Life's Inanities and Ironies

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”   —Luke 18:1 (KJV) Our Lord Jesus did not begin this familiar parable with a story. He began with a purpose. Before the widow ever stood before the unjust judge, Christ told His disciples *why* the parable was being given: that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. That single verse sets the entire tone. Prayer is not presented as an emergency measure or a last resort. It is presented as the normal, continual posture of the believer. The place of prayer is not first a geographic location—though a quiet closet is a blessed thing—but a settled determination of the heart that refuses to quit. Always Pray The word “always” leaves no room for seasons of spiritual neglect. It does not mean we are to walk about with our eyes closed and our lips moving every waking moment. It means that the channel between the believer and the throne of grace is never to be shut down. Communion with ...

  In the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, our Lord Jesus Christ sets before us three linked parables that reveal the very heart of God toward the lost. The chapter opens with the Pharisees and scribes murmuring because publicans and sinners drew near to hear Him. Their complaint was simple and revealing: “This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” In answer, the Son of God unfolds the parables of the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the lost son. Today we turn our full attention to the middle parable—the story of the woman and her ten pieces of silver. Hear the words of the Lord again: “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of...

  In a world that glorifies independence and self-sufficiency, the Word of God calls every true believer to something far higher and far more demanding. We are not spiritual free agents. When the Lord Jesus Christ saved us by His blood, He placed us into His body—the local church—and bound us together with unbreakable cords of love and duty. We are members one of another (Romans 12:5). That truth carries weighty responsibility. The New Testament is filled with clear, repeated commands about how we are to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. These are not suggestions for the especially spiritual. They are the expected fruit of genuine conversion. Let us examine several of these sacred obligations. 1. We Are Commanded to Love One Another as Christ Loved Us Jesus Himself set the standard on the night He was betrayed: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples...

  The first shock of the diagnosis has passed. The tears have been cried, the prayers have been poured out, and the church has rallied. Now comes the harder part—the long road. The treatments stretch on. The fatigue settles in. The future remains uncertain. What does a believer do when the crisis is no longer a sudden storm but a steady, grinding season? Scripture does not leave us without light for this path either.  1. Stay Near the Shepherd Every Single Day Psalm 23 was not written for the healthy and strong. It was written for sheep walking through the valley of the shadow of death. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).   Notice the wording: *though I walk*. Not “if I am carried.” Not “if I am instantly delivered.” The daily walk itself is the place where the Shepherd’s presence is most precious. Begin each morning by deliberately placing yours...

  The phone call comes. The test results are back. The doctor looks you in the eye and speaks words that change everything: “It’s serious. It’s critical.” In that moment the room seems to tilt. Fear rises. Questions flood the mind. Yet for the blood-bought child of God, this is not the end of the story—it is the beginning of a deeper walk with the One who holds every breath. Scripture does not leave us guessing about how to face such news. From Genesis to Revelation the Word of God gives clear, unchanging counsel.  1. Immediately Acknowledge the Sovereignty of God The first response is not panic—it is worship. Job, upon receiving wave after wave of devastating news, fell to the ground and said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Hezekiah, when told to set his house in order because he would die, turned his face to the wall and prayed (Isaiah 38:1-3). Both men understood that life and death belong to the Lord alone (Deuter...

Reflections on My Last Day as Facilities Manager at Age 67 There comes a day when a man walks the grounds one final time, turns in the keys, and closes a chapter that has filled nearly twelve years of his life. Today is that day for me. After almost twelve years serving as facilities manager at the Miami County fairgrounds, I am retiring. I will miss the work. More than that, I will deeply miss being around the young people who fill those grounds with energy, laughter, and life. Their presence has been one of the quiet joys of the job, and walking away from that daily contact is harder than I expected. Yet the reason for this step is not simply the turning of a calendar page. For four years I have lived with kidney failure, spending long hours each week on dialysis while waiting for a transplant. Other health concerns have now pushed that hope further down the road. At sixty-seven, the body is speaking more loudly than the will. The Lord, in His perfect wisdom, has made it clear that t...

  Noah’s preaching duration is one of the most frequently discussed details surrounding the Flood account. Scripture does not give a single verse that states “Noah preached for exactly X years,” yet it supplies clear data that allow us to form a solid, biblically grounded picture. The Clear Biblical Statements Two key New Testament passages establish that Noah was actively proclaiming God’s message: - ** 2 Peter 2:5 ** (KJV): “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.”     The Greek word for “preacher” (*kēryx*) means a herald—someone who publicly announces an official message. Noah was not merely living a quiet righteous life; he was publicly declaring righteousness and, by implication, warning of coming judgment. - **1 Peter 3:20** adds that “the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.” God’s patience was active during the ...

