You want to sell a kitchen table on Facebook Marketplace because you just bought a new one. You publish the pictures and the price. A buyer comes over, takes a look, and decides to go for it. He or she walks away with the table. You receive some cash. This feels completely normal. It’s called a transaction.

We know all about business. Everything has a dollar cost. We’ve noticed for a while now, though, that the “transaction” mindset can too easily bleed over into many people relationships where it doesn’t belong. Our world often runs on “what’s in it for me?” Transactional relationships dominate—from business networking to social media “likes,” to even friendships built on convenience. That shouldn’t feel normal, because it’s not.

If you invite someone to a meal who cannot pay you back, you’re acting beyond a transaction. It takes God-given humility. Jesus calls his disciples to give in a way that does nothing to advance their own status. In his day, banquets were often about reputation—whom you invited, whom you sat with, how it would reflect on you. Inviting the poor or crippled would not raise your standing. In fact, it might lower it.

Jesus does promise repayment “at the resurrection of the righteous.” But we have to be clear: this is not a transaction with God. We don’t earn eternal life by our generosity. Otherwise, it would fall back into the very mindset Jesus warns against. The resurrection is pure gift, given for the sake of Christ’s death and resurrection. Our acts of humble generosity flow from that grace. And that frees us to give without calculating, trusting God’s overflowing generosity toward us. Who could use a gift without cost from you?

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. (Luke 14:13–14)

Have you ever walked up to a door and wondered if you should even knock? It’s the house of a neighbor couple. One you’ve never talked to before. One who seems grumpy most of the time, and probably doesn’t want to talk to you. But you feel obligated to invite them to the cookout you’re hosting. They can’t be the only ones on the block that doesn’t get an invitation, can they? You approach slowly, heart pounding, hand raised timidly – half hoping no one will answer. What if they don’t want you there?

That is what it feels like to come before a holy God on our own. His law exposes every sin. His holiness is too bright for us to stand in. Left to ourselves, we approach His door timidly, uncertain whether he will welcome us or turn us away. Abel’s blood, spilled by his brother, still cried out to God for justice. And our sins, too, cry out against us that justice must be done.
Hebrews 12 points us to a different voice: You have come … to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (12:23-24) Jesus’ blood does not cry out for justice. It proclaims mercy. It forgives and opens wide the door to God’s grace.

So now, when we come to God, we need not creep forward timidly. The next time guilt makes you hesitant, remember that the blood of Jesus speaks a better word. Approach boldly, not because you are worthy, but because he is. Worthy to save. Worthy to welcome us to his home.

You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:23-24)

Not all wounds are bad. A skilled surgeon takes a deadly sharp scalpel and cuts through flesh and muscle. The result of that wound: not harm, but healing. In the same way, we often say that words cut us to the heart. Words can wound. Sometimes, however, those painful words provide the very healing we need.

“Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22). Jesus knows that when he gets to Jerusalem, he is going to die. So, with a sense of extreme urgency, Jesus shares truths we need to hear, even though it hurts to hear them. In this series, we might not like everything that Jesus says. Yet, to ignore what Jesus teaches is to court eternal death. Hard as it may be, let us listen and take all that Jesus says to heart. For while Jesus speaks words that wound us, his intent is to heal our very soul.

We’re always in a tension between faith and sight. We trust our God to guide us and give us wisdom and ultimately take us to his side in glory through Jesus. But we want to see! We’d like to know where our path will go, how things will turn out, whether or not we made the right decision, before we get there. We probably would enjoy a peek into heaven ahead of time, too.

Just this year news came out of evidence of the battle between King Josiah of Judah and Pharoah Neco (see 2 Chronicles 35:20-25 for the story). Egyptian pottery from right around the time of Josiah’s death was found in the Israelite town of Megiddo where the confrontation took place.

That’s exciting! It’s something we can see. We’re happy when anything backs up the Bible’s accounts because it reinforces our faith in God’s revelation to us. It might also lead to some taking the Bible . . . . seriously if they haven’t before. At the same time, it’s not a huge surprise to us that the Scriptures are a true account of what happened. God inspired them for us.

Do we need evidence from scientists and archaeologists to believe? Not at all. All we need is the faith of Sarah, Abraham’s wife: … she considered him faithful who had made the promise (Hebrews 11:11). If God promised it, that was enough for her. And it’s enough for us.

The ancients were commended for their faith (Hebrews 11:2). Imagine how it was for them. They had the promises of the Messiah. The Lord gave them plenty of details through prophecy. But they didn’t have nearly as much to go on as we do. They didn’t have Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They didn’t have the over 500 witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). They passed away before – in many cases long before – Christ’s birth in the world, death and glorious rising again to life. And yet they believed.

Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). As with all gifts from God we give him all the glory. However, we do know that we will be commended for continuing in faith until the end. Walk by faith as the ancient believers did.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. (Hebrews 11:1-2)

We in modern America have taken financial planning to a whole different level! Just take the idea of retirement. I have some retirement funds with Schwab and enjoy some of the blogs they send out on financial tips from time to time. A recent one outlined the retirement savings you should have in different “decades” of your life. By age 30 you want to consider setting aside about the same as your current annual income. By 50 it would be good to have 5 times your income or more. That means an annual earner of $200k might well be aiming for $1 million by the mid-century mark.

Christians don’t argue against financial planning as a general idea. Planning for the future is often good stewardship of the Lord’s material blessings. It’s really become a necessity now with the cost of health care, housing, food, and most other life needs. If we reach retirement by God’s grace, those needs will continue even after the regular paycheck stops.

But is it possible that we get caught up in “tearing downs barns and building bigger ones,” “laying up plenty of grain for many years,” and “taking life easy” as the man did in the Parable of the Rich Fool (see Luke 12:13-21)?

The plan in itself is fine. If we have the means to do it, we tear up a bathroom and remodel it. We lay aside funds for our children’s future education. We take it easy in our favorite vacation spot to rest and recoup.

Doing all that without being rich toward God? That’s where the foolishness comes in. It’s much more . . . . of a mindset and a dedication first to the riches of God’s kingdom that Jesus desires.

The context of the parable is interesting. Jesus tells it right after a person in the crowd looks to him to settle an inheritance dispute with his brother. Our Lord refuses to engage on people’s money problems. He goes straight to the wrong motives and overemphasis on building up wealth. That’s a mindset problem.

We have been made rich by Christ’s sacrifice of grace for our salvation. Our future is assured through faith in him. We have nothing to worry about no matter how much or how little we have stored up in our bank accounts. We are ready in our Savior for what life and eternity will bring.

20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21)

When the future is uncertain and we don’t like what we’re hearing, we turn to the Lord. Abraham teaches us to do so knowing who the Lord is.

God announced in Genesis 18:20-21 that he was going to inspect Sodom and Gomorrah, cities famous for their wickedness. Abraham understood what that meant. Judgment was coming. But Abraham’s nephew Lot lived there. So, Abraham stayed behind to speak with the Lord. He dared to intercede, asking if God would spare the cities for the sake of just fifty, then forty-five, and eventually just ten righteous people.

He was bold, but reverent. “Now that I have been so bold as to speak…” he said. “May the Lord not be angry…” he added. Abraham knew God’s justice was perfect. He didn’t try to manipulate God. He asked—and he trusted.

That’s what faith-filled prayer looks like. Some believe they must . . . . first offer obedience, money, or suffering for God to listen. But Scripture shows us otherwise. Jesus Christ has already made the full payment. Because of him, we can speak to our Heavenly Father freely and confidently.

Abraham didn’t receive a clear answer. God didn’t say, “Here’s what I will do.” And that’s often how prayer works. We speak, but we don’t always get immediate or specific answers. Yet we trust. Because we know who God is: just, merciful, wise, and loving.

Bring your burdens, your questions, your joys—everything—to the Lord. Speak boldly, like Abraham. Then rest in the knowledge that God hears, God answers, and God knows best.
 
Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” (Genesis 18:32)

Prayer is one of the most powerful and loving things a Christian can do—not only for themselves but especially for others in the family of faith. The Apostle Paul’s letters often open a window into his prayer life, and what we see there is remarkable: he constantly prayed for fellow believers.

In Colossians 1, Paul lifts up prayers that reach to the heart of what matters eternally: thankfulness for their faith and love (v.3–4), the spread of the gospel (v.6), wisdom from the Spirit (v.9), lives worthy of the Lord (v.10), growth in the knowledge of God (v.10), strength and endurance (v.11), and joyful thanks for their place in God’s kingdom (v.12).

These are prayers we can echo today. As we pray for others, we are reminded of our unity in Christ. Our prayer requests become a celebration of the shared blessings we have in Jesus.

Who will you pray for this week? Think of a friend, a fellow church member, someone struggling in faith, or someone strong in faith who could use encouragement. Pray for them as Paul did. Ask for God’s grace to abound in their lives.

Let your prayer life be filled with the same Spirit-led focus as Paul’s. Because Christians pray—not just for themselves—but for one another.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. (Colossians 1:9)