All posts by Brandon G. B.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Lord, Teach Us to Pray | Bible Gleanings | September 6-7, 2025

Leave a comment

“Teach me how to play like that,” I requested, after watching the old man shred on the guitar. All I knew how to play was “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Smoke on the Water,” but I felt compelled to learn from his example after such an impressive performance. And after closely watching Jesus while He prayed, one of the disciples was so impressed that they inquired, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1b). This prompted the Master-Prayer to give His disciples then and now what is known as The Lord’s Prayer, which should be called The Disciples’ Prayer, since it is a model prayer for Christ’s followers to imitate (Matt. 6:9-13).

According to Jesus, God-pleasing prayer is God-centered prayer. Instead of giving God a long list of wants, believers should pray with a focus on the Father and His fatherly care for their needs (Matt. 6:9). Thus, children of God should pray with confidence and boldness because God is their Father (Matt. 6:5-8; cf. Heb. 4:16), but also with reverence and respect because God is their Father (Matt. 6:9b; cf. Psalm 3:4). Furthermore, when believers pray, they should contemplate and consider what God wants and wills, rather than what they want (Matt. 6:10). All faithful prayer begins with a concentration and meditation upon the Lord and His desires—not our own. 

God-pleasing prayer is also God-believing prayer. That is why Jesus urged His followers to bring all of their needs to the Lord in prayer, believing that He will meet them. Jesus said that believers should pray for daily necessities like bread, trusting that the omnipotent God will provide them without lifting a finger (Matt. 6:11). He also advised believers to pray for their spiritual needs, such as daily sin-cleansing, knowing that God will purify and forgive according to His abundant mercy (Matt. 6:12; cf. Psalm 51:1). Last but not least, Jesus instructs His saints to pray for the power and grace required to withstand temptation and the Tempter, Satan (Matt. 6:13).

The greatest Pray-er who ever lived knew a thing or two about God-glorifying prayer, and His model prayer is worthy of imitation. Therefore, start with God when you pray, and fixate upon His providence, goodness, mercy, grace, and holiness. Move on to praying about your physical and spiritual needs next, and “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6b). When you concentrate on God first and your needs last, you will find your problems and worries shrinking in comparison to the great God to whom you pray. David was scared to death that he was going to be killed until he recounted who the Lord was—then he laid down and slept like a baby (cf. Psalm 3:1-6). What would change in your life if you prayed more often like Jesus taught?

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

You Are Not Dumb Now | Bible Gleanings | August 30-31, 2025

Leave a comment

“I am not dumb now,” she declared with delight. Helen Keller (June 27, 1880—June 1, 1968) experienced a life-changing breakthrough and uttered her very first sentence. A violent fever bedeviled Keller as a baby, confiscating her ability to speak, see, and hear. But thanks to her lifelong friend and teacher Anne Sullivan, Keller was introduced at ten-years old to the principal of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston, Sarah Fuller. Most are aware of Sullivan’s tireless support for Keller, who remained by her side until she died in 1936, but fewer are familiar with the remarkable techniques this caring principal employed to help Keller speak. 

Fuller gently placed Keller’s little hands in her mouth, allowing her to feel the sounds of consonants and vowels as Fuller’s jaw, tongue, and teeth moved. Keller then practiced speaking simpler words like mamma and papa, and after only seven lessons, she mastered the basics and murmured this turning-point sentence. Profoundly inspired, she quickly mastered lip-reading through touch, “hearing” speeches from President Roosevelt and jokes by Mark Twain, and even deciphering what was on the radio from its vibrations. She diligently applied herself to all subjects, from arithmetic to zoology, and upon graduating college with special honors in English, she delivered her first public speech in 1913. Afterward, she embarked on transcontinental speaking tours, sharing her exhilarating turnaround story with the world—all because a patient teacher named Sarah Fuller helped a mute woman speak.

