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I Did Not Pray

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God is sovereign. When my wife was laboring for 14 hours in the hospital with our first baby and I was left outside waiting and wondering I did not pray for a safe delivery, but that God would give me reason to abound with joy in trusting him though I see not. When my son ran away for three nights I did not pray that he might return home, but that God would teach him what he needed to learn from it. When I slid into adultery 19 years ago my wife prayed for me to return, but God patiently changed her selfish petition to one of surrender. 14 years was the LORD witness to her pleas and cries. And when finally the fullness of her time in the school of secret prayer came, God then delivered me. When I received an incurable wound in my body because of my sin, I did not pray to be healed, but that it should remain with me unhealed all my life, and that it would serve to remind me that I have offended God severely, yet in His mercy He forgave me. When my wife was diagnosed wi...
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The Entropic State of Missions Part 4 of 4

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T oday, there is a danger that knowledge remains while power is forgotten. Theology itself is not the problem; it is a precious gift from God. Yet separated from the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, it becomes a sword lying idle upon a table—finely crafted, perfectly formed, and yet accomplishing nothing apart from the hand that wields it. Truth was never intended merely to inform the mind, but to transform it, and bring men unto Christ, who alone giveth life, and convicts then into action. Knowledge, by itself, profits little unless it be translated into obedience. For this cause the Scriptures continually call men not only to hear, but to do; not merely to learn, but to walk worthy of that which they have learned. And in my experience I have seen that God is pleased to grant power chiefly in those doing. The strength to obey is often discovered upon the path of obedience itself. I have both seen and heard many desire power before action, certainty before obedience, and confid...
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The Entropic State of Missions Part 3 of 4

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T he greater portion of Western Christianity hath, in many places, so complicated the simplicity of the Gospel and obscured the true nature of Christ's church that outward measures of success have openly replaced the weightier matters of spiritual life. Theology, though integral and necessary in its proper place , hath at times been elevated above a living and experiential love for Christ. Promotional programs, conferences, and the influence of putting celebrated ministers on pedestals have too often drawn centered attention than the quiet pursuit of individual holiness and the cultivation of purity among the saints. Thus it is possible for a church to increase in visibility while declining in spiritual vitality; to abound in activity while lacking devotion; to possess much knowledge while exhibiting little conformity unto Christ. For the true strength of a church is not measured merely by the multitude gathered within its walls, but by the degree to which its members love Christ,...
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The Entropic State of Missions Part 2 of 4

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L et us consider for a moment several figures from Holy Scripture who, by many modern standards, would likely fail to acquire—or retain—a single sponsor, much less a membership roll. ~Noah would hardly be regarded as a candidate for a successful missionary model. For one hundred and twenty years he proclaimed righteousness to a generation rushing headlong toward judgment, yet the only ones who entered the ark with him were members of his own household. By contemporary metrics, the report would appear dismal: no movement, no growth, no measurable success.  ~Jeremiah likewise would fare little better. His ministry was marked by rejection, opposition, loneliness, and sorrow. His message ran contrary to the spirit of his age, and his faithfulness earned him few admirers and many enemies. One can scarcely imagine his field reports satisfying those who measure fruit solely by visible results. ~And then there is our Lord Himself. Judged by the standards of numerical growth and publi...
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The Entropic State of Missions Part 1 of 4

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F or many years I have observed and assumed that the necessary trajectory of every established church was continual growth through the addition of members, because that is what every church is striving for. It has been implanted in me that to measure the validity of a church was to measure largely by how it increased, and everyone scurries about advertise its success by a display of its numbers. Yet with time I have come to see that such thinking owes more to corrupted assumptions than to the plain testimony of Scripture. We have sought to modernize the ark, adorning it with many colors, surrounding it with ornaments, spotlights, and glimmering displays, all in the hope of making it more attractive unto men. Yet in so doing, we have often mistaken embellishment for power. For the power never resided in the decorations surrounding it, but in the presence of God to which it pointed. And so it remains today. The more we trust in human enhancements to accomplish spiritual ends, the mor...
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The Goodness of God In Sanctifying His Children Through Afflictions

