A Scribe on the Wall

Several years ago now, I believe that God gave me a message, He would be telling me things and it was up to me to tell others. To me, it's much like the Watchman on the Wall as described in the Old Testament. The Watchman was told that it was on him to warn others about any approaching dangers. God's apparently gifted me with being able to type and write. So I put the old definition of a writer along with the concept of a watchman together. Jesus is coming soon...are you ready?

Monday, September 14, 2026

Being Ready for Jesus

by David Brenneman

Being ready. Seems easy enough in most cases. But do you prepare for the unexpected? Would you be really ready to, in an instant, stand before Jesus?

My Dear Reader, that's exactly our expectation in Christ.

That 1 moment after death we who are saved are in the very presence of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Would those you leave behind be prepared for your departure from this world?

Some may say "these thoughts are so dark! So morbid! Who can listen to them?".

My Dear Reader...death is as much a part of living as living is.

We can keep packing our calendars with all kinds and forms of busyness but the inescapable is around the corner. Everyone who has ever lived has a destination...to stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives. Some to everlasting joy in Heaven because of putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation...everyone else to everlasting pain and torment because they rejected the free gift of salvation that was offered to them.

Jesus has sent, the Father has sent, the Spirit has sent NO ONE to Hell. All who are there are there by their own choice to reject God's plan for salvation. Hell WAS a place reserved for Satan and his demons. When Adam and Eve sinned, when Cain killed his brother Able, it began to be the place of torment and pain for humanity.

Being "good" isn't enough to get into Heaven's door.

Being "a wonderful person" isn't enough to get into Heaven's door.

Being ANYTHING isn't good enough to get into Heaven's door outside of receiving the free gift of salvation available ONLY through Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

You can be one of the best helpful people in the world, have devoted your life to helping humanity, and without salvation in Christ Jesus you're not going to go to Heaven after you die.

You can be one of the sweetest people and that's not enough.

What's worse of all things is to know what the Bible says about sin, death and all that that means about the separation between God and mankind and still choose to reject Jesus. To still say no to His free gift.

Many countless people have rejected Jesus out of fear of what they believe He might do to their lives.

My Dear Reader...what Jesus wants to give you after coming to Christ for salvation is the best life you never could know you're missing!

It won't matter what things you might lose after commiting your life to Christ. What you gain will be beyond your comprehension in this time in your life.

Our lives in Christ can't be understood without the Spirit of God who comes into our lives AFTER coming to Christ for salvation. The Spirit explains the things of God that we never could truly understand before coming to Christ.

My Dear Reader this is why it's written in more than a few places in the Scriptures to all who read it to be sure of your salvation in Christ.

You do NOT want to find out the very next moment after you die that you never had a right relationship with Jesus Christ.

There are no second chances.

Countless trillions of people in Hell are crying out to God for a second chance and none will be given to them.

The Bible is extremely explicit about who will never see Heaven.

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 5:5-6.

“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46.

You CAN know. There's evidences in what the Bible says are fruit of the Spirit of God that happens within those who are saved.

Read on..

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

My Dear Reader one key purpose for this blog is to point people to Jesus.

I want all who read this blog to come to the same salvation in Christ that I found in 1975.

Jesus is returning soon. Will you be among those screaming for Him to come back before the events of the book of Revelation take place or will you be leaving with Jesus to forever be with Him?

You are the decider of your destination...be it Heaven or Hell by your choice to accept the free gift of salvation or your choice to reject it.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

John 3:16-18.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Sunday, September 13, 2026

"Because I..."

by David Brenneman

It's a very poignant reminder to everyone to do as the Scriptures say and be sure of your salvation IS in Jesus Christ alone.

Allistair Begg had a sermon once on the thief on the cross. He must have wondered a lot as to why he was let into Paradise. He never heard of the doctrine of Scripture. Never been baptized. Never been to a church service. Nothing.

His way was paid by Jesus Christ alone. It was on that basis he was allowed to enter "Because He...because He said I could come".

