Talk Is Cheap; It's Best Not To Make Promises

Proverbs 6:1-2, “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”

Proverbs 19:22, “The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.”

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”

Dear reader, I NEVER make any promises to anyone. I encourage you to do the same. If you do make a promise, you had better make darn sure that you know what you are committing yourself to, because talk is cheap and promises are easily broken. The Bible says that a poor man is better than a liar.

We are all guilty of being careless with our words sometimes. That is because we are all sinners by nature. I sure am guilty. The inspired Holy Bible warns in James 3:5-7, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” The reason why the tongue is so evil is obvious, because the human heart is very evil. Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” And our mouth speaks out of what is in our heart. Matthew 12:34, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

When I voluntarily served on the 76-3, Division 4, Bus Ministry in Chicago while attending Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993), one Saturday afternoon my soulwinning partner told one of our bus kids that we'd come back in a couple hours to take him to George's restaurant for a cheeseburger. The boy was excited. But I said, “No promises!” I didn't want to get the boy's hopes up in case something happened, as it SO OFTEN DOES!

A few seconds later the boy's father graciously thanked me. He said: “Brother Dave, thank you for saying, 'No promises!'” He added: “There have been other workers from the church who came by and made promises to my child, but then they never came back. I respect you for saying that to my child. Thank you!” I have never forgotten what that concerned father said to me in Chicago, and from that day until today I have prefaced everything I have ever agree to do for someone with the phrase, “No promises!” Keeping our word is important!

Too many unforeseen situations can arise without warning, and they very often do arise. I don't want to be called a “liar.” But moreover, I don't want to be a liar! I have to give account to God in Heaven someday for every word that comes out of my mouth, and so do you dear friend (Matthew 12:36). A man is only as good as his word. That is why we read in Psalms 138:2, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” God is only as reliable and trustworthy as His Word. So, the LORD has therefore elevated the inspired Holy Bible  even above the precious name of Jesus, the name which is above every other name (Philippians 2:9-10). This is an important truth to understand dear reader.

Having said that, it should become quite obvious why it is of such crucial importance that the inspired Holy Bible not be recklessly tampered with, changed, corrupted and watered down to satisfy the whims and agenda of our generation.

Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935)

Pastor Steven Anderson Is Wrong About Gospel Tracts

Psalms 126:6, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

For many years, Pastor Steven Anderson has taught from his pulpit that Gospel tracts don't work, so Faithful Word Baptist Church doesn't bother to use them. Their church has been very successful through hard work soulwinning to build a strong church without Gospel tracts. Bravo!

That being said, Gospel tracts DO work. I have met numerous Christians in my lifetime, including my soulwinning Bible teacher at Hyles-Anderson College, Brother George Godfrey, who was saved when a Christian lady in a subway handed him a Gospel tract to read. Why limit our outreach for Christ? Why ignore a tool that plants seeds of the Gospel?

“There is power in this Gospel message. Most people just don't know how to present it... The clarity of the Gospel is what makes it easy for them to believe.”—Pastor Yankee Arnold, “WHY GRACE CAN SAVE THE WORST MAN!”

Psalms 126:6, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Pastor Jack Hyles said this Bible verse could be translated, “He that goeth forth with a leaky seed basket,” shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. I like that. That's what Gospel tracts do, leaving the seed of the Word of God everywhere we go, the seed by which we are born again, that is, the Gospel. Why not use every tool available? I agree that personal person-to-person confrontational soulwinning is most effective, but why not also utilize other soulwinning tools that are helpful?

Gospel Tracts Are Effective

Now, I have heard Pastor Steven Anderson claim that less than 1% of people are saved by Gospel tracts. I truly have no idea what the true statistic is, but I doubt if it's that low. There is no reliable worldwide statistic for how many people have been "saved" or "born again" specifically from reading a Gospel tract. No church, ministry, or organization can accurately measure that because:

1. Many people read a tract privately and never tell anyone.
2. A tract may be only one influence among many (a sermon, a friend, a Bible reading).
3. Different Christian groups define "saved" differently.
4. Most tract-based conversions are self-reported rather than independently verified.

