Make Your Plans

Our Scripture for today is Proverbs 19:21.

“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.”

In 1880, experts gathered to make a 100-year plan for New York City. They scratched their beards and scribbled calculations about the future. They saw the crowds, counted the growth, and reached a confident conclusion that by 1980, they would need six million horses to move everyone around.

Six million horses!

They had the data. They had the trends. What they didn’t have was knowledge of the automobile, the subway expansion, or a thousand other plans God had in motion.

Here’s a truth tucked inside their miscalculation: man doesn’t know enough to know what’s best. But God does.

You’ve made plans, haven’t you? Good plans. Prayed-over plans. Maybe they crumbled in your hands like dry leaves. And yet, looking back, can you see it? The way God made something better from the tangled threads?

We plan because we’re human. God prevails because He’s God. He sees around corners we don’t even know exist. He holds tomorrow in His hands.

So make your plans. Do your best. But hold them loosely. Because the God who surprised those 1880 planners with automobiles has a few surprises for you too, far better than six million horses could ever deliver.

His purpose will prevail. That’s good news for your worried heart.

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

Reject Revenge

Some say, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” As if evening the score were something noble. As if payback were a virtue worth pursuing.

But God sees it differently.

Solomon put it plainly: “Do not say, ‘Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.'” Don’t plot your revenge. Don’t scheme to balance the scales.

Here’s why: When we take vengeance into our own hands, we step into a place we were never meant to stand. We climb onto the judge’s bench. We wrap ourselves in God’s robes. We declare, “I’ll be the one to make this right.”

But that throne is taken.

God is your defender. He sees what happened. He knows the depth of the wound, the weight of the injustice. And He is fully capable of handling it without your help. When you seek revenge, you’re not just acting out—you’re saying, “God, You’re not enough. You won’t do what needs to be done, so I will.”

Private vengeance is sinful not just because it’s harmful, but because it puts us in God’s place.

So what do you do with the hurt? Where do you put the pain when someone has wronged you?

You give it to the One who wore your wounds on a cross. You surrender the score-settling to the One who keeps perfect accounts. You trust that God’s justice is better than your revenge, His timing wiser than your impulses, His mercy deeper than your bitterness.

Let Him be God. Let Him defend. Let Him judge.

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

Notice!

Most days of a person’s life are just ordinary. That’s the way it was for Moses that day. The desert was quiet. Sand stretched to the horizon, sheep wandered lazily, and Moses walked through another routine moment of an ordinary life. Then—fire. A bush ablaze, burning but not consumed. No thunder. No trumpet. Just a whisper of wonder flickering in the wilderness.

Most folks might have walked on, muttering about mirages and heat. But Moses didn’t. Scripture says he “turned aside.”

Those two words changed everything. The divine moments rarely shout. They whisper. God does not force Himself on distracted hearts. He waits for a turning. Every “burning bush” begins with curiosity, attention, and pause.

How many bushes do we pass each day? A phrase that lingers from a verse. A tug in prayer we silence with hurry. A hurting soul who needs our listening. Perhaps God is there, hidden in plain sight, waiting for us to turn aside.

When Moses did, heaven spoke: “Moses, Moses!” What began as observation became a life’s work. The shepherd met his calling not in a palace, but by looking closer at a burning bush.

So today, turn aside. Let ordinary moments become holy ground. God still surrounds your life with small burning fires that call you to serve him. Just notice!

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

What Fools Say…

Our text today is Psalm 14:1

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”

Really? There is no God!

Here are 5 things that lead people to such a conclusion. 

1. Sometimes it’s pain—suffering so deep that a good God seems impossible. 

2. Sometimes it’s pride—that stubborn self-sufficiency that refuses to admit dependence. “I can handle life on my own” becomes the creed of the self-made soul.

3. Sometimes it’s culture. In our broken world, faith gets labeled as outdated and unsophisticated. People absorb this attitude like secondhand smoke and assume disbelief is the intelligent position.

4. Sometimes it’s moral resistance. Believing in God means accepting His standards. Denying Him becomes a way to quiet an inconvenient conscience. 

5. Sometimes it’s simple distraction. Life moves fast, and reflection takes time. Many never pause long enough to consider eternal things.

But here’s the heart of it: whether God exists is the most significant question you’ll ever face. Scholars have devoted lifetimes to studying the evidence. Others have given it a few hours and walked away convinced He’s not there.

That’s the fool the psalmist describes—not someone who lacks intelligence, but someone who dismisses the most important question without real study. The question remains: does God exist? It is the most important question of all, because everything else hangs on it. To dismiss it casually is to gamble eternity on a passing opinion. The wise seek, the proud dismiss, but the honest heart that searches will find Him—because He is there to be found.

