Tag Archives: example

Bible Gleanings, devotions

A Soft Answer | Bible Gleanings | October 26-27, 2024

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The vile voicemails and pestering phone calls wouldn’t stop. Michael Weisser was the newly installed rabbi of the oldest Jewish congregation in Lincoln, Nebraska, and a local KKK leader tried to run him out of town by harassing him over the phone. As the intimidation intensified, Michael and his wife started receiving hate mail with messages such as, “The KKK is watching you, scum.” They even received unsettling packages with white supremacist brochures and pamphlets. The Weissers didn’t know what to do, until Michael got an idea: return good for evil.

After doing some research, Michael learned that the man’s name was Larry Trapp, and he began leaving Trapp voicemails as well—but not the kind you’d expect. On one occasion, Weisser left a message, saying, “Larry, there’s a lot of love out there. You’re not getting any of it. Don’t you want some?” One day, Larry answered the phone angrily, and Michael responded to the wheelchair-bound KKK leader, “I know you’re in a wheelchair and I thought maybe I could take you to the grocery store or something.” The fervor of Trapp’s fury subsided and he replied, “That’s nice of you, but I’ve got that covered. Thanks anyway.”

Michael eventually got through to Larry through similar conversations and acts of kindness. According to the New York Times, Larry resigned from the Ku Klux Klan on November 16, 1991, and he and Michael became good friends. The Weissers even converted their living room into a bedroom for Larry when his health declined, and he died in the same loving home that he once threatened. Although Michael didn’t believe in the Old Testament’s book of Proverbs, he certainly believed in the effectiveness of what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Michael also unknowingly practiced the words of Proverbs 25:15, which says, “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.” 1

This Jewish rabbi exemplified what all Christians should do: speak softly to the spiteful. Someone with a fiery spirit of fury will only be fueled if we respond with the same level of anger. However, someone’s anger can often be extinguished by the water of a soft answer. Believers can diffuse distressing situations with hostile persons by choosing their words carefully and remaining calm. When a believer’s speech is “seasoned with salt,” it may often smother flames of hostility (cf. Col. 4:6). 

The greatest Jew—Jesus—also exemplified this. During His unjust trial before Pilate, Jesus never lost His cool (Matt. 27:11-14). When Peter rashly cut off the guard’s ear, Jesus calmly told him to put his sword away (Matt. 26:52-54). Even while being crucified, Christ did not pray a curse upon His enemies—He prayed for their forgiveness (Luke 23:34). Try responding to the scornful with a soft answer, and you may be surprised by the results.

  1. This story has also been told in Jonah Berger’s insightful book, How to Change Anyone’s Mind on pp. 51-60. ↩︎

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Pick up a copy of Brandon’s latest book, Fundamentals for the Faithful, which explains the importance of all the basics which every believer should know:

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Wash Your Hands | Bible Gleanings – September 9-10, 2023

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“For God’s sake, wash your hands!” Dr. Ignaz Philip Semmelweis thundered this desperate plea in the middle of a meeting of doctors in the mid-19th century. In his day, there was an alarmingly high death toll among new mothers, post-surgery patients, and even medical professionals—and Semmelwies suspected that unwashed hands were the culprit. After inventing a chlorine solution that effectively eliminated bacteria from surgical instruments and hands, his suspicions proved true. Unfortunately, his advice was ignored (as he was believed to be insane), and doctors continued to unknowingly kill patients by neglecting sanitation. Those entrusted with saving lives were unknowingly ending them because of their contaminated hands.

Likewise, the Great Physician’s admonition to believers is, “For My sake, wash your hands!” As James said, “Cleanse your hands” (James 4:8b). The Lord calls His gospel-entrusted people to keep themselves clean and holy as they minister to a world sick with sin (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 6:14-17; Gal. 6:14; 1 John 2:15-17). Wickedness is the most contagious spiritual bacteria known to man, and believers must exercise extreme caution when preaching Christ to an idolatry-infected world, lest they become ill and kill their testimony. Christians must remain “unstained from the world” (James 1:27), or they will cause more harm than good by transferring the stain of sin to those who need cleansing from Christ’s blood (1 John 1:7b).

Do you remember the unnamed prophet from Judah? His story is told in 1 Kings 13, and his sole responsibility was to preach the word of the Lord without becoming tainted by idolatry. He was sent to preach the cleansing word of God to the sin-polluted king, Jeroboam. But he was admonished to do so at a distance—he wasn’t even permitted to eat with him (1 Kings 13:8-9). But, despite resisting Jeroboam’s cunning offer of dinner, he ironically accepts an identical invitation from a false prophet in Bethel (1 Kings 13:18-19).

He was subsequently slaughtered by a lion, and the prophet’s testimony died with him (1 Kings 13:24-25). Unlike the unidentified prophet from Judah, believers are called to speak God’s word and the gospel without becoming infected by idolatry. The Lord Jesus exemplified this by befriending sinners, but not their sin (Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34). Unlike the Judean prophet, the Prophet from Galilee ate with tax collectors and sinners, and He made it home pure (Mark 2:15-22). Christ reached the world without becoming worldly.

Christ is our example. The prophet from Judah and doctors from old are our warnings. The hymn-writer Harper G. Smyth (1873-1945) reminds us in Make Me a Channel of Blessing:

“We cannot be channels of blessing

If our lives are not free from known sin;

We will barriers be and a hindrance

To those we are trying to win.”

Will you administer the soul-saving remedy of the gospel with hands washed through sanctification?

Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).

For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word: