Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scriptures and yesterday’s sermon on the Fruit of Goodness, invites us to stay centered rather than drift into double‑mindedness. Solomon, Mark, and Paul each show us something about worship, power, miracles, and faith—and together they raise a simple but searching question: Can We Serve Everyone Without Complicating Things?
Scripture: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8 (RSV)
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.
1 Kings 8:1-13 (NRSV)
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
Mark 6:53-56 (NSV)
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23 (NRSV)
Message: Solomon’s temple was breathtaking, yet it carried a hidden danger: the temptation to control God. The grandeur, the rituals, the proximity to the palace—all of it risked turning worship into something managed rather than lived. And when the cloud of God’s glory filled the temple, even the priests could not stand. It was a reminder that God’s presence is not contained by our structures or our systems. Jesus shows us the opposite movement. Wherever He went—villages, cities, farms—people brought the sick to Him. No temple courts, no elaborate ceremonies, no committees. Just the simple, direct power of love. People reached for the fringe of His cloak, and they were healed. No complexity. No barriers. Just compassion. Paul understood this simplicity as well. Living under Roman rule, he could have leaned on rights, status, or strategy. Instead, he chose love. He became “all things to all people” not to impress them but to reach them. His ministry was not about control but about removing obstacles so the gospel could be received freely.
And So, we face the same tension today. We say we want to help everyone, yet our actions often reveal limits—economic, social, emotional. We might risk everything to save a drowning child yet overlook the quiet suffering of someone nearby. We hide behind complexity, but deep down we know love is simple, costly, and direct. This is where the Japanese design principle Kanso—simplicity—speaks to us. In worship and in life, we often pack our days with details, committees, programs, and noise. But Kanso invites us to strip away what is unnecessary so the essential can shine. Micah 6:8 says it plainly: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. Not complicated. Not ornate. Just faithful. Knowledge, systems, and structures have their place, but they cannot serve everyone. Only love can. So in this season of Super Bowls and Olympics perhaps the real victory—the one our culture rarely celebrates—is the simple one: loving people where they are, without pretense, without complexity, without needing to win.
Pray we practice what we preach. Pray we appreciate Christ’s love and share it freely. Pray we meet people with compassion. Pray we imitate Paul as he imitated Christ. Pray we become servants to all and catalysts for God’s work. Pray we live joyfully, love boldly, and remember that every person matters.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 