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?

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Evil Men Will Increase & Your Instructions

by David Brenneman

"Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:10-17.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name." 1 Peter 4:12-16.

So many shake their head at the evils in this world and aren't aware that the levels of evil are increasing.

So many Believers have a very strong misconception about the things that they're going through.

The two are very much connected and are even at times intertwined.

I am not really surprised at all that what Paul said about Scripture was preceded by talk about the people of this world and as history showed he was speaking of evil within the Church.

Satan's schemes get permission from God to be used, do you not realize that? Satan's got a tremendous intellect and nothing but evil to back it up. When permitted we see levels of evil that are worse than what was seen even a few years ago.

Several times in the Scriptures we read of the evil people within the Church. That hasn't changed in the centuries since these books were first written. Evil people exist within the Church today...it's just that those leading those particular groups of people aren't willing to do whatever Scripture says to do to deal with them. So their evil influence persists. With the result that the people are lead astray and such church leadership will have much to explain before Jesus for why they truly feared man rather than God.

We're going to face storms in life. We went over that in an earlier post. We have our orders, so to speak, on what is to be our focus on living life in the face of such storms.

Some use an acronym "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" for Bible. Basic Instructions Before Living Eternally or something like that makes more immediate sense for more immediate application. We are to be in God's Word daily to learn how to live NOW not just for whatever is to come and for after we are Raptured.

We aren't studying the Bible for the sake of doing so. We're learning what the character of Christ is so that we can live life in like manner.

We will sometimes be the ones facing evil head-on. Sometimes we deal with the effects of evil. Sometimes within the Church sometimes outside of it. But we will run into it.

Some of Satan's schemes we give him credit for that have nothing to do with him. It's stuff that convinced ourselves to do or be like. We choose to either forgiveness or we don't. We choose to overlook the sins of others or we don't. We choose to hold a grudge or we choose to let it go. We choose to do things and bear the ramifications of them. Satan had nothing to do with it...it's our own inexperienced life in Christ because we're not doing more to live a life that honors Christ. We choose bad choices and blame it on anyone or anything but ourselves.

We do these intentional things because we're either intentionally avoiding what God's Word says or we're too ignorant with regards to what God's Word says.

We have our Instructions in the Lord. It's all there in black and white for us to read and take to heart. We don't know the kingdom impact we could be having by our obedience rather than our current view that is tainted by our disobedience.

You, my Dear Reader, are either living in obedience or you're not.

While it's a certainty that evil men and women will proceed from bad to worse...it's just as certain that you will give an account of your life before Jesus.

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Quit with the excuses and get into the Word of God so that you'll be adequate, equipped for every good work.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Friday, July 10, 2026

Deeper Roots Survive Storms

by David Brenneman

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;" JOB 42:5

You may have heard it said that a person does not not really know who his friends are until the bottom

drops out. In much the same way, we will never personally know how truly faithful, strong and wise Jesus is apart from adversity. Indeed, if our lives are free from pain, turmoil, and sorrow, our experience of God will remain purely academic. Our trust in Him would never increase, mature, or be strengthened. Our relationship with Him could be compared to that with a great-great-grandfather about whom we've heard stories yet never met personally. We would have great admiration but no intimacy or fellowship. That is not the kind of relationship God wants with His children.

Through the costly death of Christ, the Lord has opened the

way for us to have direct access to Him, and He wants nothing to

stand between us. So He engineers circumstances through which

He can reveal Himself to us in a personal and profound way and we

can bond with Him emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. When

difficult seasons arise, do not despair. Instead, rejoice that God is about to reveal Himself to you in a powerful way, and get ready to

experience His faithfulness firsthand.

Jesus, thank You for revealing Yourself to me through all my

circumstances. Amen.

- Trusting God with Today, Dr. Charles Stanley.

We experience situations throughout our life where we pray and Jesus shows up through the various people He's placed in our lives.

This is for our extreme benefit as pointed out by Dr. Stanley.

Likewise true is this notion that we need the things we go through in life in order to grow in Christ.

A tree may grow tall and wide and have a fantastic appearance...but if the roots are truly shallow then comes the right kind of storm and it will topple over.

King Saul had all the appearance of a great King, however his life in the Lord was extremely shallow. When things really began to happen whereby he should have grown in his relationship with the Lord...he blew it.

King Solomon had been granted great wisdom in order to lead the nation of Israel...yet blew it as well.

We, more often than not, want out of our situations. Rather the appropriate response should be to ask for prayer to see us through them. To learn what it is that the situation is there for and to rely on Christ our Savior to grow us in Him.

Indeed if He brings you to something He will see you through that something.