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.   They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.   —Luke 17:26-27 (KJV) Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, does not speak in vague generalities when He describes the condition of the world at His return. He reaches back to a specific, historical moment of judgment—the days of Noah—and declares that the spiritual climate of those days will be repeated in the days of the Son of man. This is not poetic language. This is prophetic precision from the One who cannot lie. The Holy Spirit recorded four ordinary, everyday activities that characterized that generation: they ate, they drank, they married wives, and they were given in marriage. These four elements were not in themselves sinful. Eating and drinking are necessary. Marriage is a divine institution. Yet in Noah’s d...

* Lessons from Achan and the Battle of Ai – Joshua 7 * In our ongoing series “Don’t Cross That Line,” we have already seen how God draws clear, immovable boundaries out of mercy and holiness. We watched Shimei test the line around Jerusalem and pay with his life. We saw Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire and be consumed instantly. We heard Aaron hold his peace in the face of devastating personal loss because holy fear demanded it. Now we come to one of the most sobering warnings in all of Scripture: **one man’s hidden sin can bring defeat to an entire nation.** The account of Achan in Joshua 7 is not merely ancient history. It is the living Word of God shouting across the centuries that sin is never truly private, that God’s “devoted things” are not to be touched, and that hidden compromise in the camp will eventually bring public defeat—until the line is honored and the sin is removed. The Backstory: A Great Victory and a Clear Command The children of Israel had just experienced one o...

   *Lessons on Holy Fear, Submission, and Grief from Leviticus 10:3 (KJV)* In the wake of one of the most terrifying judgments recorded in Scripture, we find one of the most beautiful and challenging responses ever given by a man of God. After fire came out from before the Lord and consumed his two oldest sons for offering “strange fire which he commanded them not,” Aaron the high priest did something extraordinary. He held his peace. No outburst. No protest. No demand for explanation. No public display of the raw grief that must have been tearing at his father’s heart. The man who had just watched his sons die in the very place they were called to serve simply… held his peace. This is not the silence of emotional shutdown or stoic pride. This is the silence of **holy submission** — a profound act of worship rising from the ashes of unimaginable loss. Aaron’s response in Leviticus 10:3 stands as one of the clearest demonstrations in all of Scripture of what it looks like to fe...

  *“Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.”* — Hebrews 12:28-29 (KJV) In an age when much of what passes for worship feels casual, entertaining, or even performance-driven, the biblical emphasis on **holy fear** stands as a much-needed corrective. Holy fear is not the paralyzing terror of the lost or the cringing dread of slaves. It is reverential awe — a deep, trembling awareness of God’s infinite holiness, majesty, and otherness that shapes how we approach Him in worship. Without it, worship easily drifts into irreverence, self-expression, or emotionalism detached from truth. With it, worship becomes acceptable to God and transforming for His people. This theme flows directly from the blog idea I shared on “Strange Fire Before the Lord” (Leviticus 10). The Nadab and Abihu account is one of Scripture’s clearest warnings about what happens when holy fear is absent in worship. But the principle runs thro...

The doctrine of election addresses one of the most profound and debated truths in Scripture: God’s sovereign choice regarding salvation. At its core, **election** refers to God’s eternal decision to choose certain individuals (or a people) for salvation, tracing the initiative for redemption back to God Himself rather than to human effort or merit. All Bible-believing Christians affirm *some form* of election because the concept and terminology appear repeatedly throughout the Old and New Testaments. The real debate centers on the *basis* of that choice (unconditional in God’s will alone, or conditional upon foreseen faith), its scope (individual or corporate), and how it relates to human responsibility, free will, and evangelism. This investigation draws directly from Scripture as the supreme authority, while noting major historical and theological perspectives. It is written with conservative, fundamentalist Christians in mind—those who uphold the inerrancy, authority, and sufficienc...

Understanding Divine Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Eternal Purposes of God from the Inerrant Scriptures Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, this is one of the most pressing and painful questions that has echoed through the hearts of God’s people across every generation: Why does a sovereign, all-powerful, all-loving, and all-wise God permit — even ordain — suffering, trials, loss, sickness, betrayal, and hardship in the lives of those He has saved and chosen? We are not talking here about the judgment that falls upon the rebellious and unrepentant world. We are speaking of the afflictions that come upon the redeemed, the born-again, the blood-bought children of God who walk in the light of His Word and cling to the fundamentals of the faith once delivered to the saints. This question is not new. It is as old as the book of Job and as fresh as the latest diagnosis, the latest pink slip, the latest betrayal by a trusted friend, or the latest wave of cultural hostility against those...