No pain, No Gain

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
1 Peter 1:13
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Peter 1:3-25 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

Twice a week, for over a year now, I’ve been going to an exercise class at a gym. To reach our room you go down a hallway that has posters on the wall showing someone sweating profusely as they work out. The caption matter-of-factly reads, "No pain, no gain".

 

Peter wrote his letter to the believers who were living in exile scattered throughout the western portion of Asia Minor.  It was a circular letter to be read and distributed to multiple churches. Although Christians weren’t being systematically persecuted, they did face many trials.

 

According to Ray Vander Laan, a noted expert on Jewish culture and history, believers during this period could expect to be isolated. In a typical city in Asia Minor, religion was so much a part of everyday life, that if you refused to acknowledge their gods, you could easily lose household income, relationships, social standing and even such basic needs as fire and water.

 

In addition, we read in Acts that although many Jews and Greeks believed Paul’s message about Jesus, there were often other Jews who felt threatened. Sometimes they would drive Paul out of their city. On one occasion, he was even stoned and left for dead. Life was not easy for believers in Asia Minor.

 

Therefore, Peter wrote this letter to encourage them. First, he reminded them of the new birth, the living hope and the eternal inheritance that was theirs through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

Acknowledging the many trials they faced, he also pointed out that there was a bigger picture to consider. One that would eventually result in great joy.

 

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.        NLT

 

Put another way, “No pain, no gain.”

 

Peter then reminded the believers that the reward for their endurance and faith in Christ will be “the salvation of your souls”. It is this salvation that the prophets wrote about, foretelling the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Peter advised them - and us – about holy living in the face of adversity.

 

¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.            NIV 1985

 

Like the exercise mantra of “No pain, no gain”, Peter was telling the exiled believers that it was going to take some work on their part. They would need to “exercise” their minds for action. And that action would include being self-controlled and focusing their hope solely on the return of Jesus.

 

In closing, Peter quoted the comforting words of hope from Isaiah.

 

²⁴ For, “All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”          NIV

 

In other words, your struggles will pass. But in the meantime, you can trust “the word of the Lord which endures forever”. Thanks be to God.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
Revelation 3:20
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Revelation 3:14-22 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

  

“Spare the rod, spoil the child”. This is a familiar saying that originated with Proverbs 13:24. The message of this verse is that if you love your child, you will discipline them. Whether you use a rod or not, isn’t the point. 

 

Recently, my wife and I were enjoying a quiet brunch after church. Suddenly, from across the small restaurant, a child screamed at the top of his lungs. It was piercing! Then it was followed by another scream just as loud.

 

Conversations stopped, as heads turned throughout the restaurant to see what had prompted such an outburst. And, to see what the parents would do about it. However, they seemed unfazed, and didn’t say or do anything. Spare the rod, spoil the child… and our brunch.

The city of Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor. This was due in part because several trade routes intersected with it. Also, it was a commercial center for banking, clothing and carpet manufacturing, and they had a hospital that produced a special ointment to treat eye defects.

 

As a result, the citizens were extremely prosperous with all the modern conveniences of the day… except for one. They had no natural water supply! There were hot springs nearby, but the water wasn’t suitable. Also, you could see snow covered mountains, but it wasn’t accessible.

 

To address this problem, water was piped from two rivers that were about 5 miles south of the city through a sophisticated aqueduct system. But because of how long it took to transport the water, it was lukewarm at best when they drank it. Nasty!

 

Normally, the affluent citizens of Laodicea could have whatever they wanted. All they had to do was buy it. But there was no solution for the water. No doubt, this was a topic of daily complaints for the well-healed residents of Laodicea.

 

Unfortunately, this same attitude of entitlement and privilege was prevalent in the church and led to pride and complacency. When John received his vision of what to write on a scroll to the seven churches of Asia Minor, Laodicea was included. Here is what Jesus instructed him to write to the Laodicean believers.

 

¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold —I am about to spit you out of my mouth.                 NIV

 

The IVP Bible Background Commentary, paraphrases it like this:

Jesus said: “Were you hot [i.e. for bathing] or cold [i.e. for drinking], you would be useful; but as it is, I feel toward you the way you feel toward your water supply – you make me sick!”

 

But John’s message didn’t end with judgement and condemnation. Jesus had provided a means for restoration; a means of forgiveness.

 

¹⁹ I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. ²⁰ “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.        NLT

 

The church at Laodicea was being disciplined. Not for yelling in a restaurant, but for being lukewarm in their faith. If you’re not careful, life can do that. There are times when we’ve all been lukewarm in our faith.

 

Thankfully though, Jesus’ promise still stands. He is continually knocking at the door of our heart, waiting for us to open it and fellowship with him. Therefore, “be diligent and turn from your indifference”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

The Biggest Move You Can Make

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
Jeremiah 29:11
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Jeremiah 29:1-23 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

What’s the biggest move that you’ve ever made?

