Blue Collar Jesus Daily Devotions

Blue Collar Jesus Daily Devotions Daily devotions for the flawed but hopeful from the book, Blue Collar Jesus by Pastor Jay Loucks. Now available on Amazon.com

08/19/2021

Thursday, August 19

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! | Psalm 84:1

Spiritual Road Map

This psalm was obviously written by someone who had to travel to Jerusalem to worship at God’s Holy Sanctuary. The psalmist is obsessed with the opportunity to enter into the dwelling place of God. But the journey was long and difficult, and evidently worth the trouble. It is easy for us to be envious of this spiritual traveler. But, if we pause for a moment and let God speak to us, He will remind us that his Temple in Jerusalem is no longer there. God allowed the Roman military to destroy it in 70 A.D. And the reason why was partly due to the fact that He has found a more suitable dwelling place. And we no longer have to pass through the desert Valley of Baka. As a matter of fact, his more suitable dwelling place does not require any physical transportation at all, because we can no longer go out to his dwelling place. We can only go into it. That’s right, our long way home to the dwelling place of God is a journey into our own hearts. I call it the “long way home” because the journey is no longer measured in miles but in our willingness to enter into the sacred place of our own hearts. The way home is still difficult because the obstacles in our path are even more treacherous than those navigated by the psalmist. Our path is blocked by our own conflicted self-serving agenda that has convinced us that either God is not waiting for us in the silent solitude, or that the journey is a waste of time. But, you dear brother and sister, have found your way home today. May the blessing of God’s presence draw you ever more near to his dwelling place in your heart today. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 84 | 1 Kings 4:20-28 | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

08/18/2021

Wednesday, August 18

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. | Psalm 101:5

A Proud Heart

I am still working on what it means for me to develop an understanding heart like King Solomon. Whenever we talk about the wisdom of Solomon, it would be right and good for us to refer to it as “an understanding heart.” What my greatest concern has been lately is that I desire this understanding heart, but my mouth seems to be working overtime against my desires. The truth the Lord is revealing to me is that I cannot be conflicted with the sins of my speech and expect God to develop in me an understanding heart. In today’s psalm we are made aware that unless or until we make a commitment to stop judging and speaking ill of others, God will let us remain in silence. He will not do for me what I hope for as long as I persist in complaining about others. My big sin right now is that I cannot seem to stop complaining about the complainers. I see the damage these judgmental people do, and my frustration and anger explodes. But what I am being made painfully aware of is that my propensity to speak ill of the complainers has become an obstacle to developing an understanding heart. I am not sure what to do with my anger and frustration, but now I know I will not take my next step in allowing God to develop in me an understanding heart until I learn to stop judging. May God’s blessing empower us to serve Him with the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 101 | 1 Kings 8:1-21 | Mark 8:14-21

08/17/2021

Tuesday, August 17

I will be careful to lead a blameless life… | Psalm 101:2a

The Long Way Home

Two thoughts leapt to my mind when this jumped out at me. The first was that I truly do desire to lead a “blameless life.” And the second thought that came crashing in on the first was, “I am so far from achieving this.” And then I remembered that we practice a “next-step faith.” My journey home is a perpetual time of travel in pursuit of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. I acknowledge today that He loves me perfectly right where I am in this moment. He is neither angry nor frustrated with me. But He is not content. He loves me perfectly, right where I am, but He also loves me too much to leave me here. His only request for me in this moment is to take one more step with Him. As I sit in silence and listen to his leading, I sense that his next step for me is to develop the same discipline in my prayer life that He has managed to develop in me in other areas of my faith journey. It is clear to me what He wants. I pray I will follow his leading. Each of us, if we will wait in silence for a while, will be directed by the Holy Spirit in our next step for our long journey home. So, take heart, you people of faith. He will not only inspire us, but He will empower us as well. Let nothing on earth or beyond prevent you from this step. May his blessing wash over you as your obedience is made evident. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 101 | 1 Kings 7:1-12 | Acts 7:9-16

