Month: May 2025

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”

1 Corinthians 4:5 (NIV)

The Holy land is an archeologist’s haven, with ground that is layered in history. Buried under that ground are treasures of historic evidence and artifacts of many victories, defeats, miraculous sustenance of God for His people as well as the sorrow of conquests by their enemies. The stories are all there, buried in layers beneath the ground.

A Jewish couple, the Seibenbergs,  fled from Belgium during the Holocaust, and eventually moved to Israel. They bought a house in one of the oldest quarters of Jerusalem. Later they discovered that beneath their home were layers of history, with artifacts that dated back three thousands years, as far back as King Solomon. 

After years of excavation, one layer beneath their home was found to  contain the remains of a Maccabean palace, which is where the miracle story of Hanukkah first originated. The Siebenberg house is a public museum today, displaying ancient artifacts of jewelry, pottery, artwork and coins, found buried in layers of history. 

As I read about the layers of history found in the city of Jerusalem alone, 

I thought of how archeology tells a story of what was once buried and  hidden. Each one of us is a living, breathing excavation project, composed of layers of our own history and experiences, which makes us who we are today. 

We each have our own story, of events and relationships that we experienced through different stages of our lives, and we are still adding to our history. We have stories buried in layers of history, during our times of victory, defeat, the miraculous intervention of God and our battles with spiritual enemies. 

God has been with us in every stage of that history, loving, guiding and forming us into who we are. Jesus will head the excavation project that will reveal the treasures that are in our past as well as those that continue, while we are living. 

The full effect of every good or kind deed we have ever done in our lifetime, will be excavated and revealed at the end of time. The true impact of how any person might have been inspired by another person, for the glory of God, or for the salvation of souls, will all one day be revealed by the excavation project headed by Jesus. 

Jerusalem is a city where history comes alive because of continuous excavation projects. We are children of the Lord of excavation. We add layers of history every day to our lives as we walk with Christ, and abide in Him, until the day that our buried treasures are brought to His light. 

Lord,  we praise you for being the Lord of all that is to be excavated in us, one day. Help us to make the history of our lives something beautiful as your light shines on us and through us always. Amen

“Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?

Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.”

Luke 14:28-30 (NAB)

Twice in one day, within two hours, a person in line ahead of me canceled and backed out of a transaction. The first time was at a grocery store, when the couple in line ahead of me, gasped at the price of Bing cherries, which were $11.00/lb. They canceled their transaction and walked out, and I didn’t blame them. 

After that, I went to a drive thru car wash, and while waiting in line, the car in front of me drove partially into the wash but then stopped short of advancing forward enough to trigger the wash to start. After waiting a minute, I walked to the car to see why it stopped, and the young woman driver thought the car wash wasn’t working. I suggested that she drive forward, enough for the wash to start. 

The attendant came out and told her the same thing, but she wanted to cancel the wash and get her refund. 

I suspected she was embarrassed in holding up the line, because of a misunderstanding of how to drive through a car wash.

It seemed strange that twice within a short span of time, I encountered people who canceled a transaction for one reason or another. There could be a message in those two incidents, with the theme of the day being  “counting the cost.”

Whether it was counting the high cost of Bing cherries or the half hearted decision to proceed through an unfamiliar car wash, each person re-considered, canceled their transaction and left.

Jesus once counted the cost of what was required to become our Savior. He first counted it from heaven before willingly entering this world as a man. He counted the cost one last time, in those stressful, but defining moments in the Gethsemane garden. He felt fear and every emotion that a human being can feel, and asked His Father if He could possibly pass on the whole thing. He counted the cost, but in the end, He consented. 

It was in the Garden where Jesus  decided that each one of us were worth the high price He paid for our redemption. He chose to proceed, not cancel, change His mind, or walk away, but rather to finish the work at the cross, by putting His whole heart into it. Because He loved us, He considered us worth it, for Him to proceed in carrying His cross.