This is precisely how the Holy Spirit operates in the hearts and lives of believers. Without the divine assistance of this Teacher, we are spiritually mute—unable to speak to God or about God to others. He teaches us how to pray when we cannot find the right words (Rom. 8:26), making the syllables of prayer natural to us. And He forms the gospel of Christ on our lips when fear makes us speechless. As Jesus promised, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12).

“But when the Helper comes,” Christ assured, “whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness” (John 15:26-27a). This does not mean you will always speak on stages—it does mean that, through the empowerment of the Spirit, any location can be a pulpit to speak for Christ. When you submit to His power, the Holy Spirit will turn your silence into sharing—whether at the dinner table, the hospital room, the workplace cubicle, the local church, or the classroom. Thus, whenever you stammer in prayer or struggle to speak for Christ among others, remember: because of the Teacher-Spirit, you are not dumb now.

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

The Divine Drawbridge | Bible Gleanings | August 23-24, 2025

Leave a comment

The man was sickly, impoverished, and defenseless. The apothecary gave him a cordial, but it was watered-down liquor. A landowner lent him coins, but they slipped through the holes in his satchel. When wolves encircled his home, he drove them away with sticks and stones, only to suffer greater wounds each night. But his dwindling hope revived with a promising thought: “Perhaps the king shall take pity upon me.”

Legends of the king’s wisdom in medicine, abundance of wealth, and vast armory spread among the villages. The king was also known to be generous. In desperation, the man boldly sought the king’s help—something peons would never entertain. And after journeying three days, he beheld the king’s towering castle with relief, only to find the drawbridge raised. With no way inside, the man began hiking home—until he heard a horse galloping behind him. 

Its rider drew close and asked, “Friend, I saw you at the entrance of the king’s castle, appearing vexed. What burdens you?”

The man initially hesitated, but finally confessed: “I am dying, famished, and plagued by wolves each night. I believed the king could help, but I dared not force my way in.”

The rider nodded and said, “I shall see what may be done.”

The man’s eyes glimmered with hope, and he asked: “Truly? And may I ask—who are you?”

The rider smiled and answered, “I am the king’s son. Return tomorrow.”

And the horse-mounted prince rode off into the dusk. 

At daylight, he returned—and there stood the king’s son beside the drawbridge. He commanded the drawbridge to lower, and sat the man on his own horse and proceeded inside.

When they reached the throne room, he began to petition the king: “My lord and king, I,” but the king’s son raised his hand to silence him.

“Father, this man is poor,” said the prince, “He is sick and beset by foes. And he has come seeking your mercy.”

Immediately, the king answered, “Let it be done. Fill his pockets with my own gold. Give him the healing cordial I have prepared. And arm him plentifully, that he may ward off the wolves.”

The Bible speaks of another needy man, another King, another Son, and another drawbridge. As sinners, we are impoverished beggars—sick because of sin, spiritually bankrupt, and defenseless against the wolf, Satan. But God can heal our souls, enrich us with His grace, and equip us with weapons to withstand the devil. And we can enter the throne room of the King to receive what we need, so long as we believe that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can bring us into God’s presence (John 14:6). God lowers the drawbridge of prayer to those accompanied by His Son. That is why the Scripture says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Farewell to the Flesh | Bible Gleanings | August 16-17, 2025

Leave a comment

The house was deserted and devoid of life. The front door was cracked open, the once-attractive exterior color had retired to a glum grayish-brown, and the silence of death packed the halls. The bubbling tide washed this abandoned residence right up to my feet—it was a suntanned shell, formerly occupied by a hermit crab that vacated it during molting. There comes a moment in every hermit crab’s life when they must depart their old shell in search of a new one. These ten-legged crustaceans do not typically die when they surrender their obsolete housing to the ocean—they simply move on and move into an upgraded version.

