# Chris Knight Writes > Honest, hope-filled writing for everyday disciples who want to follow Jesus in real life, even when life is busy, messy and mildly distracting. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About Chris Knight Writes URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T14:41:57.000Z Chris Knight Writes began on Facebook in March 2024 as a simple place to share daily encouragement about faith and real life. What started as a few posts has grown into an independent publication for people who want to follow Jesus with honesty, purpose and a little humor along the way. Chris is a pastor, author and photographer who loves helping people discover what practical faith looks like in everyday life. His writing is honest, encouraging and occasionally funny, especially when life provides material without asking permission. The focus is on real questions, relationships, challenges and the ordinary moments where God is often doing more than we realize. This site is home to Jesus-centered writing about faith and everyday life. You will find devotionals, sermon follow-ups, personal reflections, practical encouragement and the occasional reminder that following Jesus is serious, but that does not mean we have to lose our sense of humor. ### **Access the Full Archive** When you subscribe, you will have access to everything that has already been published, along with every new post still to come. Think of it as a growing library of devotionals, reflections, sermon resources and practical encouragement for real life and real faith. ### **Daily Devotionals and After Amen** When you subscribe, Daily devotionals and After Amen will be delivered directly to your inbox, so you do not have to rely on social media algorithms, crowded news feeds or your ability to remember where you saw that post you meant to read later. ### **Join the Community** Become part of a growing community of readers who want to deepen their faith, strengthen their relationships, lead well and follow Jesus with honesty, grace and purpose. Everything on Chris Knight Writes is available free of charge. No paywall. No monthly fee. No strings attached. You will not suddenly discover that the final paragraph requires a premium subscription. Thank you for reading, subscribing, sharing and helping make Chris Knight Writes possible. ### The Holy Moments Collection URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/books/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T16:05:08.000Z --- ## ***The Gospels*** Do you love Jesus, but your mind occasionally takes the scenic route? ***Holy Moments for Easily Distracted Disciples: The Gospels*** is a 90-day devotional journey through the life and teachings of Jesus. Each reading is short, honest, practical and written for real people with real lives, real questions and very real attention spans. Through relatable stories, gentle humor, and biblical encouragement, this book helps readers slow down long enough to notice the holy moments hidden in ordinary life. The goal is not perfection. The goal is to know Jesus more deeply, trust Him more fully, and follow Him one faithful step at a time. [View on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Moments-Easily-Distracted-Disciples/dp/B0G8JFMTQC/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?crid=1LAOSDWO5X6CY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qYH4DvajpFwnYnbw1UZ38Q8hs3mhBhIjw7w-LFRQlVFTzOqOeyJe0%5F2u%5FdBKK31xXYfMbpqKa1ETaoS%5FMRkItPjoHaNcP17gQL2L%5FgEuB9YdBbViKXj1gKIDuZpyPtk4OHFCxrOnVhkAGNWYK5pzelWQzCOVwchBBqXyTtg1VLbde19mwxP43tfPxrPLP-ddrPYtiUZWjr961rvmDEpqmhZ2O6qzTG1c0HRKFuidh8A.L-4b-lYbyJB2QhCjxpShmNN5M7Unmwk2JIJ2%5FFjTGdk&dib%5Ftag=se&keywords=holy%2Bmoments%2Bfor%2Beasily%2Bdistracted%2Bdisciples&qid=1783953184&sprefix=holy%2Bmoments%2B%2Caps%2C342&sr=8-1&ref=chrisknightwrites.com) --- ## ***The Acts of the Apostles*** The story of Jesus did not end with the resurrection. It continued through ordinary people empowered by the Holy Spirit. ***Holy Moments for Easily Distracted Disciples: The Acts of the Apostles*** is a 60-day devotional journey through the birth and growth of the early church. Acts is filled with bold prayers, courageous faith, unexpected detours, difficult opposition, generous community, prison cells, shipwrecks and even a few church meetings. Somehow, God worked through all of it. Each devotional offers a short, engaging look at Scripture with practical encouragement for everyday life. This book reminds us that the same Holy Spirit who empowered the first believers is still at work today, calling distracted disciples to live with courage, compassion, generosity and purpose. [View on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H8FH4S6H?ref%5F=dbs%5Fm%5Fmng%5Frwt%5Fcalw%5Ftpbk%5F0&storeType=ebooks&qid=1783953184&sr=8-1&ref=chrisknightwrites.com) ### After Amen URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/after-the-amen/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T12:53:02.000Z --- After Amen is designed to carry the Sunday morning experience into the middle of the week. Each post includes a summary of the Sunday sermon, the sermon video and questions for personal reflection and small group discussion. The goal is to help biblical truth move beyond Sunday morning and shape our everyday lives. ### Daily Devotionals URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/daily-devotionals/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T16:02:41.000Z --- Daily Devotionals offer short, practical, Jesus-centered reflections to help you engage Scripture and carry its truth into everyday life. Each post is designed for real people, busy schedules and occasionally wandering attention spans. Subscribe for free today and these posts will be sent to your inbox as soon as they post. ### Why Chris Knight Writes is Free URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/donate/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T15:01:30.000Z --- I have talked with authors about the best way to build and sustain a writing platform. Without exception, they have encouraged me to place my daily writings behind a paywall and charge readers a monthly fee. That is probably good business advice, but it just does not feel like it fits the mission for me. I want Chris Knight Writes to be a place where anyone can find encouragement, practical help and spiritual truth without first reaching for a credit card. Life already comes with enough subscriptions and most of us are still trying to remember which streaming service has the show we wanted to watch. At the end of the day, mission matters more to me than money. That does not mean the site is free to operate. I invest more than $600 annually in creating and maintaining Chris Knight Writes, including website costs, publishing tools and email services. There is no pressure to give. The content will remain freely available. Some readers may believe in this project and want to help offset its costs. Your support would be sincerely appreciated and would help me continue sharing these resources with as many people as possible. To contribute, simply click the Donate button below. Thank you! [Donate](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/#/portal/support) ### Coaching Conversations URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/tag-coaching-conversations/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T17:05:54.000Z Coaching Conversations is a resource hub designed to help pastors get the most out of the coaching conversations we share together. Here you’ll find helpful articles, practical resources and conversation guides created to spark meaningful discussion and support you as you lead, grow and navigate the realities of ministry alongside other pastors. ## Posts ### We Don’t Have to Say Everything We’re Thinking URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/we-dont-have-to-say-everything-were-thinking/ Last updated: 2026-10-07T10:30:21.000Z Proverbs 12:18; 17:27–28 One of adulthood’s greatest discoveries is realizing that not every thought needs to be shared. I wish I had figured that out a little earlier in life. There have been plenty of times when a thought entered my head and somehow made it all the way out of my mouth without encountering a single security checkpoint. No pause. No filter. No one asking, “Are you sure you want to say this?” Perhaps the worst place for that to happen is while I’m preaching. There are moments when I hear myself say something and immediately think, “Well, that wasn’t in the notes.” If you know, you know. Somewhere on the journey of following Jesus, we have to learn that just because something is true, funny, irritating or incredibly obvious does not mean it needs to be said. Proverbs puts it this way. *“Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing”* (Proverbs 12:18, NLT). Our words can cut or they can heal. They can make a tense situation worse or help calm it down. They can embarrass someone or encourage them. They can win an argument while damaging a relationship. A few chapters later, Proverbs says, *“A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent”* (Proverbs 17:27–28, NLT). That last sentence makes me laugh because apparently Scripture’s advice for occasionally appearing smarter is simply to stop talking. I have spent years trying to become wiser when at times evidently silence could have improved my reputation considerably. **Restraint does not mean we never speak honestly.** Jesus spoke the truth clearly. There are conversations we need to have, wrongs we need to confront and words that need to be said. Wisdom is knowing the difference between something that needs to be said and something I simply want to say. Before speaking, it might help to ask if this needs to be said? Does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said right now and can I say it in a way that reflects Jesus? **Following Christ includes surrendering our words to Him.** The goal is not simply to say fewer things. It is to let Jesus shape the things we do say. Today, before giving someone that opinion, correction, comeback or observation sitting on the tip of your tongue, give the Holy Spirit a moment to interrupt you. Sometimes the most Christlike thing you can say is nothing at all. ### Generosity is an act of trust URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/generosity-is-an-act-of-trust/ Last updated: 2026-10-06T10:30:42.000Z Proverbs 11:24-25 I have noticed something about myself. I can be incredibly generous with things I do not care about. If you need one of the seventeen charging cables sitting in a drawer at my house, I am your guy. Take two. Generosity gets much more involved when God starts pointing toward something I actually value. That’s because generosity is not really about what we have. It reveals something about what has us. Proverbs says, *“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed”* (Proverbs 11:24–25, NLT). There is something interesting happening in those verses. We normally assume generosity is primarily about the person receiving. Someone needs something, we give it and they are blessed. But Proverbs says generosity also changes the giver. Maybe that is because generosity forces us to look beyond ourselves. Most of us naturally organize life around our own needs, schedules and priorities. We think about what we need to accomplish today, what we need to buy, where we need to go and whether anyone has touched the leftovers we were saving for lunch. Without realizing it, life can slowly become centered around us. Generosity interrupts that. **Generosity notices someone else.** It sees the person who could use encouragement. It recognizes the family going through a difficult season. It makes room at the table. It gives someone our attention when we are tempted to stare at our phone. It asks a wonderfully Christlike question: “What has God given me that I could use to bless someone else?” Every time we respond, our hearts become a little less centered on ourselves. That is one reason generosity is such an important part of following Jesus. God does not call us to generosity because He is short on resources. He calls us to generosity because He is shaping us into people who look like His Son. Jesus lived with open hands. He gave His time, His attention, His compassion and ultimately His life. So today, look around. Someone near you probably needs encouragement. Give something. Listen patiently to someone. Share your time. Meet a need. Open your home. Pick up the check. When we open our hands to bless someone else, God often uses that moment to open our hearts a little wider also. ### When pride walks into the room URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-pride-walks-into-the-room/ Last updated: 2026-10-05T10:30:38.000Z Proverbs 11:2; 16:18 I have discovered that I am pretty good at spotting pride in other people. It is almost a spiritual gift. I can recognize arrogance, stubbornness and an inflated ego from across the room. Unfortunately, I am not nearly as gifted at recognizing those same things when they are happening in me. Proverbs does not leave room for misunderstanding. *“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom”* (Proverbs 11:2, NLT). A few chapters later, Solomon makes it even clearer: *“Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall”* (Proverbs 16:18, NLT). The problem is that pride rarely walks into our lives announcing itself as pride. It usually shows up wearing something much more respectable. **Sometimes pride looks like defensiveness.** Someone points out something I could have handled differently and before they finish the sentence, I am already preparing my closing argument. I am not listening to understand. I am listening for a brief pause when I can explain why they are wrong. **Sometimes pride looks like comparison.** We quietly measure our success against someone else’s. Their marriage, house, career, ministry, kids, vacation or apparently perfect lawn becomes the measuring stick for how we are doing. If we are ahead, we feel pretty good. If we are behind, we feel threatened. Either way, pride is doing the measuring. **Sometimes pride simply needs to be right.** I have reached an age where I have accumulated enough experience to have strong opinions about things that do not deserve strong opinions. I can become remarkably confident about the fastest route across midtown Wakarusa, which checkout line will move quickest or exactly how early we need to leave for an event. Humility does not mean believing you have nothing valuable to contribute. It means you no longer need to prove your value by winning every argument, receiving every compliment or being better than someone else. Jesus showed us a better way. He *“gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave”* (Philippians 2:7, NLT). If anyone ever had the right to insist on His position, it was Jesus. Instead, He chose humility. Maybe the question today is not, “Do I struggle with pride?” We all do. A better question is, “Where is pride showing up in me right now?” Ask God to show you where defensiveness needs to become teachability, comparison needs to become gratitude and the need to be right needs to become humility. Spiritual maturity is not proven by winning the room. Sometimes it is revealed when we care more about becoming like Jesus than proving we were right. ### What makes preaching boring (and how to fix it) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/what-makes-preaching-boring-and-how-to-fix-it/ Last updated: 2026-10-04T23:41:39.000Z Most of us have preached a sermon we were sure was good, then watched it land with a thud. The exegesis was sound and the outline was clean, but the room drifted somewhere around point two. Joe McKeever has been preaching for nearly sixty years and in [What Makes Preaching Boring (And How to Fix It)](https://churchleaders.com/pastors/477657-boring-preaching.html?ref=chrisknightwrites.com) he makes a simple, uncomfortable diagnosis: boring sermons answer questions nobody is asking. That's a preaching lesson, but it's also a leadership lesson. A pastor who doesn't know what his people are wrestling with will struggle to lead them anywhere, from the pulpit or anywhere else. This guide isn't about adding gimmicks to Sunday morning. It's about paying closer attention to the people we've been given. Read through it beforehand if you can. We won't get through every lesson, and we don't need to. Come ready to talk about the one that stings a little. **Before We Sit Down** Think back over your last few months of preaching. Which sermon do you think landed best, and which one do you suspect didn't land at all? How do you actually know? Hold onto both. We'll open there. **(1) Answer the question our people are actually asking** McKeever tells about a seven-year-old girl named Holly who sat through one of his sermons and then asked her mother why "Doctor Joe" thought they needed all that information. Out of the mouths of babes. Holly put words to what plenty of adults in the audience were thinking but would never say. Boring preaching isn't often false preaching. It's just disconnected preaching. We spend the week inside a text, we get excited about what we find and we forget that the people in the room haven't been on that journey with us. They came in carrying a diagnosis, a teenager who won't talk to them, a marriage that's fraying, a job that's slipping away. If the sermon never touches any of that, it doesn't matter how accurate it was. This is a leadership issue before it's a homiletics issue. You can't answer your people's questions if you don't know what they are. That means time in hospital rooms, at kitchen tables, and in the hallway after church, listening more than talking. **For our conversation:** - If someone in your church asked Holly's question about last Sunday's sermon, what would you honestly say? - Where are you getting your sense of what your people are wrestling with right now? Is that source current or is it a few years old? **(2) Help them feel the need before you give the answer** McKeever points to the flight attendant's safety talk. Let’s be honest, most people don’t listen. We've heard it, we know where the exits are and we go back to our phones or laptops. The reality is that if an engine catches fire mid-flight, every passenger will suddenly want to know exactly how that oxygen mask works. The information didn't change. **The sense of need did.** Good preaching does some of that work up front. Before we hand people the answer, we help them see why we need it, where we are vulnerable, what's at stake and what it costs if we get this wrong. That isn't manipulation or manufactured drama. It's honesty about our human condition, the kind of honesty Scripture itself practices. The same holds true for leading change in a church. People rarely move because we have a good idea. Movement happens when we understand why staying put isn't an option. **For our conversation:** - Think about your next sermon. What's at stake for the listener if they ignore it? Can you say that clearly? - Where in our leadership, outside the pulpit, are we offering answers before people feel the need for them? **(3) Say one thing** McKeever's test is blunt. If we can't say what our sermon is about in one sentence, we have a problem. Haddon Robinson called this the "big idea," a single truth that grows out of what the passage is about and what it says about that subject. Everything else in the sermon serves that one idea or gets cut. Many of us were trained to preach three points and a poem. There's nothing wrong with structure, but three competing ideas usually means our audience remembers none of them. One clear truth, explained, illustrated, and applied, will travel further than a crowded outline. One main sentence also works as a discipline for us. It becomes the North Star for the whole week of preparation. What goes in? What stays out? How will we know we are done. **For our conversation:** - What was Sunday's sermon in one sentence? How long did it take you to find it? - What usually tempts you to add a second or third big idea? **(4) Preach the way Jesus taught** Jesus didn't deliver information dumps. Again and again, His teaching starts with a question somebody was actually asking. A lawyer wanted to know "Who is my neighbor?" and got the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29). The Pharisees grumbled that He ate with sinners and He answered with the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15:1–2). John's disciples asked why His followers didn't fast and He talked about new patches and new wine (Matthew 9:14). Notice the pattern. Jesus let real questions, sometimes hostile ones, set the agenda and then He answered with stories people couldn't forget. He met people where they were and then took them somewhere they hadn't expected to go. We don’t need to stop preaching Scripture verse by verse. We just need to ask two questions. What did this passage mean to the people who first heard it and where are people in my church wrestling with the same thing today? **For our conversation:** - What's a question you've heard from someone in your church recently that might deserve a whole sermon? - When Jesus faced hostile questions, He answered with a story. How do you respond when people push back on you? **(5) Cut what you love** Most boring sermons aren't too thin. They're too full. Long stretches of historical background, word studies that go nowhere, the fascinating tangent we found on Thursday afternoon. McKeever's warning sign was simple. If our notes run longer than our time, something has to go. This is painful because the material we most want to keep is often the material we worked hardest to find. Our congregation doesn't need to see all our homework. They need the thing our homework produced. A concrete story will usually do more than a paragraph of background, because people often remember what they can picture. Leadership asks the same discipline of us. Not every good idea needs to be shared, launched, or put on the preaching calendar. Part of maturity is knowing what we leave out. **For our conversation:** - What's the thing you're most likely to keep in a sermon that you probably should cut? - Outside the pulpit, where is your ministry carrying too many good things to do any of them well? **(6) Length is not really the problem** Pew Research found that the median sermon in the U.S. runs about 37 minutes, ranging from around 14 minutes in Catholic churches to more than 50 minutes in historically Black Protestant churches. Every tradition has its own expectations and none of those numbers is the problem by itself. A focused, engaging 45 minute sermon can feel short and an unfocused 20 minute sermon can feel endless. The real question isn't "How long?" but "Did every minute earn its place?" When we blame length, we can avoid the harder work of clarity. **For our conversation:** - When your sermons run long, what's usually the cause? - If you had to cut your next sermon by a third, what would go first? What does that tell you? **(7) Listen for the silence afterward** McKeever offers a few signs that a sermon didn't connect. We can't summarize it in a sentence. Our notes run past our time. Our own family can't tell us what the main point was. Silence after a sermon is often feedback. So is the honest answer from our spouse or a trusted friend, if we've given them permission to give it. Most pastors get very little real feedback on our preaching, because most people are too kind or too intimidated to tell us. If we want to grow, we have to go looking for it. If we don't build real channels for feedback, we will find out about problems only when they're too big to fix quietly. **For our conversation:** - Who currently gives you honest feedback on your preaching? If the answer is "no one," why do you think that is? - What would it take to ask two or three people this week, "What was the point of Sunday's sermon?" and really listen to the answer? **Around the Table** - Which of these seven lessons hits closest to home right now? - What question are our people asking that we have been avoiding, on the stage or off the stage? - What would change in our preparation if we started every sermon by writing its one sentence first? - Where is our leadership, not just our preaching, answering questions nobody is asking? - Who could we invite to give us honest feedback in the next two weeks? - What's one thing we will do differently in preparing next Sunday's sermon? Let’s pray for each other! ### Who is your King? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/who-is-your-king/ Last updated: 2026-10-04T12:08:04.000Z ***Sermon by Austin Schertz*** It's a simple question and that's exactly what makes it so uncomfortable. Who is your King? Not on Sunday morning with a worship song playing. On Monday. In the car line. When the kids are melting down. When the calendar is full and nobody's watching. I found it very interesting that the word "gospel" wasn't a church word first. Rome used it to announce a new Caesar. So when Jesus walked into Galilee proclaiming "the kingdom of God is at hand," He was making a royal announcement. A new King has arrived and His kingdom is close enough to reach out and grab. Jesus said this before the cross. The cross is essential, but it opens the door. The good news is what's on the other side of that door. It is life with God, right now, under His reign. That's **the Proclaimed Gospel**, but two other gospels keep knocking. **The Political Gospel** tells us to get power, make laws, fix everything. It's subtle, and no single party owns it. It's the quiet *"if we could just..."* that shapes where we get our news, our identity and our blood pressure, yet Jesus lived under one of the most corrupt governments in history and never reached for its throne. You can't legislate a new heart. **The Prosperity Gospel** tells us to behave well, get blessed, then check your bank account to see how you're doing. Again, not the televangelist version. The quiet one. *"God, if You'll just give me \_\_\_\_, then I'll really serve You."* It turns God into a vending machine and leaves us anxious about what we have and what we don't. Which brings us right back to Matthew 6\. The birds don't stockpile. The lilies don't strive and your Father already knows what you need. Worry, it turns out, is often a symptom of serving the wrong king. When politics or prosperity sit on the throne, we have to hold everything together ourselves. When Jesus sits there, we get to seek first His kingdom and trust Him with the rest. His kingdom doesn't look like ours. It runs on humility. It's here and not yet. But it's real and it's available today. **So, who is your King?** Not the answer you'd write on a membership card. Who actually gets the final say when you're tired, scared or all alone? --- **Questions to Process** 1. Walk through tomorrow in your mind: morning, work, home, alone. In which moments is Jesus most clearly King and where does someone or something else quietly take over? 2. Where do I catch myself saying "If we could just..."? What does that reveal about where my hope really is? 3. Have I ever measured God's approval by my circumstances? How has that shaped the way I pray? 4. What am I most anxious about right now and what might that anxiety say about what I'm trying to control? 5. What would it look like this week to "seek first" the kingdom in one specific area of my life? --- **Questions for Discussion** 1. "Gospel" was originally Roman language announcing a new king. How does hearing it as a royal announcement change the way you read Jesus' words in Mark 1:15? 2. Why do you think the political and prosperity gospels are so appealing, even to sincere Christians? Where have you seen their subtle versions show up? 3. How can we engage in civic life (voting, serving, caring about policy) without putting our hope in it? 4. Of the three struggles named (the kingdom isn't earthly, it requires humility, it's now and not yet), which is hardest for you and why? 5. Jesus ties worry directly to what we seek first. What are some practical ways our group can help each other trust God as provider? ### The Danger of Getting Too Close URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-danger-of-getting-too-close/ Last updated: 2026-10-02T10:30:14.000Z Proverbs 7:6-27 I have discovered there are some things I am much better at resisting when they are nowhere near me. Put a plate of cookies in the kitchen and I can demonstrate remarkable self-control for several minutes. Put them beside my chair while I am watching football and suddenly I am staring at an empty plate wondering who ate all the cookies. Proverbs 7 gives us a much more serious picture of the same principle. Solomon describes a young man who lacks good judgment. What is interesting is that his trouble does not begin when he gives in to temptation. It begins much earlier. *“He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house”* (Proverbs 7:8, NLT). That phrase catches my attention. He was not simply minding his own business when temptation unexpectedly tackled him from behind. He was walking near her house. He put himself in a place where he knew temptation was waiting. We sometimes do the same thing. We ask God to give us strength to resist temptation while continuing to walk directly past temptation’s house. We pray for self-control, but keep the app. We ask God to protect our marriage, but continue the private conversation. We ask Him to help us control our spending, but browse the website every night. We pray for freedom from something while keeping it conveniently within reach. Then we wonder why resisting it feels so difficult. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is change the route. That is not weakness. That is wisdom. Proverbs 7:25 says, *“Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her. Don’t wander down her wayward path.”* Notice the instruction is not simply to resist once you arrive. It is to stay away from the path that takes you there. Maybe there is a path in your life you already know leads somewhere you do not want to go. A relationship. An app. A website. A conversation. A place. A habit you keep telling yourself you can handle. Do not wait until you are standing at temptation’s front door to ask God for wisdom. Ask Him for the courage to choose another road. Sometimes victory over temptation begins long before the temptation arrives. It begins when, by God’s grace, we decide not to walk that way anymore. ### Things God Hates URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/things-god-hates/ Last updated: 2026-10-01T10:30:05.000Z Proverbs 6:16-19 The word “hate” gets thrown around pretty casually. I hate traffic. I hate mosquitoes. I hate when I get comfortable on the couch and realize the remote is six feet away. I hate when the person in front of me at the grocery store waits until everything is scanned before beginning the complicated process of locating their wallet. When the Bible tells us there are things God hates, that gets my attention. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, *“There are six things the Lord hates, no, seven things he detests”* (NLT). Then Solomon gives us the list: *“haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.”* That is a pretty serious list. But what strikes me is that God is not simply giving us seven random rules to avoid. He is showing us **seven things that reveal what is happening inside a person**. Pride. Dishonesty. Violence. Scheming. Running toward what is wrong. Lying about others. Creating division between people. God cares deeply about our character. Sometimes it is easier to focus on the big, obvious sins. We look at our lives and think, “Well, I haven’t killed anybody today, so I’m doing pretty well.” But this list gets uncomfortable quickly. Have I been proud? Have I stretched the truth to make myself look better? Have I secretly hoped someone would fail? Have I participated in a conversation that created division instead of peace? Suddenly, the list feels a little closer to home. That may be the hardest part of passages like this. I can read Proverbs 6 and immediately think of three people who desperately need to read Proverbs 6\. Apparently, I have the spiritual gift of identifying everyone else’s character problems. Jesus keeps bringing the conversation back to my own heart. David prayed, *“Search me, O God, and know my heart… Point out anything in me that offends you”* (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT). That is a prayer worth praying regularly. God is not simply interested in keeping us from doing terrible things. He is forming us into people who look increasingly like Jesus. So instead of reading this list and thinking about someone else, ask God to show you what He sees in you. Where there is pride, ask for humility. Where there is dishonesty, choose truth. Where there is division, become a peacemaker. Following Jesus is not just about avoiding what God hates. It is allowing Him to build within us the kind of character He loves. ### The ant has better time management than you and me URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-ant-has-better-time-management-than-you-and-me/ Last updated: 2026-09-30T10:30:13.000Z Proverbs 6:6-11 I have reached the age where I can spend twenty minutes organizing a list of things I need to do instead of actually doing any of them. There is something strangely satisfying about creating a beautiful to-do list. Look at me being productive. Never mind that I have not accomplished anything yet. I have color-coded it. Then Solomon tells me to go watch an ant. *“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!”* (Proverbs 6:6, NLT). That feels unnecessarily personal. Solomon points out that ants do not need someone standing over them reminding them what needs to be done. *“Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter”* (Proverbs 6:7–8, NLT). The ant understands something I occasionally forget. There is a right time to do what needs to be done. Procrastination usually comes with a pretty convincing sales pitch. I will do it tomorrow. I work better under pressure. I am waiting until I have more time. I just need to watch one episode first. Suddenly it is three days later, the deadline is tomorrow and apparently I have decided panic is a productivity strategy. Solomon warns about that kind of delay. *“A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit”* (Proverbs 6:10–11, NLT). The problem is not rest. Scripture consistently teaches the importance of rest. The problem is avoiding what God has placed in front of us to do. Diligence is not about becoming a workaholic. It is about faithfulness. It is recognizing that our time, opportunities, responsibilities and abilities have been entrusted to us by God. Some things really can wait until tomorrow. But sometimes “tomorrow” is simply the place where I keep putting things I do not want to deal with today. Maybe there is a conversation you need to have. An apology you need to make. A responsibility you keep avoiding. A step of obedience you already know God is asking you to take. Do not wait for the perfect moment. Sometimes faithfulness looks surprisingly ordinary. Do the next right thing. Make the call. Have the conversation. Start the work. Take the step and if you need additional motivation, apparently there is an ant somewhere making you look bad. ### The Slow Drift Toward Disaster URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-slow-drift-toward-disaster/ Last updated: 2026-09-29T10:30:14.000Z Proverbs 5:1–14 Nobody wakes up one morning, pours a cup of coffee and thinks, “You know what would really make today memorable? Destroying my marriage.” Most of the decisions that wreck what matters most do not begin with a plan for disaster. They begin with something small enough to justify. Proverbs 5 is a father warning his son about sexual temptation. He does not pretend temptation is unattractive. In fact, that is part of the warning. *“For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil”* (Proverbs 5:3, NLT). Temptation usually looks good at the beginning. If it looked like regret, broken trust, painful conversations and sleeping on your brother-in-law’s couch, it probably would not be very tempting. The danger is in the slow drift. A conversation becomes a little too personal. A text gets deleted because you would rather your spouse not see it. You begin sharing things with someone else that really belong inside your marriage. You linger a little longer. You look again. You convince yourself it is harmless because “nothing has happened.” Yet boundaries are usually crossed long before anything physical happens. Solomon tells his son, *“Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!”