The Milestones of Life

A Lenten Series on the number 40!
Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 4:1–11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13 

[Historically, Lent is a 40‑day period of preparation leading up to Easter. It involves reflection, repentance and readiness for the resurrection. Ultimately, it leads us to transformation. The number 40 is significant in the Bible as it is associated with multiple stories of preparation and testing. In this Lenten series, we will be looking at various Biblical stories that revolve around the number 40, and how that applies to us.]

 

Turning 40 was a milestone for me! But it was also when I started noticing the inevitable decline of my body, such as needing bifocals. Needless to say, it was a difficult adjustment!

 

However, it was incomparable to the difficulties that Jesus faced while living in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights where he was tempted by the devil. Scripture tells us that he lived in the elements among the wild animals and fasted the whole time.

 

In reading about Jesus’ experience, two questions come to mind. First, why did the Holy Spirit lead him into the wilderness to be tempted and tested? Wouldn’t it have been better if Jesus had just started on his mission right away.

 

There could have been many reasons why it was important, if not necessary. Like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, God may have wanted to make sure that his son Jesus would be obedient even under the worst conditions.

 

Considering that scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves, God may also have wanted to prepare Jesus for what he would endure. Not only for the cross, but for the temptations that he would experience before then.

 

Or maybe God wanted Jesus to be confident in his faith. Even Jesus needed affirmation. Just like when he was baptized God affirmed him by saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

 

One reason for sure is that he did it for us. In Hebrews we read that he is able to “empathize with our weaknesses” and “has been tempted in every way, just as we are”. Because of this, he “is able to help those who are being tempted”.

 

¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.     NIV    Hebrews 4

 

My second question is, when responding to the devil’s temptations, why do you think Jesus quoted verses only from Deuteronomy? I’m pretty sure he knew more Scripture than that.

 

It makes me think that Jesus might have been meditating on it while he was in the wilderness. After all, the historical setting of Deuteronomy is that Moses was preparing the Israelites to cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land.

 

In a way, this parallels Jesus’ situation. Maybe God was preparing Jesus to begin his ministry to bring the Kingdom of God. Not a geo-political kingdom like the Promised Land of Canaan, but a spiritual Promised Land.

 

¹⁵ “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”     NIV    Mark 1

 

We all reach milestones in our life. Jesus reached a milestone when he spent 40 days and nights being tempted in the wilderness. More importantly though, he reached a milestone of being obedient to his heavenly Father – even unto death.

 

And by reaching that milestone, he made it possible for us to reach our own. That is, embracing the Kingdom of God.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Green and White

A Series on the book of James
Warning against worldliness
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 4:1-10 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

 

Being a faithful Michigan State alum and fan, I have a closet full of green and white gear. There are sweatshirts, collared pullovers, polo shirts, hoodies and tons of t-shirts. That doesn’t even include the slippers, socks, gloves, hats, stocking cap, or jacket; or any of the other memorabilia that are displayed in my office.

 

Despite this, I often think twice about whether I’m going to wear something green and white outside of our house. Understand that in Columbus, Ohio – the heart of Buckeye country – if you wear anything other than scarlet and gray, you stick out like a sore thumb and run the risk of suffering mild to severe harassment.

 

Historically, the Israelites were very good at fitting into different cultures. They’d done so ever since Abram followed God’s call to Canaan. They learned how as slaves in Egypt; as nomads in the Promised Land; as exiles in Assyria and Babylon. They learned to fit in by adopting the gods of the local culture. That was a problem!

 

The Jewish Christians that James wrote had this same problem. They had become better friends with the world than they were with Jesus. They had adopted the values of the world rather than the values of Christ. They wanted what they didn’t have but didn’t ask the Lord. Therefore, James wrote bluntly.

 

⁴ You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God.        TLB

 

The good news is that God didn’t file for divorce because they were unfaithful. He didn’t reject them. Instead, he faithfully stayed with them, always inviting them to return to him.

 

⁵ Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy?                     TLB

 

But it wasn’t meant to be just a one-way relationship. They needed to reciprocate. They needed to reach out to the Lord.

 

⁷ So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to him.        TLB

 

Like the Jewish Christians who had been scattered because of the persecution, we live in a secular world that is hostile towards God. The world has a different value system and different gods. Despite this, it’s tempting to try and fit in.

 

Wearing green and white makes me stand out. I’d rather fit in. But, as a Christian I’m not called to fit in, but to follow. To follow the Lord no matter where he leads; no matter how different I look; no matter what other gods appeal to me.

