The King's Rule

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“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, / Like the rivers of water; / He turns it wherever He wishes.”
— Proverbs 21:1

Marshall, G. (Executive Producer). (1976). TV series; still shot. In Laverne & Shirley. Henderson Production Company; Paramount Television.

I’m 53 years old and my mom is still telling stories of me sitting in a highchair. Just today, she told the story of me sitting in a highchair at a steakhouse with my grandparents. The waitresses were all wearing short skirts, fishnet stockings and enjoyed flirting with the little boy in the highchair. Every time they would serve me another “Roy Rogers” drink (Coke-a-Cola with grenadine syrup and a maraschino cherry), I would bite the heel of my hand like Lenny Kosnowski when he saw a beautiful woman in the show Laverne & Shirley. I guess I’ve always been expressive of what I was thinking! For better or worse, everyone around me knows what I think.

What is the rule of a king? In practical terms, it simply means someone who is above all other authority structures and can do whatever they want. Whatever they do is “right”. Whatever they say is “law”. They have absolute discretion in their world. They are in complete control of their decisions.

The reality is we are all born into this world with this attitude. A baby cries when it is hungry, needs to be changed or just needs to be held. It is all about us. We have to be taught we are not the center of the world.

That brings into consideration a crazy verse in 1 Corinthians 4:8, “You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you.”

The reality is most of us are ruled everyday by a multitude of competing obligations. Family, work, debt, promises and obligations are dictated by the world around us in order to fit in. Some are good. Some are not. Yet, there is little doubt we have lost our role as king or queen in our own little universe. We can no longer simply cry and see the world respond to meet our needs.

Yet, Paul challenges the root of our desire; to be kings. And it is not a reproach of our selfishness. For it is often selfishness that leads to the compromises we make in terms of family, work, debt, promises and obligations. We want things now, rather than have to wait for them. We want satisfaction, even if that means we compromise our values. We want to feel loved and accepted. And our selfishness often drives our willingness to compromise for it.

Paul challenges us to stand as kings! To understand we alone are responsible for the positions we take and the decisions we make. There are always consequences. But, contrary to everything the world says, we can take any position or make any decision we like. We are truly kings in that regard. But Paul bemoans the fact that we do not understand this. He wishes we understood that we are already full and rich; so choose to stand! Be a king and don’t back down.

If you understand that, you understand only fear can keep you from being a king in your own life. In other words, only fear can hold you back. Yet, if you understand what Christ has done, you understand, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, / Like the rivers of water; / He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1)

Being absolutely free means understanding how and who granted you that freedom. His guidance in your life is not coercion or manipulation, it is the motivation to become everything you were created to be in Him.

We should never be afraid to be who we are in the presence of the Lord. His grace is sufficient for all our failures. Even if that is looking at waitresses and biting the heel of your palm. Honesty is the key to growth. We are kings. We get to choose our path in life. Only fear can hold us back. Only Christ can make us full and rich! Be a king or queen today, and choose to allow Christ to turn the river of your life as He sees fit… BUT CHOOSE HIM!

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Faith in Ignorance

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“The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”
— John 5:15

If you have not read “The Danger of Invisibility” as a precursor to the next 5 devotions, you can read it here. Or the first of the five here: 1) Faith in Obedience, 2) Faith in Need, 3) Faith in Desperation, 4) Faith in Humility

I don’t know why, but many people get really upset when you tell them they are ignorant. I really don’t understand it (I do, but I don’t). I have discovered the more I know, the more I realize I am truly ignorant. Ignorance by definition is simply “the lack of knowledge, education, understanding, or awareness about a particular subject or in general.” Who can honestly claim not to be ignorant? We all are limited in our knowledge.

It brings us to John chapter 5 where we find a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Everyday he was positioned by the Pool of Bethesda and awaited an angel to come down and stir the waters so he could enter them and be healed. But due to his infirmity, he could not enter them fast enough and the blessing went to someone else.

Jesus saw him. He asked a simple question, “Do you want to be made well?” (V.6)

Ironically, the man doesn’t answer the question. Rather, he provides an excuse for why he hasn’t been healed; “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (V.7)

Isn’t that just like us ignorant beings? Justification. Rationalization. Increased Bias. Lay the blame at another’s feet. It’s not my fault! I’m doing the best I can. But that wasn’t the question. The question was, do you want to be healed?!?!?