* (Proverbs 5:8, NLT). That is not subtle advice. He does not say, “Go near the door and prove how spiritually mature you are.” He says stay away. There is wisdom in knowing where your doors are. Maybe it is a relationship that has become too emotionally intimate. Maybe it is private messaging. Maybe it is pornography. Maybe it is flirting that you keep calling harmless. Wisdom does not ask, “How close can I get without technically crossing the line?” Wisdom asks, “What do I need to protect?” Because there is something worth protecting. Your marriage. Your family. Your integrity. Your relationship with Jesus. The trust people have placed in you. The person you are becoming. Proverbs 5:14 describes the devastating destination: *“I have come to the brink of utter ruin.”* Nobody intends to drift there. That is why we establish boundaries before we need them. Pay attention to the small compromises. Be honest about the doors you should not be standing near. Bring temptation into the light. Ask God for the courage to walk away early. Faithfulness is rarely one heroic decision. Most often, it is a thousand ordinary decisions to keep choosing Jesus and protecting what He has entrusted to us. ### Choose your traveling companions carefully URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/choose-your-traveling-companions-carefully/ Last updated: 2026-09-28T10:30:27.000Z Proverbs 4:14–15; 13:20 I have learned that who you travel with can make a big difference. Put the right people in the car and a six-hour drive can actually be enjoyable. Put the wrong people in the car and twenty minutes can make you reconsider every relationship decision you have ever made. Someone is too hot. Someone is too cold. Someone needs a bathroom twelve minutes after you stopped and somehow four adults cannot agree on where to eat. Who we travel with matters. Proverbs says the same thing is true about the people we travel through life with. *“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”* (Proverbs 13:20, NLT). That is not especially complicated. Spend enough time around wise people and their wisdom begins rubbing off on you. Spend enough time around foolishness and eventually things you once recognized as foolish start looking surprisingly reasonable. We tend to underestimate how much the people around us shape us. Their attitudes become familiar. Their priorities influence ours. What they laugh at, complain about, chase after and excuse can slowly become normal to us too. Proverbs 4:14–15 warns us not to follow the path of those moving away from God. In fact, the instructions are pretty strong: *“Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving”* (NLT). Apparently, “I’ll just hang around here and see what happens” is not the biblical strategy. This does not mean we avoid everyone who does not follow Jesus. Jesus certainly did not. He loved people others avoided and intentionally built relationships with those who were far from God. But there is a difference between loving someone and allowing someone to lead you. So maybe the question is not simply, “Who are my friends?” A better question might be, “Who is shaping me?” Who has my ear? Who gets permission to challenge me? Who encourages me to follow Jesus when following Jesus costs me something? Who makes obedience easier rather than compromise more comfortable? Love everybody. Serve everybody. Welcome everybody. But choose carefully who gets the greatest influence in your life. We all need people walking beside us who will occasionally grab our shoulder and say, “I don’t think this is our exit.” Walk with people who keep pointing you toward Jesus, because the people beside us have a remarkable way of influencing where we eventually end up. ### Transforming Life over Informed Life URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/transforming-life-over-informed-life/ Last updated: 2026-09-27T12:00:57.000Z I have a gym membership with 24-hour access. I’ll let you guess how many of those hours I’ve actually used this month. Access has never been my problem. Showing up is. That’s what this week’s message put its finger on for me. We may be the most biblically informed generation in the history of the church. We have Bible apps, reading plans, sermon podcasts at 1.5x speed and study Bibles with footnotes that have footnotes. We have more access to Scripture than ever before. But access to truth and transformation by truth are not the same thing. James wasn’t writing to people who had never heard Scripture. He was writing to people who heard it regularly and his warning was pretty simple: *“Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”* That last phrase stings a little. It’s possible to convince ourselves that hearing is the same as obeying. We can feel convicted, underline a verse, take some notes and walk away feeling like something happened. I’ve been “really convicted” about a few things for longer than I’d like to admit. Then James gives us the picture of a mirror. The mirror does its job. It shows us what is really there. The question is what we do after we see it. If I’m honest, sometimes I would rather use Scripture as a window, looking through it at everybody else who really needs to hear this. **Scripture has to be a mirror before it becomes a window.** The first question isn’t, **“Who needs this?”** It’s, **“What is God showing me about me?”** I love that James calls Scripture *“the perfect law that sets you free.”* Think about a guardrail on a mountain road. Nobody pulls over and complains that the guardrail is limiting their freedom. We know what’s on the other side. God’s commands work the same way. Forgive. Tell the truth. Be generous. Control your anger. Those aren’t cages designed to restrict us. They’re guardrails protecting us from bitterness, greed, resentment and all the places those roads eventually lead. James doesn’t promise blessing simply for hearing, understanding or taking great notes. He connects it to doing. Knowing I should forgive doesn’t heal a relationship. Forgiving does. Knowing I need to apologize doesn’t repair what I broke. Apologizing does. Knowing prayer matters doesn’t deepen my relationship with God. Praying does. We are all being formed by something. I can own ten Bibles and still be formed more by my phone than by Scripture. So the question I’m carrying into this week is simple: **What is one thing I need to do because of what God has shown me and what do I need to do with it before I go to bed tonight?** --- **Questions to Process** 1. What is something God has been "convicting" me about for a long time that I still haven't actually acted on? 2. When I read Scripture or hear a sermon, how quickly do I start thinking about who else needs it instead of what it says about me? 3. Which of God's commands feels most like a cage to me right now? What might be on the other side of that guardrail? 4. Am I moving through Scripture faster than I'm letting Scripture move through me? What would slowing down look like this week? 5. What is the one thing I need to do because of this message, and when specifically, will I do it? --- **Questions for Discussion** 1. We have more access to the Bible than any generation before us. Why do you think that hasn't automatically translated into changed lives? 2. James says hearing without doing is "fooling yourselves." What are some of the most common ways we convince ourselves that knowing is the same as obeying? 3. Talk about the difference between reading Scripture as a mirror and reading it as a window. Why is the window so much more comfortable? 4. The guardrail illustration reframes God's commands as protection rather than restriction. Share a time when obedience actually led you into freedom. 5. How can we as a group help each other move from conviction to action this week without it turning into guilt or pressure? ### Guard Your Heart URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/guard-your-heart/ Last updated: 2026-09-25T10:30:25.000Z Proverbs 4:23 I have more security protecting my phone than some small businesses probably have protecting their buildings. Face ID. Passcode. Two-factor authentication. Occasionally, my phone looks at me first thing in the morning and apparently decides even Face ID needs a second opinion. We protect things that matter to us. We lock our doors. We protect our bank accounts. We create passwords so complicated that even we cannot remember them. Yet when it comes to our hearts, we can be surprisingly careless about what we allow inside. Proverbs 4:23 says, *“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”* (NLT). That is a pretty strong statement. Above all else, guard your heart. Why? **Because what gets into our hearts eventually finds its way into our lives.** What we repeatedly watch matters. What we listen to matters. The voices we trust matter. The conversations we participate in matter. The people we spend time with matter. The accounts we follow matter. The thoughts we replay over and over in our minds matter. None of those things may seem particularly significant in the moment, but they are quietly shaping something inside us. Guarding your heart does not mean hiding from the world or becoming suspicious of everyone around you. It means paying attention to what you are allowing to influence you. **Not everything that gets our attention deserves access to our hearts.** Maybe that is the question we need to ask more often: What am I allowing to shape me internally? If I constantly consume anger, I should not be surprised when I become angry. If I constantly listen to voices feeding my fear, fear will eventually shape how I see the world. If I continually compare my life to everyone else’s highlight reel, contentment does not stand much of a chance. The opposite is also true. When I fill my heart with Scripture, spend time with Jesus, worship, pray and surround myself with people who point me toward Him, something begins changing inside me. So guard your heart. Pay attention to what gets access. Ask God to show you what has been shaping you lately. Then give His Word and His Spirit greater access than all the other voices competing for your attention. Your heart is shaping the direction of your life. **It is worth protecting.** ### When God Says No URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/eh/ Last updated: 2026-09-24T10:30:42.000Z Proverbs 3:11-12 I have discovered that I really like God’s guidance when it agrees with what I already wanted to do. Open door? Wonderful. Unexpected blessing? Hallelujah! Clear confirmation that my plan is brilliant? Even better. But sometimes God says no. Sometimes the door closes. The opportunity disappears. The relationship does not work out. The plan we prayed over falls apart or God uses Scripture, circumstances, or someone who loves us enough to point out something in our lives that needs to change. Those moments do not usually feel like love. Proverbs says, *“My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights”* (Proverbs 3:11–12, NLT). That last phrase matters. **God does not correct us because He is tired of us. He corrects us because He delights in us.** As a parent, I never enjoyed telling my kids no. Well, maybe occasionally. Good parents do not give their children everything they want. Sometimes love says yes. Sometimes love says not yet. Sometimes love says absolutely not, because I can see something you cannot. God can see what we cannot. That does not mean every disappointment is God disciplining us. Sometimes life is simply hard. Sometimes people make choices that affect us. Sometimes we live with the consequences of our own decisions. Proverbs reminds us not to automatically interpret God’s correction as God’s rejection. **There may be moments when the most loving thing God can do is keep us from getting what we desperately want.** So when God says no, do not immediately assume He has stopped being good. Ask Him what He might be protecting, correcting, teaching or developing in you. Trust His heart even when you do not understand His answer. The God who loves you enough to bless you also loves you enough to correct you. His no is not always rejection. Sometimes it is the loving hand of a Father who sees where the road leads and refuses to stop caring about who you are becoming. ### When God Does Not Show You the Whole Map URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-god-does-not-show-you-the-whole-map/ Last updated: 2026-09-23T10:30:42.000Z Proverbs 3:5-6 I like knowing where I am going. I want the address, the route, the estimated arrival time and preferably a little blue line showing me every turn between here and there. If my GPS says, “Proceed to the route,” I am fine. If it says, “Recalculating,” I immediately begin questioning every decision that brought me to this moment. Unfortunately, God does not always provide the little blue line. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust the Lord with all our heart instead of depending on our own understanding. That sounds great until God leads us somewhere we do not understand. Trusting God is much easier when His direction happens to match the route we already had planned. But sometimes it does not. Sometimes the job does not work out. The relationship changes. The opportunity disappears. The prayer seems unanswered. The door we were certain God would open remains firmly closed. We look at what is happening and think, “God, this makes absolutely no sense.” **That is where trust becomes more than something we say.** Trusting God does not mean pretending we understand what He is doing. It means believing He knows what He is doing even when we do not. There is a significant difference. I can trust God while still having questions. I can follow Him while still wishing I knew where we were going. Faith does not require me to see the entire map. It requires me to trust the One who does. That is difficult because I really like my own understanding. I have plans. I have opinions. I have even prayed prayers that were basically detailed instructions explaining to God how He could resolve the situation. Apparently, I occasionally believe the Creator of the universe could benefit from my suggestions. Proverbs reminds us that our confidence is not supposed to be in our ability to figure everything out. Our confidence is in God. Maybe you are in a season right now where the road does not make sense. You cannot see what God is doing, where He is leading or how any of this could possibly work together. Keep trusting. You do not need the whole map to take the next faithful step. Seek God. Obey what He has already made clear. Keep walking with Him. The God who sees the road ahead is worthy of your trust, even when all you can see is the next step. ### The Pressure to Fit In URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-pressure-to-fit-in/ Last updated: 2026-09-22T10:29:59.000Z Proverbs 1:10-19 There are few phrases more powerful than, “Everybody else is doing it.” We learn it as teenagers, but apparently we never completely outgrow it. The only thing that changes is what “it” happens to be. At sixteen, it might be sneaking out after curfew. At fifty, it might be buying a smoker because three guys at work have one and suddenly cooking a hamburger on a regular grill feels irresponsible. Proverbs understands the pressure to fit in. *“My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!”* (Proverbs 1:10, NLT). I love how direct that is. No complicated strategy. No twelve-step process for evaluating peer pressure. If people are inviting you somewhere God does not want you to go, do not go. The verses that follow describe people inviting someone to join them in doing what is clearly wrong. Their pitch is basically, “Come with us. We will do this together. We will all benefit.” That is how compromise often works. It rarely begins with a decision to throw away our convictions. More often, it begins with a convincing reason why this one time really is not that big of a deal. Everybody does it. Nobody will know. You don’t want to be the only one. Somehow, the wrong thing can start sounding surprisingly reasonable. There is something powerful about belonging, which is exactly why the wrong crowd can become so dangerous. We can slowly surrender convictions we once held simply because we do not want to feel awkward standing alone. I wish I could say that gets easier with age. It doesn’t. Adults still want approval. We still want to be included. We still feel the pull to laugh at something we should not laugh at, participate in something we know is wrong or remain quiet when speaking up might make the room uncomfortable. Following Jesus will occasionally mean being the person who says no while everyone else says yes. It may cost you an invitation, some approval or a seat at the table. **Fitting in is a terrible trade if the price is becoming someone Jesus never called you to be.** The crowd does not get to determine what is right. Jesus does. So when everyone else is doing it, remember that you are not called to follow everyone else. You are called to follow Christ. Sometimes the holiest word you can say is simply, “No.” ### Never Graduate From Learning URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/never-graduate-from-learning/ Last updated: 2026-09-21T10:30:13.000Z Proverbs 1:7 I have reached the age where I know just enough to be dangerous. I have opinions about the best route to take, the proper temperature for the thermostat and the correct way to load a dishwasher. I have accumulated enough life experience to occasionally believe that my way is not merely a way. It is the way. Then Proverbs comes along and reminds me that wisdom begins somewhere very different. *“Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline”* (Proverbs 1:7, NLT). What catches my attention is that last phrase. Fools despise wisdom and discipline. In other words, one of the clearest signs that I am becoming foolish is not that I know too little. It may be that I have become too stubborn to learn. We usually think wisdom comes with age. Sometimes it does. Getting older automatically makes you older. **Getting older does not automatically make you wiser.** Wisdom requires humility. It requires being willing to admit, “Maybe I don’t know as much as I think I do.” That can be difficult. We like confirmation much more than correction. We enjoy people who nod when we talk. We appreciate sermons that straighten everybody else out. We love Bible verses that confirm what we already believe. But the fear of the Lord changes our posture. When I recognize that God is God and I am not, I become teachable. I can open Scripture expecting God to correct me, not simply confirm me. I can listen when a trusted friend points out something I would rather not see. I can admit when I was wrong. I can change direction without feeling like I have surrendered my dignity. That is wisdom. Maybe one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is not, “How much do I know?” but, “Am I still teachable?” When was the last time God changed your mind about something? When was the last time Scripture corrected you? When was the last time you admitted you were wrong and allowed someone else to help you grow? The wise person does not graduate from being teachable. So come before God today with open hands and an open heart. Ask Him to show you where you need correction, growth or change. Then have the humility to listen. Because wisdom begins when we stop insisting that we already have it. ### Scripture over Opinion URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/scripture-over-opinion/ Last updated: 2026-09-22T13:04:09.000Z I can't stop thinking about the bathroom scale. Step on it, dislike the number, argue with it, move it three inches to the left, try again. At some point, arguing with the scale doesn't change anything, because the scale was never there to agree with me. It's there to measure me. That's exactly what Scripture does and it's exactly what I tend to resist. This week’s sermon reminded me just how quickly opinions start shaping my day. Some of them reach me before I’ve even finished my morning espresso! The group chat has one. The comment section definitely has one. Cable news, talk radio and my favorite podcast host. Everybody's got a hot take and I'm about three clicks from becoming an expert on any of it myself. None of that makes opinions bad. **Proverbs 11:14** actually tells us there's safety in many advisers. We need wisdom, experience, people who see what we can't. The trouble starts when an opinion, mine or somebody else's, quietly **gets promoted to authority**. **Proverbs 18:2** stops me in my tracks. *"Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions."* I don't love how often that describes me in an argument. **Proverbs 14:12** is even worse, because it doesn't say the wrong path looks wrong. It says it seems right. I can be sincere, confident and still be building on sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Both houses look fine until the storm shows up and at that point the foundation is the only thing that matters. The two questions I have been wrestling with this week are simple but challenging. Am I asking, **“Does Scripture agree with me?”** or am I asking, **“Does my life agree with Scripture?”** Those may sound similar, but they come from two very different places. One puts me in the position of authority. The other puts Scripture there. What's actually shaping your life, shaping your parenting, shaping your marriage, shaping your view of money, or your politics? Is it Scripture or something that has been quietly standing in for it? --- **Questions to Process** 1. Where have I let a strongly-held opinion, mine, a parent's, a culture's, function as authority in my life without ever testing it against Scripture? 2. Which of the common sayings from this week ("follow your heart," "God just wants me happy," "that's just who I am," etc.) have I treated as biblical truth without checking? 3. Am I currently building something, a decision, a relationship, a habit, on sand that looks fine right now but hasn't been tested by a storm yet? 4. When I read a hard passage of Scripture, is my first instinct "Do I agree with this?" or "Does my life need to change to agree with this?" 5. What's one area of my life right now where I need to let Scripture measure me instead of arguing with the biblical truth? --- **Questions for Discussion** 1. What are some of the "everybody knows" sayings our culture treats as gospel truth that don't actually hold up against Scripture? 2. Why do you think sincerity and confidence aren't reliable indicators that we're on the right path (Proverbs 14:12)? 3. Talk about a time advice or an opinion you trusted turned out to be wrong, or changed over time. What does that reveal about giving opinions final authority? 4. In Luke 24, Jesus points the disciples to Scripture instead of simply revealing Himself. Why do you think He does that and what does it teach us about how He wants us to know truth? 5. As a group, where are we most tempted to ask "Does Scripture agree with me?" instead of "Does my life agree with Scripture?" What would it look like to flip that question this week? ### Leadership That Outlives You URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/leadership-that-outlives-you/ Last updated: 2026-09-18T10:30:22.000Z Numbers 27 There is something humbling about realizing a season is coming to an end. Most of us prefer beginnings. Beginnings come with excitement, fresh vision and new possibilities. Endings come with boxes, goodbyes and someone asking what you want to do with all those files you have been saving since 2007. In Numbers 27, God tells Moses that his season of leadership is nearing its end. He will see the Promised Land, but he will not enter it. After forty years of leading Israel through complaining, rebellion, manna, wandering and enough conflict to make any pastor consider updating his résumé, Moses will not be the one who leads them across the finish line. What strikes me is what Moses does next. He does not argue about what he deserves. He does not negotiate for a few more years. He does not say, “After everything I have done for these people?” Instead, his concern immediately turns toward the people he has spent his life leading. He asks God to appoint someone who can lead Israel so they will not be *“like sheep without a shepherd”* (Numbers 27:17, NLT). God chooses Joshua and then Moses publicly commissions him before the entire community. There is something incredibly healthy about that picture. Moses understood that the work of God was never supposed to end with him. His assignment had a beginning and an ending, but God’s work would continue. That can be difficult for us to accept. We become attached to roles, ministries, careers, churches, organizations and seasons of life. We pour ourselves into something for years and without realizing it, what God entrusted to us can begin to feel like it belongs to us. Then the day comes when God asks us to place it into someone else’s hands. That is when leadership becomes less about what we have built and more about whether we are willing to prepare someone else to carry it forward. Moses prepared Joshua. He encouraged him, commissioned him and gave him authority in front of the people. He did not treat Joshua as competition. He treated him as the person God had chosen to carry the mission into its next chapter. Maybe that is one of the clearest signs of mature leadership. We stop needing to be the person in the middle of everything and start finding joy in helping someone else succeed. Whatever God has entrusted to you, hold it faithfully, but hold it loosely. Invest in people. Share what you have learned. Give someone else opportunities. Encourage the next generation. Celebrate when someone else gets to do something you once did. Every assignment eventually has an ending. God’s work does not. Finishing well means remembering that the kingdom was never ours to build around ourselves. It belongs to God. We simply get the privilege of carrying our part for a season, and when that season is finished, faithfully placing it into the hands of those God chooses next. ### The Danger of Crossing the Line URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-danger-of-crossing-the-line/ Last updated: 2026-09-17T10:30:05.000Z Numbers 25:1-13 Israel had survived Egypt, the Red Sea, the wilderness, poisonous snakes, giants and even a prophet who had been hired to curse them. After everything they had been through, you might expect the next threat to arrive with an army. Instead, it arrived through compromise. No swords. No chariots. No intimidating giants. Just a series of choices that probably did not seem all that dangerous at first. Numbers 25 tells us that Israelite men began having sexual relationships with Moabite women. Those relationships **led to** invitations to sacrifices honoring their gods. Those sacrifices eventually **led to** worship. Before long, *“Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor”* (Numbers 25:3, NLT). Notice the progression. **Relationships. Invitations. Participation. Worship.** Nobody woke up one morning and announced, “You know what? After everything God has done for us, today feels like a great day to abandon Him.” It happened gradually. That is usually how compromise works. Sin rarely knocks on the front door wearing a name tag that says, “Good morning. I’m here to wreck your life.” Usually, it just asks us to move the boundary a few inches. We watch something we once would have avoided. We entertain a thought we once would have rejected. We laugh at something that once bothered us. We justify a relationship, habit or attitude because “it’s really not that big of a deal.” Eventually, what once made us uncomfortable becomes normal. Spiritual drift is rarely dramatic. That is what makes it dangerous. You can drift a long way without ever feeling like you made a major decision. Numbers 25 is a sobering reminder that Israel’s greatest threat was not always the enemy standing against them. Sometimes it was the compromise growing within them. So pay attention to the small choices. Ask God to show you where you have moved a boundary He never asked you to move. Do not wait until compromise becomes captivity before taking it seriously. Stay close to Jesus. Keep your heart tender toward His conviction. When the Holy Spirit whispers, “That doesn’t belong in your life,” listen while it is still a whisper. A few inches in the wrong direction eventually becomes a long way from home. ### When God Has Other Plans URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-god-has-other-plans/ Last updated: 2026-09-16T10:30:59.000Z Numbers 23:7–12, 18–24; 24:10–13 Have you ever had someone decide they were against you? I have. It’s awkward. Maybe they misunderstood you, criticized you, questioned your motives or seemed strangely committed to seeing you fail. Most of us can handle opposition pretty well, as long as nobody actually opposes us. Numbers 23 and 24 gives us one of the strangest examples of this. Balak, king of Moab, was terrified of Israel, so he hired Balaam to curse them. The plan seemed simple enough. Find the prophet. Pay the prophet. Get the curse. Problem solved. Except God had other plans. Balaam stood overlooking Israel and opened his mouth to curse them, but blessing came out instead. Balak was understandably irritated. So he basically said, “Maybe we need a different angle.” He moved Balaam to another location, hoping a change of scenery might improve the cursing situation. It did not. Balaam blessed Israel again. Balak kept trying. Different location. Same God. Same result. Eventually Balaam told him, *“Didn’t I tell your messengers that I could do nothing against the will of the Lord my God?”* (Numbers 24:13, NLT). There is something deeply comforting about that. People can **misunderstand** us. They can **criticize** us. They can **question** our motives. They can say things about us that are **unfair** or simply **untrue**. They can even hope we **fail**. But **they do not have the authority to determine God’s purposes for our lives**. God does. That does not mean every criticism is wrong or that following Jesus makes us immune from consequences. Sometimes criticism contains truth we need to hear. We do not have to live anxiously beneath the opinions of other people. **Some of us spend far too much emotional energy trying to manage what everybody thinks about us.** Guilty. We replay conversations, defend ourselves in imaginary arguments and worry about what someone might be saying in a room we are not even in. Numbers 23 and 24 reminds us that God is already in that room. So listen humbly when correction is needed, but refuse to let someone else’s words become louder than God’s voice. You do not need to control every opinion, answer every accusation or defend yourself at every turn. Walk faithfully with Jesus. Keep your heart surrendered. Trust His sovereignty. Other people may have something to say about your story, but God gets the final word. ### Before You Blame the Donkey URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/before-you-blame-the-donkey/ Last updated: 2026-09-15T10:50:28.000Z Numbers 22:27-28 Balaam was determined to go somewhere God was not particularly interested in him going. I have discovered that once I decide what I want, I can become remarkably gifted at finding spiritual reasons God should agree with me. We call it “seeking God’s will,” but sometimes it looks suspiciously like asking God to approve a decision we already made. In Numbers 22, Balaam saddled his donkey and headed down the road. God sent an angel to stand in his way. Balaam could not see the angel, but his donkey could. The donkey turned off the road. Balaam hit her. She pressed against a wall. Balaam hit her again. Finally, she simply laid down underneath him. At this point Balaam was furious with the donkey, which is interesting because the donkey was the only one in the story demonstrating spiritual discernment. Then God opened the donkey’s mouth. *“When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff. Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak”* (Numbers 22:27–28, NLT). Balaam started arguing with her. Personally, if an animal begins speaking to me in complete sentences, I would like to think my first response would not be debate. I am probably getting off the donkey. Eventually God opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel standing in the road with a drawn sword. Suddenly the frustrating donkey looked a lot more like God’s mercy. What Balaam thought was an obstacle was actually God protecting him. That is the part worth sitting with. **Sometimes we become so committed to our plans that every closed door feels like opposition.** The delay frustrates us. The person who questions us annoys us. The plan keeps falling apart, so we push harder. But what if God is trying to get our attention? **Not every obstacle is God saying no**. Instead of immediately fighting whatever stands in our way, perhaps we should pray, “Lord, is there something here You want me to see?” God loved Balaam enough to block the road and if necessary, He was willing to use a donkey to get the message across. **May we stay humble enough that He does not have to.** ### Look up and live URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/look-up-and-live/ Last updated: 2026-09-14T10:30:26.000Z Numbers 21:4-9 Israel was tired of the journey. Again. Numbers 21 says the people became impatient and started complaining against God and Moses. They complained about the food, the water and the wilderness. They even complained about the manna God had been miraculously providing every day. Apparently, after eating bread from heaven long enough, you can start leaving a one-star review. Then poisonous snakes entered the camp and suddenly manna was no longer the biggest problem. People were bitten and many died. Israel realized their sin and came to Moses saying, *“We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you”* (Numbers 21:7, NLT). Moses prayed for them and God provided an unusual solution. He told Moses to make a bronze snake and attach it to a pole. Anyone who had been bitten could **look at it and live**. Think about how simple that was. God did not tell them to earn their healing. He did not give them twelve steps, a complicated ritual or a wilderness obstacle course. **They simply had to trust what God provided enough to look.** Centuries later, Jesus explained that this strange moment in Numbers was pointing toward Him. *“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life”* (John 3:14–15, NLT). The Israelites could not heal themselves from the poison running through their bodies. We cannot heal ourselves from the poison of sin running through ours. Their hope was not found by looking inward and trying harder. Neither is ours. Our hope is Jesus. Yet we spend an amazing amount of energy looking everywhere else. We look at our circumstances, our failures, our fears, our accomplishments, other people and occasionally Google, because apparently we believe page three of the search results may contain the secret to life. The gospel invites us to look somewhere better. Look to Jesus. The cross reminds us that God has already provided what we desperately need. We do not save ourselves. We trust the One who was lifted up for us, died in our place and rose again. Whatever has your attention today, lift your eyes. Stop staring at the wound and look toward the Savior. Healing, forgiveness and eternal life are found in Him. **Look up and live.