Episodes

It is a fearful privilege to be a bond-servant to the Holy God of the universe. Philippians 2:12-13 "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." The child of God cannot regard one another as more important than ourselves or not look out for your own personal interests, but also for the inter...

There are specific Scripture passages that make my soul sing praises to the Creator God of the universe, the Alpha and Omega. El Elyon, who has agreed in His love to be my Savior. Sometimes a well-worn verse jumps to my soul and causes me to remember the greatness of our God. Our fallen nature causes us at times to groan. We groan for diverse reasons; sometimes, we do not even know the root of our distress. However, such is our God who knows our frame and understands that we are but dust. Psa...

Yes, you are reading correctly. God’s will is for His people to suffer. As in the life of the Apostle Paul, suffering, i.e., his thorn in the flesh, moved Paul to not exalt himself, enabled him to humbly serve others, and rely on the power of All Mighty God rather than his own power. In this episode, we take care of a little bit of business, describe the necessity of suffering, our sanctification, and our path to humility, which enables us to submit as we ought and say thanks as we ought. Ass...

This is a review of sorts, and also, if you are new to the podcast and are not sure why we pray as Christians or if God even wants us to pray, today we will, in a meditative way, one of the answers to both those objections. Psalm 65:2 O Thou who dost hear prayer, To Thee all men come. If God did not hear prayer, why would all men come to Him? With the roadblock of wonder at God’s desire to hear from us gone, we are encouraged, move to understand we are blessed drawing close to Him; the bless...

We have seen God's will is clearly Salvation, and being Spirit-filled, today we are examining the next cascading revealed will of God, that we are Sanctified. Romans 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called...

So critical is the role of the Holy Spirit that Jesus said: "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' 6 "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. John 16:5-7 Then… 13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for ...

Salvation is the paramount will of God. The message of the Church, given to us by our Savior, is the Good News's proclamation that there is a way to God. There is reconciliation between God and man. Two Biblical truths that must drive us to our knees for friends' loved ones, acquaintances, strangers, and enemies is their need for salvation. Barring the saving knowledge of Jesus, who is the Christ, all else, as the preacher says, is vanity. Jesus was never ambiguous on this truth: "Jesus *sai...

We emphasized the last episode on God's will, in regards to the spread of the gospel, but there are times critical times when we seem to flounder for His will, what it may be. Our devotional today centers on the truth that God's will is crystal clear in every significant aspect of our lives. No doubt about that. I steal… umm… borrow liberally from a study by John MacArthur from a few years ago focusing on the will of God. That series has been, for me, a transitional lesson from God's word. Th...

Repentance begins with sorrow. It is not a sorrow that leads us to punish ourselves that is counterproductive, and we have no right to scourge ourselves in payment for our sins. They have already been paid for by Christ's blood. There is a feeling of Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death. In today's episode, we are going to s...

Often we feel like we are losing our battle against sin, so we say with Paul: Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Romans 7:24 Oddly enough, the reason for gratitude comes in verse 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. How can that be an answer to Paul’s, and our, cry? Simply put, because There is, therefore, now no c...

From time to time, through circumstances, trials mostly, but sometimes fighting my own unworthy thoughts, I find it very hard to give thanks. I have developed two fallback positions, I call them, in which I am always able to Give thanks. I am continually thankful that He is my Creator: The encouragement of Isaiah 40:28 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. 2...

"in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 5:18 Instead of fearing circumstances which are unexpected, but rather give thanks because God is in control. I will not gossip about those I know or only hear about but rather give thanks they are in my life for a divine purpose. I will not focus on those who I disagree with, but rather give thanks, for God will give me the words the right words, which may be used as seeds to eternal life. I will n...

A quick reminder of our call and a couple of reasons for our gratitude. Psalm 100:4-5 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations. Assistant Editor: Seven Jefferson Gossard freerangeprayer@gmail.com Facebook - Free Range Preacher Ministries Instagram: freerangeministries twitter @PreacherRange All our Scripture quotes are drawn from the NAS...