Jesus simply said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” (V.8)

Here is the crux of the issue, do you have faith? Faith is not believing. It is more. It is not trusting. It is more. It is action. It is acting on the word of God. Believing, trusting and acting all together makes faith. It was the response of the man who “took up his bed, and walked.” (V.9)

What is amazing about this account is that it was NOT precipitated by a strong show of faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, the guy didn’t even know who Jesus was. He simply had faith in God he could be healed. That is why he laid at the edge of the Pool of Bethesda.

Verse 13 says, “But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.” The reality is we don’t have to know everything God has planned. We don’t have to understand everything He is doing. We don’t have to see every action He takes. We just have to answer the question, “Do you want to be healed?” And act in faith that we will be.

Jesus not only saw this man. He healed him in ignorance. Then, Jesus found him a second time in the temple and introduced Himself. The Lord can and will act in your life even if you are ignorant. Walk in faith trusting He is acting in your best interest. Then, you can be like the man in our story who, “departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

I could learn much from this man who was so desperate to be healed he acted in faith even while ignorant of the presence of the Lord. Yet, once the healing took place, he departed and shouted to the world that he was healed by Jesus!

I will never know every area of my life where the Lord desires to work. I’m very much ignorant in that regard. I don't have to know everything He desires to do. But I pray I can follow the example of the man in John 5 and simply respond when my Lord says, “Take up your mat and walk! We will talk down the road.”

Know you are seen. Know you are loved. Know God works even when we don’t understand it. Know it will be done.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Faith in Humility

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“And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
— Matthew 15:27

If you have not read “The Danger of Invisibility” as a precursor to the next 5 devotions, you can read it here. Or the first of the five here: 1) Faith in Obedience, 2) Faith in Need, 3) Faith in Desperation

Jesus was NOT nice! Let me explain.

Jesus was kind, compassionate, caring and loving, but He was not nice. Nice by definition communicates the idea of “going along to get along.” It is being polite to avoid conflict. Jesus was not that. In fact, the word nice is not used in the Bible. Rather, the active virtue of kindness is utilized.

There are numerous instance where Jesus was not nice; He didn’t go along to get along. He called people vipers, snakes, whitewashed tombs, fox, Satan, blind guides and child of Hell. Jesus said of Himself, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)

A nice person would not say those things. Yet, it was His love and compassion that compelled Him to tell the hard truths in the hopes people would see they needed a Savior. It was to the proud, arrogant and entitled He spoke such things, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

This brings us to another nameless individual seen by God in the Bible from which we can learn much. In Matthew 15:21-28, we see a woman of Canaan following Him and crying after Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus ignores her, but she continues to call out to Him. He then explains how His mission was to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” and not to her. She worships him and pleads for help. Then Jesus says, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)

Wow! He just called this woman and her child a dog. Admittedly, Jesus did not use the Greek word for a dirty, unclean street dog, but rather the word that reflects more of a house pet or puppy, but He called her a dog all the same. And yes, it was a common metaphor of the time Israelites used to define those just outside of their “house” or family. Still, it was a stark statement about her place, and that she was outside the scope of ministry He was sent to accomplish. That would come later with the disciples’ ministry.

However, it is her response that leaves me speechless. She replied, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27) That is humility! She didn’t object, or become defensive. She agreed. Called Him Lord, and had faith she was not beyond His ability to help.

I could learn much from this woman. How many times have I approached God with my objections, explanations, defensive stance—my arrogance? Here we see true humility. Nothing to offer except acceptance of who she was in the world and faith in the Lord.

And Jesus saw her and responded, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be as you desire.” (Matthew 15:28) And her daughter was healed.

One of the hardest lessons for us to learn is who we are in comparison to a perfect Lord. It is why He used harsh words for those most arrogant He met along the way. Humility is why He saw a woman outside of His immediate mission and worked in her life. Faith in humility is where His best works are done!

We are significant in God’s eyes not because of who we are or what we have done. We are significant because of who He is and what He has done. Yes, Lord, it is all about you! That is the beginning of living by faith in humility.

Know you are seen. Know you are loved. Know you are significant. Know it will be done.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Faith in Desperation

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“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,

And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
— Psalm 34:18

If you have not read “The Danger of Invisibility” as a precursor to the next 5 devotions, you can read it here. Or the first of the five here: 1) Faith in Obedience, 2) Faith in Need

Have you ever felt totally lost? Irredeemable? Despised? Completely broken? Me too!