** ### What Shapes Us Shapes Everything URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/what-shapes-us-shapes-everything/ Last updated: 2026-09-15T13:21:53.000Z I keep coming back to one line from this week's message: **"The most important question isn't *what do I believe,* it's *what is forming me?*"** That's a gut-check question, isn't it? It's entirely possible to nail a doctrine quiz and still be quietly shaped, day after day, by a phone that thinks it knows what I need before I do. **Here's what strikes me most.** Paul doesn't say God works everything together *for good* the way we usually hear it, like "good" means the outcome we were hoping for. Romans 8:29 defines it plainly. God is forming us to become like Jesus. That's the goal. Not happier. Not more comfortable. Not even more "biblical" in the trivia sense. Christlike. The honest part of Romans 8:28 is that Paul never says everything *is* good. Cancer isn't good. Betrayal isn't good. He says God can take what isn't good and still use it for good. Joseph had the pit. Moses had the wilderness. David had Saul. Peter had his failure. Paul had his thorn. None of that was wasted. None of yours has to be either. What I appreciated most is that this isn't a passive process. *"Let God transform you"* (Romans 12:2) is an invitation, not a spectator sport. Scripture, prayer, community, confession, generosity don't earn anything. They just position us to be shaped by the One who's already at work. Formation is slow. The disciples spent three years with Jesus and were still arguing about greatness the night before the cross. So if change in you feels slow, you're in good company. It happens in the thousands of small, repeated choices nobody's applauding like forgiving again, praying again, trusting again, until one day you notice you respond differently than you used to. There's a reason this matters beyond our own hearts. What forms us doesn't stay contained. It shapes how we think, which shapes how we respond, which shapes our relationships, which shapes our families, which shapes the next generation. Nobody is being formed in a vacuum. **Whatever is quietly winning the war for our attention this week is going to show up somewhere**. So, what's actually forming you this week? Not what you'd like to be forming you. What actually is. That's the question worth sitting with longer than it's comfortable to. --- **Questions to Process** 1. If I'm honest about my habits, my screen time and what fills my thoughts, what do they say is currently shaping me? 2. Where have I confused "God's good" with "getting the outcome I wanted"? 3. Is there a painful season I've written off as wasted that God might still want to use to form Christ in me? 4. Which spiritual practice (Scripture, prayer, worship, community, confession, generosity, Sabbath) have I neglected and what would it look like to return to it this week? 5. What's one small, repeated choice that I could start making again today? --- **Questions to Discuss** 1. What are some of the everyday inputs (media, algorithms, relationships, routines) that are shaping our group members most right now, for better or worse? 2. How does defining "good" as Christlikeness (rather than comfort or success) change the way we pray about our circumstances? 3. Can someone share a hard season that God used to form something in them they wouldn't trade? 4. Which spiritual practices from the message feel most natural to you and which feel hardest to maintain? Why? 5. Since formation happens through small, repeated decisions rather than one big moment, what's one decision our group could commit to making "again" this week, together? ### Before You Strike the Rock URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/before-you-strike-the-rock/ Last updated: 2026-09-11T10:30:41.000Z Numbers 20:1–13 Moses had been leading Israel through the wilderness for nearly forty years. Forty years of complaints. Forty years of questions. Forty years of people looking at him every time something went wrong as if Moses personally controlled the weather, the menu and the availability of drinking water. Honestly, I think it is impressive he made it this long. In Numbers 20, the Israelites arrived at Kadesh and discovered there was no water. Their response was predictable. They complained. **Again**. They accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die. **Again**. They talked about how much better life used to be. **Again**. Moses and Aaron went before the Lord, and God gave Moses very clear instructions. *“You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water”* (Numbers 20:8, NLT). **Speak to the rock.** Instead, Moses gathered the people and said, “Listen, you rebels!” Then he struck the rock twice with his staff. Water still came out. God graciously provided for His people, but Moses had disobeyed. God told him that because he had failed to trust Him and demonstrate His holiness before Israel, Moses would not lead the people into the Promised Land. That feels painfully severe until we recognize what happened. Moses allowed his frustration with the people to distort his representation of God. That is a warning every leader needs. Years of faithfulness do not make us immune to frustration. In fact, sometimes years of accumulated frustration make us more vulnerable to it. We can carry disappointment, criticism, exhaustion and resentment quietly until one ordinary moment finally cracks the lid. Then somebody asks one more question, sends one more email, files one more complaint and suddenly we are striking rocks. Moses reminds us that spiritual maturity is not simply measured by how long we have followed God. It is revealed by what comes out of us when we are tired, irritated and pushed. **Pay attention to what is building inside you.** Bring your frustration to God before you bring it to people. Ask the Holy Spirit to expose resentment before resentment starts speaking for you. One angry moment does not erase years of faithfulness, but it can reveal places in our hearts that still need surrender. Before you strike the rock, get alone with God. Let Him deal with what is happening inside you so that when people see you, even on your hardest days, they still get an accurate picture of Him. ### Hope in Dry Places URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/hope-in-dry-places/ Last updated: 2026-09-10T10:30:12.000Z Numbers 17:1–11 There are some things you look at and think, “Yeah, I’m not sure anything is happening there.” Maybe it is a plant you forgot to water, a patch of grass that surrendered sometime around mid-July or that home improvement project you started with great enthusiasm three months ago and have been successfully ignoring ever since. Sometimes we look at something and simply cannot imagine anything new coming from it. That is what makes Numbers 17 so fascinating. After Korah’s rebellion and all the conflict surrounding Aaron’s leadership, God told Moses to collect a staff from the leader of each of Israel’s twelve tribes. Aaron’s staff represented the tribe of Levi. These were not fresh branches sitting in a vase of water. They were walking sticks. Dry pieces of wood. Nobody was standing around wondering which one might bloom by morning. Moses placed the staffs in the Tabernacle before the Lord. When he returned the next morning, something incredible had happened. *“Look! Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!”* (Numbers 17:8, NLT). I love that God did not just produce one tiny green sprout. That would have made the point. Instead, Aaron’s staff sprouted, budded, blossomed and produced almonds. God went all the way to fruit. Maybe you have an area of your life that feels a little like Aaron’s staff right now. A relationship that seems beyond repair. A dream that did not turn out the way you hoped. A season you did not expect. A prayer you have prayed for so long that, if you are honest, you have stopped expecting much to happen. You look at it and see dry wood. God sees possibilities you cannot. That does not mean God will restore every situation exactly the way we want. Sometimes His answer looks very different from ours. **Numbers 17 reminds us that our inability to see a way forward does not mean God has run out of options.** So bring God the dry places. Bring Him the disappointment, the unanswered prayer, the exhausted hope and the situation you do not know how to fix. Aaron’s staff could not make itself blossom. It simply rested in the presence of God. Maybe that is where you need to begin today. Stop trying to force the outcome and place it before the Lord. Trust Him with what happens next. The God who brought almonds from dry wood is still able to bring unexpected growth, renewed hope and beautiful fruit from places where you cannot yet see anything growing. ### When Pride Wants the Position URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-pride-wants-the-position/ Last updated: 2026-09-09T10:30:47.000Z Numbers 16:1–35 Korah had a leadership problem. More specifically, Korah had a problem with someone else being the leader. In Numbers 16, Korah gathered 250 respected leaders and challenged Moses and Aaron. His argument sounded surprisingly spiritual. *“You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us”* (Numbers 16:3, NLT). In other words, “Who put you in charge?” The answer, of course, was God. Korah was not an outsider with no responsibility. He was a Levite. He already had an important role serving around the Tabernacle. God had given him meaningful work, but Korah became so focused on the assignment someone else had that he stopped appreciating his own. That is one of pride’s favorite tricks. Pride whispers, “You deserve more influence. You should have that position. You could do a better job. Why does everyone listen to them?” Before long, we are no longer faithfully carrying our assignment because we are busy evaluating someone else’s. **I have discovered that I am remarkably qualified to lead almost anything I am not actually responsible for.** From a distance, every decision seems obvious. Coaching the Detroit Lions from my sofa remains one of my strongest leadership gifts! But Korah’s rebellion was much more serious than simply disagreeing with Moses. Moses told him, *“The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against!”* (Numbers 16:11, NLT). Korah thought he was challenging human leadership. In reality, he was resisting God’s assignment. The consequences were severe. God dramatically defended the leadership He had established, and Korah’s rebellion ended in judgment. This passage does not mean leaders are above questions, correction or accountability. Moses himself was accountable to God. But there is a difference between healthy accountability and prideful ambition. Sometimes the problem is not that God has given us too little. It is that we have started believing someone else’s assignment would make us more significant. Faithfulness begins when we stop competing for somebody else’s place and surrender our own to God. Your value is not determined by your title, visibility or influence. Serve where God has placed you. Celebrate what He has entrusted to others. Hold your ambition with open hands. The kingdom does not need us fighting for position. It needs disciples humble enough to say, “Lord, whatever You have assigned me, I will do it faithfully.” ### The Price of Playing It Safe URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-price-of-playing-it-safe/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T10:30:04.000Z Numbers 14:20-35 Israel had seen enough miracles to fill a lifetime. They had watched God send plagues on Egypt, split the Red Sea, provide manna from heaven and guide them through the wilderness. At this point, you would think trusting God would come naturally. Then again, I have seen God provide for me repeatedly and can still become mildly concerned when Amazon says my package is delayed. Apparently, remembering God’s faithfulness is harder than it should be. In Numbers 14, Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land and refused to enter. The giants looked too big, the cities looked too strong and fear became louder than faith. God had promised them the land, but in that moment, what they could see seemed more convincing than everything God had already shown them. Moses interceded for the people, and God responded, *“I will pardon them as you have requested”* (Numbers 14:20, NLT). Their rebellion was real, but so was God’s mercy. They were forgiven. However, **forgiveness did not mean their choices were without consequences**. The generation that refused to enter the Promised Land would spend the next forty years wandering in the wilderness. Their children would eventually enter the land, but they would not. That is an important truth we sometimes prefer to skip. **God’s forgiveness does not always erase the earthly consequences of our choices.** We can be forgiven for careless words and still need to rebuild trust. We can be forgiven for poor financial decisions and still have bills to pay. We can be forgiven for years of unhealthy choices and still face damage that takes time to repair. Grace removes our guilt before God, but it does not always remove every consequence of our decisions. There is something else in Israel’s story that should get our attention. **Their unbelief did not change God’s character or cancel His faithfulness, but it did keep them from experiencing what He had prepared for them.** An entire generation spent years wandering because they refused to trust God enough to take the next step. I wonder how often we do something similar. God gives us an opportunity to forgive, speak, serve, give, change direction or simply obey, and we find perfectly reasonable reasons to wait. Fear is remarkably talented at producing reasonable excuses. Sometimes we convince ourselves there will always be another opportunity, another conversation, another chance to obey or another moment to do what God has been nudging us to do. Numbers 14 reminds us not to presume upon tomorrow. **God’s grace is greater than our failures, but grace was never intended to become an excuse for avoiding obedience.** If you know the next step God is asking you to take, trust Him enough to take it. Do not spend another season wandering around something God has already asked you to walk through. Trust God enough to move when He says move. ### Lessons Every Pastor Learns the Hard Way URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/lessons-every-pastor-learns-the-hard-way/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T01:48:04.000Z --- **Click the link below for this month's coaching article...** [**Pastoral Leadership Lessons Every Pastor Learns the Hard Way**](https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/153934-joe-mckeever-57-leadership-insights-learned-the-hard-way.html?ref=chrisknightwrites.com) by Joe McKeever - ChurchLeaders.com --- Joe McKeever has spent decades in ministry and along the way he has learned plenty of lessons that probably could not have been learned from a book or taught in a classroom. They came through leading people, making mistakes, navigating difficult seasons and simply staying at it. He has gathered many of those lessons into this article and I think they give us some good things to talk about together. This article covers a lot of ground. In fact, there is far more here than we can meaningfully discuss in one sitting. So let’s not try. Read through it beforehand and come prepared to talk about whatever part feels especially relevant to you right now. --- ### **Before We Sit Down** Take a few minutes on your own and think about this question: **What is one moment early in your ministry that nobody warned you about?** Maybe it involved conflict, criticism, loneliness, unrealistic expectations, finances, staff problems, or discovering that loving the church and occasionally being frustrated with the church can apparently happen at exactly the same time. Hold onto that story. We’ll begin there. --- Every pastor who stays in ministry long enough develops a private collection of lessons learned through mistakes, difficult conversations, disappointments, successes, and seasons we probably would not volunteer to repeat. McKeever developed his list over decades of pastoral ministry and many of the lessons remain remarkably relevant. Ministry has not become easier to sustain. Pastors today are navigating burnout, financial pressures, changing congregational expectations, leadership transitions, cultural tension and the growing realization that healthy ministry cannot revolve around one exhausted person. These realities make some of McKeever’s lessons particularly important. Pastors need to learn how to lead themselves, build trust, develop people, navigate conflict, protect their integrity and remain anchored to Christ. ### **(1) Lead Yourself Before You Lead Anyone Else** Healthy leadership begins with self-leadership. A pastor who cannot manage his own time, emotions, priorities and limitations will eventually struggle to lead others well. Discipline matters. Knowing why we are doing something helps us determine which opportunities deserve a yes, which ones require a no, which battles are worth fighting and which projects can wait. Healthy leaders also learn to recognize their weaknesses as clearly as their strengths. Ironically, some of our greatest leadership problems can emerge in the areas where we are most confident. Strength can become a blind spot when we stop paying attention to how it affects the people around us. That is why pastors need people close enough to tell them the truth. We also need time to think. Sermons, decisions, vision, relationships, and problems all require space to process. Constant activity can make us feel productive while quietly robbing us of the reflection necessary to lead wisely. Continuing to learn matters too. Reading, training, coaching and mentorship are not distractions from ministry. They are part of becoming the kind of leader ministry requires. **For our conversation:** Where are you currently leading yourself well? Where are you struggling? Is there a weakness, habit or blind spot that deserves more attention than you have been giving it? ### **(2) Earn Trust Before You Ask People to Follow** Leadership does not automatically come with a title. Trust is earned over time. One of McKeever’s most important reminders is to earn the right to lead before pushing significant change. Most pastors arrive at a church ready to fix things. Unfortunately, the congregation may not yet be convinced that the new pastor knows what needs fixing. Sometimes wisdom means slowing down long enough to listen, learn the culture, love the people and establish credibility. Trust is built through ordinary things. Tell the truth. Report attendance, giving, baptisms and other numbers honestly. Communicate clearly. Avoid manipulation and spin. Keep people informed before major decisions rather than announcing something after everything has already been decided. People can usually handle difficult truth better than leaders imagine. What damages trust is discovering that information was hidden, exaggerated or carefully managed. Healthy pastoral leadership means saying what we mean and meaning what we say, even when the truth is inconvenient. **For our conversation:** How would you describe the current level of trust between you and the people you lead? What have you done that has strengthened that trust? Is there anything happening right now that could quietly be eroding it? ### **(3) Lead With Attention** Leading people well begins with actually seeing them. Pastoral ministry becomes dangerous when people slowly turn into responsibilities, problems, volunteers, giving units, or names on an attendance report. People want to be known. Learning names, listening carefully, remembering what is happening in someone’s life and understanding what motivates people are not insignificant leadership skills. They communicate that people matter beyond what they can contribute to the organization. McKeever also emphasizes delegation. Many pastors struggle to delegate because they know they can do something faster or better themselves. They may even be right. But continually doing everything ourselves creates two problems. We become exhausted and the people around us never have the opportunity to grow. Healthy delegation means giving people meaningful responsibility while continuing to provide appropriate follow-up. We are not hovering over people, but neither are we tossing them the keys and disappearing. We establish expectations, check in, coach when necessary and give people enough freedom to accomplish something differently than we would. **For our conversation:** What are you currently doing that someone else could be doing? What keeps you from handing it off? Is it a lack of capable people, a lack of training, a lack of trust, or perhaps a little bit of our own need for control? ### **(4) Raise Up Leaders and Faithful Followers** One of the clearest signs of healthy pastoral leadership is what happens when the pastor is not in the room. Our responsibility is not simply to accomplish ministry. It is to develop people who can accomplish ministry. That means giving emerging leaders genuine responsibility, allowing them to make decisions, giving them room to make mistakes and helping them learn from those mistakes. Sometimes leadership also means knowing when someone else should lead. Another person may have gifts, experience, knowledge, or relationships that we do not possess. Mature leadership does not require us to remain in charge of everything. Sometimes the strongest thing a leader can say is, “You are better equipped for this than I am. You lead and I’ll help.” The same principle applies beyond our own churches. Other pastors are not competitors. Churches are not competing franchises. We are part of the same Kingdom and pursuing the same mission. Healthy pastors learn to celebrate what God is doing through other churches and leaders without feeling threatened by their success. Most importantly, we need people who will carry the weight with us. No pastor was designed to be the only person steering the church. **For our conversation:** Who are you intentionally developing right now? If you unexpectedly had to step away from ministry for three months, what would continue functioning well without you? What would immediately struggle? ### **(5) Handle Conflict and Change Without Losing Your Footing** Eventually, ministry will test every leadership principle we claim to believe. There will be conflict. There will be criticism. There will be decisions that do not work. There will be people who leave. There will be changes we did not choose and problems we did not create. There will even be moments when we take hits we genuinely did not deserve. The challenge is learning how to respond without allowing those experiences to define us. Sometimes we need to stand firm. Sometimes we need to give in. Sometimes protecting the health of the church requires addressing something quickly. Other times maintaining unity is more important than winning the argument. Failure is part of leadership too. A setback is not necessarily a verdict on our calling. Sometimes it is simply information. We tried something. It did not work. We learned. We adjust. We keep going. Change is equally unavoidable. God does not change, but ministry constantly does. People change. Communities change. Churches change. Methods change. Expectations change. Healthy pastors learn to distinguish between the things that must never change and the things we simply prefer not to change. **For our conversation:** What conflict, disappointment, or change is consuming the most emotional energy in your ministry right now? What would faithfulness look like in that situation, regardless of whether you “win”? ### **(6) Guard What You Cannot Get Back** Some things are difficult to rebuild once they are lost. Integrity is one of them. Trust is another. Our closest relationships can be another. Pastors need appropriate boundaries around money, relationships, decision-making and personal conduct. We should not place ourselves in situations where our integrity depends solely on our ability to resist temptation. Healthy structures, accountability, documentation and boundaries protect both the pastor and the church. Our public ministry and private life also have to remain connected. A pastor who preaches one kind of life on Sunday but lives another during the week eventually damages far more than his own reputation. The people closest to us should not experience a completely different version of us than the people sitting in the congregation. Learning to say no is part of protecting what matters. Every yes costs us something. Sometimes the most faithful decision we make is declining something good because saying yes would take us away from something more important. **For our conversation:** What are you protecting carefully in this season? Is there anything valuable in your life or ministry that you have begun taking for granted? ### **(7) Stay Anchored in the Work That Matters** Ultimately, every leadership principle on this list depends on something deeper than leadership skill. We have to remain close to Christ. Prayer cannot become something we do after we have exhausted every other option. One of the greatest dangers for any pastor is successfully leading people somewhere God never asked us to go. Prayer reminds us that this is His church, His mission and His people. We also have to keep remembering why the church exists. Churches drift when activity replaces mission. Programs can continue, calendars can remain full, attendance can look respectable and budgets can remain balanced while the church slowly loses sight of why Jesus placed it in that community. Scripture consistently calls church leaders toward humility. Peter instructed elders to lead by example rather than controlling the people entrusted to them (1 Peter 5:3). Paul described his ministry similarly, writing, “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5, NLT). Through all of it, pastors have to continue loving the church. Not the imaginary church we wish we had. Not the church we remember from twenty years ago. Not the church we think we could build if everyone would simply cooperate. We are called to love the actual people God has entrusted to us. Then we keep going. Finishing strong is not about maintaining a perfect record. No pastor gets everything right every week. It means remaining teachable, staying close to Christ, owning our mistakes, continuing to grow, loving people and remaining faithful through the hard seasons. --- ### **Around the Table** Look back over what you have read and identify the one or two questions that have your attention. - Which lesson feels most relevant to your ministry right now? Why? - Where have you learned one of these lessons the hard way? - Which lesson do you wish someone had taught you during your first few years of ministry? - Is there an area where you know what healthy leadership looks like but are struggling to actually practice it? - What is something you are carrying right now that the pastors around this table could help you carry? - What is one conversation, decision, boundary, or change you sense God asking you to make because of what we have discussed today? We do not need to solve everything before we leave the table. Sometimes the most important thing a coaching group can provide is a place where pastors can say out loud what they have been carrying quietly. Let’s give each other that kind of space. ### The Grasshopper Problem URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-grasshopper-problem/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T10:30:42.000Z Numbers 13:25–33 Have you ever talked yourself out of something before you even tried? I have. Sometimes it only takes about thirteen seconds. I can identify the challenge, calculate everything that could possibly go wrong, imagine three disasters that have never happened and conclude, “Well, clearly God has closed that door.” Apparently, pessimism can occasionally call itself discernment. That is essentially what happened when the twelve spies returned from exploring the Promised Land. They had all walked through the same land, tasted the same fruit, seen the same fortified cities and stared at the same giants. Yet ten of them came back convinced there was absolutely no way Israel could win. Their description says a lot: *“We felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that’s what they thought, too!”* (Numbers 13:33, NLT). Don’t miss that last part. They knew how small they felt, but somehow they also knew what the giants were thinking. **Fear is remarkably talented at reading minds.** It tells us what other people think, predicts how badly things will go and usually has the entire disaster wrapped up before lunch. The problem was not that the giants were imaginary. They were real. The cities really were fortified. Faith does not mean pretending hard things are easy. The problem was that the spies became so focused on the size of the giants that they forgot the size of their God. We do the same thing. We look at the diagnosis, financial pressure, struggling relationship, overwhelming responsibility or uncertain future and immediately start doing the math. “I’m not strong enough. I’m not qualified enough. I don’t have enough experience. I can’t handle this.” Maybe you can’t, but since when has God’s ability been limited by yours? Caleb and Joshua saw the same giants, but they remembered something the others forgot. God had already promised to go with them. Their confidence was never supposed to be found in Israel’s strength. It was supposed to be in God’s faithfulness. Maybe there is a giant standing in front of you today. Stop measuring yourself against it and start measuring it against your God. Remember what He has promised. Remember how He has provided. Remember who goes with you. Faith does not make the giants smaller. Faith remembers that God is bigger. So take the next obedient step. **You were never called to be big enough. You were called to trust the God who is.** ### What Really Matters URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/what-reall/ Last updated: 2026-09-08T13:50:52.000Z Ecclesiastes has spent eleven chapters running the numbers. The Teacher tested pleasure, wealth, work, achievement, wisdom and possessions, and found that none of it can bear the weight of eternal meaning. Now, in chapter 12, he is finally ready to tell us what it all adds up to. The question underneath this whole series has been simple: **if you and I knew at the end of our lives what really mattered, how would that change the way we live today?** The Teacher's first answer is to remember our Creator now, not later. Notice the word he chooses. He doesn't say "don't forget God." He says "don't forget your Creator." That word changes everything. You are not an accident. Your life is not ultimately your own. The breath in your lungs and the people you love are gifts from Someone with a purpose for you. The most important question isn't "what do I want to do with my life," but **"what did my Creator give me this life for."** He says to remember this while we are young because time has a way of feeling unlimited until it suddenly doesn't. In one of the most vivid passages in Scripture, the Teacher describes aging in poetic detail: trembling legs, dimming eyes, hair like an almond tree in bloom, until finally the dust returns to the earth and the spirit returns to God. He isn't trying to depress us. Death has a remarkable ability to clarify life. The scratch on the car, the argument online, the neighbor's better lawn, none of it matters when the end comes into view. What matters is usually what we only appreciate after we've lost it. That's why the Teacher circles back to **"everything is meaningless."** Not to leave us there, but to make a point: **knowing truth isn't the same as living it.** We can collect information our whole lives and never grow wise. At some point the question has to shift from "what else do I need to know" to "what am I going to do with what God has already shown me." So Ecclesiastes ends where all the running of numbers finally lands: **fear God and obey His commands, because God will judge everything, even what's hidden.** That's not a bleak ending. It's the opposite. Everything matters because God exists. Our choices matter. Our character matters. How we treat people matters. Maybe the answer was never to add more. It was to remember what matters most: our Creator, His gifts, the people in front of us, and today. --- **Questions to Process** 1. If I knew today what I'll know at the end of my life about what really mattered, what would I do differently this week? 2. Am I still asking "what do I want to do with my life" instead of "what did my Creator give me this life for"? 3. What have I only appreciated after I lost it and what does that reveal about what I'm taking for granted right now? 4. Where have I collected a lot of knowledge about God without actually living it out? 5. What would it look like this week to fear God, in the sense of ordering my life around Him, rather than just believing in Him? --- **Questions to Discuss** 1. The Teacher chooses the word "Creator" instead of just "God" in Ecclesiastes 12:1\. Why does that specific word change how we see our purpose? 2. Read the description of aging in Ecclesiastes 12:2-5 together. Why do you think the Teacher describes it in such vivid, almost uncomfortable detail? 3. Psalm 90:12 prays, "Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom," not "give me more days." What's the difference between those two prayers? 4. Discuss the line, "we can know a great deal about God without actually walking with God." Where do we see that tendency in our own lives? 5. Ecclesiastes 12:13 concludes with "fear God and obey his commands." What would visibly change in your daily life, calendar, or priorities if that truly became the center everything else was ordered around? ### How do you pray when your heart feels so heavy that you can't seem to put into words what you even want to say? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/how-do-you-pray-when-your-heart-feels-so-heavy-that-you-cant-seem-to-put-into-words-what-you-even-want-to-say/ Last updated: 2026-09-05T10:30:08.000Z --- A friend reached out recently with a question of faith for me to consider whenever I returned to this series. The problem is, I have not been able to get the question out of my mind for the past several days. At the same time, some close friends of ours are walking through an incredibly difficult season and their circumstances have made this question feel even more timely and personal. So, rather than putting it away for another day, I decided to make this a Saturday bonus edition of Questions of Faith. In some ways, I think I need this reminder as much as anyone who might read it. So, here we go. --- **Question: How do you pray when your heart feels so heavy that you can't seem to put into words what you even want to say?** There are moments in life when prayer comes easily. You know exactly what you want to say, what you need and what you are asking God to do. Then there are other moments when you sit down to pray and nothing comes out. Your heart is heavy. Your mind is exhausted. Maybe you are grieving, worried, disappointed or simply overwhelmed. You know you need God, but you cannot seem to put what you are feeling into a coherent sentence. You start with, “God, I…” and that is about as far as you get. Here is something important to remember. **That still counts as prayer.** We sometimes think prayer needs to be well organized. We imagine we should approach God with complete sentences, appropriate theological terminology and maybe a nice closing paragraph before saying amen. Thankfully, God is not grading our prayers for grammar. Romans 8 gives us one of the most comforting promises in Scripture: *“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words”* (Romans 8:26, NLT). I love that. God knows there will be moments when we do not know how to pray. Sometimes the most honest prayer you can offer is, **“God, I don’t even know what to say.”