When You Want To Give Up On Prayer
May 3, 2026Pastor Cleve Masten presented today's message, "When You Want To Give Up On Prayer" A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.
During his message, Cleve mentioned the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd...". Here's a little more on that topic: Psalm 23.
Here's an interesting discussion about a prayer offered by Solomon, "The Most Stunning Prayer in the Old Testament." From the discussion: "It isn't ultimately the blood of bulls and goats that procures the forgiveness of sin - forgiveness somehow comes 'on request' by grace through faith."
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To Philly with Love (movie)
"To Philly with Love" is a Hallmark nod to this year's America250 celebration (though I don't know if that was intentional). It has both an interesting historical nature as well as the standard romanticism of a Hallmark movie. And, in this case, the two blend together quite nicely!
The movie recently premiered on April 18, 2026.
While it is overall fictional, some of the story and much of the setting is quite real - Philadelphia. A number of scenes are set at genuine Revolutionary War era sites (Liberty Bell Center, Love Park, National Archives, etc.). Some have described the movie as one big advertisement for the City of Philadelphia (despite the fact that some of the movie was shot in Ottawa, Canada).
The other real part are the letters. Written by John Moultrie to Eleanor "Nelly" Austin, these are a real part of history. The letters date from 1759 to 1761. All the letters can be read here: "My Dear Nell:" The Love Letters of John Moultrie. No letters from Nelly back to John have been found (SPOILER: except in the movie). The two eventually married in 1762 and later had two sons. The couple soon lived in her father's estate, Ashton Hall in Shropshire, South Carolina (pictured above).
At the core of the movie's story are those Moultrie letters that Emma finds at her grandmother's house in Philadelphia. The search is on for any letters that Nelly may have written back as well as for an answer as to how the story ended up for the two of them.
Here is one of the longer reviews of the movie: Decider: Stream It Or Skip It.
Here's the kicker for me... John Moultrie had four brothers. While John remained loyal to the king (and Nelly did not, which is why they kept secretive and wrote in code according to the movie), his brothers did not. One of the real-life brothers was William Moultrie after whom is named the Fort Moultrie Flag (pictured at right just above).
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The Road to Liberty
With less than 60 days to America's 250th Birthday, you might enjoy this video series that PragerU has put together: The Road to Liberty. It was a joint project with the White House."Spotlighting the men and women who risked everything for liberty..."
Titles include (all are 1- to 6-minute videos):
- The Ride of Paul Revere (What Really Happened)
- Battles of Lexington and Concord
- The Articles of Confederation
- Key Events and Battles (16 videos)
- Authors of Liberty (6 videos)
- Signers Who Became Statesmen (14 videos)
- Revolutionary Women (6 videos)
- Immigrant Founders (7 videos)
- Unsung Signers (10 videos)
- Patriots and Soldiers (12 videos)
- More from The Road To Liberty (60 videos)
While you're at it, see the PragerU video What Are Judeo-Christian Values? (6 minutes). "Have you heard the term? Can you name any? Judeo-Christian values are the moral foundation of Western Civilization."
Pictured above at right is the Grand Union Flag. It represented a brief period of time during the Revolutionary War era when it was thought by some that some kind of reconciliation with England was possible.
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The Maltese Cross
This past Sunday was National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day.So... I flew the Fire Department Flag (pictured at right). This is one of several flags that represent the firefighting world.
This flag features the Maltese Cross, the 8-point cross that is one of the most well-known crosses of knighthood.
From Maltese Cross Meaning: Cross of Saint John:
"It is said that the points symbolize the 8 Beatitudes evoked by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount: truth, faith, repentance, humility, justice, charity, sincerity and resistance to persecution."
It is "most often associated with the Knights of the Order of Malta (also known as the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of St. John)."
"It is this order that governed the Maltese islands between 1530 and 1798. Since then, this model of the Catholic cross has been widely associated with Malta. We can find it, for example, as the logo of the national airline Air Malta, or as a cross on the Maltese Euro."
This cross "can be considered a more sophisticated version of the famous Greek cross, a model of the Christian cross with four branches of equal length."
"It actually dates back to the early 11th century. Its roots are actually found in the crosses of the Knights Templar."
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The Scientific Evidence for God
Here's a fascinating 53-minute conversation between Dr. Stephen Meyer and Shabbos Kestenbaum: The Scientific Evidence for God.
From the YouTube description:
- Why DNA is an information system that can only be explained by a creator
- The fine-tuning of the universe's physical constants—and what the odds really mean
- What Einstein called the "the greatest blunder of his life"
- The difference between Intelligent Design and "God of the gaps" arguments
- How Judaism's concept of emunah (knowledge, not blind faith) aligns with scientific reasoning
- The "who created God?" objection—and why it applies equally to materialism
- Archaeological corroboration of the Hebrew Bible
- Why the Royal Society's own evolutionary biologists are quietly questioning Darwin