08/16/2021

Monday, August 16

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables. | Acts 6:2

Top Priority

This is a very timely verse for me. Recently, I have been praying and meditating about the many functions I am trying to perform in my duty as a pastor. I have become convinced that I need to get back to the basics. As a shepherd of God’s people in my community, my primary function has to be to bury the Word of God deep in the hearts of every man, woman, and child who comes through our doors. And in order for me to be adequately prepared to perform that function, I need to adjust my schedule to make prayer and study my primary responsibilities. It will not do anyone any good if I am just running my mouth about God’s best for us. My teaching must come through constant prayer and diligent study of God’s Word for us. Once I have successfully developed a schedule that not only serves my priority well but also has enough time built in for proper rest and reflection, then I can best see what else might be added to my week. The truth is that there is a myriad of great activities that need to be done, in addition to prayer and teaching. And some of those other activities I am actually able to perform well. But now I know we will never take our next step as a church until I follow the lead of the apostles and get my priorities straight. May God’s blessing fall on each of us today as we diligently search for his specific will for our own lives and the determination to carry it out. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 101 | 1 Kings 3:16-28 | Acts 6:1-7

08/15/2021

Sunday, August 15

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, | Ephesians 5:18-19

Heart Music

There is something profound for us here. Over the past few decades, many of us have preferred to use what we’ve come to refer to as “contemporary worship.” The phrase means different things to a myriad of people. Because it’s been going on so long now, I think one could make the argument that much of what is being done under this description is no longer contemporary. Some of us have just replaced the old songs from the hymnals with our own favorites from the bands of the ’80s and ’90s. We are just as stuck in the past as our traditional brothers and sisters. The other aspect about contemporary worship is that it is not contemporary anymore but neither is it worship. We tend, in my humble opinion, to sing too many songs that are more about us than about God. While I think these beautiful songs are uplifting and encouraging, unless they are proclaiming the glory of God, I fail to see how they can be considered worship. And finally, the idea of “being filled with the Holy Spirit” has been misconceived as an emotional high. If our singing at church fires us up emotionally, we are often confused to believe that our emotions are a moving of the Holy Spirit. So, folks evaluate their worship experience primarily through their feelings. I have been studying lately about what it means for us to develop understanding hearts, like King Solomon. If we apply these same truths to Paul’s encouragement here, we will embrace the truth that real worship is a musical encounter that is birthed in our understanding hearts that have been given the capacity to embrace our God through this revealing of himself by his Son, Jesus Christ. So that means whenever we have a real encounter that inspires us to sing praises to God through the understanding of our hearts, we are engaged in worship. May God fill us with his blessing today as we sing his praises. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 111 | 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 | John 6:51-58 | Ephesians 5:15-20

08/14/2021

Saturday, August 14

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” | John 4:13-14

Bottoms Up

I am great at trying to always find the easiest, fastest way to deal with any given problem. If I encounter something that is stuck, my first reaction is to take a sledge hammer to it. I mean, why peck on something with a small hammer when you can solve it with one big blast? The problem is that many of us, if not most, have brought this same “big blast” mentality to our relationship with Jesus. We are constantly looking for the one “big blast” experience that will catapult us into a relationship with Christ that He describes here as “welling up to eternal life.” So, we buy the next book and download the next Christian CD. We look for a worship band that gets us all emotionally geeked up. “Bam! Bam! Bam!” And then we are left wondering, Why do I still feel stuck? Jesus’s answer to us today is that we have failed to come to the only true source of Kingdom living. We refuse to discipline ourselves to enter into a lifelong relationship with the One who is the self-proclaimed “Living Water.” His call to us is to come to Him daily and, one step at a time, He will do for us what we could never do for ourselves. But, if we drink daily from his Word for our lives, that Word will well up in us and carry us to a life we could only imagine. So, dear friend, drink deeply today from the Living Water. I will see you back here at the Source tomorrow. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 111 | 1 Kings 2:1-11 | John 4:7-26

08/13/2021

Friday, August 13

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them. | Romans 16:17

Watch Out!

