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Read Acts 16:1–3

Years ago, when I pastored in California, an usher met me as I was leaving the church. He had been involved in counting the morning offering. He smiled as he walked up to me, stuck out his hand, and said, “I’ve got something for you. It came in the offering.”

He handed me a note from a child who had been in our service. It read:

TO PASTER CHUCK SWINDOL

I don’t think you know me but I shur know you. You are a very good speeker for Jesus Christ. I think your neet. I even understand what you are saying and that’s how it should be. I LOVE YOU!

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17

All of us have practiced certain areas of wrong from our youth. It is a pattern of life that comes “second nature” to us. As a result, it strongly resists change. We gloss over our resistance with the varnish of excuses:

“Well, nobody’s perfect.”

“I’ll never be any different; that’s just the way I am.”

“I was born this way—nothing can be done about it.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Jeremiah tells us why such excuses come easily:

Read Psalm 103:8–12

It happens to all of us. Teachers as well as students. Cops as well as criminals. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries.

What am I talking about? Making mistakes, that’s what. Doing the wrong thing, usually with the best of motives. And it happens with remarkable regularity.

Read Romans 5:8

Whoever is soft on depravity should watch Schindler’s List.

It’s not for the fainthearted, I should warn you. It is a raw, harsh, shocking exposé of unbridled prejudice, the kind of anti-Semitic brutality spawned in hellish hate among the Nazis prior to and during World War II.

How could such hatred fill the minds of those wearing swastikas? How could they walk back into their barracks or offices or homes wearing blood-splattered uniforms and forget what just happened?

Read 1 Peter 5:1, 5

Ours is fast becoming a success-saturated society. The telltale signs are everywhere. Check the magazine racks at airports, hotels, and drugstores. Click on the webinars and podcasts. Seminars by the hundreds are held every year, offering ideas, motivation, techniques, and mainly promises of prosperity. Books by the dozens and scores of audio and videotapes promoting the dream are published on an annual basis.

Read Romans 2:1–2, 4

“My treat!”

Nice words to hear, huh? They have flowed into my ears from any number of places—yours, too.

Treats are neat. Spontaneous. Unexpected. Pleasant moments that communicate: “You are special...loved, appreciated, affirmed, deserving,” and a half a dozen other warm fuzzies we need to hear but seldom hand out. Normally, they don’t come on holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries, but rather during the run-of-the-mill, no-big-deal times in our lives.

Read Proverbs 15:32–33

In a world where everyone is out to serve self, it’s refreshing to read these ancient words from the pen of one of the most powerful men who ever lived: Solomon.

If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding. Fear of the LORD teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. (Proverbs 15:32-33)

In different words, Jesus says virtually the same thing:

Read Hebrews 12:14–15

There is no torment like the inner torment of an unforgiving spirit. Without question, it is one of the most miserable attitudes to experience in life.

Read Philippians 1:6

Persistence is a costly investment, no question about it. But the dividends are so much greater than the original outlay that you’ll almost forget the price. And if the final benefits are significant, you’ll wonder why you ever hesitated to begin with.

Read Hosea 1:2

When Hosea married a prostitute, respect for him dropped to zero. “Small wonder he is listed first among the minor prophets,” some may sneer today. “He must have been a real loser.”

Wrong again, O critic. Hosea was one of the most patient, tender, loving, and obedient of all the ancient prophets. “Then why in the world would such a man fall for a woman such as she?” Because God told him to! That’s right. God chose Hosea to model his message before all Israel, like a neon sign alongside the freeway. Of course, they didn’t know it at first.