God desires to conform everyone who believes, into the image of His son, and Jesus longs to make us His disciples. As we count the cost of discipleship, we realize that we all have a cross of some kind to carry. 

(Romans 8:29) 

Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Those are clear and straightforward words. Carrying our cross comes after counting the cost, just as Jesus did in that Garden. Mary, His mother, also counted the cost of becoming the mother of the Messiah who would suffer in a harsh world, but she too, said yes.

In reality, we are living in a fallen world. We don’t soar through life with a “name it, claim it, instantly gratifying, problem free faith or lifestyle.” Painful trials happen to believers and unbelievers alike, but as believers, we get to know our Savior, and develop a friendship with Him. Through faith, we come to learn that something good always comes out of our pain. 

Nothing that we have ever suffered is wasted. In all suffering, there is meaning and comfort in knowing Jesus already suffered the same thing and knows exactly how we feel. We also find purpose in suffering by being able to comfort others who go through something similar. The Lord’s church is a community of His sons and daughters, who share the compassion of Christ with each other and with the world. 

We may never fully understand every purpose in this present lifetime, but we know that God is constantly conforming us to the image of Christ. We might be better off to ask, “Lord, reveal your purpose for me through this trial,” instead of “Lord, remove this problem from me,” so that we can find peace in the purpose. 

While we go through any pain or sorrow, we count the cost, as we choose to take up our cross and follow Jesus another day. Knowing He has the best plan for us, we carry our cross and follow Him, because that’s what disciples do. 

It’s a lesson we’ll be learning all throughout our lives, and at times, my soul needs to catch up with the words I write, but we can put our trust in this scriptural truth, 

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

(Romans 8:28)

Lord, we thank you for counting us worthy of the cost you paid for our salvation, and help us to carry our own cross, while we are being conformed to your image, to better reflect your love to the world. Amen

“How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Matthew 7:11 (NIV)

Jesus reminds us in this scripture that we are sons and daughters of a Father, who loves to give good gifts to His children. Sometimes, the little things that seem trivial to others, but bring us joy, are the gifts that God gives us, and He knows what those little things are for each of us.

There is a true story of a man named Dick, who had a hobby of building remote controlled boats. He finished a project which he spent about 100 hours working on and was excited to finally try it out on water. 

On a cold day in October, he put the little hydroplane boat on a pond of water. It made it to the middle of the pond, but then stalled, stopped and wouldn’t move any further. 

Dick started walking into the pond to retrieve his boat, thinking the pond was shallow, but he suddenly sunk down into a deep section. He was struggling to swim, but with heavy clothing on, he kept sinking. His wife and friend watched in horror, helpless as Dick struggled, while neither of them knew how to swim. Before they could call for help, a young man appeared out of nowhere, wearing only a pair of denim shorts. He dived into the pond and in lifeguard style, pulled Dick out to the shore in safety. 

After his wife and friend saw that he was okay, they turned to look for the blond haired, shirtless man, to thank him, but he was gone. It was all very strange, the way he came out of nowhere, wearing nothing but shorts on a cold October day. 

Then they saw something that really stunned them. During all the commotion, the model boat was left in the middle of the pond, but now it was lying on the ground right in front of them. 

That mysterious man was swift to appear and disappear, yet no one saw him retrieve Dick’s boat, and no other people were in the area, so who retrieved the boat? What human rescuer would even bother to retrieve a model boat as well as save a person from drowning? There were too many questions and not enough answers. That shirtless, shoeless rescuer had to be an angel. 

Dick put many hours into building that boat, and God knows about the little things that mean so much to us. He cares about what we care about, probably much more than we realize. God sent an angel to not only save Dick’s life that day, but to give him back his boat, which he worked so hard to build.  

We tend to think that God doesn’t care about the trivialities of our lives but He reminds us of His kindness and compassion in special moments like that, since He knows exactly what’s in our hearts. I’m sure that everyone can recall a time in their lives when God seemed to answer a prayer, even down to a trivial detail. 