What we do have are countless testimonies. Organizations that distribute tracts regularly publish accounts from people who say they came to faith after reading one. For example, Evangelism ministries and tract distributors have collected testimonies from former Hindus, prisoners, pastors, and others who credit a Gospel tract as a key factor in their conversion.

Historically, several well-known Christians are reported to have been influenced by Gospel literature. The missionary Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) is often cited as having come to faith after reading a tract, and many modern Christians give similar testimonies.

Some ministries have tried to measure results. Modern digital tract ministries can count things like downloads, reads and responses, but even they acknowledge that a click or response is not the same thing as a verified salvation conversion.

From a practical standpoint, most evangelistic ministries view tracts less as a way to produce immediate conversions and more as a way to "plant seeds" that God may use later. Many testimonies describe a tract being read months or years before the person eventually trusted Christ. God works in mysterious ways behind the scenes!

Gospel tracts have several strengths:

• They can reach people you may never have a chance to speak with.
• A person can read them privately without feeling pressured.
• The message remains after the conversation ends.
• They can cross barriers of shyness, distance, and time.

On the other hand, personal witnessing has strengths that a tract cannot match:

• You can answer questions and objections.
• People can see your sincerity and character.
• You can tailor the presentation to the individual.
• A relationship often gives the message more credibility.

Many pastors and evangelists; therefore, view Gospel tracts and personal witnessing as complementary rather than competing methods. A tract can start a conversation, reinforce a conversation, or continue speaking after a conversation has ended. I definitely think we should use Gospel tracts, and not exclude them from our soulwinning efforts.

1st Corinthians 3:6, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

Even if a tract does not produce an immediate response, it may plant a seed that someone else later waters. Christians often underestimate how many tracts are actually read. Even tracts that are discarded may be picked up by someone else. There are numerous testimonies of people finding a Gospel tract on a bus seat, in a waiting room, in a trash bin, or tucked inside a book and reading it out of curiosity. Why limit our soulwinning efforts?

So, while there is no hard statistic proving how many people have been born again through Gospel tracts, there is enough historical evidence and testimony that most evangelical tract ministries regard them as a worthwhile tool—especially when combined with personal witnessing and personal follow-up. I say we should use Gospel tracts in any ministry.

We Are Saved By Christ's Obedience, Not Our Effort

Romans 5:19, “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

The inspired King James Bible teaches that when Adam sinned, he opened the floodgate of sin and death upon the world. Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This is why we live in a fallen world. This is why a drunk driver may swerve into your driver's lane and take your legs off in a crash. This is why things dry rot, wear out and break. This is why there is disease, pain and sickness, and then we grow old and die.

But thanks be to God the Father for sending His only begotten Son Jesus into the world to redeem humanity. Whereas mankind had utterly failed again and again to perfectly obey the law, Jesus did fulfill it perfectly. Therefore, Jesus Christ has become the end of the law to all who believe on His name. Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” That it, if you will put all of your trust (reliance, faith) in Jesus as your personal Savior, God will count your faith for righteousness.

Romans 4:4-5, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” I am surprised how many unlearned preachers foolishly teach that people were saved by works under the Mosaic law. Peter S. Ruckman (1921-2016) was the biggest purveyor of this terrible heresy. Consequently, Ruckmanites today like Robert Breaker, Gene Kim and William P. Grady still promote this unbiblical rubbish that people were saved by works in the Old Testament. Dear reader, don't you believe it!

Romans 4:4 plainly teaches that if salvation had ever been works, then God owed those sinners salvation, and it wasn't by grace. I hope you are not that gullible to believe them.

It was Christ's perfect obedience to God's Old Testament law that qualified Him to be “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). To get saved, you simply need to believe that Jesus did it all for you. Simply by faith (taking God at His written Word) accept Christ's sacrificial death on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, but then resurrected three days later. The moment that you make this decision, God reads your mind and declarers you His redeemed child. You have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God in response to your faith in the Word of God (i.e., the Gospel).

God's Amazing Constellations

Psalm 147:4, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.”

I love astronomy. It's one of my hobbies. God's creative handiwork is more than amazing!

