When my wife and I go biking, we like to know how many miles we’ve pedaled. So, I went to a bike shop to buy an odometer and came home with a mini-computer that I discovered was a bit too complicated to program.

I headed back to the bike shop, where the person who sold it to me had it working in no time. I realized it wasn’t as difficult to understand as I thought.  

In life, new things and new ideas can seem complicated. Think about salvation, for instance. Some people might think becoming a child of God is complicated. They could imagine it’s about a religious system or a series of rituals or being good enough.

Yet, the Bible spells it out in simple terms: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). No hoops to jump through. No set of rules to follow. No mysteries to solve.

Here’s the simple truth: We’ve all sinned (Romans 3:23). Jesus came to earth to save us from the penalty of our sin—death and eternal separation from Him (Matthew 1:21; 1 Peter 2:24). He arose from the dead (Romans 10:9). And we’re saved from spiritual death to eternal life by trusting in what He did for us (John 3:16).

Consider what it will mean for you to simply trust and believe in Jesus. Let Him give you life—life “to the full” (John 10:10).

“We’re ready to board our flight to Montego Bay,” came the announcement. I was traveling as a speaker for and leader of a high school group on a missions trip to Jamaica. I reached into my backpack for my boarding pass and passport—and panic hit. My passport was gone!

Our group boarded the plane without me, and I faced four days of frantic efforts trying to get a new passport. After hundreds of phone calls, a fruitless trip to Washington DC, a long drive back to Grand Rapids, Michigan, two days in a nearby city, and the help of our local congresswoman’s office—I finally got a new passport and could join my group in Jamaica.

A passport. A simple little book—but my only guarantee to where I wanted to go. As hard as I worked to get that new document, its value pales in comparison to something that will determine our eternal destination: faith in Jesus, which is the only guarantee of receiving salvation from our sins and new life in Him.

Scripture says, “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Paul was describing the reality that the dawn of salvation arrived in Christ. By belief in Him, we can experience God’s love and His redemptive, restoring work in all creation. Today, let’s make sure that we truly know what it means to “be made right with God through Christ” (5:21 nlt).

During his college days at Florida State University, Charlie Ward was a two-sport student-athlete. In 1993, the young quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as the country’s best college American football player, and he also starred on the basketball team.

During a pregame talk one day, his basketball coach used some foul language as he talked to his players. He noticed that Charlie “wasn’t comfortable,” and said, “Charlie, what’s up?” Ward said, “Coach, you know, Coach Bowden [the football coach] doesn’t use that kind of language, and he gets us to play awfully hard.”

Charlie’s Christlike character allowed him to gently speak to his basketball coach about this issue. In fact, the coach told a reporter: “It’s almost as if there was an angel looking at you” when he talked to Charlie.

A good reputation and a faithful witness for Christ are hard to maintain. But at the same time, believers in Jesus can grow to be more like Him as He helps and guides us. In Titus 2, younger men, and by extension all believers, are called to “be self-controlled” (v. 6) and to “show integrity, . . . and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned” (vv. 7-8).

When we live that way in Christ’s strength, we’ll not only honor Him but also build a good reputation. Then as God provides the wisdom we need, people will have reason to hear what we say.

Paul had gone to the temple for the Jewish purification ceremony (Acts 21:26). But some agitators who thought he had been teaching against the Law sought to take his life (v. 31). Roman soldiers quickly got involved and arrested Paul, bound him, and carried him from the temple area—with the mob shouting, “Get rid of him!” (v. 36).

How did the apostle react to this threat? He asked the troops’ commander if he could “speak to the people” (v. 39). When the Roman leader granted permission, Paul, bleeding and bruised, turned to the angry crowd and shared his faith in Jesus (22:1–16).

That was two thousand years ago—an old Bible story that we might find it hard to relate to. More recent, a man named Peter was arrested while visiting a jailed friend who believes in Jesus in a country where believers are regularly persecuted. Peter was tossed into a dark prison cell and blindfolded during interrogations. When the blindfold was removed, he saw four soldiers with guns pointed at him. Peter’s response? He saw it as “a perfect . . . opportunity to share his faith.”

Paul and this modern-day Peter point out a hard, vital truth. Even if God allows us to experience tough times—even persecution—our task remains: “Preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). He will be with us and will give us the wisdom and power to share our faith.

When people think about the 100-meter dash, current world-record holder Usain Bolt might come to mind. But we can’t forget about Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins. In 2021, Julia crossed the finish line before all other runners to win the 100-meter dash in the Louisiana Senior Games. Her time was a bit slower than Bolt’s 9.58 seconds—just over sixty seconds. But she was also 105 years old!

There’s a lot to like about a woman who’s still running sprints at her age. And there’s a lot to like about believers in Jesus who never stop running the race with Him as their goal (Hebrews 12:1-2). The psalmist says this about the faithful in the later stages of life: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, . . . they will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (92:12–14).

Older believers who follow this kind of standard can find further instruction in Titus. Seasoned men are to be “sound in faith, in love and in endurance” (2:2), and senior women are “to teach what is good” (v. 3).

There’s no call for older believers to stop running the race. Maybe not the way Julia does on the track, but in ways that honor God as He provides the strength they need. Let’s all run the race to serve Him and others well.

