Life's Inanities and Ironies

 Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, warriors of the faith from Indiana and beyond—rise up! In a world drowning in chaos, compromise, and spiritual apathy, we as Christians must reclaim the battlefield of prayer. Today, I want to dive deep into a truth that has set my soul ablaze: *Prayer Is About Reigning*. This isn't some feel-good devotional; it's a call to arms, rooted in the unshakeable Word of God from Matthew 6:10 : "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Let's unpack this divine mandate, expand on its power, and ignite a revival in our hearts and homes.   The Foundation: Understanding the Lord's Prayer as a Battle Cry Picture this: Jesus, the King of Kings, standing on a mountainside, teaching His disciples not just to pray, but to wage war through prayer. In Matthew 6, part of the Sermon on the Mount , He exposes the empty rituals of the hypocrites—those who pray for show, babbling endless words without heart (verses 5...

 Hey there, fellow seekers of truth! In a fast-paced world where everything feels instant and casual—from our coffee orders to our social media scrolls—have you ever stopped to wonder if we're treating our time with God the same way? As fundamentalist Christians committed to the literal, inerrant Word of God , let's shake things up and rediscover the power of reverence in prayer. Drawing straight from Matthew 6:9 , where Jesus says, "This, then, is how you should pray: ' Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name ,'" this isn't just ancient advice—it's a game-changer for your spiritual walk. Buckle up as we dive in and make prayer exciting again! Why Start with Reverence? The Shocking Truth from Jesus' Own Words Picture this: Jesus, the Son of God, is preaching the Sermon on the Mount , dropping wisdom bombs on a crowd hungry for real faith. He slams hypocritical show-off prayers and empty chants ( Matthew 6:5-8 ), then hands us the ultimate pra...

 Dear fellow believers in the unchanging truth of Scripture, In a world gripped by chaos—moral decay, economic uncertainty, and the relentless assaults of the enemy—where do we turn for true rest? Not to the fleeting comforts of this age, but to the eternal Word of God. Today, I invite you to explore the profound depths of Matthew 6:9 , the opening of the Lord's Prayer , where Jesus teaches us: "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name " (KJV). This isn't just a formula for prayer; it's an invitation to rest. Not the shallow rest peddled by self-help gurus or New Age philosophies , but a deep, soul-satisfying rest in the sovereignty of our Heavenly Father . As fundamentalists committed to the literal, inerrant Bible , let us unpack this truth and see how prayer becomes our anchor in stormy seas. The Foundation: Addressing God as Father At the heart of Jesus' model prayer is the intimate address: "Our Fa...

 We are going to be starting a series from Matthew on prayer today.  How you communicate with God is as important as how He communicates with you. I want to give you a little background on this series. It is one that I wrote nearly 45 years ago as an exercise in homiletics class . We were asked to take a portion of scripture and draw out of it as many sermons or homilies as we could without significantly repeating ourselves. This draws from Matthew 6 and "The Lord's Prayer" The object was to show that God's word has no limitations. I'm hoping that you will enjoy this exercise as much as I did then and as much as I did in bringing it up to date. In a world filled with performative spirituality —social media posts showcasing " prayer warriors " and public displays of piety —it's easy to lose sight of what true prayer really means. As followers of Christ, especially within fundamentalist Christian communities where we uphold the Bible as our ultimate a...

Hey there, fellow seeker of truth, Have you ever felt that deep, aching void in your soul—the kind that no amount of encouragement from loved ones can fill? I know I have. In those moments, I turn to the Bible, and stories like Hannah's in 1 Samuel 1:1-28 speak straight to my heart. As someone who's wrestled with unfulfilled dreams, this passage isn't just words on a page; it's a lifeline. Let's walk through it together, as if we're chatting over coffee, and see how Hannah's faith can ignite ours today. When Life Feels Unfair: Hannah's Heartache Picture this: Elkanah, a good man from the hills of Ephraim, has two wives. Peninnah is popping out kids left and right, but Hannah? Her womb is closed—by God Himself, the Scripture says (1 Samuel 1:5-6). Every year at the family pilgrimage to Shiloh for worship, Peninnah rubs it in, mocking Hannah until she's in tears. Ouch, right? Elkanah tries to console her with extra portions at the feast, whispering, ...

