Polar Bear Merit Badge

Series on the Lord’s Prayer – “give us this day our daily bread”
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 16:1-5; John 6:25-35; 47-51; Matthew 6:9-13 

[Jesus taught his disciples to pray by saying, “Our Father in heaven”. This is the beginning of what we have come to call The Lord’s Prayer. In this series, we will take a deep dive into the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and to learn what it means for us today.]

  

I was a terrible Boy Scout! For example, the Boy Scouts had various merit badges that you could earn. One of them was the Polar Bear. It required you to camp out overnight for a 24-hour period during the dead of winter, prepare a meal and, for my troop, compete in the Klondike Derby. For me, it was a recipe for disaster.

 

Upon arriving at our campsite, the first thing some of the guys did was to walk out onto a frozen creek. Apparently, they knew something that I didn’t. Because as I stepped onto the edge of the creek, my foot immediately broke through the ice, soaking my shoe, sock and foot. Things went downhill from there. The next day I tried to cook spaghetti from a can but couldn’t build a fire – no food for 24 hours.

 

When I got home, I was starving, exhausted and chilled to the bone. While I changed into some warm, dry clothes, my Mom made six slices of French toast for me. They filled the plate and were covered with melting butter, syrup dripping over the edges and powdered sugar sprinkled on top. I turned on the TV, ate my fill of French toast, cuddled under an Afghan on the couch and fell asleep.

 

When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the people complained about not having food. So, the Lord provided manna for them daily.

 

^4a Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day”.      NIV    Exodus 16

 

Almost 1500 years later, the Israelites were still focused on food. After Jesus fed the 5000, he went off to be alone. However, the crowd tracked him down across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. Although they pretended to be interested in Jesus and learning about God, what they really wanted was more food.

 

They asked Jesus for a sign and gave a not-so-subtle hint by referring to Moses who had provided “bread from heaven” for their ancestors. They even quoted Scripture to Jesus to drive home their point. Imagine that… quoting Scripture to the Son of God.

 

³² Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. ³³ The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”       NLT   John 6

 

This got the crowd excited! They demanded from Jesus – they didn’t just ask – “give us that bread every day.”

 

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  NIV    John 6

 

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he included this phrase.

 

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.        NKJV Matthew 6

 

The French toast that my Mom fixed for me wasn’t the “bread of life”, but it was delicious. She used plain white bread but coated it with her own special mix of eggs, milk and cinnamon… with love. Bread is a staple of life – even plain white bread.

 

Jesus is the staple of life. He’s not only “the bread of life”, but he’s also “our daily bread” both for living here on earth as well as for life in heaven.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Kingdom

Series on the Lord’s Prayer – “your kingdom come”
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 3:1-21 

[Jesus taught his disciples to pray by saying, “Our Father in heaven”. This is the beginning of what we have come to call The Lord’s Prayer. In this series, we will take a deep dive into the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and to learn what it means for us today.]

 

During the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college, a friend shared with me a gospel tract called the “Four Spiritual Laws”. The fourth law speaks about being born again which results in a personal relationship with Jesus. 

I had gone to church my whole life but never heard anything like this before. It made a lot of sense, so I invited Jesus to come into my life.

 

The term kingdom is used throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the Lord told Moses that Israel would be a “kingdom of priests”. God promised David an “eternal kingdom”. Isaiah prophesied about a child that would “reign over David’s kingdom”.

 

Despite these promises, Israel had very little history of actually being a kingdom. In fact, of the 2000 years from Abraham to Jesus, they were a kingdom for only 120 years. By the first century, Israel was under Roman rule. There was no kingdom in sight. Despite this, Jesus often spoke of a kingdom. 

 

In the beginning, when he set out on his mission of redemption, he said that “the kingdom of heaven was near”. During the Sermon on the Mount, he spoke about the “kingdom of heaven” in the Beatitudes. He told many parables that started with the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like…” He even taught his disciples to pray for it.

 

¹⁰ Your kingdom come.

Your will be done. 

On earth as it is in heaven.                  NKJV    Matthew 6

 

So, what is the kingdom? Many Jews believed that the Messiah would come as a political leader and free Israel from Rome. That he would set up a new kingdom. Even Jesus’ closest disciples seemed to believe this. However, Jesus corrected this misconception when Nicodemus met with him. 

 

Nicodemus was a prominent Jewish leader at the time. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish ruling council. Considering the hostilities between these two groups and Jesus, it’s somewhat surprising that Nicodemus sought him out. Although, it was during the dark of night.  

 

^2 “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” ³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”                  NLT

 

Nicodemus didn’t understand, so Jesus continued.

 

^5b “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.                        NLT

 

The Kingdom of God not only occurs for individuals who experience a spiritual rebirth as Jesus described to Nicodemus, but also, it’s the hope that we have when Jesus returns.