Who doesn’t feel loved by someone who remembers the littlest thing that brings them joy?

A good father knows what brings joy to his son or daughter and he takes great pleasure in surprising them from time to time. God is our good Father, who enjoys surprising us with the little things that have special meaning to us, even if it seems trivial or insignificant, like a remote controlled model boat. 

Lord, thank you for reminding us that you are a good father, and of the joy you have in giving us the little things in life that make us happy. Amen

“The mind of a person plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9 (NASB)

I was visiting a list of patients for my weekly volunteer hospital ministry last weekend. While following a list of patients, I entered one room on the list and after verifying the patient’s name, I told her mine, then explained that I’m from the hospital’s Christian Ministry of Care department. 

She said very politely,

“Well, let me get one thing straight-I am Jewish.” 

I asked her how she ended up on a Catholic census list, and she said that she was a student in Catholic schools during her early life. Somehow the hospital admitting department only heard that, instead of the fact that she is Jewish, and that was how she ended up on the Catholic census list. 

I found her very interesting and told her that I grew up in the opposite situation, living in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, and attended several Bar mitzvahs of my Jewish friends. Then she said to me, “and I still know how to say a Hail Mary.” 

She made me laugh out loud and our whole interaction gave me a spirit of joy that lasted the rest of the day. As I left the room, we said to each other, Shalom!”

I was thinking about how often a person might not be exactly who we first think they are. We are all multi-faceted, complex human beings and no one should ever be labeled. The one we think is the wrong person, might really be the right person, according to God’s plan, and what appears as an error may be part of His divine purpose. That’s what happened in the next true story. 

A pastor of a church was waiting for a package on the scheduled day for delivery but he never received it. He found out that the carrier mistakenly delivered it to a home in a rural and remote area far away from his home. Instead of asking the carrier to pick it up and redirect the shipment to him, he decided to drive there and pick it up himself. 

When he arrived at the home, he saw a critically ill 9 year old boy with his mother and grandmother, who were caring for him. They handed the Pastor his package, and in that moment, he knew in his spirit, that God deliberately led him to that exact home for a purpose. 

He introduced himself to the family, learning that the boy’s name was Jonathan. He suffered from stage four brain cancer, and could no longer speak. The Pastor felt called to be a pastor to that family, since they had no other church affiliation. The mother and grandmother were unable to attend the church because of caregiving conditions and the distance from the church. 

That weekend, the Pastor preached a sermon telling his congregation of his experience. His congregation gathered together and did whatever they could do to for the family, by  visiting them, praying with them, bringing gifts, visiting Jonathan when he was hospitalized and simply being Jesus to that family in any way possible. 

God uses mistakes for some very incredible and beautiful purposes. We never know how something that seemed to be an error was part of God’s eternal plan all along. We may make plans, but the Lord is really the One who directs our steps, whether we realize it or not. 

Lord, you are an awesome God and your plans are the best, even when we think a mistake was made. Please direct our steps and make us instruments of your peace and love in this world. Amen 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

John 15:12-14 (RSV)

I came across a true story that happened during the second world war. In 1943 four navy chaplains restored calm in the chaos of a ship, just hit by the enemy and rapidly sinking. Those chaplains prayed with and escorted 230 soldiers to the lifeboats, even giving up their own life jackets to those who didn’t have one. They saved every man on the ship, just doing what a friend of Jesus would do. 

One of the survivors recalls what he  last witnessed from his lifeboat, seeing the four chaplains standing on the sinking ship, with hands clasped, praying together as the ship went down into the ocean. What an image to remember. Their last deed on earth was exactly what Jesus described, men who laid their lives down for their friends. 

The interesting fact about this story is that those four brave chaplains were of different faith backgrounds. There was a Jewish rabbi, a Catholic priest, a Methodist minister and a Dutch reformed minister. Despite their different ideologies and beliefs, they had two things in common. They had a mutual desire to express the love of God to others, and they shared their last minutes of their lives together.