** Sometimes it is tears. Sometimes it is silence. Sometimes it is sitting alone with God and whispering the name of Jesus because that is about all you have left. According to Romans 8, the Holy Spirit meets us there. That means the effectiveness of prayer does not depend upon our ability to explain ourselves perfectly. God already knows what is happening inside us. David wrote, *“You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD”* (Psalm 139:4, NLT). Prayer is not about finding the perfect words to convince God to listen. It is bringing our imperfect, exhausted and sometimes wordless hearts into His presence. There have been times in my own life when I have had plenty of words for God. There have also been times when I have had almost none. I am learning that God is present in both. So when your heart is too heavy for words, do not worry about trying to manufacture them. Sit with God. Cry if you need to cry. Tell Him, **“I don’t know how to pray right now, but I need You.”** Your weakness does not disqualify you from prayer. It may actually be the place where you discover something beautiful about prayer: **you were never carrying the conversation alone!** ### When Criticism Comes From People Close to You URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-criticism-comes-from-people-close-to-you/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T10:30:44.000Z Numbers 12:1–15 Criticism is never especially enjoyable, but it hits differently when it comes from people close to you. A stranger can criticize me and I can usually move on. Someone I love says the same thing and suddenly I am replaying the conversation at 2:17 in the morning while preparing a response they may or may not ever hear. **Moses knew that feeling.** In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron began criticizing Moses. These were not random Israelites grumbling from the back row. This was his sister and brother. Miriam had watched over Moses when he was a baby floating in a basket on the Nile. Aaron had stood beside him before Pharaoh. They had shared history, family, ministry and miracles. **Now they were criticizing him.** Their complaint involved Moses’ wife, but Scripture quickly reveals that something deeper was happening. They asked, *“Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?”* (Numbers 12:2, NLT). There it is. Sometimes criticism is about the issue being discussed. Sometimes the issue is simply the wrapping paper around jealousy, insecurity or wounded pride. What strikes me most is Moses’ response. **He does not launch a counterattack.** He does not remind everyone of his résumé. He does not start listing Aaron’s failures, and let’s be honest, the golden calf would have been fairly strong material! **Moses lets God defend him.** God confronts Miriam and Aaron and makes it clear that Moses has a unique calling. Miriam is struck with leprosy. Yet Moses does something remarkable. Instead of enjoying the moment and quietly thinking, “Well, well, well,” he cries out, *“O God, I beg you, please heal her!”* (Numbers 12:13, NLT). That may be the clearest evidence of Moses’ character in the entire story. When criticism comes from someone close to us, our natural instinct is to defend ourselves, prove them wrong or secretly enjoy watching them struggle. Jesus offers us another way. Listen carefully. Examine yourself honestly. Own whatever is true. Refuse bitterness. Then trust God with your reputation. Spiritual maturity is not proven by winning the argument. Sometimes it is revealed by being able to pray sincerely for the person who criticized you. When your identity is secure in God, you do not have to win every battle over your reputation. You can entrust yourself to Him, keep your heart soft and continue faithfully following Jesus. ### Be Careful What You Crave URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/be-careful-what-you-crave/ Last updated: 2026-09-03T10:30:17.000Z Numbers 11:18–23, 31–34 There is a dangerous moment when wanting something turns into believing we need it to be happy. Israel had reached that moment. God had been feeding them every single day with manna. Free food. Delivered from heaven. No grocery bill, no meal planning and no standing in the kitchen at 5:30 wondering why nobody else in the house has an opinion about dinner. Yet Israel was tired of manna. They wanted meat. Actually, “wanted” may be too gentle. They craved it. They complained about it. They romanticized their old life in Egypt because apparently slavery seemed better when remembered alongside fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. Memory can become surprisingly selective when we are dissatisfied. God heard them and promised meat. Moses immediately started doing the math. There were hundreds of thousands of people in the wilderness. Where exactly was all this meat going to come from? God responded with a question I need regularly: *“Has my arm lost its power?”* (Numbers 11:23, NLT). **Then the quail came.** Not a few quail. Quail everywhere. Israel finally received exactly what they had been craving and that is where the story becomes sobering. What they wanted so desperately did not satisfy them. Their uncontrolled craving became part of God’s judgment and the place was eventually named Kibroth-hattaavah, which means “graves of gluttony.” **There is a warning here for us.** We can become so focused on what we do not have that we stop thanking God for what He has already provided. We convince ourselves that we would finally be content if we had more money, a different job, a better house, a healthier relationship, greater recognition or whatever happens to be our personal version of quail. Desire is not automatically sinful. Desire becomes dangerous when it begins controlling our gratitude, our attitude and our trust in God. Sometimes the greatest spiritual danger is not that God refuses to give us what we want. It is that we become so determined to have it that nothing else He gives us feels like enough. Look around today. Before asking God for something more, thank Him for what is already lying on the ground in front of you. **Do not let tomorrow’s craving blind you to today’s manna.** Jesus, teach us **to want You** more than we **want what You can give us**. ### You Were Never Meant to Carry It Alone URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/you-were-never-meant-to-carry-it-alone/ Last updated: 2026-09-02T10:30:07.000Z Numbers 11:10–17 Moses had reached his limit. The Israelites were complaining **again**! This time they were upset about the food. Apparently, miraculous bread falling from heaven every morning had lost some of its appeal. God was providing manna, but the people wanted meat. Moses was caught between a frustrated nation and an angry God. Then he finally said what exhausted leaders eventually think: *“I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy!”* (Numbers 11:14, NLT). I appreciate Moses’ honesty. He did not tell God, “Things are going wonderfully. Ministry is such a blessing.” He essentially said, “Hey… I cannot do this anymore.” Many of us have been there. We keep carrying responsibilities because we assume being needed means being responsible for everything. We convince ourselves it is easier to do it ourselves than explain it to someone else. Sometimes we even spiritualize our exhaustion. We call it dedication when everyone around us can clearly see we need a nap, a vacation and possibly someone to confiscate our phone. God’s response to Moses is fascinating. **He did not give Moses more strength to carry everything.** He gave Moses more people. God told him to gather seventy elders and said, *“They will help you carry the burden of the people so you won’t have to carry it alone”* (Numbers 11:17, NLT). That is not just a leadership principle. It is a kingdom principle. God never designed us to follow Jesus alone. We need people who pray with us, encourage us, challenge us, serve beside us and occasionally remind us that we are not nearly as indispensable as we think we are. Even Jesus built His earthly ministry around relationships with others. The early church also practiced shared life, prayer, generosity, service and ministry together. Maybe strength does not always mean carrying more. Sometimes strength means admitting the load is too heavy. Look around. Who has God placed near you? Who could help carry what you have been trying to manage alone? Whose burden could you help carry? We were never meant to impress God with how much we can handle. We were meant to become the body of Christ, depending on Him and carrying life together. ### When Complaining Becomes a Way of Life URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-complaining-becomes-a-way-of-life/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T10:31:03.000Z Numbers 11:1–6 Complaining is remarkably easy to learn and surprisingly difficult to quit. Give me a slow driver in the left lane or a printer that suddenly decides it no longer recognizes the computer it has worked with for four years, and I can become remarkably gifted at identifying **everything** wrong with the world. Israel had become pretty good at it too. Numbers 11 opens with the people complaining about their hardships. This is the same group that had watched God send plagues against Egypt, divide the Red Sea, guide them with a cloud, provide water in the wilderness and feed them every morning with manna. They had experienced more obvious miracles before breakfast than most of us will see in a lifetime. Still, they complained. Then the complaints became very specific. “Oh, for some meat!” they cried. They started remembering the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic they had eaten in Egypt. Apparently, slavery had become strangely nostalgic once the menu in the wilderness got repetitive. That is what complaining can do to us. It distorts our memory. We begin romanticizing what God delivered us from because we are frustrated with what He is currently providing. The manna had not stopped. God was still feeding them every day. The problem was no longer provision. The problem was perspective. I understand that more than I would like to admit. It is easy to become so focused on what I wish were different that I stop noticing what God has already placed in front of me. The blessing becomes ordinary. The miracle becomes expected. Gratitude quietly leaves the room while complaining, pulls up a chair and gets comfortable. Numbers 11 is not telling us that we should never acknowledge hardship. **There is a difference between honestly bringing our struggles to God and developing a spirit that is never satisfied with Him.** Paul later writes, *“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”* (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT). Gratitude does not mean everything is good. It means God is still good. So before you spend today naming everything you wish were different, stop and notice the manna. Look again at what God has provided, where He has carried you and how faithfully He has stayed with you. **Complaining keeps asking, “Why isn’t this better?”** **Gratitude asks a better question, “God, where have You already been good to me?”** That question can change the wilderness. ### When God Leads You Into the Wilderness URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-god-leads-you-into-the-wilderness/ Last updated: 2026-08-31T10:30:07.000Z Numbers 9:15-23 I like directions. I like schedules. I like knowing where I am going, how long it will take and preferably where we are stopping for espresso. I especially appreciate a good calendar invitation that quietly reassures me, “Here’s the plan.” Apparently, God does not always share my enthusiasm for detailed itineraries. In Numbers 9, God led the Israelites through the wilderness with a cloud that rested over the Tabernacle. When the cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud stayed, they stayed. Sometimes it remained overnight. Sometimes it stayed for days. Sometimes it stayed for a month or longer. Imagine trying to plan your week around that. No weather app. No travel itinerary. No notification saying there is a 90 percent chance of wandering tomorrow. *“At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped”* (Numbers 9:18, NLT). That sounds wonderfully spiritual until you actually think about living it. You finally get everything organized in the tent. The kids are settled. You know where you put everything. You have located the coffee grinder. Life feels manageable again. Then somebody looks outside and yells, “Cloud’s moving!” Time to pack it all up. Other times, you are ready to go. You are tired of the scenery. You have prayed for something new. You are convinced God should be moving you forward. You wake up, look outside and the cloud has not moved an inch. That may be the harder part of following God. Sometimes God says go. Sometimes God says stay. Faith requires trusting Him with both. **We often assume that progress means movement.** God reminds us that sometimes obedience means staying exactly where He has placed us until He says otherwise. Waiting is not necessarily wasted time. God can do important work in us while nothing around us seems to be changing. The Israelites did not need to know the entire route. They simply needed to keep their eyes on God’s presence and obey His next instruction. Maybe that is what you need today. Stop demanding the entire itinerary. If God is moving, follow Him. If God has you waiting, remain faithful. You do not need to know where the wilderness road ends when you know who is leading you through it. **The safest place you can be is not where life is easiest, fastest or most predictable. It is wherever God’s presence is leading you today.** ### When Life Changes URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-life-changes/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T16:58:41.000Z Some seasons of life we would gladly live in forever. The kids are healthy, the marriage is good, work is steady, the bills are paid and for once your knees cooperate when you stand up. Then the phone rings, and something changes. It always does. Ecclesiastes 3 meets us exactly there, after the Teacher has already searched achievement, pleasure, wisdom, and possessions and found none of them able to carry the weight of eternal meaning. Now he turns to something none of us control: **time itself**. *"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven"* (Ecclesiastes 3:1) sounds lovely embroidered on a pillow, but the fourteen pairs that follow, birth and death, planting and harvest, crying and laughing, grieving and dancing, describe the entire range of being human. **The key word is season.** Winter doesn't last forever, and neither does summer, though when you're in the middle of either one it can feel permanent. Psalm 30:5 promises that weeping lasts only through the night before joy comes with morning, and notably, David never pretends the night isn't real. Faith doesn't require calling every season good. It simply insists that God remains good in every season, whatever that season holds. Solomon then names something remarkable: God has *"planted eternity in the human heart,"* which is why we long for permanence and keep asking why, even though *"people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end"* (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We see a moment; God sees the story. Joseph's pit, slavery, and prison looked nothing like beauty until years later, when he could finally say what he couldn't see at the time: God intended it for good (Genesis 50:20). Paul says the same thing in Romans 8:28, not that everything is good, but that God can work everything together for good. So Solomon's conclusion is almost startlingly simple: enjoy what God has given you today (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13), because life is not the waiting room for some better season still to come. And underneath every season, painful or wonderful or confusing, sits one unchanging fact: *"whatever God does is final"* (Ecclesiastes 3:14). Circumstances change. Bodies, relationships and plans change. God does not. Our confidence was never meant to rest in the season, but in the One who remains faithful through all of them. --- **Questions to Process** 1. What season am I in right now and have I been treating it as my whole story rather than one chapter of it? 2. Where am I demanding an explanation from God before I'm willing to trust Him? 3. Is there an ordinary moment today, a meal, a conversation, a person, that I've been rushing past while waiting for "real life" to start? 4. Looking back at a painful season I've already walked through, can I now see something God was doing that I couldn't see at the time? 5. Where is my confidence currently resting: in my circumstances staying good, or in God's character regardless of my circumstances? --- **Questions to Discuss** 1. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 lists fourteen pairs of opposites that make up "the entire spectrum of human experience." Which pair feels most present in your life right now and why? 2. Discuss the difference between "faith calls every season good" and "faith trusts that God remains good in every season." Why does that distinction matter? 3. God has "planted eternity in the human heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11), which is why we long for things to make sense. How have you seen that longing show up in your own life or in someone close to you? 4. Talk about Joseph's story: pit, slavery, false accusation, prison, then finally, "you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good." Where have you experienced something similar, recognizing God's hand only in hindsight? 5. Solomon says the goal isn't to figure everything out but to "enjoy what God has given you today." As a group, what's one ordinary gift in your current season you could be more intentional about receiving? ### Thank you! URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/thank-you/ Last updated: 2026-08-29T10:30:53.000Z Thank you to everyone who submitted questions over the past several weeks. I honestly did not know what kind of response I would receive when I started this little “Questions of Faith” experiment, but you gave me plenty to think, pray and write about. Some questions were fairly straightforward. Others made me stare at my computer screen for a while and wonder why I did not choose an easier hobby, like golf. I tried to answer as many of the questions as I could. I hope the conversations have been helpful, encouraging and most importantly, grounded in Scripture. I certainly do not pretend to have all the answers. Part of growing in our faith is being willing to ask honest questions, search God’s Word and trust Him with the things we still do not completely understand. For now, I am going to take a break from the Questions of Faith series and return to what has become my sweet spot, writing daily posts from specific sections of Scripture. There is something I deeply enjoy about opening a passage, sitting with it for a while and asking, **“What does God want us to see here and what difference should it make in the way we live today?”** As the psalmist wrote, *“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”* (Psalm 119:105, NLT). On Monday, we are headed back into the Word, one passage at a time. I may bring Questions of Faith back again in the future. I am confident there are plenty of questions left. Apparently, none of us has figured everything out yet. Thank you for reading, submitting questions, sharing posts and being willing to wrestle with some difficult subjects alongside me. I am grateful for the conversation. Now, back to Scripture. I think that is a pretty good place for all of us to be. ### Is doubt a sign of weak faith? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/is-doubt-a-sign-of-weak-faith/ Last updated: 2026-08-28T10:30:05.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-d959fab0-261f-4c6e-876f-540f2d3c8601.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-6f59636d-d6e7-474d-992c-5881d6ddc5a9.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) No. Doubt is not necessarily a sign of weak faith. Sometimes doubt is actually evidence that we are taking our faith seriously enough to wrestle with it. After all, you usually do not wrestle with things you do not care about. I have never spent a sleepless night wondering whether I have correctly understood the operating instructions for my dishwasher. Following Jesus does not require us to understand everything about God. If it did, Christianity would have a very small membership roster. Probably just God. The reality is that we are finite human beings trying to understand an infinite God. There are going to be moments when we scratch our heads and say, “I have absolutely no idea what You are doing right now.” **The Bible is filled with faithful people who had serious questions. Abraham** wondered how God would fulfill His promises. **Moses** questioned whether he was the right guy for the job. **Job** had enough questions to fill several chapters. **David** repeatedly asked God why He seemed distant. Even **John the Baptist**, who had publicly identified Jesus as the Messiah, later sent messengers asking, *“Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”* (Matthew 11:3, NLT). Apparently, having questions does not automatically disqualify you from having faith. One of my favorite examples comes from a desperate father who brought his son to Jesus. Jesus told him, *“Anything is possible if a person believes.”* The father responded with one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: *“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”* (Mark 9:23–24, NLT). I love that prayer because it sounds like real life. “Jesus, I believe. I trust You. I am following You. But I also have questions, fears and a few things I would really appreciate You explaining.” There is, however, a difference between honest doubt and hardened unbelief. Honest doubt says, “I do not understand, so I am going to keep seeking.” Hardened unbelief says, “I do not understand, so I refuse to trust.” God welcomes our questions, but He also calls us to keep following Him while we search for answers. Isaiah reminds us that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8–9). We should expect some mystery. A God small enough for me to completely understand would probably look suspiciously like me and I can assure you, nobody needs me running the universe! I have enough trouble remembering where I parked my truck at Meijer. So bring your questions to Jesus. Read Scripture. Pray honestly. Talk with mature believers. Look for thoughtful, biblical answers. Do not pretend your doubts are not there, but do not let them become an excuse to stop pursuing God. Sometimes strong faith does not sound like, “I have everything figured out.” Sometimes it sounds like that father standing before Jesus saying, *“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.”* Jesus is not threatened by your questions. Keep bringing them to Him. Mature faith is not having all the answers. It is continuing to trust the One who does. ### How could a God who loves all people wipe out entire people groups in his wrath as described in the Old Testament? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/how-could-a-god-who-loves-all-people-wipe-out-entire-people-groups-in-his-wrath-as-described-in-the-old-testament/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T10:30:20.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-18bf040d-7578-40bb-8db4-f0316d1c7db5.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-73ed88fe-a3f4-4dba-b0d5-21301cf779d1.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) This is one of those questions Christians should not answer too quickly. When we read Old Testament accounts where God commands judgment against entire cities or nations, including passages involving the Canaanites, it can be disturbing. We should not pretend otherwise. If your first reaction is, “That seems awfully difficult to reconcile with a loving God,” you are paying attention. **The first thing we need to understand is that the Bible never presents these events as God losing His temper.** God is not having a terrible Tuesday and deciding to wipe somebody out. His judgment comes after extraordinary patience with deeply entrenched evil. **Consider the Canaanites.** Long before Israel entered the Promised Land, God told Abraham that his descendants would have to wait because *“the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction”* (Genesis 15:16, NLT). That waiting period lasted roughly **four centuries**. God delayed judgment for generations. What eventually brought judgment was not ethnicity, nationality or Israel simply wanting somebody else’s property. Scripture describes cultures increasingly characterized by idolatry, sexual corruption, violence and even child sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:29-31). That distinction matters. God was not commanding genocide because He hated a particular race of people. He was exercising divine judgment against persistent evil. We also have to remember something uncomfortable about God’s love. A loving God must eventually confront evil. We sometimes imagine love and judgment as opposites, but they are not. If God watched generations of people abuse, murder, exploit and sacrifice children and simply shrugged because He was loving, we would not call that love. We would call it indifference. **God’s judgment also was not limited to Israel’s enemies.** When Israel eventually embraced the same kinds of idolatry, injustice and rebellion, God judged them too. Israel was never given a divine exemption card. God warned them, disciplined them and eventually allowed both Israel and Judah to experience conquest and exile. God’s holiness did not change depending on whose jersey someone was wearing. At the same time, **God’s mercy repeatedly appears in these difficult stories.** Rahab was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho, yet when she turned toward the God of Israel, she was rescued and welcomed among God’s people (Joshua 6:22-25). She eventually appears in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). That is an important clue about God’s heart. Judgment was never simply about someone’s ethnicity. Those who turned to Him could receive mercy. Ultimately, the tension between God’s love and judgment leads us to the cross. The God revealed in the Old Testament is not different from Jesus. **God is both perfectly holy and extraordinarily merciful.** At Calvary, He did not ignore sin. He dealt with it, and astonishingly, Christ took judgment upon Himself so sinners could be forgiven. *“God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”* (Romans 5:8, NLT). **The difficult judgments of the Old Testament should make us uncomfortable, but perhaps not for the reason we initially think.** They remind us that evil is more serious than we sometimes believe, God’s patience is greater than we realize and His mercy should never be taken for granted. The question eventually becomes personal. If God is holy enough to judge sin and loving enough to bear that judgment Himself, how will I respond to Him? The Bible’s answer is not to run from God in fear, but to run toward Him in repentance and faith. The God who judges evil is also the God who went to extraordinary lengths to save sinners. That is not a contradiction in His character. That is the breathtaking intersection of His holiness, justice and love. ### What Should I Do When God Feels Silent? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/what-should-i-do-when-god-feels-silent/ Last updated: 2026-08-26T10:30:20.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-d69220d0-1c07-4c5e-a6d1-179d2ea55731.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-f552b3ed-e908-41a9-9924-b07355be5a58.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) There are seasons when following God feels like carrying on a one-sided conversation. You pray, but nothing seems to happen. You read your Bible, but nothing jumps off the page. You ask God for wisdom, direction, or maybe just a small reminder that He is still paying attention and all you seem to hear are crickets. If you have ever wondered, “God, are You there?” you are in very good company. David wrestled with God’s silence. Job certainly did. The Psalms are filled with people asking God where He is and when He plans to do something. Even Jesus cried from the cross, *“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”* (Matthew 27:46, NLT). Scripture never pretends that faith always feels warm, clear and reassuring. **One of the misconceptions we sometimes have about spiritual maturity is that mature Christians always feel close to God.** They do not. Sometimes spiritual maturity simply means continuing to walk with God when you cannot feel Him walking beside you. I wish there was a secret prayer guaranteed to make God immediately answer. There is not. If there were, someone would have written a bestselling book about it, developed a six-week video study and sold us the companion journal for another $19.99\. Instead, Scripture continually calls us to something deeper than feelings. It calls us to faithfulness. Feelings are wonderful companions, but they make terrible leaders. Some mornings I wake up excited to spend time with God. Other mornings my greatest spiritual victory is finding the coffee maker without injuring myself. Neither morning changes who God is. His presence is not measured by how strongly I feel it. His presence is anchored in His character and His promises. David wrote, *“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me”* (Psalm 23:4, NLT). Notice what David does not say. He does not say, “I can always feel You beside me.” He declares that God is beside him even while he is walking through the darkness. That is faith. When God feels silent, keep praying. Keep opening His Word. Keep gathering with His people. Keep worshiping. Keep obeying the last thing God made clear while you wait for clarity about what comes next. Do not mistake silence for absence. God may not be answering the question you are asking in the timeframe you would prefer, but that does not mean He has abandoned you. Looking back over my own life, I can see seasons when I wondered what God was doing or whether He was doing anything at all. In the moment, His silence felt confusing. Looking back, I can see that He was quietly sustaining, shaping, correcting and preparing me in ways I could not recognize at the time. Apparently, God does not always feel obligated to explain the construction project while we are standing in the middle of it. If God feels silent today, resist the temptation to assume He has stepped away. Keep seeking Him. Keep trusting His character. Keep doing what you already know is right. Faith is not believing in God only when we can see what He is doing. Faith is trusting that God remains good, present, and faithful when we cannot. The silence may be uncomfortable, but you are not alone in it. God has not misplaced your prayer, forgotten your name, or wandered away from your life. Hold onto Him even when you cannot hear Him. Sometimes our deepest faith is formed in those quiet seasons when we choose to say, “God, I cannot see what You are doing right now, but I still trust You.” ### Is it wrong to use words that are not considered cuss words in our society but are often used as substitutes for them? Words like “shoot,” “gosh,” “darn,” or “heck yeah”? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/is-it-wrong-to-use-words-that-are-not-considered-cuss-words-in-our-society-but-are-often-used-as-substitutes-for-them-words-like-shoot-gosh-darn-or-heck-yeah/ Last updated: 2026-08-25T10:30:29.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-ac460d07-2bed-4619-8c0e-f770707f85be.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-c4847030-452a-4fd6-ab4d-c6b02f1568ad.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) I do not believe saying words like “shoot,” “gosh,” “darn,” or “heck” is automatically sinful. I also do not think God is sitting in heaven with a clipboard keeping track of how many times we say “darn” before we get moved to some sort of spiritual watch list. But the question does give us an opportunity to think about something deeper than which words make the Christian-approved vocabulary list. Words like these are often called euphemisms. They are softer expressions sometimes used in place of stronger ones. “Darn” may replace another word, just as “heck” often does. But the fact that a word substitutes for another word does not automatically make it sinful. We use euphemisms all the time. We say someone is “between jobs” instead of unemployed. We say we are going to “use the restroom,” even though very little resting usually happens there, unless you are a husband and there are dishes to be done. Just keeping it real. The Bible does not give us a list of forbidden English words. Instead, Scripture gives us principles for how followers of Jesus should speak. Paul writes, *“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful”* (Ephesians 4:29, NLT). He also warns against *“obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes”* (Ephesians 5:4, NLT). That moves the conversation beyond, “Am I technically allowed to say this?” to the much more important question, “What do my words reveal about my heart?” Jesus said, *“For whatever is in your heart determines what you say”* (Matthew 12:34, NLT). That gets to the heart of the issue, literally. Someone can say “heck yeah” without an ounce of sinful intent. Another person can avoid every questionable word in the dictionary while using perfectly respectable vocabulary to gossip, belittle, criticize, manipulate, or tear someone apart. One person may have cleaner vocabulary, but that does not necessarily mean they have a cleaner heart. You can hurt someone pretty badly without ever using a four-letter word. At the same time, holiness means we should be willing to let God examine every part of our lives, including our speech. God’s grace does not simply forgive us and leave us where He found us. The Holy Spirit works within us, transforming our hearts, attitudes, habits, and eventually the words coming out of our mouths. That does not mean becoming paranoid that “shoot” is secretly a cuss word. It means asking why we speak the way we do and whether our words reflect the character of Jesus. Perhaps the better question is not, “Can a Christian say this word?” but, “Does the way I speak honor Christ and build up the people around me?” Holiness is much bigger than maintaining a list of words we refuse to say. It is surrendering our hearts so completely to Jesus that He begins changing what comes out of our mouths. Ask the Holy Spirit to shape your words because He is shaping your heart. When Jesus changes the source, eventually He changes the sound. ### How should Christians understand the power of Satan and demons? What authority do we have over them? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/how-should-christians-understand-the-power-of-satan-and-demons-and-what-authority-do-we-have-over-them/ Last updated: 2026-08-24T10:31:49.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-463fe704-129d-448a-93d5-e20c3c6068af.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-51271ec8-50ea-459a-99c2-e13504431eb2.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) When it comes to Satan and demons, Christians often drift toward one of two extremes. Some people practically ignore the spiritual world altogether. Others see a demon behind every inconvenience. The car will not start, the Wi-Fi goes down and suddenly Satan is personally attacking the household. Sometimes spiritual warfare is real. Sometimes you just need to reboot the router. The Bible makes it clear that Satan and demons are real spiritual beings and should be taken seriously. Paul writes that *“we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world”* (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). Demonic beings possess spiritual abilities that human beings do not naturally possess. So yes, in that sense, they have powers we do not have on our own. But here is the really important part. **We should not underestimate Satan, but we should not overestimate him either.