 

About 60 years following Jesus’ death, the Apostle John was sentenced to the island of Patmos because of his faith. While there, he had an apocalyptic vision from God. Although the following passage doesn’t specifically mention the Kingdom of God, what he describes certainly fits.

² And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.                   NLT   Revelation 21

 

So, what is the kingdom? It means living in God’s presence whether it be a spiritual rebirth here and now on earth, or in heaven when Jesus returns.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Oh, My Papa

Series on the Lord’s Prayer
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-13 

[Jesus taught his disciples to pray by saying, “Our Father in heaven”. This is the beginning of what we have come to call The Lord’s Prayer. In this series, we will take a deep dive into the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and to learn what it means for us today.]

  

As a little boy, I desperately desired my Dad’s love. Although he wasn’t affectionate, he showed his love in other ways which I didn’t appreciate at the time.

 

For instance, he woke me up for school every day singing, “School days, school days, dear old golden rule days”. But he also put me to bed every night by reading a book to me and saying a prayer.

 

Despite this, I was still insecure about his love. Maybe that’s why I liked the song “Oh My Papa”. The wistful words and melancholic melody touched my heart.

Oh, my Papa, to me he was so wonderful
Oh, my Papa, to me he was so good

 

During the first century in Judea, religion and prayer were common experiences. They were an accepted part of the culture. It wasn’t unusual to observe someone praying in public – not just Jews, but pagans also.

 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the prayers of pagans and hypocritical Jews as examples of how not to pray. In contrast, he instructed his disciples to “go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father”.

 

However, he didn’t stop there. He continued by giving his disciples what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. The context of the passage in Luke, was when his disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray like John the Baptist had taught his disciples.

 

Here’s what Jesus told them.

 

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,      NIV    Matthew 6

 

According to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, God is referred to as Father only 15 times in the whole Old Testament. They suggest that the reason for this may be that the same metaphor was “frequently used in the ancient Near East in various fertility religions and carried heavy sexual overtones”. 

 

Whatever the case may be, because Jesus was the Son of God calling God his “Father” came naturally. In fact, according to Baker’s Dictionary, Jesus referred to God as his Father over 165 times in the Gospels. Jesus conveyed this same perspective of God as our Father in the Lord’s Prayer.

 

In the Luke passage, Jesus concluded by telling a parable about a man who persistently asked for bread from a friend. Finally, the friend gave in. Jesus’ conclusion was that if earthly fathers know how to give good gifts, then “how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him”.

 

Gone are the days when he could take me on his knee
And with a smile he'd change my tears to laughter

Oh, my Papa, to me he was so wonderful
Deep in my heart I miss him so today

 

Like the lyrics of the song, there are still times when I miss my Dad deeply. But my Heavenly Father is always with me and loves me unconditionally. In fact, when I pray to him, you could say that he’s holding me on his knee.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Under the Radar

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Feast of Trumpets
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:23-25

[Many of the festivals and sacred days from the Old Testament don’t seem to be relevant for us today. In this series, we’re going to take a closer look at them to learn what the significance was for the people of Israel at the time. And to learn what the significance is for us today.]

When I was growing up in St. Louis, Michigan, a loud whistle blew every weekday at 7:55am, 8am, noon and 5pm. It came from the Michigan Chemical Company who were letting their employees know what time it was. You could set your watch by it.

 

In fact, we did. My Dad worked at the Chemical and he would drop me off at school on his way to work. We left the house as the 8:00 am whistle was blowing.

 

If you’re like me, you probably never thought much about trumpets, or ram’s horn as they are often called in the Bible. For the most part, they’re under the radar; they kind of blend into the narrative. On the other hand, they appear in some very significant stories.

 

One such story takes place at Mount Sinai. The Lord told Moses to prepare the people to meet him outside of the camp. Here’s what happened next.

 

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. ¹⁹ As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.               NLT   Exodus 19

 

Another story was when Israel was entering Canaan. Jericho was a walled town, and the gates were securely locked. But the Lord promised Joshua that he would give him the town. The Israelites were to march around the walls for six days. Then on the seventh, here’s what he said would happen next.

 

⁴ Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. ⁵ When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”        NLT   Joshua 6

 

Although not as dramatic as the previous stories, but certainly just as significant, the Feast of Trumpets also included trumpet blasts.

 

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.            NIV    Leviticus 23

 

Like the whistle from the Chemical plant, trumpet blasts were to get your attention and to make sure you were aware of something significant that was about to happen.

 

There’s one more trumpet blast that believers in Christ can look forward to. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the resurrection of the body. Here is what he revealed to them… and to us.

 

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  NIV 1 Corinthians 15

 

Wow! “In the twinkling of an eye” we will be transformed from perishable to imperishable. I bet that won’t happen under the radar.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com