Month: January 2026

Micah 6:8

“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

I took my son, his wife, and their 2-year-old daughter to the airport. As we were unloading the car, we took turns holding the hand of the toddler. She is a sweet girl, but unless you are holding her hand, she is subject to wandering. If she will hold our hand, things work out for her good..

That is the theme of this verse. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. We need to walk with our hand in God’s hand. God isn’t looking for your achievements or a resume that glitters. He’s looking for a hand to hold.  Humility is simply a heart that has found its proper place beside a great God. When we walk with our hand in His, we see how big He truly is.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested prayer. Dear Lord, teach me to release my grip on pride. Guide my steps today so I may walk humbly as I hold your hand.

Today we focus on Mark 10:45

“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Greatness wears a different uniform in the kingdom of God. While the world measures success by titles and applause, Jesus measures it by towels and compassion. He, the King of heaven, bent low to serve the very people who would one day scatter and deny Him. 

He did this to show us that greatness is not found in climbing higher but in kneeling lower. When we serve, we echo His heart. We loosen the grip of selfishness and tighten our grip on grace. True greatness is not about being noticed; it’s about noticing others and loving them like Jesus did.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Lord, shape my heart to serve like Jesus, seeking humility over status and finding true greatness in loving others.

Today’s focus is: Acts 3:19

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Why do we repent? We repent so that our sins may be blotted out. 

But what is repentance? In short, repentance is a change of heart that results in a change of life.

Repentance is not a doorway we dread but a window God opens. The best picture of repentance is found in Luke 15 and the story of the Prodigal Son. 

Lost in the far country of sin, he changes his heart. As soon as he headed back to his father’s house, the father ran to him and welcomed him home. With that story, Jesus was telling us that repentance always brings that response from God. 

When we turn toward Him, He turns toward us with mercy in His hands and renewal in His breath. Repentance is the path where weary hearts find rest again.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested thought for prayer: Please God, help me to keep from soft enough to return to you when I am in the far country of sin.

Today’s focus is: Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has
a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Ever noticed how we cling to what we should’ve let go of long ago? Years ago, I moved to Wichita and discovered something humbling. Nestled among the moving boxes were boxes of old bricks, the same ones I’d used for a makeshift bookshelf. I picked them up for free but paid a premium to ship heavy, dusty rocks that no longer served a purpose.

We do the same with our hearts. We pack up old grudges and bitter hurts, lugging them into every new season. But those loads are too heavy to carry. Why not leave them at the feet of the One who carried the cross? 

Why do we forgive? We don’t forgive because the hurt was small or the person is worthy; we forgive because the Father first forgave us.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested Prayer Thought: Lord, soften my heart to release bitterness. May Your grace flow through me to others, just as You forgave me.

Today’s focus is: Psalm 42:11

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”

The saddest phrase in the English language is “No Hope.” This psalm is open about this.  The writer talks to his own soul. He names the heaviness. He admits the turmoil. Yet he does not stay there. He gives his heart a direction. For times like these, “Put your hope in God” he tells us.

Hope does not deny pain. It looks beyond it. Hope reminds us that this moment is not the final chapter. Notice how hope and praise are connected here. The psalmist says, I will yet praise Him. Not because things are easy, but because God is faithful. God give us hope.

Hope steadies us when emotions shake us. Peace grows when we trust God with what we cannot fix.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Suggested Prayer Thought: God of hope, lift my weary heart, steady my soul, and help me trust You to steady to steady my heart.

Today’s focus is: Acts 20:35 

“Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

We often white-knuckle our possessions, fearing that letting go means having less. But the Father invites us to a different way of life. Generosity is the mirror of God’s heart; when we give, we  become like the Savior who gave everything for us.

Giving loosens our grip on the temporary and strengthens our trust in the Eternal. God doesn’t ask for your gift because He has need; He invites you to give because He knows a closed fist cannot receive a blessing. When we give cheerfully, we find that the void is replaced by a divine joy. 

Open your hand. Trust His provision. You’ll find it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

A Prayer Challenge: Father, loosen my grip on things that don’t last. Help me trust Your provision and reflect Your generous heart.

Our focus today is 1 John 4:19

“We love Him because He first loved us.”

Ever hear a child protest, “He hit me back first”? As parents, we smile at the tangled logic. But in the kingdom of God, this upside‑down reasoning suddenly makes perfect sense. We love because God first loved us.

Before we spoke His name, He whispered ours.
Before we reached for Him, He ran toward us.

His love is the spark that ignites ours, God’s love never runs dry. When your heart feels slow to respond, remember, you are simply returning what He began. His love starts the story, and our love becomes its echo.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Today’s Prayer Thought: Father, thank You for loving me first. Help my life be a loud testimony of Your love to others.

We focus on Psalm 122:1

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.'”

Take a look at David. He wasn’t dragging his feet toward the sanctuary like a child forced to finish his vegetables. He was leaning in. His heart was humming a restless tune that only God could settle.

David knew that the temple wasn’t just a building of stone and cedar; it was a front-row seat to the presence of God. He didn’t go out of duty; he went out of delight.

Is your heart glad today? God isn’t looking for your perfect performance; He’s looking for your presence. He’s already waiting by the door.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking. 

Prayer Thought: Father, thank You for the invitation to Your presence. Help my heart find delight, not duty, in seeking You today.

Today’s focus is: Psalm 95:6

“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”

One of the blessings of being old is getting to hear your children talk about their children. A few days ago, my son described a midnight event. It was one of those nights when their 3-year-old found herself in mommy-daddy bed. He awoke in the nighttime and got up. In a few minutes, he returned to bed. The little three-year-old was sleeping in the middle of the bed, so he laid down. Without saying a word or opening her eyes, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. She will never remember that midnight moment, but it’s a memory he will never forget. In fact, it reminds me of the true meaning of worship. 

In the Bible, the word we translate as “worship” literally means to bow down, to fall on your knees, or to kiss toward someone.  Worship, then, is not first about music or words. It begins with posture. A heart that bends. A will that kneels. 

In the middle of the night, that little 3-year-old girl was worshiping her father. When we worship our Father, we do the same. “O come, let us worship and bow down…”

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Prayer is the quiet doorway through which we step into the presence of God. It isn’t a performance, and it isn’t a ritual polished by perfect words. Prayer is the honest lifting of a needy heart to a willing Father.

We pray because prayer keeps us close to Him. When life pulls at our sleeves and distractions tug at our minds, prayer gathers us back to center. It reminds us that we are not self‑made or self‑sustained. We breathe because He gives breath. We stand because He holds us steady. Every whispered prayer is a confession of dependence—and a celebration of grace.

Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 are beautifully simple: “Pray without ceasing.” Not because God demands constant speeches, but because He invites constant nearness. Prayer becomes less of an event and more of a rhythm. Less of a task and more of a way of life. Like a child reaching for a parent’s hand, we reach for God again and again—through gratitude, through questions, through silence, through need.

And the wonder is this: He listens. The Maker of galaxies bends low to hear the murmur of your heart. Not because your words are flawless, but because His love is.

I’m Lonnie Davis, and these are thoughts worth thinking.

Prayer Thought: Father, teach me to walk in constant nearness to You. Keep my heart open, my spirit listening, and my life anchored in prayer.