow through, but He cannot move a parked car, and we are the car. The book about Ms. ten Boom’s life is called “The Hiding Place”. It is available in print and as an audiobook, and I have both read it and listened to it. It is an excellent read and a great listen.
I do not know everything. I know what I know, and what I know I am happy to share. If you have questions about any of this, please ask.
Tomorrow we look at why a starting point is never an excuse to be sloppy.
I challenge all of us to ask ourselves this question. When God says jump, whatever the task, is my answer, how high, sir? Or do we squirm inside finding a reason as to why we are unable to? The first answer says I am available, I bring nothing but my willingness, and I have already surrendered to Him as Lord.
I encourage you, take time with Him sooner than later. This is so important.
Make today count and see you tomorrow.
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