Stranger Praise

Stranger Praise Stranger Praise was an event cast to the people on October 20, 2024. Now it is the writings of praise from a stranger man in Abilene, Texas.

Praise the LORD, for He is good.

09/04/2026

A Satisfying Sanctuary

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You before dawn;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Therefore I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and glory.
Psalm 63:1-2

Where do you go when you are thirsty? When you are parched where do you hold your cup? At QT I will show you fountains to drink from. Mountains of dew and sprite drink hold promise to quench the dryness of your mouth. To get my cup filled I know where to go. It is not far. There are fountains on every corner, bars are conveniently located at each stop.

In Psalm 63 David yearned for God. His whole being-mind and body-thirsted for God. His mouth was dry and his heart was parched yet he knew where to go to find God. In no place other than His sanctuary. In His sanctuary is where God is now because God is holy. A sanctuary is a holy place. You can find a holy place anywhere, just like DK, 7-11, Toot and Totem, and Love’s. It can be a burning bush, a dry desert, or forest green. When David’s soul yearned for God he went to the sanctuary. The holy place he went was dawn. It was the early morning. He was still, in bed, in the fourth watch of the night. It was there He saw God.

Holiness resides in simple places. God does not make it hard for you to find Him. When David went to the sanctuary He nuzzled up underneath the wing of God. In the shadow of the Almighty is satisfaction. In the sanctuary David connected with the lovingkindness of God, and He was satisfied. When he clinged to God, he was upheld by Him. When David was thirsty on his bed he cupped his hands and lifted them up and God filled them until they overflowed, and he was quenched and satisfied with the love of God. His lovingkindness is better than life, the drink of His favor is better than Buc-ees.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise
You with joyful lips,
When I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of
the night;
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy.
Psalm 63:5-7

08/12/2026

Free.Spiritual.Guidance.325-672-6009 (text or call out for an appointment). Just because it's free doesn't mean it won't cost you something.

08/11/2026

The Scent Of God

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
Psalm 42:1

Did you know the nose of a deer is more powerful than that of a dog? According to Google, a deer’s nose has more olfactory receptors than a dog’s (Why don’t TSA agents use deer at airport security checkpoints? Because they are hartless). When a deer is thirsty, it sniffs for water. That a deer pants for water means no water is close by, possibly up to a mile (That’s how far a deer can smell when the conditions are right). A thirsty deer wants water and it relies on something stronger than its eyes to find it. A deer knows the scent of water. It’s hardwired into its brain, much like the scent of my grandparent’s kitchen is tucked away into my five year old brain. Scents are hard to forget. I remember many. A panting deer is a thirsty deer and it is not satisfied until its tongue touches the cool refreshment of living water. Anything less than that just won’t do. Even the sight of water is not enough. It must be tasted.

As the thirsty deer sniffs for water, so my soul sniffs for God. My soul pants for God. I sniff for Him. When will I appear before the face of God? To see Him face to face will only satisfy me. I can't get no satisfaction until then. Anything less than that will not quench my deep thirst. The face of God is what I seek. It’s the reason my nose is up in the air. Those who don’t know me say I’m uppity. Even my adversaries revile me while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” They don’t know where God is. They haven’t a clue. Their noses are stopped up and their eye sight is more poor than a deer’s.

The scent of God is on my mind. Indeed, it is in my brain. I know the scent of God because I remember it. It’s something I’ll never forget, especially when there are naysayers round about me, those who say to me, “Where is your God?” While I pant for God’s face today I remember the good times of joy and thanksgiving. I do not forget to remember the multitude keeping festival in the procession to the house of God. The procession of God's people is like a river, a stream of living water. The procession of God's people leads to His house where God's resides. The people of God are heaven scent. It is good to proceed with the people of God, to drink with friends and to share a cup with a brother. But even they seem far away and I must muster a memory from deep inside for those good times.

Yes, my soul is sunk down. It is in despair. Inside of me is parched and dry. Yet I hope in God and I wait for Him. I don't forget His scent. It will lead me to His face. Only His countenance will do. He will quench my thirst. God is a rock and from Him flows streams of water, greater than the streams of Moses at Meribah (There it went hard for Moses and he shed tears. The tears of Moses were his food when the people said to him, “Where is God?”). God is a rock and His face is there, more than the mount at Rushmore. Today I’m on the trail of God. It is His scent for which I sniff, like the deer pants for water and a dog for its bone. The presence of God’s face is like bread. Who forgets the smell of fresh bread? The Presence of God waits for me, and you, in a Holy place. It is in His tabernacle. It is the one thing I seek. For it I breathe deeply. O my soul, wait for God, for still I will praise Him, the salvation of my face, and my God.

“Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” John 6:57

08/10/2026

Mind. Check
Body. Check
Spirit. Hmm.
Free.Spiritual.Guidance at 325-672-6009 (text or call for an appointment)

08/10/2026

When "What's the next step?" is up in the air, call out to Free.Spiritual.Guidance. 325-672-6009.

