We are not entertainers, nor seasonal well-wishers. We are heralds of the Most High, entrusted with a royal decree that cannot be diluted or deferred. The gospel we proclaim is not a cultural tradition, nor a sentimental greeting—it is the eternal announcement of victory through Jesus Christ.
We declare that:
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
He was buried, and He rose again on the third day.
He ascended in triumph and will return in glory.
This is the good news—the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. It is the message entrusted to us, the trumpet blast that awakens the nations, the light that pierces the darkness.
We are commanded to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name to all nations. We are charged to make disciples, baptize, and teach obedience to His Word. We are sent as witnesses, empowered by the Spirit, to proclaim liberty to the captives and sight to the blind.
We do not gather to flatter Him with birthday wishes, as though He were a man bound by time. We gather to proclaim Him as the eternal Son, the risen Lord, the reigning King.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19 isn’t poetic fluff—it’s a lifeline. Jesus is not just our Savior; He is our stabilizer, our security blanket, our unshakable anchor when the winds of grief, injustice, and spiritual warfare howl around us.
In a world unraveling at the seams, where chaos seems to accelerate and darkness presses in, we cling to the hope that does not disappoint.
I was deeply moved by Erika Kirk’s public act of forgiveness toward the man who took her husband’s life. That kind of mercy doesn’t come from human strength—it’s the evidence of the Comforter, the power of the Cross, and the reality of resurrection hope. Her courage reminds us that anchored souls don’t drift—they stand. Even in the face of loss, they testify. Even in the face of evil, they forgive. May we be found tethered to Christ in this hour, not tossed by fear or bitterness, but held fast by the One who conquered death and calms every storm.
Consider the disciples in the boat, battered by waves and overwhelmed by fear, while Jesus slept peacefully in the aft. He had already told them, “Let us go over to the other side”—not “Let us go halfway and drown.” His word was a promise, yet their panic revealed a lack of trust. When they woke Him, He rebuked the wind and the waves, but He also rebuked them: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). Jesus was present the entire time, resting securely because He knew the outcome. The storm was never stronger than His word.
So how do we react when faced with our own storms? Not everyone will endure a tempest as fierce as Erika Kirk’s, yet in the midst of a storm that would render many hopeless, she had the strength to say, “I forgive.” That is faith anchored in Christ. That is the kind of hope that holds fast when everything else breaks loose. Let us not measure the size of our storm, but the strength of our anchor. Let us trust the One who commands the waves and has already spoken our destination into being.
And what of the storms that come not from tragedy, but from vocal opposition—just for being who God called you to be? Remember Goliath, the uncircumcised Philistine who stood day and night belittling Israel, hurling insults and intimidation. The people of God cowered in fear, silenced by the size of the enemy. Today, many voices ridicule those who stand with truth, who support righteousness, who refuse to bow to cultural idols. Verbal grenades are lobbed to shame and silence—but David did not flinch.
David had faced his bears and lions. He had seen God’s deliverance firsthand. So when he heard Goliath’s taunts, he didn’t tremble—he ran toward the battle. His sling and stone were backed by a history of faithfulness. Likewise, those who have suffered and prevailed are uniquely equipped to help others who struggle. Scripture affirms this:
“[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:4)
Let us not be intimidated by the giants of our day. Let us remember that the same God who anchored us in the storm also empowers us in the battle. The same Spirit who calms the sea also silences the accuser. May we stand like David—with history in our hands and hope in our hearts—ready to declare, “The battle is the Lord’s.”
BE A CHARLIE — SOMEONE NEEDS YOUR VOICE
In a generation silenced by fear and fatigue, we need voices that refuse to bow. Charlie stood for truth, for righteousness, for the Kingdom—and paid a price. But his legacy lives on in those who will not be intimidated, who will not retreat, who will not compromise. Be a Charlie. Speak when others shrink. Stand when others scatter. Someone needs your voice. Someone is waiting for your courage to unlock theirs.
Closing Prayer
Lord, anchor us in Your truth. When storms rage and giants roar, remind us that You are with us in the boat and on the battlefield. Give us the boldness of David, the endurance of Erika, and the conviction of Charlie. May we not be silenced by fear or shame, but rise with holy defiance and Spirit-led compassion. Use our scars to heal others. Use our voice to awaken the sleeping. Use our lives to glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens
I really enjoy the smell of burning leaves wafting through the air at the arrival of fall. Living in Western Pennsylvania I am blessed with a change of seasons 4 times a year. We experience the bleakness of winter with the countryside blanketed in white. This eventually gives way to the beauty of spring and a countryside bedazzled with brilliant colors. Summertime rolls in and backyards are alive with outdoor activity. Barbecues are ablaze. Swimming pools overflow with those attempting to escape hot and humid evenings. We return full circle back to fall and the brilliant colors of the changing leaves.