The apostle Paul wrote that without love we are nothing, Peter wrote that  love covers a multitude of sins and Jesus said that there’s no greater love than to give one’s life for their friends. All who do so, Jesus calls  His friends. 

All mankind is created in the image of God, but occasionally we witness a special spark of God within a human person. It’s evident whenever someone does the unthinkable and selfless act of giving their life for another, or for a worthy cause.

This scripture today seems almost too unreachable to achieve. To put aside our needs for the sake of another’s isn’t easy. Paul wrote, “Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) 

The upward call of God, is to abide in the love of Christ, and is a goal for every believer to strive for.

Firemen, paramedics, policemen and military forces, do it every day as a routine duty of their profession, and some even go beyond their routine duty. This Memorial Day, we will remember people like those chaplains, soldiers, first responders and all who have lost their lives for a worthy cause. 

On Wednesday of this week, we heard of the tragic deaths of a young Jewish couple employed by the Israeli embassy, who were to be engaged next week, but were shot and killed by an extremist at the Jewish museum in Washington D.C. 

There is a little known spiritual side to this sad story, which has been underpublicized. That young couple were “Messianic Jews” in their faith, meaning that they were Jewish believers in Jesus as their Messiah. 

Yaron and Sarah were living that upward call of God in their Jewish Christian faith as bridge builders, by promoting interfaith understanding. 

I have no doubt that they were welcomed into the arms of their Messiah, who they knew as Yeshua, as He greeted them saying, “Welcome home my friends”.

May God help us to live like friends of Jesus, reaching for the upward call of sharing His love with the world, and to treat each day, as the last day on a sinking ship.

Lord, help us to follow you, beyond the routine as you transform us from within, to reach the goal of the upward call of living in Christ’s love. Amen

Capital Jewish Museum victim Yaron Lischinsky was Messianic Jew – The Forward

“The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

Revelation 5:8 (NIV)

It’s good to have an occasional glimpse of heaven to meditate on. 

In this particular vision, John saw twenty four elders, each holding a golden bowl filled with prayers, which are our prayers. They also held a harp to make songs of praise with, and then the elders all bowed down to worship the Lamb, who is Jesus. 

The twenty four elders consist of the twelve apostles plus the twelve sons of Jacob, which are the same as the twelve tribes of Israel. To visualize them holding golden bowls filled with prayers, while bowing in worship before the Lord, confirms the idea that worship and prayer are meant to go hand in hand. 

All of our senses will be stimulated in heaven, through a vivid combination of sights, scents and sounds. There will be golden bowls to see, fragrant incense to smell and harp music to hear. The elders hold the prayers of God’s people in their bowls, while they worship the One who told us to pray, asking anything in His name.

We may have many trials here during a lifetime, and sometimes it’s hard to believe that God hears our prayers. John’s vision of heaven revealed that God not only hears us, but He values our prayers enough to place them in golden bowls, and then light them up to become a fragrant incense that permeates all of heaven.

There is no time or space in heaven, so our prayers are ever present before God’s throne. People can forget our prayer requests, but Heaven never forgets. Every prayer we pray, rises to heaven, in the form of a fragrant incense. God answers us according to His timing, plan and purpose. Whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name, carries the aroma of Christ along with every prayer request, rising all the way to God’s throne.  (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Knowing this, we put our hope and faith in God, and like the elders, we offer praise with every petition. God loves each of us unconditionally, and so we praise Him for who He is, not just for what He does. 

David knew this truth and he offered praise to God with every prayer request, as read in his Psalms. There is something therapeutic in praising God for who He is, even before receiving the answers to our prayers. 

I have discovered a strange and unexplainable peace that comes through worship. Not a day goes by that I don’t listen to christian praise and worship music. It’s playing in my car radio every day and also on a playlist that I listen to in my home. There is such a great benefit in filling our minds with music that praises God.