The Perseids meteor shower peaks in mid-August, with the peak night on 12–13 August and activity running about July 17th to August 24th. During the peak, the rate can reach up to around 150 meteors per hour (depending on location and conditions). I laid outside at 9 pm on August 12th for about 30 minutes, and then again after midnight around 1:30 am on August 13th for another half hour, watching for meteors. I saw a few slow moving shooting stars. 

Here's a quick astronomy lesson:

• Asteroids are rocks moving through space.
• Meteors are space rocks that have entered into earth's atmosphere.
• Meteorites are space rocks that survived entry and have hit the earth.

When I lived on Guam, where there is little light from the island to interfere with the view, I often saw shooting stars (meteors) in the night sky. Most move super fast across the sky.

The other evening during the meteor shower, I focused on the constellation Pegasus, simply because it was right in front of me as I laid in my lawn chair. I use a helpful program called SkyView, which tells me the distance of each individual star in light-years. I purchased the full-functioning program, which costs less than a one time $5 fee. 

Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse from Greek mythology. It is one of the 88 officially recognized constellations and is best known for the Great Square of Pegasus, which is formed by four bright stars. The constellation was upside down like this as I observed it. ...

The star Enif in the horse's mouth of the Pegasus constellation is 690 light-years from earth, which is a mind boggling 4,068,396,226,415,094 miles away! That's four quadrillion miles from earth! And I was laying in my backyard in my lawn chair looking at it. Wow!

The light that I was seeing started its long journey 690 years ago in 1336 AD. Light travels at 670 million mph. In 1336 AD, significant events happened, included the mass suicide of 4,000 defenders in Pilėnai, Lithuania to avoid capture by the Teutonic Knights, and the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire in South India by brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya. Additionally, the Italian poet Petrarch claimed to be the first to ascend Mount Ventoux. The light emitted from the star Enif took 690 years travelling at 670 million mph to reach my eyes this week. Wow!

I used to ignorantly think that all of the stars in a particular constellation were all close neighbours. Boy was I way wrong! Take for example the star 1 Peg in Pegasus, which is directly above Enif and slightly to the right, which is located 156 light-years from earth, 917,065,558,216,643 Miles. That's nearly one quadrillion miles! By the way, I use this handy-dandy web page to convert light-years to miles.

God is so astounding! And then I saw star Peg 9 just above Enif, which is 927 light-years from earth, or 5,449,485,720,941,204 Miles. Good night, that's over 5 quadrillion miles away. And I was looking at it in my backyard from Pensacola. As you can clearly see, the stars which comprise the constellations are often quadrillions of years apart in distance from each other. Remember, a “light-year” is a measurement of distance, not time. It is the distance that light travels in one year.

And just to amaze you further dear reader, the next time that you gaze up into the evening sky, remember that the closest star to the earth (after our own sun which is 93 million miles away), is a shocking 4.24 light-years away, or 25 trillion miles from earth! That star is Alpha Centauri. That's right, the nearest star in the night sky is at least 25,000,000,000,000 miles away. Most of the stars we see in the night sky are quadrillions of miles away.

And another interesting fact to remember is that every star you can see with the naked human eye is contained within our own Milky Way Galaxy. With the naked eye humans cannot see stars in other galaxies. And there are at least TWO TRILLION galaxies in the known universe! 

The Andromeda Galaxy can be seen with the unaided eye on clear, dark nights as a faint, fuzzy smudge between the constellations Andromeda and Cassiopeia. It is the most distant object visible to the naked eye, located about 2.5 million light-years away. Are you ready for this? The Andromeda Galaxy is a shocking 14.7 quintillion miles away from earth! And it is still possible to see it at the right time in the right place.

NASA's astronomers now tell us there are at least 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the known universe. That's one septillion stars!!! I need to go take a long walk. Wowza!

Psalm 147:4, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.”

