Episodes

We have been created, by our blessed God, as a unique creation fit for eternal communion with Him, being moved by His divine power and attributes; we were meant to understand the glory of God and enjoy who He is for all eternity. We have inherited one other trait from Adam, the enmity between our Creator and ourselves. However, by the mercies of God and our Savior's blood, we have been born again into a new creature. Our new creation longs for intimate conversation with God, as naturally as b...

"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name." The Lord's prayer is not only our blueprint for prayer but sets the standard of content for our prayers. When Jesus said "hallowed by Thy name," it does imply worship, but more than that it sets our goal to bring Him glory because He is Holy Holy Holy. Acknowledging who He is will assuredly help us avoid believing Him to be who we want Him to be. The good gifts He gives by grace He does not give because: He is ou...

We are beginning the main text from the Sermon on the Mount the Lord's Prayer. For the next several weeks, we will be looking at prayer's framework and the standards of prayer. I in no way desire these standards to discourage anyone's prayer life. Therefore, as I may sound more like a preacher in the next few episodes, my request is if faced with standards you have not considered yet, do not let that derail your prayers. Remember the standards, and be assured you will grow into any truly Biblic...

Just when you thought the four elements of prayer (Worship, Confession, Intercession, and Thanksgiving) were enough, along comes Isaac Watts, yes, that Isaac Watts, and gives us his view on "The Nature of Prayer" from His book, "A Guide to Prayer." "In speaking of prayer as a duty of worship required of us, we may, in order to understand the whole nature of prayer better, divide it into several parts. I think these may all be included in the following: invocation, adoration, confession, petitio...

Psalm 119: 90 Thy faithfulness continues throughout all generations; Thou didst establish the earth, and it stands. 91 They stand this day according to Thine ordinances, For all things are Thy servants. Our emotions fall into this category, as well. Hear how Peter, Moses, Paul, Nehemiah, and Ezra were drawn closer to God in prayer through their failures, fear, sadness, confusion, and by God's love. Prayer is the vehicle that is also a servant of God. It will carry us in the pouring out of ou...

Emotions are a driving force in everything mankind does. They can motivate the redeemed for good or ill. Harnessed by the Holy Spirit, our emotions can drive us into God's presence to pray and enjoy Him, truly. We have emotions because God has feelings. I will tell you several times in these few minutes that I fully understand God and His emotions, which is somewhere below zero, but He has them. That knowledge will help us not shun our emotions but leverage them to a vibrant prayer life. The f...

What has often labeled "The Lord's Prayer" is not a mantra repeated out of rote, but a pattern for the prayers of the saints. Matthew 6:9-13 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. 10 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 'Give us this day our daily bread. 12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 'And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom and the powe...

The calls to walk in a manner worthy of the redeemed life we have been called too, have never been easy, we are indeed the most radical people in our culture. Circumstance, though, has a way of reminding us of the sanctified life we are called to. This is a season we are reminded we are called to: Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. This is a short devotional prayer over the call to show the Holy compassion of our ...

Mid-Week Review 2: Just Talk to God Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." and… 1 Peter 5 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you. It is hard t...

We learn clearly from Luke 18:1ff, Jesus encourages us to come to Him with importunity. The word in Greek though means asking so often it becomes shameful. I take two meanings from our initial study of Luke 18 here, We are not coming to an unrighteous judge, but to our loving Savior. Jesus knows our frame, and He sets out here: when the seasons come for which our hearts are rent by such sorrow that we cry to Him day and night, we are not only free to pray to Him over and over, but He invites...

The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth… at the perfect time. Proverbs 15:8b …But the prayer of the upright is His delight. For the next few days, then, let us focus on praise and adoration for we know: We can be pleasing to Him. Our goal is to enter into your Master's joy. Our aim by God's power is to do everything to His glory and, Our great desire to talk to and commune with the Holy God of the Universe, our adopted Father, the Son who suffered to attain our salvation, and the spirit w...

