My heart is heavy this morning (5/14/26)  with the news that the Supreme Court has lifted the ban on telehealth access to the abortion pills.

 

The standard two-pill regimen is 93 to 98% effective (read that “deadly) for pregnancies up to about 10 weeks.

 

The first pill turns the uterus into an unholy  slip and slide like event causing the unborn child to lose its necessary grip on the uterus to survive, and the second pill washes out the remains of the unborn child.

 

Please excuse the crass portrayal, but somebody has to say something!  

 

Somebody also has to say that abortion is a sin, it’s that commandment you know, that says “Thou shalt not kill! Always coupled with a reminder from the Gospel, that Jesus paid for every sin on the cross! Yes, even abortion.

 

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

God is not silent on this matter. Listen to the relevance of God’s Word from Jeremah 9:21 For death has come through our windows, (let’s call them the drive up windows of your favorite corner  drug store)  

 

It has entered our palaces, (our palatial 3 bedroom homes)  To kill off the children-no longer to be outside! And the young men-no longer on the streets! 

 

Where have all the babies gone? Where are the children and the young men? It’s a reminder of the anti-war ballad sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary. Where have all the flowers gone….gone to graveyards everyone.

 

The united states has lost 1.1 million soldiers to wars but the war against the unborn children since 1973 has resulted in 54.5 million deaths due to legalized abortion. 

 

Population experts tell us that in order for a nation to survive, a birth rate of 2.7 births per 1000, is a bottom line necessity. America’s current  birth rate is at 1.6, not even  enough children to play on a teeter totter.

 

Jeremiah speaks of one of the effects of a lower birth rate and it’s not good news for senior citizens!

 

 Jer 10:20 My tent is plundered, And all my cords are broken; My children have gone from me, And they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore, Or set up my curtains.

 

Jeremiah puts a large part of the blame on this dilemma on the Shepherds (pastors)  21 For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, (a lack of sensitivity to God’s will for His children) And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be scattered.

 

There is an undeniable  shortage of pastor’s in the land and churches are closing their doors (scattering) at an alarming rate.  

 

There are many reasons given for this drop off but maybe the pool of actual church members (sheep) and therefore pastoral candidates is simply shrinking due to “we  control” rather than “God-control” of the size of our families.

 

That’s todays Living Word

 

I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

There has never been a richer nation in the history of the world than the United States of America! We live in a fertile land, and have never had to be displaced by foreign conquerors. .

We have been strong and prosperous, extremely blessed of God! But it seems that as a nation, we no longer bless God in return. He is far from our thoughts in that we do not keep (treasure) His commandments.

 

As a nation, and even in the church we have gone our own way. We have made a mockery of the institution that God loves (marriage) We give little  thought to keeping the marriage bed undefiled as fornication and adultery have almost become second nature.

We have muddled our God-ordained roles as men and women in leadership, and sexuality.  Resulting in the acceptance of homosexuality and an   outbreak of gender confusion. 

Lives of unborn babies, made in the image of God have been tossed away  through legalized abortion.

Let this sink in! We have turned God’s created order on its ear!

 

Have you ever considered that the latest rounds of deadly tornadoes “bomb cyclones”, flooding, fires, etc may be a judgment from God?

 

Is it possible that God is trying to get our attention regarding our disruption of His created order, by giving us some creation disorder of His own?  Is He trying to draw our nation to repentance for what we have done to His created order? 

 

That GOD USES NATURE TO get our attention is indisputable, speaking to Jerusalem (Ariel) Isaiah says,  Isa 29:6 You will be punished by the LORD of hosts With thunder and earthquake and great noise, With storm and tempest And the flame of devouring fire.

 

As a nation or the church, we can ignore these occurrences and continue living as we please, or we can use them as a catalyst for personal and national repentance, fasting,  with godly sorrow over the sins of our nation.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

 

 

Exploding Trees Warning

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and here’s today’s living word.

 

I apologize for not keeping my blog/vlog whatever you want to call it updated daily. Actually I’m kind of flattered that you have asked about it. As I was reading the Bible this morning, I came across a passage that, in light of the current weather  pattern,  I  just cannot ignore.

 

The U.S. is experiencing a nasty bit of winter right now with the northern states (where I am )  getting hit with bitter cold and windchills in the -40 range and the southern states facing freezing drizzle and sleet.  

 

But, this blog is not about the weather it’s about God’s relevant Word.

Last week, I received a weather warning on my phone that in my 79 years of living never heard before. It was an exploding trees warning. Whoever heard of such a thing.  Exploding trees??????

 

Well, God did. And the Psalmist made note of it in  Ps 105:33 where we read of  judgments that God had brought against His rebellious people. Among other things, “He  struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the trees of their territory,” “splintered the trees of their territory?”

 

Don’t tell me that the Bible isn’t relevant to our world today.  God “splintered the trees,”  then  as a judgement, today for us, a warning! It’s getting late my friend, the angels are tuning up their trumpets. Will you heed the warnings or not?  

 

The ultimate anger against trees was the anger against that tree that Jesus died on outside Jerusalem. 2Co 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Where the cross didn’t explode, but it led to an explosion of grace on the third day when Jesus rose from the dead.

So when you hear of a tree exploding or see it in the news, let it remind you of God’s coming judgement, and the only way of escape. Faith in Jesus, trusting His Word (the Bible) as the only source of truth. Isn’t it time for you to believe that the Bible, the word of God is where you will find truth.  