 

Here’s what Paul wrote to the Roman believers about living in a secular world.

 

 ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  NIV    Romans 12

Or in another translation:

² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.   NLT   Romans 12

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Mom and Apple Pie

A Series on the book of James
Two kinds of wisdom
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 3:13-18 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

 

I love all things “apple”! Apple pie, apple fritter, applesauce, apple crisp… all of them! I came by this love honestly as I grew up in an apple orchard. Not quite a real apple orchard, but it had been one in the past. However, at some point it was developed into a small subdivision called Orchard Hills.

 

With the trees and hills, it was a very pastoral setting. There were a number of apple trees scattered throughout the neighborhood including several in our yard. When the apples were ripe, my Mom would go out with her bushel basket and pick them up to make applesauce and apple pies. Both were delicious!

 

The Jewish Christians who James wrote his letter to were in a difficult position. As a result of being persecuted, they were scattered around the Roman Empire. Because of this, they experienced pressure to compromise their faith. Therefore, in the first three chapters, James advised them on how to follow their faith.

 

Knowing that they would experience trials and temptations, he tried to prepare them for that. He also wrote about the importance of not just listening to the word, but doing it. In addition, he wrote about the close connection between faith and deeds, as well as how important it was to control their tongue.

 

In the passage today, we’re going to look at what James had to say about wisdom. In some ways, it’s a summary of what he had written in his letter prior to this. He described wisdom as what you do and how you do it.

 

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.       NLT

 

Keep in mind that the people to whom he wrote were experiencing real life pressure to conform to other religions and rituals. They not only needed head knowledge of what wisdom was, but also what that looked like in day-to-day living. With that in mind, James expanded on his picture of wisdom with words that led to action.

 

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.     NLT

 

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described what it means to be a wise person and what the benefits were.

 

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.     NLT            Matthew 7

 

Just like those apple trees in Orchard Hills were identified by their fruit, so heavenly wisdom can be identified by its fruit. The fruit of one’s character; of one’s life. Wisdom comes from within, but is witnessed through obedience. It is the result of a life transformed by the Holy Spirit. When that happens, nothing can stop it.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Wellspring of Life

A Series on the book of James
Taming the tongue
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
James 3:1-12 

[James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. In some ways, it’s similar to Old Testament wisdom literature like Proverbs. It includes many practical applications to help a believer grow in their faith. In this series, we will look at the wisdom of James’ letter and how it applies to our lives.]

  

Super Bowl LX is coming up in eight days and the hype for the commercials has already started. Not the least of these is a Budweiser ad featuring a galloping Clydesdale, a soaring bald eagle, and the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

 

Clydesdale horses are so majestic. My wife loves them. In 2018, we went to the Ohio State Fair, where they had a barn full of them. She was thrilled to see them up close and personal. And when you do, it’s impossible to imagine that a small metal bit can control a massive 2000-pound horse that is bred for heavy work.

 

James wrote his letter to Jewish Christians who had been scattered throughout the world. As a result, they were immersed in adverse conditions. In the previous chapter, he wrote about the importance of their deeds matching their faith. Now in this passage, he focused on their speech matching their faith.

 

To do this, James used a horse’s bit as a metaphor for the tongue. Just like a bit can control a horse, so the tongue can control a person. But there’s a problem. The tongue causes tremendous destruction both to the person and to others.

 

^5b But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. ⁶ And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.                                               NLT

 

The word used here for hell comes from the Hebrew word Gehenna and refers to the Hinnom Valley south of Jerusalem. This valley had been a burial ground used for burning the corpses of criminals and animals, as well as any kind of trash. But even more gruesome than that is the fact that it was also a place used for child sacrifices to the god of Molech.

 

So, to say that your tongue “is set on fire by hell itself” would bring a terrifying image to the mind of the people James wrote. But he wasn’t finished.

 

⁷ People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.              NLT

James’s prognosis of the tongue is terminal. There’s no twelve-step program. We can’t fix it by sheer willpower. The problem with our tongue is that it’s an overflow of something deeper. According to Jesus, it’s an issue of the heart.

 

¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.  NIV    Matthew 15

 

Therefore, to change your tongue, you need to change your heart. Only a renewed heart can produce pure speech. Here’s what the author of Proverbs advised his own children about this.

 

²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.       NIV    Proverbs 4

 

To protect your heart means to guard your thoughts, emotions, and will. Because, like a small bit, it's the source that determines the course of your life.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

If you’re interested, below is a link for the commercial with the Clydesdale.

 Clydesdale Super Bowl commercial