You may have noticed the new podcast art. This is our anniversary month at Free Range. This quarter, we are moving this month, even this last Quarter of 2020 to be a thanksgiving Quarter. I think it is time we make a concerted effort to redeem these days to the glory of God. In keeping with the celebration of our second year's end, we are giving away Popsicle Crosses to everyone who emails us here at Free range at freerangeprayer@gmail.com. I wear one as a reminder of the childlike faith we ar...

All God's people are called to Prayer. It is the need of our new inner man to experience communion with our Savior, Almighty God. We might say we are all under a general call to Prayer. Some though, are called to have a prayer ministry. A prayer ministry is defined as a personal call to take up daily prayers for specific people to minister to them. Jonathan Edwards is an example of our general call, and yet it is said of him: "Prayer was both a discipline and a part of his leisure." The Pr...

I was reminded recently of the value of silence before God. The Bible tells us about the incredible value of resting quietly. Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 131:1-2 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. 2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is l...

Praying “Thy will be done” with discernment means we understand job one in God’s present economy is the building of His kingdom. Discernment also teaches us that we begin with ourselves as we do with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. We are each gifted by the Holy Ghost to be not only a part of the Body of Christ but an active part of the Body of Christ. We are called to do His will through the exercise of those gifts from the Holy Spirit. If you are not aware of your gifting, pray for ins...

Prayer is never to be constrained by form. If we are to expect in our communication with others, “only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:9b We can indeed know, our God, who knows our frame, will hear us when our need of the moment is so great, we abandon all formality. 30 But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus ...

If you bet, Fred couldn’t get sappy love songs, Englebert Humperdink, Casey Stengel, and Psalm 24 into a Wednesday review… You lost! Like all things in Christ, we come full circle. We learn to pray in the same way we learned to talk and for the same reasons. We were born physically with the drive and need to talk - communicate. We were born-again with the drive to pray to our Savior - commune. We were born with a need to express who we are inside. We have been born-again, and our souls nee...

As we come to more and more honor God as God, hallowing His name with all our heart, mind, and soul, His will, will be our prayer more and more. When we hear Jesus, then say, ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. ‘Thy kingdom come…’ Our hearts say, ah-ha! If God tells us, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Then, heart of mine, His desires are my prayer, Thy kingdom come. Ass...

No matter his brothers' motive, Joseph saw God's beauty in working out His divine will, not just selfishly in Joesph's life but also for his enemies... his brothers. At any time, Joseph had the power to take revenge on his family, saving perhaps Benjamin and Jacob. Still, the God of all comfort who comforted him before he was reunited with his father Jacob moved Joseph that he "comforted them and spoke kindly to them” those who had made themselves his enemies." Genesis 50:21 Is it alright if we...

When we pray, we join the long list of saints we know, and the great cloud of witnesses gone before us as we long to be fully understood by our God. Yes, it may be silly to tell Him stuff we know He already knows, but we still do, we need too, we long too. I had an occasion to talk to my daughter a couple of days ago. I expressed to her again that I cannot imagine living out our Christian lives without experiencing eternal life. Even in the flesh, we can get a glimpse of the glory that awaits....

The artwork on the podcast today shows a bottle my wife found when she was a teenager. I know it was created by sand, the lightning, wind, and cooling rain. If you buy that, I can tell you that our universe was created by mysterious forces, cosmic lighting, and luck. And after you buy that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I can let go for a bargain-basement price! (Only us old guys will get that.) The very first step in falling short of the glory of God is…”21 For even though they knew God, t...

For those with ears to hear, our God reveals Himself in various and sundry ways. (I love that phrase, various and sundry!) Critical to the revelation of who the true God, Creator, and Ruler of the universe really is, are the names of God given to us in Holy Writ. (I love that one too.) We rest in the knowledge that God our Savior is also demonstrated to be: Yahweh Yahweh Maccadeshem Yahweh Tisdkneu The fulness of our salvation rests wholly on the completeness of our God. Assistant Editor:...