The children of Israel were lead out of the land of Egypt. Right up to a sea with Pharaoh’s army on their heels. Moses did as instructed and the sea parted and they went through on dry land.

The lesson was for them to look to the Lord for everything.

During my 10 or so months of unemployment the Lord brought us to this same place. No retreat was possible and going forward was the only option. Daily my thoughts were to pray about what He had in mind for me to be doing that day. Taking it one day at a time.

He brought deliverance from many places and people. People who chose to be dispensers of grace in our time of need.

Oh, my Dear Reader, you can constantly complain about your life's situations or you can seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, find out what it is you're to be learning and grow in your relationship with Jesus through it.

There's absolutely nothing random about your life's adventures. The Lord, through His Spirit, is going to continue His workmanship in us one way or another. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. Period.

The things we emotionally react to rather than trust God in will always steam roll us if we let them.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

I will testify those verses from Proverbs 3:5-6 are absolutely the truth. Those verses stayed with me and are staying with me during those perilous times of unemployment and now into employment.

Those 10 months were a time of growth for me in Christ. You can either get the point of why you're going through some rough patches or you can miss the point entirely.

Stop and go back to Proverbs 3:5-6.

Stop and reconsider Ephesians 2:10.

Stop and be grateful that He is right there in this with you. Grow your roots deeper in the Lord.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Thursday, July 9, 2026

What ARE You Doing?

by David Brenneman

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going." Ecclesiastes 9:10.

"But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12.

"Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good." 2 Thessalonians 3:12-13.

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." Colossians 3:23-25.

While we read in Ecclesiastes 9:10 about Sheol, that's not the destination for the saved in Christ Jesus.

Idleness is the opposite of all we read in the rest of the Scriptures here this morning. Idleness and pursuing things that do not make for the righteous life that God desires for us.

Do you pursue things that aren't glorifying God? Have you stopped to see if God is truly being lifted up or is it you?

The workmanship we are in Christ is not to make us a better person but rather to make us fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

It isn't for us to pursue this or that that strikes our fancy. Nor is it for us to justify our pursuits by way of slick reasoning. Either God gets the glory for great things He has done or He isn't.

Anything from daily life to jobs to hobbies can either be glorifying God or they won't be. These are the deeds done in the body that we will give an account of before Jesus. These deeds those thoughts and intentions and actions.

We are supposed to live lives that glorify God, to the best of our ability, because at any moment they may be our last upon this Earth.

Do you think about your day ahead in that light?

Do you or have you invested, time, energy, effort and perhaps money into things that are not worthy of the calling for which you've been called in Christ?

In more than one place in the Scriptures we're told to consider our ways. This is the message for today: consider your ways!

Consider your motivations.

Consider your reactions to situations and people.

Are you living a life that you would live if Jesus was physically there with you? Would you be how you are in front of Him?

Would you be as productive if He were physically with you?

Would you be as lazy if He stood there with you?

Would you change your hobbies, your this or that if He were physically there with you?

The truth, my Dear Reader, is He is right there with you.

He is.

Your part is to take up your own cross and follow Him. Are you?

Your part is to pursue that which you can and will do that glorifies your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Doesn't matter how big that is or how small. What's important is to do your best as unto the Lord because it's the Lord whom you serve.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Why Worry?

by David Brenneman

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34.

There are actually several things you can do in and of yourself to help Satan's agenda in this world and one of the easiest is to worry about things, problems, situations in this life of yours rather than to take those things to God in prayer.

Satan loves to, and historically he's taught his minions to, get people to focus on the enormity of a situation or problem rather than the enormity of God.

We sometimes will even convince ourselves that we're not worrying, we're just 'intensely concerned' within ourselves.

That's still worrying.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.

We either are going to walk by faith and not by sight or we're not.

Let's start with history. Your history in Christ. Has there ever been an instance where Jesus failed you? Has there ever been a time when He didn't prove He cares for you? Have you ever seen Him ignore you?

While the answers to your prayers might not be what you were expecting or even looking for they were answered. So why do the foolish thing and keep things to yourself rather than to deliver them, both the small and the great things to Jesus?

Truly there's nothing that the Almighty Creator of the Universe can't do in accordance with His will, His character, His love for us and His obedience to His Father.

Ours is to bring the things that are on our hearts and minds to Jesus for Him to handle. That's walking by faith. He may yet hand you a shovel to help out in your answer to your prayer but He will answer. Quite often ours is a mindset to just get Jesus to fix things rather than for us to get our hands dirty.

Peter, James, John, Paul, Jude, and others we read about that many think of as pillars of the Church...got that distinction not from worrying but through prayers and walking by faith, by going through things that the Spirit directed rather than by avoiding those things that were to grow them in Christ.