The time will come when every Christian must say goodbye to the shell of their old flesh as well. The body is merely a temporary residence and the tide of death will bury your mortal frame six feet beneath a headstone. But the real you—your soul, that is—will live on. If you believe that the death of Christ was the deathblow to death, the earthen vessel of your body is all that truly dies (cf. John 11:25). You will bid adieu to your old shell and live in the eternal presence of the Author of life (Phil. 1:23), and the Lord shall grant you a new and improved body when He returns: “[Jesus] will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:21).

A believer’s death, therefore, is not the end. It is simply the end of living in the fragile shell of the flesh. “For we know,” promised Paul, “that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling” (2 Cor. 5:1-2). And the new shell will be unlike anything you have ever known before:

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

A now-omitted stanza in the cherished hymn Sweet Hour of Prayer, written by William W. Walford (1772-1850), puts it splendidly:

“May I thy con­so­la­tion share,
Till, from Mount Pis­gah’s lof­ty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the ev­er­last­ing prize.”

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Other, Short Stories

The Prince and the Drawbridge: A Short Story

Leave a comment

The man was sickly, impoverished, and defenseless against danger. The local apothecary gave him cordial, but it turned out to be watered down liquor. A rich landowner lent him coins, but they slipped through the holes in his satchel. When wolves encircled his home, he would drive them back with sticks and stones, only to suffer greater wounds each night. And suddenly, his dwindling hope revived when a promising thought entered his weary mind:

“Perhaps the king shall take pity upon me.”

Stories of the king’s wisdom in medicine, abundance of wealth, and vast armory circulated among the villages, and the peasant man heard his fair share, too. More than that, the king had a reputation for being generous. In desperation, he boldly sought the king’s help—something peons would never entertain.

And after journeying three days, he looked upon the king’s towering castle with relief. But then his heart sank into his belly: a moat enclosed the castle and the drawbridge was raised. 

“Alas! I cannot enter,” he lamented. “I shall wait here, and perhaps one of the king’s men will notice me.”

But the sun soon sank behind the horizon, and so did his hope. Suddenly, the drawbridge lowered, and a rider upon a white steed emerged, but galloped right past him. And the drawbridge raised again. 

He began traveling home, his heart sorer than ever. But while on the way, a horseman drew near. “Friend,” he asked, “I saw thee at the entrance of the castle, appearing vexed. What burdens thee?” The man initially hesitated, but finally spoke up:

“I am dying, with no cure. My purse is empty and wolves prowl my fences. I heard your king was kind, and thought he could help me. But seeing no entry, I dared not force my way in.”

The rider nodded and said, “I shall see what may be done.”

The man’s eyes glimmered with hope and he asked, “Truly? And may I ask—who art thou?”

The rider then smiled and said, “I am the king’s son.”

The horseman then disappeared into the dusk, telling the man to return tomorrow.

At daylight, the man returned—and there was the king’s son beside the drawbridge. At his command, the drawbridge lowered, and the prince sat the man on his own horse and proceeded inside until they made it to the throne.

“My lord and king, I,” but then the king’s son raised his hand.

“Father, this man is poor,” he said. “He is sick and beset by foes. And he has come seeking thy mercy.”

Immediately, the king answered, “Let it be done. Fill his pockets with my own gold. Give him the healing cordial I have prepared. And arm him plentifully, that he may ward off the wolves.”

The son lowered the drawbridge to the king, and the peasant was welcomed into his presence, receiving all that he lacked.

The Scripture tells of another King, another Son, another drawbridge, and another needy man. We are needy sinners who require what only God can give us, and prayer is the drawbridge the Father lowers to those accompanied by His Son, that we may enter His throne-room to receive the grace and we need.

We cannot gain access on our own. We cannot sneak through the back door. There is no way of getting in unless the drawbridge is lowered by the Prince of Peace, Jesus.