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

Think, then Talk

Today’s Reading is Proverbs 15:28.

“The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”

Ever notice how a chef tastes the soup before serving it? A pinch of salt here, a dash of pepper there. He wouldn’t dream of sending out a dish he hasn’t sampled first.

What if we treated our words the same way?

The wise person, Solomon tells us, weighs their answers. They pause. They consider. They taste their words before serving them up. But the foolish? They let words gush out like water from a broken pipe—unfiltered, unexamined, often unwelcome.

Here’s the thing: words, once spoken, can’t be taken back. They land on hearts like stones—some that build, others that bruise. You’ve felt both, haven’t you? The warmth of an encouraging word. The sting of a careless one.

Before you speak today, take a moment. Let your heart weigh your words. Ask yourself: Will this heal or hurt? Build up or tear down? Is it true, necessary, kind?

Your words have power. They can breathe life or drain it. They can mend a broken spirit or shatter it further.

So taste them first.

Let your heart be the kitchen where wisdom seasons every sentence. People are listening. What comes out of your mouth matters more than you know.

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

Show, Don’t Tell

Our Verse is 1 Corinthians 11:1

 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

In this verse Paul shows us that he understood something we often forget: leadership isn’t about the rulebook you carry—it’s about the path you walk.

Notice what Paul didn’t say. He didn’t say, “Do what I tell you.” He said, “Follow me.” There’s a world of difference between the two. One demands compliance. The other invites companionship.

Paul lived what he taught. His letters weren’t penned from an ivory tower but from prison cells and dusty roads. He didn’t hand down commands he himself refused to obey. He walked the narrow way first, then turned around and said, “Come on. Follow me as I follow Christ.”

Someone once said, “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” That’s the heart of genuine influence. Whether you’re raising children, leading a team, or mentoring a friend, your life is the loudest sermon you’ll ever preach.

Ralph Waldo Emerson reminded us: “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Your kids are watching. Your coworkers are watching. Your neighbors are watching. Not to catch you in a mistake, but to learn how to live.

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

The Perfect Reply

Proverbs 15:23 says, 

“A man has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!” 

There is something almost musical about the right words spoken at the right moment. They land softly, settle deeply, and stay with us long after the conversation ends.

Most of us have tried to come up with clever replies. I used to use a humorous line whenever someone asked if I was good at something. If they said, “Do you like to shoot pool?” I would grin and say, “I haven’t played since I lost the Texas State Championship two years ago.” It didn’t matter what the activity was. That was my go-to answer. It got a laugh. Clever words might entertain, but timely words can heal.

In John 8, Jesus gave a perfect word. A woman caught in adultery was thrown down before Him. The crowd demanded judgment. Jesus simply said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” With one sentence, pride was silenced. Stones fell from angry hands. One by one, they walked away.

Then Jesus spoke again, but not to the crowd. His second word was just for her. “Go. From now on sin no more.” No lecture. No shame. Just a gentle invitation to begin again.

Maybe you need that word today. You cannot rewrite yesterday, but with Jesus you can start a new chapter. Go, and sin no more.

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

Tiny Bites Lie!

Ecclesiastes 7:8

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.”

This verse reminds us that beginnings are full of guesses and quick conclusions. We taste a sip, see a moment, hear a sentence, and think we already know the whole story. Pride rushes to judgment. Patience waits until the end.

I thought I knew about Pepsi. I was loyal to Coke and proud of it. Then came the taste test at the Kansas State Fair. One tiny sip and I chose Pepsi. I walked away surprised and not all that happy about it. Later, in Sam’s, I tasted a bite of gravy on a meatball. It was delicious, so I bought the gravy. I should have bought the meatballs. The powdered gravy ended up in the trash.

Neither of those small samples told the truth. A quick taste can fool you. I have learned that you cannot decide if you love swimming by dipping your toe in the water. You cannot judge a job by a brief tour. You cannot know a person by one conversation. You need time. You need patience.

Solomon knew that life needs more than first impressions. A patient spirit keeps us from walking away too soon. God often does His best work in the long stretch, not the first moment. Give things time to develop. Give people time to grow. Give God time to finish what He has started.

Pride wants to decide now. Patience waits for the end of the matter.

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

Taste Your Words

Our reading today is from Proverbs 15:2.

“The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly.”

When I read that, I picture a careful marksman. Before he pulls the trigger, he takes time to ready his stance, aim his sights, and then fires. Try it any other way and the shot goes astray. Words work much the same. Speak before you think, and someone gets hurt. Think before you speak, and healing often follows.