 

For me, it was when we moved from Lansing, Michigan to Columbus, Ohio. It’s about 250 miles. We packed all our worldly possessions into a 26-foot U-Haul truck and drove it to what seemed like a foreign land.

 

But it wasn’t so much the logistics of packing and driving that made it such a major move. It was the fact that we knew only four people in Columbus. On top of that, my wife was born and raised in Lansing, and I had spent virtually my entire life in Michigan. We were leaving all our friends and everything that was familiar to us.

 

Basically, we were starting over. We had to find where to shop for groceries, a doctor, a dentist, a church, friends – everything was new. Even the culture was different. It was a much bigger city. And you had all those rabid Ohio State fans.

 

Over a period of twenty years, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, invaded Judah on three separate occasions. During his final invasion, he destroyed the city of Jerusalem including the Temple! Thousands of Jews were forced to leave their homes and move to a foreign land. It must have been traumatic!

 

Once in Babylon, the exiles were starting over. They had to learn a new language, find a job, a home, ways to meet their educational and religious needs - everything was new.

 

To make it even worse, they had been forced to leave the Promised Land. The land that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had promised when He made an eternal covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

 

However, Jeremiah prophesied that they would return to their homes after seventy years of living in exile. But there were false prophets who didn’t trust the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel. They tried to take control by making promises of a speedy return to their homeland.

 

Because of this, Jeremiah, who was still in Jerusalem, wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon. His letter confronted the message of the false prophets. He gave the Israelites true hope. And he showed that they could trust the Sovereign Lord.

 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. NIV

 

Like the false prophets, there are times when I don’t trust the Sovereign Lord and try to take control of my life. At that point, the biggest move that I can make isn’t from Lansing to Columbus, but from my head to my heart to my knees.

 

This is what the Lord said, ¹² “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”.            NIV

 

Following these verses, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, promised the people of Israel that he would return them to their homeland. The Sovereign Lord provided restoration for them. And through Jesus, he provides restoration for us today.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Let Freedom Ring

Series on I am Joe’s Favorite Verses
Luke 4:18-19
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 25:8-12; Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:14-21 

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

In 1751, the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered the creation of the iconic Liberty Bell. Even though it was twenty-four years before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, the seeds of freedom were bubbling to the surface. The following inscription is engraved on the bell.

 

"Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof".                                          KJV            Leviticus 25:10

 

This verse refers to the "Year of Jubilee". The Lord decreed that every fifty years was to be a year of redemption for the Israelites. This involved freedom from all types of bondage. All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners.

 

The Year of Jubilee was to remind the Israelites of the holiness of God, and to keep themselves holy. It began on the Day of Atonement, which was an annual ritual to atone for the sins of Israel. The beginning of the Year of Jubilee was when they were to “blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land”.

 

Despite these religious rituals, Israel rebelled against the Lord. As a result, much of Isaiah’s prophecies were about the judgement of Judah and Israel. This included the future Babylonian invasion, and the resulting exile of Jews. However, Isaiah also spoke a message of hope and freedom.

 

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
    for the Lord has anointed me
    to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
    and to proclaim that captives will be released
    and prisoners will be freed.
^2a He has sent me to tell those who mourn
    that the time of the Lord’s favor has come…           NLT

 

This is a direct reference to the Year of Jubilee. And although most Jews at the time would have assumed Isaiah was speaking about himself and the Babylonians, his words also had a future meaning. One that they didn’t foresee until hundreds of years later when an itinerant rabbi walked the land of Galilee.

 

As Jesus visited his hometown of Nazareth, he went to the synagogue where he was given a scroll to read and then teach from. After reading the above passage from Isaiah, he then sat down to speak.

 

²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”       NIV

 

In other words, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. It was his way of “blowing the ram’s horn” to declare that it was the Year of Jubilee. That he had come to free the captives. Not the captives of Babylon or Rome, but the captives of sin.

 

He came to fulfill the Day of Atonement when, once and for all, not only would Israel’s sins be atoned for, but all people everywhere. Let freedom ring!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Your Happy Place

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Prince of Peace
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 11:6-9; Revelation 21:1-8 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

 

When growing up, my family took many vacations in the Smokey Mountains as well as the Rocky Mountains. Both are beautiful and majestic in their own way. There is something calming and particularly peaceful about the mountains.

 

For many people, the mountains are their “happy place”. A place where you find peace and serenity. A quiet place where you can think without interruption. A place where you can reflect on life. A place where you connect with yourself and with God.

 

It’s hard to say where Isaiah’s happy place was, or if he even had one. However, he did have an encounter with God in the temple that ultimately led to his calling as a prophet. The Lord spoke to Isaiah, and he responded, “Here am I. Send me!”.

 

As a result, Isaiah was Judah’s prophet during a chaotic time. There was a threat of an impending coup by Israel, and Assyria was aggressively expanding. Despite this, Isaiah trusted in the Lord’s Messianic prophesies which gave him hope and peace.