Nature teaches us that there is a season and a time for everything. Scripture amplifies this theme of nature. It declares that indeed there is a time for everything. There is also a season for every activity under heaven.
It is natural for nature to revolve in cycles. Earth’s orbit revolves in a cycle, which leads to our seasons. With just casual observation, we can see the cycles of life. There is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to reap what was planted. There is a time to gather and a time to scatter. There is a time to build up and a time to tear down. All this reflects the cycle of life. A modern-day idiom goes something like this, there’s nothing as constant as change. In fact, the only thing we can really count on is that things will change. Without change there’s no room for anything new. Fall serves a vital purpose. Old leaves fall to make way for new leaves that will appear in the spring. It is the order of life for the old to make way for the new.
Although things change some things remain constant, gravity for example and the laws of nature and of nature’s God. In order to support the changes of life, some things must remain constant and without change. If there were not gravity, then life as we know it would not exist. If the earth did not rotate on its axis, there would be no night and day. If the earth stopped revolving around the sun, the seasons would come to an end.
It is with that thought in mind that I address a rather disturbing trend in our society. Things that should not change are being altered quickly. At the same time, things that ought to change are being held as sacred. The latter being etched in stone, while that which was actually etched in stone is being done away with.
Earthly governments, principalities, and powers from the beginning until now are uniformly represented in the Scriptures as wild beasts. They are full of destructive savageness and offensive uncleanness. It is but folly and fanaticism for men to talk of Christian states and governments in this world. Christians and good men may be involved in their administration. Christian ideas may sometimes temper their enactments. However, earthly states and governments themselves are not Christian, and they cannot be. They are all the products of devastated nature’s wilds, and full of ungodliness. Fix it as we may, such is the result. The best-planned institutions and the wisest laws are ever disappointing their framers. The same can be said of the United States government.
It is not surprising then to find the Sovereign Law of the Land. Our Constitution is being ravaged. It is rewritten with hellacious fervor. God Himself delivered the very law on etched stone from Sinai’s thunder-shaken heights. However, this law could not restrain mankind from its sinful and destructive nature.
Many revolutions have been wrought. Men have labored, sacrificed, bled, and died to achieve freedom and just governance. They believed they would secure the precious boon for which the race has sighed and cried for ages. However, it was only a rearrangement of the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. It was an exercise in futility.
In our day, people wish for a grand ‘United Nations.’ They seek something shaped to populism and compacted by common laws and special interests. ‘Enlightened’ ideas are expected to rule so that all the world will become one. However, the result will be the embodiment of hell itself, full of blasphemy and lies. Good shall be called evil and that which is evil will be exalted as good.
Revolutions, creeds, and transformation, progressivism, and liberal ideologies seek to overturn old creeds and revise the Decalogue. They introduce vain philosophies of men. These attempts rule out a personal God and exalt self in His place. All man’s foolhardy ideas to reconstruct society may promise much and tug at the heart. However, they are destined to fail in the end.
Indeed, all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand]. But wicked men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and leading astray others and being deceived and led astray themselves.2 Timothy 3:12-13 (AMP)
What should we do as Christians living in a fallen world? We are ruled by fallen men whose hearts and minds are being deceived. They are growing worse and worse. Should we simply throw our hands up in defeat? One could come to that conclusion when we review the events that took place in our country just last week. A couple of lone Senators stood-up to declare that the road we are traveling is ruinous. They insisted we need to go in an entirely new direction. They found themselves shouted down and demeaned for having the audacity to stand-up for what they believed to be right. These courageous men and women took a stand. They confronted the evil ideologies of those transforming our society. The few stood tall calling for a change. They wanted to change course. They wished to try something different. They were only told that what exists is ‘settled law.’ It is written in stone and not to be undone by them or anyone else. There was nothing they could do. So, we might as well surrender and sit down and shut up.
Most thinking people could easily argue that when a product proves defective, you repair, replace, or junk the product. Then you try something else. Only in government is it ever wrong to ask for a change. It is seen as wrong to argue for a better outcome. Daring to seek to right a wrong is also discouraged. Our Constitution allows ‘we the people’ to ‘Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances.’ However, in all actuality, we are forbidden to do so.
Things need to change in D.C. There is no doubt about it, but things also need to change in the heartland of America. We need to regain our ‘righteous’ footing and restore the sure foundations upon which we wish to build our society. We cannot continue to allow the wholesale slaughter of innocent children, and the destruction or should I say the reconstruction of the family unit to go unchallenged. This must not be acceptable by those who call themselves Christian. I am afraid that there are too many “Christian” in name only. They are siding with the destruction of our society. They enable those in power to continue their onslaught.
