Faith

Let God grant you vision in life

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rex Petty, Faith Tabernacle Church, Liberal

Helen Keller was once asked if there was anything worse than being blind, to which she replied “Yes, to be able to see and have no vision.”

The Bible says it best in Proverbs 29:18, which states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." The Hebrew word for vision is “revelation,” and the Hebrew word for perish means to lose control or run wild. This verse teaches us how, when a person has no vision, lives are left to time and chance, or what we call luck. It also contrasts this with the blessing found in adhering to God's law. It’s been said before how people are as young as their dreams and as old as their cynicism.

Give honor to whom honor is due

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rex Petty, Faith Tabernacle Church, Liberal

While mailing a package at the post office a woman was asked by the mail clerk if her package contained anything liquid, perishable or breakable. She told the clerk she did have something breakable inside the package. She said she was mailing a Bible that contains the Ten Commandments, which everyone knows are breakable.

All of the Ten Commandments are based upon honor which means to “highly value.” The Fifth Commandment is to honor your father and mother, which is a command that is a divinely ordered principle involving authority in our society. This maybe is the commandment that is broken more often in our world than any of the other nine.

A fresh start

PASTOR’S CORNER, Rex Petty, Faith Tabernacle Church, Liberal

Several years ago, Reader's Digest received a short story about celebrating a New Year when a father was asked by his daughter if he had a New Year's resolution to which he replied, "To make your mother as happy as I can all year. "The daughter then asked her mother the same question to which she said, "To see that your Dad keeps his New Year's resolution."

Is the Bible still relevant today?

PASTOR’S CORNER, Tyler Prater, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal

We live in a world that’s always updating. New phones, new trends, new information. What’s in today is outdated tomorrow. So it’s fair to ask: Isn’t the Bible just another old book – important historically, maybe, but no longer relevant today?

After all, the Bible was written thousands of years ago by people in different cultures, languages, and circumstances. Its stories are ancient. Its characters lived before modern medicine, cars, the internet, and smartphones. So how could it possibly have something to say to us?

Is there hope beyond death?

PASTOR’S CORNER, Tyler Prater, Fellowship Baptist Church, Liberal

Death is the one experience none of us can escape – and yet, most of us spend our lives trying not to think about it. We keep ourselves busy. We scroll through our phones. We fill our calendars. But eventually, death forces its way into our lives – through a news headline, a diagnosis, an accident, or the loss of someone we love. And in those moments, a question rises that can’t be ignored: Is there hope beyond death? That question isn’t just academic. It’s deeply personal. It touches every one of us, regardless of our background, our beliefs, or our successes. It’s a question we must face, and one that demands a real answer.