Life's Inanities and Ironies

  In our last time together we stood in awe at the forty days between the resurrection and Pentecost and asked, What happened next? Today we zoom in on one of the most tender and instructive moments in those forty days—the Emmaus Road encounter. This is not a children’s story or a vague legend. This is eyewitness history recorded by the beloved physician Luke under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. It shows us exactly how the risen Christ deals with discouraged, confused, and heartbroken believers. Turn with me to Luke 24, beginning at verse 13 (KJV): “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.” These two disciples—Cleopas and his companion (possibly his wife)—were walking away from Jerusalem. Their dreams had died on Calvary. The One they thought would redeem Israel had been crucified. The tomb was empty, but they still did not understa...

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, you who still cling unashamedly to the old Book, the old hymns, and the old-time fundamentals of the faith: grace and peace be multiplied unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, our risen, ascended, and soon-returning Saviour. The resurrection was never meant to be the end of the story. It was the glorious beginning. The stone was rolled away. The tomb stood empty. The angels declared, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:6). Mary heard her name spoken by the living Lord. The Emmaus road burned with Scripture opened by the Master Himself. The fearful apostles in the upper room saw the nail prints and heard the words, “Peace be unto you.” And then came the question that still echoes in every believing heart: **What happened next?** The Bible answers that question with crystal clarity in the opening verses of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke, the beloved physician, picks up exactly where his Gospel left off: “The ...

Beloved brethren and sisters in Christ, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the previous message we stood on the firm ground of Exodus 20:1-3 and asked the penetrating question: **Who is on first?** The first commandment is not ancient history—it is a living, daily demand upon every blood-bought believer. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” is still in force. Idolatry is not merely bowing to a statue in a pagan temple; it is anything or anyone that occupies the place of priority that belongs only to the Lord our God. Let us explore what idolatry looks like in real life—both in Scripture and in the everyday walk of the fundamentalist Christian in 2026. We do this not to condemn, but to examine ourselves, repent where needed, and return to first base.  1. Biblical Examples – The Pattern God Hates The Bible never leaves us guessing what idolatry is. It shows it plainly: - **The Golden Calf (Exodus 32)**: While Mos...

Beloved saints, fellow lovers of the old Book and the old paths, grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the hustle of daily life, it’s easy to lose track of priorities. We laugh at the classic Abbott and Costello routine—“Who’s on first? What’s on second? I Don’t Know’s on third”—because the confusion is hilarious on the baseball diamond. But when the same confusion creeps into our spiritual lives, it is no laughing matter. It is sin. It is idolatry. And it breaks the very first commandment God ever gave His redeemed people. Turn with me to Exodus 20:1-3 (KJV): “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Notice the order. God does not begin with a threat or a list of rules. He begins with grace. He reminds Israel—and He reminds us—of who He is and what He has already done. “I am the LORD thy God… which have brought thee out...

In our recent reflections on John 21, we stood with Peter on the Galilean shore as the risen Lord asked, “Do you love me?”—then commissioned him with the sobering words, “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands… Follow me” (John 21:18–19). That prophecy was fulfilled under Nero’s brutal persecution. But Peter was not alone. The other apostles heard the same call. For conservative, Bible-believing Christians who hold the Scriptures as inerrant and authoritative, the historical deaths of the apostles are no mere footnote. They are living proof that these men did not invent a resurrection myth for personal gain. They saw the risen Christ with their own eyes—and they paid for that testimony with their blood. Only one apostle’s martyrdom is recorded in Scripture: James, the son of Zebedee. King Herod Agrippa “had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword” (Acts 12:2). He was the first of the Twelve to lay down his life. The rest of their stories come from early church trad...

In our last reflection we stood on the Galilean shore with the risen Christ as He prophesied Peter’s death: “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go” (John 21:18 ESV). That prophecy was fulfilled under one of the most infamous persecutors in church history—Emperor Nero. For Bible-believing Christians who take both Scripture and history seriously, Nero’s persecution is not ancient trivia. It is the historical stage on which the Lord’s words to Peter were dramatically fulfilled, reminding us that following Christ has always carried a cost—and that God’s sovereign purposes prevail even in the darkest hours. The Spark: The Great Fire of Rome, AD 64 In July of AD 64, a catastrophic fire swept through Rome. It burned for six days and nights, destroying or damaging ten of the city’s fourteen districts. Rumors spread like the flames themselves: many believed Nero had ordered the fire to clear land for his lavish Do...

In the closing chapter of John’s Gospel, the risen Lord Jesus delivers one of the most sobering yet triumphant prophecies in all of Scripture. Right after restoring Peter with the threefold question, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15–17), Jesus looks into the eyes of His once-impulsive disciple and says: > “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 21:18–19, ESV) This is no vague warning. It is a precise prophecy about the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. For a conservative, Bible-believing Christian who takes the text at face value, this passage stands as powerful evidence of Christ’s sovereign knowledge of the future—and of the high cost of following Him. What ...

