Keep The Faith

Living in the NOW Kingdom: Discovering God Beyond the Walls Living in the NOW Kingdom: Discovering God Beyond the Walls Introduction Welcome to today’s reflection. It can be easy to view our faith as a waiting game—looking forward to a distant future or relying strictly on static texts. But what if the Kingdom of God isn't just a destination down the road, but a living reality waiting to be experienced right now, in every corner of creation? Scripture “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” — Mark 1:15 “Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God... Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” — John 3:3 , 7:38 Reflection After moving to the north side of Houston last year, I looked for a Quaker Meetinghouse or a community rooted in Quaker spirituality, but couldn't find one nearby. While my attempt ...

Welcome! Pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee. Today, I want to share a reflection that hit me deeply during my morning quiet time—one that challenged the way I think about faith, everyday distractions, and how we love those around us. Scripture Matthew 25:40 (NIV) “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Reflection I was drinking coffee this morning, as usual, when these words came to mind: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” As I thought about them, I wanted to go back and read the full parable in Scripture. I began reading through several chapters around this verse, and the weight of what Jesus was teaching hit me hard. Here is what stood out during my study: 1. The Immediate Context: Matthew 25 The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats serves as the climax of a three-part teaching on spiritual r...

There are moments in our walk with God when questions rise to the surface—questions about how we come to know Him, how He draws us, and how His love reaches us long before we understand it. These reflections often come through Scripture, but also through conversations, books, and the quiet leading of the Spirit. This post gathers those threads into one simple, clear picture of where knowing God truly begins. 1. The Father’s Eternal Love: Where Knowing God Begins (A simple foundation: God’s love comes first.) Before creation, before time, before humanity existed, Scripture shows us something astonishing: the Father loved the Son. Yeshua says: “You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” — John 17:24 This is the starting point of everything. Knowing God begins with the Father’s love, not human discovery. It begins in heaven, not on earth. In the same chapter, Yeshua speaks of those whom the Father “gave” to Him: “Yours they were, and You...

Unity Series: This image comes from the Hammer Story — a picture of returning, surrendering, and trusting the Son. It reminds us that unity with Father God begins not with our righteousness, but with repentance that brings us back into His hands. This Unity reflection explores a question that touches salvation, holiness, and the heart of the Father: What is more important, righteousness or repentance? As we walk through Scripture together, we’ll see how being born again, becoming like little children, genuine repentance, and even the Hammer Story all weave together into entering the Kingdom of God. What Is More Important: Righteousness or Repentance? There is a Scripture that says, “Be righteous, for I am righteous.” This echoes God’s call in 1 Peter 1:16 — “Be holy, because I am holy.” But can we truly do that? Maybe for a season we walk in a righteous character. Maybe for a time our choices align w...

Lying and Deception in All Things Lying and deception are not confined to any one sphere of life. They appear in nonprofits, politics, business, media, and even in the quiet places of our own hearts. Scripture teaches that deception is never a small matter. It is a sin that grieves God, harms people, and corrodes trust wherever it is allowed to grow. Many nonprofit organizations do beautiful, sacrificial work. Yet behind polished mission statements and emotional appeals, deception can still take root. The same is true in politics, where truth is often buried beneath strategy, fear, and manipulation. And in business, greed and self‑interest can twist numbers, messaging, and motives. Deception is not limited to “bad places.” It is a temptation everywhere human beings exist. As believers, we cannot assume that any institution, cause, or leader is automatically trustworthy. We are called to walk in truth, test...

In this Unity Series reflection, I want to share how my own story, a simple experiment with rats, and the way of Yeshua all point to the same truth: everything begins with an encounter that breaks isolation and opens the door to real community and oneness. The Encounter That Breaks the Cage When I look back over my life, I can see a pattern I didn’t understand at the time — a pattern that reveals how the Kingdom actually begins in a person. It doesn’t start with doctrine. It doesn’t start with effort. It doesn’t start with trying to be better. It starts with an encounter — a moment when Yeshua Jesus steps into the isolation of a human life and opens the door to connection, healing, and community. For me, that moment came after Vietnam. When I returned home from the service, I didn’t feel welcomed. I didn’t feel understood. I didn’t feel safe. I felt isolated — cut off from the world I had left behind. Whether people truly didn’t want to associate with me o...

Unity Series — The Language of the Kingdom Intro As I continue reflecting on the unity of Father God’s kingdom, I find myself drawn deeper into how communication truly works there. Not through the limits of human language, but through the Living Word Himself — Yeshua. This post follows the powerful realization that He is the Word of God, and therefore the very source of all true communication. The Word Who Communicates In one of my last posts, I wrote about The Word of God — Yeshua . Not just the written word, not just the spoken word, but the Living Word . The One through whom the Father communicates Himself. If Yeshua is the Word, and the Word is communication, then communication in Father God’s kingdom is not a system of grammar or vocabulary. It is a Person . Communication in the kingdom flows through Him, not around Him. It is shared life, shared heart, shared spirit, and shared presence. The Word is not a language; the Word is a Person. The Limits of Hu...

Opening There are moments when the words of Yeshua open the soul like morning light. His teaching about vines, branches, pruning, and fire is one of those moments. It is simple on the surface, yet it carries a depth that speaks directly to the way God works within us. When the Branches Burn: What Yeshua Meant by the Fire Yeshua’s teaching in John 15 gives us a picture of the Vineyard Keeper at work: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it may bear more fruit.” “If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.” This is not a lesson in agriculture. It is a revelation of how God tends the human heart. Pruning Is Preparation, Not Punishment Gardeners prune healthy branches so they can produce more fruit. Yeshua uses this image to show how God removes what drains us, trims what distrac...

The Dynamic Living Word of God There is a deep and beautiful mystery at the center of our faith — one that has been hidden in plain sight. We speak often about “the Word of God,” but the way we think about that phrase shapes everything: how we read Scripture, how we understand Jesus, and how we see God’s heart toward humanity. Today’s reflection invites us to breathe again with the living Word, not the locked text. Scripture John 1:1–2, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Reflection I recently wrote about how the phrase “the Word of God” slowly shifted from a living Person to a static text — from breath to ink. That shift matters more than we realize. If I asked, “What is the Word of God?” most people would point to a book: Christians to the Bible Jews to the Torah Muslims to the Quran But if I asked, “Who is the Word of G...

Becoming One: Learning to Hear the Spirit There are moments in our walk with God when His voice becomes clearer—not through volume, but through gentleness. Like Samuel awakening in the quiet hours of the night, we sometimes discover that the Lord has been calling us in ways we didn’t fully recognize at first. This reflection comes from one of those quiet awakenings, where the Spirit’s presence becomes unmistakable. Scripture 1 Samuel 3:2–11 — The Lord calls Samuel in the stillness of the night, awakening him to a new purpose and a deeper awareness of His voice. Samuel’s story reminds us that God often speaks in ways we only understand in hindsight. His call may come through early‑morning stirrings, unexpected clarity, or a gentle nudge toward reflection. Like Samuel, we learn to say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,” as we recognize that the Spirit has been guiding us all along. Reflection As I look back over recent re...

The Good Shepherd and the Breath of the Word In my last post, I wrote about how “The Word of God” can lose its breath when our language flattens the living voice of the Father. When Scripture is squeezed into the limits of English, deep spiritual realities can become rigid, literal, and lifeless. Words like death , judgment , wrath , and even separation can lose the warmth, movement, and relational heartbeat they carried in the Hebrew mind. This week, as I sat with several passages from the book of John, I realized how deeply this same issue affects our understanding of Satan, sin, and the work of Yeshua. John uses three different tenses to describe “the ruler of this world” — will be cast out , is coming , and has been judged . English makes these sound like disconnected statements, but when the breath returns, they reveal a single unfolding story of God’s victory. And just like the Word can lose its breath, our understanding of separation from the Father c...

A journey through early Christianity, Jewish authority, the teaching of Jesus, and the symbol of the Nicolaitans By Wayne  |  Monday, September 7, 2026  |  Theology & Spirit-Led Living The Bible is a precious witness — but the One to whom it points is more precious still. Here is something worth sitting with for a moment: ask almost any Christian today what “the Word of God” means, and the answer will come quickly — the Bible . The equation feels obvious, settled, almost beyond question. But here is what I find endlessly fascinating: if you had walked into a gathering of first- or second-century Christians and said the same thing, you would likely have been met with puzzled looks. Not because they didn’t treasure the Scriptures — they did, deeply. But because for them, “the Word of God” was first and foremost a living Person. A breathing, moving, ever-present reality that no leather binding could contain. Something happened between then and now. Somethi...