In a sense these devotions that I write are like tiny sermons for me, except I don’t get in nearly as much trouble with them as I did with sermons. Someone came to me one Sunday and complained that I had been preaching about her and she was really angry about that. I was absolutely dumbfounded. This person never entered my mind when I was writing the sermon, and I had no idea she was experiencing an issue that I mentioned in my sermon.

The truth is that most of the time in sermons and blogs I’m talking to myself. I preach out of my experiences. I was told early on this was a bad practice, but I do it anyway. I look at my experiences with an eye to what might be common to everyone, some aspect of the human condition. Sometimes I have resolved some problem in my life, so I have a solution to share. Other times I am still engaged with solving the problems. Other times I still don’t have a clue of the solution. I’m not afraid to tell people I don’t have the answers.

My not having the answers really bothered one of my early sermon critics. He believed a sermon should always tell people what to do. I think it would be arrogant for me to tell people what to do when I don’t know what to do myself. Instead I see it as my task to tell the truth as best as I understand it.

So, if you want the truth,

Read John 3:16 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne