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

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Straight and Narrow

A Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Tabernacles

(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:33-44

[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.]

  

During the summer of 1969, while I was washing dishes at a Jerry’s Restaurant in Morehead, Kentucky, a historic festival called Woodstock attracted between 450,000 - 500,000 young people. The organizers had planned on 50,000! Needless to say, they weren’t prepared for the crowds.

 

Despite heavy rain, traffic jams, and a lack of food and adequate sanitation, the festival went on. People camped out wherever they could. Many had tents, some had sleeping bags, others a blanket. But lots of people just laid out in the open air.

 

The Lord chose Israel to be his people. It started with the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and continued through his son Isaac, followed by his son Jacob. During a famine, Israel moved to Egypt only to be enslaved later. After 400 years the Lord freed them, but he needed to prepare them for the Promised Land.

 

This would present many new challenges for Israel. The Canaanites, who already lived there, worshipped pagan gods who they believed blessed their farming. On the other hand, the Israelites had never owned land, let alone farmed it. It would be a monumental change for Israel, filled with temptations to disobey the Lord.

 

That’s why at Mount Sinai, in addition to the Law, the Lord gave Moses festivals and sacred days for Israel to observe. These would give them a spiritual infrastructure, so to speak, that would help keep them on the straight and narrow with the Lord.

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.                         NIV

The Festival of Tabernacles was one of three pilgrimage festivals where every Jewish man was to travel to the tabernacle in order to be in the presence of the Lord. It was a seven-day festival that followed the fall harvest to give thanks for God’s provision. But it also served a third purpose.

 

Like the people who attended Woodstock, the Israelites who came to the Festival of Tabernacles were to live in temporary housing. Here’s why.

⁴² You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’”                                                                                           NKJV     

  

The tabernacle was the dwelling place of God providing Israel with the Lord’s presence as they wandered through the desert. A booth was a temporary shelter where Israelites would stay during the Festival of Tabernacles when they would be in the presence of God. Both words point to being in the presence of the Lord.

 

The world we live in is not so different from the world that Israel was about to enter. Today, there are still many gods to tempt us to disobey the Lord. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” 

 

The Lord provided the Festival of Tabernacles to help keep the people of Israel on the straight and narrow. We also need to find ways to keep on the straight and narrow; to live in the Lord’s presence.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Muscle Memory

A Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Day of Atonement
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 16; Hebrews 10:1-14 

[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.]

  

I’ve always loved piano music and wished that I knew how to play. So, when I retired it seemed like a good time to take lessons. For me, the most difficult aspect of learning is playing one thing with your right hand and something totally different with your left hand. It’s very confusing.

 

To deal with that, my piano teacher occasionally talks about the importance of muscle memory. By that she means practicing something over and over until my fingers automatically know what to do. I think she just wants me to practice more. But it does seem to help.

 

When the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, he gave him instructions on building the tabernacle as well as instituting the sacrificial system. The tabernacle was the place where God would dwell among his people as they began their journey to the Promised Land. It also provided the place for sacrifices to be made.

 

Central to the sacrificial system was a means for the Israelites to atone for their sins. This was done through daily animal sacrifices. In addition, once a year the high priest was to enter the Most Holy Place, the innermost chamber in the tabernacle, to observe the Day of Atonement.

 

On that day, the priest made atonement for himself and all the people through multiple sacrifices which included a bull, a goat and two rams. Then he sprinkled their blood over the atonement cover, or lid, of the ark of the covenant. Which is where the Lord’s presence would dwell.

 

Although bloody, it was required by the law – “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. All of this was done in an attempt to restore their relationship with the Lord. However, it only covered their sin, it didn’t actually take their sin away.

 

¹ The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.                        NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Then Christ came into the world changing everything.

 

¹¹ Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. ¹² But our High Priest (Jesus) offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.          NLT   Hebrews 10

 

Muscle memory was an important aspect of Israel’s sacrificial system. The daily sacrifices, as well as the Day of Atonement, were reminders not only of their sin, but of the holiness of God.

 

Just like the sacrificial animals had to be spotless, so did Jesus, the Lamb of God. He was without sin, and because of that he was able to take our sin upon himself. To do that he bore the consequences of our sin on the cross once and for all.

 

As a result, Jesus provided the perfect Day of Atonement making it possible for us to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

More Than Meets the Eye

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Weeks
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 1:1-8; Acts 2:1-4 

[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.]

  

“Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five, forty…

Here I come, ready or not!”

 

Does that sound familiar to you? Does it bring back childhood memories? When I was a kid, that’s how we started every game of Hide and Seek… by counting.

 

Just like we counted as kids, Israel was to count out 49 days, plus one, following the end of Passover week. On the fiftieth day, they were to celebrate the Festival of Weeks. It was a festival of thanksgiving to the Lord for their wheat harvest.

 

²¹ That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.                NLT   Leviticus 23

 

The book of Leviticus is basically a manual of regulations that Israel was given by the Lord through Moses while at Mount Sinai. The purpose of these regulations was to help Israel to live as the Lord’s holy people in the Promised Land. The Festival of Weeks was one of those regulations.

 

However, besides the immediate purpose of the Festival of Weeks, it was also a foreshadow of something even bigger. Following his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem where they would “be baptized with the Holy Spirit”. After his ascension, here’s what happened.

 

² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.      NIV    Acts 2

 

It happened during the Festival of Weeks which is one of the three major festivals where Jewish men are expected to celebrate by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As a result, the city was packed with devout Jews from all across the world.