And when He brings us into God’s throne-room, we always receive what we need, not what we may want. What He gives according to His will is better than what we want or what we might seek from this wicked world. Our spiritual illnesses cannot be healed by the placebos the world offers. Our spiritual poverty cannot be reversed by earthly riches. And we are defenseless against the wolf, Satan. But through prayer, we enter God’s throne-room, where He heals our soul’s diseases, enriches us, and equips us with the weapons we need to fight in spiritual warfare—so long as the Son brings us inside (Heb. 4:14-16)

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Stagehands for the Savior | Bible Gleanings | August 9-10, 2025

Leave a comment

Every person’s pupils were practically glued to the pandemonium among the pirates and pillagers. Buccaneers swung from the crow’s nest to the main deck, battling raiders and robbers with their blood-drawing blades. “Avast ye! Give no quarter to these scurvy dogs!” yelled the captain. After a brief brawl, the invaders were repelled and the ruckus settled down. And that’s when I saw it: a man stepping out of the shadows to mop the deck.

While watching the Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show in Panama City, Florida, I couldn’t help but notice the stagehands who quietly emerged from behind the scenes to keep the stage safe and prepare for the next act. They unhooked ropes, removed and repositioned props, and checked on the actors to ensure everything was running smoothly. They weren’t the center of attention—their job was to guarantee that the stage was set for the main actors who were. They weren’t the stars of the show and received no applause. They had one mission: to ensure the spotlight shined on the real stars. 

And this is precisely what Christians are called to do for Christ. Believers are stagehands for the Savior. Jesus is highly exalted “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named” (Eph. 1:21a), and our job as believers is to keep it that way in our hearts and lives. The mission statement of our lives ought to be that of John the Baptizer: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). As the reformer John Calvin once said, this world is a “theater for God’s glory,” and our divine duty is to ensure that the spotlight shines on the real Hero: Jesus. 

This means fighting the temptation to “think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). We must see ourselves as “unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10) whose principal assignment is to shine the light of our good works upon Him (Matt. 5:16). Everything we do should draw people’s attention to Christ, so “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified” (2 Thess. 1:12a). Our soul’s greatest passion should be that of Psalm 115:1, where the psalmist prayed, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

One day, Jesus will return to take center stage and every eye will see Him (Rev. 1:7). Everyone in the universe will “take a bow” not to receive glory, but to give glory to the Morning Star (Phil. 2:10-11; Rev. 22:16). And those who hogged the spotlight will be humbled and eternally regretful that they did not make Jesus the center of their lives (Luke 14:11). But, saints who served as stagehands will be eternally glad they did not steal the spotlight (Rev. 4:10-11). Are you a stagehand for the Savior?

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Endure Until the End | Bible Gleanings | August 1-2, 2025

Leave a comment

Wham! A gouging left-hook pierced his right eye. Boof! The world champion heavy-weight boxer threw another lethal strike. “Raaah! Whooo!” shouted the crowd, as Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa battled in the ring. Bif! Bam! Bop! With machine-like accuracy, Creed hammered Rocky’s bloodied face. And then Rocky went down, but he was not out—he slowly rose to his feet, weary but determined.

His handlers begged him to throw in the towel. But with blood streaming down his face, Rocky warned, “You stop this fight, and I’ll kill you!” Then he launched into Creed with the fury of a mad tiger. But even after fifteen rounds of ruthless beating, neither boxer delivered a knockout, and the fight was eventually called. The announcer declared from the mic, “Tonight we have had the privilege of witnessing the greatest exhibition of guts and stamina in the history of the ring!”

Rocky Balboa didn’t win the match, but he finished it. He endured until the end. He wasn’t trying to knock out Apollo Creed. He simply sought to go the distance and prove he could take a beating. To him, finishing well was better than winning every round.

Rocky was right, and the Scripture also teaches that endurance is better than winning every fight. When Paul the apostle was at death’s door, he did not say, “I have won the good fight,” but rather, “I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:7). The Christian life is not about avoiding failure entirely—it’s about getting back up in faith after being knocked down. True believers stay in the ring and rise for the next round through the strengthening grace of God. As Proverbs 24:16 says, “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again.”