In a world that grows darker by the day—where biblical truth is mocked, families are under siege, and churches are tempted to soften their message—we return again and again to the unchanging Word of God. John 21 is not merely an epilogue to the greatest story ever told; it is a powerful, personal call to every conservative Christian who holds the Scriptures as the inerrant, authoritative Word of the living God. This chapter was written so that “you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). Let’s walk the shoreline with the disciples and hear the risen Lord speak directly to our hearts. The Empty Nets: When We Return to Old Patterns The disciples had witnessed the empty tomb. They had seen the risen Christ—twice! Yet here they are, back in their boats on the Sea of Galilee, doing the one thing they knew before Jesus called them: fishing. All night long? Nothing. Not one fish. How often does this happen in our...

Oh, can you feel it? That holy hush before the dawn… the moment when heaven itself held its breath. If you are a conservative Christian who still trembles at the King James Bible , who clings to the old rugged cross, the blood that cleanses, and the literal, bodily resurrection of our Lord, then come with me to John chapter 20 .   We have wept through “that last week,” stood trembling in “that last night,” listened with aching hearts to “that final discourse,” and fallen on our faces at “that hour on Calvary .” Now—glory to God!—we stand at **that glorious morning**, the morning that shattered the power of death forever. The tomb is empty. The Lord is risen. And your heart was meant to be set on fire all over again today. Let the Word of the living God break over you like sunrise. 1. The Empty Tomb – “He Is Not Here” (John 20:1-10) Mary Magdalene stumbles through the darkness, her heart still raw from Friday’s horror. The stone is rolled away. She runs, weeping, to Peter and...

The Mount of Olives (Hebrew: *Har ha-Zetim*; Arabic: *Jabal al-Tur*) is a limestone ridge rising east of Jerusalem’s Old City, separated from it by the Kidron Valley. At its highest point (around 2,694 feet / 820 meters on Mount Scopus to the north), it offers one of the most iconic panoramic views of the Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, and ancient walls. Its name derives from the olive groves that once blanketed its slopes—trees whose oil was used for anointing kings and priests in biblical times. This ridge has witnessed over 3,000 years of recorded history, serving as a place of prayer, prophecy, mourning, triumph, and divine encounter. It is sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with layers of biblical events, archaeological remains, and ongoing religious significance.   Old Testament Roots: A Place of Refuge, Idolatry, and Prophecy The Mount of Olives first appears in Scripture during King David’s flight from his rebellious son Absalom around 1000 BC. David ascended the ...

Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you are a conservative Christian who still holds the King James Bible as the final authority, who believes in the blood atonement , the virgin birth , the bodily resurrection , and the soon return of the Lord, then these two chapters are the very heart of our faith.   We have followed our Saviour through “that last week” (John 12), “that last night” in the Upper Room (John 13-17). Now we arrive at ** that hour on Calvary **—the hour for which He came into the world. John 18 and 19 record the arrest, the sham trials, the scourging, the crucifixion, and the triumphant cry “It is finished.” This is not religious sentiment; this is the gospel in its raw, blood-bought reality. Let us open the infallible Word of God. 1. The Arrest and Betrayal – “I Am He” (John 18:1-11) Jesus goes forth into the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. Judas arrives with a band of soldier...

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are a conservative Christian who still believes the old Book from cover to cover, who holds fast to the King James Bible , the blood of the Lamb, and the narrow way that leads to life, then these chapters are for you. We have walked with our Lord through “that last week” (John 12) and “that last night” in the Upper Room (John 13-14). Now we come to the final words of the Upper Room Discourse —John 15, 16, and 17—the sacred farewell of the Savior before He stepped into Gethsemane. This is holy ground. Jesus has just comforted troubled hearts with the promise of mansions and the way, the truth, and the life. Now He opens His heart even deeper: the True Vine , the coming Comforter , and the High Priestly Prayer that still echoes for every believer today. These are not suggestions for comfortable Christianity. These are marching orders for those who would abide in Christ in a hostile world. Let us hear the Word o...

In our study of John 13 and 14 —the sacred record of **that last night**—we stand with the Lord Jesus and His eleven faithful disciples in the Upper Room . This was no random location. It was a divinely appointed place where the King of kings washed feet, gave the new commandment of love, and poured out the promises of John 14 that have comforted every blood-bought fundamentalist believer for two thousand years. But what was the real-world setting of this holy ground? Let us examine the historical context with the same reverence we bring to the King James Bible itself. The Biblical Setting: A 1st-Century Jewish Upper Chamber in Jerusalem The Gospels describe the Upper Room (Greek *anagaion* or *hyperōion*—literally “upper room”) as a large, furnished guest chamber prepared for the Passover (Mark 14:14-15; Luke 22:11-12). In first-century Jerusalem, especially in the Upper City on the southwestern hill known as Mount Zion , many homes of wealthier Jewish families featured such second-...