** Satan is not God’s opposite. This is not some cosmic arm-wrestling match between two equally powerful opponents while the rest of us nervously wait to see who wins. God is the eternal Creator. Satan is a created being. He is powerful, but he is not all-powerful. He is intelligent, but he is not all-knowing. He is active, but he is not everywhere at once. Only God is sovereign. That means **our confidence is not found in becoming more powerful than the devil.** **Our confidence is found in belonging to Jesus.** When Jesus sent out His disciples, they returned excited because even the demons obeyed them when they used His name. Jesus acknowledged the authority He had given them, but then redirected their attention. He told them, *“Don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven”* (Luke 10:20, NLT). In other words, do not become more impressed with your authority over demons than you are amazed by your relationship with Jesus. **James gives us remarkably practical instructions for dealing with the enemy.** *“Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”* (James 4:7, NLT). I love the order of that verse. Submission comes before resistance. Spiritual authority is not about shouting louder, memorizing some special phrase or becoming a spiritual Rambo. It comes from living surrendered to Christ and depending upon His power. That is why Scripture tells us to put on the armor of God, know His truth, pursue righteousness, exercise faith, pray and stand firm (Ephesians 6:10–18). Our greatest protection against the enemy is not becoming obsessed with demons. It is becoming deeply rooted in Jesus. We should take the devil seriously, but we should never live in fear of him. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has already defeated the powers of darkness (Colossians 2:15). Satan can tempt, accuse, deceive and attack, but he does not get the final word. So do not spend your life trying to become powerful enough to defeat the devil. Stay close to Jesus, walk in obedience, resist evil and stand firm in faith. As followers of Jesus, we belong to the One who has already won. ### Chasing the Wind URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/chasing-the-wind/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T02:46:44.000Z ****After Amen** helps continue the conversation after Sunday’s sermon at Wakarusa Missionary Church through personal reflection and group discussion. A video of the sermon will be added to this post within 48 hours. *"Everything is meaningless,"* the Teacher says in **Ecclesiastes 1:2**, *"completely meaningless."* It's not the gentlest opening line in Scripture, but it isn't meant to depress us. It's meant to wake us up. The Hebrew word behind "meaningless" is ***hevel***: vapor, breath, mist. Think of your breath hanging in cold air for a moment before it vanishes. That's the picture. The Teacher isn't saying life is worthless. He's saying it's fleeting, hard to grasp and impossible to control. Some of the things we spend our lives reaching for are really just smoke. So the question underneath this whole sermon is simple and uncomfortable: **what are you chasing that will not last?** **Ecclesiastes 1:3-4** describes life's exhausting rhythms: sun up, sun down, generations coming and going while the earth just keeps spinning. We work to earn money, earn money to buy things and watch those things wear out, break, or go obsolete, so we work some more. None of that makes work meaningless or possessions wrong. It means none of it can be the reason we live. Temporary things make wonderful gifts and terrible gods. The Teacher also names something our culture runs on: more never feels like enough. **Ecclesiastes 1:8** says no matter how much we see or hear, we're never satisfied. The phone we couldn't wait to buy becomes the phone we can't wait to replace. That's because we're asking temporary things to answer eternal questions. Am I valuable? Am I secure? Am I loved? Am I enough? Those are questions only God can actually answer. Even the Teacher, who denied himself nothing (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11), called it all *"chasing the wind."* Centuries later, Jesus asked a version of the same question: *"What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"* (Mark 8:36). The world measures how much you got, how successful you were, how many people knew your name. Jesus asks who you became, whether you were faithful, whether you knew Him. None of this means we stop enjoying life's good gifts, things like career, family, achievement, rest. It means we enjoy them without asking them to carry weight they were never built for. As Jesus put it, *"Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be"* (Matthew 6:21). Enjoy God's gifts. Just don't ask them to be God. --- **Questions to Process** 1. What occupies most of my thoughts and energy right now? What am I constantly trying to get, achieve, change or become? 2. What am I quietly expecting that thing to give me: identity, security, approval, significance, peace? 3. Can Jesus still be enough if I never get what I want most? What does my honest answer reveal? 4. Where have I turned a good gift (career, family, achievement, possessions) into something I'm depending on to prove my worth? 5. If I'm honest, what do I believe will finally make me feel "settled," and is that belief actually true? --- **Questions to Discuss** 1. The Hebrew word ***"hevel"*** pictures breath on a cold day, there for a moment, then gone. How does that image change the way you think about the word "meaningless" in Ecclesiastes? 2. Discuss this line: "Temporary things make wonderful gifts. They make terrible gods." Where have you seen a good thing quietly become an ultimate thing, in your own life or someone else's? 3. Ecclesiastes 1:8 says we're never fully satisfied no matter how much we see or hear. Why does "more" keep moving the finish line, even when we finally get what we wanted? 4. Jesus asks, *"What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"* (Mark 8:36). Why do you think He chose such an extreme example, winning everything? 5. As a group, talk through the three application questions from the sermon: What am I chasing? What am I expecting it to give me? What happens if I never get it? What did that reveal for you? ### Why does a certain sect of Christians believe in the prosperity gospel? Is there any truth to that? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/why-does-a-certain-sect-of-christians-believe-in-the-prosperity-gospel-is-there-any-truth-to-that/ Last updated: 2026-08-21T10:30:22.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-ff741d69-d5d9-48ee-8c00-a4a23981639a.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-aee9a39f-5e79-4aed-b1cf-a9f8bd58093d.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) The prosperity gospel can be appealing for a pretty understandable reason. It takes things nearly all of us want, good health, financial security, successful children and fewer problems, and connects them directly to faith. The basic message is that if you have enough faith, speak the right words, give generously and obey God, you can expect health, wealth and success. It is basically Christianity with a rewards program. Pray enough, give enough, believe enough and apparently you start earning points toward the upgraded life. What makes this teaching convincing is that there is just enough biblical truth in it to sound right. **The** **Bible absolutely teaches that God blesses His people**. James tells us, *“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father”* (James 1:17, NLT). Scripture teaches generosity, faithful stewardship, prayer and trusting God to provide. Proverbs also shows that wisdom, hard work and responsible living often produce better outcomes than foolishness. So the prosperity gospel did not invent the idea of God’s blessing. The problem is how it defines blessing and what it promises we should expect. God’s blessing cannot simply be measured by our bank account, physical health or how smoothly life is going. If it could, we would have a difficult time explaining Jesus. He said, *“Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head”* (Matthew 8:20, NLT). Paul experienced beatings, imprisonment, hunger and hardship while faithfully following Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Apparently nobody told Paul that stronger faith was supposed to come with better accommodations and a larger retirement account. **Jesus also warned us against making wealth the measure of God’s favor.** He said, *“You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money”* (Matthew 6:24, NLT). The New Testament prepares followers of Jesus for sacrifice, suffering and perseverance. It never promises that enough faith will produce a comfortable life. That is where prosperity teaching becomes dangerous. It can quietly turn our relationship with God into a transaction. I give, so God owes me. I believe, so God must heal me. I obey, so God must make me successful. Worse, when suffering comes, hurting people may wonder whether they simply did not have enough faith. That is not the gospel Jesus preached. **Jesus did not come to make us wealthy, healthy and comfortable.** He came to save us from sin, reconcile us to God and transform us into people who reflect His character. God certainly provides. Sometimes He gives financial abundance, physical healing and remarkable opportunities. We should pray boldly and receive those gifts gratefully. But we should never measure God’s goodness by whether life turns out the way we hoped. Eventually, that brings the question pretty close to home. **Would Jesus still be enough if the blessing I am praying for never comes?** Jesus said, *“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me”* (Mark 8:34, NLT). Enjoy God’s blessings and thank Him for every good thing He places in your hands. Just do not confuse the gifts with the Giver. Hold the gifts loosely and hold tightly to Jesus. Faith is not about convincing God to give us the life we want. It is surrendering our lives to Him and discovering that whether He gives abundantly, asks us to wait or walks with us through something we desperately wish He would change, **Jesus is still good, Jesus is still faithful and Jesus is still enough.** ### If God is sovereign and omniscient, is free will really free? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/if-god-is-sovereign-and-omniscient-is-free-will-really-free/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T10:30:50.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-69093507-3588-4ce0-bc79-c01aec1c8920.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-d8b5aebc-7f89-42f7-a3f7-f9460215580a.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) This is one of those questions Christians have been discussing for centuries. So if it makes your head hurt a little, welcome to the club. There are very intelligent theologians who have written very large books about this, which apparently proves that nobody has figured out how to explain it in 600 words of less. From a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective, I believe God is completely sovereign and completely omniscient, while also giving us a genuine ability to respond to Him. God knowing what I will choose is not the same as God making the choice for me. Think about knowing someone you love really well. After enough years of marriage, I can sometimes predict what my wife is going to say before she says it. That does not mean I made her say it. **(Pro tip for husbands)** Pointing out that you knew what your wife was going to say beforehand rarely improves the conversation. God’s knowledge obviously goes infinitely beyond ours. He does not make educated guesses about tomorrow. He knows everything perfectly. Yet Scripture consistently treats our choices as meaningful. Joshua told Israel, *“Choose today whom you will serve”* (Joshua 24:15, NLT). Jesus looked over Jerusalem and said He wanted to gather its people to Himself, *“but you wouldn’t let me”* (Matthew 23:37, NLT). Those passages sound like real invitations involving real responses. Wesleyan theology helps us understand this through what is called **prevenient grace**. That simply means God’s grace comes before our response. Because sin has affected every part of us, we do not naturally wander toward God on our own. God takes the initiative. He seeks us, draws us, convicts us and graciously enables us to respond. His grace makes our response possible without making it mandatory. Free will does not mean we have unlimited freedom. I cannot wake up tomorrow and freely choose to be 25 again. Believe me, there are mornings when my knees and I have discussed the possibility. We have gotten nowhere. There is some mystery here and I am comfortable admitting that. Scripture seems perfectly comfortable holding two truths together. **God is sovereign and our choices genuinely matter.** We do not have to make God smaller to make human responsibility real and we do not have to turn people into spiritual robots to keep God sovereign. That makes this more than a theological debate. If our response really matters, then when God calls, we should respond. When the Holy Spirit convicts us, we repent. When He leads us, we follow. When Jesus says, *“Come, follow me”* (Matthew 4:19, NLT), we have a decision to make. God is sovereign enough to remain completely in control while allowing us to genuinely choose whether we will trust and follow Him. The question, then, is not simply whether our will is free. The more personal question is this. **What are we doing with the freedom His grace has given us?** ### If God knows our prayers before we even ask him then what is the point in praying? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/if-god-knows-our-prayers-before-we-even-ask-him-then-what-is-the-point-in-praying/ Last updated: 2026-08-19T10:30:19.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-bd46ea0f-242f-491d-933b-83a945977233.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-6b07460e-19a5-49a0-b4ae-dc1ee3fa9014.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) That is a great question because, if God already knows what I am going to pray, it can feel a little like giving Him information He already has. But prayer was never primarily about giving God information. Jesus actually addressed this very issue when He said, *“Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”* (Matthew 6:8, NLT). Interestingly, Jesus did not follow that statement by saying, *“*So there is really no need to pray.” Instead, His very next words were, *“Pray like this”* (Matthew 6:9). God knows and Jesus still tells us to pray. **Prayer is less about informing God and more about relating to God.** My wife often knows what is bothering me before I tell her. Apparently, after enough years of marriage, my face has become a fairly reliable notification system. But knowing what I am thinking is not the same thing as hearing me share my heart. Relationship involves communication and our relationship with God is no different. He already knows what is happening inside us, but He still invites us to come near, speak honestly and trust Him with what is on our hearts. **Prayer also changes us.** When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He included the words, *“May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”* (Matthew 6:10, NLT). Prayer is not simply an attempt to convince God to do what I want. It is one of the ways God brings my heart into alignment with His. Sometimes I begin praying convinced that God needs to change my circumstances, only to discover that He wants to change something in me. I have gone into prayer with a fairly clear idea of what God should do, only to realize somewhere along the way that He was not asking for my leadership advice. At the same time, **we should not conclude that our requests do not matter.** Scripture repeatedly invites us to ask God for what we need. Jesus said, *“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for”* (Matthew 7:7, NLT). James even tells believers, *“You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it”* (James 4:2, NLT). God, in His wisdom, has chosen to make our prayers a meaningful part of how He works in the world. He already knows what we will ask, but that does not make the asking meaningless. Think about Jesus in Gethsemane. The Father knew His agony. The Father knew what Jesus wanted. Yet Jesus still prayed, *“Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”* (Mark 14:36, NLT). That may be one of the clearest pictures of prayer. We bring God what we want while trusting Him with what He knows is best. So pray even though God already knows. Tell Him what hurts, ask Him for what you need, thank Him for what He has done and confess where you have failed. Pray boldly enough to ask Him to change your circumstances and humbly enough to allow Him to change you. **The purpose of prayer is not to make an all-knowing God aware. It is to draw us into relationship with a loving Father who already knows us completely and still wants us to come near.** ### There is a story about a fig tree in Matthew where Jesus is cursing the fig tree and it is very confusing. Would you explain the context and significance of this story? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/there-is-a-story-about-a-fig-tree-in-matthew-where-jesus-is-cursing-the-fig-tree-and-it-is-very-confusing-would-you-explain-the-context-and-significance-of-this-story/ Last updated: 2026-08-18T10:30:20.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-245666c0-faad-46e1-af1f-c1b61793e752.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-437bde57-cdae-4b01-a73c-716e107b7b9d.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) The story of Jesus cursing the fig tree can feel strange at first. Jesus is hungry, He sees a fig tree, finds no fruit, curses it and the tree withers. On the surface, it almost sounds like Jesus had a bad morning and took it out on a plant. Thankfully, there is much more going on. The story appears in Matthew 21:18-22, immediately after Jesus enters Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. That context matters. Jesus is not throwing a divine temper tantrum because breakfast did not work out. The fig tree is serving as a living illustration of something spiritually significant. Matthew tells us that the tree had leaves but no fruit. From a distance, it looked healthy and productive. Up close, however, there was nothing there. That picture fits perfectly with what Jesus had just encountered in Jerusalem. The temple was busy. Religious activity was everywhere. People were buying, selling, offering sacrifices and participating in all the outward signs of religion. Yet Jesus found corruption and spiritual emptiness where genuine devotion to God should have been. He declared, *“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”* (Matthew 21:13, NLT). **The fig tree represented the danger of looking spiritually alive while producing no spiritual fruit.** The Old Testament sometimes used fig trees as pictures of Israel and its spiritual condition. Jeremiah 8:13, for example, describes God looking for fruit among His people and finding none. Jesus was using the fig tree as a prophetic warning. God was not interested merely in religious appearances. He desired repentance, righteousness, faith and lives genuinely devoted to Him. There is also a personal warning here for us. It is possible to have plenty of spiritual leaves. We can attend church, know Christian vocabulary, listen to Christian music, post Bible verses and own enough study Bibles to require reinforced shelving. None of those things are bad. But Jesus is looking for more than appearances. He is looking for fruit. Jesus said, *“You can identify them by their fruit”* (Matthew 7:16, NLT). Galatians 5:22-23 describes that fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The question of the fig tree is not simply, “Why did Jesus curse a tree?” The deeper question is, “When Jesus looks beyond the leaves of my life, what fruit does He find?” Following Jesus is not about appearing religious. It is about allowing His grace to genuinely transform us. The warning of the fig tree should lead us not toward fear, but toward honest examination and deeper surrender. Jesus desires more than leaves. He wants our lives to bear the fruit of a heart fully yielded to Him. ### My relative died by suicide 12 years ago. What are your thoughts on suicide? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/my-relative-died-by-suicide-12-years-ago-what-are-your-thoughts-on-suicide/ Last updated: 2026-08-17T10:30:37.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-449f8614-b8b1-410f-bbd3-af7873703aac.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-5e9a8179-e7b0-4bee-a578-9487d7a5cfa5.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) Few questions carry more pain than this one, especially when suicide has touched your own family. Twelve years may pass, but grief does not really follow a calendar. Certain memories, questions and emotions can still feel very close. The first thing I would say is that suicide is a heartbreaking tragedy. Life is a gift from God and Scripture teaches that every person is made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Because of that, I believe suicide is contrary to God’s will. It is not the path God desires for anyone who is suffering, overwhelmed or in despair. For the sake of clarity, I do believe suicide is sin. It is the taking of a life God has given and it often leaves deep pain in the lives of those who remain. Saying that does not mean we have to speak harshly or without compassion. We can hold to the truth of Scripture while also remembering that every suicide story involves a real person, a real family and often a depth of suffering we may never fully understand. At the same time, I do not believe suicide by itself determines a person’s eternal destiny. From an Arminian and Wesleyan perspective, salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and Scripture calls us to continue trusting and following Him (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 3:14). Because of that, I would be very hesitant to make an absolute statement about the eternal condition of someone who died by suicide. Scripture never identifies suicide itself as the unforgivable sin. At the same time, I would not want to casually dismiss the seriousness of a person’s spiritual condition either. Our hope is in Christ and our relationship with Him matters deeply. We also need to acknowledge how much we may not know. Severe depression, mental illness, trauma, despair, or overwhelming emotional pain can profoundly affect a person’s thinking, judgment and ability to see clearly. Recognizing that does not make suicide right. It simply reminds us that God understands far more than we do. He knows the heart, the mind, the circumstances and the level of responsibility in ways we cannot. That is why I would never want to stand in judgment over a grieving family and claim certainty about what happened between their loved one and God in those final moments. Abraham once asked, *“Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”* (Genesis 18:25, NLT). I believe we can trust that He will. As followers of Jesus, our response should always be to point people toward life, hope, help, repentance, faith, community and the grace of God. When suicide has already happened, we can acknowledge the tragedy and the sin without pretending to know what only God knows. Sometimes faith means living with unanswered questions. In those moments, we can place the people we love into the hands of a God who is perfectly holy, perfectly just and deeply merciful. ### Is there an unpardonable sin and if so, what is it? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/is-there-an-unpardonable-sin-and-if-so-what-is-it/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T10:30:24.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-61068602-ef9a-4083-a06b-5feb905901fc.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-327bc601-8379-4bf4-bdaa-f9add6c15b7d.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) Yes, the Bible does speak about an unpardonable sin, and admittedly, that phrase can make even a longtime Christian sit up a little straighter. Jesus said, *“Every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven”* (Matthew 12:31, NLT). Mark records the same warning and explains that Jesus said this because the religious leaders were claiming that the work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus was actually the work of Satan (Mark 3:28-30). **So what exactly is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?** It is not accidentally saying the wrong thing about God. It is not having a terrible thought during a bad week. It is not struggling with doubt, asking difficult questions, becoming angry with God or committing some particular sin that suddenly places you beyond the reach of grace. That is important because some people read this passage and immediately begin mentally reviewing every questionable thing they have said since seventh grade. The religious leaders in Matthew 12 had witnessed the work of Jesus firsthand. They saw evidence of God’s power, **yet they deliberately attributed that work to Satan.** Their problem was deeper than a poorly chosen sentence. **They were stubbornly rejecting the truth the Holy Spirit was revealing about Jesus.** The Holy Spirit’s work includes pointing us toward Christ, convicting us of sin and calling us to repentance (John 16:8-14). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a settled, persistent rejection of that testimony. In other words, the sin remains unforgiven because the person continually refuses the very grace and repentance through which forgiveness is received. God is not standing in heaven saying, *“I would forgive you, but you crossed one line too many.”* Scripture repeatedly presents God as gracious and willing to forgive those who turn to Him. *“If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”* (1 John 1:9, NLT). That also gives us an important word of reassurance. **If you are worried that you may have committed the unpardonable sin, that concern itself is generally evidence that your heart has not become hardened toward God.** A person stubbornly rejecting the Holy Spirit is not usually concerned about being reconciled to Him. The greater danger is not that a sincere follower of Jesus will accidentally commit an unforgivable sin. The danger is repeatedly hearing God’s voice and continuing to tell Him no. When the Holy Spirit convicts you, respond. When He reveals sin, repent. When He points you toward Jesus, follow. Do not spend your life wondering whether God’s grace is big enough for your past. It is. Instead, keep your heart soft enough to say yes to Him today. ### When is it okay to be angry about something? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-is-it-okay-to-be-angry-about-something/ Last updated: 2026-08-13T10:30:02.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-da77454a-3424-474d-83ac-913229cfeb9d.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-2e787672-8d1b-4837-a356-6737191f1ebb.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) Anger is one of those emotions that can make us wonder whether we are becoming more like Jesus or simply getting better at hiding what we really feel. **Scripture does not teach that anger itself is always sinful.** Paul writes, *“And don’t sin by letting anger control you”* (Ephesians 4:26, NLT). That tells us there is a difference between feeling anger and allowing anger to become sinful. **Jesus Himself became angry.** Mark tells us that He was angry and deeply saddened by the hard hearts of those around Him (Mark 3:5). His anger was connected to something genuinely wrong. Jesus also confronted those who had turned the temple into something God never intended it to be (Matthew 21:12-13). So yes, there are things that should make us angry. Abuse should make us angry. Injustice should bother us. Cruelty, dishonesty and the damage caused by sin should stir something in us. Sometimes the more concerning response would be feeling nothing at all. My problem is that my anger does not always come with Jesus-level accuracy. Sometimes I am angry because something is genuinely wrong. Other times I am angry because someone disagreed with me, inconvenienced me, embarrassed me or drove ten miles under the speed limit in the passing lane. I would like to believe all of those are matters of righteousness, but I am pretty sure heaven does not classify them the same way. That is where we have to be careful. **Jesus’ anger was perfectly righteous because Jesus was without sin.** Ours is often a mixture of legitimate concern, wounded pride, selfishness and frustration. James gives us this warning. *“Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires”* (James 1:20, NLT). Anger may tell us that something needs attention, but it makes a terrible driver. When it gets behind the wheel, we tend to speak too sharply, assume motives too quickly and rehearse speeches in our heads that should probably never make it to the stage. **The answer is not to pretend we are never angry.** Anger can be acknowledged without being obeyed. A helpful question is, “Why am I angry?” Is something truly wrong, or has something simply not gone the way I wanted? Sometimes anger should move us toward courageous action. Love may require a difficult conversation, confronting sin, setting a healthy boundary or protecting someone who is being hurt. Other times, anger needs to lead us toward forgiveness. Paul tells us to get rid of bitterness, rage and anger and instead become kind, tenderhearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:31-32). **Following Jesus does not mean becoming emotionless.** It means allowing the Holy Spirit to transform even our emotions. Before you unleash your anger or bury it, bring it to Jesus. Ask Him what is true, what is sinful in your own heart, whether forgiveness is needed and what obedience requires next. Sometimes He may tell you to let it go. Sometimes He may tell you to speak up. **Christian maturity is not learning never to be angry. It is learning to let Jesus lead us, even in our anger.** ### When dealing with difficult people, how do I know when to speak the truth in love and when to be silent? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/when-dealing-with-difficult-people-how-do-i-know-when-to-speak-the-truth-in-love-and-when-to-be-silent/ Last updated: 2026-08-12T10:30:04.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-5182c078-6533-4082-8b13-4bd6b844f079.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-c27c0709-9721-40e6-94d2-a83337e6ad46.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) That is one of those questions that sounds fairly simple until you are dealing with an actual difficult person. Suddenly, every Bible verse you know seems to be competing for attention while your blood pressure quietly joins the conversation. Scripture tells us to *“speak the truth in love”* (Ephesians 4:15, NLT). Yet Scripture also says there is *“a time to be quiet and a time to speak”* (Ecclesiastes 3:7, NLT). Spiritual maturity includes knowing when to say something and when to close your mouth before you make things worse. Some of us are more naturally gifted in one category. One of the first questions we should ask is, **Why do I want to say something?** Do I genuinely want to help this person, protect someone, restore a relationship or honor God? Maybe I am just irritated, offended and mentally preparing a speech that ends with everyone finally recognizing I was right all along. Those motives can look surprisingly similar if we are not careful. Proverbs says, *“Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back”* (Proverbs 29:11, NLT). Silence is not always weakness. Sometimes it is wisdom. You do not have to respond to every accusation, correct every misunderstanding or accept every invitation to an argument. Some conversations are not looking for truth. They are simply looking for another round. Jesus sometimes remained silent when He was falsely accused (Matthew 27:12–14). He did not defend Himself against every charge because His mission was bigger than winning the moment. **Silence, however, is not always spiritual.** Sometimes silence is simply fear. Love occasionally requires us to speak because someone may be getting hurt, sin may be destroying a person or a relationship may need an honest conversation. Our silence may even communicate approval when we should lovingly say something. Paul tells believers to gently and humbly help restore someone caught in sin (Galatians 6:1). A helpful question to consider is **whether my words will move this situation toward truth, restoration and Christlikeness or simply throw another log on a fire that is already burning.** Pray before you speak. Check your motives. Consider the timing. Ask whether you have earned the relational right to say what needs to be said. Make sure your tone sounds like Jesus and not your frustration with a Bible verse attached to it. Sometimes love speaks, sometimes love listens and sometimes love refuses to have the same pointless argument for the seventeenth time. Our goal is not to win, have the last word or make sure everyone knows we were right. Our goal is to represent Jesus well. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you courage when truth needs to be spoken and restraint when your words would only make things worse. Then obey Him. The most Christlike response may be to open your mouth. It may also be to keep it closed. **Wisdom is knowing the difference.** ### With disasters and diseases seemingly increasing worldwide, are we seeing end-times prophecy unfold? Could the Rapture be next? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/with-disasters-and-diseases-seemingly-increasing-worldwide-are-we-seeing-end-times-prophecy-unfold-could-the-rapture-be-next/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T10:30:51.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-35a8becd-127b-4d55-84c4-c64b7d42d150.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-b7adbcb6-069a-40cb-b62b-be3609f4dc26.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) It is hard to watch the news without occasionally wondering, “Is Jesus coming back before I finish paying off the house?” Floods, fires, earthquakes, hail, wars, disease outbreaks and other disasters seem to fill our screens constantly. The word “apocalyptic” gets thrown around so often that it has practically become a weather-related term. Jesus did tell His disciples that history would move toward a conclusion. He spoke of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution and increasing turmoil. Yet He also gave an important warning: *“Don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, *but the end won’t follow immediately”** (Matthew 24:6, NLT). That last sentence matters. Some of what we are witnessing certainly sounds like the conditions Jesus described. Severe weather and costly disasters have increased in several categories and regions. At the same time, we should be careful about assuming that every natural disaster represents a measurable **increase** in biblical “signs.” For example, the U.S. Geological Survey says the apparent increase in recorded earthquakes is largely because we have far more instruments detecting them and much faster worldwide reporting. Major earthquakes themselves have continued to fluctuate around a long-term average. (United States Geological Survey) In other words, our phones now allow us to know about an earthquake in Indonesia, flooding in Europe and a wildfire in California before breakfast. Previous generations simply did not have that kind of information. **Could the Rapture be next on God’s calendar?