My wife and I put hundreds of miles on our bikes each year, pedaling the trails around West Michigan. To enhance the experience, we have some extras accessories that we’ve attached to our bikes. Sue has a front light, a back light, an odometer, and a bike lock. My bike has a water-bottle holder. In reality, we could ride our route successfully every day and rack up all those miles without the extras. They’re helpful but optional.

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul writes about another set of accessories—but these aren’t optional. He said we must “put on” these things to be successful in living out our faith in Jesus. Our lives aren’t easy rides. We’re in a battle against “the devil’s schemes” (6:11), so we must be well-equipped.

Without the wisdom of Scripture, we can be swayed to accept error. Without Jesus helping us live out his “truth,” we’ll give in to lies (v. 14). Without the “gospel,” we have no “peace” (v. 15). Without “faith” shielding us, we’ll succumb to doubt (v. 16). Our “salvation” and the Holy Spirit anchor us to live well for God (v. 17). This is our armor.

How vital that we travel the pathways of life protected from its real dangers. We do that when Christ equips us for the challenges along the way—when we “put on” the armor God provides.

“You don’t belong here.” Those words crushed an eight-year-old girl’s heart, and the pain stayed with her. Her family had emigrated from a refugee camp in a war-torn country to a new country, and her immigration card had the word “alien” stamped on it. She felt like she didn’t belong.

As an adult, although she put her faith in Jesus, she still felt alienated—stung by the feeling that she was an unwelcome outsider. While reading her Bible, she discovered the promises of Ephesians 2. In verse 12, she saw that old, troubling word alien. “You were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (nkjv). But as she kept reading she saw how Christ’s sacrifice had changed her status. She got to verse 19, which told her, “You are no longer” a foreigner or alien. She was a “fellow citizen” with God’s people. Realizing that she was a citizen of heaven, she was overjoyed. Never again would she be an outsider. God had taken her in and accepted her.

Because of our sin, we’re alienated from God. But we don’t have to stay that way. Jesus brought peace to all who were “far away” (v. 17), making all who trust Him fellow citizens of His eternal kingdom—united as the body of Christ.

When Arthur met Sandy in college, they became best friends. Soon Sandy began to lose his eyesight, yet Arthur stuck with him. After Sandy became blind, he dropped out of college. But Arthur would have none of it and promised to help him.

One day the two were at Grand Central Station in New York when Arthur said he had to leave. Sandy spent a humbling two hours bumping into people and even knocking a few things over. Finally, he was able to board the right train to get back to school.

When he returned, he discovered that Arthur hadn’t abandoned him—he’d been watching over him the whole time, quietly helping him gain confidence in being independent. After that, Sandy said, “I felt like I could do anything.” Decades later, Sandy Greenberg, successful businessman, and Art Garfunkel, music legend, are still friends.

When we come to faith in Jesus, God gives us the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and guides us. He’s an “advocate, who will never leave [us]” (John 14:16). And the psalmist calls God our “refuge” (Psalm 91:2, 9).

What crisis are you facing? As you walk through it today, the Spirit is there watching over you even when you sometimes don’t think He’s there. God “will cover you” and be with you (v. 4). He’s always there, watching over His own.

When my granddaughter Eliana was just seven, she saw a video at her school about an orphanage in Guatemala. She told her mom, “We have to go there to help them.” Her mom replied that they would think about it when she was older.

Eliana never forgot, and sure enough, when she was ten, her family went to help in the orphanage. Two years later, they went back, this time taking along a couple of other families from Eliana’s school. When Eliana was fifteen, she and her dad went again to Guatemala to serve.

We sometimes think the wishes and dreams of little children don’t carry the weight of adult hopes. But Scripture seems to make no such distinction. God calls children, as in the case of Samuel (1 Samuel 4). Jesus honors the faith of little ones (Luke 18:16). And Paul said younger believers shouldn’t let people discount them just because they “are young” (1 Timothy 4:12).

So, we’re called to guide our children (Deuteronomy 6:6–7; Proverbs 22:6), recognizing that their faith is a model for us all (Matthew 18:3) and understanding that hindering them is something Jesus warned against (Luke 18:15).

When we see a spark of hope in children, our job as adults is to help ignite it. And as God leads us, encourage them toward a life dedicated to trust in Jesus and service for Him.

For more than 130 years, the Eiffel Tower has stood majestically over the city of Paris, a symbol of architectural brilliance and beauty. The city proudly promotes the tower as a key element of its magnificence.

As it was being built, however, many people thought little of it. Famous French writer Guy De Maupassant, for example, said it had “a ridiculous thin shape like a factory chimney.” He couldn’t see its beauty.

Those of us who love Jesus and have entrusted our hearts to Him as our Savior count Him as beautiful for who He is and what He’s done for us. Yet the prophet Isaiah penned these words: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (53:2).

But the towering majesty of what He did for us is the truest, purest form of beauty that humans will ever know and experience. He “took up our pain and bore our suffering” (v. 4). He was “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (v. 5).

We’ll never know anyone as beautiful—as majestic—as the One who suffered for us on the cross, taking the unspeakable punishment of our sins upon Himself.

That’s Jesus. The Beautiful One. Let’s look to Him and live.