The wise and the foolish both talk, but the difference lies in “how” they talk. The wise person shapes their words so they can be heard. They season truth with grace. The fool fires off opinions without care for the target.

For example, imagine someone who’s struggling with a habit they can’t break. The wise might say, “I know that’s hard. God helped me when I prayed through each small step.” The fool might say, “You need to stop being lazy. You should have fixed this by now!” Same subject, different spirit.

Solomon reminds us that knowledge becomes acceptable only when it’s delivered with love. So before you speak, take a breath. Ready your heart. Aim your words. Then speak to bless, not to bruise.

That is wisdom in action. It is Proverbs 15:2 lived out in everyday speech. One elderly woman wisely said, “I always taste my words before I spit them out.”

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

Working for Good!

Let’s read Romans 8:28

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

My Ginger and Jeff love this verse and can tell you about hard days. When flames consumed their apartment, they didn’t lose just possessions—they lost their sense of order. She and Jeff moved to a noisy place. Their business ground to a halt. Routines crumbled. Days grew heavy with uncertainty.

But God doesn’t waste our pain. He recycles it.

Within two weeks of the fire, Ginger and Jeff closed on a new home on a quiet cul-de-sac. A fresh start and a dream realized! I couldn’t help but smile, because sometimes the thing we’re running from is actually pushing us toward the thing we’ve been praying for.

This is what Romans 8:28 really means. Not that bad things don’t hurt. They do. Not that loss doesn’t sting. It does. But God doesn’t leave us in the wreckage. He’s working, even when we can’t see His hand moving.

I told Ginger and Jeff something I’m telling you today: “For Christians, everything works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out yet, then it is not the end.”

Some answers come in two weeks. Some take two years. Some we won’t understand until eternity. But if you love God and follow His calling, He promises to weave every thread—even the dark ones—into something beautiful.

Your ending isn’t written yet. Trust the Author.

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

God Sees Us

Proverbs 15:3 says, 

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” 

That verse is both a comfort and a warning. We like the thought that God sees our faithfulness, but it is sobering to remember He also sees the moments we hope no one else notices.

I remember a day on the golf course when I met a man who apologized to me, a preacher, for his language. What struck me was not just his words, but his awareness. He noticed me, but he seemed blind to his 12-year-old nephew beside him. 

More troubling still, he seemed unaware that the Lord Himself was standing closer than either of us. It is easy to forget that what we do in private is just as visible to God as our public moments. 

We clean up our speech at church, hold our temper at work, and try to look like we have it all together. Yet the Lord is not fooled by our polished moments. He sees our hidden thoughts, hears our quiet complaints, and notices the attitudes we excuse because no one else hears them.

David asked, “Where can I go from Your presence?” The answer is nowhere. That truth is not meant to frighten us, but to shape us. 

When we live with a constant awareness that God is near, our behavior changes. We speak with more grace, we think with more purity, and we walk with more humility.

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

Lessons from an Ant

Did you ever notice how God tucks wisdom in the most unexpected places? Solomon did. This wisest of kings pointed his students toward something small, something most of us would step over without a second thought, an ant.

“Go to the ant,” he wrote in Proverbs 6:6, “consider her ways and be wise.”

Consider her ways. What a tender invitation. God doesn’t scold us for needing to learn. He simply says, “Look. Watch. Learn.”

And what do we see?  Verses 7 and 8 tells us that the ant is a creature with no supervisor, no motivational speaker, no life coach, yet she shows up. Day after day, she does what needs doing. She’s a self-starter in a world that loves to sleep in.

The ant works hard, this tiny teacher. No complaints, no excuses. She provides for herself and her colony with steady, faithful effort.

And here’s the part that stirs me most: she prepares. While the sun shines and the harvest ripens, she gathers. She knows winter is coming. She lives with one eye on today and one on tomorrow.

What if we lived like that? What if we stopped waiting for someone to push us, stopped living only for this moment, and instead moved forward with purpose and preparation?

God’s classroom has no walls. Today, your teacher might be six-legged and smaller than your fingernail.

Consider her ways!

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

Be Content!

Our Scripture for today is Proverbs 14:30.

“A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

Ever notice how quickly joy evaporates when we start measuring our everyday life against someone else’s highlight reel?

You’re content with your home until you tour your neighbor’s renovation. Happy with your job until you hear about your friend’s promotion. Grateful for your blessings until social media reminds you of everything you don’t have.

Solomon knew we needed to be warned that “envy rots the bones.” Comparison robs peace. And envy? Envy is comparison with a bitter edge, a toxin that seeps into the marrow of our souls.