No Christian can always slay their flesh, defeat the devil, or triumph over the enticements of this sinful world. But even when struck down, beaten-up believers can rise again because, “though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand” (Psalm 37:24). When flattened out on the canvas, the believer can say, “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (Micah 7:8). True believers can testify with Paul: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:8-9).

So, don’t give up. Keep on keeping on. Endure until you hear the final bell—the trumpet of Christ’s return (1 Cor. 15:52). Finishing well is better than a perfect performance. As Rocky himself said, “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.”

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

book reviews, Other

Book Review: Shapers of Christianity by Nick Needham

Leave a comment

Christians need to study church history. Present-day believers can find soul-encouragement from the perseverance of yesteryear’s saints. Nothing will fuel your faithfulness today like reading about towering Christians who faced ridicule, persecution, and even death for the “crime” of following Jesus. Modern disciples can also learn to be more wary of false doctrine from studying the array of heresies which have arisen over the years, and how theologians in past centuries combatted such lies as beacons of biblical truth. There are a dozen more reasons to savor good books on church history, and today’s believers are blessed to have such a book from Nick Needham, Shapers of Christianity.

Excellent content + skillful writing = a book you cannot put down. I cannot recommend this short volume enough. Nick Needham is a modern-day expert on church history and the gold-nugget details that leave you saying, “Wow. I never knew that.” I burned through this book in four days. Needham paints brief sketches of the church fathers, reformers, and American theologians like B. B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen.

To whet your appetite, here are a few little-known facts I gleaned from the book:

  • Irenaeus of Lyons (who wrote his best works during AD 175-195) was directly discipled by Polycarp, who was directly discipled by John the apostle.
  • Most arguments for the deity of Christ, the divine personhood of the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity were first facilitated by Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 330-390). He helped think through the Bible’s teaching on the Triune Godhead, shaping our Trinitarian doctrines into what they are today.
  • Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) wrote the first-ever systematic theology on substitutionary atonement.
  • John Calvin and other reformers cherished the commentaries written by a little-known Eastern Orthodox theologian, Theophylact of Ochrid (1050-1109). And that is saying something, considering the schism between the two theologies.
  • John Wycliffe (1330-1384), who led the way in giving us the English Bible we have today, was so detested by the Roman Catholic Church that they dug up his bones after his death and burned them. And, the Bible societies he founded were still active when the Reformation eventually made its way to England.
  • A lesser-known Russian monk named Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783) transformed the world of devotional writing. He loved Western Christian literature, and Western Christians loved him back.
  • Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), though known for “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached much more on grace than wrath; and his neighborhood experienced such revival that they found it bizarre to engage in small-talk—unless it was biblical.
  • Without the organizational genius of John Wesley (1703-1791), Christianity in America would not be what it is today. Wesley also disliked open-air preaching, but did it anyway, explaining, “I love a commodious room, a soft cushion, a handsome pulpit. But where is my zeal, if I do not trample all these under foot in order to save one more soul?” (65).
  • Francis Turretin (1623-1687), an older Italian reformed theologian, was perhaps the chief reason why Princeton was once a champion of biblical truth. His “Institutes of Elenctic Theology,” was devoured by then-president Charles Hodge (Hodge persuaded one of his friends to translate the work into English, without which, we would not be able to read it today). And Hodge was a major influence on B. B. Warfield and J. Gresham Machen, whose writings were desperately needed in the age of modernism and liberalism.

Get your copy of Shapers of Christianity by Nick Needham in paperback from Banner of Truth.

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

The Sin-Forgiving Savior | Bible Gleanings | July 26-27, 2025

1 Comment

The air carried the sound of the Savior’s voice to the crowded multitude, but the sound of crashing debris abruptly cut Him off in the middle of His sermon (Luke 5:17-19). There was no earthquake or riot—just a group of hopeful and determined friends who were removing roof tiles from the house where Jesus was speaking (Matt. 9:3-4). Then there was silence, as all eyes were fixed on Jesus. Everyone was curious about what He would do: the nosy crowds, the faith-filled friends of the paralytic, and certainly, the paralytic himself, who hoped that Jesus would reward their efforts by healing him. And gasps must have rippled through the crowd when Jesus, rather than restoring the man’s ability to walk, declared to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5:20).