 

In fact, the word of the Lord came to Isaiah about a newborn child that would be called the “Prince of Peace”. In this context, he prophesied a vision of a world filled with peace, where predators and prey would live together in harmony. He said that “a little child will lead them” to establish the Messianic kingdom.

 

Hundreds of years later, shepherds were watching their sheep one night when the birth of that “little child” was gloriously proclaimed by a “multitude of the heavenly hosts”. It was an announcement for the long-awaited Messiah to be born in Bethlehem.

 

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”        NLT   Luke 2

 

“Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased”. It sounds like a truly happy place. One that doesn’t depend on circumstances. A place where you could experience peace from God, with God and of God. A peace that “surpasses all understanding”.

 

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.         ESV    Philippians 4

 

Like Isaiah, John also prophesied in Revelation 21 a vision of a future world. On this occasion, it’s when Jesus returns for the second time and dwells among us to establish his kingdom. In this vision, John drew a picture of peace.

 

⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

It is here that “He will wipe every tear from their eyes”.     NIV

 

But this peace is not “pie in the sky” only to be experienced in the new Jerusalem. Jesus made the following promise of a gift which is still available for us today.

 

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. NIV    John 14

 

Where is your happy place? Where do you connect with God?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Keep Going and Going and Going

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Everlasting Father
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 40:1-11; 28-31 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

 

The Energizer Bunny has been around since 1989. You know the commercials! The ones with the toy bunny that runs on an Energizer battery and is beating a drum. Then the narrator says: “Nothing outlasts the Energizer battery. It keeps going and going and going.”

 

In a world where nothing seems to last – marriages and jobs for instance – it would be nice to have something that you could count on. Something that would last forever.

 

Isaiah lived in a time when the world was unstable. Nothing lasted! The people that God had called as His own, had divided into two nations – Israel and Judah. Unable to reconcile, there was bad blood between the two.

 

In addition, Assyria was aggressively invading the nations of the known world. They were a very real threat to Judah and Jerusalem. Many Jews would be captured and others forcibly exiled to a foreign land. Nothing seemed to last forever.

 

However, during this time of uncertainty, Isaiah spoke these words about an Everlasting Father.

 

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.             NIV    Isaiah 9

 

Later, in Isaiah 40, he spoke about the comfort that God would bring to his people. He painted a picture of “preparing the way” for a king who would return to Jerusalem! He described how people are like grass which will wither, but that “the word of our God endures forever”! Finally, he declared how the people of Jerusalem would shout, “Your God is coming!”

 

The Energizer bunny keeps going and going and going. If only life were so simple. But life can be hectic, if not chaotic. Life can be out of control, despite our best efforts to control it. Life can be painful, even though we try to avoid pain.

 

Thankfully, our God, is a God who comforts us in those chaotic, out of control and painful times. To make this point, Isaiah used a shepherd as an example.

 

¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
    He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
    He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.  NLT

 

Jesus embraced the imagery of being a shepherd. But for him, it wasn’t just imagery, it was who he was and what he came to accomplish. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”. 

 

When we experience the comfort of the “good shepherd”, he gives us hope and strength to keep going and going and going.

³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint. NIV

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Incongruities of Life

A series on Isaiah 9:6 – The Child of Prophecy
 – Mighty God
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Isaiah 8:19-9:7 

[Jesus was a child of prophecy. The Christmas story in the Bible was predicted in many Old Testament prophecies but the centerpiece of these is Isaiah 9:6. It was written nearly six hundred years before Jesus’ birth. In this series we’re going to look at the meaning and implications of this amazing prophecy.]

  

The definition of the word incongruous is: “strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected”. Something that is incongruous is something that doesn’t fit; it doesn’t make sense; it’s out of place... like a duck out of water.

 

In the days that Isaiah walked the earth, the Israelites were in a hopeless situation. Judah and Israel were already divided and at odds with one another. On top of that, Assyria was baring down on both.

 

As a result, the Israelites were dealing with economic oppression, war and destruction. However, rather than calling out to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they consulted mediums.

 

Despite this, Isaiah brought a message of hope from the Lord. He told them that “darkness and despair will not go on forever”. That the “rod of the oppressor” would be broken… could that be Assyria? That warfare would end. 

Then he made a statement that had so many incongruities that it would make your head spin.

 

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.             NIV

 

Isaiah goes on to say that the child will sit on David’s throne for eternity. How can this be? How can a child, a little baby, at the same time be called Mighty God and establish an eternal kingdom?

 

The Israelites may very well have applied Isaiah’s words to their situation at the time. But the truth is, his words were a Messianic prophecy that wouldn’t be fulfilled for over 700 years.

 

In Matthew 4 we read that when John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee.

 

¹³ He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
    beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
    in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined.”        NLT

 

Isaiah spoke words that on the surface were filled with incongruities. But in the fulness of time, in God’s time, his words made perfect sense. The child would be called Mighty God as he established the Kingdom of Heaven. An eternal kingdom that still brings light and hope for us today.

 

God works through the incongruities of life. Even when we experience great troubles, He is the “the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love”.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com