Author: londavis@hotmail.com

Our verse today is Proverbs 19:3.

“A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the Lord.”

When you understand this verse, you will understand that it says we do things that hurt us and then wonder why God did this to us!

It reminds me of the story of the father who walked up on his son and his dog. The dog (named Kelly) and the four-year-old Josh had a wonderful relationship. Although the dog and the boy loved each other, the dog often had to put up with the boy’s behavior. Josh loved to hug the dog. Kelly would take as much as he could, but would eventually turn around and nip at the boy to make him turn loose.

One day, the father walked up on Josh and Kelly. Josh had his arms around the dog and his head tucked into the dog’s body so that Kelly could not bite him so easily. As Dad noticed that Josh’s eyes were closed and he heard him say a little prayer, “Dear God, please don’t let Kelly bite me.”

“Josh,” the father said, “God would be more apt to answer your prayer, if you would let go of the dog.”

We, too, are like the little boy holding on to the dog. He knows the dog will bite him, but prays that he won’t bite. We also do things that will bite us, but we don’t want to feel the bite. What do we do to stop the biting? We pray. We only pray!

We pray for a happy marriage and then neglect one another. We pray for a closer walk with God, but do not read His Word. We pray for peace, yet we live life at a frantic pace.

Each of us should examine the things that we pray for and then decide what we can do to help make the prayers come true. 

Continue praying, but also do your part.

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

Our reading is Genesis 27:1-2

It is the story of old Isaac asking a favor from his son. 

“Now it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, ‘My son,’ and he answered him, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Behold now I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.'”

Isaac feels his life ebbing away and seeks a favor of his son. He used the line, “I do not know the day of my death,” and then asks his son for a favor. Interestingly, Isaac lived somewhere between 20 and 40 more years, before he died. Maybe Isaac would have done well to hear the old adage, “If you ain’t dead, you ain’t done.”

What is the point of remembering that story? Simply this: Wake up each day and remember that God has given you the gift of another day, rejoice and use it. 

I close with the story of a teacher who lost her mother. On her first day back teaching, one little girl gave her wisdom beyond her years. She told the teacher, “I’m sorry about your mother,” and then added, “But I hope you live until you die.” 

Maybe Isaac’s story will remind us all to live until we die. 

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

Our verse for today is Psalm 4:4.

“Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still.”

There are nights when sleep won’t come. The mind replays the day’s unfair words, the undeserved wounds, the things you wish you’d said—or hadn’t. David knew that kind of night. He’d been betrayed, slandered, and hunted by those he loved. Anger was natural. But God whispered a different path: “Be angry, yet do not sin.”

It was natural for David to feel what he felt. But it would be wrong to let that feeling rule his heart. So, God invited him to the quiet—“on your bed, search your heart and be still.” The Hebrew word for “be still,” means more than silence. It means to quiet the storm inside—to stop striving, stop being anxious. We can when we stop rehearsing the hurt.

God calls us to take our clenched fists and open them. To take our anxious thoughts and surrender them. When we do, the night changes. The bed becomes an altar. The silence becomes holy ground and the God who calmed the sea will calm us too.

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

Life hands us moments—brief intersections where kindness waits on our decision. Will we help or hesitate? Will we act or assume someone else will?

Paul’s words in Galatians 6:10 are clear: 

“As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone.” 

I learned this truth in a doctor’s waiting room. An elderly woman struggled to stand. My wife whispered, “Go help her.” I hesitated. “She’ll be all right,” I said. But Liz didn’t debate. She simply rose and offered her arm. When Liz was finished, she came back and sat beside me and whispered, “She has cancer of the spine.”

That moment haunts me still—not with guilt, but with clarity. I wasn’t cruel. I was cautious. Unsure if a stranger wanted my interference. But sometimes caution is just fear wearing a respectable coat.

You see, we only pass this way once. This hallway, this waiting room, this moment—they won’t circle back. The woman needing help today won’t need it tomorrow in the same way. The opportunity will vanish like a coin dropped into the ocean.

So do good now. Don’t wait for perfect timing or confidence or courage. Let love make you awkward. Let compassion make you bold. The household of faith thrives when we stop overthinking kindness and simply extend our hand.

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

Two days ago, my nearly three-year-old granddaughter fell and broke her clavicle. Her parents didn’t scold her or demand explanations. They simply scooped her up and held her close. The doctors assure us she’ll heal in a few weeks, but the moment reminded me of Psalm 91:4:

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is your shield and rampart.”