There have been times in my life where I couldn’t hardly look at myself in the mirror because I was so ashamed of the reflection peering back. It is in those times I have a tendency to hide. I withdraw from the world. I try to go “radio silent” and walk through life unnoticed. I wallow in my shame.

One of the most amazing passages in the Bible of a person seen by God is found in Luke 7:36-50. Jesus is invited to a meal with a Pharisee. A sinful woman from the community “stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:38).

The Pharisee muttered under his breath, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39)

Here you have a sinful, fallen woman. A woman who, like me, could not look at herself in the mirror. Yet, instead of wallowing in her shame, hiding or withdrawing from the community; she entered the Pharisee’s house and humbled herself at the feet of Jesus.

She had faith in Jesus. Her faith in Jesus was greater than her shame or humiliation. She knew the only option she had was to fall at the feet of Jesus, lay everything out in the open and worship Him regardless of the outcome.

I could learn much from this woman seen by God. She shines light into the shadows of my life where I try to hide my sinful ways. She is the epitome of freedom found in Christ compared to my continued deference to the flesh.

Everything in me screams to hide my shame and failures. Everything in her screamed to fall at the Savior’s feet, wash them with tears and her hair and humiliation. What I could learn from that example.

And how did Jesus respond? He shared a parable about forgiveness. Then scolded the self-righteous Pharisee, saying to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:44-46)

In other words, God was saying, “Simon, do you truly see this woman? Because I DO!”

Then, he turns to the woman and says, “Your sins are forgiven” and “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:48,50) I could learn from a faith like that. A faith that upends social protocols and allows nothing to come between me and the feet of my Savior! A faith in desperation that is unshakable. Knowing I have nothing to offer but myself, yet He has everything to offer in Himself. And He sees me and wants to make the trade.

Know you are seen. Know you are loved. Know God forgives. Know it will be done.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Faith in Need

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“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,…”
— 1 Timothy 6:10

“So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings to God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’”
— Luke 21:3-4

If you have not read “The Danger of Invisibility” as a precursor to the next 5 devotions, you can read it here. Or the first of the five here: 1) Faith in Obedience

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” This is one of the most misused and weaponized verses in the Bible. It is used to attack the rich and prosperous. It is used to justify and vilify individuals as being greedy. It used to shame those who have in the eyes of those who have not.

Yet, there is nothing wrong with money. It is simply a tool that can be used for good or ill. The verse does not condemn using money as a tool or having money (even a lot of it). The problem comes when the tool stops being a tool and becomes the object of our love. It is misplaced love that is the issue, not the balance of your bank account.

We often think of the wealthy when we read this verse, but love of money can be a trap anyone from any financial demographic might find themselves caught in. In fact, it has been my experience (especially since I have yet to experience being a millionaire), the less money I have, the more I tend to obsess about it.

Spending much of my life around people in third-world countries, I can say money has much more significance in day-to-day life there than here. I would argue those in NEED are much more likely to trip over this root of evil and misplace their love. I know I have tripped over that root at times when in need.

That is why one of the people I want to meet in eternity is the “poor widow”. She is not named in the Bible, but she is seen by God for her faith in need.

In Luke, 21:1-4 the Bible reads, “And he looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all, for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’”

Wow! I can still have hundreds of dollars in my checking account and be anxious and lose sleep over the bills I know are coming due. What faith to be broke, and give your last penny to the Lord with a joyful heart knowing He will sustain you. Yes, I understand and accept the theology, but to actually throw the last coins in the pot? I want to know faith like that.

Philippians 4:19 tells us clearly, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” I get it, but my wander lust towards money expects that need to be met before the bank account hits zero. Yet, this woman didn’t have a need until she threw in the two mites. She zeroed out her account. She had faith in God. And He saw her and memorialized her in His word. That’s a lesson from which I can learn so much.

If I’m honest, I flirt with the love of money. I see it as security; instead of finding my security in Christ. I see it as status; instead of finding my status in my Lord. I see it as power; denying the power of God. Yet, it is only a tool. And a tool is most valuable in the Master’s hand. Indeed, I have much to learn from the “poor widow” rich in faith!

Know you are seen. Know you are loved. Know God provides. Know it will be done.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.