08/09/2026

Free. Spiritual. Guidance. It starts where you want.

08/07/2026

Free. Spiritual. Guidance. Call 325-672-6009 today to make your appointment.

08/06/2026

Do Angels Blink? by Kurt Boyland

O LORD, stop staring at me and let me smile again before I’m dead and gone. Psalm 39:13

Humans blink. According to Google we do it about 15-20 times a minute. Because of blinking we spend approximately 3 to 8 percent of our awake time with our eyes closed. Ever think blinking might just be the leading cause of accidents? Irregardless, blinking is what us landlubbers do (Fish don’t blink. Neither do snakes or geckos, but they don’t count). Blinking provides important services to our eyeballs. Each blink spreads a thin layer of tears that moistens and cleans the eyeball. Thanks to blinking my eyeballs don’t dry out and fall out of my head like a prune. Blinking also helps the brain and eyes to reset. It gives us a tiny break from all the hubbub. Blinking can help us refocus. It’s also what we do a lot of when we are nervous and scared which seems to be counterintuitive for the need to be alert and vigilant. Moments we tend to blink less are during deep focus, like reading a book or looking at a computer screen. Most people also don’t blink while sleeping at night, or taking a nap. Speaking of sleep, my hunch is you’ve already blinked thirty times since reading this.

IMO, God doesn’t blink. The reason is He doesn’t need to. Does God not blink because He is eyeless? No, God is not a loafer or a sandal. He has eyes. In fact, He may have more than two. The Lamb in Revelation 5 has seven eyes. God doesn’t blink because where He is there’s not a need to blink. His eyes are never wide shut. They are always open. In heaven, God does not blink. Neither do angels or my grandmother or Moses. I don’t know if there are snakes or geckos in heaven. God doesn’t blink because there are no tears in heaven neither is there sorrow or pain. There’s also not any west Texas dust storms in heaven so there’s no need for God to wash or cleanse His eyeballs. He is clean already. A final reason God doesn’t blink is because He does not sleep nor slumber. God does not get any shut eye, even for a blink. His eyes are always open, ever watchful. The LORD never misses a beat. And sometimes I don’t like that.

In Psalm 39 the writer asks God to “Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more” (verse 13). For him, the gaze of God was too much. It’s like when I was ten years old and would play the stare game with my mom and I would lose but she just keep on staring at me. I had to blink but she did not. I did not like my mother watching me. Like my mom, God’s holy cast upon me can be too much at times, much like the noon day sun yesterday in Abilene, TX. It was hot and I wanted to climb in a hole. The sun never blinks and even more, neither does its Creator. So what we can we say? I’ll sum it up this way: Holiness does not blink, but humanness does. God does not blink, but I do. Sometimes twice. The more human I am the more I blink. In other words, blinking and sin are positively correlated. Dust makes me blink. Fear makes me blink. And sin does too. When I sin I blink but God does not but I wish He would. I’m even under the illusion sometimes that He doesn’t see me. That’s how I act sometimes. Conversely, when I don’t sin I don’t mind God looking at me forever. But when I’m deep in my humanity I just want Him to turn His face away from me so that I can smile again before I am dead and no more.

My human life is brief. It is like a v***r, a mere handbreadth. In God’s sight, my lifetime is as nothing (39:5). At best, I am a breath (39:11). I walk about as a phantom (39:6). I make an uproar about nothing and I accumulate riches not knowing who will gather them. To God, my life span is a blink of the eye. To God, a thousand years are like a day and a millennium a mere watch in the night but such is God. He always keeps watch, day or night. He is like the sun, and the man in the moon. Though he wanes he still sees. Why does God not blink? Because He is a father. Behind the eyes of the LORD is the heart of a Father. Does a father’s heart never not beat for his children? No! The heart of God never skips a beat for me, and you. If such is the case, why should His eyes ever miss a blink?

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Proverbs 15:3

07/30/2026

Hanging With Jesus

For all the people were hanging on to every word He said. Luke 19:48

How far will I go to hang with Jesus? In Zaccheus’ case, he went to great lengths. He sat on a tree branch above the ground. Zaccheus, a rich tax collector, lived in Jericho and when he heard Jesus was coming to town on His way to Jerusalem, he wanted to see Him. Of Zaccheus scripture says he was “small in stature” (19:3). The children’s song calls him a “wee little man.” Zaccheus’ height made it difficult for him to see above the heads in a crowd so he climbed up a sycamore tree, a type of fig tree with low hanging fruit. When Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” From his perch above Zacchaeus looked down to see the eyes of the Lord looking up at him. When their eyes met Jesus said to Zaccheus, “Today you will be with Me in your house.” So Zaccheus climbed down the tree quickly to gladly receive Jesus into his house. On the way Zaccheus stopped Jesus and said to Him, “Lord, I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated.” (tax collectors were known to skim from the top. Maybe that's why they came up short). Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house. For He too is a child of Abraham. For I came to seek and save which was lost.” Zaccheus was a sinner and meeting Jesus was cause to celebrate, and make things right. Some people say Zaccheus grew two inches that day.