Did you know that it would take someone 31,710 years just to count to one trillion? It's true. If you counted one number every second without stopping, it would take you 31,710 years to count to one trillion. No human has ever done it, and no human ever will. But the inspired Holy Bible says God knows the exact number of stars, and He calls each star by their unique individual name. Our faithful, good, merciful and omnipotent Creator is truly more than amazing! Psalm 145:3, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

The Incredible Human Body Disproves Evolution

Psalms 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

I was thinking today about how amazing the human body is, and that it proves the existence of a divine Creator:

1. I thought about how God put hair in our nose to block bugs and debris from going up our nostrils. Evolution wouldn't do that!
2. I thought about how God designed the human ears to collect sound. Evolution wouldn't do that!
3. I thought about how God put that little cleft above the buttocks that prevents running sweat. Evolution wouldn't do that!
4. I thought about our fingerprints for enhanced grip and dexterity, particularly for climbing and manipulating objects. Evolution wouldn't do that!
5. I thought about our eye's built in windshield wiper blades called eyelids. Evolution wouldn't do that!
6. I thought about the cleverly designed male external urethral orifice where urine comes out. If this feature didn't exist urine would spray all over the place instead of stream. Evolution wouldn't do that
7. I thought about the human brain, which is a supercomputer. Evolution wouldn't do that!
8. I thought about the enjoyment of cracking one's knuckles, which is caused by gas bubbles in the synovial fluid collapsing or bursting when the joint is stretched. Evolution wouldn't do that!
9. I thought about hiccups, which is the body's natural defense to slow us down from eating too fast and choking. It's the body's way of saying, "Whoa! Slow down fella!" Evolution wouldn't do that!
10. I thought about the body's ability to cry tears, which feature nature would have no purpose for creating. Evolution wouldn't do that!

I am confident that if we put our minds together that we could come up with several dozen more amazing features of the human body.

The  human body has a marvellous design to it that a natural evolutionary process simply could not (and would not) have accomplished. The universe around us has a grand intelligent design to it, which shouts and testifies to the existence of a brilliant, omniscient and omnipotent divine Creator. God is good.

No One Can Escape God's Judgment Or Fool Him

Proverbs 24:11-12, “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”

Pastor Harry Ironside (1876-1961) has this to comment about Proverbs 24:11-12...

These verses seem to refer to a mode of execution once prevalent in Syria and Palestine. Muenscher says, “When a criminal was anciently led to execution, a crier went before, who proclaimed the crime of which he had been convicted, and called upon any one who could say anything in behalf of the condemned culprit, to come forward; in which case, he was led back to the tribunal and the cause was re-heard.” To selfishly withhold information that could save the condemned man's life, would be to stand with Cain and ask, “Am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) But the great Judge of all who ponders the heart would be witness against the one who acted so perfidiously and would assuredly render judgment. SOURCE

“Perfidiously” means to act in a treacherous or disloyal manner, often involving deceit or betrayal. It is derived from the word “perfidious,” which implies a lack of faithfulness or reliability. To fail to speak up when you posses information that could exonerate an accused person is a grave sin in God's sight. That is what the Bible means in Proverbs 24:11-12.

Hebrews 4:13, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” We all have an appointment with death, and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Nothing can be hid from God's eyes. Luke 8:17, “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.” Whether it be the sordid sins that someone commits in privacy, or laboring diligently on social media for Jesus' and the Gospel's sake at 3 am in the morning, God sees it all. Nothing can be hidden from God!

Did you know that there are at least 28 serial killers who've never been caught? Did you know there have been over 352,390 unsolved homicides in the United States from 1965 to 2024, according to FBI data? Additionally, only about half of the murders that occur each year are solved. Thankfully, God knows exactly who committed each murder, where the bodies are buried, and He will execute justice and vengeance (Luke 8:17; Romans 12:19-21; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Hebrews 4:13, 10:31).

Save The Birds, Kill The Children

Judges 17:6, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Kindly said, we've lost our minds in the United States. There has been much talk in the news and on social media all week about a bald-headed eagle in California. Today, people were weeping and mourning that Jackie the eagle died...

Celebrity bald eagle Jackie has died after weeks of deteriorating health

WPTZ | August 10, 2026 - BIG BEAR, California 

Jackie the bald eagle, who became famous for raising several eaglets in Big Bear, California, with her partner Shadow, has died following weeks of deteriorating health.

