Sunday’s Blessing – 09/27/2026 – Thermostat or Engine?

Sunday’s Blessing – 09/27/2026 – Thermostat or Engine?

One of the least expensive parts in a car engine is the thermostat. An engine needs to be hot in order to run efficiently. However, if it gets too hot it will cause parts to warp and fail; complete engine failure. A thermostat costs about $15.00, if you can install it yourself. If not, it may cost an additional $100 - $200 based on make and model. On the other hand, a new engine runs about $2,500+, if you can install it yourself. If not, it may cost an additional $3,000 - $5,000. That’s a big difference!

What does this have to do with blessing? This same principle applies to your spiritual life. You control the temperature of your spiritual life. The thermostat is designed to open and close to maintain optimum operating temperature for the engine. If it gets stuck open, the engine runs too cool. If it gets stuck closed, the engine overheats causing potentially fatal damage. In similar fashion, the life of the Spirit has two settings.

Craig Hill gave this illustration. The soul of man has two doors. One door opens to the Spirit of God, the other opens to the flesh. Only one door can be open at any given time. When you are operating in the flesh you cannot hear what the Spirit is saying. When you are open to the Spirit, the flesh has no control over you. Opening the door to the flesh is like running your engine with a bad thermostat. It will never end well. At the very least you will run inefficiently; worst case is total engine failure. Either way, you lose.

However, when you open the door to the Spirit, you will operate at peak efficiency. Following the leading of the Spirit, your paths will be illuminated so you can place your foot firmly in the direction you need to travel to walk in the purpose God placed within you. When you live your purpose, you are living the “abundant life” God intended. This should be the life of the Christian. Keep the door to the Spirit open and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

So, the question asked in the title of the article is “Thermostat or Engine”? Which are you willing replace? Replacing the thermostat opening the door to the Spirit. It does cost you something. Actually, it costs you everything. You have to give up your life, but in giving it up, you save it! If you choose the engine, you lose EVERYTHING. You lose the wonderful life you could have, being led by the Spirit. You also lose your life forever.

You have the choice which door is open. How you decide will make all the difference.

Sunday's Blessing - 09/20/2026 - Names of God: Habitation of Justice

Sunday's Blessing - 09/20/2026 - Names of God: Habitation of Justice

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. Jeremiah 31:23 (KJV)

Everything has a beginning. At least, in the mind of humans. In all recorded history, every civilization, culture, and religion has a story of how we got to here. The story of creation found in the Bible begins with God. He was. from eternity past to eternity future, God! He is the beginning and source of everything. Spiritual justice came from Him and is adjudicated by Him.

In similar fashion, the civil justice system established a three-fold criteria for proving the innocence or guilt of individuals by answering the questions of motive, means, and opportunity. If a person can prove they do not meet the requirements for these, they are found to be not guilty. The American justice system assumes you are innocent until proven guilty. This is the bedrock from which we live in the US. Every person is assumed to be living within the confines of the laws which govern the citizens. It is a fundamental right given by the constitution. Justice must have a beginning place.

This is described in legal terms as “being cloaked with innocence.” During every phase of the process: of being accused, tried, and judged; that innocence remains. The only way it is removed is by a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The justice spoken of in scripture also has an origin. God! Jeremiah makes the declaration that God’s throne is the Habitation of Justice; literally from the Hebrew it’s called the abode of righteousness. The only way to mete out justice is to have a flawless judge. One of the names given to God is Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord Our Righteousness). He IS righteousness. He is the standard. As a matter of fact, it is only because He made us righteous at our conversion do we even become righteous.

Just as the early settlers of what is now called the United States of America determined, none of us are worthy of justice. Therefore, a list of laws were written and agreement was made that all citizens would follow them. As long as this was the case, every person would be presumed innocent until it could be proven someone violated one of these laws. This was and is the foundation for civil and criminal justice.

I’m so glad that spiritual justice for the Christian is not based on our ability to keep the Law of God. It has already been established that we cannot. Therefore, from the Habitation of Justice, righteousness is bestowed on anyone who would willing profess their dependence on The Righteous One, Jesus Christ. Through the Spirit’s baptizing us into Him, we are cloaked with a real presumption of innocence which cannot be taken from us. All God sees in the Christian is the righteousness of Jesus. All the enemy can see of us is the righteousness of Jesus. That is real justice founded on the unmovable Habitation of Justice, our Creator which will never fade or be altered.

So when satan, the accuser of the brethren, according to scripture, comes to God (the Righteous Judge) with an accusation against a Christian, Jesus (Our Advocate) testifies of our innocence because of His blood washing us clean, and the Jury (the Holy Spirit) bears witness of our innocence because He was the One who brought us into Christ. The only verdict which can be rendered is INNOCENCE! We now live in the Abode of Righteousness with the King in the Habitation of Justice!

Learn to live from this truth. It will free you to “be” instead of “do”, bringing peace to your soul and joy to your heart, and you will find rest.