 

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 I’m Duane matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

 

Playing the Deadly Game of House

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Job 15:12 Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at,

Job’s friend (Eliphaz) asks what I consider to be a couple of challenging questions for professing Christians!

 

We talked about question # 1 last time concerning the matter of letting our emotions pave the way for our actions rather than the Word of God.

Today, let’s look at question # 2.

 

 “What do your eyes wink at? In other words,  what sins do you take lightly?” For that matter, “what sins are winked at by the church?”

 

The sin of fornication is certainly one of them that is near the top. We take fornicationt” to mean moving in and having sex before marriage, we use to call it “living in sin,” another term is cohabitation. Whatever you want to call it, it is sin, and it needs to be dealt with!

 

 Cohabitation is a deadly game of playing house before marriage. And while some will say, that cohabitation is a way to prepare for marriage, the statistics say something else. The divorce rate is actually higher among those who “play at house,” than those who stick to God’s plan  for marriage.

 

Fornication is one of the sins that disqualify one from the kingdom of God! It is a spiritual truth, that cannot be winked away!

 

 

1Co 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

That is nothing to  wink at! God has a three word command for fornicators: 1Co 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality.”

 

Stop playing house with the world’s rules  and start playing it with God’s rules. Never forget that Jesus is not only your Savior, but He is also your Lord,

 

And look at the verse 11 in 1 Corinthians six!

 

 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

 

Such WERE some of you! Past tense! You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified by your new found God-granted faith in Jesus!

 

No longer a slave to these sins, you now have a new identity it is Christian, a follower of King Jesus.

 

Should we just continue playing house because of God’s abundant grace!

 

Ro 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Case closed!

 

To quote an old Christian song, “God will make a way when there seems to be no way.  

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

 

 

When Emotions Trump God's Word

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Job 15:12 Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at,

Job’s friend (Eliphaz) asks what I consider to be a couple of challenging questions for professing Christians!

 

Question #1: Why does your heart carry you away? In other words, “Why do you let your emotions trump God’s Word.

 

Question # 2: “What do your eyes wink at? In other words,  what sins do you take lightly?” For that matter, “what sins are winked at by the church?”

 

Let’s start with the first question, “why does your heart carry you away? Easy answer Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Don’t trust your heart for anything in life! Always run it through the Word of God!

 

The young business man was on a flight and found himself sitting next to a pretty young woman. They struck up a conversation and both hit it off!  They clicked. And even before the plane landed the young man already knew he would start divorce proceedings and leave his wife and kids behind. He said, “It Feels so right.”

 

Oh that he would understand that the grass that appears to be greener on the other side of the fence is really nothing but the silage of the devil! And it sours everyone and every thing.  God HATES DIVORCE!

 

As I was preparing this message, I went on the internet to find the old Barbara Mandel song, “If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Wanna Be Right.” This song (just as the title suggests) served as an invitation to promiscuity.

 

What I found extremely interesting, is that it was written for a group called, (Are you ready for this?)…The Emotions.

 

You just can’t make this stuff up.

 

You can’t make this up either! According to 1 Cor 6:9 adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God!

So is there any hope for this young business man?

 

Of course there is, . Just like there is hope for you and me. Jesus paid for all our sins. He wants us to repent and believe the Gospel.

 

Emotions are a gift from God, express them! Welcome godly sorrow over your sin! It’s a gift that will push you toward saving Faith in Jesus.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word.

The Goodness of God

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Ps 16: 6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

 

I can’t say this enough. The older I get, the more I see it. I have had a blessed life, and I owe it all to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That not just idle talk from the Psalmist, look at verse 2.

Ps 16:2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You."

It’s not my goodness, apart from Christ, it is all garbage! But because of Jesus It’s all good! Because It’s all Him!

 

37 of my years I was employed in Christian radio. What a privilege to be able to talk of the goodness of God! Much of the music we’d play has stuck in my heart, and I still shed holy tears when I hear songs like “His Strength is Perfect” by Steven Curtis Chapman, or Steve Green singing” People Need the Lord.”  

 

I may have retired, but the Holy Spirit hasn’t and one of my favorite songs right now is CEE CEE Winans singing  the “Goodness of God.”

The chorus goes like this: All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God

Do yourself a favor, Google “The Goodness of God” and let it speak to you. And turn on Christian radio, and leave it on!  Someday you too may need the right song at the right time!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

 

 

 

I Own You

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

 

Remember Aaron Rogers when he played for the Packers? It was October 17^th, 2021 when Rogers first made the claim, “ I own you, against the Bears.” His lifetime record against the arch enemy of the Bears is 21-5! Impressive right? But not in the same league as God who owns his arch enemy, the devil and all his henchmen!

 

Job 12:16, “The deceived and the deceiver are His.

 

The fool that says in his heart , “There is no God,” has been deceived and in the end, are God’s to do with them as He pleases!

 

The day is coming when the devil, his demons, and those who have been deceived by him, will be tossed into the lake of fire….hell, for eternity.

 

When your world starts crashing down around you, and your faith starts to waiver, I want you to think of Jesus record against the demons he encountered while He walked on the earth? Did even one demon respond to Jesus’ command to come out of the afflicted one, with “You can’t tell me what to do?” His record against demons is perfect.

 

So beware of deceptive words, Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

 

Because of what things? Eph 5:5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

 

To ignore illicit sexual behavior, (fornication) has become most dominant and evident in our sex-crazed culture today. There is no way to sugar coat this, Unless repented of the fornicators will not have any place in the kingdom of God.

 

Do not be deceived by the standards of the world rather do what the Bible tells you to do: Flee fornication!  

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word