In times of national crisis —be it devastating hurricanes ravaging coastlines, economic turmoil shaking the foundations of society, or pandemics that bring a nation to its knees—we often feel lost, much like the Israelites after the death of their great leader Joshua . The book of Judges opens with a powerful scene: "After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, 'Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites ?' The Lord answered, ' Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands'" (Judges 1:1-2). This moment, rooted in Israel's conquest of the Promised Land , teaches us a timeless truth: when disaster strikes, our first response must be to inquire of the Lord. Imagine our nation facing a catastrophic event, such as the recent floods that have displaced thousands or a financial collapse echoing the warnings in Scripture about trusting in riches rather than God ( 1 Timothy 6:17 ). In such chaos, human efforts—governme...

 In the quiet chambers of a Persian palace, Nehemiah , a devoted servant of God, received devastating news. The walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins, its gates consumed by fire, and God's people endured reproach and distress ( Nehemiah 1:1-3 ). Rather than despair or indifference, Nehemiah responded with deep godly sorrow: he wept, mourned for days, fasted, and poured out his heart in prayer to the "great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments" (Nehemiah 1:4-5). This passage from Nehemiah 1:1-11 offers a timeless blueprint for believers facing spiritual decay. Nehemiah's prayer is a model of humble confession: "We have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments" (Nehemiah 1:6-7). He doesn't point fingers outward but includes himself in the repentance, echoing the prophet Daniel's intercession...

In a world where we’re more connected than ever through technology, many of us still feel disconnected on a deeper level. We long for true community—where we can be ourselves, support each other, and grow together. Interestingly, the first Christians, as described in the Bible, had just that kind of community. In Acts 2:42-47, we see a group of believers who were devoted to each other and to their faith in a way that’s both inspiring and challenging. Let’s take a closer look at what made their community so special and see what we can learn from them today. What Is Acts 2:42-47? Acts 2:42-47 comes right after a big event in the Bible called Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and Peter preached a powerful sermon that led to 3,000 people becoming Christians. Suddenly, there was this large group of new believers who needed to figure out how to live out their faith together. The passage describes how they did that: " They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teach...

In these last days, as we witness the world spiraling into chaos and moral decay, the Book of Revelation stands as God’s unchanging roadmap for what lies ahead. For those of us who hold to the inerrant Word of God, Revelation is not a collection of vague symbols but a literal prophecy of future events. Among these prophecies, Revelation 9:13-15—the sounding of the sixth trumpet—serves as a sobering reminder of the judgment that awaits a rebellious world. This passage is not merely a distant future event; it is a wake-up call for believers today to live holy lives, evangelize the lost, and prepare for the imminent return of Christ. The Literal Fulfillment of Revelation 9:13-15 Revelation 9:13-15 declares: " Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, 'Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.' So the four angels, who had been prepared f...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share a deeply humbling experience I had after church this morning. One of my brothers in Christ—who is in as bad or worse shape than I am most days—stopped and asked me about the requirements to donate a kidney, or at least to explore the possibility. Now, I know that sounds extraordinary, but what you might not realize is that my brother Larry is in his 80s, has been in poor health off and on for the last 6-8 years, and is currently living in a nursing home. Yet, he felt led to ask me about this. The fact that someone going through so much is still ready to offer up even more, if he can, is incredibly humbling to me. I explained to him that the criteria for being a donor are very strict. Over the last three years, I've had at least five people try to sign up to donate for me, and each one has been turned down for various reasons: diabetes, liver conditions, histories of various diseases that disqualify people from the list. Part of me is very glad t...

Scripture Readings: 1 Samuel 1:10-18 (Old Testament), Matthew 6:7-8, Philippians 4:6-7 (New Testament) Today we reflect on a powerful truth rooted in the unchanging Word of God: when we pray and surrender our requests to the Lord, we do not need to keep reminding Him, for He is faithful, all-knowing, and sovereign over all our needs. In the Old Testament, we see a beautiful example of this in the story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:10-18). Hannah, barren and deeply distressed, poured out her heart to God, pleading for a son. She prayed with such intensity that Eli the priest thought she was drunk. Yet, after presenting her request, what did Hannah do? She left the temple, ate, and her face was no longer downcast. She didn’t return day after day, repeating the same plea as if God had forgotten. She entrusted her burden to the Lord and walked away in faith, trusting His will and timing. God heard her prayer, and in His perfect time, He gave her Samuel, a prophet who would serve Him mightily. Han...

Ever had something come to you in the night that you just had to put to paper? I literally dreamed this last night...going to lay the " blame " on my daughter-in-law Heidi. Thanks for the inspiration kid. The word pain shows up early in the Bible, in chapter 3 of the book of Genesis: To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. I’ve often wondered why God instituted pain in the lives of people. Personally I believe it was and still is His way of protecting us. For instance if we touch something hot the initial pain causes us to remove our hands from the heat source. Imagine if we did not feel any pain. ...