You miss the very best point of why you face situations, they are just situations in the eyes of God, in that they come to you to grow you in Christ.

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11.

There's a very distinct point to why situations come and go in your life.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10.

While you may be caught by surprise...no part of the Trinity that is God ever was.

These things we experience are going to grow us in Christ. These things are for our sanctification.

Keep the right attitude in Christ Jesus. Keep your prayers going and your thankfulness to God in Christ Jesus that you aren't alone in what you face. That He has heard you and that He will still do what is best for you.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Full, Unbridled, Unrestricted Transparency

by David Brenneman

How much anticipation do you have in your expectation of Jesus Christ returning for you? Are you excited? Does it motivate you in any way to be striving to be better today in living for Jesus than you did yesterday?

Jesus is the Word of God.

"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. 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." Hebrews 4:12-13.

Your every thought and intention is and has been recorded and will be until either you are called home to Heaven or the Rapture of the Church.

Have you ever truly thought of what that means? Ever considered the ramifications of that idea?

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me." Psalms 139:1.

"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:10.

He knows every big n small thought and intention you have ever considered. He knows all that you've hidden even from yourself. All that you muttered under your breath that you shouldn't have said or thought concerning others. Knows all that you dreamed about and never pursued. Knows of all the opportunities taken and all you failed to embrace. Knows all whom you were sent to help n all you turned away from helping. Knows all the times you justified your disobedience towards Him when the Spirit presented an opportunity for you and you chose not to do it.

He knows all the times when your love for others came close to matching His own for them. Knows all the times when your thoughts were right concerning His Word and your understanding of it.

He knows.

Everything you have lied to yourself about as well. All the things that you deceived yourself into doing. All the honesty evil things that you did nothing to stop when He wanted you to step in. All these things and more.

Now consider this that all of these things, both the pleasant, joyful, uplifting and the sad, grieving, discouraging things are what we will be giving an account of before Jesus.

There's a day fixed by the Father’s own authority for when the Church of Jesus Christ will be complete. A day when the last person who's come to salvation in Christ Jesus does so and the Church is ready to go to forever be with Jesus.

We all who are saved will leave this world at the command of the Lord Jesus on that day and Scripture says that we will give an account of our lives before Him.

Our deeds, thoughts and intentions will be tested as through the fire of truth. Whatever we thought, said, did or intended to do will come to light. Only that which was done right, with true obedience, with the right heart attitude, will survive.

It's never enough to just come to Christ for salvation and then do nothing more to grow in Christ, to nothing to honor Him for all He's done for us.

It's never a good thing to neglect the work He's trying to do in us to make us more like Himself.

It's a very sobering thing to know that He's known all of what we're like and still loves us enough to not want to leave us in that condition.

It should be a very sobering thing for us to realize how much of the letters to the Churches in the book of Revelation is directed towards those who profess to be Christians.

We truly cannot afford to be nonchalant about our relationship with Jesus or our thoughts, intentions or actions.

We cannot afford to not give of our best as unto the Lord in pursuing a right and true life in Christ as He wants for us.

There's going to come a day when all of that and more will be revealed as either worthy or unworthy before the Lord.

Think about these things as you go about your day. Are you honoring God or protecting yourself? Are you growing in Christ or have you grown stagnant? Are you putting your own thoughts, desires, dreams ahead of what the Spirit wants and desires for you?

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to think, go and do, as He did.

As the Scriptures say "consider your ways..."

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Monday, July 6, 2026

Throw It In the Fire!

by David Brenneman

Take, in prayer, whatever has a hold of you that is sin and ask Jesus to remove it n throw it in the fire.

A possible strange way to put it I admit. However, we're to run from temptation. We're to lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus. If you read of what many of the righteous kings did upon becoming king you will see how they destroyed those things that were an abomination to the Lord. King Josiah burned many things to ensure they wouldn't be usable again. Reading in Proverbs there's much that's written about running from sins.

In the New Testament we read of fleeing youthful lusts.

Our sins, once confessed, are cast as far as the east is from the west by our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

But we must confess them. Then we must turn from them.

We must treat sin as something we don't consider nor give the time of day to. Sin, no matter how small or how large, shouldn't be a thing we dwell on. Dwelling upon it leads to entertaining temptation which leads to sinful acts.

Consider as well these words of Paul through the Spirit "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.

In war many things of the enemy must be destroyed not just buried nor removed.

Sin in any form is an abomination in the eyes of our Holy God.

We should think on sin as He does.

We should find it as repulsive as He does. We should rather see sin destroyed than entertained.