In our current state of media-soaked living we are bombarded every day with those who cause division and who put up obstacles. Thirty years ago, when I first got serious about pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ, I began to notice many of my Christian friends were heavily influenced by secular folks from the media. I can remember rejecting our temptation to embrace the teachings of any secular star because they were all divisive in their attempt to push their own specific agenda. In the same way I was shocked at how many people in church leadership were divisive as well. Many of them were experts at public prayer and it appeared were mature in their faith. But upon closer examination I discovered they were just as manipulative and divisive as any leaders outside of the faith. Sadly, very little has changed. We must, according to Paul, be ever vigilant in regards to who we allow to influence our thinking. But his directions are clear that if they do not passionately teach and model that we are to love the Lord our God with all we have and all we are and also to love everyone else as ourselves, then we are to “keep away from them.” That means we must be very meticulous in determining any leader’s mission. If they do not embrace the teachings of Jesus Christ to love God and to love others for the unity of the faith, then we should confront them in the church and call them into account. We must not allow hurtful, divisive people to hold position of influence in our lives. That is true whether they are on our TVs or computers or serving with us at church. “Keep away from them!” Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 111 | 1 Kings 1:28-48 | Romans 16:17-20

08/12/2021

Thursday, August 12

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. | Psalm 111:10

“Stinkin’ Thinkin’”

I am working on a teaching series I have called “An Understanding Heart.” We see a predominant theme in the Bible’s “Wisdom Literature” that if we are serious about allowing the Lord to create in us understanding hearts. we must begin with a healthy respect and a proper perspective for God’s opinion. Yesterday, we talked about this as a view from the balcony. Our lives are lived out every day amidst an often chaotic dance. Each day is its own dance, bringing with it another need for a fresh view from God’s perspective on the balcony. Did you notice in our Old Testament reading that no one appears to be asking, “Where is God in all of this?” There is no healthy respect for his perspective. And then in our New Testament reading, the Sanhedrin is about to execute Stephen with absolutely no regard to God’s viewpoint. In each story there is a chaotic dance taking place. It involves the manipulation of the dancers and the recruiting of others to take their side, but no one asks, “Where is God in all of this?” Aren’t you glad we are never like that today? I know I sure am. Left to my own self-centered stinkin’ thinkin’, I will always wind up making the wrong choice. It is only when I ask where God is in any situation that He faithfully takes me up on the balcony and allows me to see the dance from his divine perspective. And the really cool thing about this is that when I am faithful to begin with the fear of the Lord, I can go forward with full confidence and no anxiety about what the other dancers are saying. May we rest in God’s blessing today as he develops our understanding hearts. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 111 | 1 Kings 1:1-30 | Acts 6:8-15

08/11/2021

Wednesday, August 11

For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. | John 6:38

A View From the Balcony

While I was reading about David and Joab from our Old Testament lesson I was overwhelmed with its chaos and complexity. It really is like a Jerry Springer episode. But did you notice what is curiously absent from this story? Not one single character in this unfolding drama appears to be concerned about the will of God. There is so much palace intrigue and petty self-centeredness in King David’s final years. The one described by God as a man after God’s own heart is no longer in pursuit of God’s agenda for his life or the people whom God had entrusted to his care. But in our gospel reading we see that Jesus Christ (the Son of David) manages to clear away all the Jerry Springer chaos simply by maintaining his God-given mandate to know and faithfully carry out his Father’s will. No person who has ever lived could claim the right to do things his way and yet Jesus refused to take his next step without direction from his heavenly Father. I like to call this “a view from the balcony.” Think of our lives as this great social dance. Everyone is there as the music plays and we are all intertwined on the dance floor. The noise and the crowd and the confusion make it almost impossible to sort things out. So, what we need is to take a break and make our way up to the balcony and watch the dance from an elevated perspective. That’s what King David lacked and what King Jesus demonstrated perfectly. Really, I am thinking that the choice is always ours to make. We can remain in the chaos and be all caught up in the Jerry Springer experience. Or we can follow the Lord’s example and go to the balcony and spend a moment with our heavenly Father. As He shows us the view of our dance from his elevated view, we will know his best for our lives. The blessing is only found on the balcony. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 57 | 2 Samuel 19:1-18 | John 6:35-40