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. Eight times the writer Luke tells the reader Jesus was going to Jerusalem. “He set His face resolutely towards Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Why was Jesus so determined to go to Jerusalem? To hang on a tree. Nothing was going to stop Jesus from being true to His heart. Kind of like Zaccheus. He did whatever it took to see Jesus, even if it meant climbing a tree. That’s the kind of heart the Son of Man has. He is willing to do whatever it takes in order for me to see Him, for Him to say to me, “Today you will be with Me forever, even in My house.” What great length did Jesus go to make that happen? He hung from a tree. On Good Friday Jesus bore the curse of sin from the cross. Unlike Zaccheus, Jesus did not come down from the tree quickly. He hung on the tree for a long time, at least six hours and possibly nine. This was after He was flogged, beaten, and punched. When Jesus came down from the tree He was dead.

There are no Sycamore trees in Abilene. Honestly, I wouldn’t know a sycamore tree if it walked up to me and said hi. I’d probably say something dumb like, “You wanna come to my house today?” How wood I explain to it all the wood furnishings in my house, not to mention the fireplace? In Abilene we have mesquite trees but they have thorns. I don’t think I’d climb a thorny tree, even for Jesus. Thankfully, I’m not a wee little man but 6’6”and can see above most heads (I’ve actually grown an inch the past five years) so thinking about which tree I’d climb is a moot point. But one thing is true: I want to hang with Jesus. I want to be His friend. I want to hang out with Him everyday. I want Him to come to my house and stay a long, long time. I want to hang with Jesus, and He with me. Probably more than I want to hang with Him. Thankfully, I do not have to hang with Jesus to be with Him forever. He did it for me. And that makes me gladder than Zaccheus! Thank you Lord, for all that you done for us. Thank you for taking our place that Friday on a very thorny tree. Today, Lord, I will hang on Your words. I will hang my hat on what You tell me. I will clinch with my hands Your commandments and I will gnaw on You with my mouth John 6:56), for You are the bread of life. Your blood is true drink for You are the vine and we are the branches. Hang from me Lord, Your salvation and joy. Deck my boughs with the fruit of Your Spirit.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14

07/17/2026

Made Erect Again

And behold, there was a woman with a disabling spirit for eighteen years. And she was bent over double and not able to straighten herself up at all. Luke 13:11

On a particular Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. It was a Saturday. Inside the synagogue was a woman. In a synagogue women are usually outnumbered by men. For eighteen years this certain woman was afflicted with weakness. She was bent over double. She was folded in half. The Bible doesn’t specify if she was bent over backwards or forward. Today there are many people who bend over backwards and they’ve been doing it for more than eighteen years. This particular woman in the synagogue that day was unable to lift herself up. She was unable to heal herself. Her weakness or disability was greater than any strength she could muster. The weight on her shoulders was a yoke of slavery. The gorilla on her back was Kong and by it she was bent over and weighed down for eighteen years. Then Jesus arrived.

The day she was at the synagogue Jesus was there too. Jesus saw her and when He did He called her over. Perhaps this was the first time in eighteen years the woman had been truly seen by a man in a synagogue. When Jesus called her He said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your illness.” And then Jesus “laid His hands on her.” Why did Jesus lay His hands on her? To remove the yoke of affliction she bore for eighteen long years. The King removed the gorilla off her back. I'm not kidding you or monkeying around. Jesus did for her what she was totally unable to do for herself. When Jesus laid His hands on her the Bible said she was made “erect again” (Luke 13:13 NASV). The Greek word for erect is anorthoo and it means “to make straight.” For the first time in eighteen years the woman stood straight up. She stood tall and could see for miles. When she was made straight she glorified God because by Him she was healed. She was healed after the Servant unfolded her.

The story of the woman made erect follows Jesus’ teaching on repentance. I think there is a connection between becoming straight and repentance. The Greek word for repent is metanoieo which means “think differently.” Where does bending over backwards come from? Bad thinking. I think, therefore I bend. To not fold (or cave) by not thinking or by habit requires a new mindset, a different way of thinking. A coin has two sides: a head and a tail. Their ends are opposite and a coin cannot flip on its own. It requires outside help. It needs a hand. Such is the way with repentance, and standing straight. What is needed for both is the hand of God. When Jesus laid His hands on the woman it was the touch of love and compassion. In Jesus’ fingertips are mercy and grace. What does a nonbearing fig tree need? To be cut down? God forbid! The gardener will give it special attention with his hands and the sweat of his brow. He will dig around it and put in fertilizer (Luke 13:8). He will work hard to bring fruit to the tree. He bends down in order to help the tree bear fruit. A fruitful tree stands taller than a tree with no fruit. A fruitful tree gives life but a tree with no fruit will be cut down with an ax laid at its roots. Better a hand laid upon my heart than an ax at my feet.

Jesus' words made His enemies ashamed. But everyone else in the crowd was happy about the wonderful things He was doing. Luke 13:17

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