The eagle pair became internet favorites thanks to a live nest camera operated by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, which allows people around the world to watch their daily lives.

Jackie had been nesting in the Big Bear area for years, where she and Shadow have raised eaglets together. Their nest sat high in a Jeffrey pine tree near Big Bear Lake, more than 7,000 feet above sea level.

Jackie became especially popular for her dedicated parenting, dramatic interactions with Shadow and the challenges she faced protecting eggs and chicks from harsh mountain weather. READ MORE

I couldn't help but cringe as a God-fearing Christian, and a father of four children myself, to consider the millions of babies that Americans continue to abort every year.

Guttmacher Releases Full-Year 2025 Abortion Incidence and Travel Data 

March 24, 2026

Today the Guttmacher Institute released new data from the Monthly Abortion Provision Study, showing that there were an estimated 1,126,000 clinician-provided abortions in the United States in 2025. For the first time, these estimates include telehealth provision to residents of states with total bans, as well as updates to prior year estimates to include these states. SOURCE

Something is very wrong morally, ethically and spiritually with a broken society that mourns the death of its birds, while totally ignoring the murder of its human children. Last year alone, there were 1,126,000 babies murdered in their mother's womb at an abortuary. For the longest time Americans have had their priorities wrong. Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill.”

In the Old Testament time of the judges in Israel, there were no magistrates to uphold law and order, so people did whatever they thought was right to do in their own eyes. There was no king in the land. Judges 17:6, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” They wanted to do the right thing, but they wanted to decide what was right. It was a dire time for the children of Israel.

Obviously, the people didn't always do what was right, even though they thought they were. That is what the disturbing book of Judges is all about, full of atrocities. But we do have a U.S. President, leaders and magistrates today. So what's our excuse?

Abortion is premeditated, first-degree, cold-blooded murder!

There Is Forgiveness In Christ

That being said, if you have had an abortion I didn't write this blog to berate you, God forbid. My ministry is not here to bash sinners; but rather, hopefully to inspire others to think differently God (repent) to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26); and then a second decision to serve the LORD as His child (Romans 12:1). Lest we pervert the Gospel, we must always keep salvation completely separate from service.

It was Jesus Himself who said in John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” I think we sometimes forget the purpose of Christ's mission to earth, and what the faithful Lord expects from us as redeemed saints. Jesus came to save sinners! We're not here to condemn sinners, but to lead them to the Savior.

I love everyone unconditionally with Christ's love, whoever you may be. In the next verse we see that Jesus and God the Father love us. 2nd Thessalonians 2:16, “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.” By the way, this Bible verse refutes the heresy of modalism (the false teaching that God goes into different “modes,” and that Jesus the Son does not have a separate body from the Father). This verse plainly teaches that God the Son, and God the Father, are two different persons with their own bodies.

So, if you have had an abortion I do not condemn you friend. God loves you and so do I. I wrote this article because we have a serious problem in our country with wrong priorities. Genesis 6:5, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” I cannot even grasp a society so wicked that over one million parents every year kill their own biological child, legally. Oh, America, repent!

I love animals and birds. I have a bird feeder about 12 feet high on a big thick pole in my yard. The neighborhood birds love me. I have several beautiful red cardinals that drop in for frequent meals. I saw three squirrels enjoying lunch yesterday at the feeder, I put round seed and fruit cakes in the side compartments on the feeder. Come one, come all!

Point being, I love animals. The bald eagle population is estimated to be 316,700 individual bald eagles, including about 71,400 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states as of 2020. This marks a significant recovery from a low of only 417 nesting pairs in 1963. Many people feel sad that Jackie the bald-headed eagle died, our nation's chosen symbol of American independence and patriotism, but all the eagles on the planet aren't equal in value to just one human being!

The slogan “Save the Whales!” became popular in the 1970s, particularly after the launch of the campaign in 1971, which aimed to protect whale populations and end commercial whaling practices. The movement gained significant traction and public support throughout that decade. Dear reader, what is wrong with us? Save the whales? Save the eagles? How about, Save the children!