The man came seeking physical healing, but received spiritual healing. It is not as though Jesus did not pity his physical condition—He did, and that is why He delivered him from paralysis as well (Matt. 9:6-7). However, the remission of sins was far more important to Jesus than the removal of suffering. Indeed, it is eternally more significant; man’s greatest need is for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, and there is no greater sin-forgiver than Christ. And only He can forgive the multitude of our sins because He is God, as even His enemies attested: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).

To this day, anyone who comes to Christ in repentance and faith will be delivered from spiritual paralysis and empowered to walk in obedience. Any sinner who comes to the Savior can walk away from the “mats and beds” of their former life of wickedness, and leave their gargantuan sin debt at Jesus’ feet. And this is possible because Christ not only prayed for the forgiveness of sinners on the cross—He paid for it (Luke 23:34; 1 Peter 1:18-19). As Paul said, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). And when Jesus declares to saved sinners, “Your sins are forgiven,” He means all of them. He blots them out by His blood, remembers them no more, and “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12; cf. Isaiah 43:35; Micah 7:18-19).

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Sober-Minded | Bible Gleanings | July 19-20, 2025

Leave a comment

I couldn’t see straight. My mind was swirling like a rollercoaster. Time came to a standstill, but I couldn’t stand still at all. In a moment of youthful genius, I popped a big ol’ pinch of chewing tobacco into my lip after my friend asked, “You ever had Copenhagen?” Refusing to look like a wimp, I cleared my throat and said, “Had it? I love this stuff.” 

Plot twist: it did not love me back. Within minutes, I looked less like Clint Eastwood and more like a nauseated youngster who swore off carnival rides forever. Nicotine surged into my bloodstream, and I couldn’t think or speak clearly. I saw stars like Bugs Bunny and promptly plummeted off the back of my friend’s four-wheeler. That was the first time I experienced any kind of intoxication, and it taught me a valuable lesson: when your mind is fuzzy, your body follows. 

The Scripture also teaches this invaluable lesson: a clouded mind leads to a careless soul. That is why the Bible repeatedly commands believers to be “sober-minded” (Titus 2:2; 2 Tim. 4:5; 1 Peter 1:13). And this means much more than abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. Biblical sobriety is about keeping your mind alert, clear, and free from spiritual intoxication. When intoxicated, a person is out of touch with reality—and when we are spiritually inebriated, we become out of touch with what is holy.

One sip from the bottle of lies sold by sin, Satan, and society is all it takes to start seeing double. A few breaths of the smoke of worldliness makes it impossible to walk a straight line on the path of righteousness. The potent pills of constant distractions can impair your conscience, making you desensitized to sin and numb to spiritual danger. For this reason, Paul warned, “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning” (1 Cor. 15:34a). Soul-intoxication fogs your senses and leads to sin, and the antidote is snapping out of it through sober-mindedness. 

Spiritual drunkenness also hinders your readiness for Christ’s return. Thus, Paul exhorted: “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober (1 Thess. 5:6). Peter likewise warned that the devil targets Christians who are half-awake, bleary-eyed, and mind-numbed (1 Peter 5:8). He even stated that spiritual inebriation stifles our prayers: “Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7b). Hence, being sober-minded is indispensable for conflict against Satan and communion with the Son.

Do not wait until you are spiritually slumped over to learn this lesson the hard way. Resist spiritual sedatives and let God renew your mind through His word (Rom. 12:2). Don’t allow spiritual toxins to captivate your mind—let Christ take your thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5). Be sober-minded because sin is seductive, Satan is stalking, and the Savior is soon to return.

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.