We don’t need to have great faith to praise God, because we can praise Him solely for who He is. Whatever situation we are facing, God is still always eternally good. When we live in this kind of attitude, supernatural and amazing things begin to happen. Our faith will increase and we will find ourselves in a state of peace that is unexplainable.

Today, let us give thanks and praise to God who collects our prayers in golden bowls and permeates heaven with their timeless fragrant incense. That image alone inspires the desire to praise Him.

Lord, we praise and thank you that you remember all of our prayers, which rise to you as fragrant incense in golden bowls. We believe that you will hear and answer all that we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Worry is something that affects every person, but when worry becomes overwhelming, it can be paralyzing. I am no expert in psychology or counseling, but I can share how scripture has helped me during some of my most worrisome times. 

Whatever worries us, God intends to give us all the help we need, but He does it one day at a time, because He is a “one day at a time” kind of God. We only need to know how God has interacted with His people throughout history, to understand that His basic message is the same, “Take one day at a time.”

When Elijah, the prophet, was being pursued by Queen Jezebel, who ordered him to be killed, he ran for his life into the wilderness, and in despair, he sat under a Juniper tree and begged God to end his life and just let him die. After falling asleep, an angel came and touched him to wake him up, saying, “Arise and eat!” 

The angel brought him warm, freshly baked bread and a jar of cold water. Elijah ate and drank, and that same angel brought him fresh baked bread and water every day, for 40 days. God reveals His lovingkindness and care for our whole being, even in our darkest moments, in the way He nourished Elijah, strengthening his body, mind, soul and spirit, one day at a time.  (1 Kings 19:4-8)

God did a similar thing when He sent manna from heaven, to the Israelites in the wilderness. Those manna wafers appeared on the ground, fresh each morning, and each day’s portion was enough to satisfy the hunger of all the people for the day. When anyone attempted to stash their own supply of manna and save it for the next day, it rotted and was found to be full of worms. It was God’s way of saying, 

“I will give you what you need, but it will be one day at a time.” 

Jesus tells us in today’s scripture not to worry about tomorrow. Then He repeated that same message in the Lord’s Prayer, telling us to ask for our “daily bread”, not tomorrow’s bread or next week’s bread. In fact, the only mention of the future in the entire Lord’s Prayer, is in the phrase, 

“Thy kingdom come.” God’s kingdom is coming, and we can put all our hope and energy into trusting in that future, while we look to God to give us what is needed today.

These scripture stories remind us that after we have done our best today, then we pray, and leave the rest in God’s hands. 

Once our thoughts start drifting into what we should have done in the past, or what needs to be done in the future, we have stepped out of the present moment, and into the world of anxiety. 

We cannot change yesterday and we have no guarantee that we will see tomorrow, so we live in the present, where we find a peace that surpasses all understanding.

There’s a reason that God declared to Moses that His name is “I Am.” God is eternally present and He reminds us to stay in the present moment with Him. He wants us to call upon Him in each new day, because He is the ever present Lord of now and today. 

I’m still learning to train my mind to take one day at a time, and to release my grip on tomorrow. If I approach each day, listening in  silence for the whispered message of the Holy Spirit, who speaks to our spirit, just as the angel touched Elijah, to say, “Arise and eat,” God’s Spirit is saying the same thing to us today. He wants us to receive our spiritual nourishment in Jesus, who is our manna, the bread of heaven and living water, offered to us, fresh each day.

When we make an effort to live in the present, one day at a time, our  repeated effort becomes a daily habit. Instead of letting our problem steal our joy, we pray for God’s help, and wake up each day to see that He is sending us an angel to make something beautiful out of today. 

Lord, we surrender all the worries of today to you, because you love and care for us more than anyone, giving us what we need, and sustaining us with your peace and nourishment, one day at a time. Amen

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Matthew 6:26 (NIV)

Feeding birds leads to a story I’d like to share. I recently bought a loaf of organic wheat bread which had whole wheat kernels in it. I came to the conclusion that this bread was not compatible with my body, since I had stomach cramps every time I ate it. Not wanting to throw away a full loaf of organic bread, I decided to leave a few slices in my yard, in view of my kitchen window, to watch and see who would eat it.