This is another excellent example of what is meant in the New Testament of "considering your ways".

In what ways have we renamed sins and sinful behavior so that we don't feel as bad about continuing in it?

How many hobbies do we have that in reality have taken our attention away from our growing in Christ?

How many 'things of this world' really have us in their grip rather than the false freedom we think we have concerning them?

Oh we may joke about the things we say we 'love' but in reality are we really joking? Does the God of Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, joke about such things? To be honest it's that train of thought that caused me to stop and consider before making statements about what it is that I 'love'.

Jesus took sin and its evil effects 100% seriously which is why He would not take a single step away from the direction of the cross.

What's more...Satan strived throughout the entire life of Jesus on this Earth to put an end to Him because even he knew what the destructive power of the cross would mean for sin.

Sin deserves to be thrown in the fire. Sin deserves to be destroyed, cast far from us.

We likewise need to stop seeing just how close we can get to that line without crossing over to sinning. Sooner or later that line WILL get blurry.

Sin is nothing to be trifled with.

Sin is why Jesus stayed on the cross.

Treat sin as the disgusting, revolting, ugly, utterly sinful thing that it is...and throw it in the fire.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org

Sunday, July 5, 2026

What Makes a Country Great?

by David Brenneman

"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26.

What makes a country great?

Is it not the grace and mercy of the Lord God Almighty? Is it not all and only what He has done towards and for that nation? Our contributions are but filthy rags compared to how great the grace and mercy of God are towards us.

Our nation has many many good things going for it, however, the blights, the sins, of this nation are ever present before the Lord even when much, of not all the population downgrades the severity of them.

It's through the obedience of the peoples towards the Word of God that indeed causes true greatness to envelop a nation.

When it's peoples remember the Almighty who positioned such a peoples in human history. Read in the history of Judah and Israel and you'll see of what becomes of a nation that puts their relationship with the Lord God Almighty before all else and what became of those whom didn't.

Habakkuk is another excellent book on the subject because of its content on such matters.

Our obedience to the Word of God, our relationship with Jesus, should always be more important to us than all else including a 'love' for a country. Does not Scripture explicitly state that we're to love not the world nor the things of the world?

Did not Jesus, in this passage we read this morning, tell us where our love, our priorities, ought to be?

Nobody, when they stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives, is going to be praised for being a great patriotic person. It's only the deeds done in the body for Christ, done through His Spirit, that are going to count, that are going to matter.

While I appreciate the freedoms of my country, I don't have feelings of 'love' for it because of what that Scripture passage I referred to said about not loving the world nor the things of the world.

Truthfully, I am ashamed at what direction this nation has gone in even my lifetime. It's growing colder towards the things that make for a Godly nation. It still is here only by the grace and mercy of God.

It is by the grace of God that we're able to enjoy the freedoms we do here in the United States. It's by the grace of God that any nation is able to be as they are. It's by the mercy of God that we have not received as a nation what we deserve for turning away from defending the unborn, the widows and orphans. For our celebrations of sexual sins. For our many other Biblical reasons that exist.

We need to be taking up our own cross and following Jesus more seriously if we want to see this nation to continue to exist. We need more people who claim the Name of Jesus Christ to start living out their lives honoring Him who saved us.

We certainly need more fervent prayers to the Throne of Grace for the sins of this nation. I refer us all to Daniel's prayers concerning the sins of his people that were heard and honored before the Lord.

These steps will be what will continue to cause a nation to be great in what matters. Great for the sake of what the world considers great is trash concerning what is considered great in the eyes of my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Returning to loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit.

Returning to loving your neighbor as yourself.

Returning to trusting in the Lord with your everything.

Trusting in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Setting your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world.

These will lead a people of a nation towards what God says makes a nation great.

Truthfully as is the health of the professing Church as is the health of a nation. Patriotism can be a fine thing but it matters not unless obedience and trust in the Lord, living a life that takes up their own cross and follows Jesus comes first.

Whether it's the USA or any other country...what will cause it to find more of the grace and mercy of God will be only in its people's becoming more and more of the followers of Jesus Christ than they used to be. Fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ must be the first step.

Read the letters to the Churches in the book of Revelation. Now consider how those churches have all fallen. Consider again that the content of these letters still apply to Believers throughout the world today.

Yesterday I indeed reflected on the United States still being here 250 years later...just didn't in a way that most did. I was praying for the nation's sins. Was praying for the leaders. Listening to the Spirit rather than joining in the festivities.

Want a country to be great? Turn it to the Lord Jesus Christ. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make its paths straight.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.

New American Standard Bible

A corporation not for profit.

www.lockman.org