Countless trillions of people are waking up stunned in Hell as well as Heaven because of that statement. Either because He didn't say they could come to Heaven or because He said they could come to Heaven.

If a person is truly saved, that is that Jesus Christ alone is the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives...then yes, Jesus will say "Come home!" to these.

The countless trillions of others both the stunned and the arrogantly willfully disobedient wake up in torment astonished. Some crying out to God to give them a second chance. Some cursing at Him because they don't agreed with His judgment against them.

A shirt I have seen says that "Heaven has strict immigration standards and Hell has open borders. Tells you a lot about the anticipated traffic numbers.".

There's much truth to that.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14.

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6.

And then...

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:24-27.

"And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. [30] And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.” Luke 13:22-30.

You see, my Dear Reader, you didn't just read my opinion. You read the exact Word of Jesus Christ Himself. He is telling you to be sure of your salvation. He is telling you to come to Christ to be saved...and He promises to save you.

How do you know? Read...

Once you do come to Christ for salvation, no you don't need baptism to complete it. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward decision. Showing all your coming to Christ for salvation, that He alone is the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life.

"Because I..." it sort of haunts me remembering someone I know explaining how good a person they say they are. That they'd read the Bible. But there was no evidence that salvation came to them from Jesus.

"Because I..." is how all will start off on the wrong foot when they stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives.

It's always to be "Because He...because He was born of a virgin by the will of God. Because He lived a sinless life. Because He suffered, bled and died on the cross. Because He arose from the dead 3 days later conquering sin, death and the grave.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:16-21.

"Because He..."

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Saturday, September 12, 2026

The Qualities of Christ

by David Brenneman

"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls." 1 Peter 2:21-25.

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you." 2 Peter 1:5-11.

Peter asks the question, what say you in reply? Are you walking in His footsteps? Are you among those with these Godly attributes or have you become "blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins"?

The person who has to be diligent, with your faith suppling moral excellence, and with your moral excellence, knowledge, and with your knowledge, self-control, and with your self-control, perseverance, and with your perseverance, godliness, and with your godliness, brotherly kindness, and with your brotherly kindness, showing the love of Christ Jesus.

Our churches are under attack by Satan's minions. If the Believer in Christ isn't fully applied to the life in Christ that we're commanded to live...they will be duped...will be taken in. "As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;" Ephesians 4:14.

Those in Christ should not blindly be accepting 'new' ways of thinking that a local Church might entertain. If the 'new' is violating any portion of the Scriptures, RUN, don't walk away from there!

Our lives in Christ are indeed to be Christ presented to the world. Not just what we want people to see. Our lives in Christ are to be of genuine repentance, genuine gratitude, genuine love as Christ first loved us.

Ours isn't just getting saved then doing our own thing. It's us willing to have Jesus live through us to reach the lost yet in this world whom are to become children of God as well as ourselves.

It's not enough to just SAY you're a follower of Jesus Christ...are you showing the attributes of Him in you? You read it. Are there Christ-like attributes coming from you?

Are your thoughts about you, how you're going to do this, you're this, you're that...do you use "I" to talk about what's going on in your life a bit much? Is your life characterized by selfishness? How you don't get YOUR way.

The Church you go to is supposed to grow you in Christ. A not so new subtle attack on the Church is to get people convinced to be ok with allowing worldly ideas into Christian living. To be ok with what the world accepts in the face of what the Scriptures say God is opposed to.

Such people are not walking in the character of Christ.

When God tells you and I explicitly who will never see His Heaven, take that to the bank. They will never see Heaven. When God calls something sin, nobody's opinion on it matters...it is defined as being sin by the Word of God therefore its sin...end of story. When we're tempted to compromise in learning to grow in the character of Christ we're in danger of forgetting our former purification from our sins.

Jesus saw through the Pharisees and the Sadducies of His day.

My Dear Reader WE have these kinds of people infiltrating the Church today and ONLY those diligent, persevering, in walking in Christ will figure it out and indeed expose such.