The price of knowledge is eternal review - Don’t ask. I cannot remember precisely who I stole that from. I am convinced as Christians as we, from time to time, struggle with the old ennui, it is our soul longing for a more intimate connection with our Savior. Even the fabulous face we may turn around and see is not really what our new inner-man is longing for. If we say with the Scriptures: As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, f...

Dear Christian: To use a word common today, the content of all Jesus’ teaching is to our hearts. We can keep all the rules for the wrong reasons. We may keep them strictly from fear, keep them strictly from pride, keep them to impress others, and as even real children of God, our reward is what we have sought, the honor of other men. Jesus, however, is aiming at our hearts. In prayer, this is most certainly true. He wants authentic communication from His children. When we come to Him, we aim a...

Glory to God in the highest, for our redemption and our reliance on our faithful God, every day to carry us to the battle. Thank You, Jesus, for the ability to open our days seeking Thee and Thy glory. Extra special gratitude today for the birth of our healthy baby granddaughter, baby Freddie, you can’t miss her in our exclusive podcast cover art for today. Thank you, Jesus. The times are evil, but we can pray for His will as we begin our days. Our flesh is weak, but as we present ourselves ...

Ecclesiastes 5:2 2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. This verse is a little humorous to me, but as all the word of God, it very concisely helps us understand our place before the Lord our God, our Savior. He is Spirit, and we are flesh, He is in heaven, and we are on earth, so our words are few. More profound for our souls is that “your Father knows what y...

Baby French (my grandson), Dean Martin, Jonathan Edwards, Mathew Henry, and John Piper each, in turn, help us learn what Jesus is genuinely driving at when He talks of “meaningless repetition” in prayer. Matthew 6:7-8 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. God is the great I AM, Father, Son, Holy ...

Let us pray together with great joy inexpressible and full of glory, Isaiah 30:18 18 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. In Christ, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness, even our lowly estate, sin, unworthy thoughts of Him, weaknesses, the littleness of our faith, even the time we have wasted. Cleansed through the blood, Jesus waits to bless ...

Only Christians can have true peace. True peace is a promise from Jesus who is the Christ. John 14: 27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Our peace is rooted and grounded in who He is, and flowing from Him, His promises. Because He is the God who is present, we know we are safe from pestilence, and even when we see events we would never have believed we would see, “though the earth ...

He knows what we need. Matthew 6:7-9 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. 9 “Pray, then, in this way: I have always wondered why as Jesus was talking about vain repetition, He slides in, “Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Jesus is reminding...

Psalm 6:9 For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my supplication, The LORD receives my prayer. The irresistible movement of the Holy Spirit, excited by the Word of God, very often brings extemporaneous prayer from our hearts. Whether we are lead to worship, thanksgiving, joy, confession, or wonder. We rush into the presence of our Holy God, who loves us and sent His only begotten Son to save our souls longing for Him. As we pour out our souls at the Spirit’s bid...

We have seen how God used all types of illness to lead this undeserving one to the best season, and last of my life. Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. How powerfu...

Disclaimer: In this podcast, I addressed two things in the beginning. We are getting conflicting information during this ronna season. We must then, take in information, pray for discernment, and act in faith. The desire for justice is a godly desire. As Christians, we can know without a doubt, and rest in the knowledge: No one ever truly escapes justice. We are called to wait on God, and let Him in His perfect wrath meat out punishment. You can avoid all that if you like by fast-forwarding...

The Bible says Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren. When we confess with David, “My sin is ever before me!” We may wonder how Holy God, the Word of truth, is not ashamed to call us brethren? Hebrews 2 lets us know why, and when we learn the reason, our joy and confidence will be made full. Thank You, Jesus, our knowledge of the excellent work Thou hast begun in our souls, bolsters our faith, that You will finish it. In Thy mercies, Sweet Lord Jesus Christ, are over all our lives, and we ...

Lord Jesus Christ, we bow before Thee to confess and pray, show us wonderful things from Thy law, and show us the truth of Thy Word, that Thou art moving in providence even in this day as Thou hast always done, let our hearts take courage, and listen to Thy testimony through Thy word: Ephesians 1:18 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the ...