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Journal Entry. 29th of May, 2026. 2:37AM. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 4:3 The afflictions and necessities which God appoints unto us are not sent for our destruction, nor merely to burden us with sorrow. Rather, they are graciously employed by our heavenly Father as instruments whereby the true condition of our faith is revealed. The purpose of trials is never to make us suffer, but to uncover that which still lieth hidden within the heart. It reveals where our confidence truly rests, what we trust in, and upon whom we lean. When we perceive some lack in our lives, the Lord often shows us that we have not yet found our sufficiency in Him. When contentions arise between ourselves and another, He reveals the remnants of pride still dwelling within us. Sin thrives when it remains hidden (James 1:15) . It is a great kindness of God to expose hidden sin in His children, for that which remains concealed is seldom brought unto Him for cle...
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Street Meeting Twenty Seventh

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The Great Commandment Manifested in the Covenant Faithfulness of Marriage Being a Brief Discourse Upon The First Part of Mark 12:28–34 T he evident frailty and inconsistency of our devotion unto God often arise, in part, from our failure to apprehend rightly who God is and who we ourselves are before Him. We mistakenly think of our relationship with the Lord according to earthly categories, seeking comparisons from among mortal men whereby we might better understand divine things. Yet every earthly illustration miserably fails, for there is none like unto God. We must first lay this foundation firmly: God is not our equal. He is under no obligation to us, neither doth He owe us any kindness, mercy, or blessing. Whatever good we receive from His hand proceeds not from debt, but from grace. Even as an adopting father is not indebted unto the orphan whom he taketh into his household, so the Lord is not beholden unto those whom He graciously receives as His children. Indeed, the compar...
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Study Tools

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I would again like to extend my gratitude to dear brother Jeff Chavez for pointing me towards studying the original languages. I have come to love them because of his labor and kindness. May the grace of the L ORD keep you. Step Bible This free tool, among many others I have been using, hath served me exceedingly well for some months now, and I give thanks unto God for His kindness in providing such gifts unto His church through the labor of faithful men. We often enjoy these benefits so readily that we forget they are the fruit of countless hours of study, diligence, and devotion undertaken by those whom the Lord hath equipped for such work. For many years I was content merely to read the Scriptures in English, and indeed God greatly blessed even that. Yet there hath been a peculiar richness in returning to the sacred text through its original languages. In doing so, many truths have appeared with greater clarity and beauty, as though familiar passages long viewed through a window w...
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Everyone Dies. But Not Everyone Will Live After.

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the soul who sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:4 M y uncle passed shortly after midday today, becoming the fifth among those who helped raise me now taken away by death. Three of his sisters yet remain, though one also walks beneath the affliction of cancer. First departed my grandmother, then my grandfather, afterward the eldest daughter, my aunt, then my father, and now today my uncle also hath gone. What weighed most heavily upon my spirit was not merely the succession of deaths themselves, but the fearful consideration that they all passed, so far as the truth of God's word declares, outside the saving grace of God. I found myself pausing in silence, striving to comprehend the dreadful breadth of such a reality: beloved relatives passing onward into a Christless eternity. There are truths which the mind may confess doctrinally, yet when Providence sets them so near as of one’s own household, they strike the heart with altogether different force. when the Lord Jesus is reve...
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Street Meeting Twenty Sixth

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Jesus said to them, “The reason you are wrong, is because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." Mark 12:24 H ow much of our theology, both historical and present, hath sprung from ignorance of Scripture, and from unbelief concerning the power of God? Error seldom enters displaying its own deformity, but creeps in under pretenses and smooth words, appearing harmless until you inspect its fruit. Unbelief is a monstrous thing, possessing many heads and many disguises. It turns the soul aside subtly into crooked paths and dark places in the carnal heart, leading men by gradual degrees into confusion and falsehood. From it have arisen countless heresies and distortions, too many to reckon and too grievous to number. For when men cease to believe God in the fullness of what He hath spoken, they begin to fashion substitutes of their own imagining. It is a humbling thing that a man may give assent unto truth, and yet walk at a distance from the power and life contained ...
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