** Absolutely. Paul teaches that believers will someday be *“caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”* (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, NLT). Christians disagree about exactly where that event fits into the end-times timeline, but Scripture is unmistakably clear about something more important: **Jesus is coming again.** The Missionary Church affirms that Christ’s return will be personal, bodily, visible and glorious, and describes His coming as a hope for which Christians should remain constantly prepared. (The Missionary Church) Jesus also made something else very clear: *“No one knows the day or hour”* (Matthew 24:36, NLT). Every generation that has attempted to circle a date on the prophetic calendar has eventually needed a new calendar. That means our focus should not be on trying to crack the code. No matter what wars, rumors of wars, disasters or frightening headlines surround us, our mission remains the same. Jesus gave us a much more reliable focus when He said, *“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; *and then the end will come*”* (Matthew 24:14, NLT). That changes the emphasis. Jesus did not tell us to spend our lives staring at the sky or analyzing every headline. He told us to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, live holy lives, love people and remain faithful. So I would be cautious about saying, “This earthquake proves the Rapture is next.” I would rather say, “Everything happening around us reminds me that this world is temporary, Jesus is coming again and I have work to do until He comes.” **The purpose of biblical prophecy is not to turn Christians into end-times detectives.** It is to make us faithful disciples. The better question is not, “Is Jesus coming soon?” The better question is, **“If He came today, would I be ready to meet Him and am I faithfully doing what He told me to do until He comes?”** ### How do I know for sure that God is speaking and directing me rather than my own thoughts since I don't hear Him speak in an audible voice? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/how-do-i-know-for-sure-that-god-is-speaking-and-directing-me-rather-than-my-own-thoughts-since-i-dont-hear-him-speak-in-an-audible-voice/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T10:00:20.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-c492783c-9d3c-4989-b24f-97f5b08e8ca1.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-da66535d-19ca-4d44-939a-9c168f175f7e.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) I have never heard God speak to me in an audible voice. No booming sound from the clouds. No burning Emerald Green Arborvitae in the backyard. No mysterious voice interrupting my morning coffee and saying, “Chris, here is what you should do today.” Frankly, if that happened, I would spill the coffee first and ask questions later. Most followers of Jesus experience God’s leading in quieter ways. The challenge is figuring out whether a thought is actually God’s direction or simply our own preference. **The clearest place to begin is Scripture.** God will never lead you in a direction that contradicts what He has already revealed in His Word. Psalm 119:105 says, *“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”* (NLT). If the direction you believe God is giving you requires dishonesty, bitterness, immorality, selfishness, revenge or anything else Scripture clearly calls sin, you can stop wondering. God is not contradicting Himself. **God also speaks through the Holy Spirit.** Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide His followers into truth (John 16:13). That guidance may come as conviction, persistent prompting, growing clarity or a sense that God keeps bringing the same issue back before you. However, we should be cautious about treating every strong feeling as divine guidance. I have felt strongly about things that turned out to be last night's tacos. **Another important safeguard is wise Christian counsel.** Proverbs 15:22 says, *“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success”* (NLT). Mature believers who know Scripture and know us can sometimes recognize what we cannot. If everyone you trust is raising concerns while you keep insisting, “But I really feel like God told me,” it may be worth listening. **God’s direction will also produce fruit consistent with His character.** Galatians 5:22–23 describes the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God may lead us somewhere uncomfortable, difficult or costly, but He will never lead us away from becoming more like Jesus. **We also need humility.** Sometimes, when I am trying to make a decision about direction, I will pray something like, “God, I believe this is the door You are leading me toward, but if I am not hearing You clearly, please close it.” That prayer reminds me that I can sincerely love Jesus and still misunderstand what He is saying. It places my plans back into His hands and admits that His wisdom is greater than mine. A closed door is not always rejection. Sometimes it is protection, redirection or simply God saying, “Not this way Knight.” Sometimes we desperately want certainty when God is asking for trust. Abraham did not receive the entire travel itinerary before leaving home. He simply obeyed the next thing God showed him (Hebrews 11:8). You may never be able to say with absolute certainty, “God told me this,” about a decision. Perhaps a better prayer is, “God, I want what You want more than I want what I want.” Stay close to Scripture. Listen to the Spirit. Seek godly counsel. Examine your motives. Pray with open hands. Watch the fruit. Then take the next faithful step. God is not playing hide-and-seek with His will. The deeper question is often not, “Will God guide me?” but, “Am I willing to follow wherever He leads?” ### Question: Is my truth God’s truth? How do I explain what I believe when someone else claims to follow God’s truth, but their “truth” is different from mine? How can I know I am following God’s truth and not just my own? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/question-is-my-truth-gods-truth-how-do-i-explain-my-truth-to-others-if-im-saying-i-am-following-gods-truth-but-its-different-from-someone-else-who-claims-they-are-following-gods-truth-h/ Last updated: 2026-08-07T10:30:03.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-bece63a3-a822-4519-95c7-093d20bba2cc.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-581dfa65-d3e2-4f0d-8e19-a8020dca53be.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) The phrase “my truth” has become common in our culture. Usually, people mean, “This is how I experienced it,” or, “This is what feels true to me.” **Our experiences matter, but they are not always reliable guides to ultimate truth.** I have sincerely believed things that turned out to be sincerely wrong. Confidence is not the same thing as correctness. Anyone who has ever confidently walked into the wrong restroom understands this. I confess that I am guilty of this! **God’s truth does not originate in our feelings, preferences, politics, traditions or personal experiences.** Jesus prayed to the Father, *“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth”* (John 17:17, NLT). God’s truth is revealed most clearly through Scripture and ultimately through Jesus, who said, *“I am the way, the truth, and the life”* (John 14:6, NLT). The difficult part is that Christians who read the same Bible sometimes reach different conclusions. **That does not mean truth changes.** It means our understanding can be limited. We bring different backgrounds, assumptions, wounds, teachers and church traditions to the text. Sometimes we interpret Scripture carefully. Other times we unknowingly recruit Scripture to support what we already wanted to believe. **So, how can we know whether we are following God’s truth instead of our own?** We begin by asking whether our belief is **clearly supported by the whole teaching of Scripture, not merely one isolated verse.** We should also **examine whether our interpretation reflects the character and teaching of Jesus.** We pray for the Holy Spirit to correct us, not merely confirm us. We listen humbly to mature believers, including those who may disagree with us. We also examine the fruit our belief produces. God’s truth should lead toward holiness, humility, love, justice, grace and obedience, not arrogance, cruelty or a constant need to win arguments. **Christians should also distinguish between essential beliefs and secondary disagreements.** The resurrection of Jesus is not a minor preference. The color of the church carpet is not a test of core Christian belief, although some church meetings have suggested otherwise. Faithful Christians may disagree about baptism, spiritual gifts, church government or end-times details while still sharing the same Savior and the same gospel. People outside the church often notice our contradictions, especially when Christians speak with absolute certainty about matters Scripture does not address with equal clarity. **Humility strengthens our witness.** We can say, “This is how I understand Scripture, but I am still willing to learn.” That is not weakness. It is spiritual maturity. The goal is not to make God agree with us. The goal is to surrender ourselves to Him. Open God’s Word with a teachable heart. Ask the Spirit to expose your preferences, correct your assumptions and lead you into truth. God’s truth will not always make us comfortable, but it will always make us more like Jesus. ### Question: How is it that Christianity knows and believes their religion to be the only correct one? Don’t all the other religions believe their religion is the only way as well? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/question-how-is-it-that-christianity-knows-and-believes-their-religion-to-be-the-only-correct-one-dont-all-the-other-religions-believe-there-is-the-only-way-as-well/ Last updated: 2026-08-06T10:30:35.000Z [A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith SeriesBefore you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/icon/image-22b67738-462c-4725-b12e-bfec901ce5ea.png)Chris Knight WritesChris Knight![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a8/a6/a8a68f91-2df0-4a10-95c0-572bcc8c3aad/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_979707686-b38a12e3-b7f6-4bf4-8b3c-799f988d8bc0.jpeg)](https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/) This is one of the most thoughtful questions anyone can ask and it deserves an honest answer. Yes, most religions make truth claims. Islam believes the Qur’an is God’s final revelation. Orthodox Judaism believes its understanding of God’s covenant is true. Hinduism and Buddhism offer different explanations for reality, suffering and salvation. Those beliefs may contain points of similarity, but they also contradict one another in important ways. **Two opposite claims cannot both be true at the same time, no matter how sincerely someone believes them.** So the real question is not, “Which religion is the nicest?” or even, “Which religion has the most agreeable people?” Every religion has kind people, difficult people and at least one person who talks too long at meetings. The real question is, “Which one is true?” Christianity does not claim to be the only way because Christians gathered in a room and voted to make it exclusive. Christianity makes that claim because Jesus did. Jesus said, *“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”* (John 14:6, NLT). Peter later declared, *“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved”* (Acts 4:12, NLT). Those are bold statements. If Jesus was merely a wise teacher, they sound arrogant. If He truly is the Son of God who rose from the dead, they are simply true. Jesus spoke about truth while standing before Pontius Pilate. He said, *“I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”* Pilate responded with a question people are still asking today: *“What is truth?”* (John 18:37–38, NLT). That is not merely a philosophical question for students sitting in a classroom with expensive textbooks. **It is a question every person must answer.** Is truth whatever we feel? Is it whatever our culture accepts? Is it whatever received the most likes this week? Jesus claimed that truth is ultimately found in Him. **Christianity stands or falls on a historical event: Jesus died, was buried and rose again.** Paul wrote that if Christ has not been raised, Christian faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:14). Christianity does not ask people to believe without evidence. It points to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and invites people to examine the claims. **Christianity is exclusive in one sense, but wonderfully inclusive in another.** Jesus is the only way, but the invitation is open to everyone. Rich or poor, religious or skeptical, respected or ashamed, everyone is invited to come to Him. Christians should never communicate this truth with arrogance. We are not saying, “We are better than everyone else.” We are saying, “We were lost and Jesus rescued us.” **Pilate’s question still hangs in the air: “What is truth?”** Jesus answered that question with His life, His words, His cross and His empty tomb. Each of us must decide whether He was mistaken, dishonest or exactly who He claimed to be. How we answer this question shapes not only our lives, but our eternity as well. ### Question: Do I have to give up my unbelieving friends to follow Jesus? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/question-do-i-have-to-give-up-my-unbelieving-friends-to-follow-jesus/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T10:30:42.000Z Becoming a follower of Jesus does not mean you need to delete half the contacts in your phone, turn down every dinner invitation and start treating friends who do not share your faith like they have become contagious. Following Jesus will change your life, but it should not make you cold, rude or suddenly unavailable to people you care about. Jesus was often criticized for spending time with people others considered sinful. Matthew tells us that He ate with tax collectors and people who had been pushed to the edges of respectable society. When the religious leaders complained, Jesus said, *“Healthy people don’t need a doctor. Sick people do.”* Then He added, *“For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners”* (Matthew 9:10–13, NLT). **Jesus did not avoid broken people.** He moved toward them. He shared meals, listened to their stories and treated them with dignity. At the same time, **He never joined them in sin just to prove He was accepting.** Jesus loved people deeply without letting their choices reshape His convictions. That is a balance all of us have to learn. **Our friends are not projects.** They are not names on an evangelism list, future church attendance numbers or people we keep around until we can steer the conversation toward Jesus. They are people made in the image of God. They deserve real friendship, whether they ever attend our church, agree with us or respond to the gospel the way we hope they will. People can usually tell when they are being treated like assignments. Nobody wants to discover that the friendship came with a hidden agenda. Real friendship listens, laughs, remembers birthdays, helps when life falls apart and stays present when spiritual conversations move slowly. **We share Jesus because we care about people, not because we are trying to complete a spiritual task.** Still, **loving someone does not mean ignoring unhealthy influence.** Paul warns, *“Bad company corrupts good character”* (1 Corinthians 15:33, NLT). That does not mean every person outside the church is bad company. It means relationships shape us. Some friends will respect your faith and your changing priorities. Others may pressure you toward old habits, mock your commitment to Christ or keep pulling you toward situations where compromise becomes easier. You do not need to become judgmental, but you do need wisdom. Healthy boundaries are not always rejection. Sometimes they protect the good work God is doing in your life. New believers also need strong Christian community. We need people who will pray with us, study Scripture with us and encourage us when following Jesus gets hard. When I pull a burning log away from the others in my fire pit, its flame slowly fades. The same thing can happen to us when we try to follow Jesus alone. Love your friends sincerely. Keep showing up. Keep listening. Keep speaking truth with humility and grace. Build strong friendships with other believers, set wise boundaries and stay close to Jesus. People are not projects. They are people to love and your faithful friendship may become one of the clearest ways they see Jesus in you. ### A Brief Note About the Questions of Faith Series URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/a-brief-note-about-the-questions-of-faith-series/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T10:00:13.000Z Before you begin reading the Questions of Faith series, I want to offer a little context about what these posts are and what they are not. I have served as a pastor for many years, but I do not consider myself an academic theologian or biblical scholar. Many faithful men and women are far more qualified than I am to write technical books, debate complex theological systems and use words that require both a dictionary and a strong cup of coffee. My heart has always been pastoral and relational. I love helping ordinary people, people like me, take their next step with Jesus. I enjoy opening God’s Word, asking honest questions and helping people understand how biblical truth applies to everyday life. My passion is disciple-making more than debate, application more than argument and helping people grow in a genuine relationship with Christ. These posts are not intended to be the final word on every difficult theological question. They are my best attempt to respond to honest questions with humility, biblical conviction and a pastor’s heart. I will seek to represent Scripture faithfully while recognizing that sincere, Bible-believing Christians sometimes reach different conclusions on secondary issues. When that happens, I want to approach those differences with grace, honesty and respect. I also want to make it clear that the views expressed in this series are my own. They should not be understood as official statements or positions of Wakarusa Missionary Church or the Missionary Church, Inc. My prayer is simple. I hope these posts encourage you to think carefully, search the Scriptures, ask meaningful questions and continue growing in your love for Jesus. I do not expect every post to answer every question completely. Some questions are too deep for 500 words and a mildly amusing opening paragraph. However, I hope each post helps you take one faithful step closer to Christ. If that happens, this series will have accomplished its purpose. ### Prayer Gets Practical URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/prayer-gets-practical/ Last updated: 2026-08-04T10:30:20.000Z James 5:13–20 James makes prayer sound wonderfully simple. *“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray”* (James 5:13, NLT). That seems obvious until hardship actually arrives. Then many of us develop a different plan. First, we worry. Then we replay the situation seventeen times. Next, we search the internet, which is always calming and never makes anything worse! After that, we call someone who agrees that the situation is terrible. Prayer finally enters the picture somewhere around step nine. **James tells us to start there.** When life hurts, pray. When life is good, praise. When you are sick, exhausted or spiritually weak, invite trusted believers to come close and pray with you. Do not pretend everything is fine when it is clearly held together by coffee, denial and one last remaining thread of emotional stability. **James describes a church where people are honest about their struggles.** They confess sin. They share burdens. They pray for one another. That kind of community can feel uncomfortable because most of us are much better at presenting the edited version of our lives. We say, “I’m doing pretty well,” when what we mean is, “I am one inconvenience away from moving into a cabin where nobody can find me.” Yet isolation gives sin and discouragement room to grow. Honest community brings them into the light. James writes, *“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”* (James 5:16, NLT). Healing begins when we stop hiding and allow trusted people to know what is really happening. **James also reminds us that powerful prayer is not reserved for spiritual celebrities.** Elijah was human just like us. He had fears, frustrations and bad days. He probably misplaced things too. Yet he prayed and God moved. The power was never in Elijah’s impressive résumé. The power was in the God who heard him. Then **James turns our attention toward those who wander.** We are not called to gossip about them, judge them from a distance or say, “I’ll pray for you,” before forgetting by lunchtime. We pray, show up, listen, speak truth with grace and help them find their way back to Jesus. The **church should be a place where nobody suffers alone**, nobody has to hide forever and nobody is casually abandoned when they wander. Pray through the pain. Praise through the joy. Confess what needs to come into the light. Then look around. Someone may be drifting, discouraged or quietly disappearing. Ask Jesus to give you the courage to pursue them with humility and love. Do not merely talk about bringing people home. Let Christ use your prayers, your presence and your compassion to lead someone back to Him. ### Say What You Mean URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/say-what-you-mean/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T10:30:52.000Z James 5:12 Some people can turn a simple promise into a full legal proceeding. “I swear on my life, my truck, my dog and the last piece of pie in the refrigerator.” James would probably raise one eyebrow and say, “Could you just answer the question?” *“Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no, or you will be condemned”* (James 5:12, NLT). James is not trying to drain all the personality out of our conversations. He is warning us about using dramatic language to make ordinary words sound more believable. When our character is trustworthy, we do not need fireworks, background music and three witnesses every time we make a commitment. We have all heard promises like, “I will call you tomorrow,” “I will definitely take care of that,” or “I am almost there.” That final phrase has become one of the most flexible statements in the English language. It can mean, “I am pulling into the driveway,” or, “I am still standing in the kitchen trying to remember where I left my keys.” The truth is, we have probably all said things we meant in the moment but failed to follow through on later. We overcommitted. We forgot. We got distracted. We looked at the calendar and realized we had agreed to be in three places at once. That is not a gift of the Spirit. That is poor planning with confidence. James calls us to something simple and powerful. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Let your yes carry weight because people know you will do your best to follow through. Let your no be clear enough that people do not have to decode it like a suspicious text message. **Integrity is built in ordinary conversations.** It grows when we tell the truth even when exaggeration would make the story better. It grows when we keep our word after the commitment becomes inconvenient. It grows when we admit, “I forgot,” instead of creating a detailed explanation involving traffic, technology and an emergency at the grocery store. The way we speak should make the faithfulness of Jesus easier for others to see. When our words are honest and dependable, our lives quietly point people toward Him. Before you promise, pause. Can you honestly do it? When you say yes, follow through. When you need to say no, say it kindly. When you fail, own it quickly and make it right. **Let your life make your words believable.** A faithful disciple does not need dramatic promises. A simple yes or no, backed by Christlike character, is a powerful testimony. ### Waiting Well URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/waiting-well/ Last updated: 2026-07-31T11:05:37.000Z **James 5:7–11** Waiting has never been one of my spiritual gifts. I prefer quick answers, immediate results and packages that arrive before the tracking information says they have even left the warehouse. Patience sounds wonderfully spiritual until I am stuck in traffic behind someone driving 12 mph under the speed limit with their turn signal blinking for three counties. James tells believers to be patient while they wait for the Lord’s return. Then **he points to a farmer.** *“Think of the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen”* (James 5:7, NLT). Farmers understand waiting better than most of us. They prepare the soil, plant the seed and trust that something is happening beneath the surface. They do not dig up the seed every afternoon to check its progress. They do not stand in the field shouting, “Come on! I have plans next weekend!” They work faithfully and trust the process. That is often how God works in our lives. We pray, but nothing seems to change. We obey, but the situation remains difficult. We ask God for direction, healing, provision or relief, then begin checking for results like we are refreshing a delivery app. When nothing happens quickly, we start wondering whether God heard us or accidentally sent our answer to the wrong address. James reminds us that God’s delays are never God’s absence. The field may look empty, but the seed is still growing. God is often doing His deepest work where we cannot see it. He is strengthening our faith, shaping our character and teaching us to trust Him beyond what we can currently understand. James also **points to the prophets and to Job.** They endured suffering without receiving immediate explanations. Their faithfulness was not proven because life became easy. It was proven because they kept trusting God when life remained hard. Waiting well does not mean pretending the pain does not hurt. It means refusing to let discouragement become your spiritual leader. Keep praying when heaven feels quiet. Keep obeying when the results are slow. Keep loving when relationships are difficult. Keep showing up when quitting would be easier. **The harvest belongs to God, but faithfulness belongs to us.** Do not dig up today what God is still growing. Stand firm. Strengthen your heart. Jesus is coming, God is working and no season of faithful obedience will ever be wasted. ### The Myth of More URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-myth-of-more/ Last updated: 2026-07-30T10:30:13.000Z James 5:1–6 James begins this passage with a warning to wealthy people who had become rich by taking advantage of others. He does not gently clear his throat or ease into the subject. He tells them to weep because judgment is coming. That is not exactly the kind of message that gets followed by a standing ovation. James was not condemning everyone who had money. Scripture includes faithful people who had considerable wealth and used it generously. The issue was not that these people owned possessions. The issue was that their possessions had slowly started owning them. They stored up wealth while workers went unpaid. They enjoyed comfort while others suffered. They had more than enough, but their hearts had somehow decided there was no such thing as enough. That is one of the dangers of money. The finish line keeps moving. We tell ourselves we will be content after the next raise, the next purchase or the next number in the bank account. Then we get there and discover contentment apparently changed addresses. **Money is a useful tool, but it makes a terrible savior.** It can buy a house, but it cannot build a healthy home. It can purchase medicine, but it cannot guarantee another day. It can fill a retirement account, but it cannot prepare a soul for eternity. James writes, *“Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags”* (James 5:2, NLT). Everything we own eventually wears out, breaks down or becomes something our children have to sort through after we are gone. The expensive television becomes outdated. The new vehicle begins making a noise nobody at the dealership can reproduce. The shirt we absolutely had to own ends up hanging in the back of the closet beside six other shirts we also absolutely had to own. God is not asking us to feel guilty for every blessing. He is asking us to remember who provided it and why He placed it in our hands. Our resources can feed someone, encourage someone, support ministry, relieve suffering and open doors for the gospel. We can build bigger barns for ourselves, or we can use what God has entrusted to us to bless people who may never be able to repay us. **One day, everything we own will stay behind.** None of it will stand beside us before God. Only what was surrendered to Christ will matter. Hold your blessings loosely. Give generously. Practice justice. Notice people in need. Invest in what eternity remembers. Your earthly wealth has an expiration date. What you place into God’s hands never does. ### Six Years URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/six-years/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T19:26:06.000Z Six years ago today, at 3:26 p.m., my dad, Rev. Harold Knight, passed away at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. He was 80 years old. I was in Idaho attending a conference with my teammate Denny Yoder when I received the news from my brother. Dad was in Indianapolis, with mom and Jeff gathered by his side. I was more than 1,500 miles away. Life was ending in one place while a conference schedule continued in another. Both felt like a completely normal part of life and absolutely impossible at the same time. Time is bizarre that way. **Six years feels incredibly short**. I can still hear Dad’s voice. I remember his humor, his love for his family and the way he could make an ordinary moment feel special. Some memories remain so clear that 2020 feels like last month. **Six years also feels incredibly long**. So much has happened since then. Our family has celebrated weddings he never had the opportunity to experience, welcomed grandchildren he would have been thrilled to meet, endured difficult seasons and lived through countless ordinary days when I instinctively wanted to call my Dad. That may be one of the strangest parts of grief. Life keeps moving. The calendar keeps filling up. The grass still needs to be mowed. Bills remain deeply committed to arriving on time. Yet part of your heart still lives in a moment the rest of the world has moved past. **Grief does not follow a calendar very well.** An anniversary may pass quietly one year and knock the wind out of you the next. A song, photograph or familiar phrase can suddenly collapse six years into six seconds. Scripture says, *“For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours”* (Psalm 90:4, NLT). God experiences time differently than we do. We count it through birthdays, anniversaries and empty chairs. God sees the entire story at once. I still miss my Dad. I wish we could have shared a few more Detroit Lions victories, along with more conversations, celebrations and ordinary moments. Yet I am grateful that death did not end his story. Because of Jesus, Dad is not merely part of my past. He is part of my future. **Six years is both a long time and no time at all.** Eternity will finally make sense of both. Until then, I will keep remembering, keep missing him and keep following the Savior who has already carried my Dad safely home. ### Borrowed Tomorrows URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/borrowed-tomorrows/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T10:30:47.000Z James 4:13–17 I live by my calendar. If something is not on it, there is a strong possibility it will not happen. It keeps me organized, reminds me where I am supposed to be and gives me the comforting illusion that I am in complete control. Then life looks at my carefully planned week and laughs out loud. James describes people confidently announcing where they will go, how long they will stay, what business they will conduct and how much money they will make. They sound organized, prepared and completely certain about the future. Their problem is simple. They have forgotten God. James is not criticizing planning. Planning is wise. Scripture encourages preparation, diligence and good stewardship. The problem begins when we treat our plans as guarantees and quietly expect God to work around our schedule. James reminds us that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Our lives are like mist. We appear for a little while and then disappear. That is humbling, especially for those of us who schedule appointments months ahead and become mildly irritated when someone asks, “Are you free tomorrow?” James is not telling us to throw away the calendar. He is telling us to loosen our grip on it. *“Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that’”* (James 4:15, NLT). Those words are not a religious disclaimer we tack onto every plan. They reflect a surrendered heart. They remind us that God is sovereign, tomorrow is a gift and our plans must remain open to His direction. Make your plans. Schedule the meeting. Block out the time. Just remember that the calendar is a tool, not a throne. God may interrupt your schedule, redirect your steps or place someone in front of you who matters more than your next appointment. The most important thing you do today may not be what you planned. Tomorrow belongs to God. Faithfulness is what He asks from us today. ### Drop the Gavel URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/drop-the-gavel/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T10:30:57.000Z James 4:11–12 James does not spend much time warming up the room. He simply tells believers to stop speaking evil against one another. Apparently, Christians criticizing Christians is not a new problem. We just added smartphones, social media and the ability to share our opinions before wisdom has time to put on its shoes. Most of us would never describe ourselves as judgmental. We are **concerned**. We are **discerning**. We are **simply pointing out a few things** everyone else should probably know. At least, that is what we tell ourselves while carefully arranging someone else’s flaws for public display. I have crossed that line more times than I would like to admit. Sometimes I have called it concern when it was really criticism wearing a church shirt and carrying a Bible. James reminds us that when we speak against another believer, we are no longer simply evaluating their behavior. We are placing ourselves above God’s law rather than humbly living under it. That should make all of us pause before offering our next “helpful observation.” There is a difference between discernment and condemnation. Discernment recognizes what is true and responds with wisdom, humility and love. Condemnation assumes motives, announces a verdict and feels just a little better about itself afterward. - Discernment says, “I am concerned about where this may be heading.” - Condemnation says, “Let me explain exactly what is wrong with that person.” James asks, *“Who are you to judge your neighbor?”