Sunday's Blessing - 09/13/2026 - Names of God: Who Answered Me in the Day of My Distress

Sunday's Blessing - 09/13/2026 - Names of God: Who Answered Me in the Day of My Distress

Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. 

Genesis 35:3 (ESV)

It is always good to go home. Jacob had learned one thing through the events of his life up to this point: “God has been with me wherever I have gone.” What you find at “home” are people who love you and comforting surroundings. It’s a place where you can exhale. Whatever was wrong in the world was put on hold for a bit so you could simply be yourself. When Jacob uttered the words recorded in Genesis 35:3, he was responding to the command of God Who sent Jacob back to Bethel (means House of God).

Jacob had been there once when he fled his brother, Esau, after cheating him out of his birthright. God met Jacob there the first time. Jacob was convinced God would meet him there again. He told his family the words from Genesis 35:3 that in essence he was going “home”. Bethel was a familiar place where he had experienced a life-change. Little did he know all that God had in store for Jacob when he returned to Bethel.

Just as God did for Abraham by changing his name from Abram to Abraham, God was about to inform Jacob that he and his sons had been chosen to be the People of God. He would change Jacob’s name to Israel. It is said of Abraham that he believed God before he ever saw the promised son. Now Jacob would be named the very lineage of Messiah. From Israel, God would bring salvation to mankind. Because God heard the faith spoken out of Jacob’s mouth by saying, “He is the God Who Answered Me in the Day of My Distress.” Returning to Bethel was not a hard thing for Jacob because it was a safe place for him.

God desires to establish this kind of relationship with you. He beckons you to come to Him and learn of His ways, hear His words, and experience His heart the way Jacob had. Then you too could say with confidence, “He is the God Who Answered Me in the Day of My Distress.” Regardless of the issue, God is greater still. The power of the opposition is irrelevant because God is greater still. The time may seem to be coming to an end, but the eternal God has no limits. It would be several centuries before Jacob’s family would actually walk in all that God had prepared for them. But on this day, the wheels were set in motion, the compass had been set, and the trailhead firmly established for Jacob, now called Israel, to wind up living in the land which God “gave to Abraham.”

It would be through the lineage of Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, that David would lead the nation of Israel into the fullness of God’s promises. It would be a few more centuries before a simple virgin named Mary would conceive of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the One Who would become the “Answer to Everyone in Distress.” Jesus, the Promised Messiah, would complete the redemption which Abraham only dreamed of, which Jacob had seen is a vision, and Mary held in her arms. All of this was done so you could return “home” and find acceptance and forgiveness in your Bethel, and find all that God has prepared for you.

Sunday's Blessing - 09/06/2026 - Names of God: Guide of My Youth

Sunday's Blessing - 09/06/2026 - Names of God: Guide of My Youth

Will you not from this time cry to Me,

‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth? Jeremiah 3:4 (NKJV)

A lot of bad behavior displayed in young people is written off as “sowing wild oats.” In reality it is simply poor decisions made from stupidity, not ignorance. There is a stark difference in these two words. Stupidity means “a lack of intelligence, good judgment, or reason.” Ignorance means “the lack of knowledge, education, or awareness about a specific subject, fact, or idea.” 

You don’t know what you don’t know. Ignorance, while it still results in wrong behavior, comes from not knowing. After the error is pointed out, you now know. Doing the same thing again is stupidity, because now you know better but did it anyway. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone with you in those moments to help you make good decisions? For the Christian, there is.

I had my share of ignorant moments growing up. I also recall many times where I acted out of stupidity. Looking back, I wondered why others were getting away with their stuff but I always seemed to get caught. I realize now it was the grace of God, the Guide of My Youth, protecting me from greater harm. Those times of stupidity stand out much more than the times of ignorance. I think of the potential consequences which could have resulted from my actions. Others could have been injured, or even killed, but God was there to expose my willful acts of disobedience and kept me and others from great harm.

This realization brought me back into a place of repentance, allowing God to bring me back into fellowship, face to face, as friend with friend, so I could “See Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly,” as the song from Godspell states it.

The verse cited above from Jeremiah came during a time where Israel rebelled against God. The verse is part of what God spoke to Israel, reminding them He was, and still is, their “Guide of My Youth” and wants to be their Guide now. The Lord then gave them this call to return to Him:

For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, …” Jeremiah 4:3-4 (NKJV)

The Guide of My Youth now wants to be their Guide of My Now! God is not a children’s fantasy like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. He is actively involved in every aspect of life, working constantly to bring everyone into a place of peace, joy, and love for their whole life. He is there in your youth, but He is also there in your adult years, ready with the same wisdom and guidance to keep you in a place where you can have fellowship with Him and be a guiding force for others needing help; young or old. Solomon put it like this:

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; Ecclesiastes 12:1 (ESV)

It's much easier to hear the voice of God when we are still tender and pliable in our younger years. Life can get hard, even unbearable. But if we have a foundation of relationship with the Guide of My Youth, that same Guide will stay by your side, regardless of what comes, to help you remain steadfast in your faith, and finish your life strong as you live as a testimony of God’s faithfulness.