 

But there’s more than meets the eye happening here. Peter boldly stood and spoke to the skeptical crowd about Jesus. As a result, about three thousand believed in him as the Messiah. Just like the Festival of Weeks was originally instituted to give thanks for the wheat harvest, now there was a new harvest – a spiritual harvest.

 

Also, over the years the Festival of Weeks became known as Pentecost, which is Greek for the number 50. Providentially, Jesus was crucified and buried 50 days prior to Pentecost. It was the birth of the Christian church, and the beginning of the harvest.

 

During his last days on earth, Jesus made a promise to his disciples.

 

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”            NIV    Acts 1

 

Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit and being his witness is still true for us today. We may not have the physical manifestations of the Spirit, but he is at work in and through our lives to continue the harvest.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Feast of First Fruits
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 

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

  

Change is hard. At least for me it is. When I was working in insurance my boss changed our data management system multiple times. This meant that our daily operations changed because we used the system in every aspect of the job.

 

Because he changed the system, I had to relearn everything. This resulted in a learning curve that seemed so unnecessary. After all, the old system worked just fine. Why did it need to change? As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

 

The Israelites may have felt the same way while waiting at Mount Siani to enter the Promised Land. For centuries, their ancestors had lived as nomadic herdsmen. From Abraham to David, their geo-socio-economic society was based on it.

 

But now they were facing a change from nomadic herdsmen to resident farmer. To that end, Moses presented many laws from the Lord that were based on farming which the Israelites knew very little about.

 

For example, the Lord instituted the Feast of First Fruits as a “lasting ordinance” when they entered the Promised Land.

 

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land, I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. ¹¹ He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.     NIV

 

This is known as a wave offering. It was one way that Israel was to worship God. It was to acknowledge that he had provided the harvest and would continue to do so. It was to show that they trusted the Lord for his provision for their livelihood. But, if they truly believed this, they would have to learn how to farm.

 

However, the Canaanites, who lived in the Promised Land, already knew how to farm. Theirs was an agricultural society, and they believed that their gods had provided years of successful harvests. In some ways, this was a recipe for failure for the Israelites.

 

Knowing the risks of changing something so basic to their lives, the Feast of First Fruits gave the Israelites structure that would help them to “keep the faith”; to stay strong in their covenant relationship with the Lord; to not give in to the temptation of worshiping the gods of the Canaanites. Unfortunately, Israel failed miserably.

 

In addition to the wave offering, the Feast of First Fruits included a burnt offering. They were to take a spotless, year-old lamb and sacrifice it to the Lord. Like the Passover lamb, this was a foreshadowing of Christ, the lamb of God.

 

The bottom line is that the Feast of First Fruits was a metaphor for the resurrection of Jesus and a promise for the future harvest that includes all who have believed and follow him. Paul put it like this in his letter to the Corinthian church.

 

²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.            NIV

 

Here’s how a devotional from Ligonier explains it.

 

“Just as the firstfruits offered to God under the old covenant anticipated the fuller harvest to come, the resurrection of Jesus anticipates the bodily resurrection of His people first promised under the old covenant”.

 

Sometimes, if it ain’t broke… it still needs to be fixed.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

A Pizza Run to Gino’s

Series on Old Testament Festivals and Sacred Days – Festival of Unleavened Bread
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 12:14–20; John 6:25-51 

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

  

Flatbread pizzas have become very popular. Many eclectic restaurants will offer a flatbread pizza as an appetizer, or sometimes as an entrée. When I was in high school, we didn’t have flatbread pizzas. Instead, my friends and I went to Pizza Sams where they had the best thin crust pizza around.

 

During my college years, I discovered deep dish pizza. Unfortunately, the best deep dish pizza was Gino’s in downtown Chicago. Despite this, my friends and I made at least one pizza run from Lansing to Gino’s – a four-hour drive one way, but worth every minute of it.

 

Israel also had a flatbread. It was an important part of celebrating their freedom from slavery in Egypt. For 400 years they had been slaves when finally, the Lord was going to set them free. However, it was under the most terrible circumstances.

 

The Lord sent a plague upon Egypt where every firstborn male, both human and animal, would die. Israel was given grace by the Lord if they put the blood of a sacrificial lamb over their doorpost. By doing so, the Lord would Passover their house.

 

In addition, they were to eat a special meal that included unleavened bread – a flatbread if you will. These ceremonies of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were to be celebrated from that day forward. It was to remind them of how the Lord had miraculously delivered them from slavery.

 

¹⁷ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.                      NIV

 

But why unleavened bread? One reason is that it was known as the “bread of haste”. Since there was no yeast, it didn’t require time to rise. And because the Israelites fled Egypt so quickly, unleavened bread was perfect for making a fast escape.

 

Secondly, unleavened bread was known as the “bread of affliction”. Therefore, it was a physical reminder of the hardship, suffering, and bitterness of Israel’s bondage under Pharaoh.

 

In the New Testament, a different reason is given for using unleavened bread. Jesus warned his disciples about “the yeast of the Pharisees”. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to “get rid of the old yeast”. In fact, yeast was normally used as a metaphor for a small, hidden sin that spreads and affects others.

 

However, Jesus turned everything upside down. After he fed the five thousand, the crowds tracked him down. They asked him for a sign and reminded him how God provided manna for their ancestors in the wilderness during the Exodus.

 

When Jesus told them the true bread from heaven would give them life, the crowds asked Jesus to give it to them.

 

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.  ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”                   NIV    John 6

 

Jesus didn’t differentiate between leavened or unleavened bread. But he declared that he was “the bread of life”. Therefore, my conclusion is that his bread is worth far more than a pizza run to Gino’s.

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com