Notice the imagery. A contented heart brings life. It breathes vitality into your days, health into your body, lightness into your step. But envy doesn’t just wound; it rots. It decays from the inside out, gnawing away at the framework that holds you together.

We must remember that God hasn’t called you to live someone else’s story. He’s written one specifically for you, with your name on every chapter. Their blessings don’t diminish yours. Their success doesn’t cancel your purpose.

So quiet that voice that whispers, “Why not me?” Replace it with gratitude’s gentle refrain: “Look what God has done for me.”

Choose today to guard your heart against the poison of envy. Celebrate others without diminishing yourself. Trade comparison for contentment.

After all, a tranquil or contented heart isn’t just good theology.

It’s good medicine.

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

After You Fall…

In Proverbs 24:16, Solomon said:

“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.”

I love this text. It has instructed me many times in life. Notice from this text that both the righteous and evil man falls, the difference between the righteous and evil is whether they get up from their fall. 

The righteous man, the good man, falls but gets up. The wicked man falls down and just wallows in his failure.

A man named Harlan illustrates this. He was a sixth-grade dropout. Over his life, He worked as a farmhand, a railroad worker, an insurance salesman, a tire salesman, and had a failed attempt in politics. At the end of all these jobs, he retired broke. With little more than social security checks, he decided to sell chicken, more specifically, a chicken recipe. He went from business to business asking restaurants, cafes, and grills to use his recipe and pay him 5 cents for each piece they sold. He tried for two years. “No, no, no,” he kept hearing. In fact, he heard 1,009 rejections before someone finally said “Yes.”

We all know him now as Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. When he died in 1980, he was a rich man, a millionaire. He failed 1,009 times, but he tried and tried again.

Winners keep on keeping on. Losers quit!

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

Buried Talent!

Don’t Bury Your Talent

 Not one is a thousand would recognize the name of Reginald Heber. On April 3, 1826 he served as a missionary in India. That day he preached outdoors under a hot Indian sun. To cool off, afterward he went for a dip in a nearby pool. While in the pool he had a stroke and drowned.

 A few days later his wife was going through his belongings and found in his trunk several old songs that he had written but never published. Among those songs was one that he wrote called, “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty.” Since that discovery millions of people, if not billions, have been blessed by the work of Reginald Heber.

 This is not a note about what a great song he wrote, but about how he buried that song in a trunk. He had great talent, but he buried that talent.

 One cannot help wondering how many of us have done the same thing. How many of us have a song, a story, or a sermon that we have never shared? Fear is a powerful force that can cause us to bury our talent. It may seem like no big deal, but we would do well to remember the Lord’s answer to the man who buried his talent, “You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.” (Matt 25:27)

 God did not call us to sit on our opportunities or talents. The talents God has given to you is God’s gift to you. What you do with those talents is your gift to God.

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

Do It Scared!

Our reading for today is Psalm 56:3–4:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust.”

David knew fear. He wasn’t writing from an ivory tower but from caves and battlefields. His words aren’t from a man who never trembled—they’re from a man who did, but who found a place to stand when everything around him shook. He’s saying, “Fear comes—but faith answers.”

We all have our own list of fears. Failure. Rejection. The unknown. Loss. Aging. Financial strain. Change. Even death. Fear whispers in a hundred different voices, but faith only needs one reply: I trust in God.

When David’s men turned against him and spoke of stoning him, Scripture says, “David was greatly distressed…but he found strength in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). He didn’t wait for courage to find him. He went and found it in God.

Maybe that’s where you are today—standing in the middle of something that scares you. Don’t deny the fear. Just don’t let it have the last word. Like David, talk back to it. Remind yourself that God’s promises are still good, His presence still near, His love still strong.

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

Doing Scary Stuff

Our verse for today is Ecclesiastes 11:4.

“He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.”

In other words, if we wait until fear is gone or the conditions are perfect, we’ll never leap. Faith means acting even when we feel afraid, knowing that obedience brings its own reward.

A few years back, Liz and I took the grandkids swimming at the health club. Our gym has a giant fifteen-foot water slide for the kids. Grandparents are not allowed on it, at least that was my official position. Our little five-year-old granddaughter came over to me and said, “I want to go down the waterslide.” She took a breath and then added, “I wish I was used to it.”

Kids often make profound statements, and this was one of them. It is a profound truth that great opportunities usually come with great anxiety. But if you face your fears, they can bring great blessings.

Winston Churchill said, “If I do that which I fear, fear will leave me.”

After our then-little five-year-old got used to the waterslide, she had a great time. The next time you have a daunting task before you, smile and say, “I will get used to it.” In the end, you will have a great blessing.

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

Dog Bites & Prayer

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.

Live Until…

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.

Be Angry, Yet…

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.