We do need to choose sides. We can stand with the Lord and his laws. Alternatively, we can support those who are actively erasing any mention of God from our society. In the end there will only be two camps. Those who are standing with the Lord when he returns and those who will be fighting against the Lord. Which side do you suppose comes out victorious?
The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of offense [persons by whom others are drawn into error or sin] and all who do iniquity and act wickedly and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and wailing and grinding of teeth. Then will the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God) shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears [to hear] be listening and let him consider and perceive and understand by hearing. Matthew 13:41-43 (AMP)
Yes, indeed things will change. A law will be established. That which was sent down from heaven will once again become the chief cornerstone. It is the rock that the builders of our current societal structure have rejected. God’s law is the only one that is ‘settled’.
“All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”1 Peter 1:24-25 (NKJV)
This has been a View From the Nest. And that is the way I see it. What say you?
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Philippians 2:4 (HCSB) 4 Everyone should look out not ⌊only⌋ for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
The Preamble to our Constitution reads: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the generalWelfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Constitution therefore was established with an express purpose of securing justice, domestic tranquility, defense, promote the well-being of its citizenry, and secure liberty now and into the future. How are we doing?
“Tocqueville began with a shocker: That the first political institution of American democracy is religion. His thesis went something like this: The premises of secular materialism do not sustain democracy, but undermine it, while the premises of Judaism and Christianity include and by inductive experience lead to democracy, uplift it, carry it over its inherent weaknesses, and sustain it.
[Because of its] own inherent tendencies, democracy tends to lower tastes and passions, to devolve into materialistic preoccupations, and to undercut its own principles by a morally indifferent relativism. Further, democracy left to itself tends to surrender liberty to the passion for security and equality, and thus to end in a new soft despotism, tied down with a thousand silken threads by a benign authority.”
Worship is more than a song, more than an act, more than a ritual—it is the heartbeat of a believer’s relationship with God. In today’s world, where distractions pull us in every direction, understanding true worship is vital.
Inspired by the song Here I Am to Worship, let’s explore worship as an offering, a response, and a sacred encounter with God. What does the Lord expect? How should we approach worship? And most importantly, how do we fix our hearts and minds on the One who deserves all praise?
The Heart of Worship
Worship begins in the heart. It is not confined to church walls or Sunday services; rather, it is a daily posture of surrender and adoration. In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
True worship is not about performance or perfection—it is about offering ourselves, flaws and all, to God in reverence and love. It is about responding to His goodness, His mercy, and His presence in our lives.
What the Lord Expects
In John 4:23-24, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman and declares, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” Worship is not empty words or rehearsed motions—it is an honest and heartfelt connection with God.
God desires sincerity, humility, and authenticity in worship. He does not demand grand gestures but seeks a heart that truly acknowledges Him. When we worship, our focus should be on who He is, rather than what we want.
Approaching Worship
How do we prepare our hearts for worship? Psalm 100:4 gives us a simple yet profound answer: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”
Gratitude and awe pave the way for worship. When we approach God with thanksgiving, we shift our attention from ourselves to Him. Preparing for worship can involve quiet reflection, confessing sins, meditating on Scripture, or simply standing in awe of His greatness.
The Object of Our Worship: God Himself
Worship is not about us—it is about God. He is the Light of the World, the King of Kings, the Righteous Judge. Fixing our gaze on His attributes draws us deeper into worship:
His Majesty – “The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty” (Psalm 93:1). He is sovereign and supreme.
His Glory – “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). All creation reflects His brilliance.
His Love – “God is love” (1 John 4:8). His love is boundless, redeeming, and relentless.
His Justice – “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just” (Deuteronomy 32:4). He is fair, righteous, and true.
When we worship, we declare who God is. We shift from focusing on our circumstances to magnifying Him.
Staying Focused in Worship
In an age of endless distractions, staying centered in worship can be challenging. Here are a few ways to keep our hearts fixed on God:
Engage with Scripture – Meditating on His Word deepens our understanding of Him.
Pray Before Worship – Ask God to quiet distractions and open your heart.
Reflect on His Attributes – Recall His faithfulness, power, and promises.
Sing with Meaning – Don’t just sing—worship with intentionality.
Conclusion
Worship is an invitation. An invitation to step into His presence, to bow before His holiness, and to lift high the name of Jesus. As Here I Am to Worship so beautifully expresses:
“Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, Here I am to say that You’re my God. You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy, Altogether wonderful to me.”
These words encapsulate the essence of true worship—humbling ourselves before Him, acknowledging His majesty, and declaring His worth. Worship is a response—an offering of love, devotion, and praise.
So, here we stand, humbled before Him. Here we are to worship.
This has been a View From the Nest: And that is the way I see it. What say you?
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