Have you watched a mother hen with her chicks? At danger’s first whisper, she doesn’t lecture about bravery or distribute miniature armor. She spreads her wings wide and calls them near. “Come here, little ones. Come under my wings.”

This is God’s heart toward you.

When storms rage and your world tilts dangerously, God doesn’t demand proof of your worthiness. He doesn’t require eloquent prayers or flawless behavior. He opens His arms and whispers, “Come to me.”

Today’s battles aren’t yours to face alone. You don’t need to summon extraordinary strength, wisdom, or courage. You simply need to draw close enough to hear His voice: “Under my wings, you are safe.”

A toddler with a broken bone belongs in her parents’ loving arms. You belong under the wings of the One who loves you most—not because you’ve earned it, but because that’s where you’ve always belonged.

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

Our Scripture for today is Romans 12:12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.”

I love people whose prayer life is like keeping a finger poised over the “1” button of prayer.

Let me explain. When my youngest daughter was barely a teenager, she was very afraid of the dark. One night she was upstairs in bed when she heard a sound downstairs. She grabbed the phone, pulled the cover over herself and the phone, and then dialed 9-1. After that she held her finger over the last “1.” She was prepared to call for help!

That picture shows what it means to be “instant in prayer.” Prayer is always just a breath away. In the Psalms, David often spoke about his troubles, then suddenly lifted a one-sentence prayer (Psalm 69:13). Nehemiah, too, prayed in short bursts, like a man who knew God was listening (Nehemiah 2:4).

Being instant in prayer doesn’t mean saying a prayer with every step you take. It means living with your heart ready to press that last “button” toward God. And it means pressing it often.

So today, let your heart be ready. Whisper a short prayer when fear comes, when joy rises, or when you don’t know what to do. God is listening.

Be instant in prayer.

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

Imagine a husband gazing into his wife’s eyes, declaring with dramatic flair, “I’d die for you!” How does she take it? She rolls her eyes and shoots back, “Die for me? You won’t even take out the garbage for me!”

It’s funny, but it makes a point. We love grand promises. Heroic gestures capture our imagination. But in the end, real love—and real faith—are proven in the small, daily choices we make.

That’s why Luke 9:23 matters.

 “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Do you know what it means to deny yourself? Denying self means slamming the door on selfish ambitions that tug at our hearts, the ones whispering, “Me first.”

It means starting the day with prayer. Even when you’d rather just relax with your coffee, choose to pray.

It means serving others selflessly. Whether it’s helping a neighbor or listening to a friend, small acts of kindness reflect Jesus’ love.

It means reading and reflecting on God’s word, practicing gratitude, and choosing forgiveness. 

Saying “I will die for Jesus” is easy. But are you willing to live for Him? That is what it means to take up the cross.

Today, choose to live for Him in the small, faithful steps.

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

I used to joke with my brother. I would say, “When mother dies, you can have just about everything. I want her house and her car. You can have her clothes and her dishes and her trinkets and everything else.” Of course that was a joke. He knew it, and I knew it. But this is not always a joke in some families.

Luke 12:13-14 tells us of just one such account. Here we see a man who gets to stand before the Son of God. I can think of a thousand questions I might have for him.

Please tell me, Jesus, what does God look like? What does heaven look like? What must I do to be saved? The man in our story today had none of the important things to ask or to say. Here’s his story:

“Someone in the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?'”

We get so few moments in life that truly matter. This man squandered his on real estate and possessions, blind to the treasure standing before him. When your moment comes, will you recognize what’s eternal, or will you too be counting coins while heaven waits?

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

Our Scripture for today is Psalm 121:1-2 

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Picture a classic Western film: the heroes are surrounded with nowhere to run. Just when all seems lost, the cavalry thunders over the hill to save the day. Throughout history, people have experienced this pattern—help arriving from just beyond what they could see.

Psalm 121 tells a different story. Look at the opening verses: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?” The psalmist asks a question first. He’s looking at those hills, wondering whether help comes from there?

The “answer is “No!” “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

The psalmist’s help doesn’t come from the hills. It comes from the One who made the hills. There’s a world of difference.

When trouble strikes, we too scan the horizon for help: our resources, our connections, our abilities. Sometimes God does use those ordinary means. But the psalmist wants us to understand something deeper: God isn’t limited to the help we can see coming.

As the Maker of heaven and earth, He can use absolutely anything to deliver you. Help might come from an unexpected conversation, an unlikely opportunity, or directly from God’s hand in supernatural ways.

When your hope rests in the hills, in what you can see, your confidence is limited. But when your hope rests in the Maker of the hills, your confidence is as limitless as God Himself.

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