I expected the squirrels to come first, but was surprised to see a flock of little sparrows coming back and forth, biting off pieces of the bread until they ate every last bit of it. I have never been into bird watching, but it was truly entertaining to watch the little flock enjoy the bread that I couldn’t enjoy, knowing it would not go to waste.

That same afternoon, my neighbor from across the street asked to borrow my ladder. He said that he just discovered a bird’s nest in his external dryer vent, and there were four newly hatched birds inside the nest. His plan was to transfer the entire nest to the tree in front of his house. 

I lent him my ladder and he placed the nest in a nook between two branches of that tree. We all hoped the mother bird would return and find her chicks safe in their nest. Those baby birds were so tiny and looked so helpless, waiting for their mom to return. 

I noticed that their beaks were outlined in yellow, and did an internet search to find out what kind of bird has yellow beaks. I learned that newborn robins have yellow beaks to help the mother find their mouths, while feeding them in the dark. It fascinated me to learn that God took such an interest in details like the color of baby birds’ beaks, to ensure they get fed. 

The Lord really shows His goodness throughout all creation, but we can see it most in the season of Spring. It’s the cycle of nature for nesting and new birth, as mother birds bring food to their nests. Spring is also the season that God shows His colorful artistry in the various perennial flowers, which are blooming everywhere we look. 

Jesus told us that His Father cares for all the birds, and gives them food. Every Spring, He fills the landscape with flowers of every color. Since God cares about the colors of flowers, and the color of a newborn robin’s beak, we can be pretty sure that He cares about every detail in our lives as well. His eye is on all creation in Springtime, but His people are of highest value and in His heart every day. 

Lord, thank you for the Spring season, which highlights the beauty of all you have created, and how much you care for every detail of our lives. Amen

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Matthew 13:44 (NAB)

We tend to seek meaning only in what we see externally, but hidden treasures are often missed and unappreciated. God’s gifts are discovered when we look below the surface, which is what Jesus said about treasures that are hidden and buried in a field. 

Thinking about things buried in the ground, made me think of certain vegetables that grow below ground,  while only their leaves appear on the surface. In order to find underground vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips, radishes, garlic, leeks, onions and more, one would see the surface leaves first, but need to dig underground to find the good food. 

This week, there was a news story about a 28 year old woman who was found by search parties, after getting lost while hiking in the mountains of California. Her passion for gardening helped her to survive by being able to recognize the leaves of some leeks growing in the wilderness. She dug up those leeks, which became her only food sustenance for three weeks, until the search party found her.

Maybe there is a deeper lesson to learn about recognizing treasures that are hidden beneath the surface. Every human person is created by God and given a unique personality, gifts, talents, and special insights. 

At first meeting someone, we see only their surface leaves, but there is always more to learn about any individual, when we look beneath the surface.

People who go through tragic and adverse circumstances, might gradually bury their faith in God. The treasures placed within them at birth often get smothered under the ground of hardship and sorrow. We might be looking at someone’s outer leaves, not knowing what has happened below the surface. Unless we find out what is beneath, we may never recognize their good gifts and treasures. 

In listening to stories of people in the Nursing Home, one lady opened her heart to share her story with me over several visits. She was raised by an abusive father and a drug addicted mother. She followed her mother’s path, by using heroin, and eventually became addicted. She married and gave birth to two daughters, but ended up divorced. She is now in frail health, residing in the Nursing Home for the rest of her life. 

She desires to reconnect with her adult daughters, but they want nothing to do with her. They changed their phone numbers, never visit her and consider their stepmother, their only mother. This lady now has no one except a sister living in another state and her friends in the Nursing Home. 

