The Pineapples That Weren't Mine #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Pineapples That Weren't Mine #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." - Luke 9:23 (KJV)

I heard about an old missionary named Otto Koning who spent years in the jungles of New Guinea trying to reach a village for Christ. To break up the monotony of his diet, he planted a hundred pineapple shoots and waited three long years for them to ripen. The day they finally did, someone stole every last one, and it turned out to be the very man Otto had hired to help him plant them. When confronted, the man just shrugged and said, "My hands plant them, my mouth eats them."

For seven years Otto fought for those pineapples. He threatened to close the mission clinic. He brought in a guard dog. Nothing worked, and worse, nothing about his anger looked like Jesus. In seven years of preaching, he never saw a single soul come to Christ.

Then at a seminar back in the States, Otto realized something that changed everything. His anger was not really about the fruit. It was about ownership. He was gripping something with both fists and calling it his right. So he went back to that garden and gave it away. He told God, out loud, that the pineapples belonged to Him now.

Not long after, the villagers stole from him again, and Otto just smiled. They could not figure out what had happened to him. Finally one of them asked why he was not angry anymore, and Otto said, "I gave that garden away. You are not stealing from me. You are stealing from God." Word got around fast, and folks who will steal from a missionary without blinking will not touch what belongs to the Almighty. A revival swept through that village, all because one man let go of something he had been holding onto with white knuckles.

I think most of our anger works the same way. Somebody takes our time, our credit, our comfort, and we come up swinging because we believe it is ours to defend. But Jesus said if we are going to follow Him, we deny ourselves and pick up a cross, not a fist. The moment we hand our rights over to God, whatever gets taken from us becomes His problem, not ours. And that kind of peace preaches louder than any sermon we could give.

Prayer:

Lord, I hand my pineapples over to You today, my time, my reputation, my comfort, all of it. Where I have been gripping my rights with white knuckles, loosen my hold, and let Your peace be the sermon my life preaches. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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From Trying To Trusting #Nightlight #RTTBROS Isaiah 40:31:

From Trying To Trusting #Nightlight #RTTBROS 

Isaiah 40:31:

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and shall walk, and not faint

At night as the world begins to quiet down, we often find ourselves in a state of exhaustion. We’ve run our race, we’ve faced our battles, and sometimes, we feel utterly drained. We look at the calendar and see another day looming, and the weight of it can feel heavy.

But tonight, I want to talk about a different kind of energy, an energy that doesn't come from caffeine or sheer willpower. It’s about being continually refueled. And the promise of that renewal is found in the Word of God.

Let’s look at a powerful promise from the book of Isaiah. The King James Version says in Isaiah 40:31:

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and shall walk, and not faint."

Notice the key phrase here: "Wait upon the Lord." This isn's not passive waiting, like waiting for a bus. It is an active, expectant waiting. It is leaning into God, trusting Him, and allowing Him to be the source of your power.

To help us understand what this renewal looks like, I want to share a short illustration.

Think about the great preacher Charles Stanley. He often spoke about the difference between the trying and trusting. He would tell us that many people try to live life like a machine. They try to push themselves, they push their own limits, they try to be the engine of their own life. They run until they are broken. They run until they are exhausted.

But Stanley would tell us, "My brothers and sisters, you cannot run on your own strength. You are not a machine. You are a vessel. And a vessel needs to be filled."

He would tell us that the Christian life is not about trying to be strong; it is about waiting on the One who is infinitely strong. He would say in essence "When you are tired, when you are weary, that is not the time to push harder. That is the time to stop. That is the time to look up. That is time to remember that the One who is the Eagle. That One who can lift you up."

That is the difference. The difference between the trying and trusting.

 Tonight, as you prepare for sleep, I invite you do this: Stop trying to solve tomorrow’s problems in your head. Stop trying to force yourself to be okay. Instead, pause. Breathe. And consciously "wait upon the Lord."

Ask Him to renew your strength. Ask Him to lift you, not just to survive the day, but to soar with wings like an eagle. Let Him take the weariness from your shoulders and replace it with His enduring power.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your heart and mind. Sleep well, and may you wake up renewed.

When God Delivers The Giant #RTTBROS #Nightlight

 When God Delivers the Giant #Nightlight #RTTBROS 

"Do not fear them, for the LORD thy God, he shall fight for thee" — Deuteronomy 3:22

In the Bible, there are moments that feel like footnotes, names we rush past. Og, King of Bashan, is one of those. But I’ve learned that in Scripture, nothing is filler. The Holy Spirit never wastes a word.

Og was a physical manifestation of overwhelming opposition. His iron bed was nine cubits long, a monumental detail that forces us to pause. He ruled sixty fortified cities. He was the immovable object standing between Israel and the land God had promised. He was the ultimate "No."

Yet, the narrative doesn't focus on the battle tactics. It focuses on the divine intervention. The text simply states: "So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan."

The giant didn't surrender through human strength; he surrendered because God had already claimed the victory. And the result? The land of the giant became the inheritance of the faithful. The fortress of fear became the field of faith.