It happens now so I guarantee it will happen at the Final Judgment where people will try to excuse their choices and decisions by saying "but so-and-so said it was ok! They said it was from God!" and He who is the Truth will respond with "But what did My Word say? Why did you blindly believe them and didn't see for yourself if these things were so by My standard?"

The battlefield of the mind is a relentless battle in the time in which we live. Perspective is everything. Running to the Word of God is critical. Filtering out what shouldn't be injested mentally is critical. Being intentional about living for Jesus is a must. Being absolutely sure that you are saved is a must. Showing the fruit of the Spirit is a must.

There's a war going on and most these days, within and outside of the Church of Jesus Christ are not taking it seriously.

Sometimes the truth is hung out for all to see and it's done in such a way that people dismiss it as fiction because of its context.

"There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!" - from the movie "Sneakers" 1992.

Right there in a nutshell is why we who are in Christ should be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Not part-time, not when it's convenient, all the time. These attributes of Jesus should always be ours and increasing.

AI these days, regardless of how it's been believed or accepted, is out of control. It's mostly mimicking Satan's subtle schemes delivered with whip cream and a cherry on top. While AI has its positive uses its designed to get the user to stop thinking for themselves. To stop questioning what's presented as truth whereas the Word of God says to think, to question, to flee from things of this world.

You my Dear Reader need to be sure you are in Christ. You need to be sure you're growing in Christ. You need to be displaying the character of Christ. The qualities of Christ SHOULD be yours and increasing as your walk with Jesus continues. Standing firm in the Word of God.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Friday, September 11, 2026

True Confession Changes You

by David Brenneman

"Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge." Psalms 51:1-4.

Do we really see the depths of our sins?

There's an acronym called ACTS. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. This world be a prayer model.

Another prayer model that Jesus never intended for us to just memorize and repeat without giving it due consideration is what's been called "The Lord's Prayer".

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’" Matthew 6:9-13.

How personal are your prayers? Are they so personal that you disregard what the Scriptures also say? "Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2.

Do we have an intolerance for listening to the prayers of others?

Do we really think on our sins?

Do we really understand what actually IS sin in our lives?

Do we know WHAT is sin from what is not? Would we recognize, confess, that which God calls sin as being sin rather than the things we call them? They aren't mere mistakes, goofs, errors or any such thing. Sins are sins. They are as David said against God and God alone.

Do you understand yet that appeasing our conscience isn't confession? Talking ourselves into self-justification isn't going to work when we stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives before Him?

In both models from above confession is a key part.

Forgiveness is a key part of what Jesus said in teaching His Disciples that prayer model. If we don't then we won't be forgiven.

What we get from the direction this post is going is to get God's perspective on sin and to not introduce our own or anyone else's views on sin and it's consequences and impact on our walk with Jesus and our lives in this world.

Does it really sink in that it IS against God and God alone we sin against?

Does it sink in that we are quite possibly being disobedient to the command to bear one another's burdens by keeping silent or actually looking down on those who do pour out their hearts before the Lord?

Are we praying to think, walk, act in the character of Christ?

Are we forgiving others as we have been forgiven?

Are we hiding our sins in plain sight by calling them anything but sin?

Are we even aware of what we lose out on in life because we have done such things?

Are we even aware of how deeply we offend God by our willful sins?

Does that bother us at all when we ARE being wilfully disobedient in this?

Think on these things today as you go about your day.

How high a priority is what Jesus said to pray like to you?

Are you renaming sins in order to keep them in your life rather than truly confessing them and removing them far from you?

As David also said when he tried it that way...his sin found him out.

We risk being desensitized by the grievous nature of embracing sin rather than removing such from our lives.

The Church of Jesus Christ is only wounded all the more when confession of sin isn't even a heartfelt consideration.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Yes You Do, We All Do

by David Brenneman

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." Galatians 6:7-10.

