Trust God

In All Things – Trust God

/ Bob

As I was reading Psalm 46 this morning I was reminded of all disasters around the world which appear on my daily newsfeed – floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, droughts – and the list goes on and on. I do not wish to engage in any arguments over what is man-made and what is natural when it comes to disasters. What I saw this morning in Psalm 46 is simply that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, whatever the cause.

We tend to fret and worry over the disasters that may or may not come our way when what we should do is trust God no matter what lies on the horizon. We can perhaps do some things to mitigate the effects of nature’s force but ultimately we must trust God before, during, and after the storm. Verse 10 of Psalm 46 tells us to be still and know that He is God and that He will be exalted in all the earth. If nothing else, surely the magnitude of a hurricane the size of the Gulf of Mexico or an earthquake that rocks the very ground of several states should remind us of how big God is and how small we are in comparison.

So while we in our human impotence try to determine what we should do in the face of disaster, we should first and foremost seek God in his omnipotence and trust him over and above anything that our finite minds can conceive.

1God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

4There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

7The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

8Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.

10Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

11The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 46 (NKJV)

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Jesus, Teach Us to Pray

/ Bob

It’s almost mind-boggling that Jesus prayed. Jesus knew the Father more intimately than any other man who walked on this earth, because He and the Father are One. And still He prayed. If was so important for Jesus to pray it is even more so for us. We will be looking at the teachings of Jesus concerning prayer from Luke 11 & 18. At the beginning of Luke 11, one of the disciples came to Jesus with a profound request – teach us to pray. That should be our request as well. And so we say, “Jesus, Teach Us to Pray.” This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 5, 2021. Handouts with slide content can be requested at fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Jesus, Teach Us to Pray – Agape Life Bible Study – 09.05.2021

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Get Up! Get Your Stuff and Go!

/ Bob

It doesn’t matter what ails you. It doesn’t matter what obstacles stand in your way. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been for help, what solutions you’ve tried, or how many years you’ve been dealing with the problem – Jesus can help. In our study of the 5th Chapter of John we saw Jesus heal a man who had been a paraplegic for 38 years. Only Jesus could speak hope into such a situation as this. Only Jesus could bring physical healing to this man. And only Jesus could save him from a fate worse than his physical state because only Jesus could save him from eternal death.  That same saving power is ours through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It reminds me of the song, “In Christ Alone” by by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

Here is the link to our Agape Life Bible Study class session from the 5th chapter of John in which Jesus heals a man at the Pool of Bethesda.

He’s With Us Through This Whole Thing

/ Bob

Today marks 9 months since my prostate cancer surgery. I had my 9-month visit with my doctor this week and my blood work has remained unchanged ever since the surgery. There is no detectable PSA and consequently no detectable cancer cells. He was thrilled to see me as he has been at every checkup. He told me again how happy he was with the results and I flippantly asked, “What did you expect?” He replied, “I fully expected you to be on radiation at this point as well as hormone therapy. You really should not be doing this well.” He said that when he saw the pathology report and when he saw the MRI and then when the report came back from M.D. Anderson that showed my entire prostate had been taken over by the cancer and that it had taken over the seminal vesicles and that it was in the margins (the marginal tissue of the prostate next to the surrounding tissues) and that it had moved into the lymph nodes – well he figured I would be struggling. Then he looked me in the eye and said that “the Lord was definitely by my side throughout this whole thing.” All I can say is AMEN.


But here’s the even greater truth – even if none of this good news had come, the Lord would still have been by my side through this whole thing. The three boys in the fiery furnace knew that God was able to deliver them and even told the king that, but then they said that if God didn’t deliver them they would still worship Him and Him alone. And who showed up in the midst of the fiery furnace? Jesus showed up – He was with them throughout that whole thing. God didn’t promise us deliverance from the the trials and troubles of this life. In fact, he promised us that they would come. But He also said that He would be with us throughout this whole thing.

“And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

The Wisest Person I Know

/ Bob

Wisdom is a trait often sought by people who have to make decisions; who have trying times and want to know how to deal with them; for people who are just tired of bumping up against the road blocks of life. We seek wisdom and yet we seem to find very little of it.  God tells is in the book of James that if we want wisdom we should just ask God for it and he will be glad to give it to us. However, too often we just want to talk to someone, talk to someone who agrees with us, or maybe just talk to someone in our own mind because we know that person will definitely agree with us.  No matter. We just want wisdom.


What a blessing it is when the person who you consider to be the wisest person of all is also the one to whom you are married. Pam is without a doubt the wisest person I know. Of course, if you ask her if she is wise she would deny it vehemently. But that she truly is. And the best part is her wisdom is not earthly wisdom but rather the godly wisdom she has gained from reading and studying God’s word. I cannot number the times she has answered my concerns with scripture or with some godly principle she has been developing. She is able to see straight through my angst to the heart of the matter and speak truth to me.  Sometimes I wanna hear it –  sometimes I don’t, but it is truth nonetheless and it is always applicable truth.


Last fall I had to have a radical prostatectomy. During the process God gave me peace I had never known before. Peace that, no matter what the physical outcome, God was still God and that all would be well with my soul. I found myself in the hospital with so much peace that I prayed with my nurses and doctors and found great joy in doing so. Since the beginning of the year I’ve been dealing with some serious back and hip problems. In the process I had to get an MRI which is no fun for a person of my size. (When they bring in a tub of lard to grease you up so that you will slide into that small tube, you know you’re in trouble.)  When I came out I talked with the technician as he was wheeling me out.  I asked him to stop so that we could pray. I prayed for him and again found great joy in doing so.  He told me he was a believer and we enjoyed great fellowship in the labyrinth of hallways leading to the front door. The pain was still there but the joy completely overrode the pain. 


When I told Pam about the day and about praying with the young man at the hospital she was happy for me. Then her wisdom immediately kicked in and she said the when I’m in the hospital I am full grace and peace knowing God will take care of me. She went on to say that sometimes here at the house I forget how God has helped me by strengthening me and giving me peace when I needed it. She went on to say God is ready to grant me that same peace at home. There it was – God’s wisdom coming from the mouth of my wife. Too often, when we get home, we think we can relax because we have arrived at our personal sanctuary – a place we go as a retreat from the world around us. But in our struggle against the wiles of the devil we can never relax. 


Now your response might be “Well, Duh.”   The fact is when you are in the midst of the struggle you often don’t see truth as well as you see circumstances. Pam helped me see the truth in the midst of the circumstances and it’s only by God’s wisdom that she was able to discern the truth.  It’s also God’s wisdom that showed her how and when to say it.  

Without a doubt, she is the wisest person I know.  And, if you aren’t convinced, consider this – she married me!

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  James 3:17