Perhaps you are facing your own Og tonight. A financial mountain that feels too heavy to climb. A health battle that feels like a permanent siege. A spiritual weight that seems too entrenched to shake.

I want to whisper this to you: Those giants are not the final word. They are remnants—loud, yes, but ultimately, they are the fading echoes of an opposition that God is dismantling. Our God is the God who delivers the impossible into the hands of His people.

Don't let the size of the giant dictate the size of your hope. Let the size of your God dictate the size of your victory.

Let’s pray: Father, we bring the giants to You tonight. The things that feel too big, too fortified, too entrenched. We choose to remember Og. You delivered him. You turned his territory into testimony. Do it again, Lord. Fight for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#TrustGod #SpiritualGrowth #ChristianLiving #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Portrait And The Person #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Portrait And The Person #RTTBROS #Nightlight 

I had the privilege of preaching this past Sunday at Twin Falls Church of the Nazarene, and I want to share something with you that I think could change the way you read your Bible. We were in Hebrews chapter 4, and the big idea is this - the Bible is not the destination. It is the road. The written Word of God is like a letter from someone you love deeply. You read it slowly, you feel them in every word, and it is a precious thing. But the letter is not the person. It was made to point you to the Person. The Bible is the portrait. Jesus is the Person. And the whole point of the portrait is to make you want the Person so badly you cannot stay away from Him.

Now, Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. That word "quick" does not mean fast. It means alive. And here is what Pastor James helped me see when John opens his gospel and says "in the beginning was the Word," that is the same Greek word used right here in Hebrews. The written Word and the living Word are connected. And the sword of verse 12 belongs to a Person because verse 13 makes the shift from "it" to "Him." He sees everything. The thoughts, the intents, the fear underneath the anger, the wound underneath the performance. Nothing is managed or hidden before Him. And most people, when they hear that, want to get up and leave. But Hebrews does not stop there.

What the writer does next is one of the most beautiful pivots in all of Scripture. The terror of verse 13 is immediately answered by the mercy of verse 14. We have a great High Priest. Jesus did not study our weakness from a distance - He inhabited it. He moved into the full weight of human experience. In the 1800s there was a priest named Father Damien who went to a Hawaiian leper colony where people were sent to disappear. He dressed their wounds. He built their coffins. For years he was a whole man ministering to broken ones and there was always a gap. Then one morning he stood to preach and said two words he had never used before "We lepers." He had contracted the disease himself. That is a picture of Jesus. He said "we lepers" about you and me. And He carried it all the way through without giving in - which means He knows the weight of your temptation better than you do, because we tap out before we ever feel the full force of it. He carried it to the other side of victory, and now He is reaching back.

That brings us to verse 16, and I want you to hear this. In the Old Testament, the throne room of God was the most terrifying address in the universe. They tied a rope around the High Priest's ankle before he went behind the veil, in case the glory of God struck him down. Nobody got in uninvited. But now now the writer says "let us therefore come boldly." That throne has been given a new name. Grace. And you have been told to come not trembling, not performing, not with your life cleaned up first but boldly, with everything you are carrying right there in your hands. Some of you have been carrying something for a long time that you have never told anyone. He already sees it. And His response to everything He sees in you is not to turn away. His response is come. Come right now. The portrait points you to the Person, and the Person is still saying the same thing He has always said to weary people who are one step from giving up - come and find mercy for what is past, and grace for what is coming.

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Living for the Eternal #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #AMERICA250 USA250 #NATION250

Living for the Eternal #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #AMERICA250 USA250 #NATION250

 Living for the Eternal

“...for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

 2 Corinthians 4:18

 THE STORY

The final hours of Alexander Hamilton’s life were fought not on a battlefield or a political floor, but in the quiet chambers of his own soul. Following his fatal duel with Aaron Burr at Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11th, 1804, Hamilton was carried across the Hudson River to the home of a friend in Manhattan, where he lingered in agony for thirty-six hours.

As the end drew near, the brilliant, combative architect of the American financial system completely lost interest in the temporal political battles that had consumed his adult life. He called for the Reverend Benjamin Moore, the Episcopal Bishop of New York, to administer Holy Communion.

Hamilton drifted from the faith that had formed him and spent years living at a distance from the Father who saw him all along. And in his final hours, he turned toward home. The Father ran.

The founding era was full of imperfect men. So is every era. What this story offers us, on the 250th anniversary of the nation Hamilton helped build, is the reminder that the God of the founding is the God of the last hour, still running toward those who turn toward home.

 THE REFLECTION

Our daily routines are so often bound by the temporal—the tasks, the schedules, and the urgent demands of the visible world. Yet, true legacy is built when we look past the immediate and anchor our choices in what lasts beyond this life.

Like Hamilton in his final hours, we are reminded that worldly achievements fade, but our relationship with the Father and the spiritual stewardship of our days endure eternally. When we align our daily selections with Kingdom values, the frantic pace of the temporal yields to the steady peace of the eternal.