"Have you ever heard of a farmer who planted corn yet harvested wheat? Or have you seen tomato seeds grow into watermelons? Few things in life are as certain as the agricultural principle that whatever seed you plant, that's what you'll reap. The same is true in technology: garbage in, garbage out. And in finance, if you don't invest, you won't get a return.

The same, of course, is true in the spiritual life. Through the

books we read, the company we keep, the movies we watch, and the music we listen to, we are sowing either to the Spirit or to the flesh. When we sow to the Spirit, we set our affections on things above-seeking first God's Kingdom and His righteousness. By praying, studying God's Word, sharing our faith, and bearing one another's burdens, we sow to the Spirit. But if we sow our lives and money to the flesh, according to the apostle

Paul, we reap corruption.

Holiness is a harvest gained by careful sowing. Will you reap

the reward of holy sowing? Or will you be surprised by what your

harvest yields?"

- Walking with God, Dr. David Jeremiah

Quite often in reading the two devotionals that remain in my evening reading, both Dr. David Jeremiah and Dr. Charles Stanley share the same thoughts. Dr. Stanley's on this one is "You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.".

When we sow selfish choices we reap what comes of that. When we sow in righteousness we reap righteousness.

When we sow self-centered thinking we reap the awful results of that.

And it's impact can go on for generations. If you're not sowing time in prayer, time in the Word of God, you're not going to reap a crop of righteousness. If you sow spending time, energy and effort on worldly desires you'll reap things that aren't going to benefit you spiritually...an those might not be remotely a healthy thing.

If we're sowing things like secular music we're going to reap both now and down the road thoughts that will not be God honoring. It will color our attitudes towards people in the here and now as well as the future.

If we are sowing things that do not benefit the race set before us then we will struggle all the more in that race.

Satan's schemes involve doing whatever he can to slow you down in that race set before you. Getting you to willingly take time you can't afford to lose and make you believe it's ok.

Are you sowing good in your life for Christ? Do you waste it on things that aren't going to help you grow in Christ?

Are you sowing good choices and decisions that your personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would be proud of?

There's the thing right there.

Who are we sowing our time, energy and effort for?

Either we are in the driver's seat or the Spirit is. Only that which is done, thought, lived for Christ is what will matter when we stand before Jesus to give an account of our lives. All the rest is considered waste. Refuse. Subject to being burned up.

Consider the truth that every single person is sowing something with every single choice, every single thought, every single day. The Believer in Christ Jesus is to sow unto righteousness in Christ Jesus our Lord. Growing in Christ daily. Fervent in prayer. Fervent in the Lord. Being the one casting off all things that slow them down.

Sowing words, thoughts and actions that will reap glory unto God and Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Perhaps today is the day when you and I begin weeding our lives of things and thinking that has been slowly draining our efforts to run the race set before us in Christ.

You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Persistence in Prayer: Not a Suggestion

by David Brenneman

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:9-13.

"I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs." Luke 11:8.

"So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God." Acts 12:5.

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints," Ephesians 6:18.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;" Colossians 4:2.

"pray without ceasing;" 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

"rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer," Romans 12:12.

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart," Luke 18:1.

Was praying a short prayer this morning about what to write about this morning and all of this came from a short search.

Myself included, how often are we practicing persistence in prayer?

How many of you have considered that last passage as Jesus teaching exactly what He Himself practiced with His Father in Heaven?

How often have you prayed once, perhaps not really with your whole heart, and moved on in your day?

This message is as much for me as it is towards all who would be reading it.

How many have made prayer lists and forgotten them?

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your persistence in prayer?

How often are we waiting for the Lord to answer before we rush headlong into a situation?

Is it your habitual practice to pray?

Worst yet, have you told someone you would pray an yet either offered a very lame excuse for a prayer or didn't at all?

Knowing your enemy is a crucial part of Spiritual Warfare.

Your enemy and mine knows the extreme value in disrupted communication.

He knows what answered persistent prayer does for a Believer's faith.

He knows.