* (James 4:12, NLT). That does not mean we ignore sin, avoid difficult conversations or pretend everything is fine. Scripture calls us to speak truth and restore people gently. The goal, however, should always be restoration, not humiliation. God alone knows the full story. He knows every wound, motive, temptation, fear and struggle. We often see one moment, hear one comment or read one post and assume we understand the entire person. We do not. The next time you feel tempted to tear someone down, pause long enough to pray. Ask God whether your words will heal, help or simply make you feel superior. Speak when love requires courage. Stay silent when your words would only add another wound. Jesus did not call us to become spiritual referees, blowing whistles at everyone around us. He called us to love our neighbors, guard our words and remember that there is only one Judge. The position is already filled. ### The Battle Within URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-battle-within/ Last updated: 2026-07-27T10:30:41.000Z James 4:1–10 Have you ever been halfway through blaming someone else for your bad attitude when the Holy Spirit quietly reminded you that the problem might not be entirely their fault? I have. It is much easier to say, “They made me angry,” than to admit, “There was already some anger in me looking for a place to land.” We blame the schedule, the traffic, the family tension, the news, the weather and the person ahead of us at the self-checkout who seems to be purchasing groceries for an entire zip code. James is not interested in helping us build a better list of excuses. He asks, *“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you?”* Then he answers his own question: *“Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”* (James 4:1, NLT). That is uncomfortable because James moves the conversation from what is happening around us to what is happening inside us. Conflict often begins with something deeper. We want to be right. We want to be noticed. We want to be in control. We want people to respond the way we think they should. When they do not, frustration rises quickly. Apparently, my personal peace is sometimes far too dependent on everyone else behaving correctly. James tells us that pride puts us in opposition to God, but humility opens the door to grace. *“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”* (James 4:6, NLT). That is both a warning and an invitation. God is not asking us to pretend we have everything together. He is asking us to come honestly. *“Come close to God, and God will come close to you”* (James 4:8, NLT). We do not win the battle within by trying harder to look spiritual. We win by surrendering more fully to Jesus. That means naming the pride, resentment, jealousy, fear or need for control that keeps stirring beneath the surface. It means allowing God to change us before demanding that He change everyone else. The next time tension rises, pause before assigning blame. Ask God, “What is happening in my heart right now?” The greatest victory may not be proving your point, winning the argument or getting your way. The greatest victory may be becoming more like Jesus. The real battle is closer than we think, but thankfully, so is His grace. ### Help me shape what comes next URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/help-me-shape-what-comes-next/ Last updated: 2026-07-25T10:30:14.000Z Next week, I will be finishing the Book of James series. James has been honest, practical, challenging and occasionally a little too interested in stepping on our toes. It has been a meaningful book to write through and I hope it has encouraged you as much as it has challenged me. I am currently working on what comes next. **Since you are members of Chris Knight Writes, I wanted to bring this idea to you first.** I am exploring a new series called **Questions of Faith**. Instead of walking through a book of the Bible, each post would begin with an honest question people are already asking and answered in the same tone as my daily devotional posts. I would cover questions like: - Why does God allow suffering? - How can I know God’s will? - Why do my prayers sometimes feel unanswered? - What should I do when God feels silent? - Can I lose my salvation? - Why is church important if I can worship God anywhere? - How do I trust God when life does not make sense? - What does God think about my past? - How can I know God’s will for my life? - Does God really forgive every sin? My goal would not be to offer shallow answers to complicated questions. Some questions require humility, patience and a willingness to admit that we do not understand everything. I would like to offer biblical, practical and relatable encouragement that helps people take **one step forward** in their faith. That is where I would love your help. **What questions would you like to see covered?** Maybe you have wrestled with a question for years. Maybe a friend, child, coworker or family member has asked you something that was difficult to answer. Maybe there is a topic you wish churches talked about more honestly. **Please share your ideas in the comments.** I will read every one of them and your question may become part of the series. I would also love your honest feedback on the idea itself. Does a series like this sound helpful? Would you read it? Are there questions or topics you think it should address? I would also be grateful if you shared a post when it reminds you of someone who might find it encouraging. Many people do not begin by searching for a specific Bible passage. They begin with honest questions about doubt, suffering, forgiveness, anxiety, prayer or failure. Thank you for being part of Chris Knight Writes. Your encouragement, feedback and support mean more than you know. Before this idea goes anywhere else, I wanted you to hear about it first. Here is a sample of what I am thinking. --- **(Questions of Faith)** **What Should I Do When God Feels Silent?** There are seasons when following God feels like carrying on a one-sided conversation. You pray, but nothing seems to happen. You read your Bible, but nothing stands out. You ask God for wisdom, direction or even a small reminder that He is still paying attention, yet all you seem to hear is silence. If you’ve ever wondered, “God, are You there?” you’re in good company. **David asked that question**. **Job asked that question**. Even **Jesus asked from the cross**, “*My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”* (Matthew 27:46, NLT). One of the biggest misconceptions about faith is that mature Christians always feel close to God. They don’t. Sometimes mature Christians simply keep walking forward when they don’t. I wish I could tell you there is a secret prayer that makes the felt silence disappear. There isn’t. If there were, someone would have turned it into a bestselling book with a catchy subtitle and sold it on Amazon for $24.99. Instead, Scripture points us toward something better than instant answers: **faithfulness**. Feelings are wonderful companions, but terrible leaders. Some mornings I wake up excited to spend time with God. Other mornings I’m mostly excited that the espresso machine still works. Neither feeling changes who God is. God’s presence is not measured by your emotions. It is anchored in His promises. Psalm 23:4 says, *“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”* Notice he didn’t say, “I always feel You beside me.” He trusted that God was there because God said He was there. When God feels silent, keep praying. Keep reading His Word. Keep gathering with His people. Keep obeying the last thing He made clear. Silence is not the same as absence. Looking back over my life, there were seasons when I wondered where God was. Looking back now, I realize He had been quietly sustaining me the entire time. I just couldn’t see it while I was walking through it. If God feels silent today, don’t assume He has stepped away. Sometimes the Teacher is quiet during the test. He is still present. He is still working and He has not forgotten your name. **One Step Forward** If God feels silent today, don’t stop talking to Him. Spend five quiet minutes in prayer, even if it feels one-sided. Then read one chapter from the Psalms. Instead of looking for a dramatic sign, simply ask, “God, what do You want me to remember about You today?” Trust that His faithfulness is not determined by your feelings. ### Who Gets the Microphone? URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/who-gets-the-microphone/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T10:30:03.000Z James 3:13–18 Have you ever noticed that confidence often grabs the microphone before wisdom has even cleared its throat? Some people can speak with remarkable certainty about subjects they discovered twelve seconds ago. Thanks to social media, everyone now has a microphone, an audience and a master’s degree from the University of “I Watched a Video.” We often mistake volume for wisdom and confidence for competence. If someone says something loudly enough, we assume they must know what they are talking about. This explains political debates, Facebook comment sections and at least half the conversations at the grocery store. **James gives us a better way to identify genuine wisdom.** *“If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom”* (James 3:13, NLT). That is mildly inconvenient. James does not say wisdom is proven by winning arguments, collecting degrees, or having the final word at a family dinner. He points to humility and an honorable life. Worldly wisdom is driven by jealousy and selfish ambition. It wants to be first, noticed, admired and proven right. It enters every conversation carrying a trophy it plans to award itself. The result is confusion, division and damaged relationships. **Godly wisdom looks entirely different.** *“It is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere”* (James 3:17, NLT). Imagine a church filled with people like that. Imagine a marriage like that. Imagine a social media discussion marked by gentleness, mercy and sincerity. That last one may require prayer, fasting and a temporary shutdown of the internet. Wisdom is not measured by how much we know. It is revealed by how much we resemble Jesus. Jesus possessed perfect wisdom, yet He chose humility over recognition, service over status and peace over personal victory. He did not need to dominate every conversation to prove His authority. His character spoke clearly. The next time you are tempted to ask, “How can I win this conversation?” ask instead, “How can I reflect Jesus in it?” The first puts you at the center. The second makes room for Jesus. Choose the wisdom that leaves people impressed not with your cleverness, but with your Savior. ### Mouth Management URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/mouth-management/ Last updated: 2026-07-23T10:30:28.000Z James 3:1–12 Some of the smallest things in life cause the biggest problems. A pebble in your shoe can ruin a peaceful walk. One mosquito can turn bedtime into hand-to-hand combat. A single missing ingredient can transform dinner into something your family chews slowly while saying, “Well, this is different.” **James says the tongue belongs on that list.** *“In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches”* (James 3:5, NLT). The tongue is only a few inches long, yet it can control the atmosphere of an entire room. James compares it to a bit in a horse’s mouth and a rudder steering a large ship. Both are small, but they determine direction. Then James compares the tongue to a spark capable of setting an entire forest on fire. That escalated quickly. Most of us still remember words spoken years ago. Encouragement from a parent, teacher, coach or pastor may still strengthen us today. Unfortunately, careless words can linger too. The person who spoke them may have forgotten the conversation by the end of the day, while we have been carrying it around ever since. Words have remarkable staying power. James is not suggesting that we stop talking, although that might shorten a few board meetings. He is teaching that our speech reveals the condition of our hearts. Jesus said, *“What you say flows from what is in your heart”* (Luke 6:45, NLT). That means controlling our speech requires more than simply biting our tongues. It begins with surrendering our hearts to Jesus. Imagine marriages where encouragement outnumbered criticism. Imagine churches where gossip found no oxygen. Imagine families where forgiveness replaced sarcasm and friendships where truth was always wrapped in grace. Our words could become tools of healing instead of weapons we later regret using. Before your next conversation, text, email or social media comment, what if you paused and asked Jesus to rule your heart and guide your words? Then ask yourself, “Will this build someone up or burn something down?” We cannot tame the tongue through willpower alone. We need the Holy Spirit to transform the source from which our words flow. The tongue may be small, but when surrendered to Christ, it can speak hope to the discouraged, grace to the guilty, truth to the confused and life to the wounded. Today, give Jesus your heart, your mouth and even your keyboard. Let every word point someone toward Him. ### Faith With Fingerprints URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/faith-with-fingerprints/ Last updated: 2026-07-22T10:30:36.000Z James 2:14–26 I have learned that owning tools and knowing how to use them are two completely different things. My garage contains enough equipment to suggest I could build a small house. Meanwhile, several unfinished projects and an embarrassing number of “how-to” searches on YouTube quietly testify against me. **Our faith can look impressive and still accomplish very little.** We can know the right words, attend church faithfully, quote our favorite verses and own enough study Bibles to make the coffee table nervous. Those are good things, but James asks a question that hits really close to home. **Does our faith actually affect how we live?** *“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions?”* (James 2:14, NLT). James is not saying that good works earn our salvation. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Good works are not the price of God’s love. They are evidence that His love has taken hold of us. James gives a painfully practical example. A fellow believer needs food and clothing. We offer a few encouraging words and say, “Stay warm and eat well.” Then we walk away without providing either one. Kind words matter, but you cannot butter them and serve them for dinner. Genuine faith takes a step closer. It notices the lonely person, feeds the struggling family and forgives the old wound. It makes the phone call, rearranges the schedule, opens the wallet and sometimes shows up with dinner before being asked. James points to Abraham and Rahab. They were very different people, but both trusted God enough to obey Him. Their actions did not earn God’s favor. They revealed that their faith was real. The same is true for us. If Jesus has changed our hearts, the evidence should reach our hands. It should shape how we love our spouses, speak to coworkers, spend our money, use our time and treat those who can do nothing for us in return. The gospel does not say, “Do enough good things, and maybe God will love you.” It says, “God has already loved you completely through Christ. Now live like His love has changed you.” Ask the Lord to show you **one** need today, then move toward it. Make the call. Share the meal. Offer forgiveness. Meet the need. Living faith follows Jesus into the mess, gets its hands dirty and makes the invisible love of God wonderfully visible. ### No Reserved Seats URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/no-reserved-seats/ Last updated: 2026-07-21T10:30:48.000Z James 2:1–13 Have you ever walked into an event and wondered whether you belonged there? You know the kind. Everyone seems to know each other. People are laughing, hugging and carrying on conversations that apparently started three years ago. Meanwhile, you are standing near the door holding a cup of coffee, pretending to read something important on your phone. That is usually when you become painfully aware of everything. You feel underdressed, out of place and fairly certain everyone else received instructions you somehow missed. Before long, you are wondering whether you are in the right room, at the right event or about to be politely escorted back to the parking lot. Most of us know what it feels like to be judged by appearances. James did too. *“My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?”* (James 2:1, NLT). James follows that question with an illustration that probably made everyone in the room uncomfortable. A wealthy man enters the gathering wearing expensive clothes and shiny rings. Another man arrives in worn-out clothing. One is offered the best seat. The other is told to stand in the corner or sit on the floor. James asks the obvious question. Should followers of Jesus ever treat people that way? Absolutely not. The church should be one of the few places on earth where worldly status loses its influence. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Every one of us comes to Jesus with empty hands. None of us earned a front-row seat. None of us deserved His grace. That changes the way we see the people around us. We notice the single mom doing her best to hold everything together. We make room for the teenager who feels invisible and the retiree who wonders whether anyone still sees them. We welcome the business owner dressed in clothes from a high-end boutique and the visitor who came straight from work in muddy boots. Different stories. Different struggles. Same need for grace. Jesus died for every one of them. It is easy to assume someone is important because of what they drive, wear or accomplish. James reminds us that heaven uses a different scorecard. God looks at hearts long before He notices wardrobes. Then James points us toward mercy. *“Mercy triumphs over judgment”* (James 2:13, NLT). Those words should reshape every church lobby, every small group and every conversation after the service. People are not projects to evaluate. They are image bearers to love. Someone may walk into your church this Sunday already wondering whether they belong. Your smile, your welcome and the seat you make available may help answer that question before the sermon ever begins. The church has never been reserved for impressive people. It is a family of forgiven people making room for anyone who is looking for Jesus. ### Faith beyond appearances URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/faith-beyond-appearances/ Last updated: 2026-07-20T11:39:40.000Z James 1:26-27 There is a difference between looking spiritual and actually becoming more like Jesus. You can own three Bibles, highlight half the New Testament, know every verse of “Amazing Grace” and still leave wounded people everywhere you go. You can even put a Christian bumper sticker on your car while driving in a way that makes everyone behind you wonder whether you have ever read the Sermon on the Mount. James does not let us hide behind appearances. *“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless”* (James 1:26, NLT). James certainly did not believe in easing into a conversation. He begins with **our words** because **our words** eventually reveal **our hearts**. It is fairly easy to sound spiritual for an hour on Sunday. The real test comes on Tuesday morning when we are tired, irritated, inconvenienced or dealing with that one person who seems to have the spiritual gift of annoyance. James then describes what God considers “pure and genuine religion.” It includes caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt us. Notice what he does not mention. James does not measure faith by how impressive our prayers sound, how many Christian books we own or whether we know how to use words like “sanctification” without looking nervous. He points to compassion and holiness. Real faith notices hurting people. Real faith moves toward people in need instead of pretending not to see them. Real faith chooses integrity when compromise would be easier and considerably more convenient. None of this comes naturally. Left alone, most of us drift toward comfort, selfishness and whatever requires the least amount of effort. Thankfully, Jesus did not merely tell us to care for helpless people. He came to rescue helpless people like us. His grace changes more than our Sunday schedule. It changes our words, priorities, relationships and choices. So today, do not only ask, “Do I look like a Christian?” Ask, “Can people see Jesus in the way I speak, love, serve and live?” Faith that never reaches our mouth, hands, calendar or relationships has not reached very far. Genuine faith is not something we display. It is something Jesus forms within us and lives through us. ### Light Against the Darkness URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/light-against-the-darkness/ Last updated: 2026-07-18T19:15:40.000Z I took this picture today as a thunderstorm rolled into Elkhart County, Indiana from the northwest. Dark clouds were swallowing the sky, yet this little white barn remained brightly front lit. The storm was behind it, **but the light was still reaching it.** Life can feel that way. Trouble gathers on the horizon. A diagnosis arrives. A relationship becomes strained. Plans unravel. Fear begins whispering that darkness is about to take over. Storms are real, **but they are not the whole story**. This barn did nothing to create the light. It simply stood where the light could reach it. Faith often looks much the same. We do not have to manufacture hope, pretend the clouds are not there or convince ourselves everything will be easy. We simply remain where God has placed us and trust that His presence can still find us in the gathering darkness. The storm may be approaching, **but God has not disappeared.** Sometimes His light does not remove the storm. Instead, it reminds us that the storm does not get the final word. Darkness can surround us without owning us. Fear can rise without ruling us. The sky can grow dark while grace continues to shine. You may not be able to control the storm moving toward you, **but you can keep standing in the light, trusting that God’s faithfulness surrounds you from every direction.** ### Welcome to my website! URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/welcome-to-my-website/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T10:12:03.000Z For the past 17 months, the **Chris Knight Writes** Facebook and Instagram pages have been a place to share daily devotionals, real-life stories, practical encouragement and humor that helps faith feel a little more relatable. Your response has been far greater than I ever expected. I have been completely humbled by the messages, comments and stories people have shared with me. Knowing that something I wrote connected with you, encouraged you, made you laugh or helped you take another step in your faith has meant more than I can adequately express. Today, I am excited to introduce you to the next step in this journey: **www.ChrisKnightWrites.com** ## Why create a website? I am glad you asked. Even if you did not ask, I have already written the answer, so here we go. ### **1\. I am tired of fighting the Facebook algorithm.** Very tired. Social media platforms are useful, but they decide what you see, when you see it and whether you see it at all. I can spend hours writing something, post it for a thousand followers and then watch Facebook quietly show it to seventeen people and someone’s aunt from Nebraska. Okay, this is an exaggeration, minus someone's aunt from Nebraska. A website gives **Chris Knight Writes** a permanent home. You will always know where to find the newest posts, previous writings and other resources. ### **2\. I now own the content and the platform where it is published.** Facebook and Instagram are borrowed spaces. They can change their rules, adjust their algorithms, limit reach or disappear altogether. **ChrisKnightWrites.com** gives me a place where I can build, organize and grow without depending entirely on another company’s platform. Social media will still be part of how I share content, but it will no longer be the only place that content lives. ### **3\. Instagram keeps telling me I talk too much.** Instagram limits posts to roughly 2,200 characters. Several times recently, I had a few additional thoughts I wanted to include. Facebook would publish the entire post, but Instagram would not allow it. UGH. I do not always need more space, but sometimes an idea needs another paragraph, another story or a stronger application. This website allows me to write what needs to be written without sacrificing meaningful content to satisfy a character counter. ## Please Subscribe One of the best features of the new website is the ability to subscribe. What strings are attached? None. Subscribing is completely free. Each new daily post will be delivered directly to your inbox each morning, complete with the full graphic and text. You will not have to search for the post, hope Facebook shows it to you or wonder whether you missed something. It will simply arrive in your email. You can unsubscribe at any time, but why would you ever want to do that? Just kidding. Mostly. ## New Topics Do not worry. The daily devotionals are not going away. I plan to continue writing and sharing them regularly. The website simply gives me the opportunity to expand into some additional areas. One new topic is called **After Amen**. Pastors and ministry teams put a tremendous amount of prayer, study and preparation into a sermon series. Too often, valuable thoughts, illustrations and applications never make it onto the stage. Sometimes the sermon runs long. Sometimes something has to be cut. Sometimes I look at the clock and realize the children’s ministry workers have already earned additional jewels in their heavenly crowns. **After Amen** will provide a summary of each sermon in a series, but I want it to be more than a recap. Think of it as a “What now?” resource. Each post will include the actual sermon footage from the Sunday service, questions for personal reflection and discussion questions that can be used with a spouse, family, friend or small group. A group could watch the message together, discuss the questions or use the material during the week to continue the conversation after Sunday morning. I would also like to write more about marriage and family topics. Someday. I have learned not to promise everything at once. Apparently, websites do not create additional hours in the day. That feels like an oversight. ## Tags and Searchable Content The website also allows me to organize posts with tags. This helps me keep track of previous content and it makes it much easier for you to find posts that interest you. Now you can easily search for specific content without scrolling through months of social media posts and hoping the one you vaguely remember from six months ago suddenly reappears. ## Why the Content Will Remain Free I have talked with several authors about the best way to build and sustain a writing platform. Without exception, they have encouraged me to place my daily writings behind a paywall and charge readers a monthly fee. That is probably good business advice, but it does not feel like the right fit for this mission. I want **Chris Knight Writes** to be a place where anyone can find encouragement, practical help and spiritual truth without first reaching for a credit card. Life already comes with enough paid subscriptions. Most of us are still trying to remember which app streams the show we wanted to watch. At the end of the day, mission matters more to me than money. That does not mean the site is free to operate. I invest more than $600 annually in creating and maintaining **Chris Knight Writes**. Those expenses include website costs, publishing tools and other add-on services. There is absolutely no pressure to give. The content will remain freely available. I do believe there are people who believe in this project and may want to help offset some of the costs associated with it. Any support would be deeply appreciated and would help me continue sharing these resources with as many people as possible. To contribute, simply click the **Donate** button on the website. Thank you. ## Join Me I would love for you to go with me on this next leg of the journey. Visit **www.ChrisKnightWrites.com**, look around and subscribe so each new post can be delivered directly to your inbox. Most importantly, thank you. Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting and encouraging me over these past 17 months. Thank you for sending messages about how a devotional, story or sentence connected with something happening in your life. I remain completely humbled by it. **Chris Knight Writes** started as a simple place to share a few thoughts. It has become something much more meaningful because people like you decided to take the journey with me. I am grateful you are here and I am excited about what comes next. Welcome to **ChrisKnightWrites.com**. ### Mirror, Mirror URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/mirror-mirror/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T10:30:27.000Z James 1:22–25 Most of us have experienced one of those humbling moments. You leave the house feeling confident. Hair looks good, or at least I assume that is a real experience. Shirt is tucked in. You have smiled, waved and talked with several people before catching your reflection in a window and realizing your shirt has been buttoned wrong the entire time. Not slightly wrong either. The kind of wrong that makes it look like you got dressed during an earthquake. Mirrors are brutally honest. They show us what is actually there, whether we appreciate the information or not. James says God’s Word works the same way. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:22, NLT). James describes someone who looks into a mirror, sees what needs attention, walks away and immediately forgets what he saw. Crazy right? Yet we often do exactly that with Scripture. We read about forgiveness while feeding bitterness. We study generosity while gripping our possessions like someone is trying to steal our last chicken nugget. We hear a sermon about humility and think, “Several people in this room really needed to hear that today.” Knowing what the Bible says is important, but knowledge alone does not change us. Scripture was not given simply to fill our notebooks, highlight our Bibles or help us win arguments. God gave us His Word to shape the way we live. The Bible reveals attitudes that need changing, habits that need surrendering and relationships that need repairing. God does not show us these things to embarrass us. He reveals them because He loves us too much to leave us unchanged. James promises blessing to those who hear God’s Word and obey it. Obedience does not earn God’s love. It is our response to the love we have already received through Jesus. Before closing your Bible, ask, “What does God want me to do with what I just read?” Then take one clear step of obedience. Forgive the person. Make the call. Confess the sin. Change the habit. Offer help. The mirror has spoken. Do not walk away pretending you did not see anything. ### The Spiritual Discipline of Shutting Up URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-spiritual-discipline-of-shutting-up/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T11:10:18.000Z James 1:19–21 Some people can begin answering a question before the other person has finished asking it. Others listen just long enough to reload. I wish I could say I have never done either. James gives us one of the simplest and hardest commands in the New Testament: “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19, NLT). Simple to remember. Surprisingly difficult to practice. We live in a world that rewards fast opinions. Social media encourages instant reactions. News travels quickly, facts often arrive later and everyone seems ready to speak before a sentence is finished. James calls us to something better. Being quick to listen is more than politely waiting for our turn to talk. It means trying to understand before demanding to be understood. It means giving someone our attention instead of mentally preparing a rebuttal, a closing argument or a victory speech. Then James tells us to be slow to speak. That command alone could have prevented half the apologies I have made and several quiet rides home. Words are powerful. Once they leave our mouths, they refuse to come back. You cannot hit “undo” on sarcasm, criticism or an angry outburst. James also tells us to be slow to anger because human anger does not produce the kind of life God desires. Anger can make us feel strong while quietly making a bigger mess. We may win the argument and still lose the relationship. James says the answer is to humbly accept the Word God has planted in us. God’s truth softens defensive hearts, exposes pride and teaches us to respond like Jesus. Following Christ should change more than what we believe. It should change our tone, our timing and our reactions. Before your next difficult conversation, ask the Holy Spirit to help you listen well, speak carefully and surrender your anger. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is shut your mouth and open your heart. ### Don't Blame God URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/dont-blame-god/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T10:30:38.000Z James 1:16–18 Have you ever blamed someone for something and then realized the problem was you? Maybe you accused your spouse of moving your keys, only to find them in your pocket. Maybe you searched for your reading glasses while they were sitting on your face. Maybe you declared that your phone charger was broken before noticing it was not plugged in. Technology gets blamed for a lot of things it did not do. So do spouses. James understands how quickly we assign blame. He also knows we can do the same thing with God. After talking about temptation, James writes, “So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters” (James 1:16, NLT). Do not get confused about where temptation comes from. God is not trying to trip you up. He is not hiding behind a bush with a clipboard, waiting to record your next bad decision. He is not placing spiritual banana peels along your path and whispering, “Let’s see how this goes.” James makes it clear that God is the source of what is good. “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father” (James 1:17, NLT). Think about the good things in your life. A meaningful conversation. A meal with people you love. An answered prayer. A second chance. A quiet morning. A laugh that made you cry. The unexpected discovery of leftover pie. Every good gift points back to a generous Father. James also says God never changes. That matters because almost everything else does. Schedules change. Moods change. Plans change. Gas prices change while you are choosing a pump. The weather forecast changes three times before lunch and still manages to be wrong. God does not change. His character is steady. His goodness is constant. His love is dependable. The greatest proof of His goodness is Jesus. God did not leave us trapped in sin. He sent His Son to rescue us, forgive us and give us new life. When life feels confusing, do not let a hard day convince you that God has stopped being good. Do not build your theology around one terrible Tuesday. The Father who gave you Jesus has not forgotten you. He is still faithful, even when life feels like somebody unplugged the charger. ### Temptation Always Promises More Than It Gives URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/temptation-always-promises-more-than-it-gives/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T11:49:33.000Z James 1:12-15 Temptation is a liar with an excellent marketing department. It never shows up looking dangerous. It looks reasonable, harmless, deserved, exciting or at least “not that big of a deal.” It rarely introduces itself by saying, “Hello, I am here to wreck your peace, damage your influence, and leave you feeling hollow.” That would make resisting it much easier. Temptation uses softer language. “You’ve had a hard week.” “You deserve this.” “Nobody will know.” “Just this once.” Sin is very good at dressing temptation up like a reward. James wants us to understand both the source and the destination of temptation. God is not behind it. Temptation begins when our own desires pull us away from what is good. Desire is entertained, sin is born and sin eventually leads to death. It is a family tree nobody wants framed above the fireplace. That progression matters because sin rarely blows up a life without first slipping in quietly. It begins with a thought we entertain, a resentment we feed, a compromise we excuse or a secret we protect. We move the boundary a few inches because we are convinced we can handle it. Most people do not wake up and decide to burn down their integrity before lunch. They get there slowly, one tolerated temptation and one small compromise at a time. James is not trying to bury us under guilt. He is trying to shake us awake. Temptation is never harmless. It is bait and bait always comes with a hook. The worm may look free, but the fish eventually discovers the hidden fees. The good news is that temptation is not stronger than Jesus. God has given us His Spirit, His Word, His people and a Savior who faced temptation without giving in. So take temptation seriously while it is still whispering. Bring it into the light. Confess it. Ask for help. Cut off the compromise before it takes root. Sin promises freedom but delivers chains. Jesus offers real life, lasting peace and a clean conscience that does not need to rehearse excuses in the dark. ### New Book Released URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/holy-moments-for-easily-distracted-disciples-the-acts-of-the-apostles/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T19:03:17.000Z My new book, Holy Moments for Easily Distracted Disciples: The Acts of the Apostles, is officially available today! This was both a fun and challenging book to write. Acts is filled with powerful stories of ordinary people who were transformed by the Holy Spirit and courageously set out to tell the world about their firsthand encounters with Jesus. After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the disciples could have played it safe. Instead, they prayed boldly, shared generously, loved compassionately and proclaimed the gospel wherever God sent them. They faced opposition, persecution, prison cells, angry crowds, shipwrecks and church meetings. Honestly, the shipwrecks may have been easier than some church meetings. The book of Acts reminds us that the church was never meant to be a building filled with spectators. It is a Spirit-empowered community of believers who serve one another, care for people in need, while carrying the hope of Jesus into a broken world. Jesus told His followers, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8, NLT). That same calling continues today. Each of the 60 devotionals in this book are short, honest, slightly humorous and grounded in Scripture. It is written for people who genuinely want to follow Jesus, even when their minds occasionally wander somewhere between opening the Bible and remembering why they walked into the garage. Holy Moments for Easily Distracted Disciples: The Acts of the Apostles is available now on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. [Buy Now](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H8FH4S6H?ref=chrisknightwrites.com) ### Flashback Friday URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/flashbackfriday/ Last updated: 2026-07-14T11:31:23.000Z July 10, 2026 This Flashback Friday is a personal one. July 10 has always held a special place in my heart because it was my father’s birthday. Today, he would have been 86 years old. My brother Jeff and I were truly blessed with the parents God saw fit to give us. My dad was a pastor, just as I am. One of the churches he served and loved deeply was Wakarusa Missionary Church, the same church I have the privilege of pastoring today. That connection still humbles me. Life has a way of coming full circle and God writes chapters we could never have planned ourselves. July 10 is meaningful for another reason as well. It was on July 10, 2016, that I became pastor of Wakarusa Missionary Church. The picture with today’s post was taken that day, ten years ago. My father is the one holding the microphone, praying over Shana and me as we began our ministry here. That image means more to me now than I could have understood then. Today, I complete my 10th year as senior pastor. That is not something I take lightly. In a church history that stretches more than 150 years, long seasons of pastoral ministry have not been common. Reaching ten years is not a personal trophy to place on a shelf. It is a testimony to the kindness of God, the faithfulness of His people and the grace that keeps all of us going week after week. Every church I have served has been special in its own way, but these last ten years at WakyMC have been some of the very best years of my ministry. I am deeply grateful. Scripture says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted” (Psalm 127:1, NLT). That verse keeps everything in perspective. We may preach, lead, serve and occasionally unclog things professors never taught us about in college, but only God builds what truly lasts. So today, I look back with gratitude. I remember my dad with love. I thank God for my family, for my church family and for the privilege of serving where my father once served. The story is not about me. It never has been. It will never be about me. It is about a faithful God who keeps building His church, one generation at a time and for that I celebrate today. ### Wisdom in Surrender URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/wisdom-in-surrender/ Last updated: 2026-07-11T02:27:51.000Z James 1:5-8 There are moments in life when you genuinely do not know what to do. Should you take the job? Have the conversation? Stay quiet? Speak up? Buy the car? Sell the house? Reply to that text now or wait until your blood pressure returns to a number that would not alarm a nurse? James does not waste time. He writes, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you” (James 1:5, NLT). That verse is wonderfully comforting and slightly exposing. Comforting, because God is not stingy with wisdom. He does not sigh when His children ask for help. He does not mutter, “Chris… we covered this in the last prayer meeting.” He gives generously. It is exposing because James also warns us not to ask with a divided heart. The doubter, he says, is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. This is not someone who has honest questions. This is someone who wants God’s wisdom while still keeping a backup plan, a side hustle and three escape routes. That is where this topic gets uncomfortably personal. Sometimes I do not want wisdom as much as I want God to cosign the plan I already made. I am not asking, “Lord, what do You want?” I am asking, “Lord, would You please bless my idea, remove all obstacles and preferably have this thing wrapped up by Friday?” James will not let us get away with that. Wisdom is not God helping us decorate our stubbornness with spiritual language. Wisdom begins with surrender. The good news is that God invites us to bring our uncertainty to Him without shame. He knows we are limited, emotional, distracted, impulsive and sometimes one bad night of sleep away from making decisions that deserve their own warning label. So ask Him. Ask for wisdom in trials. Ask for wisdom in parenting, marriage, leadership, conflict, finances, grief and those decisions that cannot be solved by a podcast, a legal pad or another cup of coffee. God gives wisdom generously, but He gives it to hearts that are willing to listen. ### Joy in Trials URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/joy-in-trials/ Last updated: 2026-07-11T02:28:02.000Z James 1:2-4 I do not know anyone who enjoys trouble. Nobody wakes up, spills coffee on their shirt, stubs their pinky toe on the bed, opens a surprise bill, notices the check engine light came on overnight and says, “Finally. The spiritual development package I ordered has arrived.” Yet James opens his letter with one of the most startling instructions in the New Testament: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy” (James 1:2, NLT). That sounds completely unhinged until we keep reading. James is not telling us to enjoy pain. He is not asking us to pretend hardship is delightful. He is calling us to see beneath the surface. Trials are not meaningless detours in the life of a follower of Jesus. They are often the very places where God strengthens what comfort would have left weak. James says that when our faith is tested, endurance has a chance to grow. Then, when endurance keeps doing its work, we become mature and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:3-4). That matters because most of us would prefer maturity to arrive through a good sermon, a quiet devotional with espresso in hand and maybe a worship song that gives us goosebumps before the bridge kicks in. We want endurance without resistance. We want patience without annoying people. We want spiritual strength without carrying anything heavier than our Bible and a Stanley mug. James ruins that game plan within the first four verses. Some of God’s deepest work happens when life refuses to cooperate. When the answer is delayed. When relationships are strained. When the future feels foggy. When we have to keep trusting God without quick relief, easy explanations or a heavenly tracking number that says, “Your relief is out for delivery.” That is where faith stops being a theory and starts putting down roots. Joy in trials does not mean we laugh through grief or deny pain. It means we trust God is not wasting the struggle. The trial may feel brutal, but it is not pointless. In Christ, even hard seasons can become holy ones. ### Adrift (Week Six) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/adrift-week-six/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:41:47.000Z ### **Wasting What God Entrusted (Part Two)** Samson’s story does not pick up in Judges 16 with a lesson learned, a fresh start and a well written journal entry about personal growth. He has not changed. Same territory. Same pattern. Different woman. This time, her name is Delilah. What is striking is that Delilah does not really trick Samson. She asks him directly what makes him strong. Three times he gives her an answer. Three times the Philistines are waiting nearby to capture him. Three times Samson escapes. Then he stays. That may be the most revealing part of the story. Samson had enough strength to break ropes, tear apart lions and defeat armies, but he did not have enough wisdom to walk away from what was destroying him. Physical strength is impressive. Spiritual maturity knows when to leave. Scripture says Delilah pressed him day after day until he was “sick to death of it.” The Hebrew expression suggests that his soul was worn down or shortened. That is often how compromise finishes its work. It does not always overpower us in one dramatic moment. Sometimes it simply exhausts us until surrender feels easier than resistance. Eventually, Samson tells her everything. She cuts his hair while he sleeps and the Philistines seize him. Then comes one of the saddest lines in Scripture: “He didn’t realize the Lord had left him.” No thunder. No flashing sign. No booming voice from heaven announcing, “This has gone poorly.” Samson simply assumes he can keep doing what he has always done. That is the danger of repeated compromise. We can become so accustomed to God’s patience that we begin treating it like permission. Samson loses his strength, his freedom and his sight. Yet Judges 16:22 quietly says, “But before long, his hair began to grow back.” Grace often enters the story without making much noise. Samson is still in prison. The consequences are real. God’s mercy does not pretend the damage never happened. Yet his growing hair becomes a small sign that failure has not written the final sentence. Then Samson does something we have barely seen him do before. He prays. He does not pray while winning, boasting or making demands. He prays when he is blind, mocked and empty-handed. His prayer is not polished. It is simply, “Remember me.” God does. Hebrews 11 later includes Samson among the heroes of faith, not because he lived flawlessly, but because his weakness was finally surrendered to God. Failure is never good. Consequences still hurt. Some losses cannot be undone. But failure does not have to be final. The lowest point of Samson’s life became the place where he finally stopped relying on his own strength and cried out to God. Our worst chapter may not be the end of our story. Not because failure is good, but because God is. --- **Questions to process** 1. Where am I staying in a situation, relationship, or habit I already know I should leave? 2. Have I mistaken exhaustion or numbness for peace when I may actually be surrendering to compromise? 3. Where am I still relying on old strength, old habits, or past success instead of depending on God? 4. What would an honest, unpolished “Remember me” prayer sound like from me today? 5. Where do I need to trust that God’s grace is greater than my failure instead of assuming I have disqualified myself? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. Samson received three clear warnings that Delilah was working against him, yet he stayed. Why do people sometimes remain in harmful situations, relationships, or habits even after repeated warnings? 2. The sermon said, “The enemy rarely takes us down with one knockout punch. He wears us down until surrender feels like rest.” Where have you seen that pattern in your own life or in the lives of others? 3. Samson did not realize how far he had drifted until he tried to act and failed. How can Christian community help us recognize spiritual drift before we become the last person to notice it? 4. Samson’s prayer at his lowest point was brief and honest: “Remember me.” What does that teach us about the kind of prayer God desires? 5. Hebrews 11 includes Samson among the heroes of faith despite his failures. How should that shape the way we view our past mistakes and God’s ability to still use us? ### Adrift (Week Five) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/adrift-week-five/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:41:31.000Z ### **Wasting What God Entrusted** Samson’s story makes us uncomfortable because it should. Here was a man marked by God before he ever took a breath. Judges 13 tells us he would be set apart from birth as a Nazirite, consecrated for God’s purposes. Samson did not apply for the position, pass an interview or impress anyone with his résumé. God placed the calling on his life before Samson could earn it or ruin it. That is where the tension begins. A person can be genuinely called by God and still mishandle what God has entrusted to them. Samson did not wake up one morning and decide to destroy his life before lunch. His collapse happened one compromise at a time. He touched a dead lion and kept it secret. He ate honey from the carcass and shared it with his parents without mentioning the mildly important detail about where it came from. He created a foolish riddle, made a reckless bet and revealed a secret simply because he grew tired of listening to someone cry. None of those moments looked like total disaster. That is exactly the danger. Small compromises are easy to hide in the short term and expensive to pay for over time. Sin rarely sends an invoice immediately. It prefers to let the charges accumulate. By the end of Judges 14, Samson has killed thirty men, not to rescue Israel or defend innocent people, but to settle a debt created by his own pride and foolishness. He was strong enough to tear apart a lion, but too weak to control his temper. He could defeat enemies around him while refusing to confront the enemy within him. Samson was gifted, powerful and an absolute hot mess. The real question in his story is not whether God can use flawed people. Scripture settles that question repeatedly. God uses imperfect people because those are the only kind available. The deeper question is what happens when gifted people let the gift define them instead of the Giver. Samson’s favorite phrases were essentially, “I want it,” and, “Get it for me.” He rarely stopped to ask, “Lord, is this what You want?” That gap between what looks good to us and what is actually good for us is where character is formed or lost. God had not abandoned Samson. Grace was still present. But grace did not erase the consequences of his choices. The same is true for us. The compromise we excuse today may not destroy anything immediately. It may feel small, private and manageable. But every hidden choice is building something. The question is not simply, “How gifted am I?” The better question is, “Who am I becoming when nobody is watching?” --- **Questions to process** 1. What small compromises have I grown comfortable hiding instead of confessing? 2. Where am I choosing what looks good to me without asking whether it is truly good for me? 3. Have I mistaken being gifted or used by God for genuine spiritual maturity? 4. What decision do I need to pause and bring before God by asking, “Lord, is this Your plan?” 5. Where have I allowed a gift, talent, position, or role to define me more than the God who gave it? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. Samson was called by God before he was born, but he still had to choose how to live. How should calling and character work together in a believer’s life? 2. Small compromises often grow into larger consequences. What examples have you seen in Scripture, history, or everyday life? 3. Why do you think Samson hid the truth about the lion and the honey from his parents? What does secrecy reveal about the nature of compromise? 4. The sermon said, “God can use the worst chapter of our lives, but that does not mean the chapter was a good idea.” How can we hold grace and consequences together without minimizing either one? 5. What habits, relationships, or spiritual practices help us recognize compromise before the gap between our calling and our behavior grows too wide? ### Adrift (Week Four) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/adrift-week-four/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:41:16.000Z ### **When Fear Takes Over (Part Two)** Last week, Gideon was hiding in a winepress, afraid but called. This week, God moves him toward the battlefield and the first thing He does is reduce the army. That seems like an unusual military strategy. Gideon begins with thirty-two thousand soldiers. God cuts the number to three hundred. Apparently, God was not impressed by the standard leadership principle of getting more volunteers, increasing the budget and ordering matching shirts. Israel did not have too little strength. They had too much. God knew that if Israel won with a large army, they would take the credit. They would celebrate their courage, admire their strategy and perhaps produce a commemorative plaque explaining how impressive they had been. So God removed what fear and pride were leaning on. Midian was the enemy outside Israel. Self-sufficiency was the enemy inside Israel. That same battle continues in us. When we drift from God, we replace Him with things we can count, control and explain. Money becomes our security. Talent becomes our identity. Strategy becomes our certainty. Approval becomes our oxygen. None of those things are necessarily wrong, but they make terrible saviors. God loves us too much to allow our substitutes to quietly take His place. Notice how patiently God handles Gideon’s fear. He does not shame Gideon or tell him to toughen up. God gives him reassurance through a dream and its interpretation. Gideon does not suddenly become fearless. He becomes convinced that God is faithful. That is the turning point. God is patient with trembling people. At some point, however, His voice must become louder than fear. Then comes one of the strangest battles in Scripture. Three hundred men carry trumpets, clay jars and torches. That sounds less like an army and more like the supply list for a church Christmas program. Yet God uses surrendered people and ordinary objects to accomplish an extraordinary victory. Scripture is full of that pattern. A staff. A sling. A jawbone. A boy’s lunch. A cross. God is not searching for impressive people. He is looking for surrendered ones. Many of us want God to defeat the enemies around us without touching the idols within us. We want relief without surrender, peace without forgiveness and power without submission. We ask God to change our circumstances while protecting the very habits, attitudes and fears He wants to remove. Fear rarely introduces itself honestly. It disguises itself as control, comfort, cynicism, delay, inadequacy or secrecy. Whatever name it uses, fear always leads us away from trust. Gideon needed one truth before he needed any command: “The Lord is with you.” Not the Lord was with you. Not the Lord might be with you after you improve. The Lord is with you. When God is present, weakness is not the end of the story. When God is leading, surrender is stronger than numbers. When the Lord is with you, three hundred is enough. --- **Questions to process** 1. What am I trusting instead of God right now? 2. Where has God already given me enough assurance to take the next step? 3. Which disguise does fear most often wear in my life: control, comfort, inadequacy, cynicism, delay or secrecy? 4. Is there an altar in my life that God is asking me to tear down? 5. Do I truly believe the Lord is with me today, even if I still feel afraid? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. Why do you think God reduced Gideon’s army instead of simply giving all thirty-two thousand men the confidence to fight? 2. The sermon said, “We want God’s rescue without allowing God to rule.” Where do you see that tension in your own walk with God? 3. God responded to Gideon’s fear with mercy rather than shame. How should that shape the way we respond to fear in ourselves and in others? 4. Fear often disguises itself as control, comfort, inadequacy, cynicism, delay, or secrecy. Which disguise shows up most often in your life, and why? 5. What would it look like this week to believe that “the Lord is with you” is enough, even before the fear is gone? ### Adrift (Week Three) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/adrift-week-three/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:42:02.000Z ### **When Fear Takes Over** Fear rarely kicks down the front door and introduces itself. It usually slips in quietly. It begins as a feeling. Then it becomes a pattern of thinking. Before long, fear is holding the clipboard, running the meeting and making decisions nobody remembers authorizing. That is where we find Israel in Judges 6\. They are impoverished, oppressed and hiding in caves. God had not abandoned them. They had drifted from Him and now fear had become their normal way of life. Then we meet Gideon, threshing wheat in a winepress. Wheat was normally threshed in an open area where the wind could carry away the chaff. Gideon was doing it underground, hiding from the Midianites. It was inefficient, awkward and dusty enough to make breathing difficult. The angel of the Lord appeared and called him a “mighty hero.” Gideon may have looked around to see if someone else had entered the winepress. Nothing about the moment looked mighty. Gideon was hiding. Israel was suffering. The enemy was winning. Yet God did not define Gideon by his fear. He defined Gideon by what His presence and grace would produce. God’s answer was not, “Gideon, believe in yourself.” It was, “I will be with you.” That is better. Fear grows when we forget God’s faithfulness. We may still believe God exists, but we begin wondering whether He is paying attention to our situation. Fear also shrinks our identity. Gideon saw himself as the weakest member of the weakest family. God saw someone He was sending. Fear asks, “Who am I?” Faith asks, “Who is with me?” Fear also delays obedience. Gideon eventually obeyed God, but he tore down his father’s altar at night because he was afraid. It was real obedience, just wearing camouflage and hoping nobody checked the security camera footage. God still used it. That should encourage anyone whose knees are shaking while they take the next faithful step. Courage is not always loud. Sometimes it looks like obedience after dark. Gideon’s fleece reveals another pattern. God had already spoken clearly. Gideon was not really asking for direction. He was asking for reassurance because he was afraid to act. We often do the same thing. We ask God for another sign, another conversation, another confirmation or perhaps a billboard with our name spelled correctly. Sometimes the problem is not a lack of clarity. It is a lack of courage. Fear may come along for the ride, but it does not have to drive. Name the place where fear has been making your decisions. Bring it honestly before God. Then take the next obedient step. Bravery rarely arrives before obedience. Most of the time, courage meets us after we start walking. --- **Questions to process** 1. Where have I assumed God is distant instead of considering whether I have drifted from Him? 2. What “I am not enough” excuse does fear keep repeating to me? 3. Where have I obeyed God cautiously because I was afraid of what others might think? 4. Am I truly seeking guidance or am I avoiding something God has already made clear? 5. What step of obedience can I take this week, even if fear comes with me? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. Read Judges 6:11–16\. Why did God call Gideon a mighty hero while Gideon was still hiding? 2. How does fear influence what we believe is possible? 3. Where do we see examples of sincere but hesitant obedience in our lives? 4. Why is God’s promise, “I will be with you,” more powerful than a motivational speech about Gideon’s potential? 5. What is one obedient step someone in the group could take this week before feeling completely ready? ### Adrift (Week Two) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/courage-in-a-compromised-world-week-two/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:43:35.000Z ### **Courage in a Compromised World** NASA’s 1997 Mars Climate Orbiter mission cost $125 million and failed because two teams used different units of measurement. One worked in metric. The other used imperial measurements. The spacecraft did not explode. Nobody sabotaged it. A small misalignment simply kept growing until the mission ended somewhere completely different than intended. That is how compromise works. Nobody wakes up and decides to wreck their integrity before breakfast. Compromise begins small. A little less honesty. A little more bitterness. A conviction quietly softened because obedience feels inconvenient. One ignored warning rarely feels dangerous. Neither does the second. Eventually, however, small misalignments change the destination. Judges 4 shows what happens when spiritual drift continues long enough. Israel had compromised repeatedly and the result was twenty years of cruel oppression. They did not choose the chains, but they made the compromises that led them there. The most sobering part is that an entire generation grew up under those conditions. Captivity probably felt normal to them. Oppression was not an emergency. It was just another Tuesday. That is one of compromise’s greatest dangers. Given enough time, what should alarm us begins to feel ordinary. Anger gets excused as personality. Emotional distance becomes the normal condition of a marriage. A neglected prayer life gets renamed busyness. Spiritual numbness gets mistaken for maturity because we can sit through an entire church service without feeling convicted, challenged, or even mildly inconvenienced. Compromise does not merely change how we live. Eventually, it changes what we are willing to call normal. Then Deborah enters the story. She is sitting beneath a palm tree, listening to God while the rest of the nation is overwhelmed by fear. She does not have an army, a platform or an impressive office. She has a tree, wisdom and the courage to hear God clearly. Sometimes the first act of courage is slowing down long enough to listen again. Barak is more hesitant. He tells Deborah, “I will go, but only if you go with me.” His courage is real, but it needs company. Deborah does not mock him, lecture him or hand him a motivational coffee mug. She goes with him. Courage often grows in community. Then there is Jael. She is not a soldier, judge or military strategist. She is a woman in a tent who becomes part of ending twenty years of oppression. God has always enjoyed using people nobody else would have included in the planning meeting. Courage in a compromised world does not require us to be impressive. It requires us to be obedient. Sometimes courage looks like a mother putting down her phone and opening her Bible. It looks like a father turning the truck around to apologize. It looks like a spouse telling the truth, a friend speaking up or a weary believer getting off the couch and onto their knees. A trembling light is still a light. A second-chance light is still a light. Compromise says, “This is normal.” Courage says, “God has called me to something better.” --- **Questions to process** 1. Where have you gotten comfortable with something that once bothered you? What line did you draw that you can no longer quite find? 2. Is there something you've been managing (a habit, a pattern, an attitude) that has quietly started managing you instead? 3. What act of obedience have you been delaying because you're afraid? What is the conversation, apology, or "yes to God" you keep softening into a "maybe"? 4. When did you last slow down long enough to hear God's voice beneath all the other noise in your life? 5. Where might God be asking you to act even though you feel unlikely or unqualified? What would it look like to just take one step? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. The sermon opened with the image of the Mars Climate Orbiter, destroyed by a small, undetected misalignment. Where do you see that pattern playing out most commonly in people's spiritual lives today? 2. Judges 4 describes the cycle of nations: forget, compromise, suffer, cry out, be rescued, drift again. Why do you think God's people keep returning to the same patterns even after experiencing rescue? What breaks the cycle? 3. Deborah is described as someone who listened to God more than to the culture around her. What voices in your own life are loudest right now and are they drawing you toward courage or toward compromise? 4. Barak said, "I'll go, but only if you go with me." What areas of your life need a Deborah, someone who gives you courage to move? Are you using the people God has placed around you? 5. Jael was the last person anyone would have expected to change the story. Has there been a moment in your life where God used you, or someone else, in a way that didn't fit the expected mold? What did that teach you about how God works? ### Adrift (Week One) URL: https://www.chrisknightwrites.com/the-danger-of-the-drift/ Last updated: 2026-07-16T01:42:17.000Z ### **The Danger of the Drift** Nobody plans to drift. That is what makes it so dangerous. Nobody wakes up on Monday morning and says, “This seems like a good week to slowly wander away from God.” Drift is rarely dramatic. It does not usually arrive with flashing lights, warning sirens or a villain twirling his mustache. It happens quietly. Prayer gets skipped again. Scripture gets crowded out. Worship becomes background noise. Before long, our heart has traveled farther than we intended. Judges 2:10 contains one of the saddest sentences in Scripture: “After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” One generation crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. The next barely knew the God who split it. That did not happen overnight. Israel’s fall was a slow, almost invisible drift and it began with forgetfulness. The book of Judges repeats the same painful cycle. The people forgot God, wandered into compromise, suffered the consequences, cried out for help, experienced God’s rescue and eventually drifted again. They lived the spiritual version of repeatedly ignoring the low-fuel warning and acting surprised when the car stopped. Drift does not require outright rebellion. It only requires neglect. A drifting heart may not deny God. It simply becomes unimpressed with Him. Grace feels ordinary. Scripture sounds familiar. Worship becomes something we watch rather than something we offer. The name of Jesus no longer stirs much affection because familiarity has replaced wonder. Drift always has a destination. Nobody accidentally becomes holy. Nobody stumbles into spiritual maturity while scrolling on a phone or surfing the internet. Growth requires intention. Drift requires nothing. Judges also gives us a serious generational warning. Faith is not passed down through proximity. Children and grandchildren can grow up around church, hear Bible stories, attend youth group and still never personally know the Lord. The next generation does not need perfect examples. That is fortunate, because none are available. They need faithful people who genuinely love Jesus, practice what they believe, admit when they fail and consistently point toward the goodness of God. Hebrews 2:1 warns, “We must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” The answer to drift is anchoring. Anchor yourself in Scripture, worship, prayer, testimony and Christian community. Remember what God has done. Tell the stories again. Refuse to let grace become ordinary. Judges 2:10 is not merely a tragic verse. It is a gracious alarm. Life may be full, busy and productive. The calendar may be packed tighter than a church lobby after the final amen, but a full life can still hide a thin soul. The question is not simply, “Have I abandoned God?” The better question is “Where am I drifting and what must I do today to return?” --- **Questions to process** 1. When you reflect honestly on your spiritual life over the past year, do you feel like you've been moving toward God or quietly drifting from Him?What's your evidence for that? 2. The sermon described drift beginning when "the miracle becomes mundane." Is there a truth about God or an experience of His faithfulness that has lost its weight for you? What would it take to recover the wonder of it? 3. Are you living on inherited or borrowed faith (the faith of a parent, a spouse, a pastor) or have you made it genuinely your own? What does personal ownership of your faith actually look like in your daily life? 4. Where in your life has forgetfulness become a habit? What rhythms or practices might help you remember what God has done more consistently? 5. If the people who know you best were asked whether they see you as someone who loves Jesus or attends church regularly, what would they say? What do you want them to say? --- **Questions to discuss** 1. The sermon said, "Spiritual drift is usually unintentional neglect repeated over time." What are the small, seemingly harmless habits or choices that most often lead people toward spiritual drift? Have you seen this pattern in your own life? 2. Judges 2:10 indicts both generations: the one that drifted and the one that failed to pass the faith on. As a group, what does intentional discipleship look like in your context as parents, mentors or members of a faith community? 3. The sermon drew a sharp distinction between proximity to God and a relationship with God. How do we guard against the trap of being near the things of God while still being far from God? What does that look like in a church culture specifically? 4. The cycle of nations in Judges (forget, compromise, suffer, cry out, be rescued, drift again) is a sobering mirror. Do you see this cycle operating in your own life? What breaks the cycle and what keeps pulling people back into it? 5. Hebrews 2:1 calls us to "listen very carefully." What anchors (worship, Scripture, community, testimony) are most important in your life right now for staying tethered? Which of those anchors feels weakest and what would it look like to strengthen it?