THE PATRIOT’S PRAYER

*Father, You are the God who runs. You do not wait for us to arrive clean and rehearsed and proven. You run while we are still a great way off, and we are so grateful for that. May no one who reads these words delay the turning. There is no distance too great for Your love to cover. Adjust our eyes to eternity today, Lord. Let our daily works reflect Your Kingdom, and help us to value what lasts beyond this life. In the name of Jesus Christ, who made the way home, Amen.*

PRAY IT FORWARD

Is there someone in your life who has drifted far from the Father? Pray for them today with the confidence of Luke 15, that the Father is already watching, already running, already ready to receive them. Ask God how your choices today can reflect eternal values rather than just temporal urgencies.

The Warning We Have Forgotten #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #USA250 #America250 #Nation250

The Warning We Have Forgotten

 #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #USA250  

#America250 #Nation250

The Warning We Have Forgotten

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock."

— Matthew 7:24

THE STORY

Washington knew it would happen. He said so publicly, and then spent the rest of his life watching it begin.

His Farewell Address, delivered in September 1796, is one of the greatest documents in American history and one of the least read. His warning was specific and urgent: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports." Not helpful additions. Indispensable supports.

He went further: "In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness." A man who works to remove religion and morality from public life, Washington said, has no business calling himself a patriot.

He warned against excessive partisanship, foreign entanglements, and the accumulation of national debt. He named the temptations that would always threaten the republic and warned against them with the plainness of a man who had nothing left to gain and only the truth left to give. He was ignored on nearly every point. Promptly and comprehensively.

THE REFLECTION

There is something almost unbearably poignant about a great man's farewell wisdom being set aside by the very people he served. Washington had earned the right to be heard. And the warning he left was grounded not in political theory but in lived conviction: without God, republics fall.

Matthew 7:24 is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The wise man builds on rock. The foolish man builds on sand. The difference between them is not intelligence or resources. It is whether they have heard Christ's words and done them.

Washington was applying the same principle to a nation. Build on religion and morality and the storms will come and the house will stand. Remove those pillars and build on human cleverness, and the end is predictable.

We have had two hundred and fifty years to test Washington's thesis. Every generation that has honored the pillars has prospered. Every generation that has subverted them has suffered. The warning was left for us. We still have time to hear it.

THE PATRIOT'S PRAYER

Lord, we confess that we have been among the generations that neglected the warning of the wise. We have allowed the pillars to be weakened, in our public life, in our schools, in our homes. We repent of the neglect and ask You to help us rebuild. Let this anniversary be not merely a celebration but a rededication, a return to the rock on which this nation was founded. In Jesus' name, Amen.

PRAY IT FORWARD

What one thing can you do this week, in your home, your church, or your community, to strengthen the pillars of religion and morality that Washington called indispensable? Ask God to show you, and do it.

The Cost of the Signature #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #USA250 #NATION250 #AMERICA250

The Cost of the Signature

 #RTTBROS #NIGHTLIGHT #USA250  

The Cost of the Signature

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost?"

— Luke 14:28

THE STORY

They knew what they were signing.

The fifty-six men who placed their names on the Declaration of Independence were not acting on impulse. They were committing, in the plainest terms imaginable, an act of treason against the British Crown. The document itself acknowledged it — that to secure the rights they were declaring, they were pledging to each other "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Those were not empty words.

Nine of the fifty-six died as a result of the war. Five were captured and imprisoned by the British and treated brutally. Twelve had their homes ransacked or burned. Two lost sons in the conflict. One had his wife imprisoned until she died. Richard Stockton of New Jersey was subjected to conditions so harsh that his health never recovered. He died before the war ended, having watched his estate plundered and his papers burned.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter, saw his ships seized by the British Navy and his fortune wiped out. He died in poverty.

Francis Lewis of New York had his home destroyed and his wife taken prisoner. She was held in brutal conditions for months, never fully recovered her health, and died in 1779.

They counted the cost. They signed anyway. And many of them paid exactly the price they had agreed to pay.

THE REFLECTION

Luke 14:28 is a verse about discipleship, not patriotism. Jesus uses the image of a man building a tower, the foolishness of beginning a project without calculating whether you have the resources to finish it. The point is not that the cost should discourage us. The point is that we should count it honestly before we commit, and then, having committed, be prepared to pay it.

The signers counted the cost. What they could not have counted was what their sacrifice would produce, a nation that two hundred and fifty years later still stands as the longest-running experiment in constitutional self-government in human history.

That is what sacrifices made in the right cause tend to produce. Not always visible results. Not always gratitude. Not always survival. But something that outlasts the sacrifice itself.

We owe these men more than a holiday. We owe them the same honest reckoning they made: the counting of what faithfulness to this inheritance will cost us, and the willingness to pay it. The freedoms we enjoy were not free. They were signed for with blood and honor and the quiet death of men whose names we have largely forgotten.

Remember them today. And count your own cost.