In essence, God is all she has, and thankfully she has reached deep within herself and rekindled her faith, putting all her hope and trust in Jesus. 

It’s sad that people cannot forgive as God does. Her story reminds me that we were all born with spiritual gifts and great potential, yet problems and wrong choices pile up over time and push all those treasures of faith down below the surface of who we are. Our mistakes will never change God’s love and mercy towards us, because He loves us so much that He sees each person as a rare treasure buried in a field. 

God gave His best for us in Jesus, who paid the costliest price at the cross, to purchase the field of our soul and give us a new beginning. 

He knows about every problem, pain and trial that we have gone through, and He wants to uncover all the treasures that are hidden within us. 

God gave everything to purchase our redemption, and He did it with great joy. Now He wants us to use our gifts to share Him with others. 

Lord, help us to look below the surface in all people we meet, and to recognize the hidden treasures that you have placed within everyone. Give us a heart of mercy that points all people towards you. Amen

“But as for my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and follows me unreservedly, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall possess it.”

Numbers 14:24 (NAB)

Only Joshua, Caleb and a generation of youth survived that wilderness, and entered the promised land. When the Israelites first arrived at the border of the promised land, one man from each tribe was sent to scope out the land and come back with a report. Twelve men were sent, but only Caleb and Joshua returned with positive reports. Caleb had a gift of being able to encourage others to have faith and do the right thing. God referred to Caleb as a man with a “different spirit.”

The other ten only saw the negative implications, reporting that  the people in the land were too big, too strong and too powerful for the Israelites to overcome. This put the majority of the people into a panic and they feared the challenges of entering the new land. They turned away from the promised land, saying that their old lives were better, even though they lived in slavery.

In the end, Joshua and Caleb were the only adults of their generation, who lived long enough to enter the promised land. They did, however, bring along an entire generation of youth. Through the leadership of Caleb and Joshua, faith and encouragement was passed on to that younger generation. 

From studying Caleb’s character, a different spirit means facing every challenge with faith, over fear, and using the gifts God has given us to do for others what God has done for us. 

There is a revival of faith happening among generation Z today, which includes young men and women born between 1997-2012. These young people are wholeheartedly turning to faith in God, and inspiring others to do the same. God is actually raising up a spiritual army of young believers, who have a “different spirit”, like Caleb.

According to Pew research studies, the previous years of decline in youth spirituality and church attendance across the globe, has been trending  in a new direction, towards God. Generation Z youth are finding deep faith and having life changing encounters with Jesus. 

There’s been a documented spike in students involved in campus ministry, an increase in youth church attendance and student baptisms. This spiritual revival spans across all denominations, whether Catholic or Protestant. Faith was once fading, but is now showing up stronger than ever in this age group. All credit goes to the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. 

It required a different spirit to enter  the promised land back in Caleb’s day, and it requires a different spirit today, to enter the narrow gate that Jesus talked about. (Matthew 7:13) 

Generation Z has become the generation that is heeding the call, because they have that different spirit. Young people are passionately following Jesus today more than in previous generations.

Billy Graham once said, “When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God.” 

Things changed five years ago, when Covid brought people to the end of different things in their lives, and affected the mental health of every generation, but something changed for the good, and the youngest among us are now turning to God. 

When secular publications, like the New York Post, refers to Generation Z as the “spiritual generation”, we know there is a true move of God happening and a spiritual phenomenon taking place.

I didn’t know this was happening until a relative mentioned it to me one day, and then I searched the topic, and found it is true. I wondered how I had been so unaware of this outpouring of grace, but I figured it’s because I live in an old person’s world, and hardly know anyone in that age group. Praise God for starting a movement, and reviving faith in a generation of youth with a different spirit. 

Lord, give us a “different spirit” as Caleb had and use the youngest among us to inspire faith in others as we walk that narrow path with you,  sharing your love, mercy and truth with the world. Amen

Christianity Sees a Resurgence Led by Gen Z | AllSides