08/10/2021

Tuesday, August 10

My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. | Psalm 57:7

An Understanding Heart

We are in the process in our church of learning together the biblical definition of “an understanding heart.” For most English-speaking westerners, the heart figuratively refers to the seat of our emotions. When we fall in love with someone, we would describe that as a function coming from our heart. But the word translated “heart” in both the Old and New Testaments refers to three different functions that come together simultaneously. It is possible they don’t all begin at the same time, but a movement of the heart will always include these three activities. The first involves “thinking.” The Bible calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That function requires us to accumulate information through studying and listening and experiencing. But having merely accumulated a bunch of head knowledge, no matter how inspired, it does not, in and of itself, give us an understanding heart. Because, next we must engage our emotions. If the accumulation of this information doesn’t call on our emotions, then it is not from the heart. These emotions that spring forth from our studying and listening and experiencing can range from adoration to hatred and anything in-between. And finally, in order for something to truly come from our heart, it must be more than thinking and feeling. The movement of the heart always involves “doing.” It is possible and quite common for people to mistakenly believe they have a heart for something when in reality what they are referring to is nothing more than their feelings. I often today hear Christians say they have a “real heart” for the undocumented children being held at our border with Mexico. I often ask them, “What are you doing about it?” The response has always been silence or confusion. So, in our Psalm today, when he says his heart is steadfast, he is declaring that he has engaged his thinking and feeling in regards to the Lord. And it is through this process that he feels compelled to sing a song of praise to God. May we all experience the blessing of God today as we engage in learning the meaning of “an understanding heart.” Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 57 | 2 Samuel 18:19-33 | 2 Peter 3:14-18

08/09/2021

Monday, August 9

…and find out what pleases the Lord. | Ephesians 5:10

Hide the Thimble

As I read these passages this morning, like always, one section jumped out at me. It was this verse from Paul’s admonition to the church at Ephesus. When I first came across it and it became highlighted to me, I began at first to dismiss it and to look for something else. But I am learning to discipline myself to not question why God is drawing my attention to something I am reading but to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit and write it down in my journal. And as I did, I realized this may be one of the most profound and relevant commands we could possibly consider today. A great deal of my ministry is concerned with helping folks take their next step in their faith journey. And the direction of that step always begins with understanding through prayer and study the knowledge of God’s will for them. When I was a little boy my cousins and I loved to go to my grandma’s. Our favorite game with grandpa was called “Hide the thimble.” All of us kids would leave their living room and grandpa would hide the thimble away out of sight somewhere in the room. When the thimble was safely secure the cousins would return. And as she/he moved around the room, Grandpa would direct us by saying, “warmer” as he/she got closer and “hotter” as he/she became close. If our cousin went the wrong way, of course, he would cry out, “colder.” Unfortunately, I am afraid that much of our current spiritual direction in the church is a kind of modern-day form of “Hide the thimble.” The difference is that Grandpa always was truthful and accurate in his direction. Today this person is calling us in this direction and that, and then back in yet another. The guy on TV says this but the girl on the radio says that. It is like we are playing the game but there are competing voices that cry out “colder” and “warmer” at the same time. What are we to do in order to drown out all the misdirection? We get up every morning and we faithfully surrender our will to God. We open up his Word and we “find out want pleases the Lord.” This is his perfect plan to reveal his direction for our lives. May God’s blessing rest upon us as we pray today only for the knowledge of his will for us. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 57 | 2 Samuel 15:13-31 | Ephesians 5:1-14

08/08/2021

Sunday, August 8

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. | Ephesians 4:29-30

Builders for Jesus

I don’t remember ever connecting these two verses together. I think I always read them like a “to do” list from Paul to the Church. But as I was reading today, I spent a moment listening to God about how I am currently grieving the Holy Spirit. I never want to be guilty of causing him grief. And I see here that his grief is caused by my “unwholesome talk.” As a lifelong construction worker, I have always considered “unwholesome talk” to be cursing or vulgar language. But if we are paying attention to Paul’s inspired words, it is obvious the words that grieve the Holy Spirit are words intended to hurt other people. You know, negative words and critical words and cutting words that are often shrouded in a cloud of fake concern. But as we follow Paul’s divine leading a little deeper, he reveals to us exactly what “unwholesome talk” is. It is anything we say that does not “build up.” Wow! That covers a great deal of speech. We have the words we use to encourage and compliment and inspire others to take their next step with him, and everything else is grievous to God. That means I have a lot of work to do. Maybe I need to start by not talking so much until I get a handle on this. May the Lord’s blessing today enable us to pursue Jesus in this scary next step. Shalom!

TODAY’S READINGS

Psalm 130 | 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 | John 6:35, 41-51 | Ephesians 4:25-5:2

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