He also knows that the less we pray that we will quite often not take him seriously. We will just adapt and just forget to pray. Convincing ourselves that what we would pray for or about that God's too busy or wouldn't think was important enough to deal with or handle.

He knows. He knows that it isn't just keeping people buried in situations that can keep them from thinking about praying to God for help.

He also knows that, for many people, keeping them busy with things they enjoy will keep them from a active fervent life of prayer.

Stop and consider what Jesus was doing when He was teaching His Disciples the value of persistence in prayer.

The Disciples who became the Apostles were teaching the early Church the extreme value of persistence in prayer. So what happened? Satan's tactics happened. Subtle advances here and there, then get each generation to accept it.

It's going to hurt to persist in prayer sometimes. Giving up something for you and I to gain what can only come through prayer.

Dig out your old lists or begin new ones.

Have that same attitude as you have always seen in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior with regards to persistent prayer.

Unless you get a resounding "no" from the Lord you keep on praying.

Unless you get an answer to prayer you keep on praying.

Don't entertain excuses to not pray.

"I need my sleep" is an excuse not a reason.

"But I'll miss the game" is an excuse not a reason.

"I will miss my show!" is an excuse not a reason.

We, you and I, need to practice persistence in prayer because God's Word says unmistakably that it's for us to be doing.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

The Rest We May Never Know

by David Brenneman

"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God." Psalms 42:11.

Many a time we can be tempted to be envious of what God's done or is doing in the lives of others around us.

What we do no know is the rest of their story.

With each of us, the Author and Perfecter of our faith is to be holding the pen of our lives, writing on our hearts that which is there to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

We often don't get what He's written or is writing on our own hearts, let alone what we think we see in other's!

We indeed can be so focused on our own life that we neglect to consider that those around us have the Lord working in their lives. Either to address disobedience or to take them a few steps closer to being like Christ in this day.

A few days ago the passage about the landowner who was choosing to pay everyone who worked in his fields the same was brought up. Those who had born the heat of the whole day were grumbling because of the fact that everyone was being paid alike. Yet the Landowner replied with "is your eye envious because I am generous?".

THE Landowner is Jesus. If He so chooses, people are indeed blessed. If He withholds blessings that's for Him to decide as well.

We do not know the rest of the story with even our closest family let alone those whom we know or outside of those we know.

What we DO know is the same Lord is Lord over all and all who are in Christ are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them.

What we can perceive as someone being blessed could also be the result of someone's actually finally obeying in something they should have taken care of a long time ago.

What we think we understand of other's lives is skewed by our sin nature filter.

Our lives are not wrapped up in possessions or status in the public sector.

Our lived are defined by what the Author and Perfecter of our faith is doing in each Believer to make us more like Christ.

Again, we don't know what hidden things that others are struggling with. We don't know the rest of the story. Only Jesus can see into the lives of all.

We must remember the words Jesus said to Peter after he asks Jesus "What about him?" with regards to John. Jesus "as for you, you follow Me!".

Many people leave this world with a great many things unaccomplished. Doesn't mean that what Jesus was doing was incomplete in any way. All who leave this world in Christ step into Eternity in Heaven complete in Christ. They have no consideration of their life left behind with regards to what they didn't get to do. They are with Jesus.

We, each of us, must take Jesus's words to Peter to heart. "As for you, you follow Me!".

Pray for yourself with regards to growing in Christ. Pray that your eyes don't get you into a trap where you're thinking more of what He's doing with others that we do see and have no regard for what we don't see Him doing. Pray for our hearts to be more like Mary rather than Martha. Pray that we'll be content with what's been granted to us. Pray for our own hearts to be as Jesus would have them to be. Pray for patience for ourselves that we don't get impatient towards God with His work in our lives.

In everything give thanks.

We don't know a lot more than we think we don't know. Think on this one.

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." Philippians 4:11-12.

Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”" John 21:22.

We must remember we are all an unfinished work in the Lord until our time on Earth is through. We don't know what's truly happening in the lives of others. The command is for us as well. "What is that to you? You follow Me!".

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

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